The Sorrow That Brings Joy - 2 Corinthians 7:8-10

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup.

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul talks about the fruit of godly sorrow in the life of a Christian. As we partake of the bread and drink the wine from the cup, we remember that God sent Jesus to bring the good news of the gospel to us. He gave His life on a cross that we might have the forgiveness of our sins. He turned our sorrow for our sins into joy. All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "The Sorrow That Brings Joy." I read from 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

All of us have felt sorrow at one time or another in our lives, and upon reflection, we recognize there are different reasons in life for feeling sorry. With sorrow, we feel pain, but it is not a place we can point to on our body; we feel it in our hearts. One reason for sorrow is disappointment in ourselves for our words or behavior; we failed to live up to our code. Sorrow in this case is most effective when it leads to personal change. We resolve to be a better person so as not to hurt others and if necessary, apologize for our actions. That is what Paul was talking about in this second letter to the Corinthian Christians—the sorrow they experienced after reading his first letter! They recognized that they were not behaving as Christians; they were behaving like their old selves—by the flesh and not by the Spirit. When Paul pointed this out, they were sorry. They realized God was disappointed with them. Their sorrow led them to repent, apologizing to God for their behavior and asking for forgiveness, and resolving to do better in the future. This is what God wants from us when we sin. In contrast, the sorrow of the world may lead to a change of behavior, but it does nothing to change our standing with God. Like a letter, God sent Jesus to bring the good news of the gospel to us. God's intent was that we would feel sorrow for our sins after hearing the gospel, ask for forgiveness, and put our faith in Jesus, the one who offered His life on a cross that our sins might be forgiven by God. Then, through the help of the Holy Spirit, we would live as new persons—Christians! When we partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we remember our Savior, Jesus, who proclaimed the good news of the gospel and then died to save us. We listened to Him, and He turned our sorrow into joy. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, we thank-you so much for sending Your Son, Jesus, to proclaim the good news of the gospel to us. We believed His message, and we believed in Him—that He was able to die in our place to save us from our sins. As we partake of the bread and drink the wine from the cup, we remember His sacrifice for us. We pray, Abba, Father, that our hearts would always be in tune with You, and that we would repent of sins and seek Your forgiveness. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!