LEADERSHIP CAPSULE
... equipping leaders with tools, skills, and weapons to provide effective leadership for nations to ultimately fulfill the Great Commission

Monday, March 20, 2017

TITLE : The Awesome Power Of Encouragement

Leaders are called to be encouragers

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Encourage one another and build each other up.."

Hebrews. 3:13 “Encourage one another daily…”

Let’s face it — life can be really hard or tough. God is good, but in the midst of his goodness, we are still living in the midst of brokenness, hurts because we live in a fallen world. God is on our side and He loves us very much, but that doesn’t exempt us from experiencing deep, deep pain. There are times in this life when many of us might find ourselves right on the edge… ready to give up on our marriage, give up on a child or give up on our faith. We might get to the point where we feel like we can’t take it any more.
When this happens, sometimes the only difference between us going on or giving up, succeeding or failing is a simple word of encouragement . Encouragement doesn’t mean having sympathy, or feeling bad for someone.
The definition of encouragement is: “To inspire with courage, and to help someone to continue, to give aid, support and help.” This help can come in many forms, such as in a friend’s loving presence, a letter, a phone call, or a prayer.

In the last episode we studied the life of Barnabas which means "son of encouragement". Can you imagine how devastating it was for Mark when Paul refused to let him go on the next missionary journey? He could have been so discouraged that he quit the ministry or even gave up on God. However, Barnabas (Son of Encouragement) stood beside his friend John Mark despite his past failure and encouraged him in the work of the Lord. He lifted John Mark up and gave him another chance and inspired him to continue in the ministry. Barnabas’ encouragement changed John Mark's life. Think about it, what would have happened if Mark had quit? We probably wouldn’t have the Gospel according to Mark. John Mark later became useful to the ministry of Paul. That's the awesome power of encouragement!!

The story is told about an old man who lived in a small town who was known around town for never saying any unkind words to anyone. Every word that came out of his mouth was encouraging and positive. And people in the town couldn’t stand it because they liked to talk about people. So one day, a vicious, dog, who terrorized the towns people for years, died. And so the towns people got together and began to say all kinds of bad things about the dog. After a while, the people went over to the nice man’s house to see what he would say about the dog.
They knew that he could not say anything good about the dog. However, when the town's people asked him what he thought about the dog, the nice man paused, and said, “That dog sure did have pretty teeth.”  If we look for the best in people and not the worst, we will always find something good in everyone.

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS.

When someone does something good in your eyes, simply tell them. It will make a world of difference to that individual.

For example:
a. If you enjoyed someone’s prayer, tell them.
b. If someone becomes a Christian, encourage him or her in their faith.
c. If someone at your work does a good job, give them a pat on the back.
d. If your children do something good, give them praise. Children constantly need encouragement because it builds up their self-worth and importance.

Finally Brethren, we need to be a people of encouragement!! The Bible commands us to do this. By being an encourager, we can change someone’s life,  chart a new course in their destiny and we can build people’s self-worth.