Standing Firm For Christ
You don’t have to do it on your own!
In a world filled with challenges, standing firm for Christ demands more than mere intention—it requires resilience, determination, and divine enablement. As the apostle Paul said, it’s God who empowers us to endure the trials that seek to derail our faith.
2 Corinthians 1:21 “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.”
There will be a number of obstacles that will try to hinder our progress, including physical, emotional, and spiritual ones that we must overcome.Paul knew this challenge and disciplined himself to make it to the end of the race.
1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Our goal is to make it to the finish line of life and hear God say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” It’s not how you start the race, but how you finish it that matters. Paul knew how hard this was and that’s why he encouraged the church at Corinth when he said,
1 Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
As we walk through 2 Corinthians 1, we can see how God enables us to stand firm for Christ.
GOD COMFORTS US
The word comfort occurs 10 times in verses 3-7. However, God’s comfort is not just the relieving of pain or being made calm. It refers to encouragement or consolation given to someone suffering or mourning. It is reassuring to know that we have a caring God who is there for us during life's trials.
I love how David E. Garland says it in The New American Commentary, “God’s comfort strengthens weak knees and sustains sagging spirits so that one faces the troubles of life with unbending resolve and unending assurance”
In fact, the more we suffer, the more God showers us with comfort. What an amazing God we serve. The worse it gets, the more He shows up!
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his “thorn in the flesh”. It was something that afflicted him to keep him humble. He asked God three times to take it from him. God replied each time…
2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
God’s grace is sufficient for everything we go through. Our troubles give God’s power a chance to work in and through us. This is the idea of divine support that we receive from God to overcome trials.
In each of these areas that God enables, us, He is also working through humans to accomplish His task.
God uses us to comfort others. He comforts people so they can be a comfort to others. There is something special that happens in a person’s life when they have been through some stuff and God brought them through. There is greater empathy, insight, and anointing on your life to help others get through difficult situations because you’ve been there!
I don’t like going through difficult situations in my life. I would gladly pass. However, God has called me to help others. The best preparation for that has been learning to overcome the challenges of my own life so I can help others through first-hand experience. So now I view every hardship I go through as an opportunity to touch more people.
GOD RESCUES US
In 1 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul describes a situation in which he didn’t think he was going to make it out alive. He said he was “crushed and overwhelmed beyond his ability to endure.” What would you do in a situation like this? Many would begin to doubt God and think He has abandoned them. That’s not what Paul did. This passage says that through this stressful time, he stopped relying on himself and learned to rely on God who is the God of the impossible. What an amazing takeaway! Not only that, Paul recognized that if God rescued him once, He would do it again. So he was already prepared for the next challenge that came his way.
2 Corinthians 1:10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
In addition to God’s supernatural involvement, Paul recognized that the church was helping by praying for his safety as well. When you place your confidence in God, He works out all the details and gets you where you need to go.
We read another story in Acts 12 where Peter has been imprisoned. The church began to pray and God sent an angel to deliver him. They walked by two guard posts and then the iron gate of the city opened all by itself for them. Peter walked out a free man. He went to the house where the prayer meeting was going on and they could hardly believe he was there. They didn’t even realize the power of their own prayers.
There are infinite ways that God can rescue us from our troubles, yet He chooses to partner His power with our requests made in prayer. There is power in prayer and power in the God we pray to!
GOD PROMISES US
2 Corinthians 1:20-22 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.
What God speaks will come to pass. He is faithful and always does what He says. The Bible is filled with thousands of promises that are ours to claim. They are all made available to us through Christ when we accept Him as the Lord of our lives. If we just claimed a small portion of them, it would change our lives!
Just like the two previous points, God uses people to aid in His assistance for us. In this scenario, He uses people to remind us about the promises God has made to us. We need to surround each other, encourage one another in the Lord, and build one another up by speaking God’s promises over each other.
CONCLUSION
Standing firm for Christ isn't a solitary endeavor; it's a collaborative effort between believers and their faithful God. Through trials and tribulations, God provides comfort, orchestrates rescues, and fulfills His promises, empowering us to persevere and thrive in our faith. As we navigate life's challenges, may we draw strength from God's provision and extend His comfort and encouragement to those around us, ultimately glorifying Him in all we do.
Stand firm in Christ and help others do the same!
- Pastor Nick DiBenedetto
from the sermon series, “X-Factor” (2/18/24)