Encourage, Energize, and Engage
Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:24-25; Romans 15:4; Romans 1:12
Introduction:
“I have never met anyone suffering from too much encouragement in Christ.” -Ray Ortlund
This morning we are going to look at three of these “one another” commands found in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who were in danger of turning their backs on their Christian faith and going back to their old ways before Christ. And so I find it significant that one of the themes we find in the letter is this theme of Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is one of the primary resources God has given us as Christians to help us stand strong in our faith. There’s no such thing as Lone Ranger Christianity. We are all called into Christian fellowship with each other.
“Encouragement is what the gospel feels like as it moves from one believer to another. The ministry of encouragement, therefore, isn’t optional or just for people with a knack for it. Real encouragement has authority over us all. It deserves nothing less than to set the predominant tone of our churches, our homes, our ministries”. -Ray Ortlund
The New Testament verb translated encourage can also mean “to comfort, cheer up, console, speak in a friendly manner.” Throughout, encouragement is about the life-giving power of our shared beliefs and our shared life in the Lord.
“Encouragement is one of the most important ministries in the church of the New Testament.” Our biblical authenticity is at stake here — whether we are overflowingly encouraging to one another”. -Murray Harris
1. The Means By Which We Encouraging One Another
A. We must marinate ourselves in the Scriptures (Romans 15:4)
“Those exhortations which are not formally spirited or enlivened by an express word of Scripture, are languid, weak and vain”. -John Owen
B. We must mutually share our faith and life experiences. (Romans 1:12)
2. The Motivation for Encouraging One Another.
A. The danger of being deceived and parting ways with God. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
B. The danger of apathy through isolation. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
3. The Methods for Encouraging One Another
A. We must be intentional, attentive, and sensitive to those around us.
B. We must remember that encouragement to others must use words.
C. We must consistently evaluate our own need for encouragement.
D. We must nurture our own souls for the sake of others.
E. We must make this a daily practice through discipline.
F. We must allow others to encourage us.
G. We must keep ourselves right before God and others.
H. We must be approachable and teachable.
I. We must not fail to encourage others because of false assumptions.
J. We must keep our intentions and motivations in check.
K. We must remember that Satan is subtle and sin is deceitful.
L. We must embrace the idea that encouragement is the ministry of all believers.
Conclusion:
The New Testament verb translated encourage can also mean “to comfort, cheer up, console, speak in a friendly manner.” Throughout, encouragement is about the life-giving power of our shared beliefs and our shared life in the Lord.
Jesus used the noun form of this verb when, in John 14:26, he called the Holy Spirit our “Helper” — that is, our encourager as an “empowering presence” among us (John, 260). J.B. Phillips paraphrased this title of the Holy Spirit as “someone to stand by you.”
“So, we’re already seeing what our ministry of encouragement can look like: standing with one another, bringing a life-giving presence to one another. That’s a lot more than saying hi as we walk from the parking lot into the church building on a Sunday morning. Real encouragement is one way we experience the Holy Spirit together. It’s how we experience real community together. And this kind of community is not life-depleting but life-enriching, not guarded and aloof but all-in and involved, not scrutinizing and criticizing but affirming and strengthening”.
The “one another” commands of the New Testament paint a picture of the beauty of human relationships. These one anothers include not only “encourage one another” but also “love one another” (John 13:34–35), “welcome one another” (Romans 15:7), “confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16), and more. It’s a total way of enjoying Christ together. Who wouldn’t love to jump in? At the same time, have we noticed the “one anothers” that do not appear in Scripture but sometimes appear among us? For example, “scold one another,” “humble one another,” “pressure one another,” for starters.
Why don’t we all backup and relearn how to live together in Christ? And is there a better starting place than “encourage one another''? The New Testament puts encouragement at the very foundation of real Christianity: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ . . .” (Philippians 2:1).
But stepping out into new relational patterns is risky — with risks worth taking! The ministry of encouragement frees us from safe neutrality, from keeping our cards close to our chest, from evaluating one another with cost-benefit calculations. Real encouragement sweeps us away into a glad-hearted, up-close engagement with one another. And when the encouragement we’re sharing back and forth gets so strong that it starts feeling awkward, then good! We’re finally getting somewhere.
Does Encouragement Matter?
As I said earlier, I’ve never met anyone who is overly encouraged in Christ. But sometimes I do see people — I’ve done this too! — hyped up with odd emphases and misguided priorities, even in “Christian” ways. The Bible warns us all, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23). But the ministry of encouragement comes with no warning label. We have not taken it too far. The Bible does not say, “Encourage one another — but be careful!”
When we aren’t actively cultivating a social environment of encouragement, what happens then? We start living on a relational starvation diet. What we experience then is not active injury but the lack of affirmation and good cheer we all need. We struggle on, but weakened. Maybe a less-than-energizing kind of Christianity feels normal to many of us. Maybe we can hardly imagine how wonderful it is to be frequently, strongly encouraged and encouraging.
