Sermon By Pastor Cheryl Foulk (Feb. 5) - "Encouraging Words"

In our years in ministry, we have moved several times in Ohio.

In one of the moves that our family made, our daughters began a new semester at a different school from the one they had attended the prior year.

Our youngest daughter seemed to have the most difficulty in adjusting . She began to complain of stomach aches and not being well enough to attend school. She walked very slowly to the bus stop.

 During one of the first weeks of school, she tearfully told us that her teacher told them that “they were the worst class that she had ever had in her 30 years of teaching!”

I don't know if the teacher was extremely discouraged or frustrated, or if she really wanted to impress upon her students how much that they needed to learn. I don't know her reasoning to make this pronouncement. But our daughter took it very personally.

She thought that they were all doomed, that they were the bottom of the barrel. In her opinion, she was part of a class of failures. We had a daily struggle to reassure her that she could  make it.

The year progressed and the kids learned and our daughter even thrived. She adjusted to her new school. What seemed to be  lacking in that class was the element of  encouragement. 

Encouragement: Essential to living a life of joy and fulfillment.

Whether we are the new kid in the class, or recovering from a set back, or dealing with a situation that drains us of all energy, or feeling at a loss because of  the changes  in our lives or trying to meet all the demands upon us,  we all need encouragement.

God is our encourager ! God believes in each of us, desires the best for each of us.

God's words to us in Scripture are encouraging words:

Psalm 69:32  You who seek God. Let your hearts beat strong again.

Psalm 138:3 On the day I called, you answered me. You increased the strength of my soul.

When we look at how God relates to people in the Biblical story, God is not distant.

We learn that God is with his people, that he will direct their paths, that he will guide them as to how they are to go.  Their names are written on God's heart.

Jesus has his own event of encouragement.

 When he is preparing to begin his ministry,Jesus goes to be baptized by John. At  his baptism, God reassures Jesus  with these words:  “You are my beloved Son; I am pleased with you.” What a wonderful encouragement!  How many times Jesus must have remembered that affirmation. When someone cares for us, when they support us, that love gives us the strength that we need. God is that Someone for us.

Jesus in turn encouraged the folks that he encountered.  He invited people to be his disciples,and said that those who followed him would do even greater things than he did.

Jesus spoke about being able to stand again after being down,

about sins being forgiven, about  walking on a better path.

He told his followers that they would be lights to the world.

He told them not to be afraid because he had overcome the darkness of the world.

Why is God our encourager?

When I think of God as being the encourager in our lives,

I think first   that  God considers us worthy of his care. We have value  and significance.

We are precious to God.

Gregory Boyd, is a pastor in Minnesota and an author. One of his books is  entitled “Present Perfect”. Let me share with you a portion from that book:

“Only thing that ultimately matters is that you are submerged in God's love right now. Remind yourself that you could not be more loved than you are this moment. You could not have more worth than you have this moment. Your life could not be more significant than it is at this moment...”  (p.69)

I like the way that  Greg Boyd describes this love that God holds us in. God's love for us is not dependent on our actions.

Greg Boyd wanted to be more conscious that God is with him at all times and places. He wanted to remind himself of this submersion in God's love.  He does this practice which I have also found helpful. When he goes to sleep at night, he consciously  feels the support of the mattress, the cradling of the pillow. He feels the support of the bed, and this reminds him  that God is here. God is his foundation, his support. This physically and spiritually reminds him that he belongs to God and that he is not alone.

When I think of God as our encourager, I think also that God gives us the strength to live our lives.

In the Old Testament reading from Isaiah which we heard read, the prophet Isaiah is speaking to his people who are far from home. They have been taken into exile into Babylon as captives of war.  They are hundreds of miles away from all that is familiar.

Deep within their hearts, they may have the desire to soar like a bird, to fly powerfully like an eagle, to escape. They want to regain their freedom. In the midst of their troubles, they are asking “Does  God still care for us?” Isaiah speaks to assure them that God had not forgotten them.  God's words of encouragement are not just for the young, but for all of them.

He gives power to the faint,and strengthens the powerless...
 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

With trust, we also can wait and depend upon the Lord. We hold  on to the promise that God will lift us up and enable us to finish.

There is a children's story called “The Seed and the Trellis” authored by Jan Karon.   She describes it as  a book of encouragement for all ages.  It is a  simple story:  a small seed is given to a woman who is referred to in the book as the Nice Lady.  She plants the seed and lovingly cares for it.  She tells the seed that it will be a lovely vine, but the seed has its' doubts because it is so tiny.

 Rain fell and the sun shone, and the seed became a green sprout.

 The Nice Lady then builds a trellis for the plant to climb. The sight of the trellis is really scary for the plant because the trellis is so high,  at least a “ million zillion feet. “

 Eventually the sprout  becomes a vine and is compelled to climb!

The vine grows and wraps itself around the trellis and grows higher and higher. When the vine feels stuck and  cannot climb any higher , then the Nice Lady

nourishes the plant and encourages it on.  The beautiful lush vine begins to grow again and reaches the top of the trellis.

One night the Nice Lady awakes to a sweet smell on the night air. She goes out into her garden,and to her delight,the trellis vine is covered with fragrant white blossoms that have all opened.  The little seed  is revealed to be a moonflower.

To me God is like the gardener in the story.  The gardener is doing all that can be done so that the seed will become a blossoming plant that rises high above the earth. The gardener builds a trellis and supports, and nourishes, and believes in the plant. God the gardener   also rejoices with us when we bloom.

God believes in you. God will never give up on you. There is nothing that we can do  to separate us from God's love.   As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “the one who began a good work in you will complete it.” 

Some days we read these promises and we forget that they apply to us. I wanted to refresh your heart and my heart to these realities.  For all of us, there are seasons of our lives when we are discouraged,when we don't know if we can keep going.  We have to turn to the One who made us, the One who can encourage our hearts.

God's encouragement comes to us in many ways: through  the study of Scripture, through occurrences in our lives, and through the actions of other people.

What a blessing it is when we can be part of God's work of encouragement! When we can offer words that lift up someone else, and  remind them  who they are in God's eyes.

At the time of Coach Joe Paterno's death, there were remembrances that were posted on the Penn State web site.    One story  was from a neighbor of the Paternos, and it touched my  heart because of its simplicity. The neighbor was relating that years ago his brother and mom were doing some snow skiing down a hill in the neighborhood. His young brother was having trouble walking back up the hill in his skis.  He wasn't making any progress and was very frustrated. His mom finally told him to take off his skis so they could get back up the hill. 

Unknown to them, Joe Paterno was in his back yard taking in the whole exchange.  He yelled down to them “ You can do it. Don't take off those skis!”   The few words from  the college coach meant a great deal to the boy( and his mom)  and he finished climbing that snowy hill.

There are hills to climb in our lives ; there are difficult passageways, there are hard journeys that seem endless.  You may be in the midst of such a trek.

Some days we soar like eagles, and sometimes we can run, and sometimes we walk with a steady pace. There are other times when  it seems we are at a crawl.

Remember that there is always an Encourager on your side: the One who made you, who saves you, who sustains you.

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not forsake you. Do not fear. “  (Deuteronomy 31:8)

.