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Barnabas the Encourager
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 Barnabas the Encourager

Pastor Tom Mitchell
 
Everyone needs encouragement! I think we all share the feeling of uncertainty some mornings as we get out of bed or go through our day. With the tornados, unemployment, the economy, swine flu, medical issues, and Afghanistan, we simply don’t know what’s going to happen. In these times, we could all use some reassurance and encouragement.
 
In the book of Acts we find a man whose name pops up many times. Barnabas emerged from the island of Cyprus, and took on the role of “minister of encouragement.” In fact, his name means “Son of encouragement” according to Acts 4:36.
 
How many of you can say you live up to your name? My name is Thomas. When I was younger I didn’t like my name, I much preferred Tom. I never liked my name, until one day I was told that it means “seeker of truth”. Knowing the meaning was a real encouragement for me to live up to it, even though I still prefer Pastor Tom. 
 
As for Barnabas, he consistently lived up to his name. And that is why we read about him a number of times in the book of Acts.
 
Ray Ortlund, made this comment about the one another statements in the NT: It can be helpful for us to see what ISN’T in the NT. We are not told to: “Humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, dump on one another, criticize one another, defeat one another, disapprove of one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins, intensify one another’s sufferings, point out one another’s failings. But we are told to “encourage one another! I believe we are all in need of encouragement, from time to time.
 
Imagine the difference we could make in our families, churches and communities if we’d all be encouragers. Barnabas teaches us the importance of being encouragers.
Why do we all need encouragers? Heb 3:12 says: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (Heb 3:12-13)
 
The writer gives us a warning not to harden our hearts against the living God. The news about heart disease have encouraged many people into adopting a low fat, high fiber diet, and to exercise regularly. This warning about a “unbelieving heart” should convince us to ask the question: “How do I keep it from happening to me?” Heb 3:13 gives us the answer: “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
 
I want you to notice that encouraging one another is a biblical command, not a friendly suggestion.
 
Pop quiz: Why are faithful followers of Jesus told to gather together every Sunday? Possible answers: A = to worship God? B = to learn truth from the Bible? C = to praise God through music? D = to worship God with our tithes? E = all of the above? The correct answer is all of the above plus! Plus what? Heb 10:25 “You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other….” (NCV)  There is more to gathering together than preaching, giving and singing! We are to worship God and we are to encourage others.
 
Encouragement is more than a smile and a pat of the back. Lets look at Barnabas the encourager in the book of Acts.
 
1st time we find Barnabas is Acts 4 we find a young, somewhat persecuted group of Jesus followers at Jerusalem. They were having a hard time. They were struggling financially. Encouragement for them came through Barnabas 4:36-37 says: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” 
 
Barnabas, the encourager from Cyprus gave money to help and to encourage his fellow Jesus followers. He sold some land and demonstrated that he wanted to encourage others by bringing the proceeds to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. That’s what we might call: encouragement through giving finances.
 
2nd time we find Barnabas is in chp 11. The church is growing and the message of salvation through Jesus was spreading. The number of people who trusted Jesus is too great for the existing leaders to handle. So Barnabas finds a guy by the name of Saul of Tarsus (Paulv25).  Most of the leaders did not like or trust Saul because, in the past, he persecuted anyone who trusted in Jesus. But, Barnabas was not afraid to stick out his neck for the new guy named Saul. Acts 11:21-26 “…a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.  The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people…. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch always to obey the Lord with all their hearts, and many people became followers of the Lord.  Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there...”
 
Barnabas, the leader, needed help to teach these new believers. So he takes a risk and invites the new guy Saul to help him. They worked together for a year helping these new believers grow in their faith. Barnabas, the leader encouraged Saul by trusting him to help train and disciples others. This could be called encouragement through trust, seeing the potential and taking a chance on the new guy.
 
The 3rd time we see Barnabas is in 13:2 it says, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Barnabas was the leader and Paul was his helper.
Later in the chapter we find the two on a missionary trip and v42 says,“As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.”
 
Did you notice the difference? The names are switched. In v2 it is “Barnabas and Saul”. Later in v9 Saul is now referred to as Paul and remains Paul for the rest of the book of Acts. But notice v42 it say: “Paul and Barnabas.” That is significant. Without a hint of jealousy, Barnabas steps aside his leadership role and Paul now becomes the leader and Barnabas the helper. Barnabas recognized that Paul, the newer man in the faith, has the God given abilities to take the lead role and Barnabas takes the secondary role and follows Paul’s lead. We might call this: encouragement of Humility and support.
 
The 4th and last time we see Barnabas is in chp 15. He and Paul had completed their first missionary journey and were about to go on their second. As they were making plans they discussed the possibility of taking John Mark, a young man who earlier on their first trip bailed on them. Chp 13:13 says: “Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.”  Can you imagine their discussion?
 
Paul says, “No way are we taking that quitter along with us again. He bailed out once and he will probably do it again. I don’t want a repeat performance.” Barnabas, “I want to give John Mark the extra support and encouragement he needs and let him come with us again. Yes he bailed but he has grown and I want to give him a second chance.” Paul does not back down and neither does Barnabas. 
 
It would be nice if I could say that Barnabas and Paul settled their differences and came to a final conclusion, but they did not. What was the outcome? Acts 13:39-40 “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left…”  
Barnabas demonstrated encouragement of a second change. John Mark failed. But, Barnabas teaches us that with a little encouragement and genuine love failures can be turned around. Meeting failure with encouragement can have great outcomes. It did in John Marks’s case. It was John Mark who later wrote the Gospel of Mark. And it was John Mark who we read about in 2 Tim 4:11, where Paul is in prison in Rome asks for John Mark to come and help him. It was the same John Mark who Paul had earlier rejected, but because of the encouragement of Barnabas John Mark had grown to be a leader in the early church.
 
Thank goodness for Barnabas. If it had not been for Barnabas we might not have half the NT. Do you realize what he accomplished? Although he never wrote a word of Scripture (so far as we know), he was indirectly responsible for over half the NT. Think of it this way. The two people he influenced the most were Paul and John Mark. Paul wrote 13 books of the NT and John Mark went on to write the gospel which bears his name. That’s 14 out of 27 books.
 
I want to close with Paul’s words found in 1 Thess. 5:11 “ So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (NLT)