Encourage One Another, Part 2

Today on the Fellowship in the Word poster Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ is what we want to say this is the day which the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad after it was seen well goes and then will rejoice say that he said that is, rejoice and be glad. Is that possible joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word. Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana when Pastor Bill got for now is once again he shows us how God's word or he sent for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether we were Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member met many were all in this together. He said in in front of in the Lord's eyes. We all have exactly equal footing because one server uses analogies are kind of funny, said if the foot says because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body.

He said it is not for this reason any less part of the body, he said, and if the ear says because I'm not and I am not part of the body is not for this reason any less part of the body. If the whole body were nine that's an interesting thought. If the whole body were nine were the hearing be used if the whole body were hearing there were with a sense of smell be pieces but now God has placed the members each one of them in the body just as he desired. If they were all one member. He says, where would the body be, but now there are many members but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand. I have no need of you. Or again the head to the feet. I have no need of you on the contrary, he said it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary and those members he said of the body which we deem less honorable.

He said on these we bestow more abundant honor and he said, are less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God is so compose the body, giving more abundant honor to the member which is locked not stop there for just a moment is a need something analogy. How many of you before you came to church today. I really want to make sure that, for instance, your large contest time looked really good for Sir church service today and that your liver and your pancreas and you are really concerned about how they deny what were you spending your time in that mirror were in good nothing more important in this place, this is it. I hear about that'll pause talking about. By the way, I'd much rather hear bad news about my face and bad news about heart or my liver or my pancreas. You see, what we deem is almost not important. He says are the most important parts in the analogies make is really simple. We have this tendency to think that the people who are the face of Christianity the mouth of Christianity.

These are the most important people of Christianity is another not as all the other people is all the sick people who serve it's all the people who pray it's all those people you see is the part that note doesn't get any of the recognition. That's the most important and then he says this he said in verse 25.

So there may be no division in the body, but that he says the members may have the same care for one another and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it and of one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it so we all are together. That's why we need to mutually encourage one another. We need encouragement you know it it if you're in appendix you need encouragement you need people to encourage you.

You have an important role medicine. Medical science hasn't figured out that exactly what the appendix is therefore what you have an important role. The same thing. There's no bias in the body.

You see, the encouragement should go everywhere and it's not always the case turned me to James chapter 2 for a moment, the book of James chapter 2 and James doesn't mince words at all.

He would be a terrible politician. Okay James is this going to tell you how he sees it. And if you don't like it that's tough for you. That's just the way he writes. And that's the kind of man he was.

In verse 20 says my brother and do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. The why would you think it say that because people do that people in the church do that.

And James says don't do that, he said, for if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes you pay special attention to the one who was wearing the fine clothes, and you say you sit here in a good place and you say to the poor man you stand over there, or sit down by my footstool, he said, have you not made a distinction among yourselves and become judges with evil motives. Listen, my beloved brethren did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him, but you have dishonored the poor man he said is not the rich man and one who oppresses you and personally drag you into court. They play favorites would never do that, would we Christians that they would never look toward celebrities. We would never see a celebrity coming to church and then we all stand in line. Make sure you shake his hand, and no and you don't tell everybody that you go to a church where celebrity goes, it's interesting especially the fact that there's only one celebrity in the whole universe, and it wasn't the person were talking about. You see, that can be a problem even when it comes to encouraging the responsibility we have to encourage one another is everybody that we can touch dogs. You can encourage us to complete stranger, but you need to encourage people and go out of your way to do so. That's the whole idea. We all need to be encouraged otherwise were only encouraging the mouth or the face and it's kind of interesting because I'll say it felt great, but in the first service before the service, and then after the service I was encouraged people encouraged me and that's wonderful and I like that but I often wonder how many other people were encouraged.

How many of the people that they encourage season important thing. There is no partiality here with the Lord, Tony Evans, the pastor in Dallas says that many churches function more like a fraternity or sorority or a country club and they do the body of Christ.

I'm afraid he's exactly right. William Barclay says that we have a tremendous Christian duty of encouragement. It is easy to pour cold water. He settled on them. Enthusiasm of others.

It's easy to discourage as it others the world is full of discourages we have a Christian duty to encourage one another. He says many a time. The word appraiser thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a person moving along on their feet. He's exactly right. The definition of encouragement is to strengthen our comfort. The picture of it is we run this race and all the believers of Libby force, encourage us to keep going Jesus Christ as our model and the scope of it is we all needed we all need to do it. What's the motive of encouragement. Turn with me to first John chapter 4, first John chapter 4. It's pretty simple and won't be surprising. Verse seven a first John four beloved, let us love one another. There so many great one another's in the New Testament all the fall under this category of love, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God wanted is not love does not know God, for God is love. By this, the love of God was manifested in us that God has sent his only begotten son into the world so that we might live through him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his son.

The son so loved the world that he lived a perfect life and died the substitutionary death on the cross he said in this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Verse 19 we love because he first loved us. If someone says I love God, and hates his brother or sister in Christ, he is a liar. Well worth reading.

Again, if someone says I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar for the one who does not love his brother whom he is seen cannot love God whom he is not seen. He said in this commandment we have from him that the one who loves God should love his brother also. It's really clear you know it's easy to do that to I understand why it's so much easier. It's easy to love Christ want to know Christ is what is done, it's easy to love is never let you down is never sinned against you. You see is perfect in every way would love Christ look around the room. This is not exactly perfection. You see when you look around were not, in fact, when you think about it and be much more in a sense honorable to love someone so imperfect as the love someone who was so perfect. But he says look if you say you love Christ in you don't love your brother, your liar is an important part. That's the motive of all this encouragement, our love for Christ which spills over on our love for each other, which spills over to become encouraging one another when we have opportunity. One last aspect of it is implementing encouragement, how we do that will one of the things it's easy to do when you're in encouraging people is just the firmament. Just affirm somebody I found this list for my one of the books I read this week on encouragement and said these are the kind of things that this man said he looks for what is going to encourage someone punctuality tax fullness, faithfulness, good attitude, loyalty, tolerance, thoroughness, diligence, honesty, compassion, good sense of humor, vision or faith. Just find something you said you know the summer and affirm it. It'll encourage them.

One of the methods that we use.

This is really interesting, depending on what you when you read a book. If you would read 5200 years ago. It basically would always say, if you want to encourage someone you need to have a conversation with them or you need to send them a letter and write a letter encouragement have a conversation. Then about not that many years ago. It said you need to do those things, but you can also give them a call you soon.

If you give them a call. You and now we live in the perfect time of encouragement.

See we live, where you can text and you do text and you text every day. But what a great thing to think. Every day I would pick out a couple people and I'm going encourage with texting and the text is almost better than anything because it stays right there, it stays right there you can attach them encouraging the day they look at the mother still encouraged any advantage of texting is you can encourage them for specific thing and then you don't have to have a phone call where you ramble.

One then you have the uncomfortable pause and then you don't know what to say and that means the next time I'm not calling back because I didn't know what to say and I felt foolish get off the phone.

This way you can text and just say praying for you. You see so proud of the way you handled that situation so encouraged about your attitude, whatever it is, just encourage one another and it's so important because we we need encouragement. Life isn't fair. Life is a struggle for all of us. God knows we need to be encouraged to strengthen us or comfort us. The picture of it is this race that we run the scope us all of us.

We need to do it.

We need to receive it. The motive is our love and we can implement in any way you'd like, trying texting for a change. No wonder Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.

Encourage one another, especially the fainthearted. Those who are struggling. We need to be encouraged when were struggling to close this by encouraging you in a minute.

Use the word of God to do so and it's a verse that God put right in the middle of the Bible encourages every single time. Turn with me to Psalm 118 Psalm 118 verse 24 you know the verse, but I'm not sure you utilize it the way you should. Verse 24 Psalm 118. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

How this is a day that the Lord is my best rejoice and be glad in it. What encouraging verse but only looking for just a moment little more intensive you get a sense of this.

A couple words to stand out to me the first one is this this this is the day this that rep that today. Today this is the day this know usually when you think of encouragement and get all rejoicing and all the best, this is not the day your thinking. I visit your thinking about how about Christmas day excited about the how about my wedding day, vacation days, how about if we ever get to a Super Bowl again, this is the day you see this is the day that that's the kind of day you now I've got just don't know.

Don't misunderstand us of all this is the day today's the day really Yep today is the day you see with this includes. This includes divorce days.

This includes exam days. This includes diagnosis day. This includes surgery day. This includes tax days.

This includes funeral days. This includes all the days. This is the day.

Now I sort of makes clear he said this is the day the Lord has made. This is the day the Lord has made for you. This is the day he has made for you. The Lord has made this day while he's not surprised by this day is not afraid of this day is not ashamed of this day. This is the days made for you.

He still holds the conductor's baton. He still in the cockpit. Flying the plane. He still sits on the only throne in the universe and he made this day and we are to give him a chance. You see, I think what happens to us as we sabotage this day we sabotage we we we Dragon to this day, the regrets of yesterday and I met that once this day, or the worries and anxieties about tomorrow and that once this day got system to that. Don't do that at all. This is a day which the Lord is made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. There's another word that we don't like the word in. We don't like that word is what we want to say this is the day which the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad after it was seen well goes and then will rejoice. He doesn't say that though he said let us rejoice and be glad in it is not possible. Paul, rejoice in a Roman prison. David rejoice being hunted by Saul in the wilderness, Shadrach me shack and Abednego rejoiced about to be thrown into a furnace. Paul and Silas were singing and rejoicing in a flip in jail. Well, the apostle John was put in exile on Patmos and on one of his this days.

He got the vision of heaven in the future.

It's possible that we could rejoice today, this day I know what you're saying you know I'm neckdeep in my terrible horrible no good very bad day, God invites you. This is what this is an imitation is the fact this is the day that the Lord is. Maybe here's the invitation. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This day, wow. You see tomorrow is going to bite you again. Why would he do that, you know why because a joyful hopeful peaceful wife is built one data time doesn't come all of a sudden it's not the way it works. This is the day the Lord is made we will rejoice and be glad in it. Yesterday is gone tomorrow is hypothetical. All we have is this day. You know if this in this very day.

Every day when you wake up it's day one of the rest of your life on this day when you think about what we talked about what Pastor Brad talked about at the Lord's table are need for Savior's love for us. His sacrifice on our behalf, his grace and his mercy, his patience with you his forgiveness. His loyalty to you when you start thinking about all of that this day no matter what else is going your life all the promises that is made to you.

How could you not rejoice. You see, he gives us this verse to encourage us to help us rejoice this day. Just think how much better would be if we spent some time encouraging one another is great encouragement from the word of God. But God says look I want to give you more when you meet a believer when your life's touch, receive their encouragement. But more than anything seek to encourage them encouragement. We all needed and we all need to do it.

The spring father. My prayer is simply this, I pray that each person here ask themselves have I encourage anybody today. They don't have to have regrets about yesterday or the day before.

Last week, but they have an opportunity to day to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ. Father, I know how much we needed because whenever we get it. It makes us feel so good.

We know the life is difficult. We know that there's pain and suffering. We know that there is a struggle father. That's why we know that we need to be encouraged. Thank you for the tremendous model of Jesus Christ who endured so much so that he could be the greatest encouragement we could ever have the sure hope of heaven and our sins forgiven. Father I pray that as a body of believers that each and every time we have an opportunity every time our life rub somebody else's. We use it as an opportunity to encourage them. What a difference it make what a difference in the way we would approach the days of our lives. I pray father of all the different things. A church can be an outreach church work during pray that we become for our good and for Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time.

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