Please turn this afternoon again to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Read verses 3 and 4. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Let's pray. Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. In Jesus' name, Amen. This morning we looked at how we are to receive the comfort of God that is spoken of here in 1 Corinthians, excuse me, 2 Corinthians chapter 1. We said that we must first stop seeking it from the wrong sources. We must trust that He will give it and we must remember that He decides when and how comfort will come. Now all of those things, two of them involve using our minds. They involve remembering and trust is a mind and something we do with our hearts as well. The last thing that is necessary is to participate in God's means of comfort. There are certain means, there are certain instruments that our Father intends to use to comfort us. Some have the idea today that the Lord's comfort is something that comes by you sitting alone and thinking and then you just feel better. That it just comes over you and that's that. But it's not something that is primarily you alone. There are three primary means I want us to consider this afternoon. that the Lord has given for our comfort, that He uses to comfort us. Those three means are the saints, worship, and the Word of God. The saints, worship, and the Word of God. So, first of all, He uses the saints. Now, in verse 4, after He said that He is the God who comforts us in our tribulation, he writes, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. The reason we are given comfort of God, not only is it to help us, but that it is so we also may in turn give that same comfort that He gives us to others. The goal is that we don't just harbor it inside and keep it to ourselves, but that we use it as an encouragement to other saints. And Paul will go on to write about this further, starting in verse 6. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raised up the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver us, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." So Paul is equating the suffering that he was facing as a means of being a comfort to the other people in this way. He's saying, We faced great trials and great despair, and through these things the Lord comforted us and ministered to us in our tribulation." So he's sharing that with them so that they in turn could, when they face trials and tribulation, be comforted in the same way. He's saying we are all together partaking in the strength and the grace of Christ as we go through these trials. Paul did not say, God will give you comfort when you face tribulation, now let me talk about something else. He said that He is the God of all comfort who comforts us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. The purpose is for we as saints to encourage and comfort one another. Now, we must remember when we are called, as we are called to comfort one another, that comfort is not just trying to make someone feel better. Because people, many times, don't just need to feel better. They need the strength of God. And that's something that you cannot give them on your own. But because you are filled with the Spirit, you are a son or daughter of the living God, you have grace that is intended to be bestowed to others. Now in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, a similar idea is presented. Turn with me there. 2 Corinthians 7. beginning in verse four. Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my glorying of you. I am filled with comfort. I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. For when we were coming to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Without were fighting, within were fears. Now we'll stop there and say this would qualify as a tribulation. Paul said that as they were going into this place, that is, Macedonia, that there were strivings, there were fighting, there were problems on the outside, and then they were pummeled on the inside with fear. Now, we can easily think of the Apostle Paul as this super-Christian, you know, Apostle extraordinaire, who never, I mean, probably if we were to talk to him, he would just exude confidence and strength and joy, and he obviously would never have any struggles. After all, anyone who can write all the things that he has written, how could he be faced with troubles, at least internally? But he said that he was afflicted with fear. He said earlier when he wrote, to the church at Corinth the first time, that he was, when he was standing before them, he was in great trembling. Paul was nervous. Paul was anxious. He was afraid. It's not sinful to say that just because he wrote these things that he was not afflicted with the same troubles that we are many times. So he faced discouragement. Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not by his coming only, but by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, where he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me, so that I rejoiced the more." So how was Paul comforted? He had all of these things, and if anyone had direct communication, with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, it was the Apostle Paul. Yet how was comfort ministered to him during his times of great trial and tribulation? It was ministered at the coming of Titus. Comfort came through the fellowship and the union of the saints. There's a reason we are told to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. If we forsake this, we neglect God's means of comfort, His means of restoring our hope and our strength and our joy. And Paul then says that the comfort that Titus brought, it was not just something that he brought on his own. So not only is it not an individual thing, it's also not something where it's just ministered from one person to another person. But it was ministered from the church to Titus. Verse 7, he said, not only by his coming, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you. So the church at Corinth ministered and comforted Titus. Then Titus came and ministered to Paul. You have this sense, this interconnected web of the comfort of God that goes from one saint or one group of saints to another saint who then comforts another, and you have no idea how far this exponential comfort goes. But that's what it's intended to do. It's intended to cover all of Christendom with the comfort of God. Titus and the people at Corinth comforted one another and then that was ministered to the Apostle Paul and those who were with him. There's a reason that Solomon wrote in Proverbs 15 verse 23 that a word in due season, how good it is. You know, our words to one another should minister grace. they should minister the comfort of God. And if they don't, we've got a problem. Because if they're not ministering comfort, they're ministering tribulation. Nobody wants to be known as ministering tribulation. It's also why Solomon wrote, It's better to dwell in the corner of a housetop than with a contentious woman in a large house. Because our words have power. They do things. Your words are not empty. They are filled with either the fruit of the Spirit or they are filled with the fruit of the flesh. So, the saints are one of God's means of comfort. Secondly, another means of comfort is the worship of God. The worship of God. Turn with me to the book of Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah 40. So after there is great trouble, I mean, in the book of Isaiah, we read quite a few prophecies in the first 39 books, but then chapter 39 ends with Hezekiah telling Isaiah that he has just shown all that he had to the minister of Babylon, and Isaiah said, well, I'm glad they know because they're going to have it all pretty soon. And Hezekiah said, well, as long as everything's going to be okay in my day, it's all right. And then it ends. A very sad way if it were to end that way, but thankfully it does not. In chapter 40, starting in chapter 40 through the last book, or excuse me, through the last chapter of Isaiah, there's a shift in emphasis towards what will come in the future. Now, Isaiah chapter 40, verses 1 and 2, he says, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. This is the beginning of the prophecy of both the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, who is spoken of in verses 3 and 4, and then of the Lord Jesus himself. So, in this prophecy of what will come, the command is to speak words of comfort to the people. Then in Isaiah chapter 49, verse 13, We read, Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted people. Verses 14 through 16, which we sang earlier. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. Now these words were written by Isaiah to the people of Israel at this time, the people of Judah at this time. But, these things would become fully realized at the coming of the Lord Jesus and then they would further congeal in the work and the display of the church. Alright? The time and the place that we come together to hear again about the work of the Lord, we come to hear the story of the redemption that belongs to us is in God's house. When we hear the Gospel enacted and presented on the Lord's Day, we come in, we sing to the Lord, we confess our sins, told of the forgiveness that we have for our sins, we exalt Him, we sing unto Him, we hear His Word taught, then we partake of a meal with Him. That is a display, as we remember the work of Christ, that is a display, and in some senses, I want to be careful how I say this, but it is a reenactment, in a sense, of the Gospel. Not that There is a re-crucifixion or anything like that. But it is hearing again the story with our Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit right in the middle. That's what we do when we come together for worship. The people's corporate hope would be restored the Lord Jesus came and accomplished all that had been promised. It's not until He would come that we can truly be told to speak comfortably to Jerusalem, to speak the words of comfort to God's family. Because before, they didn't have great reason for comfort because Isaiah had just said that Babylon, he told Hezekiah, Babylon is coming and they're going to ransack you. They're going to take away your treasures. They're going to steal what has been years and years of building and saving for. That's not a word of comfort. But when Jesus would come and He would accomplish His work on the cross, He would save us, He would deliver us, He would defeat our enemies, then we can hear the comforting words of God to us. And upon hearing that, we may receive the comfort intended for the saints for all time. We too should take comfort when we hear what the Lord has done for us. It should be a thing that renews our heart. And you say, well, my heart's not renewed. That's not to say that every time you leave, That you're going to feel two feet higher. That you're going to feel like you've had a spiritual cup of very strong coffee. Because you don't. But you should hear the words of God to you. which is one of the foundations of our hope. Back in 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 3, Paul said, But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. When we hear the words spoken in corporate worship, One of the elements of the spoken word is that it should bring comfort to the saints. Now, of course, remember, comfort isn't always what we like. Sometimes comfort is the rod being applied. Sometimes comfort is correction, but still, it should be an element in the corporate worship of God where comfort is given. So, comfort comes in the meeting and the gathering and the unity of the saints, and it also comes in the worship of God. That is another means that he uses. And finally, he uses the Word of God itself. The last means, and we could talk about others, yes, but he uses the Word. 15 verse 4. Paul writes, "...for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope." So what does this mean? It means that all that is contained in the Word of God is intended that we might have and grow in hope. That is including what is written in the Old Testament. A lot of times when we want comfort, we think, well, I need to go to Matthew 11. Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Or Romans chapter 8, Hebrews 12. We think of those passages as those that give us comfort. But Paul writes that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, including even those written a four times, might have hope. Think of what the church at Rome had at their disposal. They didn't have the book of Revelation that they could turn to. They didn't have 1 and 2 Timothy. Okay? They didn't have all these books that we have today. They probably had more than just the letter written to them. They probably had other letters circulated to them. But their primary text was the Old Testament. And Paul is saying that those things that are written are written that we might have hope that it might be built in us, that it might be retained in us. So we need to be students of the Word. There's a danger in two different areas that I'm about to describe. There is a movement right now in Christian circles to get away from making the scriptures to be a very systematic and scientific study. By systematic, I mean where you take a subject, like election, and then you try to study every passage, you get your concordance, and you find every passage that talks about election, then you find any other related ideas, predestination, and choosing, and foreknowledge, and you lump them all together, and you read them all, you know, those individual verses, and then you mix it up, and then you just try to come up with, alright, this is what God says about this subject, and this topic. Okay, that's systematics. Some are moving away from that, and it makes sense because God's Word is not just a purely Well, his word is not written in that particular way. On the other hand, there are also some who desire to jettison any type of systematic study of the scripture because they don't really want any type of concrete commands from God at all, and so they would just prefer to talk about everything as just this one story of redemption where he comes and he's going to save us all and nobody's going to go to hell and it's all going to be great. We don't really have to worry about any of the specifics. It's all as long as you have the general idea. You know, Jesus came and he's saving a whole bunch of people. As long as you have that. And so I'm presenting both sides because I don't want you to think that I disregard one or the other. But I will just say this. Whether you are more heavy in studying specific portions and specific ideas in Scripture, or whether you just like reading it as, you know, just the story of redemption, and both elements have a purpose. At the same time, we need the Word from beginning to end. And it would be better to memorize and to meditate on A whole lot of verses that might deal with one topic, but at least you know the Scripture, than it is just to not memorize anything. A lot of times, those who make an argument against studying topics in Scripture, are the ones who really don't like memorizing Scripture, period. That's not all the time the case, but that's in my experience a lot that I know who are heavy on the Bible as story. That's about all they can tell you is just one story, and then when it gets to anything else, they don't know a whole lot about it. But all the Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And it is God's means to us of comfort. But that means we have to be in it. And we should be in it so much that while I don't advise doing your morning devotion straight out of a systematic theology book, I would say that with whatever time the Lord blesses you with, Take in chunks of Scripture, not just a few verses. Read it in big chunks. And then, if there's anything that just jumps out at you or that sticks out, have some type of paper there so that you can just write down the verse. Just write down the reference. You don't have to write out the verse. Just write down the reference. or if you have some type of app on your iPhone or iPad, make a note of it. But in some way, get that, and then as you read, then you go back and look at those things that stick out. Either you have a question about it, it doesn't make sense, or something that's encouraging to you, whatever it is, and then go back and look at it. Read the verses around it. See what all it's saying. You say, how does this give me comfort? Because you're dealing with living bread. You are partaking, when you do that, you are partaking in one of God's means of nourishing you. The saints are important, yes. Worship is important. But the Word of God should be forming our thoughts and our lives, and it can't do that if we don't jump in both feet and wait around. I was reading Pastor's thoughts earlier this week, and he said that he's a teacher He's given students quiz before on popular culture, television shows, music, news, games. His students do surprisingly well at this. We're talking about Christians, many of them homeschooled, but they do really well at these things. And then he will in turn give them a quiz on... Those of you who are academic-minded, don't get upset. He's not killing them on their grades for this. He's just trying to figure out where they are. Then he gives them a test on Bible literacy. Things like, where was Eden? What are some of the geographical descriptions of Eden? Was the garden in Eden or was it somewhere else? You know, just things like that. Where is the passage where this is stated? And these same students who can tell you the character, a minor character off a 1980s sitcom, many of them don't know the chapter in the Bible that is all about the Word itself. Now, what does that mean? That means that they are formed more, even though they're strong Christians, and I'm not denying that, but they're still formed more by the elements of culture around them than they are by the Scripture. Now I'm not, don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that that means we just need to hunker down, that we need to run away from everything, go hollow out a place, you know, in a hill somewhere and put up a little stove and, you know, live and have our Bible and nothing. Not at all. We're called to be salt and salt stuck in a shaker doesn't work. It doesn't salt anything. But also, if the salt is poured out and it doesn't have any effect on what it's poured on, that's a problem. And the way to engage, and when I say engage, I gotta be careful, that's a buzzword right now. The way to have impact on those around us is not to try to learn everything about what they're doing. It's not to try to be more up-to-date with things than they are. You interact with people from the perspective of one who is absolutely saturated with the Word. And then, When you come upon a person who is in need, you have the means at your disposal to give them comfort. And that is the Word of God. In Psalm 119, the passage that I referred to earlier that talks more about the Word of God than any other chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119 verse 50, This is my comfort and my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me. I remember thy judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself." The Word is God's means, one of His three main means of giving us comfort. So, as we seek to employ the means He's given, let us not forget to apply the comfort that we receive to others so that we can be about the business of spreading the hope that's been given to the saints through the Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Our Father, thank you that you supplied all things that we need. We thank you that you don't hold back, that you are faithful, and that you are righteous and holy. Now we ask that you would lead us and guide us this week, that we might walk in a way that is pleasing unto you. And I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.