“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

 

In this article, I will make four observations from this text specifically related to the ministry of encouragement in a local church:

First, the writer of Hebrews contrasts “not neglecting to meet together” with “encouraging one another.” We know this because he uses the conjunction “but” in verse 25. He is setting two opposing ideas against one another and drawing a contrast between them. He’s saying that the opposite of not meeting with the church is encouraging the church. Or, to say it another way, meeting with the church is encouraging. The way to battle discouragement is to be present with the church. Isolation and seclusion only bring more darkness and despair.

Second, the writer describes encouragement as a “stirring up of one another to love and good works.” His train of thought goes like this: “Stir up one another, don’t skip church like some people do, but rather encourage one another.” Do you see the link between the first and third clauses? Stirring up one another is one way we encourage one another.

This means that as we talk with one another, we should look for ways to support, build confidence, and inspire hope in each other. When we do this we are “stirring up,” or stimulating, rousing, and reviving “love and good works” in each other’s hearts and lives. These kinds of conversations leave us encouraged because we are often weary of doing good and overwhelmed and bored by the mundane. Don’t you love the way you feel when you leave a conversation where someone has done this for you? We all need to be “stirred up” and “encouraged” to keep on keeping on for Jesus because giving up is a temptation close at hand.

Third, this kind of ministry requires thoughtfulness. Notice that verse 24 begins, “Let us consider how…” We are to “consider,” or think about, specific ways we can encourage one another. Encouraging words rarely come spontaneously. We do not need to prepare speeches for each other, but we do need to think about specific ways we can “stir up” and “encourage” one another.

The other day a church member texted me a specific and thoughtful word of encouragement about something I had thought little about. What struck me was how encouraging it was to be “stirred up” to keep doing something I had thought so little about. When you see evidence of faith, hope, and love in someone’s life, point it out with specific words of encouragement. This glorifies God’s work in our lives and helps us keep going.

Sometimes we think that relationships in the church are more about accountability than encouragement. And if all we ever do is correct and exhort and rebuke each other then it can certainly seem that way. But what if encouraging one another is one of the best ways to motivate the kinds of things we are holding each other accountable for? Are we generally more inspired to pursue love and holiness when we are scolded or when we are encouraged? Was it the teachers and coaches that yelled at you or encouraged you that had the greatest impact on your life in High School? Correction and rebuke are part of our life together. But they are not the only part. And without heavy doses of encouragement, correction will be received begrudgingly, if at all.

Fourth, notice that this ministry of encouragement is carried out in view of Jesus’ second coming. Verse 25 says that we are to do this work “all the more as we see the Day drawing near.”  The “Day” is the “Day of the Lord” so often mentioned by the Old Testament prophets. It refers to the climatic and catastrophic end of history when Jesus returns and judges his enemies, rescues his people, and sets up his kingdom on the earth.

The writer of Hebrews says that the reality of that “Day” should compel us to increasingly (“all the more”) stir up and encourage one another. His point is that this spurring one another on in the faith is, as Michael Lawrence puts it, “a life-and-death matter over which the day of judgement looms.”

We need each other if we are going to make it to that Day still fighting the good fight of faith. And one of the ways God intends to get us there safely is through thoughtful and timely words of encouragement that stimulate and sustain our love for God and for one another.

Encouraging words make us ready for Jesus’ return. As we attend church regularly and look for ways to point out evidence of grace in each other’s lives, the love of Christ is perfected in us and shines through us, revealing something of the world to come. In light of this beautiful reality, who can you encourage in the church with specific words that will help them keep going with Jesus?

Waiting for that Day, With You,

Pastor John