It's good to see you back here as we worship our God together again this afternoon. Just a reminder that Wednesday night at 7 o'clock we'll have prayer meeting. It will be on Zoom. So I think all of you are get the connection. So if there's a problem there, let me know. but a prayer meeting at seven o'clock. Next Lord's Day afternoon will be around the Lord's table, so keep that in mind as well. It's been a delight to have Pastor Chansky with us today in his ministry from the Word of God. He did mention that he's going to probably slip out really quick after this afternoon service once he gets back to Holland for their evening service, so If you want to speak to him, catch him as he's running, maybe, or something like that. It won't be that fast. OK. All right. It won't be that fast. But thanks for coming, brother, and ministering unto us. I trust you all have the Psalm 118 in front of you. It's not the complete psalm. Cliff will read that to us here in a minute. But it's part of the psalm. You need one, Carlos? I don't think it's in there. Ken has one. Now, we're going to sing this to the tune of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. I did not pick it because it's a Christmas hymn. I picked it because it's a tune that we can sing this psalm to. So I do love Christmas. I love Christmas songs. I do enjoy Christmas. But that's not why I picked it. I just want to defend myself here. It goes to this tune. So let's stand together and let us sing Psalm 118. Praise the Lord for He is good, is good and has not endured. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ O let the house of Aaron say ♪ ♪ His steadfast love endures ♪ ♪ And those that hear the Lord now say ♪ ♪ His steadfast love endures ♪ ♪ In thy distress, my soul ♪ ♪ The Lord, the home of man should be ♪ ♪ He sets me in a spacious place ♪ ♪ A place of liberty ♪ ♪ The light in the darkened time ♪ I will not be afraid. For anything that men can do, I will not be dismayed. The Lord is on my side. with us forever have to be. To serve the law of saving me, my dying time shall speak. Oh, better part to trust the Lord than resting in a pit. Yes, better part to trust the Lord than resting in a pit. ♪ The nations answer with me, their voices raising high ♪ ♪ I'm sure the angels know us free, and will no longer stride ♪ Yes, they have all surrounded me, surrounded to the night. I'm sure the angels will say, I will never be strong. ♪ The Lord is soft and deep to us ♪ ♪ And gave the night of night ♪ ♪ Oh, how sweet to hear the angels' voice ♪ ♪ When poor Joseph will cry to thee ♪ ♪ Lord, my God of many days ♪ ♪ My God of worship be ♪ ♪ So thank the Lord for me ♪ ♪ His good, his grace shall ever be ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Let's pray together. Brother Cliff Montroy, would you ask God to meet with us in our time? Our Father in heaven, our hearts are filled with gratitude again at your loving kindness toward us, your loving kindness that endures forever, and that we have been released in the year of jubilee blood of the lamb that we've been released from that old slave master and are no longer our own but have been bought with a price. And we are under the ownership of a new master, our Lord Jesus. So Father, we pray that you would give us grace this hour to worship you truly in his name and in obedience to him. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. So please turn to Psalm 118, where we find ourselves today. I've been remiss in keeping you posted on which book of the Psalms we are in, if you will recall. There are five groups of books, and we crossed that line way back in Psalm 106, and now we're in the fifth book of the Psalms, and some have noted how there is a progression and a pattern to these different books, but we won't go into that. For our purposes here are simply to read this Psalm. begins and ends on the same note, virtually the same words, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness, or if you have King James or New, King James, his mercy endures forever. And he is giving thanks for a particular deliverance. In verse 21, he talks about salvation. And as with all Psalms, we want to ask ourselves, put these words in Messiah's mouth and see Him praying these words and how they apply to Him. And in this particular Psalm, I think we could almost begin it by saying, Lord, teach us to pray, because this is so fitting to Messiah and the things that He suffered. There's the threefold that we I was glad we were able to sing that the surrounding repeated three times about him being surrounded by his enemies or compassed about with his enemies and being delivered by God. Christ had many deliverances, maybe more than were recorded. I don't know, but we know of at least one where he was taken. to the brow of the hill, and they were going to do away with him. But it wasn't his time, of course. And so this psalm may have been on his lips. To thank the Lord with me for his deliverances are great. And we notice the psalm begins with that little word, O. At least in some of the versions, give thanks to Yahweh. Emotive, if you will, cry by the psalmist is something that we say when we're excited or afraid or our emotions are high. Oh, give thanks to Yahweh for he is good. And notice when we get to verse 25 that once again, he begins to use that emotive cry and it is doubled in verse 25. Save now. I beseech you, O Yahweh, O Yahweh. He repeats it twice. And I believe we see here, because this follows hard on the heels of the verses that are unmistakably messianic, where he says, the stone which the builders rejected. has become the head of the corner, nothing else but the resurrection, the exaltation, the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. That day that is spoken of in verse 24, that is the day that Yahweh has made. Certainly prophetists think of every day as being made by Yahweh, but I think we delete dilute the significance of this biblical phrase. This is the day Yahweh has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And it certainly is an echo of Revelation 19.7, which follows hard on the Hallelujah Chorus. Let us rejoice and be glad. In that case, final justice. One other comment, I have been noting for you the instances of God's name, how he is addressed or how his name is used. In this case, this is an extremely interesting psalm to me, the name of Jehovah occurs some 6,521 times, according to the concordance that the Blue Letter Bible uses, which is Strong's concordance, by the way. So Jehovah occurs some 6,521 times. Here, in this psalm alone, it occurs 22 times. That's just in 29 verses, and that's the name Jehovah. But we've also come across the contracted version, a name of Jehovah and Jah or Yah instead of Yahweh. And this is even more interesting to me. That occurs some 50 times in the Old Testament, but in this Psalm alone, it occurs six times. And so it's full of Yahweh and Yah and such a cry of our Savior. May we learn to cry like Him give thanks to him, trust like him, as he went through his sufferings and we follow in his train, so to speak. So I will read from the World English Bible, which actually is the only version I found that differentiates Yahweh and Yah. Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, for His loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel now say that His loving kindness endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say that His loving kindness endures forever. Now, let those who fear Yahweh say that His loving kindness endures forever. And again, we've had these three groups just a couple of chapters ago. I think it was 115, was it? Yeah, verses 9 through 15, where those three groups, Israel, Aaron, and God-fearers. And I wonder if Paul had that in mind in Acts 13, 16. In the synagogue, he goes to the brethren when they ask him if he has anything to say, sayon. And he says, men, brethren, people of Israel, and those who fear God. And I wonder if he had these very words in mind. Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom. Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore, I will look and triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to put confidence in man. And I believe one of the commentators noted that this is the middle verse in the Bible. Eight or nine, I can't remember which one. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, verse nine, than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh's name, I cut them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me, three times this is mentioned. In Yahweh's name, I indeed cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh's name, I cut them off. You pushed me back hard to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me. Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation, the voice of rejoicing. And salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly. The right hand of Yahweh is exalted. The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly. I will not die but live and declare Yah's works. Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Though he were a son, yet learned the obedience by the things which he suffered. Verse 19, open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah. This is the gate of Yahweh. The righteous will enter into it. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is Yahweh's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh. Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now. Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh's name. We have blessed you out of Yahweh's house. Yahweh is God and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords even to the horns of the altar. For us the sacrifice of praise And generosity. You are my God and I will give thanks to you. You are my God. I will exalt you. Oh, give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Now, before Pastor Chansky comes to open the word of God, take the hymns of grace. Turning to 272, hymns of grace 272, the power of the cross. Let's stand together as we sing. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ Into the cross of the Lord ♪ ♪ There's a flower from the cross ♪ ♪ Mercy gave, sent for us ♪ ♪ To the plague or the wrath ♪ ♪ He sent for him alone ♪ Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ Proudly through the day gone by ♪ ♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪ ♪ What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ Thou the King of Kings ♪ ♪ Thou the Ruler of Kings ♪ ♪ Gracious Redeemer, Thou didst send ♪ ♪ Birth of joyous truth, generation life ♪ ♪ Finish the victory time ♪ ♪ It's the power of the cross ♪ ♪ Christ became sin for us ♪ ♪ Took the blame for the wrath ♪ ♪ He shall forgive and have the cross ♪ ♪ God has changed my name ♪ ♪ Bring to me the good ♪ ♪ For through your shelter ♪ ♪ I am free ♪ ♪ Let us rush together ♪ ♪ Life is mine to live ♪ ♪ But through your shelter is love ♪ God of God, Savior of us, God of God, Father of us, we sing forgiveness to God. Thanks so much for the kind attention that you gave to me in the a.m. worship and Lord willing we will have the same kind of joy in this p.m. worship together as we go to a second time to the well of the word and we trust that he would fill our little bucket with refreshment so that we can leave with brightened eyes here today. Please turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 11. We'll just focus our attention on one verse here. 1 Thessalonians 5, 11. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another just as you are also doing. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank You that You've fed our bellies cause we were hungry and we'd be fainting without your opening your hand and satisfying the desires of every living thing. But mostly we pray that you would feed our souls. We pray Lord that you would Fill us with truths of Your Word that we might run the race in such a way as to win the prize. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. I was talking very briefly at the end of our interaction downstairs. I mentioned something to Wade about the theme of encouragement. And I said, Wade, you are a cross-country coach. And you know the importance of encouragement. And I've seen Wade in action. I've seen him at the Jackson Raceway yelling, encouraging, spurring on his runners. Comes around the corner, quarter of a mile from the end, and Wade shouting, you can do this! We need you. We need your points. You were born for this. And when the runner was, as it were, down for the count in exhaustion, to be able to get that spur from a coach, it can just change the race. Encouragement is a powerful force. In fact, I've said in the past that encouragement is like adrenaline. There's a young man in our church named Andrew. A number of years ago, he ate some peanuts and had an allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock. In the lobby of the school, he was down for the count. He was turning blue, barely breathing, but then somebody gave him an EpiPen. which is an adrenaline shot into his thigh and it was life from the dead. It gave him a surge and he was brought back and now he's a whole young man again instead of merely a gravestone in some cemetery. Adrenaline has a powerful effect. Encouragement has a powerful effect and that's what I want to focus on here. We spoke about really the ultimate encouragement, which is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that enables us to run the race of faith. Also, there are the races of the daily rigors of life that we can encourage each other in. Encouragement is a powerful force in the Christian life. That's why Paul says here, therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. Paul, the apostle who wrote this, was a man, you think back in Acts chapter 9, remember how he was heading up toward Damascus for the purpose of persecuting the saints, but instead he had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ just outside of Damascus, thrown down probably from his horse to the ground. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He was led blind into the city, and he met up with Ananias, and the scales fell from his eyes, and he'd come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember how he began to preach the gospel up there in Damascus, sound the ram's horn in ears. Certainly people would be exhilarated with the truth of the gospel, wouldn't they? No, not so much. They hated the apostle Paul, and he had to be let down in a laundry basket on the outer part of the wall. He had to escape by stealth of night. Imagine how he was kind of like a deer in the headlights. I thought when I came to Christ he was going to make me an apostle to the Gentiles. Surely I would have a bumper crop of salvations. But that wasn't what he experienced and he headed from Damascus in the north down to Jerusalem in the south a bit dazed and he arrived there at the Jerusalem church. In Acts chapter 9 he probably thought he would receive a warm reception at least now in the church in Jerusalem But again, not so much because they suspected that he who had persecuted the saints now was still an enemy of the saints and the church shunned him and wanted nothing to do with the Apostle Paul until there was a man who met him. Anybody know his name? It starts with a B. Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. And the passage says there that the man the son of encouragement Barnabas took Paul and brought him to the apostles and Barnabas declared to them how Paul had seen the Lord on the road and how he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly in Damascus in the name of the Lord Jesus. You see here we have Barnabas publicly bragging on the spiritual heroism of Paul in Damascus. And we see how this well-timed encouragement turned the tide, resulting in Paul's being now highly esteemed in the eyes of the church. And he was like resuscitated in his faith and in his purpose for ministry. And I think that this effect of Barnabas the encourager made an impress on the Apostle Paul so that he became like a spiritual cross-country coach to Christians who were running the race in such a way as to win the prize, and he would give them a steady diet of encouragement, which was like adrenaline to their souls. In fact, just turn with me to Romans chapter 16. And just look at the way the Apostle Paul, sometimes you read like a final chapter in Romans and we get the idea that this is just a throwaway chapter because different names and greetings that are mentioned, not very important. Oh, there's a lot of instruction here. Look how in verses 1 through 4 the Apostle says this in Romans 16, I commend you, I commend to you Phoebe our sister. who, look, he's beginning to brag on her and bring commendation and encouragement. And realize that the epistle to the Romans was read in a church service just like this. So this is being read. Phoebe was actually maybe sitting right where Martha is, right there. And Phoebe was hearing herself being commended in front of all by the Apostle Paul. What an epipen that must have been to Phoebe. Sitting there, though she may have been downcast and discouraged, she was far away from home. But no, no, no, no. Now there's this word of encouragement. I command you, Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cancrii, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints. For indeed, she has been a helper of many and of myself also. So there's that encouragement that he brought to Phoebe, bragging on her in the presence of all. Also, notice, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow... They were sitting probably over there in row six there, just like we have our brother and our sister sitting here. Greet Priscilla and Aquila. Notice how he boasts of them and commends them. My fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to which not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Now look over to verse 10. Greet Mary. She's probably sitting back where our sister is sitting there next to her husband. Greet Mary, who labored much for us. And up on the balcony there, I know Quentin's up there, but greet Apollos, approved in Christ Jesus. Or look there. Greet Trithina and Trifosa. who have labored in the Lord. Look, the guy in the second row sitting right here. Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. See, look at that. This correspondence pulses with multiple expressions of encouragement. It kind of reminds me of the occasion when I come to preach at a church where I haven't been for a while and I can just see, oh, I've been here and Calvin stands at the back and he'll say, this is Deacon Kenny. And he'll tell me some exploit of Kenny and how helpful Kenny has been to the church. And Kenny senses a degree of encouragement that his pastor thinks highly of him. And maybe this is Secretary Yellow. uh... and our secretary mrs yellow uh... she has labored in administration so long and and uh... then this by a young person here who has uh... been in the church and has been a leader among the young people in and likewise a pastor may give high praise for the dedication of the saints you see it's the giving out of epi pens it's the cheering on with encouragement i think that is a kind of a climate that we ought to have in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like it says here, encourage one another, build one another up. just as you are doing. So let me just express to you some ways that we can encourage one another. This is going to be really practical, down-to-earth material. Let me just, as we have time, let me give you maybe, well, we'll say six. We'll see if we'll get there. Six ways in which we can encourage one another in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In families, how a pastor can encourage. Or how a father can encourage his children. Or a husband, think of it, can encourage his bride. Or a brother can encourage another brother in the church, in the workplace. How a supervisor can encourage one of his fellow workers. So the applications are legion. Consider one way of encouraging, and that would be just simply commendation. Commendation. To commend is to heartily express approval for a job well done in the hearing of the one being praised, and to say it in such a way so that others come to trust and esteem that individual. You see, that's just what Paul did in paving the way for his dear sister in Christ, Phoebe, there. who had probably arrived at the church in Rome just recently. As he says, greet Phoebe, our sister, a servant in the church at Cancrii. She has been a helper of many, and of me also. Just a word of encouragement can change the weather emotionally, can't it? I still remember, I was 10 years old, a Saturday morning, and I went to try out for my local little league team, Havilland Products. Now, I have two brothers, Greg and Dave. I was 10 at the time. Greg was 12, and Dave was 11. Wherever I went, Calvin, I would go with those guys. But now they were off on some other team, and I was going all alone. And I was trying out for the shortstop position, and I remember the coach was hitting the ground balls to me, and I wasn't doing very well at all, because I felt very insecure in myself. But then, the coach of my team last year, he was behind the backstop. And he saw that I was out there at short, and he said to the coach who was hitting the ground ball, he says, hey, look at that shortstop out there, Chansky. He's got a great bat, a great glove, and a great arm. That's your man for shortstop. And just hearing that word of commendation about what I had done, just dramatically changed my whole emotional and psychological outwork. I thought, maybe I'm not as bad as I feel like I am. Maybe I'm okay. And it just turned everything around for me. It was like an EpiPen to my psychologically, emotionally fainting heart. And I'll just say, I started that shortstop. for that entire year for Havlon products and I eventually ended up being able to play college baseball. Now I'm not saying that that one event was everything, but it meant the world to me and it turned things around. Any of you ever listen to Albert Moeller and the Briefing? Anyone? You do. Kathy, well, yes. I'm quite frequently during the week I'll listen. And there was one show he was doing, it was in particular with his show thinking in public, and he was interviewing a man who'd been a religious editor for Newsweek magazine. And he told the man, if ever I write a memoir, I want you to know that I'm using your memoir as my pattern. I have a number of books that are excellent patterns for a memoir, but you wrote your memoir so well, I want to imitate it when I write mine. And that was about 30 minutes into the interview. And the response was like audio electricity as you listen. The mindset of the man Moeller was interviewing changed immediately and it began to be very articulate and very talkative in the way that he expressed himself. You listen to Moeller. He's a very encouraging man as he interviews people. I think he applies this principle of encourage one another and build up one another. And I think we can do that very practically in family life, in church life, in athletic life, in work life, by commending someone, and it is a adrenaline shot to the labors. So, encourage one another. How? Well, simply by commendation. Now, I admit myself, I am not natively an encourager. I am natively a criticizer. Natively, I have a hawk eye for flaws in people. and a bat's eye for the virtues in people. That's just the way that I'm wired. Even as a father, I can micromanage my children and find out what the issues are they have to deal with, but where am I finding the good and commending them? And the Lord really dealt with me when my children were in their later teens to, come on Mark, they're not three, four, and five anymore. You micromanage them and tell them everything they need to do. You've got to shift gears, Mark, and like being a coach, to be an encourager and say, you were born for this heartbreak hill. This time of difficulty, you can handle this, my son, because I've seen things you've done in the past. So, I think we should be encouragers in one way, just by commending one another. Finding the good in one another. Or how about this, secondly, boasting. Boasting. to boast or to brag with pride in your own achievements is unattractive, but to boast in the outstanding performances of others is splendid. It says this in Proverbs 27, 2. It says, let another praise you, not your own mouth. Someone else, not your own lips. Now, that proverb tells us two things. First, don't brag about yourself. But the second thing it says is, do praise other people. That another should praise an individual, not himself. And Paul does this in Romans 16, when he talks about Priscilla and Aquila. Look in verses 3 and 4. He says, they risk their necks for me. Romans 16, 4. Or maybe Paul was alluding to the brave valor they displayed in shielding him from the assassinated minded Jews who had dragged him before Galileo and Corinth in Acts 18. Or maybe Paul was referring to Priscilla and Aquila sheltering him from the murderous stadium mob in Ephesus in Acts 19. I don't know, but the point was they risked their necks for me. And Paul boasts of Priscilla and Aquila in earshot of the entire congregation. And you look at the epistles of the Apostle Paul, and Paul boasts about the Corinthian church. What church is that Paul boasts about? It wasn't Smyrna, which was that ideal church in Revelation, about whom no sin is found. He's boasting about the Corinthian church. He found something good in the Corinthian church. Look what it says this. 2nd Corinthians 7 4 great is my boldness of speech towards you great is my boasting on your behalf I'm filled with comfort I'm exceedingly joyful in all our tribulations because I go to different churches and I say you want to see this church at Corinth you want to see how much virtue and how much spiritual fruit is in that church and we ought to be boasting about one another now we're not to boast about somebody else with the intention of puffing them up with pride, but instead to spur them on with inspiration. Don't think, oh, if I say something good about this guy in the second row here, he's going to get a big head. So I want to keep him humble, and I don't want to note anything that is virtuous that he's done and that he's accomplished. No, it shouldn't be that way at all. What about social media? People can criticize each other on social media with biting words, can't they? But how about a tweet like this? My roommate Terry is graduating summa cum laude while almost single-handedly carrying not so smart me through organic chemistry. Hashtag best ever. I mean that's less than 140 characters. And it's a way of giving an adrenaline shot to somebody as they are being boasted about in a wholesome way like an EpiPen to brighten the eyes. I'm telling you, something like that can change the emotional and the psychological weather in our lives. And don't think to yourself that this is carnal, because the Scriptures are full of this kind of very practically commending. If there's a wife who makes a wonderful meal and spends time over that meal. For you, Dad, to make a statement about this at the table, boasting about your wife and the way that she prepares a Thanksgiving meal, that brightens her eyes. It makes a difference, doesn't it? Instead of merely a burp at the end of the dessert. Or think of a third way of encouraging. How about just by approval? Just by giving someone Approval look what it says in Romans 16 10 in that passage greet a palace Approved in Christ this means to receive confirmation that we're on the right track and accepted when wise Friends or colleagues approve of us it makes all the difference doesn't it? There's this young inventor Henry Ford isn't there somebody in the room who works for Ford and Well, let me tell you about the past. A young inventor, Henry Ford, first met the famous inventor, Thomas Edison, at a convention. And then someone pointed out Ford as a young man who's made a gas car. Edison spoke for some time with Ford about his automobile idea, and suddenly Edison enthusiastically banged his fist down on the table, exclaiming, you have it, you have it. Your car is self-contained, carries its own power plant, And later, Ford reflected on his encounter and wrote this, that bang on the table was worth worlds to me. No man up to that point had given me any encouragement. I hoped I was headed right. Sometimes I knew I was. Sometimes I only wondered. But here, all at once and out of the clear sky, the greatest inventive genius in the world had given me complete approval. and it spurred him on like an EpiPen, like a coach near a heartbreak hill to push, to finish, and to win the prize. Great Appellas approved in Christ Jesus. We should apply that to our lives. Even if you're a younger sister, There are ways that you can encourage an older sister when she's emotionally down for the count. Because sometimes older sisters do get emotionally down for the count, don't they? And if you have an EpiPen in your pocket, I mean the Proverbs says in Proverbs 18 that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Do you realize that? Our tongues can be so powerful in helping or hurting our brothers and sisters in Christ. How about a fourth area and a way of encouraging? How about report? Report is merely sharing a verbal account of another person's achievement and accomplishment or heroism. That can give a shot of EpiPen to that particular person. It's interesting how in Philippians 2 there's a discussion about Epaphroditus. It speaks of him and it speaks about, Paul says, He was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick almost to death. And Paul says that we should highly esteem such ones. The point is that Epaphroditus had been given a bag of money from the church at Philippi and they were to take it to Paul who was in Rome. And he took the money, but on the way he got sick. He almost died, but he eventually found his way to Rome, where he delivered the goods to the Apostle Paul in a heroic way, being a courier for the Philippian church. And Paul eventually sent him back to the Philippians and told about the heroic performance of Epaphras. And as a result, he was commended publicly to the church for his heroic performance. Now pastor, I hope that this is a place where when spiritual heroism is accomplished by people in this church, that we shower them with praise and shower them with the report of what someone has done for the cause of the kingdom. Kent Hughes talks about this and how the United States failed to commend and applaud the Vietnam veterans who came home. Remember that? Now the guys came home from Iraq and Afghanistan and they were applauded, but not the Vietnam vets. And Hughes says this, a church like a culture that does not recognize the sacrifice of its own for the sake of the gospel makes a big mistake and the wise apostle simply would not let that happen. Epaphroditus had put on the mind of Christ taking on a humble life of an unsung servant and the Philippians needed to see the young man for who he was a hero and receive him as such. So we should don't be worried about pumping somebody up and making them proud. When people in the church Do something heroic. Tell others about it. Another element for encouraging is, we'll just have this be the last one, name recognition. Name recognition. This way we can encourage one another. We each feel more valued and respected and important when somebody remembers and uses our name, right? You ever have the experience where you've known someone for years and they just can't seem to retrieve your name? And you know it, and there's a sense of a sting to it. I remember back when I was trying to make the basketball team as a sophomore at the big high school in Grand Rapids. And all the freshmen had poured in, too. And all these guys were in the court. And Coach Haskins, oh man, he was the Nick Saban of athletics at Creston High School. And when we were warming up, all the guys, I'm kind of small anyway, and I felt very uncomfortable. But then he said during a scrimmage, Chansky, good job! And I thought, what? He knows my name. He knows my name? And I didn't become Michael Jordan, I assure you, or Lebron James to a different generation, but I was a different player after he had mentioned my name. And it's very interesting. You look at it scripturally. You look at David. There's that passage in 2 Samuel 23 where David has a list of his mighty men. And in that list, there are, listen, there are 37 names that are given of David's mighty men. Now you think, what a waste of ink. Why write all these names down? It gets all... By the way, Benaiah was one of those names. My little buddy being held there by your mommy. Benaiah was one of the mighty men. See, he woke up. He was like in a dream, like a nappy pen to him when he heard his name. And so it is, David knew that among his mighty men, that his mighty men and their exploits needed to be reported. And he even mentioned them by name. Why? Because among David's warriors, they knew there would be name recognition for their exploits. performance or it's also interesting when Nehemiah built the wall in Nehemiah chapter 3 you listen to there are all these names listed in it between the dungate and the King's Tower there this name of this person and 80 names that were given why all the names because name recognition is significant that spurs on the great performance isn't it true Wade if you are Helping somebody along the cross-country course, you shout their name, makes a world of difference. Even, I believe, the most significant name dropper of all is the Lord Jesus Christ in spurring on souls. How about Luke chapter 19? He is there, outside the city, and there's a little fellow up in a tree. And what does he say? Zacchaeus mentions his name. Zacchaeus probably thought, what? This celebrity of Palestine, he knows my name? Or even in the Garden of Gethsemane, there's this woman who's crying. She thought the gardener had taken the body. And he said what? In the Greek, it's Miriam. But if you're right, it's Mary. He spoke her name like nobody else could speak her name. And it changed everything. And how about even when the angel gave the report at the tomb to the women about his rising from the dead? He says, the angel said, go tell his disciples that he'll meet them in Galilee. But is that all he said? Go tell his disciples? Didn't he speak a name somewhere? What name did he speak? Go tell his disciples And Peter. And why was it Peter? Because the last time Peter had encountered the Lord Jesus, they met in Luke 22, their eyes crossed, and he was denying and cursing the name. And he went out and wept bitterly. And you can imagine when those women came back to the upper room, and how Peter was listening to the women, that the angel said, go tell my disciples and Peter. And Peter said, what? Grabbed her by the gown. Did he say my name? Did he say my name? changed the psychological, emotional climate of Peter's life, speaking names. Man, if you're an administrator at a school, be able to stand out in the middle of the lobby and the kids, maybe 300 kids in your school, try to get all their names so that, hey, Jamie, I heard you scored a goal last week to win the soccer game. Way to go. Hey, Sally, I heard that you were the captain of the engineering team that put together that little machine that won it for our school. Well done. Hey, I heard that you got accepted at XYZ University. Way to go. We should be people who are encouragers and knowing people's names. In fact, there's an account that Tim Keller gives of himself. He was preaching at Wheaton College and he says this, When I was young and very unsure of myself, thinking I wanted to go into the ministry, I wasn't sure I could make it. But I met a guy named Edmund Clowney, who was an alumnus of Wheaton College. He was the president of Westminster Seminary. I heard him speak at a conference, and I walk up to him two years later. And I was really down to dumps after my prospects, and he was there speaking nearby. And I went afterwards and walked up to him and said, Hello, Dr. Clowney. I met you two years ago, but you don't remember who I am. But Clowney said this, Oh, I know you. And he mentioned my name. He spoke my name, Keller said. And Clowney said to Keller, let's go get a soda, Tim, and let's talk and find out what's going on in your life. And Keller says this, that just changed everything. He named me. It was transformative. So, for good reason, I believe the Apostle John concluded his third letter with these words. Listen. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. by name. You see, it's an encouraging uncommon and godly trait to know and remember and recognize and call others by their name. So, I know this is just so practical, isn't it? But, beloved, let us be individuals who fulfill what the Apostle says. Find different ways in which we can look. Encourage one another and build up one another just as you are doing. And I would encourage you, and again, how about the issue of name? Some of you came in here this morning, downcast, feeling insecure spiritually, feeling unworthy to be called a child of God, but I'm just telling you, you are in Christ, you are wrapped up in His righteousness. Even on Thanksgiving, we got this little, oh, two-year-old, grandson, his name is Remmer. And when Remmer goes into the bathtub, into the bubbles, and you pull him out and his hair is curly, and you wrap him up on one of these beefy towels, and you say, all clean, all clean. And he's adorable, isn't he? You know what? In Christ Jesus, You may be a filthy child like Samuel we talked about in the morning, but you know what? Wrapped up in the robes of Christ's righteousness. Listen to me, I'm giving you the most encouraging word of all. You are all clean, you are all clean, and you are adorable in the sight of the Heavenly Father, wrapped up in the righteousness of His Son. You know, you look at that little boy and say, I just love you so much I could just eat you up. And the holy, holy, holy God sees you wrapped up in the righteousness of Christ. And you are adorable to Him because in Christ Jesus you are altogether lovely in the Lord Jesus. Let's close with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for the encouragement of Your Word. We thank You for the encouragement of Barnabas, of the Apostle Paul, and ultimately of the Lord Jesus, who knows us each by name. So we ask that we would be conformed to the image of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. God has given us a good day of integration. Let us close our day by singing the Daksha of India. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him on creatures near below. Praise Him upon the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.