I Can't Take It Anymore!

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

C.I.: I Can't Take Suffering Anymore

Today we begin a new series of lessons from II Corinthians. This is the most personal of all of Paul's letters.
While we won't go too much past the first chapter we will see how God wants us to handle life's difficulties!

•  What We Learn from Our Sufferings, (II Corinthians 1:3-5)

•  We Learn the Source of Mercy & Comfort, (v. 3)

1. ( v. 3 ), “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies & God of
all comfort.”
a. When we are struggling, God is a “Father of mercies.”
1) “Mercy” = Compassion, i.e., seeing a need and striving to meet it (cf. Scripture
Reading).
2) Mercies is plural. God is not merciful once and then you are on your own.
3) As in Lamentations 3:22-23 , “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His
mercies never come to an end….”

b. “Comfort” = to provide relief, and also “to strengthen.” God comforts us in our struggles
against the world so that we will go back out and face the world.
1) It is the same word as is used for the Holy Spirit, (i.e., the Comforter ).
2) ( Jn. 14:15, 18 – KJV ), “I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you forever … I will not leave you comfortless, I
will be with you.” Thus, God's comfort = His presence in our ives!
3) This is such an important point that God uses the word “comfort” 10x in vs. 3-7!
4) People who lack “comfort” in their suffering probably also lack trust in the presence
of God.

c. But how can we know that these things (God's mercy and comfort) are for us?
1) Because not only is He the “Father of mercies,” but in this verse He's also, “Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2) Our Father showed the extent of His mercy in giving us a needed Savior.
a) ( Rom. 5:8 ), “God demonstrated His own love towards us, in that while we
were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
b) ( Rom. 8:32 ), “He who did not spare His own Son but offered Him up for us,
how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
c) ( Titus 3:5a ), “He saved us. Not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy.”

B. We Learn that Our Suffering Prepares Us to Help Others, (v. 4)

1. ( v. 4 ), “…who comforts us in our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in
any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
a. God wants us to take what we've learned about His comfort (during our times of affliction;
loss of a loved one, financial reversals, illnesses, etc.) so that we may be able to teach others.
1) ILLUST.: Tom Riley's blog (i.e., his personal experiences/struggles as he went
through his illness).
2) True of Jesus, ( I Pt. 2:21-23 ), “You were called for this purpose, since Christ Jesus
suffered for you leaving you an example to follow in his steps; who committed no sin,
nor was any deceit found in His mouth. And while being reviled He did not revile in
return, while suffering He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to the One
who judges righteously.”
3) Should be true of us, ( v. 4 ), “…so that we may be able to comfort those who are in
any affliction.”
4) So… if God has “brought you to it & through it” He did so that He might use you to
help others!!!

C. We Learn that God Understands Our Suffering, (v. 5)

1. ( v. 5 ), For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is
abundant through Christ.”
a. The sufferings emphasized in this verse are those of Jesus…
1) Born to an unwed mother ( Mt. 1:18 ), “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.
When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she
was found to be with child.”
2) Ignoble birth ( Lk. 2:12 ), “This shall be a sign for you; you shall find the Child
wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger.”
3) He was threatened as a child ( Mt. 2:13 ), “…take the Child and His mother, and flee
to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child
to destroy Him.”
4) Raised in a despised place, ( Jn. 1:46 ), “And he said, ‘Can any good thing come out
of Nazareth?'”
5) After He left the home where He was raised He was homeless ( Mt. 8:20 ), “Jesus
said, ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
has nowhere to lay His head.'”
6) His family thought He was insane ( Mk. 3:21 ), “….when His own people heard of
this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His
senses.'”
7) The religious people thought He was demon-possessed ( Mark 3:22 ), “And the
scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by
Beelzebul.'”
8) He was betrayed by a close friend ( Lk. 22:4 ), “And he [Judas] went away and
discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.”
9) After His betrayal and arrested He was abandoned by all His friends, Mk. 14:50 ,
“And they all left Him and fled.”
10) He endured a sham of a trial ( Mark 14:56 ), “For many were giving false testimony
against Him, and their testimony was not consistent.”
11) Following His trial He was executed by the worst possible means, ( Mk. 15:25 ),
“And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.”

b. Jesus endured all this so that we might know He understands our trials and suffering.
1) ( Heb. 4:15-16 ), “For we do not have a great high priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things like as we, yet without
sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may
find mercy and grace to help in time of need..”
2) So, God understands our suffering since He has had to deal with hardships of every
kind.
3) Now as we are commanded to provide comfort for those who are afflicted (see “I. B.”
above), our Lord who was afflicted is providing comfort for us.

II. How God Uses Our Suffering, (II Corinthians 1:6-10)

A. He Uses Suffering to Strengthen Us, (vs. 6-7)

1. ( vs. 6-7 ), “But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it
is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we
also suffer; - and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers in our
comfort.”
a. Notice that God uses our affliction for this same purpose…
1) To strengthen our Faith : ( Heb. 11:24-25 ), “By faith Moses, we he had grown,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-
treatment with the people of God, rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”
2) To strengthen our Endurance : ( Jms. 1:2-4 ), “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when
you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing.”

b. Some people who suffer become self-centered and begin to feel sorry for themselves, or even
become bitter!
1) Christians must never allow this to be true of us. That is what these two verses are
teaching.
2) For our faith, perseverance will help us see those things that are truly valuable,
( II Cor. 4:17-18 ), “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal
weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporary,
but the things that are not seen are eternal.”

B. He uses Suffering to Teach Us, (vs. 8-10)

1. ( Vs. 8-10 ), “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to
us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of
life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in
ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and
will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. – and He will yet deliver us [i.e. TRUST!!!] .”
a. There are two lessons that suffering teaches us …
1) #1. WHAT TO DO . . . Trust in God!!!
a) “…not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”
b) If we CANNOT resurrect ourselves then we should place our faith in the One
who does!
c) “What am I going to do?” Needs to be replaced with, “What keeps me from
trusting God?!”
d) ( Lk. 12:12-13 ), “When they bring you before synagogues and the rulers and
the authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak in
your defense, or what you should say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in
that very hour what you ought to say.”
1)) This was said to the apostles. But the lesson for us is to trust in God!
2)) Things may not turn out as WE want but they will as God wants,
( cf. Rom. 8:28 ), “We know that God causes all things to work
together for good to those who love God, who are called according to
His purpose.”

2) #2. WHEN TO DO IT . . . DAILY !
a) Some folks are good in a group of Christians. Yet suffering teaches to trust in
our solitude.
b) ( Luke 9:23 ), “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after
Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily , and follow Me.'”
c) Clearly, the cross was an instrument of suffering. Thus, Jesus shows us that
following Him each day includes the knowledge that we have to get our
desires out of God's way even if it means we will have to suffer!!!

CONCLUSIONS:

•  When we say, “I can't take it anymore,” God says, “Let me show you what you can learn from your
suffering & what your suffering can do for you and teach you!”

•  Earlier we learned that through suffering we learn that God “…is a Father of mercies,” We also learned that it is by God's mercy that we are saved, ( cf. Titus 3:5a ), “He saved us, not on the basis
of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy….

•  Yet receiving His mercies doesn't come by our doing, i.e. “…deeds of righteousness” (church attendance, good works, etc.). But rather through our obedience to Him, ( quote Titus 3:5b; Acts 2:38 ), “…by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” “Repent, and let each
one be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”