1065. The God of All Comfort

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The evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services today.

That tradition continues with fervent little preaching from the University chapel platform today on The Daily Platform will your sermon preached at the Bob Jones University Bible conference. This is a time when classes are dismissed and students concentrate on hearing the word preached from several visiting pastors and evangelists during the week. Today's sermon is from the 2020 Bible conference preached by Dr. Steve Pettit will be continuing the sermon from yesterday titled the God of all comfort. Take your Bibles and turn deny to second Corinthians chapter 1 I thing this week is the God of all comfort and so I feel like it's my responsibility to the best that I can lay out for you that that the theme itself from a very clear scriptural passage and then is our other speakers, and other things happen this week. They speak out of their own life's message their life's experience, their understanding of the word. So my my goal tonight is really to take this theme that we find here the word of God and in really do the expounding word just the exposing of Scripture and I would encourage you over the course of this week to go back to what we're looking at tonight as a time of prayer is a time of meditation, especially the entire book of second Corinthians, because it deals so much with this thing that we will come away with a greater understanding of the God of all comfort.

So tonight we are reading in second Corinthians chapter 1 and were beginning in verse three and we will read down tonight to verse seven just to make note that the word comfort in the word consolation are the exact same words. The words affliction were trouble the rub.

The word tribulation. There also the exact same word. Let's hear God's word tonight.

Blessed be God. Even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounded by Christ, whether we be afflicted. It is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer or whether we be comforted.

It is for your consolation and salvation and our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation that leads me to the second thing I want us to note here tonight and that's found in verse four where we see not only a celebration but we see a description of God's comfort.

Would you look at these seven words, he says, who comforts us in all our tribulation's delicious stop there. If you don't mind, let me be a slightly technical because in the Nicole you have some rich meaning.

First of all, the word comfort is what we call a participle. What is that mean well is the combination of a verb in action in an agile and adjective a description so when he says that God comforts us is what God does and it describes what he's able to do God himself comforts us.

So what is the word comfort me well is probably not the way we naturally think. For example, when I think of comfort I think of dad's with really solve down pillows. Big bad it's not luminous bigwigs. When I think of comfort. II think of what it says in the dining common when it has a section that says come, which it always includes pizza and the chocolate chip cookies at the dining common that are the best in the entire universe. So we think of comfort. We think of how it makes us feel it is an element of that, but that's not really the meaning of comfort.

The literal meaning of of comfort is someone who comes in. They stand beside you, they come alongside of me like a good friend and they do something for you.

They state that through their presence through their words. They strengthen you, you become stronger. You become encouraged. Maybe you're a little low when they cheer you up. They support you, they stand beside you as an advocate or maybe we could say they had your back. So let me illustrate the idea of comfort with a few statements in the face of a miserable situation. The coal miners were given glimmers of hope and became optimistic that something good was going to have encouraged by the success of their when the volleyball team is beaming with confidence. The government invested $10 million in a program to encourage new talent in the world of cybersecurity because the professors were supported their motivation to be creative, reached a new level. 10,000 people came out for the pro-life rally and the enthusiasm in the atmosphere was palpable. You could feel it, enthusiasm, encouragement, comfort I think probably one of the best examples of comfort is actually what's happening. First of all, a baldheaded dude named Paul Isaacs comes in. He speaks all the sudden you got motivated to do something you got in encouraged.

It wasn't like you know something that came in just sort of went away was in a flash fire.

So now you been encouraging each other in this fundraising or to find your 50 and you been working at it in you been motivated and most importantly, by the grace of God were going to buy a stork bus and the end result of that is were going to encourage scores of women not to get abortions. That's the idea of the word comfort God comforts us, and since God is the source of all comfort in this verb.

Comfort is in the present tense. That means that God is able always to comfort because there is never a time that God himself is not comforted in encouraged God's face is always shining. God's joy is always full. God's vision is always clear.

God's knowledge is always complete God's heart is never depressed God's mind is never confused and God's desires never weighing there is never a time that his comfort is not available to us, who comforts us in all our tribulation. Now, in order for us to get a better grasp on the word comfort.

Paul presents a contrast what is a contrast is like somebody who is exhausted walks into a hotel room with a king size bed or somebody who is freezing enters into a warmly heated room or somebody who was starving enters into a room with a table full of food that's contrast. So what is the contrast what is the opposite of being comfort being comforted, Paul says, who comforts us in all our afflictions the opposite of being comforted is being afflicted. What is in affliction is things like stress and pressure, tribulations, trials, troubles, heartbreaks, heartaches, hardships, pressures, problems paying in chapter 12 and verse 10. The apostle Paul categorizes five different human afflictions that we all experience when I really came to understand that I begin to make sense that the trials and troubles of life have various categories that God works through that list. He says there are physical afflictions called infirmity. Sickness. There's probably lots of you in this room who have physical issues.

Verbal afflictions are called reproaches. That means people say bad things about you. They speak against you, it could be in a small group big group and whatever I do know I'm such a bad guy talking to Bob Jones's like all right whatever financial afflictions called necessities. How many of you have financial afflictions, would you raise your hand, you have necessity sure spiritual afflictions called persecutions that is your literally being persecuted because your believer emotional afflictions called the stresses and that it got to be almost anything, family problems, relationship problems, all kinds of issues and listen to what Paul says he comforts us in all our afflictions. There is not a a trouble that you face that God's comfort is not sufficient for bulimic complete this little phrase of this little sentence with two little other words, the other very important pieces, who comforts us and the word end there is a preposition. It's a marker of the extent of times called timeframe, God comforts us in whatever you're in it doesn't last forever is going to calm it's going to go but during that entire time frame God comforts you and then the word all the word all means totality of anything. So in all during the timeframe the experience of what I'm going through. God comforts us in all our afflictions, Paul is saying that what is happening to you and however long you experience it, God will perpetually provide all the comfort and all the encouragement you need, you can say it this way. There is all comfort for all afflictions all the time. There is all comfort for all afflictions all the time. It means that God's sufficient. He is going to give us all comfort for all afflictions all the time.

Paul makes it personal.

The whole book of second Timothy is his life's message. It's out of his own experience that he is speaking when he was imprisoned in Turkey, Greece, Israel and Rome. He said God comforted him when he was flogged five different times by the Jews with 40 lashes even being brought to the point of death, God comforted him when he was beaten with rods three times God comforted him when he was stoned to death and list struck.

God comforted him when he was shipwrecked three times God comforted him when he floated in the open sea for 24 hours God comforted him when he when he faced danger from robbers, God comforted him when he faced danger from rivers, God comforted him when he faced the danger in the cities. God comforted him when he faced danger from the Jews, God comforted him when he was in danger in the countryside God comforted him when he was in danger in the sea God comforted him and when he was in danger from false brothers God comforted him to top of everything else. Paul said, I felt the daily pressure literally the daily affliction of his burden for all the churches and yet in all that God comforted him and all of our afflictions of life God's comfort is all sufficient in stress and disappointment and anxiety and fear and confusion and even in death. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions and that leads me to the last point I'd like to make tonight and that is what is the intention of God's comfort. I said it in the beginning, I'll conclude with the idea. What is God's purpose well go back if you would please look at what he says in verse four and comfort us in all our tribulation and then notice the next word he said that one of those little prepositions that word that indicates God's intention.

So why is it that we are going through this and two things. Number one. First of all, through the egg affliction.

I am able to experience or let me say this way.

God enables and God empowers me through the inflict to the afflictions look at what he says so that we may be able that phrase may be able is the word that we get the word dynamite from doing Thomas is speaking of God's divine enabling God's divine empowering. This is the resurrection power that brought Jesus up on the bed and what he is saying is God literally empowers me. There's a power that comes through this affliction and we see in verse eight we drop down to verse eight, notice what he says is actually his testimony. He says for we would not grab brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia. That's around Ephesus that we were pressed out of measure, above strength in so much that we despaired even of our life. So he was under tremendous pressure, but notice what he said we had the sentence of death in ourselves that here's the purpose we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raises the dead. He said when I was in trouble instead of trusting in myself. I actually experienced the resurrection power and notice verse 10. He's he's testifying who delivered us from so great a death, and don't deliver and don't deliver, in whom we trust that he will deliver what is he saying Paul experienced this empowerment to deliver him from his afflictions in the past. Paul experiences this empowerment to deliver him from his afflictions in the present and Paul is saying that he will experience this empowerment to deliver him from his afflictions in the future. What is the intention of the trouble.

Why am I going through this because God wants to enable me that I would experience his power in my life. So what's that purpose, what, what's the purpose of the power that the second thing and that is to make us effective in ministry. Look at what he says in verse four that he, that we may be able comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

God doesn't comfort us simply for our own personal benefit because God exploits our troubles. That means he makes full use of them. You could say this way God does something in us so that he can do something through us.

God is enabling God's he is doing something in us because he wants to bring us to a place where he can use as a new level. My wife has two favorite video games. One is called candy crush. I asked her what is the goal of candy crush. She said to get to the next level. She said, but each level has its own new and difficult obstacles to overcome. And if you get through one level successfully.

It opens the door to go to the next level that makes absolutely no sense to me.

Especially if there's no instant end in sight, but that that that's what happens when you experience trouble and God's enabling comfort. What is God doing. He is opening up a new level of opportunity for ministry. What is this ministry. He says that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. He says we become enablers we become comforters we become the empowers we become encouragers we become those who strengthen but is not our strength is not our ability. It is God's enabling us with his own comfort wherewith we been comforted of God not take your Bibles and turn to second Corinthians 7 I'm almost done but I want you to see the testimony of this because Paul talks about how this actually works. Second Corinthians 7 verse five he says for when we were coming to Macedonia. That's around Philip, I flash had no rest, but we were troubled on every side there's were trouble you with our findings within your fears. Nevertheless, God the comforted those that are downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus and not by his coming only, but by the consolation by the comfort wherewith he was comforted in use these said it actually didn't start with Titus.

It was the Macedonian believers who went through trouble.

They were suffering and they got God's comfort God's power Titus shows he's discouraged or he's in trouble and they comfort him. He gets the comfort and then he goes and he sees the apostle Paul. You would think he's the God is the ultimate comforter and tied his cousin shows up and he comforts and encourage any strengthens the apostle Paul and is what he saying is this, that the pathway to effective ministry is actually true. Trouble think about it. What is the ministry of the Trinity is the father not the comforter. He's the father of mercies and the God of all comfort is the son not the comforter. Philippians 21. If there be therefore any comfort in Christ is the spirit of God, not the comforter, but when the comforter is come, even the spirit of truth. The father comforts the sun comforts the spirit, comforts, what is the sacred and by having an effective ministry.

How do I become one that is like this is a three-step process is really simple, have trouble.

I maybe have trouble raising okay your your qualified Trouble number to get comfort got it now, comfort others that something I don't story many times made me if you've heard my wife. My wife had cancer now for 20 years. Nobody ever talks to me about cancer if I'm in a room. Somebody has cancer. They don't come to be the go to the go to my wife. Everybody asked how is your wife doing nobody asked how my doing. Because the ministry of life is the ministry of the working of God in you. In order to work through. I'm grateful for my ministerial training I had great education. Excellent education here Bob Jones, I'm so thankful for the opportunities and opportunities I received especially as I was preparing for the ministry in so many different ways. But I've learned that effective ministry does not come through primarily education or or opportunities that God uses those things it actually comes to the trouble comfort model when you go through trouble and get God's comfort what God is doing is he is making you effective the most effective messages always flow out of one struggle. The greatest films that have ever been written.

We sign one tonight. It is well with my soul came out of a heartbreak of life. The best sermons are always the sermons that come out of a life's message, a message prepared in the mind reaches the mind a message prepared in the heart reaches the heart of message prepared in the life it reaches the life I greatest messages are our life's message divine enablement comes to human afflictions and God then is giving you a divinely enabled message that have effectiveness in the ministry and who's a good illustration yesterday. I texted Paul Isaacs, my son Paul was here just a few weeks ago we had a little a deeper conversation about his life and he opened up and shared with me his afflictions, which elicits because is a great example in a text yesterday to make sure that I got the details right.

When Paul was 12 years old 12 years old.

He got plastic anemia that required that he had to go through blood transfusion, and he went through. 90 gallons of blood transfusion because they gave him a 2% chance to live and he survived, but during that transfusion. Paul got hepatitis C from the infusion and today Paul Isaac lives with cirrhosis of the liver, celiac, constantly low blood cell counts and he has a history of what is known as a cyclical variety, since which essentially means the esophagus is swollen with with the whip with a problem with the flow of blood through your liver and into your esophagus and gets internal bleeding and he has had that since he's 12 years old so I'm not surprised at all because people who have effective ministry had to have a crucifixion somewhere, and when you put your lands owned all of a sudden you get a little bit better view that the people that God is using to have impact and in effect and lives in comfort and strengthening and enabling and supporting are actually people who've gone through trouble.

Receive God's comfort and now they can effectively comfort others. You know some amazing thing to think about it, and folks I want to die students.

I want you to understand.

I want you to get this down in your soul.

This is effective ministry is not a fluffy stuff. It's not cool stuff is not big or the loud stuff is that transformative work of what God does in your heart when you go through trouble and he comes with his comfort and empowers you so that you can be a blessing to others that weave our heads together for prayer.

Our gracious heavenly father we thank you tonight that your truth is unchanging and that you are always faithful. I pray tonight, especially for our student body that you would. In particular, help them to understand the grass to get a hold of to see the copper how it is that you have chosen to work through your cervix. This is the way you work through Jesus. This is where you work through Paul and you have not change.

This is the way that you work through us. Father, you know, our hearts in our lives. Help us ward to clean continue and thank you that through our connection to Jesus and through his word and through his people. There is ongoing and perpetual comfort. And thank you that is all sufficient and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. You been listening to the conclusion of a sermon by Dr. Steve Pettit preached at the 2020 Bob Jones University Bible conference.

Thanks for listening and join us again next week is will hear another sermon here on The Daily Platform