Comfort One Another - Add Value to the Local Church

Our focus this week has been Putting Value in the Local Church.  We have been discussing many of the one another commands of Scripture for as we obey them we will not only find the local church valuable, but we will make it more valuable to others.

In this final edition regarding the one another commands of scripture we find ourselves in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NKJV) where is says,

^“11Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, ”

As we strive to comfort one another the things that individuals can be comforted through are almost endless and in this sin torn world they will not quit any time soon.  Whether it is a death in the family, a broken marriage, a broken friendship, or news of a sickness that will likely bring death we are to comfort.  Find ways to come alongside and encourage.   There is no pastor alive that can perform this to the whole body within the local church unless the church has an attendance of under 10.  He may try, but will always come up short.  This is a command for all believers in Christ.  Yet once again, if we are not interacting with other believers on a regular basis how will we know what they need to be comforted for?

We are also to “edify one another”.  To “edify” means to build up make stronger.  We as believers are to help others to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and in His Word.

These ideas of comfort and edify may at times be done simultaneously.  An immature believer may be struggling to have faith to continue to be obedient as they go through a particular trial.  We then have the opportunity to share our love with them and then to comfort them as we teach them of God’s faithfulness that is taught in the scriptures.  Often this can be illustrated from the lives of Christ-followers in the Bible as well as personal experiences and times of growth in our lives.

Another time it can be done simultaneously is when an individual in their immaturity does not understand principles of God’s Word that apply to a given situation.  They may not understand that as believers we are to expect to be persecuted.  We will be attacked for the stand we take for Jesus Christ.  Yet, God knows what we are going through.  God never allows us to be tempted above that we are able. (I Cor. 10:13)  God always loves his own.  So no matter what comes we must not lose heart, but rather continue to walk faithfully through whatever he has given us to endure for Him as we count it a privilege.  (Phil. 3:8-10)

My prayer is that our individual local churches would be full of believers fulfilling the one another commands bringing glory to God as we wait for his return.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/churchoflittleton  FW # 37

Putting Value in the Church by Exhorting One Another

Our focus this week has been Putting Value in the Local Church.  We have been discussing many of the “one another” commands of Scripture because as we obey them we will not only find the local church valuable, but we will make it more valuable to others.

Today we continue in Hebrews 10:24- 25.  Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV)

^24”And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

²⁵not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Yesterday, we were challenged to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”  Vs. 24   Today we are going to move into verse 25 and see that we are to be “exhorting one another”.  This exhortation “implies speaking in God’s name and with the Spirit’s power.” ^[1]  In order to live lives that are worthy of the gospel we need to be challenging one another as we speak God’s Word  as Paul did the Philippians in Phil. 1:27.

The reason given for the importance of this is because “the day approaching.”  The day is the “glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ” referred to in Titus 2:13.  Just like the passage in Titus 2, Hebrews is challenging us to have lives that reflect the image of Christ in order to have a spotless bride ready for the bridegroom. 

Yet, believers are not often open to exhortation and having areas of their lives revealed that must be cleansed and changed.

Think through this illustration with me.  If you were at a wedding and were sharing the last few minutes with a bride before she walked down the aisle and you noticed a big blotch on her dress, would you say something?  Of course you would.  And when you said something she try to figure out anything possible to get that dress clean.  She would never say, “Oh be quiet; it is none of your business what is on my dress.  Just keep your mouth shut and mind your own business.”

Yet, it is not unusual when believers are challenged by others about a spot in their life that would not reflect a “spotless” bride. 

We indeed are called to exhort, what is interesting is that the same root word for “exhortation” is also translated “comfort.”  The manner of our exhortation is important so that an individual is not blown away by it; but the fact that it must be done remains because we are looking for that Day when Christ returns, and we want to reflect that spotless bride as we await the Bridegroom. 

The video version of this is available at www.youttube.com/churchoflittleton    FW # 36

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^[1] Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1995), 781.

Adding Value To the Local Church Through Serving One Another

One way to put value into the local church is by striving to fulfill the one another commands of Scripture.

Galatians 5:13 gives us yet another of these. It says, “For you were called to freedom only do not turn your freedom to an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Paul writes in Galatians 6:10, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith.”   Our service should be extended first and foremost to other believers within our local churches.  These good works can come in many ways as we minister to all types of needs within the body.

Al Broom from Multiplication Ministries said this, “In "serving one another in love” we find true freedom in Christ.  Our deepest needs are met in legitimate ways.  We are not being used by one another.  We are not put on the performance standard.  Our relationships with others can be truly satisfying.  This is true freedom!” (One to One Discipling, pg. 60)

When we trust Christ as Savior we are no longer “prisoners to sin” (Gal. 3:22) but God has set us free we therefore are not slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. (Rom. 6:18)  As slaves to righteousness we must take time to evaluate how we are “serving one another in love”.  

What becomes obvious to me is that if we are not spending time with other believers we cannot truly get to know their needs and therefore cannot serve them in love as much as if we truly knew them.  If we are not willing to open up and let others know us we cannot expect them to be able to serve us.  Once again, the Christian who believes that he can obey and please God as he meets alone with God in the woods is greatly mistaken.  He in no way can truly fulfill these commands of Scripture.

A second one another command that will help us in our “serving one another in love” is found in I Peter 4:9.  “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.”  The term “be hospitable” means to love strangers.  To show compassion to those you don’t know very well.  In Heb. 13:2 and Acts 10:23 the idea is to bring people in to entertain.  As there are individuals that we don’t know very well in our church and we invite them into our homes for a meal or some other function.  This will allow us to get to know them better and give us the opportunity to serve them as we see needs in their lives. 

The end of I Peter 4:9 said, “without grumbling”.  I am amazed how many times I have heard individuals refer to having people over in a negative light.  I John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.”  We show our love for God even as we serve others through hospitality and other ways as God leads.  Doing this service with a happy face and not grumbling!

To see the video version of this you can visit www.youtube.com/churchoflittleton    FW # 34

Putting Value in the Local Church part 1

This week’s theme is “Putting Value in the Local Church.”  I believe we can do this by fulfilling the one another commands of Scripture.

Romans 12:4–5 (ESV) ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

When we trust Christ as Savior we become part of the body of Christ.  The apostle Paul uses the similarities between the human body and the body of Christ in I Cor. 12:14-27.

Paul also challenged us in Ephesians that as members of a body we need to be working together to build up the body.  Ephesians 4:16 (ESV) ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

As individuals within the body of Christ, God has given us different abilities and gifts to use to the benefit of the rest of the body.  In doing this we will build up the body and help it to grow into what Jesus expects of it.

This makes clear then that any individual Christian cannot function effectively unto himself.  Though they have certain talents that can benefit the body, for the body to be complete they must be willing to assemble with the rest of the body for the benefit of themselves and the others around them.  If I get a splinter in one of my toes, I need my hand to pull it out.  We should not ever say to another part of Christ’s body I don’t need you.  For it is each individual together that make up the body of Christ.

As we learn to minister to one another with the gifts that God has given we must be careful that we do not become proud.  Romans 12:3 (ESV) ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

God has given us all gifts so that His body may grow to be what he desires it to be, but we must constantly be reminded that these gifts are directly from Him.  They are not because of our own merit nor is one gift more valuable than another within the body.  Yet in Humility we are to serve one another for the benefit of all. 

These things cannot be done in isolation from other believers.  We are called to gather together to accomplish Christ’s purpose for the body.

So in review, we are to remember that we are all necessary parts of the body of Christ and that we are to function for the benefit of the whole.

The video edition of this is available at www.youtube.com/churchoflittleton   FW #32