Jars of Clay

Good morning again. It has been said that we live in a disposable society. Anybody ever heard that? We live in a disposable society. And I think it's true. From the textiles that we wear, right,

to the plastic products in our homes. How many of you have a lot of plastic in your home? You do. You just don't know it. Ours is a society that makes things very cheaply and frankly, things, we don't expect them to last very long. I was thinking about this the other day. Take

something very common, very cheap, like not the official Tupperware, but the knockoff, right? Tupperware. Can anybody out there relate? The knockoff Tupperware. Maybe stuff you've had for a long time. Something gets lost like a lid. That never happens in our house. Or something cracks.

And do you send out the Tupperware for repair? You know, do you? Do you go to the Tupperware dealer like you would a craftsman tool and say, like a new one, it's a lifetime guarantee, right?

No. You don't call a Tupperware repairman to come to your home. What you do is you throw it away. It breaks. You dispose of it. It is virtually disposable. Well, the reason I bring that up is

if you and I lived in the first century with the Apostle Paul, a lot of the items in your house, in your kitchen, for instance, would have been made out of not Tupperware, not plastic. They didn't have

that yet, but clay. Clay was quite comparable to the cheaper plastics of our day. Only clay was far less durable. Clay jars, especially, were very common items in the ancient world. Every home had

them. But because clay jars could be so easily damaged, often showing their cracks and weaknesses, they were treated as essentially disposable products. Because if something's made out of, say, metal or glass and that breaks, well, you can repair that. You could melt that down and

refashion something new. But if a clay pot gets too many chips or cracks and starts to break, it's time for the dust heap. And that's literally what you did. You took it outside, you smashed it into pieces,

and you left it in the earth from whence it came. Well, it may be strange to hear that this is how the apostle Paul describes himself, as a clay pot. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, if you'd like to turn

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

there. And we're going to begin reading today in verse 7, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, and I'm going to read through the end of the chapter in verse 18. This is what Paul writes.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

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 that 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 that the life of Jesus may also 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 we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us into his presence

with you. 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 self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light 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. Would you pray with me once again? Let's look to the Lord for his help. Father,

we ask your help, your guidance. We ask that your spirit, whom you've given to us as a guarantee in our hearts, that he would illuminate his word, your word, that you would do work in our own hearts.

Father, whatever we bring with us here today, whatever distractions or afflictions or persecutions, whatever we're facing in this world, help us, Father, to submit ourselves before your word and to learn.

We pray this in the name of our Savior, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Paul starts out talking about treasure. Who doesn't like treasure, right? He says, this treasure, what's he talking about? And I think you know, but let's be clear. If we were to just back up a couple of verses into chapter 3, Paul is talking about the light in his heart.

What did he call it? The light of the glory of Jesus, the knowledge of God personally, his relationship with God made possible by the gospel. That's the treasure that he keeps in his heart.

But notice that he doesn't describe himself as like this strong lockbox, this impenetrable safe, or even like this mini ark of the covenant now in which God's spirit dwells. No, Paul says that we

as believers keep this treasure in our own mortal jars of clay, in that cheap, cracked Tupperware. Again, Paul is thinking of these earthenware lamps that were everywhere in the first century.

Pots that you would find in every home. Fragile vessels baked out of clay. A more brittle pottery than we know today because it was baked out of dirt, right? You wet a little bit of dirt and you make

some mud and you form something and there you go. You fire it in the sun or in an oven and you have a clay pot. It makes us wonder where Paul might have got an image like this. And I wonder if he had his

eye on the creation account. Does Paul mean to draw us back to say Genesis chapter 3? What did God say in those words of the curse? Genesis 3.19, he said, for you are dust, because we are, because he did form

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

us from the dirt of the ground and to dust you shall return. We are fragile in our flesh. We are prone to breakage and we will wear out these clay jar bodies that we inhabit right now. But there's purpose in this.

Paul goes on. He says it's to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. In other words, what Paul is saying is that this is not an accident. It's not like God messed up and couldn't do any

better. It's not an accident that God allows us, even as Christians, as regenerate people, to carry the light of his gospel in our fragile human form, the fragile containers that our bodies are.

A little thought experiment for you. I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but what if when a person came to faith, right? What if when someone believed the gospel, what if we immediately received our glorified body? Wouldn't that be a great witness? Look at this. I'm impenetrable.

Look at this. No more frailties. No more weakness. I don't get tired. No more dying. I have entered my glorified immortal body right away. I mean, you know, Jesus got that after he resurrected. He came back with

a glorified body. We received Jesus. We received the light of the gospel, and we still stay in these clay pots. God didn't do it that way, did he? And what Paul is telling you and I is that that is no

accident. He allows you and I to receive the light of his gospel and yet still carry it in these fragile clay containers. And what he does is he transforms us on the inside, in our inner being, even while we

still have jars of clay on the outside that are very delicate, very fragile, and very prone to breakage. And for someone like Paul personally, listen, his clay jar was a little worse for the wear. Not a little, a lot worse for the wear. And that's what he goes on in the next couple of verses to talk about

in verses 8, 9, 10, and 11. He says, verse 8, we, and he's talking about himself and maybe a couple of his companions. We are afflicted in every way, Paul says. That means literally under pressure,

under pressure, constricted, like being cramped in a narrow space with forces pushing down on you. Some translations say we are hard-pressed, but we're not crushed. We've always managed to see

a divinely enabled escape. We've been perplexed, he goes on. Baffled, at a loss to explain what's going on, what's happening to us. At our wit's end, but not driven to despair. We got close. There was that

one time, almost got there, but we didn't. We did not despair. We did not give up. Verse 9, persecuted. It's been said that's a bit of an understatement for Paul. I think it's the understatement of the decade for Paul. Paul had been hounded literally and pursued and abused by

all kinds of people from his many beatings to being whipped how many times to being stoned on one occasion. All the imprisonments he suffered in, Paul's going to catalog some of this later in the letter. He'll review some of the things he's experienced. He says, I've been through all that,

but not forsaken. Literally, never abandoned. Struck down. That's the last metaphor he uses. Another way to put it, you could say knocked down. It's a metaphor that actually works in both a sports

context, like a boxing match, and also in a military context. Knocked down. It's like I hit the ground a number of times with blows from Satan and his forces, but I've never been knocked out.

And what better example of this than that incredible ordeal that Paul experienced over in the town of Lystra. It's recorded over in Acts chapter 14. I think this is one of the most remarkable moments of Paul's whole ministry. There he is in Lystra. He's been dragged outside the city and stoned and left for

Acts 14 · chapter mention

dead. And they presumed that he was dead. And then this happens in chapter 14, verse 20, Acts 14, 20. But when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city. And on the next day,

he and Barnabas went to Derby. And Derby's not like a mile or two. Derby's 60 mile, 60 mile journey. Unpaved roads. Paul is doing this after literally getting stoned and left for dead. I mean, who does

this? But as far as Paul is concerned, all of these afflictions that he's experienced, all of these ways in which he has literally carried in his body the death of Jesus, that's what he says in verse 10,

experiencing punishment that would have pummeled his frail body, scarred his back and face, mangled his bones. For Paul, all of these afflictions that he's endured are just like stress fractures. That's how

one scholar puts it. I like that. Stress fractures in Paul's earthen vessel. So he's fractured. Yeah, he's quite chipped and cracked. But somehow the divine glue keeps holding him together.

You realize that Paul would not have been a very attractive endorsement for the gospel if they had NIL deals in the first century. Paul would not have received one.

They would have gone for a super apostle. Isn't that how advertising works? That when you want people to represent something, like endorse a product or endorse something, you go get somebody attractive, somebody beautiful, somebody who looks their best, dressed to the hilt, best makeup.

You want your product endorser to look fit and beautiful and happy and successful. You know, kind of an uber mensch, a superhuman looking person to represent what's being sold.

I'm guessing Paul was missing a few teeth, maybe more than a few. They didn't exactly have dental reconstruction back then. He's getting beaten every time he turns around. Back then,

we wonder, did he have a crooked nose from having it repeatedly broken? Did Paul have deep facial scars? Yeah, probably from lacerations. How did his hands look? I'm sure pretty mangled and arthritic.

Oh yeah, here's where that viper hung off my hand in Malta. I wonder what Paul looked like shirtless. I'm not being silly. I'm being serious. Not good. Paul was not going to do any shirtless ads for the gospel, right? Not with that deep layered scarring all over his body. Not with that mangled, battered look. Paul was not, I repeat, not a physically attractive endorsement for the gospel.

But he had treasure on the inside. That's what he says. I have light inside my inner being. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. It radiates out of me, physically scarred and broken as I am.

And that's why Paul says that he always, and notice that word, always. Not here and there, not once in a while. He always, constantly carries around in his body the death of Jesus.

And why? For what purpose does he endure all this? So that, he says, the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Verse 11, for we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh.

And the net result? He gets to that in verse 12. Take a look. He says, it's for you guys, Corinthians. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Imagine what this Corinthian congregation would have thought as they heard this read to them. Paul's telling us that he's experienced all these terrible things for our benefit.

To bring people like us life. Imagine what even those super apostles sitting around in Corinth, imagine what they were thinking. So attractive and untested and unscarred and unweathered.

Paul goes on in verse 13. And what he does here, it's interesting. Now he quotes, he quotes from the Old Testament. He says this in verse 13.

Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke, we also believe. And we also speak. This is actually a small quotation from the Old Testament book of Psalms.

It's actually from Psalm 116. The psalmist there in that chapter was talking about the great distress he himself had been in. How he'd been brought low in this great test of his own affliction.

And yet he says, I never lost faith. I believed. This is what he writes. Psalm 116 verse 10. I believed even when I spoke I am greatly afflicted.

Psalms 116:10

So what's Paul doing with this? Well, he's obviously been reflecting on this psalm. Maybe Psalm 116 was part of his personal devotions that morning.

I don't know. But as he reflects on this statement he's read in the Old Testament, Paul says that he too will operate in that same spirit of faith.

The same faith in a God who can deliver him. And so yes, he says, we too, like the old psalmist, we believe and trust in the Lord like him. And we will continue to speak faithfully in our ministry.

And what we'll speak about is the gospel. The good news that God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Verse 14. And we know that God is also going to raise us with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence, he says.

Paul's talking about the resurrection. The resurrection of every believer. And he's eagerly looking forward to that moment when, as he says in the first letter to the Corinthians, the perishable will become imperishable.

When the first fruits that Jesus' resurrection was will finally translate into the full harvest of all Christians. And when Paul says here, bring us with you, probably a better translation would be present us with you.

Yes, there's a sense in which Paul anticipates being able to present his churches before the Lord in heaven. He talks about this over in Colossians chapter 1 verse 28.

Colossians 1:28

He says this, him we proclaim Christ, warning everyone, teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

You know, we wonder, and I don't know what to think of this, do we have the opportunity when we get to heaven someday to present the people to the Lord?

To present ourselves with them, the people that we have maybe led to the Lord? People we've discipled, people that we've taught? Maybe. In verse 15, he again reminds the Corinthians that it's all for your sake that I do this, that I endure this.

Paul wants more and more people to find the Lord's grace because he says that multiplies, that increases thanksgiving. And God gets more and more glory.

And that's worth stopping there and just reflecting on for a minute too, that the Apostle Paul, what are his motivations for ministry? What keeps him going?

And I would say it's really two things that he shows us. First, it's for their benefit. It's for the benefit of other people. And secondly, it's for God's glory.

Listen, Paul is not motivated to do what he does for his own success. Paul is not driven by a desire for self-aggrandizement. He did not sign up to be an Apostle to self-actualize.

I think this fits me. I do really well. I would be satisfied personally to do this. No. Everything that he does, everything that he suffers and endures is for the sake of other people.

For your sake. It's a servant-hearted ministry. A service-focused ministry. And it's ultimately for God's glory, not his own.

And knowing this, he goes on, being committed to this, we, verse 16, do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away. Wasting away.

You know, I'm not too old to remember being a young person. Isn't that funny? Some of you are like, you are a young person. But honestly, as we age, there comes a point, and I think maybe like those early middle-age years, I don't know when they are.

Late 30s, maybe. Early 40s. There comes a point where you begin to realize what, you know, like maybe Aaron Rodgers realizes right now. Or who's the other guy?

Joe Flacco, if you follow the NFL. These guys are like 40, 41 years old. Their bodies cannot do what they once did. They're pretty remarkable.

And they are the exceptions. But there comes a point in every person's life where you realize, I'm not getting any younger. Things are kind of wearing a bit.

And then you realize that actually that's what the scientists tell us, that our bodies are wearing out. Cells are literally breaking down. You cannot do the things that you did in your teenage years, your 20s.

You move slower. Sometimes you think slower. A recent study conducted by Stanford School of Medicine, get this, offers new insights into our biological aging process.

Get this, the study found that 81% of our molecules, I don't know what those are, I think they're in the body, 81% follow a predictable chronological pattern as we grow older.

Our bodies experience, they say, two periods of rapid change as we age. It revealed sharp, molecular, and microbial, I don't know what that is either, shifts that occur at precisely these two ages.

44 and 60. So if you're 43 or 59, enjoy it.

I'm right in the middle of those ages. But here's the thing. We don't need a Stanford study to tell us this. We know that as the birthdays mount up, and God willing you see 44 and 60, one way or another, your body will begin to wear out if it's not already.

Wasting away is how Paul puts it. And of course, in his case, we don't know exactly how old Paul is, maybe in his 50s, but things were being done to his body.

Through his quality of life, or lack thereof, through the intense physical and emotional stress that he carried, and we know stress can affect us physiologically.

Through all the physical abuse, frequent beatings, mistreatment, malnutrition for Paul, poor sleep. That we're accelerating his wasting away process.

But look what he says about it. Verse 16. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. Like being born again every day on the inside.

His inner self, the inner spiritual reality, as a new creation, as a new believer, renewed day by day. Verse 17.

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

In other words, what Paul says is that when you compare all the junk, all the adversity that we go through now to the glory that's up ahead, there is no comparison.

Can you imagine hearing this from a guy who you know has experienced afflictions that are anything but light? Anything but momentary. For him, they were constant.

Paul was constantly under the crushing weight of hostility. Unrelenting spiritual attack. This isn't even to mention the sheer physical danger of traversing all those very dangerous seas and highways in the Roman Empire.

Very dangerous to travel back then. There's nothing light about his trials. What's he talking about? And you know, history tells us that he'll go to the very end of his days, which are not long from now, and he'll die a martyr's death in Roman hands.

But what he's telling us is that in comparison with the eternal glory that he knows is waiting for him, that eternal weight, literally tonnage, tonnage of glory after this short momentary life, he says no comparison.

He says this over in Romans, Romans chapter 8, verse 18. He says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:18

And naturally, this affects Paul's vision. Even as his physical vision literally had problems. This affects his vision in a much broader sense.

It shapes how he views things. It shapes how he sees the world. This is what he goes on to tell us in the last verse, verse 18. 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. What a great memory verse. If you want to memorize a verse this week, make it that one.

To know that all the setbacks we endure, all the suffering and affliction we face in this life, all the effects of the curse upon our world, all of the ways that the enemy adds to that and attacks us, all these things in the realm of the seen,

they're transient, just passing through. But what's in the realm of the unseen? That's eternal. The unseen realm is forever. And ever.

Think about the highest, longest number of days you can think about. You know, some number of infinity or something. And eternity has just started.

Forever. Forever. Remember, Paul is writing here to a church that's been compromised. Compromised. A very troubled church that's been seduced by a worldly value system.

A worldly value system led by some pseudo-would-be leaders who try to say, they try to say that Paul's suffering discredits him. That's not what the faith is about.

The faith is about success in life now. It's about winning here and now. Minimize suffering. Go and get yours and enjoy yourself. And if you suffer, you're probably doing something wrong.

You're kind of a loser.

But the eyes of faith, Paul says, when we've got the same spirit of faith that that psalmist had, we are able to truly see that our sufferings and afflictions in this life, while maybe very visible to us, while maybe literally right in front of our faces right now,

they are in fact transient. Only temporary. Just passing through. And meanwhile, the spiritual transformation happening within us, the glory that we are being prepared for, that goes on forever.

That's eternal. In the short time we have left, I want to offer you some practical takeaways. Because in the midst of this wonderful reflection from Paul, I think there are some practical ways to respond.

I think we see from Paul's own life, some practical ways that he responds. And I would like to extend those to our lives as Christians today.

So if you're feeling rather clay-like this morning, if the jar of clay that you are, that I am, that fragile vessel in which you hold Christ, is maybe feeling a little bit chipped, maybe cracking, maybe you're feeling the fragility of your mortal life

as things press in on you, let me offer you Paul. Let me offer you Paul's example. Because I think he shows us five things here that will help us not lose heart.

Here's the first one. Number one. Number one. We persist. We persist in all our trials. Remember what Paul said in verses 8, 9, 10, 11, 12? About all the crushing afflictions, about his perplexity,

all his persecutions. He said, not crushed. Not driven to despair. Not forsaken. And not destroyed. Knocked down, maybe, yeah, but not destroyed.

That sounds like a man persisting to me.

Yes, it's true. If you're a believer, you will share, as Paul says, you will share in some of those sufferings our Savior endured. That's what Romans 8 says.

But we persist for the glory that's coming. Do you need to be told to keep going? Even when it feels like the world is kind of closing in? Do you need to feel that when events happen, developments come into our lives that maybe surprise us?

That press in on us? That maybe shake up our world a little bit? A trial in terms of a career? A trial in terms of a child? Or with a sibling?

Or with a parent? An affliction in your body? A diagnosis you didn't expect? These are not times for despair. For doubting God's love. For giving up and quitting.

These are times to follow the apostles' lead. And persist. Persist. Not crushed by what's happening. Not driven to despair. Not forsaken. Because we remember, God promises He will never leave us or forsake us.

And not destroy. That's what the enemy wants. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. God comes to give life. And to renew us on the inside. That's the first way to not lose heart.

We persist. Here's the second way. Number two, we speak. We speak the truth of the gospel. Verse 13. Again, here's Paul. Recognizing that he's got the same spirit of faith that the psalmist had.

And boy, did he. I mean, he's writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as was the psalmist. Same Holy Spirit. He's agreeing with the psalmist.

He's echoing his heart when he says, I believed, and so I spoke. Paul's like, yeah, yeah. We also believe, and so we also speak. When you believe, when you have a faith like Paul's, you speak.

And what you speak is the truth of the gospel. Sometimes only to yourself. Sometimes to someone close to you who's around you. Listen, we speak.

We are a proclaiming people. Proclaiming people. We are a people called out of darkness into his marvelous light. A people who did not have mercy, but have now received mercy.

And we talk about it. We speak of it. So let me challenge us here. Have you been speaking? Or have you gotten a little quiet lately? Has no one heard from you in a while?

Has it been too long since you've taken advantage of an opportunity to speak? It's a silly story. I was at Costco the other night. And we were there, you know, going through the door to go out.

And they check your receipt. And the worker said to me, he said, be blessed. What a great opportunity. He told me to be blessed. And what did I say?

Thanks. And just walked into the parking lot. I mean, that was a missed opportunity. I don't know if he's a believer. I could have said, I am.

Thank you. I am because of Jesus. I mean, he started it. I could at least contribute.

It means speaking. Speaking to our friends. Speaking to the people who work around us as we have opportunity. Speaking to maybe our classmates.

Our neighbors. Or if you're a parent, it definitely means speaking to your kids. Speaking, teaching, articulating all the truths of the gospel.

To our kids. At whatever age they're able to understand. Speaking to your, maybe your grown kids. Your adult kids. Truths of the gospel. We speak.

We should be a speaking people. I'm reminded of a couple of apostles. Who, although they were in the midst of getting into a lot of trouble.

Still made speaking a priority. And they did it. And they said this. Made this powerful statement. In front of a group of some very threatening, powerful people.

Acts chapter 4 verse 20. This is what Peter and John say. We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. We cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard.

Acts 4:20

We're going to obey the God who told us to speak. And not men. Second way we don't lose heart in these clay vessels is we speak. Here's a third way.

Number three. We hope. We hope in the resurrection. We ask ourselves. Is it because Paul somehow likes pain? That he can stand up underneath the weight and pressure of all his afflictions?

Is it because Paul is some kind of masochist that likes pain? That he carries around in his body the death of Jesus? Faithfully. Constantly.

Always he says. No. It's not because he liked pain. It's because he had hope. And that hope was nothing less than the life of Jesus. He says I carry the death of Jesus around because I have the life of Jesus.

Verse 14. He kept on believing. Kept on speaking. Because of his unshakable hope that quote. He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus.

Resurrection was the ground of Paul's hope. He had an eternal weight of glory. A glory now that he couldn't see. It was unseen. But that he would very much see after his natural death.

After he put aside his earthly tent. Which is what he's going to call it in chapter 5. We're going to read about that soon. Where God promises a resurrection.

And even now gives us a deposit. A guarantee that that's going to happen. His Holy Spirit. How do we not lose hope? We hope like Paul hopes.

We anchor our hope in the resurrection. Sometimes cancer takes us. Sometimes accidents happen suddenly. Sometimes we get diagnosed with something very debilitating.

We don't anchor our hope in the flesh. Or in the seen world. We anchor our hope in our resurrection. Next point. Fourth way not to lose heart.

Number four. We serve. We serve the body of Christ. Sacrificially. Sacrificially. You could say that this was the whole point. The whole reason for being.

For Paul's relationship with this church here at Corinth. Was to serve them. Didn't he a few verses ago. We looked at it last week. Refer to himself as a slave for them.

For the sake of Jesus. Serve them. To serve the body of Christ. Sacrificially. This is why he says things like he does in verse 10. We carry the death of Jesus in our mortal bodies.

So that we may also manifest his life for you. Death isn't working us. Verse 12. But it's life in you. Sacrificial service. Was the defining mark of Paul's ministry.

Sacrifice. It's all for your sake. He says in verse 15. That this extending of grace goes to more and more people. Through our ministry. So I would ask you.

If you're. If you're feeling discouraged. In your walk with Christ. If you're feeling burdened. And weighed down. I would simply ask you. What are you doing to serve the body of Christ?

You see the natural tendency. When we go through things. Is to shut down and say. I can't now. Because I'm going through things. Paul didn't do that.

Are you serving. Your fellow believers. Now. If you're suffering a debilitating sickness. We're not asking you to come and. Shovel dirt on a work day.

Or. Whatever it might be. But. You can serve. There are ways. You can serve others. Sometimes serving is simply an orientation. Of availability.

For somebody else. Most serving. Requires. Sacrifice. A sacrifice of time. A sacrifice of energy. A sacrifice of resources. But I'm telling you.

It's worth it. Because as a greatly afflicted apostle. Like Paul sees it. This is part of what enables him. Not to lose heart. And it will help you not lose heart.

To sacrificially serve. Finally. Number five. What's the fifth way we don't lose heart? Number five. We focus. We focus. On the unseen. Look at Paul's vision.

Look at this man's focus. What is he looking at? What does. What does Paul. The apostle of suffering. We could call him. Have his eyes. And vision.

Fixed on. Is it. The mangled bones. The scars. Is it. The rib cage. He can see. Because he doesn't eat well. No. That's the scene. He's not focused on that realm.

He's focused on the other realm. The realm of the unseen. That's how he can describe. All of his. Incredible afflictions. As. Light. Momentary.

Because he's thinking of it. In comparison. In comparison. To the weight of glory. That's coming up ahead. He's thinking of his afflictions.

In comparison. To the eternal. Reality. Of being with Christ. After this life. He says. Compared to eternity. A few years of suffering. Is pretty momentary.

Listen. Like you. I live in this world. I have responsibilities. I know you do too. We all have deadlines to keep. Bills to pay. We have places to be.

Commitments that we need to honor. I have appointments on my calendar. Like you do. I have concerns. Related to the seen. Visible world. But I remember that.

I'm a jar. A jar of clay. And I remember. That I cannot grow. Myopic. In my vision. And you should too. We cannot allow. The cares. And needs.

Of the seen realm. To cloud out. Our focus. On the unseen. Because the unseen. Includes that. Inner transformation. That's happening. Inside.

Inside every believer's heart. The unseen. Includes. Includes. The moves of God's spirit. As he answers our prayers. As he draws people to himself.

As he moves forward. The invisible kingdom. And it is moving forward. So I would say. Let's be sure. We have eyes. For that. Let's be sure. That that's.

Our focus. That. Verse 18. We look. Not to the things. That are seen. But to the things. That are unseen. For again. As Paul closes here today.

And we'll close with this too. The things. That are seen. Are transient. But the things. That are unseen. Are eternal. Let me ask you. If you would bow your heads.

As a team comes. Lord. Lord. It's not that you don't know. Our afflictions. And it's not that they're not real. Some of us here this morning.

Have very real pressures. On our life. And needs. Even for some of us. Some. There could be a sense of feeling. Pressed down. Hard pressed. Crushed.

By circumstances. By relational. Conflict. Lord. Remind us today. That we should not lose heart. Father. Will you help us to persist. Father.

Will you help us to. Hope in the ways that we should. Lord. Will you remind us. That there is an unseen realm. In which you are working. For good.

And so Lord. Help us as we order. Our lives. As we order. Our priorities. Lord. We are. Clay vessels. Clay pots. Help us. Father. Fragile as we are.

Cracked as we may be. Help us to radiate. Out that light. Of the glory. Of the gospel. Of Jesus Christ. Lord. Let us be a lamp. That burns brightly.

And we will give you. All the glory. And all the praise. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.