Focal Point

Dave Drouilly: Today on Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: There is a time for you to know how you were ministered to by God himself, maybe in an extended quiet time, maybe by reading certain passages, maybe just by sitting before God silent, and that's something you can direct someone to do. Replicate good encouragement. That's what I'm asking you to do. When Job lost nearly everything, three friends came and sat with him in silence for 7 days, and that silence was the best thing they offered. Once they started talking, they kept hinting that he must be hiding some secret sin. Today on Focal Point, Pastor Mike Fabarez considers what the people who carried us through dark seasons got right and what others got painfully wrong.

Then he turns to 2 Corinthians 1 verse 7 and a hope Paul says cannot be shaken. Here's Pastor Mike with his message, The Reciprocity of Comfort. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul has a thorn in the flesh. You want to talk about a 100-fold fruit guy? That's him. He's bearing a lot of fruit in the book of Acts. Paul gets the thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet his body. He's in pain. He cries out to God determined to have God take it away three times. He's got faith, I mean like crazy, and God didn't take it away.

He says, no, my grace is sufficient. And he explains in verse 7 why that's happening. Because he said he wants me humble because of the exceeding revelations that he's experienced. I mean you if you're writing the New Testament and you go to somebody's home fellowship group, you're you're going to feel pretty prideful, I'm assuming. You're going to be tempted to be prideful. What does this mean? Well, let me tell you, I wrote it. I mean that that's that's that's going to be a a moment of tempting pride. Well, if you're there with a chronic illness that brings you pain every single day, perhaps this is something that you need humbling.

Why? Because God is opposed to the proud, but he'll give grace to the humble. He can use humble servants. He will keep you producing fruit if you can stay humble. So this is part of maybe why you're suffering. Maybe you're suffering because you're being disciplined. Maybe you're suffering because you need assurance. Maybe you 're suffering because you need to be a stronger, grown-up Christian. Maybe you need to produce more fruit, or maybe it is that in your producing a fruit, you need to stay right where God wants you. And that is reliant and dependent and humbly bowed before God.

But you're never going to figure this out if you don't suffer perceptively. What is happening? Is this sowing and reaping? What's going on? Is this discipline? Their unconfessed sin? Do I need more assurance of my salvation? Do I need to be stronger? Do I need to be more productive? Do I need to be humble? What's going on in my life? That's a good place to go. Paul figured it out in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. We need to figure it out by suffering perceptively. Keep your ears open. Well, this was not the encouraging sermon I thought it would be, Pastor Mike.

Well, let's go back. We looked at the affliction and and and suffering side. Let's look at the comfort side. But I just want to give you a preview, not going to be as encouraging as you think. Sorry. And I'll tell you why. Let's just read it and we'll figure it out. Who comforts us in all our affliction. Yay, finally. So that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction. There's the rub with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Oh, that's nice, comforted by God. As we share abundantly in Christ's suffering, already dealt with that, so that through Christ we may share abundantly in comfort too.

Well, that's good cuz if we're afflicted, it's for your comfort and salvation. And if we're comforted, it's for your comfort which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings we suffer. Okay, comfort, comfort, comfort, comfort, comfort. That's great, but it's a comfort that I'm supposed to understand so that when I'm comforted in my afflictions, I might like Paul and Titus do, and just like Christ did, I might be able to help you. And here's the thing I don't want to do when I'm suffering, worry about you. I want to worry about me. Right? I want to curl up and say this is my pain, my problem.

Everyone needs to help me, please. Help me. I'm suffering. That's my natural tendency. Is it yours? I'm sure it is. You don't need to answer. Yes, it is. But here's a passage challenging us that when we're comforted, it's for a purpose just like the affliction he says. Look at this in verse number 6. If we're afflicted, it's for your We just passed right past your comfort even though that's been clearly stated in the passage. If you're afflicted, it's so I can comfort you. My affliction is purposeful. Let's put it that way. Number two, you need to not only suffer perceptively, you need to suffer purposefully.

I'm going to see the purpose that God has. As I get through this, I want to help others. Help is such a small word compared to what Paul has in view that he even enlists a word that's hard for us to understand in any other context than having our name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. But look at it again in the passage so you don't misunderstand verse 6. If we're afflicted, it's for your comfort and salvation. Now let's just for fun just think about the difference between the two salvations we can talk about.

There's the salvation that matters most that most of the time we use the word even in the New Testament we're thinking about our name written in the Lamb's Book of Life, us being clothed in Christ, us never hearing depart from me, I never knew you, but having that great welcome into the kingdom. That's salvation. Salvation is future. That's true. But all you have to do is read more in the Bible to find that that word even in the New Testament that word is sometimes used as it is here for getting through the bad thing that's happening.

It's a lot in the Psalms. It's a lot in the Psalms. Look in the Psalms and see how often we see the word saved to talk about being in trouble and getting out of it. Let's put it this way. Job was saved out of his troubles. I mean it took 39 chapters, but it happened. Ultimately didn't happen till till the last chapter, 42. But the idea of him getting through this that happened. James 5 says it. The idea of salvation here is I want people around me in my church to get through their trials. It's going to hurt, but I want to get them through it.

So when I 'm suffering, I'm supposed to be thinking about them. How can I have my comfort and me getting through my trials something I can utilize in your life? That's the way we need to think. Now of course you're going to have to attend to a lot of the problems that come in your life when you have your dreams shattered. You got a lot of care that you need and you're going to use all the instrumentality of God and his people and his word. All of that's going to be used to comfort me, but even as I'm getting that comfort or even when I walk into the dark tunnel of of of a trial, I need to say okay, God, you're getting me ready to minister to other people.

I'm going to be able to help other people. Yeah, I'm all about comfort and having you comforted, but just know if you're comforted in the midst of your trials, right? It's so that you can comfort others. Let me read for you verse 4 again. Who comforts us in all of our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in the same exact affliction that I have. Highlight the word same exact affliction. Do you see that there? Is that what it says? No. You're supposed to correct me when I read the Mike Fabarez version of the Bible.

That's not what it says, but that's what a lot of people think. What does it say? A n y Any affliction. Any affliction. Even in the Greek text This is a strong word in anything. Anybody struggling in the church? If I lost a child in a car accident or a plane crash and I get through that as God is comforting me and getting me through my grief, I can comfort the guy who's lost his job and can't find a new job. The guy who's lost his job, right? He's able to comfort someone, a a gal who's lost her husband.

And the gal who's lost her husband may be able to help the gal who's infertile and can't have a child. You don't have to comfort the person who's got the same exact That's why we don't have all these support groups for well, okay, here are the people that have had this trial. And over here we're going to have this support group for these people have this problem. That's not how it works. We don't have that by by strategic purpose because in your small group, your home fellowship group or your sub congregational small group, if you're part of a ministry, you should be in a circle with the chairs are face to face.

All of our sub congregations have that small group time every week. If you're in a home fellowship group, that's what it's about. Oh, you're there face to face. Everyone in that circle because they're Christians, as it says here, they're going to go through affliction. Everyone in that circle has gone through I don't care if it's a bunch of teenagers. They've gone through some affliction and they're able to take you through your affliction, whatever that affliction is. So how do we do how do we get ready for this? How do you purposefully suffer? Couple things. And we started this last week, but let's think of it again.

We need to identify how we are comforted. Think about how have you been comforted and some of you have suffered just some grievous losses. You've struggled through real painful situations. And I just want you to think We started thinking this way last week, how are we comforted? How did people minister to us? How was it? Like it says in in Acts 15 verse 32 that Judas and Silas encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. I remember preaching through that passage with you and thinking wow, what were those words? Well, we know words are a big part of it.

I mean just the right letter that's written to you, just the right text that you receive, just the right words that are said in a small group or at your bedside when you're suffering in the hospital. There's certain words that can be so useful, an apt spoken words like like apples of gold and settings of silver. It's a great proverb. Right? Life and death in the power of the tongue. You you've been ministered to. You've had new life brought back into you, so to speak. I mean it's the perfect word about encouragement. The words have come alongside of you, they've been called in alongside of you and it's propped you up.

Well, take note of those words. Take note of those words because I assure you there's some words that didn't work very well. I'm sure people have tried to comfort you with words that didn't work, that were counterproductive. Like Job, you can say at times when you were suffering and Job was suffering massively and he turns around and says to the three friends he has, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, he says to them, miserable comforters are you all. All three of you guys stink at this. And I want you to think about why. Let's just think about Job's comforters.

Part of the reason the book of Job was written was to remind all the people in the Old Testament and us today that everything in the Proverbs are not promises and in every case there's no exception. Train up a child in the way he will go and when he's old won't depart from it. Well, that's a great proverb. It's a proverb. Right? If you're lazy, you come to poverty. Well, I know a lot of trust fund kids that are really lazy. If you work hard, you'll have an abundance. Well, I know a lot of people who work hard and just they that hasn't gone well for them.

Godliness, it comes with reward with life and honor and peace. Well, Job sitting there scraping the pus off the boils of his skin with pot shards, broken pieces of pottery. With all of his kids dead and all of his wealth stolen was a godly man. We know that and all this bad happened. It's called the retribution principle in the Old Testament. The retribution principle, if you're good, you'll do well. If you're bad, you'll get punished. Job is getting evil from the hand of the Lord. It is purposed for the Lord to have his life collapse circumstantially.

And here's the exception. And you know what? These three friends of Job kept saying, must be a secret sin in your life somewhere. Something You've done something wrong. They presumptuously blamed Job for all of his problems. Now is it bad for me and I could do it publicly here with all of you cuz you're not in the middle of some terrible thing that I know about. I'm not speaking directly. I'm speaking to all of you. I can say to you maybe you're being disciplined and I hope you can receive that and spend some time asking God, Psalm 139, God search me and try me.

But if you had a person that keeps asking that over and over again in the midst of your trial, at some point it's going to sound a lot like Job's three friends that if you say no, man, I have searched my heart. There is no pang of conscience. There's no passage of scripture coming. There's not I I I I have no unconfessed sin. If you have friends like Job's friends that constantly presume that all of this was brought upon you because of course God would never do this to you if you were a godly person.

That's miserable comfort. Take note of that as well. Psalm 62 talks about suffering sitting in silence, waiting in hope for the Lord. God is going to come through. Sometimes some people have ministered to you not with words, but just by sitting with you in silence. Good not to sit alone in silence waiting for the deliverance of the Lord. Sometimes in the grieving process, and there is a period of grieving. And sometimes it's good not to sit in silence alone. It's good to have someone else sit with me. It's Have you ever been ministered to by someone in the midst of your pain just coming and not saying anything to you?

Just being there with you? Okay, we'll take note of that. Because if you've been ministered that way to ministered to that way, well then you should be getting a notebook together to say these things work, these things don't. I know how this is ministering hope and encouragement and strength, and I know how these things are just frustrating. There are some people and you may think I'm this kind of person because I have to preach here authoritatively from the pulpit. But there are some people that are miserable comforters cuz they come and they just say suck it up, suck it up, suck it up.

Just suck it up. And and I I would love the opportunity to prove to you that that's not the way I'm going to comfort you. I mean I that's not the sermon I've ever preached at a funeral. Suck it up. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 3 speaks of the body of Christ in such a profound way. Maybe I haven't read this passage lately. It says, remember those who are in prison. Now these weren't in prison cuz they were drug dealers or arsonists or whatever. They're in prison because they're Christians and godly and the government's cracking down on them.

Remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them. And those who are mistreated, right? As though you are. Since you're also in the body. If they're in the body of Christ, then you ought to care. It's like Romans says, weep with those who weep. It expands it here. You should feel with them in their pain. I went through crushing pain this week with somebody as their pastor. And and all I could say, right? Is not suck it up, but this really hurts. This is bad. And in some really tough funerals, if you've been to some of my funerals that I preach, I I've I've said that.

Death it sucks. It's bad. And we should say that cuz 1 Corinthians 15 says that. It's not helpful to lack compassion to just point people to the end of the tunnel when they're in the tunnel. Right? We got to say hey, it is hard. We need to be able to feel the pain that people feel. There's got to be some sympathy here that runs deep. And I think you've seen people that have done that well and people that have none of that. People that are always saying everything's good, everything's good, it's all going to be good.

Now that's true, but there's truths that can be delivered without much discernment. In Lamentations chapter 2, I just love the juxtaposition of the two verses in verse 10 and verse 11 when he speaks of the people in Israel looking at their city in in ruins. And they're sitting on the ground in silence and throwing dust on their head. And Jeremiah responds in verse 11 in the first person pronouns. And you know what I'm doing? I I'm just going to weep weep with them. My stomach's going to churn for them cuz I'm a part of this too.

We're a part of the body of Christ. And if someone is mistreated, then in your small group you're going to have to to be sympathetic. And if someone has been sympathetic with you in the midst of a trial and you've said man, that really did help. I didn't feel so alone. Well then take notes. Some of you, if you look at the words in our passage, look at it again. There's a statement here in verse 4, the bottom of verse 4, comforted by God. Now I talked last week about the instrumentality of people. Right? God who comforts the depressed comforted us.

2 Corinthians 7 says by the coming of Titus. Now God uses people, but sometimes there's no one around. Paul says that in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 16, everyone has abandoned me. But in verse 17 he says, but the Lord stood by me and strengthened me. So there is a time for you to know how you were ministered to by God himself, maybe in an extended quiet time, maybe by reading certain passages, maybe by just by sitting before God silent, and that's something you can direct someone to do. It 's like David. You remember David in in in 1 Samuel chapter 30 when he was leading his band of people and everyone had had their relatives kidnapped.

And And they were It says they were all bitter in soul. And David came back to the camp. And it says there was talk of stoning him. They were going to kill David. But I love this little line at the bottom of verse 6, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. How do you do that? No one was for him, just like Paul, everyone had abandoned him. Everyone had turned on him, but there's something going on. And I want David to come out and tell me how to do that. And maybe you've gone through that and you've you've really had God strengthen you in the midst of a crisis.

Take notes, identify how you were comforted, note the lame attempts at comfort, and then replicate good encouragement. That's what I 'm asking you to do. The right answers at the right time, the right words at the right time, making sure you don't abandon people in the midst of their trial, calling them back to be a part of the congregation and that we talked about last week. And don't ever limit your comfort. Oh, I can only comfort people that have the same exact trial as me. We started with that in verse 4, any affliction. Verse 7.

2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 7. I just want to center in on this positive view of the apostle Paul. Our hope for you is unshaken. I have no doubt. For we know that as you share in our suffering, you're suffering like we're suffering. May not be the exact same kind, but we know you're suffering cuz you're a Christian, you're going to suffer in this sin-laden world. And we know we're confident you will also share in our comfort. I love the optimism of that. And I would tell you to be in the receiving end of that statement from the apostle Paul, which is God himself telling you it.

Let's put it this way. Number three, you need to suffer optimistically. You need to have an optimism. And the Bible is clear that you as a Christian should suffer differently than the non-Christian world. And he says that thinking about you bearing a loved one. He says that we don't grieve like the rest of the world. Remember this? He tells the Thessalonians cuz they grieve without hope. Paul says my hope is unshaken. I don't care how bad it I don't care if you're dying of cancer. Right? We can work on comforting you with something that the non-Christian world can't be comforted.

Number one, they don't have a a real relationship with the living God. And secondly, they have no assurance of what's coming after death. Think about that. None of our suffering is permanent. Well, wait a minute. Paul had a thorn in the flesh. You said he never got over it. That's true. He had a chronic illness to his death. But even the day he was writing the last chapter of the last letter we have from the apostle Paul, 2 Timothy chapter 4, he's about to be executed. I quote this often and he says I'll be brought safely into his kingdom.

Well, you're going to lose your head in a in a little a little while here. Romans are going to kill you. Yeah, but I'm going to be brought safely into the kingdom. Do you understand that all our suffering as Christians is temporary and it's always tempered with hope that no suffering is going to last forever. And even temporally, I want you to think about it. I I don't care what you've been through. I've watched Christians go through some horrific things. And you know what? They end up standing on their feet. They take advantage of all the resources that God gives them.

They lean into the church and they walk with joy and they get past their time of grieving and their loss and all the shattered dreams. Yeah, it's always in their past. It's in their resume, but it doesn't define who they are. And it's so important for us to realize it's going to end well little while. I hope it is a temporal little while for us that we'll get through it, but even if it's not our life is going to be a a just a small dot on the timeline of eternity. It's going to end well for all of us.

I exhort you in Christ that your hearts would be comforted not in a vacuum, but they give to establish you in that comfort in every good work and word. Let's pray. God, let us lean into the good that you have for us to do before, during, and after our seasons of of suffering. There's so much that you want to use us to do and you sharpen us in the midst of our suffering. You affirm our faith. Sometimes you discipline us just to do what it's good. And even as it says in that text, no discipline seems pleasant.

It's painful, but it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. God, through the other side of discipline or just being a victim of the sin in our world or being a part, being purposed to go through the trials of growth or keeping us humble, muzzling our flesh, or whatever it is you're putting us through. God, may we understand how you want to use us. May you establish our hearts for every good work and every good word you want to use us to accomplish and effect good things in other people's lives. Make us useful, God. Let us never suffer and only think of ourselves.

Let us be perceptive and know what's going on. Let us be purposeful and ultimately let us be optimistic. Thank you so much for your kindness to us in every way in Jesus' name. Amen.

Dave Drouilly: You're listening to Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez. In the last part of a message, The Reciprocity of Comfort from 2 Corinthians chapter 1. If someone close to you is stuck in a long dark stretch, this message is worth passing along. You'll find it at focalpointradio.org. Plus the Focal Point app keeps every message in this series on your phone a tap away at any hour. Pastor Mike reminded us today that the comfort we receive from God is never meant to stop with us. The psalmists understood that. Many of their songs began in caves and on the run, then were sung by God's people for generations.

This month's resource, Psalms of Trust by Pastor HB Charles Jr. gathers 10 of those songs and let's each one speak in full. You'll linger in Psalm 27, a prayer for trusting God in every situation. And in Psalm 42 where a downcast soul keeps preaching hope to itself. The book calls that stubborn trust and it's worth having on hand before the next storm. Psalms of Trust is yours this month with a gift to Focal Point. Call 888-320-5885 or give online at focalpointradio.org. If you'd like to give by mail, write to Focal Point Post Office Box 2850 Laguna Hills, California 92654.

Picture the listener who hears today's message on the drive home from the hospital or in a quiet kitchen after the casseroles stop coming. They didn't pay a thing for it. Someone else made sure it was there. That's what a Focal Point partner does month after month on the radio, online, and through Ask Pastor Mike live. Would you be that someone for the next person who needs it? Sign up at focalpointradio.org or call 888-320-5885. And if this is the first time you've heard our program, we'd love to mail you Pastor Mike's booklet Seeking Comfort as a gift from all of us.

Request it at focalpointradio.org or call us at 888-320-5885. Well, tomorrow Pastor Mike starts fresh in 2 Corinthians with a message called The Practical Requirements of Comfort. I'm Dave Drouilly. Meet us here Tuesday on Focal Point.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Hi, Pastor Mike here. God's word promises it'll never return void. So I wonder how is God's word moving in your heart right now? Drop us a line. Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. We love to be praying for you here. Just go to focalpointradio.org and then be sure to join us again tomorrow right here as we continue to explore the depths of scripture. We'll see you then.

Dave Drouilly: Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.