God's Three Great Gifts of Encouragement

Brethren, as we end this civil year, just another week, and pretty soon we'll be in 2023, if you can imagine that. A whole year has passed by. And of course, some are going through different types of trials. There are many types of trials. There are health trials, financial, family problems, maybe it's the job, or in school. And even persecution during this time of the holidays, because we're not doing what most people are doing today.

We're still keeping the Sabbath day. And yet, people don't know where all of this came from. I know we just follow along, just like fish downstream, and don't pay attention too much about society, how it developed its own traditions. And we always want to check things out. As it tells us in the Bible, they'll prove all things whole fast to that which is good.

And yet, trials are part of life. We're going to go through testing, as the term is used many times, and we shouldn't be surprised by it. That's what the Apostle Peter told us. Notice in 1 Peter 4, verse 12. I'm going to read it from the basic Bible and English translation. It's a little clear. It says, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. And like I said, the other translation, that was the New King James, it says, Dear brothers, do not be surprised as if it was something strange if your faith is tested as by fire.

So it's going to happen through life. Not everything is going to go our way. And yet, God says, He created this world and its society and our bodies and everything else to go through trials. That's why Peter was saying, don't be surprised if there are trials, because that's part of life. Paul said something similar in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13. It says, No temptation has overtaken you, except such as is common to man. Everybody is going to go through, and the term here is better, trial, as it's translated in many other versions.

It says, But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted or tried should be beyond what you're able, but with the temptation or trial will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

So this Greek word can be either trial or temptation according to the context. And in this case, God says He doesn't tempt anyone, but He does allow testing. As the Passion Translation, I'd like to read it again. It's a bit more clear. It says, We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you.

He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more. For along with every trial, God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously. So God works through things. Don't ever feel that you're abandoned. You don't have anybody to turn to.

God is there. He's our Father. He allows us to be tested, but He also knows how far we can go, and He will intervene as it's necessary. Paul also added in 2 Timothy 3, 12, he said, Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That's a type of test and trial. It comes with a territory. When you want to follow this way of life, it's part of the testing because what athlete is going to truly think that he worked for it and he invested for that trophy.

Because if you just buy a trophy off the shelf case in some store, put it in your house, say, look at my trophy. It wouldn't have the same significance as somebody who had to work and sacrifice. And maybe after many failures, finally raising that trophy. So it's the same way here where God says He's working because He wants spiritual athletes in His kingdom.

He is now calling people that one day will educate others. And if we're not good teachers, if we don't learn, if we don't overcome, how can we say to others, we went through some of these tests. Here's the way to overcome them. We have to be mentors. We have to be instructors to help others in this way. So the main question here that I want to focus on is, how does God give us a way out? That scripture said that He would help us to be able to overcome the different trials.

So how does God actually give us a way out, a way to escape, to overcome? So I want to cover God's three gifts of encouragement that He provides for us. See, He says He's going to do something, but how does He do it? Well, here are three gifts of encouragement that God provides for us.

It's so important. I hope you can memorize these three gifts of encouragement. So when you go through a trial, don't feel you're by yourself. These are three gifts that God provides us. The first is His Holy Spirit. He provides His Holy Spirit. See, Christ did not just go up in heaven and leave His disciples by themselves. No, He said, I'm going to send you My Spirit along with God's Spirit, because they both possess that Holy Spirit. I'm going to send that, and it's the Father and the Son that provide this, as we will see.

God the Father is the one that initiates, and God the Son is the one that carries it out. So what is the Holy Spirit, according to the Bible?

It's His power, influence, and personal relationship He establishes with us with His calling. So when God starts working, His Spirit starts working in us. Notice in John chapter 14.

John chapter 14.

In verse 15, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, and as we heard in the first message, the importance of obeying God's commandments, Jesus said, verse 15, if you love Me, keep My commandments. Now these commandments that Jesus gave were the Father's commandments, that He added the spiritual dimension. But He didn't abolish any of the Father's commandments. He just amplified and magnified them. He says, and I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever.

So Christ is involved in this calling, and He will ask the Father to provide the term here Helper from the term paraclesis, means, or rather paracletus. I want to paracletus. It means, encourage, guide, consoler. And remember here that the term Helper in the Greek is masculine. That's why it says that He may abide with you forever. Not that it's a person as such. It's the power of God. In Spanish, it's so much easier because we don't have these masculine terms. And here we in Spanish, it's very easy because it doesn't give it this personality when you're talking. Like you talk about la flor. It's a flower. It's in the feminine term, but it doesn't mean the flower is feminine. It doesn't have the connotation of being male or female. There we have a bench, la banca, el pulpito. But because it's masculine, it doesn't mean it has to do anything with a person. But in English, we don't have that. So that's where it gets confusing. But it's talking about God's Holy Spirit. And then it talks about that it should be that it may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth. That's not a person. That's God's power. Giving the person the understanding of truth. Whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees. Again, talking here, should be it nor knows it. But you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. So God makes it possible through Jesus Christ for that power to come in and make a connection. So we are not alone. So it is His Spirit, the first of these gifts that God gives us of encouragement. Now we are connected. Once a person is baptized by a minister that teaches God's truths. Because if the minister is not teaching God's truths, do you think God is backing that person? Do they keep Sunday or do they keep all of these wrong teachings? Do you think God says, well, He was ordained by this seminary, so I have to honor that person? No. As it was brought out in that first message that you can use the name of Christ. But if you're not first putting God's commandments in practice, so it has to be a minister that truly is teaching God's truths. That's something that has to be learned. And throughout the years, going through Latin America, baptizing people, they had to learn who baptized. Is this a legitimate baptism from that person's credentials? Not that a person wasn't sincere. But the thing is, it was in the wrong teaching. It was using someone who didn't represent Christ properly. So that's what makes the difference. It's not the sincerity, it's not the desire, but it is the credentials. When we go before a judge and he's going to rule on something, he has to have the credentials. If you go to somebody who calls himself a judge but doesn't have the credentials, that is not bound by law. And so God is a God of order, of law, and again it has to do with being taught the truths of God.

So that's why God ordains ministers, and they have to be law-keeping ministers, not those that violate the law of God. So continuing on here, it says, the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it, and it should be, it nor knows it, but you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. So the calling of God is when he opens your mind to the truths, he starts calling a person. Notice what it tells us a little further in John 1423. I just turned the page there. Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him. So there's no contradiction between Christ and teachings and God the Father's. They're all the same. And my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. And so again, God the Father and Jesus Christ are involved in this calling, opening the person's mind to his truths, to the obedience that God desires and needs. In order to be properly baptized, you have to understand what you're supposed to obey. If you're breaking the commandments of God, that's not a legitimate baptism. That's not a legitimate way of coming into the calling of God. I remember I was just 17 years old. I was a Catholic. I would go to Sunday Mass every time because my mother had scared me about mortal sin. And if you don't go to church on Sunday, I would burn in hell. There's no penance. That's a mortal sin. Only venial sins are forgiven by the priest and the process. And so I was scared. I'll admit it. And when I came to this knowledge of the truth, I had to decide at that time whether I was going to keep God's commandments or not. And I remember I went over each one of them.

And you know what? I said to each one of them, guilty, guilty. I've broken every one of them. Now some, because of course I was so young and everything, I'd just done it in my mind. But Christ said, if you hate somebody, it's the type of a murder. And if you do all of these things in your mind, to commit them in your mind, it doesn't matter if you carry them out or not. And so I was guilty. And I repented. And from that day forth, I dedicated myself to obeying God's commandments. Now once you start obeying them, of course, that doesn't mean that, oh, you've got this perfection and you've got to go around just thinking that all of these standards are so high. No, you start out just like a trainee. You start out learning the steps of how to keep God's commandments. First, physically, and later, spiritually. It's not just physical keeping, it's also the spiritual and mental keeping of things. So I don't want to belabor too much, but you see here that God's Spirit will come and it'll also lead us to all the truth. Let's go to first, let's see, John 16 verse 13, just across here at the page, John 16 verse 13.

It says, however, again, talking about the Spirit, the Spirit is in the neuter, in the Greek, which means that it's an it. The Spirit of truth has come, it should say, it will guide you into all truth, for it will not speak on his own authority, but whatever it hears, it will speak, and it will tell you things to come. But it says it will guide you into all truth. So that's the process of growing in grace and knowledge. It's a whole lifetime of studying, applying, you know, picking yourself up, getting back up, and going forward. But at least I know, I know what God is expecting of me. Notice in James chapter 1, this says it all. And I have a friend of mine that mentioned the other day, he says, some people can't get it, and some people can get it. In other words, do you understand these things? Is it hard to understand or not? If you get it, it's simple. It's a way of life. Notice what it says here in James chapter 1.

In verse 22, James chapter 1 verse 22, it says, but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. A person can hear everything. They don't apply it. It's not going to work.

It's just like being given orders, and you say, yes, sir, and you don't do it. How's that person going to feel? You didn't accomplish it, even if you listen intently, even if you promise. It's in the carrying it out. So it says here, you have to be a doer of the word, and not a hearer. Verse 23, for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, in other words, not just now, but continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, work, this one will be blessed in what he does. And so you have a spiritual mirror. That's God's law, all the scriptures, and we look at ourselves and say, well, how are we doing? Are we improving? Are we doing better or not? Are we growing in grace or knowledge? Or are we going backwards? Or are we stagnant? All of these things are important as far as what we do with God's Spirit. That's the first encourager. Notice in 1 John chapter 2.

Yeah, 1 John chapter 2.

In verse 1, 1 John chapter 2. It says, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.

And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So the term advocate here is paracletus. It's the same term. You see, it's Jesus Christ, although he's in heaven, he is working with us down here through that Holy Spirit. So when a person is baptized, of course, and repents of breaking God's laws, and then is baptized under that water, all the person's transgressions up to that moment are forgiven, and they are eliminated. They are not brought back. And so the person then is pure before God. He doesn't have any sins between God and that person. And so then the second part of the ceremony is the laying on of hands, which is the Holy Spirit is transmitted, and through the minister, through the minister's hands, it goes into that person. And it connects with the person's mind and spirit. And that's the connection now that the Holy Spirit, which had been with you, now is in you. It's a now it's a possession. I had several daughters teaching them how to drive, not one of my favorite memories. You know, after the first one, I said, I'm going to pay for these other three. I'm going to pay somebody to train them. That's enough for me. But the point is that they could drive our cars while they were learning. But I remember when they purchased their own cars. Boy, now it's mine. It's not my dad's. I don't have to borrow. I don't have to ask. And it's the same way with God's Spirit. Once you have it, it brings peace. It's yours. Now you got to take care of it. Don't let it go out. Fan the flames of God's Spirit. And so that's a great encouragement because it'll be with us throughout our lives as long as we are faithful to God and continue to obey Him. Notice a little further in 1 John 2, verse 20. Notice how the Holy Spirit is described here.

John is telling the brethren about the testing that goes on. And he says in verse 20, he says, but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. So again, the anointing is symbolic of receiving God's Spirit. It's in you. And now your mind is open. Now we don't have somebody thinking for you. A lot of churches, they just do all the mechanical activities, and they do all the thinking for the people. They say, oh, don't try to question anything. Don't confuse us with the facts. We just want to go with our traditions. It's not that way. Each member has God's Spirit. They will give account before God. And so you are to examine everything. You're supposed to check it out with God's Scripture. That is the foundation of our knowledge and understanding. And so it goes on to say, you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. So again, we don't deal with lies. We say exactly what the thing is, no matter how unpopular it might be. We don't have anything against people that just are going along in life. They don't understand. We were that way once ourselves. But in the church, we are committed to receiving all the truth. It's a process that goes through life. And so here in services, we're not interested in just perking people up and making them feel cheerful and happy and everything else, and yet not teaching them the truth. No, we're in the truth business. If you're in this church, you're in the truth business because that's what God says is the Spirit. You know the truth.

Let's go to the second great gift of encouragement.

It is His Word.

The Word of God, the Bible. Notice in Romans chapter 15, verse 4. This is the second thing that God gives us. He gave us the Bible.

Romans chapter 15, verse 4.

It says, For whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Jesus Christ. The word here, where it talks about comfort, is better translated today as encouragement. There are several versions, modern versions, that have it this way. Notice the easy reading version. It says, Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.

Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us. All patience and encouragement come from God. And so, of course, when we read the Scriptures, we are listening to God speak to us. When we pray, God is listening to us, and God talks to us through the Scriptures. The more we understand His will, the better our lives will be. Notice in 2 Timothy, another Scripture, 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 15.

2 Timothy 2, verse 15. It says, Be diligent to present yourself, approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So this is part of the business. If we're in the truth business, we are workers. We are examining. We are growing in grace and knowledge. I'd like to read it again in the easy reading version. It says, Do your best to be the kind of person God will accept and give yourself to Him.

Be a worker who has no reason to be ashamed of his work, one who applies the true teaching in the right way. It's not twisting Scripture. That is giving it to you, just as God intended, with clarity and transparency.

Let's go to 2 Timothy 3, verse 14, because here's where we gain Godly wisdom. 2 Timothy 3, verse 14. It says, But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete. This is, rather, the person, because you can be a man or a woman. It's the same instructions.

May be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. So again, we really use this Bible.

That's why there are so many Scriptures that you will listen to, because we want you to verify. Check things out for yourselves. And then we go to the third gift of encouragement that God gives us, and that is His church.

Notice what happened when people came into the knowledge of the truth back at the beginning of the church, when after Pentecost, what did they do? Notice in Acts chapter 2, verse 40.

It says, talking here about Peter, So again, it's a principle. God does the adding to the church. It's not the minister. It's not all of this publicity and sales pitches about. No, God calls and He places a person into the church.

And with many other words, He testified and exhorted them, saying, Be safe from this perverse generation, because it's getting more perverse all the time.

It's getting worse. We are becoming another Sodom and Gomorrah of society, and we are going to see how all of these alternative lifestyles, they're very aggressive. They will not find peace until they try to convert everybody. That way they feel better. They don't feel like a minority. So it's happening, you know, before our very eyes. And then He goes on to say, Then those who gladly received His word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them, and they continued in what? Steadfastly. That means constantly in the apostles doctrine. In other words, what Christ taught, that's what they taught. Did Christ teach that He was the Lord of the Sabbath? Yes, He did. That's what the apostles, they didn't know anything about Sunday keeping or any of these holidays that you see. No, the apostles teaching was keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days. And you can see it throughout the book of Acts how the apostle Paul kept the Sabbath, kept the Holy Days. They actually kept one of the Holy Days of God on this very day when Peter preached to them. Notice what it says in Acts chapter 2, verse 1, When the day of Pentecost hath fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. So that's the Pentecost. That's one of the Holy Days that they were keeping.

And so this is part of the apostles doctrines. It goes on to say, and fellowship. So it wasn't just accepting the truth and obeying it in their lives. They came together. They had fellowship. They considered themselves a spiritual family, as we do. And on the Sabbath, we have this family reunion, spiritual family reunion. And so they were able to keep the fellowship and notice in the breaking of bread. So it wasn't just talking after services, hey, let's go. They had potlucks at that time. And they would set up. They actually were in a member's house because they didn't have churches at such. The synagogues of the Jews were not allowing them to come and meet there. And there wasn't any money to invest in buildings at that time. So they would meet in a more better off home of somebody. And then they would break bread. Break bread was the meal they had because they didn't use spoons and forks and knives as such. They used the big pita bread like they do in the Middle East. And they would scoop up from a common dish and they would eat that way. But then you had to break it to be able to dip and eat it properly.

And with prayers, so people were dedicated to God.

This is what God's Word tells us to do regarding the gift of the church, to be active, to participate in the gift of the church. We always remember Mr. Herbert Armstrong, who was the one that God used for us. The era of the church that got started. And right there, we're probably about maybe 40 miles from Pasadena, where one of the colleges was there, that I had the honor to go and to graduate. And he would say, brethren, God is not just calling you for salvation.

He is calling you because there's a work to be done. You are being incorporated into God's work.

And you are part of those co-workers. And so it is to send the gospel out to all the world. More than ever, we need to be making an impact with our teachings, with the internet, with publications, with TV programs, and also our own personal lives. So you're part of a work that is greater than anything else that we do. And that's why God is calling us now. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. And verse 14. Paul writing to Timothy, he says, These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. The term here is household of God, which means the family of God. Many translations have it properly as conduct yourself in the family of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground, which is a bulwark or a support of the truth. So the church is a pillar. It holds up the truth. And also it's this protection against lies and wrong teachings. And so when we're here, we're here to learn God's word, not man's word, not the opinions of men, but what God's word says. Notice in Ephesians chapter 4, another scripture about what the church does in our lives, Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11, talking about Jesus Christ, verse 11, and he himself gave some to be apostles. So that's calling from God. Some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry or service for the edifying of the body of Christ. So we're here just to help as fellow workers, helping equipping you as much as possible with God's truths, a way of life, how to put all of this theory into practice the rest of the week. That's what it's about. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man or spiritually mature to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That's our model. That's our goal, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. A lot of people introduce false teachings which become the norm in society with the craftiness that they use to confuse and deceive people. And he says, we shouldn't be that way, but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Everybody is involved. Everybody has a part just like in the human body. All the cells cooperate.

They're all doing their part, whatever it is that God calls us to do, to do it with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength.

Let's go to another scripture as we're winding down here. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 11. Beautiful scripture about the encouragement that we should receive here in the church. 2 It says, Therefore comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. Another translation of this, the easy reading version says, so encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith. That's part of what we do here, to encourage each other. Are we going through difficulties? Do we need a helping hand? Do we need instruction, wisdom, how to overcome things? We are all working together, just like a family. In James chapter 5, it tells us about what to do when there are health trials.

James chapter 5 and verse 13.

Again, instructions that God inspired. It says, Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Don't forget to go to your father about it. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. We have plenty of psalms to encourage us. Is anyone among you sick?

Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. So that's what we do. I carry a little flask with me with olive oil. And then, sometimes it'll be one elder or two. Doesn't matter. It's just enough that we are there. And then we do this in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another. So here, talking about sharing with others, please pray. I'm going through this trial or difficulties. And that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Yeah, God hears. God acts. And, of course, the importance of fellowshiping together, not getting into the habit of missing services when we can make it. It's not something that we should take lightly.

I wish we could all have that enthusiasm for this than we do for maybe going to a movie for three hours, right? Now, for that, we have time. But for preparing a person for the coming kingdom of God and having God protect and guide us through these difficult times ahead, sometimes we don't give it the time we need. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24, it says, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. So it's not just a matter of greeting somebody, giving them, you know, a little fist pump, hoping they do well. Try to get to know the person well. Try to truly encourage to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another in so much the more as you see the day approaching, the day of God's intervention. And we know Christ said he was coming back and he described the world events, just like the leaves on a fake tree. He said, when you start seeing some of these things happen, know that it's not going to be too far into the future. And certainly this year, again, some of the serious commentators, the Economist magazine, that is one of the most well done, and they talked about the coming year. It's going to be a difficult year. And who knows what's going to happen with Ukraine? And if Ukraine starts really beating the Russians seriously, there could be tactical nuclear bombs that Putin will avail himself. And that can really set off something. Now, if the Ukrainians sort of muddle and this is a stalemate, well, that's not good for anyone. And if they are defeated, and the US and other nations are committed. So we are not playing games here. There are hundreds of people dying right now. From the latest estimate, and it comes from the United States military, have calculated about 100,000 Russians have been killed, and about 100,000 Ukrainians. And this is just the beginning of all of these battles. So again, we don't know when Christ is going to come, but he said, as the fig leaves, when they start budding, you know, spring is about to appear. And so we have to keep our eyes open. It's so important to stay together, to fellowship, to study God's Word, and to stir up that Spirit of God in all of us. So for the final scripture, 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 6, 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 6, it says, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, after we've gone through some of these trials, he will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. So he's there. He's our Father. There's not a human being that can't call God his Father, because he made all of us. And through Adam and Eve, the whole population of the earth was carried out and filled. This year, we have reached the eight billion mark of human beings. And India is actually going to overtake China as the most populous nation in the world. Sometime in March or April, the population in India is growing, population in China is diminishing. So there are a lot of things that are happening, brethren. And so remember, when we go through trials and tests, remember God is there. He knows when and how to do it. And so when we are tested, remember these three gifts of encouragement that God has given us. What are they? His spirit, his word, and his church.