This is an exposition of 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 11, 2018.
Intro:
Life is hard. If you don’t know that you are either living in denial or you’re just not paying attention! People are mean and hateful. They constantly harass, annoy and infuriate you. There’s the constant back and forth you have to restrain yourself from just punching them right in the nose but enough about family the folks “out there” are not so great either!
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Then add to that the economy, the threat of terrorism, the general decline of our culture and we live in a very troubled world. As Christ-followers, those who believe the Gospel and seek to live it, we have to add that we are faced with an ever increasingly secular world. The church and the things of God are being pushed to the margin. There is a vast majority who would like to remove our set from the cultural table. “We are not interested in what you ‘Bible thumpers’ have to say. If you want to continue in the conversation, you need to change what you believe.” None of this should surprise us as people of the Book. The Scripture is clear this is a fallen world. This is a world dominated by sin. The first three chapters of Romans paints a very clear picture of what a godless world looks like. It is a world that refuses to acknowledge God as God. A world that exchanges the truth for a lie. A world with no fear of God before its eyes. A world given over to its own lustful desires. In such a world, the church is out of place. The Gospel is foreign and those who seek to declare and live by the Gospel are going to find opposition. It is the Lord Jesus who said to his followers, “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). He said, “They have hated me, they will hate you” (John 15:20). In speaking of the last days he said, “All nations will hate you because you are committed to me” (Matthew 24:9).
It is not a matter of “if” you will experience heartache, trials and troubles but “when” you experience heartache, trials and troubles. This is our lot. I’m convinced this is a message much needed in our day. We’ve had it so good for so long. We’ve lived in relative ease as Christians in the United States. For so long and biblical worldview dominated. A Christian memory saturated our culture. Gospel truths wielded great influence but that is changing and as a result we are facing increasing hostility. Biblical assumptions are not only questioned they are denied. Those holding biblical views are considered dangerous, bigoted and hateful. What I want you to understand is that the Gospel is big enough to handle all of that hostility. The church is not going to fold. The Gospel is not going away. For some help in navigating the troublesome waters ahead we turn to the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians.
Text: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11
The context is important. You cannot take verses 3 and 4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, put it on a magnet and hang it on your refrigerator and boast of God’s blanket promise to always comfort you in every trial. There is a context.
Look at verse 5 - For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Not comfort just because we are suffering but because we suffer for Christ. We suffer because of our faith. Not when we suffer because of our sin. Not because we suffer for our bad choices, wicked behavior or willful disobedience. Also you must note that the assumption is when you are faithful, you will suffer.
This is what I want us to see…
Thesis: In a culture fixated on ease and obsessed with self, the church must be reminded that affliction and hardship are not only possibilities in this life but are expected and beneficial to the ministry of the church.
There are two things to note in our text.
- Faithful believers are reminded of the certainty of affliction and the purpose of God’s comfort. (1:3-7)
- Faithful believers are assured that affliction has a purpose and that deliverance will come. (1:8-11)
Conclusion:
Affliction is a given in this life. It’s not a matter of if but when. What do you do when it comes? Allow your suffering to be a laboratory in which you discover the adequacies and sufficiencies of our God. Allow him to comfort you, undergird you and uphold you; molding you into a comforter that reaches out to comfort others while singing the praises of His glory. Allow the darkness of the storm to drive you into the loving arms of your heavenly Father.
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