How Does God Comfort Us? ____________________ One of the things we learn from the Bible is that reassuring Spirit of Jesus Christ works in ways that are not always our ways. This is graphically illustrated of the life of someone who probably experienced as any war veteren, addict, sexual - abuse victim,Children that's in trouble in ones own life that You have to let go and allow them to run their own course, bereaved person you have ever met. Yet in spite of it all the pain, he or she had come through it praising the "Father of all mercies and God of all comfort"( 2 Cor. 1:3). _________________________________________ We know him as a person whom did those simliar things in the word of God the Apostle Paul, the converted killer - turned- spiritual- advisor. As a battered, bruised, and often sorrowing representative of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul is a case study of how the Spirit of God can give us comfort and help in the midst of trouble. He is an example of someone who is able to go beyond the tormenting memories of what he had done to others ( Acts 8:1-3; 1Tim. 1:12-17) and what others had done to him. ________________________________________________________________ The Apostle Paul is a case study of how the Spirit of God can give us comfort and help in the midst of our troubles in our lives. _________________________________________________________________ To give us some idea of what he had endured along the way, The Apostle Paul wrote: 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. ( 2Cor.11:24-27). ___________________________________________________________________ Yet, Paul was more than just a survivor. While remembering and bearing all of those scars of His own past, past he wasn't broken and embittered by his memories. The Apostle Paul was able to look back and see that all of those darkest times had actually preparded the way for the most beauitful sunrise. He wrote convincingly about a mysterious yet very real source of comfort that freed him from all of his memories: 3: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
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. 8: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9: Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;( 2 Cor.1:3,4;4:8,9). ___________________________________________________________________ What was the Apostle Paul's secret? Was his own pain the threshold so high that he didn't hurt the way that the rest us do? Wah his body stipped of nerves? or had he burned out so badly that he was like a glassy-eyed boxer whom keeps coming back for more, No matter how many times he is knocked down? I don't think we could make a casr for any of the above. The Apostle Paul was a very prime candidte for disillusionment, yet he kept being renewed in purpose for himself. So, what was the Apostle Paul's secret? That's just we need and are going to examine here today. We can learn or re-learn it for one self that's about comfort by looking at the story which is told of his life in one of his letters in Second Corinthians, that's his own personal letter unto us for it is here that all of us will find a series of insights into the mind and heart of a man whom is the living witness to the "Comfort of God". ___________________________________________________________________ In Paul's own words, we'll find an valuable explaination for his own ability to survive all of those experiences that have truly broken others in simliar things in countless of lives today. In Second Corinthians we have seen and witnessed numerous attempts to gained results in love and comfort and the love of God and we have been rescued and have found relief in God in our lives. We like the Apostle Paul ought to look deeply at one's own life and having that inner knowing of those expectations that are truly part of one's own problems. Yes, we may want nothing more than a warm embrace and a ressuring word that will give us back our feet and right back to business as usual. ___________________________________________________________________ The " God of all Comfort" may ask us to leave the lowlands of our past and climb the mountains of our future - a new way of living and loving. ___________________________________________________________________ But Paul's experience of comfort show in some specific ways that God may not want us to go right back where we were. We can have it happen to our own minds in the life that has been touched and changed by the love of God. He already has illustrated how much that our life can change by God's love in having that deep security and eternal peace in the "Father of Mercies and the God of all comfort". He does show us how much fulfillment we find when we have changes by God's love. We become more concerned about all of those others needs of people than ourselves. 5: For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
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. ( 2Cor.1:4,5). ____________________________________________________________________ Along with the Apostle Paul we to have a special interest in consoling those who are willing to join with Jesus Christ in caring about all others that's in our life. 24: Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:( Col.1:24). Jesus Christ alone suffered to pay the price for all of our sins. Nobody else could do that. The cross was finished, once and for all !!! We have been joined with Jesus Christ in a deep personal willingness to live for all interest of all others. ____________________________________________________________________ God has a very special interest in consoling all those whom are very willing to join with Jesus Christ in caring for others: Just as the Apostle Paul what it meant for him helps us to see those exact things in our lives today. He exposed himself daily to all of those life threatening circumstances : 8: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9: Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11: For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.( 2 Cor.4:8-11). _________________________________________________________________________ What this means for us is a daily willingness to die, of necessary, to show the love of God. Yet in the process, he was truly being overhwelmed by God's ability to compensate for any troubles in which he incurred all alone the way.How true this is for us in being a "Child of God", it truly offers all hope and all comfort to us whom have been prisioners, victims, veterans, and all of those people whom are very oppressed in one's life today. We can take those lessons in our daily life that are in Jesus Christ can learn or re - learn that all of us has to die to self - centeredness and all of those interests so that amazing love of God whom by which is all powerful in our life and having that inner knowing of His own love will and can flow through us today. Yes, it's not an very easy path to take, it's that matter of doing what does come super - naturally unto us to carry us through those times. It may cause us to have some discomfort, dying to self - preoccupied thoughts, wills, and hurts of all that's inside of a person of which it will hurt us as a person. But we will find in having disciplines of one's own intercessory prayer life in standing the gap for all others in our life, or others that we do not know personally. When we are exposed enough is, when we find ourselves to have that peace and comfort in God.We must be careful not to be overburden in the wrong people. There may be sometimes when the pain is so intense that we must not allow it to run it own course. " Down Time" is a part of God's plan. When he brings us to knees in weakness, we must accept those down times as part of His plan for his work in our life. What we don't need is to let self - pity, or self preoccuption in making all things worse in our own life. 8: For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
9: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; ( 2 Cor.1:8-10). ___________________________________________________________________ As we see here just as Paul had found comfort only after coming to the end of himself just as we do at times in our life, Through our own thoughts and emotions of our own weakness and despair, like the Apostle Paul can be brought by God to one's very assuring hope that we could have to know right inside of us to have been carrying us through all of those times in merely having some good times.It was shown to us through the Apostle Paul first that in his helplessness that he learned to deeply to rely on Godso in having God's ability to rescues him from the shadow of death. The Apostle Paul learned as we have done that being a Servant of Jesus Christ and being a friend of Jesus Christ that we just cannot aford to miss all that He has for us that we too, cannot miss it. Just as Paul we come to find that all of those "self - sufficency that is a natural byproduct of all of those good times. He found that only when we are brought to an end of ourselves that we are in a postion to be able to be more than we have ever seen in our spiritual eyes. Troubles just don't come unto the godless, we too, have witnessed that the lover of God or a faithful follower of God can be stripped of our strength. We can go through all of those unbearable physical agony just as our biblical scrptures has shown us : 8: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9: God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
( 1Cor.1:8,9), 8: Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
9: For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10: We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. ( 1Cor.4:8-10); 4: If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5: I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6: But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7: Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8: Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
9: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10: Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.( 1Cor.6:4-10); 22: What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
23: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25: After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.( 1Cor.11:22-33). Which includes the anguish of our soul: 4: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: ( 1 Cor. 2:4); and Peace: 13: Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.( 1 Cor.2:13), before coming to the awareness of how completely and wonderfully God does comfort (1Cor.1:3). This demonstrates to us just how important and often times how touchy we can be in experiencing our moods, seasons can be experience all of those emotional battles that we go through in our life. The Apostle Paul just didn't walk like the captain of the human race ( 2Cor.4:7 -5:4). He had come to realize that living life in the Spirit is not lived constantly in that emotional mountain of those emotional highs. Just remember what he put before us ( 1:8). Just as he we just don't wanna be ignorantof those troubles either.There is for us No crown of comfort without the cross of suffering. Which really what it does in us is mere growth for all of us.
__________________________________________________________________ What we do have is found only in God's own love! With a good conscience and all of God's in helping us and encouraging us through the Holy Spirit that does go hand in hand that reassuring us with His Holy Spirit that if we don't violate one's own conscience in knowing what has been in God's words shows us just where we ought to be as a valuable indicator in our life. Just as the Apostle Paul we too, are not made of cast iron and doing all things on our own strengths just as he we are very dependent on God in our life and having others whom have the gift of encourgement in helping us to go futher in our life with God guiding them to us in our time of need ( 2Cor.7:4-10). And those strengths that truly sustains us ( 2Cor.12:7-10).Yes, we don't deserve anything but God hath given it to us as we have changes through God as we seek, desire Him on all of His terms then we have learned with His comfort we surely have hope in our God simply because we just didn't deserve it that only our God delights to give unto those whom have been broekn and humbled before God that He delights in in handing it over to us as He leads us in being His Servants. catcmo2006
28: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30: For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32: But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33: Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
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