A Sermon For Mama

How To Hang In There!

“For which cause we faint not;” 2 Cor. 4:16a; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Keeping on doing what God has called you to. I don't suppose there is anyone more qualified to teach us how to "hang in there" for the Lord than Apostle Paul. Here is a man who endured some of the greatest hardships possible for Christ. He was hated by both Jews and Gentiles. He was misunderstood and attacked even by other Christians. He was eventually executed for nothing more than preaching Jesus Christ. And yet, at the eve of his life, he was able to record, “I have fought a good fight I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

And I believe 2 Corinthians 4 tells us how he did it.
I. PAUL ACCEPTED THE MINISTRY GOD GAVE HIM. 2 Cor 4:1
Paul's was not an easy ministry. He was not accepted by the other Apostles for several years. He was constantly challenged and questioned even by the other Apostles throughout his ministry. He suffered shipwrecks and beatings and stonings and jailings, on a regular basis. But he accepted the ministry God gave him. The context of this verse is in view of the trials he faced because of his ministry. And yet, despite all that, he simply writes, seeing we have this ministry... we faint not. We would do well to learn from this to accept whatever situations we have!
Sometimes all of us get to looking around and wishing we had it like someone else has it! If we want to continue for the Lord, the first step has to be, to accept the position that God gives us in the work of the Lord! We need to come to the place where we accept whatever ministry God chooses to give or not to give us personally. The truth of it is whatever position we have in the plan of God for the church and for His ministry, IS A MERCIFUL POSITION!

II. PAUL HAD A PROPER PERSPECTIVE OF HIS PROBLEMS verses 8-9
Paul makes four contrasts here;
A. Troubled - not distressed; The word troubled means to be crowded, pressured. The word distressed means to be in calamity. If I can, He is saying that he is squeezed, but not squished!
B. Perplexed - not in Despair; The word perplexed means "at a loss" The word despair means "completely lost"
C. Persecuted - not forsaken; The word persecuted means "hunted" The word forsaken means "deserted."
D. Cast down - not destroyed
What Paul is saying is, "Sure, I got problems, but I am not defeated!"
"I have fallen a few times, but I have always been able to get back up!"
"I have had some times when I wasn't sure which way to turn for a while, but I have never been so lost that I couldn't eventually get out of it!"
I was thinking Troubled, but not distressed. That looks to me to be the in the soul. Perplexed, but not in despair appears to me to be in the mind. Persecuted, but not forsaken is in the body. Cast down, but not destroyed is in your very life. In every aspect, of humanity, while there were trials, Paul recognized that the trials had not completely overwhelmed him.

If we are going to hang in there. We too, must come to the place where we recognize that the trials we face are not totally devastating!
They may hurt. We may not enjoy them; We might have wished we hadn't had to go through them. But there isn't a one of them that has to destroy us! In fact, for the Christian, even the ultimate trial, that of losing our life isn't really a defeat, but a victory!

The third thing I saw in 2 Corinthians was
III. PAUL HAD HIS EYES FIXED ON THE RIGHT THINGS.
Verses 10-18 There are three things I want to point out to you in these verses, in reverse order from how they are listed in the chapter:
We need to
A. Look at the Eternal, not the Temporal.
Verse 18 So many of our troubles could be resolved if we had our eyes on heaven, not earth.
I understand how difficult that is. I struggle with it every single moment of my life.
Paul said in Romans "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us."
And all he was saying was that we ought to look for the heavenly/eternal things, not the earthly/temporal things!

Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.”

What he was saying was that we ought to look for the heavenly/eternal things, not the earthly/temporal things. Much of the reason we struggle with the Christian life, and one of the reasons some give up on their course, is that they get their eyes fixed on how things are today, Right now.
If that is how Paul looked at things,
***He wouldn't have been willing to give up his career in the Pharisee's religion for Christ.
***And he wouldn't have been willing to give up his Pastor associate pastor's position in Antioch to be a missionary church planter.
***And he wouldn't have been willing to give up his freedom to be a blessing to the poor saints in Jerusalem
***And he wouldn't have been willing to give up his life, to keep his testimony for Jesus Christ!
Paul could hang in there because his eyes were fixed on heavenly/eternal things, not earthly/temporal things! He was content to suffer some losses here in order to have more rewards waiting in heaven!
We need to

B. Look at others, not self
Verse 12 Paul was willing to go through the trials that he did, and hang in there for the Lord, because he was concerned more for others than he was for himself. Paul was the one who went so far as to say that he could wish himself accursed from Christ that his kinsmen, the Jews would be saved. Paul said he became all things to all men that he might by all means save some. Paul's concern in life was not for himself and how he faired physically, but for others and how they faired spiritually! He was willing to suffer any trial, any hardship, any difficulty so long as he was still seeing souls being saved and given eternal; life in Jesus Christ!
I understand that is the opposite of what every thing in this world tells you. But joy comes from putting Jesus first, other next, and ourselves last! That helps us keep our problems in perspective too, when we see how others are doing! THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO HAS IT TOUGHER THAN YOU DO! Find them, and help them, AND YOU WILL FIND NOT ONLY JOY, but the strength to hang in there and finish the course God gave you.
And finally, we need to

C. Look at Christ's Living, not dying.
Vs 11 One of the differences you'll find between us and the Catholics is that they use a cross with Christ still hanging there. We use a cross with Christ come off it. While we do not want to minimize what Christ did when He died on the Cross we also don't want to get stuck there. Christ not only died and was buried... HE ROSE AGAIN HE ROSE TRIUMPHANT, HE ROSE VICTORIOUS, and HE ROSE GLORIFIED and His triumph translates to our triumph today, His victory translates to our victory today, And his glory works for our glory too!
"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there he any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8.

If all we picture, when we picture Christ, is Him hanging on the cross... We will have a dead and defeated religion. But if, whenever we see Christ, IN HEAVEN AND STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD! Now, we have a faith that is alive powerful, and filled with promise and hope!
Thinking on these things helps you to see God, and seeing Him, makes us aware of His Spirit all around and through us. Conclusively those who think on these things are blessed with God's presence bringing; assurance, certainty, and a profound confidence.

Thinking on these things helps you to see God, who, in patient hours of quiet thoughts and prayer, come to understand the words "Be still and know that I am God."

Thinking on these things helps you to see God and say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

Think about the omnipotence of the God who rules the entire universe. And be thankful that He can right all the wrongs of men.
For In the twinkling of an eye, God can transform mortal man into an infinite, immortal being.

In a fleeting moment, God can provide water in dry places, and food in a barren land,

In an instant, God can turn hopeless defeat into glorious victory.

In the space of a heartbeat, God can make an insurmountable mountain into a level pathway.

In the swiftness of a passing thought, God can remove seemingly invincible barriers and obstacles, and prepare the way for believers.

In the speaking of a word, God can close the curtain of' time, and open the unending day of limitless infinity.

In the exhaling of a divine breath, God can blow away the dark clouds of opposition and the dust of oppression.

In the rapidness of a lightning flash, God can heal a broken heart and restore a wounded soul.

And that, my beloved, is the number one tool to keep you, Hanging in there!


Thank you, Mama for helping me to "Hang In There"