Don't Lose Heart
2 Corinthians 4:16
Pastor Rob Zantello

Putting the verse in context with the rest of the chapter

"Therefore" means you need to find out what it is there for

To get context for Chapter 4 we need to understand stand Chapter 3

Chapter 3 can be broken down into 5 different sections

1. Letters of recommendation vs 1-3
2. Competence from God vs 4-6
3. Glory of the New Covenant vs 7-11
4. Veiled and unveiled faces vs 12-16
5. Transformation into Christ's image vs 17-18

Paul spends the majority of the chapter contrasting the old and new covenants.

We then go on to Chapter 4 where Paul discusses the nature of Christian ministry and the hope and resilience that come from faith.

Chapter 4 can be broken down into 6 different sections.

1. Ministry and Integrity vs 1-2
2. The Gospel and Human Blindness vs 3-4
3. Jesus Christ as the focus vs 5-6
4. Suffering and power vs 7-12
5. Hope in Resurrection vs 13-15
6. Eternal Perspective vs 16-18

Now that we know what is going on we can go over vs 16

1. So we don't lose heart

Paul's ministry was full of weakness and discouragements.

· Paul was a persecutor of Christians [Acts 8:3, Acts 9:1-2, 1 Corinthians 15:9, Galatians 1:13]
· Struggled with Sin [Romans 7:15-24]
· Thorn in the Flesh [2 Corinthians 12:7-10]
· Conflict with Barnabas [Acts 15:36-41]
· Physical weakness or Illness [Galatians 4:13-14]
· Perceived as a poor speaker [2 Corinthians 10:10, 1 Corinthians 2:1-4]
· Multiple sufferings and hardships [2 Corinthians 11:23-29, 2 Corinthians 6:4-10]
· Criticized for his appearance [2 Corinthians 10:10]
· Dependence on Others [Philippians 4:10-19, 2 Corinthians 11:8-9]
· Contentions with Authority [Acts 16:37-40, Acts 22:24-29]
· Internal Church Conflicts [1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Galatians 2:11-14]
· Feelings of Inadequacy [1 Corinthians 15:9, Ephesians 3:8]

2. "Though our outer self is Wasting away"

3. "Our inner self is being renewed day by day"

This is the idea that theologians call "Sanctification."

1. Initial Sanctification
2. Progressive Sanctification
3. Completer or Ultimate Sanctification

What is this saying to us?

· Alicia Haste (26-year-old friend of Allie Wilson) has extensive injuries and is recovering from a motorcycle accident.
· Stan & Jean Robinson, Bruce & Janine Robinson and their families upon the loss of Stan's sister-in-law and Bruce's stepmom, Ruby Robinson, on 4/18.
· Pastor Jephthe Lucien, his family, his ministry, the children in his orphanages, and the people of Haiti as the country is under extreme duress due to violence and unrest.
· Bruce Ferguson had his medications adjusted and is continuing with his doctors for further treatment.
· Lennon McKamey (son of Kyle & Sarah McKamey) hasn’t had any more blackouts and has completed testing; he has a follow up appointment in June.
· Rhonda Dobberstein is receiving radiation treatments for breast cancer that will continue through the end of April.
· Nolan Marshall was approved to receive services for another year. Praise God for answered prayers!
· Vincent Bryant (son of Miriam Bryant) is dealing with multiple health issues: blood clots which are interfering with his dialysis treatments; continues to recover from a 2nd surgery on his left hand which resulted in one finger being amputated; issues with an ankle that prevents him from driving.
· Miriam Bryant has begun therapy for hip issues.
· Anna Bocock’s has Epstein Barr in addition to one strain of Lyme. She is waiting for next month’s treatment to be done, will then take another blood test to see how the treatment performed, and once the tests come back, she will hopefully be able to move forward with the Lyme disease treatments.
· Caroline Bocock is having some symptoms resurface so she will need to have more treatments. They are waiting for her most recent test results to come back so they can determine which strain of Lyme’s needs to be treated next.
· Joyce Bocock continues to do well. Prayers for continued improvement and relief from pain are appreciated.
· Check out our monthly prayer card on-line at southhavenfbc.com under “Weekly Bulletins” for a list of those with on-going needs.

First Baptist Church
1635 76th Street
South Haven, MI 49090
269-637-1291
southhavenfbc@gmail.com