You can be one too…
Acts 9:26-28
With all the advertising that we have seen with the election I am reminded about the continuous flow of messages that we are exposed to every day. The candidates for offices and the big companies want people to see or hear the name and think of something. One candidate wanted us to think change, the other maverick. Coke-a-cola used to use the word refreshing. Nike – just do it.
Advisers of all kinds spend a lot of money building up a name so that it means something. They want to represent quality and connect that with a product so you and I will reach for what we know...What we understand. What we need. When I am in the drug store I look at the boxes, years ago if I saw a box marked Ibuprofen I would not have connected it to a pain reliever. I would have had no idea that it was Advil. Millions of dollars worth of advertising taught me to think of Advil or other names when I have a hade ache.
The names we hear over and over come to mean things to us… both good and bad. Tylenol, Enron, Watergate ( I know I am dating myself) Names can remind us of bad things too.
Have you noticed how the drug companies lately are advertising the names of products but they never really tell you what they are for…they just say to ask your doctor? What is the point of generating name without a clear purpose or meaning?
Times have changed a bit but, I like to still think that my name means something. I try to let my yes be yes and my hand shake or my spoken agreement mean that the deal is made. I guess that I want my name to say something about me which other people can recognize as quality.
So I pay my bills, I do my jobs the best I can. I treat people with respect.
As a result, My bank and creditors like me fine. My co workers and friends seem to like me as well.
-- Thomas (Tom) A. Bowen Jr. is generally the name of a decent guy around town.
But that is not the only name I have. I have a bunch of nicknames… Dad, Tom, preacher, pastor, “Hunk” – ok not really, I have just a small dream that might fit me.
I have a couple of names that Renee uses..not really shareable here, primarily because, they are not representative of my best qualities.
-- The thing about a nickname is that you really can’t give yourself one….
The ones that stick are normally issued by someone else. Parents call their children nicknames sometimes. In my case, my parents call me TAB. It is based on my initials.
Parent’s nicknames are often terms of endearment. Couples usually have pet names for each other – honey, darling, sweetypie…..
The Bible tells us about God giving people new names. Abram was called Abraham – father of many or multitude. Simon became Peter – Rock or pebble. It seems that God renames people as a part of the new relationship and covenant.
So it is biblical that the people we have relationships will develop nicknames for us some good and some funny and some even bad. However nicknames typically reflect the way other people see us.
I have heard it said that, “A nickname is the heaviest stone you can throw at someone.”
Kids often give other kids nicknames some are good but, often that are negative like clumsy, of goofy or other names that speak to a negative trait either real or just out of meanness.
Adults give other adults nicknames too, years ago I was called T-bone – I like to believe that it was because I was considered a choice “hunk” of a man.
In reality, the receptionist where I was working took a phone message for me and someone else saw my name and asked who is t-bone…Because of her hand writing , the rest of the time I worked at that company all my phone messages were addressed to t-bone and half the department called me that.
Even as adults, people will often give you a nickname based of characteristics that we don’t always understand.
More recently, I had a friend to start calling me a nickname; He calls me tom terrific…. I have never asked him to explain his reasoning…But he is the only one that uses it…If he were to see me at Wall-mart or call me on the phone I would immediately know who was speaking to me. I know our relationship is good and I know he is encouraging me.
Today we are talking about a person that is called by a nick name. His real name was Joseph but, it seems that after he became a Christian that no one ever called him that. Acts 4: 36 gives us a brief description of him, “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),”
His nickname is given to him by the apostles. It is a descriptive name that reflects a character trait, even more specific his nickname represents his strongest spiritual gift. Son of encouragement….That is a name that does not sting like tubby or 4 eyes, or grumpy.
Joseph is apparently a pretty amazing guy. He is referred to by name his nickname 33 times in the NT. Now that is nothing compared to Paul at 228 times or Peter and 184 time but Matthew is only mentioned by name 6 times and Luke 4 times.
If you read through the Book of Acts you learn that he has many gifts. He is generous in his giving. He is trustworthy in his work. He is faith filled. And he is forgiving. If they had an organization like the boy scouts in his day he would have served as a leader. For today we will only look at the gift that his is named for, Encouragement….
I started thinking, how do we recognize the gift of encouragement?
When person with the gift of encouragement spends time with you, you inevitably feel better. Even if they are talking to you about some weakness in your life, their words somehow make you stronger.
Encouragers
- genuinely like people and work at relationships.
- They root for the underdog.
- They are open-minded, forgiving and tolerant.
- They are quick to respond to human needs.
- They are quick to give the benefit of the doubt.
- They are usually well-liked by others.
- They are almost always talkative.
- They are quick to spot and spiritual potential.
Basically, encouragers are the cheerleaders of the church. They love to cheer about others doing ministry within the church and community. They celebrate success and hard work and shout even louder when things are tuff and moving slow… “You can do it, We are behind you all the way…don’t stop now.”
Encouragers are often good leaders, but they don’t feel like they have to lead. They are just as happy to cheer and support someone else.
We should thank God for the men and women who encourage the rest of us. What a sad and dreary world it would be without them. Encouragers are normally the unsung heroes of a church and community. Working behind the scenes lifting people up.
I don’t know about you but, I would have quit a lot of good things if it had not been for someone that encouraged me along the way. I cant even count the blessings I would have missed if someone had not just told me to keep going.
Joseph, Barnabas has 7 different events of encouragement mentioned in acts. We are looking at only one this morning. This event happens after Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul had preached for several days in Damascus after receiving his sight. He preached that Jesus is the Son of God and the Jews make plans to kill him and he is lowered out of the city wall after dark to make his escape.
Acts 9: 26-28 “When he (Paul) 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. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.”
The last time Paul was in Jerusalem he had gone through the city looking for these “followers of the way” and put them in prison.
-- I imagine that the Jewish believers were relieved when he left. They probably thought it was an answer to prayer.
And now suddenly he comes slinking back into town claiming to be a believer…..Tell me that does not sound like some kind of a trap to you.
You see, no one in Jerusalem had heard what had happened to Paul. Even if they had, he already had a reputation. He already had some kind of nickname like persecutor or antichrist….definitely not brother to teacher or disciple.
So, it is little wonder that the apostles wanted nothing to do with him. His return is probably such a disappointment to them and has to give them a real and deep fear for their future.
What better way to destroy the church that to weasel his way in that get a look at the members and the leaders and call in the goons to round everyone up.
Basically, Peter and the others know when something smells fishy…old fishy.
How could he hope to be successful as such a lame trick?
What “follower of the Way” in his or her right mind would ever allow Saul to get close to them?
That is where Barnabas comes in. At some point Barnabas has a chat with Saul and he learns his story. He hears about the conversion. He hears about his preaching and he takes Saul to a meeting of the leadership.
This was a risky step to take. Not only had Barnabas risk his own skin by taking to Saul but he seems to have placed the leadership of the church at risk as well.
What if Barnabas is wrong about Saul? It could be that hundreds of innocent people will go to prison and ultimately die.
- Do you think that Barnabas knew how Saul would turn out? No, I really doubt it.
- Did he have any inkling that he would someday write 13 books of the New Testament? No.
- Did he know that he would preach the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome? Not likely.
- Was he totally, 100% sure about Saul’s conversion? How could he be?
Barnabas allowed his gift to lead him to act with no solid evidence. To act on what he believe to be possible and true about Saul.
You see, the early church looked at Saul and saw a problem; Barnabas looked at him and saw incredible potential.
The early church looked at him and saw his past; Barnabas saw his future.
The early church saw what he had been; Barnabas saw what he could be.
That’s what encouragers do.
They see potential, they look to the future, they focus on what people might become given time and the power of the Holy Spirit.
You can see in Barnabas several of the characteristics we talked about earlier. He was quick to respond to a human need; he was quick to give Saul the benefit of the doubt; he was quick to spot spiritual potential. And most importantly, he spoke up in Saul’s favor when the early church wanted nothing to do with him.
How much do you think things have changed in 2000 years? Are there people that we feel are a threat to us in some way….
How does the this church treat people that drive by here on any given day?
Is it just here or does it speak to them in some way?
Ok It is just a building so the real question is how to the members answerer that question.
Is the church/membership welcoming and inviting?
Do people feel as if they will be made comfortable or judged should they show up?
I am afraid that we are a lot like the early church. We believe that we are welcoming and open to anyone that comes in. We know that we will be polite if they happen to be different in the way the dress or act or even if they are a different race.
But, how genuinely welcoming will we really be?
Will we leave them to sit on a pew without introducing ourselves?
Will we make them prove themselves in some way before we get to know them better?
--Will we make people walk in the door to show their interest in spiritual things before we invite them into a relationship.
How will we treat a person that has a history or a background? A person that has made some mistakes and maybe even been hurtful to someone we know?
Barnabas had his name for quite a while before this event. It seems that he was not shy or reserved in his giving of encouragement. That seems to be especially true when there was some extra risk involved. The Bible records his encouragement to people inside of the church and this event is to a person outside…way outside of the church of the day.
Do you realize that because Barnabas liked and encouraged people the New Testament has 13 books written by Paul.
His encouragement was fairly simple. He stood beside Paul; which, was encouraging however, it was the church that needed to change.
It was the church that needed to be open to the spirit.
It was the church that needed a Barnabas to allow God to work through a person with a bad history to be powerful for the kingdom of God.
That’s a pretty big job for what some would call a “minor” Bible character.
It is a big job that our churches need today. In a way you could call Barnabas “the apostle of the second chance.” But if you look at all we know about him it is probably more accurate to call him “the apostle with no limits.”
He did not limit seekers based on nationality, social class, race or even personal history. We was welcoming and inviting and encouraging to the people that he met.
He did that with two simple qualities:
-- First he always believed the best about people.
-- Second he never held a persons past or situation against them.
A while back we were using the “Mayberry” Bible study materials and the teachers guide asked us to examine our inner Barney. You know how Barney on the show sometime had a different view. He was not always as encouraging as Andy.
I believe that every Christian has the ability and even an obligation to be encouraging. We all have the ability to cheer for our ministries. It is one of the outward signs of a Christian life.
Some of us will, if we let he spirit work, will be gifted as Special cheer leaders for the church. It is also a gift to the people outside the walls because they take their reputation in Christ seriously.
This definition started me thinking, and perhaps should start you thinking as well.
Since we don’t get to pick our nick names what might others calls us?
What would my name be if we were to start calling each other by a name that reflected our strongest spiritual gifts or character traits?
I hope that it is or will be one that represents the traits that you exhibit as you use your gifts.
Our families, our church and our community could really benefit from more encouragers.
Prayerfully look into your inner Barnabas.
Maybe you could be one too!
All Glory be to God!
