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32: How to Encourage Your Teammates · Finding God at Work

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  (Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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  This is Finding God at Work.
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  Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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  isn't just a podcast, it's also an online
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  course.
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  Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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  Our current series is Meaningful Work, Calling, Formation,
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  Service, and Love.
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  Have you ever started your work day and
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  thought about how you're doing and just thought,
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  wow, you know, I'm too encouraged right now.
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  People have just been too encouraging to me
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  recently.
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  I could do with a little less encouragement
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  in my life.
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  No, of course, you've never felt this way.
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  You've never felt this way.
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  Most of us, all of us, have not
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  enough encouragement rather than too much.
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  And there's something about, maybe it's unique to
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  the United States, I don't know, but our
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  work culture where it can feel like encouragement
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  is almost like this bonus.
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  Like encouragement isn't really, you know, essential to
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  the work.
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  It's nice if somebody compliments you or recognizes
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  you.
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  But really, you know, it's just here's the
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  work, do it, get it done.
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  That should be what's expected.
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  Encouragement is some icing on the cake.
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  This is not the vision of encouragement that
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  we see in the Bible.
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  In the Bible, encouragement is vital.
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  Encouragement is a source of strength to do
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  the work that God has called you to
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  do.
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  It pops up all over the place.
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  I think about Barnabas in the book of
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  Acts.
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  He's introduced in Chapter 4, and his name,
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  Barnabas, is actually a nickname.
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  It means son of encouragement.
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  His original name was Joseph, but apparently he
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  was just so encouraging that people were like,
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  there goes little Encouragito, son of encouragement.
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  And it was like that's how he became
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  known, was the son of encouragement, Barnabas.
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  What a cool thing for that to be
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  kind of part of how he was known,
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  his capacity to encourage others.
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  It comes up as a command in Scripture.
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  So Paul, in his epistles, he not only
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  talks about his desire for encouragement and his
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  need for encouragement.
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  He also commands encouragement.
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  So this is 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5, verses
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  9 through 11.
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  For God did not appoint us to suffer
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  wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord
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  Jesus Christ.
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  He died for us so that, whether we
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  are awake or asleep, we may live together
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  with him.
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  Therefore, encourage one another and build each other
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  up, just as in fact you are doing.
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  Okay, so again, encouragement is commanded.
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  Encouragement is central.
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  Even this metaphor that Paul uses here, build
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  each other up, encourage one another and build
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  each other up.
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  Encouragement is like a fuel or a building
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  material.
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  It has a strengthening effect in our lives.
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  It's necessary for the hard work that God
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  is calling us to do.
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  So I want to talk about two sides
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  of encouragement.
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  And to do this, I want to look
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  at what I think is the first time
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  that encouragement is commanded in the Bible.
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  So I was prepping for this episode and
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  did a little bit of reading, did a
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  little bit of Bible gateway sleuthing.
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  And I think the first time that encouragement
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  is commanded by God to anyone is in
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  the book of Deuteronomy, when he's talking to
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  Moses about how Moses is not going to
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  enter the promised land, but Joshua, his assistant,
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  is.
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  So it's this kind of divine succession plan
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  for God's people, right?
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  So let me just read this section.
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  Backstory here was Moses had disobeyed the Lord
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  in an instance where he struck a rock
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  when God told him not to.
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  And this was very significant.
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  And so it led to this consequence of
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  Moses not entering the promised land.
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  So Moses is the one who's writing here
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  in Deuteronomy 1, starting in verse 37 or
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  speaking.
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  And he's speaking to the people of Israel.
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  Because of you, the Lord became angry with
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  me also and said, you shall not enter
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  it, that is the promised land, either.
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  But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will
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  enter it.
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  Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to
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  inherit it.
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  Okay, so Moses is kind of reporting what
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  God has said to him to the people
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  of Israel.
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  He's saying, you know, God got mad at
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  me because of you.
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  So, I mean, it's interesting.
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  It's one of those kind of like touchy
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  things where Moses is like, it's my fault,
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  but it's your fault too, Israel.
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  You know, and that's fair, right?
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  Like neither Moses nor any of that generation
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  of the Israelites got to enter the promised
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  land.
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  But Joshua, it's incumbent upon him now to
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  lead the people.
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  So Moses is reporting what God said to
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  him.
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  And what did God say?
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  God said, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun,
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  will enter the promised land.
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  Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to
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  inherit it.
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  So of all the things that God could
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  have told Moses to tell Joshua with this
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  big succession plan, he could have said, counsel
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  him.
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  He could have said, guide him.
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  He could have said, pray for him.
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  He says, encourage him.
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  The one thing that he's really going to
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  need is encouragement.
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  Okay, now two sides of encouragement, right?
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  The one side of encouragement is encouragement about
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  the presence and action of God.
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  So think about the story of Israel, right?
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  How does God show up?
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  He shows up at the Red Sea.
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  He parts the Red Sea.
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  How does he lead the people?
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  He leads the people in a pillar of
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  fire and a pillar of cloud, right?
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  How does he provide for the people?
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  He provides for them miraculous bread from heaven,
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  manna and quail, so they get their protein
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  too.
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  And there's all these kind of miracles throughout
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  the story of God providing for his people.
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  He's present with them.
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  It's because God is with them that they're
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  able to move through the desert, that they're
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  able now to move to the promised land.
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  Well, what happens with the story of Joshua?
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  God continues to show up.
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  And it's like he almost echoes his earlier
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  work, right?
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  So they have to cross the Jordan River
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  to enter the promised land.
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  And what happens?
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  The Jordan River parts.
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  It's like this little echo of what happened
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  at the Red Sea a generation earlier.
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  It's like God is saying, I'm still with
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  you.
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  So when encouragement is needed, which is all
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  the time, one way to encourage is to
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  remind people of the presence and action of
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  God, to say God is with you.
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  That is a really powerful way to encourage.
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  Let's just hop back real quick to that
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  1 Thessalonians passage, right?
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  Where it's commanded.
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  What's the context of encouraging one another?
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  It says, So
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  in other words, it's saying the resurrection of
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  Jesus means that we will also share in
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  his resurrection, whether we are awake or asleep.
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  In other words, whether we live or die,
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  we will live together with him.
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  Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we also
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  will experience resurrection life, even if we die.
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  This is the startling claim of the gospel
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  message.
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  Therefore, encourage one another and build each other
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  up.
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  In other words, remind one another about the
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  power of the resurrection.
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  Remind one another of the hope of resurrection.
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  When the going gets tough, remind each other,
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  Jesus is risen.
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  He will raise us on the last day.
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  That's what makes it worth it to stay
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  faithful here, even when there's suffering, even when
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  there's challenge, even when there's difficulty.
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  Okay, so that's the first side of encouragement,
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  is we encourage each other about the presence
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  and action of God.
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  This is relevant even to secular workplaces.
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  And it can be tough, right?
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  Because if somebody doesn't share your convictions about
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  God, it might be awkward to be like,
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  God is with you, right?
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  And yet I've seen people do this in
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  very clever ways.
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  So I just want to brag a little
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  bit about my boss's boss's boss.
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  So Julie Yurko, she's the CEO of Northern
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  Illinois Food Bank, where I work, and she
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  doesn't listen to this podcast, so she doesn't
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  know that I'm bragging about her.
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  But she was in this meeting once with
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  like 30 or so team members who were
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  working on this really challenging project, and she
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  wanted to encourage us.
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  And so what she did is she gave
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  us little stickers, and they were stickers of
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  the Blues Brothers.
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  And so, you know, we're in the Chicago
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  suburbs, and the Blues Brothers is like a
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  Chicago movie, you know, classic with the Belushi's
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  and Dan Aykroyd and, you know, classic comedy.
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  But the line, what's the famous line, you
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  know, from the book?
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  It's, we're on a mission from, not from
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  the book, from the movie.
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  We're on a mission from God.
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  And so she gave all these stickers, even
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  though Northern Illinois Food Bank is not a
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  religious organization.
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  And she said, right, you know, we're not
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  a religious organization.
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  I know we all have different perspectives on
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  this.
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  But I really feel that there's a way
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  in which we're on a mission from God,
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  and I just want to remind you of
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  that.
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  It was so great, right?
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  Nobody, I think, would respond to that and
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  say like, well, that's just exclusionary towards people
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  who don't believe, right?
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  Like even if you don't share conviction, you
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  understand the sentiment.
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  She's saying what we're doing really matters.
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  I believe it ultimately comes from God.
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  I want to encourage you.
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  So I would encourage you to figure out
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  in your workplace, can you figure out a
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  way to say to other people, hey, remember,
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  the work you do matters.
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  You're on a mission from God.
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  And again, that's not a stretch even in
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  secular workplaces.
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  Inasmuch as our work serves the common good,
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  it's serving the purposes of God in the
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  world.
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  It's part of God's action in the world,
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  even if it's not explicitly Christian ministry.
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  Okay, so look for those creative ways to
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  encourage people.
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  And obviously, if you're in a Christian workplace,
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  you know, or with Christian coworkers, you can
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  just do it explicitly.
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  You can remind people, hey, if you're doing
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  this out of love, you know, remember, Jesus
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  is with us.
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  He's going to raise us up on the
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  last day.
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  The work that we're doing right now has
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  eternal significance because of his grace, because of
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  his presence.
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  Okay, the other side of encouragement though, this
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  is person-specific encouragement, right?
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  Encouraging someone because you see how God is
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  at work in and through them.
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  And this can be so powerful, right?
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  I imagine this is some of what God
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  had in mind when he told Moses to
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  encourage Joshua is that he wanted Moses.
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  He was Moses, right?
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  He was, you know, the Ten Commandments, the
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  Red Sea, the deliverance from Egypt, all that.
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  It would be a big deal for Moses
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  to look at somebody and say, hey, you
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  have what it takes to lead the people
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  of God.
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  In God's grace, as he's with you, you
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  have what it takes.
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  If I was Joshua, I'd be like, well,
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  Moses thinks I have what it takes.
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  I mean, what better authority could I ask
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  for?
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  This is the gift that we give to
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  each other where we look at one another.
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  We're in the same work.
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  We're in the same struggle.
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  And so we are the qualified authority to
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  speak to how important other people's contributions to
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  that struggle are.
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  So you are uniquely positioned to encourage your
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  coworkers, your teammates in a way that other
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  people wouldn't be able to do.
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  And again, as we're talking about the meaning
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  of work and how love is one of
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  these aspects of the meaning of work, one
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  of the best ways you can love a
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  teammate is to encourage them.
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  And let me talk a little bit about
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  how not to encourage and then how to
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  encourage.
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  So how not to encourage is what I
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  call like the vague drive-by.
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  Sometimes like team leaders are guilty of this,
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  where they're really busy and they kind of
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  feel like, I really should encourage my team,
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  but I don't really know what they're working
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  on right now.
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  I'm kind of busy, so I'm not going
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  to find out.
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  I'm just going to like swing by their
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  cubicle and say, hey, keep up the good
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  work.
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  And then disappear into my office and do
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  those other high-level decision things I have
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  to do.
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  So it's kind of the vague drive-by
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  encouragement.
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  It's like, ah, it's probably better than nothing.
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  Maybe, maybe not, right?
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  Because it's sort of this like, okay, is
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  this really about me or is this about
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  making you feel good?
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  Because it's just so vague.
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  It's like, how meaningful can it be?
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  In order for an encouragement to be meaningful,
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  I was thinking about this.
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  I put together an acronym.
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  It needs guts.
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  It needs some oomph in it.
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  So guts is the acronym.
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  G-U-T-S.
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  For an encouragement to really be meaningful, it
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  needs to be genuine, understanding, timely, and specific.
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  Genuine, understanding, timely, and specific.
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  So genuine.
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  You should believe whatever it is you're going
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  to say when you encourage.
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  So no false encouragement, no flattery.
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  It should be from the heart.
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  Then understanding.
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  It needs to reflect you understand the significance
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  of what the other person does.
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  You know why what they do matters.
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  You know what they've brought to the team
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  that has made a difference.
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  And then timely.
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  Tell them that it made a difference while
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  it's happening or shortly thereafter.
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  And then specific.
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  Again, talk about the details.
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  When you did this during this important project,
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  I saw these qualities and strengths in you,
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  and I so appreciated those.
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  I got to see this in action recently
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  with one of the managers in our company,
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  or at the food bank rather.
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  She saw somebody stepping into a new kind
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  of volunteer coordinator role for one of our
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  special fundraiser events, and she specifically called out,
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  hey, we got really specific feedback about how
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  your coordination of that event made it flow
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  more smoothly.
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  Great example, right?
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  It was genuine.
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  It reflected understanding of the importance of that
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  event for the mission of the food bank.
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  It was timely.
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  This happened the day of the event or
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  maybe the next week.
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  And then it was specific.
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  It was about how she had stepped into
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  that volunteer coordinator role.
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  So think about how you can do this.
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  You are better positioned to do this than
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  most other human beings for your particular teammates
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  and co-workers.
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  And so part of your privilege as an
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  ambassador of the kingdom of God in your
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  workplace is to take advantage of your authority,
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  your insights that very few other human beings
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  would have about the particular strengths of your
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  co-workers, and encourage them in those particular
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  strengths in a way that's genuine and understanding
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  and timely and specific.
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  So encourage with guts.
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  And that is one of the most practical
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  ways you can love your co-workers.
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  And that's something that a machine, an AI,
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  cannot do.
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  Even if you programmed an AI and said,
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  AI, look at my emails and my tasks,
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  and then every week send me an encouraging
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  note about the specific value I'm bringing to
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  the company.
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  Even if you did that, right, how much
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  more meaningful would it be for a human
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  being to do it?
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  Again, because the human being has to take
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  the time and the energy, the specificity of
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  their embodied relationship with that person in a
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  way that a machine cannot do.
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  There's going to be more power, more strength
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  that's given when you, as a human being,
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  choose to love your co-workers in this
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  way.
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  And so it's a uniquely powerful way to
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  make your work meaningful, is to love your
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  co-workers by encouraging them.
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  Lord Jesus, thank you for the power of
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  your resurrection.
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  Thank you that we can encourage one another
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  with that hope of resurrection life.
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  And thank you that you see each of
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  us individually, and you help us see each
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  other and see others and their unique gifts
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  and strengths.
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  Help us to love them.
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  Help us to name them.
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  Help us to encourage them.
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  Jesus, do your work in us as we
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  do our work with you.
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  Amen.
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  Thanks for listening.
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• 15:45
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• 15:48
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