Speaker: Rev Ronald Bowens
Where: Friendship Baptist Church
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11
King James Version: 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 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. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 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. 7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. 8 For we would not, bethren, 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: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
Pastor Bowens had 3 points:
1. In spite of what we are facing, the Lord can comfort you. We will have hope. We should praise God. Why?
-he gives and he also takes away
-he gives us spiritual blessings (bless him and praise him, not for the houses and cars and STUFF, but the love, joy, and peace he gives you.)
-he lives (he's not like Buddha or Confucius; he's alive & we can go to him morning, noon, or night. He's your rock when you need a friend or shelter when you need it. He helps you make sense of the madness that is going on. People turn to all sorts of things for comfort - there's even a whiskey called Southern Comfort and people from the South, North, East, and West turn to it - it will eventually ruin your marriage & rape your home; some people turn to drugs; others maybe to counseling. Comfort is more than sympathy; it's support & understanding. You don't have to go through this by yourself; you have a live-in comforter....somebody who wants to hold you, to comfort you, to let you know everything is alright.)
2. Preparation is being made to comfort others. You are being prepped through everything you're going through, so you can help others down the road. Verse 4-6. God is using our trials to prepare us for ministry. By the time you get through this, you will have your PhD. They're going to be calling you Doctor by your experiences in the school of hard knocks. God will almost make you cry when you see others going through stuff, but back in the day, you were hard core. Your experiences will tenderize you; you'll start to be called Tenderoni. :-) We are not comforted to be comfortable, but to be able to comfort others. God uses our suffering to bring about salvation & the comfort of others. Combat depression & discouragement; don't remain down in the dumps; lift someone else up emotionally or spiritually and see what it does for you. Turn your mourning, your hardships, your suffering....into a ministry. Be a blessing to somebody else. Pass the baton like a sprinter to someone. It will have a domino effect. You will help someone & they will help someone else & so on. Hit yourself in the chest & say "I am covered by his grace". You have a testimony. He can deliver you. God has already been where you are right now. He knows what it is like to be you. God knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what it's like to be human, to suffer, to lose a loved one (he wept at Lazarus' grave), he knows how it feels to be back-stabbed, to be talked about....You may say "People don't understand", but God knows.
3. Our pressures are to promote a trust in God. God allows it, so the pressures will promote trust in Him. Verses 8-11. Stop trusting in yourself, but trust in the Lord. Don't ask yourself what YOU are going to do now. Ask God what HE is going to do. Most people don't know the strength of their faith until they are tested. Trust in God, especially in difficult times.
God has us covered in all tenses (Verse 10):
past - delivered us
present - doth deliver
future - yet deliver us
(End of message)
I started writing as soon as I heard the Subject. I didn't know how much the sermon would actually speak to me. But this is why I like our church and the pastor's messages. He preaches the Word and makes it understandable. It's more than just a boring speech or boring bible verses. When you gain understanding of it, you open up your heart to learning more. I know there are hypocrites in the church.....I saw a lot of it growing up. But if you find the right place, it makes so much of a difference. And just focus on you and your family & how you can get fed. People are human, so they will make mistakes....you can't focus on them. Even if you don't find a church, try reading the Bible & some material that helps you understand it & pass the faith on to your children. The Bible is such a strong foundation for the young, who need as much positive encouragement as possible to be kind, patient, loving, let alone us adults. Uh oh, I am preaching now....where did this come from? :-)
In love and deep regard,
Tanya
Brought to you by: Middleton Industries, Co. (MSA) & The Evangelistic Board of Phillips Temple CME Church, San Diego
