Latest / Chapel Talks / Walking with the Wise (Part 1) | Acts 4, 9, 11 | Chris Howles

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Walking with the Wise (Part 1) | Acts 4, 9, 11 | Chris Howles · Chapel Talks

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Please have the book of Acts open, three readings,
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but you can start in Acts chapter 4. I don't
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know if any of you have heard of Tim Ferriss.
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He is one of the world's most successful podcasters
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with over a billion downloads. Over the years,
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he's interviewed many noteworthy, famous people.
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And he discusses their lives and their habits,
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and he seeks out their wisdom. The question he
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asks each of his guests at the end of the interview
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is always the same. If you could put a single
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quote onto a billboard to get a message out to
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billions of people. What would it be? He gets
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some fascinating answers to that. But when he
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himself was asked that question a while ago,
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he answered that he himself would put on that
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billboard, quote, you are the average of the
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five people you spend the most amount of time
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with. Striking, isn't it? But not new. The Bible
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got there several millennia earlier. And did
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it better? Less soundbite, more summons. Proverbs
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13, 20, you don't need to turn to it, but it
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reads this. Walk with the wise and become wise.
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But a companion of fools suffers harm. Tim Ferriss
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and more importantly, the Bible are saying something
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significant about that formative power of proximity.
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Who we walk with. matters because the people
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we spend time with shape the people that we become
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spend enough time with someone and they will
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rub off on us they'll make a mark on us for good
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or for ill and that in a sense is what we're
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going to be doing over these next two chapel
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talks so today obviously and this time next week
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we're going to walk with the wise we're going
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to walk with Barnabas We're going to trace through
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his character and his convictions as he's brought
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to us through the New Testament. And my hope
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and my prayer is that by walking with him, something
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of his wisdom, something of God's grace at work
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in him will form and flourish in us too. So let's
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pray. Our Lord, thank you for giving us this
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opportunity to walk with the wise. Please may
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something of... Your grace, powerfully at work
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in Barnabas, shape and form us for good in the
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days and weeks and years to come, we ask in Jesus's
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name. Amen. It's quite unusual in Oak Hill Chapel
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to do a kind of multi -passage character study
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like this. We more commonly preach through a
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single passage, rightly sitting under its...
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Context and arguments and so on. These kind of
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character surveys jumping across chapters or
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even books can risk becoming selective or sentimental
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or, God forbid, shallow. But there is a corresponding
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danger in never doing such a thing. Barnabas's
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New Testament portrayal is fantastic. But do
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we know him? He's named 33 times in the New Testament,
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more than Titus and Stephen and Andrew combined,
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for example. But he's so dispersed across at
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least 10 different... events and activities,
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mostly in Acts, but a bit in the epistles too,
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that many of us only ever see a snippet of him
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here and there. And so without this sort of testament
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-crossing, book -hopping, multiverse intentionality,
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we so easily miss this rich, cumulative portrait
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that Luke and others give us of this remarkable
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saint. Now, I'm not intending over these two
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talks to kind of romanticize Barnabas. Luke's
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center is always the risen Lord Jesus, advancing
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his words by his spirit, crucially by the power
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of his grace. So we wouldn't be right to lionize
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Barnabas. And I strongly suspect that that's
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not what he would want us to do anyway. So the
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focus here isn't this kind of striving and straining
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to emulate this great man, but our rather enjoying.
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And hopefully experiencing that very same transforming
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grace of God that is so powerfully at work in
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him. These should not be be like Barnabas talks.
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We get wise by walking with Barnabas because
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we get to see the transforming grace of God at
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work in a real human being. So let's take our
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first. step of several steps we'll be taking
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on this walk with Barnabas the first time we
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meet him is in Acts chapter 4 the Jerusalem church
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is experiencing a season of growing unity and
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mutuality and Luke tells us in verse 32 that
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all the believers were one in heart and minds
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that the apostles were testifying with great
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power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
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And then, verse 33, comes the line that kind
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of sets the scene for Barnabas' introduction.
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Luke says, God's grace was so powerfully at work
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in them all. And at that point, Luke brings in
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Barnabas. He explains that there's no needy person
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among the believers because sometimes those who
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had property sold it and donated the proceeds.
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And he gives one named example of this generosity,
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Barnabas in verse 36. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus
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whom the apostles called Barnabas, which means
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son of encouragement, sold a field he owns and
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brought the money and put it at the apostles'
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feet. Luke's not saying that Barnabas is this
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kind of instinctively, innately generous bloke.
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Rather, Luke is showing us that here is God's
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transforming grace powerfully at work. Grace
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that disrupts Barnabas's previous instincts.
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Grace that breaks that very tight bond between
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what a person owns and what they think they have
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the right to keep hold of. Now, interestingly.
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One of the mentions of Barnabas in an epistle
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comes on 1 Corinthians 9, where Barnabas is held
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up as an example of someone who's working hard
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to support himself in gospel ministry. And it
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may be speculation, but I think it's reasonable
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to think that maybe Barnabas giving away his
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lands, giving away his wealth, it may have otherwise
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provided him with a financial cushion in ministry.
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If that is indeed the case, then his decision
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to sell his land is powerful grace. It is costly
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grace at work. Barnabas, his real name is Joseph,
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but he's called Barnabas because it means son
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of encouragement. His generosity clearly encourages
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this fledgling church. What's the source of it
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all? Where's it come from? Well, there's no need
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to turn to it now because we'll get to it in
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a minute. But one of the readings was chapter
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11, where Luke describes Barnabas as a good man
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full of the Holy Spirit and faith. That's the
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divine foundation for this generosity and encouragement
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we see in chapter four. His goodness is not this
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kind of self -generated virtue. It's not a sort
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of his own effort. It is a spiritual work. The
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Holy Spirit is generating goodness in and through
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him by faith. Faith, that posture of Barnabas,
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of dependence to live on what God provides rather
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than what he can grab and gather. And so because
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Barnabas has received from Christ what he can
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never earn and what he can never lose, he is
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freed to release his grip on things once held
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dear. And when we walk with Barnabas, we see
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that grace is the very essence. of the Christian
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life. It is not just an entry requirement before
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moving on to the more serious task of becoming
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discipled and disciplined Christians. Rather,
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the grace that saves is the grace that transforms,
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reordering our loves, our ambitions, our relationships,
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our instincts, just like with Barnabas. The Christian
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life is not this kind of self -help, moral improvement
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through intense effort. It is the outworking
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of God's grace in us by his spirit through faith.
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And I think in Barnabas and through that truth,
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I hope there is something useful as we think
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about our Christian formation here at Oak Hill.
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It's easy in any sort of college like this where
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so much of life necessarily has to be measured
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and assessed and documented and reported. It
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is easy to equate Christian maturity with our
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metrics or our productivity in some way. And
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there's a danger that formation, therefore, becomes
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this kind of accumulation of the right knowledge
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and development of the right habits. But walking
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with Barnabas shows us something deeper and better.
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Christian maturity is about becoming dependent
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people in whom the grace of God has so taken
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root that we are freed from ourselves and our
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instincts to grab and grasp and thus made more
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available for God and for others. Our success
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this year at college is not primarily what is
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captured on a transcript or written on a report
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or outlined in an annual review. but rather is
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the grace of God cultivating deeper dependence
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on him and freedom for him. One thing I love
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about walking with Barnabas is to see how this
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man who so receives and reflects God's powerful,
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costly grace in himself is then able as a result
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to recognize and delight in that grace in others
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too. even the unlikeliest and scariest other
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imaginable. And so turn a couple of pages to
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Acts chapter 9, where we get to walk another
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step or two with Barnabas. Acts chapter 9 is
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famous for the conversion of Saul. We might be
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familiar with what happens next with the wonderful
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Ananias who hosts Saul and restores him in Damascus.
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But many of us miss, crucially, The moment that
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then follows. Because when the murderous persecutor,
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now converted Saul, comes to Jerusalem for the
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first time as a follower of Christ, the response
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of the believers there, understandably, is to
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be fearful and suspicious. Chapter 9, verse 26.
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When he came to Jerusalem, Saul tried to join
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the disciples, but they were all afraid of him,
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not believing that he really was. A disciple.
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And can we blame them? Saul had devoted his life
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to trying to destroy them. He's partaken in the
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killing of their friends and co -workers. Even
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he's arrested many others who can blame them
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for how they're feeling. But amidst this distrust
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and fear, the son of encouragement steps in.
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But Barnabas. Verse 27, but Barnabas took Saul
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and brought him to the apostles. He told them
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how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and
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that the Lord had spoken to him and how in Damascus
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he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
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So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely
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in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of
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the Lord. You may have noticed across the New
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Testament, that little word, but, carries so
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many wonderful moments with it. Ephesians 2,
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but God being rich in mercy. Philippians 3, but
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whatever gain I had, I now count as loss. 1 Peter
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2, but you are a chosen people. So many wonderful
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buts, but this one might be my favourite. But
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Barnabas. But Barnabas took Saul and brought
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him to the apostles. Is there a more significant
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turning point in all of church history than that
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one? Not many. Our grace -filled, grace -giving
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friend Barnabas becomes a bridge between a suspicious
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church and a controversial convert. Now, it's
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not that Barnabas is being gullible. He does
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not say that everyone who claims a dramatic conversion
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should immediately be given trust in a platform,
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but he has listened to Saul's story. He retells
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it accurately and he trusts in the power of God's
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transformative grace so deeply that he is willing
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to rest every single ounce of his own credibility
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on this unimaginably high stakes decision to
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advocate for Saul. This isn't a personality trait
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of Barnabas. His behavior here is generated by
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the gospel. The grace at work in him readies
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him to advocate for the potential of that same
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transforming grace in others. He does not deny
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what Saul has done. He's not playing around with
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danger, but he believes that what Christ is doing
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in Saul is more decisive than what Saul has done.
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Striking, isn't it? It is surprisingly easy to
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speak of transformation in theory, yet still
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keep people filed under the heading of what they
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used to be. Of course, safeguarding and serious
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wisdom are non -negotiable things. But Barnabas'
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story asks us whether our theology of grace has
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room. for the unlikeliest of people. Perhaps
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this challenges our tendency to recognize grace
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most readily in people who already belong to
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our theological tribe or who practice ministry
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in similar ways to us or who run a Bible study
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as we would or pray in similar terms as we might
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or who have come from a particular background
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or through particular pathways to get here. We
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need grace to resist confusing theological or
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cultural familiarity with spiritual maturity.
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Perhaps we need to learn to look for what God
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is doing before we start looking for what we
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would change. But as we move to a close, there
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is one more step I want us to take with Barnabas
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for today, at least. More next week, I assure
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you. Barnabas is being sent somewhere where the
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challenge is no longer simply to recognize grace
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in one unexpected person like Saul, but actually
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in an entire community where ethnic and cultural
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identity lies way beyond his own familiar boundaries.
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Turn the page, please, to Acts chapter 11. In
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verse 19, Luke tells us how those who had been
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scattered by the persecution that broke out when
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Stephen was killed, traveled as far as Phoenicia,
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Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the words only
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among the Jews. Then we get to the magnificent
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verse 20. Up to this point, the gospel is spreading,
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but it is still mostly moving within the familiar
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channels of Jewish cultural identity. But everything
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changes in verse 20. Actually, there's a good
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case here to say that this is the single most
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consequential event in all mission history. Maybe
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that surprises you. At first glance, verse 20
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just looks like a simple kind of Lucan transition
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verse, a quick summary of what's going on before
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we move on to the next action or character where,
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you know, the fun really kicks in. But look more
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closely. This apparently ordinary verse contains
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the seeds of why we can even sit here today.
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Verse 20. Some of them, however. Men from Cyprus
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and Cyrene went to Antioch and began to speak
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to Greeks also, telling them the good news about
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the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them
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and a great number of people believed and turned
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to the Lord. This is not simply one God -fearing
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Gentile household coming to faith, important
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as the Cornelius story is in the previous chapters.
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This is Gentiles en masse. coming to Christ and
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a genuinely multi -ethnic community taking shape
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in Antioch, far from Jerusalem. This is the moment
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when the gospel decisively breaks free beyond
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the ethnic boundaries within which the early
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church had understood itself. This is the moment
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when the promise of a people drawn from every
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nation begins to take visible shape in the church.
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This is a head -spinning, boundary breaking,
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paradigm shifting, earth shattering bombshell
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for any Christian in Jerusalem, for the apostles
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and the Christians there. And moments like this
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require people with the spiritual maturity to
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recognize grace where it has appeared somewhere
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very unexpected. Do we know anyone like that?
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Well, the apostles did. Verse 22. News of this
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reached the church in Jerusalem and they sent
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Barnabas to investigate. He's a Levite, so he
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has impeccable Jewish credentials, but he's also
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from Cyprus. A diaspora Jew who knows something
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of life beyond Jerusalem and Judea. He's connected
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enough to Jerusalem to be trusted there, but
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culturally mobile enough not to be paralyzed
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by the thought of cultural difference up in Antioch.
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But most of all, verse 24, we read it again.
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He is a good man, full of faith and the Holy
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Spirit. He is a man who knows grace. How to receive
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it, how to rejoice in it, how to rely on it,
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how to recognize it in others and how to radiate
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it outwards as well. So verse 23, when he arrives
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in Antioch and saw what the grace of God had
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done, he was glad and encouraged them to remain
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true to the Lord with all of their hearts. Not
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when he arrived in Antioch and saw what the grace
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of God had done. He pulled out his checklist
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and complained, you guys, this is not really
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how we do things back at the Jerusalem HQ. No,
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he was glad and encouraged them. Barnas could
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have assumed that unfamiliarity was unfaithfulness.
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He could have worried about control and language
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and leadership structures or the fact that this
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church had emerged without a kind of Jerusalem
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planning it. But instead, he discerns where the
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grace of God is at play. He's not abandoning
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his convictions. The opposite of cultural arrogance
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is not a kind of theological naivety. His theological
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discernment is mature enough to distinguish God's
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grace at work beyond his own personal and preferred
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cultural expressions of God's grace at work.
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What I'm saying is this, Barnabas can recognize
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the same Christ in a different form of Christianity.
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And I've got to say, That's who I want to be.
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It really is. I want grace to fill my heart so
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richly and shape my instincts so deeply that
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when I encounter something unfamiliar, my thought
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isn't firstly, they're not doing it properly,
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but rather, where is God at work here? I need
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to walk with Barnabas. And learn from him how
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to look for grace, to notice where Christ is
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being honored, where the spirit is producing
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faith, where people are growing in holiness.
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And I need to learn to be genuinely glad when
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I find it. And actually, that's not just who
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I want to be. I think for all of us in this moment,
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it's who we need to be. Because we are living
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through our own. Acts 11. The last 50 years has
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brought more radical change in the worldwide
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church than at any point since the first 50 years
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of the church. You don't have to sit in my classes
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for long or follow me much on Twitter before
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you start hearing me talk about how Christianity's
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center of gravity has radically shifted from
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a millennia of North Atlantic domination. It
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has moved southwards to the majority world of
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Africa, Asia and Latin America. Christianity
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is now unfathomably dispersed. Diasporic, multilingual,
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intercultural and polycentric. Many of the most
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vibrant churches and ministries in the world
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today, and even in the UK today, do not look
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or sound or organise themselves like many of
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us instinctively regard as good and proper. Cultures
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are meeting and mixing and mingling in unprecedented
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ways. And what is needed now is exactly what
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was needed back then in Acts 11. Disciples like
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Barnabas, whose hearts have been shaped so deeply
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by powerful, costly grace, that they can recognize
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the work of God when it appears somewhere unexpected
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and be glad. Now, one of the things we're trying
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to do here rightly at college is learn how to
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detect and discern error. Absolutely correct
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and essential that we do so. We rightly want
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and need to be those who can distinguish categories,
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notice exegetical weaknesses, identify theological
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confusion, challenge bad argumentation and so
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on. But there is a danger that our theological
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vision becomes asymmetrical. We become highly
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trained to recognize error, but correspondingly
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poor to recognize grace. We can become attuned
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to seek out what can be challenged rather than
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what can be celebrated. What a gift it would
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be for God's church locally and globally for
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Oak Hillers to grow in this Barnabas -like wisdom,
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to enter into a church or a culture or a conversation
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and notice what God is already doing there. And
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then have the grace to be glad and be able to
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nurture and encourage it. What a gift that would
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be. We need to finish. I very much enjoy walking
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with Barnabas. I enjoy seeing what grace does
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and has done to his spiritual eyesight. In Acts
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4, he recognizes that his possessions are not
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ultimately his own. In Acts 9, he recognizes
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that Saul is not ultimately defined by his past.
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In Acts 11, he recognizes the church is not ultimately
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defined by Jerusalem's familiar cultural forms.
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Grace loosens his grip on possessions, on fear,
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on control, on prejudices. Next week, we'll walk
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even further with Barnabas. Watching as he invests
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in and magnifies God's grace in others and even
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has others do that to him, sometimes painfully.
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But for now, perhaps the prayer is simple. Lord,
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make us people who by faith and the power of
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your spirit have so deeply received your grace
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that we can recognize. and rejoice in it wherever
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you give it.