How Can A
Christian Be Comforted?
2 Cor. 1:3-7
KJV
Introduction
Why do bad things happen to good people? Answers to that question never
seem to meet every
need. Why the accidental deaths of two of our most loved members? The
Why Question rarely
brings the answers we want, and that is certainly true for a desire for
an immediate answer.
I doubt if we will every be satisfied with the answers we think
up on this side of heaven. We
might pray down an answer but we will never work one up. Even without
an answer to the why
question can there be comfort in the midst of sorrow? YES!
In the text several forms of the GREEK Word comfort are used'
in fact some form of the word
comfort is used ten times. So Paul understood first hand the need for
comfort.
In one of the classes I had 30 years ago I was required to go
room to room in the hospital. I went
into the first room and a 30 year old man had both legs cut off at the
knees. I wanted to get him
to talk so I said, How to you relate to this operation. He said l I can
kick
1. Recognize The . . Source Of Our Comfort. 1:3
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies, and the
God of all comfort;
A. The Source Is
Identified As The . . Considerate Father. 1:3a
3 Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1. Blessed be the God and Father. . . "
BARNES= Eleven out of
Thirteen Epistles of Paul, begin with
exclamations of praise, joy, and thanksgiving.
2. Considerate Enough To Send His Only
Begotten Son.
B. The Source Is Identified As The .
. Compassionate Father. 1:3b
". . . the Father of mercies. . ."
1. Mercies Begin With Our
Heavenly Father.
C. The Source Is Identified As The .
. Comforting Father. 1:3c-4a
". . . and God of all comfort, 4 Who
comforteth us in all our tribulation, .
. ."
1.
Comfort Comes From The Father In The Presence Of His Holy
Spirit.
a. GREEK Word: PARAKLEETOS=
Called Along Side Of
b. PARA= Along side of! Para Medic
Para Legal
c. Look
at Jn 16:5-7 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and
none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have
said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I depart, I will send him unto you. KJV
2. God's Comfort Is Eternal. 2 Th
2:15-17
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold
the traditions which ye
have
been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God,
even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting
consolation and good hope
through grace, 17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good
word and work. KJV
Illustration
A little girl came home
from a neighbor's house where her little friend had died. "Why did you
go?" questioned her father.
"To
comfort her mother," said the child. "What could you do to comfort
her?" "I climbed into
her lap and cried with her."
Application
The Considerate, Compassionate, Comforting Father Lost a Son.
For our Redemption. He
makes it possible for us to go to heaven.
2. Recognize The . .
Sharing Of Our Comfort. 1:4-6
A. We May Receive Comfort To Share In . . Afflictions.
4 Who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which
are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God.
ATR. Paul here gives the purpose
of affliction in the preacher's life, in any Christian's
life, to qualify him for ministry to others.
B. We May Receive Comfort In . . Abundance. 1:5
5 For as the
sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
DID PAUL SUFFER? Notice 2
Cor 11:24-30
24 Of the Jews five times
received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods,
once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I
have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own
countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils
in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in
cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those
things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of
all the
churches.
29 Who is weak, and
I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
30 If I must needs
glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. KJV
C. We
May
Receive Comfort In . . Abiding. 1:6
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation, which is
effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
or whether
we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
<>
Illustration
I asked LaRissa Mell Thursday Night as about 1,000 people came through
the line if she wanted
me to get her a chair. She said, "no this is giving me strength." A
little while later I went into
the fellowship hall and saw Carlos Boyer, since he had gone through a
similar experience as his
wife was killed in a car wreck; I asked him if he gained strength from
those who came through
the line and he said, Yes!
I planned to preach
from this text today and those comments relate to this text. They
received
strengthening comfort from many who went through the line. Carlos and
Rick Mell's family can
share the comfort they have received, and will receive.
Illustration
The Sequoia trees of California tower as much as 300 feet above the
ground. Strangely, these
giants have unusually shallow root systems that reach out in all
directions to capture the greatest
amount of surface moisture. Seldom will you see a redwood standing
alone, because high winds
would quickly uproot it. That's why they grow in clusters. Their
intertwining roots provide
support for one another against the storms. Suffering comes to all of
us, and no one can suffer for
us. Even so, just like those giant Sequoia trees, we can be supported
in those difficult times by
the prayers and understanding of loved ones and friends. It's when we
are too proud to admit our
needs to others that we are in the greatest danger.
Illustration
One night while conducting an evangelistic meeting in the Salvation
Army Citadel in Chicago,
Booth Tucker preached on the sympathy of Jesus. After his message a man
approached him and
said, "If your wife had just died, like mine has, and your babies were
crying for their mother, who
would never come back, you wouldn't be saying what you're saying.
Tragically, a few days later,
Tucker's wife was killed in a train wreck. Her body was brought to
Chicago and carried to the
same Citadel for the funeral. After the service the bereaved preacher
looked down into the silent
face of his wife and then turned to those attending. "The other day a
man told me I wouldn't
speak of the sympathy of Jesus if my wife had just died. If that man is
here, I want to tell him that
Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, but it has a song put there
by Jesus. I want that man to
know that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today."
Application
John 14:1 "Do not
let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:27 " Peace
I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I
give to
you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. NASU
3. Recognize The .
.
Steadfastness Of Our Comfort. 1:7
7 And our hope of you is stedfast,
knowing,
that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the
consolation. KJV
ATR to hope, has the idea of
waiting with expectation and patience.
A. We May Be Steadfast While . . Suffering. 1:7a
7 And our hope of you is
steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the
sufferings,..."
1. ATR "steadfast" to plant the
feet down).
B. We May Be Steadfast While . . Sharing our Comfort. 1:7b
". . . so
shall ye
be also of the consolation.
1. MacA. Comfort from God is not an end
in itself. Its purpose is that
believers also might be comforters.
Illustration
Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a storm that caught a vessel
off a rocky coast and threatened to
drive it and its passengers to destruction. In the midst of the terror,
one daring man, contrary to
orders, went to the deck, made a dangerous passage to the pilot house
and saw the steerman,
lashed fast at his post of holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by
inch, turning the ship out,
once more, to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled.
Then, the daring
passenger went below and gave out a note of cheer: "I have seen the
face of the
pilot, and he smiled. All is well." In the midst of a storm Jesus said
be of good cheer.
Matt 14:26-27 26
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway
Jesus spake unto them,
saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. KJV
Illustration
I have a friend named Bob Engle who's son died during a routine
tonsillectomy. Bob was not a
Christian, and a pastor friend went to visit him and just continued to
be their for him. It
impressed Bob so much that he finally submitted his life to Christ. Now
Bob looks for
opportunities to share with suffering people, and has led several
others to Christ.
1.
Recognize The . . Source Of Our Comfort. 1:3
2.
Recognize The . . Sharing Of Our Comfort. 1:4-6
3.
Recognize The . . Steadfastness Of Our Comfort. 1:7
