Making Encouragement Contagious

Real Dudes,
My last post was a link to the message I preached a couple Sunday’s ago. In that message was a brief section on Paul being an Encourager. I read 1 Thessalonians 4:18 where Paul says “encourage one another with these words.”I would like to expound on Paul being an Encourager a little more today. 

Prior to following Jesus, the Apostle Paul was known as Saul. 

• Acts 13:9a (NLT) “Saul, also known as Paul…”

Saul was a Pharisee who persecuted and murdered many Christians. 

• Acts 8:1-5…including the killing of Stephen. 

Saul’s conversion experience took place on the Road to Damascus.

• Acts 9:1–9; Acts 22:6–11; and Acts 26:9–20.

I highly doubt that Paul’s characteristic traits prior to salvation included encouragement. Persecution was all he knew. How could it be possible for Paul to leave a persecution mindset/practice and become an Encourager? So where and who did he learn this from? Once saved, The Lord surrounded him with the right people…the right company. Why is that important? 

• 1 Corinthians 15:33 (CSB) Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
• Therefore, good company encourages good morals. 
• So God led Barnabas The Encourager into Paul’s life. 
  • Shortly after Paul got saved, the Lord led Barnabas to him. Barnabas was known for being an encourager…his name even means just that.  

• Acts 4:36 (CSB) “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement)”

• One author states that “The outstanding lesson to be learned from Barnabas’ life is, without doubt, the importance of the ministry of encouragement. The word translated ‘encouragement’ in the New Testament is usually the same word used for the Holy Spirit—‘Comforter’, or ‘one called alongside to help’.” 
• In Acts 13:9b (NLT) we read that “Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit…” 
  • John 14:26 (ESV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
• And in all of Acts chapter 13 we read of Paul and Barnabas doing ministry together.” 

The Apostle Paul didn’t just learn how to be an Encourager from Barnabas and the Holy Spirit, and then allow encouragement to end there. Absolutely not. What we read is that Paul then became an Encourager to others the Lord led him to. Barnabas, Paul, and others made encouragement contagious. 

• This is where we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 of Paul encouraging fellow believers to encourage one another with the words that the Lord gave him to say. 
• In 1 Timothy 1:2 Paul takes on the role of being a spiritual father to Timothy. 
• In 2 Timothy 1:6-8, Paul encourages Timothy to be faithful in his walk with the Lord. 
• And not too long after that we read about Timothy becoming an Encourager as well. 
  • 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6 (NKJV) 3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.
    Encouraged by Timothy
    6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you--

As followers of Christ, we have…

• The Holy Spirit as a comforter/encourager in our lives.
  • Barnabas experienced this, came alongside and passed it on to the Apostle Paul.
  • Paul experienced this, came alongside and passed it on to Timothy.
  • Timothy experienced this, came alongside and passed it on to those in Thessalonica.  
  • So Paul leaves us with this message in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) 
    • “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
    • Don’t let up…keep being an Encourager to many. 

Listen Men…those of us who have the Holy Spirit residing within us learn how to be an Encourager directly from God The Holy Spirit. As He encourages us, we then imitate Him and be an encouragement to others. 

• Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) that “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

Our desire ought to be – to make encouragement contagious. If asked, would others place you in this category of being an Encourager? Many people had a hard time receiving Paul…they only viewed him as who he used to be. 

• Acts 9:26 (NLT) When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!
• But God can change the narrative of our lives…taking us from where we once were to where we’re at today – that’s the Gospel right there. 

My encouragement to each of us is identical to that of Peter and Paul’s…live for and look for opportunities to encourage one another and build each other up. Make it your mission, and please please please make every effort to make it contagious. 
Practicing His Presence,
Nate


Below is additional reading from an Article from gotquetions.org 

What is the gift of encouragement? 

The gift of encouragement or exhortation is found in Paul’s list of gifts in Romans 12:7–8. The word translated “encouragement” or “exhortation” is the Greek word paraklésis, related to the word paraclete. Paraklésis basically means “a call to one’s side.”

Paraklésis carries the idea of bringing someone closely alongside in order to “exhort,” “urge,” “encourage,” “give joy,” and “comfort” him or her. All of these actions make up the gift of encouragement. For example, Paul often urged and exhorted his readers to act on something he wrote. A good example is Romans 12:1–2, where Paul urges the Romans to present their bodies to God as living sacrifices. By doing this, they would know and understand God’s will.

Interestingly, when Jesus conversed with His disciples on the night of His arrest, He spoke of the Holy Spirit as the “Helper” or “Comforter” (John 14:16, 26; 15:26), which is why the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the “Paraclete,” the One who comes alongside to exhort and encourage us.

A person with the spiritual gift of encouragement can use his gift in both public and private settings. Encouragement is useful in counseling, discipleship, mentoring, and preaching. The body of Christ is built up in faith as a result of the ministry of those with the gift of encouragement.

The gift of encouragement or exhortation differs from the gift of teaching in that exhortation focuses on the practical application of the Bible. Whereas one with the gift of teaching focuses on the meaning and content of the Word, one with the gift of encouragement focuses on the practical application of the Word. He or she can relate to others, in groups and individually, with understanding, sympathy, and positive guidance. Teaching says, “This is the way you should go”; encouragement says, “I will help you go that way.” A person with the gift of encouragement can help another person move from pessimism to optimism.

Probably the best biblical example of someone with the gift of encouragement is Barnabas. His real name was Joseph, but the apostles called him “Barnabas,” which means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). We see Barnabas in Acts 9:27 coming alongside the newly converted Paul and introducing him to a wary church. In Acts 13:43 Barnabas encourages the believers to continue in the grace of God. In Acts 15:36–41 Barnabas chooses John Mark as a ministry partner, despite Mark’s having deserted a previous missionary endeavor. In other words, Barnabas gave Mark a second chance. All through Barnabas’s ministry, he evidenced the gift of encouragement, calling others to his side in order to help, comfort, and encourage them to become more effective for Christ.
https://www.gotquestions.org/gift-of-encouragement.html

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