We Give Comfort

As we continue our series called "We Give," this week we're considering the topic of giving comfort. God has given us His comfort through the Gospel, and He is giving it to us to share with the world. So, jump in with us to John chapter 14 and take a look at this together.

Good morning! Would you stand with me and open your Bibles to Acts chapter 20? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Acts is near the end of your Bible, right after the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—just before the big book of Romans.

Acts chapter 20, verse 35, is the verse I have chosen for this series leading up to Christmas. There, the Apostle Paul speaks and says, "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Father, as we look forward to the Christmas holiday at the end of this month and as we prepare for that as families in the church, we pray, God, that You would be preparing our hearts this season. This season reminds us of giving and receiving, and it reminds us of Your entering into the world as the greatest gift ever.

Father, You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus, we thank You that You came into the world, and we are reminded of that great gift every single year at Christmas. We pray, God, that as we hopefully are those who have received that good gift of Your grace, we would also be compelled to give.

So, Lord, would You continue to transform us and make us more like You as we come before Your Word today? We ask that You, by Your Holy Spirit, would work this into us.

We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

When you read through the Gospel accounts in the Bible for the first time, especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it seems as though you are reaching the pinnacle of the Gospel when you come to the section referred to as the triumphal entry. This event took place on a day that we celebrate as Palm Sunday. It feels like the culmination of everything that has been happening because, in that event, Jesus is coming down the Mount of Olives, which is just east of the city of Jerusalem.

From that mountain, you can see the whole temple courts, the Temple Mount. At that time, when Jesus was coming down the mountain, the temple was the most prominent feature of the city of Jerusalem. As He rides into the city on a donkey, multitudes of people from all around the nation of Israel, as well as from other nations, have come back to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. There is a sense of joy and anticipation. His disciples are all around Him, and people are singing words from Psalm 118. They are singing, "Hosanna," which means "save now" or "save us." It is a petition: "Save us! Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

People are breaking off palm branches from the palm trees and laying them before Jesus as He comes down. They are acknowledging and recognizing who He is. You can be certain that His disciples, those twelve men who were closest to Him, were expecting that this was it. This is what they had been looking forward to; this is what the prophets have foretold for centuries. He is the Messiah, and He is going to be crowned King in Jerusalem during this Passover meal. He will establish His kingdom and rise above all others in the world. He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and they will be right there with Him, no doubt thinking they would be His first selection among His followers.

His cabinet. You think James and John are kind of pushing, petitioning for secretaries of defense. Maybe they're the guys who wanted to call down fire upon a group of people. Then you've got Matthew, a tax collector, thinking, "I could be secretary of the Treasury; that's a good place to be." Peter, on the other hand, might be thinking about the Secretary of the Interior, or maybe even Prime Minister—that would be Peter's spot.

They've already been arguing with each other on their way to Jerusalem about who would be the greatest in His kingdom. We know where their minds are at, and we can't fault them; that's probably where our minds would be as well. Their hearts are filled with anticipation as they approach Jerusalem, and multitudes of people are singing and proclaiming that He is the Messiah.

However, just a few days later, as He gathers with just the twelve to partake of the Passover meal, the tone of Jesus changes in a rather drastic fashion. It moves from being very celebratory to being very somber. Each of the Gospel accounts records this shift. In the Gospel of John, chapter 13, as He is gathered with them, there has been joy and anticipation, but He breaks it by saying, "Most certainly, most assuredly, I say to you that one of you will betray me."

You can bet that was like a bomb that went off in that room. In that moment, there was joy, there was anticipation, there was excitement, and then He says, "One of you will betray me." So shocked are they by this that the Gospel accounts record they start to say among themselves, "Was it I? Is it I?" In fact, John's Gospel says that Peter motions to John, who is sitting right next to Jesus. It almost implies that Peter is at the end of the table; I can't understand why, but he's at the end of the table. He motions to John to ask, "Is it me?"

Then, just a few sentences later, Jesus says to that group of guys, "Where I am going, you cannot come." By this time, the minds of the disciples are swirling. Peter, one of Jesus's closest followers, asks, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answers, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now."

Shall follow me afterward. Now, when He said those words, "Where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me afterward," His disciples understood what He was saying, maybe in a nuanced sort of way. They understood that He was speaking about His death. We know that they knew this because of Peter's response to Jesus when He said, "Where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me afterward." Peter said to Him in the very next verse, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

So, they understood that when He said, "You can't follow me now, but you will afterward," He was speaking of His death. However, as zealous as Peter was when he said, "I will even lay down my life with You," Jesus knew what was coming. He turned to Peter, and it is recorded in John 13:38. He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times." He told Peter that before this night was even over, he would deny that he even knew Him three times before the sun came up, before the rooster crowed.

In another one of the Gospel accounts, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 26, Jesus said to all of His disciples, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night." These were the guys who, just a few days before this, were coming down the Mount of Olives into the city of Jerusalem, right next to Him, as everybody was proclaiming, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." They were assuming that this was the time to establish the kingdom, the inauguration of the King. Now, He says, "Every one of you tonight will be made to stumble because of Me. One of you is going to betray Me, and Peter, you will deny Me. By the end of this whole event, I will die."

Clearly, the last half of John chapter 13 is a somber and discomforting passage of Scripture. Thankfully, the story doesn't stop there. It would be really sad if, after He said, "Peter, the sun's not even going to come up tomorrow before you deny Me three times," He said, "All right, guys, let's go." That would be a bummer. But, of course, the story doesn't end there. So, if you would turn in your Bibles to John chapter 14, you're in for something significant.

Acts, just turn one book to the left: John chapter 14. We're going to pick it up at verse 1 and see how the story continues as Jesus has just brought this distressing word to His disciples.

John 14, verse 1, is a very famous passage of Scripture. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus looks at His disciples after He has brought this distressing word to them and says, "Let not your heart be troubled." That sounds easy enough: let not your heart be troubled. Don't allow yourself to be tossed. This word for "troubled" needs to be taken, shaken, and tossed aside. Don't allow yourself to be shaken up.

Now, how many of you know that that's a lot easier said than done? Have you ever been in a situation where the adrenal function of your body kicks in? That fight-or-flight mechanism turns on. Maybe it's happened as you've had almost a near accident on the freeway, or perhaps you've actually been in a fender bender before. Then, you're supposed to immediately exchange information, and you're trying to write down their details while that adrenaline is coursing through your body. In that moment, to just say, "Okay, calm down, don't be troubled," doesn't work. It doesn't work at all. Physiology takes over, and it just seems to push you into anxiety and distress.

Jesus has just told something to His disciples that immediately pushes them into a place of anxiety. They are perplexed by what Jesus is saying to them. They are His closest followers, and He says, "One of you is going to betray Me. Peter, you will deny Me, and all of you are going to stumble because of Me this night." Every one of them is saying, "We will die with You, Lord! We will die!" But He says, "No, no, that's not going to happen. You will all flee. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep shall scatter," as He says in Matthew's Gospel.

In the midst of this, as they are instantly anxious, perplexed, and distressed...

Filled with fear and concern, he says, "Don't be troubled." Now, of course, he doesn't stop there. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me." How is it possible to have peace in the midst of troubling circumstances? He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me."

Point number one on your outline: faith in Jesus dispels fear. Faith in Jesus dispels fear. This is a very important point, and here's the crucial part of this faith that we're called upon by Jesus to have. When he says, "You believe in God; believe also in me," this faith that dispels fear is not a one-time belief in the past.

Now, sometimes, and I'm assuming that many, if not most, hopefully all of you have put your trust, your faith, in Jesus. But a lot of times, when people say that they have put their faith in Jesus and have been born again, they look back to a time in the past when they put their belief in Jesus. For some of you, you might even remember a day, a time, and a place, and a person who talked with you. Maybe it was in a church service like this, or at an evangelistic outreach like a Billy Graham or Harvest celebration. Or maybe it was just a family member, a co-worker, or a friend who shared the gospel with you. You remember a certain point when you believed in Jesus, and maybe you've even written down that date. You look back at that as the time when you were born again, like a second birthday.

There are some people who have that experience. I don't. I put my faith in Jesus when I was very young, and I don't remember a specific date, time, or place when it happened exactly. But a lot of times, we look back at a time in the past as the moment we believed in Jesus.

Now, since that time, hold that in your mind for a moment. I put my faith in Jesus whenever it was, whether it's a specific or general time. Since that time, post-belief in Jesus, I'm assuming you've had some sort of situation in your life that has brought anxiety and fear. You've been perplexed. Yes, all of us have been in those situations. Yet we see here that faith in Jesus dispels fear. You might say, "Well, I've had fear. I've had anxiety. I've been perplexed since that time." So maybe it wasn't true faith, or maybe it wasn't strong enough faith.

Not enough faith. But what is important about the faith that Jesus describes when He says, "You believe in God; believe also in Me"? The wording He uses makes it very clear that this is a faith that is active and present. It is not just something that you draw upon from the past; it is a faith in the present tense. It is a faith in the active voice. Right at this moment, I am reaffirming and activating my belief in Christ.

When a troubling situation comes into your life, like it did for the disciples 2,000 years ago, you will experience those troubles. No one is exempt from that. We are not excluded from troubling circumstances because we are followers of Jesus. People who say such things either have never read the Bible or do not understand what the Bible is. If someone claims that Christians do not experience trouble, then we might question our own faith if that is what they are saying. But we all do experience trouble.

So, when we go through troubling situations, how do we respond? I would suggest that we need to reaffirm or activate our faith in that moment because this faith is present and active. We need to remind ourselves, "I believe in Christ." What does that mean? That simple statement, "I have trusted in Christ," carries significant weight. It means that you believe in Christ, who is alive and not dead. You believe in Jesus, who is in heaven on a throne, seated at the right hand of glory. We do not believe and have not trusted in just a relic or some monument; we believe in the living Lord Jesus Christ.

When we encounter troubling situations—and we will go through those—we need to activate our faith. We need to reaffirm and remind ourselves of our faith. How do we do that? I would suggest, and I think the Bible suggests, that one of the ways to do this is through prayer. The Apostle Paul, in one of his letters in the New Testament, writes in Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7: "Be anxious for nothing." You realize that is a command. Be anxious for nothing. I am certain that every one of you fulfills that command.

Be anxious for nothing. How is that possible? In everything by prayer and supplication—supplication is just a big word for a request for supply—I’m asking you to give me what I need. With thanksgiving, we are always giving thanks for something we have already received in the past. This reminds us of what we’ve received before.

Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. The result? The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. I love that—the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

Now, we believe that God knows what He’s doing. We trust that He has a plan. He sees what’s coming and understands things in a way that I don’t. I trust that He is over all things; He’s sovereign. So, when we go through troubling situations and difficult times, we can have that trust that He knows what He’s doing and that He has a plan.

However, in my experience of walking with Jesus, I have yet to have Him, in those troubling circumstances, speak in a still small voice and say, “Hey, don’t worry. I’ve got it worked out.” He doesn’t explain, “In about six months, this is all going to go this way because this has to happen to get you where we’re going over here.” He has never done that. I would like it if He did, but that hasn’t happened.

What I have found, and I’m sure some of you have as well, is that in those troubling circumstances and situations, when I reaffirm or remind myself of my faith in the living Lord Jesus Christ, and I bring my request for supply to Him, giving thanks for all the things He’s already done in my life, I am reminded of His consistent faithfulness to me. His peace, which surpasses my comprehension and understanding, comes into my mind and heart and guards it.

Have any of you here this morning ever experienced the peace of God, which surpasses understanding? People who observe sometimes say, “I don’t understand how you’re doing this right now.” You might respond, “I don’t get it either, but God has been gracious, and He’s given me His peace, which surpasses understanding.” It’s an awesome witness of His faithfulness, especially to those who do not know the peace of God.

Not entered into that piece by the grace of Jesus Christ, they cannot understand what that peace is like. Distressing things happen; perplexing things come. That is a given, a certainty in our lives as followers of Jesus and as non-followers of Jesus. Everybody experiences trial and difficulty in a fallen world, a world that is devastated by sin and the curse of sin.

Jesus had just spoken things into the lives of His disciples that brought them anxiety and stress. But then He reminds them to believe. Believe what? Well, look at what He says in John chapter 14: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Now, some translations say many dwelling places or many rooms. What Jesus is saying here is that there is room for you in My Father's house, and I am going to go and prepare a place for you there. If I do, I will come and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you will be forever.

Point number two on your outline: hope in heaven brings comfort. The hope of heaven brings comfort when we reaffirm, remember, and activate our faith, directing it back to the Lord. We are reminded again where He is, that He is alive, that He is in heaven—the very place that He has promised to bring us into, the place that He has prepared for us. When we are reminded of those things, there is a peace that surpasses understanding. There is a comfort that comes from God.

The Apostle Paul speaks very similar words in another one of his letters. In 1 Thessalonians, jot it down in your notes, chapter 4, verse 13, he says, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those that..."

Have fallen asleep or those who have died, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. I don't want you to be in a sorrowful position without hope after losing someone who has died. I don't want you to misunderstand; I don't want you to be ignorant of the fact that there is something that God is doing. Paul says here in 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 13, and then verse 14. It says, "For if we believe," what did Jesus say? "You believe in God, believe also in me." If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep or die in Jesus—those who believe in Jesus and have died because of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says Jesus will bring them with Him.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord; it's not something we made up, but God has spoken this: that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those that have died or fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. They are there with Him. 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 shall we always be with the Lord.

Therefore, catch this: verse 18 of 1st Thessalonians 4 says, "Therefore comfort one another with these words." Now, what are these words all about? Let me tell you, there are all kinds of different interpretations on 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. We don't have time today to get into all the different interpretations of what's going on here in this passage about eschatological end times, the rapture of the church, and the second coming of Jesus. There's a lot going on here in this passage, but there are a few things that I think we should acknowledge that are plainly made clear.

The main points are as follows: First, those who died believing in Jesus are with Him in heaven. That's a comfort. Second, when you die, you will be with Him and them in heaven. Third, one day Jesus will return, and when He does, He will raise up those who are alive and remain to be with Him and those that have already died in heaven.

Forth, once we're with the Lord, we will be with Him and with one another forever. We will always be with the Lord. So how does Paul round it up? He says, "Therefore, comfort one another with these words." These are a great comfort. This is good news, and good news in a Bible sense is what we call the gospel. This is the gospel, and that's exactly where Jesus goes in the next section. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Then He says this in John chapter 14. Look at verse 4: "And where I go, you know, and the way you know." Now, one of His disciples, Thomas, says, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Good question! I am so glad that Thomas asked it. He said, "We do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" I imagine—though I could be wrong, and Jesus will set me straight on a lot of things when we get to heaven, and maybe this will be one of them—but I have a feeling that when Thomas asked that question, Jesus kind of grinned and said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Point number three on your outline: the gospel leads us into the way of comfort and hope. The gospel leads us into the way of comfort and hope. This means that if you're lacking hope and if you're in need of comfort, I've got good news for you. It is available to you and to me through Jesus Christ because of what He did two thousand years ago. Jesus died for our sin, that is, all of our failures to live according to God's righteous and perfect standard. He died to take care of our sin two thousand years ago on the cross. But He didn't just die; He was buried and rose again three days later.

The resurrection proves that His death on our behalf for our failures to live righteously is enough to deal with all of our sin and all of our failures. It brings us into the experience of His joy forever. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As we put our trust in Him, we can have the absolutely certain hope of being with Him in eternity.

You see, the hope that the Bible describes is not wishful thinking. It is not like buying a Powerball ticket and hoping to win. That is not the kind of hope we are talking about. This is Bible hope—an absolute certainty.

Now, there are some people who have a really hard time with the statement of Jesus in John 14:6, when He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." We are living in a time in our nation where there is a growing group of people. In fact, a recent study by the Pew Research Forum discovered that now twenty-three percent of Americans say that they belong to no religious group. They are referred to as the "nuns." They have no belief, no faith, and no religious affiliation.

There is a growing number of those in our society—twenty-three percent—and many among that group really do not like this kind of claim from Jesus. It is a narrow-minded, exclusive claim where He says, "I am the way, the truth. No one comes to God except through Me." Sometimes, you will receive an honest question from someone—a co-worker or family member—who is among this group of people. They may ask, "Do you really believe that those who are sincere followers of other faiths are not going to get to God? Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?" That sounds so exclusive; it sounds so narrow-minded.

Well, Jesus did say, "Narrow is the way," and I can understand that some people would have a hard time with the statement of Jesus here in this passage.

Acceptance of that statement is difficult for some people, and I understand that. However, here's the thing: if it is true that there is only one way, is it really narrow-minded and exclusive to say there is only one way? If that is the only path, would it not actually be loving and gracious to tell you that it is the only way?

Now, someone could say, "How could he possibly say that he's the only way?" Well, listen, a lot of people could claim to be the only way. The issue is whether they can back up their claim. How might someone back up that claim? Jesus is saying, "I am the only way to get from this life into the next life that comes after this life." Then he dies on a cross, raises from the dead, and is seen by more than five hundred witnesses. The better part of them went to their own deaths—being crucified, burned at the stake, disemboweled, or thrown to wild beasts—because they believed that he rose from the dead, and never did they recant their belief. The tomb is empty, and the evidence points to the fact that Jesus, 2,000 years ago, rose from the dead.

So here's the thing: if anybody has credibility, I think maybe he does. He is bona fide. People were shocked when he said things like, "I am the resurrection and the life," and "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Two thousand years ago, those were mind-blowing statements. When he says, "I am the door," "I am the gate," "I am the bread of life," and "I am the living water," he makes seven "I am" statements in the Gospel of John. All of them are dynamic and audacious, and they point to a very simple principle: I am the only way.

People were shocked and upset by those statements, yet he died on a cross and rose from the dead. In John 11:25, Jesus speaks to a woman whose brother had just died, saying, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." Simply saying that is one thing; anyone could utter those words. Some people, who might have lost a few marbles, might actually believe that to be the case.

He substantiates it and gives credibility to it by dying on the cross and raising from the dead. He foretold that he would actually do that. He told his disciples repeatedly, "We're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be crucified, and I will rise again the third day." Then he was crucified, and he rose again on the third day.

Faith in Jesus dispels fear and brings hope of heaven, leading to great comfort. Why? Because he is not in a tomb still in Jerusalem. I've been there several times; it's empty. We took a group of people there just a few weeks ago, and it's still empty. He's not here; he is risen.

Putting your trust in Christ dispels fear and brings hope of heaven, leading to great comfort. But that's not all. Wait, there's more!

In John chapter 14, skipping down a few verses to verse 16, Jesus says, "And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you a helper." Some translations, like the King James Version, say "comforter," that he, the comforter, may abide with you forever.

Point number four on your outline: By the gospel, we have the abiding comfort of the Spirit. You might want to put a capital "S" on Spirit. By the gospel, we have the abiding comfort of the Spirit.

This is a classic verse for a Christian doctrine called the Trinity. Christians believe that there is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though there is no explicit verse saying, "This is the Trinity," and describing it in the Scriptures, there are many implicit passages like this that imply the Trinity. Here, Jesus, the Son, is praying to the Father, and the Father is sending the comforter, the Spirit of Truth, as he is called in verse 17.

The Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. He dwells with you and will be in you. What an awesome promise, Jesus!

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. I'm going to prepare a place for you. That is a great comfort in whatever trouble we go through in this life. We see in this promise of Jesus that the trouble we experience here in this world is merely temporal, and there is something greater than this waiting for us in the future with God in heaven.

Someone may say, "You actually believe that?" Yes, because a guy died and rose from the dead—the one who says these things. I believe that he will bring me also to be with him for eternity, just as he promised. That is great comfort.

But Jesus takes it a step further. He says, "Listen, not only do I want to give you this promise that you can hold on to in your hearts and minds, but I'm also going to give you the abiding presence of my Spirit who is with you." If you're a Christian today, the Holy Spirit of God, the presence of God, dwells in you. The Spirit of Truth, he is called the Helper; he is called the Comforter. In Christ, we can have the abiding presence of God, the Spirit of Truth, who brings comfort and grace.

He says in John 14:18, "I will not leave you orphans. I'm not going to leave you alone. I will come to you."

Point number five: In Christ, we have the promise of his return. He has promised to prepare a place for us, to give us the abiding presence of His Holy Spirit, and to not leave us here alone as orphans, but to return. This gives us wonderful peace and awesome grace.

In John 14:27, he says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you, not as the world gives to you do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled." You see, the very first words of John 14 were "Let not your heart be troubled." Then he gives us the way in which we can enter into this peaceful rest of not being tossed to and fro when the world is shaken up. How can we do that? Well, it is bookended before the "Let not your heart be troubled" of John 14:1 and the "Let not your heart be troubled" of...

John chapter 14, verse 27, contains the words that lead us into the experience of peace, grace, and comfort. It says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." These are great promises of His grace. Because of His grace through the Gospel, we have received hope and comfort in Christ and the abiding presence of God by the Holy Spirit.

So, what should we do with this peace, grace, and comfort? In John's Gospel, turn to the right and go to Second Corinthians. You will pass Acts, then Romans, and then First Corinthians. In Second Corinthians chapter 1, verse 3, the Apostle Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." He is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

How is the Christian comforted by God? The Christian is comforted by God through the promise of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are comforted by the promise of future resurrection that we will experience because of His resurrection. The Christian is also comforted by the abiding presence of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who is with us and now in us. Furthermore, the Christian is comforted by the promise that Jesus will one day return and receive us to Himself to be with Him for eternity.

Therefore, we are told that as we have been comforted by God, we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. How do we comfort people? I suggest that we comfort people with the truth of the Gospel. There are many troubled people in a world that is broken by sin and filled with trouble.

Discomforted people go to work with you, go to school with you, live next door to you, and are friends or family members. There are all kinds of people affected by the brokenness of this world, and they are living without hope. However, if you are a follower of Jesus, you have absolute certainty that He will come and receive you to be with Him for eternity.

Therefore, as we have been comforted by God, may we also be those who give comfort to others. As we're in this series, we talked about giving thanks two weeks ago and giving mercy last week. Today, we discuss giving comfort. Why do we give comfort? Because we have been comforted by God.

Point number six on your outline is that we have received His comforting grace to give it to others. Among the many things you will give this holiday season—gift cards, wonderful things to eat—please don't bring any more here. Among all the wonderful things you will give, the greatest thing you have, if you're a follower of Jesus, is the comfort of the gospel of grace.

I pray that there will be opportunities—there are opportunities every single week—where you and I come in contact with people who are hurting, people who are going through distressing and difficult situations. There is no better opportunity to share the goodness of His grace through the gospel. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

That hope of eternity, though we go through trials and sorrowful situations in this life, brings rest, peace, and wonderful joy. So here in this Christmas season, I encourage you, if you have experienced His comfort through the gospel, make sure you give it out to others. Freely you have received; freely give. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close? Father God, I thank You for Your grace, this great gift that You've given to us.

We are reminded of the gift of Your Son, Jesus, every single year when we celebrate Christmas. We thank You that You came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through You might be saved. Lord, I pray that this truth, residing in our hearts, would come out of our lips this season. For how shall they hear without a preacher, someone to simply tell the truth, the good news of Your grace?

We thank You so much for Your grace, Lord. It may be that as we stand here this morning, you do not know this comfort. You have not put your trust in Jesus yet, and so you have not experienced this grace, comfort, and joy. I want to give you a chance before we close to do that this morning. If that is you, if you want to receive the comfort by the Spirit of God, the grace of God for salvation, it is a free gift that Jesus has given, which we receive by faith, putting our trust in Him.

If you would like to do that today, I want to give you a chance. Just lift up your hand if there is anyone here this morning. God bless you. I see anyone else in the back. I see you there. If you want to receive the comfort, grace, and forgiveness of God, just lift up your hand today.

If that is you, would you pray out loud where you are standing? "Dear Jesus, I recognize that I need You. I have not lived up to Your perfect standard, but I thank You for Your grace. I ask that You come into my life, that You save me from my sin, and that You help me to turn to You by faith and to walk with You from this day forward."