“Be A Barnabas”
Rev. Keith Johnson
First Sunday After Christmas
December 27, 2015
A married couple was asleep in bed on a stormy night. They were awakened by a loud knock
on the front door. The man crawled out of bed and grumpily went downstairs. When he opened
the front door he found a man dripping wet and obviously very drunk. He said to him;" Can you
give me a push?" To which the man of the house replied sharply; "NO! Go and sober up!" He
slammed the door and stormed upstairs. When he got back into bed and explained what had
happened his wife was indignant. She said to him; "That wasn't a very kind Christian response.
That man could be in trouble. You have just sent him out into the storm. So he got out of bed a
second time. He put on his coat and went downstairs. He was sure he wasn't going to get any
peace until he did something for the man out in the rain. When he got to the front door the rain
was streaming down. He could not see the other man. He could hear a faint noise out in the
front yard so he called out; "Hello? Are you still there? What can I do to help?" To which the
other man replied; "Could you give me a push?" "I'd be happy to if I could see you. Where are
you?" He answered, "I'm over here, on your swing!”
Sometimes life brings us events where you just have to shake your head and laugh. If you
don’t you will live your whole life being a Grinch. But there are those kinds of people. They
choose to look at the gloomy side of life. Their eyes are always cast down. Their countenance is
cheerless. They have no enthusiasm or anticipation for life. Discouragement is their constant
companion.
William Ward writes about discouragement. He says, "Discouragement is dissatisfaction
with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for
the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity
regarding strength for tomorrow. It is an unawareness of the presence of beauty,
unconcern for the needs of our fellowman, and unbelief in the promises of old. It is
impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God."
There are some people who are just plain toxic. They are robbers of joy. A “robber of joy" is
someone who is determined to create either discouragement or hardship for others. Robbers of
Joy take on all shapes and sizes. They are often negative in their outlook.
They’re disappointed with their family. They are in need of attention. They are enamored with
their own power. Somewhere along the way, they have been allowed to get away with
unacceptable behavior.
Because they are not happy people, they are determined that others should not be happy
either. So, they are critical. They are fault-finding and they are contentious. They operate with
the credo “If I ain’t happy nobody else will be either.”
They can’t forgive others because they can’t forgive themselves. They are incapable of loving
others unconditionally because they have never- for whatever reason- been able to embrace
God’s unconditional love for them. Because they can’t love themselves they can’t allow you to
love yourself either. Close your eyes for a minute, and you will see every "robber of joy" you
have ever met. You know who they are don’t you? Painful, isn’t it?
They may have looked in the manger but they have never seen Jesus. We must do everything
we can to open them up to the love of Christ. But we must also make sure that we do not allow
them to drain us.
Have you ever had a dead car battery? The short term solution is usually for another car to
come alongside. You hook up a set of jumper cables from their strong battery to your weak
one. Drawing energy and power from the other battery your car is able to start up again.
That action of lending energy to help get another going is the basic idea behind a key word in
the New Testament. And that word is the word "Encourage".
There is a man in the New Testament who had a reputation for encouragement. His parents
named him Joseph but the leaders of the early church called him Barnabas. The word Barnabas
literally meant "Son of encouragement". Barnabas was a man who believed in the potential of
others. Because of his predisposition towards encouraging people the leaders of the early
church gave him the nickname "Son of encouragement". You & I are called to be like Barnabas.
The root meaning of the word encourage means this "To put courage into". It means imputing
or infusing the power advice or inspiration into another. You do it order to allow another person
to be better or to be recharged.
There are times for each of us when our battery runs down. We need to be encouraged.
Encouragement means coming alongside another person and inputting within them a
courageous perspective or attitude that helps them to get up and get going again.
When it came time to catalogue all the items that Abraham Lincoln had on him when he was
shot to death they found eight newspaper clippings. All of them were filled with words of
encouragement. Are you a Barnabas? Are you an encourager?
Words of encouragement shine brightest when the hour is darkest. They motivate us when
discouragement comes. They energize us when our body is tired. They sweeten us while
bitterness bites. They sing to us when all melodies are gone. They enable us to climb over
obstacles. They enable us to endure hardship.
There are many things in life that cause us to experience discouragement. “Discouragement”
is the draining away of courage. Sometimes it is a crisis, sometimes it is exhaustion or sickness.
Sometimes it is the cutting words or actions of another. To encourage is to do the exact
opposite. Where courage has faded away, encouragement is the putting back or the refilling of
courage. It represents the replacement of what has been taken or what has leaked out of us.
So how do we encourage? What are some practical ways that we can be a Barnabas to the
people God has placed in our lives? Let me offer two suggestions from the life of Barnabas:
First, allow people to grow. By that I mean believe that God is working in the lives of other
people. Believe that they have the potential to mature and to grow in Christ. People change.
People are transformed as the Holy Spirit works in them. A Barnabas encourager expects people
to grow as God works in their lives.
The Puritan Richard Sibbes offered encouragement in his book The Bruised Reed. He said,
"Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on
ourselves as elected to be 'holy and without blame.' In case of discouragement, we must
consider ourselves as Christ does, who looks on us as those he intends to fit for himself. Christ
values us by what we shall be, and by what we are elected unto. We call a little plant a tree,
because it is growing up to be so. ...Christ would not have us despise little things."
There is an interesting illustration of this in the relationship that Barnabas had with Apostle
Paul. Early on after Paul's conversion it was Barnabas who was willing to stand beside him.
The other Christians leaders continued to be suspicious of Paul. But Barnabas took a risk. He
stood by Paul. He brought Paul to meet the Apostles. It was Barnabas who went to Paul and
launched him into the pastoral ministry at the church in Antioch. In his early days it was
Barnabas who mentored Paul in the ways of Christian ministry. Barnabas and Paul together
launched out on an itinerate ministry as missionaries. The historical record is very much
"Barnabas and Paul". Barnabas was the leader and Paul was the apprentice.
However, later on in the book of Acts we read about Paul and Barnabas rather than Barnabas
and Paul. At some point in their journeys Paul assumed the more prominent leadership role.
Barnabas switched being the mentor or coach to Paul and became his associate. God used the
compassionate heart of Barnabas to help Paul become grounded in the faith. Allow people to
grow.
Secondly, be committed to a Christian community. According to the New Testament
Scriptures to have an encouragement mind set means placing a high value on belonging to the
community of faith.
As Christians we are called to belong to a fellowship of other believers. The coming together
with fellow Christians is expressly stated in the Scriptures as an act of mutual encouragement.
In Chapter 10:24 of the book to the Hebrews we read these words: "And let us consider
how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 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."
"But let us encourage one another." One of the ways we encourage each other in the
Christian faith is to gather together with fellow believers. To stay apart or to not relate with
fellow Christians has the opposite effect of encouragement. It leads to discouragement.
Proverbs 17:17 states “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Coming together with fellow Christians and being part of a Christian community encourages
our fellow believers in their walk with the Lord. Like two burning hot coals within a fireplace.
Each gives off heat and each receives heat from the other. Separate the two coals and they will
both go out very quickly.
Being in Community is not only about what you receive out of this fellowship, but more
importantly what you are able to give others. Having a low view of community and gathering
for corporate worship is not just about you missing out. It is also about you robbing others of
what you are capable of inputting into them. When we worship together, when pray together,
when we play together we observe a connection with Jesus.
When we experience that we are stirred up in our relationships with others. When we stay
away others miss out, and in turn if others stay away we are robbed. If we are serious about
behaving in the Barnabas manner then one of the best places to start is adopting a high value
of Christian community. Being Christian is about belonging to a community of faith. A
community that encourages one another.
The Scriptures tell us to “love one another deeply, to confess our sins to one another
and to pray for one another so that we may be healed”. We are told not to grumble
against each other. Not to lie to each other. Not to provoke and envy each other. We are to
build each other up. We are to encourage one another. Paul prayed that the Lord would make
our love increase and overflow to others. Paul tells the Colossians to bear up each other and
forgive whatever grievances they may have against one another.
The apostle John in one of his short epistle tells us 5 times in 5 verses "To love one
another."
William Arthur Ward one of our most quoted writers of inspirational maxims put it this way:
"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."
Our words are one of the most powerful weapons that we have. With just a few words we can
tear down and hurt deeply. And with just a few words we can lift up someone's spirits greatly &
encourage them. May we all be like Barnabas- sons and daughters of encouragement! Amen!!!