Son of Encouragement

I.         The Scriptures tell us of an interesting man

            A.        His name was Joseph and he was from the island of Cyprus, though he was a Jew -- a Levite in particular.

            B.        No one remembers him by his true name, everyone calls him by his nickname.

            C.        "Bar” = Son of, and "Nubas” = Encouragement. Or as we know him, Barnabas

II.        Barnabas was a name, much deserving of his nickname

            A.        We first read of his selling his personal property to aid poor Christians in Jerusalem - Acts 4:36-37

                ³⁶ And ⁴Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of ⁵Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, ^37 ohaving land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

            B.        It was Barnabas who introduced Paul to the Christians in Jerusalem when no one would believe Paul - Acts 9:27

                ^27 zBut Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, ^aand how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

            C.        When word came that people were believing in Christ in Antioch, it was Barnabas who was sent to encourage their growth - Acts 11:20-26. Notice it was Barnabas once again who brought Paul in to preach.

`       ²⁰ But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to ^pthe Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^qthe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and ^rturned to the Lord.

²² Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out ^sBarnabas to go as far as Antioch. ²³ When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and ^tencouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man, ^ufull of the Holy Spirit and of faith.^vAnd a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed for ^w Tarsus to seek Saul. ²⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

            D.        When God requested two men to be sent out to preach the gospel, it was Paul and Barnabas who were picked to go - Acts 13:2

                ² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ^d"Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work ^eto which I have called them.”

            E.        When Paul didn’t want to take John Mark on their second trip because John Mark quit on them during the first trip, Barnabas insisted taking him along -- to the point of going separately - Acts 15:37-40

³⁷ Now Barnabas ⁴was determined to take with them ⁱJohn called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul insisted that they should not take with them ^jthe one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to^k Cyprus; ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^lbeing ⁵commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

III.       Would people say that of us?

            A.        Are the people you come in contact with day-to-day so uplifted that you could be called the son or daughter of encouragement?

            B.        Rom. 12:3-8 - Not everyone has the same talents. Some people are better at encouraging people than others. Notice it is a gift from God! We may not be excellent at each of these things, but we should be able show capabilities in each.

                ³ For I say, ^fthrough the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, ^gnot to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt^hto each one a measure of faith. ⁴ For ⁱas we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so ^jwe, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is ^kgiven to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us ^lprophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; ^mhe who teaches, in teaching; ^8 nhe who exhorts, in exhortation; ^ohe who gives, with liberality; ^phe who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, ^qwith cheerfulness.

            C.        Encouragement is one of the duties of preachers - Tit. 2:14-15

            D.        I Thess. 5:9-11 - We should encourage (comfort) and edify each other

            E.        Further, Paul encourages us to encourage the timid and help the weak - I Thess. 5:14

IV.      There are many things in this world that can cause people to be discouraged

            A.        Sometimes things turn out to be harder than we first imagined

                        1.         Num. 21:4 - The Israelites were discouraged by their journey - ⁴ Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to ^dgo around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very ²discouraged on the way.

                                    a.         I can imagine they thought they would just waltz into the promise land

                                    b.         Not only was it hard work, but just getting there was very difficult

                        2.         Nehemiah had this same problem with the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem - Neh. 4:10

¹⁰ Then Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

                        3.         It doesn’t help when you see other people, who don’t care having an easy time - Ps. 73:2-3

            B.        It is also discouraging when the things we hope for doesn’t come as soon as we would like - Pr. 13:12

            C.        Christians need to counter this discouragement.

                        1.         It is not a one time act, but a daily task - Heb. 3:12-13

¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but ²exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

                        2.         We need to think how we may encourage each other - Heb. 10:23-25

²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^rHe who promised isfaithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ^25snot forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^tso much the more as you see ^uthe Day approaching.

V.        Conclusion

            A.        I Pet. 3:8 - Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love, be compassionate.