Sunday Sermon Outline: Encouragement to Endure Suffering

"Encouragement to Endure Suffering"
Romans 8:18-30


Introduction: Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”


Romans 8:18-30, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”


I. We should be encouraged by the expectation of future glory. v. 18
     “… the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”


2 Timothy 3:12, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."


II. We should be encouraged by the redemption of creation. vs. 19-25
     “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”


III. We should be encouraged by the intercession of the Spirit. vs. 26-27 
     “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”


IV. We should be encouraged by the cohesion of God's eternal plan. vs. 28-30
     “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”


Conclusion: v. 18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”




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Sunday Sermon Outline: Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah 29
Encouragement to the Exiles

I.  Wait on the Lord vs. 1-14
     “Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. [2] (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) [3] The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, [4] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, [5] ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. [6] ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. [7] ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ [8] “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. [9] ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.”
     “[10] “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. [11] ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. [12] ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. [13] ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. [14] ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”


II. Listen to the Lord vs. 15-23
     “[15] “Because you have said, ‘The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— [16] for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile— [17] thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. [18] ‘I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, [19] because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the LORD, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the LORD. [20] “You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
     “[21] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. [22] ‘Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, [23] because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness,” declares the LORD.’””


III. Fear the Lord vs. 24-32
     “[24] To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, [25] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, [26] “The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, [27] now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you? [28] “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘ The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.’”’””
     “[29] Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet. [30] Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, [31] “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,” [32] therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the LORD, “because he has preached rebellion against the LORD.”’”” 


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Real Encouragement

Of late, I have been distressed by some of the postings I have seen offered on Facebook. It brought to light a disturbing trend which I have witnessed throughout the years, and particularly in the churches. People are encouraging one another.

“Now, I'm confused, Jonathan. You believe that people encouraging one another is a bad thing?”

Just like a weapon, encouragement can be a useful tool when utilized properly, but can be deadly when mishandled. Let me offer an example:

      Betty is worried because her husband lost his job and they have had trouble paying the bills.
     Wilma – a church friend – encourages her, “Hang in, there! Things will get better. I'm praying for you.”
     Betty appreciates having someone nearby who cares for her. “Thanks, Wilma. I don't know what I would do without you.”
     To which Wilma replies, “That's what we're supposed to do as Christians, to encourage one another!”

Here's one more example:

     Fred is struggling to fit in at work. In order to be recognized and promoted, he feels it necessary to do what everyone else is doing, even though many of those things are sinful. He takes the problem to his minister, Barney.
     After listening to the situation, Barney “encourages” Fred to just be himself. He suggests that Fred's co-workers should accept him for who he is, not who they want him to be. He then prays with Fred, asking the Lord to intervene in his workplace and soften the hearts of Fred's co-workers. Barney then closes by offering a verse of Scripture, “Remember, Fred … God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him!”
     “Thanks for the encouragement, Barney. You're a great minister and a great friend!”

Now, one might look at those two situations and believe that encouragement has in fact taken place. Fred and Betty “felt” better after talking to their friends, right? But “feeling better” is not what Biblical encouragement is at all about. In the Scriptures, encouragement is about pointing you to the Rock (Christ) and exhorting you to stay there until rescued.

The Greek word primarily translated as encourage or encouragement is parakaleo, which comes from two Greek words which mean to call to, or to call beside. What is God doing through Christ? Calling us to Himself. We are “partakers of a heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1). Even though this world is fraught with trials and tribulations, we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Encouragement then is that which causes us to maintain our conviction that Christ has overcome this world and move forward in the hope that we also will overcome through Him (1 John 5:4). It is solely a by-product of faith in God's word. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

The reason that encouragement is necessary is because Satan strives to pull us from the narrow way (Matthew 7:14). Therefore, there is no Christian encouragement that does not urge us to return to or remain on that straight path (Acts 13:10). So let's go back to our examples and reconsider them in light of this new information.

Betty was struggling with financial problems, and supposedly Wilma encouraged her. I would challenge such thinking, because it does not fit the Biblical criteria for encouragement, which is to point people back to the word of Christ. Why didn't Wilma remind Betty that Christ has said not to “store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19), but “in heaven” (Matthew 6:20)?

“That seems awfully insensitive.”

According to whom? Was Christ then insensitive to a people struggling financially under the iron rule and heavy taxation of Rome? His encouragement to them was, “do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). He reminded the people of God's providence and His upward call by saying, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Is there a reason that Wilma did not point Betty back to the word of Christ? Or why didn't she at least urge Betty to remain faithful to the Lord under such trials? When the Christians of Thessalonica were being persecuted by the Jews, Paul sent them Timothy for a single purpose, “to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, [3] so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. [4] For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. [5] For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain” (1 Thessalonians 3:2-5).

Personally, I would have encouraged Betty not to be disturbed by trials which are “common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13), and not to allow Satan to tempt her to worry about this physical life or to waver in her faith. I would have followed the example of Barnabas – the son of encouragement – in speaking to a group of Greek Christians in Antioch who had been born out of suffering, as he traveled from Jerusalem “to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord” (Acts 11:23). I would have imitated the pattern of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”” (Acts 14:22).

“But that might not make her feel any better.”

She doesn't have to feel better. She needs to be “firmly rooted” and “built up” in Christ (Colossians 2:7). That's real encouragement.

Then consider Fred. Why didn't his minister – when hearing of a temptation to participate in sinful activities in order to succeed – immediately follow the pattern established in Hebrews 3:12-14? “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. [13] But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. [14] For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”

What kind of a minister avoids the real issue at hand? (The answer is a false one.) Instead of dealing with Fred's potential sin, Barney turned the whole situation around and made it about Fred's co-workers. THEY were the ones who should accept Fred. Barney's prayer was for the Lord to soften THEIR hearts. Way to shirk your responsibility, Barney!

The Bible tells us what the real minister will do in such a situation. Paul told Timothy, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). What a great outline for Christian service. Sinners are to be convicted of their sin (reproved) and urged to accept Christ. Upon accepting Him, if they continue in sinful behavior they should be rebuked and pointed back to the Rock. And when temptations arise that would lead someone away from the Lord, they should be exhorted (or encouraged, same Greek word) to remain faithful.

Shame on Barney for not addressing Fred's most basic Christian responsibility. Titus 2:11-12 tells us that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, [12] instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” Why didn't that “great” minister remind his Christian disciple of that fact? I would have encouraged Fred to live in a Christ-like fashion, regardless of the behavior or expectations of his co-workers. Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:13-14).

“But if Fred doesn't fit in, he could lose his job!”

You don't think the Lord knew that when revealing His word to man? If Barney had been any kind of a real minister, he would have known the Scriptures and directed Fred's attention away from the physical job and right back to the Rock. “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; [6] not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. [7] With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, [8] knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free” (Ephesians 6:5-8).

It is important to note in this discussion that not everyone needs such encouragement. To those who do not belong to Christ, the only encouragement needed is to leave sin, listen to the upward call of God and accept Christ. For those in Christ though, not all of them need to be persuaded of the Scriptures. Some Christians know well that the difficulties endured are only temporary and that heaven awaits. Some brothers and sisters – despite life's hardships and Satan's temptations – refuse to leave the narrow way. There is no need to point someone back to the Rock to which they are already firmly clinging. Thus wisdom must accompany knowledge.

Solomon writes, “There is an appointed time for everything. … A time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7). Perhaps your Christian friend doesn't need you to speak at all. Maybe they just need to know you are there for them. Perhaps the best thing to do is to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15) … and keep your mouth shut.

But if the situation calls for it and you want to be a real encourager, stop focusing people's attention on the physical. You want them concentrating upon Christ and His spiritual blessings. God is calling us heavenward. Remembering that call and reminding your spiritual brother of its insistent righteous pull is the heart of real encouragement. As the apostle has written, “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; [11] just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, [12] so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:10-12).