26 Sep 2 Corinthians 1: Affliction & Comfort
Hi all,
Sunday, September 28, 2014 we begin a walk through the amazing book of 2 Corinthians. Right up front Paul wants to address some faulty teaching and ideas that the false teachers were promoting. They were saying that because Paul is suffering, because bad things happen to him, because he has struggles, he must not be a true apostle, nor even a follower of Jesus.
Paul counters this directly right in the first 7 verses stating in no uncertain terms to be ‘in Christ’ and a follower of Jesus Christ means you will suffer – abundantly he says – affliction. But with this affliction – which God will bring into your life through various means, God also and always brings His comfort.
The Christian life is not a life of problem free, easy, always happy, everything is great days. It is a struggle with many trials, troubles, suffering and difficulties. But in and through all of this God brings, through His comfort, an unexplainable peace and actual thankfulness for the suffering, trials and tribulations.
HERE is a news article I posted a year or more ago containing an amazing testimony of a man named Joel Sonnenberg – a pastor in Florida – who was given by God an indescribably difficult trial and yet you have to hear and see his own heart in regarding what he thinks about it. Well worth 6 minutes of your time!
And HERE is John Piper’s article I mentioned in my sermon entitled, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”.
Blessings,
Norm
