The Ministry of Comfort

Go right, Isaiah chapter 40. Now tonight, I'm going to preach from 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2. I'll be going verse by verse.
Now long ago I brought a, well actually, it's not been on yet,
I prepared it. for television, a message on
why do we preach the gospel. It'll be on television next Sunday. Why do we preach the gospel?
Well, tonight, I'm going to bring a message on how do we preach
the gospel from 1 Thessalonians 2. How do we preach the gospel? Now, let's look at Isaiah 40.
I have an assignment today which I enjoy so very much. I really wish there was some
way that I could make this tape available, and not just available,
but required listening for all of my preacher brethren. Isaiah chapter 40, it says in verse 1, Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your God. I love to do that. I love to do that more than anything
else. Comfort the Lord's people. Who speaks here? Well, it says,
saith your God. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. It's God who speaks. It's the
Lord of hosts. It's the Lord of glory. He that
hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Lord saith. This is
the Lord speaking. To whom does he speak? There
is no question he speaks to his prophets. to his pastors, to
his preachers, to his servants. He speaks to them, faithful servants
of the Lord. He's not speaking to all preachers
because all preachers aren't faithful servants of the Lord,
but he's speaking to those who are. If you'll turn to the book
of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel have a lot to say about men who
profess to be servants of the Lord, but who are not. There
are many of those. He says in Ezekiel 34, look at
this verse here, this is a sad, sad commentary, a serious charge
that he brings against these false shepherds. In Ezekiel 34,
the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, you prophesy
against the pastors of Israel, prophesying, saying to them,
Thus saith the Lord God to the pastors, shepherds. That's what
a pastor is, is a shepherd. Woe be to the pastors of Israel
that do feed themselves. They're covetous men who care
more for their own welfare than the welfare of the flock. Should
not the pastors feed the flock? Shouldn't the shepherd feed the
sheep? Isn't that what God called him to do? But you're not doing
that. You're eating the fat. You're taking from the flock. You're clothing yourself with
the wool from the flock. And you kill them, but you do
not feed them. The disease, you have it strengthened. Neither have you healed that
which was sick, neither bound up that which is broken. You
haven't brought again that which is driven away. You haven't sought
that which was lost, but with force and cruelty have you ruled
them. That's bad, isn't it? I don't know why this type of idea took hold years ago that
a preacher is supposed to blast people, skin people. Folks say,
well, you sure stomped on my toes today. Is that what I'm
supposed to do, stomp on toes? That's a terrible assignment,
isn't it? I'd rather reach your heart than
stomp on your toes. Boy, you sure told them today.
Is that what we're supposed to do? He said, that's what you
false preachers do. You take from the people, you
feed yourself, you clothe yourself, you look after your own welfare,
and you wound and you hurt my people, and you don't heal the
sick and bind up the broken and bring again the lost. But you're
cruel men, hard men. That's not what he assigns. That's
not the assignment we have in Isaiah 40. He says, comfort my
people. Comfort them, say, if you're
God, listen, speak ye comfortably." What does that word mean there?
To the heart? Speak to the heart? Oh, I know there's a time to,
Scripture says, rebuke and reprove and exhort. I know that. I know
there's a time for examination. I get tired of examining myself. I'd rather examine the Word.
I know there's a time for that. Examine yourself, whether you're
in the faith. Examine yourself, so let him eat. I know there's
a time for confession and contrition. There's a time. The Bible talks
about a time for everything unto heaven, a time to dance and a
time to sing and a time to mourn and a time to laugh, a time to
kill and a time to heal. And there's a time to rebuke
and correct exhort and encourage and examine and confess. But every day is a day of comfort. Every day. Every day. Every day is a day to encourage.
Every day is a day to rejoice. Paul said, Rejoice in the Lord
always. Always. Always. Again, I say
rejoice. Every day is a day to give thanks.
Every day. Today is a day to give facts. Hold that scripture there in
Isaiah 40 and turn to 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Listen to this. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5, I think it's beginning with verse 16. Watch this. Kind of draw a line under this.
1 Thessalonians 5, 16. Rejoice evermore, evermore. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything
give thanks. Where is the examination? Well,
there's a time for that, but evermore is the time to rejoice.
Every moment is the time to pray. Everything give thanks. This is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. I'll tell you why the ministry
of comfort is so important. Now listen to me. The ministry of comfort is of
great importance because it's our nature to doubt. That's right. That comes natural. The reason
the preacher must comfort and encourage and give assurance
and confidence is because it's our nature to doubt. That's the
nature of man. To fear is our nature. Isn't that right? To complain
is my nature. I must be exhorted to rejoice
because it comes natural to complain. You understand what I'm saying?
That's natural. And when you come here to hear
me, you don't need me to encourage that which is natural, complain
and murmur and find fault, fear and doubt, doubt God and fear
God. We have to be exhorted to rejoice
and to love Him and look to our Redeemer in thanksgiving. It's
natural to look in here. That's just natural. We have
to lift these heads up. It's just naturally, that natural
just, that's natural. That's just fine, fine. That
just comes so easy, doesn't it? To doubt God comes so easy. I've
got to change my ways. So he says to me, you comfort
my people. You encourage my people. Don't
pound on them and wound them. Encourage them. It's their nature
to fear. It's their nature to doubt. It's
their nature. It's yours, too. It's all of
our nature. We've got to be exhorted to look
up. Look up! Thy redemption draweth
nigh. Rejoice. Well, who are His people? You comfort my people. I can't
do this. I can't comfort everybody, but
everybody's not here. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem."
He says, they're my people and they're Jerusalem. Jerusalem
is the city of our God. And ours is the heavenly Jerusalem,
right? So that's, we are the heavenly
Jerusalem. Who are his people? They're his
chosen ones. You're his chosen ones. It pleased
God to make you his people. You're his people. You didn't choose me, I chose
you. And then you are his redeemed people. The angel said, Joseph,
call his name Jesus. He's going to save his people
from their sins. You're his people by choice.
You're his people by redemption. You're his called ones. He calls
you. You're the called of Christ Jesus.
Whom He justified, He called. You're His peculiar ones. You're
a holy people, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a special
people to the Lord your God. You're His people. And you're
His loving people. He said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. I've loved you. I've loved you
with an everlasting love." So that's... Who speaks? Our God. To whom does He speak? His servants. What does He say? Comfort my people. Speak to the
heart of my people. Comfort them. Who are His people? They're His chosen ones, His
redeemed ones, His called ones, His special ones, His loving
people. Why do they need comfort? Why do they need comfort? Well,
let me show you. Turn to 2 Corinthians. Why do
they need comfort? Oh, my. I know, don't you? Oh, yes, I know. Even this past week, for some
of you, Difficult time. You need comfort. Need comfort. In 2 Corinthians
4, verse 6, I want you to look at this. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ Jesus. That's these chosen people. These elect people, these redeemed
people, these peculiar people, these people whom God loves,
special people, they've been blessed with the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure
in earthen vessels. This glorious treasure, the knowledge
of God, the fellowship of God, the relationship with God, a
good hope of eternal life in Christ. We have all this in an
earthen vessel. This vessel of clay, this clay
pot, this old human nature is so strong, isn't it? And it's
so human, it's so fleshly, it's so given to despair and doubt
and fear. But we have it in an earthen
vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God, not
of us. We don't take any credit, and
the older we get, the less credit we take. Isn't that right? The longer we live in this fleshly
house, the more glory we give to Him for putting us in His
Son. And he says we're troubled on
every side. God's people are troubled people.
I found something on that. We're never free from one trial
or another. We're in this world and we're
troubled. But he says we're not distressed. We're troubled, but we're not
distressed. We have the peace of God, manifestation of His
love. Then he says we're perplexed.
That word means uncertain. We don't understand why these
things take place. We're perplexed. But we're not
in despair. We do not despair of His help
and His blessings and His presence. We're persecuted, cursed, despised. Why do men despise you? Well,
because you know God, because you love God. They despise Him. Persecuted, but we're not forsaken.
Our God will never forsake us. We're cast down. Yeah, we're
cast down. The writer said, like an earthen
vessel is sometimes thrown to the earth, sometimes seemingly
forgotten and deserted, but we're not destroyed. Troubled, perplexed,
persecuted, and cast down. That's why His people need to
be comforted. That's why. There are people,
and here's another reason, they need to be comforted because
they are tried people. And they need to be comforted
because they are people who are not of the world and yet they
have to live in the world. They are not of the world and
yet they have to live in the world, have to make their living
in the world. Turn to John 17 and listen to our Lord. They
have to continually be in the presence of the people of this
world. They have to listen to the talk of the world. They have
to dwell among the people of this world. Our Lord was praying
for these people in John 17 and He says, In verse 14, I've given
them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they're
not of the world, even as I'm not of the world. But I pray
not that you should take them out of the world, but keep them
from the evil one. They're not of the world, even
as I'm not of the world, but they've got to live in it and
work in it, rub shoulders with the people of the world, people
who despise their God and despise them. Those people need encouragement,
comfort. And then, not only that, why
do the people of God need comfort? Because they're tried people.
One trial after another. Because they're not of this world,
and yet they've got to live in it, and associate with it. And the third reason is because
they have a fleshly nature. A fleshly nature that really
identifies with this world. Their spiritual nature identifies
with God. But their fleshly nature, unfortunately,
identifies with the world. Let me show you that in Romans
7. Turn over there and listen to Paul in Romans 7. See if this
is not true. In other words, God's people
are perfected in Christ, but they're far from perfect in themselves. Paul said, I'm not perfect, I
haven't arrived, I haven't laid hold upon that for which I've
been laid hold of, of Christ. And listen to Romans 7, verse
18. I know that in me, that is, in
this flesh dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with
me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good
that I would, I do not. And the evil which I would not,
that I do. Now if I do that I would not,
it's no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
the law that when I do good, evil is present with me. You
find that to be true? I delight in the law of God after
the inward man. But I see another law in my members
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man
that I am! Who's going to deliver me from
the body of this death?" And we preachers, and I address
this to preachers and to all of us, we live in a protected
atmosphere and environment. We get up in the morning and
go to our study with a cup of coffee and sit there and read
the Bible and read the great old writers and prepare messages
and talk on the phone to other ministers and other people. Our
folks get up and got to go out to work. They've got to face
people that Difficult to face, and they've got to do things
called upon to do that are very difficult to do, and they've
got to be associated. We don't live in this protected
environment. They listen to all the junk for
eight hours a day, and they hate it, and yet their flesh listens
to it. They laugh at things they don't
want to laugh at. They have to agree with things they don't
agree with to keep the peace in the factory. It's a difficult,
difficult environment. And these people need comfort. They need help. They need assurance. They need to be lifted. Their
spirits need to be encouraged. And my God says, you comfort
them. He said, I left them in the world and out of the world.
And the world hateth them, but they got to stay in it till I
call them home. And their fleshly natures find
a kinship with the world. But their spiritual natures hate
it. And the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, so they can't do
what they would do. They wouldn't be perfect and
can't, you know, to warfare. And they don't need to go through
that all week and come to church on Sunday and get more of the
same. Do they? They have troubles in the flesh.
Our Lord, they came to Him and said, he whom thy lovest is sick. Lazarus was sick. Epaphroditus,
Paul said, my brother was sick nigh unto death. He said, I left him at my latest
sick. Dorcas got sick and died. Peter's friend. And then these folks grieve over
their children. Their hearts are broken. Comfort
my people. Why do my people need comfort?
They're tried people. They're people who are not of
the world, yet they have to live in it. They have a fleshly nature. They have trouble in the flesh.
They grieve over their children. Their hearts are broken. They
suffer from loneliness and misunderstandings and heartaches and sorrow. And
so often they scold themselves and say, if I'd have done this,
or if I'd have done that, things might have been different. They
live with that, don't they? If. They suffer. So our Lord says
to His servants, He says, you comfort them. Alright, I will. I want to. Now what do I say?
How do I comfort them? Oh Lord, what shall I say? I'll
comfort your people. I'll speak to their hearts. I'll
lift their spirits if you let me. But what do I say? Who's
sufficient for these things? How can a weak vessel, like the
weak vessel, lift the weak vessel? What can I say to comfort your
people? Shall I direct them to their
works? Have them examine their works? I won't do. I'll just
depress them a little more. Well, shall I have them go back
and redefine their experience? Examine their profession? That
won't help. That won't help. We believe the same thing now
we believed then, but we believe it a lot stronger, don't we?
So that won't help me. I don't go get a birth certificate
to prove I was born. That would be kind of silly,
wouldn't it? Well, shall I direct them to the law? No. That will
discourage them. Well, shall I try to promote
a good feeling of excitement, joy, raise their hands and Well,
that'll be all right here, but what about when they get out?
They can't go down the street doing that. They'll put them
in jail. Or a straitjacket. That's no
good. What shall I say? All right,
let's read the rest of it. Comfort my people, saith your
God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her. Number one, her warfare is accomplished. The battle is over. It's finished. That's the way you comfort my
people. The battle is over. The message is not doom and doubt
and despair and damnation. It's good news! Christ died for
our sins. That's the way you comfort God's
people. All our enemies have been engaged by the captain of
our salvation and he whipped them off. Everyone, all your
enemies are defeated. The warfare is over. The battle
is over. He cried, it's finished! It's
finished! And went to glory, our captain
of our salvation, and sat down. The curse of the law is no more. Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. The law has no claim
on you anymore. Don't you fear it? Don't fear
it. The law can't touch you. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Who can
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? I'm justified. Sure, there's plenty in me that
is not commendable at all. But my Lord took all my sins
and nailed them to the cross, and the curse is gone. Sin is
gone. God said, I'll remember their
sins no more. No more. Separated your sins
from you as far as the east is from the west. I'll remember
them no more. God doesn't remember them. God's
cast them into the depths of the sea. Satan, the prince of
this world, I hear preachers talk like they pray to Satan.
You don't have to fear Satan. Our Lord said, the prince of
this world cometh and finds nothing in me. I met him and conquered
him and defeated him. He can't touch God's children. The world, He said, I've overcome
this world. Death? To die is to die no more. So you say to my people, The
battle is over. Her warfare is accomplished.
The victory is won. The curse is no more. The law
is satisfied. Justice is satisfied. No one
has a claim on you. Satan can't touch you. I'll encourage
you on it. Secondly, say to my people, now
listen, her iniquity is pardoned. Her iniquity is pardoned. Sin
is all paid for. Now watch this. The forgiveness
of sin flows from God's free grace. Not by works, not by merit,
not by deeds, not by law. Having begun in the Spirit, I'm
not made perfect by the law. When I came to God, I came through
Christ. And I still come through Christ.
And I still find my cleansing and my salvation and my hope
in Christ after all these years. I heard the gospel in 1950. I
believed the gospel. I rested in Christ. I come right
now as I did then in Christ. My iniquity is pardoned. And
that pardon of sin flows from the grace of God and is obtained
by the blood of Christ. We are accepted in the Beloved.
Read with me Ephesians chapter 1 a moment. Now listen to this.
We're accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians chapter 1. What I'm trying to say is this
to everybody here who believes in Christ, not perfectly. Who loves Christ, not perfectly.
Who looks to Christ alone, not perfectly. who's a human being,
and yet salvation is of the Lord, you know it, you love it, you
believe it. Christ is our portion. To whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life. Now we wrestle all the time with,
well, am I really saved? Do I really believe? Of course
I believe. Of course I believe. Do I love
Christ? Well, do I love my wife? Of course I do. Do I love my
children or grandchildren? I know that. I love Christ too. So why should we have these doubts
and fears and troubles? The warfare is over. Sin is pardoned. Iniquity is pardoned. Look at
Ephesians 1 verse 5. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved."
We're accepted in Christ. "...in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace." Our sins are forgiven, not according to our faith or
our merit or our goodness according to the riches of His grace. Sin
is paid for. Blessed is the man to whom God
will not charge sin, not impute sin. And that's in Christ. A fellow one time had a little
booklet in his hand. He had three pages. Three pages. And he was looking at those three
pages and somebody walked up behind him and said, what you
got? He said, got the story of my life. He said, it's an awful short
story. He said, yeah, it is. Three pages. And I don't see
anything written on the pages. No, he said, there's nothing
there. He said, first page is black, isn't it? He said, yeah,
that's where I came into the world. Black with sin, defiled,
corrupt. Wicked, born in Adam. Black. Not a light spot there, that's
minutiae. Wicked and evil. Second page
you read, yeah, that's the blood of Christ. My Lord came down
here to earth and shed His blood for my sins. Put them all away. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth all my sin. That third page is snow white. That's me in Christ. You can't
look at me and see that whiteness, but you look at Him and you can
see it. That's me in Christ. Can't you believe that? You say,
that's too simple. It's profound really, but it's
simple when you see it. Very simple. It's in Christ. And I tell you, the problem that
so many, I'll address the preachers again, theologians and complicated,
they've just muddied the water a whole lot. The gospel is simple. It's Christ. It's Christ. All in Christ. Totally in Christ. All because of Christ. I'm black. He's the Savior who died. And
because He died, I'm snow white. Though your sins be as scarlet,
I'll make them white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
I'll make them as wool." Enter into the comfort. I tell you, if you will enter
into the comfort, you'll find rest. Now, let me tell you another
story. I've told this before, but it
fits right here, and I've got to tell it. This boy was standing
beside the road with a big old backpack on. He'd been walking. He was so tired, sweat running.
A big old backpack on his back and a car came by and a man stopped
in a Jeep. He said, do you want a ride? Yes, sir, I sure do. So he got
and sat down in the car and he had that backpack on his back
and the driver said, well, take your load off and put it in the
back. Take it off and lay it in the back seat. No, he said,
I don't want to impose on you too much. He said, you gave me
a ride and I'll just carry my pack and won't it be an imposition."
He said, son, I'm carrying you and the pack. Now, you can put
it in the back and rest, or you can keep it on your back, but
I'm still carrying both of you. So why don't you just get rid
of it? And that's what I say about all of us carrying this
excess baggage of doubts and fears and worry, concern, well,
I don't want to impose too much on the Lord, I'm too great a
sinner and all this stuff, you know, lay your burden down. and
ride, safe in the arms of Jesus. He's carried you and your load.
He carried your load before you came along by faith, didn't He?
So just rest in Him. That's comfort my people. Tell
them the war is over. Tell them sins are put away. I tell you this, every one of
you who know Christ, You don't have one spot on the record up
there. Not one. Not one. Doesn't that comfort
you? Yeah, but I haven't been all
I ought to be. Nobody else has either. But Christ, that's the
reason we need. Well, I'm not worthy. You're
just dead right about that. But He's worthy. Rest in it. Come unto me and I'll give you
rest. All right, third thing, now quit. Tell them, thirdly,
she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
Now then, listen to me. In the first place, our sins
are infinite, and they require an infinite payment. They require a death that only
God Himself could die. They require a debt only God
Himself could pay. She hath received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. Think of all the sins of all
believers of all ages. Oh my, what an awful garbage
dump. What an awful cesspool. It required
a death only God could die. It was a debt only God could
pay. Secondly, it's pay. He neither paid less than we
deserved or more than was demanded. He paid it all. He didn't pay less than we deserved,
so there'd be left something to pay. He didn't pay more. because
it required death, and death is death. Isn't that right, Sister?
He paid it all. Then what's this double? Well, here's the double. It may
mean this. Our God has not only paid our
debt, but He made us rich. In other words, example, suppose
I owed a pretty good sum of money. down here at the bank. One of
you men came and said, I'm going to pay that off. So you go pay
it. It's paid. I don't owe anything. They have no claim on me. But
I'm still poor. Isn't that right? I still don't
have anything. I'm not in debt anymore, but
I don't have anything. But he comes to me and says,
I'm not only going to pay your debt, but I'm going to make you
my son and my heir. And when I die, it's all yours. Now, double. He got me out of
debt and made me a king. That's what he's talking about.
Double. Listen, my friend, the Lord Jesus
didn't just pay your debt, He gave you an inheritance. He just
didn't get you out of trouble, He made you a son. Lift up your
heart and head and rejoice. You're not just barely in the
Kingdom of God, you're on the throne in the Kingdom of God. Double! I was sub-zero. He didn't bring me up to zero.
That's what I'd be if He just paid my debt. I'd still be at
zero. Neither here nor there. But I'm
there. Already entered in. See, that's
the double comfort of it. Comfort them. Don't mistreat them. They need comfort. They're hurting. They're hurting. And here's the way you comfort
them. You tell them, from the throne, the war is over. The enemy is defeated. You tell
them. Their sins are pardoned. Iniquity. And you tell them that God Almighty
has given them double for all their indebtedness, got them
out of debt and made them sons. And He died and we have an inheritance
incorruptible, undefiled, reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of God. Isn't that good news? Sure it's
good news. It's glorifying to God too. Glorifying
to God. Alright, let's sing how firm
a foundation.

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