HELPS US PERSEVERE IN LIFES AFFLICTIONS 2 Corinthians 41618 INTRODUCTION How many of us are trying to cope up or endure the pains and the intense difficulties of life How many of us are at the point of losing hope ID: 203900
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Slide1
AN
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
HELPS US PERSEVERE IN
LIFE’S
AFFLICTIONS
2
Corinthians
4:16-18 Slide2
INTRODUCTION:
How many of us
are
trying to cope up or
endure
the pains and the intense difficulties of life
?
How many of us are at the point of losing hope
and
giving up in our Christian walk
?
Are we
seeing and assessing
our
present difficulties in the light of God’s whole plan and purposes?Slide3
We know as believers that the way to
victorious Christian living
is dependent on our
daily commitment to Christ, being obedient to His word and our submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(
Luke 9:23, 1 Cor. 15:31
)
Paul gave us a
WARNING
in 1
Cor.
15:19
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."Slide4
If
we see
our situations and the implications of sufferings and difficulties
ONLY FOR TODAY and THIS PRESENT LIFE and if
our hope in Christ is only for today's protection and blessings then
:
our daily commitment, denial, and "self-death" will become painful
burdens
Slide5
our walk will be characterized by self-pity and our trials viewed as heavy crosses
which we
must bear for
Jesus
we
have grossly underestimated the power of the
Gospel
This
limited view of a Christian life will always fall short of our expectations. We then can miss true joy and peace - that Jesus desires for our
lives.Slide6
If we view what is seen
without looking at God’s character and promises, His second coming, His justice and the glory that will be revealed
then
we will be easily overwhelmed or lose heart and not be different from unbelievers.Slide7
As believers, focusing in the
present weakness of our bodies, our sicknesses, our sins, the different degrees of trials, sufferings and difficulties
without looking at God’s Word concerning His promises of rest, resurrection,
our
new bodies,
the new
heaven and new
earth WILL BE DEVELOPING A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN US:
SPIRITUAL MYOPIA OR SPIRITUAL NEARSIGHTEDNESS. Slide8
Through faith in Jesus, we have been given eternal life.
This means that the life we now live must be viewed on an eternal time scale
.
“The
burdens
that were once so heavy
must now be weighed against the magnificent glory of Heaven
. And our
"never-ending" trials
must now
be timed on the clock of eternity.
”
(Thomas Adams, 1612-1653)Slide9
Why do we need to maintain an Eternal Perspective?
How can an eternal perspective deal with our spiritual nearsightedness
?
How can this eternal perspective be used by God to build and strengthen us individually and even as a Church?Slide10
All these can be answered as we will be seeing from our text
THREE BENEFITS OF HAVING AND MAINTAINING AN ETERNAL
PERSPECTIVE.
Having an eternal perspective will give us:
THE
RIGHT MOTIVATION THAT LEADS TO INWARD STRENGTH AND
RENEWAL(
V
. 16
)
Here Paul
acknowledged
that
not losing heart and being renewed day by day is possible in the midst of suffering
. Slide11
Like Paul, we have weaknesses, sicknesses, injuries, hardships, pressures frustrations and disappointments. Each of these cost us a piece of our life and this is the reality
.
What was the source of his daily inward renewal? What was his motivation that led to his inward renewal and strength? Slide12
The word "therefore" in verse 16 means that Paul has been saying some things that led him to this experience and supported it from verses
7-12 and verses 13-15; "therefore
we do not lose heart . .
Paul’s
First Motivation : DAILY DEMONSTRATION OF THE POWER
OF
GOD IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING AND DIFFICULTIES (PRESENT IMPACT) -Vv. 7-12 Slide13
THAT
IN HIS WEAKNESS AND HIS DAILY DYING FOR THE SAKE OF
OTHERS AND THE GOSPEL,
GOD'S POWER AND THE LIFE OF JESUS ARE BEING MANIFESTED AND GLORIFIED.
DAILY DEMONSTRATION
AND MANIFESTATION
OF THE POWER OF GOD. Slide14
Application:
Times of our weakness, sufferings, difficulties, sickness, loss, death of family members, persecution because of our faith
ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO
ALLOW
G
OD’S
POWER
TO BE DEMONSTRATED IN &
THROUGH
US.
OUR
RESPONSES
WILL ALLOW
PEOPLE AROUND US TO OBSERVE THE POWER OF GOD BEING MANIFESTED AND OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
GLORIFIED.Slide15
Paul’s
Second Motivation:- THE HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION
(FUTURE
IMPACT)- Vv
. 13-15
Paul did not only acknowledge the daily manifestation of the power of God in all his weaknesses
but he also connected it with a future impact that looked on the resurrection
and
beyond the resurrection
. Slide16
In v. 14, hope of the resurrection kept them from sinking. They knew that Christ was raised, and that His resurrection was an earnest and assurance of theirs.
Implications:
The hope of the resurrection
should
encourage us in a suffering day, and set us above the fear of
death. A Christian has no reason to
fear
death, for we are assured
in hope of a joyful
resurrection.Slide17
As if Paul is saying
“THEREFORE
we do not lose heart . . . because it's going to be all right. Not even death can make the story have a bad ending.
We are
going to live
again,
and
we are going
to live with
the
people
we love,
and
we are
going to live with Jesus
sharing in His
glory for ever and ever
.”
(
2 Cor. 4:14)Slide18
Having an Eternal Perspective will also give us a:
PROPER
UNDERSTANDING ON TRIALS AND DIFFICULTIES ( V. 17
)
OUR
AFFLICTIONS ARE MOMENTARY
Verse 17:
"For
momentary
light affliction . . ."
This
does not mean it lasts one minute only for it may
last a lifetime
. Slide19
When Paul said, “This present afflictions", he referred to the
afflictions that will not outlive this present life
.
Implications:
Our afflictions will end. They will not have the last say in our lives
.
Afflictions are transitory in nature
.Slide20
Even if our afflictions continue throughout a whole lifetime, yet
they are
momentary
compared to
the eternity
before
us. God will enable us to examine our trials in their true perspective
.
OUR
AFFLICTIONS ARE LIGHT
.
"
For momentary
light
affliction..” v17
The
Gr. word for “light” means “a weightless trifle” and “affliction” refers to intense pressure. Slide21
Afflictions in reality
are not light in themselves for oftentimes they are heavy and severe; but they are light compared to the glory we have in eternity
.
From a human perspective, Paul’s own testimony lists a seemingly unbearable litany of sufferings and
persecutions which
he endured throughout his life:
2
Corinthians 11:23-27
.Slide22
Yet he viewed them as weightless and lasting for only a brief
moment.
Romans 11:18
When
Paul said that his afflictions are light, he did not mean easy or painless. He meant that compared to what is coming, they are as nothing
.
Compared
to the weight of glory coming, they are like feathers in the scale. Slide23
"Afflictions are light
when compared with what we really deserve
.
They
are light when
compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus
.
But
perhaps their real lightness is best seen
by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us
."
(
Arthur Pink, "Affliction and Glory")Slide24
OUR
AFFLICTIONS ARE PRODUCING AN ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY(v. 17)
In
our text, the point is not that the afflictions merely precede the glory, they help produce the glory.
Paul is emphasizing here that
there is a real causal connection between how we endure hardship now and how much we will be able to enjoy the glory of God in the ages to come. Slide25
What is coming to Paul is not momentary, but eternal. It is not light, but weighty. It's not
affliction
but glory. This is beyond comparison and beyond all comprehension.
1
Corinthians
2:9
The effect of these afflictions is to produce eternal glory. This they do:
By their tendency
to wean us from the
world
By
purifying
our hearts enabling
us to break off from the sins
on account of which God afflicts usSlide26
By disposing us to look to God for comfort and support in our
trials.
By inducing us to contemplate (reflect) the glories of the heavenly
world
and thus winning us to seek heaven as our home.
God
has graciously
promised to reward His people in heaven as the result of their bearing trials in this life
.
Everything
we are
to do
in this
life for the sake of Christ,
whether personal or
our
service to God
will
have an eternal impact.Slide27
“The early Christians
were so much in that other world
that
nothing which happened to them in this one seemed very important
.
” (Hannah
Hurnard
1905-1990)
Having an Eternal Perspective will also give us the:
CONTINUOUS
ADMONITION NOT TO SET OUR MINDS ON THE TEMPORAL (Seen) BUT ON THE ETERNAL (Not Seen)- v.
18.Slide28
TEMPORAL THINGS [THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN] – things we should not set our minds and hearts on
.
The things here below; the things of this life-poverty, want, care,
trial, persecution
,
wealth, pleasures, etc
. What we can see now are all temporary.
This refers particularly to the things which Paul suffered in this context. Slide29
What satisfies and gratifies us now is not necessarily in our best interest in light of eternity
.
ETERNAL THINGS [THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN]- the things we should set our minds and hearts
on
God
is eternal;
the
Savior is eternal
The Word of God is
Eternal
Heaven
and all its joys
are eternal where
there shall be no interruption, no night, no cessation, no end. Slide30
But how can we see the things which are unseen?
It is looking on the unseen things through the eyes of faith
.
Heb.
11:1.
Implication:
We must be aware of how the world pulls us
to focus on the here and now
- on
immediate gratification from what we can see and
feel,
on sensual pleasures and tangible possessions
. Slide31
“I would not give one moment of heaven for all the joys and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years.” Martin
Luther
Applications
:
In Christ, we have been given
new eyes
! Let us then
view
our life in
the context
of
eternity gaining
the greater hope and power
which this
view can provide today. Slide32
We choose to
carry our cross with greater joy, live with peace and
contentment. We can
experience new victories in life's many
battles
as we begin to evaluate all areas of our
lives
from an eternal perspective
.
We
choose to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
We need to trust God even when we cannot see or understand what He is doing
.Slide33
“A continual looking forward to the eternal world
is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do
. It
does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is
. If you read history, you will find that
the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next
.”
(
C
. S. Lewis
, 1898-1963)Slide34
CONCLUSION
:
“All the world’s ends, arrangements, changes, disappointments, hopes and fears
are without meaning if not seen and estimated by eternity
.”
(Tryon Edwards)
Do
we have an eternal perspective? Slide35
Will our present walk and what we are doing with our lives now
amount to anything in the light of
God &
eternity
?
Are
we aligning our decisions, our use of time, our perspective on material possessions, our relationships, our service to God
in relation to eternity
?
What
areas of our lives
do we need to trust God to develop an eternal perspective?Slide36
Having an eternal perspective
enables us to live in light of God's truth rather than on what we perceive to be true through our limited knowledge
.
At
the same time, having an eternal perspective
enables us to discern and apply God’s eternal
truths
in life now while we anticipate the glory to come
.