It is always a privilege, a joy and honor to be able to minister the word of God to you. And we're able to do that again this morning. And we're going to do it by looking for the final time at the concept of God of all comfort in second Corinthians chapter one. We're going to look at a few verses in verses one through 11. As we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit of God has for us this morning, I might say that I have lingered long upon this topic, because it is so rich. It is so important, especially in these days of mounting persecution, persecution against true Christianity, here in the United States and around the world. And while none of us may suffer the kinds of things that the apostle Paul suffered, we know that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, Second Timothy 3:12. And as we endeavor to live lives that honor Christ in this fallen world that is so hostile to him, we're going to experience more and more of that kind of persecution, some of you have experienced it already, others of you will. I've talked with a friend this last week, who's not a part of this church. He works in the IT department of a rather large company here in Nashville, and his job is being threatened because he refuses to attend the inclusivity workshops that is really nothing more than forced LGBTQ indoctrination, and he refuses to join them when they have the special parades downtown, the gay pride parades and so forth. By the way, imagine them requiring employees to attend a biblical morality workshop. You see the point, imagine having a traditional family parade downtown Nashville. And I know a number of you are experiencing similar forms of Christian discrimination right now. But I want us all to be able to rejoice in the comfort that is ours, because we are united to Christ; the comfort that God gives that he makes available to all who are willing to suffer for his sake. And also, I want you to be reminded of the kind of love that we need to have for those that do not know Christ, that remain blinded to their sin, including those who hate us. And it's this love that must continue to drive us to present the gospel to them and what a joy it is to see people come to Christ, right? We've seen some of that in the last few weeks, even here in our own midst.

So there's three important concepts that we've studied that emerge out of verses one through 11 of Second Corinthians one, we've seen over the last couple of weeks, that God indeed comforts those who are afflicted, and Paul was greatly afflicted, as you will recall. But then secondly, we see that believers are comforted, to comfort others. That's what we're going to look at this morning. And then finally, prayer unleashes the power of God, we're going to see that as well. So let's pick it up at verse three, "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," and here's why, "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." So this moves us to our second point in this little outline, and that is that believers are comforted to comfort others.

Now we all understand that we have cells in our human body. And each cell has a function. Each cell is to help the rest of the cells and the rest of the organs. And that's the way it's supposed to be as well, in the body of Christ. We are all a cell, shall we say, are all organs; we all need to work together. And what's interesting is that God uses the comfort that he provides us in our affliction, to equip us to comfort others in their affliction. It's an amazing thing, so we are comforted to comfort others. Now how does this work? Well, to be sure, the Spirit of God comforts us in ways that we can't fully understand. John 14, verse 16, Jesus says, "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." That is the spirit of truth. And the term "Helper" comes from a Greek term "parakletos," it means advocate or comforter or helper. Now, we know that the Spirit of God sent the comforter and that he dwells within us, right? But what's interesting is that the activities of the Holy Spirit are far more than just comforting. We know that he is the one for example, who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is the one that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ by transforming sinners, and saving us by his grace and causing us to become more like Christ. We know that he is the supernatural and the sovereign agent of regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ. The word of God tells us that he indwells, he sanctifies. He instructs, he empowers believers for service. He seals us for the day of redemption, so many things. But we also know that he is the comforter. And he does this in mysterious ways. But what you will find is that he always does this in conjunction with the exhortation of his word, through the use of his word. And we've all experienced that kind of comfort, haven't we, in the midst of some great trial, suddenly, some passage of Scripture, as I say, just leaps off the page at you and touches your heart like never before. Maybe it's something you hear in a sermon, something you read in a book, the lyrics of a hymn. In fact, I might put it this way, you will not find any kind of lasting soul satisfying comfort in your life, apart from the ministry of God's word, it's not going to happen. I'm reminded of Psalm 19, beginning in verse seven. There David says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." And here he is speaking of the Word of God in different ways versus the law of the Lord. It's perfect, restoring the soul. That he says "the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." Another aspect of comfort, "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous all together. They are more desirable than gold, yes, then much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them, Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." And of course, that great reward includes the astounding benefits of the Word of God that were just mentioned in the previous verses.

Now, when Jesus asked the Father, to send the Helper, certainly he knew that the Helper would be needed in our lives, especially in the realm of comfort. And it's interesting in John 14:26, we read "But the Helper," again the parakletos, "the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I said to you." And in chapter 15, verse, verse 26, he says, "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also." So the divine helper is going to use his word to bring comfort to those that He indwells. The comforter is going to use his Word in a way that brings peace and tranquility and understanding and instruction to our heart. He is going to bring these things to remembrance. He's going to bring his word to bear upon our soul, and he is going to use others in that process, especially those who have the gift of exhortation, the ability to speak comforting truth from the Word of God.

Now practically speaking, if you are in need of comfort, you must go to the God of all comfort by going to his Word and by fellowshipping with those people who have been afflicted and who have been comforted by the word of God so that they too can comfort you. Now, let me explain something to you. This is a fascinating concept in describing spiritual gifts. In Romans chapter 12 and verse eight, we see the Spirit of God speaking through his inspired apostle Paul, using the same term parakletos. He says, "He who exhorts, in his exhortation," and here he's describing the spiritual gift of exhortation. The word exhort comes from "parakaleo" and exhortation is "paraklesis." It's all rooted in that same word. And it's a compound word in the original language. "Para" means alongside and "kaleo" means to call. So this is the person with the gift of exhortation, is one that can come alongside, that can call alongside, they can speak alongside; so joined together they constitute the title "parakletos," or, as you've heard the spirit called the "paraclete" the Helper, the advocate. And this is used not only to describe the Holy Spirit, as I've just noted, but also the Lord Jesus Christ. In First John two and chapter one we read, "If anyone sins, we have a "parakleton," "an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." Now stick with me, back to Romans 12 and verse eight, "He who exhorts in his exhortation." What's fascinating is that the Holy Spirit has uniquely gifted some people with the gift of exhortation, "paraklesis," one who, on behalf of and empowered by the Spirit of God can come alongside those in need; fellow believers to minister to them the word of God in their time of need to help them understand and apply his word. And of course, this is going to vary according to individual people and their circumstances.

Sometimes, it's admonishing someone who has allowed some kind of life dominating sin to overcome them. Or maybe it's to instruct and correct someone, that's deceived by some kind of error. And many times, these things really come out in the midst of suffering in the midst of anguish, or to comfort someone who is hurting, or to strengthen someone who is collapsing under the weight of some great trial. But in every situation, the agent of comfort is always God. The God of all comfort, and the instrument that he uses is the word of God. And the messengers that he uses is all of us, especially those with the gift of exhortation. When I reflect upon those who have had the greatest impact in my life, especially in times of great suffering, they have always been mature saints. They've always been older saints, with the gray hairs, many of them white hairs. But they've always been people who have suffered greatly for the cause of Christ. And they've also been people who are gifted greatly with biblical exhortation, men of the word. Some of them I've been able to talk with personally. And many of them have been with the Lord for hundreds of years.

If I could give some practical advice to you, young people, when you're in need of comfort, don't go to your friends. Go to somebody older and wiser. Somebody who's hurt, somebody who knows the word; some man or woman, look for somebody with gray hair with worn out Bibles, and calloused knees. Those are the people that God can use to bring you comfort, and to bring you clarity. Also, don't go to some secular counselor or some psychologists. They know nothing of the Word of God or the God of all comfort. They know nothing of the power of the word, the power of the Spirit. And also I might add, be careful even going to a lot of so called pastors. I was meeting with a prominent Christian leader this last week and we were talking about this and I told him that, you know, frankly, I would say most of the pastors in Nashville, Tennessee, I would not allow to teach Sunday school in my church. I hate to say that and I know that sounds hideously arrogant, but I wouldn't. Many are unsaved apostates, and many of them are nothing more than entrepreneurs. I might also add a practical note, I would encourage all of you to read biographies of great men and women of the word people who have suffered. We even see this in Hebrews chapter 12, and verse one, with respect to those who are found in Scripture, it says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, surrounding us," which by the way, was a reference to the enduring faith of the examples that were set before them in chapter 11, he goes on to say, "Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin, which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us." Of course, that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us are witnesses of God's faithfulness of his power of his mercy, of his grace and his love, especially in times of great uncertainty and suffering, these are the people we are to imitate. These are the people that we should study, let us run our race like they did with unwavering courage and with confidence in who God is. Because true faith as the writer of Hebrews 11 and verse one says, "is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things unseen." And folks herein we find comfort.

Now, let me give you an example of a great man of God outside of Scripture that has brought comfort to my life, as maybe he has to yours as well. And I would recommend this is a biography of William Carey. He lived, he was born in 1761, died in 1834. He was called the father of modern missions. And there is a biography about him written by his great grandson, S. Pierce Carey, who was a distinguished Baptist minister and missionary statesman, who became famous for his writing as a Christian author. And it the biography by the way that I'm recommending to you was, was published in 1923. But Carey was an uneducated cobbler from England, who taught himself Latin, Hebrew and Greek. But he also was a man with a burden for the lost. And so God ultimately led him to India, around the close of the Revolutionary War, which would have been around 1783 and following. By the way, during that, that time in history, there was really no such thing as a foreign missionary. It was completely foreign to people, especially in Great Britain. And he had a model, the motto of his mission was, quote, "expect great things, attempt great things." Well, as you read his story, you will soon discover that he was faced with enormous hardships, lots of suffering. Once he got to India, he lost one of his young children. His wife went insane and eventually died. His second wife eventually died. Most of his life, he lived in extreme poverty. It got better later on, but still he had nothing. He endured enormous persecution, not only from the pagans there in India, but from the British government. But God was faithful to bless his efforts, as God began to save people and to use the influence of the gospel to impact that culture. A people that did just hideous things they, they would do things like stick hooks in their back and swing from poles as part of a ritual. They had widow burning where if a young widow would lose her husband, she would climb into a pile of wood and all and they would set her on fire and just horrible things.

But God gradually began to build his church, helping Car toey survive and to learn the customs and to learn the languages; a number of languages and to translate them into the Word of God, and to print them; to print the scriptures in various languages and dialects. And then he gradually brought other people to come and co-labor with him. And according to his biographer, quote, "He produced six grammar as being often the first groundbreaker of Bengali, Sanskrit,” which that grammar was 1000 pages, "Marathi, Punjabi, Teluga and Kanarese. Not to mention a Bhotia grammar." Went on to say three dictionaries he compiled, "Bengali, Marathi, and Sanskrit as well as Bhotia vocabulary. That Bengali dictionary," he says, "with its 80,000 words in three volumes, resulted from the toil of 30 years, and was for long, the standard work." Professor H.H Wilson of Oxford said quote, "Local terms are here rendered with the correctness which carries knowledge of the people’s manners and his long domestication amongst them, enabled him to attain in his scientific requirements and familiarity with natural history; qualified him to employ and not infrequently to devise characteristic terms for the animal and vegetable products of the East." End quote: and on and on it goes. But later in his life and ministry in the year of 1812, his mission printing works, and huge warehouse burned to the ground in unimaginable horror. And while some translation manuscripts and some of the printing presses were removed in time, most everything was lost. It was a loss of 10,000 pounds in those days, which today would be $14 million. Talk about affliction. Talk about a man of sorrow. Much of his life's work went up in smoke. One man by the name of Thomason came in the afternoon to console the people and he said this, quote, "The scene was indeed affecting the long printing office reduced to a mere shell, the yard covered with burnt paper, Carrie walked with me over the smoking ruins, the tears stood in his eyes." Now, before I read what's next, I want to remind you what we've been talking about. And that is the power of the God of all comfort. Carrie said this quote, "In one night, the labors of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the divine ways. I had lately brought some things to the utmost perfection I could and contemplated the mission with perhaps too much self-congratulation. That the Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to Him." He also wrote to his niece Eustace, back in England, here's what he said, "This is a heavy blow, as it will stop our printing the scriptures for a long time. 12 months hard labour will not reinstate us, not to mention loss of property, manuscripts, etc, which we shall scarcely ever surmount." But a catch this, "I wish to be still and know that the Lord is God and to bow to His will and everything, He will no doubt bring good out of this evil and make it promote his interests. But at present, the Providence is exceeding dark. No lives were lost. We cannot tell him what was the cause of the fire." And then writing to his family back in England, he said, quote, "Much ground must be labored over again, and I have suffered most, but we are not discouraged. We are chastened and not killed. Cast down but not destroyed, perplexed, but not in despair." Oh, dear friends, what a magnificent example of the God of all comfort, who comforted one of his own through His Word. And now who in turn is comforting us through his testimony? Isn't it amazing how that works?

Now, please understand, God doesn't comfort us when we suffer because of our sin. A loving father doesn't comfort his son in his sin. He chastens the ones that he loves, we understand that. But when we come to repentance, then he comforts us as we seek to honor him. I think of David's grievous sin with Bathsheba. Remember in Psalm 32, he said, "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long." Well, there's no comfort there. He went on to say, "For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." But then as we read on he talks about how when he acknowledged his sin, God forgave him and he was comforted. And that's why he began that psalm in verse one saying "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, who sin is covered. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and whose spirit in whose spirit there is no deceit." And in verse seven, he goes on, and he says, "Thou art my hiding place, Thou does preserve me from trouble. Thou does surround me with songs of deliverance." And at the end of verse 10, he says, "He who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shelter around him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones, and shout for joy, all you who are upright and heart." Beloved, only the God of all comfort can animate that kind of sincere, heartfelt joy. What's more, God's comfort, included new, intimate, personal instruction in verse eight. The Lord says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go, I will counsel you with My eye upon you."

We see a similar situation in Peters trial, and I'd like to take you to some of these concepts with Peter, you will recall in Luke 22:31, Jesus said, "'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.'" Peter learned the hard way, didn't he? That God used his failure to humble him and bring him to a deeper state of dependence and trust in the Lord his God, but also to equip him to strengthen others. And because of this, he could comfort the saints that were later scattered abroad, because of persecution. And he would say this to them in First Peter five, beginning in verse five, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Again, a lesson that Peter learned the hard way. "Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." And let's admit it, that's very hard to do when we're suffering. When we're enduring some kind of persecution, to somehow cast our cares upon him. It's contrary to our flesh. Our flesh demands an audience with God; God, this isn't fair, you owe me an explanation. I demand my day in court to prove my case. Or maybe we're not that ungodly, but rather we say to ourselves, I'm going to take charge. Thanks, God, I've got this. I'll handle things in my own way.

But as we look at this text, we see Peter using an interesting phrase "mighty hand of God." That was a figure of speech describing God's sovereign rule over our life. Now you must understand that God is always at work in our lives, and sometimes his mighty hand is the mighty hand of testing. And perhaps you're experiencing that right now. Perhaps you're experiencing the grip of his hand in your life. Sometimes it's the mighty hand of testing, you will recall, and the gnawing pain of relentless suffering. Job mistakenly thought that God had abandoned him. And in Job 30, verse 20, we read, "I cry out to Thee for help, but Thou does not answer me. I stand up and Thou does turn Thy attention against me, that has become cruel to me with the might of Thy hand, Thou doest persecute me." Sometimes it might be the hand of divine chastening. We read about this in God's promise to cause Israel to repent, to restore her and one day rule over her in his kingdom. In Ezekiel 20 verse 33, we read, "'As I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you.'" And in verse 37, "'And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant.'" So sometimes his mighty hand is the hand of testing sometimes it's the hand of chastening. Sometimes it's the hand of deliverance. Exodus three beginning in verse 19, we read, "'But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. So,'" now I love this, "'I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles, which I shall do in the midst of it, and after that, he will let you go.'"

Now, having said that, back to what Peter is talking about here, with respect to the mighty hand, in First Peter five, five, this is the mighty hand of testing that he's describing. Regardless of the purpose of his outstretched hand of testing in our lives, he's telling us that we need to humble ourselves under it, we need to willingly submit to it. Remember, Jesus said in Luke 14:11, "'Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'" This is why I often say, we should never ask why in the midst of our afflictions. But ask what. God does not owe us an explanation, nor could we understand it, were he to give it to us. Instead of saying, God, why is this happening? We should say, God, what should I do to give you glory in the midst of this trial, I know that you're up to great things in my life, I don't understand all of this. And I plead with you to deliver me from the pain of this affliction, whatever it might be. But though you slay me, I will trust in you. And it's for this reason that we can rejoice knowing in First Peter five, notice what he says at the end of verse six, "He will exalt you at the proper time." Beloved, God's timing is always perfect. His purposes are always perfect. His plan is always perfect. And his hand of testing can also be the hand of deliverance in our life, as it often is. And there is the blessed hope of all of the redeemed, the confident hope that he will never leave us, nor will he ever forsake us. And He will exalt us at the proper time, which I've discovered is seldom "my" time, but it's always his perfect time. And because of these eternal truths, we learned to not only be receptive to God's purposes, but also confident in them. And that's why he says in verse seven, "Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you." What a precious statement. It is believed by most that here Peter is reflecting back to the words of David, the psalmist, in Psalm 55:22, where we read, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." Well, that's a passage that I've leaned on many times, haven't you? You know, in the furnace of affliction, we have a choice to make. We can either rely on ourselves or we can rely on God, being convinced that he cares for you; that he has ordained our suffering for our good and for His glory, that he's always working in it. And that one day, he will deliver us from it. O, child of God, it is so easy to forget that God is good, you know, that even in suffering, he is intimately acquainted with all our ways. And as we read, in Psalm 56, verse eight, he puts our tears in the bottle of his remembrance. One of the things that you will find in Israel in the archaeological digs is they find a lot of little, little glass bottles that were made somehow, in even dating back to the first and second century, where the Jews would make these little vials that looks like little test tubes, they're different colors. And those were symbolic of that verse, that God captures our tears in his bottle, he remembers them. And it's easy to forget, isn't it, that he is intimately acquainted with all of our suffering? Hebrews four verse 15, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness." If you're struggling here today, do you remember that? Does this bring comfort to your soul as it should? Goes on to say, "But one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."

And then back to First Peter five, in verses 10 and 11, he said, "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ," let me stop there for a moment. Here, Peter is reflecting back to the beginning of his epistle, where he encouraged them to live triumphant lives even in the face of adversity, because they have been according to chapter one, verse two, "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." So he says, "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ" is the one who is going to bless you. This is what he's wanting them to think about. The God of all grace has called you to his eternal glory in Christ. It's amazing, isn't it, though we can suffer and we can be confused, sometimes we can be terribly discouraged, we must also be excited because there is a victory celebration that's going to come. God in all of his glory is going to celebrate that time with us.

By the way, as I think about Peter writing this, remember, he knew that he was going to be crucified at the end of his life. Jesus had told him that. Well, Scripture doesn't tell us this, I have to believe that as he was writing this, under the inspiration of the Spirit, tears were streaming down his face, down his cheeks. Can't you see his hands quivering in exhilaration as he writes these great truths as the Spirit of God guides him to write what he knows to be true? And can't you see Peter's wife, perhaps even sobbing with him? As her heart longs for relief, as together their heart races with adrenaline in the anticipation of glory. Tradition tells us that before Peter was crucified, he had to watch his wife being crucified and that he knelt before her and he kept saying, "remember the Lord, remember the Lord, remember the Lord." And perhaps he even quoted to her some of these things that are written here.

But as we come back to what Peter said, in verses 10 and 11, it says again, "and after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ." I want you notice something here, God is not only the God of all comfort, he is the God of all grace. Isn't that interesting? Now, mind you here, grace is far more than unmerited favor, though it is that. But grace is the transforming and sanctifying power of God that is available to all who trust in Christ, to all who have been born again. God's grace, you see, is comforting grace, and it is far stronger than any suffering that we could ever experience. Peter says, It is his grace that has called us to his eternal glory in Christ. Boy, you talk about power, there's power in God's grace. It's not something static. God has initiated and secured our salvation by his grace, right? This is the grace that has called us out of darkness and placed us into his marvelous light. This is the grace that caused us to be born again, to be resurrected from spiritual death to spiritual life. This is the grace that has saved us. And it is the grace of God, that delivers us from the power of sin and empowers us to live triumphant lives for the glory of Christ. Talk about comfort. And where does that comfort come from? From the Spirit of God, who has written the word of God; to exalt Christ to bring comfort to us, so that we can comfort others. It's an amazing chain. And notice what he will continue to do during the seasons of comfort, or seasons of suffering. It says, "the God of all grace...will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." By the way, these are all terms, almost synonymous terms, that speak of supernatural empowerment. To help us stand firm in the battle and give no ground to the flesh, no ground to the enemy in his forces of darkness.

Let me tell you what these four terms mean. The term "perfect" in the original language means to restore or to repair. It was even used medically to describe the setting of a bone. Well, Peter who didn't Christ is speaking here from experience, isn't he? He knows what it's like to be restored, to be repaired, to have the bone set. The term "confirm" means to make one resolute and determined. You might say it means to fortify a person, to give a person courage, to persevere in trials, to help a person stand firm in the face of temptation, and to be steady in one's faith. And the term "strengthen" means to strengthen a person to be able to bear up under suffering, without ever wavering in their faith. This is what the God of all comfort does. And the term "establish," it literally means to establish you firmly. It speaks of the divine enablement that helps us lay a firm foundation of trust and confidence in him. And it even speaks of God's ability to strengthen; a personal quality or aspect in our Christian character. So we will always be able to endure. Beloved, this is what the God of all comfort and the God of all grace does. And he does it through his Word, especially via his people. One of our young ladies sent me a precious letter last week, thanking me for a sermon that ministered to her directly in some profound way. And I think about how this all works. The Spirit of God spoke to me, comforted me, helped me to understand the word I speak the word of God. She hears the Word of God, she finds comfort in the Word of God. So what does she do? What happens to her? Shall I say, well, as we read out right here, she was "perfected, confirmed, strengthened and established" just a little bit more by the word of God. And this is interesting; she then reciprocates to me, and she brings comfort to me and encouragement to me, so that I, too, may be just a little bit more perfected, confirmed, strengthened and established. Now I have a lot further to go than she does, probably. But isn't it interesting how the Spirit of God works? And now what am I doing? I am comforting you with the same truths. What a precious thing it is to see the hand of God at work in one so young. That's rare. We see that quite often here Calvary Bible Church and I rejoice in that.

Now let's go back to Second Corinthians one as we begin to wrap this up. And with all of this background, verse six and seven will be a little clearer to you. Paul says, "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 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort." Beloved, here, we see that none of us suffer alone, right? This was the case with the the Corinthians. When one member of the family suffers, we all suffer, we know what that's like. But likewise, when one member of the family experiences the comfort of God, we all rejoice with them, and we are all comforted with them. You know, this is one thing that I confess is hard. That's hard as a pastor and I know the elders will agree with this. You know, I'm privy to many private sufferings that goes on in this church. A number of you know that you're on my heart, because we've talked; a number of you even this week. I'm privy to those sufferings, and I hurt with you because I love you, you're part of my church family. And I find that my prayer list tends to grow longer and longer, here of late. And often, even as I did this morning, I just cry out to the Lord, Lord, I can't even keep up with it all. People are struggling in so many ways with so many different issues. All I can do is give it to you. But I also get to share in your divine comfort. And sometimes no one else knows what God has done in your life but it is profoundly encouraging to me to see him comfort you, to bind up your wounds to soothes the aches in your soul.

Well finally, as we've seen, God comforts the afflicted, believers are comforted to comfort others. And then we see that finally, prayer unleashes the power of God at the end of verse 10. Notice he says, "and He will yet deliver us, you also joining and helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many." Now, while Paul praises God for his deliverances, he doesn't forget the secondary cause of the faithful prayers of the righteous. Charles Spurgeon said, "Gratitude to God must never become an excuse for ingratitude to man. It is true that Jehovah shielded the apostle of the Gentiles, but he did it in answer to prayer. The chosen vessel was not broken by the rod of the wicked, for the outstretched hand of the God of heaven was his defense. But that hand was outstretched because the people of Corinth and the saints of God everywhere had prevailed at the throne of grace by their united supplications."

O child of God, never underestimate the power of prayer. We know that the prayer, "the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much," James five verse 16. And I praise God for the earnest prayers of so many intercessors here at Calvary Bible Church, but I wish there were more. And for this reason, Paul implored the believers at Rome, in chapter 15, verse 30, of Romans, he says, "Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me, in your prayers to God for me." People will often ask me, "Pastor, is there anything that we can do for you?" Yes, you can pray for me. You can pray for the elders; we need to pray for one another.

In Ephesians six, verse 18, Paul said, "With all prayer, and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness, the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it, I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Well, I'm not in chains, at least not yet. I may be eventually, we may all be, but I need your prayers. We all need to pray for one another. We need to do this privately. We need to do this corporately. We have opportunities every other Wednesday night here in this area. Every other Thursday night now out in Mount Juliet. We have opportunities with our Wi Fi groups, with the heating plant here early on Sunday morning. We have a group of young men that meet with a couple of our older young men and the high school guys that meet with a couple our, not too much older, but a little bit older young man every Sunday night. I've been with them to see what God is doing there is amazing. To hear some of these young men pray, it just brings joy to my heart. But this is what we all need to be doing. We are not to forsake the assembling together, as is the habit of some as we read in Hebrews 10:25 and sadly, it seems to be the habit of most when it comes time to pray.

Dear saints, your prayers glorify God by demonstrating your dependence upon him, then your confidence in him. It is an act of worship. Our lowliness in prayer is an expression of our weakness and our acknowledgement of his greatness of his power. Can there be any greater expression of adoration for the Lord our God, than to be on our face before him in supplication? Asking him to help us give glory to his name? I think not. Well, may I challenge each of you. Let's learn well the great truths of the God of all comfort. And let's rejoice in the way that he comforts us. And let's be all about comforting others because of the way he is comforted us, using his word as the instrument of that comfort that the Spirit of God can use.

And then finally, I encourage you all get serious about your prayer life. Who you are on your knees before a holy God is who you are, nothing more. Paul said in First Thessalonians five you don't have this on the screen. But in verse 17, he said, "Rejoice, always pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." May we continue to be that kind of people. And may we, as Paul told the Thessalonians, "Excel still more" in all of these areas. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these truths, encourage our hearts with them. May the seeds that have been planted here today bear much fruit, for your glory and for our joy. We ask all of this in the precious name of Jesus, our Savior, and for his sake. Amen.