God of Comfort

Join with me again in prayer. God, thank You. Thank You for this privilege to be here at the time to lead a devotion through Your Word. Father, we thank You so much for Christ, Your goodness to us in Him. Lord, use these words now, I pray, for Your glory and for Your honor. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, good evening to everyone. Tonight, we're going to look at a passage from 2 Corinthians 1, verses 3 and 4, specifically, and a passage that deals with suffering, but also, most importantly, I think, deals with the comfort that is offered in God. As we've seen from our study in Genesis, sin entered the world in Genesis 3. And when we sin, we are separated from God, and as a result, we fall short of the glory of God. And with that being in mind, we do not know God as we should, which is our greatest suffering. So, as we prepare to look at our passage for tonight from 2 Corinthians, it is important to remember that suffering and affliction entered this world as a result of sin. So, suffering and affliction came in because of Adam's sin. Remember, it was not meant to be that way. There was meant to be a world with no suffering and affliction, but because of man's willful disobedience, suffering and affliction entered. And so, for our devotions tonight, I'm going to sort of break it down into three parts. First, what I thought we would do is review the suffering and affliction we have seen already from our Genesis series. After that, we're going to specifically look at the text from 2nd Corinthians and offer some general reflections. And finally, we'll look at some points of application. Through these three parts, we will see that there is suffering in the world and that our God is a God of comfort. And I pray we'll leave with a greater love for the father of mercies and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So again, Genesis 3-21 we've looked at so far. We've looked at 21 chapters. 3-21 encompasses 19 chapters. Sin, again, entered the world in Genesis chapter 3. So as we look at just this sort of listing that I've sort of composited of the suffering that we've seen so far, I want us to sort of ponder and meditate on the immense pain that sin has caused, that it causes, and will continue to cause, And I want us also at some point to sort of reflect in our own personal lives and see where you may have experienced some of this pain. In addition, maybe think of where you've seen loved ones experience this pain as well. Because as we'll see from our passage from 2 Corinthians, that's what Paul wants us to do. We are supposed to see suffering from our brothers and sisters to comfort others. So, part one that we'll sort of review tonight, just what we've seen from Genesis so far. We've seen that suffering comes when man sees that he is naked, meaning that he is naked before an almighty God. And as a result of this, he is fearful of God. We've seen that there is a promise of pain and childbearing, that a woman's desire will be for her husband and a husband will rule over his wife. We've seen that the ground is cursed as a result of man's sin, and there will be pain as we eat of this ground. We have seen that animals and creation suffer. This calls to mind Paul's words in Romans chapter 8, verse 20, where he says, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. So the creation itself is suffering because of Adam's sin. And we've seen that there is death. This again reminds us of Paul's words in Romans 6.23, for the wages of sin is death. We've seen that sin is crouching at the door and has a desire for us. We've seen the pain of losing a child. Moreover, we've seen the pain of having a child murdered by a sibling and the suffering that causes. We've seen the suffering that comes from the penalty of sin. Think of Cain. We've seen that the marriage covenant is broken. That is, we see adultery and polygamy. We've seen that there is murder and men will feel no remorse. In fact, they will brag about it. Think of Lamech and his boasting that he's murdered. We've seen the suffering that's caused by men just taking women by force. We've seen extreme violence. So we've seen this is just three chapters, by the way, so far I've reviewed. So I want us to think about this verse from Genesis six, verse five, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And this leads to immense suffering. We've seen suffering from anxiety and fear. Suffering as a result of drunkenness. We've seen that there will be men who will be in slavery to other men and the suffering that that causes. We've seen division among God's people. We've seen the suffering as a result of losing a father. Confusion of language and the suffering that causes. We've seen that there is barrenness and the pain that causes. Specifically, women will suffer from that, but we also see that men do as well. That they suffer and feel the pain of not being able to have a child. We've seen suffering as a result of famine. We've seen the affliction and pain caused by lust. Affliction that comes from lying. Affliction from leaving a country and not knowing where one is going. Affliction from leaving a family. We've seen strife over possessions, which can lead to strife between family members. We've seen the suffering caused from war, kidnapping, stealing, theft. We've seen affliction from being forced to leave a home. We've seen suffering that happens when children are sold, We've seen that some will be a part of the covenant with God while others are not, and the pain that will cause. We've seen suffering caused from lying out of fear. We've seen suffering from sexual deviancy, from incest, from dishonoring of our earthly father. And from today, we saw suffering from scheming, suffering that can be caused from dreams, Suffering that's caused when men just put their wife in danger. And the sufferings that mothers see when they see their children suffer. And we could stop here. And in fact, we really should end here. God did not need to comfort us in our suffering. Because of our sin, we deserve hell and eternal punishment and eternal suffering. But God. And remember that as we've gone through our Genesis series, we've heard those words, but God. As we go into our second part of tonight, let us remember that our God is indeed a God of mercy. We think of sin entering the world in Genesis chapter three, but we also see there God bringing his mercy immediately as well, promising the lawful Messiah, the Christ. So our passage for tonight is Second Corinthians one, verses three to four. Please turn with me if you have your Bibles open to that. I'm actually going to read verses three through seven for us now. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort, too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. And if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. So please remember here that Paul is not directly speaking of the suffering and affliction we have just reviewed from the book of Genesis. That's not what this passage is about. Every passage has a context, and Paul is addressing the church in Corinth. We know that Paul is writing after he himself has suffered extreme affliction, for he says in verses 8 and 9 of the same chapter, for we do not want you to be ignorant brothers of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death." So we don't know exactly what had happened, but Paul suffered immensely from some sort of affliction in Asia, an experience in Asia. As we think of Paul, we're certainly aware that Paul is no stranger of suffering. Yet again, he offers us immense hope because he knows that God is a God of mercy. He knows the love that has been displayed in Christ Jesus. And again, think about Paul, one of the most afflicted of men. Later on in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, 23 through 29, Paul will say these words. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes, less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there's the daily pressure of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak? And I am not weak. Who is made to fall? And I am not indignant. Paul knew suffering. Besides our Lord Jesus Christ, I think Paul suffered the most that I can see in Scripture, besides Christ. So Paul begins here, as we look at this chapter again, 2 Corinthians. 1. With blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. and God of all comfort. Verses 3 and 4 consist of 52 words. And I want you to notice out of those 52 where the verb comfort appears or the noun comfort occurs. Five times in just those 52 words. So roughly one out of every ten, Paul's mentioning the word comfort. Specifically and purposely because again, he knows the comfort that only comes from Christ. Now, in the New Testament, this word blessed is used only of God. Blessed speaks of gratitude and adoration. And please notice that Paul is not expressing adoration to God merely as God. But as the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And rightly so, for where Christ is not, there can be no praise. Paul knows that only through Christ can one come to the father. Another thing from just this first verse here, verse three, notice that God is the father of mercies and the God of all comfort. And that's what the passage is about. We are reminded that only God can comfort us and he is ready to comfort us if we call upon him. And in Christ, God has delivered us from evil. So whatever our hardships may be, the sufferings or afflictions we may be suffering through, God proves to be near to those he loves. Verse 4, looking at that now, "...who comforts us in our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Notice here that Paul assumes there will be suffering. Following Jesus Christ elicits suffering in one form or another. Yet God will comfort us in our afflictions. Again, notice this, that God comforts us so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction. I think the words there, may be able, are very much important. I don't think they're there by accident. It is only God who can comfort. Let's remember that. But we may be able to. God may so use us to be the instruments of comfort, but it is God who does comfort us. And so, as we just think of that, the comfort we receive in our affliction must be extended to our fellow believers who endure affliction. So, I just want to close now sort of with some parts of, or points of application that we can think of in our lives and our walk with the Lord. First, trust God's Word. It's a simple point, but it's one, I think, that is worth repeating. God is very trustworthy. We saw that again today in Genesis chapter one, the promise fulfilled for Abraham, his continual and Sarah, their desire for a child, their doubting at times, but it was fulfilled. God is faithful when we are not faithful. There will be suffering. And as we have studied and seen from Genesis, suffering has its original root in sin, yet God promises to comfort us. In Christ, we have a faithful high priest and we have a Savior who has conquered death and affliction. Christ is our comfort and he will comfort us. Second, as recipients of God's love and comfort, We are obliged to love our fellow man. So as we suffer, we should realize that our sufferings may be used so that we can comfort others who suffer. Listen to these words that I read earlier from verses 5 to 7. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort. which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort." So this should dramatically affect the way we view suffering, because we realize that as recipients of God's comfort, we are to encourage others. So I was just thinking and reflecting about the prayers that we heard tonight. Okay? That is a way that we can sort of experience what they're going through and praying out and calling out to God for them. We're experiencing that with them. We can hear it in the voices, right, when we pray. We know that people are with them. And so, it is in the sense, in the essence, that we are with and very much united in Christ for our brothers and sisters. And that really can't be stressed enough. And Paul understands it completely. So, we suffer so we can comfort others. Christ suffered so he could comfort us and remove the wrath that we so rightly deserved. So look for those who are suffering, particularly if you have suffered from the same affliction. Third, be aware that suffering may lead us to question God's goodness and we may start to blame God. And this is where we have to always see that sin is indeed crouching at our door. We need to be very, very careful here and return to the gospel of Jesus Christ. God does not promise us that we will not suffer, but he does tell us that he will comfort us and that he is with us. Listen to these words from the writer of Hebrews. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. It's really a reiteration of what Paul has just said, but just in a different different book. But it's the same thing, right, that we have a faithful high priest, our Lord Christ Jesus, who has suffered in ways that we will never understand. And because of his suffering, he gives us comfort. And He did it without sin. So we can faithfully look to Him, knowing that as we draw near to Him, He is ever beside the Father of mercies, interceding for us. And because of that, we receive mercy, and then we go and help our brother and sister. So call upon Christ. He is ever ready to comfort you in your affliction. Our fourth point of application. There will be suffering that we do not understand. We have to remember that we worship a sovereign God, and we have to trust His goodness and His promise that He will comfort us in our affliction. And we've sort of looked at Genesis 3 through 21, and I made it very clear that sin is the origin of suffering. And that is true. Suffering comes into the world because of sin. But we have to be careful and remember that there's not always a direct corollary between sin and suffering. So we have to also be careful never to overstep our bounds and say, this suffering is a result of this. It may very well be, but it may not. And that's not our role. That's God's sovereignty, that we may not understand things. There are some afflictions that we will not understand. But again, we can understand that God will comfort us. Finally, for those who are in Christ, There will be a day when there will be no more suffering. And it is right and good to meditate upon heaven. I'm convicted that that's not something I do enough of. And so long to be away from here. And even to be away from my wife, my children, my family. It's what we should long for, though, to be there that day when we will be in our eternal home with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So it's important for those who are not in Christ to remember that if you're not in Him, there will come a day where there will be no end to your suffering. I beg and plead with everyone that does not know Christ as Lord and Savior to come to Him. Repent and confess their sins. But for those who do know Christ and are in Him, let's listen to these sweet words from the Apostle John. After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And then listen to this. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. God will comfort us. Let's pray. God, we love you. And that is our confession. That we love you and I pray we have a desire to love you more. Thank you for your goodness to us. Thank you that you comfort us. Thank You that You give us hope and You give us a hope that is solid and built on the rock of Jesus Christ. Lord, be with us now as we leave and depart. Help us to share comfort with those who are suffering. Lord, be with those that are suffering and let us offer the only hope that can be found, Christ Jesus. It's in His name we pray. Amen.