SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Remember What God Is To You (vs 3)
(2). Remember How God Uses You (vs 4-7).
(3). Remember What God Does For You (vs 8-11).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
On a factory noticeboard was this notice:
• IN CASE OF ACCIDENT OR INJURY,
• NOTIFY YOUR SUPERVISOR IMMEDIATELY.
• At the bottom of the notice some mischievous person had scribbled,
• “He’ll kiss it and make it better.”
• TRANSITION: Wouldn’t it be great if life was that simple?
• If a simple kiss could remove the problems of life!
• But you and I know life is never that simple.
Note: People react to trouble in different ways:
• Some Grumble – Some Gripe – Some Groan – Some Grieve – Some Growl;
• And SOME GROW.
• Trouble, hardships, difficulties never leave a person the same.
• It will either leave you “bitter” or “better”.
Ill:
• While Billie and her Frank Wilcox were living in Pakistan;
• Their six-month-old baby died.
• An old Punjabi man who heard of their grief came to comfort them.
• "A tragedy like this is similar to being plunged into boiling water," he explained.
• "If you are an egg, your affliction will make you hard-boiled and unresponsive.
• If you are a potato, you will emerge soft and pliable, resilient and adaptable."
• Billie writes:
• “It may sound funny to God, but there have been times when I have prayed,
• "O Lord, let me be a potato."”
• TRANSITION:
• Some Grumble – Some Gripe – Some Groan – Some Grieve – Some Growl;
• And SOME GROW and allow God to develop their character;
• To help them put on spiritual muscle through their bad circumstances and experiences.
Ill:
• I just love this photo that was posted on Facebook recently;
• Do you ever have days like that?
• Some of you are saying days, I have weeks, months or even years like it!
Ill:
• Scott Peck begins his bestselling book, ‘The Road Less Travelled’.
• With these three words "Life is difficult!"
• TRANSITION: In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul says this and much more.
• In fact this ancient letter with a 2016 postmark;
• We are not studying antiquity this morning;
• Remember that the content of this letter deals with the issues of today!
• The apostle Paul in this letter will talk about;
• Just where life is difficult,
• i.e. Talks about when our relationships are strained,
• If you have struggles with other people then this letter is for you!
• i.e. Talks about when our competence is questioned,
• If you ever face criticism or disapproval then this letter is for you!
• i.e. Talks about when our health and security are threatened!
• If you have health issues or emotional struggles then this letter is for you!
• But more than just pointing out the problems;
• It is a letter that has solutions,
• It does not contain clever clichés or soundbites.
• But it does inform us and remind us again and again;
• That the God of the Bible is a God of comfort;
• Who makes himself known to us in those difficulties.
• Every person alive experiences difficulties, problems and heart-ache;
• That is the result of living in a world gone wrong,
• A ‘fallen’ world, a world contaminated by sin and rebellious to its creator..
• But the Christian is never promised supernatural escape from the difficulties of life.
• Instead God offers us a supernatural use for them.
• Troubles become triumphs as God makes himself known in our weakness.
Note:
• When I read the Bible passage (vs 1-11);
• I hope you noticed that one word stands out;
• One word is repeated and meant to grab your attention:
• If you missed it, it is the word, ‘Comfort’!
• The word “comfort” (in the N.I.V.) appears seven times in verses 3 to 7;
• Seven times in just four verses.
• And you can find at least another three forms of that word in these verses!
• God will not promise to take your problems away;
• But he does promise to be with us in our difficulties and problems.
Note:
• This morning we are going to concentrate on verses 3 to 11;
• We may well cover the introduction to the letter next week.
• But today, there are three things to note from these verses:
(1). Remember What God Is To You (vs 3).
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…”.
ill
• Many of us are familiar with the Dutch Christian Corrie ten Boom;
• Who, along with her father and other family members,
• Helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II;
• At one time it all went wrong;
• Corrie and her family were captured and imprisoned.
• Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, describes the ordeal.
• That book contains stories that will both thrill and break your heart;
• As she tells of the wickedness of the human heart but also great deeds of sacrifice.
Not in the book but on one occasion Corrie Ten Boom said:
• “Often I have heard people say, “How good God is!
• We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic and look at the lovely weather!”
• Yes, God is good when He sends good weather.
• But God was also good when He allowed my sister,
• Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp.
• I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there.
• Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart.
• I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us.
• “No, Corrie,” said Betsie, “He has not forgotten us.
• Remember His Word “For as the heavens are high above the earth,
• so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.”
• Corrie concludes,
• “There is an ocean of God’s love available-there is plenty for everyone.
• May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love-whatever the circumstances.”
• TRANSITION: Corrie discovered the God of the Bible;
• To be a comforting God, a God of compassion.
Ill
• That word ‘Compassion’ which is used 10 times in one form or another;
• In comes from the Greek word ‘parakletos’,
• Which means, ‘to call alongside to help’.
• i.e. a nurse called to a patient’s bedside.
• i.e. a parent called to a crying child.
• They go ‘alongside’ to help, to bring comfort and compassion.
Ill:
• Our English word ‘comfort’;
• Comes from two Latin words meaning ‘with strength’.
• TRANSITION:
• God comes alongside us to strengthen us;
Ill:
• Psalm 23 is a well-known Psalm.
• We sang it earlier in our service.
• Here is how it reads if you take God out of it.
• Psalm 23 without God, the Shepherd
• Vs 1: “my ... I shall be in want”.
• Vs 2: “me ... me”
• Vs 3: “my soul ... me”
• Vs 4 “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear ... me ... me.”
• Vs 5: “me in the presence ...”
• But what a contrast the presence of the Lord makes:
• Vs 1: “The Lord is…” when the psalmist is besides calm waters;
• (when life is going along ok)
• Vs 5: When he passes through the valley of shadow of death;
• (When life is hard and dark and difficult);
• He says; “You are with me!”
• TRANSITION:
• God comes alongside us to comfort, to encourage and to strengthen us;
(2). Remember How God Uses You (vs 4-7).
“…who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient 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 also you share in our comfort.”
Ill:
• As British Rail is in the news again this week;
• Let me give you a railway illustration.
• Some people have a Euston experience and some people have a Crewe experience.
• Let me explain.
• Euston is a terminus.
• All trains stop there and can go no further.
• Crewe is a junction.
• Some trains terminate there, but most of the go on;
• From Crewe you can continue in a who host of directions.
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul says; Christians are to be a Crewe not a Euston.
• Verse 4: So that “we can comfort those in trouble”.
• Verse 6: So that we can help those distressed.
• God is able to bring good out of evil;
• Joy out of sadness, comfort out of sorrow.
• He is able to work in us and use us for his glory.
• Note: God is not misusing or manipulating us;
• But rather using our trials to help us grow in our faith and bless other people.
While suffering is a universal language:
Ill:
• “We don’t look alike, we don’t act alike.
• We don’t dress alike.
• We have different tastes in the food we eat.
• The books we read, the films we watch, the cars we drive and the music we enjoy.
• We support different football teams or have different leisure interests;
• We ascribe to different philosophies and differ over politics.
• Our weights vary, our heights vary,
• So does the colour of our hair and skin.
• But we all have one thing in common;
• We all know what it means to hurt!”
• Everyone here today will have suffered at some stage;
• Everyone here today will have faced physical or mental struggles.
• Suffering is a universal language.
The apostle Paul says, there is a chain reaction:
• When we go through suffering, God comforts us;
• And when God’s comfort has done its work in our lives,
• Then we, in turn, can comfort others in a similar situation.
Ill:
• A person who has experienced ill-health,
• Can draw alongside and comfort somebody else with ill-health.
• A person who has experienced the pain of divorce,
• Can draw alongside and comfort somebody else in that situation.
• A parent who has lost a child,
• Can draw alongside and comfort another grieving parent.
• A person who has experienced financial hardships,
• Can draw alongside and comfort somebody else with those problems.
Note:
• We can still comfort others even if we have not had the exact same experience.
• Verse 4b reminds us:
• “We can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”
Ill:
• Tired of reading bedtime stories to his little sister, one ingenious teenager,
• Decided to record several of her favourite stories on his MP3 player.
• He told her,
• “Now you can hear your stories anytime you want. isn’t that great?”
• She looked at the machine for a moment and then replied,
• “No. it hasn’t got a lap.”
• TRANSITION: The content was right.
• But the relational, the physical connection was missing.
• I am glad God has not just given to us Bible verses;
• Although these are anchors for the soul;
• He has also given us people with laps’.
• People who can cry with us, put an arm around us;
• Or just sit in silence with us.
(3). Remember What God Does For You (vs 8-11).
“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, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on 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 favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”
Note:
• The apostle Paul new what it was to suffer;
• He had experienced all kinds of hardships for the gospel.
• Verse 8: “we despaired of life itself”
• In other words he thought they were going to die!
• Quote: J.B. Phillips translates it:
• “We told ourselves that this was the end”.
Notice the apostle Paul is not blaming God for his troubles;
• He is not moaning or groaning and saying, “Why me?”
• Instead he shows us the difference knowing God makes;
• He sees purpose in his sufferings.
• Verse 9b:
• “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
• Some Grumble – Some Gripe – Some Groan – Some Grieve – Some Growl;
• And SOME GROW.
• Rather than losing his faith;
• He allowed these trials and difficulties to strengthen his faith!
Ill:
• A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot.
• It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.
• This principle is still true today.
• The furnace of trials refines our hearts and purifies our spirits.
Now in verse 10:
• The apostle Paul not only looks back,
• Be he can look forward as well.
• The God who has delivered us in the past will deliver us now and in the future.
Notice in verse 11:
• The apostle Paul is not a super-saint with supernatural powers;
• No! He is dependent on the prayers of God’s people.
• And testifies to the power of prayer in his own life!
Ill:
• Maggie who was baptised today has chosen the closing hymn;
• The hymn is called ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’.
• It is a hymn about prayer and it has a story behind it.
• It was written by an Irishman called Joseph M. Scriven (1819-1896).
• When he was 25 years old, he fell in love and was to be married.
• But the day before his wedding his fiancé died in a tragic drowning accident.
• Joseph was heartbroken, and decided to emigrate and start a new life in Canada.
• While in Canada working as a teacher,
• He fell in love again and became engaged to a lady called Eliza Roche,
• But once again tragedy struck;
• Eliza became ill and died before the wedding could take place.
• Joseph never married,
• But became a pillar in his community;
• He was especially known for carrying a bucksaw & cutting firewood for people in need
• One day Joseph received word from Ireland that his mother was ill.
• He couldn't afford to return to Ireland,
• So he wrote a letter of comfort and enclosed one of his poems entitled,
• ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.
• Many years later Joseph became very ill.
• A friend who was visiting him, came across some poems Joseph had written.
• Including What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
• As a result of this visit,
• And almost 30 years after this poem had been sent of comfort to his mother,
• Joseph's poems were published in a book called Hymns and Other Verses.
• Then a musician called Charles C. Converse (1834-1918);
• Put music to the poem, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.
• And the rest as they say is….
• TRANSITION:
• The apostle Paul say purpose in our sufferings;
• So did Joseph Scriven.
• “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!”
• Both knew that in Christ there was purpose to his death and sufferings;
• In fact the whole of Christianity rests on that fact!
Ill:
• How can one person die for all of humanity?
• Compare a stainless steel ring with a 24 carat gold ring.
• They may be exactly the same shape and size,
• But the gold ring is worth far more.
• Why? The value lies in the quality of the metal.
• TRANSITION:
• The value of Jesus' life is worth far more than every human who ever lived.
• That's why He could pay the price for sin!
Ill:
• At the cross:
• He was rejected,
• That we might be accepted.
• He was condemned,
• That we might be forgiven.
• He was punished,
• That we might be pardoned.
• He was hated,
• That we might be loved.
• He was crucified,
• That we might be justified.
• He died,
• That we might live.
• Because when he rose,
• He conquered sin, death & the grave.
• That we might,
• Be found blameless,
• That we might,
• Know his love,
• That we might,
• Be saved!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=W9XdqbarCZthnOsmpiH3kxLEVXADHOoY
