Category: Sermons

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The Need for Encouraging Others

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Paul was well known for being persecuted in most of the cities he went into. Corinth was no different. Although he spent a year and a half in that city–one of his longest stays–his departure was once again due to unrest that drove him out. This was common for Paul. In fact, more often than not he was forced to leave cities under the threat of arrest or death. The Jews made a united attack on Paul in Corinth and eventually beat Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue.

After Paul left there he left for Syria. When he landed at Caesarea, he greeted the church and went to Antioch, where his mission work began. “After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples” (Acts 18:23 ESV). Imagine being severely persecuted, lied about, and directly targeted just for preaching the gospel. To say it was exhausting is an understatement.

Yet Paul thought it was important to continue strengthening the disciples. To our knowledge, he didn’t complain about being persecuted. In fact, there are plenty of places where Paul considered it a joy to suffer for the name of Christ. This is a stark contrast to how people react today. What would the church look like if we spent our limited time on this earth to encourage Christians? Most likely, it would encourage them to keep going. It would build trust and cause them to keep moving forward. We should all be encouragers of other disciples around the world!

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Joseph’s Faithfulness Was Rewarded

When Joseph had a dream he decided to tell his brothers that one day he might be a powerful ruler. His brothers–already jealous of Joseph–became enraged at the thought of their little brother ruling over them. That’s when they decided to take matters into their own hands and devise a plan to get rid of him once and for all. They stripped him of his robe, dipped it in animal’s blood, and shoved him into a cistern. Later they would sell him as a slave to the Ishmaelites.

Joseph went through many more trials in Egypt, including being put in prison for being falsely accused of an attempted affair with Potiphar’s wife. After properly interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph became second in command to Pharaoh himself. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of gathering and counting the grain for the seven abundant years. The patience would pay off dearly. The famine hit and was severe. So severe, in fact, that Joseph’s family came to Egypt desperate to buy food.

We all know the story. His brothers don’t know that it’s Joseph they are speaking with for a long time. Eventually he reveals himself. Joseph seemed to have a lightbulb moment. He said, “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharoah, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 44:7-8 ESV). Because of Joseph’s faithfulness through a dark period, God rewarded him and spared many lives from the famine, including Joseph’s own family.

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Fight the Good Fight

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In Paul’s closing remarks to Timothy in his first letter, he tells him to “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12 ESV). This is interesting language. The implication is that there is a war going on. It’s not the only time Paul uses that language. In Ephesians 6 he tells the saints to “put on the whole armor of God.” We are in a spiritual battle every day. Timothy should “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (vs. 11).

Our current events show that there is A LOT going on in the world. With hurricane Helene last week, still millions are without power, well over 100 are dead, with an estimated 500 more to be deceased. Homes are gone and people are missing. Iran launched an attack on Israel, which is prompting a retaliation that involves the United States. Haiti is a complete mess still. And the list goes on. Christians are in a position to fight the good fight and lead people to hope in Christ.

Paul also said, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (vs. 17-19). We will all do well to live life in the now, but plan for the future, which is eternal. Enjoy the life you have and people who surround you, and do good to them!

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God Chooses the Foolish to Shame the Wise

The majority of stories in the Bible that have to do with wars being won, people becoming strong leaders, and, generally, people changing the world through faithfulness, all have one thing in common–the leaders are most often underdogs. From small town timid people like Jonah to farmers like Amos, the Bible is replete with stories of faithful people who didn’t believe in themselves yet accomplished huge feats. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Likewise, Deuteronomy 7:7-8 says, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” God constantly chooses what is foolish and weak to shame those who think they are wise and strong.

Even Isaiah prophesied about the messiah who was anything but majestic: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2 ESV). God doesn’t choose the weak to prove to them that they can accomplish great things. Rather, he chooses them to prove that He can accomplish them. When we do great things, it should always point people to God instead of us.

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God Can Do Far More Than We Ask

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One of the cornerstones of our faith is prayer. Paul told the Ephesians not to lose heart over what he was suffering for them, which was to their glory. He continued, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. . .” (Ephesians 3:14, 15 ESV). Paul is fervently praying that the Ephesians would be strengthened in their inner being so that they can fully comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge.

What he says next ought to make us all pay close attention! “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. . . ” (vs. 20). God is able to do far more abundantly than anything we could ever ask him, or even think of! That’s pretty incredible. So often we limit our potential because we pray small. Or we think small. God will not just automatically give to us for no reason. God listens to the righteous. He expects a lot from us.

As James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). It is always good for us to make it a discipline to pray, pray for others, pray often, and pray big!! The bigger we pray the better. The Bible has plenty of examples of righteous people who were not afraid to pray very big. And we need to do that, too, for the sake of God’s kingdom.

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Kindness Benefits Yourself

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Proverbs 11:17 says, “A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” This is true on many different levels. Kindness always prevails. It doesn’t mean that those who are kind will be free from trouble. In fact, we know that kind people are often martyred for the sake of Christ. But being kind benefits the person who exhibits kind behavior. People who are kind have more friends because they are warm and inviting. Cruel people are lonely because nobody wants to be near them.

The scriptures don’t stop with kindness. We are told to go beyond kindness and love our enemies. Jesus himself said that it is of no benefit to love those who love us back. He continued, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

The scriptures have a lot to say about loving your enemies. This is not easy, nor should it be. Love is a discipline. But when we exercise love and mercy, people see the goodness of Christ living in us. And the word of God becomes more attractive to people who are in need of salvation.

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Have Compassion

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Dr. Diane E. Levin, a professor of early childhood education at Wheelock College in Boston, coined the term “compassionate deficit disorder.” She uses this term to describe the influx of children who lack empathy and meet their needs by exhibiting bullying behavior. Dr. Levin attributes these problems to an increased amount of screen time (causing anti-social behavior), an increase in toys mimicking screens, families who have to work more due to financial stress (thereby increasing screens as a means to occupy their kids), and parents planning activities outside of the home to occupy their kids, where playtime with peers is substituted for time with adults controlling all activities.

In a nutshell, Dr. Levin said to counter this trend adults need to model healthy social behaviors. We all need to model compassion and talk our kids through their problems, rather than punishing them for being anti-social. Our schools are pushing academia over teaching social curriculum. A perfect scriptural summation of the solution is found in Colossians 3:12-14: “Put on, then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Wow! If adults made this their mantra for the remainder of their lives, our children would have ideal models of healthy, biblical social behaviors. It should not surprise us that as we move further away from biblical norms our societal norms will shift towards chaos. We have the perfect model to imitate in the scriptures!