Who are the exhorters in the church? It would appear that Apostle Paul may have been an exhorter. The motivation of an Exhorter is to see Christians grow in faith and maturity so that believers will be attracted to the Gospel by their lives. I know several people who have the gift of exhortation and they are such a blessing and encouragement to me. They usually will go for the root problem and not spend too much time on the surface issues. Surface issues are important, too, but the Exhorter is going after solutions. An Exhorter will usually have a plan of action (usually consisting of 4 steps) and will soon have you on the road to recovery.
Keep reading....may be you have the gift of Exhortation.
1. An Exhorter is committed to spiritual growth.
He/she wants to see spiritual growth take place in practical living, and is willing to become personally involved to see it happen.
...but an Exhorter tends to keep others waiting for him.
An Exhorter's willingness to give people whatever time is necessary to help them grown spiritually often cuts into family time and personal responsibilities. He will assume that his family will understand. He must be careful or major resentment may arise in his own family.
2. An Exhorter sees root problems.
He can often discern the spiritual maturity of another person. Because of this, he is motivated to search out hindrances in the lives of those who are not growing spiritually.
...but an Exhorter needs to be careful not to look to himself for solutions.
As he gains experience and success in counseling, he tends to categorize problems as he hears them and attire at conclusions before getting all the facts. By failing to listen completely and sense direction from the Holy Spirit, he can be guilty of giving wrong direction.
3. An Exhorter sees steps of action.
He has the ability to visualize spiritual achievement for another Christians and help him work out practical steps of action to achieve it. These steps are designed to remove hindrances and develop disciplines through which the Holy Spirit can work.
...but he needs to be careful not to become proud of visible results.
When an Exhorter gives steps of action he also expects them to be carried out. As spiritual growth becomes visible, it is easy for the exhorter to take personal credit for it. He may also be tempted to settle for outward conformity rather than inward change.
4. An Exhorter raises hope for solutions.
An exhorter tends to use examples from the lives of others to help Christians see the potential of daily victory.
...and an Exhorter tends to start projects prematurely.
They tend to jump into new projects without finishing existing ones. they use projects to motives others, and then when others are involved, they find a better project to start.
5. An Exhorter can turn problems into benefits.
Mature exhorters have learned by experience that God gives special grace during trials.
...but an Exhorter has to be careful not to use people as projects.
The Exhorter is constantly on the lookout for steps of action that will bring lasting results. As he works with his family or friends, they may get the impression that they are simply another project rather than real people who need personal attention.
6. An Exhorter desires to be "transparent".
An Exhorter knows that true growth will not take place where there is guilt. Paul told Timothy to maintain a "good conscience".
....but an Exhorter needs to be careful when sharing personal experiences.
A problem that can arise with treating family and friends as "projects" rather than people is made even worse as he shares private illustrations that come out of his counseling experiences. Exhorters depend heavily on illustrations to communicate their messages. However, when these illustrations are shared without permission, listeners can become uneasy and those who were counseled can become resentful.
7. An Exhorter gains insight through experience.
The Exhorter is motivated to learn cause-and-effect sequences and through them discover underlying principles of life. He studies both Scripture and experience to find these. His motivation is to promote spiritual growth and to bring diverse groups of Christians together.
...but an exhorter tends to present truth out of balance.
Exhorters tend to avoid heavy doctrinal teaching that does not have immediate practical application. The result of this emphasis can be an imbalance of teaching, which eventually will show up as doctrinal error.
8. An Exhorter has an urgency to act on clear steps.
He tends to explain truth using logical reasoning in order to motivate people to act upon it.
...but an Exhorter can set unrealistic goals.
They often visualize long-range projects and goals for people. These are usually presented without making them aware of the amount of time it will take to achieve them. This can breed discouragement and disillusionment.
9. An Exhorter desires to share face to face.
He needs to see the facial expressions of his listeners in order to determine their responses and to confirm positive results.
...and an Exhorter can give up on uncooperative people.
They tend to lose hope for people who do not quickly and consistently respond to the steps of action that are given for spiritual growth.
Are you an Exhorter or have you identified the Exhorters God has placed in your life?
Who are you exhorting? Who are you stirring on to good works and spiritual growth?
If each of us would reach one
....and each of those would reach one...
...and each of those would .....
Hello Mary Ann,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writing about the spiritual gifts. You & Pastor JR helped my hubby see what his really is (exhorting) a few years ago.
Just wondering how your "stone" is doing...haven't heard recently.
Blessings!
Hi Fransene,
DeleteI thought of Thomas when I was writing on Exhortation. He has been a good example of an Exhorter and I have learned alot from his teachings.
...the stone is still, stubbornly in place. I had an ultrasound of my kidney and it seems to be doing fine, which we are so thankful for , but in the meantime we still wait! Any known remedies?