Encourage One Another Selected Scriptures Series: One Another statements in the New Testament [#5] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl February 6, 2011 Introduction A student taking evening classes met the administrator of that program and told him how much she enjoyed her current class. I never miss a class, she said. During the day I work as a secretary and I m always tired when I get to school. However, that course is changing my life! The next morning the administrator called the professor and passed on the student s comments. After a brief silence, the professor said, Thank you. Thank you very much! I needed that! The administrator went on to say, This student really appreciates you and I appreciate you too! Later the administrator learned that his call had been life changing for that professor. It was the first time this teacher in that Christian institution had received positive feedback from anyone in the administration. 1 We could ask, How, why would that happen? After all, it s a Christian school! Sadly, even tragically, this is all too often the case among God s people in spite of God s word telling us encourage one another, 2 encourage the fainthearted, 3 encourage one another every day. 4 This fifth one another statement is so valuable and practical. Encourage one another! The word translated encourage occurs over a hundred times in the New Testament. It has a variety of emphases. The basic first sense was to call someone to your side. And so it can refer to inviting, appealing to, requesting, comforting, encouraging, consoling or cheering up. 5 Its use covers the whole range of human experience from the routines to the extremes. It is used to express encouragement, comfort and praise, to call people to follow God s word, to challenge error. It is both a great illustration and an important way to live out God s instruction in Ephesians 4:29, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Encouragement is a vehicle of grace to meet the need of the moment with the overall affect of building up one another.
One Example Of A Real Encourager. The Bible gives us many pictures of people who were true encouragers. One of the best examples in the new Testament is a man named Joseph. Being an encourager was one of his central and memorable qualities, so much so that the apostles gave him the nickname Son of Encouragement. And that name, Barnabas, is the one we recall rather than his given name. Barnabas makes his appearance at the end of Acts chapter 4. Thousands of people came to faith in Christ in the first days of the church. Many, or even most of them were not from Jerusalem, but had come there to celebrate the festival. Now with new faith and life in Christ, they stayed in Jerusalem to be taught and grounded in the truth. Food and money ran out, so the people shared and helped each other. Let s pick up the account at Acts 4:34 (page 95 in the second or New Testament section of the pew Bibles). there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. (34-37) From here on through the book of Acts we see Barnabas with the apostle Paul as the first missionaries of the church, and find references to him in several of Paul s letters. He encouraged people in a number of ways, which are great examples and goals for us. First, in Acts 4 as we just read, Barnabas gave to the needs of other believers. While Barnabas did not live in Jerusalem, he had investments there. He, along with others, sold some property and brought the proceeds to the apostles to help provide food and shelter for those who needed it. The people were encouraged and unity was deepened. Encouragement can be given by our words, but its medium is what is needed at the moment. There and then money was needed to provide for basics. After Anita and I were married we moved to Portland, Oregon where I entered seminary. Those first months were lean financially, with more than one gourmet meal of baking powder biscuits. That November at Thanksgiving the church in Seattle sent us boxes of food. It was a special, great, practical and memorable encouragement. A real encourager gives to the needs of others. As we follow Barnabas in the book of Acts we find he also risked in reaching out to and defending other believers. Chapter 9 records the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who we know as the apostle Paul. Saul was a leading persecutor of the church. Verse 1, Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the 2
synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (1-2) Christ stopped Saul in his tracks. He placed his faith in Christ Who transformed him. Instead of rounding up Christians in Damascus, Saul joined them and began preaching the gospel. He quickly became a leader with his own disciples. But, we read in verse 26, When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. One person dared, risked to accept, encourage and defend Saul before the Apostles. Verse 27, But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. In chapter 11 we find the first large group of non-jewish Christians in the city of Antioch. This was a sensitive issue for the Jewish believers who had always considered Gentiles as unclean, kept their distance from them, and looked down on them. Who was the pioneer of acceptance? Verse 22, they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. A true encourager risks to reach out to and defend other believers, even if at times it means being the only one. While Barnabas was in Antioch, we see a third part of his encouragement as he built up those new believers in the truth. We continue the account at verse 23. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. Then later, after Barnabas brought Saul to work with him in Antioch, some people came and began teaching Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved (15:2). It created such controversy that Paul and Barnabas set off to Jerusalem to settle the matter. The apostles rejected the idea that Gentiles had to become Jewish to become believers and sent a delegation, including Barnabas and Paul, back to Antioch with the news. That group encouraged and strengthened the [believers] there. After the visitors from Jerusalem went back home, we read, But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord. A true encourager builds up other believers in the truth of God. And, finally, Barnabas shows us what a true encourager is like as he affirmed and comforted others. In this same incident of the delegation from Jerusalem at Antioch, we see Barnabas and the others encouraging the believers in that church. They spent time there it was not just a quick, formal announcement and then hit the road back to Jerusalem. And 3
also, as we already noted, Barnabas and Paul stayed after the rest of the delegation went home. Barnabas and the others took time and invested effort to affirm these mostly Gentile believers. The message, in part, was You are on equal footing with the Jewish believers. Following Christ does not mean you have to identity with and follow the Old Testament regulations God gave to the Jews. He affirmed and encouraged those believers. He came along side, was with them, stood with them. He gave them hope based on God s truth which brought comfort and joy to their hearts. Some Expectations For All Encouragers. Let s move from this example to a broader view of these and other truths about encouragement which are God s expectations for all encouragers. The first expectation we need to know is that encouraging is inclusive it includes all of us. Some Christians may say, Encouraging others isn t my thing. I m not good at it. I m not gifted for it. It is true that encouragement is one of the spiritual gifts or abilities God gives. 6 It is also true that God does not give every believer every spiritual gift. 7 But it is not true that if I don t think I have the spiritual gift of encouragement, I can skip this and leave it to others any more than in evangelism or giving, in which God gives special abilities to some, but also calls us all to do. God calls and expects all of us to encourage one another. As Paul opened the second letter to the church at Corinth he praised God for being the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. (1:3b-5) The word comfort is the same word rendered encouragement, and describes God coming alongside to help, console and encourage. God comforts us, in part, so we all believers can then draw from His comfort to comfort others. And so Paul instructs us to comfort one another 8, to encourage one another. 9 The task and opportunity of encouraging other believers belongs to, is available to all of us. Then encouraging is intensive it involves struggling and interceding. Paul opens the second chapter of Colossians telling those believers, I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been 4
knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (1-3) He struggled to have them, to see them encouraged through love and maturity in God s truth. That struggle was not a casual walk in the park, nor an occasional short burst of intense effort. He is talking about ongoing intense effort. Paul used this word along with the verb for it in 1 Timothy 6:12, Fight the good fight of faith And again in 2 Timothy 4:7, I have fought the good fight Encouraging others involves ongoing intense effort. Part of that is not with or to the others, but for them as we pray for them. One of Paul s prayers for the believers at Thessalonica was that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, [will] comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. 10 Wouldn t it be great to know that others in the church were constantly praying this for you? If we are true encouragers, we will pray this for one another. With all this intense effort it is important to note that encouraging also is sensitive. Paul told those precious people in Thessalonica, you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 11 He cared for them as he would care for his own children. Yes, he would exhort, urge, cheer, even beg them to move forward to be true and growing disciples of Christ. Yes, he would come along side to express appreciation, to lift them up, to cheer them up. And all of that with the tenderness of a father, a parent, who loves his children deeply, has watched them crawl, walk and run, watched them stumble. This is what true encouragers do. Next, encouragement comes from and through committed and faithful living, through staying connected to God, standing true to Him and His truth. Our word encourage is often translated urge and exhort in the New Testament. As you trace these uses, you see a pattern of calling believers to be faithful to God and His truth. In Acts 11:23 we find that when Barnabas arrived in Antioch he began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen and encourage [them] as to [their] faith. 12 Paul encouraged, he exhorted those believers to live the way they ought to, that is, to please God. 13 5
He wrote to Titus that an elder is keep holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able to both exhort [there s our word] in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. 14 Another truth and expectation is that encouraging is two-ways it is something we both give and receive. It starts with receiving encouragement from God. We saw that earlier in 2 Corinthians 1 God comforts us and we then can draw from this comfort to comfort others. There is another and closely related New Testament word for encouraging. It occurs just five times, in each case referring to the Holy Spirit. The first is in John 14:16 where Jesus said, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [there s the word], that He may be with you forever. God has given us the Holy Spirit who is The Encourager, The Helper, The Comforter, The Advocate. We have traced some of Paul s encouragement to others. But they also encouraged Him. He told the church at Thessalonica, now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. 15 Did you catch how they encouraged him? in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith. Paul had questions about how they were doing. When Timothy reported to him that they were standing firm in the faith, he was relieved, comforted and encouraged. Have you ever wondered if your faithfulness to God makes any difference? We understand that peace with God and joy flow when we are faithful to Him. But we can become adept at rationalizing and deceiving ourselves about the importance of being fully committed to God in all things. Make no mistake about this, your faithfulness, my faithfulness, our faithfulness encourages others. God uses our standing firm in Him to comfort and give hope to others so they, as Paul said, can really live! And then, finally, encouraging is purposeful it is for the purpose of lifting and building up others. We saw this in Barnabas. It is so basic. And this basic purpose shows how vital encouragement is it is one of the ways God has ordained, it is one of the ways God uses to lift people up and to build them up in Christlikeness. Let s note just a few examples. When Paul, Barnabas and the delegation went to Antioch we are told that two of them encouraged and strengthened the brethren through a lengthy message. 16 We might deal with the lengthy message part at another time, but notice the purpose and effect was to strengthen, to build up the church. All our encouragement is to have this purpose. 6
Most of the New Testament encouragement and exhortation consists of positive teaching or sharing of the truth. But it also includes staying alert to falsehood. As Paul closes his letter to the church at Rome, he writes, I urge you [there s our word again], brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. (16:17) We see the positive again at the end of 1 Thessalonians as Paul directs, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing (5:11). He reminds them that encouraging and building up one another are vitally connected, and that they are to keep at it. Conclusion. Yes, God tells us to encourage one another, encourage the fainthearted, encourage one another every day. How are we doing? How are you and I doing at being a son or daughter of encouragement? Some of us know Lee Benson, Holly Gordon s father. Holly shared last week a bit about their celebration of his 80 th birthday. As she planned for that she asked the family to send her some thoughts, some words of appreciation for their father and grandfather. She told them that we usually say a lot of nice things about someone at their funeral but he or she doesn t get to hear them. She made a book of the things family members sent. Some were light and humorous while others were more serious, but all were from the heart. She told me that after her Dad read through the book he told her that this is his most treasured possession ever. Again, how are we doing? How are you and I doing at being a son or daughter of encouragement right now? As you think and talk with God about this, thank Him for His constant, never ending encouragement to you. Thank Him for those who have encouraged you, whether in the distant past or today. Think about how many times you have encouraged others in this last week. Think about what it would be like if you and the rest of us were true and constant encouragers. Ask God to make you a true encourager as you determine to look for opportunities, to use any and every opportunity to encourage others. 7
1 Gene Getz. Building Up One Another. Colorado Springs: Victor Books, 2002, pages 166-167. 2 1 Thessalonians 5:11. 3 1 Thessalonians 5:14. 4 Hebrews 3:13. 5 parakalew, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957, pages 622-623. 6 Romans 12:8. 7 1 Corinthians 12:29-30. 8 1 Thessalonians 4:18. 9 1 Thessalonians 5:11. 10 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. 11 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12. 12 1 Thessalonians 3:2. 13 1 Thessalonians 4:1. 14 Titus 1:9. 15 1 Thessalonians 3:6-8. 16 Acts 15:32. 2011 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 8