THE BARNABUS WHO
STANDS FOR THE CHURCH AND THE FELLOWSHIP
Acts 4: 32All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they
shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued
to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace
was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For
from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought
the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and
it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas
(which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and
brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
This Barnabus (Whose very name means “Son of Encouragement”)
stands boldly for the early church, selling a field he owned and
laying the money at the feet of the apostles. Barnabus “buys
in” to the church. And I don’t mean that he purchased
a ticket or some sort of ownership, but that he had a faith and
belief in Jesus and the church forming around the disciples and
apostles of Christ. His act of generosity, of giving of himself
shows that he is buying in on a personal level. Devoting himself
to the church and the fellowship and the Gospel from which it was
being formed.
- This is a face of Barnabus which we should be.
Men devoted and committed to our church, our fellowship, each
other, and our families. Generous with our time, talents and finances.
Taking ownership of this campus as the place where God has placed
you. Taking stewardship of the property and “Buying-In”
on a personal level with the purposes of the church.
THE BARNABUS WHO STANDS IN DEFENSE:
After Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road,
he spent several days with some of the disciples in Damascus, preaching
the Gospel of Jesus. This of course had astonished them as it was
only recently he was a staunch enemy of the followers of Jesus.
Barnabus was one of those disciples and was able to look into Paul’s
heart and see the working of the Holy Spirit in him. Soon the Jews
of Damascus conspired to kill Paul and Barnabus must have been one
of those who are reported to have watched after him and helped him
escape.
Acts 9: 26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join
the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that
he really was a disciple. 27But 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. 28So Saul stayed with
them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the
name of the Lord.
- This is a face of Barnabus that looks for the
virtues and the movements of the Holy Spirit in others AND EACH
OTHER and stands up for them, defending others in the face of
opposition. Where others doubted that Saul had changed, it was
the strength and boldness of one already trusted by the church
that spoke on his behalf.
THE FACE OF BARNABUS STANDING ALONGSIDE IN
SUPPORT
In Galatians 2, we hear that many years later Paul returns again
to Jerusalem “This time with Barnabus and Titus” He
came to present a proposal to the church. At that time the church
was only bringing the Gospel to the Jews. Paul shared that he has
received a revelation from God to preach this good news to the gentiles
as well.
He brought Barnabus for support. Barnabus had already defended
him to the disciples and had been a close friend and companion in
his ministry travels. Between Paul’s fervent evangelism and
Barnabus’ already established trustworthiness, surely those
in leadership would accept his proposal. And they did…
7…they saw that I had been entrusted with the task
of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been
to the Jews, 8For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter
as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an
apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Peter and John, those reputed to
be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when
they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should
go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10All they asked was that
we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager
to do.
- This face of Barnabus is one that we should wear
so naturally. To be friends with each other. To be depended on
by each other to stand alongside to promote what God is putting
on our hearts. To encourage and support each other in our personal
lives, our family lives and our ministries.
THE BARNABUS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND PROMOTION:
Acts 11: 19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution
in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus
and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20Some of them, however,
men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to
Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The
Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed
and turned to the Lord.
22News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and
they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw the evidence
of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain
true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24He was a good man, full
of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were
brought to the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found
him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and
Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The
disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
- This face of Barnabus is bubbling with excitement
over seeing the move of Holy Spirit to the gentiles in Antioch.
He didn’t come and tell them they were doing it wrong, he
came and saw that the Holy Spirit was at work and encouraged those
preaching to continue and to remain true to the Lord with all
their hearts. So excited, in fact, that he left to find Paul and
bring him to see the wonders for himself.
- This Barnabus is excited about the ministry of
others, whether he is a part of it or not. His excitement, his
encouraging words, are in seeing the hand of God at work. This
is what he praises and spreads the word about.
- We can wear this face of Barnabus by looking for
the wonders God is doing in other ministries, other small-groups,
praising God for it and encouraging those in that ministry to
continue and remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
THE FACE OF A HUMAN BARNABUS:
Just so you don’t think I’m asking you to be super-human
or that Barnabus is the perfect example of who I think we should
be as Men of Vineyard, there is another Barnabus account in Galatians
2 where Paul has a big problem with Peter and with Barnabus…
11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face,
because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from
James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived,
he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because
he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The
other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy
even Barnabas was led astray.
Barnabus was led astray along with Peter after hearing something
from someone that had them pulling away from ministering and fellowshipping
with the gentiles.
- This is a face of Barnabus that says we may occasionally
be led astray by life and struggles. The important thing here
is that there was someone willing to stand up and “Oppose
him to his face”.
I think Barnabus is a real guy, just like you and I. He was not
the front man that James, Peter, John, and Paul were, yet his brotherhood,
his relationships with these leaders of the church, his support
and encouragement of the ministry of the Gospel were invaluable.
Surely the landscape of the church would have been rather different
if Barnabus would not have believed in Paul and his mission to take
the Gospel to the gentiles.
So, I want to bring this Barnabus spirit into Vineyard. I want
to be a Barnabus for each of you and I need you to be my Barnabus.
I want to strengthen the men of this church by following some of
the principles that Barnabus had.
By:
- Standing up for the church, taking ownership
and stewardship of our church and fellowship, our families and
each other,
- By looking for the movement of the Holy Spirit
in each other, and standing up for each other in defense,
- By standing alongside in support for each other’s
personal lives and ministries,
- By being ready with encouraging words and a willingness
to lift each other,
- And By being willing to stand and oppose a brother
in error and - more importantly - willing to be opposed by a brother
in loving kindness to stay focused on where God wants us to be.
Please join me in fellowshipping together as brothers, as fellow
Barnabus’ to support whatever ministries God wants to bring
out of our Men and from our church as a whole.
Barnabus meets in a small-group setting for teaching, sharing and
discussion every 2nd Wednesday at 6:30 on the Vineyard Triangle
Room.
We will also have a "FUN" Man-day on or near each 5th
Wednesday. Somethings being planned include: A Guns, Grills,
and Guys day on Don's property (coming end of January
2008), Bowling, and a Retreat
at Tom's place in Interlachen. Come to our regular meetings to be
a part of that planning process.
If you are interested in being a part of Barnabus
send your contact info to barnabus@vineyardgainesville.org
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