Sermon Notes, May 14, 2017
Rev. Garry McGlinchy
Pastor
Garry's third sermon in the series "Strange Love" was titled
"Strange Love is Encouraging," and was based on Mark 1:40-45. Encouragement is an appropriate theme for
Mother's Day; mothers are generally encouragers.
Of
all the acts of encouragement Jesus engaged in, maybe none is as moving as the
one recorded in Mark 1:40-42. Here we
read about when Jesus met a leper along the road. If we've learned anything through the years,
it's that whenever we have an encounter with Jesus, it didn't happen by
accident! We must remember that God
determines each person's physical condition, location, and duration of
life. (Exodus 4:11, and Acts 17:26)
This
man had a Divine appointment with Christ.
The man approaches Jesus and speaks: "Lord, if you are willing, you
can cleanse me." Do you think Jesus
had to think about this much? Did He
have to check His schedule, or consider whether or not He had the emotional
energy to get involved with this guy?
No. He simply said, "I am
willing." That's a big part of
encouragement--willingness to show it.
Of course, Jesus didn't stop there.
He expressed willingness, and then He did the unthinkable. He touched the man. Maybe nowhere else in Scripture does such a
simple act mean so much. No one ever
touched lepers: they were considered unclean and contagious. They were avoided at all costs. Touching a leper wouldn't even be a remote
possibility; after all, the law stated that lepers had to live outside the city
gates, and had to cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" whenever they saw
others approaching. Contact was avoided
at all costs, even the price of a person's social life and emotional
well-being. For all we know, the touch
Jesus gave this man was the first he had received in years.
No
doubt Jesus' touch meant the same thing to the leper that our acts of
encouragement mean to others. They mean
that someone notices. Someone cares. Someone thinks enough of us and believes enough in us to boost us along
on the path we're traveling. Encouragement
is the affirmation of God communicated through human means. And, well-timed, it can change a life
forever.
The
encouragement of a mother is like this.
I am always amazed at the strength, wisdom and power of a mother. It's almost as if God gave them Superhuman
Super Powers that most of us can only sit back and marvel at how amazing they
are. One of their strongest powers comes
through their never-ending encouragement.
In looking at this passage in Mark, I can't help but think that this
story goes much deeper than a Savior willingly reaching out to a leper. It paints an incredible picture of the love
mothers have for their children. Biological, Step, Foster, Adopted, and anyone
else they come into contact with! The
reality is that moms have this ability to encourage the world by being willing
to love those that the world casts aside.
Think about it: when those around them are being disrespectful, moms
still make their lunch, or dinner, or still pick up after them. They do this because their love for their
children runs much deeper than how they are being treated. This is a great encouragement for all to
see. Moms, you might be fed up with all
the things you do that go unnoticed, but when asked, "Are you
willing?" you don't have to think long about it.
When
we break down the word "encouragement" we can easily see that the
foundation of the word is "courage."
With that said, one could define the word "encouragement" as
"to give courage." Here are
four things to do if we want to encourage the way mothers do: Start with a
small sacrifice. Encouragement is
usually just a simp0le act: a note, a touch, a gift, a phone call. It really doesn't take much; just a little
time and effort. See how it meets a
big need. Thoughtful love makes a
person's day--if not his week, month, or year.
The benefits to the person receiving it easily outweigh the costs to
you. It works from the inside out. Encouragement not only deals with external
problems, but it ministers to internal needs. A person's sense of self-worth is greatly
strengthened by encouraging acts, as is their future behavior. People do what others affirm in them, so we
can actually shape and direct lives by the kind of encouragement we offer. It ripples. The leper in this story told everyone about
what happened. The result was that a lot
more people were encouraged by Jesus. . . probably by this man, too. Encouragement has a way of chain-reacting to
others, and bringing a reciprocal benefit to ourselves. If you need encouragement, start encouraging
others!
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