Everyone in the world today is looking for happiness. We all want to be glad and pleased with our current circumstances.  It is amazing that we seem to think that we have to work for it so diligently. Consider that children, on average laugh 400x per day while the average adult laughs only 15x per day ¹. Maybe we need to become more childlike in our outlook? Jesus mentioned this when He said in Matt. 18:3 that we are to receive the Kingdom of God as little children. Believers in Jesus are supposed to receive the things of God, the Word of God with childlike faith and wonder. As Jeremiah the prophet stated, “Your words were found, and I did eat them; and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts (Jer. 15:16).” Today, we are going to look briefly at two Bible words that, when embraced and ‘eaten’ will cause your heart to be full of joy and rejoicing.

• Today, I want to add a couple of new words to your vocabulary.
• Consider that if you add a word every day to your vocabulary, at the end of the year your friends may wonder who you think you are (smile).

Two Bible Words that Rejoice the Heart: Admonition and Exhortation

The first word is the word admonition.

Ephesians 6:4 (KJV)
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

• Notice the word here is admonition not ammunition.
• The Lord is not giving you ammunition to shoot others but admonitions to guide and direct your own heart.

The second word is the word exhortation.

Hebrews 3:13 (KJV)
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

• What’s the difference between those two words?

DEFINITION: admonition – a mild warning. The word comes from a root which means ‘to call attention to.’

ILLUSTRATION: New Driver
When our daughter Tami became a new driver, she went to work one morning and got into some different weather than she was used to driving in. She was having a little difficulty, so she called her Mom. Mom gave her an admonition, a warning about how you handle the brakes in the type of weather condition she was experiencing.

• Sometimes children get to an age when they think they don’t need ‘admonitions’.
• They think that are too mature for these warnings about life.
• They think, “Well you just don’t know”, or “You don’t understand”.
• They think these warnings are just too intrusive and they respond with, “Mom quit bugging me.”
• Well the Lord doesn’t think that you are too mature for admonitions.
• Gentle warnings are supposed to be a part of a parent’s child rearing arsenal.
• Stay encouraged parents. You’ll stand in good with the Lord if you keep bugging them as you should.
• Now, notice one other thing in this verse in Ephesians. The scripture says ….raise them in the admonition of the Lord.
• The admonitions of the Lord are spiritual in nature.
• The reason He mentions spiritual warnings is because the Lord knows that parents will have enough sense to warn their kids about natural things.
• And so the Lord emphasizes to you to remember to warn your kids about spiritual areas like sin, like complacency, like not forgetting to be involved with spiritual disciplines.

DEFINITION: exhortation – encouragement.

• When you are giving someone an exhortation, you are encouraging them.
• Look at the breakdown of the word en-couraging.
• If you are en-couraging people, you are literally putting courage into them.
• How many of you understand that there is enough about life that will beat people down. People need encouragement.
• How many of you understand that the Bible says ‘bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2).
• Notice the verse says “bear one another’s burdens.” The verse does not say “add to them.”
• People need to have courage put in them.
• So, an admonition is a gentle warning and an exhortation is encouragement.

Admonition on Bible Balance

• Back in the early 60’s, denominational people, hungry for more of God experienced the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  That move of God was labeled in Christian circles ‘The Charismatic Move.’
• Out of that Charismatic move came a move of God that has been entitled the Word of Faith movement.
• That move consisted of a heavy emphasis on teaching faith.
• The move was a great move. It helped people get into their Bibles.
• It helped people to see that the Word of God is applicable to everyday life.
• People would get so excited about the Bible. They would bring their markers and write notes in their margins. There was so much teaching available for God’s people until it’s not even funny.
• Today, you can find practical Bible based teaching on every conceivable area of a persons’ life.
  • You need help with relationships?
  •     There’s teaching on it.
  • You need help on marriage?
  •     There’s teaching on it?
  • You need 7 steps to raising children?
  •     There’s teaching on it?
  • You need 10 values that build strong families?
  •     There’s teaching on it.
  • You need help with finances?
  •     There’s teaching on it.
  • You need help with fitness?
  •     There’s teaching on it.
• I have loved this move because I enjoy and I am all for teaching people practical things to help people live there lives successfully for God.
• I am all for using the Word of God in your everyday life.  Can I say it even this way?  God is for it – God is thrilled with it.
• If being in the Word is so positive, why do we have to be admonished?
• Remember that before this move occurred in the 60’s, back in the 50’s and in the 40’s, the emphasis was not the Word.
• In the 40’s and in the 50’s there was many manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
• There were many miraculous happenings.
• I wasn’t there, I may be old but not that old! But I have read about it,  I have video in my library on it. Lots of Spirit but little Word and little teaching.
• Here is the warning.
• Today, we are in danger of being the exact opposite that is lots of Word but little manifestation of the Spirit.
• One of the greatest tendencies in the human person is to stay balanced.
• People go into the ditch on one side or the other.
• People do this all the time, that is end up in the ditch.
• Churches do this because they consist of people. Movements do this because they consist of churches which consist of people who have a hard time staying balanced.
• When I’m saying balance,  I’m talking about Bible balance.
• Why are we in danger of being out of balance in this area of the teaching of the Word?
• It’s the way the Word of God is being used.
• The Word of God is being used to fix “my stuff”.
• It is being used to fix MY life, to make MY life better, to make MY life easier.
• What happened to the Holy Ghost?
• What happened to miracles and moves of God?
• What happened to “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord? (Acts 3:19)”

How are we going to fight the natural human tendency to stay out of the ditch?

• By balancing the Word of God with the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• There must be a balance in the emphasis between the Word and the Spirit.
• It’s not only using the Word in your everyday life, it’s allowing the Holy Spirit to use you in His everyday life!
• It’s not only using the Word in your everyday life, it’s allowing the Holy Spirit to be God in your midst.
• It’s not only important that you have a message that teaches you 10 steps to build better relationships, it’s also equally important, if not more important, to work on relationship with the Godhead.
• While your working on your stuff, don’t forget the Spirit!
• While you’re trying to fix the pieces, don’t forget the power!
• It’s not just instruction, it’s inspiration!
• It’s not just getting help, its knowing the Helper.
• It’s not just teaching, it’s tongues, it’s prophecy, it’s manifestations, it’s spiritual power displayed, it’s the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
• Ask yourself this question, “What 10 step relationship sermon got Paul saved?”
• What 7 steps to financial freedom got the madman of Gadara free?
• There was no sermon. What it was, was Holy Ghost power.
• You know when the Holy Ghost manifests Himself things can get kind of wild.  But it’s a good kind of wild. It’s a wholesome and clean kind of wild.
• When was the last time things got wild in your church?
• When was the last time spiritual rain fell?
• When was the last time hands were laid on people and people fell out under the power?
• It won’t happen unless you seek it.
• It won’t happen until you covet it.
• It won’t break loose, until you earnestly desire it.
• And, none of this will happen until you teach about it.
• Your not just a Word person. You are a Holy Spirit person
• In olden days, it was called Pentecostal.
• Excuse the grammar. Pentecostal ain’t always pretty but it sure is powerful.
• Now that’s the slight warning to you.  Don’t forget the Spirit. Stay balanced between the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

Exhortation on Your Daily Routine

This thought on my heart stemmed from this statement made by John Maxwell.

“The secret of your success is in your daily routine.”

• What does the Bible tell us that we should be doing daily?
• One person said, “Nature gave men two ends, one to sit on and one to think with.” Ever since then man’s success or failure has been dependent on which end he uses the most.

When I was young, I observed that nine out of every ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work. — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

• So, if you want to be happy and be a scripturally successful person, you must become an encourager.
• The word ‘exhortation’ is the Greek word ‘parakelheo’ – means to call near in order to exhort, comfort or console.
• One of the things that is a key to your spiritual success is your daily routine of investing in the people that are in your world, speaking words that bring comfort, consolation, and encouragement.

Acts 20:1-2 (NASB95)
1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece.

• Did you notice in vs. 1 the phrase “when the uproar ceased”?
• What uproar?
• Well, if you go back to the previous chapter (Acts 19) and start reading from vs. 23 and on you’ll see that the Ephesian people were stirred into a riot frenzy over Christianity taking away the merchandising sales of the temples images and idols.
• People were selling this stuff and making their living on these idolatrous images.
• Now, here comes believers in Jesus saying that these idols are unnecessary. They are not needed to serve God.
• There was a great uproar over this. There always is when money is at stake.
• The Jesus people in that city, believers just like you and me, were shaken up.
• What was the answer to the uproar? “much (I repeat MUCH) exhortation”.
  • MUCH consolation
  • MUCH encouragement
• What do people need when the uproar comes into their world?
• What do people need when the uproar comes to their life?
  • Is it instruction?
  • Is it discipline?
  • Is it correction?
  • Is it admonitions or gentle warnings?

Hebrews 10:25 (NASB95)
25 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.

• Reread the verse and drop just for the sake of flow the phrase ‘as is the habit of some’ which is a parenthetical clause.
• The verse now reads ‘Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together but encouraging one another….’
• One of the purposes for coming together as a church body is for encouragement.
• Where does the encouragement come from?
• It doesn’t come from yourself. It comes from someone else drawing near and speaking words of consolation, encouragement and comfort into your life while you are in the midst of an uproar.
• Sometimes people come to church and hide.
• They come to church and they isolate themselves.
• You can literally come to church and not fulfill God’s will for your life in that local assembly.
• If you come to church and isolate yourself, if you put up a wall that nobody can get through, if you shut yourself off from others, than the encouragement than you are supposed to receive you won’t receive.
• You must understand this – the encouragement doesn’t just come through the pulpit preaching of the Word only.
• It can happen out there in the congregation as your mingling right before service.
• It can come as you break down into classes with each other.
• It can come through fellowships where we break bread together.
• Don’t just run out of church and head to the house, stay and open your self up to encouragement.
• People need to be encouraged.
• Ministers need to be encouraged.
• When was the last time you took it upon yourself to speak kind words to your Pastor and to the first Lady?
• They are coming to church.
• They need to be encouraged also.
• They are laboring so that you can have a spiritual environment to develop in.
• They are laying on there faces for you when you are in trouble.
• They are listening to get messages so that you can be built up.
• You need to speak some consolation into their life.

Encouragement for Church Leaders

• Better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it.
• Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero.
• Better to have lost some battles than to have retreated from the war.
• Better to have failed (in the worlds’ eyes) when serving God than to have succeeded when serving the devil.

Many people in life are in for a shock.  Here’s the shock, here’s the tragedy. People have climbed the ladder of success, only to discover that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall! — Erwin W. Lutzer (1941- )

Small numbers make no difference to God. There is nothing small if God is in it. — Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

Call to Action

There are three rules for success. The first: Go on. The second: Go on. And the third: Go on. — Frank Crane

Did you ever notice,” asked an old lady, as she smiled into the troubled face before her, “that when the Lord told the discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in that same old place where they had been working all night and had caught nothing? If we could only go off to some new place every time we get discouraged, trying again would be an easier thing. If we could be somebody else, or go somewhere else, or do something else, it might not be hard to have fresh faith and courage. But it is the same old net in the same old pond for most of us. The old temptations are to be overcome, the old faults to be conquered, and the old trials and discouragements which we failed yesterday must be faced again today. We must win success where we are if we are to win it at all. It is the Master Himself who, after all these toilsome, disheartening efforts that we call failures, bids us, ‘Try again.'”

QUESTION: Admonitions and exhortations are keys to a happy heart. What admonitions or exhortations are you inspired to share? Would you leave them in the comments section below?