II CORINTHIANS 4:16-18

Open: A beautiful red sports car plunges off 5th floor of parking garage!  When the owner returns to drive home, the attendant tells him, "I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is that your car fell to street from the fifth floor."  With pain and disbelief in his voice, the owner begs, "What is the good news?"  Said the attendant, "It got over 100 miles to the gallon on the way down!"

Life is full of mixed blessings. No event is so good that is doesn’t have its drawbacks. No situation is so bad that is doesn’t have at least some blessing or advantage tucked inside somewhere. It’s not easy, but we ought to be like the fellow who saw a silver lining in the cloud when his new sports car crashed to the street. It did get the best gas mileage ever on the way down!

In our text today, Paul is giving us a good news/bad news message.

• Are people today pre-occupied with their physical bodies? Some seem to be totally obsessed with their external appearance, while others are concerned about their organs’ health. Still others are at the other end of the spectrum: they don’t seem to care about their appearance or health! The Christian view is to be a good steward of what god has given without being overly concerned about fads, fashions, or failed follicles. (That is a fancy way of saying hair loss shouldn’t be considered tragic.)

• Non-Christians typically today are unduly concerned with their physical appearance and health while not nearly concerned enough with where their spirit will spend eternity! They’re tanning to correct the color of their skin when the color of their heart is what really counts. They’re shaping their muscles when the shape of their loyalty to the creator is what really counts.

• Physically, we are all dying. Good stewardship demands we do not unjustifiably hasten the process by careless habits and omissions. But our only hope is in the spirit realm, in the next world. Every muscle man of the 18th century is now dead. The most beautiful women of the roaring 20’s are either dead -- or very wrinkled. Physically, we are dying. But we do not lose heart. We do not faint. We do not lose our courage, our drive, and our motivation to live. Why? Good news! The good news is this: In Christ, our spirits will live, thrive, and flourish forever!

Seeking his kingdom first is investing primarily in the relationship with the creator. The things that God will add are the things we need for the short time we are on earth. Bad news, good news.

• Paul makes it clear that it not only pays to serve Jesus. It hurts! Current suffering! Some think the Christian life is the road to avoid suffering. We do avoid some kinds of pain. I have never known the pain of a hangover nor the pain of watching my kids go hungry because I gambled all my paycheck away. But there is suffering in this life for the believer.  Consider these scriptures:

Paul says our ‘light’ affliction ... momentary. That is the key. Of course, our momentary is microwave style. Someone said that impatience is standing in front of the microwave set on 20 seconds and shouting ‘hurry up, hurry up!’

In a perspective of all eternity, our troubles here are short in duration. It doesn’t seem like it. I know. But this is where faith kicks in and gives us staying power because we know that while the bad news is current suffering, the good news is coming glory.

TWO MEN LOOKED OUT OF PRISON BARS... ONE SAW MUD, THE OTHER... STARS!  Where are you looking?

Where we fix our attention makes a lot of difference in how we feel, the degree of our courage, and the hope (or lack thereof) with which we face our future.

Paul said in 2 Cor 5:7 we should walk by faith not sight.  Picture in your mind the cutest baby you ever saw.  Does that not bring a smile to your heart, if not your face? We can control our focus; our imagination cannot be imprisoned. We choose our focus. Paul says, "Look at the invisible."

The bad news is that everything you can see with the human eye is decaying, rusting, getting flabbier, or deteriorating somehow. The good news is this: What can’t be seen with the human eye is more real, durable, and dependable than the visible.

What can you see with your physical eyes? Houses ... cars ... trees ... the sky ... even your loved ones’ faces.  Did you note that these are all, in themselves, discouraging? The house will grow old, eventually decay. So will the car. So will the tree. So will the faces of your loved ones. But the good news is that the faces of your loved ones can radiate Jesus!  They can remind you of the invisible traits of love, faith, loyalty, and hope.  So it is these invisible gifts of our Creator that bring encouragement. Even when it's difficult to see them, even when buried out of view for centuries, we can know, thru Christ, their value and power will eventually be seen.

4. BAD NEWS: THE SEEN IS TEMPORARY... GOOD NEWS: THE UNSEEN IS ETERNAL! 18B

• Out of sight is out of mind... Too often true. And our tendency to forget about what we can’t see causes us to remember what ought to be forgotten and forget what needs to be remembered.

• But a part of Christian maturity is focusing on the reality that this world--with its lusts and its treasures and it sorrows and its cheap thrills -- is passing away. And what is coming is the eternal, unshakable kingdom of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

• If you can see it, it won’t last. This was a comfort to the first century Christians yet is considered as bad news by 20th century Christians. Why the difference? How was it a comfort to the first century Christians? Their lives were filled with persecution, hostile soldiers, and endless physical disappointments. To learn that this would all pass was good news. We look at our houses and cars and lands and goods amassed. And we aren’t comforted by the truth that what we see won’t last. We too often have our roots too deep in this earth. We have forgotten that this world is not our home, for we are just passing thru. Our real treasures are invisible. Laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

A young widow was weeping as she looked out the north window of her home.  She was looking at the two-month-old tombstone of her recently deceased life mate.  Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts and sorrows as she remembered her late husband's untimely death.  He was only 34.  Sadness welled up in her like a flood.  About that time, her kindly father placed his loving arm on her shoulder.  Seeing her focus, he pointed to the east window in the room.  "Look there, Johnny has found some flowers!"  She turned to see her precious son, age 4, happily collecting fresh spring wildflowers, the first of the season.  The joyous picture of his smiling face and God's handiwork brought an unexpected smile on her tear-stained face.  Said her father, "Precious daughter, when life overwhelms, remember that God has another window for you.  There is always hope in our Lord Jesus."