Luke 5 Lesson

ENCOURAGEMENT

Somebody once said that the four most powerful words you can say to somebody are:

• “I believe in you.” 

In a world where tragedies and criminals dominate the headlines, words of encouragement are a fantastic way for Christians to shine the light of Christ! (Mathew 5:16)

Encouragement is defined as:

• “The action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.” (Source:Google Dictionary)

We all need encouragement.

That is because life is hard, and we all struggle.

There is nothing in the Bible that says life is going to be easy. 

But there is plenty in the Bible about perseverance and endurance.

God allows suffering for three reasons:

1. To discipline us,
2. To teach us,
3. To shape us into the Christians that He created us to be! 

And because all of us are going to suffer, we all need encouragement.

JESUS ENCOURAGED SIMON

InLuke Chapter 5,  we see the following interaction between Jesus and Simon:

• “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” – Luke 5:4-11.

In the above scripture we see that Simon did not feel worthy to be with Jesus:

• “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” – Luke 5:8.

Instead of judging Simon, Jesus showed compassion.

One gets a sense of just how vulnerable Simon was at that moment. 

Simon understood that he was a sinner, and he did not feel worthy to be in the presence of the Lord. 

Jesus responded to Simon with compassion and not judgment. 

In doing so, Jesus provided Simon with two things that he desperately needed:

1. Encouragement,
2. An invitation to join Jesus.

Jesus said to Simon:

• “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” –  Luke 5:10.

This may very well have been a “make or break” moment for Simon. 

He realized immediately that Jesus was the Christ, and his first reaction was to focus on his own sins and push Jesus away. 

Fortunately for Simon, Jesus knew his heart and responded to him with compassion and words of encouragement.

As a result, Simon’s life was changed forever!

In the same way, if we offer compassion to others and invite them to follow Jesus, their lives can be changed too!

GOD WANTS US TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS

We all know somebody that would benefit from our words of encouragement.

As God’s children, it is up to us to look for opportunities to encourage others, and then do it!

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT ENCOURAGING OTHERS

The Bible is full of scriptures that talk about the importance of encouraging others.

For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following five:

1. “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:11,
2. “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” - Ephesians 4:29,
3. “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” - Hebrews 3:13,
4. “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18,
5. “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 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.” - Hebrews 10:24-25.

CONCLUSION

We all need encouragement in our lives.

The world can be a dark and lonely place, but it doesn’t have to be.

If we take the focus off ourselves and look for ways to lift others up and encourage them, we can make the world a better place!

Our words of encouragement provide the support, confidence, and hope that others will need to live the lives they are capable of.

Every day we are presented with opportunities to be an encouragement to others. It is up to us to take advantage of the opportunities that God gives us.

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture taken from the Book of Proverbs:

• “Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.” – Proverbs 12:25.