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Word of Life
Korea SYME Discipleship Topics
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Week 13: THE TONGUE
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A Word of Encouragement
When the weather gets cold and winter comes, geese
migrate or move to a warmer place. And they fly together.
If you look up into the sky and happen to see a group of them you'll
notice that they fly in a V formation.
Do you know why? As each bird flaps its wings,
it makes the wind currents for the birds behind it .
By flying in this way, the whole flock can fly at least 71 percent
further
and longer than if each bird flew on its own.
Whenever a goose falls out of formation,
it's much harder and takes more effort to flap his wings
if he is alone.
So it quickly gets back into line with the group,
where it receives the wind and the lifting power of the birds
in front.
When the front goose gets tired, he goes to the back and lets another
goose fly at the front.
The geese honk from behind, en-couraging those up front to keep going
and to keep up their speed.
Finally, when one goose gets sick, or wounded and falls out,
two other geese will follow him down to help and protect him.
They stay with him until he is able to fly or until he dies;
and then they start again
or try to catch up with the group."
The word discourage means, "Without courage." The word,
encourage,
literally means "to put heart into," or
"to put courage into someone's heart."
That's what the geese do for each other with their honking and support.
Now how can we do that?
How can we encourage one another?
How can we put courage into each other?
1. A GOOD WORD
Isaiah 50:4 says, "The Lord has given me the tongue of the learned,
that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary."
Proverbs 12:25 says,
Proverbs 12:25 |
"Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,
but a good word makes it glad." |
Proverbs 15:23 says,"A man has joy by the answer of his mouth,
and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" Proverbs 25:11 says,
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
A word, a good word, a word of hope, a word of encouragement
puts courage into people. When Paul finished his first missionary
journey
he came to Antioch and brought a letter from the church at Jerusalem.
This short letter is found in
Acts 15:23-29. And verse 31 says,
"When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement."
This was the word of God. And when they read these words it put courage into them.
They were encouraged by what God's Word said.
The greatest words of encouragement come from the Word of God.
If you want to encourage someone only a little you can say,
"I THINK you look nice today,"
"I THINK you'll do a good job," or "I THINK you did excellent work."
But if you really want to put courage into someone in a big way don't
just tell what you think. Include what God thinks.
One time the director of Word of Life, George Theis,
came to Korea for a few days to stay with us.
After he left we found a card he had left.
At the end of the card were the verses 1 Corinthians 16:17-18
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Please turn to this passage with me. Here Paul said,
"I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus,
for what was lacking on your part they supplied.
For they refreshed my spirit and yours Therefore acknowledge such men."
Then at the end of the card he said, "When I read these verses
I think of you because while here you have refreshed my spirit too. Thank you."
It's been many years and I still remember those words.
A good way to encourage someone is to say a good word like,
"God likes ... (this quality) and I see that quality in you too," or
"God promises ... so don't give up."
you see, if you really want to put courage into someone don't just tell
what you think. When you give a good word, include what God thinks, too.
2. "DON'T BE AFRAID"
The opposite of courage is fear.
One way to encourage others is to help them not be afraid.
Remember when Moses and the children of Israel were at the Red Sea?
They were trapped. They could see Pharaoh's army behind them and
the Red Sea in front of them. They were afraid.
And in Exodus 14:13 Moses puts courage into them by saying,
"Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord,
which He will accomplish for you today."
In Joshua 1 Joshua is called to take Moses' place. The word "courage"
is found three times in this section.
In Joshua 1:6, God says to Joshua,
"Be strong and of good courage...."
In the next verse he says,
"Only be strong and very courageous...."
And then in verse 9 he says, "... Be strong and of good courage;
do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go."
In Isaiah 41:10,13 God says,
Isaiah 41:10,13 |
"Fear not, for I am with you ... I will strengthen you ...
For I, the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying to you,
"Fear not, I will help you."
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The phrase, "Fear not" or
"do not be afraid" is found 59 times in Scripture.
The biggest reason we're afraid is that we forget that
"the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Are you consciously aware that God is with you today?
We need to constantly remind each other, "Don't be afraid.
God is with you."
In 2 Kings 6 the Syrians wanted to start a war with Israel.
And verse 15 says,"When the servant of the man of God
arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city
with horses and chariots. And his servant said ...' master!
What shall we do?'So he (Elisha) answered,
'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those
who are with them.'And Elisha prayed, and said,
'Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.'
Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.
And behold the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Who was this army of horses
and chariots? It was the army of the Lord.
When you feel alone and afraid remember God is with you.
There are many ways to encourage someone.
But two of the best ways to give someone an encouraging word are
(1) to tell them what God likes about them and
(2) to remind them not to fear because God is with them.
Who will you encourage today? Write them a note or an e-mail.
Stop and pray with them.
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by Steve Nicholes
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LINKS TO . . .
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