HOW TO HANG IN THERE

HOW TO HANG IN THERE

2 Cor 4:1-18

When I rode bulls, there was a popular slogan we liked to use: Hang In There!

I had a t-shirt that had a bull rider bouncing around on the back of a bull, his hand in the rope, and the phrase in big words. Hang in there!

You know, as much as the people watching might have wanted the bullrider to "hang in there." And as much as the bull rider himself wanted to "hang in there." The fact of the matter is, it takes more than desire and good wishes from the spectators to stay on the bull. You got to have some determination. And it doesn't hurt to have some people rooting for you. But successful bull riders "hang in there” because they have learned how.

I want to use that to illustrate the fact, that, 

·   staying in your ministry.  

·   Keeping on doing what God has called you to.

·   Continuing on for the Lord despite the trials, 

can't be accomplished by will power.You can't just determine to do it and succeed.  

And, even though it is nice to have people encouraging you to live for God, they can't keep you doing it.

You have to "know how."  

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.

I believe 2 Corinthians 4 tells us how he did it.  

*I. PAUL ACCEPTED THE MINISTRY GOD GAVE HIM.

2 Corinthians 4:1 (KJV)

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

A. 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.

B. The context of this verse is in view of the trials he faced because of his ministry.

In chapter 3, Paul answers the question as to whether or not he needed to have a letter of commendation from the other Apostles.

Paul's ministry was being attacked by some within the Corinthians church.

And yet, despite all that, he simply writes, “seeing we have this ministry... we faint not.”

C.  We would do well to learn from this to accept whatever ministry we have

Sometimes all of us get to looking around and wishing we had it like someone else has it.

·   We wish we could be the pastor

·   We wish we could be the teen leader.

·   We wish we could sing as well as the some who have talents in music.

·   We wish we could be the top tither in the church

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

We even have a hint in verse 1 how to do that:

"... as we have received mercy of the Lord, we faint not."

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.

We could have been the ones who are outside.

We could be the ones facing hell, not the ones trying to keep souls from going there.

The next thing I see in this chapter is that

*II. PAUL HAD A PROPER PERSPECTIVE OF HIS PROBLEMS

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (KJV)

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

These were the verses that got my attention to prepare this message.

Paul make 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 may, 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 sometimes 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.

For the Christian, even the ultimate trial, that of losing our life, isn't really a defeat, but a victory.

Now, we face trials from many different angles.

Physical trials.  

When our bodies suffer. Medically or whatever.

Social trials.  

When we suffer maybe at work or with our relationships outside of church and 

Spiritual trials.

When we suffer because of our faith, and for our faith, and in the service of our faith.

But we need to keep them in perspective and remember, they could be worse.

Paul comforted the Hebrews, and challenged them to go on for the Lord despite their problems by saying to them, Hebrews 12:4 (KJV)

"Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin."

Paul kept on going for God, and finished his course, because he kept his problems in perspective and didn't allow them to overwhelm him.

The third thing I saw in 2 Corinthians was

*III. PAUL HAD HIS EYES FIXED ON THE RIGHT THINGS.

2 Corinthians 4:10-18 (KJV)

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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

2 Corinthians 4:18 (KJV)

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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

2 Corinthians 4:10 (KJV)

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

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 fared 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.

Some years ago, I remember learning an acrostic for the word joy.

J Jesus first

O Others second

Y Yourself last

I understand that is the opposite of what everything 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.

2 Corinthians 4:11 (KJV)

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

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

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, we see him as Stephen did, 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.

And that, my beloved, is the number one tool to keep you, hanging in there.

Let's Pray