Sermon Tone Analysis

Who Are You Most Like?

I discovered the importance of healthy counsel in a half Ironman triathlon.

After the 1.2-mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1-mile run.

Neither did the fellow jogging next to me.

I asked him how he was doing and soon regretted posing the question.

“This stinks.

This race is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.”

He had more complaints than a taxpayer at the IRS.

My response to him?

“Good-bye.”

I knew if I listened too long, I’d start agreeing with him.

I caught up with a sixty-six-year-old grandmother.

Her tone was just the opposite.

“You’ll finish this,” she said.

“It’s hot, but at least it’s not raining.

One step at a time . . .

don’t forget to hydrate . . .

stay in there.”

I ran next to her until my heart lifted and my legs were aching.

I finally had to slow down.

She waved and passed me.

Which of these two describes the counsel you give? — Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants (W Publishing Group, 2006)

— Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants

(W Publishing Group, 2006)

When it comes to living life this side of heaven...Who are you most like?…are you like the man...let’s call him “Negative Ned”... or the 66 year old grandma…let’s call her “Encouraging Ellie”… life can be brutal often leaving us feeling like we are in a never ending Iron-man triathlon...

the church of Jesus Christ in many ways is a world-wide and eternal construction project…

When we feel like we are alone in the process, that makes it that much worse…but thankfully we are all on this marathon course of life together and we ought to be looking for and being that pack of participants that understand we are in this together…that pack of people is also known as the church…and thankfully also we know that we have the greatest support system because the Chief Shepherd and Architect of our Faith has told us he would never let us fail...

Jesus told Peter…

The church of Jesus Christ in many ways is a world-wide and eternal construction project…

- the church of Jesus Christ in many ways is a world-wide and eternal construction project…

...as you study the ministry of Jesus you see example after example of Him meeting someone whose body, or whose life, or whose situation, or whose family was broken down…their life was being lived much like an iron-man triathlon…

if time allowed we could walk our way through the gospels this morning exclusively through that lens…

and see example after example of our Lord meeting someone whose body, or whose life, or whose situation, or whose family was broken down…

and He compassionately and miraculously intervened in some way that reversed the process…that built up what had been torn down…don’t you love a Savior like that?...like the hymn writer said – what a wonderful Savior…keeping His promise to build…

like the hymn writer said – what a wonderful Savior…keeping His promise to build…

- that’s what a Master Builder does…

- or when a man of small stature climbs up in a tree to hear Jesus’s message and the Lord calls Him out and says… - When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

- and you may remember what happens next… - When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

- (which by the way is the same thing people like “them” did back in regarding the man with the withered hand…because Jesus didn’t choose to do that on just any day…He rebuilt that man’s hand on the Sabbath – and the so-called religious people were outraged – because they valued their legalism more than building something up that had been destroyed…)

- so there’s no question that Zacchaeus (this wee little man, as the children’s song goes) was a broken down sinner…the issue was – was there anyone willing and able to rebuild him?...

- and the answer is – Jesus was – even if He had to endure some venom being spit on him because he had the audacity to go to be the guest of a man who was a sinner (as if the men making the accusation weren’t)…

- and what happened next?... - Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

- like the hymn writer said – what a wonderful Savior…keeping His promise to build…

And as part of that building project, Jesus has employed every believer to take full responsibility to be involved in the construction process…we can be built and we can participate in building others…

- so Paul would tell the Ephesian elders in - - And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Paul would tell the Ephesian elders in - And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

that is so true that the church itself is actually referred to in Scripture…as a building -- - So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

And that’s why it’s we need to make sure we are doing our part to build the house according to the specifications outlined by the Master Builder…we are in week 2 of this new series of “Learning to One Another”… because that is how He wants us to build....the way we can impact our brothers and sisters…

now, this summer, we’re focusing especially on the second half of the equation…of Building One Another…this is a delightful study of the “one-another’s in Scripture”…the way we can impact our brothers and sisters…even if parts of their stories have evidence of damage and destruction…

so last week we started with the joyful privilege of loving one-another…if you need a chart that we handed out last week, they are available on the welcome center...

this morning we want to think about the way we can come alongside one another in serving and living for God…and then confidently saying to that person – you can do it...you can do it…Encourage One Another…

because sometimes the building project gets tough and sometimes you just want to hang up your hammer and nails…sometimes you can just pour all your energy into someone, seeking to build them up only to have them walk away from you wanting nothing to do with you…sometimes the very people you are trying to build up can turn on you and do everything they can to tear you down instead…that is when you need to find the pack, to be the pack, of people who are more like “Encouraging Ellie” and less like “Negative Ned”

So this morning let’s consider the next step of “one anothering”

Build Up One Another by Encouraging One Another

Be Actively Engaged in Encouraging One Another.

Please turn in your Bibles to

- let’s think about that in a more expanded fashion by reading from beginning at verse 19 [read ]…

let’s think about 3 truths to encourage us to encourage one another.

Truth number 1....

We All Are Built Upon A Foundation of Encouragement – 19-23.

I realize you might say – I struggle with being an encourager…either because “caring about others doesn’t come naturally for me” or because some of the people in my life are in such a state of destruction that it’s hard to see beyond all of their failures and believe it could ever be any different…

that may be why the writer of Hebrews nestled this command in an extended description of the power and beauty of the gospel…even if caring about others doesn’t come naturally for you – the gospel can change that about you…

even if caring about others doesn’t come naturally for you – the gospel can change that about you…

and even if others around you are failing in all sorts of ways – the gospel can change that about them…

how so?...because what we read here is true of all believers whether they are practicing this or not…the challenge before us this morning is to actually follow through and do it…so regardless of what others do…You and I need to commit to this...

We all need to show the kind of encouragement that provides the confidence to draw near to God.

19 - Since we have confidence to enter the Holy place

20 – by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us

22 – let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith

Our life together as believers is not to come from a self-centered heart and life that never shows concern for others…our life together needs to come from the fact that we all can“enter the Holy place”…and from our need to draw near to the Lord with a full assurance of faith…when you see a brother or sister is struggling to make sense of things…come alongside them and enter the presence of God together in prayer…you don’t have to know the details of their struggle…

- and like many so called “big box churches” – much of the emphasis was on coming to the big show on Sunday morning…and it was much like going to a concert…it’s dark in the auditorium and you’re going to hear and watch the start performers…

- but there wasn’t much body life throughout the rest of the week…

and as a result – people were not changing…they were not being encouraged spiritually by one another throughout the week…

- so I was asked to help them think that model through – and in the course of the conversation on of the pastoral staff members wives made a fascinating comment – “people tire me out”…”they wear on me”…

We all need to know and be reminded that we are not alone in our journey; and that together we can enter the presence of God with confidence knowing that He can handle this, whatever “this” is.

- in other words – we have time, and energy, and bandwidth to have a big production on Sunday morning but there’s no time or interest to invest in people personally in a way that is going to result in genuine spiritual growth…

- whatever that is – it’s not a church…

- that kind of self-centered heart and life…needs to “enter the Holy place”…needs to draw near to the Lord with a full assurance of faith…

The closer you are to the Lord the more you will naturally and automatically care about the spiritual condition of the people around you.

Some believers don’t come to God’s house because they don’t like being with people…and that is completely contrary to the life God desires for us as his children…and a person like that could not possibly have an impact in the church or community that is anywhere close to “encouraging one another and building one another…”

- that’s not funny – and a person like that could not possibly have an impact in the church or community that is anywhere close to “encouraging one another and building one another…”

That kind of heart doesn’t reflect the heart of God…which comes from spending a lot of time in the Holy place…asking that His love for people would become your love for people…

We need to show an encouragement that is based upon the finished work of Christ.

- our plane was delayed several hours going down which meant getting to the hotel several hours later than scheduled that night and still needing to be ready to teach the first thing the next morning…which is fine – at least we were in the correct city…

- but then coming back on Saturday in order to speak here on Sunday…

- we left the DR on time and arrived in Philadelphia a little early…so I had over 2 hours to get through customs and then catch my final plane to Indy…

- but the area around the terminals was like this giant parking lot jammed with planes facing every which direction…I’ve never seen anything quite like it…

- apparently they had had a bunch of weather delays so they just started putting plane wherever they could…and then trying to untangle that mess was no easy feat…airplanes don’t exactly turn on a dime…

- so we sat there for over 2 hours…and I obviously missed my flight to Indy which is a bit of a problem…because when you only work one day a week, they expect you to show up…

- well, then I had to go deal with the airline to try to figure out where I was going to stay and how I was going to eventually get home…

- I wish I had a picture of the poor guy at the airline counter…person after person just chewing on him as if he was the one responsible for the weather…

- and I’m not saying I do this perfectly…but this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation and I’ve learned over the years that maybe the most important ministry opportunity that weekend isn’t in a church service – maybe it’s at the airline counter with one person…

- a guy like that needs to be thanked for his work, and encouraged in some way…and we can’t fulfill the commands of verses 24-25 without the transformation power of the gospel described in verses 19-23 working in our own hearts and lives…

- the writer also describes this foundation of our encouragement as being…

On the basis of the finished work of Christ

we can “enter the holy place”…

19 – by the blood of Jesus

20 – through the veil, that is His flesh