Please turn with me this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, as we read the chapter, the text being verse 18. I find myself in this situation that I've known about for quite some time, that the elders approved last fall a summer schedule which keeps me from the pulpit for quite a number of weeks. And I regret that part of it, and I've given a detailed explanation to share and care of what my activities will be on behalf of the church and plus a little bit of vacation. It all came together at one time. Simply that's the way it is. And because I'm here today and not again until August 12, then I didn't think it wise to jump right into Philippians chapter 2. We just completed chapter 1 and so over the past couple of weeks I was thinking about that and this particular text came into my mind which kind of fits with what we've considered with Philippians chapter 1. And so this morning we consider this particular text and tonight I want to draw your attention to what I've called proper posture before God, looking at the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector as they go into the temple to pray. But for this morning, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, the text being again verse 18 as we then read the chapter. Beginning at verse 1, hear now the Word of God. Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, and that's the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with all that means, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay. To show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written, I believe, therefore I have spoken. With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. All this is for your benefit so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Beloved, the patience of Job, the bravery of Daniel in the lion's den, the courage of David as he faced Goliath, the confidence of Moses as he entered Egypt to face Pharaoh and then to be used of God to lead Israel out of Egypt. What do all of these saints of old have in common along with many other saints of old? Very simply, we might say the faith of Paul. The faith that Paul speaks of here in this text. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. Now Hebrews chapter 11 we know is that great chapter, that commentary you might say on the heroes of faith from the Old Testament. And that chapter begins with a definition of faith that says now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And answer 21 of the Heidelberg Catechism describes those unseen things. In this definition of true faith, true faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true, it is also a deep-rooted assurance created in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. Those are the things of faith. And we know that the things of faith cannot be manufactured on an assembly line. They cannot be packaged and sold on the shelf in the store. They are not advertised with some fancy picture on a billboard. And at the same time, we know that the things of faith do very much contradict often that which we see all around us and that which we experience all around us. And Paul knew that very well. Better than probably any one of us ever will. And that's why what he says here in this text is amazing. As he describes very pointedly, faith's focus. Faith's focus. And he teaches us here that faith's focus is unhindered by what is seen. It's nourished by things unseen. And it is assured by the work of Christ. Faith's focus is, first of all, unhindered by things seen. Now, we need to remember the context here is the troubles of life. And primarily, Paul is speaking here about troubles due to the faith. Suffering persecution for the sake of Jesus Christ. As we read about in verse 17, he says, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. And we want to remember, first of all, that these troubles are a reality. These troubles are very real troubles for the faith. In Philippians 1, you remember that Paul says, I am in chains. I am a prisoner. Why? For Christ. For preaching the gospel. For preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's on death row for his faith in Jesus Christ. And in chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians, he gives this whole litany of things. He says, I have worked much harder, been imprisoned more frequently, been flogged more severely. Try to comprehend all this as I read them. And been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked. Boy, that would make a good song, wouldn't it? Somebody could put quite a tune to that. And we can't even begin to imagine the things that Paul says, all that he endured for the faith, every one of those things, he suffered because of his relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. And here in 2 Corinthians 4, as we read, he kind of gives a general summary of all these sufferings when he says we are hard-pressed. We are perplexed. We are persecuted. We are struck down. That's the major context here that Paul is speaking from about the things that are seen, the troubles of life because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we can also say that there is a reality of troubles because of sin. Because of the effects of sin in the world, we face dishonesty and cheating. We face a lack of fairness and a lack of equity. And we face sickness and sorrow and dissatisfaction and pain and hard work and difficult circumstances and lost jobs and flat tires and broken relationships. Each one of us has to confess that because of sin in this world, this life is far from perfect. And because of the troubles that we face, either because of our faith or because of sin in this world, these things result in grief and anxiety and weariness and hopelessness for so many that they simply find no way out. But notice, Paul responds to troubles by refusing to focus on them. He says, so we fix our eyes not on what is seen. And this includes all believers. He doesn't say, I fix my eyes, but we. The measure of grace that Paul speaks of here is given to all who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what does he mean here by fixing his eyes? Well, it has the idea of focus. Of focus. To look intently. It comes from the Greek word skopos, from which we get our English word scope. Boys and girls, you know what a microscope is. You know what a telescope is. It's an instrument by which we zoom in closely on an object for a detailed focus, a clear focus, a detailed look. It has the idea to take aim. Think of a target with a bullseye on it if you're aiming at it with a bow and arrow or a BB gun. To concentrate one's attention upon that item, whatever it might be. The idea of fix is that you can't take your eyes off of it. It consumes you to a point. And Paul says that faith resists the things that are seen. We do not fix our eyes in that way. That we only look at what is seen. And that's a bit of a paradox, isn't it? A puzzling thing for us because we live in a visual age. We are a visual people. Many say, I'll believe it when I see it. If I don't see it, I won't believe it. But Paul says we don't focus like a horse with blinders on the things that are seen. We are not consumed with them. We are not overcome with the sight of them. If we did focus in the way he's talking about, we could only be overcome. We could only be crushed. Be in despair and abandoned and destroyed. We would only feel hopeless as if life is not worth living. And the truth is, we can't help but notice the troubles of life. Indeed, the troubles because of sin. But even more so, we cannot ignore troubles because of faith. Who of us can? We can try to block it out, but you simply, if you've been persecuted, if you've been taunted, if you've been ridiculed because of your faith in Jesus Christ in any way, you cannot ignore that. You cannot put it out of your mind. Persecution causes our hearts to race. It causes anxiety. and feelings of threat. And the effects of sin touch our lives. They touch our bodies, our occupations, our relationships, our bank accounts. Even some from this congregation have been touched not just by sickness, but in this past week with loss of jobs and loss of possessions. Maybe you've noticed that if you sit down to watch the evening news, how often isn't it true that the first five minutes when they give the recap of what they're going to talk about It's one bad report after another and you can't help but wonder, isn't there anything good to report? But Paul points to the vanity of fixing our eyes on these things because of the harmlessness of troubles. Now, you might sit up and say, what are you talking about? I lost my job. I lost my house. My car was wrecked. I lost my loved one. What about the martyrs who died for the faith? There's nothing harmless about that. But Paul talks about the harmlessness of troubles, especially due to faith, when he says what is seen is temporary. See, he doesn't say that these things don't touch us. He doesn't say they don't affect us. When we are persecuted for the faith, It hurts our feelings. We become afraid. We become anxious. We lose our jobs possibly. We lose opportunities. Yet, those troubles do not last forever. Those troubles cannot do any lasting damage. They cannot separate us from the love of God, nor can they steal from us the truth of what is unseen. Boys and girls and young people, You need to learn that at a young age and all of us need to be reminded of that over and over again. These troubles that Paul speaks of cannot steal from us the truth of what is unseen. He teaches here the believers not to be fixated on or overcome by things seen because God's people are to see them in the context of the comfort of the unseen. That which is visible only to the eye of faith. Faith's focus is unhindered by things seen, and at the same time, it's unhindered by things seen, and at the same time, it's nourished by things unseen. We fix our eyes. Now, we focus intently on what is unseen. We gaze upon those things. That's the bullseye. These things focus. We focus on the nourishment that comes through the Word of God. which means knowing and believing that everything God reveals to us in His Word is true. That Word of God spoken to our ears and applied to our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. That Word of God which is changeless, it's unfailing, it's true. That Word of God nourishes us with the truth of redemption. The gospel promise of Jesus Christ and His saving love, His work, which Paul says we have in jars of clay. And the catechism summarizes that Gospel treasure with these words, I have had my sins forgiven. I have been made forever right with God. And I have been granted salvation. Let those things soak in. And they are all eternal. Not one of those things is temporary. They will never end. They will never be taken away. they will not be lost. We can't see the truth of those things. We can't see that forgiveness taking place. We can't see that heart being washed clean. We can't see salvation and that eternal protection and inheritance that the Bible speaks of. What has been visible was the sight of Jesus hanging and dying on the cross. What is visible is hatred for anything Christian and the appearance that there is no God as the wicked seem to have their way in the world. But that's not what God's people focus on. True faith worked in the born-again heart. It understands the truth and the things of God. It understands the promises and the work of God. It has assurance that all of these things are for me too. And therefore, by true faith, God's children remove their eyes from earthly things and we are not tormented by and consumed by earthly troubles. Children of God deal with these troubles of life, troubles of persecution and troubles of sin in the light of the truth of salvation, which gives strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow as we sing. The child of God faces the persecution that comes from the unbeliever with the attitude of the psalmist in Psalm 56 when he says, In God I trust, I will not be afraid. Why? What can man do to me, he says. The child of God faces the trials of life, the effects of sin, with the confidence that in all things, no matter how horrible and terrible it may be, But in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. And the child of God stands firm in the confidence that if God is for us and He is 100% completely and totally for us, then who can be against us? And the Bible's answer is clear, no one. And in the same way, then the child of God makes visible the assurance of these unseen things. You see, the world cannot help but to see how believers who are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, how they deal with this life. Indeed, we are hard-pressed and perplexed and persecuted and struck down, but not crushed, not in despair, not forsaken, not destroyed. Now, one commentator explains these contrasts in kind of an interesting way. He equates hard-pressed on every side yet not crushed with hemmed in, as it were, locked in a corner, but not hamstrung, not crippled. He equates perplexed, but not in despair, with not knowing what to do, but never bereft of all hope. He equates persecuted, but not forsaken, with hunted by men, but not abandoned by God. And he equates struck down, but not destroyed, with often felled, often knocked down, but never finished. And the Bible also makes it clear that the assurance of God's people even makes the world angry. And we need to be prepared for that too. In Psalm 112, and I encourage you to read Psalm 112 today when you go home. It is a beautiful psalm that talks about the blessings of the righteous man. Psalm 112, and especially verses 7 and 8, we read, He that is the righteous man will have no fear of bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure. He will have no fear. And then the psalmist goes on in verse 10, the wicked man will see and be vexed. He'll be angry. He will gnash his teeth, the psalmist says, and waste away the longings of the wicked one will come to nothing. And you know, the Bible gives us an illustration of that with Stephen in Acts. As Stephen is being stoned to death, he saw the heavens open. He saw his Lord and Savior sitting on the throne at the right hand of God. and He gave expression to that. And what happened? They were angry. They gnashed their teeth like rabid animals. Makes the world angry. Beloved, the reason that unseen things give such confidence is because our faith's focus has, in the last place, assurance by the work of Christ. And this is where it all comes together. This is the foundation. The Catechism says that I have assurance that unseen things are true for me too. How? Out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ. Nothing that I have done. Nothing that I can do. Only the grace of God earned for us by Christ. We are triumphant in Him. We know from our consideration of Philippians 1 that Paul's passion was to preach Christ. To preach Christ crucified. To preach Christ resurrected. in first corinthians 15 verse 57 paul says but thanks be to god he gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ and in romans 8 verse 37 he says in all these things all these things that would try to separate us from the love of god in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and paul himself beloved was sustained by the assurance that the life, the resurrected life of Christ secured his life. As he said in Romans 5, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. And he was sustained by the assurance that if Jesus Christ rose again, that Paul himself would rise again to enjoy eternal glory. And because of all of that, Paul's suffering for the faith was not simply something he had to endure because He could do nothing else. It was there. He couldn't get rid of it. But His suffering was the ground of great joy because His suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ was evidence of having a triumphant life in Christ. And it was evidence of a part of the Holy Spirit's work of renewing Him day by day. Beloved, faith recognizes the one-of-a-kind work of the Lord Jesus Christ who as man did what only man had to do. Man sinned. Therefore, man must pay for his sin. Not an animal, not something else, not some other part of creation, but man had to pay and he did as God what only God could do. Only the divine nature could endure the eternal wrath of God. And that triumph in Christ is guaranteed for life. How else can we say it? It's eternal. It's eternal. It'll never end. Nothing will separate us. Again, we will suffer in this life. But that suffering cannot rob us of. It cannot keep us from what Jesus Christ earned for us. As Paul says in Romans 8, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Brothers and sisters, there's only one way to make sense of. and to gain victory over the troubles of this life, especially the troubles for the faith. Troubles that seek to shake our confidence and cause us to doubt our salvation. And that's through faith in Jesus Christ. And carrying our thoughts forward to the eternity of the heavenly kingdom that He secures for those who believe on Him. And when our attention and our desires and our efforts are directed there by the power of the Holy Spirit, then we can endure the attacks of Satan. But we must also know that just as the troubles of life are temporary, so are the things of this life. Power, position, prestige, possessions, homes. We're not to put our confidence in the flesh. we are not to fix our eyes on these things, but only in the One who can save us, Jesus Christ. And we must also confess that at times our faith is weak. At times we do focus on things that torment us. At times we do put our confidence in what we can see. And then God may very well allow us to experience the worthlessness and the hopelessness and the failure of those things. But His promise is sure that whoever, for all who humble themselves before Him and confess their sins, He will forgive and restore. And though we will go through the waters of trouble and the flames of persecution, He says, I will be with you. You are mine. How can we be so confident? Because of God's great love for us demonstrated in Christ Jesus. who Himself endured the greatest, most severe difficulty and painful, the most severe, difficult, and painful and eternal trouble for our sin. And that guarantees that we will never be overcome by the temporary troubles of this life. Because God's love for you and me is eternal. And therefore, beloved, may God richly bless and strengthen our faith. May He cause us to focus ever more closely on that eternal inheritance that He keeps safe for us even now. And may He fill us more and more with joy in the face of every trial and trouble and temptation, knowing that Jesus Christ has taken on Himself and conquered every trouble for you and me. Let's pray together. Lord God, our Heavenly Father, we bow with humble thankfulness before You at the close of this sermon, having been reminded of Your great faithfulness to us. We do confess, O Lord, that at times our sight is shifted here and there. We do focus and concentrate on those things that we ought not. Not simply things that are sinful, but things that indeed would draw our confidence and trust away from You. And when that happens, O Lord, restore us again. Remind us over and over and over again of Your great faithfulness to us and of that gift of salvation that can never be taken from us nor will we be removed from it. And Father, may that be the confidence of all those here in this place today. And if there is anyone who does not yet have that confidence here, Lord, may they be touched by Your Holy Spirit. May they be driven to their knees to let go of the things of this life and to look only to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith that they too might have that great joy of the Lord which alone is our strength both now and forever. Father, we praise You for the love of Jesus Christ demonstrated on that cross and may we too express our love for Him day by day. Hear us for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.