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 the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 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. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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, 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.

Nephew story, soccer, astairs funny, i'm tired, first engagement, knocking on table

Today's passage is a great passage for understanding life as a Christian in a fallen world. It teaches us how we should be thinking about our circumstances Biblically and Christianly. Let's first think a little about where suffering comes from, then we'll see what the passage says. We'll conclude by contrasting the Christian approach with the non-Christian approach. Point one on the outline will be somewhat longer than the other two.

So what makes life difficult?

5 kinds of suffering

1. Fallen World
2. Others Sin
3. Our Sin
4. Resisting Temptation
5. Being Persecuted

/ whinging, silly pretending it's OK, despair, self-protection, selfishness Suffering \ all above but also learn patience, endurance, courage, character, service

Can you hear Paul whinging or giving empty 'it'll be alrights?'

Let's look at how Paul unravels this for us in 2 Cor 1:1-18

1. Ministry and the Gospel (1-7)

General comments about vv 1-3 - co-authorship - letter to all Greece v3 Praise flows from knowing God's character not just because he's God

v4 Passing the Ball God -> us -> others - comforts us SO THAT we can comfort others - comfort doesn't stop with us - don't offer others just any comfort but the comfort we received from God - comfort doesn't remove trouble v4 continuous Different comfort for different troubles? all troubles any trouble What comfort does God give? key to answer link of comfort and salvation v6 suggest: particular trouble of being lost sinner comforted by sure hope of saving Gospel this 'overflows' so that we not only share with others but have all other concerns put in perspective no problem is as bad as facing judgement for sin no suffering compares to the joy of heaven compare Romans 8:18 NB the comfort God gives does not bring end to suffering it brings patient endurance v6 suffering of Christian friends should not dissapoint our hopes for them. our hope should not be for a lack of suffering but rather if suffering same then comfort the same ie if they suffer as Christians then they have the same comfort - salvation- we will be with them in heaven. v7 this should be our hope.

Authentic Christian ministry is really mininstry of the Gospel sharing the comfort of the Gospel with people. The temptation is to provide food, shelter, clothing, relationship at the expense of the Gospel. If we persue this social ministry at the expense of proclaiming the Gospel, it becomes our Gospel and is often called the Social Gospel. Some Christian organisations are characterised more by their social agenda than their Gospel agenda. Sadly, sometimes the Social Gospel they persue brings comfort in this world without providing comfort in the next.

We shouldn't ignore people's current needs, that is part of living our lives changed by the Gospel. It is practical love. Serving people's needs for this world just musn't be done at the expense of serving their eternal needs. Should we give money to charities or to Bible teachers? Well, we should do both. The main reason we can be tempted to persue the Social Gospel is because we don't get any applause for preaching the Gospel, in fact we get persecuted. People won't persecute us for providing for their physical needs but they won't neccessarily listen to our Gospel just because we've been kind. We should face the fact that we are tempted to persue the Social Gospel rather than the True Gospel because we are afraid of people's response to our warning them of judgement, or rather our telling them they deserve it!

If we are being kind to people that's great, but if we're not telling them they deserve judgement something has gone wrong. If we are active in providing for people's needs but not teaching them the Bible we need to change.

No Bible teaching = problem No Charity = problem but much less common Bible teaching leads to conversions which in turn leads to more charity Placing charity ahead of Bible teaching is often well intentioned but wrong-headed. However, sometimes, strange as it may seem, it is actually sinful it represents a way of appearing good apart from the grace of God found in the Gospel.

2. Sure Hope (8-10)

(a) Paul says WE don't want you to be uninformed Paul doesn't want to hide the harsh reality. He doesn't have to because he has a real answer. How often do we hear only good things from people. They're ashamed to admit to failure and hardship. No-one likes a whinger. Put up and shut up, we say. This advice has some merit but only stops us from making things worse, it doesn't answer the question 'Why is this happening to me?' The why my nephews could ask if they have a crippled mother or no mother at all.

1 Thess 4:13

We see Paul addressing a particular issue in Thessalonika. Paul doesn't hide from the truth, he addresses it directly because he has something worth saying, a hope with which to comfort- the Gospel. What he'd been given he could pass on.

(b) wrong view to be corrected should want hardship wierd pray to endure Sure hope of heaven is the only thing that makes it possible for us to endure. Don't pray for hardship, it will come. Pray to stick to the Gospel when it comes.

(c) evidence confirming hope God's mercy is evident in many real situations. Friend's aunt in car crash. I prayed like I've never prayed before or since. 1st that she and husband would be saved. 2nd that she recover. Chances were really slim Both happened This was God's mercy. It may not have been my prayers, probably was Every converted friend is a guaranteed miracle of God's mercy. As we see these deliverences from the deadly peril of judgement we are confirmed in our trust that God will deliver us and that he wants to deliver us. Because the Bible is true, because the Gospel is trustworthy, the evidence, when we see it, will always support the truth. Sometimes we just have to trust hope wait. With God it is true that 'it won't happen overnight but it will happen.'

3. Prayer and Praise

Result is thanks to God for the kind of God he is not just for being God. NOT because he needs and craves our praise. Gracious favour granted Can't twist God's arm intense often many people Don't be guilty about prayer, just do it, becuase we can and because it works as we learn to pray according to God's will

Conclusion: Two Ways to Live

Are you comfortable? What kind of comfort do you have? Two Ways to Live 1./ Comfortably Numb -success/money/relationships/drugs 2./ Comfortable Pain -enduring suffering trusting the sure hope of the Gospel Let's let suffering drive us to the Gospel and drive us to share this Gospel with others.

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©Copyright 1997 by Danielle Treweek