Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 2 Cor. 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- There is paradox for children of God living in the world. On the one hand, the church is growing, producing fruit, and becoming a “noble cedar” – under the leadership of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, we recognize that our life in this world is still subject to the general consequences of sin being in the world – aging, illness, accidents, disasters, and death.
- The Bible, God’s Word, clearly describes both of these realities. However, the experience is somewhat ambiguous – we eagerly desire the fruition and culmination of the kingdom of God when there will be nothing negative about our existence and life. In fact, this is something that we strive for in life – to get rid of anything that is negative or unpleasant.
- And we would like better vision and discernment – so that we can actually observe the growth of the kingdom. All too often it seems that the church and the kingdom of God are in decline. This tends to discourage us and make it seem as if the value of God’s kingdom is diminishing. While God’s kingdom may be waning in America, it is growing like wildfire in other parts of the world. And this is such a shame, that Americans would give up the kingdom of God, not recognizing its value!
- In our text the apostle Paul urges us to take full cognizance of the reality, and advises us as to how we are to resolve this ambiguity by faith and trust. He does so in order that we might continue to live by faith and to eagerly bring forth good fruits within the kingdom of God. But he clearly acknowledges the difficulty and pain of Christian life in this fallen world of sin.
- It should be heartening and encouraging for us to remember that:
I. God’s Crop, His People Of Faith, Groan In This Life
Text: “For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.”
A. For In This Life We Are Still Living With Physical Mortality
Text: “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened – not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”
B. So We Live By Faith – Eagerly Waiting For The Mortal To Be Swallowed Up By Life
Text: “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
C. In All Of This God Has Prepared Us – For Enduring Earthly Life And For Inheriting Eternal Life – And This Is Guaranteed By The Holy Spirit
Text: “He Who has prepared us for this very thing is God, Who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
Statement: We tend to have an assumption that life should be as filled with pleasure and with as few troubles and difficulties as possible. We want to drown out as much of the pain and sorrow of this life as we can – so we pursue pleasures and flee difficulties. But insofar as living a Christian life has to do with truth and reality, and accepting not only the general troubles that all people face due to sin’s presence in the world, but also the particular persecutions and troubles that come because we serve God, the attitude that we should flee all difficulty and suffering tends to push us away from the church and God, rather than toward greater faithfulness to God.
Application: This is why it is essential that we continue in Christ’s Word, and that we understand the ambiguous nature of our life in this world as children of God. We have to live by faith – otherwise our logic and reason, and our desire for comfort and pleasure, and even our greed and selfishness, will drive us away from church, away from the fellowship of the saints, and away from God Himself. But if we allow God to write His Word on our hearts, and to strengthen and nurture us in faith – as His Spirit influences us – then we will continue living by faith and waiting patiently for our “mortality” to be “swallowed up by life.” And that day is coming soon!
Transition: The outcome of relying upon the Word of God and being led by the Spirit of God is a much more pleasant life – for children of God have great certainty regarding the blessings yet to come. And so:
II. Those Who Belong To God’s Kingdom Are Always Of Good Courage
Text: “And so we are always of good courage.”
A. We Are Of Good Courage Even In The Face Of Aging And Death – For We Are Eager To Be With The Lord, And So We Walk By Faith
Text: “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
B. We Remain Certain Of Life And Salvation – God’s Word Assures Us
Text: “We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
John 3:36 “He that believes the Son has everlasting life.”
Acts 2:21 “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
C. In View Of This Life And Salvation, We Make It Our Aim To Please God In This Life
Text: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.”
1. We do so by living a life of repentance and faith
Mark 1:15 “[as Jesus preached] “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
2. We aim to please God by loving others even as He has loved us
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.”
1 John 4:20,21 “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
Text: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Statement: As we seek to live our lives in such a way as to please God, we often become aware of our many failures of habitual sins and our lack of love, and even our lack of repentance. So we must learn to continue day by day in a life of repentance, confessing our sins, and rejoicing in God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus. And as we live in His great love for us, we are eventually warmed and even compelled to grow in our love for one another – even when this means burden and difficulty and giving up certain pleasures. It is in this way that “GOD GROWS HIS KINGDOM” so that we become part of that “noble cedar.”
Application: The alternative – if we wish to escape the ambiguity and to live by sight alone – is to renege on faith and salvation. This may yield temporal pleasure and comfort, but leaves one bereft of any hope beyond this life. And it also leaves us fruitless and without any nobility of life and existence. And we know the judgment that awaits the unbelieving and fruitless. But within God’s Kingdom there is great and noble purpose and the fruits that God produces in our lives are eternal.
Conclusion: God is growing His kingdom, even here and now, and even within the hearts and minds and lives of those who believe in Him who are in this room! We have not been called to futility, but rather to life, eternal life. The day will come for each of us when our mortality is swallowed up by life. God has prepared us for this, and given us His Spirit as a guarantee.
So let us continue walking by faith, trusting in Him, and aiming to please Him with our lives! His kingdom is growing, and it shall be glorious! Thanks and praise be to God! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.