Comfort and God's Strength

G'day, thanks for joining the Heights Church podcast today. We hope you enjoy our message.

If you're in the Sydney area, be sure to join us at the Heights Church at Goldstone

Road, Hornsfield Heights, Sydney, Australia.

Well, you know that the Apostle Paul was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

He was one of those who was instrumental in taking the Gospel message to the

non-Jewish population in ancient

Asia, the area that we look on today as modern Turkey. and Macedonia.

And he was writing this letter from Macedonia to the church in Corinth,

a church that he had recently planted in nearby Archaea, which is today part

of modern Greece, and the letter was written around A.D. 58, we think.

If you know of Paul's missionary journeys, you will know that they were not a walk in the park.

No, in fact, they were far from it. The gospel message of hope that Paul brought

was often met with derision.

And more often with opposition and even violence, for those Gentile cultures

had their own power base, often centred around their own gods,

with a little g, their culture and their customs.

Hall was introducing this new god of love and forgiveness, which threatened

to not only upset the apple cart, but to overturn it.

And the opposition from the Gentiles was often backed up by the Jewish population

that happened to live in the area who were just opposed to this Jesus sect.

In fact, if you know of Paul's four missionary journeys, you would know that

he had faithfully endured many hardships to bring the gospel message.

In chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians, it gives us a very clear picture of Paul's travails.

And you want to know about suffering? This is what he said, I have worked much

harder, been in prison more frequently.

Been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

Why forty lashes minus one? In

the Jewish law, forty lashes was the deaths considered the death sentence.

Forty lashes minus one was what they gave to blasphemers.

Paul got that five times.

Three times I was beaten with rods. once I was pelted with stones.

Three times I was shipwrecked, spent a night and a day in the open sea.

I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers,

in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews,

in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country,

in danger at sea, and in danger from false believers.

I have labored and toiled, and have often gone without sleep.

I have known hunger and thirst, and have often gone without food.

I have been cold and naked.

Besides everything else, I face the daily pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Even after going through all that, he was still concerned for the churches that

he had planted and were growing.

So I'd say from that that Paul had known suffering, wouldn't you?

And all this for the sake of the gospel.

I don't know about you, but Paul's experiences weren't exactly enticing as a

vocational call for those considering the mission field.

But he persevered. His call was the call of God to take the gospel message to an unreached people.

And he did so with faithfulness and commitment, despite the suffering he endured.

If you put yourself in his place, I wonder how we would have responded in those circumstances.

Let me see. Last time I was jailed, I was beaten and stoned,

and you want me to consider going back for another tour of duty?

Ah, well, maybe not. That's enough for me.

Today I wonder if our view of suffering and the comfortable lives we live,

whether we would be even willing to consider any action that might change the status quo for us.

I guess that would depend on your commitment to the calling you have in your

life and your view of suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Perhaps that is why the gospel is so effective in countries where there is persecution,

for having a Christian faith, whilst in most Western countries today,

the church is struggling in its apathy.

And thank you Katie for bringing Mick because I've

got him here as an illustration as well so when

I think of Mick Alley Katie's brother and one of

the missionaries we support and what he has endured in

deprivation and health issues only to

now have such a strong and vibrant ministry and we saw that among the Samburu

people of Kenya so many Christian believers a whole community that have turned

from animism and ancestor worship to now faith in Christ.

What would have been the case if Mick had stayed at home after his first bout

of debilitating health issues, when he nearly died?

But he didn't stay home, did he? Despite the hardship that he knew would face

him, he went back, and we saw that God has blessed his ministry a hundredfold.

He has conditioned himself to the hardships on account of what he is achieving

for God and the love he has for the Samburu people.

Just as Paul conditioned himself for his ministry, he wholeheartedly gave himself

for the spread of the gospel.

He was like the sower in Jesus' parable, sowing seed on different ground and soils.

We know that some seed fell on good soil. It took root and flourished,

whilst the rest was either eaten by the birds or sprouted but soon died.

The Bible says the cares of this life and the allure of wealth draws people

away from allowing God's Word to grow in their heart and change them.

I think that's an apt description of our Western culture, isn't it?

We know that wherever the gospel is active, so Satan is also active against

the spread of the gospel, and the persecution of the sower often follows.

It probably helped that Paul had encountered Jesus face to face to know how

real his call to be a disciple was, to be able to persevere in the times of suffering.

And no doubt Paul went because of the love and the grace he was shown by God

and the love that he had for the unreached Gentiles.

But when I think of Paul, though, I don't immediately think of a person of loving disposition, do you?

And then I read what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never wounds.

Probably the greatest discourse on love ever written that I realize the heart

of God that Paul really had.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth not to say, Hey, look how wonderful and

stoic I am in my sufferings for Christ,

but to encourage them that even in spite of and through all his suffering that

Christ is at work in him and at work in them. How does that work?

Paul says in verse 3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comfort us in our troubles,

so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

It's encouraging to remember that God is a God of compassion.

It is one of His holy attributes. God Himself tells us in Exodus 34 that He

has compassion and mercy on all who turn to Him.

He doesn't leave us to our own devices, but He helps us when we cry out to Him.

He comforts us in our need and times of trouble.

And we all have times of trouble, don't we?

Times when we think, Lord, why am I going through this? Why won't you stop this?

Just stop the merry-go-round. I want to get off. But instead,

God says, I will comfort you in your time of trouble.

The Greek word for comfort here is much more than just giving us a there,

there. That's all right.

You'll be okay. The Greek word is paraklesis, which has the idea of strengthening

you, of helping you, and making you strong.

Not removing you from the trial, but of giving you strength to endure through that trial.

A character-changing process by our God.

Now, I don't know what sort of trial you might be facing, or you may have faced.

Mark asked that question before.

Maybe it was endurance through a health issue, or maybe a bereavement,

or some financial challenges for you.

Perhaps you are being oppressed, or criticized, or discriminated against because of your faith.

All things that are difficult, disappointing, or putting you in hardship.

Whatever it is God says, I am your comforter in your time of trouble.

And it's not just Paul saying this to the Corinthians.

There are many other references in the New Testament and the Old Testament,

for that matter, to God being the God of all comfort.

In John 14 and 15, he reminds us that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit as our paraclete.

There's that word again, our comforter.

And there are similar verses in Hebrews 2, Luke 2, and 1 John 2.

That should be easy to remember.

Hebrews 2, Luke 2 and 1 John 2, if you want to look it up when you get home,

where Jesus is also described as our paraclete, our comforter.

Jesus stands beside us in our time of need.

Who do you trust in your time of trouble? Who do you automatically turn to?

It's good to have a trusted friend that we can turn to, isn't it?

And Jesus is that friend.

Paul tells the Corinthians the troubles he had faced was so great that he had

despaired of life itself.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles

we experienced in the province of Asia.

We were under great pressure.

And it's got that, the word there is meaning like being squashed down,

far beyond our ability to endure.

So we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence

of death. But this happened, we might not rely upon ourselves,

but on God, who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again.

On Him we have set our hope, that He will continue to deliver us,

as you help us by your prayers.

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in

answer to the prayers of many.

Imagine getting to a stage of such desperation that you despaired of even staying alive.

He says we had a sentence of death in ourselves that we should no longer trust

in ourselves, but our only salvation would be in God.

And yet, even here, even if he should die, he knows that God is the God of the

resurrection of the dead.

So even if he should die, he trusts in God for victory.

Have you ever been driven to a point where you don't see a way through or a

way out in your own strength?

Where you've cried out in the desperation of your soul, Lord,

I cannot see any way through this, but for you to provide the rescue that I need.

Help me, Father, for I trust in you that you can deliver me.

It reminds me of the stories of King David before he became king.

King Saul had been told by the prophet Samuel that he had lost favor with God

because of his sin, and that the young David would replace him as the king of Israel.

And in his jealousy, Saul sought to kill David, and so he pursued David across

the country with three thousand of his soldiers.

Imagine the despair that David felt as he fled away from Saul,

trusting only in God for deliverance.

And sometimes that deliverance comes in the most unexpected way and place.

Do you remember the story of David and Saul in the cave from 1 Samuel chapter 24?

1 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

If not, go home and have a read later. David and his followers had taken refuge

deep in a cave in the hills with King Saul and his soldiers in hot pursuit.

Saul alone went into the cave to relieve himself, not knowing that David was in the back of the cave.

So David could easily have killed Saul then and there and taken the throne for

himself, thereby stopping the persecution.

But David knew Saul was still God's anointed king, and so instead of killing

him, he crept up and cut off a piece of Saul's tunic. You might remember that story.

When Saul left the cave, David came out from behind him and shouted out to Saul

and told Saul and showed him what he had done.

Saul realized what could have happened and how God had then spared his life.

So Saul relented, realizing this was by God's hand and that he then knew that

David would become the next rightful king of Israel.

Not only was David delivered from Saul through his trust in God and obedience,

but he overcame Saul's jealousy and went on to become the great King David of Israel.

Sometimes God rescues us from our desperate plight in order to place us on higher

ground and to change our life's direction.

Last week, our brother Rob told us of his own desperate plight in homelessness and substance abuse.

Rob cried out to God in his desperate need, and like Paul, his life was in despair at his lowest ebb.

You could say he was near death's door.

But God rescued Rob and has turned his life around, giving him new purpose,

a new faith, and the ability, because of what he has been through,

to build into other people's lives, to help to rescue and restore them,

to provide God's comfort to them.

And I'm sure there were people praying for Rob during this time of his suffering.

So often God's comfort comes in the form of other people doing the helping out.

There are many Christian-run charities that do this, those helping those in

need, the homeless, the helpless, the abused, the widows and the orphans, as the Bible puts it,

helped by people with God's compassion in their hearts, helped by people who, as Rob says, I see you.

I see the person and not their present state. And thank you,

Rob, for helping me see that.

Paul reminds the Corinthian church in verse 6, If we are distressed,

it is for your comfort and salvation.

If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patience,

endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our

sufferings, so you also share in our comfort.

What is Paul saying here? What does he mean that we might suffer like him,

with the same sufferings?

It's a hard passage, but let's work through it.

In John 16, verse 33, Jesus said, In this world you will have trouble,

John 16:33

but take heart, for I have overcome the world.

And in Hebrews 2, verse 18, we read, because he himself, that is Jesus,

Hebrews 2:18

suffered when he was tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted, which is why Paul recognizes

that just as Christ suffered and has overcome,

so then Paul can turn to the risen Christ for comfort and consolation in his hour of need as we can.

Paul emphasizes that his sufferings are united with Christ's sufferings,

and through this shared experience, he receives comfort and strength from God.

Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to take heart.

The consolation and comfort that they can receive from Christ is effective for

the sufferings that they will also endure, as it is for you and I.

I don't think that the sufferings that the church in Corinth,

or for that matter, that you and I would ever go through would look like the

sufferings that Paul went through.

And yet he calls them the same sufferings.

For just as suffering brought Paul closer to and more reliant on God,

through this experience, Paul became a more effective minister,

more able to provide God's comfort to other people, which he does through us as well.

His experiences made him more effective to minister to and to provide comfort to others.

And I think that is what God is saying to us here as well.

Bring your abilities, your training, your life experiences to God for His glory,

to help His people to bring the comfort and consolation that we need in the

times of our hurt and trials.

Verse 4 says, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we

ourselves receive from God.

That is what the church is called to do. The body of Christ reaching out to

each other and to the world around us, providing the comfort that only God can

give to those who rely upon Him.

Which leads me to my last point.

The need for prayer for each other. As I said at the start, John Hill reminded

me of this when he simply asked us

to pray for one or two people in our congregation. Who did you pray for?

Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to continue to do just that.

In verse 10 he says, On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver

us, as you help us by your prayers.

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted to us

in answer to your prayers or the prayers of many.

Do you see that? You also helping together in prayer for us.

Hall knew that the unseen God was at work in rescuing him when he had reached his lowest point.

His trust remained in God. It was of God and only God who rescued him.

And Paul knew that it was the prayers of others for him that had called on God

to protect him and sustain him while he was on his missionary journey.

How good is it to support Mark and Chris and each other in prayer before the

throne of grace, where we have access because of Christ our Saviour?

And how good is it that we can share our burdens and our trials and our afflictions

with each other as the body of Christ, to bear each other up in prayer.

I think that's where our connect groups can be so effective,

sharing life together and all that it brings, the good times and the hard times,

so that we can uphold and support one another in love and practical ways, but more importantly,

so we can come before God on behalf of our brothers and sisters in intercession.

But it does require that we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to each other in

our circumstances, wanting others to not only know how we are suffering,

but to minister to us and to pray for us.

To me, that's what our connect groups are all about.

So in summary, in our sufferings, we can know that we will be comforted.

God will bring others alongside us in our suffering.

But he also uses us to come alongside others to provide comfort in their time

of need. We will not be alone.

Paul writes of sharing in our sufferings, so also to share in our comfort.

When we share our hard times with those who care about us, when we open up to each other,

there should be a closeness of relationship where we can encourage one another

with your hard times are also our hard times.

We can know that in these hard times, God produces in us patient endurance.

Nicky Gumbel put it this way, Like gold refined by fire, or a vine pruned to

provide more fruit, difficulties lead to patience, to endurance,

to steadfastness and perseverance.

They lead to character transformation in us.

Through hard times, we will not only learn patient endurance,

but we will learn to trust God's unfailing love, His loyal love.

And lastly, we are encouraged to pray more steadfastly for one another.

So let's do that right now, shall we?

Father God, we thank you that you love us so much, you have compassion on us,

that you provide your comfort in times of trial and suffering.

We thank you that we are never alone, that you are there with us, beside us.

You ask us to call out to you in our need, and you will comfort us.

You will provide people to come alongside us, to comfort us.

Father, we thank you that in Jesus, we have someone who knows and has been tempted

in every way, a person known knows suffering, and so can comfort us through his Spirit.

We pray, Father, that we would continue to pray for one another in these circumstances.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.