Leaving No Man Behind (Part II)
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Jul 23, 2006
- Series: Leaving No Man Behind
Leaving No Man Behind: (Part II)
BE A BARNABAS Acts 4:36-37; 9:26-30 Acts 4:36-37 36) Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus , whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37) sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet. Acts 9:26-30 26) When he came to Jerusalem , he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27) 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. 28) So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem , speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29) He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30) When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus .
If it is your desire to be an encouragement to someone else, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the effective words that many people consider as “Words of Encouragement.”
· “That’s OK. Everyone makes mistakes.”
· “No one is perfect.”
· “We learn by our mistakes.”
· “Practice makes perfect.”
· “Everything’s difficult at first.”
· “Don’t give up.”
· “Try it a few times anyway and then it will seem easier.”
· “This time you almost did it. You’re doing better every time.”
· “I’m proud of you when you try difficult things.”
· “That’s a great deal.”
· “I really like that.”
· “You do such great work.”
· “That’s interesting. Tell me about it.”
“I know you can do it. Try again.”
In the Bible, there’s probably one man who was able to put these words in good use. His life and accomplishments are all recorded in the book of Acts. Now, some of you may not have heard of him since he may not be as popular as the apostle Paul, but he is definitely an important man because there could have been no Paul without him. According to our text, originally his name was Joseph, but the apostles, who were the church leaders during those times, changed his name to Barnabas, which means a son of encouragement.
Can you imagine being called by everybody, the encourager. What a special title! This nickname was not probably something he sought for himself. His church community gave him that because of his willingness to be a blessing to others. I wonder if this nickname can be appropriately said for any of us. As we continue our emphasis on encouragement this morning, I would like to highlight his life and show some significant qualities we can aspire to have in order for us to be God’s encouragers in the church.
I BE SPIRITUAL
The very first quality we need to see is found in Acts 11:24:
He (Barnabas) was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Notice the phrase that says he is full of the Holy Spirit, I would like to link this with the Scripture that brought to you last Sunday in John 15:26. When Jesus impressed His disciples about His departure to be with the Father. He assured them of a Counselor, the Holy Spirit.
John 15:26 26) "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
When Barnabas came to know Jesus as his personal Savior, and accepted Him. The Holy Spirit became a part of his life. However, more than just having the Holy Spirit. He allowed the Holy Sprit have him. It would be safe to say that he surrendered his life to the guidance of the Holy Spirit resulting to him being dynamically empowered. He was a spiritual Christian as opposed to being carnal or fleshly. He was able to tap into God’s resources. There is no way he could have done all that he did without the resources of Someone greater than himself.
Of course, this power is something each one of us can receive. The apostle Paul exhorts us to seek for it:
Ephesians 5:18 18) Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Are you still seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit? We all need to be sensitive of our need of God’s power. The more we have it, the more effectively we can minister to others. And the only way we can experience this is by closely walking with God in faithful obedience.
II BE SELFLESS
One sure hindrance in becoming an encourager to others is selfishness. Obviously, the close walk of Barnabas with God allowed him to overcome this sin.
The context of Acts 4:36-37, where you find the introduction of Barnabas selling his property was:
Acts 4:32-35 32) All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33) With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34) There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35) and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Barnabas was one of the Christians who were willing to respond to the needs of the church by selling his property and giving its proceeds to the apostles to be distributed to those in need.
Why would the Holy Spirit allow Barnabas’ sacrifice to be recorded in the Scriptures? Of all the Christians who contributed, why Barnabas? I don’t know all the reasons behind the mentioning of Barnabas, but one thing I believe is clear, Christians who are unselfish and are willing to share their material possessions with others in order to meet human needs and to do God’s work have a special ministry of encouragement.
Sometimes our desire to be an encouragement to others will demand more than our presence. I hope that when we are called to do more that selfishness will not come in the way. If you look at verse 33, the unselfish life of the Christians has resulted to being a powerful and effective witness in the community. Why? Because when you are honestly looking out for the interests of other people you will earn a right to be listened to. You might have heard the old saying that goes,
“Don’t tell them Jesus loves them until you are ready to love them too.”
Let’s continue to ask the Lord to mold us and help us outgrow selfishness in our lives. Let’s ask him to change our attitude.
Psalm 119:36-37 36) Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
37) Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
III BE SUPPORTIVE
Another special quality of Barnabas we need to learn is his ability to come alongside of people who have great potentials. We can find two occasions in the book of Acts:
A: Paul: (Acts 9:26-30)
After the conversion of Saul, the persecutor, he tried to join the Christians in Jerusalem . However, the Christians were doubtful and afraid of him. even the apostles were skeptical.
Barnabas, sensing Saul’s potential, took the time and heard him out. Later, he took him to the apostles validating the reality of his conversion. You see, he was not willing to reject Saul right away. He was willing to give him a chance to prove himself.
Now, this effort for Paul did not stop here. Later, Barnabas will need an assistant to help him disciple the new believers in Antioch , where the followers of Jesus will be first called Christians. Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek for Saul so he can help in the work of God. This eventually led to the discipleship of Saul, whom later will turn out to be the great apostle Paul.
B. John Mark
Barnabas again sees potential in someone despite a past failure. Rather than labeling him as a quitter, Barnabas gives him another chance and anyone who has read the Gospel of Mark in the Bible is glad that Barnabas was that kind of friend. In fact even Paul himself later decides that Barnabas was right about Mark. In his second letter to Timothy Paul wrote, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." 2 Tim 2:11
Do you have an eye for people who have potential? We need to continually raise good leaders in our midst. Perhaps it’s good to remind ourselves that the right atmosphere of encouragement is necessary in order to develop good leaders.
IV BE SECURED:
Lastly, Barnabas was a secured man in the Lord. What does this mean? I believe one of the reasons why he was effective in giving encouragement to other people is because he was secured as far as his worth before the Lord was concern. This truth is evident with his relationship with the apostle Paul
We already had established the fact that when Paul needed someone to walk alongside with him so he can be accepted and trusted by the apostles, Barnabas was there for him. When he needed to be discipled in order for him to be a powerful man of God, Barnabas was available for him. But notice this verse:
Acts 13:42 42) As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.
Later in their ministry, Paul started to shine. Prior to this verse, the lead was Barnabas. The book of Acts would always mention Barnabas and Paul (Acts 11:30; 12:25). But beginning Acts 13:42, its going to be “Paul and Barnabas.” If Barnabas was not secured in the Lord, he could have felt threatened. He could have resisted the new arrangement. You will never find a hint of that in the Scriptures. Instead, Barnabas quietly stepped aside to let God accomplish what He needed to accomplish in His work. There is no competition, only encouragement for a fellow laborer in the Lord’s work.
Again, we need encouragers in our church. As we desire to continually grow, we need to pray that God will raise many Barnabases in our midst. Pray to be a Barnabas!