Barnabas—Little Man, Big Deeds
Series: Acts
Chuck Sligh
January 25, 2015
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Acts 4:31-37 – “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
INTRODUCTION
History books are filled with the deeds and accomplishments of mighty kings and generals and scholars and discoverers who made history. These are the ones we usually read about in the history books.
But some great things have happened that might NOT have happened were it not for some unknown, obscure person about whom we hear little about thereafter.
Illus. – During the first winter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s settlement at Plymouth, the Pilgrims were in bad shape. They had no food, and they didn't know how to hunt; they seemed doomed. Had it not been for an Indian named Squanto—who taught them how to hunt and fish and raise crops in the spring—the Pilgrims might never have survived! They did—because of an Indian about whom we never hear anything again. History records all the great things that happened with the colonists after that, but the story of Squanto is pretty much just a footnote of history.
Likewise, throughout the Bible, certain GIANTS of men and women stand out as uniquely used by the Lord, and their names and deeds are recorded in the Bible’s Hall of Fame. If you’ve been around church for any time at all, you’d recognize their names—like Abraham, Moses, Esther, Ruth, David, Jeremiah, Elijah, Daniel, Mary, Peter, James, and Paul.
But there’s a second tier of notables that we usually don’t pay too much attention to. Timothy, Silas, Dorcas, Aquilla and Priscilla come immediately to mind. Often they seem to be footnotes to the story of the great men and women we’re told about in the Bible.
But like Squanto, the biblical story would not have unfolded as it did but for the deeds of these people whom we might call “second team players.”
One of them is mentioned in our text by the name of BARNABAS. Barnabas’s name is sprinkled throughout the book of Acts, but he’s always on the second team. Yet his contribution was great and valued both by the Paul and by the early church. He had some traits in his life that certainly are worthy of emulation.
Let’s look at our text and see what a blessing Barnabas was…
I. LET’S FIRST EXAMINE BARNABAS THE MAN – Verse 36 – “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus.”
His given name was Joses, but the Apostles had renamed him “Barnabas,” which means “son of exhortation,” or “son of encouragement.” Apparently he was such an encouragement that they named him after his chief trait. Wow!—What a testimony!…to be known as “son of encouragement!”
The Greek word translated “consolation” in verse 36 can mean encouragement, exhortation, comfort or consolation—any of these, depending on the context. All of these ideas carry the same basic connotation: the idea of coming along someone and motivating them to do right; to inspire hope in the broken-hearted; in essence, to be an ENERGIZER in people’s lives for good and righteousness.
Illus. – Have you ever had the wonderful experience of going out to your car in 10 degree weather, only to find it won’t start? (That’s minus 17 degrees Celsius for our German friends.) You’ve been there: Everything else in the car works fine…except that the “get-up-and-go” for the car has “got-up-and-gone.”
Leaving aside the more serious reasons as to why batteries run down, the short-term solution is usually for another car to come alongside and hook up a set of jumper cables from their strong battery to your weak one. Drawing from the energy and power of the car alongside yours, your car is able to start up again and function normally.
Being a Barnabas is just like that: it’s being someone who is an energizer, an encourager, a helper, a positive force in others’ lives. It’s a matter of just “coming alongside” someone when they need your support and encouragement.
Illus. – Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues. Breaking baseball’s color barrier, he faced hostile crowds in many stadiums he played in.
While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. The fans began to jeer him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the crowd booed.
Then, without saying a word, shortstop Pee Wee Reese went over and stood next to Jackie. He put his arm around him and faced the crowd.
Suddenly, Jackie Robinson straightened up and stood tall and proud; now the sting of rejection and hatred didn’t hurt so much because an encourager came alongside and helped bear the brunt of the crowd with him. Soon the fans grew quiet; feeling both a sense of shame and the simultaneous whiff of the winds of change.
We need more “Barnabas Christians” today! God give us more people who encourage and edify others, and who stand with people against their struggles in life. People who are positive, hopeful, uplifting, enriching, inspiring.
Christian, let me ask you a question—Are you an exhorter and an encourager? You’ve heard me say it many times before, “Some people are an blessing wherever they go and others are a blessing WHENEVER they go.” A Christian should never be in the second category. We should always be an encouragement to others WHEREVER we are.
Our first point was Barnabas THE MAN.
II. SECOND, LET’S CONSIDER BARNABAS AND HIS MONEY – Verse 37 – “Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
The gift Barnabas gave shows us two things:
1) First, that he was self-sacrificing.
He saw the suffering of the saints around him and was compelled be generous with the needy in the church body. He wasn’t concerned only about his OWN needs, but also about the needs of OTHERS.
Paul told the Philippians to “Look not every man after his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:4-5)
The word mind in this passage means attitude. Paul was saying, “Let this ATTITUDE be in you that Jesus had.” What attitude was that? He goes on to tell how Jesus, though equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in every way, came down from heaven to die for our sins. Jesus, Paul taught, was not self-serving, but self-SACRIFICING out of a deep concern for humanity.
Barnabas could not give his life for others’ sins as Jesus could, but he COULD give his money for others’ needs. So he did, and it should be an example to us of generosity and self-sacrifice.
2) Barnabas’s gift also showed that he was a DOER of God’s Word.
James 1:22 says “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Barnabas didn’t just SAY what he would do for Christ; he DID it. Someone aptly said, “When all is said and done, more is said than done.” How true! Many HEAR the Word and SAY what they are going to do for Christ. But God is not impressed with hearers and sayers; God wants us to be BEers and DOers.
Barnabas DID what he knew to be right: He put his money where his mouth was, so to speak!
Illus. – This reminds me of the farmer named Joe who bought two pigs.
A farmer friend came over to see them, and after chewing the fat for a few minutes asked, “Joe, if you had 100 pigs, would you give me one of them?”
Joe said, “Jim, you know I would.”
“Well,” said Jim, “If you had 20 pigs, would you give me one of them?”
“Why sure I would, Jim. We’ve been best buddies for years.”
“Well, what if you had 10 pigs? Would you give me one of them?”
Joe eyed him suspiciously, and then said with a little hesitation, “I would Jim. You know I would.”
“Well, then, would you just give me one if you had TWO pigs?
Joe straightened up and said, “Now, Jim, you know good and well I’ve GOT two pigs!”
You see, it’s easy to talk big about hypotheticals, but we’re not so eager to DO what we say we’d do when dealing with reality!
How about you? Is your life paved with good intentions, but little action or follow-through? Have you been a HEARER of the truths of the Word of God, but not a FAITHFUL DOER?
It’s time some of us stopped TALKING and started DOING! It’s time Christians stopped just coming to church and letting the truths of God go in one ear and go out the other. It’s time we became totally dedicated to God and became OBEDIENT to God in EVERY area of our lives and stopped being HEARERS ONLY of the Word of God, and became DOERS of the God’s Word!
III. THIRD, CONSIDER BARNABAS AND HIS MOTIVES.
Why did Barnabas sell this plot of land, perhaps the last material thing he had in this world, and give it to the church to help the suffering saints in Jerusalem? Couldn’t he have just given the MONEY and held on to his land? What do you think his motive was? I see two motives for Barnabas’s sacrificial gift to the church in Jerusalem—the first is OBVIOUS, and the second is NOT SO OBVIOUS.
1) The obvious motive was GENUINE CONCERN FOR OTHERS
We’ve already discussed this so we’ll not belabor the point. Barnabas looked around and saw a great need of the suffering believers in Jerusalem and felt led to give to help others.
But I believe that perhaps the underlying key to Barnabas’s motivation is found elsewhere in this passage of Scripture.
2) The second, and primary, motive for Barnabas’s gift was OBEDIENCE.
Let me show you why I think that by looking at two little words in verse 36 – “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus.”
It tells us here that Barnabas was A LEVITE. Now why do you think Luke thought this was an important detail? Well, you see, in the Old Testament, a Levite was a person set aside to God for service in the Temple. Levites were subordinate to the priests, but served the important function of keeping things running in the Temple.
But here’s what I want you to see: Numbers 18:23-24, in giving some of the qualifications of a Levite, says that a Levite was NOT ALLOWED TO OWN PROPERTY. It’s seems an obscure requirement to us today, but God instituted it as an everlasting reminder that this world is not our home and we’re just sojourners here on earth, and the Levites were to embody that truth.
Yet we read in verse 37 that Barnabas, “having land, sold it...” In other words, Barnabas had been living in disobedience to what the Word of God had commanded because he was a Levite who owned property.
Later, Paul would teach that Christ’s death on the cross did away with the priesthood and the Levitical office, but Acts 4 occurs many years before God revealed this to Paul. So at this point these believers were responsible for the spiritual light they had, and the only light they had was the Old Testament Scriptures.
So when God finally got hold of Barnabas’s heart, Barnabas looked in his heart and realized his disobedience to God’s Law. If he was going to serve God and grow in Christ and be used of God, the property he owned in violation to God’s Word had to go! He had to obey God, even if it involved great sacrifice.
Illus. – The great missionary to Africa, John Hyde, said: “I know but one word—OBEDIENCE. I know how a soldier will obey an order even unto death, and I can’t expect to look Jesus in the face and obey Him less than a soldier his commander.”
Illus. – I remember as a child, when my Dad was stationed in Taiwan, I accompanied my parents to a parent-teacher meeting at the school I attended. One of my friends was talking to his dad and telling him about the game we had been playing, when his father interrupted him. His father said very seriously and firmly, “David, obey me instantly. Do NOT move a single muscle, and do not say a single word. Look your mother straight in the eye, and DO—NOT—LOOK—DOWN.”
David suddenly froze, curious about his dad’s strange instructions, but he obeyed him exactly. Though he saw fear in his mothers face, obediently he stared directly into his mother’s eyes.
After a full minute, David’s dad said, “Now son, very, very slowly walk to the left. Don’t make any sudden movements. Just slowly glide to your left.”
David again obeyed exactly as he was instructed. As he moved away, he turned around to see a cobra slither into the bushes—one that had been by his feet a moment before. I’m so glad David’s father had taught him to obey.
Are you always so ready to obey your heavenly father? Or do you ask, “Why, Lord?” or “Explain it to me first,” or “I’ll obey when I get around to it.” When God speaks, we should obey instantly. Our heart’s attitude should be, “Yes, my King and Master. Your wish is my command!”
What has God commanded you to do or to STOP that you have not obeyed Him in? We see Barnabas mentioned several more times in the book of Acts. He was greatly used by God. Sometimes we look at giants in the faith, like the Apostle Paul, and then we look at ourselves, despairing of ever reaching their level of greatness.
But here’s just a common man—a Levite, which was like a deacon; not even a priest in a major spiritual role. He was not one of the “giants of the faith,” but he played an important role in the early church nevertheless. And God could not have used him if he knowingly continued in disobedience to God.
Now let me ask you personally…Do you want God’s power on your life? Do you want growth in your walk with the Lord? Do you want to move beyond the level of mediocrity to a life of effectiveness and service and usefulness?
If so, you MUST obey God in your life.
CONCLUSION
Barnabas—What a man!
1) Barnabas was an encourager, an exhorter—a positive, motivating force in people’s lives. – One who came alongside and stood with those who were facing tough times and gave hope and inspired new motivation to serve the Lord.
Would that description fit you? or ¿would they say you’re a downer; a discourager; a gossiper; one who tears down, rather than builds up? If that’s you, you need to repent and ask God to show you how to be a Barnabas.
2) Barnabas wasn’t selfish or tight-fisted, but selfless and generous, and so should you be.
• Does someone bag your groceries at the commissary? Did you know that, unlike in the U.S., the baggers in the commissary don’t get an hourly wage; that their income comes solely from the tips they receive? It’s just pocket-change for the teens; but it’s a major, if not sole, source of income for many of the adults. Don’t be tight-fisted and selfish; be generous and big-hearted.
• Do you know someone who’s needy in the church? – Why not slip them a twenty to help get them through the week; or $50 or $100 if you can?
God help you to loosen your grip on STUFF and become generous like Barnabas.
3) Finally, Barnabas was a DOER of the Word, not merely a hearer.
What have you heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit to change in your life? The only place of complete joy and fulfillment is in complete obedience to God in your life. Don’t let your heart be hardened and end up facing God’s discipline in your life because of disobedience! I encourage you to turn back to the Lord, confess your sin and turn to the path of obedience to God.
May each of us become Barnabas Christians!
