God's Comfort In Our Time Of Trouble

God’s Comfort In Our Times Of Trouble II Corinthians 7.5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, Who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. Conflicts On The Outside, Fears Within No rest= relief, relaxing, to loosen troubled= press hard like with grapes... crushing a narrow straight, distress No way out Psalm 90.10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. I used to think that life was mostly stress-free with an occasional trial to mold us. I now believe that almost all our lives we are contending for the faith, our faith with an occasional break in between battles. We, as believers in Jesus, have the promise of His Comfort. We need it most of the time. I just finished reading through the Book of Acts. It is the standard for the church. Life was not easy for the church. There was persecutions, arrests, even deaths... like we are seeing around the world. Our lives are filled with joy because of our names being written down in Heaven. Our lives however are lived on this earth. We walk by faith not by sight. We need to hear these words from Paul, the Apostle. Some of us are going through fiery trials right now. The church in America is in peril. We need the LORD. I know that may sound funny to say Jesus’ followers and His Church need Him. I read the advertisements for some of the conferences, some of the articles for young leaders... God help us! They go through all this profiling of necessary qualities without ever once mentioning prayer. The minister of the Gospel is to be an example in prayer! Churches need prayer. We are to be a House of Prayer for all nations! Paul prayed. He urged the people of the churches to pray. Colossians 4.2 Ephesians 6.18-20 In his letter to the Corinthians he talks to them and us about life, the life of a Christian minister, the lives of believers in times of trouble. 1. Facing Harassment Paul was harassed by the Jews. Even the Gentiles got upset. In Philippi he was thrown into prison Acts 16 In Thessalonica an uproar Acts 17 In Ephesus a riot Acts 19 Satan harasses. Revelation 12.10“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” He accused Job to the LORD of serving God for what he could get out of it. I have been falsely accused. Some of the accusations have been laughable! Some not so funny. Satan accuses us. Anyone who spreads false accusations is doing the devil’s work. People harass us. Unbelievers harass God’s people. Take a stand against sinful behavior and those engaging in it, disagreeing with God’s Word will go after you. 2. Contending with Conflict and Fears We are tempted to give into fear... the “what if” questions. If we are doing something in God’s Kingdom there will be conflicts. We are in a spiritual battle. Conflicts= battles, fights, contention Fears= dread, terror Psalm 91.5-6 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 15 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 3. The Comfort of God God, Who comforts the downcast Call aside, exhort, counsel, comfort... miracles implied by the Parakletos brought low with grief, depressed that comfort comes by getting our eyes on the Lord. Getting them off of those troubling things that have disturbed us. You see, our problem is that we so often become so completely involved in our problem that we lose sight of God. The problem becomes overwhelming; we lose perspective. Our problem seems to be greater than God. But God comforts those that are cast down. So we need to get our eyes upon the Lord. May today God comfort your heart and soul. Through others v.4 in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. Art, “I can hardly contain the joy!” I feel the same way! Through His work in us and through us. Romans 5.3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us. God’s comfort is with us in our troubles!