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Show THREE WORDS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE 2 Corinthians 4: 7 -12 While I have read for verses our hearing of Scripture, I want to lift out three words for us to reason together six only morning. F or many of us get discouraged when under pressure, grow weary with well-doing, want to quit when things don't go our way. We seem especially quick to get upset and want to about this bailout when it comes to church life and church work. If we behaved the same way on our daily jobs we would always be unemployed or in the classroom our name news dropout. I have good for you that will help you. I want would be 1 God gave this book of 2 Corinthians to Paul for us was to suggest that the to deal with our reason attitudes. The first word that I want to lift up to deal with our attitudes is "TREASURE." God sees in us something special and we ought to be glad about it. We have discovered that knowing Jesus Christ and making Him know to others is a precious treasure. We can rejoice that what is on the surface is not all there is. In fact, the surface is not the real thing at all. The real things is hidden on the inside to come forth one day after being tried in the fire as pure gold. I was looking at some men diving where they thought old ships had sank. They came up with something that did 2 not look like when they anything but junk: to but took it for evaluation and assessment to the them what me a expert, the expert told precious, expensive treasure they had found. Jesus said in one of His parable that the kingdom of heaven in field, hid, bought, and rejoiced over. Paul writes, like a treasure found in "We have this treasure a It's " ... ours. We possess it. We lay claim to it. We hold on to it. We have discovered the treasure of God and that makes our gives on us reason to hold souls to it. The second word that is in this text is "CLAY" or so glad and important "EARTHEN VESSEL.". This is the Lord's way of reminding us of our origin, of how in comparison to God unworthy we 3 are. Weare formed from the dust of the earth, not even dirt. We deteriorate and fall apart and crumble. Solomon sums us up keepers shall tremble, our grinders shall be few, our in Ecclesiastes 12: our windows will darken, our door will shut, sleep will be hard to come by, the become burdensome, hair will fall out, and we shall return to the dust from which we came. Just know grasshopper will that what we are on the outside is wasting away ought to humble us before God our Creator We are God's depository for . His treasure. We and are fragile, breakable easily damaged. Since we temporary containers, and wait until our we only have to hold change comes. The third word that I want 4 are us to on consider is "POWER." What a magnificent notion-that God would plant a treasure in us for us to discover our feeble bodies and that He would be the source words, we in of our empowerment. In other can do nothing without Him but with Him All Even when satan things comes are possible. after us with all permitted to do, God's power surpasses it. He can only go so far before God overrides. The old folks had it right, he is "God never He has us puts anymore upon prepared us to handle. He than gives mountains, power to obstacles, power to hold on, power to overcome us move give up, power to see the light, power to win the race, power to live in victory, power to rise again to power to never 5 newness In of life. short, this text encourages us to happiness with the treasure, humility in our clay, and hope in His claim power. 6 |
