Barnabas – Son of Encouragement

Barnabas is known as the son of encouragement.

Encouragement – inspiration to hope and service; to continue in the Lord

An overview of Acts – Ordinary men and women with Jesus. Jesus called 12 disciples. These were people not called to be leaders. They were not educated. Jesus chose them and spent time with them. In Acts, ordinary men and women who were called were empowered by the Holy Spirit and were able to perform extraordinary acts. The power of the Holy Spirit transformed us to do extraordinary things. The power is not meant for us to magnify ourselves or to build our own kingdom. It is always to glorify Him.

Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

When we are empowered, we are given the authority, confidence, assertiveness and enabled to perform extraordinary tasks.

Act 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

When the people were surprised to see Peter and John who were untrained and uneducated spoke so eloquently.

HR people locally preferred to take people from TAR College among all the local universities / colleges because they are passionate to learn. They are good students with potentials but they could not get into local universities and they could not afford to go overseas.

The people tried to figure out where Peter and John were trained. The conclusion is that they had been with Jesus. This is the only explanation they could arrive at. When people see us, what conclusion do they come to? Do they see our academic qualifications or do they see that we are with Jesus?

People who go

1. Stephen – Boldness (the boldness will come when we go.)
   
2. Philip – Consistency (in good times or bad times, God doesn't change. Neither should we.)
   
3. Paul – Total Commitment (to live is Christ, to die is gain)
   
4. Peter – Openness (God wants to work in us and through us. We cannot have prejudice.)
   
5. Barnabas – Encouragement
   

Out of the five, only Paul was well-trained. God picked a mixed list so we know God can use those who are intelligent and well trained; He can also use those who are not educated.

1. Encouragement stems from a good heart

It's difficult to encouragement when the heart is not good. It will instead be manipulation.

Act 4:36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,

Joseph was called Barnabas to indicate his encouragement, which is consistent in his life. Do we recognize Barnabas in the church?

Act 11:22-24 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. (23) When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, (24) for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

The leaders sent Barnabas to find out what was happening. In the book of Acts, only Barnabas was mentioned as a good man. Barnabas had a pure heart; there is no ulterior motive or hidden agenda in what he does. How do we know he has a pure heart? He gave all the proceeds from his land to the church. In Acts 5, we read that no one lacked anything because they sold their properties and share. Ananias wanted to be part of it but they were not willing to give all. They were not honest and kept part of the proceeds. They were not pure. They could have done it due to peer pressure. They didn't join with their heart. Probably not every Christian sold his / her land but God didn't punish them.

Act 8:21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

In Acts 8, we saw the Simon the sorcerer who craved for the power. Peter told him his heart was not right in the sight of God.

Barnabas was also able to see the grace of God in people. He believed that God can bring out the good in people.

An alcoholic would tell you he has not been drinking and he would say a prayer of repentance but he would get drunk again. If we do not see the grace of God in him, we will give up on counseling him.

Barnabas had a heart like Jesus. To have a heart like Jesus we need to be with Jesus.

Fidel Castro rid a dictator from Cuba but he ended up being the same. The heart is deceitful. The power to do good can never come from an evil heart. We need to see the grace of God to be able to be good encourager.

Act 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

The initial Jerusalem leaders in Acts 11 and 15 contended with Peter and Paul in the issue of circumcision in the conversion of the Gentiles. They saw tradition and customs not the grace of God. . Circumcision is a Jewish custom and not a Christian ordinance. They had prejudices. God dealt with Peter's prejudices via a vision 3 times. God made him understand that what He made clean is clean. We cannot choose who we want to encourage.

Chinese are prejudice. Some of us cannot accept interracial marriage. God asked Jonah to preach to the people in Nineveh. He refused because they are the enemies of the Jews. God put him in the belly of a fish 3 days. He relented and went reluctantly. He only preached once. He just wanted to go what God wanted him to do instead of being inside a fish. This is the first time we see people receiving God but the preacher got angry. God had to teach Jonah a lesson. God showed him he valued the tree more than the 120,000 souls.

If we want to be a good encourager, we need to get rid of our prejudices. We need to have Barnabas' eyes and heart to see the good in others and not just to criticize the bad, build up and not be pulled down by social prejudice. We are put together to encourage one another.

2. Encouragement affirms the believer

Act 11:25-26 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, (26) and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

An encourager is always on the lookout to bring out the best in people and to not make them feel left out. It's not an issue of worth. We always tell people they are worthy in Jesus Christ. When we have Jesus we are no longer orphans. But the Bible also tells us we need to work out our salvation. It doesn't mean we need to work to earn our redemption. We need to work on to live out the life of our salvation. Our doing must flow out of our being. It's not just being. We don't do at the expense of our being. We need both.

Barnabas looked for Paul and affirmed his calling. When Paul was convicted in Acts 9, no one cared about him. Barnabas went. He saw the potential in Paul because he saw the grace of God. He believed Paul's conversion was genuine. He took Paul to Tarsus. Barnabas allowed God to use him. His involving Paul in the work in Antioch paved the way for Christianity's greatest missionary and interpreter of Christ.

Peter denied Christ three times. John wanted to know who would sit beside Jesus. We are not perfect. But God can use us.

In Acts 13:37-39, Paul didn't want to bring John Mark. He saw the problem. Barnabas saw the potential instead. Paul went with Silas and Barnabas went with John Mark. John Mark went well and it was acknowledged by Paul. Don't give up on people that failed the first time or second time.

We can help encourage Christians by helping them to recognize they have spiritual gifts that are to be used in God's service. We also can assist them in finding specific ways to use their gifts.

3. Encouragement includes action

Encouragement extends beyond words and praise and prayers. It must include actions, otherwise they will be mere empty words and not encouragement.

Act 11:28-30 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). (29) So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. (30) And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Jas 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

We must translate some of the things we say into actions. God wants to let everyone know he is worthy. God wants everyone to reach his potential. He is looking for Barnabas in the church. The church is not a place of competition. One of the biggest challenges in the corporate world is that no one is willing to mentor. We are intimidated by the possibility of our disciples will be better than us.

Barnabas got Paul started and Paul became more famous.

Neh 4:20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."

Whenever anyone has problem, is sick, is depressed, we come together to encourage them, to help them. If we want to move in the fullness of God's power, we need to have Barnabas.