MOTTO

In the Old Testament one will find a verse in Zechariah that ends with the sentence— And each one will say, "The LORD is my God (Zech. 13:9c). Now, of course, this verse refers to a different time, a different situation, and to a different group of people, in this case, those of the nation of Israel in the last days; but though it is different, it still refers to a principle that is the same for us in the Church today; and that is this; just as it took a certain faith and boldness back then to say out loud, "the LORD is my God,", so too, in the Church, today, it takes a certain faith and boldness to say out loud to those who do not know Him, "the LORD is my God." Both are said because they both are not ashamed to bear witness to their hope!

What I mean is this, the Psalmist once said—"Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. (Psalm 119:116). And Paul once said—"according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. (Phil. 1:20). Now, David prayed that he would never be ashamed of his hope? And who was David's hope? The LORD was David's hope!—"For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth" (Ps. 71:5). And in the same way, I do not think it would be a stretch to say that in Paul's declaration "that in nothing I shall be ashamed," would be included the same hope of David, when he said "let me not be ashamed of my hope." In other words, Paul's desire would be the same as David's, that he too would not be ashamed of his hope? For who was Paul's hope? The Lord Jesus Christ was Paul's hope (and ours also)!—"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Saviour, and Christ Jesus our hope (1 Tim. 1:1). And, as with David, we know that Paul's desire was reached for in the end of his life he declared—"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day (II Tim. 1:12).

Or let us consider the apostle Peter. Peter once was ashamed of his hope. When asked of his "hope" (so to speak, if I might stretch the analogy somewhat) on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter confessed regarding his hope, "I do not know the man!" But after he was forgiven and restored by the Lord Jesus, he never once was ashamed again of Christ who was his "hope." From that time forward he boldly spoke out in the name of the LORD Jesus! And, in light of his own experience, he encouraged every Christian to be "ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear (I Pet. 3:15).

We can also see this same courage in the apostle John when, along with Peter, they were commanded by the chief priests and Sadducees to no longer speak or teach in the name of Jesus, after which time, and after their coming together and praying with fellow believers, Scripture tells us the following happened:

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. NKJV

Scripture declares, for our encouragement, that all these, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament spoke the word of God with boldness, never being ashamed of their hope, the LORD God of Israel in the Old Testament, who in the New Testament was shown to be the LORD Jesus Christ! The apostles showed great courage by bearing witness to Him being the promised Messiah of Israel; they were not afraid to say that Jesus Christ was their LORD and God!

Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. KJV

Now, it is true that no one today is gifted to be an apostle like the Twelve. As such, we may not be called to witness as they were called to witness. The Lord said they would suffer much for Him in their witness. Nor are all gifted to be an apostle like the apostle Paul, who was also told he would also suffer much in his witness for Christ (Acts 9:15-16). Not every believer in Christ is gifted the same, which means not all are gifted to be an apostle, or a prophet, or an evangelist, or pastor or teacher. But all are gifted in one common thing; there is one gift that every believer has in common, and that is the gift that allows each of us to say, "Jesus is my LORD," which is none other than the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. KJV

I Corinthians 12:3-7 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: NKJV

Paul says to "each one" the manifestation of the Spirit is given," and he says that the Holy Spirit confesses through us that Jesus is LORD. So, dear brethren, even though we are not called to be apostles like Peter or John, or like Paul, and even though not all are gifted to be an evangelist, say, like Timothy in the Bible, who traveled across the Roman Empire with Paul, or like the great evangelist D. L. Moody, or the late evangelist Billy Graham, we all are called and gifted to be servants of Christ, ready to confess by the Holy Spirit within us that Jesus Christ is our LORD and our God, the One who saved us from our sins, and the One that we are not ashamed to confess that He is ours, and we are HIs!

And for this, we have a special word of approbation from the Lord, a special word of encouragement to all who would witness for Him, to everyone who is not ashamed of Him or His words. We see this promise of praise in the Gospel of Luke—

Luke 12:8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God! NASB (Exclamation point was mine, the angels in heaven will hear of our witness!)

And Luke also tells us in the book of Acts that every believer in the early Church had this special approbation from the Lord for they did confess the Lord Jesus to all, witnessing for Him—

Acts 8:1 & 4 And Saul was consenting to his being killed. And on that day there arose a great persecution against the assembly [Church] which was in Jerusalem, and all were scattered into the countries of Judaea and Samaria except the apostles. 4 Those then that had been scattered went through the countries announcing the glad tidings of the word. (Darby's Version)

The whole Church was scattered, except the apostles, which means that it was everyone else in the Church, both men and women, who, after being scattered abroad, went about witnessing for Christ Jesus, "announcing the glad tidings of the word!" Oh, how the angels of God must have rejoiced that day, not for the persecution of the Church, but for the fact that the whole Church, once scattered, went about "announcing the glad tidings of the word," preaching Jesus Christ to all throughout all of Judea and Samaria!

God does not be call everyone to be an apostle, or a prophet, or an evangelist, or a pastor or a teacher, for that work can only be done by those who have been so gifted by Christ, and so have been given the grace needed for that particular work and ministry, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit who sets them apart for that work, or, in the case of pastors, makes them overseers, elders in the Church (Acts 13:1-2; 20:28). But, beloved, God does call every one of us to be a witness for Jesus Christ. He has given to every child of God the needed gift to do so, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and He has given every believer the grace to do so, our "measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3), and we know that the Holy Spirit always guides us as to the where and when to do so, as we will now share.

So we see that all that is required to witness for Jesus is the possession of new life within, which comes by the precious gift of the Holy Spirit given to us when we believed, causing such a transformation in our hearts that we can all say, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see!

Since the beginning of creation God has "reached" out to man. In Old Testament, in the first book of the Bible, in the Garden of Eden, we are told that the LORD God (the Pre-Incarnate Son) reached out to Adam, calling out to him saying, "Where art thou?"

Genesis 3:8-9 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? KJV

And in the New Testament, we are told that God the Father "reaches" out to the whole world by giving His Only-Begotten Son to die upon a lonely cross, as Jesus testifies to Nicodemus in John's Gospel.

John 3:5-7, 9-11, 13-17 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things? 11 "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness. 13 "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man. 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. KJV

And then, in the last book of the Bible, we see the Holy Spirit "reaching" out to man to come and take the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. KJV

Since God is a God of love, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Trinity, have always reached out to men and women in need of salvation.

But when we read this last example of the Holy Spirit reaching out in the last book of the Bible, saying, "Come," we also learn that there are others who are told to reach out. It is found in this sentence in the verse: "And let him that heareth say, Come."

Beloved, if you are a child of God, you have, indeed, at one point in your life heard the Spirit say, "Come." And so you heard and came to the LORD Jesus in faith, believing in Him, and trusting in His work upon the cross, where He shed His blood for you, and then after three days rose up from the dead for you. You came to God the Father, through the Jesus the Son, by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, whom you "heard" say to you, "Come and take of the water of life freely!"

And so, since you have "heard" that voice, the Scripture says to you, "And let him that heareth say, 'Come.'" This means every child of God who is born again of the Spirit above is exhorted to say, "Come!" Every child of God is commanded to be a witness, calling out to the lost, "Come! Let any who are thirsty come and take the water of life freely!"

We may not be able to speak to hundreds or thousands of people at a time, like an evangelist is sometimes apt to do, or we may not be able to speak for an hour or two like a pastor, or a teacher, sometimes is called to do, but we can talk to one or to two, in our normal day to day living, as the Holy Spirit might grant us opportunity! We do have the gift for that—the Holy Spirit! Or, we may not be able to speak for an hour, or even two hours, before many people like pastors and teachers, gifted by God, are able to do, but we can all speak to a friend or to a neighbor about Christ, if it be but for a few minutes, as the Holy Spirit might lead.

Or, even still, every Christian can witness for Christ by simply saying but one word as Rev. 22:17 tells us—"Come." We can invite someone to "come" to Church, asking them to "Come and see," as Philip once said to Nathanael.

John 1:44-46 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, "Come and see." KJV

One does not need to be eloquent to witness for Christ. One does not need to have a perfect knowledge of every doctrine and every book of the Bible before one begins to witness. All one needs to witness is to have the Saviour within your heart with the simple knowledge of how Christ saved you personally! (Consider the witness of the man born blind—John 9:1-38.) In other words, your witness could simply be a telling of your own conversion experience to someone with the basic gospel of how the Lord Jesus died upon a cross for your sins, shedding His blood upon that cruel cross, who then after being taken down dead was laid in a tomb for three days, after which, on the third day, He rose from the dead unto life, and now sits in heaven at the right hand of God, offering that same salvation you experienced to any who might equally believe!

Sometimes this type of witness might simply be the result of giving an answer to someone who knew you before, and who asks you, "Why are you different? You seem so much more at peace. What has happened in your life? Other times, our witness may simply be saying to some stranger you come in contact with, "I have found true life and happiness and hope for the future, please come to Church with me this Sunday to see for yourself, and how the peace that I have gained might also be yours!" Or maybe we might only feel led by the Lord to simply hand out a Gospel flyer, or a Gospel tract to someone passing by, or maybe we might be led to simply leave a Gospel tract, with our Church's address on the back, upon a table of a coffee shop or a café, once when we are getting ready to leave. Or other times, we might be led to simply pray with someone, or maybe even share the good news of salvation to a total stranger we might meet on the street, asking if they would like to receive the Saviour. Or even simply "doing good" to a neighbour in need can be a powerful witness for Christ, that is, when it is done in the name of Jesus. How do we know this can be a form of witness? Because we know that is exactly what Jesus did when He was upon this earth, going about doing good, and bearing witness to the love of God.

Acts 10:38 "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. NASB

If the Lord Jesus was a witness in this way for God, we too can be a witness for God in this way!

There are many ways to witness for Christ, beloved, if we are but open to the Lord, asking Him, "Lord lead me and use me as you may today. If you will have me be a witness for you today, please open the opportunity for me to do so." One will be surprised how many opportunities one will have when we are ready to witness for Jesus, having prayed the prayer above.

A Personal Testimony: I remember once when I was working downtown and I was walking down the sidewalk to my next appointment. I was walking down a somewhat side street so there were not many people around. And as I was walking I passed a bus stop where I noticed a young man getting off the bus, who had an appearance that would make one apprehensive. Soon he was walking close behind me, closer than would be normal, in fact, so close that it made me a little uncomfortable, especially since the street was practically empty. Well, since I felt it seemed abnormal for him to be walking so close behind me, when we reached a corner I decided to turn right rather than going straight as I intended, to see if he would still follow me. Well, the young man did not but continued straight on, so I realized it did not seem he was not purposely following me. But as I continued down on this other street, I felt the Lord quietly tell me I should turn around and catch up with that young man and share the Gospel with him. I ignored this feeling from the Lord I had in my heart at first and simply continued walking down this other street, but the Lord quietly seemed to be telling me again, not in a voice, of course, but by a small burden placed upon my heart, that I should turn around and catch up with him and share the good news with him. Well, this second prompting was enough, so I turned around and started running after that young man! Well, soon I caught up to him, and so I slowed down to a quick walk; now I was the one who seemingly was walking to close behind him. But I kept praying, and soon took a couple of quick steps to reach his side, upon which, I immediately asked him if anyone had ever told him about Jesus. Well, to make a long story short, he said no one had ever done so, and so he and I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and I began to tell him the Gospel story. Now before I end this story, I should say that when we started there were not many people around us on the street, but now, all of a sudden, there seemed to be people everywhere around us! But we both continued to remain in the middle of the sidewalk, as I continued to speak to him about the Lord Jesus Christ, and when I asked him if he wanted to receive the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, he said yes, and so, in the middle of all these people walking by, looking at these two strange people standing still in the middle of the sidewalk, he bowed his head and asked the Lord Jesus to come into his heart and save him from his sins, not at all caring that everyone on the street could see him with eyes closed praying to God!

Beloved, does this not show that if we are but open to look for opportunities, being ready to hear Jesus speak to our hearts, being ready to have the Holy Spirit guide us in our way, that God will open different ways to share the good news of His Son. We will be surprised with what kind opportunities God will bring to us day by day.

Unfortunately, though, with this type of witnessing on the street many times one may not see the person again. I never saw this young man again. Perhaps, it was this way with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch when Philip met him in the way. Philip met him a stranger, witnessed to him and then led him to the Lord, and then the Holy Spirit caught Philip away and Scripture says that the "eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39 NASB). I am sure that Philip must have wondered what ever became of this Ethiopian eunuch, as I did of this young man. When this happens we must trust in the providence of God, knowing that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who watches out for us all. But one thing we can do, when we might be used to witness in this way is to never forget to pray for such a one, which upon relating this story today, I was reminded to do so once again. It will be a joy someday to meet him in heaven and to learn what happened after that day so long ago on a street downtown.

This story above was to relate how unexpected opportunities might arise when we are ready to share the good news of Jesus Christ; but what about those times when we share the good news and someone receives the Lord and we do see that person again. What do we do when we "reach one" such as that? We encourage them to walk by the Spirit!

Why do we encourage new disciples, new converts that we might have led to the Lord to walk by the Spirit? The answer is because it was the Holy Spirit by whom the new disciple was born again (John 3:5-8), and it was by the Holy Spirit that the new disciple was baptized into the body of Christ, the Church (I Cor. 12:13), and it will be by the Holy Spirit that the new disciple in their new life will be further sanctified and be brought in spirit before his or her Rabbi, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be guided and discipled by Him (II Thess. 2:13-17; Matt. 23:8). As such, the answer really becomes as to why we would not encourage a new disciple to walk by the Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is the means whereby God causes our new life to begin, our new life to grow, and our new life to fully mature. The Holy Spirit is the One who fills our hearts us because the Holy Spirit is the only One given to impart the very life of God that is ours in His Son, from which life we were once alienated when we were dead in our trespasses and sin, but which life now we have in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit who gives life.

Ephesians 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; NASB

I John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. KJV

II Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

It is so important to encourage a new disciple to walk by the Spirit, for it is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we grow and know the things of Christ, becoming like Christ in every way, for a disciple is to become like His Master (Luke 6:40), and this happens by the filling of the Holy Spirit who takes the things of Christ and shows them to us, by which process Christ Himself is formed in us, to live His life in us, and to live His life through us, as we count ourselves crucified.

Galatians 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—NASB

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. KJV

John 16:13-15 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. KJV

This is the work of the Holy Spirit to make known the things of God in Christ to each and every child of God in their spirits (hearts). The Holy Spirit first did this when we were first saved, bearing witness to our spirits that God has made us His own—"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16 NASB)—and He continues to do this, unveiling more and more of the glories of Christ Jesus in the Word of God, and all the things that God has given us, being our spiritual heritage (Eph. 1:13-23).

It is important to encourage the new disciple to walk by the Spirit after they believe, for without the guidance, filling and power of the Holy Spirit the new disciple will remain a young disciple, a babe in Christ, never growing into an "old" disciple (i.e. a disciple of long standing, having faithfully followed the Lord for a long time, hearing His voice) like Mnason in the book of Acts (Acts 21:16), who by the Spirit had learned over the years to discern and know the voice of the Shepherd, learning never to follow the voice of a stranger. (See John 10:3-5, and especially 10:14: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.")

So when the Lord might use us to "reach one" we should encourage that one to walk by the Spirit, so that the Holy Spirit will lead that disciple into things which will sanctify and nurture His new life, two of which, is to first be baptized and then to be taught to observe the all commandments the Lord Jesus gave to His twelve apostles.

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." NASB

Romans 12:6-8 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. NASB

So, since all do not have the gift of teaching, the command to make a disciple, and then teach him or her the things of Christ, cannot be a command intended for every Christian to practice. It is not right to instruct every Christian, after a short time of instruction, to go out themselves to make new disciples, and then, once they believe, to teach them, or, as it is commonly stated nowadays, to "disciple" them, so that they can be instructed to then go out and repeat the process. Not all are teachers, so all should not be instructed to teach a new convert, as a teacher. Moreover, teaching carries a heavy responsibility, for you are responsible for those whom you teach. James makes this clear in his epistle.

James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. NASB

A teacher must become thoroughly versed in the major doctrines of the Bible, so as not to teach error or heresy.

So what are we to do since Jesus clearly says in Matt. 28:19-20 that the new disciple next needs to be baptized and then taught? The answer is to bring them into the Church, into the fellowship of the saints, where there are teachers, having the wonderful gift of teaching, who are present and willing to teach them with great love!

Beloved, this, I believe, provides an excellent explanation of the Great Commission. All are called to preach the Gospel, as in the motto, each one, reach one, but not all are have been given by the Holy Spirit the gift to teach. (But to those who do have that gift of teaching, we can encourage them, and say "each one, reach one, teach ten or more!") But to those who are not so gifted to be a teacher, who have not the gift of teaching, we can say to them, "Each one, Reach one, Encourage one (to walk by the Spirit!)" for we know that the Holy Spirit will not only move the new disciple to be baptized, but we also know He will encourage the new disciple to do another thing that will fulfill the need for teaching, growth, and spiritual well-being. And this brings us to our final thoughts on encouraging one.

The Comforter - The Encourager

The Greek word behind this English word "Comforter" in John 14:16 means, among other things "Encourager." It is the Greek word Παράκλητος, which is why sometimes the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete, which is simply a transliteration of the Greek word. Among its many nuances it carries the idea of one who is by your side, as a helper, one who offers care and encouragement to one in need.

And there are other cognate forms of the word. Our Greek word Παράκλητος, translated "Comforter," "Encourager," if you will, is the verbal adjective of the Greek verb παρακαλέω, which in the New American Standard Bible (1977) is variously translated as "encourage," and/or as "encouraging," as can be seen in such verses as these below.

These things enumerated above, which are called "encouraging" are those types of things a "Comforter," or "Encourager," would also do. And so, since the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete, these would also be the things He does. He encourages every Christian to remain true to the Lord. He encourages us to continue in the Faith, to contend earnestly for the Faith delivered once to the saints. He encourages every Christian to be encouraging to all, to seek those things which edify, which builds up another. He also, obviously, encourages the fainthearted, and most assuredly, encourages the saints every day! Encouragement, thus, is a characteristic of the very nature of the Holy Spirit. And so the reason why all those Christians listed in the verses above could do that kind of encouragement was because they walked by the Spirit and were full of the Holy Spirit and of faith!

One such Christian above was Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was one who lived by the Holy Spirit of God, who was ever so careful to walk by the Holy Spirit of God, and so was one who was always full of the Holy Spirit of God. As such the Holy Spirit used him to encourage many Christians, so much so that the apostles actually gave him the name Barnabas, which means "son of encouragement!"

Acts 11:22-24 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. NASB

So the only reason all the brethren above in those verses (Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus and Timothy) could do these encouraging things, was because it was the Holy Spirit working in them to do so! So, knowing this, what is that one other thing we mentioned above, besides being baptized, that we know the Holy Spirit will lead and encourage a new disciple to do? The answer is found in Heb. 10:23-25.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. NASB

The Holy Spirit will encourage the new disciple to never forsake the assembling of themselves together with the saints in a Church. And so, since we know that is the desire of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Encourager, as He is the one who inspired the writer of Hebrews to write those words above, a new convert should always be encouraged by us to walk by the Spirit in their new life in Christ Jesus, for we know that once we encourage them with those very same words above in Heb. 10:23-25, the Holy Spirit will bear witness to their heart that they should do that very thing.

I Corinthians 12:7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good NASB

And so the question becomes as to why the exercise of spiritual gifts done in the fullness of the Spirit, not only edifies the Christian, but also encourages the new disciple in their Christian walk? The answer is because when we live and walk by the Holy Spirit of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through us through by the spiritual gifts He has given us, the very life of God the Father is then manifested through us, because Christ, the Son of the Living God is also living in us. And we know that when one Person of the Blessed Trinity is manifested through us, all Persons of the Blessed Trinity are manifested through us, for they all mutually coinhere in each other, being co-eternal and consubstantial (cf. John 17:3, 21-23; Rom. 8: 2, 9; Gal. 2:20). Thus, it is the Spirit that gives life, for along with the Holy Spirit abiding in us, we know that the Son and God the Father are also abiding in us, all Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity.

John 14:16-18, 23 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. KJV

Oh, how wonderful is our Comforter, our Encourager, the Holy Spirit of God, for when we received the Holy Spirit, we received the life of God, the very life of God the Father and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

II Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. NASB

So we see that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son to bring life to the lost, unto salvation—and life to the saved, unto sanctification—by His filling, and by His affirmation of the things in the Word of God, which we written for us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

God has decided, in accordance with His own wisdom, that in the Church, the body of Christ, that those spiritual gifts exercised, which are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, become the means whereby His life is expressed to each of His children for their mutual encouragement. Why?—because "encouragement" edifies and is a characteristic of all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity.

The Source and Manifestation of Encouragement

And so we see that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all wish to encourage us, which means we should all wish to encourage each other, for such encouragement is an expression of God's attribute of love and mercy. So when we encourage each other by the Word of God, and by our spiritual gifts in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we are manifesting on this earth the very nature of God, which is seen in the Blessed Trinity, and is seen in the Divine Scriptures, and is seen in the Church when each member stirs up the gift within them, rising to encourage others in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Our encouragement comes from God, through the Word of God, by the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God in the Church.

Without the exercise of spiritual gifts in the gathering of the saints, the Spirit will be quenched, which means the life of God will be quenched, or, at the minimum, greatly restricted to but a few, which means that ultimately the spiritual well-being of the saints will be quenched, or at least hindered.

So when the life of God is ministered through each member of the body of Christ, the body grows with the growth which is from God and the saints will mature unto the full stature of Christ, so that they will not be carried about by every wind of false doctrine that might blow into the Church (Eph. 4: 13-16). And when this is done, the Holy Spirit over time will set apart certain ones who are called into the work of the ministry, whereby, for example, those gifted with the gift of teaching, will teach, becoming teachers in the Church (Acts 13:1; I Cor. 12:28-29), or those gifted to become evangelists, will be set apart by the Holy Spirit to do the work of an evangelist, widely preaching the Gospel to the lost (Acts 16: 1-3; I Tim. 4:5), or those, for example, who are gifted to be pastors, will be made overseers by the Holy Spirit, elders in the Church, given to shepherd the flock of God in their care (Acts20: 28), and, finally, those not separated to the work, will be moved by the Holy Spirit to use their spiritual gifts—to exhort, to exercise faith, to show mercy, to serve, etc., all things which will edify and encourage if done in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 6-8). All this, beloved, results from the wisdom and will of God the Father who placed each one of us in in the body of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, exactly where He wished (I Cor. 12:18).

Oh, how wonderful is the divine love, mercy, and encouragement of God toward His children as manifested in the Word of God and in the weekly gathering of the saints. It comes from of the very life of God Himself, in the Person of the Son, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who imparts that life to all by His manifestation of Himself through the spiritual gifts of the saints in the Church, whether it be teaching, exhorting (encouraging), preaching, or simply "helping" one another in love.

All this, dear saint, is that which can be found in a Church that meets according to the pattern and instructions of God's Word. A biblical based Church becomes a perfect place for a new disciple who has been "reached" by our Gospel witness to be brought, to be taught the things of the Word by the teachers in the Church, and to be edified and encouraged by the spiritual gifts bestowed upon all by the Spirit. If an unbeliever can meet God in a Biblical based Church, declaring that God is certainly among you (I Cor. 14:25), how much more can a new disciple come close to their Father in heaven, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in our midst (Matt. 18:20), and by the fellowship of the Spirit in ministry, whenever they come to worship God, by praying, breaking bread, and ministering to each other by their spiritual gifts in the Church.