Reading: Acts chapter 11 verses 19-30.
ill:
• Anne Mansfield Sullivan had a host of folks telling her:
• That the blind 7 year old brat she was teaching was just not worth it.
• Anne persisted in spite of:
• Temper tantrums, physical abuse, meal time madness, even thankless parents.
• In her heart she knew it was worth the pain:
• Within 2 years the girl was able to read and write in Braille.
• She ultimately graduated from Radcliffe college,
• Where Anne Sullivan had spelled each lecture into her hand.
• The name of that pupil was ’Helen Keller’:
• Who was the American author, activist and lecturer.
• She was also the very first deaf-blind person to graduate from a college.
• Had it not been for the encouragement & pertinence of Anne Mansfield Sullivan;
• Helen Keller would have been a nobody, of little worth.
• And the world would have been robbed of this great woman.
Encouragement is a quality that is so desperately needed to day.
• Ill: Billy Graham “Gift of criticism”.
• “You may have the gift but you did not get it from God!”
This morning we are looking at a man born with the name ‘Joseph’;
• But he had certain qualities that caused the apostles to rename him ‘Barnabus’;
• The name ‘Barnabus’ means "Son of encouragement".
Quote: William Arthur Ward.
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you”.
• This morning we are looking at three character traits that were found in Joseph.
• These are the traits that won him the nickname of Barnabus.
(1). He was a man with a generous spirit.
• There are around 34 referenced to Barnabas in the New Testament;
• All but five of them appear in the Book of Acts.
• The first reference we have is found in Acts chapter 4 verse 36;
• Where Dr Luke the author of the author of the Book of Acts,
• Has been writing about the incredible sense of community and fellowship;
• That existed amongst the first Christians.
• People were sharing their excess or surplus wealth;
• With others in the church who were in need.
• Dr Luke then decides he wants to give a specific example of generosity;
• And he chooses Barnabus.
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There 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 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
In these few verses we are given an insight into Barnabus’ nature:
• We are told that Barnabus sold a parcel of land;
• And with the money he gave it away to meet the needs of the poor.
• He was a man with a generous spirit
Ill:
• A local charity decided to call on a wealthy businessman;
• And to ask him for a large financial donation.
• The man had a reputation for being a bit like scrooge.
• And he was not pleased to see the man from the charity.
• The man was a bit miffed by the charity person and said;
• “Money, money, money, everybody wants my money!”
• “Do you know that;
• I have a widowed mother who has no other means of support but me?"
• “No”, the person from the charity replied,
• “We did not know that”.
• "Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband ;
• With five children and no means to provide for them?"
• “No”, they said, “we did not know that either”.
• "Did you know also that I have a brother who was crippled by an automobile accident;
• And can never work another day to support his wife and family?"
• Embarrassingly, they responded,
• “No sir, we did not know that either”.
• "Well," he thundered triumphantly,
• "I’ve never given any of them a cent so why should I give anything to you?"
Unlike that man, Barnabus was a man with a generous spirit:
• The New Testament teaches that every Christian should give;
• Ill: Baptised man and wallet.
• The New Testament teaches that every Christian should give;
• But some Christians seem to have an extra generous spirit.
Ill:
• Sir John Lang (GSUS LIVE).
• Who set apart what they needed for the year, gave the rest away (invested wisely).
Barnabus was known for his generosity.
• Generosity is not limited just to financial giving.
• Generosity could be kind words.
• Generosity could be giving a helping hand.
• Generosity is seeing a need and meeting it with positive enthusiasm!
(2). he was a man who could be trusted.
• Three different times, in the book of Acts,
• We find Barnabus being called upon to do jobs that required the trust of others.
Example 1:
• In Acts 11 (vs 21b-24) we find that a new church was planted in the city of Antioch.
• The mother church was based in Jerusalem.
• Up until now the Church has been dominantly Jewish;
• But that is about to change as more and more Gentiles are being converted.
• The mother Church needed a trustworthy worker;
• That they could send to Antioch to encourage these new believers.
• It was Barnabus that they chose to encourage and build up these believers.
• Barnabus was both spiritually but also culturally the right man.
Ill:
• Think back to the verse we have just read from Acts chapter 4 verse 36:
• “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus”.
In that short statement we are given two more insights concerning Barnabus:
(1). He was a Jew.
• He has a Jewish name Joseph – he was a Jew.
• In fact he was from the Jewish tribe of the Levites.
• The Levites were the tribe that Jewish priests were chosen from.
• So that would suggest he had a spiritual pedigree.
(2). He came from Cyprus.
• Cyprus like Antioch was a Gentile (non-Jewish) area.
• This meant that Barnabus was used to living among Gentiles.
• He would not be over whelmed by the racially mixed environment of Antioch.
• He could handle living and working among Gentiles.
So when the mother Church:
• Based in Jerusalem and made up mainly of Jewish Christians;
• Needed a trustworthy worker that they could send to Antioch to encourage these new believers.
• It was Barnabus that they chose.
• Because he was both spiritually but also culturally the right man.
Quote: Acts chapter 11 verses 21b-24.
“…and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
ILL:
• It is visited each year by thousands of people,
• It is one of the great tourist attractions in the world,
• It stands 179 feet tall and is a work of beauty,
• The problem is the architect built it on 10 feet of foundations.
• The leaning tower of Pisa,
• Is externally impressive but was a disaster waiting to happen!
• And it has only survived to this day,
• Thanks to the knowledge and skill of many different experts.
• In Acts 11 (vs 22-24) Barnabus was sent to build some good foundations;
• He was sent to encourage and build up these believers.
We are told he could encourage & build up these believers this because he had 3 qualities:
• (a). He was a good man – he had a heart for others (even Gentiles!)
• (b). Full of the Holy Spirit – His love & concern came out of his love for God (overflow).
• (c). Full of faith – You cannot build anything for God without faith!
Example 2: Acts chapter 11 verses 27-30:
“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the believers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.”
In another example of demonstrating love in a practical way:
• We read of the Church at Antioch (Gentile);
• Collecting an offering to give to the church in Jerusalem (Jewish),
• These Christians could have said; “Charity begins at home”;
• But they did not!
Ill:
James Montgomery Boyce writes;
“As far as I know, this is the first charitable act of this nature in all recorded history – one
race of people collecting money to help another people”
When the Church needed someone to transport the gift & to make sure it arrived complete:
• Question: Who did they call?
• Answer: They called on the trustworthy Barnabus.
Ill:
• The children in a prominent American family;
• Decided to give their father a book of the family’s history for a birthday present.
• They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work:
• Carefully warning him of the family’s ‘black sheep’ problem:
• Uncle George had been executed in the electric chair for murder.
• ‘I can handle that situation so that there will be no embarrassment,’
• The biographer assured the children.
‘I’ll merely say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important Government Institution.
He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock.’
Barnabus was a trustworthy man.
• And when a man of honesty and integrity was needed;
• He was first choice!
Example No 3: Acts chapter 15 verses
• A theological debate arose in the church.
• Some influential Christians had come to the Churches with wrong teaching.
• The church needed someone trustworthy to speak up.
• Question: So who did they call? Answer: They called on the trustworthy Barnabus.
• Barnabus and Paul were sent as representatives from the Antioch Church;
• And they were sent to speak the truth!
Ill:
• The best way to show that a stick is crooked;
• Is to place it next to a straight one!
(3). Barnabus an encouraging man.
Barnabus was a man who saw the good in other people and encouraged them.
• Two different times, in scripture,
• We find him standing beside other people when they needed a friend.
Example one: Acts chapter 11 verse 25:
“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him,
he brought him to Antioch”.
• The first time we find Barnabus standing beside other people when they needed a friend.
• Is at the conversion of the apostle Paul.
• Paul, as many of you know, was a bitter man before his conversion.
• He had persecuted many believers because of their faith.
• His former name Saul;
• Sent fear into the hearts and minds of God’s people.
• When he was converted (i.e. he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus);
• There were many who were sceptical (Acts 9:27) of his conversion.
• Some saw it as a trap;
• Maybe he wanted to infiltrate the Churches and at a later stage destroy them all.
In Acts chapter 11 verse 25 we read:
• Barnabus stood up for him.
• Barnabus stood beside him when he needed a friend.
Ill:
• Little boy who was scared of the dark and refused to go to bed;
• His mum tried everything;
• In the end she got spiritual and said; “God will be with you”
• The boy replied; “I know, but sometimes you need someone with skin on!”
• At this time in Saul’s life he needed someone with skin on;
• So God sent him Barnabus to encourage and to use his gifts at Antioch.
Example two: Acts chapter 15 verse 36-41:
• Another time when Barnabus displayed this quality of acceptance;
• Was with a young man named John Mark.
• John Mark had started off well in the Christian life.
• He was growing. He was going on mission trips.
• He was supporting his spiritual leaders.
• But there was one occasion when John Mark stumbled and blew it!
Ill:
• He had been with Paul and Barnabus on a missionary journey and turned back.
• We do not know what happened.
• He may have gotten home sick.
• He may have gotten tired of the trials of travel.
• He may have experienced doubts.
• Acts chapter 13 verse 13 reads:
• “John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem”.
• The full picture is given to us in Acts chapter 15 verse 38;
• Notice the strong language used “John Mark deserted them”.
Well if you know the story:
• John Mark ‘the deserter’ the one who had abandoned the missionaries;
• Got himself sorted out and back into a local Church.
• Then the opportunity of another missionary journey came along;
• And John mark wanted to go along!
• Paul did not want to take him, he was uneasy, he knew John Mark was a quitter!
• Not so Barnabus! He was willing to give John Mark another chance.
• Barnabus saw the good in John Mark. He saw the potential;
• While Paul and the local Church all saw was the failure of J.M.
Note:
• This incident caused a disagreement, a short term separation between Paul and Barnabus,
• Who had been missionary companions.
• Paul took Silas as his companion;
• Barnabus took John Mark.
• The Church sided with Paul;
• Because Paul & Silas were commended by the Church.
• Barnabus took John Mark.
• And we read of no commendation for them!
Now because Barnabus stuck with John Mark:
• Because he was willing to invest time and effort in him,
• John Mark’s story goes on.
• He does leave the N.T. pages in defeat, and disappointment.
• In fact the opposite is true!
• God works through the care of Barnabus to:
• Train and disciple him and to make a man of God out of him.
John Mark actually goes from failure to success:
• Ill No 1: Colossians chapter 4 verse 10:
• When Paul writes his letter to the Colossians,
• He is writing from a prison in Rome,
• And to our surprise Mark is there with him.
• They are friends once again, Paul writes: "Welcome Mark".
• Ill No 2: Philemon verse 24:
• In another prison letter, this time to Philemon,
• Paul describes Mark as a "Fellow worker"
• John Mark had won back Paul’s respect; "Fellow worker".
• Ill No 3: Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 11:
• Paul this time is awaiting death,
• His is very near to the end, he says to Timothy his right hand man;
• "Get Mark and bring him with you, he is helpful to me in my ministry".
• This is a long way down the road from when:
• Paul contemptuously dismissed John Mark as a quitter,
• At the end of his life Paul wanted John Mark with him!
• Ill No 4: John Mark went on to write one of the books of the Bible;
• The Gospel of Mark, a book read all over the world.
• Translated into English,
• Read and studied even in obscure places like Nailsea!
• Barnabus was a great encourager;
• But he learned it from the master encourager, Jesus Christ.!
