Fix

Yesterday, we read Paul’s description of a “new way” ... a new covenant ... a new relationship with God through Jesus. Paul goes on to use the language of Genesis and God’s creation of light to describe this new way as a light in his life; but as you will see, sharing this light came at a great price for him.


2 Corinthians 4
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.
9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.
12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”
14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.
15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
18 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.


Fix. I need to make sure I have the right perspective in life. If I am not careful, I become distracted by the temporary things of this world and overwhelmed by the temporary troubles of this world. Paul is encouraging us to have what I call an “eternal perspective” ... a perspective that can help align our resources and our time and our goals with God’s ... introducing others to this “new way”. What is your gaze fixed on?

Reflect

Back to Paul’s letter ... You have to remember that this is a very personal letter that Paul is writing. This church that he is writing to is a church he personally started. He is very passionate about their journey with God and anyone that would try to undermine his relationship with them or what he is trying to teach them. In the verses we skipped, Paul’s personal defense has led him to ask them to look at their own lives and the changes that have occurred because Paul introduced them to this new relationship (covenant) with Jesus.


2 Corinthians 3
7 The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?
9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!
10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.
11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.
13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.
14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.
15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.
16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.


Reflect. Paul is referring to the “old way” ... a covenant relationship that God offered the people of Israel (check out Exodus 19 and 20) which was contingent on following the guidelines God established. He is comparing that old covenant with a new covenant relationship offered through Jesus. This new relationship is contingent on Jesus and the forgiveness He can offer because of what He did on the cross. However, Paul reveals a very important element that isn’t contingent on the relationship; but can and should be a natural part of the journey. As followers of Jesus (people who have accepted His grace and surrendered their lives to Him), our lives should “reflect” His life. Jesus was compassionate about others and passionate about honoring God. He was gracious and authentic ... giving and . On this journey, we should become more and more like He is and less and less like we were.

Recall

As we make our way through this new routine the first time, I thought I would remind you that today is “review day”. The weekend message is really important for the life and journey of Eastside; and it is really easy for that message to be lost in the chaos of life. So, every week we will revisit the main theme and passage. This past weekend, Jonathan was talking about interacting with God in the midst of disappointment. He used a Psalm written by a guy named Asaph (a guy who had obviously faced disappointment) as our guide for the discussion.


Psalm 77
1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help.
4 You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days, long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
10 And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
13 O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters - a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.


Recall. For Asaph, he found hope in the midst of his disappointment by recalling what God had done in the past and making God the focus of his prayer. Jonathan also revisited the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land (check out Joshua 3) and how God performed a miracle that they didn’t really get to see because it happened 19 miles upstream. When you face disappointment, you can turn away from God or lean into God and trust that God is working upstream.

Reaffirm

Remember, our new format will not include every verse of a particular book; however, I encourage you to read through the passages we skip. In the verses preceding this passage, Paul is addressing some complaints about his motives and the fact that he backed out on a trip in which he had planned to visit them. Paul had been encouraging them to deal with a specific issue of sin and he was afraid another visit would cause too much grief so he wrote them a letter.


2 Corinthians 1
23 Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn’t return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke.
24 But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.
2 Corinthians 2
1 So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit.
2 For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved.
3 That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful.
4 I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.
5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me.
6 Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough.
7 Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement.
8 So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

Reaffirm. The two things God revealed to me in this passage were ... the challenge, heartache and necessity of confronting someone we love that has made decisions that have dishonored God (verse 4) and ... the challenge, heartache and necessity of demonstrating God’s grace by forgiving, comforting and reaffirming that loved one (verses 7-8).

Learned

As promised, this week I am returning with a brand new format that brings together the best of what we have done so far on the Journey. First, we are primarily returning to a Bible study. I love working through a book and allowing God to reveal Himself through a story or a letter or a poem. We won’t read every verse; but we will cover primary passages of the book. Second, every Wednesday will be a “review day” where we review the theme of the message from the previous weekend. It will be similar to what we have been doing the past couple of months; but we will limit it to one day a week.

Several months back, we began working through the letters Paul (an early church leader) wrote to various communities of Jesus followers. Today, we will begin working through a second letter that Paul wrote to the community of Jesus followers in Corinth. You can review entries from the first letter at eastsidejourney.blogspot.com beginning in November 2008.

Many scholars believe Paul visited Corinth three times (including his first visit when he founded this church) and wrote them four letters with “2 Corinthians” actually being the fourth one. Throughout these interactions, Paul was trying to help the church confront some unresolved sin while dealing with opposition to his authority as a leader.


2 Corinthians 1
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.


Learned. For me, there were two very important things that God revealed to me in reading this passage. One, my responsibility to comfort others who are facing similar challenges to the ones I have experienced (verse 4). Two, my choice to turn away from God or learn to rely on God when I am experiencing suffering (verse 9).