WEBVTT 00:00:07.019 --> 00:00:11.039 2 Corinthians. We're probably, Lord willing, 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:15.179 going to be in 2 Corinthians for a bit. We went 00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:18.859 through 1 Corinthians. It's probably been, well, 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:20.960 it's probably been several years ago now. Probably 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:24.000 six or seven years ago, I would say. If you care 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:25.920 to go back and listen to that series, it's on 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.320 the church website along with the rest of the 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:30.120 sermons from the last ten years. There's one 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:36.159 for 1 Corinthians. We didn't cover 2 Corinthians 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:39.179 at the time, and so I'm probably going to hang 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:46.240 out in here for a little bit. 2 Corinthians chapter 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:51.140 1, verse 1. Let's pray, and then we'll get started. 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:53.960 God, we come to you. We thank you for the freedom 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.880 we have to come into your house tonight. I thank 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:58.979 you for being good to us. I thank you for the 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:00.840 love that you've shown us and the love that we 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.450 have. For one another, I pray that your Holy 00:01:03.450 --> 00:01:06.430 Spirit would just guide me to say the words that 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:08.390 you want us to hear tonight, that we would see 00:01:08.390 --> 00:01:11.549 your word, that we would be comforted by it, 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:14.069 dear Lord. And I pray that you free us from the 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:16.950 worries and the distractions of this world and 00:01:16.950 --> 00:01:19.150 that you would help us to focus on you and hear 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:22.909 from you now. In Jesus' name I pray it. Amen. 00:01:24.810 --> 00:01:27.489 If you go back and read in the book of Acts, 00:01:27.590 --> 00:01:30.430 and particularly in this case around Acts chapter 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:34.670 18, you're going to see some of these journeys 00:01:34.670 --> 00:01:37.310 that Paul was on along the way. And you're going 00:01:37.310 --> 00:01:41.109 to see some of the places that we talk about 00:01:41.109 --> 00:01:43.049 from Paul's letters. You're going to see places 00:01:43.049 --> 00:01:46.349 like Corinth or places like Ephesus. These are 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:48.290 some of the places that he wrote letters to. 00:01:48.549 --> 00:01:52.209 And when you go back and look at Acts, you're 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.450 going to see some of these places. In Acts chapter 00:01:54.450 --> 00:01:57.329 18, you're going to see that Paul goes to a place 00:01:57.329 --> 00:02:00.650 called Corinth, and there he meets a man and 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:03.370 a woman by the name of Aquila and Priscilla, 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:06.209 and they're tent makers, and he too is a tent 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:10.550 maker, and they become friends and sharing the 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:13.449 gospel and doing the work of the Lord, and he 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:17.729 meets them in Corinth. The places that we see 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:20.210 Paul visit, and maybe revisit some of them, going 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:22.669 back and forth between them, throughout the book 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:26.110 of Acts, are some of these people that receive 00:02:26.110 --> 00:02:29.349 letters. That is, Paul went and saw them. He 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:31.560 went on his way. And he would hear what was going 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.080 on, and he would write a letter to maybe correct 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:36.340 them of some things that were not going so good 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:38.719 or maybe encourage them, maybe say, hey, you're 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:40.599 doing a good job. As in the case of the people 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:43.800 of Philippi, the book of Philippians is a pretty 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:47.520 encouraging book. Some of them are kind of stern. 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:51.039 You may remember, if you've ever read 1 Corinthians, 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.340 that it's a few things in there he gets on them 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:57.020 about, that they're not doing too good. And so 00:02:57.020 --> 00:02:59.919 he wrote this letter after he had left. left 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:03.639 1 Corinthians, or excuse me, after he had left 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:06.400 Corinth, he wrote 1 Corinthians back to them, 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.020 and then probably about a year or year and a 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:12.319 half after he wrote the letter that we know as 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:15.680 1 Corinthians, he wrote another letter to the 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.340 people of Corinth, and that's what we know as 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:21.960 2 Corinthians. Now, it's possible that he wrote 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:24.979 more letters. Some have suggested that he might 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:27.020 have wrote as many as four letters to the people 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:30.560 of Corinth. These are the only two. that we have, 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:34.400 but he kind of picks up and maybe even addresses 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.319 a few things that he talked about in the first 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:38.419 letter, but kind of carrying on with the same 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:43.719 idea here as we get into 2 Corinthians 1, verse 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:48.199 1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.180 will, and Timothy, our brother, to the church 00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:54.080 at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:59.069 Acacia. Grace to you and peace. From God, our 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:03.949 Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we have 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:07.110 a pretty typical introduction here, similar to 00:04:07.110 --> 00:04:09.449 what we see in Paul's other writings. He's saying, 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:12.770 look, I am Paul, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ, 00:04:12.930 --> 00:04:15.189 and I'm the one who's sending you this letter. 00:04:15.670 --> 00:04:18.230 We see in this particular letter that he's talking 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:21.350 about Timothy, who must have been there alongside 00:04:21.350 --> 00:04:24.410 of him. We know of Timothy from the letters that 00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:27.110 he wrote to Timothy in 1 and 2 Timothy. We see 00:04:27.110 --> 00:04:29.689 Timothy mentioned in some of Paul's journeys. 00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:32.790 We see him mentioned here. When he wrote the 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:36.009 letter the first time, what we know as 1 Corinthians, 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:38.750 there was a guy with him named Sosthenes. That 00:04:38.750 --> 00:04:41.009 was who was with him in the introduction of 1 00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:43.990 Corinthians. And here, this year, year and a 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:46.639 half later, however long, we see that it's Timothy 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.819 that is with him. And he talks about Achaia. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.560 He talks about this is the region, the whole 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.939 region around where Corinth is. And this is around 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:58.920 Greece. If you're familiar with geography and 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.959 where Greece is on the map, this is kind of the 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:05.240 region, the area that we're talking about. And 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:08.319 Corinth was probably a pretty well -to -do place 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.860 at that time and probably a pretty large place. 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:14.889 They probably had a pretty big population. Paul 00:05:14.889 --> 00:05:17.370 is writing this letter again to the people of 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.050 Corinth. He's acknowledging that he is the one 00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.209 who is writing it. He's acknowledging that Timothy 00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:25.910 is there with him. And he opens this letter with 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:29.910 just some beautiful language. Grace and peace 00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:32.949 from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:37.589 And then he proceeds to go on about his letter. 00:05:37.709 --> 00:05:41.959 And that's where we start in verse 3. Praise 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.480 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:48.699 the Father of all mercies and the God of all 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:52.019 comfort. Now that is a beautiful verse right 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:55.420 there. That verse alone, you could just kind 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:58.959 of sit up there for a second and just kind of 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:03.779 soak that in. That God, we praise God. He's our 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:06.079 Savior. There's salvation that comes through 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.139 Him. And what does it say? It says that he is 00:06:09.139 --> 00:06:12.740 the God of all comfort. And that's good to know 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:16.000 because there are times that we need to be comforted. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:19.959 There are times where life is just hard and we 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.379 just need some comfort. And he is the God of 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:27.000 all comfort. There is no comfort that comes from 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.379 anyone except from God. Any comfort that we feel, 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.060 even if people don't realize it, if it's good, 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:36.279 if it's comforting, if it brings you peace, then 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.459 it must come from God because there is no peace, 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.779 there is no mercy, there is no comfort in any 00:06:42.779 --> 00:06:46.069 other. Paul starts right off here by saying, 00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:49.870 we praise God because he is the God of all comfort. 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:52.709 Then he continues to build this first section 00:06:52.709 --> 00:06:56.449 of the letter based on that idea. He says in 00:06:56.449 --> 00:06:59.889 verse 4, he comforts us in all our affliction. 00:07:00.069 --> 00:07:03.790 Now, that's a good verse. He is the God of all 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:06.730 comfort who comforts us in all of our affliction. 00:07:06.870 --> 00:07:10.810 Now, we need to maybe remember this verse because 00:07:10.810 --> 00:07:15.149 there are days that we are Now, whatever that 00:07:15.149 --> 00:07:17.829 affliction may be, maybe it's just stress, maybe 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.649 it's physical pain, maybe it's just a mental 00:07:20.649 --> 00:07:22.689 battle that you're going through, whatever it 00:07:22.689 --> 00:07:26.019 is, There are afflictions that come upon us. 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.879 There are afflictions that we face. And it doesn't 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:32.100 matter if you are young and old. There are times 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:36.139 in our life that we are afflicted. But we call 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:40.660 on the God who is the God of all comfort. And 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:43.019 what does it say? That he comforts us in our 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:45.519 afflictions. Well, that's good to know. Because 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:47.319 there are days that, man, our afflictions are 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:48.860 pretty rough, and that's what he's going to talk 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:52.839 about. So praise God that he is our comforter. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.279 He comforts us in all our affliction so that 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.519 we may be able to comfort those who are in any 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:03.319 kind of affliction through the comfort we ourselves 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:07.480 receive from God. Now, isn't that a beautiful 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.019 idea? This is kind of the idea of Scripture. 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:16.579 What we receive from God, we give back to others. 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.620 We let what we've received from God be seen through 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:22.720 us by other people. So when we experience the 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.540 love of God and the grace of God, then that should 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:28.660 flow from us. When we've experienced comfort 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:31.660 through God, then that helps us to be able to 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:34.779 comfort others. Because there are people in this 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:36.759 world and they don't know how they're going to 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:38.720 make it through the next night or the next day. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:41.299 They don't know if they can make it any further. 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:43.539 They're seeking and they're searching and they 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:47.539 want some kind of comfort. And some of you in 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:49.960 this room, or maybe somebody listening online, 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.179 has been there before where you didn't think 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:54.720 you were going to make it through the night. 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:56.740 You didn't think that you were going to make 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:58.820 it through the week. You didn't think that there 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:01.399 was any light at the end of the tunnel. You didn't 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:04.159 think that there was any comfort for your pain 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:08.220 and your affliction, and you found God. You found 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:11.179 the God of all comfort. And you called out to 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:13.720 the God of all comfort, and he comforted you 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:17.220 and your afflictions. And Paul says, when you've 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:19.919 experienced that, then you need to go out there 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:22.980 and help other people. You need to find those 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:25.480 people in the world that are struggling, who 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:28.539 are afflicted, who are in pain, who are in discomfort, 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:31.299 and you need to say, look, I have been where 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:34.490 you are. I have been where you are, and let me 00:09:34.490 --> 00:09:36.950 tell you about God. I don't know if you know 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:38.669 about God. I don't know if you know the scripture. 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:41.789 Maybe you don't think God's there. God doesn't 00:09:41.789 --> 00:09:44.210 care. But let me tell you about God, that he 00:09:44.210 --> 00:09:46.529 brought me comfort, that he showed me light, 00:09:46.690 --> 00:09:48.750 that he showed me love, that he was merciful, 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.750 that he was gracious. And I served the God of 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:54.350 all comfort, and he helped me, and I got through 00:09:54.350 --> 00:09:57.049 it. And I didn't think I was. And I know you 00:09:57.049 --> 00:09:58.409 don't think you're going to get through this 00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:00.789 death you're suffering, or this pain you're suffering, 00:10:00.929 --> 00:10:02.389 or this affliction you're suffering. suffering, 00:10:02.490 --> 00:10:04.389 but I want to tell you that I got through it, 00:10:04.409 --> 00:10:06.610 and God can help you get through it, and I want 00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:09.149 to walk with you along the way. And Paul says 00:10:09.149 --> 00:10:12.450 that we have been comforted by the God of all 00:10:12.450 --> 00:10:16.009 comfort, and when we have received that comfort, 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:21.129 we are called to comfort others. Now, that's 00:10:21.129 --> 00:10:23.929 a good message. That's kind of the message of 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:25.789 Scripture, whether it's comforting or whether 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:28.210 it's grace or whether it's mercy. Whatever we 00:10:28.210 --> 00:10:32.230 have received from God, God calls us to give 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:36.710 that back to those that we encounter. Verse 5. 00:10:37.129 --> 00:10:39.970 For as the suffering of Christ overflowed to 00:10:39.970 --> 00:10:45.230 us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows. 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:50.000 All right, so Christ suffered and... The sufferings 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:53.200 of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.580 comfort also overflows. So even in the midst 00:10:56.580 --> 00:10:59.139 of this difficulty, we reflect on Jesus Christ 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:02.139 and we can find some comfort in the fact of who 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:04.980 he is and what he has done. And in the midst 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:07.799 of his suffering, he continued to be faithful 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:11.399 to God. He continued to be on his mission. And 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.539 there's comfort to be found in that, that we 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:16.899 serve a Savior who's given us an example, who's 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:19.320 let us know that there is going to be suffering 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:22.360 for serving God, but there is comfort on the 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.639 other side of that suffering. Verse 6, if we 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:30.500 are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. 00:11:30.820 --> 00:11:33.960 If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:36.899 which is experienced in your endurance of the 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:41.419 same sufferings that we suffer. So what does 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:43.779 he say? Paul says, look, if we're afflicted, 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:46.220 it's for your comfort. That is to say, we are 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:49.580 serving you. We are doing the work of God. We 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:51.679 are trying to stand up for you. We are trying 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:55.059 to lead you, and we are facing all kind of persecution, 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.639 and we are facing all kind of affliction, but 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.279 we are doing it for you so that you may find 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.679 some comfort in Christ. And so if we are afflicted, 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.659 we are doing it for you so that you may hear 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:10.259 of Jesus Christ, so that you may receive salvation, 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.519 so that through our affliction, you may receive 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.080 comfort. And so it is, Paul says, that we receive 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.440 comfort. Even when we are afflicted, we receive 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:23.059 comfort because we know that you are coming to 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:25.840 Jesus Christ and we find comfort in that. Isn't 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.500 that a crazy thing right there? Because you see 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:31.679 that even today. Now, you might not be aware 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.539 of it. You need to be aware of it. You need to 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:36.700 look up some people sometimes. There are still 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:40.120 people today, Christians, who are suffering for 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:42.799 the kingdom of God, who are facing persecution, 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:46.500 who are facing being put in prison, who are facing 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:49.820 death, who sometimes are killed, who are in prison 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:53.500 right now doing the work of God and suffering 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:56.740 greatly. And why in the world would they do that? 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:01.120 Because they receive some comfort. knowing that 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.879 they have done the work of the Lord. They received 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.559 comfort knowing that in what they have done that 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:09.919 has got them in prison, that has gotten them 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.759 persecuted, may have brought someone else to 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:16.940 Jesus Christ. And so inside that jail cell, as 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:20.080 Paul was on occasion, he received comfort knowing 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.779 that outside of those walls, the gospel was still 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:25.799 being spread. that he had done some work, that 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.080 he had went to people who were struggling and 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:30.919 afflicted, and he had told them about Jesus Christ, 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:34.000 and they had found comfort in Jesus Christ, and 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:37.240 it cost him his freedom. And oftentimes we see 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.679 of Christians that it cost them their life, but 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.519 even in that affliction, they find comfort because 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.419 they know that others are finding comfort in 00:13:46.419 --> 00:13:49.340 Christ. So when we are afflicted, we find comfort. 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:52.320 And when we are comforted, Paul says, we find 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:54.879 comfort because we know that in your affliction, 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:58.360 you find comfort. It's just this cycle. Paul 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:00.620 says, I pour into you. It brings me affliction, 00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:02.799 which brings me comfort, which brings me more 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:04.559 comfort because you're afflicted, which brings 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.250 you comfort. Which brings you comfort in us because 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:09.789 we're doing the work. It's this cycle of brothers 00:14:09.789 --> 00:14:12.190 and sisters in Christ working together and saying, 00:14:12.269 --> 00:14:16.429 living for the Lord is not always easy, but it's 00:14:16.429 --> 00:14:20.389 always worth it. There's great peace that comes 00:14:20.389 --> 00:14:23.470 from that. It's scary. You know, you're thinking 00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:24.870 about, man, I don't know if I want to do the 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:26.389 work of the Lord. I don't know if I want to put 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:29.009 myself out there. What if I'm persecuted? What 00:14:29.009 --> 00:14:31.009 if somebody comes against me? What if I'm in 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:33.450 prison? Would I be able to handle it? Well, I 00:14:33.450 --> 00:14:35.980 don't know, but I think we would. I think if 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:38.500 we do it with the right heart, I think that we 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:41.179 would be those who would say, God, it is worth 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:45.539 it. There is comfort even in the midst of the 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:49.519 affliction. We find comfort in Jesus Christ knowing 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.019 that we have led others to Jesus Christ. And 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:55.299 that's exactly what Paul is saying to the people 00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:58.789 of Corinth here. And our hope for you, verse 00:14:58.789 --> 00:15:03.190 7, and our hope for you is firm because we know 00:15:03.190 --> 00:15:06.409 that as you share in the sufferings, you will 00:15:06.409 --> 00:15:09.690 also share in the comfort. So Paul says, hold 00:15:09.690 --> 00:15:13.730 on. I know that you're going to do good. I know 00:15:13.730 --> 00:15:16.850 that you're sharing in the sufferings right now. 00:15:17.309 --> 00:15:20.450 But what does he say? So you will also share 00:15:20.450 --> 00:15:23.429 in the comfort. Even though life is difficult, 00:15:23.649 --> 00:15:26.830 even though there is affliction, If we continue 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:29.809 to seek God and call out to him and serve him, 00:15:29.970 --> 00:15:33.529 we will find the God of all comfort, and there 00:15:33.529 --> 00:15:36.049 will be comfort in our life. And Paul says there 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:38.769 is great hope in that. We find hope in that in 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:42.370 our life, and we find hope knowing that you are, 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:45.470 even in the midst of suffering, finding comfort 00:15:45.470 --> 00:15:50.509 in Jesus Christ. Verse 8. For we don't want you 00:15:50.509 --> 00:15:53.690 to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that 00:15:53.690 --> 00:15:56.759 took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:01.139 beyond our strength so that we even despaired 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:05.419 of life. Now, obviously something pretty serious 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:07.700 had happened to Paul and some others who were 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:09.639 with him in Asia. I don't know what event this 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:11.779 was. I'm not sure if it's even in Scripture. 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:14.679 Maybe it is. I don't know. But whatever the event 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:18.159 is, he doesn't go into it here. But what does 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:22.070 he say? He says, look. Our affliction took place 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:26.090 in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed beyond 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:29.750 our strength so that we even despaired of life. 00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:33.289 Have you ever been in that type of affliction 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:35.590 before? Whatever brought it on. Maybe it was 00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:37.710 because you took a stand for the Lord. Maybe 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:40.470 it's just some life circumstance, some death 00:16:40.470 --> 00:16:42.110 that you've encountered in your life. Whatever 00:16:42.110 --> 00:16:44.289 it is, there's all kinds of things that bring 00:16:44.289 --> 00:16:47.549 affliction to us. Have we ever been in a state 00:16:47.549 --> 00:16:50.889 in our life where we felt completely overwhelmed 00:16:50.889 --> 00:16:57.350 beyond our strength? That's a tough place to 00:16:57.350 --> 00:17:00.929 be. That is a scary place to be because we realize 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:05.490 that we are helpless. We feel overwhelmed beyond 00:17:05.490 --> 00:17:09.089 our strength. That whatever is before us, that 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:13.109 whatever we are up against, it is too big. It 00:17:13.109 --> 00:17:16.569 is just too overwhelming. We don't think we can 00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:19.670 make it. We do not have the strength to carry 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:22.750 on. We have been fighting and we have been walking 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:24.750 and we have been walking and we have been on 00:17:24.750 --> 00:17:27.609 the road and on the journey for days and for 00:17:27.609 --> 00:17:30.049 weeks and for months sometimes. And there are 00:17:30.049 --> 00:17:32.730 times that we feel like we cannot keep going. 00:17:32.849 --> 00:17:36.450 We are so overwhelmed. What are we going to do? 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:41.329 Paul says, look, we even despaired of life. We 00:17:41.329 --> 00:17:44.710 knew the end was near. We knew that we have nothing 00:17:44.710 --> 00:17:47.730 else to give. We knew that we had done all we 00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:50.730 could do. We were completely overwhelmed. We 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:54.009 were completely drained. And we knew that death 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:58.809 was soon going to come to us. He continues on 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:01.970 in verse 9. Indeed, we personally had a death 00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:04.869 sentence within ourselves so that we could not 00:18:04.869 --> 00:18:09.849 trust in ourselves, but trust in God who raises 00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:16.180 the dead. Isn't that something right there? He 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:19.480 says, we had given all we could give. We had 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:23.640 nothing else we could do. We had given up. We 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:26.680 had given in to death. But in that, we trusted 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:29.640 God all the more because we knew that God could 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:33.079 raise us to life. So even in the midst of our 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.960 affliction, even in the midst of our overwhelming 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:41.980 circumstances, even when death is at our door, 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.539 we trust in God all the more because who else 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:49.079 can we trust in? And that's where we need to 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:53.180 be in those seasons of despair in our life. Maybe 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:55.839 there are some of you tonight that feel overwhelmed. 00:18:56.980 --> 00:19:00.549 You don't have any strength. There is nowhere 00:19:00.549 --> 00:19:04.910 else you can go but to the Lord. That's it. That's 00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:08.430 the only place you can go tonight. That's the 00:19:08.430 --> 00:19:10.630 only one that can give you strength. That's the 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:13.190 only one that can deliver you from your situation. 00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:16.609 And should he choose not to deliver you in this 00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:20.130 life, Paul says we trust him all the more because 00:19:20.130 --> 00:19:23.170 even if we're at death's door here in our affliction, 00:19:23.309 --> 00:19:26.410 we know we will wake up in the presence of God 00:19:26.410 --> 00:19:30.029 and so we trust God all the more. We find comfort 00:19:30.029 --> 00:19:32.309 in our affliction, and if our affliction ends 00:19:32.309 --> 00:19:35.390 in death, then so be it. It'll end in the presence 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:41.009 of God. Paul, he was ready. He was strong in 00:19:41.009 --> 00:19:43.910 the faith. He didn't give up at persecution. 00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:46.289 He didn't give up at affliction. We might be 00:19:46.289 --> 00:19:49.230 tempted to. There may be times in our life that 00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:52.640 the least little affliction comes. We get overwhelmed. 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:55.319 We start questioning God. We get angry with God. 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.059 We want to give up on God. Sometimes people get 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:02.180 that way, but not Paul. Paul says, I'm in it 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:05.599 for the long haul. Paul said, I serve and I praise 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:09.700 the God of all comfort. And I take comfort in 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:12.359 knowing that God is with me and I want you to 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.519 take comfort in God even in the worst situation, 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:19.279 even in the situations that end in death. Trust 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:23.740 in God all the more because he is the only deliverance 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:27.980 that we have. This is good advice for us. We 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:30.859 know what affliction is like. Everybody in here, 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.750 you know what affliction is like. You've experienced 00:20:33.750 --> 00:20:36.450 it. You may be experiencing it now. I can tell 00:20:36.450 --> 00:20:38.309 you the same thing that Paul told you, and that's 00:20:38.309 --> 00:20:41.049 all I can tell you, is to trust in God all the 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:44.069 more. I don't know what the outcome of the situation 00:20:44.069 --> 00:20:47.809 will be, but I can assure you that God is the 00:20:47.809 --> 00:20:50.730 one who's in control of the situation, and whatever 00:20:50.730 --> 00:20:53.650 occurs will be his will, and he will be with 00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:59.930 you through it all. Verse 10. He has delivered 00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:03.279 us from such a terrible death. And he will deliver 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.640 us. We have put our hope in him that he will 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.420 deliver us again while you join in helping us 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:14.019 by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:17.039 our behalf for the gift that came to us through 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:21.579 the prayers of many. So here Paul says, look, 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:25.359 we thought we were going to die. We thought it 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:28.559 was the end. We thought our affliction was going 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:31.809 to get the better of us. But what does he say 00:21:31.809 --> 00:21:35.730 in verse 10? He has delivered us from such a 00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:39.630 terrible death, and he will deliver us. So whatever 00:21:39.630 --> 00:21:42.549 this affliction was that Paul and those with 00:21:42.549 --> 00:21:45.529 him would have encountered in Asia, he thought 00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:49.230 the end was near, but he says, I praise God because 00:21:49.230 --> 00:21:52.789 he... delivered us and he will continue to deliver 00:21:52.789 --> 00:21:56.549 us both in this life and from this life and to 00:21:56.549 --> 00:22:01.930 eternity with him God has been with us and then 00:22:01.930 --> 00:22:05.170 he says in verse 11 while you join in helping 00:22:05.170 --> 00:22:09.069 us by your prayers then many will give thanks 00:22:09.069 --> 00:22:11.849 on our behalf for the gift that came to us through 00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:16.240 the prayers of many now Some of your translations, 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:19.819 mine says the gift that came to us. Some may 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:21.880 say something like the graciousness that we've 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:23.779 received. That's probably the gift that he's 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:26.079 talking about here. He's probably talking about 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:30.299 this gift of grace that God had showed him. We'll 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:34.900 see. in a few chapters that Paul calls out to 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:37.279 God because there's this thorn in the flesh. 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:40.059 And Paul calls out to him to remove it, calls 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:42.900 out to him to remove it, and God doesn't remove 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:48.859 it. But he says, my grace is sufficient. My grace 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:52.200 is sufficient. So even in our afflictions, if 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:55.119 God doesn't remove them, his grace is sufficient 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:58.359 to get us through. And what does Paul say? He 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:02.569 says, This gift, this grace that came to us through 00:23:02.569 --> 00:23:07.390 the prayers of many. This is important for us 00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:10.569 to know. Okay, so we serve the God who is the 00:23:10.569 --> 00:23:13.869 God of all comfort. We want to comfort others 00:23:13.869 --> 00:23:16.609 when we have been comforted through God. But 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:19.130 in the midst of our affliction, what is important? 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.819 It's important to know that there are others 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:24.640 who are praying for us. It's important that we 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:27.940 are praying for other people. And Paul acknowledges 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:30.700 that. He says, look, we were at death's door. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:33.539 We thought it was done. We were trusting in God 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.599 to take us home to be with him. But instead, 00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:39.779 he delivered us. He was gracious to us through 00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:44.019 the prayers of many. Now, maybe there are some 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:49.190 of you tonight that need prayers. Maybe there's 00:23:49.190 --> 00:23:50.589 something you're going through and nobody else 00:23:50.589 --> 00:23:52.609 even knows it. Find a brother or sister in Christ 00:23:52.609 --> 00:23:55.450 you can trust and say, look, brother, look, sister, 00:23:55.470 --> 00:23:57.769 I need you to pray for me. There is power in 00:23:57.769 --> 00:24:00.750 those prayers. You can say the same words Paul 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:04.990 said. I feel overwhelmed and the situation I'm 00:24:04.990 --> 00:24:08.309 up against is beyond my strength. Would you pray 00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:10.970 for me? Would you pray that God would be gracious 00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:14.410 to me and be merciful to me? There is power in 00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:17.190 knowing that there are people who pray for you. 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:20.319 Maybe you're doing pretty good, praise the Lord. 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:22.500 Maybe you're living in that comfort and grace 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:25.539 right now. That's great. But maybe there are 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:28.680 others you know that aren't doing so good. Maybe 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:30.839 you know of some who have affliction and suffering 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.140 and pain. Maybe you know of some tonight that 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:39.180 are overwhelmed beyond their strength. And maybe 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:41.900 today and tomorrow and in the days to come, you 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:44.670 just need to pray for them. You need to pray 00:24:44.670 --> 00:24:46.509 that God would give them grace, that God would 00:24:46.509 --> 00:24:48.210 give them strength, that God would give them 00:24:48.210 --> 00:24:51.250 comfort. You might just need to go see them. 00:24:52.049 --> 00:24:55.009 Give them a hug. Sit down with them and say, 00:24:55.190 --> 00:24:59.009 I'm praying for you. Is there something I can 00:24:59.009 --> 00:25:02.990 do? I'm praying for you. Just continue to trust 00:25:02.990 --> 00:25:06.089 in God. It'd be great if we could give people 00:25:06.089 --> 00:25:08.359 all the answers to their problem. We don't want 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:10.079 to make no fake promises. We don't want to say, 00:25:10.140 --> 00:25:12.140 oh, God's going to get, we don't know what God's 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:14.019 going to do. It may be God's will to deliver 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:17.000 them from their affliction. It may not. We want 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:18.680 God's will to be done. We don't want to make 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:21.380 promises that we don't know the will of God, 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:24.259 but we can tell people, look, I'm praying for 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:27.160 you. I'm praying that God would be gracious to 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:30.539 you and give you comfort. Maybe even share this 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:34.099 scripture with them. We praise the God of all 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:37.720 comfort that comforts those. who are in affliction. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.319 It's a beautiful, beautiful passage for us, I 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:45.579 believe, to learn from, to find comfort from, 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:49.099 and to be able to comfort others from. Let's 00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:52.940 pray. God, we come to you. We thank you for your 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:56.240 word tonight. We thank you for being the God 00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:00.900 of all comfort, dear Lord, because we know what 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.799 affliction is, dear Lord. Some know it better 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:07.500 than others. But God, if there are any that are 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:09.839 listening tonight online or any that are in this 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:13.019 building tonight, God, that are experiencing 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:17.519 affliction, whatever it may be, I pray that they 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.519 would seek you and that they would find comfort 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.359 in you, dear Lord. That maybe there are some 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:26.839 tonight who feel overwhelmed and their affliction 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:30.220 is stronger beyond their strength, dear Lord, 00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:33.339 more than they can bear. I pray, God, that you 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:36.190 would be gracious to them. I pray that you'd 00:26:36.190 --> 00:26:38.289 give them deliverance. I pray that you'd give 00:26:38.289 --> 00:26:40.230 them peace. I pray that you'd give them clarity. 00:26:40.390 --> 00:26:42.869 I pray that you'd give them hope, dear Lord, 00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:47.630 that they would not despair. God, we don't know 00:26:47.630 --> 00:26:48.910 what you're going to do, how you're going to 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:51.269 answer prayers. We don't know, dear Lord, but 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:54.470 we pray your will be done. And whatever the outcome 00:26:54.470 --> 00:26:59.009 of our afflictions are, dear Lord, we pray that 00:26:59.009 --> 00:27:00.849 you'd give us comfort and grace in the midst 00:27:00.849 --> 00:27:03.869 of them. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:04.819 Amen.