Are you gifted for Encouraging?

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Has the Holy Spirit given you the ministry gift of Encouragement? It is minister to others by building them up.

 

IN THE BIBLE

 

Romans 12:6-8. Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching; or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

exhorts. The Greek word is παρακαλῶν (“parakalōn”). It means to invite, to beseech, to comfort, to encourage, to console.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

 

Barnabas almost certainly had the gift of exhortation. He was nicknamed Mr. Encourager. That is what his nickname means: Bar-Nabbas, or “Son of Encouragement.”

Those with the gift of encouraging are especially fruitful when they are encouraging others.

Do not think of this as the ministry of rebuking. It is not the ministry of faultfinding or scolding.

The Greek word for this Gift is parakalōn. That reminds us of the Greek word for the Holy Spirit: the Paraklete. It means the Comforter.

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do people look to you for you for encouragement? Are you oriented toward building people up instead of tearing them down? Are you a modern-day Barnabas? Do people find you comforting? Can you get in the mud with people and cheer them on?

If so, you may well have this gift!

Now it is time to try it out »

 

NOTES

Isaiah 11:2. The LORD’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

 


Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.