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"Moje resnično pričevanje"
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Binkoštna cerkev Emanuel
Strma ulica 8, 2000 Maribor
e-naslov: cerkev@bcmaribor.si
Bogoslužje: nedelja ob 10:00
Molitveni čas: petek ob 19:00
"Bog je namreč svet tako
vzljubil, da je dal svojega
edinorojenega Sina,
da bi se nihče, kdor
vanj veruje, ne pogubil,
ampak bi imel
večno življenje."
Jn 3,16
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Vzpodbuda
Encouragement – “Barnabas” Romans 12:8 This morning I would like to emphasize to you the importance of the ministry of encouragement. Every group needs an “encourager”, because everyone needs encouragement at one time or another. In the early Jerusalem Church, there was a man named Joseph, he was such an encourager that he earned the nickname Barnabas which means “Son of Encouragement”. Barnabas is the kind of person whom you would feel good being around. He was a man who believed in the potential of people – particularly those whom others were cautious or suspicious of. Barnabas was willing to give a failure a second chance, and because of his disposition towards encouraging people, the leaders of the early church gave him the nickname of "son of encouragement". And his actions were crucial to the early church. God used his relationship with Paul at one point with Mark at another to keep these two men going when either might have failed. Barnabas did wonders with encouragement! The reason why I wanted you to look at the life of Barnabas is to see these qualities from him that we can follow so that we can behave in a similar way. People like to be with people who encourage them. To be a Barnabas towards others is to exercise a powerful influence on people’s lives in a better way.
There are times for each of us when our battery power runs low. And encouragement could be the means that will boost up courage or perspective or attitudes for us get up and to get going again.
There are many things in life that cause us to experience discouragement. Sometimes due to a crisis, or it’s simply tiredness or sickness, or sometimes it’s the cutting words or actions of another person. To encourage is to do the direct opposite. Where courage has decreased, encouragement is the recharging of courage. It represents the putting back what has been lost.
While Romans 12:8 indicates that some people have a special gift or Holy Spirit-given ability to encourage is every believers a responsibility, as followers of Jesus Christ. We are all supposed to be like Barnabas and to a greater or lesser degree there are fellow Christians on this planet with whom we are called for the purpose of putting courage into them. In some way or another people have done it for us in the past and we need to do it for others as well.
So how do we do it? How can we be like Barnabas? Here are some suggestions and you could probably add more to them.
1. Allow people to grow
By this we understand the fact that God is working on people and that their spiritual growth or maturity is a process. People change and do better as the Holy Spirit works His ministry of regeneration on them. A Barnabas encourager expects people to grow and mature and even overtake their mentors as God continues to work on them.
There is an interesting illustration of this in the relationship that Barnabas had with Apostle Paul. In the early church days after Paul’s conversion it was Barnabas who was willing to give him a go. The other Christian leaders were suspicious of Paul but Barnabas took a risk and brought Paul to meet them. Later on it was Barnabas who went and got Paul and launched him into pastoral ministry in the church at Antioch. In his early days Barnabas mentored Paul and coached him in the ways of Christian ministry.
2. Affirm the capability that you see in other people
In the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy there is an interesting challenge to encouragement. Moses had been telling the Israelite community that because of their stubbornness and rebellion and faithlessness, none of the older generation would enter the Promised Land - that they had been travelling towards it for 40 years. He told them that they would all die in the desert and even he wouldn’t make it into the Promised Land. However young Joshua was to be a different story. (Deuteronomy 1:37,38). In verse 37; “Because of you the LORD became angry with me also and said, ‘‘You shall not enter it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it"
In short, people were to recognize that the hand of the Lord is on Joshua and that they were to put courage into him to lead them into the Promised Land. The same sentiment is echoed in Deuteronomy 3:28 “But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”
That is a task that every "Barnabites" fulfill. They see the growing competency in other people and they affirm it or express their support. You know the old saying; "Behind every successful man is a (surprised mother-in-law) wife who believes in them". Great things are achieved by great people and great people are supported by significant others who have spoken affirming words of courage and inspiration into them. Believing what people can become is a very Barnabas-type thing to do.
3. Point people to the "opportunities" side of a problem
Behind every dark cloud there is always a silver lining. Whatever the devil means for our harm God can turn around and use for our good or for His glory. The person with a Barnabas-type disposition sees problems as opportunities not as disasters.
That is why James could say to Christians who was facing the most severe persecution;
(James 1:2-4) “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
In other words the encourager looks beyond the immediate pain or suffering to what God is painting on the big picture. They lift the vision on the purpose of God for people to see how even the disastrous circumstance can be used by God to bring good.
Corrie Ten Boon tells an amazing story in her book "The Hiding Place". She and her sister Betsy had been imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews in their home. The prison camp that they were in was apparently infested with fleas. The conditions were absolutely horrific and beyond imagination. However during a time of prayer that Corrie once had with Betsy she heard her pray "Lord thank you for the fleas!" Corrie couldn’t go on in their prayer meeting without stopping her sister and asking why she prayed along those lines, to which Betsy lovingly explained from her heart "Corrie don’t you see” The Lord provided the fleas. That way the guards will not bother us in our barracks so we can pray and worship freely". In other words Betsy had Barnabas eyes to see the positive side of a difficult circumstance.
Being a Barnabas doesn’t necessarily minimize the pain and suffering that a person goes through. It is more than just looking it in positive way. But in whatever we go through there is always a bigger picture that God is showing us and a Barnabas-type encourager helps people to see it.
4. Speak prophetically to one another
On at least two occasions in his letter to the Corinthian Christians Paul emphasized the primary purpose of prophecy as being for encouragement.
“3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3)
“31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.”
(1 Corinthians 14:31)
The word of God is given so that others in the family might feel built up and encouraged and the person with a Barnabas-type disposition has sensitivity for what God might be saying to a person in their group.
And I want to encourage each and every-one this morning to grow in sharing with each other the prophetic insight that God has given us. For those with more courage and experience, bringing a prophetic word in a large gathering like our Sunday church service can happen, however for others, our home cell group meeting is more conducive. It’s perfectly okay to quote prophetic words with; "I’m not sure, but I have a hunch that God might be saying …. to you" or "When I was thinking about you the other day I saw in my mind a picture of …"
Obviously all prophetic words need to be held lightly and its authenticity to be tested in the truthfulness of the Word of God.
5. Tell stories (testimonies) about what God is doing with your life;
When Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Philippi, he was in prison. On the one hand it was a sad, desperate situation. A beloved brother in Christ was getting a hard time. No one likes the idea of persecution and the fear of something similar happening would have sent shivers down the spines of many church members. But as we noted before, around the dark cloud of persecution and suffering there is always a silver lining or a sun shining. In the midst of his imprisonment Paul was being effective as an evangelist. He had a "captive audience" and God was using a bad situation for incredible good.
As Paul told the story of how God was at work in his situation it provided a powerful encouragement to other people that God would turn their suffering into good also.
“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:14)
Never underestimate the power of storytelling or your testimony. In fact story telling is the best way to cast vision and hope amongst people you are leading or working with. Stories hook into the feelings and emotions of people, which of course is why Jesus used every day stories through parables to communicate the nature of the kingdom of God.
When we hear how God has worked in the life of a fellow Christian it raises hope and faith in us. If God can do it for them it will help us believe that God can do it for us also.
However, we should be honest and brief on our story telling. Many Christian testimonies are so sugarcoated and only focus on triumphs and victories that they experience. That’s great, but we also need to tell stories of our struggles and failures and how God has met us in the midst of our hard times as well. If all we do is testify to the good stuff we sometimes give a false impression that spirituality always means success and victory. That’s not honest. At times life is hard work and we need to get good at telling stories of what God has done with us in the midst of our struggles as well as our triumphs.
6. Be committed to Christian community – the church
According to the New Testament to have an encouragement mind-set means we have to have a high value of commitment to the community of faith. To be Christian, according to the New Testament, is to belong to a fellowship of believers, and the practice of coming together with fellow Christians is expressly stated as an act of mutual encouragement.
We don’t know for certain who wrote the New Testament book of Hebrews. There are few clues in the original manuscript. However many bible scholars believed that Barnabas wrote the book of Hebrews. In Chapter 10:24,25 we read these words;
“24, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 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.”
One of the ways we encourage each other in the Christian faith is to meet together with fellow believers. To do the opposite way or to stay apart and not relate with fellow Christians will have the opposite effect which is called discouragement.
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Coming together with fellow Christians and being part of Christian community encourages fellow believers with their walk with the Lord. Like two burning hot coals within a fireplace each gives off and each receives heat from the other. Separate the two coals and they both go out very quickly.
It is tragic in Christianity if members has the attitude of consumerism that diffuses the church, with attitude such as; "What’s in it for me?" If my personal needs have not been met why bother going to church? In contrast of that Hebrews 10:25 suggests that there is another reason for being in a community or a church gathering with other Christians. Apparently it’s not only what I get out of the exercise but more importantly what I am able to give to other Christians.
To put that more strongly, having a low view of community and gathering for corporate worship or fellowship is not just about me missing out, but it’s also about me robbing other people of what I am capable of inputting into them. When we worship together, or pray together, or play together each of us observe our connection with Jesus Christ, and when we see that we in turn are stirred and motivated in our relationship with God. If you stay away I miss out, or if I stay away you are robbed of the essential benefits of fellowshipping.
If we are really serious about behaving in the Barnabas-type manner towards other people, then one of the best places to start is adopting a high value on Christian community. Being Christian is much more than just nurturing a strong personal belief system called faith. It’s also about belonging to a community of faith that encourages other people to grow.
In closing I would like you to ponder on these verses in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter 6: 7-8; “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I would like you to listen carefully and meditate on this illustration called “If a child lives..” from the sermon “The Divine Family”. We can substitute the subject “child” to the one we are living with, such as a husband, a wife, a friend and so on;
If a child lives with criticism,
HE learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
HE learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
HE learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
HE learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance,
HE learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement,
HE learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise,
HE learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness,
HE learns justice.
If a child lives with security, HE learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval,
HE learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
HE finds LOVE and learns to share it with the world.
Let us pray.
Nazaj
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