One Life at a Time: Barnabas

Last Sunday we looked at Saul’s conversion – how he was persecuting Christians – the Bible puts it this way: he was breathing out murderous threats against the church. But Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and transformed him. We met Ananias, a regular guy who was instrumental in Saul’s conversion, even though the man God sent him to minister to was the worst of the worst.

We also recognized that there were a bunch of regular men and women who were instrumental in our own conversions. Whether they were our family members or Sunday School teachers or friends, there were regular people who took an interest in our lives and our salvation. If that person who made a difference in your life is still alive, why don’t you take a little time this afternoon to write them a little handwritten note and send it to them? I can’t think of any reason anyone would not want to receive a letter like that.

Anyway, today we will continue to look at some of the players in Paul’s life, people who made a difference, one life at a time.

In Acts 4:36, we meet Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement). Even when we meet him, we find out that he is an encourager. Have you ever met someone who is super-encouraging, and you knew it from the first time you met them? What is it about someone that makes them an encourager?

Encouragement is giving someone strength in tough times. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Rome: I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:11-12) There are many other biblical examples of someone encouraging another to be strong – Moses encouraging Joshua is a fantastic example, when he told him to be strong and courageous, words that Joshua used to encourage the Israelites as well.

Are any of you going through a tough time? These are people you need to encourage. Another question: do you know anyone going through a tough time? Encourage them!

Encouragement also means giving godly perspective. In Psalm 10:17-18 we read a prayer for God’s encouragement: You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

I love the perspective here. Because of who God is and what God does, humans won’t terrify anymore. Or as Paul puts it in Romans 8: If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31, 35-39)

We are encouraged when we remember who God is and who we are in him. This world will make every attempt to drag you down, but God’s Word is true – there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and if God is for us, who can be against us?!

To get that kind of encouragement, we have to know the Bible, because encouragement comes from Scripture and gives hope. Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

If we don’t know the scriptures, we can’t be adequate encouragers, because it is through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures that we receive hope. I used to kind of look down at some of the characters in the Bible and all of their flaws. Look at Peter – he was a talk-first, think-later kind of guy, always putting his foot in his mouth. Guess what – I do that, too. Jeremiah was depressed – at times I, too, can relate. Jonah argued with God and ran from God – many of us have done that, too. Moses had excuses, and so do I. Gideon didn’t believe that God could use him of all people, and isn’t that true with us? I am encouraged by people in the Bible who all faced real troubles and struggles and who God used remarkably.

Whenever someone comes up with a good idea to reach the lost or to minister to those in need, there are Negative Nellies who come out telling why it will never work, why you will never succeed, why there’s not enough money to do this or that. And those discouragers are very rarely the ones going out of their way to do ministry. They sit around and grouse about the old days, how there used to be hundreds in Sunday School or worship, but when they are asked to help with that ministry, they always answer, “I already put in my time.” Encouragers, on the other hand, know that God is in control and they encourage, in word and deed.

Acts 4:37 tells us that Barnabas sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. In the brand new church, believers who owned lands or houses would sell them and donate the money to the apostles in order to take care of the needy among them, and Barnabas was one such believer.

Barnabas was a true encourager, which meant, having a biblical perspective, he stuck his neck out for someone who many others wouldn’t have. When Saul, the brand new Christian, fresh from his miraculous conversion from being the persecutor of the church and murderous threat breather guy, came to Jerusalem, Acts 9:26 records that he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

I can sympathize with the disciples. They don’t want to be thrown in prison. They don’t want to be fooled by that guy who was out to get them, who now seems like he’s playing nice. They’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. So listen to what Barnabas did. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

Because Barnabas went out on a limb for Saul, bringing him to the apostles and vouching for him, Saul was able to begin speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

In Acts 11, we find out that the church had been scattered by persecution in connection with Stephen’s death, which, you might recall, Saul had something to do with. But here’s what happens when the church is persecuted: those who are persecuted get out of town, and wherever they go, they tell the good news about Jesus! As it happened, some of them went to Antioch, where (Acts 11:22 ff) The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

So if you call yourself a Christian, did you know that you at least partially owe the name to Barnabas? So let’s look a little more closely at why he is so important.

When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. (Acts 11:23)

I love that the first thing we hear about Barnabas here is that he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God. We can easily miss out on seeing amazing things that God is doing. In fact, when I ask how we see God moving in our lives, there should be so much that there’s not enough time for everyone to share! Barnabas saw the evidence and was glad, and he strengthened the believers with godly perspective about who God is and who they are in Him.

To encourage someone to remain true to the Lord, you have to know someone and care about them to actually encourage them. What would it take for us to know one another well enough that we could really encourage? One of the difficulties I’ve found in small towns and especially in churches in small towns is that while news travels fast (maybe because news travels so fast), people are often reluctant to be vulnerable. If I say something, if I show weakness, people will talk. And that talking usually isn’t encouragement.

Sometimes that talking is “one-upsmanship” where you’re going through a tough time and the other person tells you how bad they have it (or had it). Or they tell you that you’re going to just have to suck it up and endure it.

Or possibly worse is when they don’t talk at all. They pretend you don’t exist. That person isn’t all that encouraging. In fact, they are more of a discourager. It is unfortunate that there are people in many of our churches who think that discouragement is a spiritual gift.

But encouragement involves seeing people as God sees them and helping them to see what God sees. It means looking deep into the depths of the struggle and seeing where God is at work. It means looking trouble in the teeth and knowing that God is bigger than any of that. And it involves standing firm with the other through the midst of the tough times.

Hebrews 10:24 tells us to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. The next verse goes deeper: Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. In other words, our usual gatherings, like today, should be times when we encourage one another. I read an article this week that said that for many, church is the last place they want to be when they are depressed or distressed. It should be the first place, because Christians are so encouraging! Instead we often find all the ways we can tear one another down. It’s time to critique the sermon, the musicians, the order of worship, the décor, the other worshipers, and everything else. This is not the church behaving as the church. Again, if we are not the most encouraging group of people that any of us see this entire week, we’re doing something wrong.

Back to Barnabas: We also read in Acts 11:24 that he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 

Barnabas was more than just a good guy. He was a good man because he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. What’s the difference? We all know plenty of good people, people who get along with others well, people who do nice things for others, but the real question is what is it all for?

Some people are good because they want to make people happy. If the main goal of being good is to make people happy, it’s not going to work. Why not? First of all, because that’s not what God made you for. Your purpose on this world is not to make people happy. Your purpose is to bring glory to God. There are going to be times when you can’t make people happy – because they refuse to be happy. And ultimately, you’re going to die, which might make some of the wrong people happy, but it certainly won’t make the right ones happy. So if your purpose is to make people happy, you are going to fail.

Some people try to be good in the hopes that it will somehow outweigh the bad, it won’t work, because God’s mandate is perfection. Jesus himself said, “Be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) There isn’t much wiggle room in perfection. If you want a crude comparison, imagine you are at a friend’s house, and the friend is making homemade chocolate ice cream. While they are making it, they go out to the barn and scoop up some droppings from the barnyard. Don’t worry, they tell you, I’m only going to put a little of this in the ice cream. The sugar and cream and other ingredients will well outweigh this. Would you eat the ice cream? Or better, would that friend be your friend anymore?

God requires perfection, and being good doesn’t outweigh our bad. Only Jesus Christ’s sacrifice can outweigh the bad, because through him, we are made perfect. And in that perfection, full of the Holy Spirit and faith in God, we can live out our purpose – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. When we live that out, we, too, can see what Barnabas experienced: a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

We have begun praying for a great number of people, all of whom need the Lord. It’s not going to be by some new program or by a new pastor or new leaders that this will happen; it will be by the people of God being the people of God. It will be by each of you, full of the Holy Spirit, having faith that God is God.