Encouragement Counts
- Jim Marian
- Jan 1, 2012
It’s a New Year! And wouldn’t it be great if in a year’s time we could look back at 2012 and say, “Man, I was really encouraged this past year...seems ever time I turned around someone was trying to build me up, say nice things about me or give me the confidence to keep going! Honestly, I don’t know if I can take much more of it!” Well as we’ve all experienced, that’s not typically the case. Sometimes, we find ourselves trying to stay encouraged, while it seems the world is trying to tear us down. Well if you’ve ever felt that way, perhaps you can sympathize with some of the discouraging comments these people received:
1. “He’s not very bright, he’ll never amount to much”
- school teacher reported after failing Albert Einstein in his first math class
2. “Far too noisy – too many notes”
- Words spoken by Emperor Ferdinand of Austria after hearing the first performance of “Figaro” by Mozart.
3. “We don’t like your sound – besides, groups of guitars are on their way out.”
- Decca Recording Co. when turning down the Beatles in 1962!
4. “You just don’t have any good ideas”
- Walt Disney’s boss after firing him from his first studio job.
5. “We don’t need you, besides; you haven’t even graduated from college yet.”
- Hewlett Packard turning down Steve Jobs on his attempts to get them interested in his Personal Computer which later became the Apple.
When I was little, my mom used to put my pictures on the refrigerator so everyone in the house could see my “master pieces”. I remember how great it made me feel…seeing my messy paintings or crayon drawings of my dog up there for the entire world to see! How I could I not be great? So I’ve continued the practice with my kids. The other day, my five year old daughter, Sophie, asked me to color some pictures with her. When we were done, she put them both on the refrigerator for her mom to see when she returned from work. When mom got home, she complimented us both and was impressed that, “Daddy was able to stay within the lines!” Then my little daughter said to her mom, “you know Mommy, even daddy’s need their pictures on the refrigerator once in a while.” How true!
We all need encouragement. And on the flip side of the coin, we’re called to be encouraging to others! I’ve found it’s amazing how…A little effort can make a world of difference in the life of another… when we choose to encourage!
Hebrews 10:24-25 remind us that the church is a place where we are to not only receive, but give encouragement. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
If there was anyone who was an encourager, it was a man by the name of “Barnabas.” God sent him to encourage the early church. Let’s take a look at his life and learn how we can encourage others in 2012!
Be A Barnabas: Three Ways To Encourage
1. Give unselfishly to help others. (Acts 4:34-37)
On the Day of Pentecost the church started with a BANG! Thousands believed in Jesus and the Holy Spirit was at work as the church continued to grow. And there were no needy persons among them. But why?
Acts 4:34-37
“…there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
God encouraged His people through His people! There were those who unselfishly and sacrificially gave of their resources to help others in need. And Joseph must have been a true and consistent model of this kind of giving and encouraging spirit – the apostles even nicknamed him “Barnabas”, which meant Son of Encouragement! Wow! If people are going to give you a nickname – that’s not a bad one!
Now for many of us, it’s easy to share words of encouragement, but share our money? Now that can be quite another thing. So, I went to three of our pastors and asked them about their giving practices. Pastor Ray said, “I draw a straight line on the ground, then take all my money at the end of the month and throw it up in the air. Whatever lands on one side of the line, I give to God…whatever lands on the other side I keep.”
Pastor Neal was next. He said, “I draw a circle on the ground. I take all my money at the end of the month and throw it up in the air, whatever lands in the circle, I give to God and whatever lands outside the circle, I keep.” Then Pastor Bruce shared, “My practice is a lot like theirs. I take all my money at the end of the month and throw it up in the air, whatever stays in the air, I give to God...whatever lands on the ground, I keep!”
Well, you might not have a lot of money to throw around, but there are many ways to give unselfishly to help others who could use a little encouragement:
- support a teenager to go summer camp or a mission trip - work on a car for someone in need – watch children for a single mom – provide a meal for a hurting family – give away some children’s clothes to a young family who might be struggling – open your home to someone in need – hire a person in need of a job and help develop their skills – tutor a struggling student – offer to do some home repairs for a widow – provide transportation for someone – help someone pay the rent or buy groceries for their family – help pay a struggling student’s school tuition.
Over the years, there have been a couple of men in our church who have been like Barnabas to me and the high school ministry. We were taking 75-100 students to Mexico to build homes for poor families and they bought us two large enclosed trailers to haul our tools and equipment. When our church vans and old rickety bus were breaking down, they provided two new vans. When we began taking more and more students on summer mission trips to places like Ecuador and Peru, they provided thousands of dollars to help send more students and build homes for homeless families. I can’t tell you how much they have encouraged me and our ministry over the years by their unselfish hearts and generous gifts! Talk about being a Barnabas!
Here’s the principle: God meets the needs of His people through His people! Be a Barnabas in the life of someone else this year. Be an encourager!
- Go to bat for someone else. (Acts 9:26-28)
There are times when we all need help, when the odds are against us, when we need someone in our corner, to speak up in our defense…and come alongside us. Did you know that the Greek word for “encouragement” carries with it the idea of literally “coming alongside?” That’s what we do when we encourage…and that’s what Barnabas did for one man in particular. As a matter of fact, if he hadn’t gone to bat for this person we might not have most of the New Testament.
We’re talking of course, about Saul – the great persecutor of the early church. He hated the Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. He appointed himself a one man posse to kick the heretics out of town. He threatened them, tore apart families and jailed as many as he could. He was feared amongst the early Christians…then God got a hold of him.
On the road to Damascus in Acts 9, Jesus appeared to Saul and confronted him with his actions. After being blinded, Saul literally “saw the light” within a few days and accepted his mission to proclaim the Gospel to others. But when he came to Jerusalem to join the disciples…the “fear factor” was still there – as far as the early Christians were concerned, Saul was still Public Enemy #1. Acts 9:26-28 tells us:
“When 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. But 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. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.”
The apostles weren’t quite sure of Saul’s true conversion, but Barnabas was. He came alongside Saul and defended him to the likes of Peter, James and John. He went to bat for Saul when no one else would. Now that’s encouragement! Without Barnabas, I wonder if Saul (who would later be called Paul) would have gone on to establish so many churches in the Gentile world…and write most of the New Testament in the process?
Are you willing to take up the cause of another and “go to bat” for someone who needs you…like Barnabas did for Saul? Years ago I heard an incredible story of a teenage “gang banger” named Tony who started coming to a church youth group. The other students were afraid of him, but after a while, got to know him and welcomed him into the group. Tony eventually became a Christian and realized he needed to get out of the gang.
He spoke to his youth pastor about it and said he wanted to please God with his life and he needed to start by leaving the gang, but that meant he would be “jumped out.” Tony explained to his youth pastor that getting “jumped out” meant the other gang members would beat him mercilessly before they would let him leave. He was scared – literally to death! His youth pastor couldn’t believe what he was hearing and asked if there was any other way? The young man said “no, it’s the only way out.”
The youth pastor went home that night and couldn’t sleep, so he spent the night in prayer. The next morning he talked to some kids on the street and found out how to get in touch with Tony’s gang leader. He arranged a meeting. The gang leader showed up with members of his gang. It was intense. The youth pastor then said something incredible. He explained Tony’s desire to leave the gang…and the youth pastor volunteered to take the beating in his place! The gang leader laughed and said he had guts, but he couldn’t do it. Tony would have to face his fellow gang members alone if he thought he was too good for them now.
Tony took courage when he heard what his youth pastor had volunteered to do for him. He couldn’t believe anyone would take a beating for him. His faith was strengthened and he knew he had to face the gang himself. Later that week, the young man was jumped out of the gang as he ran a gauntlet where he was kicked and beaten with rods, bats and fists. Tony went to the hospital bloodied, but soon recovered. He was grateful to God and to his youth pastor for standing by him in his hour of need.
Slim chance you’ll ever be in a position to jump someone out of a gang, but there’s a good chance you’re in a position to go to bat for someone else: a friend or family member, a co-worker, classmate or teammate. Maybe it’s someone you serve in a ministry with? Pray about it and seek the courage and opportunity to encourage someone by going to bat for them!
- Grow into someone spiritually.
Back to Barnabas and the early church. As Jews in Jerusalem were persecuted for believing in Jesus as the Messiah, they scattered in different directions. Some went up north to Syria. Acts 11:20-24 tells us how the church began to expand and grow.
“Some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.”
It’s not a surprise Barnabas was sent to encourage the new believers in Antioch. Who better to teach and disciple this new group of Greek believers than Barnabas? And when he arrived, even more people came to Christ as the church grew. And yet Barnabas was still building into Saul, so he went and brought him from Damascus and the two of them served the church in Antioch for a year. And it was in Antioch that the believers in Jesus were first called, “Christians.” What an encouragement Barnabas must have been to those early believers!
Barnabas’ example reminds us that we are not to keep our faith to ourselves, but to deliberately make an effort to encourage others spiritually. I’ve had the privilege of trying to encourage teenagers in their faith for most of my ministry over the years -- and it’s definitely been a challenge! At a church in Pasadena where I served as the high school pastor, two brothers were on my list to pursue: Josh and Jeremy. Jeremy was a freshman, who played the guitar, but all he ever played were the Beatles and classic rock…but that wasn’t a problem for me: I loved the Beatles and classic rock. But I wanted to disciple this kid so I said, “I’ll make you a deal: you teach me the Beatles and I’ll teach you “praise songs” and you can play with me in the high school worship band. It was a deal…and we established a great relationship over the next four years that included Bible studies and mission trips.
His older brother, Josh, was more of a challenge. He had grown up in the church and knew every nook and cranny – where to cause trouble and where to hide! By the way, we’ve got kids like that here too…there are kid’s that know 10 different ways to get on the church roof and just as many places to hide once you go after them! I’ve found them back in the organ pipes!
Josh and his friends had been ditching high school group on Sunday mornings on a regular basis. One particular Sunday morning as we were gathering the student’s into the high school room, Josh and his friends took off running down a long hallway. My staff assistant said, “You want me to go after them?” I said, “No. This time, they’re mine!” I chased them through the hallway, down a flight of stairs and through the church lobby. Just as I thought I had ‘em, they ducked into an elevator and smiled at me as the doors slowly closed. Later that week, I had a little meeting with Josh’s parents. We figured out a way to get he and his friends into a small group together with a volunteer leader who was a bit of a rebel himself. It worked and Josh began to grow in his relationship with the Lord and even went on a mission trip to Guatemala his senior year.
Over fifteen years have passed. Since then, Jeremy is now serving as the Worship Leader for that church in Pasadena, called Lake Ave Church, and Josh is currently the high school pastor at Emmanuel Faith Community Church right here in Escondido! Josh wrote me the other day and said, “My parents told me they ran into you a while back at a wedding and shared that I was serving as the high school pastor at Emmanuel Faith. They said you couldn’t believe it at first! Ha ha. I don’t blame you…I know I wasn’t exactly “youth pastor material” back in high school. Guess what? I sold a camera to someone in your church last week and they told me about your ministry and how you have taken their two daughters on a bunch of mission trips. I smiled and shared with them that you were my youth pastor too and that you took me on my first mission trip to Guatemala back in 1995…and now I take my high school students on trips like that!”
“Jim, I’ve got some great memories of the time I got to spend with you and learn about God at Lake Ave Church…including the time you chased me down the stairs to keep me from ditching high school group. Thanks for showing me that you cared…even though you were a little slow. Let’s get lunch soon. Blessings, Josh”
Is there someone you could grow into and spiritually encourage this coming year? Someone you could meet with on occasion and pray for or study the Bible with? Maybe you’ve experienced a certain trial or tragedy in your life and God’s just waiting to use you to encourage someone going through the same thing right now?
Encouragement counts! Be a Barnabas. Give unselfishly; Go to bat for someone else, Grow into someone spiritually. I can’t think of a better way to start off the New Year.
