The Church Member Of My Dreams

* I thank God for the Barnabases in this world today who are load-lifters!

* Let me tell you another sign of a Barnabas, a son of consolation. * Not only is he a load lifter,

(2) HE IS A FRIEND FINDER - ACTS 9:23-27!

* This episode is right after the conversion of Saul when he became Paul.

A) Now Saul, as you know, was persecuting the church!

* Jesus appeared to him, he became converted, and now I begin reading in Acts 9:23-24,

* Why did they want to kill Paul? * Well they felt that Paul was a traitor, a turncoat!

* Paul had been persecuting the church and now he’s lined up with the church!

* And so they think of him as a turncoat and they are going to kill him! * But v.25 says .......

* Can you see this once proud Pharisee hovered in a wicker basket, going down over the wall of

Damascus, trying to escape the city for his life? * Now notice v.26!

B) Now here he is ... His former friends want to kill him!

* Now he needs to go and be with the Christians in Jerusalem and they are afraid of him!

* He’s in no man’s land, they are suspicious of him, they don’t think he’s really been saved!

* And so he’s kind of a man without a country! * But now notice v.27!

C) "But Barnabas took him," * Just underline that! * Now what did Barnabas do?

* Barnabas was a friend finder! * Here was a man who needed a friend!

* Barnabas went out and found him and became a friend to a very lonely new disciple!

* Now folks, I want to tell you, there are a lot of new Christians who need somebody to find them

and to be a friend to them! * There are a lot of people who need an encourager!

D) Do you know what the new Christian needs?

* If anybody needs encouragement, it is a brand new Christian!

* Oh God, give us some Barnabases who will reach out and be a friend to them!

* That’s what an encourager is, he’s a friend finder!

* Can’t you just see the big fisherman putting a bear hug on old Saul and just loving him and

saying, "Come on brother, you’re one of us, we’ll love you, God bless you."

* And a church needs to be filled with Barnabases, people who will find a friend and embrace that

friend and welcome him into the fellowship!

* Barnabas was called an encourager! * He was a friend finder!

* And I want to tell you another reason that Barnabas was an encourager!

(3) HE WAS A BRIDGE BUILDER - ACTS 11:19-24! * Now what had happened was this:

* A revival meeting broke out in Antioch, the gospel fires were beginning to burn!

* The Christians have been persecuted and many of them left Jerusalem, some of them to Antioch!

* They began to tell the story of the resurrected Lord.

* People believed and revival fire got started!

A) That city was turned upside down and inside out for the Lord Jesus!

* Now, word of that revival went back to Jerusalem, to the headquarters where the apostles were.

* And they said, "Look, a lot of folks, a lot of Greeks are getting saved over there in Antioch."

* Well they said, "We wonder, is that true fire or wildfire? Is that of God."

* They had not approved it, they had not initiated it, they had not watched over it!