2nd Corinthians 4:8-9 | We Are Troubled On Every Side
We’re in 2nd Corinthians Chapter 4. On Wednesday nights we’ve been going through the book of 2nd Corinthians. It’s our Wednesday night Bible Study, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Tonight we’re going to continue here in chapter number 4. We have a short passage here tonight to discuss.
If you remember last week we started chapter four. There has been this theme of ministry that Paul has been discussing. In verses 1 & 2, the Apostle Paul talks about his teaching ministry. Then in verses three to seven he talked about soul winning and reaching people with the gospel. Of course those are the two things that every Church should do. We should reach people and we should teach people.
I’ll give you a quick outline of the rest of the chapter. In verses 8 & 9 he talks about the minister’s suffering. In verses 10 through 12 he talks about the minister’s sacrifice. In verses 13 through 18 he talks about the minister’s spiritual life. We’re going to cover that verse by verse thoroughly. Tonight I really just want to focus in on verses eight through nine. These are well-known, powerful verses in the Bible.
The Bible says “8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”. In these verses, I want to make 4 statements. These are some powerful statements in the Bible. I know that for myself and other Pastors, these are very encouraging verses in the Bible. The Apostle Paul is very honest with his struggles in the ministry. However, he also gives us reassurance. There is the reality and reassurance of the ministry. Tonight I’d like to look at these verses and give you 4 statements.
2nd Corinthians 4:8 “8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;…”. The first statement he tells us about the reality and reassurance of ministry is that we are troubled. This is not the only time he talks about being troubled. Let me just give you a couple of examples of this terminology where he says we are troubled. If you are serving God and also if you are in the ministry, sometimes you may find yourself describing your situation as “troubled on every side”. The prosperity gospel is a lie. The idea that the Christian life is just riches and wealth is a lie and no problems is a lie. Here we have one of the greatest servants of the Lord being honest with the Church of Corinth and saying he is troubled on every side. That doesn’t sound like a positive statement. That doesn’t sound like a reassuring statement. However, it’s a statement that he makes there and it’s a statement that he’s made.
2nd Corinthians 1:8 “8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia,…”. See, you might find yourself in the Christian life saying all of a sudden “I’m having these troubles. I’m having these issues. I’m having these problems. Am I doing something wrong in the Christian life.”. Well let me tell you that the Apostle Paul had troubles. He says we would not brethren have you ignorant of our troubles which came to us in Asia. 2nd Corinthians 7:5 “5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side;…”. He said we had troubles. He doesn’t just say that he is troubled but he says on every side. He’s saying we are surrounded by trouble. Every place they look, there is an issue or problem. In the Christian life, sometimes we are troubled on every side. We don’t have to lie and pretend and act like everything’s okay all the time. Sometimes things aren’t okay. Sometimes like the Apostle Paul we can say that we have troubles and issues. Here’s what you need to understand. The reason for this trouble is because when you attempt to accomplish anything for God, there will always be opposition. There is always going to be an adversary.
1st Corinthians 16:9 “9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”. He tells us in this verse that there is a great opportunity from God but there are also many adversaries. It’s not just the Apostle Paul or Peter but God can use you in a great way today. God wants to use you and God wants to use this Church in the same way. Why don’t more people try to do something for God? Here’s why. Because when that door is open unto you, when the opportunity is there, the Bible says “there are many adversaries”. There’s always going to be opposition. In fact, I would say if you’re never fighting the Devil then you must not be bothering him that much. If the Devil’s never messing with you then you must not be that big of a concern.
Remember in the Book of Acts, there is the story where the Devil say they know Jesus and Paul but “who are you?”. Whenever someone attempts to do something for God and walk through that door of opportunity, realize that there are going to be adversaries. People sometimes say “My life used to be fine and I started coming to Church and I have problems.”. Well, the Devil didn’t start bothering you until you were connected into Church.
I know our Church can attest to the fact we’ve experienced a lot of opposition over the years. The reason for it is because we’ve attempted to do and accomplish great things for God. I’m not saying that we’ve always done the best but we’ve attempted to do great things for God. We’ve attempted to reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve attempted to preach the Bible without apology and without watering it down. As a result, we have experienced adversaries. Sometimes like the Apostle Paul we can say that we are troubled on every side.
Sometimes we can get this feeling of doing something wrong when we have resistance. People will say about a Church like ours “Why are you the only Church getting protested. You must be doing something God doesn’t like.”. I would say that we’re doing what New Testament Christianity has always done. The Apostle Paul said “we are troubled on every side”. It’s true there are issues and problems and fights sometimes. It’s a statement of reality but let me give you the reassurance.
Here’s a statement of reality. We are troubled on every side. It’s true. Here’s the statement of reassurance. 2nd Corinthians 4:8 “8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;….”. It’s true we are troubled on every side but the reassurance is that we are not distressed. The word distress means suffering anxiety. Notice the word “stress” within “distressed”. We are troubled but not anxious or stressed about it. We aren’t that concerned or worried. See, the purpose of trouble is to cause anxiety or stress. That’s why the enemy brings trouble. We are trying to equip people to be soulwinners and reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then things happen to us. We have been protested and blackballed from community. We weren’t allowed to rent certain buildings and go certain places. Why would the Devil do that? Here’s why. To bring stress upon the congregation to try to get us to quit. Paul said that there were troubled. He didn’t want us to be ignorant of that. However, he says we are not distressed. The purpose of the troubles is to cause anxiety. The purpose of the troubles is to cause stress, to cause distress.
2nd Corinthians 7:5 “5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.”. What’s the result of being troubled on every side? “Without were fightings, within were fears.”. I love the fact that the Apostle Paul is very sincere and very authentic. The great Apostle Paul fighting the battles of the Lord and fighting these issues and riots involved in his ministry tells us how he was feeling. See, the purpose of bringing fightings without is to bring fears within. The Devil is going to try to scare you and discourage you and stress you so you can’t serve God.
Let me just say this that we are human beings. The Bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear. The Bible says that we should fear nothing but the Lord. The Bible says that we should not fear what man can do unto you. The Bible says those things and I believe that and I teach that and I preach those things. But let me just be honest with you. We’re human beings. Sometimes when we have battles without, we have fears within. Sometimes you see Pastors fighting these battles and on the news and being bold but sometimes on the inside there are fears. Sometimes there are things that trouble us on the inside. Sometimes there are things that scare us. I understand fear is not good but let me just be honest and say that sometimes these battles bring fear within myself. By the way, that’s the point of those problems. They’re trying to scare us. They’re trying to discourage us.
Notice 1st Peter 5:8 “8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”. We know and understand that verse. Verse 7 is also a famous verse but I used to be confused on the connection between verses 7 & 8. 1st Peter 5:7 “7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”. I used to wonder why these verses were connected. Care means anxiety or stress. Then I realized that the reason that God puts these verses together is because your adversary the Devil will often bring trouble that will cause anxiety, stress, and distress. “Without were fightings, within were fears.”. When you’re fighting battles, all you can do is cast your care upon the Lord. The Apostle Paul said “we are troubled on every side yet not distressed”. He says “within were fightings, without were fears”. The truth is that there will be battles. We are troubled on every side but we can also say that we are not distressed.
Then the Apostle Paul makes a 2nd statement. The second statement of reality and reassurance. 2nd Corinthians 4:8 “8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;”. That word perplex means puzzled. It means confused. It’s not very reassuring to have the spiritual leader, the leader in any capacity to say I’m confused. But Paul was honest and said that. He says sometimes we are perplexed. Sometimes we are confused. Sometimes we don’t understand. We’re not sure what God is doing.
Go to the book of Job. If you remember, Job was often confused. Against these are statements of reality and reassurance. Sometimes as leaders you don’t want to tell people that you are perplexed. Back in 2016, we had the persecution and the protests against our Church. Our lease was running out at our building and we were told that we would not be allowed to renew the lease. We spent 3 months of 12 hour days looking at building after building. It wasn’t an issues of our Church as far as attendance or finances. When people saw me as we looked at buildings, they immediately wanted nothing to do with us. We went from building to building just getting denied over and over. It was months of dealing with this. At the time our attendance was around 120 so I was thinking maybe we could go back to the house and have 50 people per service and have 4 services or something like that.
At the time, we had good people at our Church who were also concerned and God bless them. However, every time we came to the building, people asked about how it was going finding a Church building and what was I going to say? “I’m perplexed. I’m not sure what we will do. I’m not sure what is going to happen.”. Sometimes we’re confused and sometimes we’re unsure and sometimes we don’t know what God is doing. Look, sometimes God is hiding from you what he is doing.
Job 10:15 says “15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;”. He says he is full of confusion or perplexed or puzzles. He doesn’t know what God is doing. One thing we can be reassured about is that when we are confused, God is not confused. He knows what he is doing and what will happen. We may not be sure what God is up to but God knows what he’s up to.
Job 23:8 “8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:”. He is saying that he can’t find God and that God is hiding from him. He doesn’t understand what God is doing. Then in verse 10 he says “10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”. God knows the way we are taking and he says we will come forth as gold after being tried.
Look, it’s ok for us to admit that sometimes we are confused or perplexed. We are not in despair though. The word despair means complete loss or absence of hope. Despair means that you’ve entered into a state of hopelessness. Like Paul, we can say sometimes we are perplexed but we are never in despair. We are never without hope. We may not know what God is doing. We may not know where God is. However, we know that God knows where we are. We can’t perceive him forward, backward or any direction. However, God knows the way we take.
Sometimes I don’t know what God is doing but God knows what we’re doing. I don’t know where God is but God knows where we are. As a result, we’re never in despair. The Bible says blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. The Bible tells us to hope in God. I’m just telling you, sometimes we’re going to fight battles. In the midst of those battles, sometimes we are troubled yet not distressed. Sometimes we have no answer but to say we are honestly truly perplexed but not in despair.
Paul makes a 3rd statement. Verse 9 “9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”. It’ss true that in the Christian life you will be persecuted. The word persecuted means suffering hostility or ill treatment. The Bible says “12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”. If you’ve not suffering persecution, you must not be living godly in Christ Jesus. People sometimes will say that things aren’t going well and their family is mad at them and they don’t know what is going wrong. People will say they are in a cult. The Bible calls this being peculiar. What’s the most annoying is that often these worldly Christians who never get persecuted will look down at you if you are persecuted as if you did something wrong.
Luke 6:22 “22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” If people hate you or friends don’t want to spend time with you anymore then the Bible says you are blessed. “23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”. When you get persecuted, you get rewards. The Bible says this also happened to the prophets.
Here is the thing. We’re persecuted because remember these are statements of reality and reassurance. We are troubled on every side. That’s true. Yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair. He says we are persecuted but not forsaken. We haven’t been abandoned by God. We haven’t been deserted by God. See, the point that the Apostle Paul is trying to make is that he would rather live a godly life and suffer persecution. I’d rather have the whole world turn on me and be right with God than have the whole world be my friend and be at enmity with God. The Bible says “If God be for me, who can be against me”.
Romans 8:35 “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”.
Sometimes we are persecuted. However, I’d rather be persecuted and not forsaken. “If God be for us”. He says in verse 31 “31 What shall we then say to these things?…”. You say “Pastor, what do you say about the protests, lawsuits, government coming down on us, mandates and all of these issues?”. Here is what I say at the end of verse 31 “…If God be for us, who can be against us?”. I’d rather say I’m persecuted but I’m not forsaken than to say I never get persecuted but I’m at enmity with God.
Notice the fourth statement in 2nd Corinthians 4. 4 statements of reality and reassurance. Troubles yet not distressed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken and my favorite is the 4th statement. He says “cast down but not destroyed.”. What does that mean? Basically knocked down but not knocked out. Cast down means you took a hit and you fell. The idea here is that sometimes we take a hit to the chin and we fall and we stumble. Sometimes we’re knocked down. He says cast down but not destroyed. We are not always doing the greatest. Sometimes the Devil hits us and we didn’t see it coming. We get cast down but glory to God we can get back up. He says cast down but not destroyed.
I’m here to tell you sometimes the Devil hits us, sometimes he uses the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air. We lose buildings, our insurance drops us, people won’t rent to us, banks drop us. We had bank after bank reject us after the protests. We were called a cult and a hate group. I’m just telling you that sometimes we are knocked down, sometimes we’re cast down but not destroyed.
Luke 22:31 “31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:”. Our adversary the Devil seeks to destroy us. As a roaring lion walketh seeking about whom he may devour. Sometimes the attack is hard. Sometimes we get knocked down. However, Paul said cast down but not destroyed. Jesus told Peter that he would get knocked down and as a leader with influence, many disciples will quit also. Verse 31 he says that you’re going to get cast down.
Verse 32 “32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:”. What does that mean? Jesus is saying that he is praying for Peter that when he is knocked down, he won’t get knocked out. “32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”. The Bible says “A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.”.
Here the Apostle Paul gives us these statements of reality. He says look, it is true sometimes we are troubled on every side but not distressed. He says sometimes we are perplexed. We’re not sure what God is doing. We’re not even sure where God’s at. However, we are never in despair. He says persecuted but not forsaken. He says cast down sometimes but not destroyed. He says the Christian life is a life of trouble. It’s a life of trial. Sometimes we’re not doing as well as we wish we were. But when you get knocked down, praise God you can get back up.
Let’s pray.