- November 17, 2020
To the beloved saints of Grace Baptist Church,
Blessings on you in the comforting and compassionate name of Jesus!
We are on the eve of yet another statewide mandate of a Covid-19 shutdown. Instead of feeling like we are making progress heading into the Holidays, it feels like we are going backwards. Personally, I don’t like it. And I can’t help but feel like you don’t like it either? So what can we do? Answer: We can trust in the Lord. He will get us through this just as He has gotten us through every difficulty that we have ever faced. God can do that. He is the Great Deliverer. Amen?
Every believer has his or her ups and downs. Discouragement is no respecter of persons. In fact, discouragement seems to attack us more when things are looking successful. The old adage: “What goes up must come down,” seems to apply to our emotions as well as anything else. Yes, the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!” Phil. 4:4. And Paul wrote this while he was in a Roman prison awaiting trial? Yet, he too found himself discouraged at times—just like us. It is a normal part of the human experience. Today I want to write about this because I need it for my heart—and I hope it will minister to your heart as well. Let’s turn to Paul’s opening words to the Corinthians…
“1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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. 6 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. 7 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.” 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 (NIV2011)
You will recall that Paul was called by Christ to become an apostle. Jesus did that on the Damascus Road as “Saul” was persecuting the church. In that encounter, the Lord revealed through Ananias that Saul was God’s chosen instrument to proclaim His name to the Gentiles and that Saul would be shown how much he must suffer for His name. See Acts 9:15-16. Saul wasn’t saved so that he could “live happily ever after,” no; he was selected for a purpose. That purpose had to do with God’s will of proclaiming His name, and that it would include suffering. Life revolves around the Father—and not around you or me. God has a purpose for us that is rooted in His glory. In the process, Saul was transformed into Paul. He went from persecutor to promoter of God’s church. That can be seen even in Paul’s greeting to the church in verse two.
In this verse we see Paul’s desire and prayer for the church. He wants them to experience God’s grace and peace upon them and us from God the Father AND from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace refers to the love of God in action with peace its result. Both aspects were displayed in Jesus’ ministry. Paul hoped that this greeting would find expression in the Corinthians’ lives as he shepherded them. It is still the Lord’s desire that we, His people, experience His grace and peace. It comes from Him to us, but then it is supposed to move from us to others. We are to be conduits of God’s grace and peace, and not simply possessors of grace and peace. If you are feeling out of sorts… missing grace and peace, the place to go is to the Father. But sometimes He comes to us through His people in order to comfort us.
Now you may recall that 2 Corinthians was written as a result of some troublemakers in the church. In fact, between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, Paul had to make a painful visit to confront these troublemakers (2 Cor. 2:1ff). With still no solution, Paul then wrote a “Severe Letter” which was delivered by Titus, see 2 Cor. 2:4-9; 7:8-12. He was in a lot of distress because he loved these people, the Church of the Living God in Corinth. I can imagine he found himself discouraged at times even as you and I do whenever trouble is afoot.
Paul begins with a doxology in verse 3. He praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (You might recall that Jesus was crucified because He claimed to be the Son of God. Saul, a Pharisee, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion had seen that claim as blasphemous. He now declares that as truth for the entire world to hear!) But now listen to how Paul describes the Father… He is the Father of compassion. Think of that. Everyone needs compassion, and we have a Father OF compassion. To have compassion means to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering. God can empathize with your suffering, Paul says. And He wants to do something about it. What does He want to do? He is the God of all comfort to them. Comforting is the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress. When you or I have grief or distress—God wants to ease or alleviate that. He wants to comfort us in ALL our troubles. Not just a select few, but all our troubles. If you have troubles today, I know there is ONE Person for sure who wants to help you. But often times we seem to treat Him as if He is the last person we go to. My friends, if you are troubled, then I want to encourage you to go to the Father. Why? Because, He will comfort you.
But now remember that God has a purpose and plan for your life. When God comforts you in your troubles, Paul says that there something that we can and should do. We are comforted “SO THAT” we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God,” see verse 4. We are to pass the comfort on to others, and not simply keep it for ourselves. Comfort from God is valuable, and it is a treasure to be shared. Ask yourself, “Who can I comfort today?” God has comforted you in the past so that you can comfort others today. And we all need it. Why?
Because in verse 5 we are told that “We share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” You see, there is no shortage of sufferings in this life. Our Lord suffered a lot. And out of His suffering He brought redemption to the world. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” His suffering was in order to bring us to God. Our suffering ought to take us to God as well. And if you think about it… it usually does. We tend to forget God until we are in pain somehow… and then we cry out to God. We can help bring others to God when we see them in their sufferings and then help them to God by providing His comfort. And that is what we see in verse 6. Listen to verse 6 again, “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.”
Paul was serving God and working according to God’s purposes. If he was distressed… it was for the Corinthians’ comfort and salvation. That is what Paul was working toward. In other words, his distress had a purpose in God’s greater plan. Distress isn’t purpose-less, rather in the kingdom of God distress is purpose-full. We often see distress as something that is getting in the way of God’s purpose for our lives. That it is a nuisance. But James reminds us that we are to be joyful whenever we face trials of many kinds because the testing of our faith produces perseverance and perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete not lacking anything. See James 1:2-3.
Conversely, Paul says, if he is comforted that it is for their comfort. And that comfort will produce in you patient endurance of the same sufferings he endured. The end product is that we should have plenty of comfort to go around since we are all sharing abundantly in the sufferings of Christ. So if you have/are suffering, know that it is doing something in you to the glory of God. If you are comforted—share it with others to the glory of God. The comfort of God will produce in others the patient endurance they will need in their time of distress.
Now notice the kind of hope Paul has. In verse 7 it is called a firm hope. It is not a wishy-washy kind of hope. Rather it is a solid hope that is based in real life. The kind of hope you can sink your teeth into so-to-speak. Not ethereal or nebulous; but a firm hope. Notice the shared experience of life. Paul says that he “knows” that they are sharing in his sufferings. That’s real! You and I experience suffering. No one who follows Christ lives a Fairy-Tale kind of life where we live happily-ever-after. The Bible says that “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” 2 Timothy 3:12. Our persecution and distress ought to undergird our hope as we look forward to God’s compassion and comfort in our lives. Ultimately, He will one day eliminate all the persecution and suffering; and make all things new. See Revelation 21:5. Until that happens, our hope can be firm as we go through various sufferings and the resulting comforting from our Father and from our brothers and sisters. God will get us through this. Because that is the kind of God that we have and serve.
Now then, I want to turn our thoughts toward this coming Sunday, Nov. 22nd. Due to the new Covid guidelines, I want to ask everyone to please observe social distancing. We have been a little lax on that and so we will need to tighten that up a bit. The Governor is mandating that we wear a mask inside the building even if we are socially distanced, and so let’s try to comply with that as well. Some have medical restrictions, so be careful. I don’t like it—but I have to wear a mask in Safeway, Costco, or just about any place I go. And now, for the next two weeks let’s take this mandate seriously in our church as well. If you are sick in any way, or have been exposed to anyone who has Covid, please self-quarantine at home. We will get through this. Consider it part of our suffering for Jesus at this time.
Also, this Sunday, the 22nd, Dr. Jason Willoughby will be speaking on the subject of biblical lament. Yes, we do suffer and we can lament. Jason will teach us how to go upwards in grief and soul injuries. He is always an encouraging speaker and I believe his message to us will be very healing and insightful. We are planning a workshop following the service which will include a boxed lunch that will help us take a closer look at this subject. I believe this will be a rich time for us. There is no cost for the lunch, but we will need you to let us know Sunday morning if you plan to participate so we can plan the lunches. Thank you.
“All Your Anxiety,” by Edward Henry Joy
“Is there a heart o’er-bound by sorrow? Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross—each burden bearing, All your anxiety leave it there.
All your anxiety, all your care, Bring to the mercy seat—leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear, Never a friend like Jesus!
“No other friend to keen to help you, No other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden, No other one to hear your prayer.
All your anxiety, all your care, Bring to the mercy seat—leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear, Never a friend like Jesus!
“Come then at once—delay no longer! Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment—You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
All your anxiety, all your care, Bring to the mercy seat—leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear, Never a friend like Jesus!
Benediction:
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11 (NIV2011)
Pastor Russ Hilsinger
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR
P.S. I would love to hear some of your thoughts, so please know that I’m available to talk with you by phone: 503.586.6727 voice and text, or by email: rjhilsinger@gmail.com
Also, our new website is up. Check it out at www.www.graceplaceor.com (correct address)
Blessings on you all.