What's Included: Encouragement

Intro:

Good morning! Thanks for joining us Church Online. Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s Mother’s Day if you didn’t know.

I know it’s hard to keep track of days right now. I mean it snowed yesterday!

Regardless, moms, I hope you have a great day. You deserve it. You are important!

You know, I learned just how important moms are when I worked for Hallmark (I know, super manly!). But for many years, Mother’s Day was the #1 card holiday - I think that’s changed recently. But, mom’s importance hasn’t!

For many of us, we love mom. I actually looked up a Hallmark Mother’s Day card to explain why… [let me read it to you…]

Through the years you’ve given me so much… You gave me advice when I needed your wisdom, you gave me ENCOURAGEMENT when I needed a push, you gave me understanding when I needed a friend… and along with all these gifts, you always gave me your unconditional love. Happy Mother’s Day!

Again, for many of us, this was is true of mom. It does a good job describing most moms in general. It does a good job highlighting the attributes God gifted mom with! And a major attribute in that description is ENCOURAGEMENT!

Encouragement is important to life. It’s powerful. By definition its “Giving someone confidence and courage to do something.”

Mom’s are known for that! And it’s one of the reasons we celebrate them today! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms joining us today (and even those special ladies when filled that important role in our lives when mom wasn’t available)!

As powerful as encouragement is in life, it’s especially important in spiritual life. And according to Rom 12:8, it’s a spiritual gift! And it’s the gift we’re discussing today in our “What’s Included” series.

Now, encouragement as a spiritual gift is similar to the general definition but has a greater purpose. I define it this way...

Encouragement is the spiritual gift to help people live in God’s promises and for His glory.

And this gift manifests itself in these 3 ways:

By giving Holy Spirit strength thru encouragement.

That is, someone supernaturally STRENGTHENED by the gift of encouragement.

Giving Holy Spirit comfort thru encouragement.

That is, someone receiving supernatural COMFORT thru encouragement.

The giving of Holy Spirit CONFIDENCE & COURAGE thru encouragement.

There’s a prophetic aspect to this part… meaning the encourager speaks God’s word over a person encouraging them to live in God’s promise, and for God’s glory!

Even just spending a few minutes defining this gift, it’s easy to see how important and powerful it is! But, what does it look like...

Well, to answer that question, let me introduce you to Barnabas.

Body:

Barnabas:

He was a Jewish man originally from Cypus - an island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Syria.

Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” was his nickname. His real name was Joseph.

He was an important leader in the early church. He was an apostle. And some believe he may have been one of Jesus’ 70 disciples.

But one of the coolest ways to describe him is found in Acts 11:24 where it says he “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.”

And I believe he was a man with the spiritual gift of encouragement - hence the nickname given to him.

And I believe this because the stories about him are filled with encouragement… for example...

Antioch:

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the church started off all-Jewish. But God had bigger plans! Remember, “God so loved the WORLD” and Jesus told his disciples to “GO” tell EVERYONE the gospel, not just Jewish people. However, many times the disciples were slow learners, hard-headed, and not great listeners - kinda like us!

So, God sends them thru a crisis to make them go out into the world and not just stuck in one area (sound familiar?).

He brings great persecution on the Jerusalem church and forces the followers of Jesus to go outside of Israel. And with them came the gospel!

Unfortunately, they still kept Jesus a Jewish thing. That is, until Acts 11...

Acts 11:19–21 ESV

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

Now, word of this great event reached the ears of the the Jerusalem church leaders. Remember, their a little hard-headed. They didn’t fully get that Jesus died for the world. In the previous chapter, they chewed Peter out for sharing the gospel with a non-Jewish people. But Peter told them about the great world the Holy Spirit did and they started to come around...

So, upon hearing this, they decided to send someone to investigate to make sure this was legit. And guess who they send?

Acts 11:22 ESV

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

And look at how Barnabas responds...

Acts 11:23–24 ESV

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

What did Barnabas do? He encourages them!

It says he look at them and “saw the grace of God.”

Encouragers see things the way God does.

It says it made him “glad.”

Encouragers rejoice about what God is doing!

And invite others to do the same!

It says he, “exhorted the them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.”

Encouragers strengthen God’s people with their spiritual gift!

And let me tell you, this new church was great strengthened by the foundational work of Barnabas:

Because eventually Antioch became the HQ of the early church. God did a matter work in and through this church.

In fact, it was in Antioch that people were first called “Christians.”

It became an epicenter of Holy Spirit activity.

Prophetic words of the future were spoken there.

And it was where the Holy Spirit spoke to the church instructing them to send Barnabas and Saul out on the first missionary journey.

Really, the event that changed the world!

Honestly, our church today doesn’t exist had it not been for the work done in the Antioch church!

And again, the strength of Antioch is directly tied to Barnabas’s gift of encouragement.

Paul:

An additional way Barnabas both strengthened Antioch AND used his gift of encouragement is found in verse 25...

Acts 11:25 ESV

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

Many of you know that Saul is the man who we eventually will know by the name Paul. And the reason Barnabas has to look for Saul is because even after Jesus radically transformed Saul’s life, Jewish-Christians still had a hard time trusting him. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that he was hunting down Christians - throwing them in prison and even killing some (if you remember, the story of Antioch started by mentioning Stephen, a Christian Saul authorized to be killed!).

They looked at Saul and thought, “Nah, this guy can’t be a real Christian.”

Honestly, are you guilty of passing this judgement on some people?

Remember Kanye West?

I know people thought the same thing about me when I first became a Christian.

But that’s okay! I think it really does show how powerfully Jesus changes lives. That He truly saves us and gives NEW life!

Anyways, guess who did believe in Saul? Barnabas!

Acts 9:26–27 ESV

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 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.

Barnabas stands by Saul and encourages him (along with the Jersualem leaders) to have confidence and courage in what Jesus was doing!

But because many still doubted Saul’s conversion, he was sent out of Jerusalem to do ministry in his home town of Tarsus instead. And that’s where Barnabas reunites with him. And once again, Barnabas activates his gift of encouragement by discipling Saul in Antioch - likely prophetically speaking God’s promises over Paul giving him confidence and courage to live in God’s promises and for His glory! He’s like, “This is the place where you can grow in your calling! And I’m gonna be here with you to help you!”

And we know how this turned out. Saul - who becomes the apostle Paul - is likely the greatest apostle in church history. And his legacy is built on Barnabas’s gift of encouragement, which gave him courage and confidence to walk in God’s plans and promises!

John-Mark

And I got one more encouragement story from my man Barnabas...

Barnabas had a cousin name Mark (or John-Mark) - Col. 4:10.

Mark is a kid with a ton of potential. He actually joins Barnabas and Saul on their 1st missionary journey (that mission trip that changed the world).

However, Mark all of a sudden jumps ship and goes back home to Jersualem.

Now, Scripture doesn’t tell us why, but it probably wasn’t a good reason. We believe this because when Barnabas is ready to take a second missionary journey with Saul, he once again wants to bring his cousin Mark...

Paul’s like, “Nah bro. That dude is wack. He abandoned us last time. He ain’t comin with us!” (Acts 15:38)

Again, Paul probably had a good reason for saying this. It’s likely Mark blew it. He failed. And in the eyes of one of the greatest apostles, he was too much of a risk to bring on such an important mission!

Imagine how Mark must’ve felt...

You remember back in the day, at school, during PE when it was time to pick teams. The two best athletes usually become team captains and everyone else has to line up.

Then, the captains alternate picking who they want.

Anyone ever get picked last? That’s a terrible feeling!

Now, times that by 1000. Or, imagine the captain who is “forced” to pick you saying, “Nah, we’ll just have less players instead of picking you.”

I think that’s what it must’ve felt like for Mark! It likely crushed him. He felt like a failure.

But his cousin is one of the greatest encouragers in church history. He’s like, “Aye cuz, come here. You’re on my team!” And guess what?

Mark becomes everything God calls him to be.

He even writes one of the gospels. Tradition has it that he eventually becomes the apostle Peter’s companion and the Gospel of Mark is Peter’s account of Jesus taught to Mark.

And check this out… Mark even becomes a blessing to Paul.

Colossians 4:10–11 ESV

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

I find it interesting that Mark becomes a “comfort” to Paul. And Barnabas comforted Mark in his time of failure. It’s almost like Barnabas taught Mark how to comfort (or encourage) people. And through God’s grace, it comes full circle and Mark is able to comfort Paul. How crazy is that!

And all of this doesn’t happen without Barnabas’s gift of encouragement. And that’s what the spiritual gift of encouragement looks like:

It makes the weak, strong!

It gives people confidence and courage to walk in God’s promises and purpose!

It gives comfort to the broken!

And this is so important for the church, our families, and our communities, because we live in a world that breaks us down. It exposes our weakness. It sets us up for failure. And it keeps us from walking in God’s promises. Therefore, God’s given us people with the spiritual gift of encouragement to combat that!

Response:

As we close, you may be wondering: Do I have the gift of encouragement? Let me give you three ways you can answer that:

Ask God! As Christians we can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the gift he’s given us.

Take a spiritual gift test. These can be helpful. We’ll post a link to one in the comments!

And here’s a real practical step… the spiritual gift of encouragement is connected to the Greek word “parakaleo.” That means to call you (kaleo) alongside (para). And int this context it refers to the ability to come next to people and help them. So, do you feel like God has gifted you with the ability and desires to do that?

If so, God may have given you the gift of encouragement.

And maybe you’re wondering: How do I grow my gift of encouragement? Let me give three more practical steps:

Know God’s word! I know I always say that… it’s because it’s a key part of the Christian life. But in regards to encouragement, you can’t help people live in God’s promises unless you know God’s promises. So, you gotta know the word!

So, read your Bible. Open YouVersion. Hop on Right Now Media. Get plugged into a Life Group!

You can get more information or access all those things on the front page of our website - riverchurchct.com.

Be filled with the Spirit. I know that sounds super-spiritual but it’s really super-simple. It really comes down to this: Paul said “Don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with Spirit!”

That’s not necessarily talking about not drinking alcohol, but saying, “Just like in your old life, when you’d party and get drunk and the alcohol would control you… in your new life in Christ, now let the Holy Spirit control you.

Being filled with the Spirit is willingly letting God have control of your life!

So, this week, practice waking up and saying, “Good morning Lord. I’m ready to do whatever you want me to do.” See what happens!

Practice your gift of encouragement. The old saying, “Practice makes perfect!” This week, find a way to encourage someone to live in God’s promises.

Help strengthen someone.

Give comfort to someone who is hurting.

Or, text a bible verse to someone that encourages them to follow God’s promises!

So, as we close on this Mother’s Day - as we celebrate the moms who encourage us to be the best we can be - let’s honor them by going out and encouraging others!

Because you don’t need the spiritual gift of encouragement to encourage people!

In fact, the Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us all Christians need to practice encouraging one another!

But, if you do have the gift of encouragement - then please use it! God has given you the special role of helping the church live in God’s promises!

I believe one of my gifts is encouragement. And so let me give you one of the greatest types of encouragement I can give you: Live for Jesus!

And if you’ve never given your life to Jesus, just know that He loves you, He died for you on a cross so you could be forgiven, and He was raised from the dead so that you could have the promise of new life!

And all of this is connected to the fact that God has a plan for your life! You’re not an accident. You are incredibly valuable to God. and I want to encourage you to give your life to Jesus so you can walk in that plan.

Who knows… maybe the His plan involves giving you the spiritual gift on encouragement. And through your life, God will radically change the world!

If you’re ready, the Bible says you need to simply repent (turn away from your sin) and put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you do that, He will forgive you, give you new life, and fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Do that today! And let us know too! Send us a message or fill out a digitial connect card on our website so we can be an encouragement in your new life!

Let’s pray:

Father, we thank you that you love us. We thank you for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross - which proves You love us. And we thank you for the Holy Spirit, who gives us spiritual gifts so the world can experience Your love. And I pray that you would raise up an army of encouragers. Anointed men and women who could help us live in Your promises by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, I pray You would reveal this morning this gift to those You have given it to. And finally, I pray that you would bless the moms. Thank you for them. Thank you for the encouragement they bring to our lives. And we ask all of this in Jesus name, amen.