When life throws its worst at us, what sources of strength can we draw on to get us through the roughest of experiences. That’s the question Paul helps us to answer in today’s passage from 2 Corinthians.

Something to expect: the hassles of life vv3-7

In these verses Paul uses some richly meaningful words to describe the hassles of life he faced.

Things that press in on us

(Thlipsis)

Did you realise the atmosphere is pressing in your body right at this very moment. It’s so strong that, over the area of your body, there is about 1,000 kg of air pressing in on you.

That’s approximately the same as having a small car press down on you.

Thankfully there’s the same amount pushing out so you stay in equilibrium, otherwise we’d all shrivel up like prunes!

When Paul talks about pressure here in the Bible he uses a special word that means things that really hurt our our hearts and minds – a different sort of pressure

• Many of us have had times of deep disappointment or grief. That’s a pressure.
• Some of us have experienced knock after knock after knock in life and these events can weigh us down and become a heavy weight in our head-space.

That’s what the Bible means by ‘pressure’ here.

In these situations, we may feel that resting on God’s promises is often just about all we can do.

• Now that’s not a statement of resigned defeat, it’s simply a recognition that when all other sources of support are stripped away, Christ promises to walk alongside us by his Spirit

• In John’s gospel Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit being “the one called alongside to help”
• and that is the gateway to receiving God’s power in some of the tough spots we find ourselves in.

Things you can’t avoid

(anagke)

In 1789, Jean Baptiste Leroy received a letter from the American inventor Benjamin Franklin. In it he said this

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”

Children – what other unpleasant things can you not avoid?

• When I asked some children I got answers like homework, tidying my bedroom, exams,

• Going to the dentist, (boy on return from dentist to mum “no, it wasn’t painless at all! He put his finger in my mouth, I bit it and he yelled like anyone else!”

Probably the one thing that none of us are able to avoid is sorrow.

This is Alex <ppt>, an albino rabbit

• Alex was our daughter Esther’s rabbit and he was a sparky character! Esther bought him a collar and lead with which she took him for walks round the estate where we lived!
• Alex lived in a palatial hut made of two halves, one where he could walk in the open air, and the other where his bedding was.

But one day a fox managed to split the two halves apart and got Alex by the head.

• He died in that attack
• (Suddenly the book ‘Fantastic My Fox’ lost its appeal somehow!)

Our family was very sad – because we loved that rabbit

• Esther in particular was heartbroken
• Why? Because she loved her rabbit

Jesus knows what your life is like on the inside and he will walk with you when things happen that make you very sad.

• There is a wonderful promise in Deuteronomy: “Underneath are the everlasting arms (of God)”
• However low you get, the Lord’s support is lower still!

Things that make us anxious

(stenochria)

Literally it means ‘too narrow a place’

On one of our family holidays, we were in an outward bound centre (all 4 of us). Chris and Esther wanted to do one of that day’s activities called ‘bouldering’

• This meant going to a place where there were huge boulders and crawling through tiny crevices between the boulders. (It’s like potholing above ground)
• I’m a bit claustrophobic (I don’t like confined places too much) and this was quite difficult for me. At the end of the pot-hole there was one final manoeuvre where we had to squeeze through a particularly tight crevice.
• I just couldn’t get through! I just couldn’t haul myself out between these two huge rocks. After some negotiating (and a lot of laughter at my expense) The rest of the team who were behind me pashed from that end and one of the instructors pulled from the front
• I eventually flopped out like a beached whale!

I have since solved this problem by not going pot-holing!

The word Paul uses here means ‘too tight a place for comfort’

• When we worry and are anxious we can find ourselves in a very tight place.

Some Christians in the world live with worry

• There is a church in Syria that is being persecuted very harshly at the moment. Christian men women and children are being used as human shields by government forces (source: Barnabas fund)

There are many Christians in the world who are in a very tight place.

• A man I discovered in China – to go to church he has to drive for 1 hour to make sure he’s not being followed, then he walks to the house where the other people are getting ready to worship.

And yet he still loves Jesus and lives to glorify Christ. It is hard for us in the west to appreciate the pressure some Christians live under for the sake of the gospel.

We should be faithful to them by upholding them in prayer.

Something to do: develop resilience (vv8-10)

If anyone had the right to go completely to pieces because of the hassles, it was Paul – just listen to this!

(“We are) genuine, yet regarded as imposters!

We are known, yet treated as if we were unknown,

we are dying, and yet we live on

we are beaten but not killed

we are sorrowful, but consistently rejoicing,

we have nothing – yet possess everything!

(2 Corinthians 6:8-10)

Resilience is that God-given quality that determines how we face life’s difficulties

When we experience a major knock in life different people respond in widely differing ways.

• Some people may crumple, never let themselves be the same again. They will allow themselves to be defined by their trauma.
• Others will bounce back to where they were before the crisis.
• And another group do more that bounce back,
• having been knocked down by life they come back stronger in God than ever.

Rather than letting failure or disappointment overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.

Psychologists can identify some factors that make someone resilient, these are attitudes like a positive approach to life, realistic optimism, and crucially, the capacity to regulate emotions, even in times of great stress.

• These people don’t ignore or suppress their emotions, they are very much aware of what is going on in their own hearts, but the have developed a spiritual strength that lifts them above their emotional turmoil

Isaiah describes them like this:

“they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be feint.”

… and one other spiritual trait of resilient people is the ability to see failure, sadness and disappointment as a form of helpful feedback.

• They seem to instinctively ask “What is the loving Lord telling me through this experience?”
• Even after a misfortune, blessed with such an outlook, resilient people are able to change course, redefine themselves in God and soldier on.

E.g. Margeurite Warburton, whom we buried this week, that was one of the qualities so many people remarked upon – her ability to face traumas (and she has several major traumas) and to feel them intensely and then top rise above them.

• That was the quality Paul showed in his ministry throughout his life.
• Few of us would have endured what he endured and still kept our trust in Christ. He is a shining example of resilience.

Something to avoid: Diluting God’s work in you (vv 6:14-7:1)

Just think for a moment about what God has done for us

• set us free, given us meaning and purpose in life
• turned us from darkness to light
• kept us through the trials we’ve faced

This is all part of God’s unmerited grace in our lives! It’s a precious gift for God!

Now, says Paul, be careful not to dilute that precious gift! And in order to make the message clear he uses an illustration that would have spoken volumes the people who first heard this letter at Corinth.

v14 “Don’t be unequally yoked together with unbelievers”

The picture is simple. You’re a farmer and you need to prepare a field for sowing next year’s crop. You have the choice of several oxen from your herd to pull the plough – and you need two, one either side of main plough shaft. Which animals do you choose?

It’s hardly rocket science, even though few if any of us have ever ploughed with a pair of oxen, to observe that you need two beasts of the same size – or as near as you can make it.

If you link together two completely different animals you’ll never plough in a straight line – in fact you might not be able to plough at all.

Way back in the Old Testament the people were warned by God that certain ‘mixtures’ of things were not acceptable to him.

Deut 22:10 “don’t plough with a ox and a donkey yoked together”

And it is possible Paul had this in mind when he wrote this illustration.

We must not forget Paul is using a piece of picture language here so we need to wise about how we interpret it. What ‘mixtures’ is Paul talking about?

First of all, what was he getting at when he first wrote it?

We know that in this passage of 2 Corinthians Paul is justifying his own ministry as a teacher and an apostle in the face of false teaching that was taking hold in Corinth.

• There were people, prominent and influential people, who were saying that Paul wasn’t anointed by God as a teacher and an apostle, and Paul is responding (very forcibly) “hey, look at the evidence!”

Look at the love I showed to you when I planted your church – you’re dear to me (not like the false teachers who just want the fame or the glory of leadership)

Look at my suffering for the gospel! The times I’ve been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, slandered and attacked for your sake and the gospels! This must tell you something about my commitment to Christ and my passion for his people! … and the genuineness of my ministry. (Not like these false teachers who would walk away from you if they had to suffer for their convictions – beware they’re exploiting you!)

Look at my resilience for the gospel! Having been through all these traumas, I’m still preaching! In fact God is using these intense difficulties to make me a better ambassador for the kingdom! (not like these false teachers who are in it for the money!)

So don’t be unequally yoked with these false teachers – don’t share a platform with them, don’t be drawn into their web – because your faith, your trust in the Lord, your precious deposit of God’s spirit, will be diluted by them.

Steer clear of them!

v17 “come out from among them and be separate! Says the Lord“

That was Paul’s direct application of this picture. But how might we apply it today?

In what ways can we be joined together with people who haven’t experienced the grace of God like we have, and who could dilute (actually Paul (7:1) says ‘Contaminate’) our trust in the Lord?

Some people have misinterpreted this completely

There exists a concept of ‘secondary separation’ that is sometimes taught from this passage in some churches.

• If I believe in secondary separation I will have no fellowship with anyone who has themselves had contact with someone who is an ‘outsider’

For example,

• there are some Christians in Eastbourne (only a tiny few) who will have nothing to do with me because I’m content to be in a prayer meeting with the local Catholic Priest.
• There are other well-meaning Christians who separate themselves to sharply from the ‘world’ around them that they will not have a TV, not be connected to the internet.
• And even, if they’re living in a semi-detached house, build a second dividing wall inside the house to prevent spiritual contamination from their non-Christian neighbours.

That is not what Paul is talking about here! We cannot – and should not – avoid contact with people that God love and Jesus dies for.

• In fact that’s one reason we’re here – that’s one reason why you’ve been saved! – to reach out to the workplace or the family where the Lord has placed you!

… and isn’t it fantastic to see someone becoming interested in Jesus because of what we’ve said or done!

Let me make some suggestions

it applies to some friendships

Any of us who have been parents have had the experience of sending our little darlings off to school and then finding that they’ve had a few 4-letter words added to their vocabulary when they come home!

When a child (especially) ‘gets in with the wrong crowd’ we parents know how painful that can be!

And what applies in the playground applied to adult life too. Just the same with us adults. (20% of relationship start online)

If a friendship is going to dilute your joy in the Lord – think twice about it!

It applies in some business ventures

When you partner with someone in a business project or form a company, be alert to the effect that can have on you. Obviously nobody is going to say that entering into ventures with non-Christian people is out of order,

but if that venture, however lucrative, is going to compromise your walk with the Lord, think twice about it.

In particular be sure you know your partner’s business ethics (especially ethics when under pressure) before you sign.

In marriage

(or pre-marriage man-woman relationship as they develop)

Rosi and I have often heard a girl say to us “well, my boyfriend isn’t a believer – but that’s OK really because he doesn’t stop me coming to church.”

• It’s not me being a curmudgeonly old church leader, it’s plain common sense.
• In that scenario the two of you are diverging at the deepest possible level.
• Marriage thrives when boy and girl share heart and soul and mind together! And in Christian marriage, Jesus is at the centre of that, bringing light and laughter and Joy in God!

Actually even if someone is not a Christian I would advise them to think twice about committing themselves to a Christian because at some point there’s going to be this divergence. – at the deepest level of your relationship.

• And that divergence will cause pain!

Think twice about that kind of relationship because you might end up ploughing a wonky furrow.

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