You Need to Encourage People More | Romans 15:1-13 | Crossroads Daily

I assume that everyone knows what they're great at so I don't encourage them as much. I'm like, they already know and like it'd be weird if I just said this right now, but it's like I had a buddy who said no one has ever gone to bed feeling like they were encouraged too much that day. And I feel like that has pushed me to be like, it might be weird and out of place, just like say it. It's like we need, like that gives us fuel because it reminds us God placed this in you and he's doing a good thing. So keep doing that thing. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts, no perfect people, just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Welcome to Crossroads Daily. My name is Caleb. I'm Caroline. I'm Chris. I'm Victor. We've been going through the last couple of chapters of Romans together this week. We're in Romans chapter 15 and we're still talking, we'll be talking a lot about how we love each other well, right? That the gospel, the good news of Jesus isn't just to fix our relationship with God, although it certainly is, but it's to help fix our relationship with each other, right? And how we use our freedom to benefit others, not just to get the things that we want. I was reading through this chapter, verse seven really jumped out to me. So we're going to start in the deep end. You guys ready? You guys ready for a deep end question? Let's go. Yeah. Doozy. Okay. It says, except one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you. When I think about what are the parameters that Jesus set up for me to come to him? Zero, right? So thinking about your past, if you think about your past, if you have a good idea of your past,

how does it have an influence on the way that you love other people today? Can looking backward help you love people that are right in front of you? Yes. And how so? How so? There's a verse, I think it's in first Corinthians. If you don't know where verse is, just say it's in first Corinthians. Someone will believe you. Yeah, you're probably right. It talks about, it says, remember who you were when you were first called. And when I remember who I was, when the Lord came into my life, it's like, I was acting like a fool. And today I'm still acting like a fool. But like to remember that and to see like what, where God met me, where he's brought me to today and what he has revealed in me. It's like, that is the ultimate tool of empathy towards anyone in my life to be able to see any of the weaknesses or failures of those around me and be like, I've been there in some way, shape or form. And I probably am still there in some way, shape or form. And so it's like, it's looking at the past. And for me, it's also looking at the present and not just being like, why I've arrived. And in the past, I made mistakes, but like, that was the past. And like, it's like, no, I'm still as broken. And God has just brought me near to him. And, but reflecting on those things, definitely, because my tendency is just to think I've graduated in some way and I'm, I've arrived. And it's like, I will not in this lifetime. Yeah, but I know like, for me, I just think about how Jesus pursued me, right? He did not wait for me to come to him. And so even just like practically, when I'm in a fight with my wife, I want to wait for her to come apologize because she's done something wrong to me.

She needs to recognize, you know? But no, like, if I'm going to remember my past, Jesus came after me. I need to go after her, right? And be the first to apologize. And with my kids, I think it's really important. I tell my kids all the time when I mess up. I'm not trying to bury that under like, dad doesn't make mistakes. Dad makes lots of mistakes. I want to be the first one to model that honesty and start the apology process. And let's just clear the air and get back to living, you know what I mean? Yeah. I think Paul often talks about how he's like the worst of sinners. And I think that that's helpful because to remember where you were 10 years ago, to remember where you were yesterday, like Jesus is the only one who didn't sin. And we want to be more like him. But for me, remembering those times where maybe there are huge mess ups, or maybe it was just I was short-tempered with my kids because I was burnt out from something else yesterday. For me, I think remembering spaces where I've just not hit the mark, where I've missed the mark often, it helps me to remember my own weakness. And that only in relationship with Jesus can that be made whole. Only because of Jesus am I able to walk differently, not because of anything that I have done. This verses 5 and 6, Paul, I think gives us, I don't know about you, sometimes I feel like Paul's hard to understand. I'm going to read this like four times. Like, what are you saying, bro? But I think I got to it. Verse 5 and 6, he talks about us getting to a united mind and voice. And what are the two things that get us there?

He says in verse 5, it's endurance and encouragement. Endurance and encouragement can get us to a place. unity. I know we could use that in our world, in our churches, in our workplaces, probably at home too. How can you use endurance and encouragement to help build unity wherever you are? What comes to mind? I want to jump back to the word remembering first, because I think it's obviously connected. And even I see in the Old Testament how there's so many times where God is saying, hey do this so that you remember what I did for you, right? And I'll say like looking back into when God, well God has always been there, but when I feel like he met me in this space, I was wrestling with things. And I think God could have said, I've tried to tell you the same thing over and over, like why aren't you getting it, you know? And today I realized that as I'm walking with other people, I can get very frustrated. I'm like, man, we've talked about this before, like a lot. Like why you keep doing the same thing, you know? And I have to remember. And I think that's connected to the endurance part where it's like, man, if I remember that it took me a while, it's still taking me a long time to learn most everything that God is trying to teach me. It's a grind. It's an endurance. And this is where encouragement comes naturally. It's like as you're walking with others, it's like, hey, it might take you a while. And I'm gonna extend grace. God extends grace to you. And I just want to encourage you to keep trying, keep doing. That's right. Because the one thing that doesn't build unity is quitting. Yeah. Or saying like, we're done. You are at lost cause. Because God didn't do that with us. That's right. That's right. Yeah. That's great. I already put those two together. But God approaches us with endurance. He doesn't give up. And with encouragement, right? He speaks to who we actually are. He sees the best in us even when we don't see it, right? What are some other ways we see how endurance and encouragement can help lead to unity? Like I know for me, I'm a, I think of myself as a natural encourager. I like to encourage people. And like at work, I find myself surrounded with a bunch of young guys who are probably like

10 to 15 years younger than me. I'm an old head at work or whatever. Because I like to encourage them, right? Like I remember being them, right? Like not being confident, not knowing if I'm making any difference at all. Like, and some senior person is like, hey, man, you're doing a good job. Like, bro, I'm on cloud 12, not just nine. I went up like more levels. I like to do that. And comma, I fail to do it at home a lot. You know, like my kids will work on art. I'm like, oh, that's great, babe. You know, like, and you get some real encouragement to my kids and to my wife. You know, I, the encouragement can't stop at work, right? If I'm going to build unity where I am, I got to also bring pointed, like helpful encouragement, not just like a, hey, that's great. Now can I go back to my TV show? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, it's hard. Unity is hard because we're talking about broken people coming together. That's right. Yeah. So you need endurance for that. There's no way around it. Right. And, but you know, Paul even talks about this dual nature that we have of sin, flesh and spirit. And I can see how endurance to deal with the sin in the flesh, encouragement to highlight the spirit that lives in us. And it is like reminding ourselves each other. That's why, um, in order to experience unity, you need to be in a community, you know, like the words are together there. Um, and it does require dealing with the aspects that we bring that are not pretty, that God is dealing with us. And then the aspects that are pretty and how to help encourage, get that ourselves. So it's, it's, it's living in that tension. There's no way around it until Jesus comes back again, which I think we're going to talk a little bit about eternity at some point, but, um, for now we got to deal with it. That's right. Yeah, that's right. So some quick hitters. Okay. What's the last encouragement you got and what did it do for you? Real quick. When it comes to mine is I was having a position with my oldest daughter. She's 16. She'll be 17 soon. And she was, uh, telling me not so long ago. Hey dad, like when I'm looking for somebody like a, like a husband, a boyfriend in the future, I just want to say, I'm grateful because you have helped me with like setting a standard of what.

Dang. Come on, man. That's the best encouragement ever. Come on. I can't breathe. Yeah, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. I had a friend at work tell me the other day that I, that they feel like I have a gift in counseling others, like in context of like asking questions and walking through difficult things and encouraging and that I can just be so doubtful. of any gift God has ever given me and it just reinforced like, oh okay, God has gifted this to me and then I can keep doing this. And I saw throughout that day how I pressed into conversations with others more deeply because that person said that you're good at this. Incredible. I assume that everyone knows what they're great at, so I don't encourage them as much. I'm like, they already know and like it'd be weird if I just said this right now, but it's like I had a buddy who said no one has ever gone to bed feeling like they were encouraged too much that day. And I feel like that has pushed me to be like, it might be weird and out of place, just like say it. It's like that gives us fuel because it reminds us, God placed this in you and he's doing a good thing, so keep doing that thing. I love it. Yeah, I think the one that comes to mind for me is I am in a role right now at work where I have been given more opportunities to speak more regularly and it's a space where I feel probably the most insecure. And after the most recent time that I was speaking, a volunteer in the room texted me and she said, man, I have seen you grow so much. What have you been doing and how can I learn from what you've been doing to improve? And so that was just something where it's like she didn't have to say that, but she did and she like called out even just progress in me, not just like, oh, hey, you're gifted in this, but actually I can see you've been working really hard. And it spoke so much to my heart in that moment because it's something that I've just wrestled with a ton. And this has been a summer of growth in that for me. And so it's crazy because you're such a great communicator. Yeah, I'm not trying to like model here in Christian, but it is true. So I want you to hear that. So we want to stick with those two E's on our way out, endurance and encouragement.

Wherever there feels like there's a little disunity in your life, family, friends, work, whatever, maybe, not maybe, one of those things is the answer to it. Do you need to just suck it up and endure and get back in the fight? Or do you need to bring some encouragement to somebody who needs to hear it? Maybe it's both of them. Go out and do that thing today and let's see what God does among you.