When Life Has You Down

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Introduction:
I don’t like pain. Pain hurts. And yet, pain is a good thing.
Think about ways that pain can be a good thing.
It can cause you to react to a danger situation (i.e. hot stove, fire)
It can cause you to grow stronger - “No pain no gain!”
It can also cause you to depend upon someone else
Tonight we are going to talk about the valleys of life that so many of us go through and what to do with them.
3 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 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.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 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.
7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
1. Our Experiences Help Us Encourage One Another (vv.3-7)
1. Our Experiences Help Us Encourage One Another (vv.3-7)
3 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 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.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 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.
7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
Notice the Titles for God:
God - sovereign ruler
Father - Personal and intimate
Father of Mercies - God will give us relief
God of all comfort
What is the purpose of our suffering?
We suffer to cause us to depend on God
God comforts us so that we might be able to comfort others in their affliction as well.
Jesus is our model
Jesus suffered for us
Jesus comforts us
Paul has hope for them to endure their sufferings and receive the comfort he and his companions as well as the comfort God provides
What experiences in your life have you gone through either recently or in the past that have brought you to your knees in absolute surrender to God and in need of His comfort and power?
How has God used your experiences and the lessons you’ve learned from your trials to help and encourage other people?
How has looking to Christ and other Christian examples helped encourage your own faith?
2. Our Experiences Make Us Rely Upon the Lord (vv.8-10)
2. Our Experiences Make Us Rely Upon the Lord (vv.8-10)
8 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.
9 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.
10 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 didn’t sugar-coat his trials and experiences for the Corinthians
“We thought we had been given the sentence of death”
“We were utterly burdened beyond our strength”
“We despaired of life”
God’s purpose:
It was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God
Describes God - one who raises the dead
Paul is describing both the incredible power of God and the illustration that even though they felt they were on the brink of death, it was as if God has resurrected them back to life
God had delivered them before and He would do it again
Suffering and deliverance are not one time events in our lives, but they are part of a cycle of dependence upon the Lord
Illustrations:
“God will never give you more than you can handle.”
False - God will never give you more than He can handle
Kidney Stone
I went through the pain and trauma of the kidney stone and prayed it would never happen again.
I made vows to only drink water so I would never have it happen again.
I didn’t learn my lesson and got another one
I’ve had several
Each time I know what to expect and how to get things back on track
I learned from other’s experiences how to handle them
Application:
Have you ever felt the way that Paul felt in that you thought your suffering was just too much for you to handle?
Do you ever hope that your trials are just a one-time event?
What have you learned about God through your suffering? How has each experience given you stronger faith?.
3. Our Experiences Unite Us in Prayer with Other Believers (v.11)
3. Our Experiences Unite Us in Prayer with Other Believers (v.11)
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
The Corinthians were able to join Paul’s support team by becoming prayer warriors with Him
You and I must help each other in prayer
The result is that many will give thanks to God and glorify Him
What if our suffering isn’t all about us?
Books Suffering is Never for Nothing and Don’t Waste Your Cancer
There is a tracing of the hand of God back to the prayers of the saints
God has ordered things so as to use our prayers as a part of His work in this world
Application:
Who do you need to stop and pray for?
What trial or experience do you need to thank God for?
Does your attitude need adjusting?
Conclusion
Christ suffered to bring glory to God and save us from our sins
Jesus suffered for us, so we can suffer with Him