Grace Fellowship of South Forsyth

Spreading the fame of God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

  • Explore
    • What We Believe
    • Our Core Values
    • Leadership & Staff
    • About Worship
    • Common Questions
  • Events
  • Ministries
    • Benevolence
    • Bible Study
    • Children
    • Community Groups
    • Men
    • Missions
      • Annie Armstrong Offering
      • Colombia
      • Operation Christmas Child
    • Students
    • Women
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • GraceTALK
    • RightNow Media
    • Sermons Online
    • Shop Amazon
    • Spiritual Gifts Test
    • Stories of Grace
    • Study Tools & Resources
    • Weekly Memory Verses
  • Contact
  • Give

How Not To Lose Heart

Friday, January 30, 2015 by Dan Miller Leave a Comment

Read 2 Corinthians 3:13-4:1

Question
How do we as people seeking to spread the fame of God at Grace keep from the mire and mud of life when seeking to minister to others? Or, as Paul says, how do we not “lose heart” (see 4:1, 16). How do we push off the attitude that drives us to wonder if ministering to others is really worth it? How do we insulate ourselves from being mentally set adrift on the sea of “no-heart.”

Understanding
Paul begins his antidote in v.13 of chap. 3 by comparing His ministry to the ministry of Moses. Moses had a ministry that relied on man’s ability to intrinsically love God, and therefore, produced frustration and sporadic joy in the observance of the sacrificial system and left a crater of longing for an eternal hope to remedy spiritual need. The ministry of Moses had only a standard that drove the people of his day to realize their need. It was a type of spiritual bulimia – consume yourself in spiritual activity only to realize that the activity does not solve your problem, it simply points to a deeper issue. Ministry that day-after-day echoes need soon becomes a spiritual anchor that either drowns us or determines us to do better. But Paul says that we have better things to hope in since when a person abandons trust in themselves and “turns to the Lord” (v.16), the veil of obligation is removed and replaced with the “freedom” (v.17) of serving a satisfied God because of Christ. This satisfied God then moves from convincing us of our need for Him, via the law, to transforming us to look more like Him and thus, spread His fame. This is the type of ministry we have. A type of ministry that Moses could only dream about and yet never imagine that God would put on skin and do what He did! Moses talked with God at the tent of meeting periodically, but the disciples camped with Christ everyday! Then, after three years of modeling and mentoring, Jesus became of “tent of meeting” so we could have confidence of a constant conference call with God. Our type of ministry today, unlike Moses’ ministry, does not look for a day to come, but looks at an event that happened. A ministry that says to people, “we offer you a life of freedom” – a life that enjoys the relationship of a God (Father) satisfied through the act of a God (Son) who became the satisfier, both the “just and the one who justifies” (Rom. 3:26).

Answer
How does this relate to not losing heart and why would Paul use it as a backdrop? Paul begins to defend himself from the attacks of people who say, “you’re not a very good speaker” or “you know if you did this, then your ministry would be really alot better’ or “are you sure you are as good at this as you think you are?” All of these types of emotions were being produced in Paul through the “advice” of certain people at Corinth. It drove Paul to evaluate why is he doing ministry and what is it really about and the first thing Paul does is examine the freedom that the Gospel brings with it to Himself and those who wrap their lives around it. In chapter 4:1, Paul reveals the bedrock reason why he does not “lose heart” – the basis of all of his “ministry” finds it’s foundation in the person and work of Christ and stands head and shoulders above anything he could imagine in the ministry of Moses. Paul’s ability to not lose heart is directly related to his ability to remember the activity of God Gospel and not his performance within ministry. Let’s step back from activity achieved and be encouraged today over a ministry we have received and lock arms with the Apostle Paul by affirming the essence of the Gospel – that it is worth it and let that encourage us to not lose heart.

Original posting Oct. 2004

Spread His Fame:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Encouragement, Freedom, Heart, Hope, Renewal

Dan Miller

About Dan Miller

Pastor Dan is our Sunday morning teaching-pastor, leads the staff, and provides oversight for our disciple-making environments. Pastor Dan spent almost 16 years as a student pastor and then helped start Grace Fellowship in 2003. Dan is married to Vicki and together they enjoy their seven children – Benjamin, David, Alexa, Zachary, Nathan, Ana and Autumn.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What People Are Saying

  • Jarrett on Facing the FutureGreat article on the kind of thinking (or lack thereof) on the left. We need...
  • Barbara Mullins on Facing the FutureOnly God can open eyes hearts and minds to know the truth. He is the...
  • Timothy Hitchcock on Facing the FutureIn a world full of hate be a light .
  • Todd SorensonTodd Sorenson on Facing the FutureTru dat
  • Pam Lennie on Who Was ‘Good King Wenceslas?’Larry, you are a fountain on info! Very interesting article.

Podcast Feeds

  • Subscribe with iTunes
  • Podcast Feed

Contact Information

2750 Ronald Reagan Boulevard
Cumming, Georgia 30041
(770) 325-3735
Driving Directions
[email protected]
More Contact Information

Service Information

Worship Service
Sundays, 9:30 am
More Information

Connections (Bible Study)
Sundays, 10:50 am (For all ages.)
More Information

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Weekly Newsletter

Grace Fellowship of South Forsyth. All Rights Reserved. © 2007-2021. Metro Atlanta, Georgia USA. Login

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.