Encouragement

Ever hear someone trying to teach you wisdom from their own life and say something like

“If you don’t have your health, than you have nothing at all”

but then live like health isn’t that important. Like saying, “If you don’t have your health, than you have nothing at all,” while smoking as there filling their car up with gas.

That’s incredibly dangerous and the actions reveal that either you don’t know the actions are dangerous or believe that the comfort providing by smoking is more important than the risk of bursting into flames.

I wrote this week to a group of friends an old truth,

belief inspires actions.

What you do is really a reflection of what you believe to be true, much more than what you say you believe. It is true for me. I believe it is true for everyone.

I believe that you are hear today because of something you believe or something that you are wondering about,

In most of actions their is a “why”

The why is our beliefs.

Examining our “why” is vital for spiritual growth and being aware of what God is doing in this world.

The why is also the phrase that people use for vision. So today, and for the next couple of weeks, we will review what it means to do and be church. What it means to be New Day,

You know the vision quite well to be a community of people like this:

Philippians 2:1–5 HCSB

1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,

This is it. A church filled with people doing this. So we are going to look at Philippians 2:1-5 step by step, word for word, get nerdy into some stuff. We are going to think about this why and what actions it inspires and let the Holy Spirit remind us of this to inspire our actions on Tuesday, Wednesday, in other words - every day, every place, every where.

So let’s get started.

Nestle Aland 26th Edition Greek New Testament Morphological Edition Chapter 2

Εἴ τις οὖν παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ

My bad pronunciation in Greek is just meant to impress because I’m neady, but also to point out that when people first read these words that is similar to what they would have heard. With better pronunciation and accent, no lisp. when first written over 1,900 years ago that’s close to what it sounded like. While I don’t know Greek and I can only read it badly, today, you and I need an English translation.

And fun stuff happens when translation occurs into other languages because some languages have words for things or concepts and some don’t, some things have different meanings when used in different contexts.

So we will look at that stuff too when it makes sense.

But today this first part is pretty easy to translate.

Εἴ τις If then

It reminds me of something I do every day in school, we call them first/then charts. A student wants something but they need to do school work. So we say First work, then we say whatever they want: a treat, a toy or to be able to do something.

If then is different, it is a question. If then. It’s more like computer programming, if something is true, then do this.

If the joystick is moved to the left, then move the character on the screen to the left.

What the writer does is ask a rhetorical question, one whose answer is already known and assumed in the question because when we get the “If what I am about to say is true, then do this.” Anyone who follows Jesus will believe that what he is about to say is true.

What’s fun is we can look at the action from the then part of the statement, like in my joystick metaphor when you see the character move across the screen is the then part. That is cool. But what is also cool, is because this rhetorical, the answer to the if is already true, so we can look at the if statement and be amazed by it too. The moving the joystick, since the question is rhetorical we can say, that joystick moved to the left. But its way more awesome, because we can look at the if part of the scripture and know its true. So today we look at the if statement and the if statement only.

οὖν παράκλησις any encouragement

By the way if you noticed that “There is” is not Greek words, you get a little gold star for recognizing that what is not necessary in the Greek language is necessary in English.

If then any encouragement

is not academic grammar and doesn’t get across the real meaning so translators who are experts at Greek and English added

If then there is any encouragement

All of that is not as important as the next phrase

ἐν Χριστῷ in Christ

You almost need no translation because Christo is one of the many, many greek words we have kept pretty much the same in English. Christ is really a translation of Hebrew to Greek and it means

Messiah, which means God’s specially chosen one. Jesus is the one, the Christ, chosen to deliver the people from their sins and reunite us with the father.

Ok, so the saying goes,

If then there is any encouragement in Christ

This is the key question for us to really focus on today.

Is there encouragement in Christ, what is it, and why does it matter on a Tuesday at 10:47 am?`

Why does the encouragement matter, let’s look at what it does.

I love what one addict told me, that a person need to be “tired” before they are ready to give up their addiction.

Their needs to be a recognition that they are discouraged. The opposite of encouraged. It doesn’t necessarily mean that people who are in Christ can’t be discouraged, in despair, or even depressed. But without Christ where does real hope come from? Health without spiritual meaning is just delaying death.

In the Bible a story very similar was told by Jesus called the Prodigal Son. The son went to his dad and asked for his inheritance, basically asked for his dad to be dead and give him his share of his Dad’s money. Then he took his money and went off. Foolish living, then a famine hit, all his money was gone and he was left with nothing. He got the only work he could feeding pigs. While doing it he was so hungry he wanted to steal the pigs food.

Some of you know the rest of the story. The end is incredibly encouraging. But let’s sit here, in the pig sty and realize that life is really like this for many, many people around us. They had something and threw it away.

Some try to cover it up and make the best pig sty around or say that everyone else is soft but they can survive the pig sty. Others criticize the person without being aware of their own mess around them.

No Christ and the story could end here in the pig sty. Sucks to be you.

But there is encouragement in Christ. Story continues

Luke 15:17–19 CSB

17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” ’

We come to our senses and realize this situation sucks. Maybe our foolish living wasn’t addiction, maybe its selfishness, maybe its purposelessness, maybe its worthlessness, we all have one, we need a change.

This is what Jesus makes possible. Jesus brings hope to the hopeless. Because when a person is willing to surrender themselves to Jesus as a slave, he makes them a part of his family, not a slave but a child.

The end of the story,

Luke 15:20–22 CSB

20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

We can go running to God and He will take us. Jesus’ death on the cross, resurrection give us the possibility to accept him and be born again.

John 3:3 CSB

3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Born again, becoming new. Everything can be changed. You can be born again. A teenager can be born again.

As Jesus went on to say,

John 3:5–6 CSB

5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Now, the Holy Spirit actually is the one who comes to us in our pig sty, that place where the prodigal son realized he needed to surrender his life to his father. The Holy Spirit, who is God himself, convicts of the need for salvation. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit enters into you and seals you spiritually for the judgement day. Therefore you are born again!

My mommy allowed me to be born of the flesh. The Holy Spirit allowed me to be born again. Because of being born again, I have been given a promise by God.

John 3:14–17 CSB

14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

We are saved by faith in Jesus the one whose actions encourage us. He is the one who allows us to be Born Again, New Creations.

Ok wait, little neat detour, ready,

Do you know what one of the names of the Holy Spirit is?

Before I show you I want you to remember the greek word we translated when we say If then there is any encouragement in Christ

οὖν παράκλησις any encouragement

Ok remember that, well the Holy Spirt, the third member of the trinity, the three in one God, the three seperate and equal God we worship is named by Jesus as:

Parakletos, the advocate, the encourager.

Jesus encourages, the Holy Spirit encourages. God encourages.

If there is any encouragement in Christ of course there is , there is salvation, there is an opportunity for new life, a completely new life.

Do not forget this. Never forget the joy of salvation. All encouragement begins with Jesus as He offers us new life.

You know how people say, “well that’s just how He is.” I know that she will do that because that’s what she always does.

Jesus can change that “always does” to “never again.”

The salvation of Jesus can change that’s how He is to I never knew Him like that.

That is encouraging.

Even now if a follower of Jesus fails, when I fail, when I forget who I am in Jesus, Jesus is still there available to make me new

1 John 1:9–2:1 NLT

9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

An advocate! Someone working on our behalf. I usually hear about advocates in my job as a special education teacher. a family could get an advocate to help them with their child in a meeting to create an Individualized Education Plan, usually that advocate is attached to a law firm, and when an advocate shows up I have to call my bosses and tell them to show up because we are going to have to do this all right, because the family has an advocate, someone who is fighting on the family’s side making sure we are doing our jobs correctly.

Why do you need an advocate because you are being judged. God is judging you. If God didn’t judge us their would be no justice in the world.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 CSB

17 I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

Many of us might be scared to death of God’s judgement. That’s smart. But the good news is, when we have commited our life to following Jesus, another way to say that is we live acting like Jesus is Lord, He is God and we live, love and follow Him, Jesus is our advocate with God the judge. He is our attorney.

We got the best attorney, we got the Judge’s son on our side. Not only that but our attorney did the time for us, Jesus took the death penalty for us.

So there is Encouragement to keep going on because we are forgiven.

It is through Christ that I am made new and renewed day by day. It is because of this that when people tell me about a hopeless situation I can say not done yet. Christ can renew everyone.

Salvation, Forgiveness, and Purpose.

Might sound like just pump up words, like flattery, like a great tik-tok affirmation.

However, this “if then” there is any encouragement in Christ question is written by the the early leader of those who followed Jesus, Paul, when inspired by the Holy Spirit to write, He was actually under house arrest.

He had real enemies who wanted him to die. He had some on his side but he had many real enemies. Even some enemies so dirty they were actually preaching about Jesus just to get him in more trouble

Philippians 1:17 CSB

17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.

Not only that but when he wrote he actually thinks this arrest will cause his death. Yet in the midst of this and many other traumas I don’t have time to talk about, Paul wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, He wrote

Philippians 1:21–24 CSB

21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

You see in this world we get to see God work, God change lives, God move when there was no ability for things to happen or be different. Followers of Jesus, we have purpose now in this life. We have to take up the call and cause of Jesus.

We can live out what it means that Jesus encourages us.

Jesus encourages us

by humbling himself to death on a cross, offering forgiveness of sin

Jesus encourage us

by revealing his power through His resurrection from the dead and promising us resurrection to all who believe

Jesus encourages us

By making us new through the work of the Holy Spirit by the conviction of our hearts and the power of his resurrection our character is being transformed.

We don’t have to be the old person inside of us cause those days are long dead and gone. We’ve got a new name and we are not the same, we have a hope that will carry as on.”

Jesus encourages us

With a purpose to become more like Jesus

1 John 2:4–6 CSB

4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

Walk just as he walked means to live our days with the attitude of Christ Jesus, as a Christian you are a little Jesus, meaning people should know what Jesus is like by looking at you. Another way to say it is you are an ambassador of Christ.

Since Jesus

is encouraging, guess what:

Encourage in the same way.

Encourage people in forgiveness. Give forgiveness and offer the eternal forgiveness of Christ.

Encourage people by sharing the resurrection, and it’s hope.

Encourage people with the hope God brings.

Encourage people by living out the purpose of God.

“Your life as a Christian should make non believers question their disbelief in God.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer