We Do Not Lose Heart

We're going to begin our worship now by singing to God's praise in Psalm 116.

We're singing on the Scottish Psalter version, page 395, singing from verse 1 to verse 8.

The tune is Coals Hill.

I love the Lord because my voice and prayers heeded here, I while I live will call on him

who bowed to me his ear.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to God's praise.

I love the Lord because my voice and prayers heeded here,

I while I live will call on him

who are to be this year.

O let the wars and sorrows hear about me,

I will sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to verse 8.

I belong to the Lord as if his actions duperule so.

I تم me in mode of silence.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I lift my morning, my strong tears, my feet from falling free.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I will come to God in a short word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Let us pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

we do to come together as a people here, meeting and greeting one another, enjoying to see each

other and enjoy each other's company. But we thank you above all that we come, not with each other

in mind in particular, but with you in mind. We come thankful that you call us to yourself,

that you encourage us, that you are the one who strengthens us day by day. And we thank you that

you have promised to be with us as we do come together. And we pray your blessing on this day

and upon all that we do in our worship and in our times at home, in our times of fellowship and in

Sunday school and creche and tweenies and all that goes on today, Lord. We thank you for everyone who

is involved and who is here, but remembering those unable to be with us, even tuning in online as well,

and thankful that together we can come and praise your name. So may you be with us, Lord, and lead

us in all that we do. Bless your word to us. We thank you for it, that we can open up your word and

read of the wonders of who you are and all that you have done for us. And so teach us through your word,

Lord. May we learn from it and not just for today, but for every day of our lives, that we would live

by your word and by your truth. So bless us all together, we pray, and go before us,

pardoning us in all our sins as we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, before the young ones go out to the Sunday school, I just want to share a few words with you.

I'm sure you all have different interests, things that you enjoy doing day to day, and maybe you're

a big fan of people or teams or things like that. People like to follow football teams,

people like to follow bands or singers, people like to follow film stars and things like that,

people who are important and who we hear a lot about. And if I was to ask everyone to put up their

hands, who here supports the greatest Scottish football team, Aberdeen? I'm sure everyone would

be putting up their hands. Maybe not. Well, other teams will have lots of followers as well, but there's

a difference between being a follower and being a fan. So what's the difference? Well, if you think of

some football teams or you think of some pop stars or bands or film stars, they maybe have fans and

they'll have followers. So take, for example, a team, a football team like Manchester City.

A long time ago, many years ago, they maybe didn't have so many fans and followers because

they weren't successful. But in these last few years when they've been winning everything,

a lot of people have started to be fans of them and to follow them. So all around the world now,

they've got people who take an interest in how their results are going and how they're getting on.

But the difference between a fan and a follower is a fan may be only there while the things are going

well, while the team is winning. There'll be a lot of fans who will follow at that point. But when

things start getting hard, when the results don't go their way, these fans, they just go to another

team, another team who's maybe successful and winning. But those who are real followers of the team,

they'll stick with them through the ups and downs. And they are the people who are really committed.

And when we look at the Bible, it reminds us that when we look at the life of Jesus,

there was times in his life when a lot of people were interested in him. As he was going about

day-to-day life, people were hearing his teaching. They were seeing him do miracles,

things that were impossible. Jesus did like walking on water, feeding the 5,000. There was all kinds of

miracles that Jesus did. And people were really interested in this. There were many fans, if you

like, following him, thousands of people following him. But when things started getting more difficult,

when Jesus started to teach them about things being hard and life not always being easy and

trials will come, he found that many of these fans, as it were, turned away. They didn't want to know.

This sounded too difficult. And there was one point in Jesus's life when, as he was teaching and he was

seeing people turning away, he was saying to some of the disciples who were with him,

will you also go away? But their response was this, to whom else can we go? You alone have the words

of eternal life. They were followers of Jesus. Not just fans who were there for the good times when

everything was going well, but who stuck with him, who stayed with him, who followed him.

And that's a reminder to ourselves today as well. Ask yourself, are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?

Are you only here to hear about the good things and to enjoy the good times? Or will you truly follow

Jesus? Follow him, especially maybe when things get hard and difficult, because he promises to be

faithful to us, to be with us each and every day. So don't just be a fan who's there when things are good.

Be a follower and know that Jesus is with us through the ups and downs of all our lives.

So may God bless these thoughts to us. We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Amen.

Amen.

Our Father, we chart in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our

debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise this time in Psalm 70. Again, it's in the Scottish Psalter

version, and the first version of the Psalm on page 309 of the Psalm books. Psalm 70, the first version.

Lord, haste me to deliver with speed. Lord, succor me. Let them that for my soul do seek shame

unconfounded be. We'll sing the whole of this psalm to the tune dense, and we stand to sing.

Lord, haste me to deliver with speed. Lord, succor me. Let them that for my soul do seek,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

And we can read the whole of this chapter together.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So we see coming into chapter 4, we have the word, therefore, for, so Paul here is continuing,

the writer of the letter, Paul is continuing to explain what it is to know the glory of

God as he speaks about it there, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So we pick up our reading in chapter 4.

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have

renounced disgraceful underhanded ways.

We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the

truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.

In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from

seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

And for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your

servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of

the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God

and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus.

So the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake.

So the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written,

I believed and so I spoke.

We also believe and so we also speak.

Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

For it is all for your sake.

So that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We ask that God would bless that word to us.

Let us again just join together in a word of prayer.

Our Father in heaven, we give you thanks that we are able to call upon your name.

That in prayer we have that great assurance that we are not just speaking words to ourselves or to those who are gathered around us.

But that we offer up our prayers to you as the Lord and God who has made the heaven and the earth and all that we see around us.

As God who has made us for a purpose.

As the one who is God over all.

And the one who, as we have been reminded in our reading here, has given his son.

We thank you that you did indeed not spare your son, but that you sent him into this world and sent him with a real purpose.

Your love was shown to us in the very fact that Jesus was born in this world.

That he came and lived here among the people of this world.

And that he taught and showed himself not just as an ordinary man, but as the son of God.

And we thank you that the Bible reminds us of his power.

And his power not just in the miracles that he did around his people then.

Showing them things that were so impossible to do.

But above all, the power that he had to give life.

And not just life in a way in this world, but eternal life.

The greatest gift of all.

And so we thank you that we have your word.

And may it help us in every circumstance.

That whatever we are going through in life.

Whatever our past experience or present experience.

That we would realize that your word gives us such great hope.

A future to look forward to.

That as we put our trust in you.

That you are the one who is able to heal hurts.

And to help us in times of anxiety and fear.

The one who is able to guide us when we feel lost in this world.

The one who is able to give us strength when we feel weak.

We thank you for everything that you do for your people.

Everything that you do as we come calling upon you.

And so we pray, Lord, that you will bless your word to us today.

And bless all that we do in your name.

We thank you, Lord, that the gospel is full of good news.

In the midst of all the bad news that we see around us and hear around us.

And how we all need to hear your gospel.

How we need to hear this good news.

And to all the ends of the earth, Lord.

People need to hear about Jesus and the goodness and mercy that he is able to show.

And we pray, Lord, that around the world today.

In the midst of times of terror and war and conflicts near and far.

We thank you that you are a God of peace.

And we pray, Lord, to have mercy.

To have mercy in the midst of all that's happening in our world.

And to turn the angry hearts, the sinful hearts, the wicked hearts.

To turn them from their evil ways.

And to turn them to following the paths of goodness and righteousness.

As you teach us in your word.

So we pray, Lord, that you will look down upon us this day.

Look down upon our world and upon your people.

To all ends of the earth.

And hear the prayers of your people.

That you will transform our lives and our hearts.

And all our nations, O Lord.

To know your blessing and your peace.

We thank you for our people here as a congregation.

For our town.

For our islands around us, Lord.

And we pray for all our people, Lord, today.

That you will draw near to all who need you in different ways.

As we think of those who are mourning and grieving at this time.

Even in this past week.

As we think of the Mackenzie family following the passing of Alistair.

So suddenly this week, Lord.

We pray for your comfort to them.

Your help to them.

Especially as they prepare for the funeral tomorrow, Lord.

We pray that you will surround them and uphold them.

And be their refuge and their strength.

We pray for those who are in hospital.

For those who are in homes.

Those who are confined to their own homes as well, Lord.

Going through different experiences and times of ill health.

Or different needs, Lord.

We pray that you will bless them.

And surround them with your goodness and your mercy as well.

We ask, oh Lord, for our young people.

That you will watch over them.

Thankful for all who come so regularly, week by week.

Looking ahead to this week even.

And this evening we thank you for the youth fellowship.

At Jonathan and Allison's house this evening.

We pray for that time.

And for Hannah as she comes to speak.

May you bless that.

May you bless the Presbytery camp this coming weekend as well, Lord.

We thank you for all who have signed up for that.

And may it be a time of real encouragement and blessing.

As the children and the leaders gather together over this weekend, Lord.

We pray for protection and for your blessing on them.

We pray for the Christmas club coming up as well.

As invitations are sent out.

That we would see a good response to it.

And that you will help us to again remind ourselves and remind others of the gospel.

The good news of Jesus coming into this world.

And we pray that you will help in all of these things.

That your blessing will be upon it.

So Lord, may you continue with us throughout this day.

Bless us in homes and families.

Lord, look after us and all our loved ones as we commit ourselves into your hands.

Take care of us and pardon us in all our sins.

As we think of things that we say and do that we shouldn't.

And the things that we don't do that we should.

We pray, Lord, that you will help us.

To know that you are a God of forgiveness and help in our every need.

So hear our prayers as we ask them.

In the name of Jesus.

For his sake and glory.

Amen.

Let us again sing to God's praise.

Before we turn back to look at the passage that we read.

We're going to sing in Psalm 146.

Page 191.

Psalm 146.

We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 10.

The end of the psalm.

The tune is Sussex.

Blessed is the one who truly looks for help to Jacob's God.

Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.

We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 10.

To God's praise.

Amen.

Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.

Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.

He who made the earth and heaven and the seas with all their sword.

스� McMahon's prayer.

Blessed is the one who believes foe as if the fisherman will ever changeost Him in a traumatizing land.

Chapel is the one who пока about theundenys

and heavenly celestial prays.

He releases those in prison, to oblige the Lord his side.

For tomorrow, by God he races all delights in righteousness.

He protects and cares for strangers when it will stand the forest.

He trusts the wicked girls, so the Lord to endless days reigns to every generation.

Praise to God, O Zion, praise.

Well, let's turn back to our reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

And you notice at the beginning of the chapter, chapter 4, in verse 1, there it says,

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

And then if you go down to verse 16, that phrase is repeated.

We do not lose heart.

So there's this phrase that we have in this chapter.

And I want to focus on that phrase, we do not lose heart, but looking at it particularly from verse 7 down to the end of the chapter.

There's an American painter who was called John Sargent.

He lived in the late 1800s and died in the early 1900s.

He was a famous painter in his day.

And he once painted a picture, a painting of roses.

It was just a small painting, but it became very precious to him, became very important to him.

It was a painting that was praised by art critics as something that was so beautiful and so delicate in so many ways.

And he had offers, large offers from people to buy the painting, but he never sold it.

He considered it his best work.

And he was proud of it.

But the reason that he kept it was this, that whenever he felt discouraged as an artist,

whenever he felt that he was losing his focus or felt that he was a failure as an artist and just couldn't paint anything,

he said he would look at that painting and remind himself that I painted that.

And very often that would take him back to his focus on the gifts that he had,

the gift that he had as an artist, and he would continue to paint very beautiful paintings.

In a sense, maybe that's how we are with God's Word.

There's a temptation for us at times when, as I was saying with the young ones,

when we're fans or followers, when the going gets hard,

when things are difficult, that we can look at God's Word and think,

there's nothing there for me.

That doesn't make any sense to me.

And the temptation is to turn away from it.

When the reality is that by having God's Word, it should be the opposite.

So that when there are times when we are feeling discouraged,

when we are feeling downcast or disheartened and things that are going on,

that we recognize that God has given us this Word.

That we recognize what he has done for us, what he tells us in this Word,

that he gave his Son.

And we recognize, God did that for me.

So we are to come back to God's Word again and again,

and here to find encouragement in our lives, strength in our lives.

This passage, chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians, as we look at this chapter,

it reminds us not to lose heart, not to turn away from God's Word,

but indeed to come closer to him day by day, even in the most difficult circumstances.

And we all know the kind of days that we live, that we live in.

And it's so easy to lose heart, so easy to be dismayed in all that we see going on around us,

or even in our own lives and experiences too.

And above all, we see people and nations all over the world turning away from God,

saying there is no God, we don't need God, God isn't real.

People are not interested in the things of God,

and so we can lose heart and think what we are doing,

whether it's preaching or evangelism or just living our lives in our communities among people,

we can lose heart as if nothing is happening, nothing is changing.

But this passage reminds us what we have,

that we have a treasure.

We have something that is priceless,

something that is precious,

something that we need to hold on to firmly for ourselves,

but also to show to others as well.

And that's exactly what Paul was doing in this city of Corinth.

You're going back 2,000 years here to the city of Corinth,

a place that was in many ways a new city,

a city that had been built only about eight years before this.

It was a Roman city occupied by Romans,

soldiers and authorities,

and to be a Christian in this city was a challenge

because the Romans hated the Christians.

And if they tried to do anything that was putting the Lord up before people,

they were very often persecuted or worse,

they were put to death.

So it wasn't an easy place to live in,

and so people could have easily lost heart.

But Paul comes to them,

the apostle sent by God to come to this city,

he comes saying to them,

do not lose heart.

And he goes on to tell them why.

We see Paul reminding them here as to reasons

for them not to lose heart

and for ourselves not to lose heart today.

That we have this ministry,

this gospel,

this treasure in jars of clay,

as he says in verse 7.

So that verse itself reminds us

we have a great treasure,

the good news of Jesus,

but he says in jars of clay.

So there's something fragile there as well,

and we are indeed a fragile people.

This chapter is kind of marked in three stages.

We do not lose heart,

he says in verse 1,

because of this powerful word of God that we have.

Then in verse 7,

we don't lose heart,

even though that we are weak.

And then in verse 16,

we don't lose heart,

because we have something precious

to look forward to as well.

So we're going to focus just for a time

on verse 7,

down to the end of the chapter.

And there's three things that we've given here

to remind us why we shouldn't lose heart.

And the first is,

in our weakness,

we can know strength.

Secondly, we see in our pains,

we can know his protection.

And then thirdly,

we'll see that though,

as it describes here,

we are wasting away,

we too are watching for something better.

So the first thing we want to see here is,

though we feel weak,

there is still a strength for us.

We're reminded here of our own weaknesses,

first and foremost.

How do we go on in hard times?

How do we go on when the going is tough?

And especially as Paul is here speaking about

showing forth the glory of God,

telling others of the good news of the gospel.

That was what the church in Corinth was there for,

to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

And yet there was times when they found it difficult.

There was times in their own experience

when they felt weak,

just as we all do at times.

We are just jars of clay.

So we have a treasure in jars of clay.

So we think of ourselves as those jars of clay.

What kind of image does that bring to mind?

Jars of clay in these days in Corinth were important.

Jars of clay were used for carrying all kinds of things,

water, wine, important things for their lives from day to day.

But it wasn't like they were just mass produced.

If you broke one, you just got another one.

It wasn't quite that easy.

So very often you would see jars that were chipped and fragile and cracked and very easily broken.

So these jars, it's not an image of strength but of weakness.

And every day that goes by for ourselves,

we are reminded that that is what we are like too.

We are a fragile people.

We have our own chips and cracks.

We're very fragile in so many ways.

We sort of go on in life in that way.

So we feel our own sense of weakness.

But yet what Paul says to them here is,

but we have this treasure in jars of clay

to show the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

So Paul and those who are with them,

they've known their own fragility.

They've known their own weaknesses.

They've known their own challenges.

They too are jars of clay.

But he says we have this surpassing power that belongs to God.

So he's reminding the people in his day and himself too

and ourselves today as well

that we can have courage and perseverance

in the midst of everything that comes our way.

That is how we should feel ourselves.

Even when we are discouraged, we don't lose heart.

Even when we're disappointed, we don't lose heart.

Even when we're wanting to quit, we don't lose heart.

There are so many challenges for you.

And for me.

And Paul was coming to them with this message.

This message of hope.

Do not lose heart.

Has anyone come here today saying,

you know what?

I really hope today that the minister preaches a word

that will leave me feeling downcast.

That will help me to lose heart.

I really want to be discouraged this morning.

I'm sure no one has come feeling like that.

You come here to see that no matter what is going on,

that there is good news.

To come here feeling that you want to be discouraged

or leave feeling downhearted.

It would be like going out to eat in a restaurant

and going with the approach,

I want to go to this restaurant so I get food poisoning.

Or I want to go to this restaurant

because I've heard the food they serve is rubbish.

You don't go with that in mind.

You go to eat and be satisfied and be filled.

And that's why we should come here today as well.

That's why we come to God's word,

to recognize that we don't lose heart in his word.

We don't turn away from it

because here we have something that fills us up

and leaves us feeling a sense of hope and encouragement.

that we have a treasure for ourselves,

this hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the one who gives life to us,

even as jars of clay,

fragile, cracked, chipped as we are.

Despite all that is wrong and weak about us,

we have one who is powerful and able to help.

And he reminds us of that later on

in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 12.

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

That great verse that says,

but he said to me, this was to Paul himself,

in his own weakness, he said,

God said to him,

my grace is sufficient for you

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Paul, we often think of as the great apostle,

such a strong faith,

yet he too was just a jar of clay,

fragile, weak at times,

and needed the grace of God.

So do we.

But we have that promise,

my grace is sufficient for you

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

So we do not lose heart because we are weak,

because we have the power of God.

The second thing we see here is

we have pains, but we're protected.

Paul describes here the reality

of the Christian life in verse 8 down to verse 12.

He speaks there of different things,

and it's quite a vivid picture, isn't it?

He says, we are afflicted in every way,

but not crushed.

Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

There is pain even in following Jesus.

When you think everything is going to be

well and good for us,

there is still times of pain

and many different kinds.

And imagine you were to take these words

as a job description

and to think this is what your job

is going to entail.

And you look at the kind of words

that Paul is using here.

He describes being afflicted,

squeezed, and under pressure all the time.

He describes this as coming from every side,

so from every way, direction, and place, and occasion.

This is ongoing.

He then says perplexed.

It's almost to be lost.

You don't know which way to turn.

You don't know which way to go.

Persecuted.

The idea behind persecuted

is almost being hunted like an animal

where people are out to get you.

You're struck down.

It's almost like you're just feeling

as if everyone is on top of you,

beating you down.

So there's a very vivid picture for us here.

And it's apparent to us

that this is what Paul himself

had suffered on many occasions

and why he's writing to the church at Corinth

as the people there

are suffering these things as well.

But perhaps today,

these words describe you

and your own situation.

All of these things,

afflicted, perplexed,

persecuted,

struck down.

You feel at a loss at times.

Don't know where to turn.

Don't know where to go

as everything is on top of you.

Well, we have these words here

to remind us today,

you're not alone

and you're not the first

and you won't be the last.

This is the experience

of many people down

through every generation.

And perhaps you're saying to yourself now,

well, maybe the minister is here

to leave me feeling hopeless

and to lose heart

and to feel discouraged.

But as we come to the Word,

we see that

although there are all these difficulties,

although there are all these challenges,

many of them,

we see too that there is hope in them.

We are pained in many ways,

but what he reminds us of here

is we are protected.

That the Lord is with us.

Because you notice

as Paul goes through this list,

afflicted,

crushed,

perplexed,

persecuted.

You see all of these things,

but there's another word with them.

He says,

we are afflicted in every way,

but not crushed.

We are perplexed,

but not driven to despair.

We are persecuted,

but not forsaken.

Struck down,

but not destroyed.

And so what's the answer

in all of these situations?

It's to remember God with us.

Yes, there are times

when we feel afflicted in every way,

but we're not crushed

because the Lord gives us strength.

There are times

when we are perplexed,

we don't know which way to go,

but we don't despair

because God can guide us.

We can feel persecuted.

That's people against us

in so many ways,

but not forsaken.

That's God is with us.

Struck down,

but not destroyed.

And never will be

because God is for us.

So what Paul is saying

to us here is that

throughout all our different trials,

throughout all of these

different experiences,

we may have pains,

but we are protected.

He is with us.

There's a story of a young missionary.

His name was William Borden.

He grew up in America

and he was an heir

to a great fortune.

A millionaire.

His family was rich.

He graduated in college

and could have done

pretty much anything in his life.

But he was converted

at a young age.

And from a very early age

in his life,

what he wanted to do

was serve the Lord.

And he got a particular interest

in foreign mission.

And so,

he turned his back

on his wealth.

He left that life behind.

And he went to Egypt,

to Cairo initially,

in the hope of going on then

to China as a missionary.

But he hadn't been in Egypt long,

where he was sharing the gospel

with the Muslims

in that city.

And after about four months there,

he became ill.

And he had developed

a spinal form of meningitis.

And after only four months,

he passed away

at the age of 25.

Many people would say,

hey,

what was the point

in that?

Such a waste

in so many ways.

And yet,

if you go

to Egypt,

to Cairo,

there's a graveyard,

a cemetery there

for our missionaries

who had passed away.

There's a gravestone

for William Borden.

And on it

are the words,

apart from faith

in Christ,

there is no explanation

for a life

as this.

Apart from

faith in Christ,

there is no explanation

for such

a life

as this.

What does that say?

Well,

it says to us

that he lived

for Christ.

His faith

was so strong,

he was called

by the Lord

to do that,

even though

it was for a short time.

The Lord

used him.

We do not

lose heart.

Though there are

times of pain,

the Lord

always has a purpose

and is always

there

for his people.

And we conclude

by seeing that

as you come

to the end

of this chapter,

we see that

there is the great

hope

for all

of God's people.

In verse 16

down to the end

it says,

so we do not

lose heart.

In the midst

of everything

that's going on

around us

and as he says here,

all that's going

on within us,

though we,

our outer nature

is wasting away,

our inner nature

is being renewed

day by day.

So Paul

is saying

these great words

for us,

do not

lose heart.

If these

were the only words

you take today,

rejoice

in them

and the one

who is behind

them,

our Lord

Jesus Christ,

do not lose

heart

because he is

there

for us.

And he

wants us

or his people

here on ourselves

today

to go on

with this sense

of a vision

of God

to remind

us

that yes,

we will have

pains in this

world,

but that there

is greater

to come.

Now he

says it in a

way that we

could think,

what does he

know of

suffering?

When he

describes it

there in

verse 17

as this

slight

momentary

affliction

is preparing

us for an

eternal weight

of glory

beyond all

comparison.

So we look

not to the

things that are

seen,

but to the

things that

are unseen.

For the

things that

are seen

are transient,

that's temporary,

but the

things that

are unseen

are eternal.

It's hard

for us to

understand

all the

different things

that go on

in this

world and

Paul isn't

just putting

down on it

here by

describing them

as momentary

afflictions.

He says

that so we

will see the

greater purpose

of God in

our lives

as we put

our trust

in him.

It's a

great example

for us

from the

Old Testament.

In the

book of

Genesis,

it's the

life of

Joseph.

Joseph,

who had

many brothers

who were

jealous of

him.

He was

his father's

favorite.

And his

brothers didn't

like this,

so they

sold him,

and he

became a

slave in

Egypt.

In Egypt,

he was falsely

accused of

things and

cast into

prison.

And so here

he was,

going through

all these

times of

hardship and

challenges.

His own

family had

turned against

him, and

yet many

years later,

that whole

experience was

used for

good.

His own

brothers had

to come to

Egypt for

help, and

he had been

restored in a

prominent position

in Egypt,

almost like

prime minister,

as we would

call it today.

And he was

able to show

mercy to his

brothers and

to his family

and to help

them in a

time of

famine.

And as

Joseph looked

back on

his life,

as he saw

all that had

happened in

his life,

his brothers

turning against

him, being

put in prison

in Egypt,

all these

hardships,

he was able

to look back

and say to

his own

brothers,

you meant

it for

evil, but

God meant

it for

good.

So he could

see that in

the midst of

everything that

happened,

God still

had good

in the midst

of it.

And that is

hard for us

to understand

at times.

But it's by

seeing the

eternal weight

of glory,

as he

describes it

here, to

see that

everything in

this world,

it's temporary.

And that's

not what we

are to chase

after, the

things of

this world

that will

satisfy us,

but only for

a short

time.

but we

are to

look to

the things

that are

unseen in

many ways

for us.

But by

faith we

look to

Jesus, and

there find

the things

that are

eternal, the

things that

are permanent,

the things

that God

has prepared

for all

his people.

And that

is the

hope that

the Lord

Jesus gives

to us.

the things

in this

world will

pass away.

But the

things of

God are

permanent and

eternal.

And that

should give

us hope.

That's what

helps us to

not lose

heart in

the midst

of all that

goes on in

this life.

People in

this world,

they seek

after their

treasure.

You've seen

it over

generations.

You think

of the

race and

space for

people to

find their

way to

the roots

of creation

and all

that's behind

it.

People are

looking for

answers in

so many

places that

are just

temporary,

that are

passing

away.

You think

of people

in the

gold rush

or the

oil rush

where people

are looking

to make

their fortune

in these

things.

Again,

things that

will pass

away.

You think

of people

on a

smaller scale

today who

pin their

hopes on

winning the

lottery or

something like

that.

It'll be

life-changing,

yes, in

many ways,

but is it

for the

better?

It's only

temporary.

We're looking

for treasure

in the wrong

place.

But here

Paul reminds

us that we

have a

great treasure,

the glory

of God in

the face

of Jesus

Christ,

something so

precious,

so powerful

that makes

us rich

beyond everything

else that this

world can

offer us.

We are in

jars of

clay ourselves,

we're brittle

and fragile

in so many

ways.

But to

know this

treasure,

to love

this treasure,

to love

the Lord

with all

our hearts

is to

know

something

that's

not

temporary

or just

for a

moment,

but something

eternal

and forever.

Yes,

we'll have

our pains,

yes,

we are

wasting

away,

but we

have a

hope in

Jesus

Christ

that's

secure

for all

eternity.

Do you

know it?

Are you

a fan

or a

follower?

Are you

only there

when the

going's

good,

when things

are going

well,

but when

the rubber

hits the

road,

I don't

need God.

He's not

there for

me,

I'll just

turn away

and find

my treasure

in something

else.

It won't

help.

It may

help for a

time,

but it's

ever only

temporary.

It's to

be a

follower,

to know

that the

Lord will

hold you

and support

you and

give you

that sufficient

grace day

by day

as you

put your

trust in

him.

We are

weak,

but he

gives

strength.

We are

pained,

but he

gives

protection.

We are

wasting

away,

but may

the Lord

help us

to watch

and look

to him

for the

things that

are eternal.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

we praise

you for

your goodness

to us,

that you

are the

God who

has promised

always to

be with

us,

never to

leave us.

And may

all your

people,

Lord,

even today

who are

feeling

crushed

and

perplexed,

persecuted

and afflicted

in so

many

different

ways.

May your

people know

your great

presence and

power with

them,

that they

would know,

Lord,

that things

in this

world,

no matter

how hard

they are,

are passing

by,

but that we

have something

precious to

look forward

to.

The treasure

we have

now is

what we

look to

for eternity

and that

hope of

life with

our Lord

Jesus.

So may

you bless

your word

and bless

us and

continue

with us

now in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We'll

conclude by

singing to

God's

praise in

Psalm 134.

This is

in the

Sing

Psalms

version,

page 175,

Psalm 134,

the first

version,

Psalm 134a.

And we'll

sing the

whole of

this psalm.

Praise the

Lord,

all you

as servants

as you

serve with

one accord.

Praise the

Lord,

and your

night watches

in the

temple of

the Lord.

The tune

of Stuttgart

and we'll

sing the

whole of

this psalm.

Amen.

Praise the

Lord,

all you

are

as

you

serve

with

one

praise the

Now or

Lord.

The temple of the Lord.

Raise your hands with endless temple.

To the Lord your broken ways.

He who made the earth and heavens

bless you from this holy grace.

After the benediction I'll go to the main door.

Now may grace, mercy and peace from God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

rest upon and abide with you all

now and forevermore. Amen.

Amen.