Why Paul “Never Gave Up”.

Why We Should Never Give Up.

2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NLT)
¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NLT)
Why Paul “never gave up”.

¹⁵ All of this

 Paul’s suffering mentioned in previous verses.

 is for your benefit. 

Paul’s suffering is benefiting other believers.

Paul’s suffering and endurance are intended to bring about resurrection life among the Corinthians as they learn to trust God during difficulty.

 Application:

Philippians 2:3-8 NLT
³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸     he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 

• Willingly take the humble position of a slave (servant). 

And as God’s grace (through the preaching of the Gospel) reaches more and more people (people hearing, believing, responding, and being saved), there will be great thanksgiving,

 and God will receive more and more glory.

Changed lives changing lives.

Serve for the benefit of others.
Teach for the benefit of the students.
Telling the children about Jesus.

All for the glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT
³¹ So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Ezekiel 36:23
²³ I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord.

• God reveals his holiness through you, the teacher, to the student.

Psalm 78
⁴we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵ ….
⁶ so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands. 

¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying,

But we ourselves are like fragile clay jars. 

Galatians 6:9 NLT
⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 

• Never get tired of doing what is good.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

*** And as God’s grace reaches more and more people,

there will be great thanksgiving,

our spirits are being renewed every day. 

• Spiritual renewal is an ongoing process.

Romans 12:2 NLT
² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Colossians 3:10 NLT
¹⁰ Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT
¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Psalm 51:10 NLT
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me. 

¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 

Paul experienced some serious suffering, but in light of eternity, this suffering is nothing.

¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather,

Don’t dwell on your current troubles.

we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Look beyond the physical to the spiritual.
Look beyond the present to the future.
Look beyond the visible to the invisible.
Look beyond the temporary to the things that will last forever.

 Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. 

• Keep your eyes on Jesus. 

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

*** And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving,