The Ultimate Treasure #4 - Surrendering

WHMBC VBS 2007 – Treasure #4 – Surrendering

2 Corinthians 4:1-7

Things don’t always go our way. Some things don’t turn out the way we expect them to.

Sometimes our friends let us down – even when they tell us that they’ll always be there for us. Sometimes people at school laugh at us, make fun of us – and because of this there are times when we feel like quitting.

We wonder what the point is of being a Christian, what is the point in coming to church, what is the point of praying?????

Sometimes our situation in life seems hopeless; we’ve dropped the ball and don’t feel like picking it up again. We’ve been knocked down so many times we just want to quit the game because our get up and go has got up and gone.

Twice Paul says, “Faint not!” Faint here is from the Greek “ek-kak-eh’-o” and means to be weak or weary, to fail in heart. So in other words Paul is telling us not to loose heart. What do you do when your get up and go has got up and gone?

I. REMEMBER YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Verses 1 & 2

This is a glorious ministry. God has given us a message which no man could have come up with. It would be impossible for a man to work out such a plan as the gospel. Since it is by His mercy, we faint not. We rejoice in it!

• We have the responsibility to take the Gospel to the lost.

Jesus tells us in Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. The world is dying and on its way to hell, we have to take the gospel to the lost. We have to take every opportunity that the Lord gives us, to witness to people.

The Apostle Paul also tells us not to handle the Word of God deceitfully in verse 2 – false religions, cults.

Do you know the difference between Christianity and the religions of the world? It can be summed up with one word. All the religions of the world say, “Do.” The gospel says, “Done.” The gospel tells me that God has done something for me; I am to believe it; I am to trust Him. The only way I can come to Him is by faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him …” (Heb. 11:6).

Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, according to the Scriptures. That is the difference. In His finished work we must put our trust. It is done.

Do not handle the word of God deceitfully. Don’t add to or to take away from God’s Word, we just need to preach the truth, preach His precious word. God loved us. God in His mercy provided a Savior for us, and now He saves us by His grace. We have a responsibility to take the Gospel to the lost.

• We have the responsibility to live our lives a certain way.

We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus. However, after we have been saved, that gospel must live in us. Don’t just talk the talk – Walk it!!! Our behavior should not be different to what we are saying. A person can preach the gospel and say things that are absolutely true, but at the same time his life can be speaking another message.

Romans 12:1 I beseech ye therefore, bretheren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. We may be the only Bibles a lost person will ever read.

• We have the responsibility to do what God has asked us to do.

Unfortunately life is not always fun, the real test is our ability to keep going when the fun is over and we go ahead and do what we have to do anyway. Can we still live for the Lord when VBS is finished? Can we still come to church on a Sunday & Wednesday etc…

Paul tells us to “Faint not” Don’t loose heart. Paul had a job to do and I’m sure there were times when he didn’t feel like preaching. We just have to look at Paul’s life to see his ups and downs, but through it all he preached the word.

When he was in jail, he preached the word. (Phillipian Jailer)

When he was going through trials, he preached the word.

When he was being persecuted, he preached the word. (Before Felix)

II. REMEMBER TO FIGHT THE ENEMY

Verse 4

Many people in this world are messed up or mixed up because they are listening to the wrong person. They’ve been listening to the devil. Paul tells us in Verse 4 that “…the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not.” The devil wants to get people as far away from God as he possibly can, he does this by blinding the people to the truth.