Take our Bibles and turn with
me to the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. I'd like to look at verses 8
to 11. I've entitled this message, Comfort
in Trouble. having spoken of the comfort
that God's people receive from Him, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the one who comforts us with all comfort, that we
might comfort others with the same comfort wherewith we've
been comforted, exhorts the Church at Corinth tonight with some
precious exhortations. So before we look at this precious
passage of scripture concerning comfort, which we all need, let's
ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, we thank you that you've given us this precious
time. Lord, precious time to be able
to hear the gospel, the message of life in Christ. And I ask
you this evening, Lord, as we consider your word, teach us,
help us, and Lord, forgive us where we fail you. And these
things we ask for Christ's sake. Amen. Verse eight. 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, the
Apostle Paul begins and he said, 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. Now, exactly What troubles Paul
actually experienced with his brethren in Asia? We're not really told. I read
quite a few that speculated it might have been this, it might
have been that. Well, one thing that I've tried to learn is this.
If the Spirit of God is silent on something, don't try to speculate
on it. If the Lord has been pleased
to not say exactly what it was, Paul said, We're in trouble. We were in real trouble. And
he said, I don't want you to be ignorant of our trouble. This is what I know. God's people
have trials and tribulations in this world. We all do. Man is born to trouble as sparks
fly upward. We have tribulation, we have
trial. The Lord has promised us, if
we be without chastisements and all of these troubles that come
our way, the Lord has sent this. He works, worketh, He's always
working. All these things after His own
will, but it pleased the Lord. for the Apostle Paul to set forth
that while they were in Asia, for the cause of preaching the
gospel, they had true trials. And he says, we would not, brethren,
have you ignorant of our trouble. Now listen to this. Which came
to us in Asia. Not only did Paul still want
to give them, remember when Paul the Apostle had told the church
at Corinth, we looked at this weeks ago, he was going to come
and be with them, but he was providentially hindered. I planned
to be there this particular time, but he was providentially hindered.
And he was providentially sent to Ephesus. And there were some
troublemakers in the assembly. And all in the world they were
wanting to do was trying to prove a point that Paul was not worthy
of telling the truth. He couldn't be depended on. He
said he was going to do this. He said he was going to do that.
And Paul is telling them, you know, I meant to be there. I purposed to come. But according
to the Lord's will, I wasn't able to. That's why James exhorts
us. Don't say you're going to do
this, that, and the other tomorrow. This is what we're going to do.
Well, we're going to do this, that, and we're going to do this, and then we're
going down here. No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't say that. James
said, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But we might have a funeral tomorrow. You don't know if you're going
to do that. But you say this, if the Lord wills. we're going
to do this and do that. If God wills, we're going to
do that. And so Paul is still explaining to them concerning,
you know, where he was sent providentially. And these trials, he said, came
to us. He was setting forth that these
trials were obviously sent by the God of all grace. And I know,
and you know this, that trials do come through those who despise
the God that we love, they despise the gospel that we preach, and
they're actually committed by people. I mean, trials by and
large. are gonna come through somebody. They're gonna be somebody that's,
you know, they're gonna be somebody and it's committed toward God's
people. But those who commit these acts
are nothing less than the means by which the Lord corrects, guides,
chastens those that He loves. Wicked men who shall accomplish
God's will concerning God's purpose, God's grace, and God's mercy,
and His people are going to be shown the sufficiency of His
grace in the midst of these trials. And then after the Lord uses
one to be the means of correction toward His people, then He'll
judge the one that He used. because they were doing exactly
what they wanted to do. Now that's power. That's power. God Almighty who can allow someone
to do just exactly what they want to do and accomplish God's
will. Pharaoh. You think Pharaoh wanted
of his own free volition to allow people, God's people to go? under
all those trials that God sent, and finally, Almighty God, who
hardened his heart, the scripture said, left him to himself. Pharaoh
hardened his heart, and it says God hardened his heart. Let Pharaoh
do exactly what he wanted to do. And what did the Lord say?
For this purpose, I raised you up, that I might show my power,
and Almighty God, Sent all those trials to Pharaoh and Pharaoh
let the people go. Then he decided, now I changed
my mind. I'm going after them. And God
Almighty let him come right up to that and then God stopped
him. And then God opened up the Red Sea and let his people walk
across on dry land. and then allowed Pharaoh to do
exactly what Pharaoh wanted to do. God's gonna deliver his people.
God's sending them to the promised land. That's where they're going,
Neil. They're going to Canaan. That's where they're going. But
he sends them out just like he did. He uses Pharaoh to get them
over there, chase them, make them get across, hem them up. God's gonna show them who he
is. And then God allows Pharaoh to
get right in the midst of the Red Sea, and he drowns him. God's
God. Paul said, I don't want you to
be ignorant of the trouble which came to us in Asia. And here's how bad it was. He
said, we were pressed out of measure, above strength. What's he saying? We were so
utterly weighted down with trouble realizing that we were now without
strength to do anything about it. And how bad was it, Paul?
We despaired even of life. What does he mean? There appeared
no way of escape. We're in a dire strait. I don't
think this is going to go well for us. Obviously, This is the Lord's
will, but he says in verse 9, but we had the sentence of death
in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God
which raiseth the dead. We had the sentence, we had the
answer, he said, of death in us. He said, though we felt that
this must be the Lord's time for us to die, and that it was
obviously, based on what we're seeing here, his sentence of
death upon us, we were made to behold a vital lesson afresh. God put us in dire straits to
the point that we thought, we're not gonna make it. I just don't
see how we're gonna make it. Why, Paul says, did the Lord
put us there, why do I want you to be aware of what we went through? Here's what it is, that we should
not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. Not only is a believer taught
by the Spirit of God to not trust in ourselves, we don't trust
in ourselves for salvation, But listen, we don't even trust in
ourselves for the sustaining of our daily life. I can't order
anything. What can you do? What can you
do to order things? I'm going to order everything
today for my absolute good. OK? How? You don't have that ability.
This is what Paul says. We realize something. We realize
something afresh. We don't trust in ourselves.
We trust in Almighty God, which raiseth the dead. Now Paul's
situation here was a need. He had a need of deliverance,
just like Abraham. You remember when Abraham was
directed of God? to take Isaac, his son, his only
son. And you take him to a place of
my choosing and you sacrifice him unto me as a burnt offering. I'll just, let me read this,
it's out of Hebrews 11. But here's what now, Abraham
was told of the Lord, you take Isaac. And he had promised, God had
promised, in Isaac, the Messiah was going to come. In Isaac,
in Isaac, Christ is going to come through the lineage of Isaac. Now I want you to take him and
you go sacrifice him unto me. The scripture says in Hebrews
chapter 11, verse 17 to 19, by faith, Abraham when he was tried,
and oh how he was tried, I want you to take your son You put
him up on an altar, you cut his throat. An offering as a burnt offering. Put the wood there, cut his throat,
light it. Abraham came to the place and
he told us two, you know the story. He said, y'all stay here
with the asses. The lad and I are going to go
up there and we're going to worship God. Well, I'm telling you, that's
where it comes right down to where the paddle meets the water,
doesn't it, Mark? It's just... And Abraham, when he was tried,
he offered up Isaac. What do you mean he offered up?
From the time that God told him, you take your son, your only
son, and you sacrifice him unto me. That boy was dead in Abraham's
mind. He's gone. He offered up Isaac, and he that
had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of
whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That's
what he's talking about. Isaac, Christ is going to come.
Accounting, this is what he accounted. I need some deliverance, is what
he was saying. I can't trust in myself. God has told me to
offer up my only son. And I have one thing that I can
do. Anything other than this is not
an option. I can offer up that boy. That's
all I can do. But here's what accounting that God was able
to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received
him in a figure. Abraham knew this. God said that
the seed is going to come through Isaac. If I offer this boy up, or when
I offer him up, here's the only thing that can happen. God's
going to have to raise him up. God's going to have to restore
him to life. So when Abraham took him up and
put that boy on that altar right there, he believed God. And he
knew he could not trust in himself, but he could trust in God who
raises the dead. If God Almighty can raise one,
He can raise another one. So Paul, like Abraham, he needed
deliverance. He needed some help. And we're
going to be taught. We're going to be taught. Now
listen to me. We're all going to be taught
that we cannot put confidence in ourselves. We're going to
have things that cross our paths that's just going to bring us
to our wits end. How am I going to get out of
this? How am I going to? God is able. God is able. And it's not until we're put
in circumstances beyond our control that we truly know. being taught
by the Spirit of God that we must cast ourselves upon Him
for deliverance. There's times that we'll be put
in a situation and we'll think, well, it could go one way or
the other, and it'll be okay, whichever one. We're not really
being taught. But when we come to the end of
our rope, and there's no way out, unless God opens the Red
Sea, Unless the Lord sends water out
of a rock. Unless God causes Moses to raise
up a serpent of brass and we look, we're going to die. We're going to perish. And these
lessons are hard on the flesh when the Lord brings us to that
point of seeing that we have no ability to sustain ourselves.
And if we're not brought there, if we're not brought there, it's
because We're not His. We're not His. I'm not talking
about little, you know, not a big deal situation. I'm talking about
where you can't do anything. You can't change it. Why am I
here? You can't change it. Why am I
here? That we might learn not to trust
in ourselves, but in the Lord. We had the sentence of death
in ourselves But that we should not trust in ourselves, but in
God, which raised the dead, who delivered us from so great a
death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver
us. Now, what a treasure of knowledge. Now this is a treasure right
here. This is precious treasure that's only taught by experience. We don't learn anything without
experiencing it. Here's the treasure that God
has delivered us. And that he is delivering us
now. And he shall deliver us. Now let me just ask you something.
Doesn't past and present deliverances of the Lord. Past and present
deliverances of the Lord. Doesn't that give us some hope
of future deliverance? At what point has God ever forsaken
His people? He who says, I'll never leave
you. I will never forsake you. Now, whether His deliverance
is temporal in this life or whether His deliverance is gloriously
final in bringing His own unto Himself. I mean, there's going to be a
final deliverance one of these days. You think of deliverance
and we think, well, it always means it's always in this life.
What if it's not? What if He delivers us by death?
He's faithful. He's faithful to His Word. We,
like the Apostle Paul, know from past experience, now I'm talking
about those of us that's gone through some things and learned
some things, like we would say the hard way, which the Lord
says are not grievous. We think they are. Paul said
these are light afflictions. Oh yeah, but you don't know what
I'm going through. Well, the Spirit of God said they're light
afflictions. You want to talk about heavy afflictions? Wait
till the day of judgment. And someone hears the Lord say,
depart from me, I never knew you. Now there's trouble now. Paul said these are light afflictions.
Light, light. But not only in our physical
deliverances. Consider our eternal deliverance. Now I do know, this is speaking
primarily of Paul's deliverance from trouble that he was in,
from the trials that he and others were going through, made to experience
there in Asia. But does this experience and
trial not draw our minds to our eternal salvation and deliverance
by the Lord Jesus Christ? Just as Paul was able to see
himself being delivered from the dire strait in Asia, what
have we been taught by faith to believe concerning our deliverance
from the bondage of sin, being found dead in trespasses and
sins? Do we not believe that it is
God Almighty only who must save us? Paul says in verse 10, who
delivered us from so great a death. Now you think about the death
that we have been delivered from. You think about salvation, and
when we talk about salvation, here's the comfort part of this.
We're going to go through troubles, I know that. Trials, and we're
weary, and we're tired. I know, I know, I know. But let's consider for just a
minute what the Lord has done for us. Salvation. Salvation. I know this world
talks about salvation. It's something in some point
in time where, you know, somebody gives their heart to the Lord
and they got saved. Had a revival meeting, you know.
We used to have revival meetings. I had people come around tents
and stuff like that, set up this tent. They'd have revival meetings
and they'd sing songs at the end and they would pressure people
and pressure and pressure and pressure. And as a kid, I kept
thinking, Would somebody just go down there please? Just, you
know, so they'll stop. You know, just pressure. Finally,
finally somebody does. They got saved. They got saved. That's not how the scripture
speaks of salvation. Let me tell you how God speaks
of salvation. This deliverance is from so great
who delivered That's past tense, who delivered us from so great
a death. What is man's state? Well, God
looked, saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually. Now let me ask you this, has
that ever changed? No. No. For man to have any hope,
God must do something for him that man cannot do for himself.
You know that's so. So let me ask you this. What
must God do? What has the Lord done? Who hath
delivered us. I'm going to talk about salvation
eternally. What has God done for those that
he has purposed to save? He told Moses I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. And the very purpose and counsel
of God to show mercy to an undeserving sinner is actually salvation. that Almighty God would purpose
to do anything makes that to be so. I'll prove it. Isaiah 46, 9 and 10. Remember
the former things of old, for I'm God. There's none else. I'm God. There's none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning. This is the way it is. And from
ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, my
counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure. I will have mercy on whom I'll
have mercy. You know what that means? There's
some that God's going to have mercy on. There's some that He's
already had mercy on. When He purposed it, it's done.
It's done. without controversy, declares
salvation to have been eternal, who delivered us from so great
a death. That's what the apostle said.
He beheld the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world
and was the first one to trust his son, 2 Timothy 1, 8, and
9. I love this. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord and of me, his prisoner. Be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the
power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling
not according to our works but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. How long have God's people in
the will and counsel and purpose of Almighty God been securely
saved? Always been. Always. But Paul says not only in verse
10, who delivered us from so great a death, listen to this,
and doth deliver. Again, I know he was talking
about the trials that he is, but speaking eternally, do we
not behold the one who is delivering us right now? Second Corinthians,
I'll just, we're probably on that page. Second Corinthians
chapter two verse, 14, 15, look this up, check me out on this.
Go get you a good concordance and look these words up and see
if they don't mean this. Now thanks, verse 14, 2 Corinthians
2, 14. Now thanks be unto God which
always causes us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the
savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto
God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are being saved. Is the actual literal of that. And in them that are perishing. To the one we are the saver of
death unto death, to the other the saver of life unto life.
and who is sufficient for these things. You know what Paul said
right now? We are being saved. Right now. 1 Corinthians 1.18. 1 Corinthians 1.18. Literal. Right here. 1 Corinthians
1.18. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that are perishing foolishness. But unto us which
are being saved it is the power of God. Salvation is a work that
Almighty God is accomplishing right now. He hath delivered
us. He is delivering us. And finally, salvation is said
to be a work that shall finally be accomplished. Back in 2 Corinthians,
chapter 1 verse 10, who delivered us from so great a death, and
doth deliver in whom we trust, that he will yet deliver us. Now Matthew 10.22 says this,
he that endureth to the end shall be saved. And we know that there's
absolutely no possibility of any of God's sheep falling away
and being eternally lost. The Lord said, I give unto them
eternal life and they shall never perish. But I can tell you this,
all that are found in Christ, there is now therefore no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. But not only has He saved us,
and is saving us right now, keeping us right now. The scripture says
there's coming a day in which all God's chosen, redeemed and
regenerated saints will be openly presented to the Father. Jude 124, now unto Him that is
able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before the presence of the glory with exceeding joy, His glory
with exceeding joy. Right now, we are being kept
right now through faith unto salvation. We're being guarded
by God's power through faith until we finally and fully inherit
our salvation. Not any possibility of God's
people being lost, but the scripture reveals that there's coming a
time when we shall be saved. And then he closes in verse 11.
He said, ye also helping together by prayer for us, for the gift. that that for the gift bestowed
upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given
by many on your behalf. Now let me, in closing, tell
you what he just said. He's telling the saints at Corinth, and may
we realize the same thing, here's what Paul told them. He said,
we went through some dire straits in Asia. We had some tough times. And we really thought that the
sentence, God's sentence, of death was upon us. That God had
said, this is it. This is it for you. Paul said,
I thought that. But he said, he put us there
for this reason, that we might not trust in ourselves, but that
we might trust in the Lord, only in the Lord. And he said, we
realize that God who has delivered us and is delivered us and we
trust surely will deliver us also. And he said, you, you, helping together by prayer. Paul said, you prayed for us, and God was pleased to deliver
us. For that, he said, we're thankful. Actually, you are laboring
together, is what he said. You are actually laboring together,
you also helping together by prayer. He said you're laboring
with us. We're out there in dire straits,
and he said when you're praying for us, asking God to deliver
us, he said you're actually laboring with us, and you're doing it
by prayer, by giving thanks unto God on our behalf. I was talking
to Brother Bruce Crabtree today, and I told him, I said, Bruce,
I just wanted to call you and just check and see how you and
Joe were doing. And I said, I just want you to
know, I said, as the Lord brings you to my mind daily, I said,
just pray. And I said, Bruce, I don't know
how to ask. I don't know what to say. I said,
Scripture tells us we don't know what to ask. I said, but the
only thing that I can tell you, Bruce, is that as the Lord brings
you to my heart, and I try to ask the Lord in the best way
I know how, and I'm just being honest with the Lord. Lord, I
don't know what to say, but would you take what I'm trying to just
think, what I don't even know what to think. I don't even know
how to think it. Lord, would you take what I'm trying to think
And would you take what I truly intend to say, and would you
take what I would mean to say, without me even knowing how to
say it, and would you take that in the essence of your preciousness,
and would you present it to the Father, and would you talk to
Him, and would you have mercy on Bruce and Joe? in the only
way that you know how to say it, because he always hears you. Bruce told me, he said, Marvin,
he said, it means everything to me to know that there are
people, God's people, that are truly, sincerely praying for
me and Joe. He said, it just, he said, it
just, it's so humbling to know that somebody would care for
you enough He said, to ask the Lord to have mercy. This is what
Paul said. He said, you also helping together
by prayer for us. You're ministering with us, and
he said, you're doing it by prayer. You remember I've said this before.
You remember all those things that the Lord promised in Ezekiel
26? For I will do this, I'm going
to do this for you, and you will do this, and I will do it, and
I will. Yet, he said, yet. For all these things will I be
inquired of by the house of Israel. When somebody tells me, and it's
someone that I really, I know, they make no confession of faith,
and they tell me, they said, you know, my thoughts and prayers
are with you. Well, that's just something you
just pulled out of your back pocket. That doesn't more mean anything
than a man and the moon, but when someone comes And it's someone
that you've got some hope and confidence in. And they tell
you, someone that's confessed Christ, and they believe gospel,
and they believe the Lord that you believe, serve the God that
you serve, and they said, I'm praying for you. I'm praying
for you. I told you that time that Doris
Mayhan, when I was going through that trouble, you know, that
I had ten years ago, And she said, Henry and I ask our Lord
to, you know, to bless you and guide you and direct you and
heal you according to, we ask Henry and I pray for you every
day. I said, Doris, that means everything to me. Paul was in
dire straits like we are. He's in trouble, but he said,
here's the comfort that I have, that I'm learning not to trust
in myself, but in the God that we serve. I pray God bless these
words to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen. Okay.