Godly Sorrow

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John Claypool, when he was the preacher of the Crescent Hill Baptist Church here in town, had a little daughter who suffered with leukemia. When she went into remission, everybody thought maybe God had healed her. On an Easter Sunday morning she went into a terrible recurrence. In his book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler, Claypool relates how for two weeks his daughter was wracked with pain, her eyes swollen shut. She asked him, "Daddy, did you talk to God about my leukemia?"

He said, "Yes, dear, we've been praying for you."

She asked, "Did you ask him how long the leukemia would last? What did God say?"

What do you say to your daughter when you can't help her, and the heavens are silent? Emotionally and spiritually, he was exhausted. A few hours later, she died. The following Sunday morning, John Claypool got into the pulpit to preach. I've heard the tape. It's one of the most powerful sermons I've heard. He preached on (Isaiah 40:31), which says, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Dr. Claypool said something to the effect, "There are three stages of life. Sometimes we mount up with wings as an eagle and fly. We're on top of the world. Sometimes we run, and we don't grow weary. We just go through the routine. Sometimes it's all we can do to walk and not faint, and I need your prayers and your encouragement."

At the moment John Claypool was at his lowest, he preached probably his most influential sermon. Perhaps his greatest contribution came at his darkest hour. He could have said like Paul, "For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This morning we hear this story, and like last week’s story that we began with, it’s a story about a pastor who has lost a child way too early in life. And here’s the key, for Dr Smith last week, who’s son was murdered, and for Dr. Claypool this morning who lost his little girl at a young age… Church, there’s real emotions, there’s feelings, there’s pain, there’s hurt.

And here’s the key, each of us, in our own right, are experienced with sorrow. The idea of sorrow is not something that we wonder about… When things are painful in life, when we’re sick, when we lose a loved one, when we get hurt physically or emotionally… we’re all experienced with this concept this morning.

And yet, we’re not unique in this sorrow and pain. In fact, Isaiah 53:3 tells usabout Jesus and explains: “ 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

Church, this morning; we’re experienced with sorrow. And yet, the God of all comfort meets us this morning.

If you have your bibles, turn with me to 2 Corinthians 7. And as we’re turning there, I want us to see 3 points this morning: 1. Godly Sorrow Brings Comfort 2. Godly Sorrow Brings Repentance and 3. Godly Sorrow Brings Encouragement

1. Godly Sorrow Brings Comfort

As we consider the direction for this morning, It’s necessary to hone in on the sorrow and struggles that Paul felt on a regular basis. Paul, similar to John Claypool and Dr. Smith was of course someone serving the Lord faithfully. And yet, Paul was someone who understood hardship and sorrow very well. He would write in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

“23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 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. 27 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.

And then he goes on to write this in verse 28

28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

You see, Paul makes it clear that when his circumstances aren’t perfect… He’s human, he feels emotions. And here in verse 28, he expresses his direct concern for the church and specifically for the Corinthian church. He writes: 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

You see here’s the point. More than any other church, the Corinthian church had brought Paul to a state sorrow and Grief

You’ll recall from the last few weeks that Paul would launch the Corinthian Church and spend 18 months of his life in the city of Corinth. Then after leaving the church and continuing on his missionary journey, he gets word in 1 Corinthians that the people of this church, aren’t living out their faith; and instead, They’re living in sin. And so after Paul takes his painful visit, as we see In 2 Corinthians 2:1. And he writes this severe letter to the church. We see a sense of his despair in 2 Corinthians 2:4 he explains: “4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.”

Then Paul would go on to send this letter to the Corinth with Titus; and from Chapter 2 until chapter 7, Paul breaks off from his anguish in heart. And focuses instead on his ministry. but then in Chapter 7 he returns to the events that followed the sending of the severe letter.

And we read in 2 Corinthians 7:5-9:

5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

Here’s the point this morning… Despite Paul’s circumstance, he finds comfort in the midst of sorrow. You see Paul, in coming to Macedonia, is facing difficulties within the city. Paul is facing persecution and hardship, but while he’s in Macedonia, he’s also distracted and concerned by the state of the Corinthian church.

Paul knew what sorrow was, but Paul also knew that in the face of sorrow, their stood the savior.

You see, Paul would later write in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

You see, I’m reminded of a story this morning involving R.A Dickey: It explains, Pro baseball player R.A. Dickey was the 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner, the highest honor for a pitcher. But Dickey's career almost ended before it started. In 1996, the Texas Rangers made him their #1 draft pick and offered him an $810,000 contract. All he had to do was pass a routine team physical. But unknown to Dickey, the physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament.

As Dickey, a committed follower of Christ, entered training camp he uttered a prayer of gratitude: "Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings and for helping me get this far." But shortly after that prayer, his agent pulled him into a meeting with Doug Melvin, the Rangers general manager. Melvin flatly said, "We are going to retract our offer. We think there's something wrong with your elbow."

Dickey writes:

I try to take in those words for a second or two: We are going to retract our offer … I don't feel devastation, or even anger. I feel rage. Complete rage. It feels as if it starts in my toes and blasts upward through my body like a tsunami, into my guts and right up through the top of my head … [I want to tell Melvin] about … how this is the one thing … that I can do right and that makes me somebody … I want to make sure he knows [that] he's matter-of-factly dropped this atomic bomb on my baseball career. On my life.

[But] it's as if there's a strong hand on my shoulder holding me back, giving me pause. In that instant I have a self-control that wasn't there a moment earlier. I hear a voice: "Relax, I've got you. Relax, R.A. It's okay … I've got you." The voice is the Holy Spirit … I was just talking to God in prayer and now he is talking back, giving me a composure that could not have come from anywhere else. The tsunami passes. I am crushed by Doug Melvin's words, but I am not going to do anything stupid … "I've got you."

Church, in our lives, as Christians... we face difficulties. Life has ups and downs… and yet, here’s the key. In all of it… God’s got you. You see, I don’t know what sorrow you’ve faced in the past, I don’t know perhaps even this week, what you’ve faced. I don’t know where you are in your marriage, or your relationship with others, the things that weigh on your mind… your concerns… but I do know that God is for you this morning.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 tells us: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Church, this morning. The god of all comfort. Comes alongside you… He walks with you through the valley, he encourages you in the desert, he see’s your pain, he see’s your agony, your hurt, your struggle and he’s with you today.

Would we turn to him. Would we run to him this morning, in our sorrow, would we run to Him this week… and in our difficulties that we face… would we remind ourselves of this very verse, that the God of all comfort, comforts us in our trouble.

2. Godly sorrow brings repentance.

As we continue with our scripture this morning, we see that Paul turns to the Corinthian church, and addresses their sin. He writes:

8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 2 Cor 7:8-11

Here in the scripture, Paul writes to the Corinthian church and explains to them plaining that although he initially felt sorrow by writing them this painful letter, he ultimately doesn’t regret that he sent the letter because it caused them sorrow. Moreso, He’s happy, because this sorrow ultimately leads to repentance. He then goes on to explain that God himself, intended for them to be sorrowful because of the salvation it produces.

Now I want us to catch something for a moment. When we discussed Paul’s sorrow in point 1, we saw that Paul is facing sorrow because of his hardship and persecution and difficulty with the Corinthian Church. That’s one form of sorrow, in which God would bring about comfort.

Here, This sorrow has been brought on the Corinthian church by their sinful act. And so Paul, in writing them the severe letter, has called out their sin, and therefore brought about momentary sorrow.

But here’s the key, although they felt sorrow, it ultimately had a productive effect as it led to salvation and Godly Character. For we’re told: 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

You see, I’m reminded of a story When Michigan (if I can say that word in here) played Wisconsin in basketball early in the season in 1989, Michigan's Rume-al Robinson stepped to the foul line for two shots late in the fourth quarter. His team trailed by one point, so Rumeal could regain the lead for Michigan. He missed both shots, allowing Wisconsin to upset the favored Michigan team.

Rumeal felt awful about costing his team the game, but his sorrow didn't stop at the emotional level. After each practice for the rest of the season, Rumeal shot one hundred extra foul shots. Thus, Rumeal was ready when he stepped to the foul line to shoot two shots with three seconds left in overtime in the national-championship game.

Swish went the first shot, and swish… went the second. Those shots would go on to win Michigan the national championship that year. Rumeal's repentance had been genuine, and sorrow motivated him to work so that he would never make that mistake again.

You see church" Godly sorrow leads to repentance."

You say, well how does this apply to my life? And I think one of the greatest ways is through disciple. Hebrews 12:11 tells us: “ 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

I think of my kids this morning, they may seem awfully cute on the outside… but believe me, they have there moments. And because I love them, I may have to have tough conversations with them, they may need to be reprimanded, but ultimately, my goal for them is to model Christ-like behavior.

So, in being disciplined, in being corrected, they may feel sorrow… but ultimately this sorrow is best for them. Ultimately this sorrow will produce a harvest of righteousness in their lives.

So here’s a question for you… and I don’t expect anyone to raise their hand necessarily, but have you felt a sense of sorrow as of late? Has the holy spirited convicted you of a sin or a struggle, or a habit in your life that is destructive to you or others?

Psalm 66:10-12 10 For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. 12 You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Church I don’t know where you are this morning… but I do know that God refines us. And maybe you here this morning and there’s a sense of sadness in your life… I can tell you first hand, there have been moments like this, and in these moments, the Holy Spirit is working within me, either warning me of a coming attack or calling to mind things that I need to repent of. And church, we don’t like refinement, but so

Repentance. a change of mind,

3. Godly Sorrow Brings encouragement.

2 Cor 7:12-13 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

When we consider this scripture for a moment, Paul explains that even though he wrote to the Corinthian church, the main issue was not who did him wrong, or the injured party (referring to himself here) but rather, that they could see in fact that they were devoted to Paul. But the main emphasis is that even though there was sorrow felt initially, by the Corinthians that God would use their change of heart and it would be an encouragement not only to Paul but also to Titus. For we’re told:

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Paul found himself greatly troubled and feeling sorrow as the result of the Corinthian church. And the Corinthian church, found themselves greatly troubled by Paul’s severe letter and rebuking that he gave them. But ultimately, God would use this sorrow that was felt by both Paul and by the Corinthian church for good.

For Paul, God allowed him to see how the Corinthian church would come together. How they would repent, and there would be a change of heart. And this led to joy in Paul’s heart as well as Titus’s heart. And for the Corinthian church, though they felt sorrow initially, God would use this sorrow, to not only bring about repentance, but also to show that he was faithful to them. To also show that he forgives, them, that despite their waywardness, that he didn’t give up on them.

Church for us this morning. We feel sorrow. And sorrow isn’t necessarily something that we enjoy. And whether you’re here this morning and perhaps you’ve been hurt by someone else and your feeling sorrow, or perhaps it’s from the other end of it… from a sense of sin and the sorrow associated with it… it is God who will allow sorrow because it ultimately leads to good.

For as Romans 8:28 tells us: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I’m going to call the worship team back up at this time as we prepare to close out.

But as they come forward, I would simply ask… is there something on your hear this morning?

Are you feeling burdened?

Are you feeling downcast?

1. Maybe a sorrow that is there because someone has hurt you….

2. Maybe there’s sorrow that you’re feeling because of a sin. Repent.

God will work through this sorrow this morning.

Pray