Gifts of Grace: Exhortation | Freya McNeice

This week, Freya led us in looking at the spiritual gift of exhortation. Originating from the word parakeleó which means 'to call to one's side, to exhort, to encourage, to comfort and to urge,' this spiritual gift focuses on three aspects:   1. Drawing in: Exhortation is all about relationship! Exhorters draw in to people's real and messy lives and walk closely beside them. Ultimately, exhorters draw in just as God draws in to us.   2. Calling out: We are called to 'walk in a manner worthy of God' (1 Thessalonians 2:12) and sometimes we miss the mark. We need exhorters to lovingly call out where our hearts need aligning back with Christ's. They have the hard conversations because they want people to look more like Jesus, and they offer hope through the Word.   3. Building up: We live in a very discouraging world. Exhorters have the incredible gift of drawing alongside people and putting the courage back into them. Encouragement reminds people who God is and who they are in light of that. Building people up strengthens and heals the church, and when exhorters encourage, discouragement loses a foothold on the church.   Ultimately, we exhort through the power of the ultimate exhorter.