Encouragement
Notes
Transcript
Encouragement: A Ray of Light in Darkness
Introduction
2 Weeks after moving
Today:
· The importance and necessity of encouragement – Part of our Christian life
· Encouragement is a ray of light in darkness
Prayer
Text Set Up
· Put them in the story
· We will see both encouragement from man and encouragement from God
· Pay attention to the relationship between these 2 – Because they are inseparable
· For Christians, The source, the foundation of our encouragement to others is God’s encouragement
Text – Paraphrase
Numbers 13:1-3, 17-20, 25-28, 30-32
The Lordnow said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.”
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites
Some time has passed by
Deut 31:1-8, 14-15, 23
When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, 2 he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’
· 1st Concern – Our leader for years is not going to go with us
Encouragement from Moses to Israelites Based on God’s Promises
3 But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised.
4 “The Lord will destroy the nations living in the land, just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites. 5 The Lord will hand over to you the people who live there, and you must deal with them as I have commanded you. 6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Moses Encouragement to Joshua Based on God’s Promises
7 Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land. 8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tabernacle, so that I may commission him there.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle. 15 And the Lordappeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent.
The Lord encouraging Joshua
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
God Encourages Joshua Again
Joshua 1:1-18
After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lordyour God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua Encouraging the Israelites
10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lordcommanded you, saying, ‘The Lordyour God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
Israelites response to this encouragement
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
· Encouragement is a ray of light in darkness
So Why Should we Encourage Other
1st, God commands us to do so
The author of Hebrews commands us in 3:13
13 To encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,”
Then there’s the reality of a broken, sinful world
· Every person who has ever lived experience troubles, challenges, let downs, and even the consequences of sin
· As disciples of Jesus, we will also face persecution, suffering, and various trials
· God has designed it this way so we will grow in our faith and grow in our reliance and dependance of Him
· Well these experiences can lead anyone to despair and hopelessness
· But God knows His children need encouragement, especially in times of trouble and need
John 16:33
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
· Again, this is why encouragement from others and from God is so important and necessary
What are the Benefits of Encouragement?
Encouragement Helps build each other up and to comforts Us
1 Thes 5:11
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
More
· Encouraging others show our love for God and for others
· Those who are being encouraged feel that they are important
· They feel loved and cared for
As I said earlier, the source for our encouragement is God’s encouragement
2 Cor 1:3-4 – Great example of this truth
· Here we see the results of God’s encouragement (COMFORT) that lead to the results of us encouraging others
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Here are a few versus of encouragement from God
Isaiah 41:10
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 121:1-2
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 23:4
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
· Do you personally believe these promises?
· Can you take a hold of them?
· Are these promises encouraging to you?
· Just think of how trusting and having faith in God’s promises can make all the difference in the world when facing hard times and you need encouragement
The Mindset – Prerequisites of Encouragement
· To show our love for others by encouraging them requires that we think less of ourselves and more about others and their needs
Be a prayer warior
· Pray for a heart to love others, to prioritize them ahead of ourselves as we serve them
· To die to self-centeredness and grow in the desire to build each other up
· Pray for the Holy Spirit to teach us how to encourage others effectively, how to be a blessing to the lives of others
· Pray daily that God would reveal those who need our encouragement
· Pray that the Holy Spirit gives us the words to use and the most effective way to encourage – God knows the condition and the heart of everyone – He knows exactly what they need
· Pray for God to reveal people who need your encouragement and prayers
· When Holy Spirit leads you to who He wants you to encourage, be obedient
· We never know how it will change someone’s life
A few ways to help us encourage others:
· Be a good Listener, it shows we care
· Be specific in your words of encouragement – Don’t just say everything will be ok
· Let them know you will be praying for them – Again, be specific about what you will be praying for
· Use Scripture to encourage, especially of God’s promises.
· It holds much more power than our words alone
Encouragement does not always revolve around hard times people and facing
· Encouragement can be as simple as calling or sending a text to someone letting them know you’re thinking about them, that you are praying for them
· We can encourage people by letting them know we look up to them, that they are a good example of faith we can follow
· That we admire their faithfulness and walk with Jesus
· We admire their commitment to Jesus as the King of their life
· We can compliment them for their service to Jesus as they serve the church
Conclusion
· Remember, God’s encouragement is the source of our encouragement
· So, knowing Scripture vital for God’s encouragement to be effective and meaningful in our lives
· Knowing God’s encouraging promises leads to effectively encourage others
Challenge: Write down 3 names of people who you will encourage and pray for this week
And of course, follow through and do it
Encouragement is a ray of light in darkness