There is a
funny story in circulation about an optimistic farmer who couldn't wait to
greet
each new day
with a resounding, "Good morning, God!" He lived near a woman whose
morning
greeting was more like, "Good God... morning?" They were each a trial
to the
other.
Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems.
Where he was satisfied, she was
discontented.
One bright
morning he exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful sky! Did you see that glorious
sunrise?"
"Yeah,"
she countered. "It'll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!"
During an
afternoon shower, he commented, "Isn't this wonderful? Mother Nature is
giving the
corn a drink today!"
"And if
it doesn't stop before too long," came the sour reply, "we'll wish
we'd taken out
flood
insurance on the crops!"
Convinced
that he could instill some awe and wonder in her hardened attitude, he bought
a remarkable
dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly-trained and gifted
dog he could
find. The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible
feats which,
the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her
to watch his
dog perform.
"Fetch!"
he commanded, as he tossed a stick out into a lake, where it bobbed up and
down in the
rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked ON the water, and
retrieved
it.
"What
do you think of that?" he asked, smiling.
"Hmmm,"
she frowned. "Can't swim, can he?"
Sometimes I
think that negative thoughts are the world's most communicative diseases.
Have you
been around someone that is always gloom and doom.
They never
give you an encouraging word and you feel low after being around them.
Optimism and
encouragement can be contagious
William
Arthur Ward said the following:
Flatter me,
and I may not believe you.
Criticize
me, and I may not like you
Ignore me,
and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I will not forget you.
1.
Encouragement is Crucial in the
Church.
Today lets
look at a wonderful example of encouragement in Barnabas:
Earlier in
Acts chapter 11 we see that Peter gives a report to the Jerusalem Church
concerning the Conversion of Cornelius
I need not
get into how big that was to the Jerusalem Church and it was super important
that Peter was the one that experienced this.
No one would
argue with Peter because of the lead roll that he took with the Apostles
IN the final
part of Acts chapter 11 we see a transition from a purely Jewish church to a
mixed Church of Jew and Gentile.
In our story
today Paul has already been converted to the Lord in Acts chapter 9 – he will
be God’s vehicle to the Gentile nations to take the Gospel all over.
After Paul’s
conversion in Damascus he preaches for some time there but has to escape
because the Jews want to kill him.
IN Acts 9 we
read that Paul comes to Jerusalem but the Christians there were afraid to
associate with him.
They didn’t
know what to think.
But it was
Barnabas that took him to the Apostles – it was Barnabas that believed in Saul.
And after
this Paul has to escape Jerusalem and the Jerusalem church sends him off to
Tarsus before he is killed in Jerusalem.
This is
important in today’s story.
Also many
Christians had been scattered from Jerusalem because of Stephen’s death and
martyrdom and some go to Antioch of Syria and plant a church there.
What makes
this church unique is that it is the first place where followers of Christ are
called Christians and it is the first mixed Gentile and Jew Church.
This will be
the place that we pick up today’s story in Acts.
Acts 11: 22-26
. 22 The
news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent
Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of
God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain
true to the Lord ; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of
faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for
Tarsus to look for Saul ; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to
Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught
considerable numbers ; and the disciples were first called Christians in
Antioch.
Notice some
things about Barnabas –
1) The Jerusalem Church trusted him –
they sent him to check on the work at Antioch
2) He rejoiced and encouraged
3) He was a good man full of the Holy
Spirit
4) And he knew a good man when he met
him – he knew that God had great things planned for Paul and this journey to
Tarsus was not like hopping the car and going to Huntsville.
Have you ever wondered how to encourage people during discouraging
moments?
Barnabas has
always been one of my favorite Bible characters and it someone that you would
love to get to meet
We read a
lot about Peter and Paul but we don’t talk much about Barnabas.
Barnabas was rightly called, the Son of
Encouragement because he knew how to inspire people toward greatness.
I mean if
they gave you a nickname in the church today – would it be son of encouragement?
Barnabas is a fine example of a man who knew
how to give courage,
hope and
embolden the hearts of those who really needed help.
While others
were suspicious of Paul,
Barnabas
staked his own reputation on the quality of the driven man’s commitment.
Barnabas knew how to encourage the church
leaders to accept Paul as one of their own.
The
encourager knew how to look beyond the surface to the depth of Paul’s love,
determination and faith.
Trust the
Lord to help you to offer emotional, spiritual and social support for those who
need encouraging.
Ask God to
help you develop a ministry of encouragement to people struggling with
discouragement.
The Duke of
Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo,
was not an easy
man to serve under.
He was
brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments.
Yet even Wellington realized that his methods
left something to be desired.
In his old age a young lady asked him what, if
anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again.
Wellington thought for a moment, then replied.
"I’d give more praise," he said.
2) True Encouragement comes when you have a
relationship with God
You must be
plugged in with God through Christ and His Spirit to be able to be this type of
encourager.
Barnabas
trusted God for personal encouragement so he could in turn inspire others.
Do not think
that you can make lasting change in the hearts of people unless your
encouragement originates from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Phony
encouragement quickly dissipates in the heat of adversity.
Barnabas was
a man who knew how to draw his courage from the Lord Jesus,
His words
and His promises.
Unless we are consistently involved with
drawing from the well of Christ’s living water we will be tempted to encourage
ourselves without pure spiritual motivations.
When Paul
was in prison once he wrote these words:
"for I
have learned in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content; (Phil. 4:12)
or "to
be sufficient", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it;
or that that
is sufficient for me which I have, as the Syriac version renders it;
for the word here used signifies to be
self-sufficient,
or to have a sufficiency in one’s self,
which in the
strict sense of the phrase is only true of God, who is
"El-shaddai",
God
all-sufficient; but, in a lower sense, is true of such who are contented with
their present state and condition, with such things as they have,
be they more or less, and think that they have
enough, as old Jacob did, (Genesis 33:11) ;
and such persons have a sort of an
all-sufficiency in them
; they are
thankful for every thing they have, be it little or more,
and in every
state, whether of adversity or prosperity;
and quietly
and patiently submit to the will of God,
and cheerfully take and bear whatever is
assigned them as their portion;
and such an one was the apostle: he was not
only content with food and raiment,
and such things as he had, but even when he
had nothing at all; when he had neither bread
to eat nor
clothes to wear; when he was in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness,
as was
sometimes his case; and therefore he does not say here,
that he had
learnt to be content with such things as he had, but, "in what I am":
and this he
had not by nature, but by grace; it was not natural,
but adventitious to him; it was not what he
had acquired by his industry,
but what he
had "learned"; and that not in the school of nature and reason,
while an
unregenerate man; nor at the feet of Gamaliel, while he was training up under
him in the law of Moses,
and in the
traditions of the elders; but he learned it of God,
and was taught it by the revelation of Christ,
and under the teachings of the Spirit of God,
and that in
the school of affliction, by a train of experiences, of many sorrows,
afflictions, and distresses;
for this
lesson is learned quite contrary to all the rules and reasons among men,
not by prosperity, but by adversity: many are
the things that may excite and encourage to the exercise of this heavenly
grace,
where it is wrought; as the consideration of
the unalterable will of God,
according to
which every man’s state and condition is settled, and therefore what God has
made crooked can never be made straight;
and of our
case when we came into the world, and what that will be when we go out of it,
naked and bare of this world’s things; and of
our unworthiness of the least mercy at the hand of God:
add to which, the consideration of God being
our portion and exceeding great reward;
of having an
interest in Christ and all things in him;
and of the
profits and pleasures of a life of contentment; a
nd of the
promises which God has made to such; and of the future glory and happiness
which will
shortly be
enjoyed: so that a believer may say, who has the smallest pittance of earthly
enjoyments,
this, with a
covenant God, with an interest in Christ, with grace here and heaven hereafter,
is enough."
Application: Ask the Lord to help you find
your encouragement, sufficiency, courage and inspiration through a growing time
in personal devotions,
scriptural
meditation and praise filled prayer. Get around encouraging people.
2. Barnabas knew how to encourage others to see the best points
in people.
This is so
hard for me sometimes – I need to do a better job in this.
I need to
see the best in people and this is something that Barnabas clearly did.
By serving
as an advocate for Paul, the early Christians learned how to focus on the
latent potential of a former enemy of the church.
Ask the Lord
to help you to bring out the best in every person.
Choose to look at the parts of each glass that
are full rather than its empty or negative characteristics.
3. Barnabas had great credibility in
the eyes of church leaders for three reasons:
A). He was
regarded as a good man indicating his benevolence to all regardless of their
background.
B). He was full of the Holy Spirit indicating
that he was in complete submission to the will of God
C). He
operated out of a full and mature faith,
coming out of a Levite background. Trust God
to help you heighten your credibility.
Being a Levite he would have been highly trusted by the Jewish Christian
community of Jerusalem.
Expect your
encouragement to make a lasting difference in the lives of others.
Ask the Lord
to help you to grow in your credibility so that your encouragement will have a
greater eternal impact.
4. Barnabas was able to encourage
difficult people who were prone toward legalism and traditionalism.
Here was a
man who knew how to speak to people who were very resistant to any kind of
change. The Jews were very proud of their traditions and laws,
but Barnabas
encouraged them to accept Paul as one who could teach everyone something about
God’s grace.
The hardest
thing to do is to help people see that they are sinful and need salvation
- Barnabas was able to do this.
He was able
through encouragement to help people to see that the needed a Savior.
What do you
think breaks down people’s barriers to the Gospel more than anything else?
It is a
joyful Christian – if you are joyful, if you rejoice like Barnabas – they are
going to want some of what you have.
5. Barnabas refused to give in to the
prevailing discouragements in his circumstances.
He went on
two missionary journeys, despite a sharp disagreement with Paul,
to help
multiply the encouraging power of the gospel of Christ.
Barnabas did not remain content to just
encourage Christians, but he carried the good news of Christ to those who
needed it most.
Ask the Lord
to help you to take the encouraging message of Jesus to those who are prisoners
of their own sins.
It seems
there was a barber in a small local town who had been the only barber in town
for years.
Everyone
went to this barber to get their hair cut.
Then, one day a big hair salon franchise came
to town and opened up shop. They advertised,
“All
Haircuts for $3.00”
Slowly, the
barber’s business began to dwindle.
He just couldn’t compete. In a last ditch
effort to save his business, he hired a business consultant.
The consultant spent a day pouring over the
barber’s books asking many questions.
At the end
of the day the barber asked the consultant,
“So what do you think ? Should I close up shop
?”
The consultant said, “Not yet. I’ll be back
tomorrow.”
The next day the consultant showed up with a
huge banner that he hung in front of the barber shop that said,
“We Fix $3.00 Haircuts!”
The business
consultant saw the world like Barnabas- This consultant saw the new competition
as an opportunity.
He saw the
best in the situation.
Barnabas was
able to cope with problems because he could see the best in things.
6. Barnabas knew how to give people second
chances.
Thankfully, Barnabas gave John Mark a second chance and even
the apostle Paul eventually admitted that he was useful.
In a later
sermon we will focus on this disagreement between Paul and Barnabas but it was
Barnabas that wanted to give this young man John Mark a second chance.
We can thank
Barnabas for encouraging John Mark to write the gospel of Mark that has
encouraged billions.
Barnabas was not ready to give up on someone
who Paul considered to be too risky to accompany him on a second missionary
journey.
Do not be
too hasty to give up on people because of a few disappointing episodes.
Remember,
how many times the Lord has given you many second chances.
Ask the Lord
to help you encourage those who need a second or third chance.
A great
friend is someone who steps in when everybody else abandons us.
Robert
Schuller tells a story about a banker who always tossed a coin in the cup of a
legless beggar who sat on the street outside the bank.
But, unlike most people, the banker would
always insist on getting one of the pencils the man had beside him.
"You
are a merchant," the banker would say,
"and I always expect to receive good
value from merchants I do business with."
One day the
legless man was not on the sidewalk. Time passed and the banker forgot about
him,
until he walked into a public building and
there in the concessions stand sat the former beggar.
He was obviously the owner of his own small
business now.
"I have
always hoped you might come by someday," the man said.
"You
are largely responsible for me being here.
You kept telling me that I was a ’merchant’.
I started
thinking of myself that way, instead of a beggar receiving gifts.
I started selling pencils -- lots of them. You
gave me self-respect,
caused me to
look at myself differently." That reminds us of the scripture:
Hebrews 10:24
And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
We as a
Church need to concentrate in the coming weeks to encourage one another.
The world
outside is a dark place and it wants to tear us apart – we need to see to it this
week that we speak encouraging words to each other.
We need to
find the best in people and then be willing to try to pull that out.
We need to
be a place the folks look forward to coming to because they leave pumped up
about their life in Christ.
Romans 5:8
8 But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.
When God
sent Christ to die for us God saw the best in us – He saw the worth that we
have as humans being in His image
We were
worth Christ’s sacrifice and that is good news.
God loved us
so much that he sent His Son.
God sees in
you what you can become in Christ and not what Satan tells you are.
Satan the
Accuser tells you that you are not worth it- that you are not good enough.
God tells
you today that He loves you so much that he sent Christ to die for you.
That is the
ultimate encouragement of all.
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