Encourage One Another: Giving Grace-
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4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Encourage One Another: Giving Grace with Your Words
Encourage One Another: Giving Grace with Your Words
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Let me share this passage with you....
“Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” ()
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Exhort means to encourage, so the command is that we encourage one another....
Have you ever received a note, or a word from a friend, it wasn’t much or very long, but it spoke to your heart. It blessed you… It was a God thing....
Yesterday I received a kind note of encouragement from a friend. It was only about three sentences long but the Lord used it to stir some much-needed strength in my soul.
why do I say that? Because God tells us in His word over and over again to encourage one another.
Well if you open the word of God you see that encouragement is a vital expression of love for God’s people.
In one sense, encouragement is like oxygen in the life of a church. It keeps hearts beating, minds clear, and hands inspired to serve.
ible and dig around to see what the Lord says to us about encouragement. As I read passage after passage, I was struck by how vital this expression of love is for God’s people. In one sense, encouragement is like oxygen in the life of a church. It keeps hearts beating, minds clear, and hands inspired to serve.
Because encouragement is so important to the church, God doesn’t merely recommend it; he explicitly commands it (, ; ).
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
1 tHes 5:11
WHY WE NEED ENCOURAGEMENT
WHY WE NEED ENCOURAGEMENT
God commanded that his people encourage each other because he knows we need it.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus warned that “in this world you will have trouble,” which he then followed with a much needed encouragement: “But take heart; I have overcome the world” ().
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
We live in a broken world where everything calls us toward selfishness and despair. Sin steals joy, our bodies break down, our plans falter, our dreams die, our resolves weaken, our perspective dims.
We are promised suffering (),
We live in a broken world where everything calls us toward selfishness and despair. Sin steals joy, our bodies break down, our plans falter, our dreams die, our resolves weaken, our perspective dims. We are promised suffering (),
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
We are promised persecution (; ),
12
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
We are promised trials of various kinds ().
persecution (; ), and trials of various kinds ().
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Encouragement is necessary for the church to go farther...
and trials of various kinds ().
When encouragement is absent from the life of a church,people will feel unloved, unimportant, useless, and forgotten.
God knows his people are in need of grace-filled reminders, so he calls us to encourage each other every day until his Son returns...
WHAT IS ENCOURAGEMENT?
Biblical encouragement isn’t focused on complementing someone’s haircut or telling them how good their homemade salsa tastes.
That kind of encouragement is important, but the encouragement the Scriptures refer to is explicitly Christian encouragement.
Encouragement is shared with the hopes that it will lift someone’s heart toward the Lord ().
8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,
It points out evidences of grace in another’s life to help them see that God is using them. It points a person to God’s promises that assures them that all they face is under his control.
It points out evidences of grace in another’s life to help them see that God is using them. It points a person to God’s promises that assures them that all they face is under his control.
The New Testament reveals that encouragement was a regular part of the early church’s life together Let me share three examples for this passage....
15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,
So they encouraged them in various ways...
They shared Scripture-saturated words with each other to spur one another on in faith (),
Faith: They shared Scripture-saturated words with each other to spur one another on in faith (),
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Hope:
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
hope (), unity (; ), joy (), strength (), fruitfulness (), faithfulness (), perseverance (), and the certainty of Christ’s return ().
Unity :
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
Unity
Joy:
Joy:
31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
Strength:
32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.
Fruitfulness:
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness
12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Perseverance (),
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
And the certainty of Christ’s return ().
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
and the certainty of Christ’s return ().
Encouragement was and is an essential way of extending grace to each other.
Encouragement was and is an essential way of extending grace to each other.
HOW DO I GROW IN BEING AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS?
There isn’t only one “right way” to encourage each other, but here are a few ideas to help you get started.
Pray for God to make you an encourager. Ask him to give you a heart that loves others and creativity to know how to show it. Ask him to help you die to self-centeredness and grow in a desire to build others up. Because God delights in helping his people obey his commands, we can trust that his Spirit will teach us how to bless others for his glory and their spiritual good.
Study Barnabas and ask God to make you like him. Barnabas was nicknamed the “son of encouragement” by the early church (). He was the kind of guy you wanted to have around as you were serving the Lord. He wasn’t just a spiritual cheerleader, but he was a man of great conviction who wanted to see the church flourish and did all he could to make it happen. Ask God to give you and your church a heart like Barnabas.
Make encouragement a daily discipline. For some of us encouragement comes naturally, for others, not so much. I have a reminder in my calendar each day to send someone an encouraging note, email, text, or phone call. I need this reminder to pause, pray, and then intentionally try to spur someone on in Christ.
Pray for God to show you who to encourage. Ask God to bring someone to mind that you should reach out to. One way to do this is by praying through your church’s membership directory. Check out this article to learn more about that.
Use Scripture if you’re able. Nothing encourages us like promises from God’s Word. Make a list of Scriptures that God has used to bless you personally or an excerpt from something you read in your daily devotional. Mine the Psalms, , and the Gospels. Find and share riches of God’s grace with others.
Be specific in what you say. The note I received from my friend included two very specific ways he had seen evidences of grace in my life. When I read them, I was humbled and reminded of the fact that God does actually work in and though me. I needed that.
Regularly encourage your pastor. If your pastor says something that God uses, tell him about it. Don’t expect him to write you back, but just send a few lines in a card or an email. Nothing encourages a pastor like hearing specific ways God used a sermon or counseling session to work in your life.
Pray that God would create a culture of encouragement in your church. Ask God to make your church a community that loves each other in specific, tangible ways like encouragement.
Ask God to use you to help fan that flame. Don’t get discouraged if people don’t return your encouragement (; ) or if you don’t see fruit from it (). Creating a church culture that glorifies God takes a long time, lots of prayer, and abundant grace. I encourage you to keep at it.
Don’t get discouraged if people don’t return your encouragement (; ) or if you don’t see fruit from it (). Creating a church culture that glorifies God takes a long time, lots of prayer, and abundant grace. I encourage you to keep at it.
Be wise. If you want to encourage someone of the opposite sex, use discernment in how best to do it. If I’m going to encourage a single sister in the congregation, I will tell my wife and copy her on the email. If I were encouraging a married sister, I would again tell my wife and copy her and the husband of the person I’m encouraging. You can also use that as an opportunity to encourage both the husband and wife.
Get started. Who can you encourage right now? Who has blessed you recently that you can thank? What verse can you share with them? How might God use it?
May the Lord do more than we can imagine through just a little encouragement ().