Don't Lose Heart - 2 Corinthians 4:1-15

We know that the Lord Jesus has resurrection power. Therefore, don't give up. Don't faint. Focus on the future glory, not on the present trial, and you will not faint.

Right now I'm speaking to some servant of God who is just discouraged, you're ready to quit. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:1, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." And then over in 2 Corinthians 4:16, "For which cause we faint not." We do not lose heart. I saw a book advertised recently about ministerial burnout. Whether they're ministers or schoolteachers or doctors or whatever, they've just used up all their energy, they've lost all their hope, and they are about to quit. We faint not.

You know, your pastor goes through times when he's ready to quit. Maybe you are a cause of that, I don't know, I hope not, and I'm sure not, but preachers feel like quitting, and deacons and Sunday school teachers and just everyday garden-variety Christians—we have our days, perhaps our weeks, when we feel like fainting. Well, in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, Paul gives us some facts, some down-to-earth practical facts. And if we will understand these facts and meditate on them, it will keep us from fainting.

Fact number one: it is a privilege to serve God. Now you feel like quitting, you feel like handing in your resignation. Well, read 2 Corinthians 4:1: "Therefore seeing we have this ministry," or this kind of ministry—that's the thrust of the Greek there. "Therefore seeing we have this kind of ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." Paul knew it was a privilege to serve God. Now what kind of a ministry is it? Well, the kind he has described in 2 Corinthians 2 and 3. Back in 2 Corinthians 2:14, it's a triumphant ministry: "Now thanks be unto God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ." As I've said before, we are not fighting for victory; we're fighting from victory. It's a triumphant ministry.

It is a sufficient ministry. Paul cries out in 2 Corinthians 2:16, "Who is sufficient for these things?" And he answers the question in 2 Corinthians 3:5: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; our sufficiency is of God who also hath made us sufficient, able ministers of the New Testament." You know, maybe you're getting discouraged because you're depending too much on yourself—your strength, your wisdom—and you're not leaning on God's sufficiency. It's a triumphant ministry, it's a sufficient ministry, it's a glorious ministry. Over and over again in 2 Corinthians 3 he talks about glory. The glory of the Old Covenant was great, but the glory of the New Covenant is much greater. The Old Covenant glory was fading; the New Covenant glory gets brighter and brighter. It's a glorious ministry, it's a life-changing ministry. So here is the first fact you want to lay hold of when you feel like fainting: it is a privilege to serve God. That's 2 Corinthians 4:1.

Now 2 Corinthians 4:2, we have a second fact we have to reckon with before we can faint. It's this: God's Word accomplishes God's work. "But we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully," distorting it, "but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." Paul here is referring of course to his enemies at Corinth. The Judaizers had gotten in and they had been spreading lies about Paul. And in order to accomplish their ministry, their work, they were misinterpreting, misapplying, distorting the Word of God. Paul says we have renounced the secret and shameful ways of dishonesty. Now you be careful of people who twist the Word of God. You can prove anything from the Bible if you're dishonest. If you take verses out of their context, if you twist them around, you can prove anything from the Word of God. Every false cult refers in one way or another to the Bible; they'll all claim to be based upon the Bible, and yet they teach such heresy.

Paul said, I don't have to do those things. I don't have to get involved in dishonesty, craftiness, a deceitful manipulating of the Word of God, secret shameful kinds of preaching and teaching. I have nothing to hide. Now if you're sharing the Word of God with sincerity and honesty, if your conscience is clear and you are commending yourself to every man's conscience, you have nothing to hide. Don't quit. Don't quit. Now I know this false crowd of deceivers and manipulators and propagandizers, they may seem to be very successful. That's alright, just don't pay attention to it now. You go on serving God, sharing the Word of God, because God's Word accomplishes God's work. Jeremiah 1:12, God says, "I am watching over my word to fulfill it." God watches over His Word. You don't know what happens to it, but God knows. It's like sowing seed, it's like the rain that comes down from heaven; it will accomplish the purposes of God.

Now 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. Before you faint, here's a third fact you want to consider: in ministry, you're fighting a battle. It's not easy. "But if our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost." Paul said, I'm not hiding the gospel; the devil is the one who's doing it. "In whom the god of this age," that's Satan, "hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." If you are faithfully serving God, the devil's going to fight you. If you're having an easy time of it, there must be something wrong. Spurgeon used to say the devil never kicks a dead horse. Throughout 2 Corinthians you find Paul referring to the opposition of the devil. Here in 2 Corinthians 4:4 he tells us Satan blinds the minds of the unsaved. 2 Corinthians 11:3, he tries to beguile the minds of the saved people. And then in 2 Corinthians 12:7, he buffets the bodies of saved people. Now here are three works of the devil: he blinds, and he beguiles, and he buffets. And he's not going to stand by and let you succeed sharing the Word of God, revealing God's truths. The devil's a liar. In 2 Corinthians 4:2 Paul says where we have the manifestation of the truth, and when the devil sees anybody sharing the truth in love and in sincerity, he comes along with lies. He blinds the minds of people.

I might be speaking right now to someone who says, "You know Mr. Wiersbe, I listen to you and I don't know what you're talking about. All of this is so vague to me." I'll tell you why: it's because Satan's blinded your mind. Interestingly enough, he uses religion to blind people's minds. He uses self-righteousness, he uses lies, he uses false promises. He promises one thing and produces something else. He does not want you to know about the gospel of Christ, the glorious gospel of Christ. Doesn't want you to see the light. Notice that? "Lest the light should shine unto them." The devil wants to keep you in the darkness because he is the prince of darkness, and if you don't trust Jesus as your Savior, one day you will end up in eternal darkness. We are in a battle. So when you feel like fainting, just remind yourself: in ministry, you are fighting a battle. And it gets harder and harder. We're living in a world where people want to believe lies. It's a battle. It's a battle between light and darkness, it's a battle between life and death, it's a battle between truth and lies. And my friend, life is not a playground, it's a battleground. Don't quit. In ministry, you're fighting a battle.

2 Corinthians 4:5-6, there's a fourth fact I want you to consider before you faint: Honor Christ and God will bless you. "For we preach not ourselves." Watch out for the preacher who preaches himself. "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." Back in 2 Corinthians 1:24, Paul said, "Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand." Paul was not a spiritual dictator; Paul was a servant for Jesus' sake. That's a beautiful verse, isn't it? He gives us the method of our ministry: we preach. The message of our ministry: we preach Christ. Christ Jesus the Lord. The manner of our ministry: we're servants. The motive for our ministry: for Jesus' sake. We aren't servants for our own sake, we aren't servants for the church's sake, we're servants for Jesus' sake.

And what's the result of this? Well, if you preach Christ, and if you're a servant, if your motive is right, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness"—Paul had that experience on the road to Damascus, didn't he? He saw a bright light, and then he saw the Lord Jesus—"hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." What a marvelous statement. What he's saying is this: if you'll honor Jesus Christ and preach Christ, God will bless. The light will shine in on hearts. He's comparing salvation to creation. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And then the light shines into people's hearts. Oh, that's a marvelous thing, and you are a part of that. Now when you feel like fainting, just remember: it's a privilege to serve God. God's Word will accomplish God's work. In ministry, you're fighting a battle. And if you'll honor Christ, God will bless your ministry.

Now the ministry involves suffering. It's a burden, it's a battle, it's a joy, it's a delight. We'd rather do that than anything else because that's what God's called us to do. We sometimes get weary in the Lord's work, but thank God we don't get weary of the Lord's work. Paul tells us that we can keep from fainting if we'll just follow the instructions that he gives us in this section, 2 Corinthians 4:7-15.

Instruction number one: focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel.

Now what is this treasure? Well, what he talked about back in the previous section: the light of the glorious gospel of Christ that shines in our hearts. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This new creation, this new life within. You and I are just clay vessels, that's all you are. Psalm 103:14: "He remembers our frame, he knows that we are just dust." Just dust. Now you may think you're steel or iron, but you're not; you're dust. You came from dust and you're going back to dust, and you're just a vessel. Even the great apostle Paul was just a vessel. In Acts 9:15, God said to Ananias, "Now look, he is," Paul is, "my chosen vessel." And so are you. You are God's chosen vessel.

You know why God compares you to a vessel? A vessel is weak. Of yourself you have nothing. Paul had said previously, "Who is sufficient for these things?" And of course anyone knows that clay is not too strong; clay is weak. And so we're vessels because God wants to remind us of our weakness. But we are vessels because a vessel can contain and share. All God wants us to be is empty and clean and available, and he'll do the rest. If you are empty of self and empty of sin and clean and available, God will fill your vessel and then you know what'll happen? You'll be troubled and that'll spill the blessing over on other people. You'll be perplexed and persecuted and cast down and going through these experiences of difficulty. You know why? It spills the blessing out on other people.

Ralph Waldo Emerson used to say it is hard to carry a full cup. And you and I want to carry a full cup and just enjoy all of this instead of sharing it. The vessel doesn't contain for itself; the vessel contains for others. I have not had to be in the hospital too much, praise the Lord, but when I have and they brought me my medicine, I didn't care if it was in a plastic cup or a paper cup; I wanted my medicine. The important thing was what was in the vessel, not the vessel itself. They didn't have to bring me my medicine in a golden chalice; I was happy to take it out of a little plastic cup because I needed the medicine.

Now God looks upon us as vessels. He says you're clay. He knoweth our frame, he remembers that we're dust. And he says I want to use you, but you're going to go through trials. A vessel has to go through the furnace to be hardened and beautified. A vessel has to go through difficulty to spill over some of the blessing. God permits these trials and God controls these trials, and God watches over his vessel. You may be troubled, you don't have to be distressed. You might even be perplexed—the great apostle Paul perplexed? Yes—but you don't have to be in despair because you know God's going to lead you through. Persecuted, but God won't forsake you. Cast down? Ah yes, but you won't be destroyed, because God is so working that death might abound in us, but life through the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a paradox there, isn't there? Always bearing about in the body, daily being exposed to death, the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that—now here's the reason—so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. God permits these trials so that the vessel will bring glory to God. We die but others live. we suffer but others are blessed. So that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

J. Hudson Taylor was being introduced at a meeting one day and the man went on and on bragging about Hudson Taylor, and finally said, "And now here is our illustrious guest." And Hudson Taylor stood up and said, "I am the little servant of an illustrious Master." Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel.

Secondly, focus on the Master, not on the servant. Notice that? "For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith," you see, "according as it is written, 'I believed and therefore have I spoken,'" a quotation from Psalm 116:10. "We also believe and therefore we speak." Focus on the Master, not on the servant. You see, our purpose in life is that the life of Jesus might be made manifest. 2 Corinthians 4:10: we experience the dying of the Lord Jesus so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. We are delivered unto death for Jesus' sake so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

This is what Paul meant in Philippians 1:20 when he said Christ is the one who's being magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death. Galatians 2:20: "Christ liveth in me." And so as we go through the difficulties of life, we die to ourselves, and out of this death comes life for the sake of others. All this is by faith. 2 Corinthians 4:13: "Having the same spirit of faith." When you walk by faith and not by sight, when you trust God, then the life of Jesus is manifest. When difficulty comes, faith says out of this difficulty will come blessing. When death comes, faith says out of this death will come life. When persecution comes, faith says out of this persecution will come growth and advancement. You see, we believe, therefore we speak.

Now what are you speaking today? Well, you're speaking according to what you believe. If you're walking around saying, "Well, we're through, the church is going to end, my Sunday school class is done for, God is not going to do anything," you're speaking because of unbelief. You're saying, "I don't believe and therefore this is the way I'm speaking." Paul said, "We believe. We believe God. We believe the God who can bring life out of death, the God who can bring order out of chaos, the God who can bring light into darkness, the God who always leads us in triumph, the God who always enables us to do his will. We believe and therefore we speak." Nothing will shut your mouth faster than unbelief.

Instruction number one: focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10. Focus on the Master, not on the servant. 2 Corinthians 4:11-13. 2 Corinthians 4:14-15: focus on the future glory, not on the present trial. "Knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus"—that's the greatest victory God ever wrought—"shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you." Paul said even if I do die, I'm going to be raised from the dead. I would much rather serve God and then lose my life, give it for him, than to waste my life.

Somebody was scolding George Whitefield one day because he worked too hard, he preached too hard—he'd sometimes preach twenty times a week. And George Whitefield said, "I would much rather wear out than rust out." That's good. "For all things are for your sakes," ah, we don't do it for ourselves, we do it for others, "that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God." Grace and glory, they go together, don't they? He will give me grace and glory. 1 Peter 5:10: "But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory." Paul says don't focus on the present trial, focus on the future glory. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. We know that death has been defeated. Now if our greatest enemy has been defeated, why worry about any other enemy? We know that the Lord Jesus has resurrection power. What we are doing, we are doing for the sake of others. Therefore, don't give up. Don't faint. Don't quit. Don't resign. Don't hand in your resignation. Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. Focus on the Master, not on the servant. Focus on the future glory, not on the present trial. And you will not faint.