Fifty-one years ago, on June 18, 1956, a freak accident happened on a lake in New York. A speeding motorboat bounced on a wave and shot into the water two of its passengers, a 50-year old man and a little girl. To keep her from drowning, the man held her head above water while the boat circled back. They rescued the girl. But the man sank and drowned.
That’s how Dawson Trotman died, the founder of the Navigators, an international discipleship ministry. According to a quote in Time Magazine, “He lived to save others. His death was just the way he would have planned it.”[1] I read somewhere that his obituary reads like this: “Dawson Trotman, always lifting someone up.”
Now that’s a legacy. Would that be yours, too? That you live to save others? That you always lift someone up? In a word, encouragement. Tonight, we will talk about “The Power of Encouragement.”
We will look into two things, that is, the principle and the person of encouragement. Let us read Hebrews 10:24-25… “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”[2]
First, let us look at the PRINCIPLE of encouragement. In the Greek, the word “encourage” means “to call to one’s side, to comfort, to console, to strengthen.” Basically, to put courage in. At the time of the writing of Hebrews, there was a great persecution. Our tendency during such trying times would be to save our skin or to each his own. But, the book of Hebrews encourages us to encourage one another. Someone wrote, “Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough… To encourage is to inspire another with courage.”
It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “encourage” is the one used for the name “Comforter” of the Holy Spirit.[3] People usually equate the works of the Spirit with signs and wonders. But, when we encourage one another, we show that the Spirit really dwells among us. Encouragement, I believe, is the best indicator that the Spirit is working in and through our small groups and eventually in our churches.
The word “encourage” is in the present tense. It means a habit or a way of life. In fact, Hebrews commands us to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today”.[4] It is also in the active voice. It means we don’t wait for others to encourage us. But we take the initiative. We must encourage even if others could not, even if others would not. Note that we are to “encourage one another”. That means that it is not only for pastors but for every one of us.
Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” When a person is discouraged, when we fail to encourage, sin can deceive and harden his heart to the point that it becomes sinful and unbelieving, leading the person to turn his back from God. Someone wrote, “People live by encouragement. Without it they die. Slowly... Sadly... Bitterly.”
Verse 24 says, “let us consider…” It means “to observe attentively, fix one’s eyes or mind upon.” In short, we are to focus on encouraging one another. It is never accidental but intentional. I like how The Message goes: “Let’s see how inventive we can be…” Let us think of creative ways of encouraging others.
Verse 24 continues, “let us consider how we may spur one another on…” To spur means “to stir up, provoke, stimulate or incite someone to do something.” In other words, to create a thirst. A thirst for what? “toward love and good deeds.” That’s how we measure encouragement. It is not a fuzzy feeling. Always remember, as the song goes, “Feelings are nothing more than feelings.” If someone became a more loving person or a better person, then we really encouraged him or her.
Verse 25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We usually use this verse to remind people to be faithful in attending church services. However, note the conjunction “but”. It gives a strong contrast between the clauses “Let us not give up meeting together” and “let us encourage one another”. That means that, even if we attend church services, if we fail to encourage others, we have not obeyed this verse to the full extent. Encouragement is the purpose of our meeting together, whether it is a worship service or a small group meeting.
William Barclay wrote, “It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”
Now let us look at the PERSON of encouragement. We need a flesh and blood example so we can see how it works out. Let’s look at the life of someone whom people know more for his nickname than his real name. His name is Joseph. See? You ask, “Joseph who?” But if I mention “Barnabas,” there’s an easy, instant recall.
We see him first in Acts 4:34-37. “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. 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.”
Friends gave us nicknames either to shorten our names, to point out a facial or bodily feature or to highlight a character quality in us. Joseph earned the moniker “Barnabas” for his unselfish, sacrificial act of selling his field to support others.
The book of Acts singled out Barnabas among those who sold their properties to help others. Either the donation was big enough so the apostles took notice of it or he himself had set this trend of sacrificial sale. Whatever the reason may be, the apostles dubbed him “Son of Encouragement” or “one who encourages others.”[5] Note that it was not Barnabas or just any other Christian who nicknamed him. But it was the apostles themselves who put their seal of approval on him. Thus, let us ask ourselves, “If I would get a nickname for who I am or what I am doing, what would be it? If my life would be reduced to a name, what would be it?” Would it be Barnabas or Barabbas?
Note that Acts 11:24 describes him as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith”. Remember what I said a while ago that encouragement is a sure sign that the Spirit works in and through you? Note that after giving the example of Barnabas, we see the error of Ananias and his wife Sapphira.[6] Peter described Ananias as one whose heart Satan filled. Acts had set a contrast between Barnabas and Ananias. Satan controlled Ananias. But the Spirit controlled Barnabas. This gives us a clue as to why he lived up to his nickname “Encourager.” The Comforter was in control of his life. Let me ask you, “Who is in control of your life?”
Then we find Barnabas in Acts sticking out his neck for Saul, who later on became Paul the apostle. Paul just became a believer himself. But he persecuted Christians before. “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.”[7] Barnabas supported Paul when no one else would like to believe him. I wonder, “What could have happened to Paul if Barnabas did not sponsor him?”
Later on, Barnabas gave Paul his first ministry break. When God opened a door in Antioch, the early church sent Barnabas there. “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts… and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.”[8] True to his nickname, the Encourager encouraged them. Here we also find that to encourage people is to ask them to remain faithful to the Lord.
Barnabas could have taken the Antioch work for himself. Yet he took time, money and effort to search for Paul in Tarsus “and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.”[9] His investment for Paul paid off. Note that, on his own, Barnabas brought “a great number of people”[10] to the Lord. But, with Paul on his team, they “taught great numbers of people.”[11] Their ministry was so effective that “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”[12]
Now, when God sent the team on their first missionary trip, Barnabas took with them his cousin John Mark as their helper. But, when “Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.”[13] Most probably John’s act was a fit of jealousy in defense of his cousin Barnabas. Though, it appears that Barnabas did not even mind the shift from “Barnabas and Paul” to “Paul and Barnabas.”
Some time later Paul wanted to do a follow-up. Again true to his encouraging form, Barnabas wanted to give john Mark a second chance.[14] It seems for an encourager, everyone is entitled to a second chance “but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”[15] Sadly, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”[16] This was the last time Barnabas’ name appeared in Acts. The focus zoomed in on Paul from here till the end of the book. Barnabas left a prominent partner and chose to stand by a person dubbed as a “failure” or a “quitter.”
Many years later, we see Paul commending John Mark: “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)”[17] While awaiting his execution, Paul asked Timothy to bring with him John Mark. When a person is facing death, he likes to surround himself with close relatives and dear friends. In Paul’s own words, “[Mark] is helpful to me in my ministry.”[18] The encouraging efforts of Barnabas paid off.
We owe a lot to Barnabas. We owe Paul to him. Paul went on to write 13 epistles. Fourteen if he wrote Hebrews. We also we Mark to him. Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark. Thus, we owe almost half of the New Testament to Barnabas, even if he did not write a single letter. We need more encouragers like him. Would you be a Barnabas to others?
I started with sharing how Dawson Trotman was labeled as a person who always lifted people up. In his funeral, Billy Graham summed up Trotman’s life this way: “I think Dawson Trotman had personally touched more lives than anybody that I have ever known.” You too can touch other people’s lives. Charles Swindoll wrote, “I know of no one more needed, more valuable, more Christ-like than the individual who is committed to the ministry of encouragement.”
Let us pray…
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[1]“The Navigator,” Time Magazine (July 2, 1956) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891299,00.html
[2]All Bible verses are from the New International Version (from www.e-sword.net), unless otherwise noted.
[3]John 14:16
[4]Hebrews 3:13
[5]Contemporary English Version
[6]Acts 5:1-11
[7]Acts 9:26-27
[8]Acts 11:23, 24b
[9]Acts 11:26
[10]Acts 11:24
[11]Acts 11:26
[12]Ibid
[13]Acts 13:13, NASB Update
[14]Acts 15:26-41
[15]Acts 15:38
[16]Acts 15:39a
[17]Colossians 4:10
[18]2 Timothy 4:11b
