Thirst For Daily Renewal
Tom Shrader emphasizes the necessity of daily spiritual renewal, drawing from Paul's teaching that while our outer bodies decay, our inner selves are renewed day by day. He explains that present afflictions, no matter how intense, are momentary and light compared to the eternal weight of glory that awaits believers. Shrader calls Christians to maintain an eternal perspective, finding strength and renewal through God's Word and the promise of heaven.
“No matter how bad it gets, it can only last a lifetime.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: How Do I Stay Straight in a Crooked World (2006)
Recorded: 2006 at Cannon Beach Conference Center
Duration: 50 min
Themes: renewal, witness, integrity, persecution, hope, authenticity, testimony, endurance, struggling with hypocrisy, workplace challenges, business owner, facing persecution, new believer, parent, dealing with trials, questioned about faith
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 1:21, John 19:30, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:9, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Theological Themes: sanctification, spiritual renewal, eternal perspective, christian witness, affliction, glorification, spiritual warfare, incarnational living
Full Transcript
It is simply unacceptable for me to say, "Yeah, I have this faith, but it's only for Sunday. It's only for when we're in that room. It's only for Cannon Beach."
I don't even remember if I told this story. If I did, I apologize for repeating it. But I was doing business with a guy years ago, and he absolutely put it to me. There's no question - he absolutely just put it to me for a lot of dough. We're all done, and I said something incredibly stupid to him. I said, "I thought you were a Christian." Just a dumb thing. It was totally out of the flesh. It was me just trying to kind of stick it in his face. It was a terrible thing to say, but it was worth it for the answer that I got. He said, "I am, but I don't let it affect the way I do business." I said, "Amen to that! If anybody questions you on that, you have to give me a call because I can testify that your Christianity has not affected the way you do business."
Making the Invisible God Visible
Sessions six and seven go hand in glove to make the invisible God visible and to speak the truth boldly. As you and I live this life, people look at us and they see something different and unique - not odd, but different and unique about us. You're the salt of the earth. You're the light of the world. Let your good works be visible. I can see them. There's something different and unique about you. God uses you in a way to preach these messages, to create thirst.
So it should be in your life on a regular occasion that people who interact with you say there's something different about you. They have no file to put that in. They don't have a clue what they're talking about other than there's something different about you. You act differently. You see the world differently. Your relationships are different. The way you encounter trials is different. The way you interact with your kids is different. There's something different about you. At that point, I've made the invisible God visible. That's a great starting point.
But now that they're saying to you, "There's something different about you," you have to say, "Here's the difference: it's Jesus Christ." Because their tendency is to just say, "We know what that is. That's just the way you're wired. That's your personality. That's how you were raised. That's your mindset. You just have good manners." No, it's not that. It's Jesus living in me. It's Jesus Christ that changed my life. I was lost, now I'm found. I was blind. I couldn't see the world. I thought this was reality, and it wasn't reality at all. It was an illusion - the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. It's what Satan was using.
The Reality of Satan
We really haven't talked - I haven't talked about Satan much - but it's important for you to understand He is real. I saw a survey Barna did, and it said 47 percent of those who say they're born again do not believe Satan really exists. Isn't that an interesting statistic?
It's one thing if you have an enemy out there and you know it. In other words, here He's coming, and you're shutting the windows, locking the doors, and you're waiting for the intruder. That's scary. What's really scary are those shows where you've got somebody going about their business and there's somebody lurking in the woods and they don't know they're there. Those are the scary ones when all of a sudden you see it. You see the little - she's peeling potatoes and He's smoking a pipe and reading the newspaper, and this guy's lurking in the woods.
If I know Satan is out there, it's scary, but at least I'm prepared for it. If I don't think He exists, how wonderful that has to be for Him. What a hand up He has in that battle.
Let me tell you something else about Satan, though. He's way smarter than you. He's not smarter or stronger than God, and how He comes at you is absolutely predictable: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, boastful pride of life. He doesn't even vary it. He isn't even really terribly creative. He just comes at you and He comes at you again and again and again in all these predictable ways.
A Football Story
When I was in high school, I played football. I went out for basketball, but they already had one. But I played football, and I actually - it's hard to imagine that both John and I played the same sport - but I did play basketball, I did play football and baseball and golf. Actually, in football, I played quarterback, which is really hard to imagine, but I did. The kid ahead of me was an all-state quarterback, so I didn't really ever have to play, so it was perfect. I didn't like football - they hit you, lots of bad things happen.
So I'm on the second team against the first team defense. We had a halfback, and His name was Jerry Watson. When I went back and went back for my dad's funeral, I saw Jerry, and we relived this moment. Jerry was unique. We used to call Him Weird Harold. He was just a little bit different than everybody else. He's the fastest guy you ever saw in your life. I have the unofficial touchdown pass record at our high school. It's something like 96 yards. I threw it two yards, Jerry ran 94 yards. I threw it from here to the piano, and Jerry just went the whole way. This - He could fly, but He didn't like to get hit either.
We're sitting there one night, and it's one of those rainy cold nights. It's blowing. We had our coat on. We're sitting - He and I are sitting there, game's going on, and I'm sitting there and we're talking about what we're going to do after the game. We're not really into it, and we're cold. It's cold. And the coach came over to Him. We were just talking about - just reliving this experience - coach came over to Him and said, "Alright Jerry, get in there." And He said, "Nah, I don't think so." Now He claims He had a shoulder injury. I know that's a lie. And the coach walked away, and I said, "You know, I think that's going to limit your playing time here in the future."
Well, Jerry was so fast and so good that here's what we do. Oftentimes when we'd run this offense against the first team defense, we'd have some success. The worst thing you could hear is for me to take the ball, give it to Jerry.
Jerry would go around the end, we'd make a huge gain, and here's what they would say: "Run it again." I'd go back to the huddle and we'd call the play and we'd come out, and I'd come back and frequently I'd give it to Jerry. Even then, there'd be a little juke in there and he'd get through them and they'd say "Run it again." It was the worst thing to hear. We're going to run it again and run it again and run it again until they stop it.
I kept saying, "This is—do you understand—this is a bit of an advantage. They know where the play's going. Certainly they're going to stop it at some point." Before I get to here, there's eleven guys in the hall. They're going to stop it. Boy, if you—and we sit in baseball, here's all these signs we're going through all this. Susan's always mystified: "What are we—why don't we just do—why don't we just do that? Why don't we do that?" Well, because we don't want to steal the sign. Because here they are—if they understand what we're going to do, they have a huge advantage. They steal the sign. The whole—watch the runner at second, and oftentimes you'll see him. If he's leaning on this leg, it's a curve ball. If it's on this leg, it's a fastball, or some way he's communicating to the hitter. If we know what the other guy's going to do, we have a huge advantage.
Satan's Predictable Playbook
Satan comes at you and says, "Here's my playbook. It's going to be either the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes or boastful pride of life." That's what he used in the garden. They saw it was good for food—the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh. "You'll be like God"—the boastful pride of life. He just comes again and again and again and again and again to you.
So all of a sudden I have to say, "Listen, here it is. It's not me—it's God in me that's made this difference."
Previous Sessions Recap
Session eight: Learn to be content. It's counterculture, yet it's a learned behavior, which to me is encouraging. You live in a world that absolutely has a whole marketing advertising industry that's determined to make you discontent. Remember Radio Shack? "We have thousands of things you never knew you needed."
Session nine was to rejoice in the freedom we have. I watch and we want to make everybody just like us. We want to figure out what we think God would have us do. Whenever we talk about that, that door opens and sheds the light, and we want to try to figure out what that is. Then we think what God has us do is what God has to be doing in everybody's life. So now we begin to evaluate and judge and move each other—make these assessments based on that.
Last time we talked about suffering and the inevitability of that. We talked—in fact, again, I like the phrase—"Just expect the suffering. Grow from it. You're not exempt. It's oftentimes evidence of God's love for you." "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance." You see the same idea in Romans chapter 5: "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God," and yet we know there will be tribulation. We know there'll be trials.
Thirst For Daily Renewal
Today, number 11, coming full circle and really beginning again this whole cycle again: Thirst for daily renewal.
A.W. Tozer makes this interesting comment. Here's what he says: "Paul is the most successful Christian that's ever lived." Now we can probably play with that a whole bunch and try to define "successful" and see what that means. But at least, even if we say, "Well, he's missed it a little bit," if we say he's one of the most, I think we'd have to say that Paul certainly becomes the major influence in the Christian faith other than Christ Himself.
So to study the life of Paul, to me, is an interesting exercise. Paul says something I don't think I'd be comfortable saying. He said, "You be an imitator of—" Now he adds quickly, "as I'm an imitator of Christ." That, in a sense, ought to be a target, a goal, an objective for all of us—to be able to say to the people around us, "You just be an imitator of me. You follow me as I follow Christ."
When you say that, don't you feel a certain pressure to that? If all of a sudden you're in this small group, you got five gals in your small group, five guys in your small group, and all of a sudden you're saying to the other four, "Hey, you follow me. You do what I would do. You be an imitator of me." Paul doesn't seem shy about saying that. "That's okay. You watch me. Not going to be perfect. I'm not Christ. You follow me as I follow Christ."
As we look at the life of the Apostle, he gives, at least to me, a gem after gem after gem of how we're to live.
Paul's Secret: Daily Renewal
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16. What he says: "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though the outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. Verse 17: For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal; the things that are not seen are eternal."
Thirst for daily renewal. Here's where Paul begins: Do not lose heart. It has with it the idea, literally, to abandon in a cowardly surrender. Don't quit. Don't give up.
You probably are familiar with the story, really in the heart of the Second World War, and really one of England's darkest hours. The story goes that Winston Churchill was invited to give a commencement address at an all boys school. When they introduced him, the schoolmaster said, "The Prime Minister is arguably the greatest orator in the history of the English language. Boys, listen to every word he says."
The story goes—you know it, don't you—that Churchill got up and here's what he said: "Never give up. Never, never, never give up." And he sat down.
I've thought about that a ton. I thought about what would Janet do if the first night I would have said, "Never give up. Never, never, never give up." Now she may have applauded. It's interesting because I really do—I think of all those addresses, all those speeches. I don't know how much you know about the Gettysburg Address, but that day President Lincoln was not the featured
There was a man who spoke before Lincoln for two hours. You cannot remember his name or anything that he said. Lincoln recited something like 274 words that took just a few minutes and, arguably, delivered one of the great speeches in the history of this country. So I often wonder what it would be like to just get up and say, "Never give up. Never, never, never give up. Take your check and go home." I just wonder what that would be like. I'm never going to know, but it's fascinating.
Among all the speeches that Churchill gave, the minute I start that quote, you're familiar with it. It's interesting—he made his point. He didn't get into a long explanation of "here's how." He just said, "Listen, don't stop. Don't ever give up. Don't ever quit."
The Greatest Comeback in Sports History
I was watching ESPN one night and I saw the most phenomenal thing I've ever seen in the history of sports. It was this Texas State football game between John Tyler and Plano East. Five minutes left in the game and Plano was leading 34-17. John Tyler fumbles with three and a half minutes left. Plano goes up 41-17.
The broadcast they're doing is the John Tyler local announcers—these are just the guys from there, just good old boys talking. Here's what they're saying: "We're so proud of our boys. They just made a real good effort tonight. It wasn't their night. They just weren't the best team tonight, and those things happen, but that's okay."
John Tyler gets the ball, scores 41-23, misses the extra point. Onside kick, recovers, drives, scores, two-point conversion—41-31. But there's really no time left. Onside kick, recovers, score again—41-38. But there's just a few seconds really left. Onside kick recovers. The guy is literally exhausted. The quarterback—these guys are whipped. They've been out on that field for three and a half minutes, and there's something like 20 seconds left in the game. He launches this missile. The kid catches it, falls into the end zone, and the team that just minutes before was behind 34-17 is now ahead 45-41 with six seconds left. Nothing can happen.
It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. They kick off. The guy recovers the kickoff and goes 96 yards the other way for a touchdown. These announcers are going crazy. They're going through this whole thing, and at one point they say, "Listen, if you're listening to this game and you're a John Tyler fan and you left this game, you turned the radio off, you don't deserve to hear this."
They kick off, and they're saying, "We're so happy with our boys. We've never seen anything like it." All of a sudden they're running that kick back the other way, and the guy just says, "Oh my, oh my." You hear the one guy say, "I'm going to throw up. I've never seen anything like it." It's the most amazing thing I've seen in the history of sports.
That is one of the beautiful things about sports to me—there's never a lead that's safe enough. There's always that Joe Louis-Billy Conn moment where you throw the punch and knock the guy out. Never give up.
Life's Deeper Challenges
For us, it's a little deeper than an onside kick and a run back, isn't it? You face the stuff in life. As I said earlier, the pregnancy where everything is normal, everything is perfect, checkups right, ten fingers, ten toes, baby born—no breath. Business—you're just minding your own business, you've got your little niche, you're as happy as can be. All of a sudden, somebody that you don't even know—you've done everything right, all your R&D, all your marketing, all your research, your cost control. You've done everything right, and somebody on the other side of the world invents a new widget that literally instantaneously makes you irrelevant. Never give up.
We talked the other day about reading great books. I'm going to give you a great book to read, and I assume you're somewhat familiar with it. It's a book called *Knowing God* by J.I. Packer. It is a classic. If you have not read it in a while, it's time to reread it. I went through a little stretch there where I was reading it once a year. I haven't picked it up in a while. I picked it up on vacation just to scan through it to be reminded of what a classic it is.
In the middle of this, Packer has this one little sentence: "Once you understand your main purpose on earth is to know God, life's problems seem to fall into perspective on their own accord." Now he doesn't say life's problems go away. He says when I understand I'm here to know God, all of a sudden—here's the way I'd like to say it—all of a sudden life starts to fit together, even the stuff I don't really understand.
The Power of Perspective
Danny Manning was a basketball player at the University of Kansas and played for a while for the Phoenix Suns. He tells a wonderful story of calling home. He'd blown his knee out in a game, and he's calling home. His wife picks up the phone, and he's calling her to tell her that his knee's blown again. On her end, all she's saying is, "Oh no! Oh my! How did it happen? Oh no!" His daughter is sitting there and listens to this, and she says, "Mom, is Daddy dead?" All of a sudden the knee took on a whole new perspective. It doesn't minimize it, but when I understand who God is, all of a sudden stuff starts to fit together.
That's why we come back to these basics again and again and again. Like I said, Jan and I don't have a lot in common, but we do have this in common—we love football and we love this time of year. She was out here last night at seven o'clock and pulled up. She didn't say hello. She didn't say how I was doing. She said, "Giants 14, Chiefs nothing, halftime score." She didn't bother to find out if I was okay. I was limping. She didn't ask. She gave me a football score. It doesn't matter to her world—that's all that matters.
Back to the Fundamentals
I love this time of year, and here's what they do. It's the old Vince Lombardi thing, right? When Vince Lombardi would gather those absolute Super Bowl champions together every year, he would begin the same way. He would say, "Gentlemen, this is a football. This is about blocking and tackling."
You go to spring training games in Arizona, and you will see pitchers and catchers come in early. You know what they're working on?
The Importance of Fundamentals
On how to get the ball to first, how to cover a bunt—what are those basic things? What side of the mound am I going to fall off of when there's a bunt? Here's how we're doing, here's how we're going—it's the basics over and over and over and over and over and over again. We come back again to the basics.
There's a church that started in Phoenix not too long ago, and they ran a little ad. Here's what they wrote in the newspaper. It's the pastor, and he said, "I'd like to address some of you who are searching for a spiritual path. As you're well aware, there are so many religions in the world, and with so many choices it can be a bit overwhelming to find a church that fits. I want to share with you a few ideas about"—and then he gives the name of the church—"so that you can make an informed decision."
The Deception of False Sincerity
"We're not a Christian church in the traditional sense of the word. We do worship Jesus Christ as God, but we don't think you're going to hell if you don't. We believe all people are on faith paths to heaven if they live earnestly by what they've chosen—that their faith teaches. It's not what's in your head but what's in your heart that matters."
Let's stop there for a second. Think about 9-11. Now there are all sorts of heroes on 9-11, and again this could easily be misunderstood, so if this is confusing to you, give me the benefit of the doubt. But if you really want to see somebody who was sincere—specifically 19 guys who were sincere—it's the guys who hijacked a plane.
They were sincere. If all that matters in your faith is sincerity, those boys were sincere. They had committed years to the preparation of that day. They prepared for that—they prepared mentally and physically and emotionally. I've tried a bunch of times to try to put myself in the cockpit, flying that plane into the World Trade Center. That had to be an incredible experience—you're flying this thing and there's that big old building, and it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, and you're crashing this thing in there.
Listen, if all that matters is sincerity, then you're going to see the hijackers in heaven. I don't think it's about sincerity. I think it's about being sincere about the real thing. It does matter what's in my head and what's in my heart. It does matter what I believe.
Truth Is Not Relative
Two plus two is—that's not a trick question—two plus two is four. Now you're sitting in school, first grade, you write down five. You write down five because you really believed it, really sincere about it. If I took you outside and said, "What's two plus two?" you'd say, "Five." I'm convinced it's five. I'm sure it's five. I'm certain it's five. I'm so confident I put it down on the test—five.
You know what the teacher should do? I don't know that they do this anymore, but what they should do is mark it wrong, because two plus two is four. Sincerity is not the issue. The object of my faith is the issue.
Here's what he's saying: it doesn't really matter. See how we are now dealing again with the Scripture?
The Two Paths Jesus Described
Here is what Jesus said. Matthew chapter 7—He said there's two ways, two paths. One is a narrow path, one's a wide path. One's a hard path, one's an easy path. One leads to destruction, one leads to life. And there's many people on the wide, easy, broad path to destruction, and few that find the narrow, hard, difficult path that leads to life—Matthew chapter 7, verses 13, 14, 15.
Here's what's interesting. I used to have this picture that here's these two paths, and here's a sign that says "Road to Hell" and "Road to Heaven." That isn't it. Both of these, to the general public, are marked "Road to Heaven." Very few people—and I mean serious thinking people—who if you ask them, said, "You know, are you going to hell?" they go, "Yeah, yeah, doesn't really matter, no big deal." Virtually everybody would say, "No, no, I'm going to heaven."
Why? Then they have some assortment of answers. Ultimately most of them would be, "Because I'm a good person." But after you, "Go to heaven, be good"—how good? What's the standard? "Well, just be sincere." Well, the hijackers were sincere. "Just do your best." Well, that's kind of an interesting question, because I don't know if I've ever really done my best. Given it a shot every now and then.
Attacking Scripture's Authority
This ad continues: "We believe the Bible is not just a literal document. It was written and given to us because it contains a deeper spiritual sense that is really about each one of us. Each story is a parable that mere spiritual challenge or reality that we face on our path."
There's the attack again. Same way. I'm going to tip my hand here—this guy's goofy. And the way he is able to teach the false truth is again to say, "No, can't trust the Bible. Just a story."
I was doing some work on Moses in the Exodus, and I do read commentators and people who I think I would disagree with. And this guy was explaining, "No, no, no, not the miracle here. It wasn't the Red Sea. It was the Reed Sea. The Reed Sea is only about a foot and a half deep or so, so there was no big thing. They just got through there."
I found myself going, "Well, there's still a miracle even if it's the Reed Sea. How'd all these guys drown in it? Where'd all those chariots go? I still got a problem here."
False Teaching About Judgment
Here's how he closes: "God never judges anyone. God has pure mercy and love itself. We judge ourselves by the choices we make every day. In freedom we're creating a heaven or hell within us right now by what we love or pursue in our lives. Hell is a place where selfishness and hate reign, and heaven is a place where mutual love and kindness reign. We simply continue living after death in a way that we have chosen here on earth, but there in its fullness."
No. There's a heaven and a hell—a hell to be shunned, a heaven to be gained.
What People Would Pay For
USA Today—you know how on the front page they have this little box, kind of interesting, always little interesting surveys? There was a survey not long ago. If you were a rich man—and then they said, "What would you pay for this?" Here's what they said. If you were a rich man—and I don't know who they questioned, but here's the result they found—on average people would pay $55,000 to be President of the United States, $83,000 for great beauty, $206,000 for a reunion...
with a lost love $259,000 for eternal youth $285,000 for talent $407,000 for great intellect $487,000 for true love, but on average the thing that people said they'd pay the most for was $640,000 to know they had a place in heaven. Boy, do we have a deal for you.
Here you go. Let me make this point and then we'll roll on. We've got about 15 minutes. I am saved by God from God for God. You may want to write this down. I don't want to be presumptuous here, but you might want to write this down.
I am saved by God. Jesus will be His name, for He shall save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). "It is finished," Jesus cried out. He redeemed His people (John 19:30). Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we've done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing and regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). I'm saved by God. We're saved by grace through faith. It's utterly, completely, entirely of God, and we kind of get that. Everybody kind of goes amen.
Saved From God's Wrath
But I'm saved by God from what? I'm saved from God. From His wrath. "Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9). Is God a God of love? Sure. Is God a God of mercy? Yes. But He's also a God of righteousness and justice who demands payment for the penalty of sin, so that every sin that's ever been committed in the history of mankind will either be paid for in one of two ways: by either Jesus Christ on the cross where it's paid in full, or by that sinner themselves for all eternity.
I'm saved by God, and we kind of get that and that makes a lot of sense. But I'm not sure we always put it together and say, "You know what? I'm saved by God from God." I'm rescued. I'm delivered. I'm saved from Him and from His wrath.
Saved For God's Glory
I'm saved by God from God for God. Westminster Confession of Faith catechism: Question: What's the chief highest end of man? Answer: Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God and to fully enjoy Him forever. It's to glorify God. How do we do that? Paul suggests this in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it to the glory of God." What Paul is saying there is even in the most common, ordinary elements of our life, we glorify God as we obediently submit to Him.
Our chief end is to glorify God, and John Piper has made really a whole career out of the second part of that: and to enjoy Him forever. To love Him. To enjoy the blessings and the gifts. To enjoy where He's placed you. To enjoy the life that He's given you. The trials that He's given you. The blessings that He's given you. All the things that He's brought into your life. You're saved by God from God for Him. You're His kid.
A Father-Child Illustration
Let me give you a human illustration here. I have observed that kids have a deep, deep, deep desire to please their parents. When those are little kids, man, they can't wait to come home. They come home and they've got that piece of paper, and you're looking at it and they've drawn on it, and you said, "Oh, a dog," and they said, "No, it's a car." "Oh, a car!" And you put it on the refrigerator and you go, and they go, "I'm so proud of you. Look at what he's done. Oh, you're so happy."
Now I give you a little warning: they grow out of that phase. But there's that phase when all they're concerned about is they really do want to please you. I watch it, as I said. I don't do it like I used to. I used to go to a lot of high school sports. Don't go to as many now. But I would watch even the coolest kid when they kind of come onto the court and they're kind of doing their thing and they're shooting their little layups and they're doing their thing. There's always a point where they'll look over to see where dad is. Every time.
The Natural Desire to Please
I used to coach girls basketball. Did that for two years. Two years we lost one game. The game we lost, I screwed up. I made a couple of really early mistakes in the game. We didn't play to win. We played to have fun, and that was true. When the team came in, first meeting I had with the girls, I said, "Here's the deal. We're going to have fun. And when I say we, I mean all of us. Me. And I won't have fun if you don't do what I say. So here's the deal: if you don't do what I say, I'm going to give you $27 and send you home, because your parents paid $27 so you could play in this league. And we aren't going to do like one warning. I'm not going to go one, two. No. You screw up, you go home. Not harsh, because I've told you ahead of time. Take this letter home to your parents so they read this so they understand it."
I never had a problem with a kid. Never had a problem with a parent. We're standing around one week. We just killed some team. But we didn't really play to win. We just destroyed these other girls. And so we're standing there in the huddle, and one girl said, "Who do we play next?" Another girl said, "The brown team." The girl said, "Which one is the brown team?" Now listen to this answer. I'm just watching this. "Who do we play next?" "The brown team." "Who's the brown team? Which one's the brown team?" Here's what the girl says: "That's the one where none of the parents come to the game." They're watching this.
The natural thing is for a kid to please his dad. To enjoy his dad. To just enjoy being with him. To just enjoy walking down the beach or sitting out in the back or just throwing a ball or even horseshoes. It's the most natural thing in the world. If it's true naturally, it ought to be true supernaturally: that I just want to please my Father. I just want to be with Him.
Don't Lose Heart
Don't you lose heart. Don't lose heart. Though the outer man is decaying. We're sitting in our bathroom. We have a nice master bedroom. Really it's about 2,000 square feet. Not a big house. We have a nice master, pretty good-sized bedroom. And then you come around and there's a pretty good size, but not a big, bathroom. And there's a big huge tub. I've never been in it. Big old tub. Seems like something
else ought to go there. At the other end, this is perfect. You come out of the shower, where that piano is, behind that is a closet. And these are mirrored doors. So when you step out of the shower, what you get is a floor to ceiling view of yourself.
Now, I don't have my glasses on, so I can't see. But I have, on occasion, taken a look. Dropped the towel. And just taken a look. And every time I do, without exception, this is probably the spiritual giant that I am. Every time that I do without exception, I think of 2 Corinthians 4:16. Though the outer man is decaying. Things are shifting. Things are shifting. You can't stop it. Your body is literally, from the moment you're born, you begin to this process of dying.
The Inner Man Is Being Renewed
The outer man is decaying. But the inner man, the soul, the inner man is being renewed. Do you see how He says that? The inner man is being renewed day by day. There's a renewal that takes place. A rejuvenation that takes place. And it's not through vitamins or eating correctly. Those are all fine things. But that's that outer body that's decaying.
I used to work out years ago at a community college. It was the greatest workout system I'd ever seen. You got your heart rate up, and then you went, and they had the music on, and it'd go beep, beep, and you'd change stations. So you'd go on the bike for 30 seconds, as fast as you could, then it'd beep, and then you'd lift weights. And the idea was, once that blood's flowing, that muscle's actually working better.
Every time I went to that gym, there was a gal there on the Stairmaster. I never saw her do anything but go on the Stairmaster. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And I happened to be going out one day when she was going out. And I said, man, you work on that Stairmaster a lot. I don't mean this in a sexual, dirty way. She had unbelievable legs. I mean, they were just muscly, toned, just unbelievable legs.
I said, you really work out on that Stairmaster. She said, I spend four to six hours a day on the Stairmaster. Four to six hours a day. Now, there's a couple of things. Number one, four minutes on that Stairmaster, and I'm history. So you got to do it. And she said, I just work on my legs four to six hours a day.
And I'm driving home, and I'm thinking, well, that would be why she has nice-looking legs. But does she understand she's going to lose this battle somewhere along the way? She may end up being a corpse with great legs, but she's going to lose this battle. The outer man is decaying. That's not to say don't eat correctly, don't exercise. Do those things. That's fine. But how do I feed the inner man? The inner man is being renewed.
Day by Day Renewal
And it's really significant to me the way He says this. Day by day. Jesus talks about us receiving our daily bread. And that always frustrated me. I'm thinking, why wouldn't He just give it to me all at once? There are probably two reasons that I can think of. Number one, I'd blow it. Number two, if He gave it to me, I'd never go back to Him again.
That's the whole idea of prayer. We have all sorts of discussion about this. Does prayer work? Does it do this? Does it change God's mind? Listen, here's what prayer does first and foremost. It acknowledges that He's in control and I'm dependent upon Him. If that's not true, what's the point of praying? I'm renewed day by day. That's the process. Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day. I'm growing.
I talked to the guys about it on Thursday morning. In our old house, there was a little chart. We had a back room that was a sewing room that became a computer room. And if you close the door, now you're in a really narrow little room. On the back behind the door, you'd see this chicken scratch on the wall. And as you look closely, you would see that there was one girl's name, Sarah, and Haley's name. And then you'd see these lines. And these lines with them had a date.
And what it was, was about every six months, we would measure where they were. We'd just mark off. Here's where you are. Here's where you are. And every time without exception, there'd be some growth. Sometimes it'd be just minuscule. Sometimes it'd be substantial. It seemed like sometimes they'd go three or four inches, and then sometimes just a little bit. But there was growth. And that is so fascinating for me to watch until there was ultimately physical maturity and they were done growing. They have long enough to be shrinking, I guess. But they're done growing.
That's a physical picture of what ought to be true of us spiritually. Now, I want to acknowledge, sometimes that day by day, just a little bit, oh, I can barely see it. A lot of times it's like that. I'm renewed day by day. I feel like a broken record here as I'm obedient to Him. Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day.
Momentary Light Affliction
Look at verse 17. For momentary light affliction. The word light means literally weightless or trifle. Affliction has the idea of intense pressure. There are two interesting words combined there. It's like trifle or intense pressure. If you want just a snapshot of it, keep your finger right there in chapter 4. Turn over to chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Paul kind of condenses, summarizes, giving you a resume of suffering.
I remember when old Bo Jackson was playing. That boy could play baseball and football. And Nike ran those ads. Bo knows. Well, here's the deal. Paul knows suffering. Look at his life.
2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 24. Five times I've received from the Jews 39 lashes. 40 the maximum number under the law. Five times 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. These would be flexible sticks that the Romans would use and they'd combine together and they'd just whip you with them. Beat you with them. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. You heard about that the other night. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I've spent in the deep. I've been on frequent journeys
in danger from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentile, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren. You get a sense of danger in Paul's life. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
Now most people when they talk about it stop there. I'll tell you as a church guy, verse 28 may be the greatest suffering of all. Apart from such external things there's the daily pressure on me of the concern for all the churches. So he couldn't get an email from Ephesus. He couldn't call Philippi. Paul's saying here you go. Here are these times that I've been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, dangers from the robbers as we go through the hills there'd be these gangs of hoodlums, dangers from the hoodlums, dangers from the Jews, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers from the rivers that would be known to all of a sudden just have these spontaneous floodings. Dangers all around me.
Putting Suffering in Perspective
Now go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 17. Paul says for momentary light affliction. Did that sound like momentary light affliction to you? There's those two words together. Light that trifle affliction, intense pressure. This trifle intense pressure is producing for me an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
Look up here. Take a weight. When we talk about weighing something we think of a scale typically. Paul's talking about the old scale in the old days. Paul's saying listen, here you go. Here's this scale and on this side I put all of this affliction and the scale goes like that. But then I try to compare it to the eternal weight of glory eternity with Christ forever and the scale goes like that. In fact he says there isn't any comparison at all. There's no way to compare these two things. Yes there is intense pressure but it is trifle when I put it in perspective. When I get the perspective of God's view. When I start to see this as God sees this.
C.S. Lewis writes, our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for our home. Our mind is in the future. We're so heavenly minded we're earthly good. Our passion for God and our passion for heaven should be inseparable. The more I learn about God the more excited I get about heaven. The more I learn about heaven the more excited I get about God.
The Power of Eternal Perspective
Andy Elkhorn writes this in his little book In Light of Eternity: Like a bride dreams of sharing a home with her groom, our love for heaven should be flowing and contagious just like our love for God should be. Our passion for God and our passion for heaven should be inseparable. The more I learn about God the more excited I get about heaven. The more excited I get about heaven the more excited I get about God.
A.W. Tozer writes, let no one apologize for the powerful emphasis Christianity lays on the doctrine of the world to come. I love the honesty of the book. He in any way is not denying the affliction. He's saying there is intense affliction that in and of itself would be overwhelming except I have a perspective of it. And my perspective is this is temporary, that's eternal.
We don't lose heart though the outer man is decaying. The inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparisons because we don't get sidetracked by the things that are seen because the things that are seen are temporal. We get obsessed with the things that aren't seen because the things that aren't seen are eternal.
We were talking about it last night with Larry. I'd rather suffer obediently than prosper disobediently because I know there's a key phrase. I know my obedient suffering is as temporary as my disobedient prospering. I see these two things together.
The Cycle of Daily Renewal
How am I renewed day by day? Well now the cycle begins. I go back to the word that I've established as the final authority. I read it. I study it. I meditate on it. I enjoy it. I learn it. I go back to it again and again and again and again and again. And now I make decisions according not even to what my financial advisor might say, though I do want to listen closely to all those, not to what my attorney might say because if those guys aren't godly guys.
I'm going to give you a tip here. Let me give you a tip. If your toilet's broken call a plumber. I don't think it matters if he's a Christian or not. I mean there's no godly way to fix this toilet. Just fix it. You got a heart problem? You got a heart issue? This is just me now. And you're interviewing doctors and the doctor says we got a couple of choices. Tell me about the two guys. Well this guy here, he is a pagan. He's a heathen. He graduated first in his class at Johns Hopkins. The guy is absolutely the best heart surgeon in the world. This guy graduated at the bottom of his class at the University of Bozeman. He's had the worst success rate we've ever experienced. He leads a Sunday school class and he's a godly guy. I'm going to have that guy pray for that pagan as he operates on me. That's what I'm going to do. I want the pagan.
Choosing Advisors Wisely
But I'll tell you something, and I touched on it there when I mentioned lawyer and finance guy. When you get a finance guy and you get a lawyer guy, you better make sure they share your values. That does matter there. So now I got these guys. Now I got this. Now I'm making these decisions. Toilet's broken? Fix it. Doesn't matter if he's got a fish in his truck or not. If it's a Christian, fine. If not, that's okay too.
Living Life with Confidence
Now I'm making these decisions. Now there's a confidence in my life. Now I integrate my faith. Now I make the invisible God visible. Now I'm living life boldly. Now all these things are starting to come together for me. Now I'm beginning to be content. Now I'm rejoicing in the freedom I have. Now I can handle the suffering. And by the...
End of that day I'm pooped. And what do I need? I need to thirst for that daily renewal all over again.
Don't you lose heart though. That outer man is decaying. That inner man is being renewed day by day for momentary light affliction. Get it? Momentary brief light affliction.
Here you go. You're out the door. You need to remember this phrase. I know you're suffering. I know you got pain. I know you got hardship. But remember this. No matter how bad it gets, it can only last a lifetime. That's it.
I don't care how bad it gets. It can only last to the end of your life. That's all it can last. And then it's over. And I'm absent from the body. I'm present with the Lord.
A Personal Reflection on Life and Heaven
Well, I want to talk about that just a bit tonight. I don't even know that I have a passage for tonight as to just talk about my dad and that life and what we learned from it. And we'll work our way through that.
Let's pray together. Father, thank you for your Son Jesus. Thank you that we were saved by you and from you and for you. God, we don't ever apologize for the emphasis we place on heaven. We are so heavenly minded that, God, you would find us to be of great earthly good. Thank you for saving us and for using us. We pray to you in Jesus' name. Amen.