01.10.2016 2 Corinthians 1 - Sometimes Our Greatest Service Comes out of Our Greatest Pain

1-10-2016 from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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Lord, thank You that You are pleased with our worship and service. We tend to stray, so we ask that You would lead us in a way that gives You joy.

Last year, at this time, we did 1 Corinthians from January 1 through Easter. This year, we are doing 2 Corinthians – 2 years in a row of Corinthians. Last year, I gave a lot of background information on Corinth - this year, I’ll give some background context:
The city – there is a focus on the values of the people. It is a trade center – like a New York/LA/Hong Kong – etc. That had a significant impact upon the makeup of the city – and there were those who took advantage of that and became very wealthy - and also very poor people. Socio-economic status was important to the city of Corinth. The city itself was destroyed by Rome about 100 years before Paul wrote and 70 years before it was rebuilt – and so there was a lot of new money there – like Silicon Valley. It influenced what was going on in the city and in the church.
Also, because of so many people coming in and out of the city – there was a huge sex trade. It was known for that – but there was more going on there than JUST that.
There was a sense of rugged individualism and pride – like the pioneers – and success was critical – like a lot of type-A first-borns. There was also a lot of celebrity entertainment in the city.
These contexts are important to see how the church was influenced by the culture. These things that were going on in the church were taking place in the city.
The church met in houses – for one simple reason – they didn’t have anywhere else to meet. We meet in a church building – fine. They met in houses – fine. There is something important about it though – because most of the people in the church were poor – and they would not have had a large enough house to meet in. So the places they did meet were the homes of rich people – patrons. Think of it more like Downton Abbey. They depended on these patrons – and those who were wealthy did not always demonstrate the character qualities to be people of power. The Bible doesn’t talk about power and influence and charisma and giftedness in leadership – but it talks about the character of the leader.
If you are gifted, but lack good sound Christian character, you are not to be a leader.
There were different patrons – wanting to be the top leader – competition in the church just like in the city.
2 Cor. 1: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
Think about that phrase – the Father of mercies. Is that the first thing that comes to mind when you think of God? Our image of God is often influenced by our view of our parents. That is standard. For some, when it speaks of God as our father, that is a hard and negative thing – because some, their experience of a father may have been abusive and hard. These affect our view of God. If our parent was a disciplinarian, that is the first thing we associate with God. Maybe our father was a provider – that is how we will see God. If you were lucky – you experienced love at home from your parents!
But when we think of ourselves – our fathers – we probably don’t think of mercy as the primary characteristic. I doubt my kids thought that for the first 25 years. The past 10 years, that has been growing.
Mercy is a huge – a HUGE – part of the character of God. I think sometimes Christians think it is a nice part, but don’t want to talk about it because it is too soft. Men are strong! Fathers are strong! And mercy seems soft.
Not only is He merciful, He is the FATHER of mercy.
Psalm 103 – mercy – or compassion – just depends how they choose to translate it.
103:8 he Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
Slow to anger – but how often are we as parents quick to criticize? But it is really clear, that God in His compassion and grace is SLOW – not fast – it takes a long time for God’s anger to come out.
He will not always chide/strive – He doesn’t deal with us according to our sins – Mercy is seen as God forgiving us.
Like the east from the west – He has separated us from our sins. He purposely FAILS to remember them! How much does the world like to point out people’s failings? It is like SPORT! It becomes a joke. But God chooses very specifically to separate His relationship with you from your failures. To completely remove them from how He deals with you. Think of what it would be like to do this in your family!
That is what He is saying here – that is what He does for us.
He did it on the cross – theologically – our sins are forgiven and gone forever and that is critical and the most important thing – but they are gone forever RELATIONALLY! They don’t hinder in any way shape, or form. He forgets.
You know, if you were a parent, that you have to do this with your children – you forget so much of what they did. A grandparent doesn’t even see it – so there is nothing to forget – because there is never really anything there.
Psalm 145: 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
9 The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
All of it is covered by His mercy. We cannot confuse what God does with what the enemy does. What God – all of God’s works in your life – are done in mercy.
Some make the mistake of thinking God did some stuff but it was the enemy.
Mercy is His character and being…
4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
His character and mercy – the way it is expressed, is in comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles. What we see – it is a book of contrasts. Things that appear to be opposite that are intimately connected – like Comfort and Trouble. In order to experience comfort from God, we must experience trouble. But we think comfort is all about not being troubled, but it is being comforted IN the trouble. They are dependent on each other. Weakness and strength, darkness and light, power and brokenness, death and life – glory and mundane – the glory of God is seen in the most mundane things. God’s awesomeness is seen in the dirt.
Comforts us in all our troubles SO THAT
Highlight that. SO THAT – why? So that we may be able to comfort others with His comfort!
God – the purpose of God giving us comfort is so we can be outwardly focused in giving out His comfort. Our tendency is to want the comfort so that the trouble will go away – and a lot of times we don’t receive the comfort of God because we are not using that comfort to comfort others. He does not give the comfort just so we will be comfortable – but that is a side benefit.
Those who have been through the same struggle are the ones you benefit from the most. There are all kinds of people experiencing the same struggles – and God wants us to help others who are struggling. It is important to have friends we can share the troubles we are having – but always sharing them is not the way it is to be – but we are to take what God is doing through them and give it away so that others might have the comfort and encouragement.
Here are ways to do that:
1) Offer sympathy and empathy. We must demonstrate that we know how hard it is. If you have not been through the same thing – we must be able to express how hard – how difficult – it might be for them. “I haven’t been through this – but I can see how difficult it must be” – Not to say – “You haven’t been through what I’ve been through!” That is not helpful
When we think someone has experienced our same trouble – we feel comfort.
We must be careful – it is almost spiritually abusive to give biblical instruction to people when you don’t understand the problem. Anyone can quote verses at people – and the Bible must be brought in – but not until we’ve heard them out. He who gives an answer before hearing to him it is folly and shame. Hearing is listening thoroughly to the point of understanding and feeling what they are feeling. Many men stink at this! We need to learn.
As you give comfort, you receive more comfort and are able to give more comfort.
A vicious circle – the opposite – a pleasant circle - an upward spiral – everyone benefits when you give comfort – it goes round and round.
Giving comfort to others turns our attention away from ourselves and our pity.
It is easy to give ourselves pity parties – we all do it – but helping others turns our eyes off ourselves.
If we don’t give comfort away, it leaves us – it is only by giving it that we maintain what we need.
2 Cor. 1:
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded (steadfast), knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
We need to allow our ministry and service to flow out of our struggles and pain. That is what Paul is saying. He allowed his ministry to flow out of the difficulties – he went through a LOT – and out of that – He ministers – the comfort he receives – he uses to minister to the Corinthians. We have all heard of people whose greatest service to mankind comes out of their greatest pain. Too often, we are not comfortable making pain the source of our service. We need to allow God room and freedom to somehow do that.
Responding to our struggles and difficulties in this way allows us to see God’s work in our lives. That is the joy of all this – seeing the power and goodness of God. Sometimes we think we see God’s work in success –and that is there as well, but it seems like the Bible speaks so often of God’s work in our troubles and difficulties. In our dying – we see life. That is a radical thought. God says – give it up! Die! He who tries to save his life loses it! We just protect ourselves, don’t we? We protect and protect. But if we hold we lose. We must let it go.
“If God is found in our hard times, then all of life, no matter how apparently insignificant or difficult, can open us to God's work among us. To be grateful does not mean repressing our remembered hurts. But as we come to God with our hurts - honestly, not superficially - something life changing can begin slowly to happen. We discover how God is the One who invites us to healing. We realize that any dance of celebration must weave both the sorrows and the blessings into a joyful step” Henri Nouwen