An Encouraging word
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
"Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"Oklahoma," they answered.
"Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?"
"I teach at a seminary," he replied.
"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple .
The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great ... Just what I need ... another preacher story!"
The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ’Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ’Who’s your daddy?’
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, Son, who’s your daddy?
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’
"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy ... "Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. "
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, "Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ’Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them, ’I’m a Child of God.’"
The distinguished! gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn’t that a great story?"
The professor responded that it really was a great story!
As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?"
The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!"
That was A word of encouragement!!
Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they’re one of God’s children!
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever." ~~Isaiah
I would like to talk to you today about words of encouragement and how to get and give them.
Acts 14:21&22
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
1. As Christians we need all the encouragement we can get!
We need encouragement because it’s easy to become discouraged.
Gal 6:9
9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
1st Corinthians 15:58
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
If you think about it that is why God has given us the church, a place to be encouraged.
Encouragement is a very dominant theme in the epistles.
Paul obsessed with building up the local churches.
He realized there was only so much he could do so part of his strategy was to transfer this concern to others. We can see this in
Colossians 2:1&2
1I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
Colossians 4:7&8
7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
We are, you and I, commanded to encourage one another as in
1st Thessalonians 4:18
18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
1st Thessalonians 5:11
11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Hebrews 10:25
Heb25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Have you ever thought what is encouragement?
Encouragement is described like this, beg, urge; encourage, speak words of encouragement; request, ask, appeal to; console, comfort, cheer up; invite, summon that is the definition from the Greek word para-kalao ( to call alongside ) Webster says it this way : to encourage :give courage, hope or confidence, to help, give comfort, be favorable.
Encouragement is not just something you can say to anyone, its something special.
Encouragement in the Christian sense is not:
“I love your dress or You played a good game Friday night or even your children are very well behaved”
These thins you could say to anyone if it were true about them.
We come closer to understanding what encouragement is when we realize how closely the word of God is associated with encouragement in the New Testament. We can see that in these scriptures…
Acts 20:32
32“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Ephesians 4:14-16
16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
1st Thessalonians 2:11&12
11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. HOW did Paul do these things? Vs. 13 tells us 13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
Acts 14:21&22
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said
II What does encouragement look like?
Barnabas shows us the essence of encouragement in these scriptures.
Acts 9:26&27
26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
Acts 15:36-40
36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
The essence of encouragement is this, Believing the best about someone or a group of someone’s
It involves magnifying the good and minimizing the bad.
A. Churches need encouragement as much as people do. After all the church is the people coming together.
It is easer to focus on what is wrong with a church than to see what is right with it.
Anyone can tell what’s wrong with the church it takes a special person (like you) to believe and see the best in others and the church and build it up.
Conclusion: Lets look at the good and build up, lift up, cheer up, call up, praise up our church and every one in it. What do you say?
