Encouragement Notes Podcast

The Art of confrontation

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy
Proverbs 27:6

What is confrontation?

A meeting between two friends for the purpose of restoring Godliness.

Case Study- Nathan and David

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.” David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.” After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.
2 Samuel 12:1‭-‬15 NLT

How do we properly confront someone?

1. Follow God’s leading carefully

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Galatians 6:1

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:15‭-‬20

2. Prepare tastefully and compassionately to share the truth.

Nathan told David a story of a stolen pet sheep to illustrate what David had done in is sin with Bathsheba

3. Offer grace and support

Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.”
2 Samuel 12:13‭-‬14

Dangerous Prayers:Forgive Me

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:9‭-‬15

Why do I need to forgive?

1. Because God has forgiven me

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Colossians 3:13

2. Because I’ll need forgiveness in the future

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Mark 11:25

3. Because Resentment doesn’t Work

Surely resentment destroys the fool
Job 5:2

How can I Become a forgiving person?

1. Refuse to retaliate

Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.
Proverbs 20:22

2. Make the first move

Memory Verse

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32

3. Do right to those who wrong you

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
Luke 6:27‭-‬28‭, ‬35

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Celebrating again

One year ago today, I published my second episode of Encouragement Notes! I created this podcast because I felt God calling me to tell my story on another platform for the purpose of reaching more people for him. Thank you for being here with me. I love and appreciate you. Please feel free to share this podcast with your family and friends and reach out to me with any comments or questions you may have.

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God with us:in the Future

Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

1. I can face the future with courage

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:1‭-‬9

2. I can face the future with Hope

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

3. I can face my future with Anticipation

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:1‭-‬3

Memory Verse

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21

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Developing a heart for God:How can I become unoffendable

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—
2 Timothy 3:2‭-‬4

1. Lower your expectations of others

Everyone has a story
We don’t know everyone’s story

2. Choose to get rid of anger quickly

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 4:26‭-‬27

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32

Being offended is inevitable; living offended is a choice

Memory Verse

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
James 1:19‭-‬20

3. Raise your gratitude for God’s grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 NIV

When I understand how much I’ve been forgiven, I’ll have the capacity to forgive others.

A prayer for the offended

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 139:23‭-‬24

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Lessons from lives: God’s will, my way

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Genesis 12:10‭-‬20

We take our own way when:

God’s way seems unclear
God’s way is to difficult
God takes to long

God’s way

Sometimes looks like no way
Takes trust and patience
Rarely comes without pain and sacrifice

Memory Verse

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:6‭-‬7 NIV

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What keeps you up at night: guilt and shame

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:15

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7:10

Godly sorrow vs Worldly sorrow

Godly sorrow says

I did something bad

Worldly sorrow says

I am bad

Two ways of dealing with Guilt

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
Matthew 27:3‭-‬5 NIV

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Matthew 26:75

God uses guilt in our lives, and so does Satan

God uses guilt to bring conviction

Satan uses guilt to bring condemnation

Satan wants to use your guilt to drive you away from God

God wants to use your guilt to draw you to his grace.

Forgiveness is not about feelings, Forgiveness is about facts

Memory Verse

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:1

Our past can be Satan’s greatest weapon, Or God’s most powerful tool. Let it be God’s most powerful tool

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What’s in a Name? Jehovah Rohi

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalms 23:1‭-‬6

Jehovah Rohi Reveals

1. He provides

Everything we need
Restoration
For His Glory

2. God as shepherd means he protects.

3. God as our Shepherd means we can trust him.

The Lord has our Shepard is perfectly displayed in Jesus.

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
1 Samuel 17:33‭-‬37

Memory Verse

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalms 20:7

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Empty Worshíp

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Matthew 15:1‭-‬2

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ ”
Matthew 15:7‭-‬9

Worship isn’t outward style. It’s an inward condition of my heart
Unkown

How do we express our worship?

1. Sometimes, we now in reverence

Come, let us worship and now down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
Psalm 95:6

2. Sometimes we lift our hands in adoration

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
Psalm 63:4

3. Sometimes rejoicing in celebration

Praise his name with dancing , accompanied by tambourine and harp.
Psalm 149:3

4. Sometimes, our worship is a sacrifice

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
Hebrews 13:15

Worship isn’t based on our circumstances but on God’s Character.
Unknown

5. every time we surrender our lives to the Lord, it’s an act of worship.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

Memory Verse

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24

The Bottom Line

Worship isn’t something we do; a worshiper is who we are.
Unknown

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What Would Jesus Undo: indifference

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:15‭-‬16

The causes of spiritual indifference

Self sufficiency

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Revelation 3:17

Distractions of this world

but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:19

The indicators of Spiritual indifference

1. Being more concerned with impressing people than living for God

2. Being more obsessed with life on earth than eternity

3. Rationalizing sin and living without fearing God

4. Believing in Jesus but rarely sharing my faith.

5. Only turning to God when I need something

6. Only giving when it doesn’t hinder my standard of living

How do I reignite my spiritual fire?

1. Say sorry and turn from your lukewarm indifference

2. Respond to the invitation of Jesus

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Revelation 3:20 N

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