Sermon Tone Analysis

Barnabas was a man who worked mainly behind the scenes.

He was a generous man in the cause of the Lord.

Not only in the matter of his finances but also in his personal influence.

He was one who took the time and effort to encourage people, and in fact the very name Barnabas means “the son of consolation.” in particular, God used him to rescue and restore his nephew John Mark, who had been dismissed from Paul’s missionary team, and he took a chance on Paul when no one else would.

All of us need encouragement from time to time, and we all remember time when a little encouragement made a great difference to us.

Perhaps we can also recall times when we were used by God to encourage someone else, and what a blessing that was to us as well.

Through the life of Barnabas, we will see how we can be encourages whom God can use to be great positive influences in the lives of others.

Introduction

Barnabas us an excellent illustration of someone we should all seek to imitate.

While sometimes we look at Paul and think I don’t do that or we look at Moses and may be intimidated by a man who was a leader to millions, Barnabas is someone who can be an example for each and every one of us.

Barnabas was an encourager, and one who made a difference in the lives of many others.

Gave to God

One of the most well-known verses in all of Scripture is John 3:16

John 3:16 a (KJV 1900)

For God so loved the world, that he gave...

God gave His Son; the Son gave His life.

Believers who truly desire to follow Jesus also will be involved in giving - and giving sacrificially.

The life of Barnabas is a wonderful example of someone who was willing to give to God.

He was generous both with his finances and with his personal influence.

A. Finance

God’s Word states in Matthew 6:21

Barnabas gave to the cause of Christ by selling his land.

It has been well said, regarding earthly treasures, that we cannot take them with us - but we can send them on ahead.

Those who trust God in the area of giving will find that they cannot out-give God.

B. Influence

Our influence - for good or for bad - can have a very powerful effect in the lives of others.

When Saul of Tarsus, who had been making havock - rampaging, ravaging, and devastating the church - claimed a sudden conversion and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord, people were undoubtedly skeptical of his statement and afraid of him.

Barnabas, however, realized that his conversion was real, and used his influence to bring him into the fellowship of the church.

The generosity of Barnabas in putting his own reputation on the line for the sake of a new believer undoubtedly made a great difference in the life of Paul, and therefore to all who have since been influenced by Paul.

Paul then spoke of the ongoing power of influence to the young pastor Timothy.

C.S. Lewis put it well when he said, “I’m afraid biblical charity is more than merely giving away that which we could afford to do without anyway.”

John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress wrote, “A man there was, and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had.”

Marguis de Lafayette was a French general and politician who joined the American Revolution and became a friend of George Washington.

An influential man in the U.S. and France, Lafayette was also a man of compassion.

The harvest of 1782 was a poor one, but the manager of his estate had filled his barns with wheat.

“The bad harvest has raised the price of wheat,” said his manager.

“This is the time to sell.”

Lafayette thought about the hungry peasants in the villages and replied, “No, this is the time to give.”

Real love is often measured by our willingness to let go of what we possess.

Served the Saints

Once people decide to give to God, they will also seek to serve.

The same attitude that leads a believer to be generous with his money and his influence will lead him also to give generously of his time and his abilities.

Here again, those who serve will themselves in imitation of Christ.

“O to be like thee, blessed redeemer” runs the old hymn - is that the desire or your heart?

Then be willing to give, and be willing to serve - and go beyond just being willing; live out that willingness on a daily basis.

As you faithfully do this, to quote another hymn, you will be “more like the master.”

In many ways, Barnabas illustrated Christ-likeness in his life.

He realized that the ministry was not all about him, but about being a blessing to those around him.

What is the difference in a job or ministry?

Do you have a job in the church or do you have a ministry?

There is a difference.

If you are doing it because not one else will, it’s a job.

If you’re doing it to serve the Lord, it’s a ministry.

If you are doing it just well enough to get by, it’s a job.

If you’re doing it to the best of your ability, it’s a ministry.

If you’ll do it only so long as it doesn't interfere with other activities, it’s a job.

If you’re committed to staying with it even when it means letting do of other things, it a ministry.

If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it’s a job.

If you stay with it even though no one seems to notice, it’s ministry.

It’s hard to get excited about a job.

It’s almost impossible not to about a ministry.

If your concern is success, it’s job.

If your concern is faithfulness, it’s a ministry.

An average church is filled with people doing jobs.

A great church is filled with people who are performing a ministry.

Exhorted the Saints

The biblical word cleave here means “to bond in a very personal way” Barnabas urged the Christians to done with the Lord.

Think of strong glue that you might use around your home to “bond things together.

What an amazing challenge for believers today - that our words and lives would encourage other people to literally become one with the Lord.

Barnabas wanted the believers to cleave to the Lord in a very personal and possessive way.

Encouraged His Brother

There is no question that the body of Christ as a whole needs encouragement.

Proverbs 16:21 says that

Proverbs 16:21 b (KJV 1900)

… And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

Truth taught in an encouraging manner will be more effective.

Barnabas demonstrated this Old Testament truth in his New Testament life, as he deliberately went looking for Saul and brought him into the fellowship of believers in Antioch.

Is it possible that the Christ-likeness of this man Barnabas - a man who would seek someone who was considered an enemy, for the purpose of bringing him back for a wonderful reconciliation and great usefulness - is what prompted other to bestow the tern “Christian” on those believers?

He loved the Unlovely

There would have been very few who would have met Saul of Tarsus without struggling with feelings of reproach and disdain; yet, Barnabas knew that Saul was a new creature in Christ.

Often times, church families seem to take a “wait and see” attitude with new believers.

This is wrong.

The Bible teaches us that they are now new creatures in Christ and should be treated in a way that reflects this reality.

He loved the Gentiles

Barnabas did not only love Jews who came to Christ: he also loved the Gentiles.

He realized that Christ loved the Gentile as He did the Jew.

Paul and Barnabas began to minister to the Gentiles and share what Christ had done with a group of people who were looked upon with haughty disdain by the mainstream Jewish populace.

Before you arrogantly condemn these Jews as foolish and prideful, ask yourself, “What groups are looked down upon today by the church, that the Lord would have us reach out to? Maybe the homeless, the unwed mother, drug addict, or alcoholic?

There is no doubt that God loves these people just as much as He loves you.

Barnabas realized this and would certainly have reached out to them as well.

A beautiful illustration of someone who loved the unlovely can be found in Amy Carmichael.

Amy was born in 1867, and, after hearing Hudson Taylor speak, felt God calling her to a mission field.

Amy spent 55 years in India without ever taking a single furlough.

She founded an orphanage and a mission there.

She was in the ministry of reaching that group of people whom Jesus called, “least of these.”

This giving woman began her ministry by developing a Sunday school class for girls who she call “shawlies.”

These were young ladies who could not afford to own even a hat.

Several people wrote her while in India and asked what missionary life was like.

She lovingly answered, “Missionary life is simply a chance to die.”

After her life to reaching as many of the unlovely as she could, Amy Carmichael declared, “One can give without loving, bu one cannot love without giving.”