We All Need Encouragement - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

And we're gonna read a couple of verses together. Second Timothy chapter one beginning in verse three. Let's read together. I thank God, Paul says, whom I serve as did my ancestors with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy.

Let's pray again, please. Father, we thank you for your precious word. We believe that it is your word, the living word of God. Lord, we believe your word can do miracles, that it can change every person in this place. And we ask, Lord, that the sword of the spirit would do only what it can do, that is to cut out the things that need to be cut out.

Lord, to wound us so that you can heal us, to sharpen us, Lord, to bring clarity of who you are, of who we are in you. Lord, we pray that power would be experienced in this place, that your love would be known, that your wisdom would be cherished, Lord. We come with a greater anticipation than the Queen of Sheba, knowing that you are greater than Solomon. And we ask you, oh God, that you would show us what you know through your word, and that we would be left breathless as she was. Lord, we trust in you.

Empower us. Lord, may your spirit rest upon the ministry of the word, and may we sense you the voice of Jesus Christ and no other voice in this place. Be exalted now and sanctify us by your truth. Your word is truth. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen and amen. Many Christians can innocently make the mistake in believing that great men and women of God are in no need of being connected to a community of faith, as much as the average Christian might be. And that notion comes from the false observation that just because somebody might have a great connection with the Lord, that they would find perhaps little value in being in community with other believers, especially those who are not as mature in their spirituality. And some of you might know people in your own minds, people that you have walked in life with, people that you know today that are so consistent, so constant in their love for the Lord, in their obedience to Christ, that you might even believe that they would do just fine without being plugged into a local church, and that they would be fruitful even in their spiritual journey. That would certainly be the case for some who would think about Paul and Timothy.

Paul and Timothy were giants in the faith, especially the apostle Paul. But this letter reveals something quite contrary that we would believe or some would assume. Because in the verses that we just read, we get the clear indication and the impression that Paul and Timothy did not just serve other believers in the early church or reach the lost as co laborers for the gospel. Paul and Timothy, according to these verses, took the time to build up one another. Their efforts were not solely on planning how to be greater missionaries, or how to plant churches, or how to edify Christians that are new converts.

No. They actually took the time to look each other in the eyes and stir up one another in the faith. That's a fascinating thought. And the reason why is because you think of a man like Timothy who was a young Christian, and so distinct was his faith that when Paul visited his area and saw him, he recruited him because he had something that others didn't have. He was consumed with the interest of Christ alone even as a young adult.

And Paul says, there's something different about you. You're on my team. But even such a man needed exhortation from time to time. Or you think of the apostle Paul who was a trailblazer for the gospel. And wherever you went, there was either a riot or a revival.

And this author of so many books of the New Testament, this man who saw so many great things concerning visions and revelations also needed the presence of a young pastor friend so that he can tap into a greater joy. These verses that we just read, two verses this morning, are incredibly practical. But if they are applied in our lives by faith, you will understand the spiritual contribution that they can make in the lives of others. And I want us to see at least three lessons here because here's here's the point of today. You ready?

We all need encouragement. We all need encouragement. And these steps are so simple, but as simple as they are, they are able to provide the endurance for a young pastor who is struggling in his own spiritual life, added with the pressures of widespread persecution. These steps helped him to move on. And these steps are are so plain, but so profound that you have a man who is about to face death, being slaughtered for his devotion to Christ, yet he is about to experience a jubilation by one simple practical step that would help him face the grave with a greater excitement.

I want you to realize that. Because if these insights can do such things to such men who face such dire things, how much more can it help you and I in our context? How much more can it boost us and build us? And so as we read here in verse three, I thank God whom I serve as did my ancestor with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. If you wanna know how you can build up a Christian, which is your duty and mine, The first point is this, we must know how to prize one another.

Another way to put it, expressing your appreciation for other Christians. Profound. Right? The first thing that Paul mentions to Timothy is that he's thankful for him. He's thankful for him.

And the first place where he communicated that was in the place of prayer before God. Timothy was an object and a reason for Paul to worship God in gratitude as he praised God on a daily basis. And what's amazing here is that night and day, Paul had that habit of thanking the Lord for raising up a young man like Timothy. Being grateful to God that he was a part of his ministry. He rejoiced to be able to witness a young man who was able to sacrifice his years to be a pastor at a troubling church in Ephesus.

He was overwhelmed and realized that this this pastor, Timothy, was in partnership with him and he contributed much to his missionary endeavors. And Paul himself realized that Timothy suffered much for the gospel and he was blessed by his suffering and his sacrifice. Do you realize that Timothy is mentioned in the book of Hebrews? People don't even think about that. But Timothy is mentioned in the book of Hebrews, and when you read what Timothy is mentioned for in Hebrews, you realize the depth of his consecration for the service of Jesus Christ.

Listen to these words in Hebrews thirteen twenty three. At the end of the letter, the author writes, you should know that our brother Timothy has been released with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Oh, so Timothy had his own jail sentence. Paul wasn't the only one familiar with prisons. Timothy himself served some time for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we see here that at this point, Paul is the one behind bars and Timothy is the one outside serving as a pastor. But just because Paul is in prison and Timothy is not, it shows that Timothy through this letter still needed encouragement. You know why that's important? Because discouragement is merciless. It is unexpected.

It does not wait for a jail sentence to come and attack you. You can be a pastor. You can have a fruitful ministry. You can know freedom and still need exhortation as Timothy did through this letter. And this man, Timothy, would know something of Paul's blessed ministry of encouragement, and he would find strength in the words, hopefully, according to Paul's wisdom inspired by the Spirit.

And this is important because as we read these words, we know that Paul was not just thankful to Timothy before God. Paul was thankful to Timothy and he let him know it. He expressed it to the man. He verbalized it. He wrote it out.

I'm thankful for you. I'm grateful for you. I thank God for what you've done for the gospel. I thank God for the man of character that you are. I thank God that you have a sacrificial attitude.

I thank God for the blessing that you are in my life. He's writing that to this man. And someone rightfully said that encouragement can only come from a generous spirit. And that's true because a person who is self absorbed will find it very difficult to be able to affirm others. Encouragement is so effective, it is so powerful, it is so valuable that it can be regarded as a gift.

And people don't give gifts unless they have a charitable heart. For encouragement to be sincere and genuine, it requires us to realize the value that somebody possesses and that somebody provides. It also calls us to be free from selfish motives because if you're not careful, encouragement can turn and spoil into flattery, and we don't wanna be flattering others. You know what flattery is? Where you praise somebody for the sake of your own personal agenda.

And to appreciate someone also cause us to what? Make a conscious effort to actually pass it along. It doesn't require much strength to do so, but when you do so, it provides a lot of strength. If we're honest, humans are excellent, excellent at fault finding, even Christians. If Christians had any common gift, it's a gift of criticism.

And that's not a gift because it takes no ability nor does it take any effort to be able to express what you don't like in somebody else, even a brother or sister in Christ. We're really good at that. One pastor put it this way, when people used to come to his home and and other Christians would gossip about others, he realized that one way that he was able to, shut their mouths, to use a very aggressive phrase, was that he would begin to, at the same time, highlight the good in those people, and those people just ceased to talk. They just cease to talk. And then he would do something else, which is not part of this message, but he said, let me call him and and let him know what you just said because I'm sure he would like to know, and they would freak out.

And then he's he realized that his house never became a a place of gossip for a long, long time. Amen. Somebody's excited about that. Maybe we should talk about gossip this morning, What do you think? Verbalizing our praise for someone else is a different story, though.

Oftentimes, Christians forget and fail to do it. They don't see it as a stream of mercy. They don't see it as a replenishment to the soul. And so you know what the Holy Spirit does as a loving God? He gives us a command to do it so that we wouldn't forget to do it.

And so he says in the same book of Hebrews chapter three verse 13, but exhort one another every day as long as it is called today, lest what? That none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Exhort one another every day as long as it is called today. What a profound statement. Strong encouragement has the ability to disarm the deception of sin in our lives.

Do you know what this verse tells us? That sin continually longs to trick us and lie to us and deceive us about God, about sin itself, about ourselves. And the author by the spirit says that there needs to be another voice of clarification in believers' lives to counter attack the lies of sin, and that comes from encouragement. Strong encouragement. Oftentimes, we believe that if we wanna keep people from sin, we should warn, and we should because true love warns.

But another way to keep people from sin is actually to encourage them. To build them up. To let them know the value that they have. The calling that is on their lives. The blessings that they have been to to yourself and to others.

That softens the heart. That that reminds you of who you are in Christ. And you and I need that or else we can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Encouragement softens your heart. You know it.

You know what it's like when in the middle of the week you get a random text message. What does it do to you? When you simply read those words, you're a blessing to me, brother. I thank God for your life. Does it not does it not soften you?

Does it not soothe you? Does it not put a fresh fire in you? This is what we're talking about here. Listen, I'm sorry this message isn't gonna be so deep theologically, but it's gonna be helpful. And we wanna trust God in the simplicity of his word.

But the Bible goes further than just giving us commands. He gives us examples as we see here with Timothy concerning encouragement. And we might think that Timothy deserved the encouragement because of his his faithfulness, and he did. But we can't reserve encouragement just for those who deserve it because it's so powerful, it's so needed that we see even in the bible Paul using encouragement for those who are not worthy of receiving, at least in the moment. I want you to think of the chaotic scene of the church of Corinth.

Think about the extent of the correction and the rebuke that Paul had to give in that first letter. But before you think about the different ways that Paul corrected the church, do you realize how he started his letter? Many people don't realize what he said in that letter to begin with. Here's what he said to that church in first Corinthians one chapter one verse four. I give thanks to my God always for you.

Because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, I thank God for you. And then he goes on to say in verse eight, who will sustain you to the end? Like, he's about to go hard on them in this letter. Do you realize that? Have you read first Corinthians?

They're messing up the spiritual gifts. They're messing up the idea of purity and sexuality. They're messing up in their clicks. They're messing up in so many ways. And then he says here in the beginning of verse eight of chapter chapter one, he will sustain you to the end.

Guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful. God is faithful by whom you were called in the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul had the ability by the spirit to look past through all the mess and find truths about them and about God to encourage them before he corrected them. To build them up, not just tear them down.

And to show through his encouragement, I'm not here to show that I'm more righteous than you. I'm here to show that I really love you. God is faithful. What I'm about to say might hurt, but he will sustain you till the end. He will keep you.

You will be blameless as you are in him. And what an example to be able to find the ability to find the good in our brothers and sisters with all their faults and to be able to find truths of God concerning them if they are in Christ that are unchangeable regardless of how changing they are. Why is this here? Is this so that we can just appreciate Paul and think, well, what a man of God. I can't be like that.

Absolutely not. There's examples to draw our hearts and I believe here Paul is operating in the spirit of Jesus. When you think of Jesus' ministry, what do you think of? Miracles? You should.

Statements of his divinity? Absolutely. But let me ask you this, have you ever thought how he encouraged people? When the centurion came and demonstrated his faith, what did Jesus say? I haven't seen faith like this in all of Israel.

That's encouragement. And he said it out loud. Hey, Israelites, Jews, A gentile has more faith than the entire nation of Israel combined. That must have encouraged a centurion. Nathaniel, he approaches Jesus.

Jesus gives him a word of knowledge concerning where he he was before he met him. And what does he say? An Israelite whom there is no deceit. He encouraged them. Peter, what did Jesus say near the end of his ministry?

Peter, Satan asked for you to sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you. I prayed for you. And listen, it's it's you're gonna fall, but when you get up, go and strengthen your brothers. Encouragement. Jesus encouraged his people, which brings us to the next point in second Timothy that we should not learn to only prize one another, appreciate one another, but we should also learn how to pray for one another.

Paul says, I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. He goes beyond just telling him that I thank God for you, but he also comforts him with the assurance that he brings him before the throne of grace. Prayer has power. Prayer has power. And God honors the prayers of those who approach his throne with the names of others in their hearts.

And what's amazing is like many other things in scriptures, you reach a point in your understanding of prayer where it becomes mystery. It becomes mystery. And all God asks us when you reach that point of trying to understand prayers to simply exercise faith as you exercise in prayer. Just trust God that it actually works. You don't have to know all the mechanics.

You don't have to try to reconcile his sovereignty and our will. You just trust that when I pray, things can happen. And not just for myself, but when I pray for others. You remember this from a couple bible studies ago on Friday night? Paul says in second Corinthians one eleven, the same church where he said, I encourage you.

I thank God for you. God is faithful. You're gonna make it till the end. He encouraged them. And what did he require from that church?

He says in second Corinthians one eleven, you also must help us by prayer. We need your prayers. Our missionary team is in danger. Help us by prayer. You know what Paul believed?

When people pray, it actually helps. It actually helps. Don't just send money. Don't just send some encouragement. Send some prayers our way so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

I may not fully comprehend this, and you may not either, but God is willing to do something based on a creature's cry. But I know according to this verse that it helps. It helps. And I believe one of the ways that intercession, when you stand in the gap for somebody else, the reason why that works is because sometimes as Christians, we can be so burdened, so burnt out that you can't even pray for yourself. So what happens?

A brother prays for you and God says, I will honor your prayers for him. Think about how powerful and profound that is. And you've been there so aching, and so overwhelmed, and so washed out that you can barely peep a prayer. So then what? What happens?

Well, you do what what Paul did. And perhaps Timothy was so overwhelmed in whatever circumstances he was facing that Paul says, I'm bringing you before God every day, every night. I don't know where you're at in your spiritual journey, Timothy. I don't know how exhausted you are, but know this, in my chains, I'm praying for you. One of the clearest illustrations of God's willingness to move on somebody's life on behalf of somebody else's prayers is the story of Abraham and Lot.

Abraham and Lot is one of the clearest examples, And after a detailed and dramatic explanation of the wrath of God being poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah, and Lot and his family being snatched out of that, brought into safety, is a verse that tells us why it happened. Because God is merciful. He is merciful. Because God is sovereign. He is sovereign.

Because God had a plan for Lot. He did have a plan for Lot. But despite all your theological hurdles, realize that the answer is given in Genesis nineteen twenty six. So it was that when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham. Not Lot.

Not the righteous of Sodom and Gomorrah. God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. In other words, the reason why God did what he did in Genesis 19 was because of what Abraham did in Genesis 18. What did he do? He stood before the Lord and he says, Lord, you're just.

You can't destroy the righteous among the wicked. And you know very well that Lot was in Abraham's heart when he was giving those petitions and those pleas before the Lord. My nephew is there. And guess what? They didn't end on the best terms.

Lot's employees were fighting with Abraham's employees. Lot was a burden to Abraham in some sense. And that's how they left. You go where you wanna go, I'll go where I go. And Lot went to Sodom.

And that's how the relationship ended, at least in this point. And then he had to deliver him from another people before that or after that. So what do you see here? He still prays, I believe you God that you can do something about it. And then the Holy Spirit goes out to say, Lot was delivered because of Abraham.

Now that's amazing because intercession is incredibly effective then. So then why is it so often neglected? Think about it for a second. Think about our own lives. Think about why it is that it takes so much from us to pray for somebody else.

And I'll tell you why it's exactly for that reason. When you intercede for somebody, you are inviting extra burden to your life. You choose to take somebody else's burden and make it your own. And when you do that, what does that mean? It's gonna cost you more time.

It's gonna cost you more energy. It's gonna even cost you some emotional currency and many are not willing to give that up. But if you really knew the power of it, if you really understood what God is willing to do because of your prayers for somebody else, I think intercession would be one of the most exciting things a part of our Christian life. If you ever lost motivation for that, here's some fresh motivation for you. That God was willing to send two angels to grab a man by his hand and his family and pull him out out of Sodom and Gomorrah because of one man in a different region who just prayed for him.

Now if God was willing to send two angels to do such a thing, do you not think that he's willing to conviction on a backslidden friend that you have? Is he not willing to provide resources for a needy brother or sister? Is he not willing to send supernatural comfort to a hurting sibling in the faith. Surely. Surely.

I think of another example of intercession and the power of it, and I would encourage you to turn there. It's in the book of Job. And look at chapter 42, and I want you to see something quite amazing. When you read the the book of Job, you would come to the conclusion that Job was better off without his three friends than with them. When they came to apparently comfort him, they just added more salt to the wound.

And at the end of it all, I want you to see what God says as he steps into the scene and speaks on his own behalf because these three men were misrepresenting God to their hurting friend. In verse seven of Job 42, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, my anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now look what he says in verse eight. Now, therefore, take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly.

For you have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Job has. Interesting set of instructions. These three friends sinned against God. They sinned against Job. And you know what I find quite fascinating?

He doesn't say pray and ask for my forgiveness. Why doesn't he say to them, you must repent now, call out to my name for mercy. No. He says you gotta go to Job. I will accept Job's prayer.

This kinda messes us up. Can I not pray for myself? Yes. You can pray for yourself. And I believe in part, why God is doing this is to provide an illustration of what happens when a man prays for his friends.

What can happen when a man prays for his friends? And in this specific case, Job had the opportunity to pray for his friends who were in sin so that God's discipline would be diverted from them. In other words, that they would not be dealt according to their folly. Now think about how significant that is. Should that not excite us?

It excites me because I know that if I come before God on behalf of somebody else, when they're in a season of foolishness, God can still be gracious to them and keep them and protect them and shelter them from greater damage. But I have to be honest with this context, because although this is an illustration of what happens when you when you pray for other people and how God is willing to answer your prayers for others, there's a deeper reason for this, and there's a core reason. The core reason is this, is that Job here was supposed to pray for the well-being of his friends and his friends were dependent upon his prayers. But Job's prayers were not just for his friends to be whole. Job's prayers was so that he can know healing for himself.

Do you realize that? God could have said, Eliphaz and your two friends, pray for yourself and pray that God would have mercy. Forgive us, Lord. We misrepresented you and we heard our friend, Job. And they went on their own way.

But do you realize that God was not the only one that was harmed by the words of these men? Job was as well. They judged the man. They misrepresented the man. They taught wrongly about God to the man.

And here's what God does in this moment. He wants to make sure that Job is free from bitterness, And that there is no unforgiveness harbored in his heart. And so he says, Job, pray for your friends. Pray for your friends. Now think about this.

You might not believe that, but come to verse 10 and realize what was hinged. What was the condition? What was the result of Job's prayers? Verse 10 says, and the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. Wow.

And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. The fortunes were not restored to Job until he prayed for his friends. Let me tell you something straight because I love you. If you harbor unforgiveness, you are blocking the flow of God's blessings in your life. You will not know the multiplication of God's goodness in your life if you are not willing to forgive.

And one of the strongest marks of forgiveness according to this verse is that you're able to genuinely pray for the well-being of those who have offended you. Prayer has power. Prayer has power to divert God's discipline and judgment on those that we know and don't know, and prayer has power to heal you. I look at this verse and I realize that God is not in the business of blessing those who are not reconciliation. This isn't a solo thing, guys.

Your faith and my faith is not a solo thing. And that's what we're learning from Paul and Timothy, and we learn it here with Job and his friends. God could've had Job's friends go their way and Job go his way and be like, yeah, it was a little sour, it was a little awkward, but just just move on. Let's just move on here. No.

He said, Job, I wanna bless you. I wanna give you twice as much as you had before, but you need to pray for your friends first. And Job's friends, you can pray for yourself, but you need to seek Job's forgiveness, and he needs to accept it by praying for you. Do you not see Christ here? Do you not see Christ's instructions for his church here?

That you leave your gifts at the altar and go and reconcile before you give it? I believe one of the hardest things for Christians to do and I throw myself in that is to forgive. Never mind preach the gospel, send me into the streets, send me to Pakistan. And that would be easier than forgiving somebody who's hurt me. But there's so much tied into it, and that's not the main point of this message.

I'm just trying to draw out the reality of the power of prayer. It proves something about our soul condition towards others, and it does something to the condition of people's lives when we pray. And that's why Paul back in second Timothy told them, I have an uninterrupted devotion to my prayers toward you. I seek God for you. I believe God for for you.

I may not be by your side because I am in these chains, but the best thing that I can do for you in this moment is seek God with your name on my lips. With your name on my lips, Timothy. But listen to this, Paul didn't just tell Timothy that he was praying for him, he informed him that he was doing it. He didn't just say, I'm he didn't just say to himself, I'm praying. He didn't just tell God I'm praying.

He actually is telling Timothy, I am praying for you. Because one of the greatest encouragements that you can know in this life is when you know that a busy person takes the time out of the day to see God on your behalf. Right? You can be doing so many other things, but you actually believe God enough and love me enough to pray for me. And that's why you're encouraged when you know somebody says, I've been praying for you.

And they mean it, not this, like, I'll pray for you. You know what we said last time. Right? No. No.

That really, like, brother, I've been praying for you. You've been on my heart this past week. When people tell me that and I know they mean it, it's like, I know you could have been doing a thousand other things in your day, but you actually take the time to seek God for me. Thank you. Thank you.

That means so much to me. Cause I believe that God blesses those who pray. And he blesses those that are being prayed for. Thank you. See, that won't mean much to us if we don't believe in the power of prayer.

But if you do, then you can know that's the best thing that somebody can do for you. But not just prizing one another, not just praying for one another. Oh, no. There's something more that Paul shows here. It's in verse four.

As I remember your tears, men of God, woman of God, they're not stoic. You know what that means? They're not so spiritual and so strong that they don't display emotion. Timothy wept. Paul wept.

Paul wrote some of his letters with tears. I remember your tears, and I believe the tears here are due to the the arrest of Paul, the separation that it caused. I remember your tears. I I remember that when I was being pulled away by the Romans officials, I saw your air your eyes filling up with with tears, and there was a gloss over your glance. There's pain in your face.

I remember your tears. And he says, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. When I saw this verse, it excited me because prayer is a wonderful ministry especially when distance and circumstances separate two parties from one another, and you can't serve each other in other ways. But distant prayers should never replace the preciousness of being present with other Christians. That's why Paul, the prayer warrior, the theologian, the man who knew how to walk with God alone, being physically present with Timothy was a source of joy to him.

Get over here, Timothy. I need to see you. When he says, I long to see you, he's speaking of an intense yearning. And then he goes on to say in second Timothy four nine, just to put an exclamation mark to this point, do your best to come and see me soon. You know what he's trying to say there?

Make it your top priority at this time to make your way over here. How? You're talking about the man who, by the spirit, commanded Christians to rejoice in the Lord always. And then here he says, I need you to come here so that my joy may be full. Now you might argue, well, it's because of the circumstance of this moment.

He was about to face his execution anytime and he needed the comfort of a Christian. Sure. But do you not see the principle behind this? Do we not see the principle behind this? Here's the principle.

Paul could not tap into a certain joy unless the presence of Timothy was relevant. There was a proximity that he needed with this believer, with this friend that would boost him to a place that he couldn't know by himself no matter how much he prayed, no matter how many revelations he received. He needed Timothy with him. And guess what? It didn't make him any less spiritual because of it.

In fact, it just reinforces the truth that you and I as Christians need one another. That is discerning the body of Jesus Christ. You are not more spiritual because you know how to walk this life without a church. There was a level of joy that Paul could not know, and there was a healing property that Timothy's presence carried that he longed for. Does your heart ache to be close with a brother or sister in seasons of anguish or pain or confusion?

Good. You're no different than the apostle Paul. Do you find it as a reflex almost to to to call somebody who has the wisdom of the spirit because you need peace for the moment? Good. You know the value of a fellow Christian.

I hope that when you step into the sanctuary, whether on a Wednesday, Friday night, or Sunday morning, you sense a surge of delight simply because you are in the presence of God's body. I hope. Because if you do, then praise the Lord for that. You are experiencing the manifestations of the spirit through the members of his body. That my joy may be full?

Paul? If there's anybody that could stick in a dungeon and and sing and be happy, it was this man. And yet here, we see a transparent moment that reveals a spiritual truth. I need my friend Timothy to be with me. And I have a hunch that when Paul prayed to God for Timothy, he prayed that Timothy would get there.

God, bring him here. Bring him here. I need to see his face. I need to hear his voice. I need his arm around me.

I wanna put my arms around him, and I believe one way we can adopt a greater application to this verse is to see it from Timothy's perspective and not just Paul's. What was Timothy's duty as a response to this request? I must go see my friend Paul. I have to find the ship. I have to get the earliest departure so that I can be there with him.

And God has commanded us as believers to not forsake the assembly. It's not a negotiable, brothers and sisters. You and I must be plugged in deeply to a church, skipping the service by just being here for the sermon and not having any connection or not even knowing the names of the people that you hear the word of God with. That is not what we're talking about here. It's not a suggestion.

You know, it'd be really good if you had community. No. It's a command. It'd be really good if you knew some Christians and got plugged in. No.

It's not even a suggest. You need to. You need to. And one of the curses of COVID was not COVID itself, was the fact that the church was forced to shut down. And listen, I understand many churches didn't understand what was happening for those first two weeks when they promised us that it would be fifteen days to flatten the curve and it turned to a year and a half.

But I am astounded of how many people were fighting against the idea of meeting together, especially when the hypocrisy was exposed. The moment I saw riots on the TV, I realized there's something fishy about all of this. And I was getting frustrated because I saw people willing to risk their lives being shoulder to shoulder screaming at each other, down each other's necks for their desire to express their freedoms and and their displeasure with whatever injustice they were complaining about. And Christians are yelling at other Christians for daring to even entertain the thought to open up church again. Remember, you're a protestant.

You protest too. You protest against sin. You protest against false teaching. And we have it good here in America for this moment I guess, but Canada is still in lockdown and Canada's government is hunting down pastors for not just meeting in church buildings, but meeting even in secret now. Pastor Wafiz sent a few of us, the leaders an email about how there is I forget which governor it was or who it was in the states that is demanding that Canada be on the watch list for persecuted nations because of what's going on there.

That should make Canada blush, and I'm a Canadian. They should be embarrassed of themselves. Should be ashamed. But what I learned, and I'm sure you learned too, was that there is an irreplaceable value of meeting together, of being in the presence of other Christians. And is it any wonder that Satan is fighting so hard to prolong this idea of quarantining from church.

Why do you think that is? Because there is an impartation, a unique impartation that only comes from being in the same room with your pastors and with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It doesn't matter what kind of technology we develop. It doesn't matter how real it gets. It doesn't even matter if they come up with virtual reality where you put on goggles and it makes you feel like you're in a church sanctuary.

That will never replace getting in your car, having trouble finding a parking spot, getting into the sanctuary, hearing and seeing other people, and saying hello to them after the service. It will never replace it. Because Paul used his modern technology of his day, it was called writing letters, as hard as that is to believe. And when he wrote these letters, which we are benefiting from today, in those letters he expressed the incalculable value of being in the presence of the believers that he was writing to. Can I show you that?

Go to Romans chapter one as we close in a moment. I want you to see here what he says in chapter one verse 11 to 12. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. Wait. Hold on.

Paul, why can't you just do it over the letter? Why can you impart the spiritual gift through your writings? Why can you just send an email? Because there's something about exercising your spiritual gifts that doesn't work on live stream. Doesn't work from YouTube.

It only works when you come together. Verse 12, that is that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. What a humble man of God. I would have totally agreed and I wouldn't even think twice if he had just said, I'm coming to see you. I long to see you that I may impart a spiritual gift.

Period. Great. You're an apostle. That makes sense. No.

But he says, but you have something to offer me. You younger believers, you non apostles, you businessmen, you carpenters, you stay at home moms, I want to come into your presence because you have something to offer me. There is a strength, there is an encouragement, there is a spiritual impartation that is known in these moments right here right now. Do you realize that? Do you realize that once we say amen and we close and you get up and you say hi, there's impartation happening.

There's impartation happening in the Sunday school right now into the lives of those children. There's impartation happening in the hospitality ministry. There's impartation happening in the parking lot. Good sermons on YouTube don't cut it. That's not the way God designed his church.

It's a part of his church. And a great part is what Paul is expressing here, I long to see you. And he tells Timothy, Timothy, get over here because you have some fuel for my joy that is only reserved in your bosom. So come and pour it into mine. Come and be here with me So that I can be boosted in my faith, boosted in my jubilation, my excitement, and my confidence.

Why is joy important? Because he says joy. That joy may be filled in me. Because you know that wonderful verse in the book of Nehemiah. Right?

That the joy of the Lord is what? Our what? Strength. Joy produces strength. Joy produces strength.

And if the joy of the Lord produces strength, then God in you, Christ in you, coming into contact with me produces a strength. I've said it so many times and I'll say it again. When I come here on a Wednesday night and I see people, after a long day of work, choosing to be here and to cry out to God for those two hours, I find strength. I find strength. I'm built up.

I feel like I can go into any lines then and just face anything after a prayer meeting on Wednesday night. Same with Friday night. When I hear those bible pages flipping and turning, going through the Old Testament people taking notes, I find strength. I'm encouraged. There are people who love God's word.

And then guests come in, they say, who comes on Friday night for bible study? I find strength. Sunday morning, when I hear your voices sing, when I see and hear the excitement of the fellowship afterwards, when I see your attentive faces as I do my best to deliver God's word, I find strength. Strength. There's joy.

There's an excitement that produces the sense of endurance. And Paul wanted that in this moment. The gladness that comes from God produces a supernatural grace. And God provides that to us in many ways, but in one of the main ways is when we come together. How do we build one another up?

Apply this to yourself. Learn to prize your brothers and sisters in Christ. Learn to pray and I'm not saying you have to know everybody's name in this place and pray for them. You can just pray for the church. But there are some people like in Paul's heart with Timothy, that have a special place.

God has brought them into your life in a special way. You say, I'm gonna choose to pray for them And be present. Make it a spiritual discipline to be present. Again, we think that as Christians, we have such this this individualistic mindset that we think my spirituality is about my prayer life and reading my Bible. It's way beyond that.

Expand your scope according to the Bible. Here's one of them, meeting together regularly. I appreciate when somebody comes up to me and they say, brother pray for me. I'm looking for a job and I'm asking that God would give me Sunday morning off. What does that reveal to me?

That the gathering of the saints is a priority. It's not an option. And I've seen God for those in this place that struggling with their work because I'm not here to whip you, but I'm trying to tell you something. I've seen God over and over again honor people that honor his word above everything else including their job. When you really take God at his word and you say, Lord, this is what you're asking of me then I'll obey.

You have to you have to provide me a place and opportunity because I also need to feed my family and pay my bills. You need to help me. Watch how God can change your schedule. Because I've seen a lot of people lose their faith because they got a new promotion. Prize one another.

Pray for one another. Be present with one another. If Paul needed it, if Timothy needed it, surely you and I need it. Surely you and I need it. Let's do just that and pray.

Father, thank you for these verses. Thank you that you showed us through mighty men of God that we all need encouragement. And thank you that you have reminded us today that it is our responsibility to encourage one another. For we are the body of Jesus Christ. Lord, give us the wisdom and the sincerity to know how to prize one another and to express it at the right time.

Lord, show us how to pray for one another especially to be sensitive to your spirit, to pray according to the spirit. To really believe that when we bring names before you, you move in those lives. Help us be present. Help us understand that the efforts to come here, which is not much, can be the reason why somebody else knows a greater joy. Lord, we pray that what we always feel would only become more real.

That when somebody's missing, we would sense their absence. That when somebody is not here, we would feel that gap because we know that every member is needed. Lord, in this place, in this moment right now, would you encourage every single one of us by your Holy Spirit. Give us your wisdom, your love to look beyond ourselves and into the lives of others and to pour into them. Lord, we feel your tenderness this morning.

We sense your compassion and we relish in your wisdom this morning from this book and these verses. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We glorify you Lord. Thank you for making us a part of your body. We worship you now in light of the truths that we've heard.

We glorify you in this place. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and Amen. Can we stand as we worship Jesus Christ together?