Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, the number one need of everyone you will meet today is encouragement. Unbeknownst to you, many are ready to give up, to break down, or to act out if someone doesn't share a dose of encouragement with them. Today, I'm going to share four ways where you can become an awesome encourager. Stay with me. I'm Dave Drui, and this is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Today we're learning what it actually takes to become the kind of encourager people remember for decades. Chip turns to First Thessalonians chapter five verse twelve, where the Apostle Paul gives some surprisingly specific instructions for how to treat the different people in your life: leaders, strugglers, and everyone in between. It's part of our series "Building Authentic Community: How to Lift Up Those You Love." Well, now let's join Chip for the start of a message titled "How to Become an Awesome Encourager." How would you like to be an awesome encourager? I mean, how would you like it that if you know five years from now, ten years from now, maybe some tiny kids in third grade, fifteen years from now, you know, getting married and having kids and all that stuff? What?
How would you like it? If when their fondest memories of what it meant to be a Christian came to their mind, your name and your face popped to their mind, and they said, "Yeah, there was a lot of people. There's a lot of people that did a lot of good things, and I'm sure thankful." But the people or the person that I remember most, or how'd you like to be a young couple going through all the struggles young couples go through, and turn the clock up ten years? And they say, you know, we learned how to have a marriage because of you. The key to encouragement is attitude.
There's certain attitudes you need to have to be an encourager. The Apostle Paul, remember, it's been 18 to 24 months. He planted the church. It's growing. It's doing great.
They're getting some opposition. They had little doctrinal confusion, so he explained that to them. But now, in the very last chapter, chapter five, verses twelve to twenty-eight, he is going to give us seventeen to twenty brief commands, exhortations that all revolve around our attitude. And so, let's begin. Let's read together and become great encouragers by learning some attitudes that God wants us to have.
Now we ask you, brothers. The Apostle Paul writes to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you—literally, preside over you or managers over you in the Lord—and who admonish you means correct you. Hold them in highest regard and love because of their work, and live in peace with each other. As you look at these couple verses, you notice that first there's there's a word to leaders. And before you click off and say, "Well, I'm not an elder; I'm not on staff," I want you to know if there's anybody at all who looks to you to be the influencer in their life—anybody at work, any kids at home, any friends, anyone in a small group, anyone in any kind of ministry—that really looks to you, then you're a leader.
So, this is for you. And the Bible says there's attitudes that leaders need to have. Did you see the key words here? They're assumed here. But did you notice they work hard, they lead well, and they admonish wisely.
Those are the attitudes that make for great churches when leaders work hard, lead well, and admonish wisely. But notice that's not all. There's a word about leaders. In fact, the real flow of this passage has to do with how us as a congregation responds to leaders, whether it's formal or informal. Let's read that passage again with new eyes.
This time, let's read it, asking the question: How should we respond to leaders? Verse twelve.
Now we ask you, brothers. You might circle the word to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in highest regard. You might circle that in love because of their work, and then live in peace with each other. You might circle the word live in peace.
See the problem. Then remember the people who decided that the Lord was coming back, like maybe that night, and so they quit their day job, and said the church is such a loving group of people that they became moochers and loafers.
Well, the leaders had to correct that, and they did the wise thing. They said, "Hey, get a job." Jesus is coming back, but the way to prepare for that is you have a good testimony and you work better than anybody else at your job, so you have something to share with all the rest of people rather than mooching off everyone else.
Well, when the leaders had to do that, probably part of that didn't go over real well, and so. Notice the first thing is we're to respect them. Literally, the word isn't respect; it's you're to know them or acknowledge them. Can mean respect or appreciation, but in this context, it probably has the idea: Hey, you need to acknowledge they're the leaders; God appointed them. Second, we're to esteem them.
Only used here in the New Testament, it means to highly, highly esteem. It's a triple compound type verb that has the idea of saying you need to recognize the people that God has put in charge of His church. As the right people at the right time at the right place for His glory, and you need to esteem them as such. We need to highly esteem that person that gives you your child when you go pick them up. That person who set up three or four hours earlier, the musicians, the why, so we could worship, so that you, like I, could shut my eyes when we sang that last song.
And I thought, God, when I think of the weekend that I've had. You're great, but I could never express that the way they expressed it for me, and just to get to sing along with them. See, I think we need to esteem those, encourage those people that lead us, and then finally, it's to be at peace with them. Literally, the phrase means no schisms, no divisions. This one's a two-way street.
The congregation is submit to God's leadership and obey God's word, and the leaders, notice, are to lead sensitively. You know, leaders leaders never to run rough shot over people, telling people you ought to do this and you ought to do this, and this is the deal. Live in peace. The idea is there's unity. And my observation about both scripture and churches, where there's a sense of God's presence and power, there's unity, and it's something worth guarding.
Can you imagine what happens in the life of a church? When leaders say, "I'm not giving what's left over to God, I'm giving my best to God," I'm going to come prayed up. I'm going to come working hard. I'm going to plan ahead. I'm going to lead well, and I'm going to admonish and care enough to confront people when need be.
And when a church says, "I'm going to respect that kind of leadership at every level, and I'm going to esteem that kind of leadership, and I'm going to do whatever it takes on my part to live at peace," and the leadership at every level says, "I'm going to do on my part to be at peace," you know what happens? You got power rolling around. You got the presence of God. It's disunity that so kills the work of God in so many places.
Well, he doesn't end there. He's given a word to us, to leaders, and a word to leaders about us.
Now, notice he shifts in verses fourteen and fifteen, and this is a word for everybody. This is for you and me. And notice the phrase: "And we urge you, brothers." Now, notice he's going to give us four quick verbs to address to how to encourage four different groups of people. Says, "And we urge you, brothers: warn those who are idle, encourage the timid." Help the weak, and be patient with everyone. And then he's going to give us a way to be patient with everyone.
Verse fifteen: Make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong or evil for evil. But always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. You might circle the little word "try" because in our translation it comes out kind of milk toast. You know, try. You know, people say I'll try to be there.
That means they're either going to be late or they're not coming, right?
Well, I'll try to make it. You know, I always tell them, "Look, are you coming or not?" You know, if you can't, that's okay, but don't try to come because if you try to come, you'll come like I try to come. That means I want you to know I'd sort of like to be there, but I probably won't. This word is translated elsewhere in the New Testament to persecute. It means to vigorously pursue.
He's saying, you know, there's four things to do. You need to warn a certain group. You encourage a certain group. You support a different group. You be patient with everyone.
And then he says, in this key area of, it's hardest to be patient when people do you wrong. Don't do wrong back, but instead, literally, it's follow the good. It's vigorously pursue. You try, as in, go after being friendly and kind and loving. In a way that just makes people scratch their head.
You mean after the way we treated you negatively like that, you're being kind and friendly, and you're pursuing us? And you know what they do? Pretty soon they start thinking, now that's weird. And then they say, is there anyone in history that's ever been like this? Let me think.
Jesus, that's the one. Yeah, when people did him wrong, he loved them. See, we're almost never more like Christ than when we give good in return for evil. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll continue today's message in just a moment. Quick reminder: Do you have the Chip Ingram app on your phone yet?
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Now back to our message. If you wanted to summarize this, let's look at the key phrases. Warn the idle—that's our same word for admonish—and the idle here means unruly, disorderly, unbecoming behavior. See, it's not the leader's job; it's not the leader's job to make sure people stay in line. It's the church's job to see that the body one for another.
It's caring enough to confront. It's not getting in the car. With a close friend or with a mate, after you've had an experience with another couple at their home or out somewhere, or with a fellow single person, and shaking your head to your friend and saying, "Boy, man, are they really on the wrong path? They keep spending money like that. They're going to be in a ditch, boy.
They they keep treating their kids like that, boy. You know, Bobby. You know, we've seen that happen before. Yeah, that's right. Those kids are going to turn out like jerks.
In fact, they got a good start on it right now." You know, if that guy keeps treating his wife with that kind of insensitivity, they're going to have problems. And you know what? Do you realize how many of those conversations happen in cars and in restaurants about the person that's not there? You know what the Bible says? Warn them, warn them, you warn them.
I'll never forget the first time we went over to dinner years and years ago in Texas, and this guy was—he had one of those jobs that you should be perfectionistic. I mean, you really—I mean, your life is in his hands. But he carried that over into every area, and we ate dinner, and it was the most rigid, legalistic atmosphere. And I remember turning to my wife and said, "Wow, those man, those kids are in trouble." I mean, I couldn't stand to be around that guy. You know, like for four hours, let alone twenty-four hours a day, and he had a good heart.
He really loved God. He really thought he was doing well. But I mean, it was just unbearable.
Well, when his daughter ran away from home and when his son got involved in some things, you know what? Though, I never went to him face to face. I had one of those conversations in the car with my wife, saying, "Boy, man, I'll tell you what—they keep that up, they're in trouble." And I decided after that, I don't keep it to myself anymore. You may not like me, but if I see something in your life, I'm going to tell you. I'm going to tell you, Lord willing, in the right attitude, the right way, at the right time, because I love you.
But you know, and by the way, you see something in mine? Don't do me any favors, and tell your friend. When my car hits the spiritual wall, and there's fallout and pain and damage, I mean, I would have liked someone to say, "Hey, by the way, curve up ahead." You know. Second, we're to encourage the timid, and this has the idea of comfort. The word timid means literally the faint-hearted or a person with a small soul.
They're the people that just don't have the courage to take the next step. You know, they'd like to get in the Bible study, but if someone doesn't call them and ask them to come, they won't go. They'd like to get involved in in ministry, and they really have a lot, but if someone doesn't give them a little nudge, they won't go. They're the person that is just ready to become a Christian, but they just need a little nudge. You know who that person is to give them the nudge?
It's you. It's you. We're to warn the idle or the disorderly, but we need to, we need to comfort. We need to spur on. We need to encourage the timid, and some people, some of the timid people that I never dream they have all this gift stored up, but it takes someone like you to nudge them.
Who comes to your mind? Who in your family? Who in your ministry? Who at your work? Who do you know that you realize has great potential, but they need a nudge?
How could you do it? Third is we need to help the weak. The word for help is a very interesting New Testament word. It means. To hold on to someone or to cleave to a person so that they don't fall down.
Basically, the weak are people that are that are unstable. Have you ever seen someone that has twisted their ankle, or the terrain is unlevel, and they just they need help to get from the curb to the car, or they need help to get from the bottom of the stairs to the top of the stairs? Ever seen them? And what do you have to do? It's real simple, isn't it?
You walk up and you either put your arm out, or if you'll put your arm right underneath theirs. All they need is just a little stability, but you have to touch them, don't you? And you just hold on to their arm, and with you they make it from the curb to the car. Without you, they fall flat on their face. There are people in this room today, spiritually, that all they need is someone to look them in the eye when you walk out that door.
Someone in the next Bible study.
Someone at the class that you go to.
Someone that God is bringing to your mind while I'm speaking. And you know what they need? They need you to hold them. To just give them a little support, they're unstable. They've got a good heart.
They're trying, but they've tried and failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed. Guess what they're doing now? They're not trying anymore. They need you. They need me to support them.
Final thing is, we're to be patient with all men. Everybody, you ever heard that phrase? That guy's really short-tempered. This this word is the opposite of that. You'd say if you if you knew this word, you'd say, "Man, that guy is really long tempered." I've not said that about many people.
You know, you say that guy really blows the stack fast. We'd say this guy's got a long fuse. This word means we're patient. We make allowances for others. This word means you don't give up on people quickly.
It means that after you tell them once, you tell them again. After they blow it for the second time, you tell them a third. After they blow it a third, you say, "What is it about this you're not getting, and how can I help you be successful?" Not get with the program, or you're out, bud. It's patient with all men, and when is it the most difficult to be patient? It's when people do you in, isn't it?
Well, how does he say? Make sure that no one, make sure you, not the leadership, you, me, Church of God. Make sure no one pays back evil for evil. You want to jot down Romans chapter twelve verse seventeen and following. It'll develop that very clearly exactly what to do.
Says never take your own revenge, beloved. Leave room for the wrath of God. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, what should you do? Feed him if he's thirsty.
Give him a drink. In so doing, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Near ancient Eastern picture of what happens when a person has a change of heart or mind. Never overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Good is powerful.
Good is powerful in relationships. And when you give good, when people have given you evil, you can only do it by grace. But it has a indelible impact on the lives of others. And so, what we have here is some attitudes that build phenomenal churches. You have a group of leaders who work hard, lead well, and admonish wisely, and you have a group of congregational people who say, in our heart of hearts, we're going to respect them, esteem them, and be at peace with them.
And then you have a whole church that says, you know, people that are stepping outside the boundaries that are unhealthy for them, we're going to warn them. We care enough to confront in this place. Those people that are a little timid and need a little boost, we'll give them a boost. Those people that are weak and need supported, we'll support them. And those people that drive us crazy will be patient.
We will hang in there in our own strength, no way. In the power of God, you bet. Those kind of attitudes build the kind of church that you'd have to bar the doors so that we get a seat this week. Because when you and when I can love people that way and one another. It's contagious.
What's it require? It requires the hardest thing for me in the world. I have to get my focus off of me, my needs, and coming here, saying, "Now, can't anyone see my needs? Why didn't anybody say hi to me? No one stopped me on the way out.
Does anyone not notice that my wife hasn't been here for a few weeks, or my husband? Has anyone noticed that I haven't? Does anybody care?" And you know when I live with that, what happens? I die. But there is someone here, regardless of how deep your needs are, their needs are about that much deeper.
And you will find the great principle of our Lord is this: Blessed are those who give more than those who receive. You find someone hurting a little bit more than you, and you come here with that outward focus, and all of a sudden, all those needs that are legitimate that you have, God in a supernatural way will meet.
Well, let's talk about how that works.
So let's look now at the attitudes the Apostle Paul ends with that Christians need to have. How do you build great Christians? He's told us how to build a great church, but what kind of attitudes do you need to have to be a great Christian, to be a real encourager? He's going to give a word here about our private worship in verses sixteen to eighteen. Then he's going to give us a word about our public worship, and then he's going to talk about our spiritual growth.
So let's look at private worship first, verse sixteen through eighteen. Be joyful always. Pray continually or without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Why?
For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Boy, that's short, isn't it? But did you notice three quick commands? Be joyful when when things are going well. Happiness has to do with happenings, circumstances.
Joy has to do with the unchanging relationship you have with God. In fact, the root word where we get our word joy.
Some of the related words are words like grace, words like one translation for one word in the New Testament for forgiveness, words like gifts. See, joy is a choice. You say, "Well, how can I be joyful all the time?" Let me give you two practical ways. One, focus on God instead of circumstances. If you focus on circumstances, you will ride a rolling coaster of ups and downs.
You know when things are going good, when things are going bad. If you focus on God, He loves you. Your eternity is secure. He is good. He is sovereign.
He is faithful. You matter to Him. He's not down on you. He wants to draw you close to Himself. He has a plan for your life.
Choose willfully to be joyful. How? Focus on God instead of your circumstances. Second, focus on the unseen instead of the seen. When's the last time you did that?
You ever think about that? Think think about some things that are you can't see. Think about a special person in your life that you know really loves you. Can you see it?
Well, you can see some actions, but you don't see love. You don't see relationships, do you? You see, when we focus on the things that you can't see, see those are eternal things. All the things you can see are here today, maybe gone tomorrow. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and a message titled "How to Become an Awesome Encourager." It's part of our series Building Authentic Community.
Miss the opening or want to hear it again?
Well, every message in this series is waiting for you anytime at LivingOnTheEdge.org. Chip's whole point today was that encouragement isn't complicated. It's a choice to notice somebody and say something. That's exactly the muscle Chip's book "I Choose Love" is built to strengthen. He makes the case that biblical agape love isn't a passive feeling you wait for, but an active decision to give, serve, and put somebody else's interest ahead of your own.
The same love the Apostle Paul says never fails. Get your copy of "I Choose Love." A special price today at livingontheedge.org/offers. You know, for thirty years, Living on the Edge has pursued a clear goal: to help Christians live like Christians. And these Bible teachings continue reaching new listeners because of the faithful donors who stand beside us. Today, we encourage you to become a monthly partner or make a special one-time gift by going online to livingontheedge.org or by calling us at eight three Three three six zero zero three.
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Well, now here's Chip Ingram. Thanks, Dave. As we think about encouragement, about really being patient, about being there for people, two groups come to mind that I think we really need to think about. I mean, today, the first is I'll just call it the least of these, and certainly the homeless person. But I think that becomes a cliche.
I'd like you to really think about some people that don't get any attention. You know, the person who makes your coffee, the person that's cleaning up outside, the person that is a low wage earner who might be at a McDonald's or a fast food, or the people that are cleaning the bathroom. I just find those people need to know that God cares about them, and whether it's tapping them on the shoulder and thanking them for what they. Done and making eye contact. Jesus said, "A cup of cold water really does matter to a thirsty person when done in His name." I often try and do this, and just with a comment, I just want you to know Jesus is thinking of you today, and He asked me to pass this on.
And it might be a word, it might be a little money, it might be a meal, just to say to people that can be invisible. That they matter, and then the second is leaders. Not every leader, I am sure, but at least the pastors that I know. It's been the most lonely, difficult time. Would you write your pastor a note?
Would you text him a word of encouragement? Would you invite him out to dinner? I want you to know they are dying on the vine, and a word of life from you could make all the difference. Would you do that today? Join us next time as Chip shares a few more ways to put encouragement into practice this week.
That'll be right here on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.
