This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "God Comfort's Us So We Can Comfort Others", 8/3/14

GOD COMFORTS US SO WE CAN COMFORTS OTHERS

 

2 Corinthians 1:3-11

 

V:3.  " Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

   compassion and the God of all comfort."

 A. Defn:  We need to be reminded who we are dealing with when we preach Jesus.

      1. Praise = Eulogetos= blessed

      2. God = theos = Supreme deity

      3. Father = pater = parent

      4. Lord = kurious = Supreme authority

      5. Jesus = Isesou = Jehoshua

      6. Christ = Christos = anointed = messiah

      7. Comfort = paraklesis= exhortation

 B. We have a duty to speak well of our God, the Supreme deity.

       1. The God we serve is above everything and everyone.

       2. There is none higher.

 C. God is our Father by blood and by spirit.

     1. God is the original parent of all creation.

     2. We have earthly parents as guardians until God gets us ready for His mission.

     3. God chose our earthly parents, but He is our eternal parent.

 D. The God we serve is Lord, the supreme authority.

     1. He has all the power.

     2. God has power over heaven and earth.

     3. God allows man to exercise some authority under His Supreme Authority.

 E. His Son Jesus was anointed to be the Savior of all mankind.

 F. The God we serve strengthen us in our trouble.

 

V:4. "Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble

  with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

 A. Defn: Comfort = parakaleo = to call near, invite, to the side of

     1. The God we serve comes along side of us in our troubles so that we can

         come along side others in their troubles.

     2. Life is not all about us.

     3. God gives to us so we can give back to others.

         a. God gives us love so we can love others.

         b. God gives us mercy, so we can show others mercy.

         c. God forgives us so we can forgive others.

         d. God is tolerant with us so we can be tolerant with others.

  B. Notice the Lord says "all" our troubles.

      1. The "all" means the troubles we cause ourselves and the troubles that come our

           way that we didn't have anything to do with.

      2. The "all" means sins of omission and the sins of commission.

      3. Hurting people do hurting things.

          a. Sometimes people have been hurt so many times in the past, that they

              expect that more trouble is around the corner.

          b. We don't always know what someone has been through.

          c. We have to come along side others, as Christ has come along

              side us.

          d. We have to be companionate to others.

          e. Sometimes people just need a listening ear.

          f. Sometimes people need our council.

               

V:5. " For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through

  Christ  our comfort overflows. "

 A. Christ who knew no sin, died on the cross for all of our sins.

      1. The moment we try to help someone, we will enter into their suffering.

      2. Christians should suffer when they see others in the household of faith

          suffering.

         a. Because of the great love Christ has shown us, we are expected to show

             love to others.

      3. Christians should be grieved for those we know who have no knowledge of

           our Savior.

          a. Our grief ought to move us to preach Jesus to them.

          b. We should come along side of them with a word from God.

  B. The sufferings of Christ overflows into our lives.

      1. The blood of Christ covers our past, present and future sins.

      2. It took a lot of suffering to cover all of our sins.

      3. God has strengthen us to suffer with others.

  C. People don't change over night.

      1. Once we start on a mission to help someone, it is a continuous mission

          until they recover.

      2. The love of God never stops for us.

         a. Therefore, we should never stop loving others.

         b. We all have been helped and are continuously in need of God's help.

         c. Therefore, we should be continuously helping others.

      3. The reward we receive for our kindness may not be in this life, but

          stored up as treasures in heaven.

 

V: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. "

 A. Paul and those who labored with Paul suffered greatly for their mission to preach

     the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews and the gentiles.

    1. They suffered not for themselves but for all believers call by the Father through

        the blood of Jesus Christ.

    2. Their distress for the Church led to their comfort in Jesus Christ.

    3. Their distress for the Church led to their reward in heaven.

 B. They preached the Gospel with the constant threat to their lives for our salvation.

    1. The comfort of Christ constantly flowed through them as they fulfilled the

        mission of Christ.

    2. Paul and his co-laborers worked tirelessly to bring light to a darken world.

 C. Paul and his co-laborers had to trust God and not themselves.

    1. They had to learn to wait on the Lord.

    2. They had to learn to wait expecting the Lord to see them through troubling

        situations.

  D. Trusting the Lord mean waiting expectantly when you don't see a good return

        on your efforts.    

      1. Trusting the Lord means working to help when the person you are

          trying to help don't appreciate your help.

      2. Trusting the Lord means working to help when the person you are trying

          to help is fighting against you.

      3. Paul and His co-laborers derived their satisfaction from knowing that their

          preaching of the Word could never return void.

      4. When there is no evidence, we have the assurance that God is in control.

 

V: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."

 A. Christian workers need the prayers of the Church.

     1. When the saints pray for others, God acts on their faith to bless

          others.

     2. The Intercessory prayers of the saints are always effective.

     3. Jesus prayed to the Father for our salvation on the cross.

         a. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:24

         b. Because Jesus intercedes for us, we must intercede for others.

 B. Because Jesus suffered for us, we must suffer for others.

    1. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter.   John 14:26

    2. When we understand the comfort of the Holy Spirit, we can comfort others

         with our knowledge.

 

V:8. " We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life."

 A. God has a plan for each of us and it includes suffering. Philippians 1:29

     1. Using Paul as an example.

         a. He was trained to know God but not to see the Jesus in the scriptures.

         b. He persecuted the church until God knocked him off his high horse.

         c. God brought him to the light and commission him to preach Jesus.

     2. Throughout his ministry, he suffered the same persecution he did to the

          church before his call by God.

        a. What "Goes around comes around."   Acts 9:16

        b. His suffering was the foundation for his confidence in the comfort of Jesus

            through his troubles.

 B. Paul said, "I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in." Phil 4:11

     1. He learned that he could trust Jesus through trials and tribulations.

     2. His troubles became his testimony to the love of Christ.

 

V:9. " Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we

   might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."

 A. In order for us to trust Jesus we have to have a reason to rely on him.

     1. As long as we can handle life's troubles ourselves, we will see no need to

         call on Jesus.

     2. We have no power other than that which Jesus gives us.  John 15:5

         a. We will learn that we need his power when we get into a situation we can't

              handle.

         b. Trouble causes us to realize  that without Jesus we can do nothing.

         c. When we thought we could handle things, it was Jesus who strengthened us.

  B. Jesus affects change in our hearts before He affects change in our actions.

      1. Jesus breaks down our pride to humble us for His use.

      2. God hates the proud, but He uplifts the humble.

  C. While we were being disobedient, God was designing trouble for out lives, to

       teach us to rely on Him and not ourselves.

      1. No one can come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father.  John 6:44

      2. The trials and tribulations we can't handle will draw us to Jesus.

      3. The Lord and master of all troubles and tribulations is Jesus.

      4. Jesus specializes in handling the trials and tribulations of all who believe in Him.

 

V:10. " He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."

 A. Our testimony is what Jesus has delivered us from.

      1. When we reflect back over our lives, we will discover that we did not survive on

           our own and we are not presently surviving on our own.

      1. When we know we can't handle the trials and tribulations of our lives and trust in

           in Jesus, our faith grows.

      2. Our confidence in Jesus is based on what He has done and what He is doing,

          and what He promises to continue to do.

         a. Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

         b. Jesus said, "I will place on you no more than you can bear."

  B. What God has done in the past for us, He will continue to do in the future.

       1. The Lord said, "I change not."  Mal 3:6

       2. The Lord is the same today as He was yesterday and will be in the future.

 

V:11. "As you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for

          the  gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

  A. Prayer works.

      1. We should never cease to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who labor

           for Christ.

      2. When the prayers of the saints go up, the blessings of the Lord rain down on

           them.

 B. We should always remember that someone in the Church is praying for our success

      in the ministry.

    1. We should continue to give God thanks for the prayers of the saints.

    2. We may never know who is praying for us, but we should give God thanks for the

         prayers of others.

 C. Because Satan loves to attack those who serve the Lord, the Church should always

      be in prayer.

    1. We should continue to pray for the building up of the Church through the workers

         of  the Lord.

    2. Every believer should look at his/her life and determine if you are sitting on the

         side lines or in the field working for Christ.

    3. We should never get weary serving the Lord, because in due season we will reap

        a harvest of love.  Gal 6:9

    

    LIFE IS NOT ALL ABOUT US, IT IS ALL ABOUT JESUS

 

Rev. Mitchell Asst Pastor of GMBC

 

 

NIV