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Preached in Markham Baptist Church,
February 19, 2006
SCRIPTURE'S "ONE ANOTHERS":
PART 1 -
ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
Hebrews 10:19-25
It is a great truth that when you became a Christian you
became part of the body of Christ. Paul makes this clear to us especially
in his letters to the Romans, Corinthians and Ephesians. There he uses the
wonderful image of how each one of us is part of Christ’s body – just as in
the physical body each part is important in order for the body to function.
So in the church, the body of Christ, each part is important in order for
the church body to do what we’ve been called to do.
Further, Scripture teaches us that since we are part of the
same body then we are to have regard for one another. Indeed throughout
Scripture there are a number of one another statements – we are to love one
another, bear one another’s burdens, bear with one another, serve one
another, offer hospitality to one another and so one. This morning I want
to look at the importance of encouraging one
another. (VIDEO)
If you have your Bible with you I invite you to turn to
Hebrews 10:19-25. Before we read this text however I need to give you a
word of explanation. If you have never read the book of Hebrews you need to
know that it is written with Jewish Christians in mind so it is filled with
Old Testament images. It seeks to explain how Christ answers the systems,
the sacrifices and the sacred beliefs of the Hebrew Scriptures. It seeks to
show that Christ is the substance of the shadows described in the Old
Testament.
In this passage there are three Old Testament images used. It
will speak of the “Most Holy Place”. And that simply is the place where God
dwelt in the Old Testament sanctuary. It will speak of the curtain, this is
often referred to as the veil in the Old Testament, and it is what separated
the people from God. And finally this passage will use the word Priest and
of course a priest is a representative of the people before God.
With that in mind we read the text – Hebrews 10:19-21.
The writer affirms two truths here. Firstly, Jesus Christ
has put the first and ultimate Fido™ plan in place – unlimited
calling! Because of His sacrifice we have unlimited access to God. We can
confidently live in God’s presence. And secondly, Jesus is our priest who
constantly intercedes for us.
As a result of these two truths there are three practical
outcomes. Read Hebrews 10: 22-25.
I want us to focus on that third practical outcome this
morning - encourage one another. To encourage means to inspire others,
giving them renewed courage, renewed spirit or renewed hope. The Greek word
here means “to call to one’s aid”. It means to come alongside and to give
help.
William Barclay says that encouragement is the word of the
rallying call. “It refers to speeches of leaders to rally their troops, it
is used by captains to strengthen fearful sailors into battle. An
encourager therefore is one who puts courage into the fainthearted, one who
nerves the feeble arm for the fight, one who makes ordinary people cope
gallantly” with a difficult and hard situation.1 Isn’t that a
wonderful picture? That is what we are called to in this text.
Let’s ask some questions about this today.
The first question is why should
we encourage one another? And the text tells us. First
it is a natural response to what God has done
for us in Christ. We
have full access to God – we have a High Priest who intercedes for us. And
what is our response? Should we be wet rags always tearing one another
down? No! We have the best news the world has ever heard – therefore, let
us be a people who encourage one another.
Do you know encouragers? The best encouragers are sure of
who Christ is and what he has done for them. They are filled with the very
Spirit of Christ and are confident of Christ’s love and grace. And out of
that experience are able to encourage others.
Do you know there’s a man in the book of Acts called
Barnabas? That wasn’t his real name. His real name was Joseph. Barnabas was
a nickname that the disciples gave to him and it means son of
encouragement. Isn’t that a wonderful name? A little later in Acts we
read a description of Barnabas as being “full of the Holy Spirit and faith”
(Acts 11:24). Of course he was an encourager - he was full of the Holy
Spirit and faith. To give encouragement is a natural response to the life
of Christ in you. It flows out of an experience of God and his presence in
your life.
Here is the second reason we encourage one another.
The days are short. Verse 25 – Let
us encourage one another – and “all the more as you see the Day
approaching.” “The Day” refers to Christ’s second coming. A day is
coming when Christ will come back in power and judgment. It is not a day
which we need fear for we are in Christ and we are His own.
What the text is saying here is don’t grow tired of
encouraging, don’t grow tired of doing good, keep going because the day is
coming. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
But the text is also saying keep encouraging one another
because the time is short. We don’t have time for tearing one another
down. We don’t have time to discourage one another – the time is short, the
Day of Christ’s return is fast approaching – therefore let us be diligent in
doing what God has called us to do – the time is short, so encourage one
another.
Thirdly, we need to encourage one another because
each of us here is a priceless original.
You do know that, don’t you? Not one person here is worthless. This is
what the first two verses of our text emphasizes. No one for whom Christ
died is worthless. You are each a priceless original and we need to treat
each other as such. We put priceless works of art in places of honour in our
homes and place all the furniture is such a way that it is the centre of
attention. We put statues on pedestals. O, how we need to look at each
other as priceless works of art – created by the Master. For that is what
we are – we are God’s workmanship.
May God forgive us if we treat works of stone and paint
created by human hands with more respect than we do one another who have
been created by God, the Master Designer. We are fearfully and wonderfully
made and so we seek to encourage one another.
Not only this we encourage one another because
there is a vital need. Verse 24
says let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
It is so hard sometimes to continue to do good deeds.
Sometimes it gets so weary - the hours are long, the appreciation is
sometimes negligible, our energy for doing good sometimes drains away. And
we need someone to come alongside us and encourage us.
Encouragement is a vital need. Look at verse 25. “Let us
not give up meeting together, as some are the in habit of doing.” I
wonder why some gave up going to worship. I wonder if it wasn’t because some
of the people were discouragers. So the sentence continues, “but let us
encourage one another”.
There are so many people who pour cold water on ideas, so
many negative thinkers, discouragers in this world. There are so many who
think that criticism is a spiritual gift. That will never work, they say.
We’ve done it before and it didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. What’s
the use of trying? Keep the line, stay the same.
O, we have a vital need of people who know that through faith
in Christ we can draw near to all powerful God with a sincere heart. That
we have been given a living hope whose promises to us are sure because He is
faithful. So that they say, “Is anything impossible for God?”
While on holidays our hotel room had a television set that
got 3,000 stations! And I came across Robert Schuller’s hour of power, at
the Crystal Cathedral they were celebrating an anniversary. And Rev. Bill
Hybels was in the pulpit telling of how, when he was a young pastor with a
congregation of 50 people in Chicago, they had a vision for reaching the
unchurched. Their vision statement is very simple - to reach unchurched
Harry and unchurched Mary. They were struggling. And he and his leadership
team had a meeting with Robert Schuller, There were two pieces of property
that had come up for sale - one was worth thousands of dollars, the other
worth millions. And Robert Schuller said, “I believe in what you are doing
- go for the five million dollar piece of property.” They did. And the
short story is that it wasn’t easy, it didn’t happen over night, but Robert
Schuller continued to encourage them and today Willow Creek Church is a
massive church ministering to thousands. You can question their theology all
you like, but when the history of the 20th century church is
written, I can tell you that Willow Creek Church will be mentioned as the
church that did more to spark a renewed interest in evangelism than any
other church of the century. Encouragement is needed in our day.
Why do we offer encouragement? Here’s another reason -
because we are on the same team!
We really are striving for the same thing. Each of us is seeking to glorify
God. Look at the text, verse 21, “Jesus Christ is our great priest over
the house of God.” That’s the team we play for - the house of God, and
that’s the coach we play for - the great priest. We need to understand that
no matter what we look like or where we come from, or what your background
is or what kind of ethnic roots we have, if we have trusted Jesus Christ as
our Saviour we are all on the same team! God has only one family. If we’re
in the family, we belong to Him. For that reason we ought to be patting
each other on the back and cheering each other on toward the common goal of
bringing glory to Jesus Christ our Saviour.
That’s why we encourage one another – let’s ask the text
another question.
When are to we to encourage others?
All the time. Do see the
repeated phrase in this text? Let us… let us… let us. The form of the verb
that is used in each of these cases does not refer to a single act, but to a
continuous act. Let us draw near – continuously, let us hold fast,
persistently, let us consider one another, encourage one another
constantly. There isn’t a time when we should not be encouraging one
another. But there are times when it is especially needed, isn’t it?
When people are going through
difficult times. Sometimes our natural
tendency is to pull away and not bother people, but when we are going
through difficult times, that’s just the time when we need people to
encourage us in our faith and assure us of God’s love.
We need to encourage people
when they make mistakes. Instead of abandoning them because
they have made a mistake, we need to draw alongside them and reassure them
that they have a great priest who has paid the price and they can draw near
to God.
And what a difference it makes. I mentioned Barnabas as
being a living picture of encouragement. Do you know that when Paul became
a Christian, the Christians didn’t want anything to do with him? But
Barnabas believed in Paul and took him and brought him to the apostles (Acts
9:27). Without the encouragement of Barnabas we would not have heard from
Paul.
Instead of abandoning one another when we make mistakes, we
need to encourage one another. Of course, when we fall morally we need
correction and I will speak about that another time, but when we make honest
mistakes and fail we need encouragement.
My dad to this day in his 81st year tells of how
in elementary school he was a very poor speller and reader. Whenever he was
asked to read aloud he would break out into a nervous stutter. Each teacher
would try to correct him in the same way - detentions, sarcasm, and the
crack of a ruler on his hands. He hated school, hated learning. He was
held back a year. But then he was promoted to the class of Miss Randall and
she used a different approach – she used the smile of encouragement. His
problem’s didn’t disappear but his attitude began to change.
And the day came for his first report card, and he knew what
would be written there, “Leonard needs to do more homework, Leonard is a
poor speller, Leonard cannot even read a simple sentence.” Can you imagine
his delight when he read at the bottom of his report card, “Leonard is a
good and willing student”? And to this day, dad credits that grade five
teacher for turning his life around. He gave himself to school one hundred
percent. School was no longer boring or dull.
We all need a person like Miss Randall who will focus on our
strengths, not our mistakes; praise our good qualities, who will stand by
them when they fail.
The world is full of discouragers, but to encourage, to lift,
to offer the ointment of praise and hope, to stand at the side of another
person in need of help, that is a Christ-like service.
Then think of the next question
How are we to encourage one another?
The text says “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds.” That suggests that we are to encourage one another
thoughtfully. Let’s think about
the need for encouragement and go out of our way to offer it. So many of us
live life with no awareness of what is going on around us or what other
people may be thinking and Scripture is calling us to stop and consider how
we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
That also means we should encourage one another
prayerfully. Don’t you find that it
is when we are in prayer that the Holy Spirit speaks to you and gives you
insights to people that you never had before. He tells you, “Hey, Mary is
going through a rough time and she needs some help right now, she needs your
encouragement.” And you say, “I never knew that. I’ll give her a call right
now.” And you do. And lo and behold Mary is going through a rough time and
so appreciates your call and help and support. Encourage one another
prayerfully.
Not only thoughtfully and prayerfully, but that word
consider also suggests that we need encourage one another
intentionally. Go out of
your way to encourage another. Write a note, give a call, drop off a meal,
let your encouragement be intentional.
Then, we need to encourage one another
sincerely. There is nothing worse
than encouragement that is insincere. To guard against this, let your
encouragement of another grow out of your relationship with Christ. So we
can read 1 Corinthians 1:3-5 as saying, “Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all
encouragement, who encourages us in all our troubles, so that we
can encourage those in any trouble with the encouragement we
ourselves have received from God.”
That’s how to be sincere. We are surrounded by an insincere
culture. David Letterman has made a living off of insincerity. He is so
insincere that he makes news when he is sincere! We are surrounded by an
insincere culture and we need to guard against this. Be careful, sarcasm is
so easy to fall into with people that you know. It’s fun, but week after
week, if that’s all that you offer to one another, it becomes harsh and
souls begin to shrivel. Think of how you can offer sincere encouragement.
It flows out of a life given to God.
And
consider how you can use the Word of God to
encourage others. It is no accident that the Psalmist
describes the word of God as being more precious than gold and sweeter than
honey from the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). When offered sincerely the Word of
God brings strength to the weak and refreshment to the fainthearted.
Who are we to encourage? Very clearly the
text says that we are to encourage one
another. There isn’t anyone who does not need
encouragement. But of course we need to be especially encouraging to
new Christians. We need to spend
time answering their questions, walking along side them so that they grow
strong in their faith and are able to walk alongside others.
And we
need to be especially encouraging toward our
church leaders. There are many who put in untold hours of
work so that we can worship, and educate and reach out to our community.
Others who maintain the upkeep of the building and manage the finances. And
many of them never receive a thank you, never are told how much they are
appreciated for their efforts on the behalf of ourselves, our children, our
teens. We need to encourage our leaders.
And don’t
forget the staff and their families.
Don’t take them for granted. Be sure to encourage them as they are often on
the front lines of the work.
And I
think of those who come here week after week to worship but without the
support of a believing spouse.
Just think
- for some of you, with a believing spouse, you know how difficult it
is to serve and to come to worship on time, you know how hard it is to be a
part of a planning team or a board or a committee in the church, you have
commitments and obligations.
But just
think what it would be like without a spouse who did not believe. Just
think what it would be like to come to worship on Sunday morning without the
encouragement of your spouse, without the support of your spouse. Just
think how hard it would be to offer service to the church without the
support of your spouse – someone saying to you, “Are you going to that
church again??”
And we
have many people in our congregation that are in that very situation. We
need to encourage them. We need to draw alongside them. We need not fear
to talk to them, introduce yourself to them and tell them how much you
appreciate them being a part of our church family and that you are praying
for their spouse and for them, in their Christian witness. Ask them
plainly, is there anything I can do to help as you seek to live out your
commitment to Christ?
They need
our encouragement.
What is the result of encouraging one another?
Encouragement gives vitality. In
our marriage course video one woman is quoted as saying, “I can go for three
months on one good compliment.” And isn’t it true? I think of our
Community Carol Sing at Christmas. We had big plans for lots of people to
come, and we didn’t get the numbers were hoping for or expecting. And some,
myself included, were a little disappointed. But two days later, we received
a wonderful email from a woman who attended, and who goes to another church
in town. She said how much she appreciated it, how great she thought the
whole thing was, and how important it was as an outreach to our town. I
wrote her back, thanking her for her thank you note!
Encouragement opens doors of opportunity.
As we encourage others it opens that door of ministry so that we can be
there when things are going wrong. We are invited into people’s lives when
things come crashing down.
Finally,
encouragement saves from burn out. It has been said
that the Christian army is the only army that shoots its own soldiers. My
friends, we need to encourage one another, as the task that we have been
given is daunting. It is not impossible, but it is daunting. And this is
not the time to shoot our own soldiers with discouragement, by not
cooperating, by not helping, by not giving, by not being present.
Now is the
time to support our soldiers with a smile, a word of encouragement, being
present, giving, helping, supporting, cheering, persevering. For the Day of
the Lord is approaching.
Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - February 2006
1.
David Jeremiah, The Power
of Encouragement (Oregon: Multnomah Books, 1997), 27.
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