Clay St Lucia finished the “Six Steps to Encouragement” series of studies a few weeks ago. I had been meaning to post my reflections earlier, but couldn’t get around to it until now – which probably means that my thoughts are a tad fuzzy….
But anyway, “Six Steps” talks about how it is possible for us to use words to encourage others, whatever the context may be - 1 on 1 conversation, group conversation etc. “God’s words changes us: through us, it can change others, too”. This was regularly emphasized throughout the series.
For me, there were some points to come out of the series (or at least, it's my attempt to summarise the points that came out):
Session 1 (God's word is powerful & true)
## God speaks powerfully. He speaks to us via the Bible, & we can trust God’s word.
## God speaks powerfully in 5 ways: to create, to judge, to save, powerfully to show us Himself, & to change us.
## God's word sustains creation & judges those who reject Him.
## It is the power of God that saves, not our failure or success to live up to the gospel's standards. We are called to be messengers of the gospel.
Session 2 (God's word changes us)
## God's word is eternal, stands firm through time & endures always. God is faithful throughout all generations, & that means we can trust in God's word & use God's word to encourage others.
## We should be careful that the words we use to spread the gospel do not distort the truth. We can use different means of spreading the gospel depending on our audience, but must never ever compromise the truth of the gospel.
## Even in the face of the opposition, we should remain bold to speak the gospel - because God is on our side. (Someone during the study - possibly Ray Fong - came up with the catchy line "it is gold to be bold").
## Telling the gospel is fine & good, but we should also live the gospel.
Session 3 (Through us, God's word changes others)
## God controls Christian growth. We have a role to play in that growth. It's not that God needs us (he doesn't), but that He chose to work through us. Our part is the "planting & watering" of the seed. God uses us to speak His word & bring life & salvation to others.
## Therefore, how we think of our role in Christian growth is important. If we think too highly of our role, we may forget to rightfully acknowledge God. If we don't think highly enough of our role, then it may result in us being less productive (& perhaps complacent) in doing God's work, & not caring for others as much as we ought to.
## God's word can be spoken via many ways - 1 on 1, small groups, etc. Ultimately, the way we decide to speak is irrelevant. It is the fact that we speak that matters. That was apostle Paul's approach. Nothing was going to hold Paul back from getting God's word out to the people, & he did not care how it was done so long was it was done. Paul did not twist God's word & he did not change the word to suit people.
Session 4 (What to say)
## God's word sets out the basis of the truth that we speak - all the info we need is in the Bible. If the person we speak to can see the truth in our message, then our inadequacies (whatever they might be) may be overlooked.
## There are various reasons that the content of the Bible does not enter our conversations that much. One of the reasons may be that we don't feel that we know enough about the Bible to talk about it. A solution (perhaps a tad obvious) to this would be to learn the Bible - know about something before talking about it. On top of learning, putting what we learn into practice.
## When someone goes through a hard time or is suffering, words may not be all that helpful even if true or valid. Acts of comfort (e.g. a hug, just being there for the person suffering) may in those circumstances be more appropriate/helpful than words. Should we be suffering, our solace would be in Christ & we should know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
Session 5 (How to say what we say)
## The Bible tells us how we rebuke others - do it gently & lovingly. By rebuking in a loving way, the other person would be more inclined to appreciate what we have to say. Also, bear each other's burdens.
## Our motivation for rebuking others should be love. In rebuking, we should bear in mind that we are all sinners.
## There are 5 ways to speak wisely & well:
(1) Base your advise on the gospel. Speak words of grace. Avoid legalism. Avoid anything that suggests that we have to do things to please God.
(2) Be specific. God is the boss of this world. Be observant & learn. Look, see, understand the world we live in, then tie it with knowledge of God.
(3) Be humble. Ultimately, only God knows where wisdom is to be found.
(4) Deal with important issues. Talk about stuff in light of God's kingdom.
(5) Know what not to say. No slander, foolish jokes etc. Listen well. Have "other-person" centeredness.
Session 6 (The place of prayer)
## God is powerful & only through Him are all things possible. So, our prayers should reflect this. Our prayers should acknowledge that only God causes growth, that things are possible because of Him. We should feel privileged that God would even consider us to be a part of His process.
## When it comes to encouraging others, the things we should pray for include: thanking God for the people; wisdom & understanding of God's will; prayer for strength; giving thanks that the gospel is bearing fruit in the lives of people; pray that the gospel will continue to bear fruit.
## When we pray for others, we should focus the prayers on the person & their growth in God, rather than focussing the prayers on their problems.
General (can't remember which session these points came from)
## We believers have had the privilege of hearing God’s word & be encouraged by it. So, we in turn should speak God’s word to others. God chooses to use us as His medium to spread the gospel – we help spread the gospel by telling the gospel to others, so it is possible for our words to change the lives of others. But we are not to just tell the gospel, we should also live the gospel.
## The way we speak & what we speak can be encouraging to others, more so if what we say is based on the Word of God.
At the end of session 6 (the last session, the big, concluding application to question to the "Six Steps to Encouragement" series was posed.
The question is: What specific action will I take in response to the course?
I joked with my small group (Winston, Suzanne, Ray Fong, Mario) that I learnt nothing from the series, & that I know less than I did when I begin the series. Of course, it's completely untrue.
I've learnt quite a few things, & I found the studies & videos to be concise, & not too difficult to follow.
I did promise my small group that I will blog on my reflection on "Six Steps to Encouragement", specifically talking on that application question. Well, I guess some things I can do in response to the series are:
--> Get in touch (via email) with my Malaysian non-Christian friend who is based in North America (he should still be there). I previously did broach the subject of Christianity to this friend, as I found out that he visited my church in Malaysia at least once since I moved to Australia. He's told me that he's not a Christian. Being based in North America, he may have already been exposed to the gospel or come in touch with Christians over there, & he may have visited some churches. My hope is that if he's already done this, I will be able to encourage him to attend the church regularly.
--> Look for opportunities to fit the gospel into my conversation with non-Christian friends.
--> Ask God for wisdom in knowing what to say when presenting the gospel to non-believers, & also for wisdom to be able to stick firmly to the truth of the gospel regardless of the style or method that I use to communicating the gospel.
--> Be more edifying in my conversations with friends. The words I speak should build & encourage others. This is not necessarily always the case, as some of my friends may attest!
So, that's my 2 cents with the "Six Steps to Encouragement" series. Hopefully, I can put the above action points into practice. Please pray for me; pray that I will reflect on the above, be inspired by the gospel, be spurred to grow, & be an encouragement to my friends & others people I meet. That is, encouragement because of who God is & what He has done through His Own Son. Must remember that!
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