Comfort of the Scriptures
II CORINTHIANS 1:3-4
3 ¶ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (There is a comfort that we are comforted by that God has specifically designed for us as believers that have the understanding of this hour – and that comfort is in the prophecy of the scriptures concerning this day that we live in)
ROMANS 15:1-4
1 ¶ We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Comfort of the Scriptures
ROMANS 15:4 - New International Version
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
I think when hope is taken away from people, then that is one of the last things that would give a person the spirit to continue to fight on. If Satan can somehow take away your hope, then he can do a lot of damage to a person in that state of mind.
I liked the quote that Hope sent us last week –
A.GREATER.THAN.SOLOMON.IS.HERE_ SANTA.MARIA.CA THURSDAY_ 62-0628
E-62 .. We have a shelter. And it's made out of feathers: under His wings (Amen.), carried away. Oh, I'm so glad for that shelter (Yes, sir.) under His wings. Why, the dust won't be settled till we'll be in glory (That's right.), safely under His wings. Oh, how that great wings of an eagle will pack us out of here one of these days.
RUTH 2:11-12
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. (In other words, she was a brave girl under the pressure of the crisis, because it looked like her future was very bleak under the circumstances, and she couldn’t see any human way out of her troubles.
From personal experience – when you get to that place in your life when you feel that you have come to a dead end and despair begins to come into your mind and heart, maybe you’ve just lost your job and it looks like there is no hope left for the future and you’ve got kids to feed and you wonder how in the world will you ever get through, then that is the time that God will make a way for you where there seems to be no way, and He does that just to prove to you that He is God and that he cares for you and that he understand your hopeless condition because he is the savior and the redeemer and the healer and the deliverer, and if he can care for the sparrow then how much more will he care for you. He promised that He would be a very present help in the time of trouble)
12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
In other words - I have observed the history of your life, how that you have left your old life behind in order to come to Bethlehem (to the house of God’s bread), and to put your trust in this God of Israel, and I see that your faith is real by your works, your actions have shown me the character that is in you in that you have esteem the word of the Lord more important than your own will of the culture that you were raised in.
It was a very uncertain time for Ruth at the harvest time of that day. All of life seemed to have fallen apart around her in uncertainty and it seemed like all hope for a bright future had gone.
Her husband had died, her mother in law’s husband had died, her husband’s brother had died, maybe a virus had gone though their city and had taken away all of what they had hoped in for a bright future and a happy life – the bible doesn’t say.
But look at the end of the story of Ruth – they all lived happily ever after in the end. That is also the promise for the end of our story also – these are the scriptures, and this is where our comfort comes from.
RUTH 4:13
13 ¶ So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. – Notice – the story ends in peace and happiness.
Why did Ruth live happily ever after? Because under His wings she became to trust, and it was under His wings her soul did abide.
As the song goes…
Under His wings I am safely abiding;
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Chorus:
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
Under His wings—what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blest.
Under His wings—oh, what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;
Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore.
PSALM 17:7-8
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8 ¶ Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
PSALM 36:7
7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Wings is eagle age – not Lion age, Ox or Man age, but Eagle age, under the wings of the great Papa Eagle. Wings are what you use to fly away with, and this is the age we are to fly away until the judgements are passed.
PSALM 56:3-4
3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Notice - David didn’t say that he would never be afraid, fear is often just the natural response to what we perceive as uncertainties of the future, but there is something that we must do as believers of the word of God so that we will not have to yield to the fear, and that is by putting our trust under his wings - that is our protection and safety, and that is what brings un comfort)
4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
We must refuse to let fear dominate our thinking – there is no virtue and strength that comes to you through the channel of fear; if fear comes, then we must quickly convert our fear over into trust in the promises and the hope that comes from the scriptures, especially the promise of the word for this hour.
When fear comes, the remedy is not to say “I am not afraid” but instead we must say “I will not yield to fear, but I will turn my trust to God who promised to be a very present help in time of need”.
PSALM 46:1-6
1 ¶ … God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 ¶ The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
PSALM 91:1-16
1 ¶ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 ¶ Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
GO.AWAKE.JESUS_ SHREVEPORT.LA V-17 N-9 SATURDAY_ 63-1130E
117 Now, but then when we see those things and have them thoroughly examined, and identified certainly, then why do we get scared when trouble comes in?
118 They were looking for... They had done so much testifying about what had been done, they forgot Who was with them. They had forgotten then, 'cause trouble was in.
119 Like now, we got troubles that we can't remedy.
120 They tried their sails, and the wind was too hard, it blew them off. They tried their oars, and the waves was so great it broke, broke their oars. Then, they, their little ship was let drive. They probably tied the keel down, or the--or the rudder. And when they did, just had to let it drive just any way it would go, and it dashing, splashing.
121 You have to ride a wave, in a boat. You fellows that ride a boat know you can't face right into a wind like that, right into the wave. If you do, you'll pitch your boat right at the bottom. So you've got to guide this boat, let it roll with the wave. As the waves rolled, you roll right in and out with it. When you're... If you don't, you'll fill your boat full of water.
122 Well, after everything had broke and they couldn't hold it no more, they just had to let it drive. And when they did, then the boat filled up. It looked like all hopes was gone. And there they was, all troubled and scared. What a time it was! It was a trouble that they could not remedy anymore. And then fear set in, when they found out they couldn't remedy it.
123 And we've hit, likewise, trouble. We've hit trouble that we... national troubles that our nation can't remedy. Look at the hoodlums in our nation, just shot our President, then went and shot the boy. That's just as much hoodlum as the guy that shot the President, to my opinion, in a cold-blooded murder. If he gets by with that, then they'll keep on doing them. He'll probably get by with it, too. But just look what they do, the whole world! If we put an Abraham Lincoln in every parish in every county, they would still do it anyhow. See, it's troubles we can't remedy. The--the thing, sin, unbelief and evil, has just weeded into us, growed around us, wrapped the whole nation in it.
124 We got church troubles, arguments, fusses, seems like we can't remedy it. We got now what they're trying to do, now they've all got together for the Council of Churches. We--we can't remedy it.
125 We've tried to introduce the Word. Christ tried to bring It back by showing Himself, the resurrection, for two thousand years, He is still the same. They turned their back upon It, walked away; they're unbelievers. Make-believers still hang on, to find a fault with It, just as much as they can, on and on. But what is it? It's the same thing repeating again.
126 The Word, they ought to know. What was the remedy for all things? Is God. In Saint John 1, says, "He is the Word." We still have the Word, to bring us out of this. We don't need no Council of Churches. We don't need all these dogmas and things being mixed up into the Word. We've got the Bible here, tells us how to steer this thing. Back to the Bible, back to Its Message! That's Christ among us, the Bible, living Bibles. "You're written epistles," living Bibles, the Word of God living so through you! That's what we need.
PSALM 55:5-8
5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
This is what we have been promised in this hour, that we would be given wings to fly away from the storm and tempest of the judgements that are about to be unleashed upon this earth.