Corinth would have been a tough city in which to speak about Jesus. As we read the Apostle Paul’s two letters to the church in this first-century city, we can see that it was a city that thought they had hot and cold running everything. They took pride in how they saw themselves. They were about being impressive. They were about bright lights, beautiful people, sport, entertainment, glitz, and glamour.
Corinth was a city of great religious diversity with every sort of spiritual and religious belief and practice. It was a city with a terrible reputation for outrageous sexual promiscuity and misconduct. It was a city that boasted about its achievements. But sadly, they were a city denying Jesus, a city denying God. They loved their so-called wisdom, but they rejected the wisdom of God. They were impressed by pride. They loved the outward appearance. They loved to see how things looked, how things felt. That was all they were thinking about. They saw everything, even people, from this worldly perspective. They just looked at the surface of things. They were in love with the things of the world. They were unwilling to change. They didn’t see any need to change. They even thought that the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus as savior and lord of all was foolishness. They thought it was a waste of time.
It would have been hard being a Christian in Corinth, a world denying Jesus, ignoring the realities of heaven and hell, of judgment, forgiveness, rejecting the uniqueness of Jesus. But that’s our world, isn’t it? Focusing on the now, having lost sight of eternity. It’s true of many people I know, our families, the people in my street. I live in Glenbrook and I love to go for a walk in Glenbrook. One morning I got chatting to one of our neighbors and he discovered I was a Christian and this is what he said. “Oh, you’re one of them.” And I looked at him, paused for a bit. “Someone who believes in myths.”
It’s a world that’s denying sin. A world denying the need for salvation, for rescue, thinking everything is good, thinking, “I’m good, I’m okay.” Not so long ago, we were at a funeral and at the conclusion of the funeral, the song played was John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Some of you might remember the words, “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky.”
Now, even though you and I know the importance of speaking about Jesus, because this is the world in which we live, it can be easy to lose heart. It can be easy to just feel worn out and to give up. Reading the Apostle Paul’s letters, we can see he feels that weight. He feels that sense of, “Oh no, that change is not happening. That change is slow.” That talking about Jesus can be hard and opposition can be strong and fierce and vocal. Yet, the Apostle Paul does not want us to be overcome by these pressures, by these disappointments. He does not want us to give up, to lose our courage. In 2 Corinthians 4, he writes of the truth of the reality of what is really going on.
So look at chapter 4, verse 1. Look at it with me. This is what he says. “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, this new ministry, we never give up.” We never give up. We never give up because we have a right understanding of what is going on. A right understanding of why people are not responding, why they think like they do.
I reckon this is a big call, but I reckon that if we get this, if we get what the Apostle Paul is saying to us here, it’ll be hugely significant in changing our attitude to how we think about reaching a world like ours. It’ll enable us to persist, to keep on speaking.
If we get what the Apostle Paul is saying to us here, it’ll be hugely significant in changing our attitude to how we think about reaching a world like ours.
A Right Understanding of What is Going On
Blinded by the God of This World
Look at chapter 4, verse 3. “If the good news we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.” Now, here’s the thing and this is tragic. People around us, people who are not Christians, who are not following Jesus, putting their trust in him, they are perishing. They’re cut off from heaven. They’re cut off from God. They’re cut off from an eternity with him.
Why are they perishing? Chapter 4, verse 4. “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of unbelievers,” blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. “They’re unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ.” So there is opposition. There’s rejection. There’s apathy. There’s hard hearts. Why? Because people’s minds are blinded by Satan. Rather than believe the truth about Jesus, people have been taken in by Satan’s lies.
If people think that science has disproved Christianity or Christianity does nothing but harm or that they can live without Jesus or there’s no evidence for Jesus or that it’s irrelevant or that Christianity is dangerous or it doesn’t matter what you think about all this religious stuff or that “I’m good enough for God if he, she, or it exists.” All this God stuff is like believing in fairies at the bottom of the garden. It’s because they’ve been blinded by Satan, the small ‘g’ god of this world.
Now, it’s vital we understand this spiritual perspective. We are in a spiritual battle. If we forget this, that we’re in a spiritual battle, our motivation for reaching those who are perishing, speaking about Jesus, our motivation will soon be lost. We will become tired. We will lose heart and give up. You’ll think it’s your fault. You’ll think there’s something wrong with the message. There’s something wrong with what I’m talking about. But Paul says, “No, no, the issue is not the message. The issue is with people.”
Our Responsibility is to Tell the Truth
And our responsibility in the face of this, as Paul spells out in verse two, is to be faithful, is to keep on making the message about Jesus clear. We don’t alter the message. We don’t try and change the message to make it more appealing. Chapter 4, verse 2, we’re to “reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth.”
Now, as people find the message about Jesus offensive, some are tempted to take shortcuts. They leave bits out. Oh, that is so sad when we see that happen. People changing the truth, watering down the truth of God’s word, trying to make it more appealing. But Paul is clear. Under God, as we try to reach the world around us, we’re to tell the truth. That doesn’t mean we hammer people over the head with it. It doesn’t mean we’re insensitive or blunt or cold. But it does mean to reach a world like ours, we’re thoughtful. And as Jesus did, we apply God’s truth to people with wisdom, with love, with care, with gentleness, with respect.
We Preach That Jesus Christ is Lord
We want to speak about Jesus because we remember the small ‘g’ god of this world, Satan, does not have ultimate power. Therefore, with this in mind, see what Paul says in verse 5. “We don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Now, please don’t misunderstand here what Paul is saying. It can be really helpful to share our testimony of how God has worked in our life. So, it’d be great if you just spend some time thinking about a few short sentences to explain to people around you, friends, family, neighbors, students that you hang around with, to explain how God has changed you, how God has worked in your life. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to just spend some time. How has God changed me? How is God working in my life? How can I share that? Praying for opportunities to share that with people around me.
Yet at the same time, Paul is clear. The center of our message, it’s not about me. The center of our message is about Jesus, how Jesus does things. Now, why is that important? Verse six, Paul explains, “Proclaiming Jesus Christ is Lord is powerful.” Look at verse six. “For God who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made his light shine in our hearts so we could see the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”
I love this part of the Bible. What Paul is doing here is he’s taking us back to the beginning of the Bible, to creation, to Genesis chapter 1. And in Genesis 1, when everything was in darkness, God brought light into being. How did God bring light into being? Did he flick a switch? Did he plug in the PowerPoint? Did he get his torch out? No. God spoke. And in the same way, God takes our message about Jesus and he brings light into the lives of those people who are living in darkness. That same word that God spoke at the beginning of creation, “let there be light,” is the same word that God speaks into your life to make you a new creation. It’s the same word we speak to reach a world like ours.
It’s the message of the great hymn. If you know the great hymn “Amazing Grace,” do you remember? Do you know the words? “I once was lost but now I am found. I was blind but now I see.” And what a glory we can see. We see the glory of Jesus.
C.S. Lewis, the Narnia guy, the “Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” guy, has this wonderful illustration. And this is my testimony as well, having become a Christian in my early 20s, that before we knew Jesus, our life, it’s as if we’re walking around in a totally dark room. Can you imagine walking around in a totally dark room? You can’t see the furniture. You can’t see where anything is. You don’t know where you are. So you bump and crash your way through life. But when we respond to Jesus, it’s as if the blinds are pulled up. It’s as if the curtains are pulled open and light floods in. Not only can you see where everything is, but we can see out the window. And you can see there is so much more to life than you ever imagined. “I once was blind, but now I see.”
This is what happens when we trust in Jesus. God shines his light into our lives and we’re made a new creation. The old is gone. The new is here. We understand who Jesus is. We understand the wonder of what he has done. He gives, as we put our trust in him, he gives us hope and peace and joy and forgiveness. We know that God is for us and not against us. God transforms our life from the inside out.
As you’re sitting here this morning, I wonder, do you know these things? Can you say, “Yeah, I know that.” Have you experienced the difference that Jesus makes to your life? If not, I want to urge you this morning, take the step of turning to Jesus. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about it for a while. “Yeah, this stuff sounds good.” Well, don’t put it off anymore. Today, decide to become a Christian. Take that step of saying, “Yes, Jesus, I want to follow you.” And as you saw in the Alpha ad, if you want to find out more, sign up for that. Talk to Daniel or Evan or one of the team here so you can find out. Sign up for the Alpha course kicking off Friday night for the youth, Sunday for the rest of us. When you put your hope in Jesus, you’ll know God’s light in your life.
Now while this is magnificent, and it is, at the same time living in a world like this, it’s easy for us from time to time to feel weak, to feel plain, and to feel very ordinary. Paul says, “Yes, we might feel like fragile clay jars, but we are fragile clay jars containing a great treasure.” And of course, the treasure is Jesus. And this is why Paul does not want us to give up. The message about Jesus is a great treasure. It is a great truth. That is an excellent quote from an English minister, Rico Tice. He keeps saying this. “As we talk about Christ, as we proclaim Jesus, God opens blind eyes.” I love that quote.
As we talk about Christ, as we proclaim Jesus, God opens blind eyes.
This is Why We Never Give Up
In verses 13 to 18, Paul challenges us with the big picture questions of what we believe and how what we believe should shape us, how what we believe should change us. And again, these are some favorite verses of mine. See what he says. “I believed in God, so I spoke… We know that God who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.” Did you see that? “I believed in God, so I spoke.”
Now, because we know this, in verse 16, Paul repeats himself. “This is why we never give up.” And he adds:
"Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long... So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now. Rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Now, why are these verses so good? Why do they encourage us to not give up? What motivates us to speak? What motivates us to tell others about Jesus?
- One, we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and God will also raise us from the dead. Therefore, we want to tell others about that. We have the solution to eternal death, putting our trust in the risen Jesus.
- Two, though our bodies are wasting away, as we trust in Jesus, inwardly we are being renewed every day. That’s good, isn’t it? We’re wasting away, but inwardly we’re being renewed every day.
- Three, the troubles, the hardships we experience in life, they’re nothing compared to the eternal glory to come when we will enjoy heaven, eternity with God.
- Four, therefore, rather than follow the habit of the world, we fix our eyes not on things which will soon be gone, but we fix our eyes on that which is to come, that which is eternal.
The Place of Prayer in a Spiritual Battle
Now, all of this brings sharply into focus the place of prayer. In these verses, God makes clear to us that we’re involved in a spiritual battle. It’s a spiritual battle. We speak about Jesus, God takes our words and opens blind eyes. So this is not only why we keep speaking about Jesus, it’s also why if we want those who are spiritually blind to see the truth about Jesus, we must pray.
When I was at the church at Glenmore Park, I think I just got it so clear that God teaches us, and I used to say this, that because it’s a spiritual battle, nothing of significance will happen unless we pray. It’s a spiritual battle. So nothing of significance will happen unless we pray. And the Bible is clear. God, in continuing his work of rescue, is pleased to use our prayers to open blind eyes. But this all brings into sharp focus our willingness to pray.
It’s a spiritual battle. So nothing of significance will happen unless we pray.
The Miracle of Dunkirk
One of the big movies from a few years ago was the Christopher Nolan movie “Dunkirk.” Has anyone seen the movie “Dunkirk”? A few of you nodding. Yes. It is a sensational movie. It is very intense. But it retells the terrible situation facing England at the beginning of World War II. War had broken out in September 1939. In 1940, the Nazi army was surging across Western Europe with lightning speed and force. And as it came to the month of May 1940, over 300,000 troops—British, Belgian, Canadian, and French soldiers—were trapped on the beach of Dunkirk in France. And it seemed as if a terrible disaster was about to unfold.
So on Thursday the 23rd of May, the British Prime Minister of the day, Winston Churchill, he met with King George VI, he was the king of England at the time, to brief him on a plan to evacuate the troops from the beach at Dunkirk. Yet as they met, everything looked extremely grim. There were so few boats available. The Nazi army was powerful and the Allied troops were scrambling to get to Dunkirk and it was expected that in the short time available only a small fraction of the 300,000 would be rescued.
King George VI’s response was fascinating. He said this, “We must pray.” So he said, “We must pray this next Sunday. I’m calling for a national day of prayer.” On May the 24th, the king addressed the nation, saying, “Let us with one heart and soul, humbly but confidently commit our cause to God and ask his aid.” On Saturday, the military decision was taken to evacuate as many as possible of the Allied forces. On the Sunday, this is what happened. This is an extraordinary photo showing queues of people lined up to pray at Westminster Abbey in London. The same thing happened in churches across the country with a nation devoting itself to prayer in an unprecedented way.
Can you imagine people queuing up to church, queuing up at church to pray, queuing up to pray at Riverstone? Queuing up to pray across our city. Yet in response to the prayers, a miracle, a great miracle was about to take place. So on the Sunday the 26th of May, as the boat set sail for Dunkirk, Hitler inexplicably halted his attack. Historians still don’t know why Hitler stopped his attack on that Sunday. The English Channel, notoriously rough, was strangely calm. Rain and clouds made it difficult for the German air force, the Luftwaffe, to attack the beach. The breeze collected smoke from early bombing raids, giving cover for soldiers as they started to be loaded onto the boats. And as word spread in England, hundreds of would-be skippers responded so that a flotilla of more than 860 boats sailed across the channel to help with the rescue.
The result, when the evacuation came to an end, 338,000 soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk. Again, historians will look back and say this great rescue changed history and it became known as the miracle of Dunkirk. But this is what happens when people pray.
Our world needs another miracle of Dunkirk. Our world, people around us are in great danger. They are in urgent need of spiritual rescue. Everyone needs this rescue from the consequences of turning their backs on God, having ignored him, thinking they know best. They are cut off from God, lost, living in spiritual darkness and in the need of the great rescue that Jesus offers.
And this challenges us to earnestly pray as individuals and as a church for the lost people, the lost world around us. To pray for our world, to trust Jesus as their Lord, as their savior, that many more people would come to know his amazing grace. God works through our prayers because we want to see many people saved. Can I urge you, pray?
This is how the message of the risen Jesus went into that first-century city of Corinth. This is how people became Christians in Corinth. This is how the message about Jesus will go out to a world like ours. So we do not give up. We faithfully commit ourselves to the work that God in his mercy has given each one of us to reach the world around us. And we pray, praying that as we talk about Jesus with friends and family, neighbors, invite them to be thinking about Jesus, to come to church, to come to Alpha on Friday night, to come to Alpha on Sunday afternoon, to keep coming to church. We pray that God in his mercy would open blind eyes.