Sunday, September 6, 2020
2 Corinthians 4:1;6-9 ESV
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart … 6 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.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”
Paul and the other apostles suffered greatly in their ministry. He tells us they were beaten, imprisoned, cursed, persecuted, abused, slandered, ostracized, and treated like dirt—“the scum of the earth” (1 Cor 4:13 NIV).
2 Cor 1:8 NLT
“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.”
Notes
I. Pressure will not defeat us.
2 Cor 4:8a ESV
“We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; …”
The word pressed is from a word meaning “to constrict or compress, to be confined, hemmed in, restricted to a narrow place.
Genesis 42:36 NLT
‘“Everything is going against me!’”
Now, Paul says that when this happened to him and his fellow companions, the Lord did not allow the multiple trials to crush them. In other words, God had his hand on the dial of their trials and when they reached a certain point the Lord said, “Far enough!” “No further!” “Stop here!”
The God of the Bible is a God of boundaries; He sets boundaries on all of His creation!
Psalm 74:17
“You have established all the boundaries of the earth;”
Notes
II. Confusion will not discourage us.
2 Cor 4:8b ESV
“We are … perplexed, but not driven to despair; …”
Perplexed is from a Greek word meaning “at a loss, to be without resources, to be in straits, to not know which way to turn.”
Illustration
One day life threw King Jehoshaphat a major curve ball.
He was informed that a vast army of Moabites and Ammonites were coming to destroy him and Judah.
He was perplexed, at a loss, and didn’t know what to do.
But he prayed the right kind of prayer: “Our God … we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV).
Notes
III. Opposition will not deter us.
2 Cor 4:9a ESV
“We are … persecuted, but not forsaken; …”
Persecution is opposition. The word means “to hunt down, like a hunter pursuing a catch.”
Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NIV).
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).
Notes
IV. Hard hits will not destroy us.
2 Cor 4:9b ESV
“We are … struck down but not destroyed.”
Struck down is a wrestling term meaning “to be cast or thrown to the ground.”
Mike Tyson put it this way, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Notes
Have you been sucker punched today?
Do you feel perplexed, harshly criticized for your faith, are you hard pressed from every side?