Camp Hill Church of Christ
MENU
 Home 
 About Us 
     Directions 
     About Church of Christ 
     About Camp Hill Church 
     Junior Bible Bowl 
     Softball 
 Church Links 
 Articles 
     India Trip 
     Biblical Eating Class 
     Spiritual Gifts 
     Minister Search 
     Spiritual Continental Divide 
 Sermons 
 Calendar of Events 
 Login 

5) Exhortation Gift – Encouragement 3%

Rom 12:8 "or he who exhorts, in his exhortation"

What does it mean to "exhort"?

The base word used for exhortation is parakaleo parakaleo. Para (near or beside) + kaleo (to call) = to call beside or near. In Luke 16:25 we find this word in its pure form "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.'" Abraham was holding Lazarus close and it was called "comforted". It communicates the concept of acceptance.

Some encouragers mentioned in the Bible:

Barnabas was an encourager

  • Acts 4:36-37 And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
  • Acts 9:26-27 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
  • Acts 11:22-23 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and {began} to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain {true} to the Lord;

Judas and Silas were encouragers

  • Acts 15:30-32 So, when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.

John the Baptist was an encourager

  • Luke 3:18 So with many other exhortations also he preached the gospel to the people.

Paul was an encourager

  • 1 Thes 2:11 just as you know how we {were} exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father {would} his own children,

Many encouraged in the Bible

  • Col 4:10-11 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and {also} Barnabas' cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and {also} Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision; and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.

God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all considered comforters.

  • The Father and Son:
    2 Cor 1:3-7 Blessed {be} the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are {sharers} of our comfort.
  • The Son:
    I Jn 2:1-2 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for {those of} the whole world.
  • The Holy Spirit:
    • John 14:16 "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
    • John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
    • John 15:26-27 "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, {that is} the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, 27 and you {will} bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
    • John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

The primary message of encouragement: Salvation with Jesus!

1 Thes 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Signs of Maturity

  1. Attitude
    1. They are self driven.
    2. They are optimists.
    3. They are motivators.
  2. Expressive
    1. They are creative.
    2. They are communicators.
    3. They are practical.
  3. Relationships
    1. They are unifiers.
    2. They are friendly.
    3. They are counselors.

Signs of Immaturity

  1. Impulsive
    1. They tend to interrupt people.
    2. They tend to act without thinking.
    3. They tend to move too fast in big decisions.
  2. Emotional
    1. They are prone to depression.
    2. They are prone to be unrealistic.
    3. They are prone to be over-humorous.
  3. Overbearing
    1. They may encourage others into doing the wrong thing.
    2. They may encourage others into inactivity.
    3. They may encourage others serve with rules verses principles.

Some ways to obtain joy with this gift

  1. Write notes of encouragement to others.
  2. Memorize encouraging texts to be used to back up exhortations.
  3. Make many hospital, nursing home and shut-in visits.
  4. Be the one to deliver flowers and cards to the sick.
  5. Be hospitable. Have many guests in your home for meals and fellowship.
  6. Have one or two close friends who share the same gift. This will allow the encourager to re-charge him or herself.
  7. Volunteer at a half-way house or home for trouble teens.
  8. A follow-up for new converts.
  9. Volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center.
  10. Be one of the first to visit the dropouts.
  11. Preaching, teaching, devotions and reading the scriptures to others.
Back Table Of Contents Next