Encourage One Another

Today we are going to start a new sermon series that will continue throughout the summer. We are going to be focusing in on some of the “one another” commands that we see throughout the New Testament. There are approximately 60 of these that are commands teaching us how and how not to relate to one another. I believe that it is imperative that we understand these and obey these commands as it is the basis for Christian community and has a basis in our witness to those that are not part of the body of Christ.

Today we are going to talk about the command to encourage one another. Let me tell you that we all need encouragement on a regular basis as we journey through this life and its challenges. I need encouragement and so do you. As we get started I want to make sure we are grounded on the definition of encouragement.

According to Merriam-Webster, we see the following definitions:

The act of encouraging, the state of being encouraged

something that encourages.

Then I looked to the definition of encouraging: giving hope or promise.

Then I looked to encourage and got the following:

to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope.

to spur on

I think these give us a good handle on the idea of encouragement. We are inspiring people with courage, spirit, or hope and spur them on! I don’t know about you, but that is something that I need regularly!

Let me give you a couple of examples. The first Sunday that Nathan and Veronica and their family joined us for worship was one of those Sunday mornings that your pastor was discouraged. I knew there were several who were going to be gone and was mentally preparing myself for a smaller crowd that day. I have since learned how much I enjoy having people here in person to hear the sermon, as it is much more encouraging to see people responding throughout the message. This particular Sunday as we started service I saw Enicks come in and right away they actively joined in worshiping our Lord. At first I was confused, its not something that I see leading worship each week from people who are visiting. However, I quickly found myself encouraged and God reminded me in that moment that I share His good news and that it wasn’t about me.

Another illustration I came across this week also gives us a great pictures of how simple actions can be so encouraging to people.

One man who was ousted from his profession for an indiscretion took work as a hod carrier simply to put bread on the table. He was suddenly plunged into a drastically different world; instead of going to an office each day, he was hauling loads of concrete block up to the fifth level of a construction site. Gone was the piped-in music in the corridors; now he had to endure blaring transistors. Any girl who walked by was subject to rude remarks and whistles. Profanity shot through the air, especially from the foreman, whose primary tactics were whining and intimidation; "For---sake, you---, can't you do anything right? I never worked with such a bunch of --- in all my life..." 

Near the end of the third week, the new employee felt he could take no more. "I'll work till break time this morning," he told himself, "and then that's it. I'm going home." He'd already been the butt of more than one joke when his lack of experience caused him to do something foolish. The stories were retold constantly thereafter. "I just can't handle any more of this." A while later, he decided to finish out the morning and then leave at lunchtime. 

Shortly before noon, the foreman came around with paychecks. As he handed the man his envelope, he made his first civil comment to him in three weeks. "Hey, there's a woman working in the front office who knows you. Says she takes care of your kids sometimes." "Who?" He named the woman, who sometimes helped in the nursery of the church where the man and his family worshiped. The foreman then went on with his rounds. When the hod carrier opened his envelope, he found, along with his check, a handwritten note from the payroll clerk: "When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer with it. Just wanted you to know that I'm praying for you these days." He stared at the note, astonished at God's timing. He hadn't even known the woman worked for this company. Here at his lowest hour, she had given him the courage to go on, to push another wheelbarrow of mortar up that ramp. 

Dean Merrill, Another Chance, Zondervan, 1981, p. 138.

This morning, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 NIV

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

In this passage, we see Paul continue on with the same theme as we see at the end of chapter 4. Remember that the chapter headings were added much later than the original writings. This is the first time we see this simile “will come like a thief in the night” referring to the Day of the Lord. This is the day that the Lord will return in power and glory. This image suggests the us the suddenness and unexpectedness that will accompany the Lord’s return.

Paul reminds us that we are children of the day and children of the light. We are reassured that we are not part of the darkness where this surprise will be like the thief. Instead we are brothers and sisters who are included in God’s family. Darkness is the state of alienation from God, which could refer to ignorance of God or willful evil. We belong to God and to God’s future. Paul’s reminder that we do not belong to the darkness is a call to reject the behaviors associated with those in the darkness. Be awake and sober refers to our being spiritually and morally aware. If we were to look back in the gospels, we see Jesus ask his disciples to be alert when he was praying in the garden. Paul’s main focus here is to remind us of our identity in Christ and that it is what defines us and our actions.

Paul’s call to be sober which insists that Christians can become sound-minded by living in faith, love, and hope. The reason for this has to do with our identity in Christ since we belong to the day. We live in preparedness and in anticipation of the Lord’s return. Our assurance of God’s goodwill for our deliverance comes with the reminder that Christ died for us, and that salvation comes through Christ - that we may live together with him.

Then we arrive at verse 11. On the basis of all that has been said about the guarantee of the Lord’s return, the resurrection of the saints and their sharing life with Christ when he returns, and on the firm ground of God’s love that provided for salvation, believers are called to encourage one another and build each other up. Encouragement here refers to the general sense of urging others to pursue a better course of action, to implore or exhort another to do the right things. But it also means to comfort. It’s a personal, one on one activity. Just as natural families take responsibility for supervising, teaching, consoling, correcting, and encouraging their members, so the church is called to model this family-like responsibility for one another.

So why do 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” (John 16:33).

We live in a badly broken world where everything seems to call us toward selfishness, frustration, and despair. Sin steals joy, our bodies break down, our plans fall through, our dreams die, our resolves weaken, our perspective dims. We are promised suffering (1 Pet. 4:12), persecution (2 Tim. 3:12), and trials of various kinds (James 1:2-3).

When encouragement is not present in 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 (Heb. 3:13).

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 (Col. 4:8). It points out evidences of grace in another’s life to help them see that God is using them and holding them to a higher standard of living.

Throughout the book of Acts, we see that encouragement was a regular part of the early church’s life together. They shared Scripture-saturated words with each other to spur one another on in love, faith, hope, unity, joy, and strength. In Hebrews we see this extended with fruitfulness, faithfulness, perseverance, and the certainty of Christ’s return.

Encouragement was and is an essential way of extending grace to each other.

So today, I want to give us some practical ways on how we can grow in encouraging each other. 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 God to give you a heart that loves others the way he loves them and to help you to see how to show it. Ask him to help you die to self-centeredness and grow in a desire to build others up. 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.

Make encouragement a daily discipline. For some of us encouragement comes naturally, for others, not so much. If you are someone that it does not come naturally for, set a reminder in my calendar or on your phone each day to send someone an encouraging note, email, text, or phone call. Sometimes I do this as it is so easy to fly through a day and forget to reach out to those that God puts on your mind.

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 for those who attend this church or those in your circle of influence by name.

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.

Be specific in what you say. The message in a note can make all the difference for someone when they know you are thinking about them specifically, and not just throwing something generic out there.

Regularly encourage your pastor. I will tell you that your pastors need that. I love when I get a random card or text that is just to encourage. Often, God uses these moments to lift my spirit, when only he knew that I needed it in that moment.

Pray that God would create a culture of encouragement in your church. Ask God to make this 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 us all to keep at it.

Be wise. If you want to encourage someone of the opposite sex, use discernment in how best to do it. Be careful of the situations you put yourself in. Ask God for wisdom in how best to encourage in ways that cannot be misconstrued.

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?

We all need encouragement to continue on in our walks with Christ. We all need encouragement to spur us on to the things that God is calling us to. I remember many times throughout our ministry coursework that Pastor Cindy and I would be encouraging each other on during a busy week or a difficult assignment or times when we just didn’t have the motivation. We are better together! We are better when we are encouraging each other regularly as followers of Christ. Let’s pray.