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Learning from Barnabas: The Power of Encouragement · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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All right, if you will, open your Bibles to Acts chapter 4
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and we'll look there at the end of the chapter here in just a
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moment. Dwayne takes him earlier this
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week and asked if I could take the class for him.
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So I said, all right, I think he's supposed to be back next
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week, but then that'll be the end of the quarter.
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So I don't know, I don't know what's coming after that.
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But so this morning, you know, Dwayne's been talking about the
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kings in the Old Testament and looking at some, some different
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individuals that we have, you know, some shorter, some longer
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records of them. But now I want to go to the New
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Testament and, and do a different type of character
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study this morning. I want us to take a look at at
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Barnabas this morning. Some people might refer to him
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as a, a minor Bible character. I guess if you can classify
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people as major or, or minor, we, we do the prophets that way.
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I know. And usually it just has to do
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with how much information we have on them or maybe how many,
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how many words, how many pages it takes up in in Scripture to
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talk about them. So, so we might classify
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Barnabas as a little bit of a, a minor Bible character.
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He may not have been known as one of the great preachers of
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the New Testament, but he was he was labeled as a prophet in Acts
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chapter 13 and verse one. But he is the kind of man that
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every congregation really depends on.
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When you when you think back through your mind about the
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people that you have known and specifically Christians that you
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have known, I would dare say there's probably at least one
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person that comes to mind that you would say.
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That person is kind of like what we would expect Barnabas to be
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had we known him in person. We need people in the church who
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are like Barnabas was. So we're going to take a look
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this morning and and look at four or five different things
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that that we find in Scripture that describe for us what kind
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of a man Barnabas was. And, and really the idea is to
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to take some of these characteristics and try to
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emulate those in our own lives. So the first thing we're going
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to look at here in Acts Chapter 4 there near the end of the
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chapter, we find out that that Barnabas was a very generous
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man. What is what's that first thing
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we we see him doing there in Acts chapter 4 when we first
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read about Barnabas, what is he doing?
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All right, yeah. Look at verse 36.
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It says Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas,
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which is being interpreted the son of Consolation, a Levite and
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other 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 it says that he is from Cyprus.
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What do we know about Cyprus? What, what is that?
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What kind of what kind of land is Cyprus?
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It's an island. Yeah, as it's an island there in
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in the Mediterranean Sea. You know, I, I don't know what
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the, you know, monetary value of it would have been.
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We're not told that, you know, we, we think of, you know,
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waterfront property as being very valuable.
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Perhaps it was, perhaps it was a valuable piece of property.
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We don't know. But we do know that he sold it
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and gave that money to the church.
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Did he have perhaps other land? It's possible.
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Again, we don't know. All we're told is that he had
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this land, whatever its value. He sold that land and he brought
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that money and and gave it to the apostles.
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He's the only one who is mentioned in a complimentary way
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in connection with this. Were there other Christians who
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did something similar about that time?
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Sure, yeah, sure. Look back at verse 34.
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Neither was there any among them that lagged for as many as were
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possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices
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of the things that were sold laid them.
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Now the apostle speed and distribution was made unto every
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man according as he had needs. So, so there were others who did
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similar things, but we don't know what their names are we,
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we, they don't have some mentioned in Scripture.
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So he's he's the only one that's mentioned in a complimentary way
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specifically in regard to this. But we can we can see that that
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he understood what Jesus was talking about in Matthew chapter
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6 verses 19 and 20, when Jesus said don't lay up for yourself
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treasures on earth where thieves breakthrough and steal, but let
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yourself treasures in heaven where thieves don't breakthrough
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or steal for where your treasure is there were your Harvey.
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Also Jesus said, though Barnabas may not necessarily have heard
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those words in person. He understood the principle
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right. He was not a man who was who
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allowed himself to be to be controlled by his material
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possessions. Stark difference between
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Barnabas in that respect and and so many of people in today's
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world right What what what is what do we it's society wise,
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not us specifically, but society wise.
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What do we often consider is, is success in this life?
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Yeah, there you go. Yeah, He who dies with the most
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toys wins, Right. And that's why I'm I'm so glad
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that that that Derek hammers that question home with with,
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with not just the little ones, but with all of us because we
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need that good reminder all the time.
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What is a successful life? It's living your life and going
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to heaven. It's not necessarily the one who
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who owns the most property. It's not necessarily the one who
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who is head of the biggest company or the one who has the
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most money. If you have those things, you
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can use them for for good and for the advancement of the
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church and for the glory of God. But you don't have to have those
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in order to be pleasing to God. But you know, it's not only rich
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people that have problems with physical possessions.
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Some of you know, I spent two years in full time mission work
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in Russia and, and one of the, the things that we dealt with
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the most over there was materialism.
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And it wasn't just wealthy people, those who we would
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consider on the, on the, the lower end of the economic scale,
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they were just often just as material materialistically
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minded as those who had money. They were always looking for
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some way that they could, you know, cheat the government to
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get more money or whatever it was.
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That was, that was what they were all almost always looking
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for to, to make more materially. But Barnabas was not that kind
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of person. He, he had this, this property
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and he decided the church needed it.
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There were those who were in need and he brought that to the,
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to the apostles. The interesting to me as well,
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when when he when he brings this money to the apostles, did did
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he tell them how they had to use it?
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Yeah, I, I have actually heard, I can't and thankful I can't
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remember who this is, but I've actually heard a person say
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that, that he, I don't remember if he said he didn't give or if
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he just didn't give as much as he he is, he otherwise would on
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Sundays in the contribution because he didn't always approve
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where the elder spent the money. I mean, if you've got a problem
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like that, perhaps, you know, you need to find a different
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congregation or, or, or talk to your elders and, and let them
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know what your concerns are. But to me, that just sounds like
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somebody who's a little bit of a control freak.
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And again, I can't remember exactly who this was, so I
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don't, I don't know the rest of the person's personality.
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But Barnabas didn't bring this money to the apostles and say,
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hey, I'm only going to give you this money if you do XY and Z
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with it. No, he he gave it to the
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apostles and he trusted that they were going to use it in the
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in the best way possible. People also do the same thing
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about if you'll name something after.
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The building or. Whatever.
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Yeah, yeah. That that wasn't Barnabas
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either. Matter of fact, we'll talk a
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little bit similar to that in a little bit.
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But not only was he was he generous in a material way, we
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could say that he was he was generous of heart or generous of
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had generous judgment. Look back at look over at Acts
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Chapter 9. We're going to see his
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interactions with two different people that will sort of show
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this part of his personality to us.
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Acts Chapter 9 in verse 26, you remember Paul has Saul rather
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has become a Christian and he has started preaching almost
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immediately and he has preached in Damascus to the point that
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they have run him out of town. You remember they had to the
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Christians there had to help him escape and he's trying to go to
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to Jerusalem and and become a part of the the congregation
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there in Jerusalem. And, you know, understandably,
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they're a little bit hesitant. I mean, you know, if I was in
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their shoes, I probably would have been the same way.
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You know, all you know about this guy's, he's gone all over
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the place killing people, throwing him in prison because
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they, because they were Christians.
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And now he's here, he's walking through our doors and he wants
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to be a part. Yeah, I think I'd have been a
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little bit nervous with them as well.
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But. But what does Barnabas do?
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Look, there you go. Look at verse 26, Acts Chapter
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9. When Psalms come to Jerusalem,
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he has say to join himself to the disciples, but they were all
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afraid of him, and believe not that he was a disciple.
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I mean they just they thought he was lying.
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Verse 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles
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and declare unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and
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that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at
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Damascus in the name of Jesus. You know, Barnabas could have,
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he could have handled this, this situation, you know, a lot of
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different ways. You know, he could have done
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what some people they do and use some excuse like, you know, it's
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really not my business. Or maybe, you know, I just don't
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want to get involved. You ever heard somebody say
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that? Nah, I don't want to get
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involved. Barnabas could have done that.
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Who knows where, where Saul would have ended up?
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He could have said, you know, I don't want to get involved in
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brotherhood dispute any he could have come up with any kind of
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excuse, but he stood up for what he knew was right.
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He knew that he knew that Saul had changed his life.
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He knew that Saul had become a Christian and he he you might
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say he stuck his neck out for him and and helped him
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tremendously. Look over at Acts chapter 15 and
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this is this is an account that I think most of us probably are
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are familiar with Acts chapter 15 and verse 36 says, some days
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after Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our
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brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the
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Lord and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take
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with him John, whose surname was Mark.
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But Paul felt not good to take him with him who departed from
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them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
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And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed
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asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and
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sailed to Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas and
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departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of
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God. So we we see this account of of
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John Mark, do you remember what what had happened with him
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before? You'll go back a couple of
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chapters. Acts chapter 13, verse 13, when
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Paul and his company loose from pathos, they came to Bergen,
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Pamphilia and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
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But why? Why did John leave them?
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We don't really know. He doesn't tell us.
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I mean, we can, we can come up with all kinds of conjecture.
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There may have been some really valid reason.
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Maybe. Maybe he was ill again.
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It it doesn't say. But you would think it if that
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was the case, that Paul would not have been against him going
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later. Well, you know, I thought about
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that, but you know, maybe he has some kind of chronic illness
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and, and Paul thought, well, you know, he's just going to believe
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in us again. You know who who knows?
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We we don't really know. We can, we can make conjecture
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all day long. We don't know why he left.
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But but here he, he wants to to go with them again.
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Barnum say, hey, let's, let's take him with us.
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And Paul is is is dead set against it to the point that
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they split from each other. Was was either Paul or Barnabas
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wrong? Scripture never tells us that
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they are Daniel it. Shows a pattern marvelous out
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and offers second chances to people.
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You know, he did it with Saul and he also did it with with
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Mark. And it shows that he is always
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looking for that and always willing to offer that.
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And that's something that we all need sometime in our life is,
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you know, a second chance of somebody willing to give us
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that. You know, and and that's that's
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what's so interesting is you know who, who, who else had he
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already given a second chance to?
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The manager doesn't want to give a second chance to another
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person. It's it it is interesting to me
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that here they they says the contention was so sharp among
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them. And probably each of us in here
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has has had a dispute of some kind, not necessarily a sinful
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dispute, but, you know, disagreement with somebody to
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the point And you both decide that, you know, hey, we're just
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going to have to go separate ways on whatever the the issue
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may be. Can brethren disagree with one
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another and not sin? Absolutely.
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I would say we're under obligation not to sin even when
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we disagree with brethren. Keith in case.
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We're not gotten out of the case at all.
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At that time, he was not the. Person he was, not what he was.
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Not the person to. Give.
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Him the second stand, he didn't have the mindset at that time.
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We all follow different categories and different
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portions of our lives and be honest with.
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You he may. Need to see that.
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That your actions. Have.
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Oh, right. Right, we or they may not be at
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the place they need to be, where they have to grow to get.
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There and that's a good point John Mark May have needed a
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little bit of spiritual growth and and you know Barnabas may
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have seen that and Paul hadn't seen it yet.
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But here, here's another thing that I was thinking about.
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When they split the the work of the church was still able to
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continue. Yeah.
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And yeah, in a way you could say it doubled because they each
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went somewhere differently and and were were preaching.
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But, you know, they didn't go around accusing the other one
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of, you know, being a false teacher or or whatever.
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They they didn't go around with an accusatory tone telling
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people, oh, well, you know, you need to stay away from Paul.
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Didn't say, didn't tell. Boy, she needs to away from
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Barnabas. Barnabas that way.
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You need to stay away from Paul. They were able to to disagree
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and split with one another without causing a major issue
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with other people, and they had a temporary.
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Physical split from one another. Right, they did not have a we're
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no longer friends, companions, even Co workers to get right.
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It was just we're going our different ways on this term.
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But you know, what does, what does society want us to do
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today? You know, the, the media to me
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is, is terrible about this. It's like, you know, they, they
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want you to, to believe anybody who disagrees with you on
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anything is your enemy and you just cannot have anything to do
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with them. It's you know, it's like the
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media by and large, just want to sow division.
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But again, when we look at what Scripture teaches, we look at
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the examples that we have in Scripture and specifically this
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one here of of Paul and Barnabas.
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We can, we don't have to, we don't have to agree with someone
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on every single thing. And yet we can still get along
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with them. We can still work with them.
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We can still advance the Kingdom work by the Cliff you may be
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coming to. This but in the last chapter
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with Paul. Roll brain mark.
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Or he is profitable. That's right somebody.
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No, we, I was I was just about to hit there.
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So so I'm again, I'm glad you mentioned that.
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You know, he later we see about about where Paul was talking
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about Martin Colossians chapter 4 and verse 10.
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He refers to him as he wants to bring him to me.
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If you if he come to you or he's saying if he's coming to you
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receive him. Second Timothy 4 verse 11.
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That's what I was thinking about.
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He says only Luke is with me, but take Mark and bring with me
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for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
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So, you know, eventually Paul kind of came around and he was
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able to see the growth in John Bark that Barnabas was already
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seeing. Now, you know, there's there's
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some indication that that John Mark was related to Barnabas.
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So perhaps Barnabas knew him a little bit better than then Paul
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did. But but still the the principle
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is they disagreed. They were able to remain
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brethren. It's like Andrew mentioned,
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it's, it was just a temporary physical split and that's that's
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all that it was. All right.
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Look back to Acts Chapter 11 and look at one of the descriptions
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that we see about Barnabas. Here he is, he is described as a
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good man. So after Acts Chapter 11, this
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is after Cornelius has become a Christian and Peter's gone back
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to Jerusalem and he's explained to them that the the gospel is
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now available to the Gentiles. And then there's a little bit of
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persecution. And so verse 22, the tidings of
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these things came to the ears of the church, which is in
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Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as
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far as Antioch. You drop down to verse 24.
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For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,
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and much people was added unto the Lord.
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So he was a good man, but that does not mean that he was
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sinlessly perfect. None of us is sinlessly perfect,
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of course. You remember Mark chapter 10,
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verse 18. The man comes to Jesus and
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addresses him as a good master or good teacher.
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And what does Jesus say? There's only one good.
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That's God. Incidentally, Jesus is not
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denying his deity there. He is affirming his deity.
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But we know that that does not. This is not telling us that that
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Barnabas is sinlessly perfect. You remember David wrote in
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Psalm 37 and verse 23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the
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Lord. You want to know who a good man
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is? He's the one who is trying to
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follow the Lord. He is the one who's trying to
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allow his life to, or trying to mold his life to be consistent
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with the teachings of the Lord, which of course we know is what
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we find in Scripture. But moral goodness is not enough
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just to save a person, is it? Look at Acts chapter 10.
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Look at Acts 10 verse 2 and and look at this description of
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Cornelius verse one. There was certain man accessory
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called Cornelius, the centurion of the band called the Italian
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band verse 2A devout man and one that feared God with all his
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heart, with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and
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prayed to God. All you know that description of
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Cornelius, that's probably the kind of person we would all love
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to have as a next door neighbor, right?
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He was a devout man. He was a man who helped people.
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He prayed to God always. He feared God with all of his
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house, that that's that's who he wanted as a neighbor.
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But but was he saved? Well, clearly he wasn't because
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we, we see in a in the next chapter, Chapter 11, verse 14,
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where Peter's rehearsing all the things that had happened with
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Cornelius after of course, Cornelius had become a
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Christian. And he's, he's, he's recounting
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what Cornelius had or what Cornelius had told him that the
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Angel had said to send for Peter so that he can tell you these
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words whereby you and all your house shall be saved.
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So just being a good man, while it is a good thing, it's not
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enough just for a person to be saved.
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Another thing that that sticks out about Barnabas, he did not
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always have to be #1 he didn't have to be the most prominent
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person in a situation or in A room.
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Go back to Acts chapter 13 and this is a little bit of an
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inference, but but look at verse one.
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Now there were in the church that was at Antioch.
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Certain prophets and teachers notice Barnabas is listed first
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Barnabas and Simeons called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene and
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Manaean, which had been brought up with hair of the tetrarch and
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Saul and then look at verse 2 as they ministered to the Lord and
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fasted the Holy Spirit said separate me Barnabas and Saul
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for the work wherein till I've called them.
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And then verse 7, which was with the deputy of the country,
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Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul
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and desired to hear the word of God.
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So so you've got three times in these 7 verses when when we read
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about Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas is listed first.
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You have this incident with Sergius Paulus and they blind
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Elimus the sorcerer. After that every time they're
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mentioned together. Paul is mentioned first.
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Now, again, that's a little bit of an inference that Scripture's
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not absolutely, you know, saying that, hey, Paul takes over
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preeminence here. But the point is if you just
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look at what happens from that point on, you know, Paul becomes
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what what many would would say is perhaps the the greatest
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missionary that the church had ever seen.
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Paul became what we might label as a prominent person in the
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church. He wrote, you know, half of the
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New Testament or so as far as we know, Barnabas didn't write any
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of the New Testament. He he sort of kind of stays in
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the background a little bit. But nowhere do we ever see that
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that that is a problem for Barnabas.
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Nowhere do we ever see that, you know, he is he's lamenting this
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idea that he no longer has perhaps the kind of prominence
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that that he may have it one time.
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You know, he nowhere do we see that that he is, is thinking,
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you know, I, I sold this property and I gave all this
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money to the apostles and and now somebody else is kind of
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coming in and and and pre empting me.
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That's not the type of attitude that he had.
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Look again at Chapter 11 and verse 25.
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Remember we were looking at a minute ago, the Church of
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Jerusalem sent Barnabas. They were going to send him to
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Antioch in verse 22, he's described there as a good man
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full of the Holy Spirit in faith.
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Verse 24 but but then notice before he gets to Antioch, what
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what does he do in verse 25 Then departed Barnabas 2 Tarsus for
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to seek Saul. And when you'd found him, you
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brought him to Antioch. So the church in Jerusalem grabs
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Barnabas. I said we're going to send you
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because we know who you are. We have a a job for you to do.
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We're going to send you to Antioch.
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What does he do? First he goes and looks for Saul
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to bring him along. If you ever known anybody though
26:27
that they they they just couldn't stand to play second
26:30
piddle that they just they couldn't stand not to be in the
26:35
preeminence. You know, for whatever reason,
26:39
the entertainment world tends to attract people like that.
26:42
You know, they just they've got to be up front.
26:44
They've got to be, you know, top dog.
26:46
They've got to get that top billing.
26:50
But look at third John verse 9. John talks about somebody like
26:54
this. He talks about a man named the
26:56
otrophies who loves to have the preeminence among you.
27:02
You ever known anybody? It was kind of like that.
27:05
They just kind of had to be #1 and there wasn't really room.
27:09
It wasn't really space in a room for this person and anybody
27:12
else. What some, what do we say?
27:14
Sometimes their, you know, their heads are big.
27:16
They can't fit through the doorway.
27:18
That's not Barnabas. That's absolutely not Barnabas.
27:23
I suppose most of you probably would recognize the name NB
27:26
Hardeman as in Freed Hardeman University was a well known
27:31
preacher in the first half of the the 1900s.
27:36
You may have heard of the Hartman Tabernacle sermons where
27:40
in 1922 the the the churches I was reading about this this
27:44
morning, the churches in Nashville.
27:46
There were about 40 of them at the time.
27:49
They all got together with they sent representatives together to
27:53
a meeting and and they planned this large outreach.
27:58
It was, it was amazing how well these churches work together to
28:02
to plan this, this event and it was held at the Ryman Auditorium
28:07
and he preached for I don't know how many days in a row.
28:11
They, they planned the advertising that matter of fact
28:14
they, they divided up the phone book and ladies of the different
28:17
churches called every single person who had a phone in
28:21
Nashville, TN in 1922 to invite them to this.
28:24
They work together with all the advertising and and the expenses
28:28
and then putting it all together.
28:29
It's just amazing how they did this.
28:32
But the the story is told that that when they were planning it,
28:35
they were trying to decide if they want to get Brother
28:37
Hardiman or get another at the time well known preacher by the
28:41
name of CM Pullea sites. Probably most of you've never
28:44
heard of him. Most of us have still heard
28:46
about Brother Hardiman at this university with his name on it.
28:50
So they're trying to decide and they, they, they decided to get
28:52
Brother Hardeman to, to preach. And so somebody mentions, well,
28:55
why, why don't we get Brother Pulius to lead the singing?
28:58
And somebody else thought, well, you know, he, he might sort of
29:00
take that as a slight since we didn't ask him to preach.
29:04
But what Brother Pulius said was that he, he, he would be willing
29:07
to do whatever it took to make this a success, even if that
29:12
meant sweeping the floors. That is the type of attitude
29:16
that I believe that that Barnabas showed to us.
29:19
Now Brother Pullius did did lead the singing.
29:21
And as I understand, there were over 200 people who became
29:24
Christians from that. And it was such a rousing
29:27
success. They had I think a total of 519.
29:30
I think it was 1922232838 and 42 maybe.
29:36
But that, that type of, of spirit of humility that, that
29:43
that Brother Pullius showed, that's, that's what we want to
29:48
be. We want that type of attitude.
29:50
We don't always have to be the number one person in the room.
29:56
As long as the work is getting done and God is getting glory.
30:03
That's, that's what should satisfy us.
30:08
Yes, Sir. Another, it wasn't getting
30:29
sidetracked writing articles or, or, you know, condemning someone
30:34
else because of a disagreement. They went their separate ways
30:37
and both very effectively continued preaching and teaching
30:42
and and the role that Barnabas played as an exhorter and
30:46
encourager. It is something that we all need
30:49
to do more of today. And again, you know, everyone
30:54
has different personalities, but it's, it's Christ, it's first.
30:58
That's right and. No matter what, that's where our
31:01
attention needs to be so that we don't get sidetracked.
31:05
That's what Satan. Wants.
31:06
That's right, Pull. Us away from.
31:08
Work. Yeah, that's an excellent point.
31:10
Satan is the one who wants us distracted.
31:12
Satan is the one who wants us dividing from one another,
31:17
having disagreements with one another so that the work is is
31:20
hindered. So you know, when when you have
31:23
a disagreement with somebody, remember, it's it's Satan who
31:27
wants us to disagree to the point that that we stop doing
31:31
the work that needs to be done. All right.
31:36
So Barnabas was also with this is the one we all think about
31:41
first. Probably Barnabas was a great
31:43
encourager. Go again to Acts chapter 4.
31:50
This is probably the one we when we think about Barnabas, this is
31:52
usually the first thing that we think about.
32:00
Acts chapter 4 look at verse again, verse 36, Joseph who by
32:06
the apostles will surname Barnabas, which is being
32:09
interpreted the son of consolation, that's the King
32:12
James. A lot of the translations will
32:14
say son of encouragement. I think the American standard
32:18
maybe says son of exhortation. If you ever thought about what
32:26
what your name might be if the brethren decided to give you a
32:29
name based on your most prominent personality trait.
32:36
Well, you ever what, what if? What if somebody was known as
32:39
the son or daughter of strife or turmoil?
32:45
What if, what if, what about if somebody was named the son or
32:48
daughter of gossip or complaining or, you know,
32:52
criticism or sensitivity? You know, you ever know
32:54
anybody's like people say, well, don't say anything about that
32:58
near so and so because you know how sensitive they can be.
33:02
What about a son or daughter of of misery or division?
33:07
And as I was going through those, I would just about bet
33:10
that each of you probably thought of one person who fits
33:13
each of those character traits, perhaps some people who fit
33:17
multiple character traits or multiple people who fit any of
33:19
those character traits. Hopefully that's the body in
33:24
this room. But you know, the, the Bible, as
33:28
it tells us, is a powerful mirror and we, we need to look
33:34
into it and compare our lives with, with what it teaches.
33:39
So, you know, if, if these are the type of characteristics that
33:43
we see in our lives, then maybe we need to make some changes.
33:48
But there's a flip side of that. Perhaps if our if if our
33:55
brethren were to to give us a name that that fit us, it would
33:58
be a son or daughter, maybe of a Bible study or a prayer or a
34:05
benevolence or joy, happiness, peace or unity, or like
34:11
Barnabas, a son or daughter of encouragement.
34:16
There there are people in this room that that I can tell you
34:18
have been a, a, a great encouragement to me.
34:24
I'll mention a couple of them. I hardly ever see Brother Cliff.
34:28
He's not saying something to me that is of great encouragement.
34:32
He, he is, he is one of my greatest encouragers in my life.
34:39
I'll tell you how great encouragement can be.
34:42
I doubt Miss Patsy even remembers this, but I had taught
34:45
a class in here, I don't know, three or four years ago, but I'm
34:48
driving down the road the next day.
34:50
It was, I think I, I got taught on Wednesday night and I was
34:52
driving down the road the next day and my phone rings and it
34:54
shows up Miss Patsy's name. I was like, you know, Miss Patsy
34:57
didn't call me every day, so I better see what this is about.
35:00
And and, and so I answer the phone and, and you know, she was
35:03
just calling me to tell me how much she appreciated the
35:08
material that I had taught the previous day and how that she
35:13
knew that I had put time into it and, and how thorough I was.
35:17
I mean, she just, she was telling me how much she
35:20
appreciate that. Let me tell you what I I rode
35:23
high on that for days. I did.
35:28
That's how powerful encouragement can be.
35:32
And I think that that's what kind of person that Barnabas
35:35
was. I think that's exactly the kind
35:38
of person that Barnabas was. All of us can be encouragers to
35:46
somebody. All of us need encouragement
35:49
from time to time. Nobody can be just always upbeat
35:54
every minute of every day. We all need encouragement
35:57
sometimes, but that we can all be encouragers to some people at
36:02
some point. You know, there are some, some
36:06
congregations that even have what they call a Barnabas
36:08
program and it is a way to, to help encourage the, the members
36:14
of that congregation. So we need, we need to look at
36:19
the life of Barnabas from time to time and see maybe how we can
36:24
be more like him. But there there is one negative
36:29
thing we read about Barnabas. Look at Galatians chapter 2.
36:34
He at least once was too easily influenced to do wrong.
36:46
Galatians chapter 2. Let's start reading verse 9.
36:55
Paul says that when James, Cephas and John, who seem to be
36:58
pillars, perceive the grace that was given to me, they gave to me
37:02
and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go
37:05
under the heathen and they under the circumcision only they
37:08
would. That we should remember the
37:09
poor. The same which I also was
37:11
forward to do. But when Peter was come to
37:13
Antioch, I withstood him to the face.
37:16
Think about that standing up to an apostle of Jesus Christ and
37:22
saying you're wrong. I was stood him to the face
37:27
because he used to be blamed. Verse 12 for before that certain
37:30
came from James. He did he with the Gentiles, but
37:32
when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing
37:35
them with your other circumcision.
37:37
Look at verse 13 and the other Jews dissembled likewise with
37:41
him in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their
37:45
dissimulation. So everything seems to be going
37:49
fine. They have agreed that some of
37:52
them are going to preach primarily to the Jews and some
37:54
of them are going to preach primarily to the Gentiles.
37:57
And then Peter comes to town and everything goes awry, even to
38:01
the point that here, here is this man that we've just been
38:05
looking at. He was a man who gave people
38:07
second chances. He was a man who was, was
38:10
willing to, to, to help people assimilate with local
38:14
congregations. He was a man who was, who was a
38:16
great encourager. And yet he has a a difficult
38:22
time with this particular issue for, for whatever the reason is.
38:28
And really it just shows us Barnabas was not perfect.
38:32
None of us is perfect. That's one of the great things I
38:36
love about Scripture is is it it?
38:38
It doesn't just give us this these accounts of all these
38:42
people who did all these great things and and never had any any
38:47
missteps or any mistakes or or any about sin in their lives.
38:52
Barnabas was a was a person just like you and me.
38:56
He was in an ordinary everyday Christian.
39:00
He had some fantastic qualities about himself, but he had a
39:05
couple of times when you know, he he made some made some
39:09
mistakes. Again, we know not every that we
39:13
know that nobody's perfect. Romans 3 and verse 23 all have
39:16
sinned and come short of the glory of God.
39:20
Even Paul said that he had to watch himself.
39:23
First Corinthians 9 and verse 27 he says I keep under my body and
39:26
bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I preach
39:30
to others, I myself should be a castaway.
39:38
Paul, the great apostle, the the great missionary, the great
39:43
preacher. He knew that there were times he
39:46
had to be careful. He couldn't just take anything
39:52
for granted that. That particular verb should be a
39:59
warning, I guess, to those people who believe once saved,
40:03
always saved. Because if Paul could have
40:07
become a castaway, certainly I can.
40:10
That's a good point. Somebody, I believe it was
40:15
brother Charles Box years ago did a series of articles in the
40:19
the local church bulletin there in Greenville where he just went
40:23
through the New Testament and, and just listed passage after
40:26
passage after passage that that show the fallacy of that, that
40:30
whole idea. But we never, we never outgrow
40:33
our need to be on guard against sin.
40:36
You know, as we looked there at first Corinthians 92027 where
40:39
Paul said, you know, I've got to, I've got to watch out for
40:42
myself. Just a few verses later in
40:44
chapter 10 and verse 12, he says, you remember, he says, let
40:48
him that think of these stand and take heed lest he fall.
40:51
So, so Paul was not telling the, the the Christians in Corinth
40:56
that they had to do anything he wasn't already trying to do for
40:59
himself. He wasn't putting himself up
41:02
above them and saying, you know, look at me.
41:04
I, you know, I've, I've really made it.
41:07
I don't have to worry about all these little things that y'all
41:09
have to worry about. And that's not what Paul was
41:10
saying. He was saying first he says,
41:13
I've got to take care of myself and be on guard and watch out
41:16
for myself. You've got to do the same thing.
41:22
Look at first John chapter 1. We never outgrow our need for
41:30
forgiveness. First John chapter 1 beginning
41:34
in verse 7, John says, But if we walk in the light as he is in
41:37
the light, we have fellowship one to another, and the blood of
41:40
Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
41:43
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the
41:46
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
41:50
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
41:52
all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
41:55
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in US.
42:00
My little children, these things right unto you that you send
42:03
not. And if any man sin, we have an
42:05
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is
42:09
the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also
42:13
for the sins of the whole world. So we know that Barnabas is not
42:19
perfect. We know that there's at least
42:21
this one time in Galatians chapter 2 where where Paul talks
42:24
about him really messing up badly.
42:30
But from everything else that we know about Barnabas, what what
42:35
do we think he probably did after Paul, after Paul witch
42:38
stood Peter to the face? What do you think Barnabas did?
42:43
It doesn't tell us, but I think we can infer from everything
42:46
else we know about Barnabas, he he likely repented.
42:50
You know, we, we have examples of others that Paul wrote about
42:55
where he talks about some who have forsaken him.
43:01
We also have examples where, you know, like we said it with John
43:04
Mark, where, where Paul said, oh, you know, he, he's improved,
43:07
he's gotten better. Well, we don't, we don't really
43:09
know what happened with Barnabas after that because it doesn't
43:12
say. But, but I think we can, I think
43:13
we can safely infer that, you know, when we get to heaven, we
43:18
can ask Barnabas, what were you thinking?
43:20
Because I, because I think he's going to be there.
43:23
He was a great asset to the church in the 1st century.
43:27
But again, he was just like you and me.
43:30
He was a man of ordinary means and ability, but he loved Jesus
43:36
enough. He loved the church enough.
43:38
He loved Christians enough to be an encourager, to be a generous
43:43
person in so many different ways.
43:46
And we can use his example to help us be more like Jesus
43:52
because that's what he was trying to do.
43:54
He was trying to be like Jesus. Thank you so much for your
43:58
attention. That bell should ring any second
44:00
now.