WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.680 Just grab our bibles. Thanks, bro. 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:07.559 Just grab our bibles and turn to Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians. 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:12.119 We're gonna be in chapter four Versus sixteen and following 4 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:17.800 this morning, Second Corinthians four. And if you don't have 5 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:19.480 a Bible with you, just raise your hand. We're passing 6 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:21.839 those out right now. So just raise your hand and 7 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:23.559 keep it up. If you need a bible or a 8 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:26.640 bulletin or a pen or anything like that, and if 9 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:29.600 you keep your hand up, we'll find you eventually and 10 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:31.760 get you what you need. This is also a good 11 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:33.359 time for me to remind you to please fill out 12 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.159 a connection card. We ask that everybody would do that 13 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:38.759 every week, whether you're a member or a guest or 14 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:42.200 what have you. That you're here by name is a 15 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:46.640 really important pastoral thing for us to know as a church. 16 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:48.359 You can leave a prayer request. 17 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.479 We have a whole team of men and women who are. 18 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:53.119 Praying for those prayer requests. And if you are new, 19 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:57.280 just leave some contact information. We'll follow up with you. Also, 20 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:00.079 if you're new and you just have questions or anything 21 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.240 like that, there's a spot for that. There's a table 22 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.680 right on the lobby called Step one, and we would 23 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.400 just invite anybody who's new at all to just go 24 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.159 to that table and connect with us there. We want 25 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.959 to welcome you into the life of this church and 26 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.280 help you understand how to take those steps. 27 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.040 You might be like, you know, I'm not a Christian. 28 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.680 I'm here this morning, and I'm not sure what all 29 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:26.400 of the things that you sang about or talked about meant. 30 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.400 I don't know what it means to place my faith 31 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:32.840 in Jesus and follow him. Well, we want to have 32 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.280 that conversation. In fact, tonight over at my house dinner 33 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.159 six to eight if you want to have the conversation. 34 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:40.799 But what does it mean to place my faith in 35 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:44.480 Christ and follow him? We're doing that over at my house. 36 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:46.519 So just meet me at the Step one table. I'll 37 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:49.280 give you my address, come over for dinner, and we'll 38 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.799 we'll have that conversation. We do that every week almost 39 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.920 and it's always a really good time. And the food 40 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.439 is always good because my wife cooks it. 41 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:01.239 Hi. 42 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:05.439 Hi, honey, she's home right now because I got a 43 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.879 little one that's six, so she told me she'd tune in. 44 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:11.080 It's always good. 45 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:20.039 Second Corinthians chapter four. I'm going to read I think 46 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:24.919 verse seven all the way through verse ten of chapter 47 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:29.280 five for the larger context of our verses this morning. 48 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.400 But my preaching text is going to be just those 49 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.520 four verses sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and then maybe the first 50 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:38.800 verse of chapter five there, and that's kind of where 51 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:42.919 we'll focus this morning in this text. But if you 52 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:46.439 would just read along as I read aloud from Second 53 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:55.319 Corinthians four, starting in seven, Paul writes this, but we 54 00:02:55.400 --> 00:03:02.000 have this treasure in jars of clay to show that 55 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:05.800 the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 56 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:11.599 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed 57 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:15.800 but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsake, and 58 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.479 struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body 59 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.360 the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus 60 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.639 may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who 61 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.479 live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, 62 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.759 so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested 63 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:37.360 in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, 64 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:41.360 but life in you. And since we have the same 65 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.560 spirit of faith, according to what was written, I believed 66 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:48.319 and so I spoke, we also believe, And so we 67 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:52.719 also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus 68 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.319 will raise us also with Jesus, and bring us with 69 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:01.639 you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, 70 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:04.800 so that as grace extends to more and more people, 71 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.680 it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. 72 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:16.120 And here's our preaching text. So we do not lose heart. 73 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.600 Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self 74 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:25.600 is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary 75 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.959 affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory 76 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:34.160 beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things 77 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.399 that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. 78 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:40.199 For the things that are seen or transient, but the 79 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:45.040 things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that 80 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:47.879 if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, 81 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:52.000 we have a building from God, a house not made 82 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.279 with hands, eternal in the heavens. 83 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:59.680 And I'll continue on for a few more verses yet, for. 84 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:02.399 In this tent we grown longing to put on our 85 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:05.160 heavenly dwelling, if indeed, by putting it on, we may 86 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.480 be not found naked. For while we're still in this tent, 87 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.639 we grown being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, 88 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:16.839 but that we would be further clothed, so that what 89 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.959 is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who 90 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:23.480 has prepared us for this very thing, as God, who 91 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:26.120 has given us the spirit as a guarantee. 92 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:32.040 So we are always of good courage. 93 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.240 We know that while we are at home in the body, 94 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:37.519 we're away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, 95 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:44.240 not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and 96 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.240 we would rather be away from the body and at 97 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.720 home with the Lord. So whether we're at home or away, 98 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:52.680 we make it our aim to please Him. For we 99 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:56.839 must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so 100 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:58.759 that each one may receive what is due for what 101 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:02.399 he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 102 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:14.560 This is the word of the Lord. I I almost 103 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.759 put our family's tent out of its misery this past week. 104 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:26.199 I was cleaning the garage. I am very proud of 105 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:28.199 the work that I did in the garage. 106 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.360 I even installed some lighting. 107 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:32.680 And then when I did, I saw what a mess 108 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:35.000 we had, and I started cleaning up. 109 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:38.480 I mean this. I set some spring break. 110 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.120 Time aside for this and I had clean it up 111 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:48.879 and get it out fever, you know, and the tent. 112 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:51.040 I thought. 113 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:53.079 This is enough. 114 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.439 But this thing, I mean, I bought this thing when 115 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:57.240 Karen I first got married. 116 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.360 I don't know why. I thought we were gonna be 117 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:01.959 a camping family. Did not happen. 118 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:05.920 I could count on my fingers the number of times 119 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:07.680 this thing has gotten set up. Last time was in 120 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:10.839 the backyard. Turns out my nine year old also not 121 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:15.199 a camper. And I thought we would throw it out, 122 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:20.279 but Kara's like, nah, keep it, you know, and will 123 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:24.040 never use it again. Why should we throw it away? 124 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.399 You know how that is? And the thing about this 125 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:29.800 tent is it is sad. 126 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.759 It is sad. 127 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:37.040 One of the poles is just duct taped together so 128 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:39.240 it doesn't slide through the sleeve like it's supposed to. 129 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:43.360 It smells funny. I'm sure the rainfly is gone. I 130 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:45.000 found a rain fly, but I don't think it goes 131 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.879 with that tent. The seams of the tent are all 132 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:49.959 leaky now, so when there's dew, it just like it 133 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.920 just drips in the thing. It is falling apart. It 134 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.199 is wasting away. It is a torn up tent. And 135 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.600 I only bring that up because this is the metaphor 136 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:05.279 that Paul uses in verse one of chapter five. 137 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:07.480 For our bodies. 138 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:10.120 Wearing out. 139 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:13.319 Until eventually. 140 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:17.319 Thrown out. 141 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.560 Happens to us all, every single one of us, no 142 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:29.519 no matter how fine your tent might be, falls apart, 143 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:32.200 including turns out. 144 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:33.240 This week. 145 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:40.399 We lost Chuck Norris. I mean, I'm serious, like he 146 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:44.240 passed away this week. It's a it's a meeting death 147 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:53.600 has been dreading for a long time. I did not 148 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:57.360 pick this tent, this preaching text because Chuck Norris died. 149 00:08:57.559 --> 00:09:00.480 But it's just sit there. 150 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:05.120 So for twenty one verses, Paul just circles this idea 151 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:11.799 of death, of death, of suffering and wearing out until death. 152 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:13.360 But here's the thing. 153 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:19.759 Across these twenty one verses, Paul also continues to repeat this, 154 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:23.639 So we are of good courage, so we do not 155 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:35.159 lose heart. We live courageous about death. That's what he says. 156 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:41.919 Do you do you live courageously about death? 157 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:43.879 Most of us don't. 158 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:47.879 Live courageously about death so much as we live like 159 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.679 an ostrich about death. Right, and stick my head in 160 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:53.200 the sand. If I can't see it, it can't see me. 161 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.559 And don't think about it. And if you're here this 162 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.679 morning as a non Christian thrilled the you're here, I 163 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:07.480 do wonder how much you consider what the Bible calls 164 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:09.000 the way of all flesh. 165 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.399 That we are all on our way. 166 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:13.360 To death. 167 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:19.639 And if you are here as a Christian, I wonder 168 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:28.639 how skilled, how skilled are you in living courageously about death? 169 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:34.919 Because Paul gives us in this passage these four verses 170 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:39.759 here three ways that they overlap quite a bit, but 171 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.639 there's some slight shifts in emphasis about these ways to 172 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:51.879 live courageously regarding death, and we'll jump into it. So 173 00:10:51.960 --> 00:11:00.559 what ways are Christians courageous about death? Here's the first way. First, 174 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:05.840 we're courageous. We are called to courage even as you 175 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:10.320 watch the wasting. That would be our first way. You 176 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.440 can jot that in your notes if you like. Even 177 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:19.919 as we watch the wasting, be courageous, he says in 178 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.240 verse sixteen, right, so we do not lose heart, right, 179 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.559 And that so points back. 180 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:26.639 To verse fourteen, right. 181 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.360 He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also 182 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:36.559 raise us. Yet that also points forward to this. We're 183 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:45.039 courageous even though our outer self is wasting away and 184 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:50.519 our inner self is being renewed day by day. One's 185 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:54.159 going down, one's going up. 186 00:11:57.639 --> 00:11:58.559 And what strikes me. 187 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:04.919 Is just how matter of fact it stated. Our outer 188 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:10.840 self is wasting away. It is wasting away. Maybe maybe 189 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:14.240 you're young here this morning and you're like, I don't know, 190 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:18.159 it doesn't seem like I'm wasting away. It speeds up. 191 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:32.080 It is. It is a fact. I was at the doctor. 192 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:36.720 A couple of weeks ago and the fact was just 193 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:37.399 on display. 194 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:42.080 I was there in the waiting room kind of first 195 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:46.600 thing in the morning. The waiting room was packed, and 196 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:50.159 I was just looking around, just observing all of the 197 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:54.000 patients in this waiting room, and at about two thirds 198 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:58.320 of us, our skin was pink. 199 00:13:00.039 --> 00:13:07.919 And some energy, some weight, maybe too much weight to us. 200 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:10.960 Call that group A. 201 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.679 But another third of the folks that were in the 202 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.679 waiting room Group B. 203 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:23.519 Their skin was. 204 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:36.480 Seemed brittle, yellowed, not as much weight, not as much energy. 205 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:41.200 I mean, some of us were there for preventative reasons. 206 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:47.279 And then group B they were there looking for a 207 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:57.720 cure for something. And at first I thought, man, how 208 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:03.759 do I stay in group A? And then I realized, 209 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:15.120 you don't. Nobody stays in group A. Everyone graduates to 210 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:24.240 Group B. Everyone, unless you're taken suddenly in an accident 211 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:30.399 in some way or another, every single one of us, 212 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:35.759 at some point in this life will graduate from Group 213 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:44.480 A to Group B. It's inevitable. The outer self is 214 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:59.399 wasting away. And if you're if you're not trusting in 215 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:09.679 crime who has promised eternal life to those who would 216 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:15.399 place their life in his hands, I wonder if you 217 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:22.799 are considering carefully the inevitability of what the Bible says 218 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:25.879 here is the wasting away of the outer self. 219 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.799 It is coming. 220 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.919 And then you. 221 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:36.919 Appear before him, it says later in chapter five, and 222 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:45.240 then appear before him this one that maybe you've been resisting, 223 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.519 Maybe you've been resisting his work. 224 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.759 Maybe he you've been resisting. 225 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:54.159 His call and his promise and his what he has 226 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:58.759 offered to you is as this outer self wastes away, 227 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:08.879 what I have for you is eternal, it's renewal, it's 228 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:14.320 life in me, it's forgiveness. It is granted to you, 229 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:21.399 not on your merit, but on mine. And if you're 230 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.600 a Christian this morning, I also wonder whether or not 231 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.320 you are grasping the inevitability of this outer wasting away. 232 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:39.399 It's coming, it accelerates, and then you will appear before him, 233 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:43.639 this Christ who has been renewing you day by day. 234 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.159 You are sooner than you think you are going to 235 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:53.720 appear before him, and you will appear before him. 236 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:57.559 As one who has been renewed by Him in the 237 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:02.240 ongoing repentance that we so often resist, and the ongoing 238 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:05.000 sacrifice that he continues to call you forward in, and 239 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:07.880 the ongoing obedience that he calls you in, in those 240 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:12.359 steps of grace and recommitment that we that we struggle, 241 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.519 but yet he calls us forward growth, step by growth, step, 242 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.759 renewing us day by day in some ways that we 243 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:20.960 quit our teeth about. 244 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:21.480 I know. 245 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:27.799 One day we will stand before him and his work 246 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:33.799 will be on display, and that unwrapping will. 247 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:41.079 Happen sooner than you think that. 248 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:46.799 That is how we live courageously about death, even as 249 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.160 we watch the wasting, because we know that we are 250 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:56.599 being renewed internally by Jesus, and He even now is 251 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.559 welcoming us. 252 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:05.000 Home on a law long journey, not as long for 253 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:05.400 all of. 254 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:13.119 Us, into his presence. Even as we watch the wasting, 255 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:21.000 we realize the renewing and the welcome of Christ. That's 256 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:25.440 how we live courageous about death. 257 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:32.119 There's another way. 258 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:32.359 That Paul gives us. 259 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.319 It's very similar, but that the emphasis shifts slightly. It's 260 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.440 not just as we watch the wasting. Even though we 261 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:43.599 watch the wasting, there's also this we're courageous about death 262 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:50.079 as we lean into the comparing and the preparing. That's 263 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.960 the second way you could jot that down. If you're 264 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:58.440 taking notes, as we lean in to the comparing and 265 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:06.799 the preparing, see what's wasting away and what's being renewed, 266 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:13.599 they are not of similar value. What we're losing hardly 267 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.200 compares to what we're winning. This is what he says 268 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:24.720 in verse seventeen. For this light momentary affliction is preparing 269 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:29.839 for us an eternal weight of glory, beyond all comparison, 270 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:33.640 beyond all comparison. He says, it's beyond all comparison. But 271 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:37.799 of course what he's doing is comparing, right, He's comparing 272 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:39.559 the incomparable. 273 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:48.319 Light momentary weighty eternal, and he's. 274 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:51.720 Comparing these two, and he calls us that's what he's doing. 275 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:53.279 He's calling us. 276 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:58.000 To compare, to lean in to the comparing between this 277 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:02.160 affliction now. 278 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:05.160 And that glory. Then how does it compare. 279 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:06.480 How does it compare? 280 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.400 Well, I think about my tent. My tent. 281 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.960 It's like ten pounds, which I know some of you 282 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.559 are like backpackers. You're like ten pounds. That's really heavy. 283 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.240 I've never carried this thing. It belongs in the car. 284 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.480 It's a car camping tent. It's the taj Mahal. It's amazing. 285 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.279 You can put all my kids in it, which has 286 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:33.319 never happened. But it's ten pounds. I mean I could. 287 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:35.160 I could lift it up and put it up on 288 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:38.880 the very top shelf of the storage you know, shelves 289 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.359 in my garage, which is exactly what I did, never 290 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:45.440 to be seen again, and not hard to put up there. 291 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:48.799 Ten pounds. I did the math, thanks cha, GPT. I 292 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:54.079 did the math for how much my house weighs. We're 293 00:20:54.119 --> 00:21:00.119 thinking six hundred thousand pounds brick house, concrete slab. Six 294 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:03.039 hundred thousand pounds is how much my house weighs. And 295 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.480 I'm thinking this is a pretty good analogy between light 296 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.519 and weighty. This is the analogy actually that Paul is 297 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:13.599 using the difference between a tabernacle and a temple. That's 298 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.519 the difference between a tent and a house. That's the 299 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:22.000 difference between the lightness of the affliction that we are 300 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:24.440 going through. And we are going through it, no doubt 301 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.279 about it. We feel it, and he says, but what 302 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:30.640 I want you to realize is the comparison between the 303 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.599 affliction and the glory is that between a tent and 304 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:38.839 a house. It's weight. It's beyond comparison. It's beyond comparison, 305 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:46.400 and it's eternal. If you want to compare timelines, just 306 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:48.559 think of your life. 307 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:52.640 Think of your life as like. 308 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:58.799 Five or six sheets of paper. Right, consider them chapters. 309 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.839 Let me go chapter one. We'll take these chapters in 310 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.759 fifteen year increments. Right, we got five or six sheets 311 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:12.119 of paper sitting on the desk. Chapter one, ages zero 312 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:27.440 through fifteen, childhood, ages fifteen through thirty, okay, youth, Chapter three, 313 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:35.599 ages thirty through forty five, adulthood. We're halfway done, Ages 314 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:39.599 forty five through sixty. Call that maturity. That's chapter four. 315 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:48.920 Chapter five, age sixty through seventy five. Call that finishing. 316 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:53.519 Maybe you have chapter six, seventy five and forward. 317 00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:10.640 Call that bonus. Five or six sheets. 318 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:12.839 That's it, just. 319 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:19.839 Hardly perceptible on the table, and eternity. 320 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:24.720 Is pages to the sky pages to the sky. 321 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:31.319 It's incomparable the lightness of our affliction and the momentary 322 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:36.799 nature of our affliction compared to the weightiness and the 323 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:44.079 eternity of our glory. The way of courage while your 324 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:50.119 tent is falling apart is recognizing that you're moving into 325 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:50.599 a house. 326 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:53.799 The way of. 327 00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:58.720 Courage while your tent is falling apart is recognizing you're 328 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:05.920 moving into a house. Lean in to the comparing, and 329 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:09.680 he says, and the preparing, he says, this black, momentary 330 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:13.720 affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. 331 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:16.880 And part of this preparing is just knowing the renewal 332 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:20.599 of Christ. Christ is at work in all of our 333 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:25.319 afflictions in every way, and it is preparing for us. 334 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.119 He is preparing for. 335 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:28.680 Us an eternal weight of glory. 336 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:30.920 But also a big part of this is that he 337 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.920 knows how he's investing his afflictions. 338 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:34.720 Right. 339 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.880 He is persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. 340 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.960 He knows how he's investing his afflictions. He's not just 341 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:46.279 letting them run, He's not just limping along. He's taking 342 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:48.839 all of his affliction as the throwing them into the 343 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:53.720 work that Christ has given us. Church, Let's invest our afflictions. 344 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:59.359 Let's lean into our preparation. There's something to be done 345 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.279 with our afflictions that actually helps us to live with 346 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:11.720 courage about death. We're investing them. Lean into the preparing, 347 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:15.960 lean into the comparing. That's how you are courageous about death. 348 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:20.640 You lean into those things even as you watch the wasting. 349 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.640 You lean into the comparing and the preparing, and you 350 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.759 live courageously about death. That's what God has given to us. 351 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:39.279 Here's the third way. Here's the third way. 352 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:42.079 You're courageous. 353 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:52.079 As you point your sight, as you point your sight, 354 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:58.079 as you direct your gaze, as you consider your vision. 355 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:05.279 This is how puts it exactly in verse eighteen. As 356 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:08.039 we look not to the things that are seen, but 357 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:10.519 to the things that are unseen. For the things that 358 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:12.599 are seen or transient, but the things that are unseen 359 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:16.559 are eternal. So he says, we look, there's something that 360 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:23.680 we don't look to right, not this, but that, And 361 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:26.519 there's a reason transient versus eternal. 362 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:28.599 In other words, we're. 363 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:33.319 Not focused on the tent poles that are snapping, and 364 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:36.079 the cords that are fraying, and the pegs that are 365 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:43.480 going missing. We're focused on our solid home. We're focused 366 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:45.079 on being with the people in our home, like it 367 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:48.279 says in verse two of chapter five, like we've grown 368 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:56.200 to be home. That's how I camp, groaning to be home, 369 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:04.519 not focus on the fact that this thing is leaking, 370 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:13.640 but actually directing my gaze, pointing my vision. 371 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:17.000 Home. 372 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:20.640 I think that's actually the value of camping for a 373 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:21.359 person like me. 374 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:26.039 Is a greater appreciation for my home and the people 375 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:26.240 in it. 376 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:38.000 That's what I told a friend of mine. 377 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:37.920 This past week. 378 00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:43.640 Pastor friend of mine was visiting from Mexico City. We 379 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:46.039 were driving down the road, had a little time, a 380 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.720 little windshield time to kill, and we're just kind of 381 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:49.880 catching up with each other and. 382 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:54.880 My friend from Mexico City. 383 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.920 I'm sure there was some cultural things that neither he 384 00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:00.319 nor I appreciated, because he just came right out and 385 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:04.160 said it. He's like forty, right, and so he looks 386 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:10.000 over at me, He's like, so, fifty two, what's that like? 387 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:24.480 And I said, what it's like is that some part 388 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:31.359 of this tent is always breaking. Now this scene is 389 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:39.680 becoming more obviously transient. I should have also said that 390 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:43.440 now at fifty two I'm more convinced than ever that 391 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:47.759 Christ is not going to give up on me. I've 392 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:52.240 just we've been together for a while, and he has 393 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.640 held me every step of the way, and He has 394 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:57.720 continued to renew me day by day, calling me forward 395 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:04.000 in repentance and obedience and re commitment and growth and affection. 396 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:05.920 And he does it. 397 00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:14.960 Man, he doesn't give up on me. But also some 398 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:20.599 part of this tent is always breaking. And Paul says 399 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:26.359 to that we don't look at those things. We might 400 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.079 maybe make glance at those things, but we gaze at 401 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:34.960