The Comforts of God 8 23 20

“The Comforts of God”

8/23/20

2 Cor. 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

I was recently talking with a lady who I had counseled regarding her marriage—she was so done with it that she saw a divorce attorney, but God wouldn’t let her sign the papers—TWICE!

Since then she and her husband have experienced a great breakthrough and are “better than ever! We are actually doing good!”

I said, “God is going to use your story to minister to others.”

She said, “Really? I’ve never thought of that!”

______________

I texted her the verses I just read to you, and felt impressed to speak on them today, so let’s unpack them.

God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

This tells us something of who God is.

And that is very important because your future depends on what you believe about God!

The book of Hebrews says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (11:6 NKJV).

Notice that twice in this verse the phrase “He is” is found.

This passage is telling us that we will never have strong faith unless we believe the right things about God.

You MUST believe that He is, and that He rewards those that seek Him.

Put another way, Faith swings on the hinge of what you believe about God—who you believe He is in His character and nature.

Put yet another way, your faith will never grow beyond what you believe about God.

If you believe He is good, merciful, compassionate, faithful, true to His Word;

that He answers prayer, hears you when you cry out to Him,

that He watches over you,

and that He watches over His word to perform it, your faith will thrive and blossom.

But if you believe He is distant, uncaring, mad at you half the time, stern, harsh, doesn’t hear your prayers, is unloving, unmerciful, and un-compassionate, your faith will wilt like an unwatered flower in the Texas sun.

_____________

Now, Paul the Apostle in our text tells us two wonderful things about God—HE IS the Father of mercy, and HE IS the God of all comfort.

Mercy flows out from the very throne room of the God of the Bible.

Thank God for mercy!!

______________

It’s been said that Grace is receiving what we DON’T deserve—And mercy is NOT receiving what we do deserve.

When God gives mercy it is mercy we don’t deserve, but He gives it anyway because that’s who He is!

Psalm 103:10 says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

Lamentations 3:22 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They (His mercies) are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

He’s the Father of mercies!

_____________

And He’s not only merciful, He’s a Comforter—the God of ALL COMFORT.

You know, we live in a painful, stressed out world where people seek comfort for their sorrows in a lot of different ways.

We turn to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, sex and even food to feel better or to forget our pain for a while.

But the pain returns every time, and often worse than before, because our temporary cures bring on other problems like diseases, jail, financial problems, marriage problems, guilt, and regret.

For instance, some of you have sought comfort in Southern Comfort, right?

Or when you needed comfort you gave Jim Beam or Jack Daniels a call, only to find out they weren’t good friends at all and left you sick, hung over, and full of regret.

And others of you have sought out Mary Jane for comfort, only to learn her comforts clouded your brain and destroyed your drive and motivation in life.

But the comforts of God bring only positive results!

_____________

The word “Comfort” in the Bible verse means “a calling near,” one who draws close in times of trouble.

The very same word is used for the Holy Spirit, who Jesus described this way:

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever” (John 14:16 AMP).

This is the God King David knew so well: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1 NASB).

Our God is a COMFORTER in troubled times!

_____________

Now, I might add that comfortable and comforted are not the same things.

Your flesh can be comfortable while your soul is yet restless.

On the flip side, you can enjoy the wonderful comforts of God without being in a comfortable context at all!

In America we love comfort in the comfortable kind of way...

We love things that comfort our flesh, but know very little about the comforts of God!

-We live for the day we can be comfortable in retirement,

-or can’t wait to get that super comfortable recliner,

-or pull that comfortable, soft comforter over ourselves on a cold night.

-When we go to the doctors office we’re told, “Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

But the comforts of God are far superior to the carnal comforts of the flesh.

The comforts of God calm and reassure us deep down, they bring peace, they encourage us that all is not lost because God is on our side!

Give me the comforts of God any day!

____________

Now Paul notes that comfort isn’t comfort unless there’s some affliction we need to be comforted about!

God’s comfort isn’t needed when all is well, it’s needed when our trials and troubles are causing discomfort and pain.

The people Paul is addressing in our text are experiencing trouble—they’re hurting, distressed, discouraged, between a rock and a hard place, and perplexed.

And the beautiful thing about God’s comforts is, they come to us in spite of what’s happening around us!

_______________

Now, the gist of our text is that—When we experience the comforts of God in our trials, and God sustains and brings us through, Paul says that God intends to use our experience to minister to others!

Remember our text, “...who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

______________

“A fifteen year old young man named Douglas from the state of Missouri had been feeling bad for several days.

His temperature was ranging between 103 and 105 degrees, and he was suffering from severe flu-like symptoms.

Finally, his mother took him to the hospital in St. Louis.

Douglas Maurer was diagnosed as having leukemia.

The doctors were very honest with him. For the next three years, he would have to undergo chemotherapy.

They didn’t sugarcoat the side effects. He would go bald and his body would most likely bloat.

Upon learning this, Douglas went into a deep depression.

His aunt called a floral shop to send Douglas an arrangement of flowers.

She told the clerk that it was for her teenage nephew who had leukemia.

When the flowers arrived at the hospital, they were beautiful. Douglas read the card from his aunt.

Then he saw a second card. It said:

“Douglas—I took your order. I work at Brix florist. I had leukemia when I was 7 years old. I’m 22 years old now. Good luck. My heart goes out to you. Sincerely, Laura.”

Douglas’s face lit up like a Christmas bulb!

What caused this reaction? Douglas Maurer was in a hospital filled with millions of dollars of the most sophisticated medical equipment.

He was being treated by expert doctors and nurses with medical training totaling in the hundreds of years.

But it was a salesclerk in a flower shop, a woman making $170 a week, who—by taking the time to care, and willing to go with what her heart told her to do—gave Douglas hope and the will to carry on.

The key? She had been there, where he was, battling leukemia, and that made all the difference!

_____________

Likewise, God never wastes a pain His children go through.

He will comfort you in your trials and troubles, sustain you and lead you through your valley, and then redeem your trial by using what you’ve gone through to bring comfort and hope to someone else!

What the devil meant for evil, God uses for the good.

The fiery darts Satan throws at you boomerang back on him!