Encourage One Another

In this message Pastor Aaron discusses 3 reasons we ned to encourage each other.  We examine the relationship of Paul and Timothy. There was great difficulties Timothy faced in ministry and Paul tookt he opporutnity to speak into his life. 

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SPEAKER_00 0:11

The word of God. So here's the thing. A physical Bible is something that I treasure so much more than any electronic Bible. And here's why. My phone distracts me from so many other things with notifications. Sometimes it rings and I don't want to answer it, but I have to. And there is something to be said about setting all that aside and saying, God, I want to hear from you. And so I believe in the value of a physical Bible. If you do not have one, there may be one in about every other seat in front of you. You can take it, you can write your name in it. It is yours. But our goal is that we make sure that everyone has a physical Bible. And I encourage you, bring it to church. It's it's so funny when we started pressing the need for this. We started finding more Bibles being left at church just because people got in conversation and forgot. And where typically it's like, man, it's a shame they forgot their Bible. Now it almost blessed my heart. It's like, well, they brought it to church. So they they did what we're asking. And so just just consider that. If you don't have one, grab that one in the seat in front of you and consider it yours. There's two more messages in this one another series. And you know, I have been asking myself if we like when I was planning it, I was asking, is this series convicting enough? I don't get up here and say, I just want to give flowery words so that you receive it and you're like, man, church always makes me feel good. Sometimes we should leave here a little upset. Sometimes we should feel the sting of the word of God. Are you hearing me? And so I think there needs to be times where we read the word of God and we're like, that hurt. I don't like it. And I was going through it and I'm like, God, I don't know if there's enough meat on the bone here, but I believe that if we choose to open up our heart, hear me out, open up our heart. Because we can be closed off sometimes of what people are saying. If we open up our heart to the word of God and we choose to dive deep and receive what the word of God says in regards to the 66 individual one-another commands, it can be very convicting. And the message today is a huge burden that we should have in encouraging one another. It's easy to be critical. So easy. And so often we're we do that, and I'm not saying we we can't do that, but it is never coupled with just encouragement of believing and supporting and embracing the person. And I was thinking about my ministry in Waterloo. I was there eight years, and it was a challenging time, and I was I was trying to do the right thing in place of conflict. And when you're trying to live according to the word of God, and it seems like no one else is standing on that standard of the word of God, it's incredibly difficult. The picture you see up there was my first full Sunday in the pulpit, 32 years young. And I'm gonna tell you, one of the most difficult seasons of my life was those first two years of that church. Going from my first year to my second year, I'm 33, and here I am, I'm pastoring my second church. You know, I pastored for five years before that at a church in Illinois, and this was a church with a lot of problems that I inherited. And I had to make some really tough decisions, but here was the problem. When you have to make tough decisions, and the rest of the leadership of the church is overlooking those, and they're not even seeing them, they're not even seeing the issue. And what I what I was reading in scripture in the situation I was looking at in front of me, what I am seeing as sin was looked by every other person as, oh, that's just a small character flaw. Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. It's no big deal to just let them continue living in that space. And so I would hear this phrase often, oh, that's just so-and-so. You know what that phrase does, it excuses the behavior, it excuses the sin. And I felt like I had no support except for one family that started coming, that lived in Dallas, Texas for 13 years. They say they saw all the issues I saw, and like I everywhere I turned, I had no encouragement, but it was their encouragement and a few others outside of the church that helped me embrace that the fight is worth fighting for. And you know, the word of God calls us to persevere, and we need to learn how to persevere. And I encourage you to open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 through 25, and I want you to listen to the words of the author here. Hebrews 10, 19 through 25. It says, and so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. Who says amen to that? By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the most holy place. And since we have a great high priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him. First and foremost, I think that should be read before every worship service. Like here we are, we have the opportunity to go into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. And continuing on, verse 22, it says, For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Let's pray. Father God, I pray that we see the value in being around the body of Christ and encouraging one another and understanding the responsibility that we have in that. And God, part of this means that we need to stop whatever's going on in our mind, surrender this day to your Holy Spirit to be led and directed to those who need encouragement, Father. I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, as I'm searching these reasons that we need encouraged, first and foremost, as someone who has a dream of living on a mountain somewhere where I can't see another human being, I can also tell you, isolation hardens us. It makes us hard people. One of the most dangerous things for our faith is being convinced we can go through the most difficult times alone. That's a dangerous thought. We say, I'm strong. I don't need anybody. I got this on my own. Here's the thing: when we try to tackle lifestyle, life's challenges, excuse me, and hardships alone, it opens this door to unbelief and doubt. And it's not immediate, it happens over time. It's it's a slow progression because when we are alone, we tend to drift and we open the door to telling ourselves lies. At first, we don't believe them, eventually we start believing our lies, and then eventually we take on the identity of those lies. We might tell ourselves things like, God doesn't care, or I'm a burden to other people, so I don't want to bother them with that, or we might just convince ourselves that the suffering means that we're disqualified from entering into the presence of God, the people of God. And these lies without others in our life correcting our thoughts, it sets like concrete. Hebrews 3 13. It says, you must warn each other every day while it is still today, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. How many times has someone come to your mind and you have thought, I'll make that phone call tomorrow? I'll give them a call. I intend to reach out, I need to connect with them. Tomorrow might be too late. Tomorrow might be too late. While I was in Waterloo, there was a Baptist pastor in the town of Dunkerton. Dunkerton was about 17 miles from the church, and there's this Baptist pastor in Dunkerton that took on a small church, and he's trying to lead his church, but the church people didn't like the direction he was going. And so what they did, they decided to start turning the church against that Baptist pastor. That pastor in his isolation on a Monday went out behind the church and killed himself. When the Lord prompts you to call someone out of their isolation, you might not have tomorrow. You must warn each other every day while it's still today. Still today. But really, what people want, most people want that lifeline. They want that hand reaching out to try and save them. And the this word that shows up time and time again about this encouraging one another, it's the Greek word parakeleo, which means to come alongside of, to walk beside a person. It is used in the same emphasis as the role of the Holy Spirit. We're to come alongside others, performing a similar role to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. We're like, we are going to walk with you. In church, we need the body of Christ around us. Don't refuse them. One of the biggest excuses we make is they don't understand what I'm going through. You know what? They don't have to. They don't have to understand what you're going through. They have to just repoint your eyes to the only thing that matters. Hebrews 10, 25. It says, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Church, I feel that more and more and more every day. His return is drawing near, and you and I, we need each other. We need each other to get through. We need each other to let that iron sharpen iron and continuing to point our eyes up to heaven. And this isn't the pastor just wanting to lecture you about missing a Sunday here and there. That's not what this is about. But here's the thing: the more we excuse not assembling with the body of Christ, the easier it becomes. And here's the problem behind the empty chair. Behind the empty chair that you typically sit in. We are creatures of habit. Many of you probably do sit in the same chair Sunday after Sunday. The problem behind your empty chair is not poor attendance. It's a heart that slowly is losing its ability to hear God. And so I believe meeting together matters. It matters. Because here's the thing: it's God's way of keeping our hearts soft toward one another. You walk into church, and there Jeanette's standing there, and there's that familiar face that's just ready to give you a hug, and you can't wait to give her a hug. And you might even be like my wife, and you don't like hugs, but you know what? It's Jeanette, so why not? Let's just go for it, right? And so you just make a decision that I saw that familiar face and it mattered. Or that particular voice that when they pray, there's just something that lifts up my spirit, and I need to hear that in my life. Or when the word is read aloud, it just speaks to my heart. Because here's the thing: it is that presence that interrupts what we have been telling ourselves in private. It completely interrupts it. It's the habit we have of withdrawing from God's people that no longer are we allowing to let that iron strike iron and sharpen one another. Here's the thing God doesn't count heads. He doesn't count heads, so it's not an issue of, you know, we had this thing out of town. That's not it. God wants our heart that can still hear him. He wants a heart that can still hear him. And so we gather together so that none of us go deaf in the darkness. That's so critical. Because so often we we we we go through these dark parts of our life, and I think, you know what? That is that is also for us, it's it's by God's design on this earth that we we we have to we have to tread this life through very difficult things, and that can either build us up or we can let it tear us down. Nice. But God wants our hearts, and when we're in the darkness, check this out your identity can steady you, or your lack of identity can destroy you. Because new seasons have a way of renaming us at our darkest moments when we finally discover that we're not alone. We need a true name, an identity that we can embrace. Dark seasons rename people. I've I've seen it. I'm too young, I'm too weak, I'm too late, or I'm too much, or I'm finished. Those are the identities that sometimes we take on during these dark periods. And here's the thing that we as the body of Christ, when we come alongside someone, it is a chance to rebuild them up, that new identity and who they're supposed to be. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5.11. It says, so encourage each other and build each other up just as you are already doing. Here's the thing about this scripture: some things that can be overlooked. Here in this scripture, you see the word so right there, Hebrews 1 Thessalonians 5.11. It starts that it starts up with that in in some other translations, it shows up as therefore. Here's what that therefore means with what Paul just got done saying. Therefore, in light of the gospel, because Jesus Christ died for us, encourage each other and build each other up just as you're already doing. So here's the result when we start building up others' lives, and and and what we're doing is we're re-establishing in that person's life and building on a foundation that God has already given us in Christ Jesus, and we're starting to tell them who their identity is in Him. And so you and I we're just stacking up bricks of encouragement, building each other up, and we don't have to invent the worth in people's lives. You don't have to invent their worth. You you just tell them who they are in Jesus. That's all you have to do. Paul had a young apprentice named Timothy that he sent to a church in Ephesus. I've been to Ephesus, and it was so cool walking around there, and they're going over Acts 19 and just bringing the place to life. And Ephesus was a rough town. It was a trade town. It sits right along the coast right there. Well, it used to back in that day. It's receded since then. And there, it being a trade town, they also worshiped many gods. They worshiped one God in particular, a God called Diana. Sorry. And in that, in that town, there was there was so much worldly influence, and the church was being influenced by the world. And here was this young Timothy that was sent to Ephesus. And Paul left there to try and help them be on the straight and narrow, and he had he had many successful things. But then Paul charges Timothy as a young pastor. Listen to what he says in 1 Timothy 1:3 gives us insight into the charge that Paul gave Timothy. When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Think about this a church well established. All of a sudden, Paul says, Hey, I've got someone coming, and I can only imagine they're looking for him off in the distance, and they see what appears to be a kid walking toward them. And they're thinking, not him. Anybody but him, he's not old enough, he doesn't know enough, he hasn't, he hasn't experienced the world, and and we find all these excuses that we can make on what might discredit someone like Timothy. And so I can only imagine how he was received and how Timothy felt alone. But yet the apostle Paul, when he said, I urge you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Paul is telling him, I want you to hold the line. I did some hard work there, I had to establish some hard things. Don't let them fall back, don't let them fight you on this. Hold the line. Do not give up. And Paul knew there are many in that church who are going to despise him. And so Paul said in 1 Timothy 4 12, it says, Don't let anyone think less of you because you're young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Here's the thing: Paul's words of encouragement, it wasn't just flattery. He was calling Timothy back to who he was in Christ Jesus and how he ought to walk in the face of conflict. I mean, think about this. Paul did a lot of work in Ephesus. Almost got killed in Ephesus. And Paul said, I am entrusting you, Timothy, with this costly post. And so you need to man the post because they already had false teachers. They dealt with those practical practicing witchcraft, greed, and Paul is telling him, Don't give up on me. Remember who you are. And the interesting thing I find is Paul's not speaking to a man that needs to get up off the couch and do something with his life. He's already doing it. He's entrenched in the darkness and he needs the encouragement to keep him going. I think it's so important for you to embrace not to let the dark tell you who you are. Don't let it tell you who you are. We need to keep doing that with one another regularly. Listen to Romans 8, 35 through 37. Paul says, can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean that he no longer loves us if we have any trouble or calamity or are persecuted, hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? As the scriptures say, for your sake, we are killed every day. We are being slaughtered like sheep. No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us. Here's the church. They're watching people be arrested, persecuted, martyred for their faith, and they're sitting there and they're looking around. They're thinking, I don't know. I don't know if I can survive this. I don't know if I can emotionally survive this. I don't know if I can spiritually survive this. And Paul says, can every anything separate us from Christ's love? No. Doesn't mean he no longer loves us or we're gonna have any trouble or calamity or persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? No. No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us. Something, a translation. I love the way it says this. I don't care for the translation, but I love the way it says this in the NIV. It says in verse 37, we are more than conquerors through Christ. We're more than conquerors. So here's what our ministry should look like. We are to find those people who need that encouragement, and we are to help them stand back up, continue facing life's challenges. And here's the thing: the ministry that we provide is to keep them standing. To keep them standing, to come on each side. It is that Aaron and her that just lifted up the arms of Moses and wouldn't let him drop down. As long as his hands were raised, they were winning the battle. It's those people who are gonna say, I will not let you fall. Use the word of God. Use the word of God. Timothy may have felt written off because of his youth, and we can allow so many things in our own minds to disqualify us. You may feel written off for other reasons. Don't forget who Christ says you are. Don't let go of it. Because it is that presence that is going to carry us through to the end. That is the way we're going to get through. You know, the cost of serving Jesus is great. And we're going to see that the cost sometimes is very high. When Paul writes Timothy again in 2 Timothy, Paul's story had changed. Paul is in a prison cell in Rome. He's in chains in this prison called Mamertheim Prison. And I've been in that prison, it's just blocks away from the Colosseum, and the cell is in the basement. You have to walk into this basement, and that that basement is not bigger than this stage. And many believed at the time that because it was in this basement, that sewage gathered there in the prison cell. And listen to what Paul says as he's as he's he's facing all this in 2 Timothy 1, 7 through 8. It says, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid. He's saying this in chains, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner. Rather, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Hear Paul, he's near death. And people had left Paul in his ministry and ashamed of him. It's hard to believe. It's hard for us to understand now that we have all these great books written by the Apostle Paul. But at the time, people were disqualifying him because of his suffering and the things that he went through. And here, Paul, even in this letter, he comes alongside Timothy with his words. And it's moments like these that we can be so thankful for that in that encouraging human presence. No, Paul didn't say, woe is me. He never said, Timothy, you think you've got it bad. You should see what I'm going through, and just starts listing it all up. That's not what, that's not what Paul did. Paul wanted to encourage him. And as great as it is to have the presence of another human being coming alongside us, it is the ultimate presence that matters. Amen? And so that's all we're trying to do is bring God into the situation and redirect everyone's thoughts toward God. Listen to what Paul says later in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 16 through 17. Paul says, At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. I want you to understand with what I just talked about here, Paul is not saying, hey, Timothy, you didn't even come for me. That's not what Paul is saying. Paul's trying to build him up because of how he knows Timothy feels in this moment. And he says, May it not be held against them. That's Paul telling him how Timothy needs to walk forward. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength. Let the Lord stand at your side and give you strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. Paul saying, I escaped that trial. No one came to support me at that moment, but the Lord stood by my side. Trust and know God is with you and He will get you through. You need the Word of God to continually instill this encouragement into your life. You see, maturity in faith accepts that even if no one else stands with me, I've got God. I've got God. And if I have God, I have everything I need. Paul mentions something interesting, though. In 2 Timothy chapter 1, he mentioned this disciple named Omnisphorus. That's a fun name, isn't it? Omnisphorus. And he says, Onnisphorus did not abandon me. 2 Timothy is written shortly before Paul's death. Listen to what he says. 2 Timothy 1, 16 through 18, he says, May the Lord show mercy to the household of Omnisphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day. You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. On this verse, he made a thousand-mile journey from Asia Minor to Rome just to comfort Paul in his chains. Many believe this one disciple who didn't abandon Paul actually died on the trip back. Because if you read about how Paul speaks about him, he's speaking about him in past tense, and he says, Greet the household of Onisphorus for me. Because listen to what he says. He says it again later in 2 Timothy. He says in 419, greet Priscilla and Aquila in the household of Onisphorus. See, here's the thing about encouragement. Sometimes encouragement is worth going a long ways. To make sure someone feels encouraged. And encouragement is most biblical when life isn't working. It's choosing to bring light into the darkness. It's two thousand fifteen. We've come out on the other side of our church in Waterloo. And it feels like things are starting to pick up and things are going good. And I had I had linked myself up with our youth pastor and ministry. He he got paid peanuts, but he was there 40 hours a week. It was incredible. And he was a great, he was a great right hand. And him and his wife, their whole family went down to Disney World for vacation. They had never been. And they his parents lived in Minneapolis. So on their way back, they were going to spend some time with mom and dad and then come down to the church. And Blake and Sarah get in their vehicle to come home. And halfway down between Minneapolis and Waterloo, they get a phone call. Blake, your dad was swimming with the girls in the pool and just died. And it was on a Saturday. And they turned around and went back up. And I get that phone call. And I talk to Wendy. I'm like, I gotta go. I don't know if I'll be here for church tomorrow. The church had to scramble and they did everything that they needed to do, but I said, I have to be there. Halfway through church, I get a text, Pastor, where are you? I'm like, I'm where I need to be. I'm where I need to be. Coming alongside someone is deciding. I'm going to take Jesus with me. The ultimate comforter. I didn't have the words to say, I didn't have the words to speak. But I want you to understand that the church looks like Jesus the most when we stand with people in the dark. It's not just about them winning in life. That's not what it's about. It's walking with people through the hard things. And we don't come alongside for the win, church. We come alongside for the soul of that person, that we don't see it lost. Because Onisphorus didn't walk into that prison cell expecting a testimony and for him and a Paul to walk out together. He didn't expect that. I'm going to comfort my brother. Listen to 2 Corinthians 1, 3 through 4 as we wrap up here. And Jared, if you'd come up. Says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with comfort we ourselves receive from God. Many of you might have burdens for other people, but you're like, you know what? I'm going to wait until someone comforts me. Listen to what the Word of God says here. Who comforts us in all our troubles? So that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. So here's the thing the mature in faith, the mature in faith, no, I God's all I need. And to be called immature in faith is not a bad thing. I want you to understand that. It's just where you're at, and it's acknowledging where you're at. But the body of Christ needs to rise up and recognize who we are in Christ. And also accept where we're at. Sometimes you need encouragement. You know what? Encouraging anyone's never a bad thing. It's always embraced. But you and I that have been resilient and strong in the faith shouldn't get discouraged when it's like, I haven't gotten enough attention lately. You know what? Lord gives us all the attention we need. Encourage each other because we have been comforted by Jesus. The same word in describing God the Father and Jesus as our comforters, the same word commanding us to encourage one another. Don't you find that fascinating? Comfort one another. Let God comfort your soul so that you can in turn encourage one another. Here's the thing as we close. First and foremost, before you can encourage anyone else, you have to embrace the ultimate comforter. Jesus Christ. You have to know that he is for you. You have to know that what has ever been spoken in your mind in the dark is not the words of God. And you need to root yourself in the word of God and with his people to keep continuing our heart toward him. And so one of the first things we need to do is we need to come to Jesus and embrace him as our comforter and understand what that means. It's not about just making sure that we feel good all the time. It's about when we don't feel good and when we're going through challenging situations, that we know exactly where we need to be. We need to be in his word. We need to be in prayer. We need to make sure that when we don't feel the greatest, we are, baby, we're front row. Yeah, I said baby. And saying, I need the comforter on my side. And I need to remember who I am. And I need to not let go of it. And so today I just I just want to offer you an opportunity to be encouraged by the comforter. And to say, man, I'm going through it. This isn't so you can stand up and have other people see it. That's not it. In fact, I would rather you not. Because this is about you and the Lord first and foremost. And then by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we'll be comforted by our brothers and sisters in Christ. So what I want you to do is I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes right now. If you could say, Pastor Man, I'm going through it. It has not been easy. Life's been challenging. And I need the comfort of God. I need that today. Would you look at me so I know who I'm praying with?

unknown 41:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

First and foremost, this is what I would tell you. Dedicate your all to the word. Open your heart up to it. Don't read beyond what you can consume. Read enough for you to receive. Okay? That's where I tell you to do. Do that every day. Every day right away. Any thought that is contrary to his word, because we learn his word and we've come to know his word, we bind in the name of Jesus Christ. And we loose the words of God that tell you who you are. Don't accept the lies of the enemy. Don't accept it. The other thing we do, and this is important. You know, some days we just wait for encouragement, wait for encouragement, and encouragement doesn't come. Sometimes you legitimately need a lifeline. I encourage you, may God give you the strength to find someone that you can be honest with with where you're at. Because here's the thing: you're not looking for someone to tell you the right path to go or what you need to do. You need someone to say, I just stand beside you. I don't have the answers. I just choose to stand beside you. But I think when we do that pattern, read the word, pray, commit ourselves to the body of Christ and reaching out to someone. Here's the thing: the Spirit's gonna begin to work in an amazing way. And so I just encourage you, don't let your heart drift. Don't let your heart drift. So where you're at, I just encourage you to close your eyes, lift your hands to God right now. Say, Jesus, I need you. My comforter, I need you. I need your strength, Lord. May I see the compassion that has been displayed on the cross. May I understand it. May I see how you were for me, God, and not against me. Lord, may I recognize all the words that you have spoken of who I am. And Lord, I bind all the names that the enemy tries to throw at me to rob me of my real identity. And I commit, Lord, to you in your ways. And God, I thank you that you are a God that is for me, and you've proved that since the beginning of creation, you've prepared me for this moment, and God, may I have the strength to stand through it. And may I keep my eyes fixed on the realities of heaven. Lord, the goal of obtaining that prize there at the end. That I've run the race, I've done it well. Through every obstacle, through every hardship, Father. Lord, allow me to see my situation right now with spiritual eyes. In Jesus' name. In all God's people said, Amen, amen.