Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / Men of the New Testament: "Barnabas" by Barrett Hammer - Part 3

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Men of the New Testament: "Barnabas" by Barrett Hammer - Part 3 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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So, for those of you who don't attend here or are visiting with us, throughout the summer
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we'll have different men that will teach each Wednesday night.
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So, our first class was John the Baptist, and then I think last week Dale did Apollos,
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I think.
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So, we're going to be talking about Barnabas tonight.
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I'm sure most of you know who Barnabas is, or you've heard the story of Barnabas.
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Barnabas, we know as the son of encouragement.
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But I want to start off class tonight with a question, and that is, who is someone that
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has encouraged you at a crucial moment in your life?
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It could be something to do with religion, it could be something to do with your work,
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whatever.
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But who is someone that has encouraged you?
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I know for me it's probably several people that are sitting here in this room.
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But who has encouraged you at some point in your life?
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Dave?
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Yeah, Miller?
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You know, early in my Christian walk, there was a young preacher here in Chicago at the
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time, and he was young and I was young, you can tell how long ago that was.
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But I remember he called me one night and said, Miller, I've got to go out and visit
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John here.
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I said, I want you to ride with me, we're going to visit.
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I said, yeah?
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Yeah.
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He said, how are you doing?
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I said, he's a graduate.
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And so he started this process of mentoring me.
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And it really changed a lot about my Christian walk.
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Yeah, I think we all could point out someone in our lives that's had a big impact on us
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or has been an encouragement.
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You know, and when we think about maybe biblical heroes or whatever you want to call them,
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we really don't think about Barnabas.
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We think about people maybe like David or Moses or Paul even, which we'll talk about
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him just a little bit as we go in our lesson a little deeper here tonight.
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But some of the most important people, I think, in Scripture can be those who quietly encouraged
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or supported others or lifted others up, not just the standout people of the Bible.
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So Barnabas is one of these people.
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Barnabas, without him, Paul may have never been accepted by the church.
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The church at Antioch might not have grown the way that it did.
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So there's lots of things that happen because of Barnabas.
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So Barnabas teaches us, though, that encouragement can change lives, but also, I think we'll
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see as we go along in our lesson, that he also helped shape history.
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So who was Barnabas?
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Let's open our Bibles to Acts chapter 4.
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Most of our Scripture is going to come from the book of Acts.
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Acts chapter 4, verse 32.
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And that says,
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Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul.
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Neither did anyone say that any of these things he possessed was his own, but they had all
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things in common.
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And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
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And great grace was upon them all.
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Nor was there anyone among them who lacked, for all who were possessors of land or houses
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sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the
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apostles' feet, and they distributed each as anyone had need.
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And Joseph, which if you're, this is the New King James, but NIV and some other translations
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would say Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of
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encouragement, a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the
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money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
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So his real name was Joseph, and it says he was a Levite from Cyprus.
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They called him Barnabas.
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That was basically, I would call that a nickname, which means son of encouragement.
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But while we're talking about encouragement, what exactly does encouragement mean?
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In your own words, what's the definition of encouragement?
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Motivating someone to do better.
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Okay.
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Anybody else?
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Bill?
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It builds you up.
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Builds you up.
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Yeah.
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So I've got the act of giving hope, confidence, or support to someone, making them more likely
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to achieve a goal.
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And as I was preparing for the lesson, I brought out this book that had the Barnabas Factor
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by Aubrey Johnson, and he called the Barnabas Factor, he says Barnabas Factor is the recognizing
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the importance of encouragement in human development and utilizing its power to advance
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spiritual aims, inspiring others to live with greater hope, confidence, and determination.
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So I think the apostles saw encouragement as such a defining characteristic of his life
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that that Barnabas name became his identity.
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We know people in our everyday lives that are called something and they're recognized
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by another name because of the characteristic traits that they portray.
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I mean, me and the kids have been watching the NBA Finals, and one of the guys, Victor
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Wimignana, plays for the Spurs, he's probably got two or three nicknames, but the one stands
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out to me is some people call him the alien because he's so not human-like in how he plays
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basketball.
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But we could name many people throughout, Deion Sanders, the famous running back, Prime
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Time was his nickname, and so we could go on and on, but Barnabas, I feel like, would
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have received this name because of what they thought of him.
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So he was known as the encourager.
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He was generous, he sold a field, gave the money to support the church, the believers,
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he showed compassion, he trusted in God, he had to sacrifice in order to give that up,
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and that showed a commitment, I think, as well.
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Was he seeking any recognition for that?
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Do we see that anywhere in what we've read so far?
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I don't think he was seeking any recognition, he just simply wanted to help.
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So lesson number one here is going to be encouragement in itself could be a very powerful
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ministry.
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Many people think that ministry just happens up here in the pulpit, or Hiram and Neil are
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the only ones that can, you know, the people in the spotlight, I guess, if you will.
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But being a good Christian leader, most of that happens behind the scenes, and I think
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we see that with Barnabas.
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So Barnabas reminds us that encouraging people and supporting others, giving generously,
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and helping believers is a ministry in itself.
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So some people, most people, are not going to preach publicly, but we all can change
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lives through encouragement.
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1 Thessalonians 5.11 says, therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just
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as in fact you are doing.
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So why do you think encouragement then is so important to the church, or can be so important
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to the church here today?
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Why is it a very important thing that has to happen or go on?
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We're getting hit by all directions and can be discouraged, so we need that encouragement.
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Why else would encouragement be important to the church today?
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It does.
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It brings comfort in someone's life.
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You know, we...
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Go ahead, Matt.
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It helps you keep on going.
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Yeah, sometimes we get down and we need that encouragement to lift back up or lift others
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up.
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Joey?
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Sometimes we have doubts in ourselves that even if we do things, sometimes still doubts
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that we did well or that we would have done better if we made that money.
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That's right.
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Encouragement.
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Helps with that.
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Yeah.
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When I leave here tonight, I'm probably going to have doubts.
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Did I mess that all up or did I say something that was misspoke or whatever?
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But yeah, we all have doubts, so encouragement is huge.
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We just left camp last week, and for those that have been to camp, or for those that
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haven't been to camp, we have mailboxes that are basically just big, giant envelopes that
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have everyone's name on there, and throughout the week, the kids, the staff, they all write
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down things on those note cards and they put them in, you know, different kids' mailboxes.
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They may put them in the staff mailboxes, and those cards are basically little notes
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of encouragement.
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And since my oldest kid's been going to camp, to even Corbin and Kara, when we get home
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from camp, as soon as we get home, we've got all those envelopes right there, and that's
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one of the first things they do is go through, including myself, I get, I look at my own
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envelope and see who's wrote, you know, cards of encouragement.
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That's one of the things they do, and they keep all those.
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They probably still have them from years and years to where they can look back and
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see some good words that were, good words of encouragement that other kids or the staff
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that had written.
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And another thing that gives me encouragement is, just like Grant led us in Devo here, I
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was looking through the directory before we came, and I mean, it's like 60 different men
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that would get up here and lead a Devo on Wednesday night, and I think that's huge,
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because I think not only does it give them encouragement, but it gives me, everyone else
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encouragement as well.
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And Brady, I'm going to pick on you, are you in here?
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Is Brady in here?
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There you are.
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So, Brady did our Devo on Wednesday night at camp, and I told him I was going to rob
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one of his lines, and I think this is actually Peyton Manning, he might have said it, I'm
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not real sure, but it said, treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is, and treat
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a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be, and I think encouragement can
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do that.
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We can look at people and see what their potential is, and encourage them in order to, and support
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them in order to reach that potential.
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Let's see, Barnabas believed in people others rejected.
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That's going to be the next thing we talk about.
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So let's look at Acts chapter 9.
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Acts chapter 9, let's start out, we'll start out in verse 23 here, Acts 9, 23, now after
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many days were passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul.
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And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
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Then the disciples took him by night and led him down through the wall in a large basket.
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And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid
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of him.
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They did not believe that he was a disciple.
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But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had
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seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly
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at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
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So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out, and he spoke boldly in the
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name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill
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him.
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When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
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Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.
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And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were
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multiplied.
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So, what had Saul been doing kind of up until this point?
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Yeah, he was doing things that weren't so good.
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Arresting believers, he approved of Stephen's execution.
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So he had created this fear among people.
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And then he encounters Jesus, he becomes a believer, but then there's a problem.
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The people didn't trust him at that point.
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You know, and imagine how they felt.
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They might have thought, well, can he really change, or is this some kind of trap, or is
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he pretending?
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So it says that they were afraid of Saul.
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But then Barnabas steps in, and Barnabas kind of becomes this bridge between Saul and the
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church.
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And Barnabas, obviously, he listened to Saul, he believed him, and he defended him.
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And then he introduced him to the others.
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So he was giving him a chance.
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And I think this is a pivotal moment, really, that changed history.
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Without Barnabas, Paul's ministry might have been delayed.
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Maybe possibly never accepted.
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I realize God's working in all this, and it's part of God's plan.
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But think about what this bridge was between Saul and the people.
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So lesson number two, godly people look beyond someone's past.
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So Barnabas saw not just who Saul had been, but he saw who God was making him become.
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So encouragers are always helping people move toward God's future for their lives.
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Some people are trapped.
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They're trapped in failures, past mistakes, addiction, broken relationships, those kind
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of things.
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Things that we see that Saul did.
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But we see that Barnabas teaches us not to define those people only by their worst moments.
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Why do churches today, or why do we as people, struggle to accept those that have truly changed
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or have repented?
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But why is it a struggle for us sometimes still?
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Yeah, or maybe we think we're better than someone else, or that's not happened to us.
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So there's all kinds of things.
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But what else would be some struggles that we have and why we don't accept changed people?
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Maybe we perceive that it's not genuine.
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That's right.
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So are we people, are there people today that we tend to write off too quickly?
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I know I do sometimes and don't realize it, but there are people that we tend to not encourage
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or shy away from because of their past or their past struggles.
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I think we as a church are jaded by the world.
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Folks in the world may say something, change in their ways or whatever, and they've heard
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But when it happens in the church and people change, maybe it's because we're jaded and we're thinking
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about the worldly folks maybe in our subconscious and maybe that's the reason.
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Thinking about the worldly folks and not the, yeah.
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And we need to realize that these are fellow followers of Christ.
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If they've changed, let's accept it and forget the past.
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And a key into all the encouragement, which may go unsaid, is you've got to love people.
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You do.
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You've got to have a genuine interest in folks.
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Yeah, we talked about the fruits of the spirit during camp and love was our last lesson
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and love kind of encompasses all the other fruits really.
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So yeah, love is huge and that's a big part of it.
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So, alright, moving on.
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Barnabas encouraged spiritual growth.
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Our next reading is going to come from Acts 11, if you'll turn there with me.
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Acts 11, verse 19.
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Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as
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Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
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But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene who, when they had come to Antioch,
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spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
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And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
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Then the news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem,
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and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.
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When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all
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that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.
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For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,
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and a great many people were added to the Lord.
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Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul,
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and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.
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So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church,
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and they taught a great many people,
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and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
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So the growing church basically formed here,
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and when the Jerusalem church heard about it, what did they do?
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They sent Barnabas.
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But why did they send Barnabas?
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Why would they send him?
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The church needed some encouragement, and they needed a spark.
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I think they obviously thought he was probably trustworthy,
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he was mature, and he was encouraging.
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So in Acts 11.23 it says,
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When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad.
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He encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
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He didn't criticize, he didn't become jealous,
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he didn't tear people down,
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but he was encouraging believers, strengthening the church.
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Then we see in Acts 11.25 it says,
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He went to Tarsus, he went to find Saul.
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Barnabas obviously recognized that Paul had gifts,
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and he wanted to invite him into teaching others.
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So for a whole year, Barnabas and Paul taught together.
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The church grew, and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
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So lesson number three is,
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Great leaders develop other leaders.
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So Barnabas was humble enough to share the gospel to others,
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empower others, help others succeed.
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Weak leaders feel threatened by gifted people like Paul.
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But strong leaders develop gifted people.
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Barnabas did not need to be the center of attention.
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Later on, we'll see what happens.
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It goes from Barnabas to Saul to what?
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Paul to Barnabas.
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Barnabas kind of rises to the top.
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I'm sorry, Paul kind of rises to the top.
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So Paul becomes more prominent, more well-known.
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But Barnabas, he remained faithful.
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And I read this in a book the other day while I was preparing it.
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It said, some of you may have heard this,
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but it said that one day a reporter approached Leonard Bernstein,
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the composer and conductor of the New York Philharmonic,
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and asked, what's the hardest instrument to play?
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And he replied, second fiddle.
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First violin gets all the attention and all the solos,
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while second and third violins provide harmony.
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Still, their parts are exceedingly important.
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It's a challenge to come to every practice,
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put in just as much emotion and effort into their parts
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as first violins do.
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And that's hard for us sometimes to, you know,
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we're putting in just as much effort to not be the one
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that is maybe getting all the attention, that kind of thing.
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But that didn't bother Barnabas at all.
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We see this in sports all the time.
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Who wins the most football games most of the time?
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Which player?
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Well, the kicker usually wins.
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The kicker is the one who, you know, sometimes scores the winning point.
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But who gets the MVP?
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The quarterback does.
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You know, he's the one that's out front.
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Go ahead.
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The verse 24 explains all that you need to know about Barnabas.
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For he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and faith.
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That's why he did what he did.
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That's why he had the effect that he had.
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Yeah, and then the next thing it said,
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a great many people were added to the Lord because of that.
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So that's great.
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So let's always ask ourselves, are we helping others grow spiritually?
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Are we mentoring younger believers?
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Or are we threatened by people who may have more talents
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or we perceive as more gifted than others?
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Or let's ask ourselves, do we celebrate others' successes?
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We see some humility here.
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So why is humility essential in being a Christian
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or being a good Christian leader?
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Was Jesus humble?
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Absolutely.
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Why else would humility be essential to what we do as Christians?
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Bill?
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Bill?
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It takes yourself out of the way.
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Yeah, part of being an encourager is putting others before yourself.
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So how can we then encourage spiritual growth in others?
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How do we do that?
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What are some things we can do?
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So modeling Christ's example, that's right.
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Anybody else?
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So empower other people.
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All right, Barnabas was also willing to take risk for God.
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Let's look at Acts 13.
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Acts 13, verse 1 through 5.
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Now in the church that was at Antioch,
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there were certain prophets and teachers,
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Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger,
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Lucius of Cyrene, Manan,
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who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch,
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and Saul, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
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the Holy Spirit said,
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Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
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Then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them,
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they sent them away.
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So being sent out by the Holy Spirit,
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they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
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And when they arrived in Salamis,
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they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.
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They also had John as their assistant.
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So they're sent out to do this work.
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But what does it say that they did, that the church did here?
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Be in verse 3.
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What's something that's important that stands out there to you?
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They prayed.
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Prayed, they fasted, and then they sent them out.
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So Barnabas was willingly left,
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what I would call something more comfortable, more stable,
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but he left in order to go spread the gospel.
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There are other people that we learn about, read about in the Bible
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who have also taken risk.
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A lot of people have taken risk for God.
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Paul later on obviously took risk and it got him.
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Where did it get him?
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He was put in prison.
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You've got Queen Esther who approached the king Xerxes
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in order to try to save the people,
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which coming to him uninvited probably wasn't the right thing to do.
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But she did that and he ended up setting them free.
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So there are people all throughout the Bible who take risk,
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and they take those risks for God.
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And we see that Barnabas was doing this as well.
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Because on missionary, when you're out doing missionary,
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you're on the missionary journeys and you're preaching and doing all that,
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what are they running into when they're going to these places?
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Are they running into any opposition?
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Absolutely.
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Are they running into any rejection?
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And how does that feel when we have opposition and rejection?
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It takes us out of our comfort zone.
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It doesn't feel very good.
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And so he's still willing to do this and take the risk of that.
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So Barnabas, he continued faithfully.
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So lesson number four, encouragers also need courage.
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Sometimes people think encouraging personalities are weak,
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but Barnabas proves otherwise.
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Encouragement requires courage
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because standing with rejected people takes courage.
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Imagine standing up for someone or defending someone like he was defending Saul.
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Imagine us doing that today.
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It takes some courage.
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Supporting others takes sacrifice.
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It takes something away from ourselves.
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Barnabas showed both compassion and also he was very courageous.
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So we as believers also should be sharing our faith boldly
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and helping people who are hurting.
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But that puts us in some uncomfortable situations sometimes.
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But we still should try to step out of our comfort zones whenever we encounter that.
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What fears, though, keep Christians from serving boldly like Barnabas did?
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What kind of fears do we have today?
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Fear of rejection.
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What else?
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What's that?
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Too little knowledge.
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Okay.
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Maybe our friends won't talk to us anymore
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or maybe my co-worker don't like to sit next to me anymore
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because of what I've said or tried to say.
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But all kinds of different things come into play.
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All right, we've got about ten minutes,
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so I'm going to move on so I can try to get through the material.
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Barnabas believed in second chances.
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Let's look at Acts 15.
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Acts 15, verse 36-41.
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Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas,
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let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city
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where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they're doing.
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Now Barnabas was determined to take with him John, called Mark.
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But Paul insisted that they should not take with them
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the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia
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and had not gone with them to the work.
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Then the contention became so sharp that they departed from one another.
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And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.
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But Paul chose Silas and departed,
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being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
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And he went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches.
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So what's happened now with Paul and Barnabas?
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They've had a little spat, right?
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Mark had previously left them earlier on,
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and Paul, he obviously didn't like that.
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He viewed that as maybe unreliable.
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That was what he was thinking.
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But Barnabas wanted to give Mark another chance.
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So they separated.
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The Bible doesn't say that Barnabas is perfect.
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We're not perfect.
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We all have disagreements.
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We have disagreements with family members, our friends,
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people we go to church with.
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But he continued encouraging and restoring people.
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Still carried out.
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That's right.
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And we'll talk about that here in just a little bit.
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So later on, Mark eventually matured.
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And Paul mentions this in 2 Timothy 4, verse 11.
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He says,
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Get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
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So now he's helpful in Paul's ministry.
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So Barnabas saw this potential in Mark before others did.
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And I think it's real important.
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Could be a blessing.
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Yeah.
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You're able to.
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That's right.
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Yeah, that's right.
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That's a good one.
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God can turn division into multiplication.
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Okay.
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We've got about six minutes here.
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So lesson number five is godly people help restore failures.
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Barnabas understood failure does not have to be final.
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Everyone needs grace.
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Lots of people failed.
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Peter failed.
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David failed.
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Moses failed.
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We failed.
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But God can still use them.
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He can still use us.
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So giving second chances doesn't mean ignoring accountability.
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Why are second chances important, do you think, for us today?
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We all need them.
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Yeah.
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Why else are second chances important?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, that's right.
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And, you know, what happens when people are never allowed to recover from their failures
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or from what happens to them?
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What happens then?
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The outcome's not near as good.
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We're not allowed to recover from failures.
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But when someone's always bringing that up or putting you down
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or looking at your past, it's very hard.
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So you need that encouragement to be uplifted.
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Some of our greatest victories come from our failures.
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Not a huge history buff, but, you know, sure it's nice and light in here.
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I think there were several failures before.
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Before the lights, yeah, light bulb.
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But we all learn from our mistakes.
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Yeah.
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We learn how not to make mistakes, not to make the same mistake,
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and how not to make that mistake as a form of encouragement.
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I think that's where the humility comes in, that none of us have the right.
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Right.
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Yeah, Joe?
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I was going to say with, like, the prodigal son,
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if you think about, like, his attitude before he left
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and then he gets a second chance to come back to live,
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how different is he than he was to start with,
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so he can give himself a problem.
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That's right.
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That's right, yeah, exactly.
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Be careful not to read more than the Scripture says.
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The Scripture never says left.
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It doesn't.
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And we turn around and we know why he left.
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We don't know the reason.
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It's a judgment on our part to turn around and to do.
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You have to remember Barnabas, who was a good enough in Mark,
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Mark who was a good enough,
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Barnabas was willing to take Mark with him.
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You never can do to Mark what he does.
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He doesn't.
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It just says that he left, yeah.
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And not put more in the Scriptures than what the Scripture says.
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Yeah, it just says that he left,
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but we also see that people like Barnabas,
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we can have arguments, we can have something that happens
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that causes us to disagree, but then good come from that.
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We see that here pretty.
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Bill?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, and we don't know why Mark left.
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Maybe he got tired, maybe he got scared,
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maybe who knows what.
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But yeah, I agree with you.
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We shouldn't read into it,
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but there's still lessons that we can learn from what we have here.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, we could go on and on about people.
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I mean, most of the people did have failures
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that we even consider what I would call biblical heroes.
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I mean, we shouldn't be surprised by it.
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That's right, yeah.
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So, just real quickly, the bell's getting ready to ring.
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Just some major lessons we can learn from Barnabas
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is that encouragement changes lives.
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Small acts of encouragement can have enormous impact.
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That can be a conversation, a prayer, just a kind word,
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just a word of confidence.
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But Barnabas changed lives by strengthening others.
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Also, see potential in people.
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He saw what people could become
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instead of focusing on someone's past like Saul's past.
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Number three, invest in others.
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He developed leaders,
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and we also should help others grow as Christians.
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And then number four, and I'll let you go,
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generosity reflects God's heart.
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Barnabas, we see, used his resources to bless others,
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and that's all I've got.
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So thank you guys for your attention.
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Great class, thanks.