Are You A Comforter?

Good afternoon, everyone. Can you hear me okay? A face shield. You know, we're trying different things, right? We try to master, try to face shield. We'll make it through this pandemic somehow.

Well, you know, a few weeks ago, I received a call from a friend in the church.

I know he's a busy person, and when he called, he said he was thinking about me, and he just wanted to see how I was doing. We talked for about 30 minutes, and when I hung up, I felt better. It's not like I felt bad when he called. You know, maybe you've had that feeling before. Like, yeah, you're just kind of, you know, you're going through things, and then you get the call, and then you hang up, and you're like, no, I feel better. No, you know, that was nice. And, I don't know, have you experiences getting a call? Yeah. There was something about his tone of voice when he called. My sense that he was listening to me. This sense that as I was talking, I sort of had this feeling of kind of being more open to share more, and kind of being drawn in to the conversation. And, you know, a conversation like that is really a beautiful thing.

And my sense is it's rare, and that's just anecdotal. I'm sure there's some studies somewhere that tell us, you know, how often that happens. There's studies for everything, you know, these days. But it just seems like it should happen more, and I don't know why it doesn't happen more, except that, well, you know, we get busy, and, you know, maybe we don't pick up the phone, or maybe we don't make the effort, and we know we should, and, you know, these kinds of things just kind of happen. And so, you know, I kind of asked myself, as I thought about that call, you know, well, you know, why don't I make more calls like that? You know, why don't we have more calls like that? And I guess I'd like to start out by looking at John 14 verse 16.

If you turn with you there, this might be an unusual place to start, but I think it fits into this, because after that call, I was, I was comforted, you know, I was encouraged, I was helped, I was aided. John 14 verse 16.

Jesus says, and I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever. And theologically, we understand that another doesn't have to refer to a person. We understand that God, Jesus here is talking about how He's going to share His Spirit, and indeed, how His Spirit is going to be poured out on all mankind, like Joel prophesied. And that Spirit is called, in my New King James translation, a helper.

And in my Bible, there's a little note, very famous, we've talked about it a lot, and it says, in the margin, it says, comforter, or paracletus, this famous Greek word paracletus. Sometimes, translated advocate, sometimes translated counselor, and sometimes, like it is in my Bible, helper. But most literally, the word means comforter. It's a spirit of comfort, a spirit which consoles. And in that process, then, a spirit that helps or aids us in our Christian walk, because we kind of feel a little better. It doesn't have to be a big thing. You feel a little better than we felt before. And maybe we're a little more aware of how we feel in that process. And so the question is, does that comfort given to us by God the Father and Jesus Christ comfort others? So we're supposed to be comforted. It's the Spirit of God that pours out on us as supposed to comfort us. And if we're comforted, does that mean that we can also comfort others? Because God's Spirit that comforts us, but can we comfort one another as well because of that? That is, does it pour out of us, as it were, as it's being poured into us? And so the title of my message today is, Are You a Comforter?

Now I'm wicking over Mrs. Spears and I'm thinking, no, I'm not a quilt. I know you make these things, right?

I'm there. Are you one who comforts? Are you one who comforts others? Because if you're not, I think the Bible tells us that our very Christianity might be called into question if we're not. And today I want to discuss what the Bible says about our role as encouragers, consolers, those who comfort and aid and help others. And we're going to talk about the biblical directive, because I made a kind of a bold statement there a moment ago about our very Christianity being called into question. We're going to talk about what I think is a major barrier to us comforting or helping, and what the impact of this comfort would mean if we did this more in terms of the body of Christ, in terms of our communities. We're going to look at an example, and we're going to talk to a little bit of the how. And I'll tell you right now, I'm going to share some how, because a lot of times we talk theoretically, but then we need to get kind of specific. And as you are thinking about this subject, I really would love to have this, you know, a good discussion in our sermon chat, because I think there's a lot of experience in this room. I think there's a lot of very kind and comforting people in this room, and I think it'd be good to hear from you, too. And when we're done, I hope that you will be prompted to redouble, to recommit yourself to being a comforter, an encourager, and an aide, and a help for others.

So let's talk about the statement I made about our very Christianity. Why don't you turn over to 2 Corinthians 1. The first point I want to share here is we must encourage and comfort one another as God's Spirit comforts us. We must encourage and comfort one another as God's Spirit comforts us. 1 Corinthians 1... Sorry, did I say 1 Corinthians? I meant to say 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3 and 4. It says, Bless be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. God is the God of all comfort. And we're going to see a very explicit reference in the book of John, 1 John to that. Verse 4, Who comforts us in all our tribulation?

Who is the comforter? Well, if you're a Trinitarian, you'll put a who, and you'll put a person. But in God's Church, we understand that God is our comforter. It is God's Spirit that comforts us. Therefore, God comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble or tribulation with the comforts with which we ourselves are comforted by God. That's the connection. As we receive comfort, as we receive aid, as we receive help, we ourselves must share that as well with others. That is the direction. That's what we see here from the Apostle Paul. Now, there's a theological point here that I don't want to miss, because we're thinking about the day of Pentecost coming up, and we're talking about the giving of God's Holy Spirit and pouring out of mankind. So I'd like you to turn with me to 1 John 2, verse 1. This is a scripture that you can put in your margin if you'd like, next to John 14 or 1 Corinthians, because I think it's a very powerful theological point. If I ask you the question, who is your comforter? Who is our comforter? Well, you know, if you have a Trinitarian viewpoint, you would say, well, the Holy Spirit is our comforter, because you would turn to John 14 and say that, you know, God sent this person of the Holy Spirit. But look at 1 John 2, verse 1. It says, My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate. Now, that word advocate is the same term, paraclete. Also translated, comforter, aid, consoler. With the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation of our sins, not for ours only, but also for the world.

So, who is our comforter? We have a comforter with the Father, comma, Jesus Christ the righteous. Jesus Christ is our comforter. God is our comforter. Their Spirit is what comforts us.

So, this is a very important theological point, because sometimes, you know, we can read this and we can kind of fall into that. No, when Jesus says, I will send you another, He's talking about the fact that He was not going to be with the apostles anymore. He was not going to be with them, and He was not going to be there to encourage them. And because He was going to be gone, He was going to send His Spirit. And God's Spirit, Spirit of Christ, dwells in us and comforts us. God comforts us through His Spirit in us. Jesus Christ is our comforter, our intercessor, our aid, and our helper. And as He is, we then must comfort others. This is what Paul was describing. We are to comfort others with the same comfort that we ourselves have received. God gives us this gift of His Holy Spirit, and we must share that gift. Now, the second point I want to share is, what is the, you know, what is a major barrier to doing this? Why not, you know, you all, I'm sure all of you are going like, yep, I get it. Yep, I'll do that. Yeah, I know I need to do that. I probably need to do that more. But what holds us up from wrong? Now, some of us might say, yeah, I need to do that more, but you know, I'm barely hanging on myself. So I would love to reach out and talk to someone, but you know, I myself am struggling right now. I am the one that needs to call. I don't think I'm, you know, sometimes we use this phrase, I'm not up to making that call right now. I'm just, you know, I feel oppressed. I feel weighted down. I'm just not in a good place right now. And I just, I just can't do that right now. You know, I'm going to continue to pray. I'm going to continue to ask for guidance, but I'm just not up to that right now. And sometimes maybe someone might call you and maybe they leave a message and you're like, oh, that person's so nice. I'm just not up to taking that call right now. I'm not up to calling that person back right now.

Let's go back to 2 Corinthians 1 verse 5. You know, we read 2 Corinthians 1, 3, and 4, and it's, and Paul says, you know, we are to comfort with the same comfort that we've received. And it's almost like Paul is anticipating kind of that comment because he continues his dialogue. And I'll just, we're going to, I'm going to start in verse 3 again, so we kind of just get the flow there. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3, Bless be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Verse 5, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

So Paul is saying, the more we suffer as we live this way of life, the more we will be consoled, or as my marginal note says, comforted. See, he's on the same, he's in the same concept here. So how does this work? How, how can it be that the more we suffer, the more we will feel better? That's pretty much what he's saying. The more we suffer, the more this power that he's giving us is there to console us. Now, maybe as you're listening to this, you're hearing kind of an echo of Jesus's word on the Sermon on the Mount, right? Blessed is he who mourns for he shall be comforted. It's the same kind of concept. I mean, literally, when it says blessed, we know that means happy. It's kind of hard to get your brain around. Happy is he who mourns. When I, when I, when I mourn, it's hard to be thinking about being happy, but this is literally what he's describing. So what this comes down to is what we choose to focus on, isn't it? It's what we choose to focus on when we're going through our day, when we're going through whatever challenges we're dealing with. Are we going to focus our minds on the things that God's Spirit points us towards?

For are we going to compensate, divert, or otherwise run away from the things that we need to be doing? Because when we're suffering, we want to stop suffering. When we're mourning, we want to stop mourning. So we do things that get us out of that state of mind. We do things. I'd like to read you a quote from a book called The Road Let's Travel by Dr. Scott M. Peck. Dr. Peck passed away, I think, probably more than 16 years ago now. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard and later became a psychotherapist. And he formed an organization called the Foundation for Community Encouragement.

He was a professing Christian, and he incorporated his faith into his practice, even as he served on various governmental roles and in private practice. And he wrote a lot about encouragement. And in the first chapter of the book, The Road Let's Travel on page 17, this is what he writes. And I'm going to try and read this slowly, if you can kind of digest it. He says, the tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness. Our tendency to avoid the suffering is fundamentally the basis of all human mental illness. Since most of us have this tendency to a greater or lesser degree, most of us are mentally ill to a greater or lesser degree.

Some of us will go to quite extraordinary lengths to avoid our problems and the suffering they cause, proceeding far afield from all that is clearly good and sensible in order to try to find an easy way out, building the most elaborate fantasies in order to try to get the most elaborate fantasies in which to live, sometimes to the total exclusion of reality. And the succinctly elegant words of Carl Jung, quote, neuroses is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. I think it was a very powerful quotation that we create these elaborate fantasies for ourselves because we will not confront something that needs to be dealt with because it will lead to our suffering. And again, the question is, are we going to focus our minds on the things that God's Spirit points us to? That is God's incredible mercy, His incredible power, how much He sacrificed for us, how much He is fully able to turn our suffering into what is good for us. That is to say that Christ's comfort will abound as our suffering abounds. Or are we going to try to avoid dealing with our suffering by compensating, diverting, and otherwise running away from the things that we need to be facing, creating fantasies in which we can live? Again, Paul writes right here, for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, I mean, who wants sufferings to abound in us? Let's all get in line. I'll take five. I want ten. No, we don't want to get in line for suffering. We want to get in line for fun. We want to get in line for reward. We want to get in line for things that we like. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. This is legitimate suffering that exists in our lives, in our communities, and in the world around us. It is the consequence of the choices of a thousand generations that have come before us. We have inherited a bunch of junk from the world around us. Are we going to pretend that that doesn't exist? That we weren't born into this mess that we see around us? Are we going to ignore the decisions of our parents and our grandparents? Perhaps our own bad decisions. Or are we going to embrace the suffering that comes from being in this evil world? As we live this new way of life, which means that we are looking into that perfect law of liberty to see what kind of person we are. That's what James talks about, looking into that perfect law of liberty and seeing what kind of person we are, and not walking away and then forgetting what we saw in the mirror. As Benjamin Franklin once wrote, those things that hurt instruct.

When we allow the sufferings of Christ to abound in us, so the comfort of Christ also abounds in us. That's the promise. And as the comfort of Christ abounds in us, so our cup runs over, and we ourselves can provide that comfort, even as we are suffering. And I think this is where the meaning of life really starts to take hold. This is where we intersect the academic with the real meaning of life. I'm not feeling very good today, but I know that there's a purpose in what I'm feeling. There's a purpose in what I'm going through, and I think I'm going to reach out to so-and-so, and I'm going to see how they're doing. We might feel sad. And speaking as a man, sometimes you ladies have a little bit easier time on this. Speaking as a man, sometimes I don't know I'm even feeling sad. I'm just feeling bad. You know, I didn't eat enough this morning. Oh, I should have gone and worked out. We have this vague feeling sometimes that we're feeling sad. And instead of talking through why we're sad, we create what Dr. Peck calls these elaborate fantasies that we live in. And the moment we move in the direction of asking why we're sad for this thing or that thing, the moment we recognize that suffering is a part of the equation of life, as Paul says right here, the moment we look into the Word of God and we look for mentors and guides and we reflect on how God's Spirit guides us, then the comfort from God's Spirit covers us and comforts us, not just so that we can be happy. It's not about, oh, you know, I'm good today. No, we're comforted that our cup runs over and we can comfort others, as Paul says. And what is the impact? This is my third point. What is the impact when this happens? What's the impact on the Church of God? What's the impact on the ecclesia, on the body of Christ?

Well, I'd like to share with you an analogy. Maybe you've heard this analogy before, but Isaac Newton, when he was in many of his writings, he identified two types of forces.

I think some people know that you have the centrifugal force. I've heard that term, centrifugal force. As you're going around, it spins you out into oblivion. And then you have the centripetal force, which as you go around, it brings you into the center. And I think this is what we're dealing with when we're talking about how we cope with things. This centrifugal force sends us outward. And I think that, spiritually speaking, this is the kind of force that, when we embrace those fantasies that we create for ourselves, we basically just spin out. We just end up in oblivion. We're not really going anywhere with it. We're just being spun out. And we're moving away from the body of Christ. Whereas the centripetal force brings us into the center. And when we move in the direction of God's Holy Spirit, it brings us into the body. It brings us closer together. It brings us closer to God and Jesus Christ and the body of Christ. Look how Paul describes this in Romans 15 verse 5. Romans 15 verse 5. Paul talks about this as he writes to the church of Rome, just a couple pages back from where you were. And he says, now may the God of patience and comfort... It's interesting how much he talks about that. You see, the first century was a tough time. It was a tough time to live. There were a lot of things that didn't really quite go right. May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, as we accept God's comfort, which will come when we abound in Christ's suffering, then we become like-minded one towards another. I find this teaching very powerful because it really gets to the question of what unites us as a body of believers. Do we come here? Mr. Crow talks about this. Is this some kind of social club? Are we gun enthusiasts? Are we quilting enthusiasts? Do we come here because we all like to go cycling up in the mountains? Do we come here because we are from the same ethnicity? Is this a ladies' group or a men's group? No. None of those things, if you look around here, none of those things are why we're here. That's not our shared common interest. It's not a profession. It's not economics. We are united because we have accepted a single truth.

It is a truth from the Bible, and we read it each Passover. Let's turn over there. 1 Peter 2, verse 21.

We are united in a common belief, and it's not the easiest belief, but it's what we read every Passover. It's what we accept. 1 Peter 2, verse 21. For to this you were called. See, we were called. We didn't choose this. We were chosen. God loved us first. For this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps. We were called to suffer, following an example of Jesus Christ. Or put another way, we were called to confront the pain that we inherited from our families, the pain that we have inflicted on ourselves, the pain that we have inflicted on other people, the pain and the injustices that others have inflicted on us, and yes, from others, whether we're in the church or not. We were called to do this. And if you think about how many people have left the church or started a new group or whatever, because they were hurt, they were unable to accept that this is part of their legitimate suffering, dealing accepting the pain, learning to let God comfort us, that we are called into this. Because Christ set an example. And look in verse 22. Who, talking about Christ, committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. That is our example. We are called, and in this process, as we accept this calling, we learn not to threaten. We learn not to revile. We learn to understand that God will judge, that He will avenge, that God is in charge, and that we put ourselves into His hands. And when we do this, we see in verse 24 and 25, we will be healed. It says, who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, adding guide to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. We will receive healing. We will receive life, and we will receive an inheritance in the kingdom of God. As we follow this call, as we allow God's comfort to comfort us in our suffering, we draw closer to God, and we understand what our role is.

Now, let's look at an example of somebody who was a comforter, somebody in Scripture that we can, that we can look through. Let's turn over to Acts 4, verse 36, and let's read about Joseph. Everybody know the story of Joseph? He's one of the most talked about characters in the New Testament, Joseph. Now, people don't know that name. Yeah, we don't know that name, but that's his name. But we don't talk about Joseph very much. We talk about Barnabas.

And Barnabas was just a nickname. It was just a nickname that the apostles gave Joseph. Acts 4, verse 36 says, and Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. So this was, we're introduced here to Barnabas, Joseph, and you know, my marginal note here when it says encouragement in verse 36, my marginal note says consolation. So he was a consoler.

It's very close. In fact, the Greek word here is paraclesis. So it's a very similar term, like paracletos. He was a consoler, a comforter. He reflected what Paul was writing about when he described the importance of receiving comfort from Jesus Christ. I wonder sometimes if when Paul was writing the things that he was writing, he was thinking about Barnabas, because, you know, they traveled a lot together. They spent a lot of time together. And I think as Paul was dealing with so many things that he dealt with, I wonder sometimes if he didn't think, man, I wish Barnabas was here. I really need Barnabas right now. I need that kind of encouragement.

Look over at Acts 9 verse 26.

Acts 9 verse 26. It says here, when Saul had come to Jerusalem, now he's called Saul here because he's just been called. And of course, Saul was persecuting the church. He very likely had been involved in murder of church members. And he comes to Jerusalem and he tries to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But look in verse 27. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and so forth. So, you know, it was Barnabas who was willing to take that risk. You can imagine what that would have looked like. Like Barnabas, like, Saul, I hear you've changed. So, how are you doing today? You know, how did that conversation start? And how did that conversation proceed? And, you know, with Barnabas, like, hmm, I don't know, maybe. You know, or was he listening? And I wonder sometimes, as we're engaged in comfort and consoling and helping and so forth, I wonder as we're engaged in that process, if perhaps God, through his Spirit, gives us a little bit more discernment, you know, a little bit more connectiveness of like, okay, I think something is different here about Saul. And I think we should give him a chance. I think we should give him a chance, guys. You're like, come on, guys. Let's give Saul a chance here.

When we comfort, when we encourage, when we listen and we pause, I think our minds are no longer on ourselves in the same way, and our fears are not quite there in the same way. And I think because our minds are not on ourselves and are not on our fears, I think we can tend to be a little bit more clear-headed about things. You know, sometimes we're kind of in our head too much, and we're not as clear-headed about those things. Look over in Acts 11. Acts 11, and now in verse 22, it says, then the news of these things, and this is talking about what they were hearing about at the church in Antioch. The news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas. They chose Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, and when he came, this is Barnabas, and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and he corrected them, and he, no, and he encouraged them. He encouraged them all that with purpose of heart, they should continue with the Lord. Do you want to know how to preach the gospel? It's right here. It's right here in front of us.

Look at this example. He encouraged them with purpose of heart. The NIV translates this passage as, remain true to the Lord with all your heart. He said, keep going, remain true, put your heart in this. You're right, you've got it, you're on the right track. There's some things maybe exactly aren't there, but you know you're going to get it. If you keep on this road, he was encouraging. The Philip says to be resolute in their faithfulness. He encouraged them to remain strong. This is preaching the gospel. When someone leads our fellowship, we hurt in our soul and our spirit. I'm sure he showed up and some people were all in and other people were, I don't know, and who is this Barnabas? What's he talking about? I don't know if I trust him and so forth.

Maybe not everybody was there. Maybe some people, as soon as Barnabas showed up, maybe they got offended. We don't know. When somebody leaves our fellowship, it hurts.

We want to encourage and we want to comfort and we want to tell people to remain resolute, to not give up, to not lose heart, to not get distracted by things around. This is what Barnabas was attempting to do here in Antioch. He was attempting to encourage and support. Verse 24 says, "...for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord." We talk about growth in God's church. Praying for laborers in the harvest at the end of the age. This is the model. This is how the church in Antioch grew. It grew because of encouragement, because Barnabas was filled with God's Holy Spirit to encourage, full of faith, supporting these people. They then supported one another. I think this is clear to see from 1 Corinthians or 2 Corinthians. Think about our Antioch here in the Bay Area. Wouldn't it be great if God raised up a church here in Antioch, California? It was named after Antioch. We're like, man, these people are in Antioch, they're on fire! Let's get over there! Let's talk to them, let's encourage them. A lot of times we tend to be about the academics. We've got to get over there to Antioch, man, because those guys, they're going off the rails. They're going off the reservation. I don't know what they're teaching over there. They think they've got the truth, but we've got to set them straight. Sometimes we want to go down that path, don't we? Instead of saying, man, there's some energy, there's some passion over there. Let's support those people. And yes, of course, we're not going to get everything all at once. I might have told you this, but my in-laws were baptized years ago. They didn't even know about tithing when they got baptized, in the Holy Days. I think it was the Holy Days, right? Yeah, they didn't know about the Holy Days. And after they were baptized, they said, oh, we're going to go to this feast of tabernacles. And they went to the person who baptized them and they said, why didn't you tell us about these Holy Days? He said, I knew you'd have no problem with it. I could see your attitude. You were ready to do what was in Scripture. This is what encouragement is about. It's focusing on supporting, and that just flows from us. But it doesn't stop there. Then look at verse 25. Then Barnabas departed from Tarsus to seek Saul. So Barnabas wasn't just about, all right, you know, this is great, guys. This is awesome. I'm having a great time over here. It's like, no, I'm going to bring more people into this because I think Paul is going to be great here. And let me go get Paul. You know, guys, I'll be back. I'm going to go to Tarsus. I'm going to go get Paul. Verse 26. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

An encourager, a comforter, doesn't go it alone. Barnabas could have basked in the energy, excitement, the new congregation, but instead he thought, hey, let's bring in more people. Let's let's make this work. And so they worked together. And it was their teamwork that led to this famous designation that we now use today. Christian. You know, I'm trying, I just, I'm imagining like, how did that come out? You know, they're doing Bible study and they're encouraging one another and they're having conversations and something's like Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed followers, yeah, Christian, yeah, that's what we are. That's what we are. And you know, Barnabas is like, yeah, that makes sense. And Paul's like, yeah, that makes sense. Now we know that it was very much longer until that term was used. This was probably 4380, probably 10 years into the church.

And it really wasn't until, you know, in the 60s AD that that term is actually finally used. I've given messages on this, all right. We were called followers of the way. But you know, Peter finally uses this term in the 60s and so forth. Not the 1960s, I'm not talking about the 60s that way. The 60s, the real 60s. And much has been written about the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. You know, we tend to go to that, don't we? You know, if you know that story, they had this disagreement about John Mark and, you know, whether it should take him along. And, you know, he had been a little flaky before and they went their separate ways. And we tend to talk about that. But we don't talk a lot about how Barnabas was so excited. He went down and got Paul, and then they worked together for a whole year. And out of that came this term Christian and this incredible congregation there in Antioch. We won't take the time, but we know by the end of Paul's ministry that they had reconciled. Barnabas and Paul had reconciled. You can see that in 1 Corinthians 9 verse 6. You can go and look at that. They reconciled. And, you know, Paul was making reference to Barnabas there and just that partnership that they had. A comforter, a consoler. Again, you know, I'm sure Barnabas had his challenges in life, but he understood what it meant to just be filled with God's Spirit and then encourage others in the same way.

And so finally, I'd like to conclude here with the how of encouragement. Because, you know, one of this might make, okay, yeah, yeah, I want to do this, but oh, I don't know. How do we encourage someone? How do we do and say, you know, to someone what they need to hear?

Or listen, as we'll get to. How do we go about encouraging those who are suffering? Or just being encouraging? Maybe somebody's not suffering. You just want to be encouraging. And sometimes people are well-meaning, but do or say things that, you know, maybe aren't so helpful.

There's a few traps I think we might consider. Sometimes we confuse concern with curiosity.

We approach people about, you know, their trial with all kinds of questions. And it comes across more like we're interested in the facts of the situation than where the person's heart and spirit is relative to what they're going through.

So comforting is not curiosity. It's not about facts. You know, facts are helpful to inform, but those things tend to come out in conversation. You don't necessarily need to go after all the facts. Another thing that sometimes happens is we confuse being positive with being superficial.

And so we really don't engage with the person in the way that, you know, they really need the support. We remain perhaps a little superficial in our discussion because we want to be positive. And we're afraid that if we kind of go down too far, then we won't be positive anymore. So we kind of stay a little bit on the surface in the conversation. And it leaves that other person feeling like they're not really heard.

Sometimes we confuse giving people privacy with, you know, like, well, I don't want to, you know, with not approaching them.

And we say, oh, you know, they need a little space right now.

When really that person, you know, they wouldn't mind just talking a little bit. After my father died, I felt it was kind of weird, you know, it's like, you know, my dad just died, and you're not saying anything about it. And then later, like, well, you know, I didn't know how you felt. You know, I didn't want to cry. You know, I didn't know if you could, you know, you wanted to... I thought maybe you needed a little privacy and space. You know, sometimes just acknowledging the obvious is not the end of the world. And, you know, it's not like you're gonna pry into something, but just acknowledging it and recognizing that, you know, people will engage as they feel comfortable in those things. In order to encourage, we first need to show a genuine interest. I think I've talked about that four-letter word that we often say in church all the time. Fine. F-I-N-E, I think you've heard me talk about that. How are you doing? Fine. We joked about that. That just, you know, some people like, good.

And I've fallen prey to that. I'm sure we've all fallen prey to that. We need to show genuine interest. Not about the facts, but in the person. And the how is often determined by our individual style and background. We all have, you know, individual styles. Some people, and again, more of a generality, but some people encourage face-to-face. You know, they really enjoy just sitting across the table over a cup of coffee, cup of tea, and just talking. And that's just so encouraging. And so a lot of times women might tend to do that a little bit more. Men and others feel encouraged being side by side, you know, accompaniment.

I've often joked, if you want to, sometimes guys have the best conversation while they're driving, right? They don't have to look at each other. They're just side by side just having a conversation, right? And they feel very comfortable playing sports together. That's also kind of something, you know, you're kind of side by side. And maybe in the middle of that, you're having, you know, you're having a conversation. Well, it kind of depends on who we are, our style, our experiences. And we need to recognize kind of, you know, how that person operates and how we operate and be authentic about that.

Talking on the phone is an entirely different dynamic. But, you know, I think you can tell when somebody's actually listening to you on the phone. And if you've gotten that, like, I think you're browsing your phone while you're talking to me, right? You can kind of tell when somebody's a little bit checked out. And you can tell by the tone of voice, you can tell by the questions they're asking and so forth.

Of course, texting and direct messaging, DM. Yeah, that can be encouraging. A little pick me up, a little shot in the arm. But it can be a little superficial because you really can't get into maybe a level of detail on a DM or a text. So, you know, choosing that right sort of, you know, in-person phone, some sort of written communication, it's, they all can be encouraging, but recognize that certain of them have limitations.

So whether it's face-to-face or side-by-side or on the phone, here's what encouragement could look like. First, acknowledge the other person's feelings and suffering. And ask, is there something that I can pray about? You know, just that simple thing just acknowledge, acknowledgement of the other person's suffering and a question about what you can pray about.

You might say something like, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through what it is. Is there anything specific you'd like me to pray about for you in this situation? And then just, you know, that's just this wide open question that you now have to have a dialogue and, you know, take the note and go pray about that. Ask what you can do to help. What can I do to help? Is there anything I can do? And a lot of times, there probably isn't anything you can do, you know? But by asking, it's just nice, like, oh, well, thank you, you know?

And then, of course, if the person says, yeah, well, you know, help with this or that. Again, there's boundaries in here, right, as we go through. Another point is listen, listen, listen. Have you ever heard the expression, I'm going to have to give him a good listening to? Not often, no. After you say, I'm going to have to give him a good talking to, right? No, no, you know, give the person a good listening to, because that's a lot of times what we need. We need somebody just to listen. You can remind the person that God is very present, again, we're talking about having conversations within God's church right now, and we'll be watching over them.

And in that process, perhaps sharing some things that you've observed as God has watched over you, given what you've gone through. Now, if you're talking to somebody who maybe doesn't share the same faith, there's ways of doing that too. You know, it doesn't have to be overt, but you know, it's our faith, right? So we share it, and we don't have to push it on somebody, but it is who we are.

You can remind them that God will give them a purpose in the suffering, that there is purpose in the suffering. Sometimes it's impossible to see. I mean, literally, like you just can't see it, and that's okay. You know, you go to bed that night not knowing what it is. That's called faith. You get up the next morning, and you still don't know what it is. That's called faith, and you go day after day after day, and then a little tiny little crack of light comes through, and you're like, maybe it's that. And then, you know, a little bit more, a little bit more. And then over time, and when I say over time, it might be five years, might be ten years. That's why that happened. I know now why that happened.

And you can remind them that they're not alone, because we're not alone.

You know, people are praying for you. They're praying for me. We're part of a body of believers.

And finally, I think it's important that we're willing to hear irrational talk. I think it's very important we're willing to hear irrational talk, because every word that comes out of our mouth is not perfectly formed. And we say things that later are like, yeah, that was kind of dumb. But that's okay. That's part of that. You know, some of us might articulate more things, maybe we're more extroverted, we're more verbalized. And, you know, even in a whole conversation, we might say one thing and contradict ourselves at the end of the conversation. And then, you know, we might say, and then hang up. And then the next day go, I don't know what I was saying yesterday.

You know, obviously, this is all relational. This is all as you're having these conversations.

It's not necessary to just go and say, well, wait a minute, I'm confused. And, you know, perhaps a person just needs to verbalize. And like I said, I'd really love to hear what you think about this in our sermon chat after church, because I think there's a lot of encouragers in this room. And I'd like to hear some of that. And the more you can share during the sermon chat, I think the more we can collectively improve together as a body of believers. I'd like, in conclusion, to turn to Psalm 94. Psalm 94, and in verse 16.

Psalm 94, and in verse 16. Psalm 94, and in verse 16.

The psalmist writes here, who will rise up? Psalm 94, verse 16. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence. If I say my foot slips, your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul. You know, we live in the age of anxiety. Yet as God's people, we have an infinite source of comfort through God's grace and spirit within this ecclesia, within this community of encouragers. This is what unites us, this calling to embrace that suffering and to follow in Christ's footsteps, that he died for us, that we might live, that we might receive his spirit, that we might be healed, and that we might comfort and encourage and be part of that body of believers. Are you a comforter?