Comfort One Another

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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February 15, 2022

00:00: As we work through it, and I guess I'll let me just say this now So brother Mike and I have kind of worked through a little bit of what we'll do after the one another's And we got a couple more weeks of of this but what we'll do after it for you that will remember It took us almost two years to go through the book of Judges I mean the book of Joshua and then if you remember we started the book of Joshua I mean the book of Judges, I'll get it, right? And and we went all the way up to Jethro, which is probably chapter 12 in the book of Judges So after we're finished with the one another's brother Mike and I are gonna go back into judges Starting with Samson and finish the book of Judges and then after that we're going to work on The statement of faith that we have as a body of believers and go through that and then we're gonna go through the Constitution So we pretty much have laid out a course for ourselves for a good part I would say a good part of the summer and into the fall and one of the Desires in doing that is to get others who maybe are not as familiar with what we believe and why we believe it Not so much the confession, but the Constitution and the statement of faith that we hope to So we're hoping to get more people who perhaps don't know that Involved in that so that they'll have a better understanding of who we are and what we believe, okay I just thought I'd add that in to it.
01:31: Okay.
01:31: So this morning I want to think about comforting one another I Put some scriptures on the board and the scripture I want to read is in in first Thessalonians chapter 4 and we'll read a number of verses and then I'm gonna just Talk about a couple of things and then we're gonna come back to these verses and look at them in more detail.
01:50: So First Thessalonians 4 we'll read from verse 13 through verse 18 in verse 13 The Apostle says this I do not want you to be ignorant brethren Concerning those who have fallen asleep Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord Will by no means Proceed those who are asleep the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and With the trumpet of God and dead in Christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and Thus we shall always be with the Lord and then the the text really is verse 18 Therefore comfort one another With these words comfort one another with these words.
02:58: And so As we focus in on on this idea of comfort That will be we'll come back to this section and on this side of the board I put six reasons from this passage why I Think that we are to comfort one another and and and and the thought behind it In other words, if you think about it all of these one another's that we've been going through We need to make sure that they're based in Scripture, right? They can't just be based in feelings or emotions or past practice or tradition They really have to be grounded and founded on the Word of God itself.
03:34: So we'll come back to that passage This passage in a little bit and and I will show you in these verses very briefly That these six reasons are reasons given to us why we ought to comfort one another and I hope we will find it Encouraging and I hope we will find it comforting.
03:53: So let's just think about a couple of things So I say comfort you say please nobody say southern So some of you know what I'm talking about anyway So so I said comfort you say what what comes to your mind when you when that word is mentioned Is that is that really what comes to you? It's just that your mind is just trained by the Scriptures Okay, so so come alongside, okay Actually, that's one of the main Words that are used so this word comfort is really made up to root words one of them means to come alongside of will come next to and the other one means to to bring comfort or consolation Or even the thought of encouragement Anybody else comfort? What is what comes to your mind? Yeah Yeah, and some of the other translations will use Different words what's interesting and I'll just Pass this along to you now the next time I have the opportunity to speak so brother Michael come next week The next one for me is exhort and I'm going to show you when we go to that in two weeks It's the same word that's used for comfort which is again, I think the context kind of determines how it's Translated in certain places, but nevertheless It really is and it's the word here about comfort one another it's a verb so again Didn't learn much in school, but I do know what a verb does and the noun does I have an idea what an adverb and an adjective does They're like helpers to verbs and and nouns, right? It's just an am I close? Clock.
05:51: Yes.
05:52: He's giving me.
05:52: Yeah, just comfort me with please But anyway, the word is a verb here and and and the word is Paracleto and it's really If anybody who knows the Greek what what would jump into your mind when I say that word? the Holy Spirit, right and that's paracletus, right or again an Italian Bronx Bronx Bronx accent comes out a little different, but nevertheless And if that's really what the word Is and and it really is something that you and I need to do in other words the word that used here in first Thessalonians is a verb Therefore it means that it is a an action that we are to partake in Therefore it means it's a command.
06:45: It's not optional In other words as the the Apostle says we are to comfort one another with these words is not giving us If you got nothing to do if you feel in the mood If the spirit moves, it's a command as all these one another's our brothers and sisters.
07:03: We are commanded to do these things Continually Consistently and not to forsake them because again many times we focus on what we should not do Again do not lie to one another or even as the Ten Commandments in so many ways are laid out in the negative But many times we're so focused on what we shouldn't do that.
07:29: We don't Pay enough attention to what we ought to do.
07:33: And so certainly these one another's are One of them and so it's not my intent this morning to talk about the Holy Spirit as the great comforter But I do want to have us to think about it that we ought to imitate Let me pose it to you this way.
07:49: Should we not seek to imitate? the work of the Spirit of God in us in other words if God has God has given us of his spirit.
08:02: The Holy Spirit has come one of the great Outworkings of the Spirit of God in us is to do what? To comfort us a matter of fact, that's what the word that's used even as Jesus thought about the helper that would come I won't leave you leave you as orphans I will come to you again the thought of coming alongside that the comforter the Holy Spirit.
08:24: We ought to imitate and If I could use the word mimic what he does in us what we do one another Because it's all it's all bundled together right and then this whole idea of of having Union with Christ and being in fellowship with God the things that are freely given to us of God We ought to be in the same way desirous to freely give them wouldn't you agree? There's got to be consistency Along through it.
08:59: So like I said, we're gonna come back to these words But I want to show you a couple different places and I wrote them on the board if you want them How this is to be done and so let me read a couple verses in first It's interesting in in the book of Thessalonians there.
09:14: This is a recurring theme This idea of comfort if you were to look right at Chapter 5 look what it says In verse 9 God did not appoint this to wrath but to obtain salvation Through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that whether we wake or sleep We should live together with him.
09:34: Therefore comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing as We urge you brethren to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord admonish you and to esteem them Very highly in love for their work's sake be at peace amongst yourselves Now we exhort you brethren warn those that are ruling Comfort the faint-hearted uphold the weak be patient to all and again, there's this thought of How we are to act in comforting one another in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 and again you could read it or Later for yourself.
10:13: It says that we ought to Paul says comfort your hearts and establish you That God would comfort your heart and establish you in every Good word and work again this thought of coming alongside to console to encourage to exhort and as we see More specifically when we deal with that exhort one another that it's the same word, but it has a different To me it's almost like a diamond That you look at it one way and one light seems to shine out of it, right? And then you look at a diamond another way and another prism of light peers and so when you think about it when when these words are are used that that's I believe part of the way in which we ought to take it that that the radiance of its truths is In union with other truths, but yet it stands on its own also.
11:10: So in Romans chapter 15, it says whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope then he says in verse 5 of chapter 15 Paul says now may the God of patience and Comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus again that word comfort Is the word that Paul uses in first Thessalonians and when you think about it as God is the God of comfort So we ought to comfort one another with the comfort that he himself and and that's Also what he says and you'll see it in a minute that we ought to imitate What God is to us has done for us and the comfort because again Does anybody want to be discomfited this morning? I'll wait Nobody wants discomfort everybody wants comfort and so we not only do we desire we need it Every one of us in some measure or another nobody is able to Carry it all on their own when you agree.
12:33: We all need Comfort we all need someone Something ultimately, it's God himself, right? He's the great comforter, but we all need Support again.
12:46: God has created us even in that sense as as those who interact with one another.
12:51: So Just think about that in 1st Corinthians chapter 14.
12:55: He says he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and Comfort to men one of the reasons why we ought to continually Not only preach the word but be preached at by the word is to bring us comfort Is to bring us Consolation encouragement and I'll say this if the Word of God discourages you What does not bring you comfort? I assure you the issue is with you The issue is not because God's Word is meant to comfort now that doesn't mean just you'll have a dis glorious feeling But ultimately the purpose behind it is to bring us into union and fellowship and communion with God And it has many different Tributaries, right, but it's still as laid out here The thought that God is the great comforter and then let me read this to you in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 it says of God who comforts us in all our tribulation and Here it is that we may be able to comfort those who are any in any trouble With the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God That's a key verse right there Isn't it that has that that's very pregnant with meaning as far as not only our relationship with God and God's relationship with us But then how we are to take what God gives us and to give it to one another Ultimately to give it to all men, but particularly as we have relationships and certainly within the body of Christ We ought to do that And then the last verse I'll Remark is in 2nd Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11.
14:45: It says finally brethren as Paul says this finally brethren farewell be complete Be of good comfort be of one mind Live in peace and the God of love and peace be with you That we would be of we would be complete we would be of one mind and we would be of good comfort So Those are the thoughts that those are the places that I found in the New Testament and not all of them But I think there's enough there to give us a good enough canvas to work over to work off of that you and I are to Put this all together in our lives and I'll ask you now and then I'll ask you again at the end If you had to gauge yourself on whether you are Both comforting others and Being comforted by others How would you gauge it? How would you gave it gauge it in your own life? In other words, are you a Are you a source of comfort or you would detractor from comfort How much of our lives is made up with seeking to comfort one another? versus In a very selfish way just being comforted ourselves Because and and maybe you would disagree.
16:11: I think in many churches Many people who profess to to know God and to be in the right relationship.
16:20: They're more interested in receiving Than giving would you agree or would you do you think I'm just Okay, I'm glad you all agree People on the internet can't see you all raising your hands saying yeah, but but think about it Where do I fall in this whole idea of coming alongside others and? Seeking to bring them true comfort not false comfort because the world has their own sense of comfort, right? The world has its own methods that it uses at in interaction with Others, but we're not of the world Right, so We ought to use what God has given us and and again I've been asking myself all week that question.
17:09: Am I am I contributing to the comfort of the people of God? or am I More concerned about being comforted by the people of God in any kind of interlock, right? Even as it says in that verse in second Corinthians says God comforts us That we might be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort which we ourselves receive Some people might say that sympathy some people might say it's empathy Some people can say a lot of things but really I think the Bible I Know the Bible is its own interpreter and its own dictionary So therefore we ought to stick truly there and not start Wandering to the left and right with with different thoughts any comments to this point Right I'm so sorry There is there's a lot you you kind of have to lose yourself Right, and none of us are good at losing ourselves We have to go outside of ourselves and extend ourselves Right as you go to a restaurant, what do you expect from the way to a waitress? Service comfort right? You don't go to the restaurant with this and I'm not saying you should but none of us go to the restaurant With the idea of I'm gonna comfort this waiter or this waitress We want to be served right and we want to be served right and we want to be served the way we think we want to be served So I think that is that is a good thought any other thoughts before we go back brother And As the comforter who comforts us in all our tribulations again, we are then to imitate and copy the comfort that we receive and to distribute freely and fully to others that are In need of comfort and again, I say we're all in need of comfort Some people need less comfort than others some people Have different we all have different personalities.
19:54: We all have different constitutions.
19:55: We all we're all in different situations.
19:57: And so We need to be very careful with one another To handle one another and to be of such a mind and heart You know, it's one of the things about all these one another's it really takes thought brothers and sisters We really need to think About what we think about Now if you need me to write that down and autograph that I will But think about it.
20:25: We really need to think about what we think about Especially as we gather together as the people of God again.
20:31: Do we just come here with expectations and I'm not saying we shouldn't or do we come here with a desire to fulfill the These glorious commands and this is a glorious command again I'd rather be around a comforter than a discomforter, right? Just as sure as I'd rather be around someone who's positive and negative Because you know how that goes, right? I'm sure we all have friends relatives people.
21:02: We know That although you want to talk to him, you really don't want to talk to him I have some Honestly people that I know That that as much as I want to talk to him.
21:14: I know what I'm gonna get when I say how you doing And it really takes part on my part, okay, am I ready for this because I know what's coming That no matter how how good they are.
21:27: They're always really bad And so again to your point it takes It takes a real exertion on our part.
21:34: Any other thoughts brother Mike we I thought I saw you flinching The Holy Spirit is the comforter And it's interesting that the Holy Spirit has an external action The comforter and the upper and discourse it says I'm going to I'm sending someone to you because I can't be with you It's to your advantage that I go away So that it will lead you and guide you into all truth So our comfort is the fact that the Holy Spirit is going to lead us and guide us into all truth And therefore that's how we should act Act that out to one another Leading and guiding each other into the truth of God's word Yeah, that's such a good point, right? It's again, it's what we received We haven't received it solely for our own consumption What we receive and that's remember Paul says What do you have that you haven't received? And then what we have received We ought to be desirous to distribute it, right? And it's not like we're going to lose If we give away certain things, we lose certain things We will never lose the comfort of God in our own lives By giving comfort to someone else Matter of fact, it's the other way around, right? We will find even greater comfort Even as Jesus said, it's more blessed to what? Give than to receive So again, all these thoughts But certainly that is something that we could ultimately focus on solely That the Holy Spirit has come to us And given to us that which only God could give And that we are then to distribute it out In all these one another's Okay, we got a few minutes left I want to go back into 1 Thessalonians 4 now And I want to deal with this These six things And I'm not saying there isn't more But these were six things that jumped out to me In this passage Of, if you will We are to comfort one another with these words And it's based on a number of things And the first one is The faithfulness of God And I want you to look at verse 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren Concerning those who have fallen asleep Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope That you and I Ought to come alongside one another Seek to console Seek to encourage Seek to aid In any way and every way Because God is so faithful In that he's giving us a living hope Friends I hope we really can Grow deeper in that truth That God has given us Exceedingly great and precious promises And that that ought to be In and of itself the comfort That we, that's all we need Is to know that God is faithful And God, what God has said he will do He will do because he's a faithful God And that you and I can truly Look at, and I believe that's What Paul is trying to build up to He gets to verse 18 And I think these other thoughts Build to that point That you and I are to Comfort one another because God is faithful And Integrate that God has given us A true hope And not a hope so An anchor for our soul That God In his faithfulness has Declared that he will never leave us Nor forsake us That, and I was reading this one On my own I was just reading through Psalm 139 And you know, it's just That whole thought, if I ascend up to heaven You're there, if I make my bed in Sheol You're there, if I go to the farthest Part of the sea, behold you're there If he's in darkness He says it doesn't matter because Darkness and light is the same to God That God is the faithful God No matter where you and I go brothers He's with us I will never leave you Nor forsake you And so as we seek to comfort one another And certainly in the Thought of Paul's letter here to Thessalonians, this was a real issue Of the resurrection Did we miss the boat? What's the Situation? And so to me That's one of the reasons why We can look to one Another and we can Comfort one another Based on the character Of God, right? We sure can't comfort one another Based on our own character Because all we'll do is Disappoint each other, right? But we can comfort one another On the reality of the faithfulness Of the person of God I hear the trumpets from heaven Very good, thank you sister You can be the background noise Anytime Alright So that's one reason I want to try to get through This couple of them The second one is this, that you and I Ought to come alongside one another And to console One another And to encourage one another And to in a sense be there For one another And the second reason is because of the resurrection And there it is right there In verse 14 For if we believe that Jesus died And rose again Even so God will bring with him Those who sleep in Jesus We really can And again When you think about it How many people There are Who think of the resurrection as a myth As a fable Some people Just totally ignore it Some people Will fight against it But you and I And as the apostle says We believe that Jesus died and rose again One of the reasons why we can comfort one another Is because the tomb is empty Isn't that great Isn't it great that There is no particular date For remembrance Of the resurrection I'm not discounting Easter But what I'm saying is You can comfort me and I can comfort you Because the grave is empty Jesus conquered death He's ascended And I'll deal with that in a second But we're not those Who have no assurance Remember what Job said He said I know My redeemer lives Right Not I think, not it could be Not it might be, not I hope it's true He says I know my redeemer lives And he also Made very clear In his statements that he knew That after he had Gone the way of all the earth He would then see His lord again Even in body form So think about that That's why I ask you Are we grounded and founded Enough in God's word to be able to give true comfort To one another Or again are we just going to be like the world And try to come along somebody And here's another thought Many people come alongside Somebody in a situation And say to them It'll work out Or I hope it works out Well listen We can comfort each other because Jesus Overcame death Arose from the grave Ascended into heaven, is seated on the throne And we can say I know It'll work out Will it work out the way we want it to work out But Will it work out Again, what's that great scripture Yeah, all things work together For good, not all things work together For our happiness or enjoyment In this world, but all things work together For good to them that love God To them that are called And then we go back into the faithfulness of God Called according to his purpose and so on So again, I think the reason why Paul says Comfort one another with these words Is the faithfulness of God, the resurrection And then, I wanted to point this out It's based on our mutual faith Based on our mutual faith Look at verse 15 For this we say to you By the word of the Lord That we Who are alive And remain until the coming of the Lord Will by no means precede those Who are asleep Listen You and I are to comfort one another Because Well, think of it this way There have been multitudes That have gone on To be with Jesus before us And if the Lord tarries I assure you, there will be multitudes That go on to be with Jesus after I mean, and again That kind of Incorporates my thought Of why Christ has not returned yet Because to me As soon as the last sheep Enters the fold, Christ returns Now that's a different Conversation, but Just think about this, we can comfort one another And we ought to comfort one another We're in the same boat Brothers and sisters, we're in the same boat We ought to comfort one another Just think of it, if we were all in a boat On an ocean And the waves were Crashing against the boat We ought to comfort one another Because we're all in the same situation I thought about what Paul said Do you remember what Paul said When he was in the ship Towards the end of the book of Acts And they were afraid, and they threw the cargo out And the ship was breaking up Do you remember what Paul said? As long as you stay in the ship, you're saved You won't perish And so when you think about it We ought to comfort one another because we're in the same boat Because of our mutual faith Because, listen Think about it over and over again Christ died for us Christ died for me Christ died for us And if we begin to separate the us from the we I believe we dishonor The work that Christ did Because he purchased what? Purchased Ephesians 5 He purchased the church Right So you and I, again Ought to bring comfort To come alongside one another Because we have this mutual faith That's That, again Is based on the fact that we have a faithful God And that our Savior Has arose from the dead And that he has conquered the grave And those things And they ought to be pleasant thoughts Shouldn't they? I hope they are to us Okay, just a couple more As our time winds down And in the fourth place That we ought to comfort one another Or it's based on the fact that Christ returned Now, again Some of these things overlap, right? But yet, there's a reality of this And I believe that's what Paul Is really emphasizing Comfort one another with what words? The words that not only is God faithful And he's not going to lose any for those He sent his son for But that Christ is coming again I read to you The very first words In the book of Acts Not the very first, but in the beginning It says this Remember when they had gathered in the upper room Waiting for the Ascension of the Spirit And they heard these words Now when he had spoken these things While they watched, he was taken up And a cloud received them Out of their sight And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven As he went up, behold, two men stood by them In white apparel, who also said Men of Galilee, why do you stand Gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus Who was taken from you Into heaven Will so come in like manner As you saw him go into heaven We ought to be able to comfort One another because Jesus is coming again Man alive If we don't have that comfort In our heart, then I don't know how we can Extend true comfort to anybody else Because they have No real hope What can they be waiting for? How many people are waiting For something that will never Come to pass You and I have this hope And I know brother Mike Says it often Christ will split the eastern sky And Cindy's trumpet Will be blown And the Lord will return And we shall ever be with the Lord Man alive If that don't make you spiritual Hair stand up Then I don't know But we ought to be able to comfort One another.
34:46: These are great things I mean glorious And it's so Rich and so full And go back to my other thought before How much do we really think About these things? Are we just spinning our wheels Captivated with the things of life How many people are waiting for tonight For the Superbowl to be comforted By the team that they want to win Right? And so some of them are going to be very happy tonight Some are going to be comforted I was reading the other day This Superbowl was the most Was the most Bet Superbowl on You know that one guy that spent That bet, he does it every year The mattress dude He wagered four and a half million dollars On tonight's game He does it every year That's his thing Could you imagine I would be very discomforted If I bet four dollars On the Superbowl, never mind Four and a half million My point is that The fact that Jesus is coming again We ought to comfort one another With those words We ought to come alongside one another We ought to be able to lift one another up Give each other hope Okay Two more The fifth one is this That it's based on the comfort that we give to one another And I've kind of been insinuating It's based on doctrinal truth It's based on the truth Of the word of God itself And I say that And again I'll use verse 15 For we say to you by The word of the Lord Right? That you That we who are alive and remain Until the coming of the Lord Will by no means Proceed those who are asleep Remember the verse I read to you From Romans chapter 15 It says whatever things were written Before time Were written for our learning That we through patience And comfort of the scriptures Might have hope We ought to Comfort one another Because we have Not only the faithful God But the faithful word of God And again We ought to use the word of God As not only A defensive weapon Against the wiles of the devil But we ought to use it as a As a way of Benefiting others Who again I'll use the analogy Are in the same boat as we are Or if you extend it outward Again we ought to offer comfort But to those who have no comfort And again I was thinking about I was reading about how In Los Angeles They're trying to hide all the homeless people Today They'll bring them back out of the parks Tomorrow but they're trying to hide them Right? And I was thinking about how Those people have no comfort What comfort could they possibly What comfort could be had Living in a tent And living out in the elements And living In horrible circumstances Or people across the world That have no hope No comfort Bound by All kinds of false gods And false religions And false thoughts And you and I have the word of God And we ought to base our comfort To one another on that And so that's why he says Comfort one another with these words Because what words? The words of God Again And I'll say it this way We don't need Dr.