Do Not Lose Heart (2 Cor. 4:7-18) *Verse translations separately noted.*
(Lieutenant Commander Joseph Charles Plumb’s book: I’m No Hero.)
– (LCDR Plumb) – “I jerked the handles above my head to eject. The rocket slammed me out of the aircraft, I tumbled a couple of times, and the chute caught. We were low to the ground… Touchdown. I plunged backwards into the mud and water… Trying to get my bearings, I crawled without direction in the quagmire. With slimy hands I tried to wipe mud from my eyes… A bare foot peasant wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt ran top speed down the path toward me, grimacing with excitement and anger. Above his head he waved a double-edged ax with 8” blades … It wasn’t long before 10 or 12 more peasants came rushing towards me, yelling and waiving shovels and hoes… soon there were 30 villagers tearing at my clothes until I was completely naked. My .38 rested in my holster and one of them finally spotted it. He yanked it from my holster and screamed for special attention. He fixed the barrel to my head. There was little I could do with the muddy barrel against my temple. He pulled the trigger… Click!
* On May 19, 1967, serving on the USS Kitty Hawk and just 5 days before rotating home to his wife, Lt Commandr Joseph Charles Plumb (then Captain) flew his last mission over Vietnam in his F-4 Phantom. He was shot down and spent 6 years in a POW camp in North Vietnam… the Hanoi Hilton.
– Almost naked and blindfolded, he was taken by jeep to the “New Guy Village”, a make-shift prison with several torture cells for interrogation. 2 or 3 hours passed where he was left to wait and wonder.
– He was tired, perplexed, disoriented, lonely, and afraid. In the darkness of the torture cell, in the shadows, a vague ghostlike impression materialized. This image took the appearance of the Master with arms outstretched…
– Charlie Plumb recited the 23rd Psalm and prayed. He didn’t ask for miracles, only strength to endure hardship, and strength for his wife Anne, still waiting for him at home.
– Psalm 23:1-5 (NKJV), The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
– When the interrogator and guards came in, they shackled and blindfolded him, then tied him into a pretzel using electrical wire, cutting off circulation to his limbs. They joyfully and mercilessly beat him for an hour, picking him up and dropping him, and standing on his head, pinning him to the ground.
– As Plumb recalls, “I remember staring at the floor and seeing my tears drop into pools of blood coming from my nose. The louder I screamed, the harder they beat me… They seemed to recognize my limit of consciousness and would not let me black out. I tried to knock myself out by banging my head against the tile floor, but due to the limited movement, I could not. I feigned unconsciousness. The guards responded by beating me until I groaned… As pilots we knew that, if we were ever captured, we would never relinquish information under torture. We would die first. Now, unfortunately, death was not one of the choices. I wanted to die, but they wouldn’t let me…
– In OUR day-to-day, mostly comfortable lives, I think our perspective can get skewed. We hear our biblical forefathers speak of hardship, struggle, and pain, and we compare it to our own experiences and think that must be the kind of stuff they were talking about…
– I hear a story like Charlie Plumb’s, and it adds context to what true pain and suffering really means.
– When the Apostle Paul talks about “troubles” and sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel, it is no small thing. But, if he can endure through the power of the Holy Spirit, so can we. That is the point.
– “Life” is not fair. It’s cliche, yet somehow, we complain about it being true. Stop worrying about what you cannot control, and focus on how you will respond and endure through your situation.
– Paul taught us to fix our eyes on things unseen, meaning the glory of God and our future in heaven, not on our present suffering…
– Paul suffered for the sake of the Gospel, so that you and I could one day see God’s glory and be saved for all eternity. Christ died a brutal death for YOUR sins… That isn’t fair.
– Stop wishing and praying for “fair”. You don’t want fair… you want grace.
– 2 Cor. 4:7-18 (NLT), 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.
- Our bodies are weak, but God gives us strength. (v7-10)
– 2 Cor. 4:7-10 (NLT), 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.
– People in the 1st century often concealed their treasures like gold and jewelry in cheap, unassuming, clay pots. These “jars of clay” were cheap, fragile, and easily broken. Not unlike a piggybank. The vessel had little value, but it contained unseen precious valuables.
– This is a metaphor. Jars of clay represent our human frailty and weakness, but as a Christian believer, you contain the glorious gospel of Christ to share. You have the Holy Spirit inside you!
– The treasure is more important than the clay pot, just as the light is more important than the lamp.
– We see the sufficiency of God, working through the insufficiency of man. His strength showing through our weakness…
– 2 Cor 12:8-10 (NKJV), Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
– There should be no confusion as to where the minister’s power comes from. Not by our own skill or wisdom, but from the Holy Spirit alive and active inside of us.
– The power of salvation lies in its message, not in its messengers, BUT you have an obligation to share the message. Skill or desire are not prerequisites.
– 1 Cor 2:1-5 (NKJV), And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
– YOU may feel weak, but Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. You have all you need.
– Maybe you are too focused on expecting things your way, on your time… Change your expectations!
– Your satisfaction with life is directly related to your expectation of what it should look like.
– Phil 4:11-13 (NLT), Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
– 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT), So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
– Charlie Plumb reflected, “Thy will be done”… “From the beginning I offered prayers of acceptance. I remembered the experience of seeing the Christlike shadow in the interrogation room and the comfort I felt in that time of great need. That day I asked God for strength to endure whatever hardship I might face…
- Your service is for the benefit of others. (v11-15)
– 2 Cor. 4:11-15 (NLT), 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.
– Often, we are only focused on ourselves. We are consumed with our own struggles and sins, forgetting that we are a vessel for the Lord. You are not your own… It isn’t only about you!
– The way we live our lives and walk out are calling is having a significant impact on those around us… for good, or for bad. YOU are being watched!
– YOU become the example of what Jesus can do in THEIR life. Do you have peace in persecution? Are you loving the unlovable? Do you yell/curse when you are wronged or don’t get your way?
– You can comfort how you have been comforted. You can speak life over the lies. Seeing your life healed from trauma and tragedy shows others that there is a hope and a future for them, too!
– 2 Cor 1:3-4 (NKJV), Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
– Example: A few days after Plumb returned home from the POW camp, he was recovering in a Chicago hospital. He was swarmed by cynical reports, so he told them his story…
– On his way back to my hospital room, a young reporter caught up with him. With tears in his eyes and anguish on his face, he said, “Sir, you really got to me in there. I’ve had a terrible year. My job is miserable. My family is falling apart. I even wondered if I should go on living. You’ve given me hope… you’ve given me hope.”
– Plumb realized suddenly that there was value in his experience. The young reporter’s words gave value to his six years of pain.
– As Pastor Matt would remind you, we are all ministers of the gospel. We are the priesthood of believers. But the fruit of your work done for others may not be immediately realized…
– You don’t know how your obedience, or disobedience, can change the course of someone’s life.
– Example: Story of the “parachute packer.” A strange man approached Plumb in a restaurant. “You’re Capt. Plumb, from the Kitty Hawk, you flew jet fighters in Vietnam… How did he know this?!
– This was the guy who packed his parachute for that final flight! He didn’t keep track of all the chutes he packed, but told Plumb, “It’s enough gratification for me just to know that I’ve served.” His diligence and hard work paid off. He saved a man’s life!
– Plumb could finally say thank you, but how many times had he unknowingly passed by him on the ship, not giving him the time of day? Not knowing one day this man would save his life?
– How many hours must that sailor have spent at that long wooden table in the bowels of that ship weaving together those life-saving parachutes? He couldn’t have known the life he would save…
– Sharing the saving grace of the gospel is like packing their life-saving parachute. They don’t have to use it, but at least you did your part in setting them up for success when they need it.
When the plane of their life gets shot down, they will be glad you gave them a way to be saved…
– Romans 10:14, How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
– As a Christian, you are responsible to be able to articulate the Gospel, and your testimony.
– “And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.”
- Do not lose heart! (v16-18)
– 2 Cor. 4:16-18 (NLT), That is why we never give up (NKJV: Therefore we do not lose heart). 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.
– Paul isn’t saying that all affliction “automatically” produces glory. It is possible to allow affliction to make us bitter, miserable, and self-focused. It is how you respond to affliction that matters.
– Romans 8:18 (NKJV), For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
– Look how Plumb describes his time as a POW in hindsight… “I consider my confinement in prison to be spiritually beneficial. I was given an opportunity that few men have. The time to pause, to reflect, and to establish priorities. I found that my previous value system was unrealistic. Stripped of all my material wealth, the only beacon I could home in on was my faith in an unchanging God.”
– Plumb said, “I have experienced what must be the ultimate in loneliness and tedium, and I have learned that these things can be surmounted. I had no “heroic” strength or ability to overcome the physical and mental torture I endured. My strength came from faith in God and love for country. These things made it possible to find freedom behind bars.”
– We must have the perspective in our suffering that God can be glorified… That spiritual growth occurs when we are in the struggle, if we don’t give up… Through your endurance for the cause of Christ, others will be blessed, and God will receive more glory…
– Gal. 6:9 (NKJV), And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
– If Paul can do it, and Plumb can do it, you can do it too, through the Holy Spirit inside you!
– prayer –
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