Christopher Rich – March 7, 2021

ENDURE | Courage in Weakness 

PART IX| Enduring for Eternity | 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Introduction | What is next? 

Good Morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we are continuing our series ENDURE: Courage in Weakness. 

How long can we last? How long do you want to go? If someone said you could have 90 years guaranteed would you take it? What would you hope to accomplish and what about after? Deep in our souls we know we are made for eternity, yet our current physical bodies are anything but capable of enduring forever. But we don’t like to think about this inevitably. This past year we have a heighted awareness of human fragility as we see death totals daily rise and with it our discomfort as we respond with concern or callousness. None of us are truly comfortable death, nor should we be, but we struggle to engage with the tension we feel around life and death. We know our lives are finite yet none of us are ready to be finished. We need a clear frame work to process the truth of aging, the transition of death, the reality of the afterlife, all while remaining grounded in the time place and season we are in with purpose, perseverance, and hope. We believe today matters, but we earnestly desire something more and better tomorrow as we Endure for Eternity. 

PART I | Outer Decay; Inner Renewal | 2 Cor 4:16-18

2 Cor 4:16-18 |16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Outer Decay and Inner Renewal – The end of this chapter into 5 is one section walking through the tension we see, experience, and know between present pain and eternal realities. Courage and comfort in weakness come when we behold the paradox of what we see and experience verses what is true.  Because God saves, brings resurrection, and reconciliation despite our disunity or our own deterioration, we Don’t lose Heart. He says “don’t lose heart” (faint running) even when this is easy for us to do.  Our outer bodies will waste away. No amount of exercise, diet, vitamins, (oils) is going to get you past a certain threshold. But something else is also happening. God is renewing our souls each day. So as we age are comforted that as much as what we see before us deteriorating even more is being done in us as God is producing transformation and preparing us for eternity. This is especially true in suffering. Light & Momentary; Heavy eternal Glory - When we are suffering we don’t think it’s light and momentary, when we are in, it’s intense and seemingly unending and we think senseless. That is what we perceive. Here is what is true. It’s not senseless it is purposeful and productive because it’s preparing us to both receive AND carry and eternal “weight of glory” that isn’t comparable when you consider its greatness. It is glory and life eclipse distress and affliction they are seen as light and momentary. This doesn’t minimize or marginalize the pain it maximizes how great the glory is that dwarfs our despair. We have hope that our suffering has an end point, but we also recognize that all of us have an expiration date. We focus on internal transformation not the outer decay because what is seen is temporary but what is being prepared is eternal AND it’s incorruptible. What can we see? Affliction, death, decay, while discouraging we are not defeated because of what is unseen. Perseverance, glory, life, renewal, all unending and never fading. What brings us pain is temporary but what brings us joy is eternal. So much of the pain is seen and felt but it will end. It will not last forever. Suffering visits for season then will pass away and so will we. 

PART II |Tent or Temple | 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

2 Cor 5:1-5 | For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 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. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Tent (Current Home) - Here our current bodies are compared to a tent for our lives. Nothing temporary and transient as tent. A tent may be a suitable dwelling when things are easy, but few tents are strong enough to withstand a storm of adversity. No matter how charmed your life is there is a storm coming for us all. Our bodies are not built to last for eternity. Like a tent they are a seasonal dwelling insufficient to endure in our journey past a certain point. Affliction’s ultimate destination is always destruction. Our tents are also not sufficient to fully experience sustained enjoyment in the here and now. There is a reason we don’t say “awe campers” when we see tents next to the freeway in downtown Seattle, because we know it’s not an existence made for enduring flourishing. But rather unending futility. Destruction leads to a transition from tent to building an eternal home we move into. We’re not homeless we change from lesser to greater. As harsh as the sting of death is and it is harsh, we have an even greater hope in the promise of an upgraded body. In this, death isn’t an end of what is good but rather a gateway to glory. We move from tent to temple. 

Temple (Future Home) – If a tent is temporary, a building (a home) says permeance, protection. The contrast is given to show the significance of the difference between who are now and who we will be after we die and are in our resurrected bodies. When we talk about the promise of eternal life for those who believe in Christ Jesus we are saying we’ve put our hope in Jesus who God raised from the dead, that we too will also be resurrected from death. The hope is not that you get your old body back, the one that aches when you work out too much, gets an upset stomach when you eat anything that tastes good, cannot seem to even basically function without some coffee, or the one which couldn’t endure disease, or the body that suffered abuse from others or substances we used. No we are not just reissued another tent to go navigate eternity with the hope that we just take better care of this one. It’s not even a renovation project we have to work on. It’s a “building” think temple, or mansion which has been prepared for us by God. It’s an unmistakable upgrade. There is a significant gap in strength, foundation, design, even beauty, function, etc. Even in good times when you see a tent out by a lake it’s says you’re going to be there a little while, when you see a cabin you say “I could live there forever.” Deep in our souls we know this gap exists and it causes us discontentment.

Tent of Discontent - If there is anything this winter has taught us is that there is a reason humanity has built and relied on buildings for shelter rather than transient tents. Because when you’re in a tent and all the conditions are just right it’s fine. But the minute the temp drops or the rain falls or the wind picks up we realize how insufficient is truly is. That insufficiency shouldn’t drive us to hopelessness but rather to longing for something better. When I’ve eaten outside in a tent, I’ve LONGED to be inside the building near the fire to enjoy the modern convenience of “room temperature”. Who is completely comfortable and satisfied with their bodies? EVERYONE has some level of dissatisfaction with who they are now. To be dissatisfied with your body is to recognize reality that it is not perfect or permanent. Being uncomfortable with your body is the most natural thing in this temporary and transient world. This groaning drives us to want to trade in our tent for a temple. In this we have a Spirit filled even spirit inspired sighing of not being ok with this present reality. God doesn’t want us to be satisfied with less than eternal and ending joy and life with Him. 

Q: What is your only comfort in life and death? A: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. - Heidelberg Catechism 1563

Eternal Temple - A tabernacle or temple is where God dwells with His people. God is crafting us a dwelling for eternal endurance for the purpose of communion with God and people. One is CLEARLY better than the other. This transition from tent to temple is to be seamless so we are not left out in the cold of a formless joyless purgatory waiting for better while fearing worse. We will never be naked to the elements but further clothed, covered and not exposed. We do not need to fear being alone or adrift. What is mortal is swallowed up by life, “like big fish being swallowed up by bigger fish.” We don’t want to escape we want to dwell. When we are displaced from our tents, we don’t want to be disembodied, we want to be dwelling where we desire to be for eternity. We are not ever going to be ghosts we are going to be in glorified resurrected bodies. We are whole people. Mind, Spirit, and Body. God did not make us disembodied souls. So much of our fear of death or concern with this life now is because we don’t understand or remember what is promised in the life to come.  Our eternity is not in an ethereal state of nirvana but in a resurrected body in a new heavens and new earth. We build weak, God builds strong. We have no ability to guarantee our next breath, God has guaranteed our eternity. Guarantee means down payment or deposit. Also means “pledge” like engagement. A down payment is a commitment to keep paying. To faithfully show up in the time and place of need.  Engagement is the promise that something even better is going happen in the future. Greater things are yet to come, until then we can know God’s promise is backed by God’s presence in the Holy Spirit.

PART II |Home or Away, it’s the same | 2 Cor 5:6-9

2 Cor 5:6-9 | 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 

Home or Away (5:6-9) – The future promise of a building, eternal dwelling, should give us courage now. 

We whole people, but we are not yet home people. Where are we now? It isn’t home. While we are not to be satisfied with our present bodies we also shouldn’t be satisfied with this present world. Every groan in our soul which leads us to long for a better resurrected body for ourselves should also lead us to long for a better restored world for ourselves and others. It is right and good to look at the world and enjoy what is right and good in the world AND it is right and good to groan and grieve what is wrong and bad in the world. What good is a resurrected, even perfect glorious body, if it is for an eternity in a world which remains stained with sin and continues to endure with suffering and brokenness. We should yearn for our heavenly home, as we consider our life now. We see with a tent our lives are temporary, but they are also transient. Not only are we not built to endure but we are not meant to be settled. We are sojourners. 

Walking in Wilderness by Faith but not blind – Because we are not home, we keep walking. But we’re not trying to find home because it cannot be here. Instead, we are journeying in wilderness. We can have real courage navigating our lives when they are marked by faith in God even when He’s unseen over fear of what can be seen in front of us. We cannot see God but we have faith in God. At some point our faith will be sight as we are with the Lord, but for now it’s faith not sight. But it’s not a blind faith or an forsaken existence. We are absent from the Lord’s (meaning not home in heaven), but the Lord is not absent in our lives. We mays seem to be far from Him, but He is near us. We have access to God, not alone in the absence of God. What are you seeing in the world or in your life that seems overwhelming, all consuming, or insurmountable? 

What is your greatest fear? We despair when our fear of death is greater than the faith we have of God bring us abundant life. When we walking in faith we have a comfort and courage greater than our fear. 

Courage to Endure “away” while desiring “home” - So if we are not yet home we can and should yearn for home be also recognize if we are not yet home it is because we are precisely where God has meant us to be. Have you every wondered why as Christians we don’t become and get zapped up to be with Jesus in Heaven forever? Why the delay? Why remain? Paul tells the Philippian church “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” This is the tension of our current lives having purpose for ourselves, others, and God while also wanting to just finally “be home” (absent from the Body and present with the Lord in heaven) Until we are home, we are to live meaningful lives focused on “aiming to please God” this looks like following Jesus call to make, and live as disciples, who love God and Love people. It’s is more than ok to prefer to be “Home”. To live is to be on mission with/for Christ, to die is to be present with the Father and with Him in paradise. It’s really not a tough choice. To be absent from the body is to be home (present, welcome) with the Lord. Our vision of eternity is not a lonely one or even one where it’s people again finding their own way, it’s in the presence of God. One is clearly better. To be absent from the Body with the Lord is BETTER than to be to be “Away”.

But the choice is not ours…. Jesus determines which one we do. The only thing that can make this a difficult choice is where you focus is. These verses are focused on the necessity of a life lived for God than the nuance of doctrine about God, life, and death. We are to focus on the “why” (for God) and How (living to please Him) we are to live, not the how long we will live. Not paralyzed by our temporary fragility, we walk with the purpose of enjoying and pleasing God regardless of whether we are “home” or “away.” We are like football players playing the schedule we’ve been given. Is it better to be the home team (when there are fans, etc) absolutely, but because of our faith in the live giving, death overcoming, affliction comforting God, we can be as confident as a home team while on the road now. We are “always” of “good courage” now while not wait for later but yearning for it. So don’t ignore this life press into it while God has you here. Yes put roots down, yes invest in people, place and relationships, but do so with the understanding that the longing you feel will NEVER be completely satisfied and it’s not meant to be. We are not settled at home but we are sojourners in a wilderness land. God prepares us for eternity and God has prepared eternity for us. 

PART III | Justice or Just Mercy | 2 Cor 5:10

2 Cor 5:10 | 10 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.

Judgement or Just Mercy (5:10) – An eternal perspective does not diminish the real relevance of actions and attitudes today. As we live our lives now we know they’re temporary but that doesn’t mean they don’t have eternal consequences or significance. The end of our lives leads to the judgement seat of Christ. God’s mercy and grace are not despite His Justice but in light of His justice. We will either rely on Jesus and receive His mercy or rely on ourselves and receive His justice. None of can endure judgement without the mercy of God because all of sinned and no one is righteous on our own. This is not a matter of salvation christian. We have great confidence and courage that when we are In Christ there isn’t condemnation. Our lives today matter. This isn’t a matter of condemnation but of commendation. Heaven is a place of eternal rewards. We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved to the good works God has prepared for us, just like our eternity he’s prepared our present. So we press on, living with the aim to please the Lord who is already pleased with you in Christ. We praise God who has built a dwelling for us fit for eternity. The Holy Spirit give us courage to walk by faith now. Until, our faith becomes sight and we’re called “home” we Trust Jesus!

Trust Jesus! 

We are not only given this promise from God but God has shown us His intentions for us by giving us the Holy Spirit. God’s past faithfulness in Christ is now confirmed with God’s present guarantee through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will seal those chosen by the Father and saved by the Son on the cross. Sealed it is like the seal on a letter, or brand on cattle. Wax ring saying this message is mine and you can trust that what is declared will come to pass. It is a mark of ownership, of possession. Through faith in Jesus you are “owned/possessed” by God. You are His. Knowing you are God’s and that life eternal with Him is secure as he has lavishly given you His grace should bring you great peace. This is incredible to consider our eternal relationship with God is not dependent on the strength and perseverance of our will and our faithfulness but of the God the Holy Spirit. God’s plan gives us a sense of peace and security that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion Phil 1:6

Guarantee means down payment or deposit. Also means “pledge” like engagement. A down payment is a commitment to keep paying. To faithfully show up in the time and place of need.  Engagement is the promise that something even better is going happen in the future. We’re only experiencing the “earnest money” amount of the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives now. Greater things are yet to come, until then we rest in God’s plan and will for us. Us finishing our “race” is not dependent on their power but on God who has “sealed” them. Leads us to humility gentleness, kindness, where we give each other the benefit of the doubt. Faith Jesus Christ alone gives us guarantee of an eternal inheritance as we are delivered to the Father by the Spirit’s power and not our own.  We don’t Endure Ourselves. We have Been Established by the Holy Spirit God is not a booster shot we take so we can keep going. He is the one who is building us up individually, building us together with His people, and propelling us on His mission. We can continue knowing our endurance is guaranteed not by our strength in us but by the seal of the Holy Spirit on us

This brings us to this tattoo verse “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” it sounds bold it sounds like a rally cry. It sounds counter to what we default to. Why? Because… For us to live is self and to die is loss. 

The reason Paul has to say this because we don’t naturally think this way. We have a fundamental misunderstanding who we belong to and what the next life looks like. We think to die is loss because we imagine it as the end of our life rather than the beginning of a better one. Where are you living for self?   Where are you fearing loss? 

Courage to “Live is Christ” How or why would we ever say “to die is gain?  What our life is right now is not full deliverance and final salvation. We’re all in house arrest. In our death, is a closer communion with God in Christ than now. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Father and Jesus tell the thief on the cross today you will be with me in paradise. My hope, and Paul’s hope, is not to make death so attractive we despise life.  Our life now is for Christ. When we’re dead, and/or Jesus has come back there is no more mission of seeking and saving the lost. That doesn’t mean this life won’t have some times of great difficultly. I get to be absent from all of this, be with Jesus not with my broken self. GAIN. Few if any of us will be called to die for Christ, but all of us are called to live for Christ. That is a more difficult charge. It is one we need to navigate faithfully. Not using ourselves and our desires as the primary driver. I am either here for Jesus or I am there with Jesus. Either is good. But I’ve got a preference. 

Courage to Endure. Have you every wondered why as Christians we don’t become and get zapped up to be with Jesus in Heaven for ever? Why the delay? Why remain? To live is to participate in “fruitful labor”. This is the purpose of our lives. Labor, work, not toil. Toil is the curse at work in our work. In Christ our labor is not in vain.  Because we know Jesus saves, because we know Jesus lives, because we know Jesus is the one who begins, grows, and sustains, any labor we do on His behalf we know will be fruitful. It will produce something. It many to always be what we think it should, but it always produces something.  It may produce fruit in us through endurance, character, and hope in ourselves. It should produce fruit we can see in others. Paul doesn’t even talk about how he is growing just how others are benefiting.  Praise God!

“I can’t tell you which one I would choose, It’s really difficult to say my preference. Both are honorable and glorious in their own way. To live is to be on mission with/for Christ, to die is to be present with the father and with Him in paradise. It’s a tough choice. Ok I’ll tell you. I’d really rather not be here in prison and instead be with Christ that would be so much better. Like not even close.” But the choice is not ours…. 

Jesus determines which one we do. The only thing that can make this a difficult choice is where you focus is. If it is on yourself only