WAXING STRONGER WITH THIS TREASURE
2 Corinthians 4: 1-11, 16
If we don’t faint, we are going to be waxing stronger by the day. We will keep forging ahead and advancing when we don’t faint. A carrier of the treasure should understand that now that he has received this mercy, he will be troubled on every side but will not be perplexed.
Vs 16. While the outward man perishes, we are renewed day by day. The outward man in this context is the earthen vessel.So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
2 Corinthians 4:16 ( MSG)So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (TPT) By virtue of our human nature, our earthen vessel will not remain like this forever. The paradox is that although this body decays, our inner man gets renewed.The provision of God is that what he has placed on our inside should get stronger by the day. The key thing is that we are not expected to grow weary as we age because this treasure can’t just fade away. Our inner man will and should wax stronger.We are expected to keep running till we drop the sword at the feet of Jesus.
The paradox inherent in this is that a man is getting weaker, yet the spirit in him is still active and vibrant, full of life.We can see his voice fading and shaking, yet what comes out of his mouth is weighty.It gives us understanding that it is not our voice that is the issue. We should settle it once and for all that this journey is not about the reality of our physical body.The treasure doesn’t fade. It stays intact. We have this ministry, we have received mercy and we faint not.
Psalm 71: 18
Old age is not an excuse to be redundant in life and in ministry. Grey hair is not a reason to lose the potency of God in your life. You need to be assured of the fact that the strength of God on your inside has the dynamics required to sustain this body.It tells us that as long as the Lord still has so much deposited in us, He is left with no option but to keep preserving the carrier of the treasure till it blesses the generation on our inside. He has what it takes and knows just how to keep this body running. Our focus tonight is that regardless of the reality of your body, there is something on your inside that never dies. Even when a man gets older and loses his sight, the power of God remains active. No day passes without the unfolding and renewal of this treasure.
It is a long journey. It is till we see him face to face. We keep doing the will of God.We have received this thing; we faint not. Our outward body may be perishing and falling apart, but what God is doing on the inside each day shows that there is a renewal for it.Old age is not a basis for a reduction in your performance for the things of God. This treasure is renewed every day. There is an unfolding of grace. It is getting stronger and clearer. Even as we age, the understanding of the vision gets clearer. We were strong in the will and purposes of God. We faint not.
Psalm 71: 18 indicates that the writer prayed to remain relevant in old age.Never accept accolades like; man of the season, or man of our time. We have ministers who are aged physically but are still actively involved in the work of the ministry. Their concern is that they don’t want to fade away while they are still alive. They don’t want to be a veteran in faith. They want to remain relevant irrespective of their age. There are several of them who are over 70 in age but still vibrant in ministry.Their hands are feeble and weak yet they don’t let that come close to the word of God they teach. It is not the earthen vessel, it is the treasure in the earthen vessel. You can still be a relevant tool in the hands of the Lord with grey hair until you have shown forth his power to this generation and the one to come.
2 Corinthians 4: 7-9
A man that understands the dynamics of the treasure on his inside knows that anything can happen to this body but he’d keep waxing strong by the day.This treasure in earthen vessels cannot be destroyed by persecution. We keep going on because we have received this ministry. Knowing that our testimony in God is that we keep going and getting better. We were stronger regardless of what we go through in life, our outcome should be that we were stronger.The revelation of the truth of God’s word becomes better in our mouth. The truth of God’s word becomes more tangible in our mouths. The hand of God becomes more evident in our lives. Whatever comes for this earthen vessel cannot touch this treasure. This treasure, this ministry, this calling is preserved. The hand of the Lord remains strong and steady upon our lives. As we go by the day, there is a renewal on our inside. God enables us on a daily basis. We become refined; we’re properly shaped. That is our testimony in God. We are kept and preserved. Crushed, but not destroyed.
Many ministers of the gospel experience so much but remain on the field. God cannot be stranded. Not all ministers will be with us forever, but the gospel will prosper. We would need to understand the dynamics of this paradox that we must remain relevant till we see him face to face.We would not be sidelined. We would not be voices that will be silenced on the way. We shall flourish like a palm tree till old age. One of the ways to stay relevant till old age is to stay engaged. You don’t retire in ministry. You may be retired administratively but not ministerially. The night is coming when no man can work again. There is time and season for everything. Night is coming when no man can work again. We need to do the best we can do now, knowing that the functionality of God upon our lives is birthing something on our inside. It is preserving and helping as we exercise ourselves. God’s word us becoming stronger in our mouth. His grace is becoming sharper.
When you speak, God’s word us not the same.We get stronger. We become so effective. Every opportunity we have we dispense the word with more clarity. The light we carry and have us not the same again. It is a mystery. We are pressed on all side yet we keep the assignment. We may be tired but we will rely on the grace of God. We enjoy renewal and quickening. This is why it is not advisable to be redundant in the service of God. We can get out on the street to engage the grace upon our lives. If we don’t do that, we are not maximizing the grace upon our lives. If we teach regularly we get mastery on stage. We become a sharpened arrow in the father’s quiver ready for the masters use. Ministry is cheap. It doesn’t require much. What tends to be expensive is administration. We don’t have to go far looking for mission ground. Mission ground is anywhere Christ is not in the midst of men. Exercise the grace of God.
No one has an excuse to not do ministry because when we stand before Jesus, we’d give account of our stewardship. If we don’t begin to exercise the grace of God upon our lives, grace can be underutilized. Utterances can begin to become a struggle. It is in your best interest that you don’t abandon ministry to grow in other things. It may be has to trace your steps back. Don’t go look for money leaving ministry.Let everything grow together. Be a total man. Don’t abandon your self development. Do the work of an evangelist. Make true proof of your ministry. Stretch, believe God because night is coming when no man can work.
A time will come where your bones will be cracking because this Earthen vessel is not everlasting, it is the everlasting father that places his treasure in us. We will drop this vessel someday to be with our master forever.The time we have now, let’s use it well. Let’s run like this is the last chance we have. As we grow, there must be clarity. We must continue till we see Jesus. We have received ministry we have received mercy. Our eyes are on the goal.