3.) Reminding ourselves that we are simply jars of clay.
2 Corinthians 4 is a truly stunning chapter in the Bible, moving us through the divine work of God in our salvation. Taking us, who were blinded by the god of this world, and through His power removing the veil of darkness, causing the glory of Christ to flood our sight and lead us to faith and repentance. Paul then continues by telling us that this same power of God, which affects our salvation, does not only come into our lives to bring us to salvation and then leaves. This power of God remains within us through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Paul teaches us what this then means for us as believers in Christ, and how this power works within our lives. It is not my purpose to offer an exposition of this passage, but rather to draw out a simple, but humbling truth and that is the contrast that Paul draws between us, the power of God and then the purpose of this power of God at work in our lives.
We are but jars of clay, we are not appealing to the sight, we are not desirable because of our great value, we will not endure forever and we are fragile, prone to break. One day, as the preacher in Ecclesiastes 12:6 tells us, the pitcher will be broken, the clay jar smashed, life will come to an end.
We are not as great as we think we are, nor are we as strong as we pretend to be. (At this point in time, my three-year-old son believes I am invincible, as in his eyes daddy can do everything, and quite honestly, I am enjoying this “status”. Unfortunately, for me, my son will discover, in the not so distant future, that his daddy is not as strong and clever as initially thought!) We like to think that we are indispensable, that our church needs us, and that they could never survive without us.
The only reason why you and I, have remained in ministry as long as we have, and are still able to stand, is for no other reason, but because of the grace and power of God that is at work in our lives. Think upon all the trials of faith you have endured, the days when you have slumped in your office chair wondering if it is all worth it. The times when you have faced opposition, or when your have been laid low by physical weakness. What is it that has taken you in that hurting, broken and weary state to the pulpit each week and enabled you to preach? Brothers, it is not your own strength that has accomplished it, rather it is the divine power of God that has equipped, strengthened and enabled you to persevere.
For what purpose would God to take a weary minister to the pulpit? For what purpose would God strengthen a minister who is under attack from the workers of evil? For what purpose would God enable a minister who is hurting, and bind up his heart in the presence of the church?
Paul tells us, so that all may know that we are the men that we are, and we are able to do what we do week after week, after week, not because our wisdom, strength and ability, but because of the divine power of the one who is at work within us. All this is done so that people will not bow before us, or proclaim our excellencies, but rather they will fall in worship before the throne of God Almighty, praising and adoring Him for His grace and goodness.
We are fragile jars of clay, but jars that are filled with a divine power, all for the glory of God. We are live before our people as jars of clay, revealing to them our dependence upon this all-surpassing power of God, setting the example for them to follow.
4.) God works through us and blesses our preaching and teaching, not because of the eloquence and wisdom of our words and ability as preachers, but because it is His eternal, powerful, living Word.
I was a victim of the notorious preaching prize at Bible College. Now think of the wisdom of a preaching prize whereby you award a student, most likely in his early twenties, a prize, which publicly proclaims him to be the best preacher in the college! (I believe that my hero Charles Spurgeon would be turning in his grave hearing of such an invention!) Furthermore, I am not so sure that it is a good way to enter into the ministry, I feel sorry for the church that calls the young man! Come to think of it, I feel sorry for that young man, because he will come to the ground with a sharp thump! I still have the scar that marks my plummet from “best preacher” to my weekly blunders in the pulpit that left me wanting to crawl out of the church on my belly with the hope that no one would notice, or even dare to comment on the preaching!
Truthfully, we all want to excellent preachers, in fact if any of you were to say to me I do not want to be an excellent preacher, I would ask you what you were then doing in the pulpit. Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 should be the hallmark of our preaching ministries. We should work long and hard at our sermons, seeking to refine, and then re-refine them. We should like the Puritans of old seek to be wordsmiths, finding the best words, examples, illustrations and forms of application to further improve our preaching. As preachers we, I believe, should regularly make available recordings of our sermons to men who are more experienced, and better preachers than ourselves so that they can review us and help us to grow in our preaching. Our preaching should be on a constant upward learning curve, aspiring after excellence.
In the pursuit of excellence, we must be very careful to guard against pride and pursue after humility. (I believe it was Spurgeon (at least I think it was), who after having preached a sermon was greeted by an elderly woman who told him, “That is the best sermon I ever heard.” To which Spurgeon replied, “Yes ma’m, the devil already to me that!”) We need to guard against the pursuit of excellence that causes us to eagerly seek after the praise of men. Our aim in preaching should not be to have our sermons published in every Christian Theological journal as the very standard of excellence. We should not preach to impress others, a battle every preacher faces when he knows that there are other preachers in the congregation!
We need to hold ever before ourselves, both in the preparation process and in the delivery of the sermon, the following questions, “Upon whose authority do I depend as I preach these words?”, “What assurance do I have of the success of my preaching?”
If the answers to those two questions are, “I am depending upon my own ability, my own efforts in the week, my own understanding of the text, on the eloquence of my words and the clarity with which I preach.” Well, it goes without saying, we are in dangerous territory. I believe that none of us wish to ever find ourselves in such a place, but, and this perhaps is the more revealing the question, have you ever found yourself in a position whereby you think that God should bless your preaching because of all the work and effort you have put in over the week? Do you feel that your work of preaching is deserving of God’s blessing? Ask yourself those questions honestly.
The only authority we have when we preach is God’s authority, and the only assurance of our success in preaching is because God has promised that HIS WORD will always accomplish His purposes.
Gentlemen, the only reason why our preaching is successful, the only reason why people come to faith in Christ, or grow in their salvation, is because God has promised to work through the preaching of His Word. Its success does not depend upon our eloquence or personal brilliance, and we should be extremely grateful for this, for what man among us could say that such is the standard of his preaching, that his words alone can change lives bringing people to God?
Yes, we should by all means strive after excellence in preaching, but we should never forget that we preach God’s Word, in God’s name and authority, trusting, resting and rejoicing, that He in His power uses our limited and finite abilities to accomplish His purposes, for the expansion of His kingdom and the glory of His name.
5.) Consider the worth of Him who handed the “keys” of church to us, and our unworthiness for this task.
I am currently in transition, I will be leaving my present church and by God’s grace entering into ministry on the other side of the world in England, although the exact place and church is yet to be determined. As a result of this, the church has begun the call process, and for me it has been a very challenging and humbling time, in which my ego and pride has been exposed. As the candidates have sent in application forms and responded to the extensive questionnaire, and they have preached and been interviewed, I have found myself standing with a magnifying glass over the man, and over the various forms and questionnaires.
At the very first call committee meeting I urged the committee to not fall into the trap of seeking to find the perfect pastor, as such a man does not exist. I, have not heeded my own warning! I love this church dearly, tears come to my eyes when I contemplate my departure at the end of the year. I do not doubt the fact that God has clearly called me to move on, but I desire with all my heart to hand the church over to a man who is capable for the task. The truth is, there is no such man, no, not even me!
As I wrestled with this, so my ego and pride was exposed, and as so often happens in these moments the sword of God’s Word pierced my selfish heart, sticking its blade into my sin. Consider Christ’s words in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” and Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” To whom did Christ issue these words? The disciples, to Peter, who suffered from foot-in-mouth disease, to James and John the proud brothers who tried to secure their position of prestige, to Thomas the doubter and so we could continue. A total stranger to Scripture and Church history would be baffled by the actions of Christ. “Are you seriously handing over the continuation of your work to these men, these uneducated, weak-willed, faithless, fools? Surely no one in their right mind would entrust to men such as these, their life work, a work for which they died to secure?” Yet Christ demonstrates His humility, and trust in the Father (as he gives evidence of in John 17), as well as His knowledge of the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers, by handing over the continuation of his earthly work and ministry to the disciples.
I found myself immediately convicted, for my failure to trust God, and my sinfulness in wanting to “play God” in the determining who was capable or incapable. When it comes down to it, not one of us is worthy for the task, not one of us is sufficient for the work, not one of us is capable. We do not deserve to hold the keys, or to be entrusted with this great and high calling. It is only Christ that causes and enables us to be counted worthy, it is only through receiving his abundant grace and mercy, through outpouring and equipping work of the Holy Spirit, that we can do the work to which we have been called.
Brothers, consider Him and His infinite worth, who laid down His life for the sake of us who believe. Consider those to whom He has entrusted to work in His blood bought Church. Consider yourself, in the light of Christ, and allow that to produce in you a deeper humility, and a greater thankfulness to Him who has counted your worthy, called you to the work and equipped you for the task.
I close by restating the five ingredients:
1.) Cultivate an ever-decreasing view and opinion of yourself, and an ever-increasing view and understanding of God.
2.) A daily realisation that it is not because of who you are, but because of who God is.
3.) Reminding ourselves that we are simply jars of clay.
4.) God works through us and blesses our preaching and teaching, not because of the eloquence and wisdom of our words and ability as preachers, but because it is His eternal, powerful, living Word.
5.) Consider the worth of Him who handed the “keys” of church to us, and our unworthiness for this task.
Those then are my five ingredients to humble pie! (Although there are many more that could still be added.) Let us seek to keep these truths of Scripture ever before us, constantly praying the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase and I must decrease". Let us strive after humility with a renewed zeal, being ever more vigilant in our battle against pride, so that all the glory may go to Him, who has saved us and called us into His glorious work.
