Five Ways You Can Encourage Others | Part 2

We should all strive to be encouragers like ye which are spiritual. Restore such a man in the spirit of meekness.

Timber loving care. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the powerful messages of pastor, Bible teacher and author, Adrian Rogers. The book of Acts tells the story of a man called Barnabas, which translates to son of encouragement. In part one of today's message, we learned that Barnabas demonstrated his gift of encouragement through his stewardship and his friendship. He met the needs of others and befriended Paul when he was a lonely new disciple of Christ. But Barnabas' legacy didn't stop there. If you have your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 4 as Adrian Rogers shares five ways you can encourage others.

If I could just model and mold a church member, I mean the church member of my dreams, what would he be like? Well, he would be like the man that we're going to read about today, a man named Barnabas. Here was a man who had a gift and his gift was the gift of encouragement. He was an encourager. The Bible calls him here the son of consolation.

Look at it. Verse 36, and Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas. When it says by the apostles, he was surnamed Barnabas, that means that's a name that his parents did not give him, but the apostles looked at him and said, look, look how he encourages other people, we're going to give him the nickname Barnabas, which is by interpretation, the son of consolation. Now the word consolation is a word we don't use very much today, but it actually means encouragement.

So here's Barney, who is the son of encouragement. He was a Levite and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now the word encouragement or consolation is the Greek word that we get our word parakletos or the word for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the comforter. He is called the paraklet, the Greek word parakletos.

It's the same word. And so here's a man who is doing for other people what the Holy Spirit does for the child of God, who comes inside us, alongside us to encourage us, to give us comfort, to give us hope, to give us help, to get us on our way. And I've come to live long enough to see that there is not a mother's child in this world that does not need encouragement.

You know that is true. I love to be encouraged. I need encouragement.

I'm so grateful for people who encourage me. And I tell you, I don't like to be around discouraging people. Now sometimes we have to. It comes with a territory.

The fleece come with a dog. I don't like to be around discouraging people. Some people I know are like a drink of water to a drowning man. I mean, they're just, they're discouragers.

Now here was a man, thank God, who could lift your spirit. You know why discouragement is so bad? Discouragement opens the door for all other kinds of sins and failures.

Somebody said discouragement is a dark room where the negatives of failure are developed. Did you know in the Bible, the Bible calls God the God of all encouragement? I want to give you today five ways that you can be an encourager, five ways that you can be a Barnabas, five ways that you can encourage people in your family, in your neighborhood, in your school, on your team, and wherever you go. And we're going to find those five things that Barnabas did. All right, are you ready for these five things?

And I want you to put them in the first person. So here's point number one. I will encourage others by practicing stewardship. I will encourage others by practicing stewardship. And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of consolation, that is of encouragement, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now, here was a man who had much to give. There was persecution in Jerusalem, and there was poverty in Jerusalem, and there was a need. Barnabas, who was an encourager, saw a need, and he moved in to meet that need. Now, Barnabas knew there was a difference.

And I want you to listen to this carefully. There's a difference between ownership and stewardship. Many of us just made your own ownership.

But what we're really doing is just managing the affairs of God. We don't really own anything. What do you have that God has not already first given you? Doesn't He have any right to ask for it if He placed it in your hands?

What do we have that we've not received? Here was a man to whom God had given much, and he saw a need, and he moved in. There are so many people in our world today that need to be encouraged. And so the Bible says in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 2, bear one another's burdens. Friend, just say, I will be an encourager by practicing stewardship.

Whatever I have when I see a need, I'm going to move in to meet that need. And you will encourage somebody. I know there's a neighbor next to you that needs some help. I know there's a person in your school that needs some help. I know there's a friend that needs some help. Why don't you, in the name of Jesus, move alongside that person and say, such as I have, give I unto thee.

If you do, you'd be acting like Barnabas. Now, here's the second principle. I will encourage others not only by practicing stewardship, but I will encourage others by extending friendship. Somebody said a friend, a true friend, is somebody who comes in when everybody else goes out. We don't learn how to befriend the new believer. We think we're having fellowship.

But many of our churches are sacred societies for snubbing sinners. We need to practice friendship, and we need to take these new believers and encourage them. Barnabas said, look, you don't have to be afraid of Saul. He's been saved.

Welcome him now. And I can see old Simon Peter reaching out and giving to Paul a big old bear hug, saying, welcome, brother. Friend, that's what the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs today. We need some Barnabases.

Paul was included by a man named Barnabas. Now, here's what he wrote. Romans chapter 15, verses 5 through 7. Now, the God of patience and consolation. That's encouragement.

Now, listen to it. Now, the God of patience and encouragement grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and with one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Paul knew what it was to be received.

He knew what it was to be encouraged. You want to be a Barnabas? Friend, then you practice stewardship, and it goes beyond money. You want to be a Barnabas? Then you practice friendship. You want to be a Barnabas?

Here's the third thing I want you to say about yourself. I will encourage others by building partnerships, by building partnerships. We're talking about stewardship, friendship, now partnership. Look, if you will, in Acts chapter 11, beginning in verse 20. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Then tidings of those things came unto the ears of the church which was at Jerusalem.

Now watch it. And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who when he came had seen the grace of God, and was glad and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost, and faith and much people was added unto the Lord.

Well, what has happened is this. Revival had broken out at Antioch. The headquarters of the Christian church at that particular time was in Jerusalem.

And the Word of God was going out from Jerusalem, beginning in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. And so they found out, who are these people there in Antioch? What do they believe? Are they right? Are they orthodox? Is this a cult?

Is this a breakaway movement? We need to send somebody down there to investigate, to see if they're really of us. Who should we send? Who do you think they chose? They chose Barney. Said, Barney, go down there and check that bunch out, will you? And old Barnabas goes down there, and he says he saw the grace of God.

Have you ever thought about that? How do you see the grace of God? What color is it? What size is it?

How much does it weigh? Friend, I tell you, when you get in a service where God is present, you'll see the grace of God. I don't know how to measure it, but I tell you, it is there. You can tell when God is on the congregation. He walked in there and said, good night, God is all over this place. He saw the grace of God.

And he went back and he reported and said, these are brothers and sisters, and we need to get with them. He was not a divider. He was not a wall builder. He was a bridge builder. It's easier to build walls than bridges, by the way. But here was a man who got people together.

He encouraged others by building partnerships. I'm so grateful for people who encourage us and who get people together rather than dividing people. Did you know there are people who can be so negative? They can't believe anything big.

They can't understand a vision, something from God, or even give God a chance to give a vision. Three kinds of people in the world, they're those who are risk takers. They're those who are caretakers, and they're those who are undertakers.

I'm so grateful for people who encourage. One pastor was talking to another pastor. He said, how many committees do you have in your church? He said, oh, we've got the committee for this, committee for that, committee. He said, do you have a cold water committee? He said, what's a cold water committee? He said, well, the cold water committee, that's when anybody has a good idea, they come and pour cold water on it. Guy said, yes. Said, I've got one of those in my church.

As a matter of fact, I can tell you who the chairman is. Thank God for Barnabas' who don't go to see what's wrong and why it can't be done. You want to be a Barnabas. All right, here's the fourth way.

I will encourage others by developing leadership. Now go, you're still in Acts chapter 11, and look, if you will, in verse 25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.

And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Now Barnabas is in the middle of this again. Now he goes to look for Saul again.

Why did he do this? Well, Barnabas, when he came down there, he said, look at all of this, look what God is doing. They've got all this wine, they need some wine skins. They need somebody with an organizational mind. They need somebody with spiritual insight.

They need somebody who is a leader, who can lead all of this. I know who it is. I know. It's that same man, Saul. He's the man. We've got to get him down here to Antioch. Saul can lead this bunch. And so he says, Saul, get over here. I need you, son. I need you, son.

There's a job to be done. And Barnabas did not have the gift to do it. Barnabas was not a leader. He was an encourager.

He didn't try to build a bunch of folks called Barney's boys. He had enough sense to know that he needed somebody else. And he saw this man with hidden talents. He knew that Saul had spiritual gifts that needed to be developed and put to work. And so he sent for this man and developed a leader. Paul never forgot that. You know what he wrote in Romans 12, verse 10?

Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love, in honor, preferring one another. Barnabas was content, content to let Saul take the leadership. Now, he had been deputized. He'd been sitting down there. But he says, no, not me. I'm not the one.

Saul is the one. And Barnabas stood on the sidelines as he helped find a leader, a godly leader. It takes more grace than I can tell to play second fiddle and play it well.

But that's what this man did. He's not trying to build it around himself. He is developing leadership. And, friend, we need to raise up some leaders, and they're all over. But we need to discover leadership and teach people to lead, find leaders, single them out, develop them, and equip them, and send them out. Not everybody's a leader.

Barnabas wasn't a leader. He was an encourager. We have a ministry and a church. That's helping people to discover the spiritual gift and to move into places of either service or leadership or both.

Some people have the gift of developing leaders. Did you know that Barnabas never wrote a book in the Bible? But there were two people that he encouraged who wrote books in the Bible.

For example, the apostle Paul wrote 13 of the New Testament books. And we're going to learn later on that Barnabas encouraged a man named Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark. Pretty good.

Pretty good. From a human viewpoint, from a human viewpoint, we may never have had the 13 books that Paul wrote of the Gospel of Mark. Now, I know God could overrule and get some other Barnabas. I'm saying that Barnabas was the man that God used to develop leadership. Do you see why I say that we need some Barnabases in our church?

All right. Now, here's the fifth thing. Here's the fifth thing you will do. I will encourage others by rebuilding relationships. Now, go to Acts chapter 15. We're going to find Barnabas again.

We're going to find him still encouraging people. Acts 15 verse 36. And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we preach the Word of God to see how they do. That is, we're just going to go back and retrace our steps, our missionary journey. And Barnabas determined to take with him John, whose surname was Mark.

We call him Dave, John Mark. But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. And the contention was sharp between them. Can you imagine Barnabas and Paul now having a contention?

They did, and it was a sharp one. And they departed asunder one from the other. So Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus, and Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

What's the background? Well, there's a young man whose name was Mark, John Mark. And he went with Paul and Barnabas on a first missionary journey. Mark, somewhere along that journey, got homesick or afraid or something, wanted to go home and hold mama's hand. And he said, I don't want to be here anymore.

Count me out. And at Pamphylia, he said, goodbye, guys. I am going home. Boy, got all over Paul. Paul thought that quitter, that slacker, that shirker, that mama's boy, whatever he is. All right. So Paul and Barnabas just went on.

Later on, they want to go back and retrace the steps. And Barnabas says, okay, I'll get Mark. Paul said, don't get him. No, he's all right.

No. Hey, he quit. He dropped out. You can't count on him. I don't want Mark. Barnabas says, now look, Paul. He said, don't you now look me.

Listen. Paul said, I am not going to take him. Barnabas said, okay.

Okay, I'll take him. You go that way, I'll go this way. Sometimes those things happen, don't they? But here's old Barnabas's heart. He knows this boy had failed, but he also knew that failure is not final.

And so he wants to mend a broken relationship. He takes old John Mark and he continues to nurture John Mark. Later on, Paul is in a filthy Roman prison. Time has passed.

Put in your margin. 2 Timothy 4, verse 11. Here's what Paul writes, only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. Hey, bring old Mark. I need him. How about that?

How about that? This is the guy that Paul wouldn't have anything to do with. He said, bring him. He is profitable to me for the ministry. How did that happen? Because there was a man named Barnabas who refused to let go of a good man named Mark just because he failed.

There are many in this church who have failed, and they need you to restore that relationship. One day as a kid, I shinnied up a coconut tree down in Florida to get a coconut. I mean a big tree. Had my arm around a palm frond, just a kid, trying to unhook a coconut. The palm frond came loose, the coconut came loose, and I came loose, down to the ground. I fell on the grass, but this left arm fell on the sidewalk and splintered my elbow. It was awful.

I'm lying there on the ground writhing. My brother was there. You know what my brother did? He ran all over town and said, hey, hey, hey, Adrian fell, Adrian fell, ha, ha, ha, ha. He didn't do that. I tell you what else he didn't do.

He didn't stand there and say, Adrian, you're the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Couldn't you see the palm leaf was yellow? Why you didn't love that tree like that?

Why don't you wait till the coconuts fall? No, he didn't give me a lecture. I tell you what else he didn't do, and I'm so glad he didn't take out a gun and shoot me. Boom. Got a broken arm. He's no good anymore. No, my brother came alongside of me and gave me some tender, loving help.

Thank God I've got that arm again to use. Friend, there are people who fall, and they don't need us going around saying, did you hear about so and so? They don't need us going around reporting.

They don't need lectures. Somebody said the church is the only organization, only army in the world that shoots its wounded. No, we need some Barnabases. And the Bible says in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1, ye which are spiritual, restore such a man in the spirit of meekness, if any be overtaken with a fault.

And the word restore actually in the Greek is the word for setting a bone, tender, loving care. Now, let me tell you something. Your church, wherever you are, you need some Barnabases. Now, don't you be looking around, friend, saying, I wonder if some of these people will be Barnabases.

I ask you to write the notes and put it in the first person. I will encourage others by practicing stewardship. I will encourage others by building friendship. I will, I will, I will. And by the grace of God and for the glory of God, will you say, God, make me a Barnabas?

Will you? Now, you may be something else. You may also be a Paul.

You may be a John Mark. But be among all things, be a Barnabas. How did Barnabas get to be Barnabas to begin with? How was he such a good man to begin with? Well, the Bible says very clearly and very plainly that Barnabas was a good man full of the Holy Ghost and faith. He was a good man. Why was he a good man? He was a good man because he was full of the Holy Ghost. Why was he full of the Holy Ghost? Because he was a man full of faith.

And that's what we're talking about right now. Would you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Pastor Rogers, would Jesus save me today?

Yes, He will if you'll trust Him. Would you pray a prayer like this? If you're not saved, if you're not heaven bound, if you're hell bound and you need to be saved and you are hell bound if you're not saved, no matter how good you are, would you pray, Dear God, I'm a sinner.

I'm lost. I need to be saved. Jesus, you died to save me. You promised to save me if I would trust you. Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin to you. I trust you today as my Lord and Savior. I give you my life. I receive you as my Lord.

Save me, Lord Jesus. Well, if you just prayed to receive Jesus Christ, we would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our Find God's Love page on our website. Just go to lwf.org slash radio and click the tab at the top that says Find God's Love. Welcome to God's Forever Family.

We can't wait to hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD to order Five Ways to Encourage Others. This message is also part of the insightful series, Living Supernaturally. For that complete collection, all 13 powerful messages, call that number 1-877-LOVEGOD, or you can go online to order at lwf.org slash radio, or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also purchase our new Bible studies much like this message in our online store.

For more information, go to lwf.org slash radio. We can all be encouragers like Barnabas. Ask God to fan the Holy Spirit in you to meet needs, befriend lonely people, and affirm the misunderstood. Be the one who develops disciples and offers second chances.

We hope you'll join us next time for more right here on Love Worth Finding. Here's an encouraging note we received from a listener recently. Listening to Pastor Rogers gives me a much better understanding of the Bible. I've listened to all of his sermons many times over and always learned something new.

He inspired me and listening to him literally is changing my life. Well, thank you for sharing how these messages have equipped you in your faith. We're passionate about providing resources to help listeners grow in their walk with Christ. When you donate to the ministry right now, we want to thank you with a copy of the book, God's Wisdom is Better than Gold. The book of Proverbs is filled to the brim with gems of wisdom and principles meant to be God's guide to living. In this book, Adrian Rogers studies these precious insights straight from God's word. Request a copy when you call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD or give online at lwf.org slash radio. And thank you for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.