Title: Suffering and Consolation
(Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
God of all comfort and comfort us in all our troubles,
to be able to comfort those who are in all affliction with the comfort they receive from God.
As the sufferings of Christ abounded for us, so our comfort
overflowing through him. Our sufferings are for your comfort and salvation.
and if you are comforted, it is for your comfort that this comfort will work in you.
And we make you endure the same sufferings that we suffer; our cattle for you
The strength of your network is that you will be partakers of suffering, so will you be in comfort.
I do not want you to know, brethren, of our tribulation in Asia.
No, we suffer too much beyond our strength, and our hopes to live are cut off, and our hearts
had been condemned to death, for we must not trust in ourselves, but
to trust only in God, who raises the hermit.)
A church school teacher is teaching kindergarten children, and that day the lesson title
It is said that this was the 'way to the kingdom of heaven'.
The teacher told the children:
“Everyone, if I sell my house and donate everything to the church, I will be able to go to heaven.
When asked, "Yeah?", the children answered "No" in unison.
The teacher again said, "Then, if I clean the church every day and wipe the windows, it will be heaven.
Can we go?" I said, and this time, the children all answered "No" in unison.
is.
Then the teacher said, "Then what should I do to get to heaven?" did you ask
All. Then a five-year-old boy jumped up and shouted, “Teacher must die.
All right," he replied.
It was published in the National Daily.
Everyone!
It's a childish statement, but it's the truth.
To enter heaven, we must first die.
All of me must die through Jesus Christ.
But it still doesn't work.
My outward man is still alive, and all that belongs to this outer man is alive,
You may be living far away.
1. What are we most afraid of in our lives? What would you ask?
Accidents and deaths will happen without warning.
There are happy moments in life, but tribulations such as unexpected accidents, trials, and death
It always makes us anxious.
Just because you are a sincere believer does not mean that you are exempt from the course.
Rather, more suffering than the people of the world is predicted.
The early church believers had to endure the suffering that came from inside and outside.
Inside, they tried to dismantle the faith through the activities of heretics, and outside the Roman Empire
Emperor worship had to endure persecution.
The most painful thing at that time were the traitors within.
Seeing that most of them are taken to the seat of martyrdom,
Those were messy things. During the Japanese government, patriots were caught and put in prison.
Most of what happened is the same as because there were secret agents from within.
Even though the pain of persecution and persecution is gone for us today, the material civilization has fallen.
The pain we experience when we try to live according to our beliefs in the culture of
In a sense, physical persecution and persecution gave me more strength to endure.
However, in this affluent world of splendid material civilization, {the ordeal of poverty}, 'discrimination from hardships of life', and 'bullying due to faith' are unbearable sufferings.
That's why 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "If anyone wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus,
those who believe will be persecuted.”
What does it mean to 'to live a godly life'? According to the word, according to faith, one
It means a life where you want to live by killing yourself. Even today this
It is said that hardship comes to those who try to live like this.
We don't like this kind of suffering, so we live in compromise with the world.
would you So you sit at the booze seat, and then you sit at the gambling table, so that's the right thing to do.
Even though you know it's not the way, isn't it that you can't get out of it
how?
2. If you suffer as a Christian, there is a way to that suffering.
"If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you.
If you belong to the world, the world will love its own; but you are not of the world.
You, but the world hates you, because I am chosen out of the world.
d" (John 15:18-19)...
This is why modern Christians moderately compromise with the world.
I do not want to suffer and be ignored by the world, so I choose a color similar to the world
is. So, looking at the religious status of 100 important positions in Korea,
① 42 Christians, ② 20 Catholics, ③ 9 Buddhists, ④ 26 non-religious people, ⑤ 3 others.
I say. If 42 Christians and 20 Catholics combine, 62 people worship God.
are believers. In other words, 62% of the important positions in our country are Christians.
is.
But isn't it strange?
Why are Christians in important positions?
Doesn't the society we live in change?
I think the time has come for the Korean church to take this issue seriously.
It is said that seawater does not rot even if it contains only 5% salt.
The word of the Lord is that you are the salt of the world. salt loses its taste
Probably because it was thrown away.
If the salt has lost its saltiness, it is said that salt is useless.
Are today's Christians needed in this society? raises doubts.
Therefore, the church is to be dealt with in the social courts.
If even among the church members, they are being sued in the world courts.
According to the Bible, it is said that the religious action of the church should be higher than the courts of the world.
I did. However, since the church was judged in the world court, this is
If the word is not preached, what is it?
If you live like this, you will experience double pain. because in that life
because they cannot receive God's comfort at all.
But suffering with Christ comes with comfort.
Because I can feel the Lord with my suffering.
This was the only power that the Early Christians had to overcome the world.
The Lord's promise of comfort is with the saints who are still in trouble.
3. Therefore, believers should live while hoping for the comfort of God.
If the saints suffer while trying to live righteously, God's comfort is with them.
The comfort of the Lord is with the saints in their sufferings while living according to the Word.
If the saints seek worldly comfort when they are in trouble, there they will find comfort.
can't. Because it is only God who comforts the saints.
For the saints in suffering through Jesus Christ, who personally suffered all suffering
you are doing The only thing that can comfort a person in distress is that he
It must be someone who has been bullied.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth in a human body and was despised by all
He received all the blessings, and his sinless body died on the cross as a sinner's mold.
Who has suffered more than this?
Therefore, the Lord can comfort those who are in any trouble.
Among the gospel hymns, there is a song called 'Look at the face of the Lord when you are in trouble'.
Among the songs, it is said, 'Lift up your eyes and behold the Lord, cast all your worries on the Lord'.
is. In fact, it is only in the midst of suffering that you can feel the comfort of God closer.
This is the story I heard during the trial.
“Pastor! While I was married, I was able to survive because of our inspiration.
No matter how bad my mother-in-law made me live, I couldn't live. wearing a skirt
I tried to die by drowning in a pond, drank lye and tried to die, and I died several times.
I tried, but each time my husband silently held my hand tight before going to sleep at night.
It was. If you hold me tight with that rough hand, that big hand that you worked so hard for... tears will come
overflowed I lived that hard marriage because of my husband."
All.
What does this mean?
It is the same with our saints today.
If we live according to the Word in this world, we will face all kinds of criticism, ridicule, contempt and disrespect.
You may receive . The more you try to live a godly life, the more things get in your way
There are so many. The more we do, the more the Lord's hand holds us.
The greater and greater the suffering, the richer the 'prepared comfort'. According to the Bible, suffering and
Upstairs is a neighbor who always sticks around.
When God's children face difficulties in a harsh and evil world,
There is no God.
He fills our hearts with comfort through the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 46:3-4 "Hear me, O house of Jacob, all you remnant of the house of Israel.
All of you, you who were embraced by me in the belly and embraced by others in the womb.
I will do this until she is old, and I will bear you until she has gray hair.
I have made it; I will hold it, I will embrace it, and I will ask and bring it down.”
All.
Even today, our Lord is holding the saints in suffering with a hand of comfort.
Those who go out to sow seeds with tears will reap the sheaf with joy.
However, suffering and comfort have a purpose.
God has a clear neck to allow suffering and to provide comfort to the saints.
have ever been
① The greatest purpose is to lead to salvation. make us only God
It leads to salvation.
“We knew in our hearts that we were condemned to death, for we should not trust in ourselves.
and trust in God, who raises the dead.”
All.
When a believer is in trouble, he can only look to God. and from God
He asks for a helping hand. In fact, if man lacks nothing, God
can't find it.
Even if you look for it, you often end up with a form.
When life is hard and there are hardships, we earnestly seek God.
② He also comforts others who are in trouble.
2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “He comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we
Who is able to comfort those in all affliction with the comfort of God
Shiroda," he said.
A saint lost his son in a car accident.
While riding a motorcycle, he collided with an oncoming car and died on the spot.
is. At this point, who can comfort you with what?
He refused all the pastor's comfort and visitation.
Then several months passed.
I woke up after hearing the comfort of an elderly couple from a poor family living in the same apartment. this
The two sons of the old couple were both sent to heaven first, two by one, due to an unusual illness.
were people who suffered.
'That old couple lives even after losing their two sons...'
I am comforted by the fact that there are people in the world who have suffered more than me.
means it happened.
This is called sympathy. Sadness is only for those who have experienced sadness
It would be a way to know each other.
In that respect, it is the most disrespectful, despised, ridiculed, beaten, spitting, and crucified in the world.
There is only one person, our Lord.
God endured his only sinless Son for us to the point of dying on the cross.
Therefore, he comforts the saints who are suffering injustice without sin.
He comforts the saints in distress.
May we all overcome the world with this comfort.
And I hope that we will be able to live while comforting each other in the midst of suffering.
All.
This is God's voice to us today. ♣