Open with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4
The question I am grateful to God for his grace for the only reason I’m standing to this group and I’m hopeful I might be able to serve you well with his words. My text is in 2 Corinthians 4: 13 -18. Tonight in the world made up of approximately 16,000 different people groups, over 6,000 of whom who are still classified that are unreached with this gospel. We’ll read these words:
“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believe and so I spoke. We also believe and we also speak, knowing that who raised 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 it is grace extend to more and more people it will increase thanks giving 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 us eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. The things that are seen are transient, the things that are unseen are eternal.
Let’s Pray, Father, We open our minds and hearts to you in this moment. We pray that you would in this room, speak to us, by your word through your Spirit and we pray that through your word you might send us out into the world. Father we pray that your word at this conference might create a ripple effect in the hearts of pastors and church leaders and church members that will resound to your glory among the nations. God we pray that as a result of our encounter with you and your word at this conference even on this night. We pray that as a result, unreached peoples will one day soon be reached peoples. Oh God that all unreached peoples might one day soon be reached peoples. Our father in heaven hallowed be your name among all the peoples of the earth. Your kingdom come your will be done, in this room, in this moment, in our lives, and in our churches and across the earth as it is in heaven. We pray these things in Jesus name, AMEN
C.T. Studd was a wealthy English man who upon coming to Christ sold everything he had to take to gospel to the nation. Many sought to dissuade him but he went anyway, first to China, then to India. At the age of 50 he decided retirement, not an option for the Christians. He spent his remaining life proclaiming the gospel in Sudan. He died there and his grave became the stepping stone for what was known as the World-wide Evangelization Crusade WEC, spreading the gospel across Asia, Africa, and South America.
C.T. Studd ones wrote, “Believing that further delay would be sinful. Some of God’s insignificants and nobodys, in particular, but trusting in our omnipotent God have decided on certain simple lines according to the book of God, to make a definite attempt to render the evangelization of the world and accomplished the fact.” "Too long, he said, we have been waiting for others to begin. The time for waiting has passed. The hour of God has struck and God’s holy name. Let us arise and build. We will not build on the sand but on the bedrock sayings of Christ and the gates and of hell shall not prevail against us.
Should such man as we fear before the whole world, I before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world. We will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable, singing aloud in our hearts. We will thousand time sooner or die trusting only in our garden and live trusting in men. And when we come to disposition the battle is already won, and end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real holiness of God. Not the sickly stud of talks, and dainty words, and pretty thus we will have real holiness one of daring faith and work for Jesus Christ.”
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Those words summarized my prayer not just for this conference but for this movement TGC, that coming close to this conference. So many other things, brothers and sisters coming together from different churches and diverse streams and bearing denominations with a bedrock focus on the gospel in the glory of God in the gospel, in the doctrines of grace in the gospel. That such gospel celebration and gospel singing and gospel conferences and gospel books and gospel unity and gospel centrality might compel a gospel urgency in us. That together we might make a definite attempt under the sovereign grace of our God to render the evangelization of the world and accomplish the fact.
Now as soon as I’ve said that I want to clarify what I’m not trying to do. I’m not trying to utopian vision nor am I trying to facet a particular eschatological position. I’m not trying to say that small number of us in this room or in this church or even we in the western church alone can just pull up our bootstrap and accomplish the great commission nor am I all trying to say that we’re ultimately sovereign over when disciples are made in every nation. As we heard earlier God is sovereign over all our dept. But our sovereign God has given us a specific goal and it’s crystal clear. He commanded all his people to make disciples among all peoples all the ethnic of the world. And he’s given us a promise his very presence the power of his spirit to accomplish his purpose so we less around the gospel as we’re empowered by the spirit. I want to urge us not to be content with this conference, with this sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thought let's dare to trust our God. Let’s venture our all for him. Let’s live and die for him. Let’s go together with brothers and sisters around the world after the most difficult and dangerous to reach people groups in the world and let’s do it with his joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts every step of the way.
This I’m convinced is the heart of Apostle Paul, 2Cor.4 and 5 So based on these words specifically in chapter 4 verses 13-18 I want to exhort us in three ways. I want to exhort us of call around the gospel. I want to exhort us to lift our lives, and to leave our families and to preach our sermons and to conduct our conferences and to write our blogs and to publish our books and to shepherd our churches, His church and a definite attempt to render the evangelization of the world, the great commission disciples made and churches multiplied in every nation among every people group in the planet. Let’s live and die in a definite attempt under the sovereign grace of God to make that an accomplished fact. For that is what the gospel compels us to do.
3 exhortations from this text of gospel go or less people.
▣ First Exhortation: As we believe the gospel with deep seeded conviction in our lives, let’s proclaim the gospel with depth defying confidence in the world as we believe the gospel with deep seeded conviction in our lives let’s proclaim the gospel with death defying confidence in the world.
2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1- 12, it’s what I’m preaching earlier. We heard Paul explain the power of the gospel message while acknowledging the weakness of the gospel. Messenger Paul describe the affliction and the suffering which accompanying gospel, ministry, and then in verses 13 speak right where he left off Paul reaches back into the psalms to describe his motivation for persevering in gospel missions. Psalm116 song of deliverance written by a palmist who has been saved from what looked like certain death. The psalmist wrote, I believed even when I spoke, I’m greatly afflicted. So the psalmist in psalm 116:10 draws a clear correlation between believing and speaking. He believes and so he speaks and suffering affliction cannot stop him from speaking what he believes. According to the psalmist, suffering cannot silence the spirit of faith. Suffering cannot stop, cannot silence the spirit of faith and so Paul says this is the same spirit of faith in me, in us. Even in affliction and the midst of suffering we also believe and so we also speak. According to Paul, believing automatically leads to speaking. Possession of faith automatically leads to proclamation of faith. We can’t disconnect the two, particularly when you consider the content of that faith. Knowing that He raises Jesus and will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
According to Paul when you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, you proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. According to Paul there’s no such thing as a privatized faith and a resurrected Christ. Those who believe the gospel of Jesus proclaim the gospel of Jesus no matter what it causes them. I believe there is a needed word here for us today. Privatized Christianity is profound curse across our culture and our churches. Multitudes of professing Christians say believe or maybe just live like they believe. Jesus has saved me, Jesus’ teaching work for me and my family but who am I to tell my neighbor my co-worker what he or she should believe. Even more who am I to go and tell other people and other nations that their belief is wrong and my belief is right. Even more who am I to tell anyone that if they won’t believe what I believe they will spend eternity down in hell. It’s how our church member from college to senior adult s and everywhere, has a struggle with this. Tell them I can’t identify of that train of thought. I think about standing one day in a sea of people in northern India. For all of you who haven’t been to India just think people, lots and lots and lots of people. Approximately 1.2 million of them to be precise, over 600 million of whom who live in northern India, crowded streets urban slum surrounded by seemingly endless villages that’s been in the country side economic disparity running rampant with more people living below the poverty line and Indean the entire population in the united states all together. Then I told them, to our church members with all church partners whom we work with in India, estimate that approximately 1. 5 percent of the people of northern India are Christians in another word 99.5 percent of the people in northern India have not believed in Christ for salvation.
Obviously no one knows that kind of statistic for certain. I’ll be cautious in putting it out there but just assume this static with me for a moment. Assuming this, I look around me one day that crowded sea of people in northern India. I think to myself, I thought to myself, who am I to travel all the way over there to tell these people what they need to believe. Who am I to tell them that all of their gods are false, whether Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist Sikhs or any other gods because Jesus is the only true God. And who am I to tell these 597 million non-Christian 99.5 percent of all India, who might have all 597 million people who surround me at that moment that if they do not turn away from their sins and trust in Jesus every single one of them will spend eternity in hell.
Folks that feels extremely arrogant and entirely unloving and uncontrollably brushed. To claim that 597 million people Hindus, Muslims, Buddhist, Sikhs around me at that moment, will go to hell if they do not confess with their mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. And then I’ll tell our people absolutely such a claim would be arrogant, unloving and brushed unless the claim is true. Isn’t this what Paul said in his prior letter for the church of Corinth, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then Christians would be pitied among men and worst thing they could do is to call other people to base their lives on a lie. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then it makes no sense its outright nonsense to go around the world telling people to they either need to follow Jesus or face hell. But if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead if Jesus alone has paid the price for man’s sin. If Jesus alone has conquered sin and death and the grave then going around the world and telling people about Jesus is the only thing that makes sense. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then this is the height of arrogance to sit quietly by while 597 million Hindus, Muslims, Buddhist and Sikhs in northern India go to hell. And it’s stupid to me if hate not sacrifice our lives to spread this good news among every person we know and every people group on the planet.
When you believe this gospel, you speak this gospel, when you believe the resurrection of Christ. You proclaim the resurrection of Christ. Privatize your faith and the resurrected king is practically inconceivable. We believe and so we speak and so as you tonight church members, church leaders, pastors, brothers and sisters, do we in this room really believe this gospel? Do we really believe this good news of the sovereign, holy, just and gracious creator? All things has looked upon hopelessly sinful men and women in our rebellion he has sent His son, God in the flesh to bare his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin and resurrection from the death.
We are not talking resuscitation, we’re not talking reincarnation, we’re not talking when an unconscious God has vision of heaven and came into back to write bestselling book about. We’re talking killed by crucifixion wrap in grave clothes put in a tomb and three days later stone from in front of the tomb is gone, and the tomb is empty. He is walking alive, his risen from the grave, so that anyone everyone who puts their faith in him turns from their sin, trust in him, repents and believes will be reconciled to God forever. Do we believe that? Because if we do then we can’t sit quietly by in our churches while 6,000 groups of people in the world comprising two billion people have never even heard it.
We cannot be content to spend our time and our money in our resources in our lives and our families and our churches uncomfortable plans and small pursuits and traditional programs and temporal possessions when hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people have never even heard the news of resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe and so we’re compelled to proclaim. We’re compelled to proclaim the resurrected Christ to unreached peoples knowing that as we speak this gospel to them we will face suffering and affliction, right? We’re not fools, these 6,000 people groups are unreached people for they are hard to reach, and all the easy ones are gone. If these groups are difficult to reach if they are dangerous to reach these people groups don’t want to be reached. Anyone who will try to reach them with the gospel will most certainly be mad with suffering and affliction.
Here is the key in 2 Corinthians 4 the more I studied this text the more commence I become that this text cannot be rightly understood apart from the context of gospel proclamation in difficult even dangerous places.
I want to be careful here there’s no question; there are truths in 2 Corinthians 4. There’s passage, principles here, glorious realities that echoes to our scripture to form of general theology of suffering to Christian. Without question there are truths here they bring deep comfort to Christians. Some of them are in this room tonight who is suffering in cancer or other physical maladies. Christians would grieve over lost love ones, or Christians who are walking through all sorts of suffering in this sinful world. But in this letter Paul is specifically describing in a sense defending the suffering he has experienced as he has proclaimed the gospel in dangerous places among difficult peoples. Well Paul is experiencing, it’s not happening then because his sitting in back in his coach all day, or because he’s just carrying business in life in ministry. No, his going to dangerous places among difficult people and his speaking the gospel to them and much if not most of his suffering is the direct result of that. It is in his letter in chapter 11 which I have done mentioning earlier all that Paul endured imprisoned, beaten near death, five times of 40 lashes, minus one, three times beaten with rod, stoned ones, in danger in the Jews, in danger Gentiles, in danger in city, in danger in wilderness, often without food, and cold exposure. All of these is a direct result of proclaiming the gospel through our Asia. So much that in chapter one of this book of Paul begin the whole book talking about the affliction he experienced in Asia for he says we’re so utterly burned beyond our strength that we despair life itself. We don’t know whether that’s a reference to precisely whether this is the demiters riot, literary or figuratively, whether fighting with beasts as he described in chapter 15:32 and the emphasis are the severe illness but whatever it was, it is tied to Pau’s proclamation of the gospel in Asia and it threatens to thwart his proclamation of the gospel in Asia. In that context, the context of mission to dangerous places among difficult people that Paul says “I believe and so I speak knowing that suffering and persecution will come yet knowing that he raised Jesus so he can raise us also with him. So see the principle here it’s by no means isolated to this portion of scripture, the principle is clear persecution follows proclamations. Persecution follows proclamations, suffering for the gospel accompanies the spreading of the gospel.
You think about our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia, or North Korea or Samaria right now if they believe and stay silent, if they do not say anything about the gospel they can stay below the radar. But if they believe and they speak, well I put it in a word of one Somalian woman who I spoke in with in just few months ago; she said to me, “If I speak the gospel to the wrong person they will slit my throat immediately”. Persecution follows proclamations as long as Christians stays silent about the bible there is no problem. As soon as Christians speaks about the bible there’s a problem. Persecution follows proclamation now I’m not saying that every circumstance in the world is extreme as Samaria, or Saudi Arabia, or North Korea, but I’m saying this, pastors, church member, if you and I are going to be serious about making disciples among these all 6000 of these unreached people groups, we need to realize it’s not going without cause to us, to our families, to our churches, to the lives of people that we love and we need.
I think about three couples that we sent out this year to lead church planting team among some of the most difficult, dangerous to reach peoples in the planet. Two of these couples with young children, as we gathered around them and we prayed for each of them on different Sundays. It’s was like Acts 20, Paul and the elders of Ephesus. Weeping over friends and families that we love knowing that we’re sending them into difficult parts of the Middle East and North Africa, and Central Asia. I tell this people that we’re not doing these because we have some sick desire to be dangerous this is simple the reality of engaging unreached peoples. Not only hard to reach for many of them are resistant to being reached and they will oppose who try to reach them and people ask for a pastor why we go to them and there to resists us. And the answer is simple, its gospel, we go because God came to us when we were resistant to being reached by him. He sent his son to sacrifice his life for our salvation so it just make sense for people who possess this gospel to have a death defying commitment to proclaim this gospel. We believe and so we speak knowing that even death itself cannot stop us for He who raise the Lord Jesus will raises us also with Jesus and bring us with them into His presence.
Brothers and sisters, as we believe this gospel with deep seeded conviction in our lives lets proclaim this gospel with death defying confidence in the word.
▣ Second exhortation, which flows directly in these leaves of the page, particularly in in this verse 15.
As we live to extend God’s grace among more people, lets long to exult God’s glory among all people. As we live to extend God’s grace among more people, let’s long to exult God’s glory among all peoples. Don’t you love the two fold goal, the dual aim that Paul has in the ministry. Verse 15 single handily sums up to purpose of Christian missions. He starts and he says, for it is all for sake, all of it a preaching Paul says by suffering, affliction, proclamation, it’s all for your sake so that more and more and more of you might experience the grace of God. Isn’t this what we want for our life to be about, isn’t these what we want our ministry, our partnership together, our churches to be about extending the grace of God to more and more and more people for their sake so that more and more, and more, for women and man and boys and girls might know the resurrected Christ. They might be saved from their sins. They might be brought from darkness to light. They might be delivered from everlasting condemnation away with God to experience everlasting communion in the presence of God. We want these stories, these testimonies. We are in here in this comforts to be multiplied to the entire world, among the nation for it is what we live for.
I’ll mention about India. I don’t want to leave a dark picture of India with you, I want to come back around and share how the grace of God is extended to more and more and more people. So travel to Bihar India with me. On the north Bihar is one of the most spiritually and physically in poverty places in the planet. Bihar is the state in India that’s about the size of Tennessee the difference is Tennessee has 6 million people and Bihar has a 100 million people in it. See a 100 million people in Tennessee, spread across 45 thousand different villages, majority of these people extremely poor millions living in poverty, not just specifically Bihar is lower than average in northern India its 0.1% Christians. Most India in Bihar are Hindu, have been for generations. And the predicted region we were in, the death rate was about 5,000 people per day which means that every day in this region there are in you, put that together with numbers of Christians there, do you realize in this region per day we’ve got approximately 4,995 people who are plunging in to eternal hell. Most of them have never even heard the gospel. So we a have work in partnership with brothers and sisters there, we provide training and disciple making and church multiplication to Christians and pastors who live there.
Few months ago I have the privilege to be in Bihar seeing what is happening there and a humbling glorious way, my mentor and ministry was with me and his comment was, “It was just the about the closest that he has ever seen to what we are reading about in the New Testament when it comes to the grace of God multiplied to more and more and more people.”
So here in Bihar meet two brothers Aneil and Harley. The one is a school superintended and the other is a chicken farmer. And both followers of Christ and have been engaged in ministry. But a few years ago these two brothers are in the ends of their rope. Not seeing any fruit in the gospel in their ministry. They want to go to one of some of the training and we taught leading out when it comes to disciple making. And after this training they were encouraged to go into totally unreached village. No church of Christians goes in to the village and the first person that comes up to you, say to them we are here in the name of Jesus and we would like to pray for your village. And Aneil and Harley look to each other would say "this would never work". Then they looked to each other and said "nothing we’ve ever do works". So I might as well try. They go out into that village and somebody comes up to them and till their almost at the end of the village and a man comes up to them, what are you guys doing here, and Aneil and Harley started it with a scripture line, "we are here in the name of Jesus Christ". They didn’t even finish their line and the guy stopped and said, "Jesus? I’ve never heard about Him, can you tell me more?" They look at each other and said "Yes, I can tell you more". And he said "Wait, I don’t want you just to tell me I want you to tell it to my friends and family too". They say “Yes, that’s Ok.”
They followed this guy to his home, this guy says wait there. Aneil and Harley just stand in the sun, saying “What is going on?” The guy gets his family and friends, group of people come back to the house and say "Will you please tell us about Jesus that you mention?" and so Aneil and Haley shared the gospel. To make the story short, on the next few weeks about 20 people in that village repent and believe in Christ. This village for generations has never ever heard the gospel and Holy Spirit have all prepared the heart of people, 'harvest plentiful, workers few'. So they go and speak the gospel and the power of gospel reigns down and the whole village comes to Christ, Well, the story didn’t stop there because Aneil and Harley says "you guys now need to go and do the same thing to another villages". And so they begin to equip these guys to share the gospels into other villages, and so they do.
That was 3 years ago before they went to that village, since that time people come to Christ. Churches have started and began to assemble and 350 different villages as a result to what happen in that one village. Now we worship with this church. I get somewhat cynical when I get numbers like this particularly; I’m not going to go on that one, why, but for variety of reasons. But these brothers, the ministry partner we work with, can point to each one of these. We’re not talking to when one or three are gathered.. Ok there you got! No, we’re talking about churches, and they are measuring the help of these churches.
I got a grid identifying characteristic of a New Testament churches. The evaluable church is through that grid. We visited them they help them think through. How does that continue to grow and God pouring out his spirit Bihar India, raise this region in Bihar India, it not just easy and Aneil and Harley has faced all kinds of challenges from outside of church and inside the church. They’ve experienced various and affliction but in the middle of that the gospel is spreading to more and more people for the sake of the more and more and more village. My favorite quote, the words of one of these villages, they’ll took some time where will just said, well this are people who are gathered together in the four for years before where there is nothing there no Christians, now they are gathered together worshiping Christ in church and they went around sharing testimony about how they trust in Christ. And one guy says, he looked to us and said, “Our village was like hell until we heard the gospel.” This is what we live for, Aweful! They are sick. We want more and more and more people to know the grace of God but that’s not all. Remember this is a twofold goal, a duel aim of gospel ministry and the purpose of Christian missions is far greater than even the salvation of souls for eternity as if that is not enough.
Listen to Paul; he says, “It’s all for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.
Second Exhortation: The second goal, the higher aim the ultimate purpose of mission, see it, the proper end of missions is not the salvation of souls. The proper end of missions is the glory of God. More specifically thanks giving gratitude to the glory of God. Then the nations will see it, more and more people who are happy in God. It’s the cry of the psalmist let the nations be glad and sing for joy that all people praise you, oh God. let all the people praise you, this is the cry of angles from heaven. Bring you good news of great joy for all the people. It the cry of Apostle Paul himself when he said in Romans 15, my vision is to preach the gospel where Christ name so that those who have never named so that those who have never been told of him will see, those who have never heard will understand, they’ll see, they’ll understand and know God, the savor God, they’ll worship God and then give thanks to God. Which is the problem in the first place right?
Part of the gospel they are not giving thanks to God. We heard earlier in Romans 1 the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth of God by there’re wickedness. Since what they know about God is plain to them because God made a plan in them since the creation of the world. God’s invisible qualities, internal power divine nature are clearly seen being understood for it is made so there will be no excuse. Although they know God they neither glorify this God nor did they give thanks to him. That’s the problem, they didn’t give thanks to him instead they became fuller there’re they foolish hearts darken, they claim be wise but they became fool they exchange the glory of the immortal God for images made by mortal man, birds, animals, and reptiles. Therefore God gives them over to sinful sexual impurity that greater their bodies whether they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised.
This is the problem Paul says there are people Gentiles posted in Romans 1 scores of people who aren’t giving thanks to God. They are not glorifying God as God and this is why my ambition is to get the gospel to them, to take the gospel to them, Paul says in Romans 15. That is why I got to Spain and I need you to help me get there because it’s not been heard there. There are people there who are not giving thanks to God and Got giving god the glory that he is due. This is the key this is what drives missions this is why we want to render the evangelization of the world and accomplish fact. Not so we can say we did that and not because even we feel guilty and don’t. we get guilty because we got this resources and they don’t. People I ask are just guiltying people and they go on oversees, guiltying people because they are guilty they go on unreached people. No what drives passion permissions among unreached people is not guilt, feel bad so we go. What drives passion for missions among unreached people is not guilt, it is glory, glory for our God. Brothers and sisters, we must sacrifice our lives to penetrate unreached people with the gospel because we are convinced down in the core of our being that our God deserves the praise of all 16,000 people groups on this planet. Every new member works after.
We have this in our church this is where we start, this is opening. Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth which means two things, one He is worthy of our worship, he is the Lord. As followers of Christ we have sacrificed our right to determine the direction of our lives. The language we use, all the time is black check on a table, no strings attached, our plans our possessions our bank accounts, where we live, our life style, our future, our dreams, our ambitions are all in the table. Whatever you want me to do, to give, to let go, wherever you want me to go no strings attached. This is not for super Christians, this is for every followers of Christ know what it means to follow Christ.
He is worthy of our worship, our life is His, for his name's sake. He is not just worthy of our worship. If He has all authority in heaven and earth that means He’s not just worthy of our worship, he is worthy of their worship too. And this is why we do what we do, that’s why I want you to leave soon after you become a member because there is thousands and thousands of people around us and this city Birmingham who are not giving Jesus the worship what His due. And if we want His worship more than we want comfortable life in this particular church. We want His glory so we’ll going to go in these cities, cities in North America. We’ll going to send you out to cities in North America.
There’s couple of hundreds of people who are not giving Jesus glory He is due, and Jesus is worthy of their glory and we will not stop their plain checks in the table because He may send some of you in Africa because there are 3000 animistic tribes in Africa they are falling to kinds of animalistic religions that denies the truth of who Christ is and who God is and Jesus is worthy of every single one of those tribe’s worship.
And that’s why we’re going to go to Japan, Laos, Vietnam because there are 50 million Buddhist who are following Buddhist rules and Buddhist regulation and Buddha is not worthy of their worship Jesus alone is worthy of their worship. That is why we’re going to India, Pakistan Bangladesh, SriLanka because there 900 million Hindus in this countries they are following more gods that I can even fathom because there is only one God who is worthy of their worship, and his name is Jesus. That is why we’re going to communist places whether its China, Cuba, or north Korea we want to go to communist place because there’s over billion people who grown up in atheistic philosophies who completely deny the existence of God and there is a God his name is Jesus who is worthy of their glory. And we’re going to the topest places in this world were going to go to Central Asia and the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia because there one 1.5 billion most of them serves, fasting and giving alms and making holy pilgrimages and praying five times a day to a false god and Jesus has died in the cross. He has risen from the grave. He descended on high and He alone is worthy of their worship. And the people who believe this, people who believe that Jesus is worthy of that kind of glory will lay down their lives to go wherever He leads.
This is what drives us, His worthy of worship, this is our ultimate aim and this is what we mean. Put it together, two fold aim for their sake, for God’s sake. This is we’ve already quoted in Revelation 7:9~10. We’re looking forward for the day that a great multitude, that no one can count, from every nation tribe, tongue, and language gathers before the thrown, before the Lamb and cries out, “Salvation belongs to our God who seats on the thrown and to the Land.” There is twofold goal, dual aim, and supreme purpose of mission. This is what makes the great commission great, salvation for others' sake among more and more and more people. All living glory for God’s sake among more and more and more people.
As we live to extend God’s grace among more people, lets long to exult God’s glory among all people. All of that leaving to third exhortation based on Paul’s last three verses in this text.
▣ Third exhortation: As we continually envision eternal glory with God, as we continually envision eternal glory with God, let’s joyfully embrace earthly suffering from God. As we continually envision eternal glory with God, let’s joyfully embrace earthly suffering from God so that all makes sense. As long as we believe this gospel in our lives, as long as we proclaim this gospel in this world, our outer self will be wasting away. We will experience affliction and we must not be surprised by that.
Who among us really thinks that making disciples of all nations is an easy task? Think about that. In 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 which we heard preached earlier, what a picture, verse 4 there is a god, literary god in this world that is blinding the mind of unbelievers. There is a big G capital God who is shining the light in our hearts. See this cosmic battle ranging in the heaven's realm between the letter g in the world blinding minds of big G God shining light in our heart to move right in the middle, verse 5 with preaching of Christ. Do we really think that in the front lines of that cosmic battle things are ever going to be easy for us? The aim for us in this battle is our comfort, others suffering.
I just talk with this dear pastor friend of my, whom I respect deeply, who’s pastored the same church for 30+ years is the passion for the nations long that I’ve been alive. And recently he told me that this last year is his toughest year in the ministry. People in his church are resisting the call of God to the nations. When I heard him says that I was so discouraged. I thought really? After 30 years of pastoring a church on mission, things are just kind of get harder. Is that really the case and I realized the foully of my own thoughts.
Don’t really think that will ever be a point in this world when pushing back darkness among the nations will be easy. Ministry, missions will never be easy as long as I we are on the front lines pushing back darkness among the nations and these should not be a surprise to me and to us Jesus promised to us this. We follow a savior who sends out his disciples like sheep among wolves. Not a good place for sheep to be, I mean wolves. He said the disciples are not above his teacher, nor serving above his master it’s enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, the servants like his master. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me they will also persecute you. The only possible conclusion from those words is that we are in danger in this world, increases in proportion to the depth of our relationship to Christ and our commitment to this mission. The only possible exhortation from those words that is clear to everybody. Wanting us to be safe, comfortable cozy life, free danger in this world? Stay away from Jesus.
Paul similarly exhorted the earliest Christians that through many tribulations they must enter the kingdom of God. For everyone who wants lives a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. This is expected, Peter said don’t be surprised that the fiery trawler will come upon you to text you as if something strange things happening to you.(1Pt.4:12) Jesus told his church in Revelation 2, “Don’t fear what the body is suffer, though the devil will put some of you in the prison. "You will have tribulation, be faithful all the way to death.” (2:10) And then Revelation 6 says, “That there are more martyred to come before the tribulation of Christ will be complete.”
So this is taken away from the New Testament, “The more a passionate we are about spreading the bible to every people group and people then the more we will suffer,” not because we’re seeking suffering but because we are speaking Christ. And suffering for the gospel accompanies the spread of the gospel and all of this is from God. It’s not about by accident it’s according to his design.
Think about one of those couples that I mentioned to you earlier that we recently send out from our church. I think about two of the most pointed moment from my brief time pastoring this church over the last seven years and both of them happen in this couple. I remember one day they met our elders to about the possibility of becoming a part of our international church planning internship in specific leading a church planning team among a particularly dangerous people group and one of our elders solemnly looked at these young couple, his older brother. And especially his young wife and he said, “Do you realize the risk involved in where you want to go, and what that risk means for you and for your family with kids.” I can’t forget how his wife’s respond and she looked back with humility and compassion and confidence, and she said the sweetest and yet most solemn southern voice you can imagine, “I believe God for this true, and his words said that this gospel will spread to persecution hardship and suffering and I am good with that.”
I remember the elders set silence, no one spoke for a period of time I would try in that room, no one daring that moment. And then few weeks ago as this husband were sharing with our church he said at one point, I know that some of you thinks were being reckless, and he is sitting there with his precious wife his two young kids preparing to go to the heart of unreached Muslim people group and he looked our church, and he said “I am convinced that we are in far greater danger of being saved than we are of being reckless in the church.” As I sat there and I listen to him explain conclusions that he had come to base in his study back in epistles in the new treatment. I could not help but to agree with him, we have made safety a god not just in our culture but in our church. We have equated safety with wisdom, we have sought to ensure safety to our wealth, in a way the church seems completely foreign to the followers of Christ in the New Testament. And I’m not saying we need to be reckless in going to the nations but I am saying there will be great risk in going to the nations and if we’re not willing to take that risk, we will not be a part of the accomplishment of the great commission.
Brothers and sisters God will pass off by us as long as we value safety over obedience. I’m not pretending I know the ramification for what this means for my life, for your life for anybody’s life. Let us embrace suffering, from God and let us embrace suffering from God and let us embrace suffering joyfully. How do we do that? And this is the trust of the cracks for the whole text, the hinted sentence upon everything in 2 Corinthians 4:f13-18 turns, to the beginning of 16 so we do not loose heart same phrase Paul used earlier he sums up everything now, though afflicted, though crashed, persecuted almost given to death we do not lose heart Paul says, because all this sufferings are simply preparing an eternal way of glory beyond all comparison. Suffering maybe inevitable, Paul says, but God’s purpose is unstoppable. God’s purpose in our life in unstoppable all this suffering Paul says are in intended by my God for my good.
This is said in romans 8 our present suffering aren’t worth compared future glory to be revealed in us, God is going to work all things work together, all things for the good of those who love him, who’ve been called according to his purpose, so he says in Romans 5, I rejoice in my suffering for suffering brings perseverance, perseverance - character, character - hope, and hope doesn’t disappoint us because God poured out His love and draw us by the holy spirit whom He has given us. So I says to the Philippians, its granted to you and me that for the sake of Christ which I we now believe in him but suffered his sake has been grant to us given to us by god to suffer because we want to know Christ the power of his resurrection of fellows who have been sharing in his suffering just like he said in the beginning of this. But blessed be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ the father of mercy and the God of all comfort who comforts us in our entire affliction for us we share abundantly in Christ sufferings so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
And just what he says in the end of this book. God’s grace is sufficient in me and His powers made perfect in our weakness. Some continued even with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I’m weak then I am strong. Our suffering maybe inevitable but God’s purpose is unstoppable, in His life. He’s working all of this for our good, for our, joy and ultimately for his glory in the world. It is just His purpose in our life. It’s unstable, its God’s purpose in the world.
Isn’t it the story of our church, starting in Acts chapter 7? Steven was stoned and the church first experienced murder in them in chapter 7 and fuels mission in chapter 8. As the church scatters throughout Judea and Samaria preaching the gospel, oh I love how satan not only acts under divine permission but satan actually fulfills divine purposes. Don’t you love that satan strikes out one of God’s chosen servant. He thinks winning now.
Next verse, everybody scatters and preaches the gospel wherever they go. Even better Luke tells us the Saul was the proven of execution. So Saul leads out in persecution with Steven which leads to the scattering of believers, which leads to the founding of the church in chapter 11 which becomes the church in chapter 13 when one day Saul in global mission. You can’t right that verse any better. Soul inevitably starts the church that ultimately sends them out in missions. So don’t lose heart brothers and sisters. Satan’s strategies to stop the church will ultimately serve to start a church. Satan’s strategies to inflict earthly pain in your life will ultimately serve to increase eternal glory with your God.
Light momentary affliction preparing for us for to eternal way of glory beyond all compares. And this is where Paul ends the passage our suffering is inevitable. Our God’s purpose is stoppable and ultimately our hope is incomparable. Compared to crowning glory, Paul says, present suffering is light and momentary. It doesn’t mean easy and painless particularly not all the time but in light in all time our present time in the suffering those compare to our future way of glory, Where Paul uses us we’re privilege and form which we have high privilege and the exaggeration in English Language and Greek or literary means beyond all proportion. In other words Paul said so, the church and by extension to the gospel calls in the great commission, the gospel going to more and more and more people for the glory of God will involve great suffering. But be sure of this it totally proved, it is worth the price.
So brothers and sisters in Christ around his glory and the gospel, let us call around the accomplishment of his commission. As we believe this gospel a deep seeded conviction in our lives, let’s proclaim this gospel with depth defying confidence in the world as we live to proclaim gospel among more and more and more people. Let’s extent God’s glory among all people and us we continue this vision eternal glory with God, lets joyfully embrace earthly suffering from God knowing in the words in the apostle Paul, “If God is for us who can be against us. “He who did not spare His own son, but give it all for us will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things. Who will bring any charge among against those that God chosen, it’s God who justifies. Who is He who condemns Christ more of that who has risen alive is at the right hand of God, at this moment interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall travel our trouble, hardship, persecution famine, our nakedness, our danger or sword.
No! For your sake we face it being killed all day long we are considered a sheep to be slaughtered. No, all of this things we are more than courageous to him who love God for I am convince that neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither present nor past nor any power, neither height nor depth. No, nothing else will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to His name!
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