Courage to Encourage

Life Rule #5 “The Courage to Encourage”- By Andy Stanley

· Life Rule: If you see a friend that is about do something really stupid it becomes your business
· Society Rule #1: Mind your own business
· Society Rule #2: When you see a friend about to make a bad decision talk about them. Christians will sometimes call this “Prayer Request”
· “Don’t anybody talk to Frank, we will just talk about his situation and pray for him”
· You have the potential to head someone off at the pass and save them from a decision they could regret for the rest of their life.
· Hebrews 3:12-13 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called TODAY, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
· God sees us not as individuals, but as a community therefore we are accountable to each other.
· Sinful, Unbelieving Heart= There is a sequence to a drifting heart
· We stop behaving before we stop believing.
· People will think their experience is unique and it’s not it is a pattern of the World.
· Deceitfulness of Sin means we think we can control the outcome
· “Oh me and God our just at odds right now that’s why I am acting this way and separating myself from God and from the church but I wont stop believing” But that’s road we are on!
· Encourage One Another =Appeal, Beg, Urge, and Exhort
· Not about Praying it’s about Saying!
· Excuses to not engage
#1 Its awkward-> It will always be awkward when approaching someone about their life!
#2 My life is not perfect with God, I am not Perfect-> NO ONE on this earth on their own merit can talk, that is why we are assigned by God to reach out!
· If you are praying or talking about them, you better be talking to them!
· 2 Questions we should ask
#1-> Who do I know that has started down that path, who have I prayed for or talked about?
~You don’t know what they are praying about, they could be asking God to let them know if it is not in His will.
#2-> Who in my circle of friends feels empowered to come rushing in if they see me drifting?
· Christianity was not designed to be Private!