Spiritual Gifts: Exhortation
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-OOS
I. Welcome
A. P. Dustin
II. Opening Prayer
A. Grace S.
III. Worship
A. Prayer Song: “Holy Love”
B. Song B4 Offering: “I Stand Amazed”
C. Offering
IV. Meet & Greet
A. Pray & Release Kids
B. Announcements
V. Sermon
-SERMON
I. Welcome
A. P. Dustin
II. Opening Prayer
A.
III. Worship
A. Prayer Song:
B. Song B4 Offering:
C. Offering
IV. Announcements
V. Sermon
-SERMON
I. INTRO
A. Where We’ve Been
a. Paul gives 3-4 lists o Spiritual gifts in his various writings
b. last week we Started : Service
B. Where We’re Going
a. Continuing w/ some practical gifts which are found in Ro 12
C. Main Text
Ro 12:
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
D. Pray
E. Context
a. often translated to urge
b. most o the letters we have in the NT r expressions of the Spiritual gift of exhortation
c. This ministry of exhortation is 1st & foremost God’s ministry:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
1. how many times do these 2 vs say comfort?
2. ea. time it is the same word found in …exhortation!
i. So, in this way exhortation is comforting the afflicted
3. God’s primary means of exhortation is the H.S.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
jn 14:
i. Jesus says love him by keeping his love commandments
-& to help (same word as exhort) he will give us the H.S. who is with & in us forever!!
d. How many o u...
1.have bee so hurt that u can’t seem to hear the H.S.’s help/exhortation through all the pain
2. or got so caught up in daily grind, pressures o the day & the world that that u miss the H.S.’s gentle whispers, nudges/ promtings?
i. What is H.S. to do??? - insert the...
II. BODY
A. Spiritual Gift: Exhortation
a. Defined as the calling to one’s side or to call one nearer to God
1. It’s the supernatural ministry of stirring up or bringing comfort by the spirit through a person to another or the congregation
i. Might b called the spiritual gift of afflicting the comfortable (stirring up) & consoling the afflicted (comfort)
3. Thus this is the ministry o stirring up & comforting
i. Paul is saying, if you’ve been called to stirring & comforting, then tap in2 God’s spirit 4 that gift!
ii. This gift is regularly given 2 the evangelist who’s primary responsibility is to stir up/call people who don’t know God to HIS side through repentance & trust in Jesus
-Let’s talk about stirring & comforting
*What r we stirring people 2ward? - let’s look @...
B. Exhortation as stirring up
a. Stirring up toward God’s mission
Heb 10:
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.
1. God’s mission is:
especially for the purpose o sharing the Gospel)
i. loving God & people & 2 do good 2 'em
-especially 4 the purpose o sharing the Gospel
*the primary way 2 love people & do good 2 ‘em is sharing w/em the good news o God’s salvation through Jesus
ii. The author is tying 2gether these concepts o encouraging (same word as exhortation) and stirring up
-He’s linking these 2 ideas!
iii. He’s also encouraging community (let’s not forget that part o God’s mission is to build a community o his people who gather regularly w/Jesus @it’s center
-That’s why the author says, “not neglecting to meet 2gether”
iv. This is especially important as we continue to move 2ward Jesus’ return
2. We all can & should b encouraging ea. other (as this vs explicitly states)
i. but 2day we’re talking about the specific ministry & spiritual gift o exhortation
-If God has called u to the ministry o stirring up & comforting, he will grace u w/ the empowering 2
*stir up those needing stirring
*Comfort those needing comforting
*& the wisdom to know the difference (BTW, this is o vital importance)
~Here’s the deal:
^when we stir up those who need comforting, we break ‘em
^when we comfort those who need stirring we draw ‘em toward laziness
^neither o these results r the goal o exhortation
~The goal o exhortation: deeper relationship w/God & spiritual & emotional health
3. Barnabas was a great encourager
i. Barnabas stirred Paul up toward getting involved in God’s mission
i. Barnabas means encourager (defined for us in…)
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
-This is again, the same word we find in our primary text: exhort
Acts 4:34
ii. Barnabas stirred Paul up toward getting involved in God’s mission
-We see how he encouraged Paul toward God’s mission when he took Paul under his wing
27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
acts 9:27
-This is encouraging 2 birds w/1 stone (maybe i’m mixing metaphores here but u get the point)
*Put his own reputation on the line by bringing a murderer b4 the apostles & encouraged ‘em 2 accept Paul
*by doing this He was encouraging Paul 2 step in2 part in fulfilling God’s mission
-Again we see Barnabas stirring up Paul in...
25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Acts 11:
-He got Paul involved in ministry & discipled Paul side by side.
-In this way, stirring up is a challenge to follow after Jesus in his mission & character
-Notice that in both these instances we c exhortation as more than just words, but exhortation via action
*lets talk about the next way we c the spiritual gift o stirring up used...
b. Stirring up toward Godly character
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.
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
1. There’s that word “urge” (same as exhort)!
Heb 3:13
2. Paul is stirring up the Thessalonians to live in a way that pleases God @ ever increasing levels!
C. Exhortation as comfort
a. Comforting the downcast
2 Cor 7:6-7
6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
1. b4 rec. Titus Paul felt rejected & unwanted by the Cor. church & worried how they had rec. his letter he sent
i. Titus found Paul in a spiritual & emotional state of being cast down
2. Maybe I’m way off, but it seems Titus may have had the gift of exhortation
i. Finding Paul downcast, Titus (I believe) was empowered by the Spirit & encouraged him w/great news
ii. When in the position that Titus found himself in: face-2-face w/ a broken hearted brother/sister-in-christ...
—(Read) “the one who exhorts, in his exhortation;”
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
-rely on the spirit gift o exhorting in ur exhortation
3. One of the ways God comforts the downcast is through others
i. Paul suggests that God comforted them through Titus…the very reason that the gift of exhortation exists
ii. Interestingly, this gift is contagious!
-God comforted Paul & his team through Titus, who was 1st comforted by God through the Corinthians
-Let me leave u w/this...
D. Exhortation is the gift of coming alongside
a. It’s God putting His arm around the shoulder of a person / His church through a member o that church!
1. The exhorter says,
i. “common, God’s moving this way, lets go!!”
ii. or, “God’s way o living looks like this, so lets follow Jesus’ example”
iii. or “wow, that must have really hurt…I’m with ya, common, let’s keep moving forward”
2. If God has called u to the ministry o stirring up & comforting, he will grace u w/ the empowering 2
-If God has called u to the ministry o stirring up & comforting, he will grace u w/ the empowering 2
i. stir up those needing stirring
ii. Comfort those needing comforting
-& the wisdom to know the difference (BTW, this is o vital importance)
*Here’s the deal:
~when we stir up those who need comforting, we break ‘em
~when we comfort those who need stirring we draw ‘em toward laziness
~neither o these results r the goal o exhortation
-The goals o exhortation:
*deeper relationship w/God &...
*spiritual & emotional health