The Blessed Duty of Encouragement

Grace Fellowship Church

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This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons, or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

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We come now to our final sermon in our series on Paul's letter to the

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Ephesians. And just as Paul ended his letter on a note of encouragement, so it's only fitting that we end this series with a message about encouragement.

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And we'll notice in the final paragraph of Ephesians that the encouragement there isn't to come from Paul himself, but it was going to come through a man named

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Tychicus. He was sending them an encourager. And so this is going to be a sermon about encouragers.

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So if you would turn to Ephesians chapter 6, we're going to be looking specifically at verses 21 and 22.

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So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the

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Lord, will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

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Now the saints at Ephesus have long since gone to their eternal home. Paul himself and Tychicus have departed along with them, and all of their sorrows and their cares and their troubles are no more.

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But there is universal truths here for us to glean for the Christian, even though our particular circumstances may be different.

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And just as the Ephesians and Paul's day were in need of encouragement, so too is it with us Christians here at Grace Fellowship Church.

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Who among us can say that we don't need to be encouraged from the Lord from time to time?

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That our hearts never grow weary, or that our zeal never flags? No, but we are prone to wander and prone to leave the

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God that we love. Our hearts are like a stone whose natural tendency is just to drop down and fall to the ground, unless it's supported from without.

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But our God is abundant in mercy, and he lifts us up and puts strength into us. He encourages us.

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He encourages our fainting hearts. Now, though he can act upon our hearts directly without any means,

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I would like us to notice here in the close of Ephesians that that isn't the way that God chose to act in this particular case.

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God certainly was going to encourage these Ephesians, but in this case it was going to be through human agency, by the means of an encourager.

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Now, seeing that it pleases God to use encouragers to strengthen his saints, this sermon is going to be a call for encouragers in the church.

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Perhaps you've heard sermons at times about the state of foreign missions in the world, and then a call is made to consider whether God is calling you to serve as a missionary, perhaps a foreign missionary.

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Or perhaps you've heard sermons about the need for elders and deacons in the church, and then a call is made to see if perhaps this office is where you may serve in the church.

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Well, just like that, this is going to be a sermon about the need for encouragers in the church. And I would like you to consider whether God may be calling you to consider to serve him in the capacity of an encourager.

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I would like to do this, first of all, by thinking with you about the nature of encouragement. Second, I would like to share some reflections on the duty of encouragement.

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And then thirdly, I would like us to meditate for a little while on the reward of encouragement.

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So let's begin, first of all, by making some observations about the nature of encouragement. And in order to do that, we need to be sure we are starting with the right definition.

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What am I speaking of when I use the word encouragement? You'll notice that our English word encourage is basically the word courage with a prefix attached to it, encourage.

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And that prefix is derived from Old French and Latin, which means to cause to be or to put into.

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And you can see this in other words like enlarge, which would mean to cause to be large, or enlighten, which would be to put in light, or the word enrich, to make rich or put in riches or cause to be rich.

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And so naturally, what do we suppose it would mean when we think of the word encouragement? Well, that would be to put in courage, to cause to be courageous.

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And we can see this playing out very clearly in the Old Testament if we consider an example. Think of the time when

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Moses was bringing the children of Israel toward the land of Canaan. This was after their exit from Egypt, and they hadn't yet possessed the land that they were going into.

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And Moses sent certain spies into the land to search it out and to see what the land was like and what the inhabitants were like that dwelt there.

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And if you remember, the spies went into the land and brought back some of the fruit of it, and they brought the report back to the

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Israelites, telling them how it was a good land that flowed with milk and honey. But then they talked about the people who lived there, that there were many and fierce, and the giants were there, and they lived in large fortified cities, and there was no way that they could come in and conquer this land.

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And so what they did was discourage the people. They took courage out of them. They didn't have any courage of themselves to impart to them, but they sapped it out.

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And that stands in complete contrast to Joshua and Caleb, who tried to encourage the people by saying, it is a good land.

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Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it. So that is what

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I'm speaking about today when I speak of encouragers in the church. I'm referring to people who seek to put courage into the hearts of their brethren.

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Now, having a more precise idea of what we are talking about, I would like to reflect with you about what it is that makes encouragement valuable or desirable.

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Or maybe I should back up first and first ask if encouragement even is valuable. Now, perhaps you're expecting me to say, given the topic of this message, that encouragement is immensely valuable, and therefore we need encouragers in the church.

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But that's not what I'm going to say. In fact, I'm going to say, make a statement that may seem quite surprising to you.

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Encouragement actually has zero value, even to God. In fact,

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I'll go further and say that sometimes encouragement is even harmful and destructive. Well, that's going to take some explaining, won't it?

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Well, I think this will become immediately clear if we consider another example from the Old Testament, when we consider a certain king of Israel named

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Ahab. We read about a time when Ahab was greatly discouraged. He was discouraged because he very much wanted a certain vineyard belonging to a man named

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Naboth. He had set his heart upon it, but Naboth refused to sell it to him.

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And so Ahab began to be cast down. And being sullen and displeased, it says, he turned his face towards the wall and refused to eat any food.

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Then Jezebel, his wife, seeing his miserable condition, sought to encourage the king. She said, you now exercise authority over Israel.

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Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth, the

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Jezreelite. And so Jezebel went down and arranged for Naboth to be falsely accused and stoned to death.

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And then was Ahab's countenance strengthened once again, and he went down to claim Naboth's field with a strong and a glad heart.

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Was that a case of encouragement? Clearly. And it was very effective encouragement at that.

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But did this kind of encouragement have any value in the sight of God? Well, no, quite the opposite. So what

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I hope is becoming clear is that encouragement does not have any value in and of itself. Encouragement on its own is neither good nor bad.

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It's morally neutral, like money. And just as money can be used for good or bad, so too can encouragement.

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So when I'm speaking of a call for encouragers in the church, I'm not speaking of encouragement of any old sort.

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I'm speaking only of the kind of encouragement that has a very specific end in view.

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So naturally, the next question is, what is the specific end that we should have in mind when we encourage one another?

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I think we can find an answer to that question right here in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Paul was sending them an encourager.

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And why did he do this? What is the end that he had in view? Let's read verses 21 and 22 again.

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So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the

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Lord, will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

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Now, these verses don't actually tell us why he wants to encourage them.

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And if we read just these two verses alone, we might get the impression that Paul is sending Tychicus merely to fill them in on how he is doing, like old friends might do when they haven't seen each other in a long time and they want to catch up.

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We might get the idea that this encouragement is for no other purpose than for fellowship.

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And if we think the goal of mutual encouragement in a church is just the idea of Christians getting together to eat and fellowship and talk and catch up, and somehow the edification that comes out of all of that is what is meant by encouragement, well, then it's no wonder if we don't put much value on that kind of encouragement.

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But that's not Paul's end goal here. Paul did not send

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Tychicus to them to simply fellowship with them and that they would all feel good and happy. I want you to notice something interesting about the verse just before our text.

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In verse 20, Paul points out that he is an ambassador in chains. A couple of other times in the letter, he also refers to himself as the prisoner of Christ.

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This is an important clue as to the context of this letter. We must remember that Paul was writing to them from prison.

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Now, to fully appreciate the dynamic of what was going on here, let's take a few moments and put ourselves in the shoes of these

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Ephesians. Paul wasn't some distant acquaintance of theirs. We learned from Acts 30 that Paul labored among them for the space of three years.

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He wasn't a traveling evangelist who quickly passed through their city. He stayed with them. He lived among them.

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Ephesus was his home for three years as he pastored them. They would have developed close ties and friendships with him.

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It wouldn't be so different from our brother Shane, who has been pastoring among us for roughly three years.

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And so it makes sense when we read about how moved they were when they learned that Paul was departing to go to Jerusalem, fully expecting that he would be arrested there.

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When it was made clear to them that this was going to be their last goodbye, they began to cry and to be filled with sorrow.

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And they knelt down and prayed together with Paul and kissed him. They were very dear to each other.

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Now, think of what this must have been like for them after Paul got on that ship and sailed away. They didn't just have to deal with the fact that they would be permanently separated, but they would be filled with concern and anxiety over their beloved pastor, who was now on his way straight into a den of lions.

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Jerusalem, we have to remember, was no friend to Christianity. It was there where Jesus stood when the angry mobs cried out, crucify him, crucify him.

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What would it feel like if we were sending Shane off into a hostile crowd like that? Or what would it be like to receive news that Shane had been apprehended and put in prison?

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Or to learn how certain individuals were making vows and planning how they might kill him? This was serious.

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The Ephesians were fully expecting that Paul would either be murdered by the Jews or executed by the

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Romans. It makes it feel a little bit more real, doesn't it? Paul's letter from prison was not just some generic instruction to unknown recipients, but there's a history and a context behind it.

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Can we see a little more clearly now why Paul might want to send a ticket to them to encourage them? Well, this gets us a little closer to Paul's burden.

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He didn't want them to be filled with sorrow and anxiety, but we still haven't captured Paul's chief end in wanting to encourage them.

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Turn with me back to chapter three. In the opening paragraph of chapter three,

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Paul lays out for the Ephesians why his suffering was not in vain. He goes on to assure their hearts, telling them that he was given a very special ministry by the

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Lord and a very important ministry. And it was all according to God's divine plan.

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Let's pick it up in verse 11. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus, our

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Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

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So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

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And there is Paul's stated purpose. He did not want them to lose heart.

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I believe verse 13 provides the key for understanding the overarching burden of Paul throughout the whole epistle.

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His great concern is that he doesn't want them to lose heart over what he is suffering for them. Well, okay then.

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So if Paul's reason for encouraging them was so that they wouldn't lose heart, the next logical question is, what does it mean to lose heart?

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This does not mean simply being sorrowful or filled with grief. These things cannot be avoided in the

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Christian life. We are told everywhere how sorrow and trials are part of the package of following Christ.

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But when the Bible speaks of losing heart, what it is referring to is giving up. Jesus told his disciples to pray and not lose heart.

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That is, don't give up. We are told elsewhere to not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

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That is, if we do not give up. So Paul's main purpose of encouraging the

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Ephesians was to keep them from giving up. He was aware of the possibility that some would depart from the faith, and he was doing everything he could to keep this from happening.

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Now on the face of it, this might seem strange. Why would any of the Ephesians fall from the faith simply because Paul was suffering in prison for them?

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Well, let's put ourselves back into the shoes of these Ephesians. And let us remember that trials in the Christian life usually don't happen just one at a time, but we often face trials from multiple directions simultaneously.

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This burden that they were carrying was probably one of the many burdens the Ephesians had to bear. Perhaps they had domestic problems to deal with as well.

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After all, Paul had to write them and exhort them concerning their conduct regarding their marriages and families and regarding relationships between masters and servants.

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When people fall from the faith, it's usually not just because of one thing, but many things weighing on them and weighing them down altogether.

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And so there's a kind of compounding effect. And just one more trial or difficulty may be just the straw that broke the camel's back.

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And not only this, but Paul's imprisonment would have likely had spinoff trials accompanying it.

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Paul was several years in prison. The Ephesians no doubt had started off with much prayer and fasting for Paul.

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What would happen after the days turned into weeks, and then those weeks became months, and then the months dragged on to years?

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They may have been struggling with unmet expectations, unanswered prayer, and then there may have been the element of fear.

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After a couple of years after arrest in Caesarea, Paul was transferred to Rome to be tried under the

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Roman emperor Nero. Now if Nero were persuaded that Christians in his realm were a problem, well,

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I would put the Ephesians themselves under Nero's radar. If Paul went down, then none of them would be safe.

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Now just add a little fear into the equation, and that will change everything. You can be swimming at ease in the ocean, but the moment you hear of a shark sighting, just the fact that there could be a shark there somewhere under the water can throw you into a panic.

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The devil has no weapon quite so potent as fear. And I think we've all seen firsthand over the last few years just what fear can do to people.

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So Paul would have been aware of all of this. He had been a Christian long enough to see people fall from the faith for all kinds of reasons.

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He didn't want them to reach the point where they would throw in a towel and give up, being weighed down and saying,

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I'm tired, I'm just tired of it all. But Paul just wasn't wanting to avoid final apostasy.

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He wanted to keep them completely off that road that leads to apostasy. It is possible for a person to give up, at least partially, without denying the faith altogether.

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A term that has come into popular use the last few years is the term quiet quitting. That's when a person no longer does their job to the best of their ability, but rather puts in just enough effort that they don't get fired.

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Now, Paul didn't want any under his watch to become apostates, but he also didn't want any quiet quitters in the faith.

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So the prevention of losing heart and giving up, whether in part or in whole, is the reason he sought to encourage them.

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This is the proper goal of encouragement. And it's not just Paul's goal in this particular case, in this particular letter.

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This is the goal of encouragement throughout the Bible. In Acts 11, we read how the word of God reached

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Antioch through the saints who were scattered on account of the persecution. The church, having learned that a great number of people in Antioch had turned to the

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Lord, sent unto Barnabas to encourage them. In verse 23, it says, when he came down and saw the grace of God, he was glad and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the

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Lord with steadfast purpose. The word exhort there is the same

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Greek word as encourage that we have here in Ephesians. In Acts 14,

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Paul and Barnabas, it says, returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

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That is what his encouragement is for. This is the kind of encouragement that is so needed in the church today.

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And the need will only increase as we see the day approaching. Now, having spent some time reflecting on the nature of encouragement,

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I would like to think with you for a little while about the duty of encouragement. For the

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Ephesians, the duty was laid upon Tychicus. He was to be the one to encourage the

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Ephesians. But what about us?

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Because we stand in need of encouragement too. Has God sent anyone to encourage us?

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Or has he called any of us to be encouragers? If so, whom has he called?

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To answer that question, let's start by observing that encouragement is a spiritual gift. All believers have been distributed spiritual gifts according to God's good pleasure.

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And not all of us have the same gifts. Turn with me to Romans 12, where we see the gift of encouragement spoken of.

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Romans 12, starting in verse six, reads this way, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

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If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation.

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It speaks of the one who exhorts. The word translated exhort here is the

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Greek word parakaleo. It's the same word that Paul used when he spoke of Tychicus coming to encourage them.

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And the word encompasses all of what we've been discussing so far on this topic of encouragement. In fact,

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Bill Mounts, who was the New Testament chair for the ESV, translates the verse this way. If any of you have the gift of encouragement, then use it to encourage.

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Now, just as God has given special endowments to particular individuals for serving, or teaching, or giving, or evangelizing, or showing mercy, so he has given to certain individuals a special ability to encourage others.

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Have you thought about whether God has given you this gift? Now, before you look at yourself and say, oh no, this couldn't be me,

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I would like you to consider something. It is possible that some of you are gifted to encourage, but you have no idea you have the gift because you have made no effort to stir it up.

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What do I mean, stir it up? Well, some spiritual gifts are not manifested unless they are stirred up like a fire.

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It's not like the other gifts, such as tongues, or prophesying, or healing. Those gifts are not learned or improved upon.

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You either have them or you don't. But other spiritual gifts, like dormant and unknown, unless they are diligently flamed into a fire.

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Consider the gift of teaching. One gifted teacher we are all aware of is

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Charles Spurgeon. Actually, he seems to have the gift of teaching as well as exhorting and encouraging.

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Do you suppose that Spurgeon would have been the effective teacher that he was if he made no effort to stir up that gift?

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How effective do you think he would have been if he was not the avid reader that he was? If he didn't collect useful anecdotes and illustrations like he did?

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If he spent no time meditating on the truth of God, spent no time studying the word of God, he would be no teacher at all.

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Though he had the gift of teaching, the gift would lie dormant and remain relatively unknown.

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It's the same principle that we have with natural gifting in the physical realm. You may have an athlete who is naturally gifted, but the gift alone isn't what makes them a great athlete.

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It's only when they train and practice and become proficient that the natural ability is brought out and taken to its full potential.

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Consider also Paul's instructions to Timothy. Timothy was a man endowed with spiritual gifting through the laying on of hands.

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Nevertheless, it was possible for this gift to lie dormant, not being used. Paul had to remind and exhort the young and fearful

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Timothy not to neglect the gift that was in him. Rather, he was to devote himself to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.

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He was to practice these things and immerse himself in them so that all may see his progress, 1

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Timothy 4 .15. Again, Paul said to him in 2 Timothy 1 .6, fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

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Now, if you are drawn to the ministry of encouragement, but if you are not sure whether you have that gift, I would suggest you stir up those smoldering coals a bit and see what happens.

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See if you can fan them into a flame. Study how to encourage others. Learn from great encouragers you know.

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Find one of those people who are always seeking to build others up and observe them and imitate them. A sister once told me about how she was going to visit someone in the hospital to encourage them, but she was the one who left being encouraged.

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That's the kind of person I'm talking about. Someone who doesn't do anything but encourage one another. They're always about it.

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Or someone like Paul here in Ephesians. He was the one suffering in prison, and yet it was he who is encouraging the

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Ephesians. People like this are a treasure, but they're rare, and we can learn a great deal from their example.

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You could also read great encouragers from the past. You might take someone like a Samuel Rutherford to be your mentor.

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You could read his letters and observe how he spoke. It seems like one of his great mission, his one great mission was always to put strength into the hearts of people he was writing to.

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You may never be able to speak like he spoke, but there's no reason why you cannot adopt his same determination.

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And observe how he was a man who had learned to preach to himself and encourage himself in the Lord. He wrote at one point, when

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I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.

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There's a certain attitude in people like this that we would do well to imitate. You could also study and observe the great encourager himself, the

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Lord Jesus. Watch him, admire him. People become like those they most admire.

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Look how he carried himself when he was in conversation with others. Never did he waste a conversation, but always turned it to some profitable end.

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Observe his gracious manner. Thomas Watson said that a gracious person drops holy words like pearls.

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They not only speak words of truth, but the grace emanating from their heart gives their words a palatable flavor.

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Observe how his speech was always with grace, seasoned with salt. And then pray.

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Pray for opportunities to do just that. Pray that you will be able to find and minister the words which would bring strength and courage to your brother.

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And then practice. Begin to open your mouth on occasion where formerly you may have said nothing.

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Exhort others to be strong and courageous. You don't have to be in a position of authority to tell

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Christians to follow the Lord. Hockey players don't mind at all when you cheer them on.

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When you say, go Oilers, go, they aren't offended and say, what authority do you have over us?

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But Christians are strengthened when others come alongside them and tell them to keep going.

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And if you earnestly seek the gift and give it a good try, and the little embers are still just smoldering and smoking and not putting out any real heat, well, then maybe

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God hasn't given this gift to you. But perhaps, as you give it your all in study and in prayer and in practice, just perhaps you may begin to notice little embers have broken out into a small flame.

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Well, if that happens, keep feeding it. See if you can feed that flame into a roaring blaze.

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You have found how Christ wants you to serve his church. Do it, therefore, with all your might.

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And let me make a special appeal to the sisters here. Perhaps there are some here who are thinking that your gifting couldn't possibly be a speaking gift because those gifts are reserved for men, and the only thing open to you is acts of service.

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Well, perhaps God has gifted you in acts of service, but don't prematurely close a door that God has not closed.

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It may very well be that the most gifted encouragers in this church are women. If God has given you an ability to build others up in the faith through the words that you write or speak, you not only may use that gift, you must use that gift.

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So we have seen that encouragement is a special duty belonging to all whom God has given the gift of encouragement.

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But what about the rest of us? What about those of us who are not particularly gifted to encourage?

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Does that mean we are not to encourage others at all? Well, that can hardly be the case.

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Would we say that those who don't have the gift of evangelism have no obligation to preach the gospel and share the gospel with others?

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Or would we say that those who haven't been given the gift of giving are no under any obligation to give anything whatsoever?

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Of course not. And just because somebody may not excel at encouraging, this doesn't mean they have no ability whatsoever.

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Turn with me to Hebrews 10. This is a well -known passage because this is where we turn to show that a

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Christian has a duty to come to church. It's the verse that tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

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Now, I think most of us are aware that we are supposed to keep up our gathering together, but I don't think we may be equally aware of the reason we are to keep gathering together.

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I think the common tendency is to think that there must be something just good about showing up.

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And so as long as we just show up, we have fulfilled what this passage is talking about and discharged our duty.

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But let's look at the passage because there's a very particular reason given as to why we must keep gathering together.

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Hebrews 10 .24. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some is, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

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So when we read the whole thing there, we see that the reason for assembling is not simply to be present.

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Meeting together is a necessity, not because it is somehow virtuous, but because it is something we'll need to do in order to accomplish the real goal, which is to encourage one another and stir each other up.

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It is the duty of every one of us to encourage our brethren. Not all of us are especially gifted, but that doesn't render us entirely unqualified.

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It seems to me rather that we have more ability within us than we actually use. I think the problem is that we don't give it much thought and that we don't really try.

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Now, I'm not speaking of all here. I do see encouragement happening at church or on the

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Signal chat group or in various meetings of the church. I'm speaking mostly of my own personal experience, and maybe some of you happen to share this in common with me.

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I've been finding that oftentimes I simply don't try. Maybe someone lets me know about some troubles they're having, and then

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I say, okay, I'll pray for you. That's my automatic go -to reaction. But I'm starting to see now a little more, having spent some time thinking about the

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Ministry of Encouragement, that I need to be a little more thoughtful. Instead of just blurting out,

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I'll pray for you, I need to stop and think to myself, hold on here, you can do better than this.

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Pray for you, yes, but maybe I can put a little effort in here and try and think of some scripture or some truth that may actually be helpful.

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I may not teach the person anything new that they haven't known before, but perhaps I can help them remember something that they had lost sight of.

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Saints are always in much need of encouragement. We are all like wounded soldiers, some of us bleeding more than others.

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And when you're in a war, you can't just see your fellow soldier in need and do nothing for them, just hoping a medic will pass by and help them.

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Maybe we aren't all trained as a medic, and maybe that's not our primary role in the army, but we have to give a helping hand when we can.

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If a fellow soldier is thirsty or hungry, we don't wait for a specifically trained medic, but we give them some water or some of our rations.

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If a fellow soldier is wounded and limping, we will help him up and walk with him. If we see a fellow soldier bleeding, we don't just sit back and say,

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I don't have the gift of medicine, but we do what we can. Maybe we don't know how to tie a proper tourniquet, but we can apply some pressure and help stop the bleeding.

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There are dedicated medics in the army whose primary role is to perform such tasks, just as there are those in the church who are specially gifted and called to the ministry of encouragement.

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But even so, there are times in the Christian life when it will be that you and you alone are the only one there to help a brother in need.

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You may come across a Christian in Dowden Castle who is unable to find their way out, and you can't always count on the idea that they will just be able to reach into their pocket and find the key and let themselves out.

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Sometimes you will be standing there, and you alone are holding the keys that can set them free. So those are some reflections on the duty of encouragement.

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I'd like now for the rest of our time to reflect with you on the reward of encouragement. What can the encourager expect to reap on account of all their labors?

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Well, the first thing we can expect to result from our labors is failure. Well, that's not very encouraging, is it?

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Why am I saying this? Because we have to have realistic expectations. If we're going to go out full of optimism, expecting that we're going to fill the hearts of everyone we come across with courage, well, then we're just setting ourselves up for disappointment.

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And then when things don't turn out as we had expected, we ourselves may become discouraged and not try anymore.

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So it's important for us to know that oftentimes our efforts will result in failure. It's much the same as our efforts in evangelism.

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It would be very wrongheaded to think that we will convert everybody we talk to. Even when

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Jesus, the master evangelist, proclaimed the gospel to the masses, some believed and some believed not.

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In fact, after the full course of his three and a half year ministry, when it came to a close and he departed out of this world, we read that the remaining group of only 120 disciples left in Jerusalem who continue to meet together to pray.

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So don't let it discourage you if your efforts are not met with the success that you had hoped for. You cannot guarantee success by the most loving intentions, the most forcible arguments, the most sweet consolations and promises.

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We have to remember that we are nothing but mere instruments in the hands of God. Whom the

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Lord wills, he encourages. But this fact that the result is not ultimately in our hands is at the same time that very thing that guarantees there will be successes.

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For when God determines to encourage one of his loved ones, he does not fail. And if he chooses to use you as an instrument, you will find a power working through you that you never could have produced on your own.

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Your words will hit the mark. They will go into the heart. They will produce their proper effect.

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And this should give us great confidence. Even if we are the weakest Christian trying to encourage a stalwart in the faith with 10 times more knowledge and godliness than we might happen to have, nothing is too hard for God.

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There was a certain missionary to Burma in the 1800s named Adoniram Judson. Perhaps you're familiar with his story.

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He was a giant in the faith. But there was a time when even he began to grow weary and was in need of someone to encourage him.

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He was a man who has tried to the very limits. And given what he had to endure, I think he held up extremely well.

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Right from the start of his setting out to Burma, we can see how he held up strong under infirmity. On board the ship, this is what he wrote.

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I have now been full three months on board the ship, in which time I have been exceedingly sick and am very miserable.

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Yet I have not a complaint to make. I am not homesick. I have no desire to leave the ship.

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I am contented and happy. I pity those who are not here. Now there's a man who, like David, knows how to encourage himself in the

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Lord. What need has he of any others? Well, let's fast forward in his life about 10 years and check in on how he is faring.

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Judson had been laboring hard among the Burmese, but he was having very little fruit to show for his labor.

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Here's what he wrote. I have now been here nearly 10 years, and I have not one disciple of Jesus Christ.

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I have seen hundreds of heathens die in their sins. I have baptized only six adults, and two of those have already fallen asleep in Jesus.

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My labors have been almost wholly in vain. Yet am I not discouraged, but I'm more determined than ever to devote my life to the salvation of these people.

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What a great attitude. He was facing it like a trooper. He was in it for the long haul.

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Here's another excerpt from a letter he wrote the following year. I am this day 37 years old, and I have been a believer in Christ 20 years, and yet I feel that I have done nothing for him, and that I am unworthy of his name.

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Oh, how I long to be more holy and to do more for him. In another letter, he wrote this.

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I am alone in the midst of millions of heathens, surrounded by every kind of suffering and trial.

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Yet I am happy and blessed beyond all expression. I am immortal till my work is done.

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But then he began to be tried from a different angle. And God, in his wisdom, allowed the heat to be turned up a notch.

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The Burmese authorities came to Judson's home and arrested him on suspicion of being a spy.

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He was taken from his wife, Anne, who was pregnant at that time. Perhaps you've heard or read about the awful conditions of what life was like in that prison.

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I'll spare you the details. During his imprisonment, his pregnant wife worked tirelessly to do what she could to help and strengthen her husband.

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She brought him food. She smuggled in a Bible and stuffed it in a pillow so he would have the word of God.

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She worked ceaselessly trying to persuade the authorities they were not spies and to have him released. His suffering was great, but he managed to hold up still.

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Here's what he wrote in prison. Lord, let me finish my work. Spare me long enough to put thy saving word into the hands of a perishing people.

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17 months later, the Burmese army was defeated and Adenaerim was finally released.

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At last, Adenaerim and Anne were reunited. But the reunion was to be short -lived.

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The harsh conditions had taken their toll on Anne's body and her health was on the decline.

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Adenaerim and Anne got to spend 11 short months together and then

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Anne died. His wife, who was his greatest love and joy and comfort in life, was taken away.

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Six months after his wife's death, his little daughter died also. Now, no matter how strong you might be or hope you might be when you are tried, everybody has a point when they begin to buckle and fall apart.

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Depression began to set in. Judson's usual optimism was not there to support him this time anymore.

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Now, though he didn't give up the faith or his hope in Christ, a certain part of him lost heart after that.

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He began to be overcome with a sense of the weight of his own corruption and began devoting himself to various means of self -denial and asceticism.

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He began to remove himself more and more from the company of the other missionaries. The translation work ceased.

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He built for himself a hut in the jungle, far away from human society, and he spent most of his time in quiet seclusion.

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He had his sister destroy all of the correspondence he had with her as he didn't want anybody to remember him or extol him in any way.

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All he wanted was to be forgotten. He gave away all of his wealth and had his missionary salary reduced and began to eat very little except for some rice.

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In desiring to mortify an undue love of life, he had a grave dug where he would spend time sitting and contemplating on the edge of it how his body might appear lying there after his death.

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He wanted to detach himself as much as possible from taking any hope or pleasure in this world.

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And you can see just what can happen to a person when they are beaten down and when their heart begins to stoop and lose courage.

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The heart of a man is his final refuge. When the castle walls are overrun and the gate broken down, his heart becomes his last stronghold.

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And when that begins to fail, a person is in dire condition indeed. Just listen to the sound of this poor man's heart.

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Here's what he wrote in a letter to his wife's sisters. My dear sisters, you see from the date that it is the second anniversary of the triumph of death over all of my hopes and of earthly bliss.

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I have this day moved into a small cottage, which I have built in the woods, away from the haunts of men.

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It proves a stormy evening and a desolation around me accords with a desolate state of my own mind, where grief for the dear departed combines with sorrow for present sin and my tears flow at the same time over the forsaken grave of my love and over the loathsome sepulcher of my own heart.

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And then in another letter, have either of you learned the art of real communion with God?

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And can you teach me the first principles? God is to me the great unknown.

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I believe in him, but I find him not. Now, what can be done for a poor man in this condition?

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How could you ever hope to put courage into a heart that is suffering like this? Well, with men it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

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The turning point in Adoniram's life happened when an encourager was sent to him. This encourager had news that was bittersweet.

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It turns out that Adoniram's brother back home El Nathan had died. El Nathan was only 35 years old.

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And though this was another bitter pill for Adoniram to swallow, there was enough of a ray of light let in to revive his soul once more.

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This encourager had more news for Adoniram. His brother before his death appears to have been converted.

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Now, anybody with unbelieving family can understand just how great a cause for joy it would be to hear that one of your very own family members have been saved.

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Adoniram hadn't seen his brother for 17 years. His last memory of them together would have been when they were riding on horseback together to the place where Adoniram was to set off for Burma.

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And when he dismounted their horses, they knelt down together and Adoniram made fervent supplication to the

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Lord for his brother that he be saved. So when the news of his little brother's conversion reached him,

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Adoniram was able to perceive the goodness of God once again. And over the next year or two, life began returning to him and he began to regain his full strength and vigor once more.

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So no matter how difficult the task of encouragement may seem, in the right time when

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God chooses to work, he will cause the spirit to move and the wind to blow and he will use your words to breathe life back into a heart that is weary and give them life again.

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Well, that certainly is a great reward for an encourager, to be used by God to effectually strengthen the heart of a believer.

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But that's not the only reward given to the encourager. The faithful encourager will at the last day receive the

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Lord's well done. And his well done is worth more than all earthly treasures and honor.

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And so sweet will it be to hear because so little deserved. We didn't have to go out and do some great thing to bring courage to our brethren.

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We didn't have to defeat the foe and bring the victory. All that the encourager does is tell and convince others of the victory that has been won.

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The message is not ours. The power to persuade others is none of ours either.

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If we have anything to contribute that we could truly call our own, it would be all a discouragement and sorrow that we bring to others through our own sinfulness.

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We have nothing to boast of. And if we were to compare ourselves with other

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Christians, we have even less than nothing to boast of, if that were even possible. How sweet then, and what a gift of God's good pleasure and grace to stand before the

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Lord Jesus and hear him commend us for well doing. And it won't just be like a pat on the back that a master might give to their cook or to their cleaner for a job well done.

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No, but the Lord himself will be moved to the deepest recesses of his heart as if we had done the greatest thing in the world.

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There is a day coming when he will turn to those of you in this room who are faithful encouragers and he will say to you,

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I was losing heart and you strengthened me. I was slipping and you steadied me.

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I was fainting and you encouraged me. And shocked by the notion that this could be so, we will ask him saying, you

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Lord, when were you ever losing heart or slipping or fainting and we encouraged you.

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Then he'll stretch out his hands, showing those whom you have encouraged over the course of your life, even to some of your very friends in this room.

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And he will say, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.

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Can you imagine hearing these words, hearing themselves from the very

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Lord to say this to you? It's the Lord who is saying this. What an honor just to be a doorkeeper in the house of the

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Lord. But to receive this kind of commendation, what greater honor is there?

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What greater crown? What a thing that God has chosen to use us and assign us this noble duty of encouragement.

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It's not only a valuable and necessary duty, it's a blessed duty. Let us stir ourselves up then to this great duty.

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Let us give it our most diligent effort and utmost attention. Let us help one another.

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Let us help one another cross the finish line with joy. Being ready and prepared to meet our great

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God and Redeemer with all confidence and courage. Let's pray together.