Revelations 3:7-13

We never hear about the church of Philadelphia. Why? Because God has only good to say about them. That is sad really. We should affirm the good. We tend to pay more attention to the negative, don't we?

But if we look beneath the praise we those in Philadelphia have had a hard time. They need encouragement. They have little power (8). I think this means that people have marginalized them because of their faith. They are not able to hold public office. Perhaps they are having trouble finding jobs or running businesses too. They are being persecuted by Jews (9) and gentiles.

But they have persevered and not denied Jesus name (8). This is so full of meaning. How many of us would minimize our faith in Jesus if pressure were put on us? We compartmentalize. We act holy on Sunday but try to blend in an unholy society the rest of the week. How many of the people we work and associate with during the week know we love Jesus?

This mini sermon is full of encouragement. Let us never cease to discourage those around us who need it. And in this world most every needs it. The world is so full of discouragement. Encouragement is from God. We never know what influence it has when we encourage someone. Honest encouragement is powerful. We have to consciously look for real things to say that are encouraging. A general statement is not as powerful and may be seen as condescending. We should look to do it.

Last night DW and I blew an opportunity. I take all the blame for missing it. We were shopping for one item after Life Group. We bought a handset cable for our phone. The line has been shorting for a long time. all those who call DW will not get a clear line. It is working wonders.

It took three stores and discouragement from several clerks, who also gave us good advise on where to try next. We finally found one in a Fiesta. The clerk there doubted they had it but pointed us to the right place to look.

But here is how I blew it. When we were in the check out line, I with my one item, the clerk starting checking the stuff from the man behind me with three items. The first two had been added. It would have been a great time to pay for the man's few things as a gift. But he cried out and the checker quickly took these other things off. I did not think of it. DW thought of it as we were leaving and encouraged me to go back and offer. But I felt we had missed our moment.

The idea of paying for some other guy's stuff is embarrassing. I have not done it yet. It could be encouraging to someone. It is a practical way to encourage someone. That's what I need to do, have a speech prepared for how to introduce the idea without is seeming to be condescending. "I want to do this for you as a token of God's love for you." That is certainly a reason why I did not go back. I had no idea how to do it without it being very awkward. So after working through this on paper I will be better prepared next time.

As I think this over, a less threatening way to do this would be when I am in the drive thru line of a fast food restaurant. If the guy behind me has already ordered I can offer to pay for his food too. They already know the amount. If they will do it it would be easy. And they would not know about it until I left. Of course they might just charge both of us. Oh well.