The True Disciple Perseveres Series

As you have seen over the past few weeks in this current sermon series, being a disciple of Jesus, to follow Jesus, is serious business. We must be committed completely, with no halfway measures. To be totally committed also means we must be totally dependent on Him. We cannot do this in our own power.

A true disciple of Jesus must be ready to give all, holding nothing back. That is easy to say, but in practice it is much harder to do, especially considering the world is diametrically opposed to all things belonging to Jesus. Jesus made this very clear to His disciples:

John 15:18–19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

Herein is the problem of many followers of Jesus today. They want to follow Jesus and yet they also want to keep one foot firmly planted in the world. We cannot live that way. It all or nothing. But many tire over being beaten by the world day after day, year after year. But the word today is about persevering. We must stay the course. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and not our own frailties.

2 Corinthians 4:7–12

ILL: Pliny, Roman Governor in Asia Minor in the early Second Century, was so puzzled about the Christians brought before him for trial that he wrote his famous letter to the Emperor Trajan asking for his advice. This was the kind of thing he found himself up against:

A certain unknown Christian was brought before him, and Pliny, finding little fault in him, proceeded to threaten him. “I will banish you from the empire.” he said. “You can’t do that,” was the reply, “for all the world is my Father’s house.”

“Then I will put you to death,” said the Governor. “You cannot do that either,” answered the Christian, “for my life is hid with Christ in God.”

“I will take away all your possessions,” continued Pliny. “You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven.”

“I will drive you away from man and you shall have no friend left,” was the final threat. And the calm reply once more was, “You cannot, for I have an unseen Friend from Whom you are not able to separate me.”

What was a poor, harassed Roman Governor, with all the powers of life and death, torture and the stake at his disposal, to do with people like that? [1]

As disciples of Jesus, we must persevere like that unknown Christian in the second century. What can man do to me?

Hebrews 13:6 so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

Paul compares himself and us as earthen vessels. Pottery, if you will.

2 Corinthians 4:7a But we have this treasure in earthen vessels ...

Back in Paul’s day, clay jars were throwaway containers of the ancient world. Their life span were generally a few years at best. So why are we compared to them and what is this treasure we possess? The verses that precede this verse Paul talks about the gospel. And the gospel is not received by everyone:

2 Corinthians 4:3–4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The god (small g-god) of this world is Satan and he does not want anyone to have the gospel, so he has blinded them. Look around, Satan has blinded the eyes of so many in this world. Why is the gospel, this great treasure, that Satan does not want anyone to have. Paul tells us:

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The gospel, the very power of God Almighty, has been entrusted to us, not the angels. And we are as fragile clay jars. Why would God do that? Because the power is in gospel, not us. So when the gospel does it’s work, God gets the glory, not us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Since we have this treasure, the power of the gospel, which is the very power of God, why then are we afraid to share it? Are we afraid of being ridiculed, and persecuted? Paul tells us: