The LORD's Day October 5, 2008

The God of All Comfort

Revelation 2.8-11
II Corinthians 1.1-11

The church at Smyrna was going through a difficult time and things were about to get worse. Smyrna was about 50 miles north of Ephesus.

There are times when a congregation goes through difficulties- trials.

*Sometimes it is of its own doing:
The Corinthians had many problems that were internal. They were carnal. They tolerated sin to the point of boasting about how open the were.
The Galatians had problems because of the Judaizers. Doctrinal problems.

*Other times it is beyond the control of the church
The Church at Jerusalem was greatly persecuted in its early days.
The Church at Smyrna was about to undergo severe suffering from without.

Our niece, Helen, who is such a thoughtful young lady, brought her Uncle Larry a Plumeria Tree from Hawaii. I had it outside for the summer but had to bring it in a few weeks ago. You have all seen pictures of its flowers. They are what makes the leis in Hawaii. I put it in the living room and it began to lose its very large leaves. I thought- well it won’t make it- then I remembered it was outside in full sun all summer and that the original instructions told it needed lots of sunshine. I moved it to the kitchen where there is plenty of sunshine. It revived and has begun to grow again and put out new leaves. It just needed sunlight.

The subject of suffering is a dark one. But the God of all comfort is a bright, brilliant subject. We are talking about a dark subject this morning but I hope and pray that you will see the light of Jesus shining through and see how indeed God’s Hand is upon when we are going through times of pain.

In chapter one Jesus told John not to be afraid of the Revelation of Himself. Here in this chapter He tells the Church at Smyrna not to be afraid of what they are about to suffer.

Interestingly the word suffering here in Revelation 2.10 can mean:
to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo something in a good sense, to be well off, in good case
as well as in a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight

1) of a sick person !Sometimes Satan brings sickness- look at what he did to Job
Look at God’s answer to Job! Job 38-41



*There are times when a few people in a fellowship are suffering either personally or because someone in their family is suffering. I want to speak to you about that this morning.

I continue to learn and grow in the LORD. Life’s experiences do that to us if our hearts are open to His Word. We understand the scriptures as we walk with Jesus - we are all on roads to Emmaus!


What Comfort Is:
to call to one's side, call for, summon
to address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, instruction, to admonish
to beg, entreat, beseech
to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation
to instruct, teach

Personal comfort for me this week was in a fulfillment of Jesus words:
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers , sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life." Mark 10.29-30

Ten Commandments of Bringing Comfort.

1. Listen
2. Listen
3. Listen.
4. Never say “I know what you are going through.” because you don’t! If you had a very similar situation then you know not to say this.
5. Think about what you say and how it will sound to the person you are saying it to. Ex/ “Well you have to be thankful you had him for 40 years.”
6. Never say, “You’ll get through this.” if a person has lost a loved one and
7. Never say, “You’ll get over this.”
8. Handle the Word of God carefully. It is a sword. “If you had faith...”
9. Pray quietly.
10. If appropriate pray out loud. Then Listen again.

1.The God of all comfort.

There are different kinds of comfort but God has all of them perfectly held in His being. Comfort and the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter.

God comforts us in all our troubles.
When we are under pressure, He comes alongside of us.

He speaks His Word.
To the Church at Smyrna:
Revelation 2.10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.

When we are going through oppressive times

In our affliction and distress, when we are going through dire straits, God consoles and encourages us. He is there with us in the tight spots. He is indeed the God of all comfort!

2. We are to comfort others in any trouble because we have been comforted by God.

Comforting others- it sure helps if we have gone through it- Darrel and cancer.

But this is not necessary. If we have been in trouble and we have been comforting, we can comfort others if we will do it with the help we received from the LORD. If we use wisdom like in those guidelines we just spoke about.

3. Both suffering and comfort operate in overflow from Jesus Christ.
Jesus suffered and we share in those sufferings.

At the same time we are comforted in those troubling times.



4. Sharing in Christ sufferings is something we all do as followers of His.

There is a fellowship here. We are sharing in the sufferings of Jesus.

Sharing-
partner, associate, comrade, companion

This comes from the word for fellowship.

We are in a fellowship. It is not just sharing bagels after church on Sunday, although that is part of it. It is sharing the blessings in our lives with one another. It is also sharing in those tight spots, those pressure times, those painful moments. (Philippians 3.10)

The God of all comfort calls us to join Him. He comforts us. He flows His comfort through us, using our experiences to comfort others. In all of this He receives glory.

One day suffering will end. Until then we are His servants sharing in it and comforting others as we make our way to heaven.