Church on Purpose- DISCIPLE: Find Your Barnabas

Sermon: FCC Afton February 12, 2023 Church on Purpose Series Disciple: "Find Your Barnabas" Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:13, 2:1-3, 3:10, 14-15 This Church on Purpose series is a deeper look at the purpose of the Church- and not just the general Church, but you as the Church, your purpose. What does it mean to teach others what Jesus taught us first, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of others, and what does it mean to go unto the world for Jesus as readied, disciple-making disciples and to grow the Kingdom of God? Last week we looked at the second piece of our Disciple pillar- at the importance of Timothies to ministry, both traditional ministry and your personal calling- at how it is necessary for you to have someone beside you that can sharpen and mentor to help prepare for their call, and at how it is necessary for you to spend time preparing yourself, both to know who your Timothy is and to know what you need to do to best mentor and develop him. Read 2 Timothy 1:13, 2:1-3, 3:10, 14-15 [Pray here] -Paul's second letter to Timothy is one that is written as a father to a beloved son or of a cherished mentor relaying a vital piece of instruction. Think of it almost as parting instructions before a parent sends a child off to college or into marriage; or of a mentor giving you a last piece of solid advice before your parting where you're about to strike out on your own. Paul speaks to Timothy with a fatherly affection- he even calls him "my beloved son." Timothy was indeed Paul's child in the faith and the biggest male influence in Timothy's life; Timothy is a big part of Paul's extended spiritual legacy. Either way, father or mentor, this letter has the unmistakable tone of one wanting to express something very important- a lasting message to send his spiritual successor off into a successful ministry. We mentor, develop and prepare Timothies for ministry and as they go, they become part of our spiritual legacy. Think of spiritual legacy like ripples on water, where you can see the cascading levels moving out from a center point. That center point is Jesus- each succeeding ripple is part of the spiritual legacy of Believers. Paul sends Timothy out to begin his own ministry with this letter and with it a lesson in wisdom and maturity, a lesson in recognizing and understanding what God is trying to accomplish in him- it is almost a passing of the mantle- Timothy is part of Paul's spiritual legacy, but he is also part of Barnabas'. We are each part of the spiritual legacy of the person who led us to Jesus and those that we prepare and send out as Followers are part of ours. We've examined the process of discipleship over the past couple of weeks. We've looked at the importance that we are to provide a proper example of Godliness for others to see and emulate- this is the 1 Corinthians 11:1 principle of "imitate me as I imitate Christ." Those watching us must be able to see our Godly, Christlike behavior and know without a doubt that we are living the Follower's life, the surrendered life that is doing good works as a thank you for the grace that God has so faithfully poured out on me when I did not even deserve it! And we looked at what it means to find our Timothies. To find those whom God has purposed to learn from us, that we will act like a Barnabas or Paul in their lives, that they will watch us and work beside us in the good works that God has for us to accomplish. But just because we have a Timothy that we are mentoring does not mean that we ever stop BEING Timothies. Main Idea: As much as our Timothies are watching us, gleaning from us and our example of what it means to follow Jesus, and becoming part of our spiritual legacy, we must also maintain a spiritual Barnabas that we can learn and mature from, and be part of their spiritual legacy. Paul shares an important lesson with Timothy and with us in how to be Godly and an effective worker for the Kingdom of God. In it, you can see the development that occurs in a Barnabas/ Timothy relationship- a development that occurred in Paul's own life long before he became a mentor and discipler to Timothy. This is a development that each of us must also go through; we must allow ourselves to be placed under the tutelage of someone more mature and go through a process of growth, a process that we see very distinctly in Paul's writings about Timothy. 1. Spiritual Son: 1 Timothy 1:2-3 "To Timothy, my true son in the faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may teach..." -This is the birthing stage- this is what Paul refers to in Philemon 10, when he says that he fathered Onesimus. Paul invites Timothy to come work alongside him and Silas. Timothy works closely with Paul, serving as an apprentice within the ministry under Paul's mentorship, while Paul serves as a spiritual father to Timothy. 2. Student: 2 Timothy 3:10-11 "But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra." -This is the apprentice stage. Timothy serves beside Paul, in good times and through hardship, learning from Paul about the ministry. Paul sets an example for what mature ministry looks like and challenges and encourages Timothy to understand his own calling by keeping with and following Paul's example. 3. Fellow worker: Romans 16:21 "Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you." -This is the partner stage. Paul has developed and taught Timothy to the point that his investment has matured and Timothy is considered a co-laborer with Paul and the other apostles. Timothy is now ready to take on his own Timothy to mentor and disciple. Even if you are spiritually mature enough that God brings a Timothy for you to mentor, you still need to have a Barnabas in your life who is mentoring you, encouraging you, guiding you, and praying for you. The name Barnabas means "Son of Encouragement." He was described as being a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. We each need at least one "Son of Encouragement, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" in our lives, no matter our spiritual maturity level or our place of authority within the church, that we can watch and learn from- but more importantly, that is praying for us and who is there to provide encouragement and guidance. -We can have all the right things to say, all the Biblical lessons to teach, but if they don't see our faith, see the Holy Spirit active in us, then the lessons they learn will ever be authentic and the sharpening that needs to occur between you will never happen. Question: Who in your life is providing you with the pattern of sound teaching, faith, and love for you to hold on to, learn from, and emulate? 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:10 "Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus... You have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance." -Paul gives Timothy the command to hold on to, to hold secure, or to keep and maintain the pattern of sound teaching that the young man had heard and learned from his mentor. This teaching is one of the faith and love that are found in Christ Jesus- a teaching of a balanced commitment to the truth that will require a developed, mature faith and love, virtues that come from time spent abiding in Christ (1 Tim. 1:14). The word for sound teaching here is logos, the same root that is used in John 1 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God"- this word refers to the nature and function of Jesus Christ or to the revelation of God in the world. So when Paul says, "Hold on to this sound teaching," he is literally instructing Timothy to hold on to this message about who Jesus is- literally, "I have showed you who Jesus is, now hold on to what you know about Him and continue to grow in Him." The implication that this passage speaks to us is a clear one: Christian, in order for you to be an effective Follower of Christ, you must know and understand the things that Paul is talking about here, this pattern of sound teaching, this message about who Jesus is, and how to have it ready to teach others! This message is echoed in Paul's letter to another missionary partner: Titus- in Titus 1:9, Paul instructs that mature Christians, especially those in any kind of leadership, should hold "to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it." Christians, like we talked about last week, as you are teaching the man below you, you must also be learning the faithful truths of Christ from the man above you. You have things to teach that someone less mature than you needs to learn; and you have things to learn that someone more mature than you need to learn. Are you getting the solid teaching and the example of Godliness from your Barnabas? How can your Timothy learn fromyou the things they need to take in and imitate, if you are not getting it first? Do you have someone who is recognizing in you the things God is trying to do in you and encouraging you to follow them? I shared with you last week of some of the women who took my mother as their Timothy, whose faith and influence is a vital part of me being here as a Believer and a pastor. I am part of their spiritual legacy- everyone that I teach and prepare, anyone who decides to live their life in a serious way, they are also part of their spiritual legacy. But I also want to share with you some of the men who acted as Barnabas in my life, without whose influence I may never have surrendered my life to Christ: [Share: Dr. John Calhoun- football coach, mentor- there to teach me about cultural differences on the mission field; there to teach me how to control myself and be a leader in football; me in his home, allowed me to experience family, often- showed me what it meant to be a Godly husband and father.] Question: Who in your life is showing you what it means to suffer for Jesus? Who is showing you that it is okay and good to put aside your own will and desire in order to take care of others first? 2 Timothy 2:3, 3:11, 4:5 "Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. -Along with the persecutions that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. -But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." We must be shown how to prune away the fleshly things about us that don't glorify God and replace them with the new self, with righteous behavior- we must be shown how, it must be demonstrated and modeled for us, because it hurts- it doesn't come naturally to our flesh. We must be prepared to be hated by the world because the world hates Jesus first. To be a disciple of Jesus means to walk around as a target for the world's hatred and then to take it, because doing so, with deep joy and love that the world can't comprehend, shows appreciation to our Lord for His sacrifice on our behalf and because it may allow you an opportunity to share the Good News of Salvation with the world. It's not going to be easy. No two ways about it- if you're going to be a disciple of Jesus, you're going to get banged up, you're going to get wounded, and you're going to suffer persecution and suffering. Who is providing you with the example of how to suffer for Christ? In the same way that a child learns how not to be selfish, how to put others in the family first, how to suffer for the family by watching the example of their parents, so we watch Barnabas to see how a more mature Believer suffers for Christ and fulfills their ministry. [Share: Bernie Vargas- losing my ring in the middle of a football game, searching all night for the ring, then going back the next day and continuing to search until he found it. He didn't have to do it. It cost him a day's work, but he felt obligated to me because he had lost it. His suffering showed me so much about a good man's character and about the love of Christ. Bernie never preached to me any groundbreaking sermons about faith, but he showed me Jesus in how He suffered for Christ on my behalf.] Question: Are you preparing yourself to be led and taught? It is not an easy thing to put yourself under the spiritual authority of another person. But just as we discussed last week, we cannot do this alone! We must have that person who can encourage us but who can also pull us aside and say "Stop being an idiot. Shape up." It may seem like such an easy thing. Or maybe you are hearing what I'm saying and are hearing the old Christian buzzword of "Accountability partner;" but that's not what I'm talking about- this goes much deeper than that. Who is the person in your life that knows you, that can tell when something is off, who can pull you aside and provide encouragement and peace just by being there with you? It can be hard to surrender yourself to a Barnabas. We don't want to feel like we don't have things going perfectly, but this is more about relationship than it is at all about correction. But if we want to be effective Followers, we must find that person who can be Barnabas for us- we can't do this alone. [Share: Darren Melton- Recognized God's calling and gifting on my life at a time when I was really burnt out by ministry. He encouraged me, pushed me to pursue preaching ministry, and gave me a safe, healthy environment to figure out what God was calling me to do. More than that, he allowed me to come to his office and vent when the search for a church was disheartening and discouraging. He became my Barnabas for a time; I wouldn't be where I am without his intentional work in my life.] Closing: My challenge for you this week is for you to begin taking a serious look at your spiritual legacy. If you can name the ripples on both sides of you, then you are probably doing a good job with this Barnabas/ Timothy style of discipleship. If so, good job! Keep it up! If not, then I encourage you to find someone that you trust, whether you are 25 or 85, and just begin to see what lessons God wants to bring you through that relationship.