 The title of our sermon this morning, Don't Lose Heart. Don't Lose Heart, 2nd Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. As we've seen to this point, this second canonical letter to the Corinthian church is a letter written by Paul in the context of extraordinarily difficult Christian New Covenant ministry. No one reading the New Testament would argue for a moment that ministry for Paul hasn't been emotionally, mentally, and physically grueling. The physical abuse of severe persecution, a weariness, the toil, the sleeplessness, the hunger, the thirst, the heartache, the anguish, the disappointment, the grief, the sorrow. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, besides all these other things, what comes upon me daily, Paul says, is my deep concern for all the churches. New Testament, New Covenant ministry for Paul has been emotionally, mentally, and physically grueling. Now at the very same time, understanding the reality of that, understanding what Paul faced on a day by day basis as he served the Lord, we see also Paul as a towering example of faithfulness in the ministry, an extraordinary perseverance. You could say if there was anybody in the New Testament that had it tough, that might be inclined to give it up and throw in the towel, it'd be a fossil Paul for all that Paul had gone through, all that he had been through. But that's not the case. Paul is an example to us of faithfulness in gospel ministry, extraordinary perseverance. He faces down difficulty with great faith, with great boldness, and always it seems with an unwavering joy. He patiently perseveres through adversity. Just seems unshaken, immovable. He refuses to shrink back. He advances the gospel despite great forces arrayed against him. He says in chapter 3 verse 12, since we have such hope, we are bold. We're bold. He says in chapter 4 verse 1, since we have mercifully been given this glorious ministry, we do not lose heart. Restating that again in chapter 4 verse 7, having such a glorious treasure in earth and vessels, Paul says, we don't lose heart. We don't lose heart. We asked the question in part 1 last week, what motivates Paul in this? What compels him forward? What compels him to keep going despite the difficulty? What keeps him from throwing in the towel? We began to look at three motivations outlined for us in this text. Paul does not lose heart. He doesn't become discouraged. He doesn't become disheartened or lazy or apathetic or sluggardly. He doesn't become discouraged because he has one, received God's mercy. Two, he's received God's mission. And three, he's received God's message. From this text, these three points motivate the apostle Paul in Gospel New Covenant ministry. God's mercy, God's mission, God's message. Now, not unlike Paul. Not unlike Paul. You and I have been given our place in Gospel New Covenant ministry in the advance of the Lord's kingdom. If you have been saved, if you've been genuinely converted, you have been converted to mission. You've been converted to a community of believers that has a great commission given to us by our Lord. And God, having reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, has given us now the ministry of reconciliation. The torch of faith, you could say, has been passed. It's been handed down to you. It's been handed down to me. Each one of us, right? If you're a Christian, you are in Gospel ministry. You're in Christian New Covenant ministry. We all have been given this ministry. Having been saved by grace, we are to take up the mantle of that ministry and make disciples. That's our mission this side of heaven, right? To preach the gospel, to edify the saints, to serve the church, to serve the Lord by serving the church, to labor for the kingdom. Now, we obviously, in our mission, in our ministry, we don't face the same kinds of obstacles. We don't face the same kind of difficulties, the same challenges that Paul faced. And we might say under our breath, amen. We're grateful that the Lord has given us such a time of peace where we can preach the gospel without that kind of persecution, right? Without facing that kind of adversity. But, however, we face very similar, if not often, the same temptations. We often, don't we? We often face the same temptation to lose heart in the work. Sometimes it feels like a day by day, week by week battle to not be discouraged, doesn't it? We face similar temptations. There's temptations to shrink back. When Paul says we must be bold. There's temptations to throw in the towel. When we must persevere to the end in gospel ministry. Listen, there's a time of rest coming. But that time of rest is not now. If we're honest with ourselves, we would confess on a regular basis that we are exceedingly weak. Paul confessed that. The apostle Paul, right? He said, who is weak? And I am not weak. We have our own set of challenges in the ministry to face down by faith. Our own set of challenges. Our challenges, if you consider it in this way, may often even be far more insidious, far more deceptive and far more dangerous. The cares of this world. Easy to make excuses with respect to the cares of this world, isn't it? The deceitfulness of riches. The lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes. The pride of life. It's the warning. It's the warning that is given time and time and time again to Old Testament Israel. Listen to this from Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 11. Lord tells the Israelites, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments. Listen. By not keeping His judgments. By not keeping His statutes, which I command you today. Lest when you have eaten in our full and have beautiful houses and dwell in them. And when your herds and your flocks and your cars and your houses multiply and your TVs are running, right? Your computers are running and your silver, your gold are multiplied and all that you have is multiplying. When your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. It's the recurring warning from the Lord God to the Israelites who became fat, wealthy and comfortable, right? It will be a worthy description of us in our day and age. Comfortable. Comfortable. We build and dwell in beautiful houses. We eat and we become full. Our herds and our flocks, our possessions, they multiply our silver and our gold, our wealth are multiplied. We lift up our hearts and forget the Lord our God by not keeping His commandments. That's our temptation. That's our difficulty. That's what we face in this day and age. We're tempted to shrink back to lounge in our comfortable houses, right? We're tempted to shrink back, tempted to sit in our beautiful houses, eating and drinking to the full. We're tempted to relax, living off of the blessings of God. The God who is the one who has multiplied our silver and our gold. Our hearts become lifted up and we forget the Lord's cause. We forget the Lord's mission. When it's He who is the one who has delivered us out of the house of bondage to our sin. He's the one who has rescued us. He's the one who has delivered us. And we are tempted to forget or to neglect His judgments and His statutes. We're tempted to forget that He's the one who's given us a gospel message that we're to preach to the world so that they can be delivered out of their bondage as we were, right? We're tempted to slow down. We're tempted even to sit down. Tempted to sit down before we get across the finish line. We're tempted to sit down before we finish our race. There is a time for rest coming. There is a time for rest coming for God's people. That time is not now. That time is not now. How do we keep from losing a heart of zeal for the Lord our God, for the work of the Lord, for the work of the kingdom? How do we keep from giving up and then making excuses about why or how we've given up? Try to justify ourselves in the condition that we're in of having given up. How do we keep from doing that? How do we keep from making excuses? How are we to press forward? What should compel us? What should motivate us in gospel ministry such that we do not lose heart but such that we press forward in the work these three truths from this text that we have received God's mercy. We have received God's mission and we have God's message. The same motivation that propelled the apostle Paul is that same motivation that should compel us. First, we saw last week that we have been given God's mercy. We have been mercyed by God from chapter 4 verse 1 where Paul says, Therefore, since we have this ministry, we have received mercy. We do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Now what ministry, in verse 1, what ministry is Paul referring to? What ministry is Paul referring to? The ministry of the Spirit of God that brings life from the dead. Can you think of a greater ministry than that? A greater work than that? That by the preaching of the gospel, the Spirit of God works through the word of God to bring dead sinners to life. That's a glorious ministry. New covenant ministry that because of Christ forgives sin. New covenant ministry that transforms the heart. New covenant ministry that empowers the life of the holiness of the Spirit in the Spirit. New covenant ministry that renews the mind, right? It transforms us into the image of his Son. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son. It's a glorious ministry. It's a glorious ministry. It's a ministry of hope. And having such hope, Paul says, we are bold. Having received such a ministry by God's mercy, verse one, we do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. We don't lose heart. Rather, Paul says, unlike the false teachers in Corinth, we renounce shameful conduct. We renounce the things of this world, the things done in secret that are shameful and disgraceful. The things that many of them, those false teachers, do in secret. We don't use trickery or cunning or deceit to seek our own ends. We don't have to twist the message to get results for ourselves, right? We're not after disciples for ourselves. We don't alter. We don't falsify. We don't corrupt. We don't pervert or peddle the Word of God to simply get results, right? To manipulate men's wills, or to pad our denominational statistics. That's not what we're about. But, but, Paul says, we commend ourselves. In other words, we show ourselves to be worthy of this high calling by the unvarnished, clear and complete proclamation of the truth. And that is visible to all those that hear every man's conscience, right? We commend ourselves to every man's conscience through a manifestation, a proclamation of the truth. And we do that before the one who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing. We do that in the sight of God Almighty. Having God's mercy, we do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. Secondly, in the text, right? Secondly, we have God's mission. We've been given God's mission in verses 3 and 4. Look at verse 3 with me. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. I want you to see from verses 3 and 4, I want you to see three points from these verses. One, I want you to see the rejection, the rejection clearly outlined in verse 3. I want you to see the reason for that, verses 3 and 4, and then the result. The rejection, the reason, and the result. Look at number one with me, the rejection in verse 3, the rejection. Verse 3, but even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Now, using the word if in verse 3 makes that statement sound hypothetical, right? But from the grammar of the statement in Greek, it's not hypothetical. It's not hypothetical. Gospel, the Paul says, our gospel is veiled, right? Our gospel is veiled. Now, by our gospel, Paul sets the message that he and his co-labors are preaching in contrast. He sets it in contrast to that message of the false teachers in Corinth, right? Our gospel is contrasting with their quote-unquote gospel, which is another gospel, which is no gospel at all, okay? It likely reveals another point of accusation here against Paul when he says our gospel in verse 3. Essentially, the false teachers in Corinth were saying to Paul, listen Paul, your message of a crucified savior is foolishness for the Greeks. Your message of a murdered Messiah is a stumbling block to the Jews, Paul. They don't get it, Paul. Your gospel can't be right. They're turning away from it in droves. Your gospel can't be right. Now, someone today might accuse us in similar fashion, right? You make it way too hard, Paul. You make it way too hard. Listen, all you have to do is X, Y, or Z, more than likely A, B, and C, right? If you ever hear someone say with respect to the gospel, all you have to do is you need to go somewhere else to church. I had a Gideon sitting in my office not long ago telling me that we here make it too hard for someone to become a Christian. We make it too hard for someone to become a Christian. By preaching biblical repentance and by preaching saving faith from the Bible, we make it too hard to become a Christian. Listen, it's not hard to become a Christian. It's impossible. It's impossible, apart from the work of Christ, apart from the work of God's spirit. It's impossible for you to become a Christian. It's not hard. You can't do it. It's impossible. We make it too hard. Apart from the miraculous work of God's spirit, giving you life from the dead, giving you sight from being blind, giving you hearing from being deaf, apart from the miraculous work of God, it is impossible. You must be born again. You must be born again. Matthew 7 verse 13, enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many, many who go in by it because narrow. Narrow is the gate. Difficult. Is it hard to become a Christian? Now you bet it is. Difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few. There are few who find it. Why? Why is that? Because the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. Because the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. The word for veiled, colupto, means hidden, means concealed. It has been hidden. It has been concealed from those who are perishing. Compare that. I want you to think with me for a moment. Compare that with what Paul says here in Romans chapter 16 verse 25. Just listen to this passage. Think about that with respect to what Paul says in Romans chapter 16 verse 25. Now to him, Paul says, who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery. Listen, kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest. Listen to what he's saying, right? The gospel, the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is according to the revelation of the mystery that's been kept secret since the world began. But now verse 26 made manifest, made clear, right? Made clear and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations. Made known to all nations according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith. To God alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. So we have to ask ourselves, okay? Think about that with respect to Romans chapter 16. And what Paul is saying here in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. Is it open? Is it made manifest? Is it clear? Or is it veiled? Is it hidden? Is it obscure? It's an important, a very important distinction that is revealed in our text in something extremely important for you and I to consider this morning. The gospel, that mystery which was hidden from before the ages is wide open in its proclamation. Wide open, preached to every nation, every tribe, every tongue without distinction. Goes out on the radio, goes out on the backs of God's people, across the world to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the uttermost ends of the earth. Wide open and yet to many, many on the broad road to destruction, regardless of where they are, regardless of what language they speak, it is veiled in the hearing of it. It is veiled in the hearing of it. It is hidden from their perception. Paul's gospel, right? Paul's gospel. The very same gospel that is preached week in and week out from this pulpit is by God's grace, right? Preached by God's grace from this pulpit is clear. The gospel message is clear. Simple, unvarnished, undiluted, plain, sin, judgment, repentance, faith, faith, Christ and Him crucified, risen again. We commend ourselves to every man's conscience by a simple proclamation or manifestation of the truth, the truth of God as it is found in His word. But that gospel preach is veiled in the hearing to those who are perishing, to those who are apollumi, heading for destruction, those heading for devastation, heading for hell. In other words, in other words, it's not because the message is unclear. It's not because the message is somehow weak or because the message is somehow obscure. It's not because the message is difficult necessarily. It's not because of those reasons that it isn't always received with joy. It's not that the preaching is unpersuasive or that the preaching is weak, though it very well may be. It's not that the message is weak. Our message is imbued with divine power and that from the word of God to the one we are simply an aroma of death leading to death. To the other an aroma of life leading to life. If it is veiled, it is veiled in the hearing. The sun is no less glorious because the blind man can't see it. But to God's people, to God's people who are out laboring with the gospel, right? When you resist the temptation to shrink back, right? And when dependent upon the Spirit by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you press on like, I'm going to preach the gospel to that guy. My mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my family, my friend, my coworker, that guy I go to school with. Whoever it may be, the guy that's next door to me. Whatever it may be, maybe meeting up here with the guys, the sisters at this church to go out preaching the gospel in the neighborhoods. Maybe preaching at the parks, whatever it is. There is this present temptation to lose heart. There is a present temptation to lose heart. Why? Because so many are perishing, right? So many are perishing. In Luke chapter 13, verse 22, the Lord went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. The Lord is going through cities and villages. What is he doing? He's teaching, he's preaching, giving the gospel. He's journeying toward Jerusalem as he goes. And then one said to him in verse 23, obviously in response to observation, right? One said to him as he was going, Lord, are there few who are saved? And he said to them, he said to them, strive to enter through the narrow gate, that narrow, difficult little gate. For many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Why? Because the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. What we have to remind ourselves, brothers, sisters, is that which Paul certainly often reminded himself. The opposite is also true. Don't lose heart. Don't lose heart because our gospel, right? God's mission is to His people to gather in His elect. Those who will hear the gospel and respond with repentance and faith, there are those who are not perishing. Just because you preach the gospel one time to one person, they reject it that time. It doesn't mean that that person is perishing either. Preach it again. And if you have time and opportunity, preach it again. And then preach it again. Leave the door open, right? Don't poke them in the eye so that you slam the door, so to speak, in your face. Leave the door open as long as you can to keep preaching it to them. Pray that the Lord would open their eyes, give them sight from being blind and save them. Listen, don't lose heart. People are pressing into the kingdom. God is saving His own. And He does it through the preaching of the gospel, the gospel message that you and I have. The gospel mission that you and I have been given. Don't lose heart. Don't lose heart. Herald the master's message and the sheep will come. Look with me at John chapter 8. John chapter 8. We have a glorious ministry. We have a glorious mission. Don't lose heart. Don't lose heart. Look at John chapter 8. Just recognize the reality of what we're doing. We need to consider carefully how we're doing it. They were being meticulously faithful. And then we need to trust God with the results. Trust God with the results. Look at John chapter 8 and drop down to verse 42. So the Lord here, John chapter 8, is in another confrontation with the Pharisees. And in verse 42, Jesus said to them, If God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. Nor have I come of myself, but he sent me. Why is it verse 43 that you do not understand my speech? What is he saying? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are spiritually unable. You are spiritually deaf. Verse 44. You are of your father, the devil. And the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning. It does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it. But because, listen, because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Why is that? Because you resist the truth. You reject the truth. Why is that? Because you are of your father, the devil. You do not believe because your minds have been blinded. The minds have been blinded. The minds of those who are perishing. Because, verse 45, because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me? Verse 47. He who hears the truth is of God. That's not what it says, is it? No. He who hears God's words is of God. No. He who is of God hears God's words. It's important to note the order. Therefore, therefore, because you do not hear God's words, you are not of God. Is that what it says? No. Because, therefore, you do not hear your death because you are not of God. Listen, you must be born again. You must be born again. If you're not of God, you do not hear. The veil lies over the mind of those who are perishing. Flip the page. Look at John chapter 10. Look at John chapter 10. Look there at verse 1. John chapter 10, verse 1. The Lord says, this is a glorious text of Scripture. Most assuredly I say to you, He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door, what are we talking here with the sheepfold? We're talking about the company of God's people, right? The elect, God's people, the sheepfold. Where the sheep dwell with God, right? Verse 2. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things of which he spoke to them. There are two kinds of people in this world. There are two kinds of people in this world. Sheep and goats. The sheep hear his voice. Why do they hear his voice? Because they're not spiritually deaf any longer. The sheep hear his voice. The goats do not hear his voice. Why? Because they're goats. Because they're goats. Goats cannot hear his voice. Look at verse 14. Drop down to verse 14. Verse 14, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and I am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep. And the other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Glory, that's the Gentiles. There are other sheep who are not of that original fold that he must bring in also. They will hear my voice and there will be one flock, one people of God, one people of God, one flock and one shepherd. Verse 17, therefore my Father loves me, because I lay down my life and I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my Father. Drop down to verse 22. Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem and it was winter. Jesus walked into the temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, how long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. In other words, up to this point, we've not heard it plainly or we can't figure it out. We don't have ears to hear. Why? Because they're not of his sheep. You see? Tell us plainly if you're the Christ. Jesus answered them, verse 25. I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe. Why? Because you are not my sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Well, you know what? I tell you, if we would just market the message a little bit better, we could get more sheep, quote unquote, sheep into the sheepfold. It's got to be the message, right? Listen, if you would back off that two hour service, it's just too long. Why would you do that? If you just back off the time a little bit, we could get some more quote unquote, sheep through the front doors. Maybe some sheep that will stay because sheep tend to pass through and sheep tend to pass out. After two hours of the service here, they pass out, pass on. We just drop the time of that service. Maybe you get a few. No, no marketing to the masses will get more sheep in the door. The only thing that you'll get from marketing to the masses is more goats in the door. Let me ask you, really, really, do we really want more goats in the quote unquote church? No, the church is not for goats. The church is not for goats. The church is made up of the sheep. If you've got a church filled with goats, you're not a sheepfold, you're a goat pen. We're to go out to the goats with the gospel, but the church is for the sheep. We just change a few things here and there, right? Lost people will feel more comfortable. If I just say things a little bit differently, lost people will feel more comfortable. How often, how often have you followed up with somebody? I came, I brought my friend. You said this and that was it for him. All the time. Because we're not here to amuse goats. We're not here to entertain goats. We're not here to make it more palatable for goats. We're not changing our words so goats can feel more better about themselves and stay because goats feel comfortable here. It's not what this is about. We're not called to amuse goats. We're not called to entertain goats. We're not even to try and attract goats to our services. It's not what we're about. That doesn't mean that we don't invite lost people to church. We certainly invite lost people to church so they can hear the gospel. So that in the hearing of the gospel, each word, God in grace and mercy, may lift the veil that lies over their minds and save them for his glory and their good. That's what we pray for. We pray for that. But if you think for a moment that the church should, or that the church does right, when they try to pack as many goats into the building as possible, then you have lost sight of the glory of the church. We're called to preach the gospel. And we're called to preach the gospel and pray that the divine power would lift the veil. One commentator said this. He said, the issue is not the skill of the one proclaiming the message. It's not the packaging of the message or the technique used in proclaiming the message. The issue is the condition of the hearer. Is the condition of the hearer. Listen, don't lose heart. Don't lose heart. You've been given this glorious gospel message. You've been saved by that message. Forgiven of your sin. If you're in Christ, you've been born again from the dead. And you see, you feel, you sense that new life coursing through you, right? The power of God's spirit working a grace in your heart that you couldn't possibly have done yourself. You've seen a miracle of grace in your life. Now preach that message and don't lose heart. You've been given a glorious ministry, that ministry which transforms sinners into trophies of grace. That ministry, that message that is infused with gospel power, life transforming power from on high. Don't lose heart. We see the rejection, right? We see the rejection of this world. Look at the reason. 1 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 4. Look at the reason. The perishing, those who are perishing are those verse 4 whose minds the God of this age has blinded who do not believe. Whose minds the God of this age has blinded who do not believe. The perishing in verse 3, the perishing in verse 3 are described in verse 4 as those who are blind and those who are unbelieving, right? The perishing in verse 3 are those who are blind and those who are unbelieving. In verse 4 we're introduced to the concept of the reality that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. There is behind this blindness, not the weakness of the message, right? Not the weakness of the messenger. It's not the ineffectiveness of the gospel. It's not the marketing of the message. It's not the way it's packaged or the way it's presented even. Behind this blindness, behind the rejection, there is a powerful, deceiving and deadly actor that moves against those who are perishing. He is at work on them, against them, working for their destruction. He's described in verse 4 as the God little G, the God of this age. He's a God little G in the sense that this fallen world is subject to him. This fallen world lies under his sway. Elsewhere, he's described as the prince of the power of the air. John calls him the ruler of this world. This is a clear reference to Satan, a clear reference to Satan. His battleground, the battleground here is described in this verse as the minds of those who are perishing. He blinds the minds of those who are perishing, those who do not believe. This doesn't mean that Satan or his demons must necessarily possess everyone who doesn't believe. It doesn't mean that at all. It also doesn't mean that you can blame Satan for everything wrong you do. Satan made me do it. No, right. But Satan and his demons influence, and he has many tools at his disposal to carry out his wicked ends. Do you think about the tools that Satan has at his disposal in this wicked world? Music. Wow. And some of the... I have a tendency, I've got a music background, so I have a tendency to listen to music and not pay attention to words. But there have been times when something's playing and all of a sudden I sort of key in on what's being said. Mercy. Words that could only be used for the God of the universe being used to describe the sexual exploits of a guy with his girlfriend, right? Just blasphemous, horrendous, disgusting, deplorable words. That is a tool of Satan. A tool of Satan to influence those who are perishing to blind your mind. Interesting again that the battleground is the mind. Battleground is the mind. Movies. Books. He is insidiously deceptive. You, if you're maybe more mature in Christ, maybe you've been around for a little while, maybe you with some discernment spot that right off the back. What about your unsuspecting child? What about that new Christian? They don't see it as clearly. They need someone to come alongside and help them to see it. Politics. Pop culture. This is the philosophy of this age, the way that people think it is crazy, like absurd ignorance. A wisdom of this age. Advertising. My brother was talking about earlier, culture repentance. Just continuously being bombarded by a world system out to blind you. Education. Particularly higher education. I don't know why it's higher. The higher you get, the lower it goes, right? Social issues today. So much that is being said and done with an effort to divide and conquer, right? The greatest and most effective tool. The greatest and most effective tool that Satan has is false religion. False religion. In particularly false Christianity. How many millions, millions, there we say billions, gone to hell embracing a false gospel. Satan is called a God, little G, because he is the supreme example and leader of all false religion. False religions are doctrines of demons. One said this. All the evil of the human heart. Crime, hatred, bitterness, anger, injustice, immorality, conflict between nations and conflict between individuals is pandered to by Satan's agenda. Do you get that? All the evil of the human heart is pandered to by Satan's agenda. The world system he has created inflames the evil desires of fallen people causing them to be willfully blind and to love their darkness. He uses the tools at his disposal. Using the tools at his disposal, he sees the nations. He blinds the minds of unbeliever such that a thick callus or a veil lies over their minds. They were to be sitting here in the congregation with us today. They could care less about really the things that we're talking about. Here, blindness. That blindness is associated with those who are perishing. Blindness is associated with death. Blindness associated with death. In other words, spiritual death is synonymous with spiritual blindness. Sight, on the other hand, associated with life. This blindness is also associated with our minds, our ability to think, our ability to process, our ability to understand. Our sin, Romans 1 verse 28, attributed with having been given over to a debased mind. A debased mind. Listen, don't lose heart, brother. Don't lose heart, sister. You have been sent to preach sight to the blind. What a miraculous thought, right? That the God of the universe would stoop to use you, a formerly blind death, dead rebel, to preach that treasure from the mouth of an earthen vessel to save eternally, save sinners. What a tremendous mission, right? Look with me at Acts 26. And Paul recounts his mission. Acts 26, Paul is before Agrippa. And Paul is going to recount the giving of his mission, his commission. Acts 26, look with me at verse 12. Look at how Paul describes this, right? While thus occupied, verse 12, as I journeyed the Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, commission from the chief priests to do what? To drag back Christians to prison in Jerusalem and ultimately to death. Verse 13, at midday, O King, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me. And those who journeyed with me, and when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying, in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goats. And so I said, who are you, Lord? He said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Listen, verse 16. But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sin and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Thank God, forgive us when we take for granted that glorious blessing. What a tremendous thing. Let me think about it, right? Paul is on his way to Damascus, persecuting the church. An insolent man, prideful, boastful. A murderer, persecuting the church. Paul says in 1st Timothy, the chief of sinners. Paul, the chief of sinners, God takes that man, puts him in ministry to preach to the Jews and the Gentiles to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. Talk about God using a crooked stick, a polluted vessel, not in Christ, but not in Christ. What grace, what mercy. Open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. I tell you, you know, I've thought about this before that really having that kind of message, having that kind of grace, the mercy of that kind of ministry, the only reason that we aren't fervently, zealously always after that, like working and laboring to that end is either unbelief or we lose heart. Unbelief, we just don't believe it's got that power. We don't believe that it's transforming. We don't believe that God's really saving us. We just don't believe. Don't believe until you don't do it. You are an unbeliever. The God of this world has blinded your mind. Or maybe you are a believer, right? You desire to see lost people saved. You're just not fervent in that work. Maybe it's because you just lost heart. You don't see people being saved. Discouraging you to you when you're persecuted. Discouraging to you when, quote, unquote, you're rejected. You're not the one rejected, right? Don't lose heart. Don't lose heart. We've been given a glorious message, a glorious ministry. Back in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, those who are blind are further described in verse 4 as those who do not believe. Those who do not believe. Now listen, those who do not believe do not believe because they are blind, right? Do you see? They don't believe because they're blind. They reject what is supremely and preeminently precious because they are blind to its true value. The treasure in the field, they stumble it over like it's a worthless stone. Nothing more than a rock. Something you kick around. The pearl of great price is a bargain basement trinket. You give them the greatest news ever told to man and it simply means nothing to them. They are unmoved by it. They are blind because they do not believe. They do not believe because they're blind. They can look directly at the glory of Christ, preach from His Word and stand there unmoved. This is the blindness of this lost world. It's not because they're too busy. It's not because they have a bad marriage. It's not because they have stress at work. It's not because they listen to bad music. It's not because of a lack of evidence. It's not because God hasn't written a sign in the sky, I am God, listen to me. It's not because of any of those things. God's power, God's divine nature have been clearly seen so that they are without excuse. They lack the eyes to see the evidence. We preach here. You listen to the brothers. We preach here glorious divine truths that should move our hearts and move our minds to worship and to serve the true living God. So what about you if you're sitting here and you're unmoved by these things? Your heart doesn't budge. Your mind doesn't budge. You go back and you say, listen, my adulterous relationship is simply more important to me than what I hear or know about the things of God. You are blind to the treasure. You're blind to its true value. You leave here, you walk out those doors and you live the same life living for this world, living for the next check, living for the next pleasure, like living for the next hour of leisure time, living for yourself. And when you leave, you are blind to the treasure. You don't see how precious, you don't see how precious your own soul is. You're not willing to weep for your own soul. You're not willing to plead with the Lord for your own soul. You're blind to the treasure. You're blind to the true value of that which is exceedingly precious. The Lord Jesus Christ. You lack the eyes to see the evidence. If you saw it, you would sell everything to acquire the field so that you could have the treasure. Right? If you had eyes to see, you would give everything that you had to acquire the pearl. You just don't see it. You don't see it. Our mission as a church, our mission, the mission of the church is to preach the message that God has ordained as the message that will overcome that blindness. It's the only message that will. The only message that will. And it's the preaching of that message that overcomes that blindness. That's a glorious truth. And we have, haven't we? Listen, we've seen it time and time again in this church. We saw it once. That would be awesome. That would be awesome. We have one baptism service out there at the park. We hear that one testimony. And we just glory in the grace and mercy of God to have saved that guy. Just glorying in God's goodness to do. We've seen it time and time again. Over and over and over again. The mercy of God. That's all we want. That's all we want to do. We want to sell out for the Lord Jesus Christ and just serve him until he calls me home. Don't you want to just serve the Lord until he calls you home? We've been given a glorious ministry. A glorious ministry. And we do that, not on our own strength, obviously, we can do nothing apart from him. But we do that independence upon the Spirit, praying that God would open blind eyes. We've seen the rejection. We've seen the reason. Look with me at the result, the result. Back in 2nd Cremia chapter 4, the second half of the verse there, they do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. The word, lest, there, lest, communicates or signifies the purpose of Satan. The purpose of Satan in blinding the minds of unbelievers is lest the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them out God's own. It means, so as not to dawn, so that the glory of Christ would not dawn upon them, so that they might remain in darkness. His plot, His purpose is to keep you in darkness, that the light of the glory of the gospel of the glory of Christ should not dawn upon you. In other words, here, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, there is saving light that emanates from the gospel. That's not just the gospel. The gospel is something that is preached. How can they hear, right? Unless one is sent. How can they hear without a preacher? It's something that emanates from the gospel. Saving light, that saving light is the glory of Christ who is the image of God. So the glory of Christ who is the image of God is that saving light that emanates from the gospel. Right? Saving glory, saving grace, mercy, electing love. George Guthrie says, all of that is stamped on the face of His only begotten Son. And we see that face in the pages of Scripture, right? In the preaching of His gospel. The rejection of that glory, the rejection of that light, certainly no indication that the message of the gospel is flawed, or that the message of the gospel is insufficient. Take heart, take heart. To you here this morning who are blind, often the insidiously deceptive condition of the blind is that they believe they have sight. They believe they see it. Listen, if you see it, it will show up in how you live. It will show up in your actions. It will show up in what you treasure. It will show up in what you do for the Lord, for the Lord's people, for the Lord's church. If you're blind, you see no value in that which is truly precious. And you're like a runner, right? Who great shape runs all the time, feels great. Outrunning feels great. And all the while there's a blood clot that is working its way through your body to your brain. And at some point that blood clot is going to kill you. You may feel great. Listen, it's coming to an end. You're like the one who sleeps, slumbers while toxic carbon monoxide gas fills your lungs. You're going to die. You're going to die. Pray, pray that God would be merciful to you to give you sight that you may see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. Many here, many, many, many in this room were once in the same condition. Amen? Until light was burst abroad into their heart by the grace of God. I love that hymn. Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray. I woke the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off. My heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed the grace of Almighty God. Brother and sister here today, don't lose heart. Don't lose heart. It doesn't matter how slick, how persuasive, how entertaining, how insightful, how enjoyable. That's not what saves sinners. Don't haggle with unbelievers over the worth of Christ, the worth of the gospel. It is of glorious, matchless, uncompromisable worth. So preach it. Preach the gospel. Pray that God would save sinners. Don't compromise the message. Don't compromise what needs to be said. Say what needs to be said. Don't shrink back from doing what needs to be done. Do what needs to be done. Senator, how does the light come? How does the light come? God sheds the light abroad in your heart, in your mind. God lifts the veil by his grace. Turn from your sin and trust yourself to him by the grace and mercy of God. Cast yourself upon his mercy. Light comes on through the preaching of the gospel. Believe the gospel. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall be saved. Why should it not come upon you now? Why is it that God, in great grace and mercy, who freely offers mercy in Christ, why should he not lift the veil that lies over your heart and mind? Why should he not lift it now? Turn from your sin. Trust him and be saved. Amen.