THE GIFT OF ENCOURAGEMENT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Think about the Bible and the gifts we find given to people to serve the Lord and others.

Prophets were given the gift of prophecy so they could serve as messengers by the Lord to communicate with His people.

Teachers, who we might refer also refer to as preachers today, used their gift by taking the scriptures and instructing people as to their meaning and how it applied to living their everyday lives.

People who were given the gift of singing or playing a musical instrument would use one or both of those gifts in tandem to praise and worship the Lord.

And some in the church were given the gift of leadership, possibly in tandem with one or more of the gifts already mentioned, so to guide the members of the church in the direction the Lord willed for them to go collectively.

Now, these gifts can almost be categorized as specialized and vocational in nature as a person is to employ those gifts unique to them and use them as the Lord deems. In other words, not everyone has the gift of prophecy, teaching, music, or leadership within them.

With this, we need to know that the Lord has given everyone gifts that they are to use to do His Gospel work inside and outside the church. There are universal gifts that every single person can and should put into practice daily. Consider this passage from the twelfth chapter of Romans:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Vv.6-8  

Here we find some gifts we may not feel qualified to do but then there are those we all should be able to fulfill.

Not all of us have been given the privilege to prophesy but we should be able to serve in some way. The church is always looking for people to do nominal tasks that anyone can do like manage parking or handing out bulletins/sermon note sheets, or just greeting people as they enter the church. When churches have dinners, people are needed to set up, serve food, clear tables, and do dishes. We can serve and need to do so when the church asks for it, especially if you possibly lack more specialized skills. All parts of the church body have a part and are important.

We also see where giving is put forth by the scriptures as a gift. This can be giving to the church but it also means giving to others who are in need. There always seems to be plenty of opportunities to be charitable and we should pray over every possibility to see if the Lord is willing us to give in that way. If He wills it, then we should give generously and do so with a sense of joy because we know God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Showing mercy to others is also considered a gift and one we probably could use better than we do. Unfortunately, our human nature finds it hard to be forgiving as we seem to first default to condemnation when someone does wrong to us. When we do find ourselves using the gift of mercy, note that we aren’t to do so begrudgingly or half-heartedly like we are somehow showing clemency against our will. Rather, we are to show mercy cheerfully with a sense of gratitude that we can show someone what the world wouldn’t...the very grace of the Lord who wishes to have them as His own and save them. We need to remember that the opportunity to be merciful is also an opportunity to give another a glimpse of the Lord and His nature.

Finally, we find that encouragement is a gift and this is also something we all can do if we put our mind and heart to it. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who didn’t need encouragement and so there are countless occasions every day for us to put our gift into practice.

Recently, I was asked to give a message at the memorial service for a young Christian woman who was in her twenties when she entered into the Lord’s eternal rest. As I looked at the comments that people left about her on social media, a common thread emerged. For over and over again, I read about how this young lady had encouraged someone and how this blessed the person in need of encouragement. It was her legacy and a wonderful one at that.

As we look at the closing verses of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, we are reminded of how Paul also exercised his gift of encouragement as he wrote letters to the various Christian churches. Here’s what he said to the believers in Thessalonica:

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Vv.16-17

We see here where Paul offers encouragement to his brothers and sisters in Christ by pointing them to the source of perfect encouragement, the Lord Jesus and His (and our) Father God. Through them both, all Christians experience both perfect love and perfect grace, pardoning us from our sins and providing us the promise of eternal life which is our “good hope”.

Friends, when we receive this reminder of our salvation and that we have all we could ever ask or hope for in God, the Maker and Master of Creation, and His Son Jesus, the Savior of the world, how could we not find our hearts encouraged and our spirits strengthened as we enter each day to perform every good deed and speak every good word the Lord wants us to?

The good news today is that we all have the ability to encourage someone else and we need to do it every chance we get. When we do, we will bless others through the use of this amazing gift the Lord has given.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com