INTRODUCTION- - - ENCOURAGEMENT
(Hebrews 10:24-25)

In the first century, the world looked at Christians and said, "Behold, how they love one another." In the twenty-first century, the world looks at Christians and say, "Behold, how they condemn and accuse and blame and find fault with one another!"

Why are people so critical? Why are people so judgmental? Why are people so discouraging? Well, unfortunately, our brains are hard wired to notice defects and problems. That tendency protected primitive men and women from dangerous things; but it makes us more negative than positive. We see the bad, even though there is much more good. 

A psychologist put one black dot on a large white wall. When he asked hundreds of people what they saw, everyone mentioned the small smudge, rather than the huge clean expanse. The news reports are about the people who kill others, not about the people who don't kill others. Teachers mark the wrong answers, but seldom comment on the right answers.

We take the proper behavior for granted and rarely praise it; but we zero in on, and denounce the improper behavior. Once a brother and sister were fighting and their mother yelled, "Can't you two ever play nice and get along?" The little girl looked at her and said, "Sure, Mom! We do that a lot; but then you don't notice." It's so easy to find fault. It's so easy to dampen enthusiasm. An old poem says,

I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.

I asked the foreman, "Are those men skilled,
As the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
He laughed and said, "Oh no, indeed!
Just common labor is all I need.

I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken years to do."

It's the same with us. The world is full of doomsayers who tear down one another. Politicians do it. Business competitors do it. Teachers do it. Even neighbors and family members do it. The world is full of discouragers.

But, we have a Christian duty to build up one another. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Just a word of praise or thanks or appreciation can make a real difference in a person's life.

The great thing about encouragement is that anybody can do it. You don't need money or unusual intellect or special talents. You just need a caring and understanding heart. A church in Oregon decided to get serious about the ministry of encouragement. They placed cards in the pew racks. Each Sunday, members were asked to write the name of a recipient on one side, and a message of encouragement with their signature on the other side. Later, all cards were collected, addressed, stamped and mailed by office personnel. Many outsiders said, "Oh, that's just a fad. It'll get old!" But the Pastor says, "Not so! We've done it for almost ten years, now, and it's more effective today then ever before." 

We must realize that thousands of individuals are yearning for a word of encouragement. A minister said, "I have often thought that at every church service, two collections should be taken: one of money and one of problems. Picture the ushers coming down the aisle with great baskets into which you could drop all your fears and burdens and anxieties. Of course, by the time they got halfway, they would need assistants to help carry the heavy baskets.

If you walk down the street and say to the first person you meet, "I'm so sorry about your problem." He'll most likely respond, "How did you know?" You see, everybody has problems.

When he was here on earth, Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). He left us here to continue this invitation.

The Scripture says, "Let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may . . . stimulate . . . to love and helpful deeds and noble activities; Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together, as is the habit of some people, but . . . encouraging—one another . . ." (Heb. 10:24,25a, Amp).

This verse describes one of the major purposes of the church. Times were hard then, and times are hard now. All of us need encouragement and we need it often. The Scripture says, "Encourage one another daily . . ." (Heb. 3:13a).

The early church emphasized this ministry. Luke wrote, "The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers" (Acts 15:30-32).

Later Paul said, "I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you" (Eph. 6:22).

In fact, encouragement is considered to be equally as important a spiritual gift as preaching or teaching. I think it is even more important. Paul said, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage . . ." (Rom. 12:6-8a).

I believe any congregation that fulfills this crucial commission will see a wonderful response. Paul said, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (I Thess. 5:11).

Actress Celeste Holm said, "We live by encouragement and die without it—slowly, sadly, angrily." No matter if we're the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the night janitor who empties the wastebaskets, we all need encouragement.

The lack of encouragement is epidemic today. It's the reason people dread going to work in the morning. It's why kids can't wait to get away from school. It's why many people drop out of church.

Yet, encouragement is what Christianity is all about. Did you know that the way we relate to each other is really the way we are relating to God? We shouldn't have an attitude toward another person that we wouldn't have toward God. We shouldn't say anything to another person that we wouldn't say to God. We shouldn't do anything to another person that we wouldn't do to God.

James explained that our treatment of others and of God are actually the same. He said, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be" (James 3:9-10).

As a Christian, you may not be able to preach or sing solos or play instruments, but you can exercise the most important gift of all—encouragement.

God didn't make us all alike. We must learn to accept differences in people. Different is not bad. Different is not wrong. We can encourage others when we understand them; and we can understand them better as we listen to them speak and observe their actions. Christians must acknowledge the good in others. Praise for accomplishments is always more productive than criticism for shortcomings. Our love and concern will give additional strength to fellow Christians. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is despair, let us sow hope; Where there is uncertainty, let us sow faith. Join God's construction crew, not the devil's demolition derby.

So, how can we build others up? We can begin by eliminating negative, critical words from our vocabulary. We can replace them with positive, loving words. "Wrong" and "stupid" should be changed to "right" and "smart." We can try to find the good in everyone. Sometimes we may have to look beneath the surface, but everyone has a strength.

In her book, Silver Boxes, Florence Littauer shares biblical principles about encouragement. She says, "Our words should be gifts to each other—little silver boxes, with bows on top."

Paul says "Don't use . . . abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them" (Eph. 4:29, NLB).

These do's and don'ts summarize the positive attributes we should increase, and the negative attributes we should eliminate:

1. We can get to know people by listening, understanding and empathizing. Christians should be knowledgeable, not ignorant.
2. We can show tolerance by accepting, respecting and honoring each other. Christians should be tolerant, not prejudiced.
3. We can have the positive attitudes of courtesy, kindness and patience. Christians should be courteous, not insolent.
4. We can have positive empathy by noticing, appreciating and complimenting the good. Christians should be positive, not negative. 
5. We can have positive speech by avoiding criticism, rudeness and hostility. Christians should be kind, not critical.
6. We can give positive responses to relationship problems by staying calm, exercising restraint and mediating conflicts. Christians should be peace loving, not violent. 
7. We can perform positive actions by comforting, supporting and strengthening each other. Christians should be supportive, not destructive.
8. We can forgive those who hurt us immediately, completely and permanently. Christians should be forgiving, not vengeful. 
9. We can exhibit altruism by being concerned, cooperative and helpful. Christians should be concerned, not callous.
10. We can demonstrate generosity by sharing our time, our energy and our resources. Christians should be generous, not greedy. 

In short, Christians should be encouraging, not discouraging.

No man, woman or child is wholly good or wholly bad. We all have different sides to our personality; and the side that we present, is usually the side that the other person brings out in us. It doesn't pay to pre-judge people and assume that "so-and-so is a crotchety old skinflint," just because someone else had that experience with him. That person might have brought out the crotchety side of the other fellow. By using common-sense, we may be able to bring out a good and generous side. That's our commission as Christians!

Here are some specific suggestions on how to apply these principles:

Always mention any admirable quality you see in others;
Give five times as much praise as you do criticism;
Make a brief phone call to express appreciation when it's deserved.
Notice any job well done, and say so. This is especially important for people out of the limelight who are seldom honored.
Send thank you notes or appropriate greeting cards;
Reach out to hurting people and disregard the prejudice of others;
Avoid negative people and hostile situations.

A timely compliment or pat on the back is priceless. We can't imagine how much it means to lonely people; or former mentors just to know they're not forgotten. A fan of the old comedian, Jimmy Durante, said, "I believe Jimmy died happy because of encouragement. Jimmy's last year had been filled with pain, sadness and disappointment, until one day his wife commented sadly to a reporter how lonely her husband was. "He's paralyzed in a wheelchair," she said. "The days drag by for him with never a letter or phone call. What's happened to all his old friends?"

A national weekly printed that interview and started a flood of mail. Over 26,000 letters, telegrams and phone calls told Jimmy that his old friends did remember. The pleasure that "The Schnozz" had brought into the lives of millions came back to him—just in time.

As a community, this year, lets dedicate ourselves to the ministry of encouragement.

As a church, this year, let's dedicate ourselves to the ministry of encouragement.

As individual Christians, this year, let's dedicate ourselves to the ministry of encouragement.

It can make a real difference.
(Word Count 1973)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This is the introduction to our 2005 theme series. Below is the Table of Contents for this series:

I-00 Introduction
I-01 Knowledge
I-02 Tolerance
I-03 Positive Attitude
I-04 Positive Emphasis
I-05 Positive Speech
I-06 Positive Response
I-07 Positive Actions
I-08 Forgiveness
I-09 Altruism
I-10 Generosity

Sermons numbered II- are from our Holiday and Special Occasions list of sermons. Those which are numbered III- are Miscellaneous Sermons. (These Sermons have been used before, but it's been over 5 - 10 years since I've used them and we have a whole new generation which hasn't heard them. They may be new to you also).