Christian Virtues - Encouragement

Intro:

Good evening.

My encouragement for you this evening is to work toward encouragement. :)

I think it is safe to say that we live in discouraging times.

Just one look at the news right now is enough to prove that.

Christians, however, must be people of encouragement.

The art of encouragement is truly a CHRISTIAN virtue, and thus, that is our subject for tonight as we continue our series on virtues.

I want us to begin tonight with our first point …

Coming Together for Worship:

It is to be an encouragement when we do so.

In discussing the issue that some Christians have which is an attendance problem, it always amazes me, because I always think — Why in the world would a Christian NOT want to faithfully attend the services of the Lord’s church?!

It’s the highlight of my week!

And let me tell you why it should be the highlight of YOUR week!

David said in the long ago: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1).

That Psalm goes on to say - Psalm 122:2-9

Psalm 122:2–9 NKJV

Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.

David was talking about the physical temple of the Lord in O.T. times, but certainly we can see the similarities, belonging to the SPIRITUAL house of the Lord, the church of our Lord!

So how should the worship services be the highlight of your week?

How should they encourage you?

Well, for starters, worshipping the Lord is a respite from the chaotic world around us.

God knew that in order for one to truly put his heart, soul, mind, and strength into PRAISING Him, THANKING Him, EXALTING Him, PETITIONING Him in prayer, and WORSHIPPING Him in song and in study of His Word and giving back to His cause and in remembering His sacrifice in communion …

That in order to do that wholeheartedly and in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), that that requires us to remove the cares and concerns of the world from our minds, and to FOCUS solely on Him.

That being objective number 1 in worship!

And a secondary objective in coming together in worship being that we also ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER when we worship God together!

God KNEW that we needed that! God knew that we needed time each week to dedicate to Him, and Him only.

Thus, He ordained that we should WORSHIP Him!

Heb. 10:25 (talking about not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together) is immediately preceded by:

Hebrews 10:24 - “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

In other words, let us ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER toward these things!

God knew that when Christians would come together to put Him first in worship (Matt. 6:33), that a secondary benefit of that is that we would ENCOURAGE one another!

Imagine that?!

Has it ever puzzled you that Christians who get down sometimes and need ENCOURAGMENT are the very ones who sometimes forsake the assembling?!

Why would they DO that?!

That’s where the ENCOURAGEMENT is!!

The last thing you should do if you are discouraged is to forsake the assembling!

But I’ve seen Christians do it all my life!

Yes, worshipping God is a RESPITE from the cares and the concerns of everyday life.

If it is NOT a respite for you, then dare I say there is something wrong with your outlook.

Or there’s something wrong with your priorities.

Something wrong with your mindset, your worldview.

Because worshipping the Lord together is the most encoruaging thing, I’m convinced, that we can do!

So, worship is an encouraging respite.

I would submit that another couple encouraging respites are:

Loving and encouraging one another as the family of God through fellowship …

And working alongside each other doing various good works that Jesus would have us to do …

Those are two other sermons for another day, but needless to say, the Bible has a lot to say about both of those things!

It is VIRTUOUS for us to encourage other Christians through worship, through fellowship, and through acts of service, serving the community and one another!

Can I tell you a secret?

When have I as a Christian and a preacher found, perhaps, the MOST encouragement in my limited experience?

I’ll tell you — Typically, it’s been when Iv’e made hospital visits, and/or visiting those who are shut in!

Here’s why:

Number 1, when you go to encourage those who are in those situations (and it brightens up THEIR day), it’s a reciprocal effect that in turn encourages YOU! (There have been times when I was, to be honest, kind of down in the dumps, but I went and made a hospital visit, and I came out feeling MUCH better!)

Why? Because number 1, I encouraged them which in turn encouraged me, and …

Number 2 — Because it serves as a reminder that, whatever I was upset or depressed about, I could find myself in the hospital or what not (and so that has a way of grounding us and humbling us and helping us quit focusing on our SELVES, and instead, focus on helping those folks who find themselves in those situations!

Let Me Tell You About a Man Named Barnabas:

The apostles referred to him as the son of encouragement (Acts 4:36).

What all had he done to earn that nickname?

Would YOU be one who would have earned that nickname?

Acts 4:32–37 NKJV

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

That’s a selfless act! It seems to be saying he brought ALL the proceeds to the apostles. (It says he had land, sold it, and “brought THE money,” not “some of the money.”)

No telling how much the land was valued at, perhaps a lot!

And he selflessly gave it to the treasury of the Lord!

How encouraging!

Are we that encouraging to fellow Christians?! (In our giving, in our worship, in our helping, in donating our time — You name it!)

Barnabas WAS!

We read other things about Barnabas, too, including:

When Saul (Paul) was converted to Christ, and the rest of the disciples were scared to death of him, perhaps thinking it was a trick to kill more Christians, who was it that convinced them to accept Paul as a brother?!

BARNABAS! (Acts 9:26-28)

We also read of Barnabas joining Paul on some of his missionary journeys!

Barnabas was a wonderful disciple of Jesus Christ!

Which brings us to the ultimate question tonight …

Are You a Son of Encouragement? (Or Are You a Bringer of Discouragement?):

We all need to honestly assess ourselves on this.

Do we possess the Christian virtue of encouragement?

Well, let’s put it to the litmus test:

Do you teach and admonish your fellow Christians in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with GRACE in your hearts to the Lord (Col. 3:16)?

… Or do you cross your arms and refuse?

Do you faithfully attend the services of the church every opportunity you possibly can (unless you are sick or for some reason physically CANNOT be here)? (We talked about that early in the lesson).

… Or do you come up with every excuse you can think of to not be here (I’d rather sleep in, I’d rather be fishing, I’d rather take my kids to the sporting event, I think it’s a little too cold out today, I think I felt a rain drop, etc.). (Brethren, I think our first century Christian brothers and sisters who died for the faith would be ASHAMED of some of us and the excuses we come up with for not to attend. Just saying.).

Do we look for ways to use our talents for the Lord (Matt. 25), whatever and however many they may be? And do we look for ways to serve each other and this community (also Matt. 25)?

… Or do we wait around with an attitude of, “Somebody else will take care of that”?

Do we have a good attitude? Do we present ourselves cheerfully and with hope and a joy and a good outlook because we know how the story ends? Are we the eternal optimist?

… Or are we pessimistic, and complainers, and grumblers, and have just a downright bad attitude?

All of these things and more are key indicators to whether we are ENCOURAGERS or DISCOURAGERS.

Conclusion:

Let me leave you with the words of Gal. 6:1-10 tonight. (Read in the Bible)

In essence, many of the things that Paul speaks to in those 10 verses are things that revolve around ENCOURAGEMENT for all of us to keep the faith.

Are you keeping the faith?

Are you practicing the virtue of encouragement tonight and throughout your Christian life?