Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / How to Help Others Over Life's Humps

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How to Help Others Over Life's Humps · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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There is an awesome, untapped resource in the
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body of Christ. It's the difference between people
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having a great day or a terrible day, and the
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word is encouragement. You want to learn how
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to speak life into those you love? Stay with
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us and find out how. I'm Dave Drewy, and today
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on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram begins a series
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called Building Authentic Community, How to Lift
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Up Those You Love. Turns out even the people
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who seem to have it all together, confident,
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successful, like they've got it all figured out,
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need encouragement just as much as anyone else.
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Turning to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, Chip shows
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us how the Apostle Paul used the power of an
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encouraging word to keep a persecuted, struggling
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church from giving up on their faith. And we'll
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see why this kind of encouragement is so vital
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for you and me today. Well, now here's Chip with
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the start of a message titled, How to Help Others
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Over Life's Humps. When you really talk about
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how to get over life's humps, there's a number
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of things that you need. But one of the most
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powerful, powerful things that God has ever given
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us is speech. The power of an affirming word
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given lovingly, authentically as God leads is
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absolutely beyond what you can imagine. In fact,
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the Bible is replete with multiple examples of
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the difference just a word can make. Proverbs
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25, 11 says, a word aptly spoken is like apples
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of gold in settings of silver. What a picture.
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Or in Proverbs 10, 11, it says the mouth of the
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righteous is a fountain of life, but violence
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overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. And third,
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Proverbs 15, 4, the tongue that brings healing
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is a tree of life, but deceitful tongue crushes
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the spirit. One simple word really makes a difference.
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Now, here's the question we want to ask and answer
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tonight. Put simply, how can we learn to speak
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into the lives of people that we love in such
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a way that it really encourages them? I mean,
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that it changes them. I'm not sure the Apostle
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Paul, although he was an apostle and filled with
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the Spirit, grasped how much he was going to
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encourage the Thessalonians when he wrote the
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book to them. And so we want to look tonight
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at four ways to speak life to those that we love.
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And our model is going to be the Apostle Paul
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and how he did it to the church of Thessalonica.
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We're going to look at chapter one, the first
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10 verses. I want you to get a picture before
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we read this in one reading of the people that
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he wrote to and how they felt and what they were
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going through. What was the humps that they needed
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to get over? Because then when you understand
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that, as we walk through the passage, you'll
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get an idea that God really understands the humps
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you're going through. The apostle Paul is on
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a second missionary journey and he's heading
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where he thinks God wants him to. There's open
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doors and open doors and open doors and he keeps
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preaching and sharing. He goes to every synagogue
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and late one night he gets this vision, this
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dream, the Macedonian call. And he hears from
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God to go toward Greece. And so he gets up the
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next morning and tells the guys, hey, there's
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a change in orders. And so he travels over to
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Philippi. That's in Macedonia. And there's not
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even a synagogue there. And so the practice of
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the day when there's not a synagogue is the faithful
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Jewish people would go to a riverbank and have
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a prayer meeting. You can pick up the story in
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Acts 16 if you want to read it later. And he
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shows up and there's a lady named Lydia. And
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boy, she comes to Christ in a group of women.
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Paul lands in jail later. There's an earthquake
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and he and Silas are singing at night and the
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jailer and his whole household, they come to
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Christ. The Philippian church is born. And I
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mean, for about two months, he's there or more.
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And things really take off. He's politely asked
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to leave that city, which happens to him a lot.
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He travels by on the great Ignatian Highway that
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connected the Roman Empire. And he goes by two
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big cities, but they weren't the right ones.
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And he travels at least five or six days to Thessalonica.
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It's a harbor city. It's got about 200 ,000 people.
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It's one of the major ports. It is a political,
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strategic, economic, cultural crossroads of that
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portion of the Roman Empire. Acts 16 and 17,
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we find he does what he always does, to the Jew
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first and also to the Greek. Week number one,
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he shares it, and they say, hmm, interesting,
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we're not sure. Come back next week. So he comes
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the next week, and he teaches and preaches in
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the synagogue that all the hopes, all the dreams,
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all the prophecies about the Messiah, he came,
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he died, he's been resurrected, and he's alive.
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And they didn't go for that too much. A few people
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trusted Christ and he began to share with the
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Gentiles. By the third week, so many Gentiles
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were coming to the faith that the Jews got jealous
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and they said, get out of here. We know from
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this book that he stayed in Thessalonica for
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at least a few months because he received two
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financial gifts from the church at Philippi.
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He was there long enough to develop his trade
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because he says, I worked with my own hands,
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but it was a lot of persecution. You walk downtown
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Thessalonica, there's idols everywhere. These
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people came to Christ in the midst of a great
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persecution. And when they came to faith, if
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they were Jewish, they were separated from their
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homes. So you had people whose moms and dads
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said, don't bother coming home. You had wives
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who came to Christ whose husbands said, hey,
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you know what? Don't bother coming home. You're
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disinherited. For Gentiles, they had friends
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and they would go to all these temples and were
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involved in all kind of immorality and worshiping
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of all these idols. And when they came to Christ,
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they turned from those idols to serve the living
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God. And all of a sudden, they're not getting
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invited to parties anymore. Not only are they
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not getting invited to parties, but they're messing
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up the economy. Now people are mad at them. So
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they're isolated and they're alienated. In fact,
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Paul really gets beat up on this one. So he gets
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run out of town. Silas is sent back to Philippi
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to figure out, you know, how they're doing and
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encourage them. Paul gets run out of town. He
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ends up in Athens by himself. And we hear in
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2 Corinthians, he's as discouraged and despondent
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as ever. Finally, he gets refreshed by one of
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the fellows he's close to, Titus. Ends up finally
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in Corinth. He came through here about some time
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in about 49 AD. It's about 18, 24 months max
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when he writes 1 Thessalonians. By this time,
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Silas has made the circuit. Timothy has made
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the circuit to check on the church. And they've
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met him back in Corinth. And he's gotten a report.
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And he's writing this letter to a group of people
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that there's a high price tag for being a Christian.
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That it's tough. That life, economics, family
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relationships, social acceptability, it is all
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very, very difficult. And so he writes them a
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letter to encourage them. Now just follow along.
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We're going to read, not study it yet. Just listen.
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And imagine you being one of those people. Imagine
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what it was like if this had happened to your
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life and that little apostle guy. And of course,
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you've got all this joy and God's changed your
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life and you're forgiven and you have peace.
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But day to day, it's tough. And you haven't seen
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him in about 18 months. And there's probably
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a few days that you get so discouraged, you start
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doubting, you know, could this be true? Other
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days, you just think, I can't take it anymore.
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Other days you say, you know, what's the use?
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You know, we're sharing our faith, we're doing
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what he said, but it's not making any difference.
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Listen to what your mentor, Paul, would say to
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you. To the church of Thessalonica, from Paul,
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Silas, and Timothy, and God the Father and our
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Lord Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you. We
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always thank God for you. mentioning you in our
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prayers, we continually remember before our God
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and Father, your works produced by faith, your
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labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired
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by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know,
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brothers loved by God, that he's chosen you.
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How? Because our gospel came to you not simply
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with words, but also with power, with the Holy
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Spirit, and with deep conviction. You know how
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we lived among you for your sake. You became
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imitators or mimics of us and of the Lord. In
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spite of the severe suffering, you welcomed the
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message with joy given by the Holy Spirit. And
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so you became a model to all the believers in
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Macedonia and Achaia, that's Greece. The Lord's
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message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia
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and Achaia, your faith in God has become known
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everywhere. Therefore, we don't need to say anything
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about it for they themselves report what kind
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of reception you gave us. They tell us how you
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turn to God from idols to serve the living and
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the true God and to wait for his son from heaven
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whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues
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us from the coming wrath. Would that be an encouraging
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word? Wouldn't it be good to hear that when things
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get really, really tough? Now, as I've looked
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at that and studied it and examined it, I think
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there's four clear things that the Apostle Paul
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does to encourage people whose lives have lots
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of humps. They all have to do with speech. And
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what I'd like to do now is go through and study
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it with you and briefly look at each of these
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four things out of these ten verses. And we'll
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use them as our example about how we're going
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to talk to one another, how we're going to talk
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to our mates, how we're going to talk to our
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friends, how we're going to talk to our bosses
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and employees. We're going to learn how to communicate
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with our mouth in such a way that every person
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that you and me get around, we're going to encourage.
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So let's look at verse one. First of all, I think
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we need to learn to bestow a blessing. Did you
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notice how he started it? Paul and Silvanus and
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Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in
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God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
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notice what he says. That's the introduction.
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Grace to you and peace. The root word for grace
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is the word joy. It's God's blessing and goodness
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that comes apart from our merit. And we think
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of peace as the absence of conflict. But this
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word for peace means the wholeness of God, the
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shalom of God. And so the very first thing he
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does, the first words out of his mouth are, hey,
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how are you doing? Are you hanging in there?
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You know, are you getting with the program? What
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is it? He bestows a blessing, grace, God's unmerited,
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unlimited love for you, grace to you and peace,
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his wholeness, his blessing. All of who you are
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in Christ, that's what I long. Now for us, culturally,
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that fit well with Paul, but I don't know about
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you, but don't try this one. Don't go to work
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and say, grace and peace to you. They'll think
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you drank something or ate something funny over
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the weekend. In fact, probably not even a good
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one to go home tonight and say, my children,
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my wife, my friends, grace and peace. That's
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probably not going to work. So how do you bestow
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a blessing? I'd like to encourage you to think
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about blessing people whenever you leave them.
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When you leave your home, when you leave work,
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when you leave a friend. Some specifics might
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be just a look in the eye and you say, I'm praying
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for you. I'm praying for you. Or you might express,
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God's going to use you today. You know, they're
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taking off or they're leaving or you're leaving.
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Hey, I want you to know, God's going to use you
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today. Or even, you know, may God's peace really
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reign in your heart. I'm going to pray that for
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you today. Another possible example that I've
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used in my house, just the blessing of tell someone,
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you know, it's a privilege. I want you to know
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it's a privilege to be your friend. It's a privilege
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to be your mate. It's a privilege to be your
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dad or to be your mom. See, it's a blessing.
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What you're saying is you matter. You matter
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to me and you matter to God. Second time I encourage
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you to give a blessing is not only when you leave
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someone, but at bedtime. I say this primarily
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for those of you that are married and have children.
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You know that old thing of tucking your kids
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in? If you're not doing it, start doing it. Don't
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send kids to bed with TVs on and sit on their
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bed. Look them in the eye. Pray with them. Touch
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them with your hands. And ask God's blessing
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upon their life. Do it every night. Bless your
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children. Evoke God's blessing and favor and
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grace on them. The security will be incredible.
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Third is you can bless people through notes,
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email. You know, it's a blessing to say, I'm
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thinking about you today. I'm praying for you.
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It's a blessing to say, hey. Hey, as I was praying
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this morning, Psalm 37, 4, just want you to know
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I'm asking God to give you the desires of your
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heart. Do you get the idea? Have you got it?
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I want to encourage you this week. If you want
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to speak life into those that you love, be still
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a blessing. But it doesn't stop there. Notice
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verse two and three, Paul's appreciation. He
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says, we give thanks to God always for all of
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you, making mention of you in our prayers. constantly
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bearing in mind, notice this, your work of faith
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and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in
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our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of God
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our Father. Notice the structure here. First
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of all, he gives thanks. He lets them know, I'm
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praying and when I pray, you pop up on the screen.
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That's what he says. When I'm praying, Thessalonians,
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you pop up on the screen. And it's none of this
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vague, God bless you, aren't you kind of nice
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people? I think of the specific things that I've
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seen in your life. He says, I thank God specifically
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for three things. Number one, he says, your work
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produced by faith. The word work here, we get
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our word energy or activity from. He says, I
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thank God specifically for the activity and the
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love, referring probably to evangelism, because
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we hear later how it's gone out, and also of
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their good deeds and kind acts toward one another.
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But that's not enough. He says, I thank God for
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your work that is produced by your faith in Christ,
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but I also thank him for your labor of love.
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The word labor here, prompted by love, denotes
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extraordinary effort. It literally meant to cut,
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to toil, It's a picture of someone taking bread
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and hitting it and trying to get it in a certain
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form to be usable. Ryrie says it's toiling to
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the point of exhaustion out of affection for
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another person. How would you like someone to
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pray and thank God that when they look at your
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life, they see activity that is other -centered
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because of your faith in Christ, and they see
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you with a self -sacrificial toil because you,
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agape, love God and love other people? That'd
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be pretty encouraging, wouldn't it? Third thing
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he says, though, is he says he also thanks God
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for their steadfastness of hope, or really it's
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patience, or I like the best translation is endurance.
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The word is a compound word, hupomeno. It literally
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has the idea of kind of a man with weight on
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his back. It means holding up or remaining under
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pressure. It has the idea of when things get
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hard, when things get difficult, when everyone
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else cops out. You hang in there. It means to
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be aggressive, to be courageous, to not give
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up, to not fall into self -pity. You hang in
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there and keep on doing when you don't feel like
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keep on doing. Why? Because you're inspired by
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the certainty of hope. Christ is returning. God
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is good. God is sovereign. And then notice the
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last phrase. In the presence, it literally means
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before the face of our God and Father. He expresses
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his appreciation for who they are and for what
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they've done. Do you do that? Boy, I think about
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this as a father. I hope you have a different
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personality than mine. I really do. My personality
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is fairly analytical. And when I see something,
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the thing that pops out immediately is what's
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wrong or how it can be improved. You know, if
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you're a kid, you know what you hear a lot of?
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Oh, yeah, that's real good, except for. Or, yeah,
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yeah, but. You know, do you know how demotivating
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that is? You see, people who are constantly expressing
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appreciation, thanksgiving, boy, those are people
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that motivate and lift up and build up. You know
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what Paul basically did? He said, this is what
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you're doing right. And I thank God for it. And
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I'm not being vague and I'm not blowing smoke.
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I'm talking about these three specific things.
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And by the way, it's happening. You want some
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encouragement? It's happening before the very
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face of God and he sees what's going on too.
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Boy, wouldn't that be encouraging? Let me give
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you a practical application. Ken Blanchard, he's
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the author of The One Minute Manager and a number
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of other books. In fact, Raving Fans is one that
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would really flow right out of this passage.
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And he says in that, tell people what they're
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doing right. Wander around. And catch people
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doing stuff right. And then praise them. And
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then he says, make it progressive. Don't wait
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until they have it perfect. When you see people
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making little inclinations toward doing better,
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praise them and appreciate them for the progress
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they're making. Some of us are waiting until
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people get it completely right. They're never
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going to get it completely right because they're
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a lot like us. Right? How you doing expressing
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your appreciation? Have you told a friend that
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lately? Have you told your parents that lately?
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Have you told fellow workers, people that you
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do ministry with lately? How much you really
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appreciate? And by the way, jot down under that,
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be specific, not vague. Second, be objective.
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Not just feelings. Specific and objective things
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they've done. Not just, oh, I feel so good I
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get to be your dad or I feel so good we get to
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work together. That's nice. But be specific,
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be objective, and then include some biblical
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truth. Notice how the Apostle Paul did that.
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I thank God for these three things. You want
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some truth to go along with that? All these things
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are happening right before God. He sees it too.
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You can speak life into people's lives if you
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get in the habit of bestowing a blessing, number
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one, and number two, expressing your appreciation
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for who they are and for what they do and what
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they've done. Third, though, Paul has confidence
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in their faith. Look at verse 4. Knowing, brethren,
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beloved by God, his choice of you. By the way,
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before we go on, this word knowing is very interesting.
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You know, he's thanked God for him. Then he says
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knowing. Two words in the New Testament for knowing.
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One, a knowledge that comes by way of experience.
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The other, an objective knowledge. It's just
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fact. Kind of like gravity. You can believe in
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it, not believe in it. Jump off a five -story
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building. Same effect. That's this word. He says,
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I know for a fact. What's he know for a fact?
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Brethren. Notice that word of love. Beloved by
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God. Special word only used of kings in the Old
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Testament. His choice of you. You know, I bet
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these guys were doubting. I bet there was days
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they got up and they were just kept coming at
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him and coming at him and coming at him. And
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they're thinking, you know, maybe I'm not really
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in the family. The Apostle Paul says, I'll tell
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you something. I know for a fact. that you are
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a part of God's family, that your sins are forgiven,
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that the spirit of God dwells in you, that your
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eternal resting place will be with Jesus in heaven
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and all the power in heaven and earth is available
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for you day by day now. I'm certain of his choice
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of you. And you say, well, how can Paul say that?
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Well, he tells us how he can say that. Look at
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verse five. For our gospel did not come to you
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in word only. It just wasn't words. but also
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in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full
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conviction just as you know what kind of men
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we proved for your sake to be. The fact that
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the Thessalonians were a part of God's family
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is shown by the character of the message given
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and by the sincere acceptance of it received
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and the transformed lives that followed. Look
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at the next line. You also became... We get our
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word mimic from this. You became mimics, exact
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reproduction of the originals. You also became
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imitators of us and of the Lord. How did they
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imitate the Lord? Having received the word in
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much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit.
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Boy, I'll tell you what, you talk about a shot
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in the arm. You talk about something that quiets
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doubts in your heart. He says, I know for certain
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because when I was preaching, there was not just
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word, there was power. And not only was there
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power, but God authenticated in your hearts and
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in your lives. And then it's been evidenced by
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how you've lived. You're in. It's clear. Can
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I encourage you to verbalize your confidence
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in other people's faith? You know, down deep,
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everyone thinks someone else is way more spiritual
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than them. If you're married, you're sure your
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wife is. And most of us are right. But no matter
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who you rub up against, the fact of the matter,
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day in and day out, we honestly believe in our
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heart that all the people around us, they must
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know God more than we do. They pray more or better
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or God listens to them more than we do. And,
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you know, we have a real confidence problem when
24:02
it really comes with walking with God. One of
24:05
the reasons is we don't verbalize to one another.
24:09
what we see in one another's lives. Somehow it
24:12
makes us feel uncomfortable, doesn't it? Because
24:13
that's more than just sort of casual conversation.
24:17
You know, you don't do stuff like, hey, you want
24:19
to go out for lunch? Yeah. Hey, boy, these tacos
24:21
are good. Yeah, tacos are great. A little hot
24:22
sauce. Hey, I love the hot sauce. It's really
24:23
good here. By the way, it's really evident that
24:26
the power of Jesus Christ is at work in your
24:28
life. And I just wanted to share that. Would
24:30
you like another taco? I mean, it's really kind
24:36
of a bit. You kind of go to that next level with
24:39
people to say to them, you know, the evidence
24:42
of the working of the Spirit of God in your life
24:47
is a deep encouragement to me. When's the last
24:51
time you told someone how real and how evident
24:55
the working of God in them is to you? Because
25:00
you know what we are? We're little mirrors to
25:02
one another, and we need that. There was a fellow
25:07
named Don Geiger. And he was the pastor of the
25:11
church in Dallas. We moved to Dallas and Teresa
25:14
and I moved there with two kids and a year or
25:17
so later had our third and went to seminary there.
25:21
And we went to this church of about 1 ,800 or
25:24
2 ,000 people and we were just overwhelmed. Except
25:27
really, we thought, oh, it's a big church and
25:29
we'll visit, but we can't go here because, you
25:31
know, big churches are big and impersonal. And
25:33
the first week someone introduced themselves
25:35
and took us home for lunch. And the next week
25:37
they met us and took us home for Sunday night.
25:39
what we realized is that it's not the size of
25:42
the group, it's how connected you are. And they
25:44
had things for our kids that were just phenomenal.
25:48
And Don Geiger became one of my mentors and heroes.
25:51
And boy, he didn't have a lot of time and had
25:54
a lot of demands. And I'd make a lunch appointment
25:56
and wait two months to get to see him. And very
25:58
humble guy, great guy. Did an internship there
26:01
at that church a little bit later. But he...
26:03
more than any other person as I was praying this
26:06
through, has verbalized his confidence in my
26:09
faith in the areas where I struggled. I was out
26:12
at the little church in Texas, and boy, you know,
26:15
my first everything happened there. My first
26:18
problem in this area, my first problem in that
26:19
area, my first problem, and I never would, you
26:21
know, call Don. I'd call Don, he'd take the call,
26:23
hey Don, you know, what do I do, what do I do,
26:25
you know? And he would ask some questions, force
26:30
me to think it through on my own, and I always
26:32
remember this phrase. You're a good man, Chip.
26:37
You're a good man, Chip. And then he'd follow
26:40
it by, Chip, you get faith. God will show you
26:44
what to do. And then somewhere in that conversation,
26:48
he'd always say something like, trust your instincts.
26:52
God's spirit will show you. He put you there
26:54
for a reason and he'll show you whatever you
26:56
need. And you know, every time I would talk to
27:00
that man, he always was a mirror that reflected
27:03
God was at work when I couldn't see it myself.
27:07
I didn't think I had what it took to make the
27:10
decision. I didn't think I had what it took to
27:14
go to the next level spiritually. What Jesus
27:18
is saying to you tonight, will you please communicate
27:21
what you see in brothers and sisters in Christ
27:24
and confirm and verbalize your confidence in
27:28
their faith so they can grasp that they really
27:31
have it and you will do them a service that is
27:34
incredible. Fourth thing the Apostle Paul does,
27:39
is he affirms not only their faith, but the impact
27:42
of their life. Look at verse 7. He said they
27:46
received the word and much tribulation with joy
27:50
of the Holy Spirit, verse 6, so that you became
27:53
an example or a model to all the believers in
27:56
Macedonia and Achaia. Why? For the word of the
28:00
Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in
28:04
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place
28:07
your faith toward God has gone forth, so that...
28:09
We have no need to say anything. For they. Remember
28:13
it's a cultural center. Remember there's all
28:15
these ships coming in. There's people traveling.
28:17
200 ,000 people. It's a place. And they come
28:19
in. And they hear about the faith. And these
28:20
people's lives are dynamically changed. And everyone
28:23
is going out. And the word of God sounded. It's
28:26
in the perfect tense. It's the picture of a trumpet
28:29
blow or an echo. And the idea is the echo's range
28:32
is going farther and farther and farther. He
28:35
says you received the God of God. eternity in
28:40
your heart in the midst of a culture where it
28:42
was tough and you've lived faithfully and you
28:45
don't even have to tell us what's happened. The
28:47
impact of your life is so phenomenal. People
28:51
are coming to us and telling us how our visit
28:54
went and what's happening in your life. Verse
28:58
nine, for they themselves report about us what
29:00
kind of a reception we had with you and notice
29:03
their testimony. Not some ooey gooey, well, they
29:06
had a religious experience. Here's their testimony.
29:10
how you turned to God from idols. Why? To serve
29:15
a living and true God and to wait for his son
29:21
from heaven whom he raised from the dead, that
29:23
is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
29:26
Speaking of judgment, he affirms your life has
29:33
impact. We always tend to focus on what we're
29:37
not doing or we need to do more of this or more
29:39
of that. The Apostle Paul bestows a blessing.
29:42
The Apostle Paul expresses appreciation. The
29:45
Apostle Paul verbalizes his confidence and now
29:48
he affirms the impact of their life. The single
29:53
most encouraging thing is those Thessalonians
29:57
would know that God had actually used them. You
30:02
know why? Because those of you involved in ministry,
30:05
there's a great price tag and you're paying a
30:07
great price tag and you get opposition and you're
30:10
putting in tons of hours and you're loving kids
30:12
and college students and junior hires and you're
30:14
running tech equipment and you're here early
30:15
and you're here late and you're doing evangelism
30:17
out here and you're doing home groups and community
30:19
groups and Bible study groups and you're giving
30:21
your life away and the big question that nags
30:24
you in the back of your mind is, is it for anything?
30:28
Does it really matter? And we need, we need to
30:33
communicate to one another the impact of one
30:37
another's lives. You can't imagine that gift.
30:43
And you probably are unaware, I get lots of great
30:48
encouragement and feedback. Give it to other
30:51
people. Give it to the people who aren't visible.
30:54
They need to know that their life is making a
30:59
difference. By way of conclusion, I think we
31:03
grossly underestimate the awesome power of an
31:06
affirming word. We just grossly underestimate
31:10
it. Secondly, we grossly underestimate how deeply
31:15
those around us are hurting. Quote, loneliness.
31:19
It seems like it's the hardest issue of human
31:22
existence. Well, let's not hear the word without
31:27
responding. What I would like to ask you now,
31:30
who needs an affirming word from you today? Who
31:34
do you know that has some humps? to go over that
31:38
needs you to write them a note and tell them
31:41
what they're doing right. Be specific, be objective,
31:47
and add an element of God's truth. And we will
31:49
pray that God will show us what to do and whom
31:52
to write. Father, thank you for the power of
31:55
your word. We believe that you will bring to
32:01
our mind a name of a person that needs a word
32:06
of encouragement. Help us to write just a brief,
32:10
encouraging, specific word of appreciation or
32:15
affirmation that would let someone know we see
32:18
you working in them. In Jesus' name, amen. You're
32:26
listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
32:29
And a message titled, How to Help Others Over
32:32
Life's Humps. Part of our series, Building Authentic
32:35
Community. You can go back and catch any part
32:38
you might have missed. or find even more teachings
32:41
from Chip anytime by going to our website, livingontheedge
32:45
.org. And if you'd like to hear these messages
32:48
while you're out on the go or simply get them
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downloaded automatically so you never miss a
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message, be sure to subscribe to the Living on
32:56
the Edge podcast wherever you listen. Everything
32:59
Chip talked about today, bestowing a blessing,
33:02
expressing appreciation, believing in someone
33:05
before they believe in themselves, it's really
33:08
just love. put into action, the very thing our
33:11
whole series is built around. And that's exactly
33:14
the subject of Chip Ingram's book, I Choose Love,
33:17
How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself. It challenges
33:20
the idea that love is a feeling that just happens
33:23
to you, showing instead that real, lasting love
33:26
is a decision you make, one act of kindness at
33:29
a time. Be encouraged and equipped to better
33:32
love the people right in front of you. Get your
33:35
copy at a special price online at livingontheedge
33:38
.org slash offers. None of this reaches anyone
33:43
without listeners who choose to stand behind
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it. For more than three decades, it's been partners
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like you who've kept this kind of practical biblical
33:51
teaching reaching homes, cars, and workplaces
33:54
across the country. Become a monthly partner
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or make a gift right now by simply going to livingontheedge
34:01
.org or call our team at 888 -333 -6003. Of course,
34:07
you can also send your gift by mail to Living
34:10
on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Suwannee, Georgia
34:14
30024. Well, now here's Chip Ingram. When you
34:19
hear this passage from the Apostle Paul through
34:22
1 Thessalonians, you're tempted to think that
34:25
Paul got his MBA from Harvard and he did it at
34:29
their business school in the area of motivation
34:30
and inspiration. You can go to a lot of seminars
34:34
and a lot of people can say a lot of stuff, but
34:36
this information in 1 Thessalonians is the best
34:40
I've ever read on how to help people reach their
34:43
God -given potential. There are principles in
34:45
here that help people become... all God designed
34:48
them to be. And they're here for us. Direct content
34:52
to direct people in that day, but timeless principles
34:55
for us. He gives us four ways to speak life into
34:59
those that we love. Let me give you those four
35:02
ways by way of reminder that you can practice
35:04
them today. Way number one, bestow a blessing
35:08
on people. Why? Because everyone's fearful. Everyone
35:12
needs the sense of approval. Number two, express
35:16
your appreciation. Why? Because we all get down
35:19
on ourselves and we lose perspective. Number
35:22
three, affirm the impact that their life has
35:26
had. Why? Because we tend to focus on what we've
35:30
done wrong instead of focusing on how much progress
35:33
that we've made. And then finally, verbalize
35:36
your confidence in their faith. Why? Because
35:39
we all struggle with doubt and insecurity. I
35:43
remember having to make one of the biggest decisions
35:45
of my life. And there was a wise mentor in my
35:49
life, a fellow pastor who was down the road a
35:52
number of years, and he had mentored and loved
35:54
me and helped me. And I had a huge decision to
35:57
make. And I came to him and I asked him, what
36:00
do you think I ought to do? And he was so wise,
36:03
he understood what I needed most was to learn
36:06
to trust God, step up to the plate, make a good
36:09
decision, and believe that God could use me in
36:11
that way. And I'll never forget his words. He
36:14
said, Chip, you're a good man. You walk with
36:17
God. I know you're going to seek him. And I know
36:20
whatever decision you make will be a great one.
36:23
And you know, it was just the confidence that
36:26
I needed to step up and say, you know, God can
36:29
use me. And I can make the call and I can trust
36:33
him. Who needs a word of blessing, confidence,
36:37
or affirmation from you? Why don't you give it
36:41
and make their day? That's Chip Ingram and the
36:43
end of today's program. Join us next time as
36:46
we continue our series, Building Authentic Community,
36:49
right here on Living on the Edge. Today's program
36:56
is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.