The God of All Comfort

Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The other day, I visited my brother in the psych ward. For those who do not know, he admitted himself Thursday night for severe depression and suicidal thoughts. So when I got off work Friday, I went to Moore Regional to see him.
I have never been in a place so crushing, despairing, or dark, as I was Friday night. I was only there for an hour, but it felt ten times that long. I wanted to run away from that place. It was like all hope gets sucked out of you the moment you walked in. It felt like I just walked into Azkaban from Harry Potter.
Honestly, I now think the best way to describe the lost is to describe a psych ward. There is no comfort, no hope, no joy, nothing good. Only a heavy darkness, suffering, pain, and loneliness.
But the Bible tells us that there is a God that freely gives grace, mercy, comfort, rest, and peace.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:3-10
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
Let us pray
My prayer and goal for us today is two fold. 1. I want us all to be reminded that God is the God of all comfort and that our hope is in Him. 2. I want anyone who is not saved to encounter this God. I want you to walk away from here having tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
1. Comfort and Mercy Comes From God
1. Comfort and Mercy Comes From God
Paul writes in verse 3, 2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
Paul describes God three ways: The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the Father of mercies; and God of all comfort.
John Calvin wrote, “Where Christ is not, there the benficence of God is not. On the other hand, where Christ intervenes, by whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, there are all mercies and all consolations of God-nay, more, there is fatherly love, the fountain from which everything else flows.” In other words, everything God gives us, all the comfort, grace, and mercy, is given to us through Jesus.
There is no comfort without Jesus. No mercy without Jesus. No hope or light, or joy without Jesus. John describes Jesus as the light of man. And in John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Throughout the Bible we see God telling his people through the prophets that he will comfort them, sustain them and give them hope. Isaiah 40 starts with God calling to his people, “Comfort, Comfort,” and describes God coming as a shepherd who cares for his sheep and carries them close to his chest. In Jeremiah 29, God tells his people that are in exile that He is with them and he has plans for their future.
David writes in Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
There is hope to found in the God that has taken on flesh and lived among us. There is peace to be found in the God that gave us his Son as a ransom for our sins. Comfort in God. Mercy in God.
He is our good shepherd who leads us to good pastures and quite waters. Who gives us food and water and protects us. He looks at you and I with pity and compassion. He calls out to us, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
He is the father who sees his son walking home from a distance and runs down the road and embraces him.
He is the shepherd that leaves the 99 in search for the one.
He is the healer of the blind man. The one who brings the dead back to life and makes the lame walk.
He is patient and kind. Gentle and lowly. And He gives all those who come to him all comfort and mercy.
2. Comforted to Comfort
2. Comforted to Comfort
In verses 4-7 we read that God comforts us not just so that we enjoy comfort but so that we can comfort others. Paul writes 2 Corinthians 1:4-7
who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
We are comforted to be a comfort to others. Those of us who have felt the comfort and peace that is only possible through God know what it is like to not have that. We know what it is like to feel the darkness close in around us. And we know what it is like to have the light of Christ shine into our darkness and free us from our bondage. Because we have felt the comfort of God, it is our duty to comfort those who are being afflicted and struggling.
The Christian does not turn their back on those who are suffering, but rather we pick them up, we hold them in our arms and we comfort them with the comfort that we have recieved from God. How do we do that? We weep with those who weep. We sit with them. But most importantly, we tell them the Gospel.
The Gospel is the message of hope. The Gospel reveals the grace and mercy of God and it is through the Gospel that we are saved. The most comforting thing I can tell my brother is that the God of the Universe sees him and has made a way for him to be free from his depression, his dark thoughts, and his sins. That the God that created him knows him and loves him enough to have paid the price for his sins and there was nothing he did to earn it but it was freely given.
If we sit with those who are are hopeless and we do not give them true hope we have done nothing. They might feel better for a day, but that isn’t lasting change. That isn’t lasting joy or hope. Lasting joy, lasting hope, lasting peace and lasting comfort is only found in Jesus.
This is why Christian fellowship is important. This is why we need each other. So that when I am depressed and feeling hopeless, Alex, or Kenneth, or Brandon, or any of you can come along side me, and comfort me with the Gospel. Comfort me with the love of God. We suffer together. We fight sin together. We rejoice together. And we comfort each other.
3. Deliverance is From God
3. Deliverance is From God
In verses 8-10 we read 2 Corinthians 1:8-10
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
Paul and those with them were suffering immense persecution and affliction. They were utterly despaired and Paul makes it clear, they felt they recieved a death sentence. And he could have said they are without hope and they have been abandoned. But instead, he says something amazing. He says, “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
Paul realized that relying on themselves will not save them from their afflictions. He knew that the God that he serves is the God who raises the dead. He echos the faith of Abraham who knew that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead because He is faithful to his promises and the people he loves.
Paul likewise knew that reliance on God would not fail him, but rather God will deliver him again. God had delivered him from other perils, and he knew that God would continue to deliver him.
The hope of the Christian is not like the hope of the Mormon, Buddhist, or any other false religion. Morality does not save you. Being a good person does not deliver you. Getting yourself through depression or addiction does not free you from those chains. You can’t be a good enough person to escape from reincarnating as a cow or a cricket and you will never be good enough to be a god for your own planet.
The world and the false religions do not offer real hope. Hope is not found in Psychology or medications. Hope is only found in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. This hope is true and genuine. Your morality does not save you, Jesus does. Your mental health does not save you, Jesus does. Our hope is sure. The Christian can rest assured that Jesus will hold them close to his chest and never let go.
No matter what happens in this life, there is comfort and peace that can be found in Jesus. If you struggle with depression or feel alone, Jesus is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Put your hope in him and he will not put you to shame.
The first question of the New City Catechism asks, “What is our only hope in life and death?”
And the answer is “That we are not our own but belong both body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our savior Jesus Christ.”
This question is actually one of the lessons for the Children’s Ministry. It’s important for our kids to learn and know that our hope is not in anything that we do or whatever happens in their lives. But our hope is is in God because we belong to Him.
This is our comfort and our hope. This is the comfort of the Gospel. That because I have been chosen by God and my salvation has been bought with the blood of Jesus the Son of God, and I have been given the righteousness of Jesus, I belong both body and soul to Him.
He sustains the Christian. He protects the Christian. He leads the Christian. And He preserves the Christian.
Conclusion
Conclusion
My hope is not in this world or in my own efforts. My hope is in the God who delivers me from death. Who saw me in my filth and chose to die for me. He has paid the cost of my sins and has made me alive in Him. He is the God of my comfort.
Is He yours?
Applications
Applications
Turn to God
Comfort those who need comforting
Be Honest
Benediction
Benediction
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.