Teflon Faith
I love the Teflon material. Things that are made of Teflon are very tough. They are so flexible and yet so strong! You may really need a knife to cut it in order to break it. We can see this kind of strong faith in Paul, along with great humility (a great combination!). He teaches us to have such a strong faith through 2 Cor.4:7. Believe me, humility and faith go hand in hand, and our lack of faith and pride also go together! Let us see some of the basic principles of faith:
I. Teflon faith comes out of true humility, and true humility comes out of true understanding oneself!
2Cor. 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of power may be of God and not of us.” When Paul says, “Treasure”, he means the presence of the Holy Spirit, Shekinah – the glory of the Lord in our heart! How much we should be rejoicing that our almighty Lord Jesus is not only “Immanuel” (God with us) but also, He is “within” us in the form of the Holy Spirit! He is not only present in our heart by faith, but He is literally living, and dwelling in our heart, and trying to make us see Him, feel Him, and touch Him, and fellowship with Him. The presence of His Shekinah is a priceless treasure! It is described in various parables as true riches, treasures hid in a field, pearl of great value!! (Mathew 13)
Such a wonderful Shekinah treasure in an earthen vessel? Earthen vessels are none other than pots that are made out of mud and clay! Adam was made out of dirt. In those days, (even today) people hid their gold and other precious treasures in a mud pot, and buried it somewhere in their own plots. Such expensive glittering gold ornaments were in that inferior, lowly pot. Likewise God has chosen weak, fragile, imperfect vessels like you and me to reveal His glory within us!
The vessels are also in the hands of God to be filled by His glory, and emptied! Earthen vessels can do nothing but receive and pour forth! Every good and perfect gift is poured into our vessel, and they are also poured out of us for the edification of God’s church. No glory can attach to the mere earthen vessel and start reflecting the mud vessel as something else! We should never be robbers of God’s glory at any point in our life. We must just receive, and then pour out. That’s all! Are you a musician? Just receive the gift and then just pour out! Are you a preacher? Just receive His Word and shout it out. Are you a helper? Receive the strength and power from the Lord and help out. There is no place for our boasting and our own glory! This is the true knowledge of humility. God is all and God is in all, so let all honor and glory go to Him.
God is with us and in us, we will never be defeated! Read what Paul says in 2 Cor.4:8-10. This is what I call, Teflon Faith! Yes, we may be pressed, and struck down, but we are not destroyed. We are still breathing!
Teflon faith understands that our God is in absolute control of our life, and our earthen vessel will not be broken until He allows that to happen. But we may be struck down and pressed, but not crushed like a dead squirrel on the road.
Paul went through so much! (Read 2 Cor. 11: 23-27). How many of us have gone through suffering like Paul? Just look at his faith in Jesus Christ in spite of all those sufferings. If this is not Teflon faith, then what is ? It comes from the realization that we are sinful earthen vessels and we need God to fill us with His mercy, grace and glory, and we move forward constantly by the strength of God even though we are struck down often in our lives. Let us stop whining about our earthly sufferings, and look toward the tattoos of Jesus Christ on our body, when we serve our Lord sincerely
II Teflon Faith makes us not only trust in the Lord, but also pushes us to speak about our faith to others!
(Read 2 Cor. 4:13-15)
We just cannot hold inside the glory of the Lord always. We will bring it out by talking about God’s goodness, mercy, and love forever! Actually “I believed and therefore I spoke” is a faithful saying.
III Our outer earthen vessel may get old and wear out. But our inner man is really strengthened by the presence of the Lord, and by our Teflon faith.
2 Cor. 4:14 He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you! We are victorious even if we are put to death! Nothing can stop us! Nothing!
2 Cor. 4:16, 17 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
Our outer man is perishing day by day. The earthen vessel is too weak, and not meant for eternity. Eventually, it will just crack. On the other hand, our inward man is renewed every day! It should get stronger and stronger every day! Our renewal depends on the feeding of the Word and Spirit everyday.
Note the verse – (2 Cor.4: 17): For our light affliction is but for a moment! Look, Paul is calling his own afflictions as light! And that too only for a moment! Why are we moaning and growing over everything? Glory in Hebrew means “weight” also. The weight of the glory and joy of the Lord can outweigh all our sufferings! The joy of the Lord is indeed our strength. The glory of the Lord in our heart is a priceless treasure in our earthen vessel! The last verse in 2 Cor. 4:18 clearly defines between what is eternal and what is temporary and it basically ties up everything what we were talking about. “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” What we see is temporary. Yes, the moon, the earth, the stars are all temporary. Science itself tells us that. 2 Peter 3:10-12; Rev.20:11 (read) clearly indicate that nothing remains. So what is eternal then? Only God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, the angelic hosts, and our soul, if God does not destroy it. So where should be our priority? On things that are temporary or things that are eternal? Should we not invest everything on eternity? What good is it if you gain the whole world but you lose your own soul?
Conclusion:
Our Teflon faith is all about the eternal weight of the glory of the Lord which leads every aspect of our life in our earthen vessel. Let us be as clay in His hands, and let Him be our Potter. Let Him pour His Spirit in our earthen vessel, and make us pour back to others. We are in absolute control of His care. “We may be hard pressed from every side, but yet we may not be crushed. We may be confused and perplexed, but we may not be in despair. We may be persecuted but not forsaken. We may be struck down but not destroyed. We do not faint or lose our heart because in everything we come out as conquerors because of His Spirit’s presence and protection. Even though our outward man may be weakening and ready to fall apart, our inner man is growing like a beautiful, strong young man! Whatever afflictions we are going through, are temporary and light compared to the eternal weight of glory that is residing in our heart. Satan cannot break this kind of Teflon Faith. Let us weigh carefully what is eternal, and invest our time, talents, and treasures in such ministry. Let us not weaken this Teflon faith by looking toward the worldly desires and passions. Such activities could eat away our Teflon strength like termites.