Encouragement
In the early Church, since there was no written word as we have today, the gift
to prophesy was very important as the gospel was delivered.
What did Paul say the goal of obtaining spiritual gifts? Still in 1 Corinthians
14:
9-12-- build up the church.
26--All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
Encouragement
What individual responsibilities do we have to ourselves and to others because
of our relationship to God?
Let’s turn to Hebrews Chapter 10:19-25.
19-22-- Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart.
23-- Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.
24-- Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good
deeds.
25--Let us not give up meeting together and let us encourage one another.
Encouragement
Who is responsible for fulfilling these responsibilities?
EVERYONE
How do we fulfill these responsibilities?
individually and when we come together
PAUL documented three main sources of encouragement to early Christians.
The first of these was God’s Word.
Acts 20: 32.
2nd Timothy 3:16-17.
2nd Timothy 4:1-2.
Encouragement
These verses point to the written word, but let’s not forget what John
tells us in: John 1:1 & 14—
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Encouragement
The second main source of encouragement was by the personal example shown by
Paul and others.
Barnabas worked side-by-side with Paul and provided an example.
1st Timothy 1: 12-16.
2nd Thessalonians 3: 6-9.
Acts 20:33-35.
Encouragement
Paul references both of these in 2nd Timothy 3:10-15
What things do we do today to encourage each other?
By reading and learning and preaching the Word of God.
By the lives we lead ---
As we discussed with respect to Barnabas: Acts 11:24
He was a good man.
He was full of the spirit.
He was full of faith.
Encouragement
By the “small” things we do.
Simply being here at services.
The interest we show as we participate in the services.
The “Thank you’s” we give others.
The helping hands that are given to brothers and sisters who have needs.
Encouragement
We have such excellent examples of all of these methods of encouragement here.
How can we not all benefit and grow with these actions going on around us?
Encouragement
The third source of encouragement Paul referenced is found in 2nd Thessalonians
2:16-17. Here, we are told that Jesus Christ and God our Father by his grace
gave us eternal encouragement.
And Paul asks that Jesus and God the Father encourage and strengthen you in
every good deed and word.
What a solid, unchangeable source of encouragement and strength.
Encouragement
2nd Tim 3:15 referenced the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
We have the word that we can learn from and as we learn, we understand that
having faith in Christ Jesus is not just believing but having and active faith
and obeying and acting on His commandments.
1 John 2:3 – We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
Encouragement
From many acts of conversion in the Bible, we see that the wisdom we must gain
and act on tells us that we must do:
Recognize the sin in our life and repent
Confess that Christ is the Son of God
Be baptized to have our sins washed away and rise as a new creature
But after we are baptized and we try to follow Jesus’ example of how to
live our lives, we recognize that we will not be able to live up to God’s
expectations.
Conclusion
As we discussed, one of the purposes of the church is to encourage each other
to continue, to persevere, and to always strive to live in a manner that will
be pleasing to our God and our Savior.
If we have moved away from God, as James said because of our own evil desires,
we need to ask for God’s help.
In 1 John 1:9 we are told that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
If there is anyone who desires to be baptized or needs additional encouragement
thru the prayers of the church, please come forward.
By Carey Scott from a sermon by Dale Johnson
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