Barnabus: Son of Encouragement

LESSONS FROM THE BENCH: Barnabus: Son of Encouragement Spring Valley Mennonite; June 2, 2019; Acts 4:36-37; 9:26-27; 15:36-40 Growing up in a small school system in Missouri where Basketball was the main sport, I have continued in my love of the game. In the past few years I have become a fan of Wichita State Basketball. Coach Gregg Marshall has consistently produced winning teams, and several of his players have gone on to playing professionally. One player which is currently in the sports news is Fred VanVleet, who plays for the Toronto Raptors. Fred has played a key role in helping the Raptors win a spot in this year’s NBA championship series, his team making it through all the playoff series. Fred is what is called “a role player”. He is not one of the starting five but comes off the bench when the starting point guard needs a rest, or if the starter is having an off night, or if the team needs a boost of energy. Fred has excelled in this role. Very few athletic teams would ever try and field a team without having back-up players who can substitute for the stars of the team. No team can succeed with only the starters. The Bible is filled with accounts of those I would call “starters”: men and women who were leaders in faith and deed. I am thinking of those like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul. But there are so many other characters in the Bible from whom we may learn, people I would call “second-stringers”, less prominent than the giants of the faith. So to speak, God brings such people “off the bench” to fulfill vital roles in His work. I can identify with such people, as can most of us. In the next few Sundays I want to explore the lives of some of these less-visible Biblical characters, a series I will call “Lessons from the Bench”. This morning we will begin with a person who had a great influence in the early church, a man whose name means “Son of encouragement”. We know him by the name “Barnabus”. He is introduced to us in the book of Acts in the last few verses of chapter 4. (Read Acts 4:36-37) I. Who was Barnabus? What do we know about Barnabus? We learn from these verses that Barnabus was not a native of Jerusalem, but he was a Jew from the island of Cyprus. He was a Levite, so presumably he was eligible to serve in the Jerusalem Temple. It may have been there that he heard Jesus teaching and became a follower. He was a landowner, and he was sensitive to the needs of others, as expressed in generosity. In this first mention of Barnabus—his given name was Joseph—he responded to a need in the infant church in Jerusalem. Understand the situation of this early group of believers: beginning with 120 followers of Jesus, on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given the church grew by over 3000 people! But the numerical growth continued and Acts 4:4 tells us that the number of men (not including women and children) had grown to 5000! With women and children, the number of believers could easily have been 8 to 10 thousand! This was the first mega-church! We do understand that they mostly met in homes in smaller groups. Where did all these people come from? Many of them had arrived as visitors and pilgrims to Jerusalem for the second of the three yearly feasts of the Jews; many may have been in Jerusalem since Passover. Perhaps some had been witnesses to the crucifixion, and some may have been in the 500 people who saw Jesus in one of His post-resurrection appearances. Many of these had been converted on the Day of Pentecost and had remained in Jerusalem. After a while, the resources of these Jewish pilgrims ran out, and their need became urgent in the church. One of the first acts of the early church was for the new believers to voluntarily pool their resources to provide for others. Barnabus owned some land and he sold it and gave the money for the common cause. He expressed his gift of encouragement through generosity. Having been a Pastor for many years, I have seen the pressure and stress in a church that comes from having inadequate resources; I have also seen the freedom and advance of the Kingdom of God when there are abundant resources. I have seen how encouraging it is for all the members when generosity reigns in a church. I would commend Spring Valley as being one such church. But Barnabus did much more than give of his resources to the church, as encouraging as that was; II. Barnabus (also) encouraged others to develop and use their gifts. Having been introduced to this generous man, we find him mentioned a number of times at strategic points in the early church. The second mention of Barnabus is after the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became the great Apostle Paul. Soon after Saul’s conversion, Saul traveled to Jerusalem, desiring to meet with and learn from the leaders of the Jerusalem church, which at this time still included many of the original twelve disciples. READ ACTS 9:26-27 Remembering their early experience with the young Pharisee Saul, who led in the persecution of the church, these leaders were fearful and reluctant to welcome Paul into the fold. But our man of encouragement, Barnabus, took Paul under his wing and stood up for him, testifying before the leaders about his miraculous conversion. Can we grasp the significance of Barnabus’ ministry of encouragement for the early church? Where would the church be without the ministry of the Apostle Paul? Think of the churches Paul planted throughout the Roman Empire! Think of the Epistles of the New Testament written by the great Apostle! Now—think about what might have happened if Barnabus had not befriended Paul and helped him gain credibility with the early church fathers. When I was a teenager, Wilma Williamson was one of my Sunday School teachers. She once told my dad, “I think David could be a preacher someday”. I was told this later, and discounted those words, but the idea was planted in my mind. She taught the young teens-all 4 or 5 of us-and every week opened the scriptures for us. She continually encouraged us to put the Lord first in our lives and impressed us with her love of the Scriptures. She also was a prayer warrior who continually lifted us up to the Lord. I wonder where I might be today without her encouragement and prayers. Who has played such a role in your lives? More importantly, who are you influencing today with your encouragement and prayers? Consider how… III. Barnabus’ Influence and Gift of Encouragement Spread The book of Acts records how the early church spread out of Jerusalem to Judea, then to Samaria and then other parts of the Roman Empire. Early in the growth of the church, a group of believers moved north to the Roman province of Syria to the city of Antioch. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, having an estimated population of 500,000. The church at Antioch began as primarily a Jewish church, but very soon a many Gentiles also were converted. Needing a lead Pastor/teacher, the Apostles tapped Barnabus as their man. After Barnabus’ arrival in Antioch, the church grew to the point of needing additional help, and Barnabus remembered the young man who had shown such potential: Saul of Tarsus. So Barnabus recruited Paul to help him Pastor the growing work in Antioch. But God had greater plans for this “Son of Encouragement”. After a year or so of teaching together, the Holy Spirit selected these two co-pastors as missionaries. Together, they set out. At first it was “Barnabus and Paul”. Soon it became “Paul and Barnabus”. Barnabus’ gift of encouragement was in operation again! Recognizing Paul’s giftedness, he stepped aside and let Paul take the lead. What humility and wisdom we see here! Paul later wrote in Philippians that we should consider others as more important than ourselves. Do we have any question from whom Paul learned this principle? Barnabus was always putting the welfare of others and the advance of the Kingdom of God ahead of himself. He encouraged the development of others’ gifts. He was an incredible builder of men. IV. Divide and Conquer Barnabus and Paul did not always agree. One example was the difference in their priorities. Barnabus saw discipleship, the building up of others, as his primary mission. He was good at it! Paul, on the other hand, was a type-A “Get-‘er-done”, goal-oriented planter of churches. We see this conflict of priorities in Acts 15:36-40—Read. Their disagreement came over the person of John Mark, Barnabus’ cousin. This young man had begun ministering with Paul and Barnabus on their first Missionary Journey, but for some reason he abandoned the mission early on. When setting out on their second missionary trip, Barnabus wanted to take John Mark along. But Paul saw John Mark as a liability, not an asset. This disagreement led to Paul and Barnabus splitting up, and two separate missionary teams were formed: one with Paul and Silas and the second with Barnabus and John Mark. Barnabus saw the potential in John Mark and came alongside him and nurtured his faith and gifts. We see the results later; John Mark is mentioned favorably in Colossians 4:10 as a co-laborer of Paul. Paul called Mark his fellow worker in the book of Philemon. Paul expressed a final tribute to Mark in 2 Timothy 4:11: (Paul’s words)” …Pick up Mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for service.” John Mark became a vital part of the early church. He is the author of the second Gospel which bears his name. I have little doubt that Barnabus’ gift of encouragement was crucial in John Mark’s spiritual growth. Barnabus’ contribution to the Kingdom cannot be overestimated. He built others up through his gift of encouragement. What can we learn from Barnabus? There is incredible value in encouragement. It is not difficult, and it is something we each can do. It is seeing potential in others and affirming the positive things we see. Barnabus served as a mentor to both Paul and John Mark. No doubt there were numerous others who were encouraged in their faith and ministry. You most likely have younger people in your life to which you could be an encouragement. It might be your children or grandchildren. It might be some of the young people with whom you rub shoulders. Understand that we live in a world where encouragement is scarce; this is one area where we Christians can really shine! You also can be an encourager to others you know, young and old. One of the Satan’s greatest weapons is discouragement. God counters this weapon with His gift of encouraging people. It doesn’t cost much to be an encourager; just a little effort and setting your mind to do so. But it will reap great benefits to the Kingdom. Just think of Barnabus!