Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
7 sermons cite this verse
… each shaped by his capable hands, each made to be filled with the same treasure of God's spirit and called to specific work in his vineyard. As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7, we have this treasure in clay jars to show that the surpassing power, the abundant ability is from God, not from us. In the name of Jesus, amen. Thanks for being here with us, Jeff. Thanks, Mike. Thanks for inviting me. So today we hear this symbolic story of the laborers in the vineyard. And in your commentary on this parable, you say that it's a wonderful and suspenseful story. It's the second longest of the parables that Jesus tells in Matthew. And part of the power I've seen in parables is that they can hit you so many different ways. And maybe at different times of your life, they speak to you differently or to different people. Would you talk about how the influence or the impact of a story like this, a parable that Jesus tells us, is influenced by what you bring to, what the listener here brings to it? …
… not to let the unremarkableness of the gospel envelope cause them to miss the importance of the contents. Verse seven, he says, we have this treasure in jars of clay. Why? To show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. It's very important to understand the question Paul is trying to answer in this chapter. You see, some of Paul's critics have said, hey, Corinthians, Paul's troubles, those are proof that God's power is not really on him. If he really was God's man, if he was walking in favor and blessing, then Paul would prosper and he would be mighty. You probably have had a similar thought at some point like that. If God really was pleased with some person, if he really was honored by that ministry, well, things would be going better for them. Look at how difficult things for them. Clearly they aren't hashtag blessed. Or maybe you had that thought about yourself. If God's favor really is on me, if I'm someone walking in the blessing of God, well, then things would be going a lot better for me. …
… that's going to hit you tomorrow morning we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency may be of God and not of us I don't care how anointed you get your flesh is still flesh you don't believe it just stop bathing you don't believe it just don't put on deodorant don't brush your teeth in the morning Your flesh is still flesh Anointed, bad breath-smelling Musty-armed flesh but it's still got oil in there. And I can still cast out a devil with bad breath because one thing don't have nothing to do with the other. That that is alabaster is alabaster, and that that is spignard is spignard. And don't get confused. The problem with the church is we think that if we have the spignard long enough, it will change the alabaster, but it won't. the woman broke the alabaster and it shattered on the floor and the spigna changed the whole room but it didn't change the alabaster We have this treasure in earthen vessels, but having the treasure in earthen vessels does not change the vessel. …
… And I want to read verses 7 through 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 7 through 10. and it says this, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. Ooh, I love all those verses right there. Ooh, I could run around this building on just all of that. Always caring about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. Isn't that profound? It's amazing. If you don't have the right perspective in life, you'll make horrible decisions. You'll enter into depression. you'll lose confidence in God if your perspective of the circumstances in your life are not right. And if I could just drop this one little section of Scripture and get you to look at your life from a different vantage point life can be so much better. …
… for the bible says that god who caused his light to shine out of darkness gives his holy spirit into our hearts and we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power might be of god and not of us hit your neighbor say it's god doing it it's God doing it it wasn't God throwing Paul in the cell but it was God on the inside of Paul that caused him to pick up a pin while he was in there and because he picked up a pin while he was in there you and I are shouting over stuff he said today somebody else needs to be shouting in five years because you didn't give up somebody else needs to be praising God in 10 years because you stayed the course. What you need to keep going is in you, baby. Say it by faith. It's in me." He said, you have an opportunity now. Paul says, absence is an opportunity for application. Absence. Well, are you just not going to write down anything? That's the best thing I am going to say all day. Absence is an opportunity for application. One of our staff members, Dax, sent me a stack of different things she had written down from the sermons I preached. …
… The righteous go through, number four, because we're becoming more powerful. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7 through 12 is on the screen read it with me if you only look at us you might well miss the brightness this is Paul talking we carry this precious message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives that's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. keep going keep going we've been surrounded and battered by troubles but we're not demoralized we're not sure what to do but we know that God knows what to do we've been spiritually terrorized but God hasn't we've been thrown down Thank you. but we haven't broken what they did to jesus they do to us trial and torture mockery and murder what jesus did among them he does in us what does he do So everything that you've gone through is to really connect you to Jesus. …
… to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure, that is the glory of God, in earthen vessels, in clay pots, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are like a clay pot. And the only thing that makes us worthwhile or anything good about me, you, or any other person on the face of this earth is Jesus Christ, the treasure that is in the clay pot. And then Paul describes the difficulty that he got in. He said, we're troubled on every side, but not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. What he's saying is, I've been knocked down, but I haven't been knocked out. I keep getting up, always bearing about in the body, that is my body, this clay pot, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also might be made manifest in our bodies. …