{"id":9766,"date":"2010-10-13T18:18:50","date_gmt":"2010-10-13T17:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianwarnock.com\/?p=9766"},"modified":"2020-06-13T10:12:56","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T09:12:56","slug":"barnabas-part-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2010\/10\/barnabas-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"Barnabas Part Three – Encouraging a baby church and an emerging leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe>\n<\/p>Very soon, Barnabas\u2019 encouragement finds another outlet, another opportunity. We see, in Acts 11, that Barnabas begins to encourage a baby church. A few people don\u2019t wait for the apostles to send them or tell them what to do, they run because of persecution and when they arrive in Antioch they begin to share the Gospel. They don\u2019t wait for headquarters to instruct them, they get on with it. Then, in verse 22 the apostles hear of what\u2019s been happening, people are becoming Christians and a church is beginning to form:<\/p>\n\u201cThe reports of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God he was glad. He exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. . .\u201d (That\u2019s the definition of encouragement) \u201d . . .for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.\u201d (Acts 11:22-24.)<\/p>\nBarnabas here still has no job title, no position;<\/strong> but he is described as a trustworthy man. He also happens to be of the same nature, the same birth as this new group of believers. So the Jerusalem Apostles sent him to be their representative and to encourage this new church. Notice how he is described here: He is not full of himself like some people are, but he\u2019s full of the Spirit and the Faith<\/strong>. Are you full of yourself, or are you full of Jesus?<\/p>\nWhat can we learn from this whole story, this whole episode? Well, first of all, we can learn not to always rely on our leaders to take the initiative<\/strong>. Sometimes people say \u201cThe church should be doing this\u201d; \u201cThe church should be doing that\u201d. But actually the Spirit guided these people through circumstances, and they just gossiped the gospel. People became Christians.<\/p>\nBut here\u2019s another thing, don\u2019t assume that just because God\u2019s hand is on you -Maybe God has begun to bless you, maybe a few people are becoming Christians \u2013 or some sort of fruit is happening in your ministry, don\u2019t therefore assume that you\u2019ve got it all sorted<\/strong>, that you don\u2019t need any help. Seek out the help and advice of leaders.<\/p>\nWhen Barnabas came he added something into the mix.<\/strong> Barnabas came into this church and more blessing came. It said that many people came to know Jesus as a result<\/strong>. And that wasn\u2019t just because Barnabas came and preached, it was because Barnabas encouraged that new church. Just one person with the gift of encouragement can dramatically change a whole church. <\/strong>What do these people do- these encouragers? They look for the evidence of the grace of God and they blow on it. <\/strong>When he saw the grace of God, he wasn\u2019t jealous, he wasn\u2019t a killjoy, he just blew on it. He inspired them to be faithful to the Lord. That\u2019s what we need, isn\u2019t it? We each need that, actually. And the truth is this: You and I need encouragement, but we can also give encouragement.<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the very next verse, what do we see? We see that Barnabas realizes there is an opportunity to encourage somebody else. And what does he do? It says he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. And for a whole year they met with the church and taught to a great many people. What does he do? He encourages an emerging leader. <\/strong>Why does he get Paul? For two reasons: One, because he wants to develop Paul, he can see the gift in him, he sees that he needs an opportunity to learn how to serve but also because Barnabas recognizes he needs some help. He can\u2019t do this on his own. He doesn\u2019t think, \u201cOh great, this is my opportunity, I\u2019ve got my own church now.\u201d He thinks, \u201cI need some help.\u201d<\/p>\nIf we believe Barnabas was a prophet, and I think he was, we now see that prophets help release other leaders<\/strong>. And if you have a role in church, maybe I\u2019m speaking to some small group leaders here, you should be looking for someone who can fill that role. So perhaps you can do something else so that more ministry can happen. Or maybe your role is to encourage someone who will be able to do something that you never will be able to do. John Piper said \u201cBarnabas was a maker of leaders.\u201d<\/strong> You may never be a great leader. But wouldn\u2019t it be wonderful if you could encourage someone who perhaps will do more than you ever will.<\/strong><\/p>\nBarnabas will in fact from now on in his life, from this time on, will forever be defined by his relationship with Paul<\/strong>. And we can learn a lot from this relationship. It\u2019s a remarkable relationship. Many so-called prophetic people are proud of being loners.<\/strong> They don\u2019t connect with anyone. They feel \u201cI\u2019m an oddball; I don\u2019t fit in.\u201d. Not this one. Barnabas was not a loner. And I would ask you this morning, if you\u2019re listening, who do you relate to? Who are you getting help from? <\/strong>Dare I say it, who are you offering help to? I would urge you, get involved in small groups. Don\u2019t just sit here on a Sunday morning, week in, week out, and receive all this teaching, and enjoy the worship. No, get stuck into your small group life. Get stuck into the mid-week services, come for the prayer meetings. Learn how to be encouraged and how to encourage others. <\/strong><\/p>\nTo be continued<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Very soon, Barnabas\u2019 encouragement finds another outlet, another opportunity. We see, in Acts 11, that Barnabas begins to encourage a baby church. A few people don\u2019t wait for the apostles to send them or tell them what to do, they run because of persecution and when they arrive in Antioch they begin to share the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,217],"tags":[475,531,561,686,562,449,516,532],"class_list":["post-9766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-acts-of-the-apostles","category-barnabas","tag-church-2","tag-discipleship","tag-john-piper","tag-messages","tag-prophecy","tag-sermon-ideas","tag-sermons","tag-spiritual-maturity"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Barnabas Part Three - Encouraging a baby church and an emerging leader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Very soon, Barnabas\u2019 encouragement finds another outlet, another opportunity. We see, in Acts 11, that Barnabas begins to encourage a baby church. 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