Small Groups: Engage in Care
Engage • Sermon • Submitted • 43:18
1 rating
· 35 viewsJesus spent more time with 12 men than He did with everyone else in the world put together. As we look throughout the New Testament we see small groups of believers everywhere. Understand why building small groups of believers is important and biblical, and how we can begin to model the "small" nature of the church in a "big" way. Take a tour of the New Testament church with Pastor Leger as he presents the teaching series.
Files
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Small Groups and Suffering…
Small Groups and Suffering…
SMALL GROUPS: ENGAGE IN CARE
We will be looking at this morning. We started talking last week about connecting with one another in community. In the local church there should never be anyone who says, “I don’t feel a part of the church.” Or, “I’ve been here a year and I still feel like an outsider.” It should never be incumbent upon the new believer or new member to work to break in to the already established “in-crowd” of the church.
I call this the “Curse of Current Community”. What I mean by that is a core group has established over years of being together and everyone is comfortable with the current family and friends connections they have and don’t feel the need for any more.
Small Groups and Suffering…
Small Groups and Suffering…
I liken this to molecules with extra atoms floating around. All trying to bond to the molecule, but there’s no room for extra molecule-atom relationship bonding. So after a while the atoms drift away looking for others molecules to bond to.
That’s why some churches tend to expand and contract, expand and contract. People just can’t break into the established community and feel a part of it. They just continue feeling like an outsider.
So how can we be there for one another? And do we even need to be concerned about others in the body of Christ He has placed around us? I believe we all need each other. Because we all hurt. And God has designed His body to rally around it’s members who are hurting for whatever reason.
And that brings us to the subject of today’s text. God’s comfort through the body to those who are hurting . Sixty different times in the NT we see the word “comfort” in the original language. Thirty of them are used here in this book.
Interestingly enough, ten of those times are in verses 3-7 right here. Let’s read...
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 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. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
So, what is this picture that Paul introduces to the Church at Corinth that had to do with small groups and struggles and hurts and needs in our lives? What I want you to see is a few truths that are foundational that Paul is laying here that lay the foundation for everything else to come in this letter.
We experience suffering in God.
We experience suffering in God.
So, what is this picture that Paul introduces to the Church at Corinth that had to do with small groups and struggles and hurts and needs in our lives? What I want you to see is a few truths that are foundational that Paul is laying here that lay the foundation for everything else to come in this letter.
David Platt, “Small Groups: Engage in Care,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 869.
We experience suffering in God.
We experience suffering in God.
Even though we are part of God’s family, we are not immune to suffering while in this world. We saw the word comfort repeated ten times in this passage. What’s interesting is Paul places just as much emphasis on suffering. It’s kind of parallel. Suffering and comfort back and forth. Let’s look back to verse 4...
4 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. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
2 Corinthians 1:4-
We see quite a bit of suffering here. Even suffering for living for Christ. I want us to see how Paul shows us a picture of God from the very beginning, God in light of our suffering. Look at the characteristics of God that are highlighted here. First of all...
He is sovereign over all suffering.
He is sovereign over all suffering.
“Blessed be the God and Father...” v. 3, It’s a picture of the One who is in control. This is the God who is over all suffering. Nothing happens outside of Him. He also understands our suffering, because
He is familiar with all suffering.
He is familiar with all suffering.
We don’t have a God who is off in the distance in the universe unfamiliar with what we go through. We have a God who is with us. Literally. Jesus suffered. He was beaten, spit upon, mocked, nailed to a cross, suffered rejection, physical pain, emotional pain. He knows loneliness. But because of who He is...
He is the source of all compassion.
He is the source of all compassion.
I love this phrase...
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:
Or the originator of compassion. All compassion flows from Him. That’s the picture we’ve got. It overflows from Him into our lives in our deepest point of need. And...
He is sufficient for all comfort.
He is sufficient for all comfort.
Paul uses the word comfort 30 times in 2 Corinthians. It literally means “to come alongside and help.” It’s the same word used by Jesus to describe the Holy Spirit. The one who comes alongside us and helps us.
Here’s the thing, your suffering will never outweigh the comfort of God. And that brings us to our next point...
We extend comfort from God.
We extend comfort from God.
What we see Paul saying here is that when we suffer, and we receive comfort from God, we are then able to extend that comfort to others who are hurting or in need. It can give a purpose to our pain. We experience comfort and the result is we are equipped to extend the comfort that we have received from God into others’ lives. The purpose of God’s comfort doesn’t just center on us. It’s intended for others. He’s saying...
We are comforted for each others’ sake.
We are comforted for each others’ sake.
Let me show you this. Look at verses 4, 5, and 6, back to back to back. This is the reminder. This is the crux of disciple-making. We live for each others’ sake. Listen to what Paul says...
Here’s the purpose clause. Why did God comfort Paul?...
4 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. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
Do you see it? The purpose of God’s comfort in our lives is to enable us to comfort others. Verse 5, “Just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Overflows to whom? To those around us, for others’ sake. Then he says in verse 6, “If we are distressed, it’s for your comfort and salvation”.
Here’s the picture. We exist for each others’ sake. Why?
So that we might care for each other’s hurts.
So that we might care for each other’s hurts.
What Paul is saying is literally, “I’m able to care for you because I’ve been through horrible times and God came through for me.” And not just care for each others’ hurts, but literally, God has designed it so...
So that we might carry each other’s burdens.
So that we might carry each other’s burdens.
Listen to verse 11, we see a great word, “help”...
11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
Now that word “help”, four letter word that completely misses the beauty of the word it’s translating. In the original language of the New Testament, just come aside to Greek class for a second. It’s not just for the fun of it. This is a great word. It’s a one long word in the Greek that’s made up of three smaller Greek words. Now just follow me here, okay? Three smaller Greek words that come together in this one word, and the three smaller Greek words are … the first one is “with”, the second one is “under” and the third one is “work”. So, what you’ve got is one word that combines “with” and “under” and “work” here.
We are a fellowship of the broken.
We are a fellowship of the broken.
Now that word “help”, four letter word that completely misses the beauty of the word it’s translating. In the original language of the New Testament, just come aside to Greek class for a second. It’s not just for the fun of it. This is a great word. It’s a one long word in the Greek that’s made up of three smaller Greek words. Now just follow me here, okay? Three smaller Greek words that come together in this one word, and the three smaller Greek words are … the first one is “with”, the second one is “under” and the third one is “work”. So, what you’ve got is one word that combines “with” and “under” and “work” here.
I think it’s an incredible picture of the church. Follow me here. What it’s talking about in the “help”, is it’s talking about people who walk with you under the burdens of this life working together on a mission. Is that not a great picture of the church? Walking with each other under the burdens of this life; working together on a mission. That is the picture here. It’s why , Paul said, “Carry each others’ burdens.” That’s a command. We carry each others’ burdens in this way. You will fulfill the law of Christ. We carry each others’ burdens.
David Platt, “Small Groups: Engage in Care,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 874.
When it comes to the church...
We are a fellowship of the broken.
We are a fellowship of the broken.
You get to verse 7 and it says...
7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
Just as you share in our sufferings, you share in our comfort. The word for partakers here is “koinonea”. Literally it is translated “fellowship” in different parts of Acts and other points in Scripture. It’s talking about what we have in common.
We may like to put up a nice front for others, but let’s face it, there’s not a single one of us who has it all together all the time and don’t have needs and hurts and struggles in our lives. It’s represented across this room.
If we share life together as the body of Christ as God has designed, we share in each others’ struggles and comfort one another in the process. But this doesn’t happen in the large group on Sunday mornings looking at the back of each others’ heads. We’ve got to connect on a deeper level. That takes place when we come together during the week or within the smaller groups we have on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and the like.
This is a picture of the church and we need to embrace it with all we’ve got. It all comes to the last truth...
We exult in the glory of God.
We exult in the glory of God.
When Paul gets to verses 8-11, he begins to talk about very difficult times he suffered in the province of Asia. Probably physical pain, being beaten, possibly imprisoned. He got straight to the point. He says “I despaired of life itself.” He was at an all-time low. Listen for his conclusion in the middle of verse 9...
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
He says, “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises from the dead.” What a great sentence.
What Paul is saying here sounds very unusual in our culture. At his lowest point he knew that God was...
He is our victory.
He is our victory.
The power that raised Christ from the dead is the power that is comforting him in the middle of his deepest suffering. He know that God was his victory. Not only our victory...
He is our deliverer.
He is our deliverer.
He goes on and says, vs. 10
10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
God always delivers. Not always how we would think. But always comes through for us. He’s our deliverer and,...
He is our hope.
He is our hope.
Notice Paul says, “In whom we trust that he will continue to deliver us.” This is not a wish for. It’s a sure thing for Paul.
Suffering comes full circle…
Suffering comes full circle…
What’s the hope? We see suffering comes full circle. The hope is that...
God uses suffering for our sake.
God uses suffering for our sake.
This is never easy, but it’s biblical. Malcolm Muggeridge a British writer from turn of last century said it best. He said,
“Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful. I look back on those experiences with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness, that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness.”
God uses suffering for others’ sake.
God uses suffering for others’ sake.
Aren’t you thankful that we have a God who takes the most difficult things in our lives, and He turns them into things we most treasure about Him and about who He’s created us to be? Not only for our sake but...
David Platt, “Small Groups: Engage in Care,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 876.
God uses suffering for others’ sake.
God uses suffering for others’ sake.
Part of His purpose in suffering is to enable us to comfort others, that when we share in suffering, we also share in comfort, and that is what we can do when we give ourselves to connect with the body through times we spend together with fellow believers in the body.
That’s why we see so many “one-anothers” in the NT. And then finally...
God uses suffering for His sake.
God uses suffering for His sake.
This is Paul’s hope, that when God comforts us in our suffering, and He’s able to pour out that comfort into somebody else’s life, the result is that person finds great comfort in God and gives great glory to God. This is why we should connect to those we may not normally spend time with. Who knows how God wants to use you in their lives?
We cannot settle for sitting in a worship service and calling that church anymore. We can’t even settle for doing that and going to a Bible class and checking off a box. This is not the point of the New Testament. The point is we are a community of faith, and we share life together. We walk through these burdens and these hurts and these struggles together, and we care for each other, and we carry each others’ burdens, and as a result, God gets great glory in His church.
So What Now?
So What Now?
David Platt, “Small Groups: Engage in Care,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 877.
So What Now? This week?
This Week…
This Week…
Pray continually that we will be a community with deep care for one another to the glory of God.
Pray continually that we will be a community with deep care for one another to the glory of God.
Let’s Pray...