#21 Encourage One Another pt. 2

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“BARNABAS–SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT”

The Lord has given us a dynamic New Testament example of a man who encouraged others—and why he was such an encourager. His name was Joseph, but the apostles changed it to Barnabas—which means “son of encouragement.”We first meet Barnabas in the midst of an economic crisis. He demonstrated unusual generosity in helping care for needy believers in Jerusalem. He was a capable businessman from Cyprus who had invested wisely in real estate in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Seeing the need to help the apostles meet the physical needs of those new Christians who had decided to stay in Jerusalem, he voluntarily sold “a field he owned” and gave the entire proceeds to the apostles to distribute among these new converts.

A Generous Man

Why did the Holy Spirit inspire Luke to record this event so we could read about it nearly two thousands years later? First, the Lord wants us to be exposed to His example of generosity. Second, the Lord wants all of us to know that generous people are real encouragers. Ask any pastor or Christian leader what encourages them the most in carrying out God’s work! Invariably, they will respond by stating that Christians who generously support the ministry with their monetary gifts remove a great burden from their shoulders—which is why these people are a great source of encouragement.

A People Person

Acts 9:26-30

But Barnabas was also an “encourager” because of his devotion to people. When Paul returned to Jerusalem—approximately three years following his conversion ()—he was still greatly suspect. Luke recorded that “he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (). They were convinced he was feigning his conversion in order to get “inside the system”—and then at the right moment to strike out as he had done before! Though several years had gone by, they had not forgotten how this man had orchestrated Stephen’s death and introduced an all-out attack against the church (8:1-3).But Barnabas had developed a deep relationship with Paul. He knew this former persecutor was for real. He had the courage to go directly to the “top”—to the apostles—in order to intervene for his friend (9:27).Any time you believe in someone, you are taking a risk. Barnabas was willing to take that risk—but not on blind faith. He had taken time to get the facts about Paul—to discover the truth. First, he told the apostles that Paul “had seen the Lord.” Second, he knew that “the Lord spoke” directly to Paul. Third, he had heard him preach “fearlessly in the name of Jesus” while in Damascus (9:27). Barnabas also knew that Paul had to flee for his own life because of his bold stand for the Gospel (9:23-25).Encouragers give people the benefit of the doubt. Even when other people are skeptical or simply refuse to get involved in helping someone who needs a character reference, encouragers take time to get the facts—just like Barnabas—and then “step up to the plate” and “go to bat” for that person.

An Impartial Christian

There is another very important reason why Barnabas was such an encourager. He was free from prejudice. Following the intense persecution in Jerusalem, a number of Jewish believers “traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews” (11:19). Even the apostles still believed the Gospel was a message for Jews only. But Luke recorded that “men from Cyprus and Cyrene [Grecian Jews like Barnabas] . . . began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus” (11:20). Consequently, many of these Gentiles believed in the Gospel and were saved.This was a great surprise to the Jewish Christians who lived in Jerusalem. Struggling with deep prejudice in their hearts—even as Christians—they concluded that they had no choice but to respond to what was happening. But who would go? Who would be willing to go? Finally, they decided to send Barnabas to Antioch in order to encourage these people in their faith (11:22).The message is clear. Barnabas was a fair-minded man. He had lived among the Gentiles for years. He did business with them. He had eaten with them. He knew they were God’s creation just like himself. He was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit”—the one Jesus identified as the parakletos (an encourager) (). When he arrived in Antioch and “saw the evidence of the grace of God” in these Gentiles’ lives, “he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts” (11:23).Only people who are free from prejudice can get truly excited about the good things that happen to people who are different from them. This is another reason that Joseph’s name was changed to Barnabas—“son of encouragement.” He was an impartial Christian.

Are You an Encourager Like Barnabas?

The following questions will help you do a reality check in your own life: Are you a generous Christian?Are you giving to the Lord’s work on a regular basis?Are you a trusting Christian? Do you believe in people, seeing the best in them? Do you take time to really get to know people?Are you an accepting Christian? Do you accept others as Christ accepted you? () More specifically, are you free from prejudice? Or do you believe that you are better than other people because of your ethnic or religious background?

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER

Step 1: Learn to use the Word of God.

All Christians must realize how important the Word of God is in building up others within the body of Christ. And all Christians must be challenged to learn what God’s Word says. They must be ready to share the Word with others who are in special need of encouragement. In other words, Christians cannot mutually encourage one another with Scripture if they are not familiar with Scripture. Therefore, encourage each believer in your church to study the Word of God—not only for personal growth, but to be able to assist others in their growth.

Step 2: Allow the Holy Spirit to minister through all members of the body.

I read a story from a pastor this last week who noticed a man walk into a “small group” one day who had not been present for many months. The pastor knew he was having a moral problem, and was the only one present who paid particular attention to his being there and one of the very few who knew he had a problem. As a body, we “happened” to be sharing Scripture with one another. To this pastor’s amazement, one after another, people shared verses that had a direct bearing on this man’s problem. Those who shared, of course, knew nothing of this man’s moral problem. But the Holy Spirit did—and the pastor was allowed to see God at work in a dramatic way through various members of Christ’s body. If we were to go around the room, I would venture to guess that each of us could come up with a story similar to that one. I firmly believe that this kind of experience should not be a rare one. Rather, our churches should be structured so that it can happen regularly. If we will only study the principles of Scripture and develop patterns that are biblically and culturally related, I believe God will do great things through His people. And this leads to our final step.

Step 3: Evaluate your church structures.

Many churches are not designed for “body function” but for “preacher function.” Only the pastor or minister or some other teacher is delegated to share the Word of God with others in the church. Some pastors insist on being the only interpreter of Scripture. The Bible teaches that every Christian must be involved in this process. All Christians are to “speak the truth in love.”Don’t misunderstand! It’s very important for a pastor or teacher to open the Word of God through an extended exposition and message. I and Josh do this nearly every weekend. But it should not be the only means for communication. The Scriptures also place a strong emphasis on mutual and informal teaching.Christians should meet together for the body of Christ to function—to encourage one another. This is why Paul wrote to the Colossians: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom ().What about our church? What are the patterns like? Is there freedom for every member of the body of Christ to function—“to encourage one another” and “to build one another up”? As we grow we need to make sure this structure exists, as a congregation you need to be asking the leaders about this. As we move into the future and develop our vision for Othello First Baptist Church expect to hear more about this.