Sermon "Faith's Encouragement "
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday August 24, 1997
Romans 15:1-7
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Faith's Encouragement
I want to ask you a question, what makes some give-up whenthey are close to reaching a goal? What makes others stoppursuing a positive direction and fall into a destructive path orsimply allow circumstances to control them? I believe the towelis thrown in because of real or imagined discouragement. I amreminded of the story of Florence Chadwick.
It was a foggy morning when Florence waded into the water offCatalina Island. She intended to swim the channel from the islandto the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new toher; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel inboth directions. The water was numbing cold that day. The fog wasso thick she could hardly see the boats in her party. Severaltimes sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam morethan 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Shewas close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog.So she quit...Only one-half mile from her goal. Later she said,"I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the landI might have made it." It wasn't the cold or fear orexhaustion that caused Florence to fail. It was the fog. She wasdiscouraged because she could not see the land close ahead. Twomonths after her failure, Florence Chadwick walked off the samebeach into the same channel and swam the distance, setting a newspeed record, because she could see the land.
I want to encourage you to encourage others in the fog, whoare in the midst of rough waters, to keep on and not give-up. Theeffectiveness of a church is not measured by it's seatingcapacity but it's serving capacity. Serve as an encourager!
Jesus never called a person a sinner. He had some choice wordsfor Pharisees and others who should know better, but he neverdegraded an individual by calling them a sinner. Encouragement isa commissioned activity in the Bible. It is interesting that inEphesians, Paul sends Tychicus to encourage the church. InThessalonians he sends Timothy to encourage the church. And thename of the apostle Barnabas means son of encouragement.
What does encouragement do? It unifies the diversity of oGd'schurch! We find these words in Romans 15:5-6, May the God whogives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unityamong yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with oneheart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our lordJesus Christ.
I know it is risky in Packer territory to mention Tom Landryof the Dallas Cowboys, but we have to respect him as a coach. Heonce said, "The job of a coach is to make men do what theydon't want to do, in order to achieve what they reallywant." That is what Jesus does: he puts us throughcircumstances we do not want to go through; he makes us facethings we do not like to face, to encourage us to achieve what wehave wanted all along.
Many times we too fail, not because of the peer pressure orbecause of anything other than the fact that we becomediscouraged. Paul said, "I press toward the mark for theprize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil.3:14). You can do the same by pressing toward the mark for theprize of the high calling God has for you.
There was a person who complained about the hardness of lifeand circumstances that surrounded him. "I wish that God hadnever made me" he angrily stated. But a friend replied,"You are not yet made, you are only being made, and you arequarreling with God's process!"
Let the encouragement of faith shape you into God's person andbe agents of that encouragement to others. Amen.
