November 9, 2007

Encourage One Another!

Selected Scriptures re. Life of Barnabas

We are taking a break from our series on the book of Philippians today because so many of our people are away at the Family Retreat. Then next week, Neil O’Boyle, our youth pastor will be preaching. But we will get back to Philippians the week after that.

The school I attended when I was growing up was a school for missionaries’ children located in Kenya. Especially in my early days at the school, it was common for students to be assigned a nickname by the other students. So I grew up going to school with kids called Rat, Skunk, Moose, Fox and Hamster. These nicknames were assigned due to a variety of obscure and often forgotten reasons, but the names stuck.

Nicknames are common in many cultures. I have read that in some African cultures, it is common practice to assign a nickname to a person based on his character or personality, or sometimes his physical attributes. Sometimes, especially if the name was not complimentary, this name would not even be known by the person himself, but would nonetheless be used as personal description by those who knew him.

I wonder, if your friends and acquaintances were to come up with a nickname for you based on your reputation and character, what kind of nickname would they choose?

I want to preach a message today on the life of Joseph. When I say that, many of you might find yourself flipping to the book of Genesis in your Bible. But that is not the man I am going to talk about. I am going to talk about a man named Joseph in the New Testament. Now, when I say that, some of you may be flipping to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and the story of Joseph and Mary. But, again, that is not the man I am referring to. This man’s story is told in the book of Acts. At this point, you might be rather puzzled. “I don’t remember anyone named Joseph in the book of Acts,” you might say. Well, he’s there, but the reason you don’t remember him is that he usually referred to by his nickname. Turn to Acts 4:36-37: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas …sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

His name was Joseph, but the apostles gave him a nickname. They called him “Barnabas”. The verse goes on to tell us that this Aramaic name can be translated as “Son of Encouragement.” So thoroughly did this new name stick that he is never again referred to as Joseph in the Biblical text, but always as Barnabas.

As we look at this man’s life story as it is told in the Scripture, we find a number of good traits which we would do well to remember and imitate.

For example, he was a generous giver. In Acts 4:37, which we just read, we find that he sold a piece of property and gave the money to the apostles for the ministries of the church. That is a very generous act. It represented a very strong commitment to the Lord and his work.

We also find that he was man of godly character. Acts 11:24 describes him this way: He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. That is a very positive description of his character and his walk with the Lord.

As we trace his story, we discover that he was a trusted Christian leader. We see this in Acts 11:22. When the church in Jerusalem heard about a new work of God that was occurring in the city of Antioch, they sent Barnabas to check on it and oversee its growth.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. Later, when the church in Antioch wanted to send a gift to the church in Jerusalem and wanted to send it with a trusted leader, we read in Acts 11:32: This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Finally, we see that he was an effective teacher and missionary. He was a member of the leadership team at the church in Antioch, and he became a member of the very first mission team to be sent out. We find this in Acts 13:1-2: In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. From that beginning we can trace his effective service as a missionary along with Paul in the early days of spreading the Gospel.

Well, as I said, all of these are wonderful traits and well worth imitating. But none of them quite capture the uniqueness of this man. There is one quality in his life that stands out above the others. It is the quality that earned him his nickname. Barnabas: son of encouragement. It is that quality that I want to focus on in the message this morning. What can we learn from Barnabas about encouragement and how to be encouragers. As I meditated on his life, I have come up with six principles about encouragement that I would like to share with you.

First, we learn that an encourager comes along side. We discover this by taking apart the original Greek word for “encourage.” It is a compound word. One word means “to call.” The second word is the preposition meaning “beside” or “along side of.” From this we can see that encouragement is both a position as well as an activity. To do it effectively, we have to be in the right place. We have to be alongside. We have to communicate to the other person that we are with them in the struggle; that we are on their side as well as by their side. We are not above them or ahead of them or behind them. We are beside them. Effective encouragement comes out of effective relationships. A superior attitude tends to crush rather than encourage, even if the same words are spoken. Barnabas had a knack for coming along side of people.

Second, we find that an encourager offers the help appropriate to the need of the moment.

One of the interesting things about this particular Greek word, (parakaleo) is that it isn’t translated the same way every time you see it. It’s kind of a “chameleon word” that changes color in different settings. Sometimes it is translated “encourage.” But other times it is translated “comfort” and in other places it can be translated “exhort” or “urge.”

Why does the word keep changing? The basic idea is to offer verbal assistance from a position alongside. But what kind of assistance is necessary? That depends on the circumstances and the need of the moment. If someone is sad, what do they need? They need comfort. If someone is timid and fearful, what do they need? They need courage; hence the translation “encouragement.” If someone is feeling lazy or reluctant and about to quit or give up, they might need exhortation and urging. What the encourager does is come alongside, assess the need of the moment and offer the appropriate help. That requires alertness. It also requires sensitivity to the other person’s feelings and needs. The encourager must be tuned into the person he’s with as well as tuned into the Holy Spirit to discern the need of the moment and speak the right words.

These first two points both come from the etymology of the word itself. But there are also some valuable lessons we can learn from the life of Barnabas himself. For example, a true Christian encourager always has a Biblical goal and purpose in mind.

This is where Christian encouragement parts company from its secular counterpart. The world’s encouragement tells us: do what you feel like doing, do what’s right for you, do whatever you need to do to fulfill yourself and find yourself. The world’s encouragement is all about making people happy and helping them feel better. But Christian encouragement is about helping people be better. There is a great description of what Barnabas did when he arrived in the church at Antioch. It’s found in Acts 11:23: 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.

I think that is a wonderful summary of the goal and purpose behind all true Christian encouragement. As I said, the specifics and nuances of how to do that will vary from person to person and from situation to situation. That’s where the sensitivity comes in. But the goal is the same in the end. We want to come alongside of other believers to encourage them to remain steadfast in their loyalty to the Lord. Every believer has tough days, difficult weeks, painful months and even years. During those times we are often tempted to drift away, to abandon our faith or let it grow cold. We need encouragement, comfort and exhortation to keep on keeping on.

We are also all bombarded by temptations to sin that are all around us. In this struggle also, we need encouragement. There is a passage in Hebrews on encouragement that makes this point. In Hebrews 3:12-13, we read: 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. A true Christian encourager always has a Biblical goal or purpose in mind.

The fourth lesson we learn is that an encourager is willing to take a chance on people. We see this in Barnabas in the risk he took in his early dealings with Paul, or Saul as he was known at the time. Here’s the situation. Saul had been the chief persecutor of the Christians. The very mention of his name was enough to bring fear the heart of the believers. He was breaking up fellowships, arresting Christians, throwing them in jail. Now a story goes around that he’s become a follower of Christ. What is your first thought? Aren’t you just a bit suspicious? What if this is setup? Is he trying to infiltrate the churches so he can throw more of us in jail? This is exactly what happened. Look at Acts 9:26: 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…” Do you see that? Barnabas was willing to take a chance. The rest of the verse tells us, “…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. He took a chance on him. He became his mentor, his sponsor, his encourager.

The risk, the chance we take, may not be as threatening as Barnabas took with Saul. We may simply be risking that fact that the other person might fail and might not live up to expectations. He or she might let us down and disappoint us. But the encourager is willing to take those risks, because he wants to see the other person succeed. This pattern continues later with Barnabas and Saul as we see in Acts 11:25-26: Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 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. Once again Barnabas took a chance on Saul, this time by recruiting him into a teaching and leadership role in the church in Antioch.

This brings us to another lesson from Barnabas. An encourager is willing to take a second chance on people. To learn this lesson, we need to trace the story of Barnabas’ relationship with a young man named John Mark. John Mark was actually a relative of Barnabas, his cousin according to Colossians 4:10. He is mentioned in Acts 12:25: When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. A little later, when they set out on their first missionary journey, we read in Acts 13:5 that, “John was with them as their helper.” But something went wrong on their travels, and we find out in Acts 13:13 that, “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

John Mark failed them. He let them down. He abandoned ship in the middle of the trip. Barnabas had taken a chance on him, and he was disappointed. What does an encourager do then? Look at Acts 15:36-40: Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing. Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them 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. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus…

Here we see the heart of Barnabas, the true encourager, at work. He gave John Mark a second chance. Paul, on the other hand, was not willing to take that risk. But Barnabas was. He felt so strongly about it, that it actually caused him to part company from Paul. So how did that second chance turn out? I think we find out in II Timothy 4:11 in a letter from Paul himself where he writes to Timothy: Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. The short term failure has become a long term success. Even Paul is convinced. “He is helpful to me in my ministry.” Not only that, but most scholars believe that John Mark became the author of the Gospel according to Mark. Imagine what might have happened if Barnabas had not been willing to take a second chance on him. Sometimes people do disappoint us and let us down. At those times, we can respond like Paul and be quick to write them off as useless and not worth the risk. But true encouragers like Barnabas keep trying. They help the other person get back up. They help them brush the dust from their clothes. They help them learn the lessons from their failures. But then they give them another chance to serve and become useful to the kingdom of God.

There is one more lesson that I want us to take away from the life of Barnabas. An encourager is willing to play a secondary or background role.

This truth is seen once again in Barnabas’ relationship with Paul. Throughout the ministry in Antioch, Barnabas plays the leading role. When they begin their missionary journeys together, they are listed as “Barnabas and Saul.” But it isn’t very long into their missionary partnership before we find the description becomes “Paul and Barnabas.” Yet there is never a hint in the story that Barnabas resented this shift in leadership. Barnabas was not competing for top billing. Rather he delighted in the effectiveness of his protégé.

This is an important principle. As long as our own status, our own prestige, our own recognition is the most important thing to us, we will never be a true encourager. Competitors don’t make great encouragers. They are too busy waving their own flag to wave anyone else’s. But a true encourager takes genuine delight in the success and recognition that comes to those whom they have encouraged.

Barnabas is a great example of what should be a basic principle of life among Christians. We saw it in our Scripture reading this morning in Hebrews 10:25: 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. One of the basic reasons for Christians to get together is to encourage one another to continue in the walk of faith and to live lives that are pleasing to God.

When I was a young man, just out of seminary, only 25 years old, I was called to be the pastor of a little church in Alaska. God gave me some wonderful gifts in that church. But one of the most valuable things he gave me was the presence of a couple men who were real encouragers. They were older, wiser, and more experienced in ministry than I was. In fact, some other pastors asked me, “Aren’t you intimidated by having men like them in your church?” But I never was, because they communicated to me from the very beginning that they were on my side and they wanted me to succeed. They were always there with the word of appreciation and encouragement; to build me up and to keep me going, or to warn me and instruct me if necessary. But they were always at my side, my friends, desiring me to succeed.

Let me challenge all of us in the church to make a commitment to become encouragers. Some may have a special gift in this area. But all of us can minister to one another in this way. Imagine what would happen if each of us made it a goal as we came to church on a Friday to find at least one person to speak a word of encouragement to. What a difference it could make. Will you join me in making that commitment?