Foundation of Our Faith

Treasures in Clay Jars

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Dr. Morgan Medlock

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Series Code: FDOF

Program Code: FDOF000035A


00:19 Hello, and welcome to Foundation of Our Faith,
00:23 a production of the Dare to Dream network.
00:25 My name is John Lomacang,
00:27 and I am your host for this program.
00:30 I am so pleased to be able to introduce to you
00:33 Dr. Morgan M. Medlock,
00:35 who is our presenter for this message
00:38 which is entitled "Treasure in Clay Jars".
00:43 Now, sometimes we think of our value
00:45 and where we stand in the sight of God,
00:47 but I believe that our presenter today
00:48 is going to give us a wonderful message of encouragement
00:51 to know that God can use clay jars
00:54 to reflect His glory.
00:57 Dr. Medlock is a graduate of Oakwood University.
01:01 In 2007, she graduated
01:02 with a degree in biology and premed.
01:05 In 2011, graduated from Andrews University
01:07 with an MDiv in theology.
01:09 And in 2013
01:11 from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
01:13 with an M.D. in medicine.
01:15 Well qualified
01:17 but also a very spiritual individual
01:19 centered in the Word of God.
01:22 She is currently in residency in psychiatric medicine
01:25 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
01:29 And this school is affiliated
01:31 with the Harvard Medical School.
01:33 More than all of that,
01:35 she wants to dedicate her life to uplifting Jesus
01:37 and one day hopes to specialize in addiction treatment
01:40 to help people break the chains of mental,
01:43 physical and spiritual bondage.
01:46 And I believe that's the reason why God has filled her
01:49 with such a depth of scriptural knowledge
01:51 and anointed the work that He has called her to do.
01:54 Before she comes to bless us,
01:57 we're gonna have a song by a young man
01:58 by the name of Jason Bulgin.
02:01 He is from, a native of Toronto, Canada,
02:04 a young man who desires to live his life on purpose.
02:08 As he comes to sing,
02:10 I'm gonna open with a word of prayer,
02:12 after I pray, after he sings,
02:14 the next voice that you will hear
02:16 will be that of Dr. Morgan Medlock.
02:18 Let's bow our heads together.
02:20 Gracious Father in heaven,
02:22 we thank You for the power
02:23 and privilege of speaking in behalf of heaven.
02:27 We pray an anointing on your servants today,
02:30 your servant in song, your servant in message.
02:34 Unify in these hearts and lives
02:37 the power and the presentation needed
02:40 that Jesus might be seen, might be exalted,
02:44 might be uplifted and hearts will be melted and drawn
02:48 into a saving relationship with Him.
02:50 Bless now your servant in song,
02:52 and then bless your servant
02:54 in message in Jesus name, I pray.
02:57 Amen.
03:04 I count it as a privilege to worship the master,
03:07 the wonderful, the awesome name of Jesus.
03:10 I count it as a privilege to lift His name on heart.
03:12 He's worthy of my praise.
03:15 He's worthy of our praise.
03:23 Lord, we've come to give praise
03:27 Jesus Your name most high
03:31 How we love to call Your name
03:35 Jesus Your name most high
03:39 Lord, we've come to sing praise
03:43 Jesus Your name most high
03:47 How we love to call Your name
03:51 Jesus Your name most high
03:55 Lord, we lift high our hands
03:59 Jesus Your name most high
04:03 Giving praise to Your name,
04:07 Jesus Your name most high
04:11 Lord, we lift high our hands
04:15 Jesus Your name most high
04:19 Giving praise to Your name
04:23 Jesus Your name most high
04:27 When I think of what You've done
04:31 Jesus Your name most high
04:35 How you hung, bled and died
04:39 Jesus Your name most high
04:43 So we've come to sing praise
04:47 Jesus Your name most high
04:51 How we love to call Your name
04:55 Jesus Your name most high
05:05 Jesus has been so many things in my life,
05:08 a healer, a provider, He's been everything.
05:13 So we call His name,
05:15 shelter, provider,
05:19 Jesus.
05:21 Your name most high.
05:23 Shelter,
05:25 provider,
05:27 my Jesus.
05:29 Your name most high.
05:31 Shelter
05:32 Provider Provider
05:34 Jesus Jesus
05:36 Your name Your name most high
05:39 Shelter Shelter
05:40 Provider Provider
05:42 Jesus Jesus
05:45 Your name most high
05:46 Shelter Shelter
05:48 Provider Provider
05:49 He is my Jesus Jesus
05:52 Is your name Your name most high
05:54 Shelter Shelter
05:56 Provider Provider
05:58 Jesus Jesus
06:00 Your name Your name most high
06:01 You're my ruler Ruler
06:04 Redeemer Redeemer
06:06 Jesus Jesus
06:08 Your name Your name most high
06:10 Ruler Ruler
06:12 Redeemer Redeemer
06:14 Jesus Jesus
06:16 Your name Your name most high
06:18 You're my master Master
06:20 Savior Savior
06:22 Jesus Jesus
06:24 Your name Your name most high
06:26 I love you Master
06:28 I adore you Savior
06:30 Jesus Jesus
06:32 Your name Your name most high
06:33 Cry Jesus Jesus
06:36 Jesus Jesus
06:38 Jesus Jesus
06:40 Your name Your name most high
06:42 Hallelujah.
06:50 A name above every name,
06:53 and just as much as we love to praise Him,
06:56 He loves to hear our praises.
07:00 Thank you
07:01 for that ministry in song.
07:06 You know something.
07:07 I have been on a journey
07:09 of not only contemplating Jesus Christ
07:12 as being our provider,
07:15 but contemplating Him
07:17 as being the gift that is above all.
07:21 And so our message today will challenge us
07:25 to consider whether Jesus is the most important person,
07:30 the most important treasure in our lives.
07:33 I'm so much looking forward to sharing this word with you.
07:36 So I want to invite you to turn with me
07:39 to 2 Corinthians,
07:41 2 Corinthians 4.
07:46 2 Corinthians 4.
07:49 And our focus today will be on verses 1-7.
07:57 The Bible says,
08:00 "Therefore,
08:02 since we have this ministry,
08:06 as we have received mercy we did not lose heart,
08:11 but we have renounced the hidden things of shame.
08:14 Not walking in craftiness
08:16 nor handling the word of God deceitfully,
08:20 but by manifestation of the truth
08:22 commending ourselves to every man's conscience
08:25 in the sight of God.
08:27 But even if our gospel is veiled,
08:30 it is veiled to those who are perishing,
08:33 whose minds the God of this age has blinded,
08:37 who do not believe,
08:39 lest the light of the glory
08:42 of the gospel of Christ
08:45 who is the image of God should shine on them.
08:50 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus,
08:54 and ourselves your bond servants for his sake,
08:57 for it is the God who commanded light
09:00 to shine out of darkness
09:02 who has shown in our hearts
09:05 to give the light of the knowledge
09:08 of the glory of God
09:10 in the face of Jesus Christ.
09:13 For we have this treasure in earthen vessels
09:19 that the excellence of the power
09:22 may be of God and not of us."
09:26 I like you to consider with me today the subject
09:29 "Treasure in Clay Jars".
09:33 Treasure in Clay Jars.
09:38 Let us pray.
09:39 Father, You are here already
09:43 and so we pray
09:45 that the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ
09:48 would now shine into each and every heart,
09:51 in Jesus' name we pray.
09:53 Amen.
09:56 What is the most valuable thing
10:01 you possess?
10:03 You see the Bible teaches
10:05 that Jesus Christ should be the most valuable treasure
10:10 that anyone possesses.
10:13 The Bible compares Jesus to a pearl of great price.
10:18 A treasure that a man finds in a field
10:22 and when He has found it,
10:24 he immediately goes and sells all that he has
10:27 in order to purchase that field.
10:29 The Bible says that Jesus is like a pearl of great value
10:33 that when He is found,
10:35 a person is willing to sell all that he has
10:38 in order to possess it.
10:41 The Apostle Paul realized
10:43 that Jesus has immense value.
10:46 In fact, Paul considered himself merely a clay jar
10:51 which contained a vast treasure, Jesus Christ.
10:55 You see in the Greco-Roman world where Paul lived,
10:59 it was common for things of great value
11:02 to be hidden in clay jars.
11:05 This was a deterrent to thieves who would assume that
11:08 because the container was not valuable
11:11 that there was nothing valuable on the inside.
11:14 But Paul says,
11:16 "I am like a clay jar
11:18 which seems to be of little value,
11:21 but I contain the greatest treasure
11:24 in the entire universe, Jesus Christ."
11:28 You see in 2 Corinthians,
11:30 Paul is responding to his critics
11:34 who have judged his ministry,
11:36 not according to the content of his message
11:39 but by his human limitations.
11:42 You see Paul was being judged
11:45 not as the container of the gospel
11:48 but they were judging the contents of his message.
11:51 The Bible says that they felt
11:53 that Paul was not lofty enough in his speech,
11:56 that Paul did not command the respect
11:58 that they felt a great apostle should.
12:01 And in response Paul says
12:03 that my value is not based on who I am
12:08 but on who Jesus is.
12:10 He says, "I am like a clay jar,
12:13 I am fragile,
12:14 I may not have the most eloquent speech,
12:17 I may not be a man of tall stature."
12:20 In fact it is believed that Paul struggled
12:22 with a physical infirmity.
12:24 But Paul says
12:25 that in spite of me being a fragile clay jar,
12:29 I contain something of exceeding value.
12:33 The Gospel of Jesus Christ is inside of me.
12:38 See Paul says,
12:39 I have not preached according to my own wisdom
12:42 but I have preached Christ.
12:45 I have not ministered out of my own abilities
12:47 but I have ministered
12:49 through the abilities of Jesus Christ.
12:51 He says, I have this treasure, Jesus Christ
12:55 that the excellence of the power
12:59 may be of God and not of us.
13:04 And this ought to encourage someone
13:07 who believes that your value,
13:09 who would recognize today that your value
13:11 is not determined by external attributes,
13:15 not but by what is on the inside of you.
13:18 And according to Paul
13:20 if you have Jesus inside of you,
13:23 then Paul says you have a great treasure.
13:28 I love this scripture
13:31 because it is one of the clearest statements
13:34 in all of the New Testament regarding Jesus Christ
13:39 as the treasure of the gospel.
13:42 See, this message takes us
13:45 beyond receiving God to treasuring God.
13:51 What is the difference between
13:53 receiving God and treasuring God?
13:58 Have you ever received a gift that frankly
14:01 it wasn't what you desired?
14:04 Perhaps you are a person who makes wish list.
14:08 Maybe before some holiday you were careful
14:10 to distribute this list to your loved ones to be sure
14:14 that you got exactly what you wanted.
14:17 And despite your best efforts, maybe you receive something
14:20 that did not fulfill your deepest longing.
14:24 So what did you do?
14:25 Maybe you received the gift
14:28 but it's likely you did not treasure the gift,
14:32 maybe it was placed in some corner,
14:34 some closet and has never been used again.
14:38 Well, unfortunately for many people
14:40 Jesus Christ has been received
14:44 but he has never been treasured.
14:47 You see, for many people
14:48 there was something else in their lives
14:51 that they value more than Jesus.
14:53 There is something else in their lives
14:55 that they seek more than Him.
14:58 Many have asked God to give them some blessing,
15:02 some fame from Him,
15:04 but they have not actually treasured Him.
15:08 So Paul says that the treasure of our lives
15:12 should be Jesus Christ,
15:14 not even the blessing He gives are greater than Him.
15:18 Yes, He gives blessings,
15:20 but He is the greatest blessing.
15:23 Yes, He gives gifts, but He is the greatest gift.
15:29 Have you ever treasured something?
15:33 How do we act when we treasure something?
15:36 Do we not put it in a special place?
15:38 Do we not show admiration for it?
15:42 Do we not become anxious
15:44 lest any one should mishandle our precious gift?
15:48 See, Paul is saying that Jesus
15:51 should be the greatest treasure in our lives.
15:55 He should have a special place.
15:57 He should be comparable
15:58 to nothing else that we possess.
16:00 He should be so valuable
16:01 that we have to tell others about Him.
16:06 Now for us to grow in treasuring Christ,
16:10 we should reflect on
16:11 why the gospel of Jesus Christ is such good news.
16:16 2 Corinthians 4, returning to our passage.
16:20 In verse 6, the Bible says,
16:22 "For it is God
16:24 who commanded light
16:26 to shine out of darkness
16:30 who has shone in our hearts
16:32 to give the light of the knowledge
16:34 of the glory of God
16:36 in the face of Jesus Christ."
16:40 You see the initiative of God
16:43 is what makes the gospel good news.
16:46 So you see, it begins, it begins with God
16:49 commanding His light to enter our hearts.
16:52 None of us came to Christ by our own initiative.
16:56 None of us is saved
16:57 because we somehow deserve to be saved by our own merits.
17:01 No, it was God who commanded His light
17:05 to enter our hearts.
17:08 Now because Paul is a Hebrew,
17:11 he is calling forth a remembrance
17:14 of how the world was created
17:16 which is recorded in the Hebrew scriptures,
17:18 the Old Testament.
17:20 For he says that in the same way
17:22 that God commanded light to enter the world
17:25 at the beginning of time,
17:27 so he commanded light
17:28 to enter our souls at our rebirth.
17:32 You see, when the earth was without form
17:34 and void in the beginning,
17:36 and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
17:39 But it was God who commanded light,
17:42 and there was light.
17:44 Paul says that in a similar manner,
17:46 "Before we met Christ,
17:48 our lives were without form and void,
17:51 but God commanded His light
17:54 to enter our hearts."
17:57 And, so now for Paul,
17:59 his experience of conversion
18:02 was very much reminiscent of light
18:05 suddenly flooding into his heart.
18:08 For we know Paul's biography that before meeting Christ,
18:12 he was a persecutor of Christians.
18:15 Paul says in Philippians,
18:17 "I knew the law, but I didn't know Christ.
18:20 I was persecuting the church of God."
18:22 In fact it was while Paul was on the road to Damascus,
18:26 he was on a journey to actually incarcerate Christians
18:29 while he was riding along on his beast,
18:32 the Bible says that Jesus met him.
18:37 You know, God can meet you
18:39 in the most uncanny circumstances.
18:41 Why does He do that?
18:43 Because He is that desperate
18:45 to reveal His glory to us.
18:50 You remember your conversion story.
18:53 Do you remember what you were and who you were
18:55 when God commanded His light to enter your heart.
18:58 I remember where I was.
19:00 I was a 12 year old girl,
19:03 and I remember that
19:04 as I was growing up in the church
19:05 that many had thought
19:07 that I was overactive and anxious
19:09 and they had diagnosed me with ADHD,
19:12 they didn't have medical licenses
19:13 but they felt that my behavior was consistent with that.
19:17 I was a rambunctious child.
19:19 But I remember at the age of 12,
19:22 being asked to provide a sermon for Youth Day.
19:25 And I remember at the moment that I took the pulpit
19:28 that I felt God's love in His heart
19:31 and His Holy Spirit take control of me
19:34 and speak through me,
19:36 and it was at that very moment
19:38 that God's light entered my heart.
19:41 And since that moment I have never been the same.
19:44 Do you remember
19:46 where you were and who you were
19:48 when God reached you for the very first time?
19:51 Maybe there's someone here
19:53 who has not experienced God's light ever before.
19:56 This message is for you
19:57 because even now I believe that God
20:00 is commanding His light of the gospel of Jesus Christ
20:04 to enter your heart.
20:06 At the cross, at the cross says that great song,
20:09 where I first saw the light
20:11 and the burden of my heart rolled away.
20:15 It was there by faith I received my sight
20:19 and now I am happy all the day.
20:23 Amazing grace,
20:24 how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me,
20:30 I once was lost, but now I'm found,
20:33 was blind but now I see.
20:37 Praise God.
20:39 Seeing the light of the gospel
20:43 is never a neutral experience.
20:47 Countless individuals have described the difference
20:50 Jesus has made in their lives.
20:53 See, once we experience Christ glory,
20:56 we can never be the same.
20:59 "The purpose of the light of the gospel",
21:01 follow the text,
21:03 "the purpose of the light of the gospel
21:05 is to reveal the glory of Jesus Christ."
21:09 For Paul says
21:10 that it is the light of the knowledge
21:13 of the glory of God
21:14 visible in the face of Jesus.
21:19 It may surprise you to hear me say
21:24 that the gospel does not primarily reveal
21:27 how we can be saved.
21:31 It may surprise you to hear me say
21:33 that the gospel does not primarily reveal
21:37 how we can make it to heaven.
21:39 It may surprise you to hear me say
21:42 that the gospel does not primarily reveal
21:45 how we can be blessed.
21:47 No, it is the gospel
21:50 which primarily reveals the glory of God
21:54 in the face of Jesus Christ.
21:59 See, Paul and the apostles saw the glory of Jesus Christ.
22:03 This was their essential and qualifying experience.
22:07 John 1:14,
22:09 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
22:12 and we beheld his glory.
22:15 The glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
22:18 full of grace and truth."
22:22 1 John 1:1, turn there.
22:25 1 John 1:1,
22:27 "That which was from the beginning,
22:29 which we have heard,
22:31 which we have seen with our eyes,
22:33 which we have looked upon
22:35 and our hands have handled concerning the word of life.
22:40 It was manifested and we have seen it
22:43 and we bear witness to it."
22:47 See, it is essential
22:50 that we see the glory of Christ.
22:55 How can we see His glory?
22:57 How can we see it?
22:59 Seeing refers to an experiential knowledge
23:04 of Jesus' glory.
23:05 It refers to the glory of Christ
23:08 which is known through His Holy Spirit.
23:11 You see, it is the Holy Spirit's work
23:13 in our lives to reveal the glory of Christ.
23:17 Think about it, John 7:39, John 7:39, the Bible says,
23:23 "That the spirit was not yet given, why?
23:26 Because Jesus was not yet glorified."
23:30 And then we turn over to John 16:14.
23:34 Jesus is describing the work
23:36 and the function of the Holy Spirit,
23:38 and He says,
23:39 "He shall glorify Me for he shall receive a mind
23:44 and shall show it unto you."
23:46 So to glorify Jesus Christ
23:49 is the primary role of the Holy Spirit.
23:53 In fact, the focus of the entire gospel,
23:57 the entire message of God
23:59 is to reveal the glory of Jesus Christ.
24:05 And so I want to challenge someone today.
24:08 Don't stop at just joining a church.
24:12 Don't stop at reading the Bible.
24:15 Don't stop at doing acts of Christian service,
24:18 all of these things are good things
24:21 but they are not the gospel.
24:23 The gospel is seeing the glory of Jesus Christ.
24:27 Ask God today
24:29 for greater revelation of Christ's glory.
24:33 You see, in 2 Corinthians 3,
24:36 Paul leads us through the historical account
24:39 of the only person, listen, the only person
24:43 who has ever asked to see God's glory.
24:47 Wow.
24:49 Paul tells us the story of Moses,
24:52 the great prophet
24:53 who was leading the children of Israel
24:56 and given this great and serious
24:57 and momentous task before him,
25:00 he was desperate according to the scriptures
25:03 for God's presence and direction.
25:06 Moses was hungry for the glory of God.
25:09 He said, "God, if Your presence does not go with us,
25:13 please, do not lead us up from here."
25:17 And finally, he asked God,
25:19 "Please,
25:20 show me Your glory.
25:24 Please,
25:26 show me your glory."
25:30 And isn't it amazing that when Moses asked
25:35 to see the glory of God
25:38 that God honored his amazing request.
25:42 God said, "No one can actually see my face and live,
25:46 but I will put you in a place beside me,
25:50 and I would declare My name before you."
25:53 And so the Lord pass before Him and proclaim the Lord,
25:57 the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
26:00 longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth,
26:04 keeping mercy for thousands
26:06 but forgiving iniquity and transgression
26:10 and sin, hallelujah.
26:12 You see, Moses was so transformed
26:15 by the glory of God
26:18 that when he returned from the mountain,
26:20 his face shone with God's glory,
26:25 so much so that the people begged him
26:30 to cover his face.
26:34 It's a fact
26:35 that God had invited the entire nation
26:39 to meet with him
26:41 but only Moses saw God's glory.
26:47 Notice, that Moses experienced
26:51 the transforming power of the gospel.
26:55 While the multitude never went beyond the law.
26:59 What did they say?
27:01 Everything God has said we will do
27:04 but in the end
27:05 they not only failed to keep the law
27:06 but that entire generation also failed
27:10 to enter the Promised Land.
27:13 You see, anything we have,
27:15 even if it is a good thing,
27:20 if it is disconnected
27:22 from seeing the glory of Christ,
27:25 then it is of no spiritual value.
27:31 But, oh, how tempting it is
27:33 to make good things the gospel.
27:37 Heaven may seem like for gospel.
27:40 What a wonderful promise that we have in John 14.
27:45 "In my father's house, says Jesus, are many mansions,
27:50 if it were not so I would have told you.
27:54 I go to prepare a place for you."
27:57 And many stopped there and say that's the gospel.
28:00 That is the good news.
28:02 But as we read on,
28:04 we discover that the real beauty of this promise
28:07 is not the place
28:09 but the person who has promised.
28:11 For it says, "If I go and prepare a place for you,
28:16 I will come and receive you," where?
28:19 Not to mansions, He said,
28:20 "I will receive you to Myself that where I am,
28:25 there you will be also."
28:28 See, heaven is not about going to some place.
28:32 Heaven is about dwelling
28:35 in the glory of Jesus Christ.
28:39 That's why David could lift up his eyes
28:41 and say in Psalms 27,
28:43 "One thing have I desired of the Lord,
28:48 and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in His house,
28:53 to behold the beauty of God
28:57 and to enquire in His temple."
29:00 God's glory is all that matters.
29:04 But how easy it is
29:06 to make good things the gospel?
29:09 God's miracles may seem like the gospel.
29:12 For isn't it a great thing
29:14 to receive some miraculous deliverance,
29:17 some sudden and unexpected answer to prayer?
29:22 And we do serve a God who works miracles.
29:26 I love hearing stories
29:28 about miraculous healings and answers to prayer
29:31 by those who have put their trust in God.
29:33 Indeed, God is a mighty healer,
29:36 I acknowledge that today.
29:39 But miracles, my friends,
29:41 are not the gospel.
29:44 You see, Jesus taught this clearly in John 6,
29:48 this was after the great miracle
29:49 of the loaves and fish.
29:51 Jesus fed over 5,000 people
29:54 with two fish and five loaves of bread,
29:57 but the crowd was stunned with what Jesus shared
30:01 after He fed this great multitude.
30:04 He said, "Wait a minute, wait a minute,
30:06 you are impressed
30:07 because you had your fill of the bread and the fish,
30:10 but I am the bread of life.
30:15 He that cometh to me shall never hunger
30:19 and he that believeth on me
30:22 shall never thirst."
30:25 He went on to say, "Verily I say unto you,
30:29 except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
30:34 and drink His blood,
30:37 you have no life in you."
30:41 What was Jesus saying?
30:42 Jesus was teaching
30:44 that He is as essential to our spiritual life
30:48 as bread is to our physical life.
30:51 If we only receive miracles and blessings from Him
30:54 but we fail to partake of who He is,
30:58 then we have missed the beauty of the gospel.
31:03 But how easy it is
31:05 to even make our message the gospel?
31:08 Our message is a good thing.
31:10 What a beautiful message that we have,
31:12 but if we only have that, if we only have doctrine,
31:18 if we only have the written word
31:20 and not the living word,
31:22 then we have not yet experienced the gospel.
31:28 For John 5:39 says that, "You may search the scriptures,
31:33 thinking that, in them you have life,
31:36 but they testify of me."
31:42 See, Paul also talks about
31:44 how many in his day
31:47 had become overconfident in their message
31:50 to the point that they lost focus
31:52 on Jesus Christ.
31:54 They used clever language and eloquent speech,
31:58 they put confidence in the flesh according to Paul.
32:01 Paul certainly could have joined them in their boasting,
32:04 for according to Philippians 3, he says,
32:07 "If anyone else thinks
32:08 he may have confidence in the flesh,
32:11 I more so,
32:13 for I was circumcised the eighth day.
32:15 I was of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
32:18 a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee,
32:22 concerning zeal, persecuting the church,
32:25 concerning the righteousness which is of the law,
32:27 I was blameless..."
32:28 But Paul goes on, he says,
32:30 "All the things that were gain unto me,
32:34 I have counted loss for Jesus Christ, yet indeed,
32:39 I also count all things loss
32:41 for the excellence of the knowledge
32:44 of Christ Jesus, my Lord,
32:46 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things
32:50 and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ."
32:56 Oh, that great treasure.
32:58 "And that I may be found in Him,
33:00 that I may know Him
33:02 and the power of His resurrection
33:05 and the fellowship of His suffering
33:09 that I may be conformed to His death.
33:12 If by any means,
33:14 I may attain to the resurrection
33:17 from the dead."
33:19 Paul is saying
33:21 that his greatest joy and pleasure
33:24 is to know Jesus Christ.
33:27 1 Corinthians 2:2 says, "I resolve, says Paul,
33:31 to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ
33:34 and Him crucified."
33:37 Friends of mine,
33:38 have you reached that point in your life
33:41 where you have resolved to know nothing else,
33:45 except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
33:50 See, Paul says
33:52 that the God of this age
33:54 Satan, our enemy
33:56 will do anything possible
33:58 to keep us from seeing the glory of Christ.
34:03 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, it says,
34:07 "But even if our gospel is veiled,
34:09 it is veiled to those who are perishing,
34:12 whose minds with god of this age has blinded,
34:16 who do not believe,
34:17 lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ
34:22 should shine on them."
34:24 How does the enemy keep us
34:26 from seeing the glory of Christ?
34:28 I want you to know
34:29 that he cannot overcome Christ's light.
34:31 The only thing that he can do
34:33 is attempt to place a veil over our eyes
34:37 so that we cannot see Christ.
34:40 Paul explains this veil
34:43 in 2 Corinthians 3:14.
34:47 He is speaking again about the children of Israel
34:50 and he says that,
34:52 "Their minds were blinded for until this day, he says,
34:56 the same veil remains un-lifted
34:59 in the reading of Moses,
35:01 because the veil is taken away only in Christ.
35:05 But even to this day, when Moses is read,
35:08 a veil lies on their heart."
35:11 What does it mean to have a veil over one's eyes?
35:15 It means that we fail to see
35:17 the glory and the value of Christ.
35:21 Even in spiritual things,
35:24 if we look up on them
35:25 but fail to see Christ,
35:28 then a veil
35:31 is over our eyes.
35:35 But thank God.
35:38 Thank God
35:40 that we do not have to remain in this condition.
35:44 For Paul goes on to say in verse 16 of chapter 3,
35:48 "Nevertheless..."
35:49 What a powerful word that is in scripture.
35:52 "Nevertheless
35:54 when one turns to the Lord,
35:58 the veil is taken away."
36:02 See, just like Moses
36:04 who would not settle
36:05 for an intellectual knowledge of God
36:08 without experiencing His glory.
36:10 When he turned to the Lord, asking to really see
36:14 and experience Him, the veil was taken away.
36:18 Thank God that this experience is not just for Moses,
36:23 God wishes that all of us would see the glory of Christ.
36:28 Where He says in 3:18 that,
36:31 "We all with unveiled faces,
36:35 hallelujah, can behold the glory of the Lord."
36:41 It's not just the preacher who can see God's glory.
36:44 It's not just some privileged group
36:46 who are invited to see God's glory.
36:49 All of us have the opportunity
36:52 to see His glory.
36:55 Therefore, let us come boldly before Him,
36:57 for God desires to reveal
36:59 the glory of Jesus Christ to us.
37:03 Let's go back to our passage.
37:05 2 Corinthians 4:6,
37:09 "For it is God who commanded light
37:12 to shine out of darkness,
37:16 who has shone in our hearts
37:19 to give the light of the knowledge
37:22 of the glory of God
37:24 in the face of Jesus Christ."
37:28 The same glory that had been reflected
37:32 on the face of Moses
37:34 has now been seen
37:37 on the face of Jesus Christ.
37:40 To see God's glory in the face of Jesus
37:44 is an amazing privilege.
37:46 Peter, James and John saw the glory of Christ.
37:50 In Matthew 17,
37:52 we find the story of Jesus' transfiguration.
37:55 The Bible says that He took His disciples up
37:58 unto a high mountain by Himself
38:01 and He was transfigured before them,
38:03 His face, look at the text,
38:06 "His face shone like the sun..."
38:08 That was the glory of God.
38:10 "And His clothes became as white as the light
38:13 and behold, even Moses and Elijah
38:15 came and appeared to Him and talked with Him."
38:18 And Peter was so stunned by what he was seeing,
38:22 the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
38:25 that all he could say is,
38:26 "Lord, it is good for us to be here."
38:29 In any time we are privileged
38:31 to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ,
38:35 certainly we can say,
38:36 "Lord, it is good for us to be here."
38:41 Now a voice from heaven was heard saying,
38:44 "This is my beloved Son
38:48 in whom I am well pleased."
38:52 Seeing Jesus' glory
38:54 is the focal point of the gospel.
38:58 I want to return to John 1:14,
39:00 "And the Word became flesh
39:03 and dwelt among us and we beheld His," what?
39:07 "His glory,
39:08 the glory of the only begotten of the Father,
39:11 full of grace and truth."
39:14 Colossians 1:15 and 19,
39:18 "He is the image of the invisible God,
39:21 for it please the Father
39:23 that in Him all the fullness..."
39:26 That means all the glory of God
39:28 should dwell in a person.
39:31 And what about 2 Peter 1:17-18?
39:35 I imagine that is...
39:37 Peter is writing this sacred text
39:39 that he is still in awe as he thinks about
39:42 what he experienced that day
39:44 on the mountain of transfiguration.
39:46 For he is recalling his experiences
39:48 with Jesus Christ and he says that,
39:50 He, meaning Jesus,
39:52 received from God, the Father, honor and glory
39:57 when such a voice came to Him from the excellent glory,
40:00 "This is my beloved Son
40:03 in whom I am well pleased."
40:07 You see, Jesus has received glory from the Father,
40:11 for the Father has highly exalted Him
40:13 and given Him a name that is above every name.
40:17 So, the light of the gospel
40:19 reveals the glory of Jesus Christ.
40:22 Jesus Christ
40:24 is the greatest treasure of the gospel.
40:26 In fact, He is the gospel.
40:30 He is the good news.
40:34 This is counter to what many of us
40:38 have experienced as the gospel.
40:41 But the treasure of the gospel
40:44 is Jesus Christ Himself.
40:48 Friends, the things we have shared today,
40:51 the enemy does not want you to know it.
40:54 The light of the gospel is shining all around us
40:58 and the enemy doesn't want you to see it.
41:00 See, glory, glory frightens the enemy.
41:04 He will allow religiosity
41:06 as long as we never see
41:08 the glory of Jesus Christ.
41:11 Paul says that the enemy inserts a veil
41:15 to block Christ's glory.
41:18 For the Jews,
41:20 that veil was legalism,
41:22 for the gentiles,
41:24 that veil was idolatry.
41:27 So the question today,
41:29 what is the veil
41:31 that is blocking our view
41:34 of Christ's glory?
41:38 Through this message
41:39 God is inviting us to turn to Christ.
41:43 For when one turns to Christ,
41:45 the veil is taken away, praise God.
41:49 Seeing the glory of God is critical for the Christian
41:53 because it is the only thing that will liberate us
41:56 from Satan's power.
41:58 2 Corinthians 3:17,
42:01 "Now the Lord, says Paul, is the spirit, the Holy Spirit,
42:04 and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
42:07 there is liberty."
42:09 See, when we turn to the Lord
42:12 through His Spirit,
42:14 see the glory of Christ,
42:16 the enemy's veil is taken away.
42:20 We are liberated
42:21 from spiritual blindness.
42:25 Seeing the glory of Christ is critical
42:29 because it is the only thing
42:31 that would transform our very being.
42:35 2 Corinthians 3:18,
42:37 "But we all with unveiled faces
42:40 beholding as in a mirror,
42:42 the glory of the Lord are being transformed
42:46 into the same image
42:47 from glory to glory
42:50 just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
42:54 The plan of redemption
42:56 aims to restore the image of God in man.
43:01 And this transformation, listen carefully,
43:04 this transformation comes about
43:08 by our contemplating Christ.
43:13 Galatians 4:19, "My little children,
43:16 for whom I labor in birth again
43:19 until Christ is formed in you."
43:22 How is Christ formed in us?
43:24 By our beholding His glory.
43:26 I love this quote
43:28 from my favorite Christian author,
43:30 Ellen White.
43:31 She says, "By beholding we are to become changed.
43:35 And as we meditate upon the perfections
43:38 of the divine model,
43:40 we shall desire to become holy transformed
43:44 and renewed in the image of His purity.
43:47 It is by faith in the Son of God
43:50 that transformation takes place in the character
43:54 and the child of wrath
43:56 becomes the child of God."
43:59 Yes, my friends, by beholding
44:01 we are changed.
44:03 It is the contemplation of the image of Christ
44:07 which acts upon our nature
44:10 to transform us into His likeness
44:13 just as the presence of God transformed Moses
44:17 and transformed Paul and transformed all the others
44:21 who saw His glory.
44:24 And I'm so thankful
44:26 that it's not just the great men and women of scripture.
44:30 But it's the humblest Christian
44:33 who constantly looks to Christ
44:36 as the redeemer
44:37 who will also be granted the privilege
44:40 to reflect in his own life
44:43 the glory of Jesus Christ.
44:46 And this is true, my friends,
44:48 at every stage of our spiritual walk,
44:52 so often we begin our journey with Christ.
44:56 By faith we believe in His merits
44:59 and His righteousness
45:02 but often we go from there,
45:05 and we begin looking at ourselves,
45:07 and we begin to strive for godliness
45:09 through our own power.
45:11 Friends, that is not the Christian experience,
45:14 rather we are to continue
45:16 to faithfully look upon Christ,
45:19 and by beholding we are changed.
45:22 You see, it is God's will that by beholding Christ,
45:26 we will go from glory to glory
45:28 in our personal Christian experience.
45:31 2 Peter 1:5 says,
45:33 "But also for this very reason,
45:36 giving all diligence
45:38 add to your faith virtue,
45:41 to virtue knowledge.
45:44 To knowledge self control,
45:47 to self control,
45:49 perseverance, to perseverance,
45:52 godliness, to godliness
45:54 brotherly kindness,
45:56 and to brotherly kindness, love."
46:00 The spiritual transformation that proceeds from Christ
46:05 takes place only through
46:06 the operation of the Holy Spirit
46:08 who having access to the heart renews and glorifies our nature
46:13 and makes it over
46:15 into the likeness of Christ's perfect life.
46:18 What the Holy Spirit gives us is not some attribute
46:22 that we feel we are at His absence
46:24 from our experience.
46:26 What He gives us is Christ.
46:29 So many times when we face temptation,
46:32 we say, "God, please make me more loving.
46:34 God, please make me more longsuffering.
46:37 God, please give me patience."
46:39 But God does not impart His attributes to us,
46:42 He imparts Jesus Christ.
46:45 Notice that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives
46:49 is to bring forth fruit,
46:51 singular not plural.
46:54 The fruit of the spirit is not biblically understood
46:57 as being character traits
46:59 that we can posses one by one
47:01 as something that God impart as the need arises.
47:05 No, He gives Christ to us.
47:08 And at every point in our lives,
47:10 Christ becomes our love, Christ is to become our joy,
47:14 Christ is to become our patience,
47:16 Christ is to be our holiness.
47:19 Christ
47:21 becomes our very life.
47:24 So, when we face temptation,
47:27 we should not pray for some improvement
47:30 in our character
47:31 but we should say, "Lord,
47:33 please give me more of Christ."
47:38 For it is only by possessing more of Christ
47:42 that we are changed.
47:46 "We have this treasure," says Paul,
47:48 Jesus Christ
47:50 because we have experienced the gospel
47:53 which reveals the glory of Christ.
47:55 Paul says, "We also have a ministry,"
47:58 2 Corinthians 4:1.
48:00 "Since we have this ministry, he says,
48:03 we do not lose heart."
48:06 There are those who sought to discredit Paul
48:08 and his message
48:09 but Paul says, "Jesus is too valuable
48:12 for me to stop sharing Him
48:13 and to stop preaching Him
48:17 because I have experienced and treasured the gospel.
48:20 I do not share the Word of God deceitfully.
48:24 I acknowledge who I was
48:25 and what I was before Christ delivered me."
48:28 There are some who when sharing the gospel
48:30 may delete all of the scenes that may cause embarrassment
48:34 but Paul says,
48:35 "I did not share the Word of God
48:37 to deceive anybody.
48:39 I commended myself
48:40 to each and every man's conscience,
48:42 seeking to impart to as many as possible
48:45 a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ."
48:50 We have desperate communities
48:52 that need to see the glory of Christ.
48:55 With all that is going on in our world,
48:57 Christ and His glory needs to be seen.
49:02 Paul says that "The gospel of Christ
49:05 is not only critical for us
49:06 to be liberated from Satan's power,
49:09 it's not only critical for us to be transformed
49:12 into Christ's image,
49:13 it's not only critical for our ministry
49:16 and our message to a dying world,
49:18 but it is having the treasure of Christ
49:21 which allows our faith to withstand
49:25 testing and persecution."
49:28 You see, Paul had endured
49:29 a great deal of suffering in his life.
49:32 After being called to ministry he had endured suffering,
49:35 he acknowledges that when he met Jesus Christ,
49:38 he was a persecutor of Christians
49:40 but once converted,
49:41 he endured the most severe test for Christ's sake.
49:45 In 2 Corinthians 11,
49:46 he lists all of the terrible persecution
49:49 he experienced.
49:51 He said, "I have been beaten with rods,
49:53 I have been stoned.
49:55 Three times I was shipwrecked.
49:58 I was in perils of waters,
50:00 in perils of robbers,
50:03 in perils of my own country men,
50:05 in perils of the gentiles,
50:08 in perils in the city.
50:10 I was in danger in the wilderness,
50:12 I was in danger among the sea,
50:15 I was in danger among false brethren,
50:17 in wariness, in toil, in sleeplessness often,
50:21 in hunger and thirst,
50:23 often in cold and nakedness."
50:26 But Paul said, "I learned one thing
50:28 that God's grace is sufficient for me
50:32 and that by His strength,
50:34 His strength has made perfect in weakness."
50:37 How did Paul make it?
50:39 He tells us the secret in Philippians 4.
50:41 "Not that I speak in regard to need,
50:45 for I have learned
50:47 in whatever state I am to be content.
50:51 I know how to be abased and how to abound:
50:55 every where and in all things
50:57 I have learned both to be full and to be hungry,
51:01 both to abound and to suffer need."
51:04 But this is one thing he learned,
51:06 "I can do all things through Christ
51:10 who strengthens me.
51:14 I can do all things through Christ
51:18 who strengthens me."
51:22 See, possessing
51:23 the treasure of the gospel
51:27 gave Paul staying power
51:30 in times of trouble.
51:33 For he concludes his message by saying,
51:35 "We have this treasure in earthen vessels
51:39 that the excellence of the power
51:42 may be of God and not of us."
51:44 He says, "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.
51:49 We are perplexed but not in despair,
51:53 persecuted but not forsaken,
51:56 struck down but not destroyed," why?
52:00 Because we carry about in our bodies
52:03 the dying of the Lord Jesus
52:05 that the life of Jesus Christ
52:07 may also be manifested in our bodies.
52:11 See as Paul concludes his message,
52:13 he still using the metaphor of the clayed jar.
52:17 See, damage and breakage of the jar
52:20 does not change the value of the contents.
52:23 In fact, every crack
52:25 that the jar sustains
52:27 only serves to allow the glory
52:30 on the inside to become visible.
52:33 Paul says that,
52:34 "The treasure of the gospel is inside of me,
52:37 so even though I am broken,
52:39 God's glory is shining
52:41 through this scarred clay vessel."
52:45 So Paul says,
52:46 "My suffering has served to reveal God's glory.
52:50 You can step on me, you can crush me,
52:53 you can break me, you can crack the jar,
52:56 says Paul,
52:57 but it only works out to God's advantage.
53:01 Because when I'm broken,
53:04 His glory spills out."
53:08 As I conclude,
53:10 I'm reminded that Jesus,
53:13 the light of the gospel
53:15 wrapped His divinity in humanity.
53:18 He wrapped Himself in flesh.
53:22 The immense treasure of God
53:25 was contained in flesh.
53:28 But the Word was made flesh
53:30 and dwelt among us.
53:33 But because He knew where He had come from
53:35 and He knew where He was going, the Bible says,
53:39 "He did not avoid the suffering,
53:41 the Father had ordained for Him."
53:43 Referring to His sufferings, He said,
53:46 "This is the hour of My glory."
53:49 There's that word again.
53:51 Why was He so compelled to receive glory
53:54 through His suffering?
53:56 What was the source of Jesus' passion?
54:00 I believe that Jesus understood
54:02 that when His humanity was cracked open,
54:07 when He gave up His life for us, for our sake
54:10 that it would only allow His glory to be seen.
54:15 So, He allowed them to whip Him with lashings
54:18 because He knew that by His stripes
54:20 we would be healed.
54:21 He allowed them to pierce His side
54:24 because He knew that out of that wound
54:26 would flow healing and redemption and life.
54:31 He said, "If I am lifted up,
54:33 if My glory is seen,
54:38 then I would draw all men unto me."
54:42 Can you see the glory of Christ today?
54:45 He wants you to see Him in all of His glory.
54:49 The gospel is good news
54:51 because it reveals the glory of Christ who died
54:55 so that every obstacle that prevents us
54:57 from seeing Him can be removed.
55:01 See, when we turn to Christ,
55:03 the veil is removed.
55:05 Someone today needs to experience
55:08 the glory of Christ.
55:13 May be there is someone here
55:15 who is not yet surrendered to Christ,
55:18 maybe you have never seen His glory.
55:22 Today, if you hear His voice,
55:24 please do not harden your heart.
55:27 He wants to reveal Himself to you today.
55:31 Maybe there is someone else who knows
55:33 that your religious experience has become something
55:36 that is not focused
55:37 on the glory of Christ.
55:41 Today, He is inviting you to look upon Him,
55:44 to treasure Him
55:46 and to see His glory.
55:50 It is only in the past year
55:51 that I have begun to really see
55:53 the glory of Christ in my experience.
55:56 And it has transformed my very being.
55:58 His glory has been revealed thus He has brought me
56:01 through trials and painful experiences.
56:04 I couldn't understand the purpose at that time
56:06 but I now realize that it was all ordained by God
56:10 to bring me to Him
56:11 and so that I could see
56:13 and experience His glory.
56:16 The gospel is not about having an easy life.
56:20 It's not about God giving us good things
56:22 although He does that.
56:24 It's about God giving us Himself
56:28 and allowing us to see His glory.
56:32 So, Paul would invite us today
56:35 to consider whether we possess
56:38 this treasure.
56:40 To consider today whether Christ
56:42 is really ours
56:44 to contemplate in this moment,
56:47 if we really have Christ
56:49 as the most valuable thing in our lives.
56:53 For Paul, Jesus Christ was everything
56:57 and his message in this text
57:00 is that there is nothing greater
57:02 than possessing Jesus Christ.
57:05 So, I invite you to consider
57:07 whether you have Him in your life
57:09 and in your experience.
57:11 And if you desire to possess Him completely,
57:14 please join me in this prayer.
57:17 Father, thank You for Jesus Christ
57:21 who is the fullness of God.
57:24 We thank You, God,
57:26 for the opportunity to see the Lord
57:29 in all of His glory.
57:31 We pray, oh, God, that you would remove
57:34 whatever veil is blocking our ability to see Christ.
57:39 We pray God that by Christ's glory
57:41 that we would be liberated,
57:42 that we would be transformed
57:44 that You would God, use us in ministry
57:47 to share this great message
57:49 and God that it would be allowing,
57:51 that it would allow our faith
57:52 to endure even times of testing.


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Revised 2017-03-20