Being too Heavenly Minded? (2 Corinthians 4)

Welcome back to Coffee with a Calvinist. My name is Keith Foskey and I am a Calvinist. Today, we're going to be continuing our study of Second Corinthians by looking at Second Corinthians, Chapter four.

Paul’s Call to Not Lose Heart in 2 Corinthians 4

If you want to open your Bibles up, you'll notice at the very beginning of the chapter, the Apostle Paul begins with these words, he says, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

And this becomes a theme that he discusses throughout the chapter. And then toward the end of the chapter, he says this in verse 16. So we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light.

Momentary affliction is preparing us, preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient.

But the things that are unseen are eternal. It is very easy to get bogged down into the things of this world so much that our minds become so focused on the now that we do not and cannot seem to focus on the here to come or the eternal things.

And oftentimes what happens when that is the case is we become very discouraged when we begin to focus only on what's happening in this world and only on what is going on around us in this world, the pains, the sufferings, the struggles, the the constant drama.

It's easy to be in a sense of depression. It's easy to be in a sense of sadness. And I will say this. This has been especially the case in the recent months with the outbreak of the coronavirus, because the coronavirus has caused many people to have to change the way that they live.

We're not going out. We're not engaging in social activities. We're not seeing each other in parks and in restaurants and in theaters, most importantly, in churches. And so this has really become overwhelming for a lot of people.

And as I mentioned in a recent sermon, there has already been an increase in suicides. And the fear is that those things are going to continue to increase, especially because of the financial downturn, which is already happening and is expected to get worse as a result of businesses closing and things happening in regard to the virus and how the government has responded to the virus.

And so we come to the issue of where do we find our confidence and where do we find our hope? And in this passage, the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to be reminded that this momentary affliction. And notice that phrase, momentary affliction is ultimately light.

Now, how can he say that? I know people whose lives are very hard. And there are times when I feel like my life is kind of hard. And yet I know there are people who suffer greater than I ever will. How can the Apostle Paul call what we deal with in this life light?

And the reason is, is because it is temporary. This life and all that is in it is temporary, as this passage says, it's transient, it's not here to stay. And whether we are currently going through a time of difficulty or through a time of success and blessing, what we need to remember is that nothing in this world is here to stay.

It's all going to give way to the eternal state. Therefore, we need to be thinking with an eye toward eternity, whether we're facing a struggle that's causing us to feel sad and and drama that's causing us to feel pain, we look to eternity and we say this too shall pass and the Lord will come and he will make all things new and it will be great, or on the other hand, if we're facing a blessing and we're experiencing great, great, great encouragement and good things are happening.

We need to take a moment and step back and say this too at any moment could change and we not we need not to find our joy in this, but we need to find our joy in what is to come. So. I want to tell you something I heard years and years ago.

Too Earthly Minded Versus Heavenly Minded

When I was in seminary, there was a phrase that was somewhat popular in churches. They would say, oh, that man is so heavenly minded that he's no earthly good. What they meant by that, that that this imaginary person, whoever he was, was always thinking about heaven and therefore he was never engaging in the things of the here and now.

I want to tell you something, and this comes from and I realize I'm relatively young still, but I've been in ministry, full time ministry for 15 years. And several years before that, I was I was working in the ministry.

I'm coming up on two decades of pastoral ministry, whether it be as as an associate pastor, a youth pastor, and now as a senior pastor. I've never met anyone. That I would be able to legitimately say was so heavenly minded, he was no earthly good, because the people that I meet that are focused on heaven.

Are usually the people that are the most diligent servants of the king of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. This text reminds us you can't be too heavenly minded. In fact, you can be too earthly minded. You can be too focused on the transient things that you miss the sight of the eternal things.

And so I would encourage you. Be a little more heavenly minded. It might just do you some good. This has been Coffee with a Calvinist. I hope it's been an encouragement to you today. May God bless you.

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My name is Keith and I've been your Calvinist.