Encourage One Another
Series Looking at the “One Anothers” in the New Testament. 1st in the
series of 4.
As presented by Rev. Jonathan Mills, Pastor at Kanata Baptist Church.
2009-05-31
Subject: Encourage one another. In the context of Christian community,
we are called to be encouragers—not just a pat on the back, but a deep
connection where we can support each other in the times when our faith
is on the line. Also, a call to be an open and engaging Christian
community, and a call to mentoring relationships in the faith.
Sermon Outline
- Encourage One Another 1
- Scriptures: 2
- Psalm 95 2
- Hebrews 3:12-19 2
- Introduction 3
- Hebrews 3 is Likely a First Century Sermon 5
- Sermon Summary: Don't Fall Away like the
Israelites 5
- Building Relationships on Purpose 8
- Don't Push People Away: Embrace Real
Relationships 10
- Become a part of community: Open Door for Grace
11
- Small Groups: One Step Toward Community 12
- A Word for Those Who ARE In Deep Relationships
13
- The Value of Mentoring 15
- Conclusion 16
- Conclusion 20
- Additional Scriptures 21
- Additional Material Not Used on Sunday 21
- The Need for Community 22
- The Church: God's Idea 22
- North American Culture: Obsessed with Doing 22
- C) Encouragement to Others in God's Family 25
- Community: To Keep Us On Track 25
- Responsibility for One Another (in Love) 26
- C) How Do We Encourage One Another? 26
- Identify Your Need for Community: What's Your
Secret 27
Scriptures1:
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of
our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to
him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our
Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his
pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his
voice,
8 "Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
(means quarreling)
as you did that day at Massah
(means testing) in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had
seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, 'They are a people whose
hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.'"
Hebrews 3:12-19
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you
has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called "Today," so
that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have
come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold firmly till the end our
original conviction. 15 As has just been said:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion."
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they
not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for
forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in
the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never
enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they
were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Introduction
Yeah … Russell!!
When our children were very young, we lived in East York. A few
doors down there was another couple who also had a young son whose name
was Russell—he was about 2 at the time.
Russell's parents were part of the original “Bubble Wrap”
generation of Parents.2 They sanitized everything that Russell touched
– they had every safety device known to humankind – their yard was
littered with every imaginable toy – and they followed him around
making sure that he never had a chance to hurt himself.
Little Russell was their pride and joy.
Perhaps you know parents who are like this. Perhaps … you are a parent
like this?!!?
The reason I can tell you the child's name all these years later is
because they wanted to build up his self-esteem and were praising him
for everything. We'd sit in the back yard, and over the fence we'd
hear: “Yeah... Russell!!” (to get the proper inflection, imagine
a parent clapping her hands together quickly and excitedly while
offering an enthusiastic 'hurray' of encouragement)
He went down the steps holding the hand railing. “Yeah Russell!”
He tripped and fell down, then got up all on his own … and he didn't
cry. “Yeah Russell!”
He swung the plastic baseball bat and almost hit the ball. “Yeah
Russell!!”
//
That was 16 years ago now. In my mind's eye, I picture Russell today.
Tall, handsome, strong … graduating from High School. And his proud
parents in the auditorium. “Yeah Russell!” (and Russell slapping his
hand to his forehead in shame)3
//
Encouragement.
Most parents have fallen into the “Yeah Russell” mode from time to time
because we understand just how important encouragement is in a young
life.
As we begin a new series of sermons on the “One Anothers” of Scripture,
we start with Hebrews 3:13 “Encourage One Another.”
A) Wait a minute: Context
If you have your Bibles with you, please turn to Hebrews chapter 3.
Our scripture lesson was verses 12 thru 19. This is actually part
of a larger section which begins in Chapter 3. These first verses are,
in fact, a quotation from Psalm 95 (your bible probably has a footnote
to indicate this).
Hebrews 3 is Likely a First Century Sermon
What is interesting about this section of Hebrews starting at chapter 3
is that it is likely a written form of a sermon which was preached to
Christians in the 1st Century. We actually don't know for certain who
wrote the letter of Hebrews—but whoever it was was probably an
experienced Preacher and church leader.
Sermon Summary: Don't Fall Away like the Israelites
If I can summarize the sermon very briefly it goes something like this:
the Israelites left Egypt and followed Moses to the Promised Land. But
on the journey they turned their back on God and sinned. Because of
this, God declared that that generation would not enter into the rest
of the Promised Land.
The preacher then applies this to the contemporary context of the first
century Christians: Learn from the lesson of the Isrealites: don't
allow your hearts to become hard toward God. As Moses led the people,
God showed amazing signs and wonders—and still they turned away. You
have seen even greater things for you have seen Christ himself. So
don't make the same mistake the Israelites did! Don't harden your heart
to God.
This is the context for encouragement.
The verse is so much more than just “Be Happy.”
Instead, it's message is more: 'life is difficult and hard and there
will be times when you are tempted to give up your faith and your heart
may grow cold toward God. Don't let this happen: encourage one another
so that this does not happen.'
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage
one another daily, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you
may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
B) The Church: The
Family of Faith
But there's a problem. A Big problem.
Many of us do not have the kind of relationships which provide us with
the opportunity to share at that level with someone else.
The truth is, many of us live in a state of continual relational
poverty. We have friendships – but they don't go very deep.
There are people all around us, but are we willing to let them into our
lives? For many of us, the answer is “no.”
Many of us have bought the lies out there in our culture which tells us
to be strong in ourselves. Be a rock. Don't let anyone in. Do it
yourself. “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”
Our culture is full of advice that tells us to be strong, independent
and self-sufficient people.
Love One Another
But that is not what Jesus told us to do.
Jesus said;
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35.
We are called to love one another.
Not tolerate one another
Not ignore one another;
Not put up with one another;
But LOVE, one another.
The expression “one another” itself points us in the direction of
relationships. These passages remind us that there is no such thing as
a “solo Christian.”4 We are all part of a family of faith.
We need to be in community. We need each other.
Jesus did not make this optional – It's a command. Love one another.
Building Relationships on Purpose
Let me tell you a story about the importance of building relationships
with others.
True story about some employees at Microsoft in 2001.
One man was encouraged by his church to reach out and befriend someone
in the name of Christian love. He noticed that there was someone in his
office who was often alone. Kept to himself. Decided to take initiative
to greet him and make a first step toward friendship.
He introduced himself and said; I'm going to a movie on Friday, I was
wondering if you wanted to come.
The man tried to make some excuses, but the first man insisted and
eventually the second man relented. They made the arrangements.
After the movie, they went out for a coffee (it's Seattle, guess which
one!). It wasn't easy conversation, but it was real. They both felt
good about making the effort to spend time together, and made plans to
get together again some time soon.
Monday morning, the man came to his desk and found an Xbox console on
his desk and a note. Even in the company, it was really hard to get
ahold of an xbox. The note said; “Thanks for Friday. You saved my
life.”
He went right over to his new friend and said; it was way too much. He
couldn't accept the gift. He only wanted to be his friend.
But the man said: “you don't understand. You literally saved my life. I
had become so depressed and lonely that two weeks ago I decided I was
going to take my life – I bought a gun and it sat in my coffee table in
my apartment all last week. I intended to pull the trigger on Friday.
I pawned the gun and used the money to buy the xbox. I want you to keep
it.”
Don't Push People Away: Embrace Real Relationships
Your story may not be as dramatic as that – but there are many people
who are living in quiet desperation. Pushing others away and staying in
a world of lonely isolation.
That is not God's plan for you … or for me. Instead, he wants us to be
in the kinds of honest and significant relationships where we can speak
into one another's lives. Beyond the small talk. Beyond the sharing of
ideas and day to day living.
Getting to the point where you can honestly open up with someone who
cares. Someone who will respect a confidence, and who will bring God's
grace into your life in real and meaningful ways.
George Eliot spoke of the importance of a close friendship with these
words:
Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a
person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but to
pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together knowing
that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth
keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.5
C) Growing In
Honest Relationships
This is what the church community ought to be.
“Encourage one another” flows out of the very deepest kind of
relationship because faith is core to our being.
If you are asking deeply troubling questions about God, and about your
faith, who is in your life that you can turn to? Who do you trust
enough to share this part of your story with?
I hope can all think of someone right away. Is there someone you know
you could speak to – someone who would listen, and help you work
through your thoughts and feelings?
If not, then I want you to seriously consider making this a high
priority for your life.
Become a part of community: Open Door for Grace
We will not ever find someone we can trust as long as we move through
this life keeping people at arms length. Opening ourselves up to
relationships can be hard—especially if we've been hurt in the
past. But as Hard as it is … it is even more important.
I'm not suggesting that you walk up to a stranger in the foyer this
morning after church and start dumping all your deepest secrets.
In fact, let me say that that's a bad idea.
But it is equally wrong to walk through the sea of people in the foyer
today without saying a word to anyone ... going back to your private,
personal world where you will bear the burdens of your heart alone.
This is one of the reasons that we make an effort to connect people in
our worship services – by passing around the clip boards with names on
it – and by greeting one another many Sundays. Our welcome table is
also a place where we can meet someone who is warm and friendly – and
who can serve as a connection point to help us meet others.
We want it to be easy for anyone to make a personal connection with
someone else.
Small Groups:
One Step Toward Community
But it won't happen unless we are open to community.
By “community” I mean: people who know you, and people who you know.
Being engaged and involved in one another's lives to build up, support,
strengthen and encourage one another.
Small groups are a great place to begin to experience community. We
have several small groups in our church. Bible study groups where
people meet for prayer, bible study, and conversation. They are a great
place to meet people and grow in your relationships over time.
Again, I wouldn't suggest that you go into a small group and blabber
mouth all your deepest, darkest secrets. There may be times when you
need to speak openly about something – and hopefully your group members
are gracious enough to listen to you, and support you. But as you grow
in your group, as you learn to be open and honest with others, as you
provide a caring, listening ear for others, you will find that
you can share more and more and discover the meaning of grace in
community.
If you decide you might like to explore the possibility of joining a
small group – you can fill out the response form in the back of the
bulletin and put it in the box at the back of the church.
Small groups are the only avenue for intentionally entering into
relationships with others in the family of faith – but they are one of
the best ways to do so.
A Word for Those Who ARE In Deep Relationships
Now let me shift gears for a moment, and speak to those of you who may
be at the other end of the spectrum—those who are already in these
kinds of open, nurturing relationships.
A few years ago, a study was done in the United States of Christians in
a number of different churches. They were able to identify stages of
growth in the lives of Believers, and there were discernible
characteristics associated with each of these stages of growth.6 One
discovery stood out in their research—one that the researchers were not
anticipating.
They found that those who had grown and matured in their relationship
with God to the point that they could call themselves “Christ-centered”
individuals were often looking for a new challenge to focus themselves
around – a call to action from the church to serve in significant ways.
Regrettably, the church did not always recognize this need for a
challenge, and many of these deeply committed Believers became
dissatisfied and frustrated with the church.
It's a sad situation. Mature believers frustrated and stuck for lack of
a challenge to embrace.
//
Now it strikes me as an interesting observation that, within the
church, there are some individuals who lack close, intimate
relationships where they can be supported and strengthened in their
faith – and at the same time, there are mature, committed believers for
whom these kinds of relationships are natural, who are frustrated that
they lack meaningful opportunities for service.
Let me just go out here on a limb and see if I can take the need of
this one group over here … and draw a straight line over to the need of
this other group over here!!
Looks like a win-win to me!
The Value of Mentoring
What this begins to look like is the practice of spiritual mentoring.
This has been a priority in the church at different times throughout
the history of the church. Today, it is making a comeback because the
days of the 'program' driven congregation have proven ineffective in
creating the long term, lasting impact that we long to experience in
the life of the church.
Keith Anderson & Randy Reese, in their book “Spiritual Mentoring”
write the following:
It is the grand irony of “advanced” western society that we, who look
so often at ourselves, so seldom see the treasures that are becoming
through the motion of the Spirit. The mirrors used to reduce us from
people into self-centered consumers have no depth that let us see the
richness of our identity as the beloved of God.
Become a Mentor
When we look at the ministry of Jesus, what was the single most
methodological value he embraced? It was Mentoring.
His principle for ministry was: “for the sake of many, invest in a
few.”
He could have done it all by himself – in fact, he did a much better
job than the bumbling disciples.
But he raised up a small group of leaders. He took the time to draw
them into a nurturing relationship where he could train and mentor them
to accomplish great things.
In fact, through His power, they changed the world.
//
Conclusion
So let us heed the Word of God today:
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage
one another daily, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you
may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
If you do not have at least one meaningful relationship within the
family of Faith – the Church – then I would encourage you to start
today. Whether you join a small group, or take some other initiative to
meet someone today – please do not put it off any longer.
Look around you. These people want to help nurture your faith—be
encouragers and strengtheners-- to become a part of a community which
embraces you.
// And if you're on the other end of the spectrum—perhaps you
might begin to pray that God would open the door for you to grow in
your capacity to become a mentor to others.
A world changing movement of mentoring, begins with the decision to
start with one. One to start.
From there, through the power of God's Spirit at work in us, who knows
how far your mentoring influence will go.
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