Those Who Have Treasure in Their Hearts 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, NIV 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. Introduction Today I would like to share the grace of God entitled, “Those Who Have Treasure in Their Hearts”. There is always some sadness in our moment of happiness and tears in our moment of laughter. We all have covert guilt which we wish to hide, and we often find ourselves suddenly assaulted with fear and meaninglessness in our splendor of wealth, position, honor, and power. What do all these things mean to us? We are sickened of our daily routine; we wake up in the morning, go to work, have lunch, and finally go back home. What does this life mean to me? Everyone on earth trembles in fear of death. Nobody can avoid death. “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” Even Solomon, who spent his life in opulent luxury, lamented in Ecclesiastes 1:2-11. ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher, ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new’? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. Who is Solomon? This king was well known for his wisdom and riches. But why did his heart feel so sad? He was overwhelmed with meaninglessness and emptiness. His splendid life seemed all a dream to him. Solomon lamented that a man was born to this world only to suffer meaninglessness and then to die without any subsequent memory of him. In this world if a man does not receive salvation, if he does not believe in Jesus nor serve God, his life is indeed without meaning. Without hope how can he face tomorrow? His life must be in vain. 1. What are the differences between believers and non-believers? What are the differences between believers and non-believers? We all live in this earth which is a depraved and cursed land. We all live on land which produces thorns and thistles in abundance, and presents us with obstacles in all that we do. Genesis 3:17 says, “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life! When you look back over your life, how did you live? Toil and suffering was everywhere. No life ever runs perfectly smooth. We do not go through our lives on smooth paths with roller-skates. A South Korean figure skater Yu-Na Kim won the 2010 Winter Olympic gold in the ladies singles. Koreans all rejoiced with her victory in the Vancouver, Canada WO. But have you ever seen this golden girl’s bare feet? They show, beyond imagination, the sweat and tears Yu-na had to shed to reach the very pinnacle of this art-cum-sport. It is not easy climbing the ladder of success. Getting a gold medal is no mean feat. Today we are suffering in a corrupt and cursed world. Even Jesus was not exempt from the hardships of this world. Jesus is the Son of God. He is God who was born as a human to throw Himself into the very center of the agony of this world. Humanity found a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in an animal trough. He lived as a carpenter’s son which meant he must have engaged in heavy labor. He slept under open skies with his disciples. He lived among us for 33 long years. Why should God come to this cursed land? All of us were rightfully enslaved to this destiny, but why did he come to us? 600-700 years before Jesus came to this world; the prophet Isaiah prophesized that Jesus would come as a deliverer of hope in this cursed land. Where could humanity find hope in this corrupt world? Only in Jesus there is a hope. Now let us listen carefully to what the prophet says in Isaiah 53:1-8, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.” We can find our hope only in Jesus who came to this world to sacrifice Himself on the Cross to save us. All earthly wealth and honor of today cannot be our eternal hope because tomorrow it will disappear with this earth. Only Jesus can be our eternal hope. Why? Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. He became our Savior by paying the penalty for our sins. His suffering on the Cross is clearly written in the Bible: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” If we truly look to Jesus on the Cross, we will surely experience a transformation in our hearts. A Samaritan woman from the town of Sychar was looking for a hope in her season of despair. She had five husbands and was with a man that was not her husband. Jesus found her at a point of emptiness, counting her life as meaningless. She met Jesus and was instantly translated to a new life. Quicker than the time we measure as a second, this woman received a new life. Let me tell you something: every person, every family, and every country which encounters Jesus cannot remain the same. A whole new transformation takes place! Throughout history no person, no family, and no nation has remained as they were before they met Christ. After meeting Christ, all things begin to go well with their souls and lives as God enables them, through Him, to live to their fullness. It is good to be fully educated. But it is those who believe and trust in God through Jesus who will ultimately change the world, not those who receive a good education. We should truly meet Jesus. Non-believers have nothing to do with Christ but believers have got to know Jesus personally so that their lives can totally be changed because of Him. Jesus said in John 3:5, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” We can enter into the Kingdom of God because we have been made its citizens through water and the Spirit. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The history of Christ will be written through people who meet Him. What are the differences between believers and non-believers? Non-believers may have their religion but they have not met Jesus. Believers are those who have met Jesus and received Him into their hearts as their Savior. 2. The lives of believers Believers need to keep their priorities straight in all they do. What are the priorities believers should keep? The Bible tells us repeatedly that to believe in Jesus means to die, be buried, and to be raised with Him. Let us read together Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” How can we believe in the Son of God? We can believe by identifying with His death. As long as we live the light of Jesus should shine in our hearts all the time. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “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.” God’s light illuminates the face of Jesus Christ; and we as well receive this light of knowledge by the glory of God. Brothers and sisters, in Christ you are blessed; you have heard the Good News. Your souls and bodies may enjoy good health and all may go well with you. You have received abundant life. You may acknowledge this abundance the moment you look to Christ. The Cross is both the beginning and the end of our faith. Jesus hung on the cross naked and rejected so that you can identify with his crucifixion. I, who has sinned, got sick, was cursed, destined to poverty, repeated failures, discouragement, death, eternity in hell, have died and am hanging on the Cross with Jesus. I, too, have been raised with Him and have a new life. I can now visualize my new life in my heart and proceed to live a healthy, blessed and abundant life. This light always enlightens our hearts and we should live looking toward that light. Those who believe in Jesus should not return to the old world of darkness. Do not have a negative image about yourself. You do not ever need to live a cursed, disparaging or discouraging life. Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being…” The Christ, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sacrificed Himself for you and me. 2 Corinthians 1:22 says, “(God) set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” God has given to us a wonderful, amazing grace. God put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit of His eternal grace and a guarantee of His ownership of us. When you stand before God you can say, “I am sealed by the Holy Spirit.” When Satan attacks, you can be full of courage because of the seal of the Spirit. You may say, “I don’t feel like the signature of the Spirit is on me. When did I receive this guarantee?” You say this because you are not yet aware of the light of God. We received salvation the moment we believed in Jesus as our Savior. By His light we begin to both understand the redemption we have received and blessings which are completed through this salvation. When we received our redemption we were but barely on the edge of God’s cut-off line of entering into the kingdom of heaven. Like the Israelites before us, who were led by God through the wilderness, then into the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey; you are as well receiving great grace of God through Christ, above and beyond your imagination! If you aware of this, you have the light to receive it. Those who cannot realize this would think “this is not my case.” But as soon as you realize the blessing you have received; you can start to dream about them, and you can speak in faith that God’s work would take place in your life. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” It is really important to know the truth. To understand the Truth you must: read the word of God, come to church, study the Bible and listen to His voice. When you realize the truth in your heart, you will never be the same. You will continually visualize, dream and say, “I am changed.” You will speak faith into yourself as if all things have already taken place. “I am strong. I am healthy. I am pretty. I am beloved. I am successful. Good things are coming across my way today.” What do you do if the enemy of your soul lies to you today? What do you do when he says, “I am ugly. I am hated. Nobody welcomes me. I am a failure. I must lose. I am not worthy to live in this world.” What will happen? How can you expect a bright day if you speak negative things about yourself? Our enemy Satan is happy when you are discouraged. He will applaud and dance about, celebrating your negative words. Therefore you have redemption as soon as you believed in Jesus and you have moved into a wide land of the living, where your soul and body are abundantly healthy and blessed. The Bible says that this land is already given to you. It is for you. You can enjoy this great life when, by faith, you think about it, dream about it and confess it with your lips. Your tomorrow will be better than yesterday, your coming month will is better than last month, and in the next year you will be 30, 60, and even 100 times more fruitful than the last year. 3. Our identity Who are we? We are people who have treasure in jars of clay. The quality of a jar of clay is actually very poor. According to scientists a jar of clay is composed of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, calcium and traces of other such minerals. A jar of clay generally costs about one dollar; but believers are invaluable to God. We cannot calculate our worth because Father God and His Son Jesus abide in us. Since we received the amazing grace of Jesus who paid the penalty of our sins with His precious blood; we have incalculable treasure in us. If you are aware of this; you should see yourself from another perspective. You will value other people. You are precious to God. Others are precious to God. How much does God love you? He sacrificed His only Son for you. He treasures you and me. Why do we not think about ourselves in this way? Today 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We are translated into an entirely new creation. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,…” God called you as His chosen people. Among many people He raised you up as His royal priesthood. You are God’s holy nation. You serve the eternal God who rules over the world. You belong to God. “You shall not say, ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” The kingdom of God is already established among us. We belong to this kingdom but sometimes we are not aware of this. We are so precious to God. We must know about this. Let us read together 2 Corinthians 6:9-10. One, two, three! “known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” This is who we are. Unknown to the world: but known to God. We are famous because God knows us. Of what use is it if mortal people know us? God calls us “my son, my daughter!” We are known to God. Therefore we should know our value. We should be aware of who we are. “Even though I believe in Jesus I don’t feel anything is changed in my life. The circumstances are just the same…” It is I who has changed not my surroundings. First we will be changed and then our circumstances will be changed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Because we have changed, through Christ in us, we can overcome any obstacle. We will not be crushed if we are hard pressed on every side. We will not remain in despair if we are perplexed. We will not be abandoned when persecution comes. In former days we were alone but now we are not alone. We can rejoice in the middle of persecution. It may look like we are struck down but we will not be destroyed. Why? Because we are changed! It is us who have become new, not our surroundings. There are verses that confirm this truth which we need to be mindful off. “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.” How can we carry around in our body the death of Jesus? It means, in our daily lives, we become one with the Cross. Jesus’ death is my death. Jesus’ resurrection is my resurrection. Jesus’ ascension is my ascension. Jesus and I are one. We are not separated. Please repeat after me. “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” When we look to the Cross and say that His death is my death; then His resurrection will become my resurrection. Believing in Jesus is not only theory, but experience. Look up to the Cross and confess “I am crucified with Jesus Christ.” Through His resurrection you will then receive a new life. With Jesus I died and with Jesus I rose again. Do you suffer on behalf of Christ? Then you will receive the blessing of Christ. Do you work for Christ? The Lord will give you more than enough strength. We live with Christ. We are one even in time of death and resurrection. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” It is the Lord who gives us strength. We can do great things relying on His power. From where can we find our resources? Jesus’ joy is my joy. Jesus’ hope is my hope. As God’s chosen children we have Jesus Christ who is an immeasurable valued treasure in our hearts. Let us realize our identity in Christ. It does not matter what circumstances we find ourselves in; we can overcome every obstacle and enjoy an abundant life. Conclusion We are not living in a germ-free glass bowl but a world infested with all kinds of germs. However we have within us Jesus who has conquered every germ. Christ in us is our eternal victor. It is not I; but Jesus who is the victor. When we live with Jesus; His victory is my victory. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “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 only jars of clay but we have treasure in us. We have God’s great power. We are not insufficient. We are not abandoned. We are not null and void. We need to know who we are. What are the differences between believers and non-believers? According to Christ I’m valuable. He called my frame His child. We are in Christ and we know how to live because we know who we are. If you acknowledge the light of truth; it will enlighten you all the days of your life. You become changed by the light and it will lead you into eternity. Let us pray together. Our Father God in Heaven, You are a God of love. So many times we just come to church as if we keep a religious practice by attending services and following formality. But You are real. Oh, Jesus! You indeed became a human being. You died on the cross because of me. Because of me You were buried and because of me You rose from the dead. You ascended to heaven but You did not leave me without comfort. You sent Your Holy Spirit to me. Now You are in me. Because of Jesus I live. Because of Jesus I am saved. Because of Jesus I am holy. Because of Jesus I am healed. I am blessed because of Jesus. I win against Satan because of Jesus. Now I am resurrected with Jesus. His death is my death. His resurrection is my resurrection. Let me realize your grace. Let me live as a person who has this treasure in me. Illuminate us. Let us look at ourselves from a new perspective. Look! We become new. Help us understand the truth. Let us see our new identity. Let us live by faith. Not by sight nor hearing nor touching but by faith we will walk. We believe according to our will but from now on we want to believe according to Your will. Help us believe. Let us confess by faith things that are not as though they were. Help us speak words of blessing and success instead of negative words like cursing and murmuring. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. 1