2 Corinthians 4:1–18; Matthew 28:19
Our lives are like icebergs: ninety percent of who we are is hidden beneath the surface, and that hidden part shapes everything people see. On Baptism Sunday, Pastor Juliet Lyons reads 2 Corinthians 4 and calls Elan Church to stop living as fake Christians, to bring what is hidden into the light of Jesus, and to make a daily choice to press in, endure, and trust God from the inside out.
Key takeaways
- Like an iceberg, ninety percent of who you are is submerged and unseen, and what happens there eventually erodes or strengthens the ten percent everyone sees.
- Secret habits like pornography are eating society alive and have come inside the church, and hiding them is not okay; the church cannot be fake anymore.
- Press in by being honest about your own stuff, obeying God whether or not you understand His directive, and living for Christ's glorification rather than self-elevation.
- Endure by inviting the Holy Spirit into the very moment of weakness, because vulnerability begets vulnerability and authentic faith is what the world needs to see.
- Trust God with everyone's journey, including your own; there is no comparison in the house of God, because the hidden ninety percent is His to navigate.
- Baptism is an outward declaration of an inner choice, and it is time to make that choice for the first time or to recommit to your first love.
Message notes
I think I'm an iceberg
Pastor Juliet Lyons welcomes new faces on Baptism Sunday and confesses a slight obsession with icebergs that began in a school science class. Icebergs are fresh water floating in salt water, roughly ninety percent of their mass is submerged, and when they melt they release ancient nutrients and sometimes rare minerals. Sitting in class she found herself identifying with them: living water inside, and so much that no one ever sees. Looking out at the congregation she says she is really only seeing ten percent of each person. Society is vying for that hidden ninety percent, targeting our minds, emotions, desires, and beliefs so that it owns what shows up on the surface.
A five-minute warning about what is submerged
Pastor Juliet shares an email she and Pastor Max received from the Barna Group, in partnership with Pure Desire Ministries, reporting that sixty-one percent of U.S. adults view pornography, that eighty-four percent of users say no one is helping them avoid it, and that half say no one knows about their habit. She names it plainly: this stronghold has come inside the walls of the church, and it is not okay for the church to hide from real things because they are submerged. What happens beneath the surface erodes the iceberg and eventually affects what is on top. "This is not the day and age to be fake Christians."
Treasure in jars of clay
She reads 2 Corinthians 4 as a guide for navigating every snare, not just pornography but anger, unforgiveness, and everything that ties us up inside. Paul renounces secret and shameful ways; God has made His light shine in our hearts; we carry this treasure in jars of clay; and though outwardly we waste away, inwardly, under the iceberg, we are renewed day by day. God is asking for a pure bride. Jesus began discipleship with baptism, and Matthew 28 makes baptism part of making disciples. It is time for those never baptized to tell the world whom they love, and time for the weary to recommit to their first love, because the choice is daily. It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin to listen to the voice and walk toward it.
Make a choice to press in
Drawing on verses 2 to 5, Pastor Juliet says God is looking for disciples who are honest about their own stuff rather than playing the blame game, since we cannot change what we are unwilling to face. Pressing in also means listening to God in order to obey Him, not merely to understand Him, since He sees what our limited view cannot. And it means being motivated by Christ's glorification rather than self-elevation, whether that is a former director asked to clean toilets or a veteran mother coached by someone younger.
Make a choice to endure
Everyone is flawed this side of eternity, but God has given the Holy Spirit as helper. The invitation is to call on Him in the exact moment of weakness, even if it feels too dirty to invite Him in. The world needs to see a bride walking in authentic faith, not the fake "I'm good, bless God" while limping. Baptism says the old self goes into the water and the life of Christ comes up, not perfect but changed, a torch carrying the light of Christ in a jar of clay.
Make a choice to trust God
God can work all things for good, including broken marriages, wandering kids, and the damage of sin. Everyone's journey is the Lord's to carve out, so there is no comparison in the house of God. We cannot judge another person's ten percent when the ninety percent belongs to God; trust the stamp of heaven on their lives. The world needs a church that is not afraid of mess, because messy people are the ones who come to be cleaned, and that is what makes outsiders taste and see that the Lord is good.
An outward declaration of an inner choice
John's baptism preached repentance but could not grant forgiveness; only Jesus, through His blood, forgives and makes new. Whether for the first time or as a renewal, Pastor Juliet calls the room to press in, endure, and trust God, and to shift from spiritual darkness into His light. There is no point being a Christian for the veneer alone; the church must be the real church Jesus is coming back for, inside and out.
