Treasure in Jars of Clay

We're going to be in 2 Corinthians chapter 4,

2 Corinthians 4:7

verse 7, just continuing on through 2 Corinthians.

We're making our way through it pretty quick.

2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7. While everybody's

2 Corinthians 4:7

turning to that, remind y 'all I gave y 'all

a paper that Revival kicks off on August the

10th. We've got Dogwood Cross that's going to

be playing music for us this year. Evangelist

Gene Hoyt is going to be bringing the message

every day. So we'll start that on the 10th and

it'll end on the 13th. So make sure you put that

on your calendars and fight some people for that.

2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7 is where we

2 Corinthians 4:7

will start. But before we do, let's pray. God,

we come to you tonight. I pray that you would

just help our minds to be focused on your word.

I pray that you would help us not to be distracted

by the worries and things of the world that maybe

we brought in here, dear Lord. I pray that you

just would... Help us to pay attention, dear

Lord, that your Holy Spirit would speak to us

tonight, that your word would encourage us and

help us to see what we need to see. I pray that

your Holy Spirit would just be among us, and

I pray that everything that is said here today

will be for your glory, and I pray that your

words, dear Lord, will do the work in our life.

I pray that you would take away any fear or pride

that's within me and just help me, God, to be

faithful to preach and teach in a way that brings

glory and honor to you. And I ask these things

in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Paul has been kind

of making a defense for himself throughout the

first little bit of the book of 2 Corinthians.

He's been really bringing home the point that...

he is doing the work of God, that the people

need to listen to him, that they don't need to

be really led astray by others, that they need

to stay focused and they need to stay on track

for doing the Lord's work. That's a very brief

generalization of the first few chapters, but

for time's sake, we won't go over it too much.

But we will continue on in 2 Corinthians 4, verse

2 Corinthians 4:7

7. Now we have this treasure in clay jars so

that this extraordinary power may be from God

and not... Now, it's interesting here he uses

the word treasure. It would sound as though he's

been talking about treasure. Now we have this

treasure. What treasure is he talking about?

Well, he hadn't said anything about treasure.

He hadn't used the word treasure in the verses

previous. We see at the beginning of chapter

4, he talks about the ministry that he and those

who are with him have and that they are... or

have been faithful to the ministry, to bring

about the gospel to those who would listen, to

those who would be receptive. And he had talked

about, in the verses right before this, about

letting a light shine in the darkness. And that

light is Jesus Christ. And that those who have

accepted Jesus Christ have the light and the

knowledge and the grace of Jesus Christ. And

Paul had received that, and many others had received

that. Many in Corinth, his audience, had received

that knowledge. received that light and i think

that that's probably the treasure that he's talking

about he's talking about the power of jesus christ

he's talking about grace he's talking about forgiveness

he's talking about just the ability to call on

jesus in our times of need that in the name of

jesus that many miracles even in paul's day were

still being done and even still today i believe

god does miracles and so i believe the treasure

that he's talking about here is the treasure

of jesus christ but what does he say of this

treasure he says now we have this treasure in

clay jars or jars of clay that this extraordinary

power may be from God and not from us. What does

he mean that this treasure is in jars of clay?

Some of you may have heard of jars of clay before,

if not from this passage. There was a popular

Christian group back when I was a kid called

Jars of Clay. I don't know if they're still performing

or not. They may or may not still be. But when

I was young, that was a Christian group, and

that's where they got their name from, I'm assuming,

probably from this verse. That Paul says, look,

we have this treasure in... jars of clay. Now

he's using that terminology to talk about us

as human beings. What Paul is saying is we are

weak. We are like clay jars. Now, clay jars would

have been everywhere in Paul's day. We don't

see clay jars too much now. Most of our jars

are probably glass, and they break too sometimes.

But they're not as brittle as clay jars are.

Clay jars, while they would have served their

purpose, they were very easy to break. They were

weak. They were not strong. They could carry

what was in them. They could carry the water,

but it was easy for them to be broken. And Paul

uses this example to talk about... humanity,

to talk about us, that we are weak, that our

clay jars, that our human bodies, that everything

that we are, we are just weak as human beings.

But even though we are weak, God still puts this

amazing power within us. We still experience

this extraordinary power of Jesus Christ. And

what's the result of that? That those of us who

are weak are able to do great things, but it's

not It's not on our own because people look at

us and they say, well, that's just old so -and

-so or that's just Miss so -and -so. Well, there's

nothing really spectacular about them. They don't

look super strong. They're not super well -educated.

They're not this, that, and the other. But yet

normal, ordinary people in their own strength

wouldn't be able to do anything. But with the

power of God, God uses ordinary people to do

extraordinary things. Even though we are just

weak vessels, the power of God is shown through

us in the ways that God works through us. And

that's the point that Paul is making here. So

that the extraordinary power may be from God

and not from us. And so we run into a problem

when pride comes into our life and we begin to

boast and we think that everything we do is a

result of our strength and our power. But we

come to find out pretty quickly that there are

things that we're going to run up on in life

that are beyond our strength and beyond our power.

And who do we turn to then? Well, if we've been

trusting in our own strength and we think we

are in control, when everything begins to fall

apart, then we will crumble. But if we've been

trusting in God... We recognize our weak state.

We recognize that we don't have the power to

overcome things. And so when tragedy strikes

and difficulty hits and hard times and afflictions

come, there's a power that's within us that we

cling to, that we seek, that we draw power from,

and that is the power of Jesus Christ, the hope

that we have in Jesus Christ, the power of the

Word of God. Verse 8, we are pressured in every

way but not crushed. We are perplexed but not

in despair. We are persecuted but not abandoned.

We are struck down but not destroyed. Now that

is a beautiful couple of verses. He says we are

pressured in every way but not crushed. Now sometimes

we feel that way in our life. We just, the world

and life is hard. And the stresses in life and

sickness and health and just marriages and work

and school and just life is hard. And sometimes

we just feel the pressures of life just pressing

in on us. And when you press on something long

enough, it crushes it. But what does Paul say?

He says, look, we are pressed in every way. We

feel the pressure of life. We feel the pressure

of serving the Lord. We feel the pressure of

just everyday life. And even though we are pressed

and pressed and pressed, and it seems as though

we should be crushed, we are not crushed. Why?

Because they're trusting in the Lord. God gives

them the ability to withstand whatever pressures

may come in the world. We are perplexed but not

in despair. That is to say, sometimes things

don't make sense. We don't understand what's

going on. We don't understand why this is happening

to us. We don't understand why God allows this.

We don't understand why there's evil in the world.

We don't understand why there's so much hardship

and sickness in our lives. We don't understand.

And when we don't understand what's going on,

it's easy to feel despair. There are plenty of

people in this world who despair. Because they

don't trust in the Lord. They've trusted in their

wealth, and they've trusted in their power, and

they've trusted in everything they've got. And

then it begins to fall, and then they begin to

despair. What am I going to do? Everything is

falling apart. It's horrible. Life is horrible.

And despair is a bad place to be, but not for

the Christian. Even when despair begins to creep

into our life, hopefully we're calling out to

the Lord. Hopefully we're seeking the Lord's

Word. So that even though when we are perplexed,

we are not in despair. Even when the things around

us don't make sense and we call out to God and

say, God, my life is so hard and it seems like

everything's falling apart and I don't understand

this, dear Lord, but I'm not going to give up.

God, I still have hope in you because I know

that you're good and I know that you're in control.

So Paul says, even though we are perplexed as

Christians, we do not despair. We are persecuted,

but not Now, Paul knew what he was talking about

when he was talking about persecution. We don't

really experience that here in the United States.

We can talk pretty freely about Jesus to anybody

we want, and they may or may not listen to us,

and that's fine, but we're not going to have

to face any real persecution. We don't have to

worry about getting beat. We don't have to worry

about being in prison. We don't have to worry

about being killed. And there are certainly brothers

and sisters in... Christ around the world who

do experience those things, who are in prison,

who are beaten, who are mocked, who are killed.

And Paul knew about that type of persecution.

But Paul says, even if we are persecuted, we

know that God has not abandoned us. No matter

how bad things may be, we know that we have not

been abandoned. And that's a good thing for us

to remember in our life. Now, maybe we don't

experience persecutions for the gospel, or maybe

we do. But there are certainly times in our life

that things get really tough, and we wonder if

God's even there. Is God even listening? Does

God even care? Does God even know? Is there even

a God? Some of these things even come through

our mind in the midst of our hardship. But what

does Paul say? Look, even in the hard times,

he says, we know that God has not abandoned us.

And he continues on and he says, we are struck

down but not destroyed. So even in the worst

situations, whoever comes against us is not the

one who is in control of our life. It is God

who is ultimately in control. And we may not

understand why things occur the way they do,

especially the really difficult things, but Paul,

what he's saying here is we trust in the Lord.

And everything that comes against us, we do not

despair. We know God is with us. We know that

we will not be destroyed. And even if our lives

are taken from us, God will raise us from the

dead. Now that's the hope of the Christian. Paul

wasn't looking just in the moment. We can get

caught up in that sometimes. Paul was looking

at the big picture because he knew ultimately

he was going to spend eternity with the Lord.

He knew that even if his life was given to serve

the Lord, to serve other people, he knew that

death would not get the final say. And so Paul

had his hope in something far greater than anything

in this world. And it's because of that that

he can say the things that he says here. I have

been pressured. I don't understand everything.

Life is difficult. And even if somebody tries

to beat me down, I will not be destroyed. Verse

10. We always carry the death of Jesus in our

body so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed

in our body. For we who live are always given

over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus'

life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

Now that's the interesting wording there. We

always carry the death of Jesus in our body so

that the life of Jesus may be revealed. I think

what he's referring to there is suffering. I

think he's saying, look, Jesus suffered. And

Jesus said we're going to have to suffer. Now

that's not a popular thing. We don't like to

hear that. We would rather hear that Jesus died

and everything's going to be great and fine and

there's nothing bad ever going to happen to us

and there are plenty of preachers who will preach

that message. You can find lots of them online

and on TV. And while God does bless us and he

does want to take care of us, God never promises

us that everything is going to be okay. And then

when you read the words of Jesus, you really

see just the opposite. That Jesus says, if you're

going to live for me, it is not going to be easy.

It is really going to cost. It's really going

to be a struggle. It's really going to be hard

to fight against the temptations and to stand

up for what is right and to stand up against

the world who disagrees with the truth of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. And so for the life of

Jesus, especially there at the end, there was

great suffering, suffering unto death. And I

think that's what Paul is referring to here.

We carry the death of Jesus in our body. We know

that we are going to have to suffer. But not

only does he say, are we going to suffer for

Jesus, but we're also carrying the life of Jesus.

That is that through our suffering, we're going

to do the work of the Lord. We're going to be

a light to the world. We're going to tell people

the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are going to share

with them who Jesus is and what he has done for

them so that they may have hope. So that even

in our suffering and even in our death, Jesus

Christ will be glorified and others may have

eternal life. through Jesus Christ. I think that's

what Paul is saying in those verses there. Verse

12. So death works in us, but life in you. I

think what Paul is saying is, look, we've suffered

for you. We've suffered and we have worked hard

to minister to you. And we have tirelessly traveled

here and there. And I'm writing these letters

back to you, people of Corinth. We are suffering

for you. And for what reason? So that that may

bring life in you. May our suffering may result

in good for you. May our suffering result in

blessings to you. And why is Paul doing it? Because

he's got to serve its heart, as we saw a couple

of weeks ago. Paul, his desire is to serve these

people, is to serve the Lord and to see them

have life in Jesus Christ. Verse 13. And since

we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with

what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke.

We also believe. Therefore, speak. Now, he's

referencing here Psalm 116, verse 10. If you

Psalms 116:10

want to flip back there, you can. Psalm 116,

Psalms 116:10

verse 10. It's a good psalm. You can read it.

We won't read it all tonight. But we'll flip

back and see the verse that he's referencing,

which is pretty close exactly to what we just

read. Psalm 116 verse 10. This is a psalm of

Psalms 116:10

deliverance. We don't really know who wrote it.

That's the case for a lot of the psalms. And

it doesn't really matter who wrote it. We can

certainly relate to these psalms and the words

that they say. We can relate to it in our life.

Whatever the psalmist was going through, we have

seasons in our life that we need God to deliver

us from our enemies or our situations, whatever

it may be. And in Psalm 116 verse 10, the psalmist

Psalms 116:10

here says, I believe even when I said I am severely

afflicted. So we see the same idea as to what

we see in 2 Corinthians. This idea of being afflicted.

And even in that affliction, Paul says, look,

I believe. I believe in the Lord. Even though

times are hard, I believe in the Lord. Even though

times are hard, I trust in the Lord. And so because

I believe, I will continue to speak. Even in

my affliction, even in my hardship, because I

believe, I will continue to do the work of the

Lord. Verse 14. We know that the one who raised

the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus

and present us with you. Indeed, everything is

for your benefit, so that grace extended through

more and more people may cause thanksgiving to

increase to God's glory. So the ultimate goal

here of Paul is to bring glory to God. The ultimate

goal is that he loves these people of Corinth.

He wants them to grow in the Lord. He wants God

to receive all the glory. He wants them to grow

to be as strong in the Lord as he is. That they

would recognize their weakness. That they would

recognize that they are but jars of clay. But

that the power of Jesus Christ is so powerful.

That whatever they go up against in life, that

Jesus will give them the power to be encouraged

in that. And that word is good for us too. That

message is good for us too. That we need to be

reminded that we are pretty insignificant on

our own. Even on our best days, we're pretty

weak. But Jesus is strong. And so the power of

Jesus can give us great power. The power of Jesus

can give us the ability to overcome a lot of

things in this world that otherwise we would

not be able to overcome. So maybe tonight we

are some of those who feel like we are being

crushed. And we can take hope in the fact today

that if we would trust in Jesus, even if we are

being pressed in on, we will not be crushed.

Even if we are perplexed today. Even if there

are things that we do not understand, we do not

have to despair today. That even if it feels

as though God has abandoned us, he has not abandoned

us. Jesus didn't come and die on a cross just

to leave us stuck in the middle of our hardships

right now, but he's with us. And it may not always

feel like it. But when our heart begins to doubt

or begins to wonder or begins to question, we

need to be like the psalmist in 116 verse 10.

It says, God, I believe, therefore I will speak,

even in my affliction, dear Lord, even if my

enemies are against me, even if my life is falling

apart, even if I'm heartbroken and in pain, God,

I'm going to trust that you know what you are

doing. And that's a good message for us tonight,

that we don't have to be in despair. but we can

trust Jesus Christ to give us the strength to

overcome. Let's pray. God, we thank you for these

good words. I pray that you would help us to

hear these words and to live by these words.

God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just

work in our hearts and work in our minds, that

you would help us to seek you with all of our

heart and not just be hearers of the word, but

to be doers of the word. I thank you for each

one that's here. I pray that we would take these

words to heart, and I pray that you would grow

them in us this week. And I ask these things

in Jesus' name. Amen.