Finding Comfort: The Call to Paraclete Others

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "There is a God who cares, a God who knows, and a God that loves you so much that he will sit in it with you. In July last year, I did some mental health first aid training, and the instructor said something very striking, and it was quite similar. It was very similar to what Ben said. She said, Sometimes you just need to sit with a person in the rubble." [36:36] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "We sympathise and we empathise with those loved ones. We empathise with others. We see people in war-torn areas. We see people with terminal illness. With relational struggles. We see the need and we want to do something about it. Well, so does Jesus. He knows, not just sympathises, he knows what you're going through. He walked his entire life in our shoes. As the saying goes. He did that to know your suffering and to know what we need. He knows it personally. What we need is hope." [42:25] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "We don't have to fear because unlike on the television series, we are not alone. He's got this. He's with you and he won't leave you. You know what? Maybe it's not fear that stops you from interrupting your day to comfort another. And these next two examples that I'll give you do come from personal experience, so please forgive me. The first one is bitterness. Does anyone have that needy person in their life? The one that is always asking for help and never says thank you? Well we can get bitter and resentful and that is not of God. Just keep being there for them." [47:21] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "God is good. He is good despite all this. A good God created a good world. With good people in it. To do good work. So that we might live a good life. This is a quote from John Dixon. God is good. And there is always a choice for us to do good as comforters. As I said we can't always fix the problem. And often it may be that we need to refer people on to others. We might just be able to pivot and send them on to others who have more expertise. We could do that. But God might step in and do something too. So it is always good to pray. It is good to ask." [49:00] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "We are provided comfort by the God of comfort in order to provide comfort to others. The Paracletos sits with us in the rubble as we come alongside others. Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit's comfort and guidance and so should we. We need to be aware of our fears and our biases in order to comfort well. We are promised his presence, his guidance and peace in all situations. All we need to do is pray. And most importantly, providing comfort is a witness to the love of God in your life and an opening to a conversation about God entering into theirs." [57:10] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


### Quotes for Members

1. "In week one, Ben introduced us to this key verse. And he spoke to us about the Paracletos, the comforter, and explained that in this Christian life, we should not expect to be comfortable. He also gave us some clarity around the Greek word paraclete, which is a verb to comfort and encourage others. We can be paracleted by somebody else. Then week two, Sandy looked at the comforter, the Holy Spirit in us. She walked us through some passages in James, in the New Testament that reminded us that we will have trials, we'll have temptations, suffering, and even persecution. But we should trust God in our situation and that it is possible to find joy." [34:19] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "Now, I want you to look at it once more. There are actually three people in this picture. There's you. There's the other. And then there's God, the Holy Spirit. We can't see him. But he is there. We know he's there. Thank you. The third person of the Trinity. He comes and he lives in us. He comes alongside us when we are alone. But also, we comfort others. He is our guide. We don't have to do this alone." [38:09] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Jesus relied on the Comforter. Strange, isn't it? But he did. He relied on the Comforter. He was fully God and fully human. And was himself comforted by the Holy Spirit on many occasions. So what did he do when he needed comfort? I don't know. I'll give you an example. There was a time when he received the news of his cousin's death. That was John the Baptist. And what he did, he'd retreated to a solitary place. And we can confidently assume that he prayed. When he was pressed and pressured by the crowds, he prayed." [39:32] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "We also have a responsibility to listen and be obedient to the Holy Spirit whispers. It's little nudges. His whispers, his nudges. Even if we don't understand we don't want to. This is the reality. Often, I just don't. We don't listen and we don't act. It's a reality, isn't it? Are you agreeing with me here? You think, yes. I don't. And I wonder why. Why do we balk when we, when I see someone upset? Why? Or we know that they need to be heard. Why don't I just pick up the phone? Why don't I just get in the car? Why do I sometimes turn the other way?" [43:10] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "We are promised his presence, his guidance and peace in all situations. All we need to do is pray. And most importantly, providing comfort is a witness to the love of God in your life and an opening to a conversation about God entering into theirs. So as you go through this next week, pray for opportunities to show God's love by offering comfort to someone else. Sometimes all you can do is be with someone. You know what, if you're confident in this, you may also consider volunteering. There's a great book called Careline, there's Lifeline and you might be able to comfort many if this is something that you find okay." [57:44] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)