The Barnabas Effect - Part 2

Do people need encouragement? The answer

is always yes. Uh the big question is

are they receiving encouragement from

you? Uh we are this is the second part

of a study on my favorite person in the

Bible that's not named Jesus. Uh a man

by the name of Barnabas. And uh last

week we talked about this thing I was

calling the Barnabas effect which is

basically uh that if you met Barnabas

you left encouraged. So, similar to Miss

Kay, if you meet Miss Kay, you leave

encouraged. And so, his he had this

secret formula that we looked at last

week uh of how to encourage people. Uh

the first thing he did is he showed up

and he noticed the spark of God's grace

in someone's life. Then he fanned that

flame of their faith and then he stepped

back and created room for that fire to

breathe. And so today, as we continue to

study the Barnabas effect, we're going

to look at how his encouragement

actually changed the history of the

world. And this wasn't because he

preached a great sermon. Uh this wasn't

because he planted the most churches. It

was because he recognized that

encouragers do not build platforms for

themselves.

They build people for God's kingdom. Let

me say that again. encouragers. Real

encouragers do not build platforms for

themselves to lift themselves up. They

build people for God's kingdom. And the

greatest thing that Barnabas ever built

was not a ministry. It was a a person, a

leader by the name of Saul, who would

eventually become Paul. And John Piper

in writing about Barnabas said that

Barnabas didn't create Paul's calling.

He simply made room for God's calling to

flourish in his life.

So, we're going to look at Acts chapter

Acts 9 · chapter mention

9 starting in verse 26. Acts chapter 9

Acts 9 · chapter mention

starting in verse 26.

It says, 'When he, that would be Saul,

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 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. So

everyone else is focused on Saul's past

but Barnabas is focused on Saul's

future. Everyone else was asking who was

Saul but Barnabas was asking a better

question. He was saying who is Saul?

See, the disciples had good reason to be

afraid. This is Saul the Zealot. This is

the man who approved of Stephen's

execution. And Stephen was a great

leader in the first church. This was the

man who stood there holding the cloaks

of the men who were throwing the stones

at Steven to kill him. This is a man who

would enter your home and he would take

you prisoner. Men and women. He would

take you to prison if you were simply

worshiping the name of Jesus. He wasn't

merely against Christianity. He was

trying to snuff out the faith. He wanted

to eliminate it from the face of the

earth. But here's what's fascinating

about Saul. He was not trying to

dishonor God. Excuse me. He was not

trying to dishonor God. He he genuinely

believed that what he was defending was

actually God. He believed that Jesus was

a dangerous false teacher that that was

a threat to everything that Judaism had

to offer. So in his mind, eliminating

Christianity was not a rebellion against

God. It was actually in service to God.

That's why we call him a zealot. His

passion was never the problem. But his

understanding of who Jesus actually was

was a problem. But then everything

changed for Saul. He was on his way to

Damascus and along the road he met the

risen Jesus. He he was blinded for a

period of time and during that time

Jesus spoke directly to Saul. This man

that that Saul thought was dead on a

cross was speaking audibly to him. And

Saul realized that he hadn't been

fighting uh for God. He had actually

been fighting against God. And and so

Jesus didn't just change Saul's

behavior. He didn't just stop doing what

he was doing. Jesus actually transformed

this man's heart. So Saul goes to

Jerusalem and he he tries to join the

disciples, but all they saw was the

church killer. They saw Saul the zealot,

the the killer of Christians. And so

they were out. They're like, "We we

don't want anything to do with this

man." But Barnabas Barnabas saw a new

creation. in Christ.

2 Corinthians chapter 5:1 17 says this,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he

is a what's the word?

New creation. The old has passed away.

And see, the new has come." Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36:26

36:26 from the Old Testament. This is

God speaking. He says, "When you when

you accept him, he will give you a new

heart and put a new spirit within you.

not not a restored, not a repurposed,

not an updated, not a refurbished heart,

a new heart and a new spirit. And that's

why in Philippians 1:6 when God says,"I

Philippians 1:6

am sure of this, that he who started a

good work in you will carry it on to

completion until the day of Christ."

See, Barnabas was not pretending that

Saul was already spiritually mature and

a finished product. He was not ignoring

his past. But what he believed is that

God would take this new creation named

Saul and that he would start a good work

in him and he would see it to

completion. Dare I say Barnabas was

optimistic, which I know is a bad word

in a lot of contexts. Specifically in

the church sometimes we hate optimistic

things, don't we? We don't want to look

at the bright side. We want to judge

people by their past and not their their

present. But Barnabas was optimistic. He

gave people the benefit of the doubt. If

he saw the spark of God's grace in your

life and he began to fan that flame, he

would then step back and give you

opportunity to serve. Now,

maybe this explains why I've always

really enjoyed the man named Professor

X, uh, the great Charles Xavier from the

X-Men series. Now, before you send me

any texts or emails, I am not saying

that the X-Men are biblical role models.

All right? Going on record saying that.

But what I am saying is that I

appreciate one quality about Mr. Charles

Xavier and that's that he did not spend

his life looking for polished people who

had it all together. He looked for

broken people with sketchy past but with

the potential to change the world for

the good. He he was looking for people

that everybody else was afraid of. The

the character Wolverine who had anger

issues from his traumatic upbringing.

Gan Gray who had trust issues from

losing her mother. You had Nightcrawler

who had abuse issues because he looked

different and was being bullied for it.

You had all these people with incredible

gifts but complicated stories. And and

Professor X believed that these gifts

could be used for something good. And so

he created an institution where people

could develop their skills for helping

others. Sound familiar? That's what the

church is. This is not a hotel for

saints. This is a hospital for sinners.

Friends, we are a training ground for

people to be transformed into the image

of Christ. When you join this faith

family, when you join the family of God,

you bring the baggage of your past. But

God doesn't label you for what you were.

He labels you for who you are and who

you have the potential to be. And then

through his word and through his Holy

Spirit and through shaping one another,

he moves us into the people that are

able to use our gifts to make this world

a better place. To make this world look

like the kingdom that is to come. That's

the kind of pastor that I want to be.

Not because I don't appreciate Captain

America.

I do. I do. I appreciate him. But

Captain America is probably going to be

successful whether he comes to this

church or not. Like it's kind of my

story, too. When I first got into the

ministry, I didn't come out of Bible

college. I came out of a sec secular

university when God called me into the

ministry. And there were people who

looked past my immaturity. There were

people who looked past my failures.

There were people who looked past my

rough edges. There were people who

looked past who I was and saw what Jesus

was forming in my life. And so they

opened doors for me that I did not

deserve to have opened. This church is

one of them. So people encouraged me

when I wasn't yet what God was making me

into. And so I want to spend the rest of

my life doing that same thing for

others. Here's the fact. Encouragers

don't ignore someone's past. They simply

refuse to let it be their final chapter.

Encouragers don't ignore someone's past.

They simply refuse to let it be their

final chapter. Let's go on to verse 27

now.

So things didn't work out real good for

for Paul with the guys in Jerusalem at

first.

So Barnabas took him and brought him to

the apostles and explained to them how

Saul had seen the Lord on the road and

how the Lord had talked to him and how

in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the

name of Jesus. Saul was coming and going

with them in Jerusalem speaking boldly

in the name of the Lord. So if you fast

forward to chapter 11 verse 25

says the then he that's Saul he went to

tar then that's Barnabas he went to

Tarsus to search for Saul and when he

found him he brought him to Antioch for

a whole year they met with the church

and taught large numbers the disciples

were first called Christians in Antioch

so what we see here is that that

Barnabas took Saul the word took there

in the original Greek means to identify

yourself with someone. So So Barnabas

wasn't merely just introducing Saul to

the to the disciples. He he was uh

staking his own reputation on the spark

of God's grace that he had seen in Saul.

And Saul, thank goodness, lived up to

his part of the bargain. He was teaching

and leading and and serving in the

church in Jerusalem. But then one day, a

death threat came out against Saul. And

so the disciples thought it was wise to

move Saul out of Jerusalem and back to

Tarsus for his own safety. Then 8 years

pass before we get to chapter 11. 8

years passed and then Barnabas goes to

search for Saul. And what that tells me

is that Acts 11 proves that Acts chapter

Acts 9 · chapter mention

9 wasn't some oneoff act of kindness for

Barnabas. Encouragement became a

lifestyle for Barnabas. Can you imagine

how our community would change if we had

a bunch of people that just decided that

encouragement would be their lifestyle?

That they would just go around

encouraging people in the name of Jesus.

See, believing in Saul and pursuing Saul

were two completely different things.

Barnabas got on the road and he left the

church in Antioch and he went to Tarsus

to find Saul to bring him back to the

church. Barnabas had every reason to

stay in Antioch. The church was growing.

People were coming to know Christ. The

city was transforming. He could have

become the beloved pastor of Antioch. We

could be studying Barnabas today as if

he was the beloved pastor of Antioch.

But instead, he leaves.

Question is why? Well, Barnabas believed

that creating an opportunity for others

was worth the inconvenience

to himself.

Barnabas wasn't looking for a bigger

crowd or more popularity or a bigger

platform. He was looking for one man

because he knew this one man had the

spiritual giftedness to literally change

the world in the name of Jesus. But

friends, encouragement takes effort. It

it gets expensive. It'll cost you some

things. It'll cost you time. It'll cost

you convenience. It'll cost you your

emotional bandwidth. And sometimes it

could even cost you your reputation. But

but if we want to see the hand of God at

work in our community, then we are going

to have to be willing to make some

sacrifices to encourage other people.

You ever help somebody get a job? Not

just like, you know, hey, here's a job

opening. You should apply, but like help

them write their resume, help them

practice their interview questions,

maybe even call your boss and put in a

good word. Then you check on them after

the the interview. Or or how about that

coach that stays with that player for an

hour after practice. Everybody else has

gone home, but the coach and the player

are out there getting some extra reps

in. That takes time. Development takes

time. Development takes work. But that's

Barnabas. Barnabas rearranged his life

to help Saul become the man that God was

creating Saul to be.

Professor X again, man. He didn't just

He didn't just look for mutants. He

actually went out to recruit them. He he

left his big comfy mansion and he went

out and he found these mutants, these

heroes, and he brought them back to his

home. And then he trained them and he

dealt with all of their immaturity. Then

he prepared them to help other people.

And then he sent them out into the world

to be the good guys. Now, I get it.

encouragers. We don't build superheroes

because those are fictitious things. But

what we do build is world changers. See,

there's someone in your sphere of

influence today that needs you. They

they need a recommendation from you.

They need an invitation from you. They

need someone willing to believe in them.

They need someone to give them an

opportunity. And that person is probably

you.

Friends, encouragement isn't complete

until it provides opportunity.

It's one thing to just encourage

somebody. It's a whole another thing to

give them an opportunity to do the thing

that you encourage them to do.

So, we get to Acts chapter 13. Now,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

[snorts]

in the first three verses, I won't read

them, but basically the church in

Antioch is is worshiping and and

fasting. And then the Holy Spirit comes

to them and says, "Hey, set apart for me

Barnabas and Saul for the work that I

have called them to." And so, the church

calls them forward. They lay hands on

them. They pray over them. And they send

them out on what becomes the very first

missionary journey.

Then we see in verse four that Barnabas

and Saul decided to travel to Cyprus,

which was Barnabas home island. And on

that island, they met Sergius Paulus,

this Roman proconsel. And he wants to

hear the gospel. But as they're trying

to share the gospel with this man, Elmas

Baresus, this Jewish magician came and

was trying to prevent them from sharing

the gospel with Sergius. And so Paul

steps up and for the first time in

scripture, he's called Saul at this

point. So Saul steps up and he confronts

Elmas and he rebukes him and God

temporarily blinds this man so that Paul

can continue sharing the gospel with

Sergius Paulus who then gives his life

to Jesus and becomes a Christian. And

the reason he did so is because he

believed the gospel and he saw the

miracle that took place and he saw the

power that was in Paul's life.

This single event is a big turning point

in scripture because it signals the

emergence of Paul as the primary

spokesperson for Christianity moving

forward. Up until this point, Luke

constantly says Barnabas and Saul.

Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas was the

recognized leader. But in chapter 13

verse 13, Luke for the first time writes

these words. Paul and his companions

set sail from Pathos.

It's a subtle shift, but it's a really

important one because from this point

forward in in the scriptures, the Bible

almost always says Paul and Barnabas or

Paul and his companions. And here's the

great part. Barnabas does not resist the

change. Barnabas willingly steps into

the background as Paul assumes

leadership. Paul's ministry has now

surpassed Barnabas ministry. And

Barnabas, the great encourager, has the

nerve to celebrate it. Friends, this is

where you find out if you're really an

encourager. Because it's one thing to

encourage someone when they still need

you. It's a whole another thing to

encourage that person when they no

longer need you. It's one thing to teach

somebody when you're the obvious

teacher. It's a whole another thing when

the student has become the teacher.

Barnabas never needed Paul to remain

beneath him in order to feel successful.

Paul's success was Barnabas success

because ultimately it was success for

the kingdom of God and that was their

primary focus.

if you would.

It's kind of like being a good parent,

you know? It's uh good parents don't

raise children hoping that they'll

always need mom and dad. Isn't that

right, Jonah? Yep.

No, what we do is we we teach them to

walk knowing that one day they're going

to walk away from us. And then we teach

them to drive knowing that one day

they're going to pull out of that

driveway without us in the car. And and

we teach them how to make decisions

knowing that one day there's a good

possibility that they're going to make a

decision to leave their hometown.

There's something strange and and

wonderful about that relationship about

watching your child become something

that you could never even have dreamed

that they could become. Doing things

that you never dreamed that they could

ever do. But what you don't do, what I

hope you're not doing is you don't look

at them and say, "Hey, get back down

here beneath me."

What you should be doing is looking at

them with a smile on your face and

saying, "Look

what they've become."

Friends, that's Barnabas watching Paul's

ministry flourish.

Because encouragers don't produce people

that always need you. They produce

people that need Jesus.

And what I love about Barnabas's life is

he's not the hero of the story. His life

points to the real hero, which is Jesus.

Because Jesus is ultimately the one that

came alongside all the people that

everyone else had written off. Jesus

welcomed sinners to a new life. Jesus

touched the unclean and made them clean.

Jesus had dinner with the broken people,

with the tax collectors, and the others

that were exiled from their community.

Jesus had the nerve to spend time with

people that other people did not even

give a chance to. Jesus restored the

broken things. And then Jesus called

ordinary people, fishermen and tax

collectors and and doubters to be

superheroes to be people that were that

he entrusted his kingdom mission to when

he went back to heaven. Jesus didn't do

that because they had impressive

resumes. He He did that because they had

the faith to follow him.

And Jesus did more than just encourage

sinners. Jesus actually died for them,

for us. He stood in our place. He

carried our sin to the cross. He carried

our death to the grave. And then he rose

again. And he gave us his spirit. and he

entrusted us with his mission to make

more disciples. The the very people who

were once lost and broken and written

off because of their sin and their past

are now the people that Jesus is

literally handing the most important

mission in the world, too. And maybe

that's why people that have been

transformed by grace are good at seeing

the potential in other people. Because

Jesus didn't give up on us. And I'd be

willing if to bet if we went around the

room that you could probably tell a

story about somebody that didn't give up

on you, about somebody that helped you,

somebody that taught you, somebody that

opened a door for you, somebody that

gave you an opportunity before you were

ready to receive that opportunity. And

they probably did so because that's what

Jesus did for them.

And now it's ours to return the favor.

So, if you bow your heads for a moment,

I have four questions that I'd like you

to to ask before we close in song

or four questions I'd like for you to to

to [music] answer.

The first question is,

who needs you

to believe in them today?

Who in your circle of influence has got

illuminated in your heart and your soul

over the last two weeks as you've

listened to these messages? Who is it

that needs you to believe in them today?

To see that spark of God's grace in

their life and to start fanning that

flame of faith. Who's that person?

Question number two, who needs you to

pursue them today?

Who is that person that has drifted

that needs someone to come after them

and help restore them like Barnabas did

for Saul?

Maybe that means you have to leave

something you're comfortable in to go

get them. Maybe that means it's going to

cost you some things. It's going to be

inconvenient. It's going to be

expensive.

But you know that God has placed that

person on your heart to pursue them

today. Number three, who needs you to

open a door for them today?

God has placed you in the leadership

position that you are in. It was not

just your your skill and your talent

that got you there. It was God opening

doors. And now that you're there, who

needs you to open a door for them today?

Maybe it's in the church and you need to

open a door for someone to be able to

come and and serve in ministry. Maybe

it's professionally. You need to open

that door for that person and give them

a chance.

Then lastly,

who might become the next Paul if you

decide to become their Barnabas?