Key scripture- “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

In the Key scripture today, the earthen vessel that it is referring to is our bodies. In every Christians body is a treasure, that consists of the knowledge of God, and the closer you get to Christ the more you will experience God. Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ is hidden all the “treasure of the wisdom and knowledge” of God. So if you want to unwrap and really get to know God, then look to Christ, because all the wisdom and knowledge is in Christ.

You are probably thinking, “Why did God put such an expensive precious treasure in such a cheap vessel?” He answers that question at the end of Verse Seven, “so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” He is saying that the experience of the knowledge of God, which is the treasure that is in you, is situated in such a way in you that it cannot be manifested by your power it must be the reflection of God’s power. He has made it so that it does not matter; who you are, who you know, how many degrees you have, how smart you are, or how rich you are, nothing will keep the knowledge of God further from you than when you fail to remember that you are only an earthly earthen vessel. The moment you move independently of God and you move toward dependency on yourself, you will miss the treasure completely.

I know you are probably thinking that is great news, but “How do I unwrap the treasure that is in me? How do I experience the knowledge of God?”

He tells us how in Verses Eight, Nine and Ten, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

When you read Verse Seven it makes you really feel good because you realize that you have this precious expensive treasure in you. You have royal blood pumping through your veins. Then you go to Verses Eight and Nine and the first part of Ten, and Paul is telling us that life is rough, and you are going to be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. So why did Paul go from telling us about the treasure to telling us we would be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down?

The answer to that question is at the end of Verse Ten, “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.” You’re always carrying about the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your mortal body. Basically, what Paul is telling us is: If there is no dying, then there is no living. The way you experience the life of Jesus is through the death, which is brought about through trials in your life. You do not get to jump from Verse Seven to the end of Verse Ten, and skip Verses Eight and Nine and the first part of Verse Ten.

The trials that we go through all have a purpose, but while we are going through them we all want to know, “What are we supposed to do while we are waiting for the trial to be over, and for things to get better and to change, and for God to show us His reality.” Paul tells us in Verse Thirteen, “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak.” (2 Corinthians 4:13). Paul tells us that while you are going through your trial, read what is written in the Bible and speak that. You need to speak, according to what is written. So instead of complaining, whining, and griping, you need to look at your situation and speak the Word of God to it. What we usually do is profess one thing and then we talk another thing. Paul is telling you to let your mouth and your belief say the same thing, and let both of them agree with what God says.

So here’s what you do when you’re going through a trial and you are afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and being struck down, you speak the Word of God to the situation. Therefore, you need to read what’s written in the Word of God, believe what’s written, and speak what’s written to your situation and about your situation.

What we usually do is we cancel our faith with our mouth because instead of speaking the Word we complain and have a pity party. When we do that we are speaking just the opposite of what God says because we end up confirming a lie instead of reaffirming the truth, and God only sets you free with the truth, and the only thing that is truth is God’s view on the matter. What God has written is what you should believe and that is what you should be speaking. Speak that which is true, which is biblical, because that is God’s point of view.

While we are doing this, Paul encourages us in Verse Fourteen, by telling us; Don’t quit, Don’t lose heart. “Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.” (2 Corinthians 4:14). In this Verse, Paul is talking about the grace, which is the provision that God has already blessed you with, and that grace is all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3). This is a message for everyone who is ready to quit, who is ready to give up and walk away and maybe even give up on life. Whatever you do, DO NOT throw in the towel, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, lose heart, because God gives grace on a daily basis. You don’t get two days of grace you get one days worth of grace at a time. God gives you enough grace for today. (Luke 11:3).

When you get up in the morning and your mind is flooded with all your afflictions, persecutions, difficulties, problems, you need to speak and pray the Word of God to your problem and over your problem and say; “Lord, give me my daily bread. Give me the grace today that I need to keep my mind intact and help me fulfill the goals, purposes, and plans that You have for me. I will not worry today, because every time I start to think about my problem, I will pray instead, and I will do that without ceasing, and with thanksgiving, as I make my requests known to You. Instead of worrying, I will follow Jesus’ advice and seek Your Kingdom and Your Righteousness. I know and believe that You are in control of everything and that all things will work together for good. Help me to just focus on today and not even think about tomorrow.”

Paul also wants all of us to know that what we are going through will not last forever because it is a “momentary, light affliction that is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:17). I know when some of you read that you are thinking, “Paul, are you kidding me, this is not momentary. I’ve been dealing with this for months and months and months, and for some even years. I have been wrestling with this relationship, this illness, this job, this financial problem, this marriage, this stronghold and it seems like forever. I don’t know what scale you’re using Paul, but what I’m going through right now is not that light. This is not some cute easy little problem that I can deal with quickly, it is weighing heavy on me.”

So how do you convince yourself that it’s just for a moment when you have been in it a long time, and that it is light when it weighs so heavy on you. If Paul were sitting here with you he would say, “I’m glad you asked” as he answers your question in Verse Eighteen, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Basically Paul just told you, “If what you are going through seems like it has been going on forever and it weighs heavy on you, then you are looking at the wrong thing. You are just looking at what you see. You are not seeing all that there is to be seen.” Paul is not telling you to deny the reality of what you are going through. But how you view it will be determined by what you’re looking at. If all you are looking at is the trial then you are not looking at everything that should be looked at. Paul is saying, “If I can get you to look beyond the trial to the fact that Jesus is getting ready to manifest himself to you because He allowed or permitted this trial, then you will see that based on what He is getting ready to do in your life, it really hasn’t been that long.”

While you are going through the trial you also need to do the following: When you talk about your problem you need to talk about it like this and it will change your perspective.

If you say, God is good, but man life is rough. You need to start saying: Life may be rough right now, but God is so good and I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

If you say: Jesus may be with me, but my situation is messed up.
You need to say; My situation may be messed up right now, but I am so glad Jesus is right here with me and that He has it all under control, and when I come out of this fire I will not be burned nor will I even smell like smoke.

If you say: I know that Jesus promised that He would never forsake or abandon me, but I am discouraged and depressed.
You need to say; I may be discouraged and depressed, but I know and I praise God that Jesus promised that He would never forsake me or abandon me, and that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose.

You need to start ending your sentences with what God can do for you, instead of ending it with a lie. You must change your perspective and stop focusing on the trial and the wind and the waves, and the way you do that is when you think or talk about your trial, you always end your statement with what God says about it. This will help you overcome focusing just on the trial and help you get your eyes back on Jesus. If you do this, you will see that you won’t be complaining, griping and being negative as much as you have been in the past with regard to your trials.

You will start to see that as you get closer to experiencing the knowledge of God the opposition will turn up the heat. So if things are getting worse, then you are getting closer to experiencing the knowledge that God wants to reveal to you, and you should praise God for that. So I want you to know that if your stuff is collapsing in on you then you are drawing closer to the knowledge that God wants you to realize, and when that is happening, that is not the time to stop or give up on that treasure because the Knowledge of God is so important that it’s worth us going through trials here on earth so that we get to experience it. You need to also remember that God is watching and He knows what you are going through and He has placed limitations on what can be done to you and when it gets to be to much for you and to hot, He will provide a way of escape for You, but until He does He will give you His grace on a daily basis. (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Continue to pray for God to deliver you, pray for Him to get out of your trial, for Him to release you, but while you are waiting for Him to do that you need to look in the face of Jesus and stare at Him like you’ve never stared before, run to Him like you’ve never run before, and cling to Him like you’ve never clung before, cry out to Him like never cried out before, and you will experience the God that you say Amen to in a way that you have never experienced before.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, I pray that You release me and deliver me from my problem but until You do I will cling to Jesus. I will keep my eyes on the face of Jesus because that is what will sustain me as I go through this trial. I know that the power of God can bring me near to danger, and yet keep me far from harm. I know that even though I may see danger all around me, Jesus will protect me from all harm. He commands His angels to protect me so that I do not not even stump my toe on a rock. Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, so that I will walk on top of my circumstances like Peter walked on the waves. I know that You shall deliver me from every evil work and You will preserve me for Your Heavenly Kingdom. I know that You will deliver me in every battle from the stroke of the sword. (Job 5:18-20 NIV). I know that when I cry out You hear me and even though I have many troubles, You deliver me from them all. You protect all my bones, not one of them will be broken. (Psalm 34:17, 20). I am a Child of God and I will not fear because You are with me and You did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7). In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.