Swift Creek Baptist Church
Warm Hearted Church with a Heart Warming Message
Sermon notes prepared by Steve Felker, Pastor of Swift Creek Baptist Church; (c) 2000
Intro.
This morning I am going to share with you about some major problems that we will all likely face. And I want to ask you a question. How well do you handle problems? Do you easily become down and discouraged when problems come your way? Are you defeated by your problems? Let's look at it this way. There are two people facing the same problem, but one becomes depressed and defeated, but the other maintains a sense of well being. What is the difference?
I want to share with you this morning one of the major differences between those who are defeated by problems, and those who are victorious over problems, and that is perspective, or how you view your problems. One person sees a problem and magnifies it, and says, "I can't handle it. It too much for me to bear." Another person see the same problem, and as a Christian, puts it in proper perspective.
Now if there is anyone that faced a lot of problems it would be Paul. Look over at 11:23b-28 (read). In v.16 of our text Paul repeats what he said earlier, "Therefore we do not lose heart." I want you to be able to face problems, without loosing heart, and getting defeated. Specifically, we are going to talk about the problems of aging, suffering, and death. As you face these problems, you would loose heart if you don't have the right perspective.
So let's learn from Paul's perspective on some of the key problems that we face in life. First of all, let's see:
What Paul says in v.16 applies most to the issue of aging. Notice what he says here:
A. Our Outward Man Is Perishing (v.16a) - The word translated "perishing"
(diaphtheiro) is a pretty strong word. Here it means "to destroy, ruin, kill." In Paul's case this was not just the result of aging, but also the result of persecution, which caused lack of sleep, hunger,
stonings, etc., which took a toll on his body. But in our case, aging along cause us to experience the reality of our body gradually wasting away into death and destruction. If you are above the age of 40 you know that scripture is true. As we grow older, we sort of begin to die out as far as the body is concerned. As you age your body begins to waste away. As you go along you will find out that you don't have the same bounce in your step you used to have. You tire more easily. You are going to find out that those eyes are a little bit weaker than they used to be. These ears - we can't hear as good as we used to hear. I heard about an old fellow. He and his wife had been married forever and they were sitting in front of the fireplace rocking in a rocking chair and spitting snuff. The old fellow leaned over to her and said, "Honey, I'm proud of you." She said, "Huh?" He said, "I said I'm proud of you." She said, "I'm tired of you, too." Furthermore, the mind & memory begins to go. It's a strange thing about our memories as we age. We can remember well things that happened long ago, but we can't remember what happened yesterday! We can well remember how someone hurt us, and we tend to carry a grudge, but we can't remember what we came into the garage for! The outward man is perishing.
So our bodily strength and vigor is really in a process of decay that is inevitable. There's not a thing in the world you can do about it. We try to delay it as much as we can. We have 10,000 beauty secrets going around. People try to get a face lift. They have had the second face lift - the third face lift - the fourth face lift. We try to slow the process down as much as we can. We are always looking for the fountain of youth. If it's not Oil of Olay, it's Aloe Vera. We are always looking for something that's going to make you look a little bit younger and slow down the aging process.
But this old body that I have is dying. Sooner or later that old body will die unless Jesus comes back first. And then they will put it in a casket and bury it in the ground and my body will decay. Now folks, if this life were all there is, that reality would be very discouraging. But praise God, the physical body is not all there is. Besides, we will see in v.14 that we are going to trade it in on a new model some day!
So we all have to face the reality of the fact that our outward man is perishing. And as you age you can become upset with every birthday that comes along. You can deny reality and claim to be 39 & holding. But if you are a Christian, you can have Paul's perspective that he expresses here:
B. Our Inward Man Is Being Renewed Daily (v.16b) - Paul indicates that this inner life is renewed day by day. The inward man is the spirit, the soul, the real man, regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. You now have a new nature that has been planted there by the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have already seen, if you are growing as a Christian, there is a transformation that is taking place in your heart and life. The body gets weaker and weaker, but the inward man gets stronger and stronger. You ought to be stronger spiritually than you have ever been. I pray that God will help me as I grow older physically not to become a bitter, cranky individual. Isn't it a sad sight to see people get old and bitter and cranky? You don't have to let that happen to you. The reason people let that happen to them is because they do not allow the Lord to develop that inward man. Have you ever seen Christians that the older they get, the sweeter they get. They just seem to get sweeter and sweeter. They are allowing the Holy Spirit to transform that inner man and it is being renewed day by day. They just get sweeter and closer to Jesus and more precious. It's a joy to be around them. Though their physical body is wasting away, their spiritual nature is getting stronger and stronger in the Lord.
Let's study together a little more in depth about this inward renewing that we should experience as Christians. Too many Christians are not experiencing this inward renewal day by day like they ought to. The verb there is in the passive voice. It is something that acts on you. This renewing of the inward man must be done by God, as you cooperate with Him. The present tense reinforces the meaning of "day by day." The inward man should undergo this process of renewal day by day. You should always continue to grow as a Christian. You never in this life reach perfection. Look at Colossians 3:10, "and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." We are renewed by the knowledge of the Word of God, and a knowledge of God Himself. That is one key to this renewal. Romans 12:2 says, "Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."
So are you being renewed in your mind and spirit each day? Are you becoming more kind, gracious, loving, godly, and righteous every day? Or are you becoming just the opposite more and more each day? As you get older, having a growing relationship with the Lord can really make a lot of difference!
The word used by Paul, "affliction," is usually translated "tribulation." Literally it refers to pressing together, pressure. Thus it refers to oppression, affliction, tribulation, and distress. Some of you are experiencing trouble on the job. Others of you are having trouble at home. Maybe you are having health problems, or you are experiencing personal trouble. I don't know what it is. But I do know this, there are as many problems and heartaches and troubles in this building as there are people represented. Now I want to say two things that should help you as you face the pressures of life. First of all:
A. We Must Have the Proper Perspective on Suffering -
Notice in v.17 Paul's perspective on suffering. In the face of much trouble, he did not loose heart and get defeated because he had the following perspective on suffering:
1. It Is Comparatively Light (v.17a) -
It is remarkable that Paul should call all that he describes in vv. 8-9 as nothing but feathery "lightness." We are inclined to call our troubles a dreadful load! Think of your most recent trouble you experienced. Did you consider it heavy or light? You probably thought it was pretty heavy. Think about the afflictions of Job. If you had gone to Job after he had lost his own children, his health and his wealth and said, "Keep your chin up, son, it's just a light trouble," he would probably have busted you right in the mouth. It doesn't seem light to us does it? You may have a heartache in your soul and it seems like a great weight crushing down on you.
So how can Paul call our afflictions light? Well, it all depends on your perspective. He is not belittling your trouble. He is simply saying you have to put your trouble on the scales. Look at the rest of the verse (read). I want you for a moment to take every trouble you have and put it over here on one side of the scales. Then take all that future glory that God has promised to give you and put it all over here. Paul is simply saying, in comparison, when you lay all of your troubles alongside the glory that is going to be yours, all your afflictions flip out on the other side. In comparison they are light. It has no real weight at all in comparison with the weight of glory that is coming.
Furthermore, the lightness as well as the weight are explained in great part by the adjectives that modify them. Notice that Paul also keeps in mind the following truth about suffering. In his perspective his suffering is light because:
2. It Is Temporary (v.17a)
-Our suffering is so light because it is "for a moment." Here again, from the normal human perspective, they don't seem just for a moment, do they? Sometimes they seem to linger on and on. You say, "But you don't understand, this suffering has not lasted just days or weeks. I have suffered for years now." Paul says you have to link up your troubles not only with future glory, but you also have to link them up with eternity. Suppose that one had spent his whole lifetime in this world in afflictions and had lived to be even 80 years old. What is that compared with eternity? The Bible says in
Psa. 90:4 that our years pass as "a watch in the night." It also says in James that your life is as a vapor, that appears for a while, and then vanishes. So it all depends on your perspective. Your perspective changes the picture. When you have been in heaven the first 10,000 years, you will look back on even years of suffering as almost nothing.
3. It Adds to Our Future Glory (v.17b) - Paul says that our afflictions are light and temporary in comparison to the "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" that is to come in heaven. The more we suffer for Christ now, and the more we suffer as a testimony to God's sustaining grace, the greater our glory will be in heaven. Paul wrote in Rom. 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." This is a classic example of Romans 8:28 being realized in the believer. There Paul wrote, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." He is saying that your troubles actually work for you. But too often, we are too much like Jacob. He said in Genesis 42:36, "You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me"
(NKJV). But the Christian should come to understand that our troubles do not work against us, but for us. For example, Paul wrote in Roman 5:3-4, "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." Furthermore, when you suffer for Jesus, and when you suffer gracefully as a witness to the Lord, you will add to the intensity of glory and blessing that you shall enjoy in heaven. Every affliction comes with a message from the heart of God. It's not the trouble that's important, it's how you respond to that trouble. Link them up with the future glory. Maintain the proper perspective.
B. We Must Have the Proper Focus - What Paul says about affliction and about glory applies both as a fact and as a conviction only to people like himself. Notice what he goes on the say in v.18a (read). "Look" is not the usual word translated "look" or "see," but it is from
skopeo. We get our words telescope and microscope from this Greek word. It means, "to fix one's eyes upon, direct one's attention to" some grand object. So when trouble comes your way, you need to get the right focus. First of all, this Scripture teaches us the following truth:
1. Don't Focus on Earthly Things We See (v.18a) - Don't focus your attention upon your earthly troubles. You will get depressed every time if you do that. Furthermore, I guess that just about all of our troubles have to do with the loss of earthly things. You loose your health, you loose your car, you're afraid of loosing a friend. We need to get our eyes on the things in life that matter the most. Don't let the focus and aim of your life be earthly things, for when they are taken away, you will become depressed, bitter, and defeated. Many people make the mistake of living only for time, with no reference to eternity. If you talk to the average person on the streets today he will not have a great deal of hope. He is living only for the things that he can see. That's why some people today take the attitude - eat, drink and be merry, tomorrow you die. If you're no better than a dog, that dies and that's all there is to it, then it really doesn't matter how you live.
2. Focus Instead on the Unseen Things of God -
It sounds paradoxical, to keep the eyes fixed, not on the things seen but on the things not seen; but Paul is speaking about the spiritual eyes of faith. The things that no human eye has seen are the things that are lasting. Christ, heaven, and the fellowship of the heavenly saints are not seen now, but they will be enjoyed for all eternity! My friend, I am looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. Paul says in well in Col. 3:1, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."
3. Reason (v.18b) -
What really matters in your life are not the things you can see. You can't see heaven or hell, but it sure matters where you are going to spend eternity. It will greatly affect the way you live if the focus of your life is upon the unseen realities of eternity.
Now this really leads to my final point. Not only do we need to have the Christian perspectives on aging and suffering, but also we need:
Of all the troubles you face in life, death is the most serious. You can get over loosing a job. You can usually get over sickness. But you death has a finality to it like no other problem you face. You better think about the reality of death at any age. Too many young people are slipping off into eternity these days in car crashes, suicides, and drug overdoses. Death isn't just for old people.
What is your perspective toward death. Is it something to be avoided at all cost? Well if Paul had that attitude he would have quit preaching, for he was constantly threatened with death. But his perspective on death made the difference. It is interesting to note here, and this is very important to see, that Paul did not consider death to be the end. He is looking on beyond. Death is merely one of the experiences which he will have. What sustained Paul first of all was:
A. The Promise of the Lord (v.14) - That's a message of hope. It is not mere bravado that animates Paul's words. In the case of Paul and his assistants the resurrection of the blessed One removes all fear of temporal death. Note that the text says that God will "raise us up with Jesus." This does not mean, of course, that we are raised at the same time. Rather, we are in living connection with Jesus, and in the resurrection we will continue to have a vital connection with Him, and share in His resurrection victory. And as we can see in the last of v.14, Paul wants to encourage the Corinthians with the same promise. Together we will stand with the Lord. This is the opposite of those terrible words unbelievers will hear, "Depart from me." So with this perspective we do not fear death. We look death in the face and say, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (I
Cor. 15:55).
But we need to see the connection between v.14 and v.13 here. So note with me also:
B. The Place of Faith (v.13) - No man can live the life that Paul speaks of unless he has by faith seen the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would want to identify himself with a dead Christ? We have the same faith that David had, who wrote this quotation from Psalm 116. Death stalked David too. When you believe that death cannot defeat you, you will speak the gospel, regardless of the number of death threats.
We must not let the devil hinder our witness with his attacks upon us. If you stand for Jesus he will threaten you and try to take away your popularity, and perhaps your position. He may even, like he did with Paul, threaten your life. But if you have the right perspective like we have talked about today, you will not be defeated by the devil and the world. And v.13 is really important as an encourager to be a witness for Jesus Christ (read). We speak when our convictions, the things we believe, cause us to speak. Faith always creates testimony. In other words what you really believe will ultimately determine the things you say. Notice the connection there. "I believe, therefore, I speak." It's a wonderful thing to see how God overcomes the timidity and fear in our heart when what we believe becomes so strong in our soul that we just have to speak it. The fear of witnessing will ultimately be dealt with as you grow in what you believe. I cannot be silent if I believe that men outside of Jesus are lost and going to hell.
Of course, you ought not to speak if you don't believe. We are living in a day now where there are those who stand in pulpits and they do not believe what they are supposed to believe. Friend, if you do not believe it, you ought not to speak it. If it's not real in your heart, if you don't really have a conviction about it, you ought not to speak it
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