WEBVTT 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:06.919 As we think about encouragement, there has been a child that has been forgotten for Christmas. 00:00:08.040 --> 00:00:16.399 It is the ultimate. This child will go without a present unless the courageous Arthur Christmas 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:24.620 gets to them with that gift before the sun rises and the child wakes. He takes with him 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:35.000 his ace specialist wrapping elf. That's a wrapping elf, not a wrapping elf. And who discovers then 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:42.620 that they need to make this courageous journey together and encourage each other on. They're up 00:00:42.620 --> 00:00:49.659 against it. They risk everything to share the gift. The gift arrives. No one is disappointed. 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:57.219 That's why we're here at Advent. The gift is about to arrive and nobody will be disappointed 00:00:57.219 --> 00:01:06.840 because Jesus, our Saviour, our King, is expected. And we look forward with encouragement and expectation. 00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:13.159 In our reading this morning, Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonia. They are a people 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:20.759 Paul had invested much in, in his early travels and in his church. And the encouragement was two-way. 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:26.780 He was encouraging them and building them up. He had sent people. He had sent Timothy. He had sent 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:34.039 others. And this encouragement was going backwards and forwards as they built each other up. Timothy 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:41.199 had brought back good news to Paul. Yet there were some aspects of this newly emerging church, 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:48.240 as we would know as church, that needed a little bit of extra encouragement and tweaking as they 00:01:48.240 --> 00:01:55.600 considered themselves and looked at their gifting and how that should be lived out in the life of the 00:01:55.600 --> 00:02:05.000 church. The dictionary definition of encouragement is the action of giving someone support, confidence, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:12.620 and hope. And in Paul's letter to them this morning, in this section, there is a lot of that in there. 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:21.159 And as a Christian context, we are there to motivate, to inspire, to encourage, to console others, 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:29.560 so that we can mature in our walk with Jesus and bring new life and hope in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:38.280 That is what we are about. That is the encouragement. And this gift, this gift is so important. 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:45.259 If you're looking for a gift this Christmas, and I guess people are looking around, if you're looking 00:02:45.259 --> 00:02:53.420 for a spiritual gift, encouragement is a great one to have. Encouragement, it's easy to carry. 00:02:53.419 --> 00:03:02.000 It's easy to give away. It doesn't need wrapping up in lots of fluffy words. It can be given as it is, 00:03:02.239 --> 00:03:10.699 raw and lovingly. It can be given in every season, not just at Christmas. It's a gift that just keeps 00:03:10.699 --> 00:03:18.560 on giving. It multiplies as we encourage others and build each other up in the faith. It's not cheap. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:25.599 It's not a throwaway item. It's given because it's given with a purpose. It's given and shared, 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:33.800 and it often, often lasts a lifetime. And you, as well as I, will remember those things where people 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:41.480 have encouraged us, maybe in our childhood, that is stuck and is grown and is for us to share. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:50.159 I can think of words and encouragement. I'm sure you can. And it's encouraging the person that we give 00:03:50.159 --> 00:04:01.099 it to, to be all that God can be and be themselves in that. What better gift to give at Christmas and in 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:09.739 Advent? You may already have this gift. You may already have it in being generous, in kind, 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:18.259 in listening to others, helping people move from pessimism to optimism. Maybe, again, you love people 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:24.800 and treat them with sensitivity and with patience, because that's a large part of what encouragement 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:31.660 is, is bearing with one another. And as Paul says, what would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:40.220 for all the joy we experience before him because of you. Imagine that, having spoken into your life. 00:04:40.780 --> 00:04:49.140 And he continues, we do what we can, praying away night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your 00:04:49.140 --> 00:04:55.360 faces again and doing what we can to help you when your faith falters. 00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:05.540 I'm here to encourage you and support you, says Paul. He's here to encourage and build up a people. 00:05:05.960 --> 00:05:11.980 And in his first letter, he's already said to them, therefore, encourage one another and build each 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:19.040 other up. Maybe you can think of areas now where somebody has done that for you and where you could do 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:27.980 that for others more and more. This new church, moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, knows the power 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:35.480 of encouragement right from the beginning. They know what it means to be encouraged, and because of that, 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:41.520 they've experienced it and they're living it. I believe that every Christian should ask for the gift 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:52.439 of encouragement. Why? Because we need it. We need encouragement in every aspect of our lives. 00:05:53.799 --> 00:06:01.139 Imagine if you've just read Paul's letter for the first time, and it was written to you specifically. 00:06:01.919 --> 00:06:08.479 Maybe you want to go away and read that again this morning. Because we all know just a few things that 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:15.520 he says in there. Yeah, you need to modify your life in this little bit. But it's an encouragement 00:06:15.520 --> 00:06:21.540 to do it, because out of that comes great things. And he goes on to say, we all know those things, 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:29.300 perhaps. But then he says, may God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you. 00:06:30.140 --> 00:06:37.740 Clear the road. And may the Master pour on you the love, so it fills your life and splashes 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:48.379 over into everyone around you. I love that analogy in the message, that it splashes into other people's 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:58.579 lives. It's not planted. It's not specifically done with an agenda. It just splashes out. And people 00:06:58.579 --> 00:07:05.900 catch it. And they're enthused and encouraged. My encouragement to you this first Sunday in Advent, 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:15.459 and as we prepare our hearts and lives for Jesus, to search our hearts and be ready for his coming 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:21.599 again, and all the fullness that he has. How will you encourage others to walk with Jesus? How will you 00:07:21.599 --> 00:07:28.479 use that love as he pours that into your life, and it splashes out into others? And they are soaked 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:39.700 in encouragement. You see, we need to flex our encouraging muscles as Christians more and more. 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:47.819 Encouragement is powerful. It changes lives. It opens up possibilities. It lifts people out of darkness. 00:07:48.340 --> 00:07:56.540 Literally, it lifts people out of darkness. Who is worthy of our encouragement? Often it's born out of an 00:07:56.540 --> 00:08:05.040 attitude of gratitude in the large and small things of life. Encourage the person who serves you at the 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:12.420 shop. What does that take? I heard somebody the other day who works in retail, and somebody had taken 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:20.200 the time to go to their manager and tell them what an amazing experience they'd had, and what a difference 00:08:20.200 --> 00:08:25.800 that that had made to them, just to hear that in this busy moment. Maybe you're up early enough in the 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:32.399 morning to catch those recycling people who come past your house, just to go out and encourage them, 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.460 and thank them for what they do. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:45.600 I'll finish with a story that impacted my life from many, many years ago, and it started with a can of 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:49.120 cola. Other brands of encouragement are available. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:58.460 Mike Pilavachi told a story many years ago at New Wine, and it was in the days of he parked his car in a 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:03.919 multi-story car park, and every day he had to come out. It was in the days of when you had somebody sat 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:11.019 at the barrier. Maybe you remember those days. And each day he'd get to the barrier, and there was 00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:19.480 this man for whom looked as though there had been no joy in his life for a long, long, long time. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:28.179 He just took the money, handed back any change, and that was it. Mike thought, how can I encourage him 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:36.100 in what he is doing in his job and in his life? It was a hot summer, so every day Mike went out 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:44.320 and chilled down a bottle, a can of cola. The first day he handed over his money, and I handed over 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:54.060 a can of cola. No eye contact at all, nothing whatsoever. Second day, money over, can of cold 00:09:54.060 --> 00:10:02.379 coke, nothing at all. Third day, money over, and there was this sense in this guy of, 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:13.759 what is this about? The fourth day, there's a smile as he meets Mike, who hands over and 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:22.679 his ice-cold can of coke. The fifth day, the barrier doesn't go up. Takes the money with 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:29.860 this huge beaming smile, and he said, why are you doing this? He said, not even my boss does 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:35.279 anything like this for me. Mike said, I just want to do this to encourage you day by day 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:42.240 in what you do. I think the cue must have been huge trying to get out of that multi-story car park 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:49.279 as they talk to each other about encouragement day in and day out. Whatever the Lord is going 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:56.480 to use in your life to encourage other people, I pray that he will bless you this Advent, that 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:04.399 you will know that gifting that he has given to us that we can share with other people. And may, 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:12.980 I pray, it splash into other people's lives so that they are soaked in the encouragement and love of Jesus.