Five Ways You Can Encourage Others Acts 4 If I could fashion church members any way I wanted them, I would use Barnabas as the standard to go by. That wasn’t his real name….it was his nickname….which was given to him by the other disciples. His real name was Joses. But if he were alive today, we would probably call him Barney. Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” Encouragement was Barney’s gift. The Bible calls him “son of consolation.” Look at Acts 4:36-37. “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, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” The word consolation or encouragement comes from the Greek word paracletos, which is the same word we us for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete…the Comforter. So here we have a man who’s doing for other people what the Holy Spirit does for the child of God. He comes to give comfort, hope and help. I love to be encouraged and I know you do, too. I’m grateful for the people who encourage me. I don’t like to be around discouraging people, but it just comes with the territory. The fleas come with the dog! But I don’t like to be around discouraging people because they’re like a drink of water to a drowning man! But Barnabas was a man who could lift your spirit. Discouragement is bad because it opens the door for all kinds of other sins and failures. Discouragement is the darkroom where the negatives of failure are developed. The Bible calls God the God of encouragement. II Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” That’s the same word used for consolation. They both mean encouragement. God is the God of encouragement. The devil, on the other hand, is the sinister minister of discouragement. Discouragement is the major cause of failure. Bill Glass was a pro football player out of Baylor. He’s a mighty man of God. He has a prison ministry. One time he was preaching to a thousand inmates when he said, “I want to ask you a question. How many of you had a father who said, ‘One of these days you’re going to end up in prison.’” Almost every one of those prisoners lifted their hands. Discouragement is a great cause of failure. I love people who believe it can be done. I like to surround myself with those kinds of people. There’s a guy in the Football Hall of Fame named Bobby Lane. Underneath his helmet it says, “Bobby Lane never lost a football game…he just ran out of time.” I really like that! We need to encourage one another. I Thessalonians 5:14 says, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” “Comfort the feeble minded.” When you hear that phrase, does it make you think of someone who is senile or mentally handicapped? That’s not what it means. It literally means someone with a small soul….somebody who is discouraged. God commands us here to encourage the discouraged. So many people need to be encouraged…and some of them may be in your own family. Did you ever read Peanuts in the comic strips? One time Lucy was talking to Charlie Brown and she said, “Charlie Brown, people put their deck chairs on the cruise ships in different ways. Some people put their deck chairs so they can see where they’re going. Others arrange the deck chairs so they can see where they’ve been. Some arrange them so they can see where they are. How do you do it, Charlie Brown?” He said, “I can’t get mine unfolded.” There are a lot of Charlie Browns in the world who need to be encouraged. I want to give you five ways to be an encourager. If you do these five things, you can become the church member of my dreams. I’ll give you five ways you can become a Barnabas to encourage people in your school, on your team, at work, in this church, or wherever you go. Barnabas did all five of these things. Let’s put all five of these things in the first person. First, “I will encourage others by practicing stewardship.” Look at Acts 4:36-37 once again. “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, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Here was a wise man who had much to give. There was persecution and poverty in Jerusalem. Barnabas saw the need and moved in to do something about it. He knew there was a difference between ownership and stewardship. Many of us major on ownership…but all we’re really doing is managing the affairs of God. We don’t really own anything. By the way, I forgot to get any money this weekend. I need a hundred bucks. Jay, do you have a hundred bucks? Would you give it to me? Thanks, Jay. Boy it’s good to have church members like that! Barnabas was like that. He saw a need and moved in immediately to meet it. Now, I know I’m not going to get anything else done until I explain what just happened. Do you know why Emory gave me that one hundred bucks? It’s mine. I gave it to him before the service. I said, “Emory, when I ask for it, give it back to me.” He was just giving back what was already mine. Since I gave it to him, I have every right to ask for it back. What do you have that God hasn’t already given you? Doesn’t He have the right to ask for anything He wants to? God had given so much to Barnabas….so when he saw a need, he moved in. Folks, it is what you sow that multiplies….not what you keep in the barn! If Barney had kept his money, we wouldn’t be talking about him today. You say, “Pastor, I’m not rich. I have nothing to sell, so this doesn’t apply to me.” Oh, yes it does! You have more than money to give. You have love, and help, and time, and wisdom, etc. We read in Acts 3:6 about some other apostles who weren’t rich like Barnabas was. There was a man lying at the gate of the temple who need help. And Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto thee.” God won’t ask you to give what you don’t have. The question is: are you willing to give what you do have? An encourager is someone who understands that they are a steward of the things God has placed in their hands. We have men in this church who’ve worked on widows cars in order to minister to them. “Such as I have, give I unto thee.” Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens. We’ve had so many people who’ve needed to be encouraged at various times in their lives. Just tell God that you’ll be an encourager and that you’ll give whatever you have in order to meet a need. There are people all around you that need that help. Here’s a second principle. Say, “I will encourage others by extending friendship.” Acts 9:22 says, “But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.” Paul had been an enemy of the church. Now he’s saved and preaching Jesus. Look at Acts 9:23-25. “And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took council to kill him: but their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.” Here is a man who had so much authority, but now he’s humbling himself, sitting in a basket and being let down over a wall at night. Verse 26 says, “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.” Why shouldn’t they be afraid of him? He’d been having Christians killed and thrown into prison. Now he’s between people who want to kill him on the one hand, and his brothers and sisters in Christ who are afraid of him. But now look at verse 27. “But Barnabas…” Underscore those two words. “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” Thank God for Barnabas! Barnabas is extending friendship. Paul needed someone to love him. He’s lost all of his old friends and his new friends are suspicious of him. Chuck Colson, the hatchet man of Watergate, gave his heart to Christ and nobody would trust him. They were saying, “This is just a political ploy. It’s foxhole religion.” But there were some people who put their arms around Chuck early and encouraged him in Christ. A true friend is someone who comes in when everyone else has gone out. We need to learn how to befriend new believers and encourage them. Barnabas said, “You don’t have to be afraid of Saul. He’s been saved, so welcome him now.” I can see old Peter reaching out and giving him a bear hug and saying, “Welcome, brother!” The church needs some Barnabas’s. Psychologists tell us that 70% of today’s population suffers from chronic loneliness. That means 7 out of 10 people you see are suffering from chronic loneliness. But Paul was included by a man named Barnabas. Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 15:5-7. “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” Paul knew what it was to be received and encouraged. You have more than money to give…..you can give friendship. Ask God to give you a new member in this church that you can encourage. John Stossel did a documentary on 20/20. He talked about how psychiatrists are giving psychotherapy to babies that are not yet a year old. Those babies who, for whatever reason, had never received eye contact, had never been touched, or hugged, or kissed, or held close. Those babies were already developing psychological problems. If babies don’t receive love in the first year of their lives, they grow cold and indifferent…..and some of them become brutal. He summarized the show by saying that it’s virtually impossible to spoil a baby in the first year of his or her life. You can’t give too much love. Now you can spoil kids….but not in the first year of their lives. It’s impossible to spoil a newborn Christian. They need to be loved and included. May God give us a church full of Barnabas’s! If you want to be a Barnabas, then practice stewardship that goes beyond money. If you want to be a Barnabas, then practice friendship. And here’s the third thing: if you want to be a Barnabas, then say, “I will encourage others by building partnerships.” Go to Acts 11:20-24. A revival had broken out in Antioch. “And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.” The headquarters for the church at that time was in Jerusalem, but revival had broken out in Antioch. So the church was asking, “Who are these people at Antioch? What do they believe? Are they orthodox? Is this a cult? Is this a breakaway movement? We need to send someone to investigate and see if they are really of us. Who should we send?” And who do you think they chose? They chose Barney. They said, “Barney, go down there and check that bunch out, will you?” Barnabas goes and says that he saw the grace of God. How do you see the grace of God? You see the grace of God when you get in a service where God is present. Barnabas walked in and said, “Good night! God is all over this place!” He went back and reported what he saw and said, “These are brothers and sisters and we need to get with them.” He wasn’t a wall builder….he was a bridge builder. He got people together and encouraged people by building partnerships. There are three kinds of people in the world. There are risk-takers, care-takers, and undertakers! I’m grateful for people who encourage. Too many churches have a chairman of the cold water committee. That’s the person who, every time somebody has an idea, they come and pour cold water on it. Thank God for the Barnabas’s who don’t go around trying to find all the reasons why something can’t be done! Here’s the fourth way to be a Barnabas. Say, “I will encourage others by developing leadership.” Look at Acts 11:25-26. “Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Barnabas is in the middle of this again. He saw what was going on in Antioch and said, “They need somebody with an organizational mind….somebody with spiritual insight….somebody who is a leader.” And he thought, “Saul is the man! I’ve got to get him down here in Antioch so he can lead this church.” So he says, “Saul, get over here, son! There’s a job for you to do!” Barnabas didn’t have the gift to do it. Barnabas was not a leader….he was an encourager. He didn’t try to build a bunch of folks called Barney’s Boys. He had enough sense to know that he needed someone with other talents. He knew Saul had spiritual talents that needed to be put to work and developed. So, he put Saul to work….and Paul never forgot that. Listen to what he wrote in Romans 12:10. “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” Barnabas was content to let Paul take the leadership. Barnabas had been deputized and sent down there to check it out, but he says, “I’m not the one to lead here…..Saul is the one.” It takes more grace to play second fiddle and play it well….and that’s what Barnabas did. He developed leadership. Not everybody is a leader. Barnabas wasn’t a leader: he was an encourager. Barnabas never wrote a book of the Bible, but two of the men he encouraged wrote books of the Bible. Paul wrote 13 of the New Testament books, and we’ll learn later that Barnabas encouraged a young man by the name of Mark who wrote Gospel according to Mark. From a human perspective, we may never have had those 14 books of the Bible if it hadn’t been for Barnabas! Here’s the fifth thing. Say, “I will encourage others by rebuilding relationships.” Look at Acts 15:36-40. “And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.” Mark had gone with Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. Somewhere along that journey, Mark got homesick, or afraid, or something, and he went home. That got all over Paul. He thought, “That slacker! He’s just a mama’s boy!” But Paul and Barnabas went on to finish the work. Now Paul wants to go back and retrace their steps to check on the churches they had started. Barnabas says, “Great! I’ll go get Mark.” Paul says, “Don‘t get him! He’s a quitter! You can’t count on him.” Barnabas says, “Now, look, Paul.” But Paul says, “I’m not taking him!” Barnabas says, “Okay, I’ll take him. You go one way and I’ll go the other.” Well, sometimes those things happen, don’t they? Barnabas knew this boy had failed, but he also knew that failure isn’t final. So he takes Mark and continues to nurture him. Later on, Paul’s in a filthy Roman prison. A lot of time has passed. Go to II Timothy 4:11 and take a look. “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.” How did that happen? It happened because there was a man named Barnabas, who refused to let go of a good man named Mark just because he failed once. There are many in this church who have failed….and they need for you to restore that relationship. Years ago, my brother and a friend of mine were ski racing down a mountain in New Mexico. I took a jump and when I landed, I my skis broke through the ice that was on top of the snow. I tried to make a quick turn and my leg snapped in two. Do you think my brother and my friend went down the slope laughing and saying, “Ha, ha! Gary fell!” They didn’t do that. Do you think they said, “Gary, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen you do!” No, they didn’t do that. They didn’t take a gun out and shoot me like you do horses when they break a leg. What they did was to go get a ski patrol to get me off that mountain and fix me up so I could have use of that leg again. People fall. They don’t need us to go around saying, “Did you hear about so and so?” They don’t need lectures. Someone said, “The church is the only organization that buries its wounded.” No! We need some Barnabas’s! Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness: considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” The word for restore there is the word they use to describe setting a bone. That’s why I used the example of breaking my leg. Give them tender, loving care. We need some Barnabas’s. Will you say, “I will encourage others by practicing stewardship, by building friendships, and so on? Or, you may be a Paul or a John Mark……but be among all things, a Barnabas. The Bible says he was a good man full of the Holy Ghost and faith. That’s because he’d put his faith in Jesus Christ. You can do the same thing today. If you put your faith and trust in Jesus, He’ll fill you with the Holy Ghost. Would you give your life to Him today?
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:45:00 +0000
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