Outward Series: Encourage and Build Up One Another

The End

I was recently rereading C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters in which one of the fictional demon character writes giving advice to a subordinate demon on how to ensnare a young man. One of the things that he wrote was to get him to focus on tomorrow rather than today or eternity.

I fear that is much of what we do today. What will tomorrow hold? We are bombarded with fears and news of what tomorrow will hold but nothing of what book ends that time, whether today or ultimately eternity.

Sometimes it isn’t even tomorrow that engulfs us but it is yesterday. Whatever time it may be it isn’t with an eye toward eternity....the longest of eras that we will experience.

What awaits us if we fall into that trap is the same thing that capture the attention of the church in Thessalonica....fear regarding what is to come.

There is the inevitable carrot on the stick that we are tempted with.

The idea is “what is going to happen tomorrow and that whatever it is, it is going to be for our destruction”

Yet here we have Paul reminding them of a beautiful truth that then spurs them on to a wonderful behavior…the beautiful truth is that:

There is a wrath of God that is to be faced but secondly that believers don’t have to face it because it was taken for all believers on the cross.

We in fact do have a destiny folks…with COVID, with social tensions and unrest, with personal illness, anxieties, obstacles, heartbreak, whatever it may be…we do have a destiny.

The destiny is that in spite of all of those things…in spite of all that this world could throw at us and in fact in spite of sin itself that we have committed…OUR destiny is to be DELIVERED!!!

That is the joy of salvation.

Salvation carried with it the explicit connotation of DELIVERANCE…removal from that which would demolish you and in this case that thing being sin and eternal death.

So Jesus died for us…faced the wrath of God that would have consumed us…and then rose again so that we might live with him...

When the darkness of this world attempts to smother you…when the depression, fears, hurts, confusion, claws at your mind and soul never forget what awaits you…or better yet WHO awaits you...

It is with this knowledge that people went singing to the destruction of their bodies by the Romans or faced illness and decay with sweet smiles knowing what awaits them...

It is from this foundation then that Paul gives his exhortation to the Thessalonians

TR: If you are rooted in this upward encouragement then it is possible to bend it outward as well...

The Encouragement

“Therefore”…it is because of this great truth of deliverance from sin and death that the believers in Thessalonia are able to function.

Let’s be clear....with all of the one anothers that we have discussed…it is because of all the vertical attributes that we discussed.

Many times the reason we lack the “one anothers” of Scripture or that they are short lived is because our relationship with God is not right.

We have an easy time preaching the imperatives of Scripture (the things that we ought to do) without preaching the indicatives (the reason we ought to do them)

The NT is not a list of rules and if you do them you are a “christian”. Instead, you do them because you are a Christian and are in love with what He has done for you....

Your life is the “therefore...” It is the concluding statement to the bedrock of biblical truth upon which you stand....it is the fruit of the tree that is rooted in the grace and mercy of Jesus.

With that in mind Paul implores the believers in Thessalonica to “encourage one another”

Present imperative means that it is always to be being done and it is to reciprocated to each other.

Encourage is “coming alongside” someone

Story of helping Seleah skate with the help of a support and me alongside her. Although it was her that did the skating I was there to encourage, support, protect and guide her along the way.

The encouragement is birthed out of the freedom that we have in our deliverance.

We ought to be a people that especially in the darkest of times are a well spring of joy that spills over onto one another helping those who are weak or unskilled walk this thing out.

Notice he didn’t say critique one another, demean or live life independently…the VERY IDEA OF ENCOURAGEMENT IS IMPLICIT FELLOWSHIP…YOU CAN’T COME ALONGSIDE SOMEONE WHILE REMAINING ALONE!!!

If you find yourself walking out this Christian journey solo then you’re not doing it right…we need to be surrounded by other believers....yes even during this time.

Find a way, meet on a porch, go to a park, put your mask on and park your cars…whatever you can do, just come alongside each other!

One of the items that you should be keenly aware of during this time is how much we miss each other…don’t let that fire for the body be quenched...

Come alongside each other, use wisdom but rather than just praying for people…pray WITH people.

Now don’t forget why we should do this…it’s because we have something to look forward to and that ought to launch us into a unique kind of union with each other as our faith overcomes this world!!!

TR: As we are coming alongside each other, let’s strengthen each other and build up one another as well...

The Edification

Christian edification is quite simply the building up either of self or of another.

As we meditate on the reality that we have be delivered from sin and death and therefore no long face the wrath of God…we ough to be motivated and determined to grow...

Here’s how we have distorted this though…we believe that individual grow is in one category and the growth of the Church is in another…when in fact although they are distinct they are inseparable.

I remember learning about how people built castles hundreds of years ago. It was a long and arduous process. Bringing stone after stone, cutting it and then placing it one after another. Many times castles wouldn’t be completed in the king’s lifetime. The king actually understood that what he was building depending on each piece being solid AND that it wasn’t going to be something that he would get to enjoy but instead was built for later generations.

I believe that some of the reason why we may struggle with edifying one another is because we want to reap our rewards immediately.

To labor with someone for a long time is a difficult thing. To invest and build something that lasts beyond your lifetime is exhausting…and yet the reward is worth it.

So our coming alongside isn’t just to be near and it isn’t momentarily…it is with the understanding that when I come alongside you…we are going to build each other…one stone at a time.

And once you do that you’ll see that in building others you actually build yourself…it’s the beautiful secret about discipleship…if you want to be more like Christ…draw nearer to His people.

As Paul said earlier in this section…this is what identifies you as people of light rather than of darkness!

LAND IT LOUD

See family, you are free from the wrath of God…the punishment of sin…the oppressive dominion of death!

Have you ever looked into the eyes of those in this world and seen the futility…the righteousness being suppressed?

The reality that they flail about at life, jumping from one pleasure to the next but never actually satisfied…like people drinking from the sea…forever hydrating but always thristy.

To know that that was US!!! We were lost in darkness but now we are children of LIGHT!!!

AS WE WORSHIP IN THAT REALITY COME ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER!!!

The night still attempts to over take us…I know it’s got some of you in its grip now…clouding your minds and feelings...

This isolation has in many ways allowed for it to creep in and shade you…run from it!!!

RUN TO EACH OTHER!!! COME ALONG SIDE EACH OTHER AND BUILD!!!

Build strong and build together…one stone at a time

And just as Paul said, some of you all are already doing it....CONTINUE TO!!! WE NEED YOU!!!

Honestly my fear right now as a pastor is that we will become isolated and believe we don’t need each other…don’t believe that lie!!!

Rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus and do so together!!! Encourage and Edify one another family!!!