Episode 109 – The Blessing of Encouragement. Learning from Barnabas

Speaker 1 (00:01):

Welcome to a podcast designed to bring biblical encouragement to your weary soul. We are so glad you’re listening and we pray God blesses you and strengthens you in your walk with him. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is brought to you by the cooperative efforts of Sweet Selah Ministries and Word Radio. Sit back and enjoy.

Nicole (00:01):

Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast. This is episode 109, The Blessing of Encouragement. Sharon, I love being encouraged and I often need it as a Mama.

Sharon (00:39):

Oh my. Yes.

Nicole (00:40):

So I remember recently taking the girls to Aldi where you have to bag your own groceries. And as I was standing there at the bagging table with my four kids all asking me lots of questions (Sharon: Of course they were) and maybe fighting and trying to help me bag, and I’m trying to sort the groceries into different bags so it’s easier to put ’em away at home, you know? (Yep, yep) And so this sweet lady comes up to me and she says, you are so organized. I’ve been watching you, and you just seem like you have everything so well sorted. And what nice helpers you have. Well, I’ll tell you, Sharon, I was not exactly thinking they were the best helpers at the moment, nor was I feeling organized. I was tired and frazzled and I just wanted to get to the car and put the audiobook on to calm some of that chatter down a little bit. (Yes) But that lady made me feel like I wasn’t completely failing that day. And you know, it put a smile on my face.

Sharon (01:29):

I love that, she saw you.

Nicole (01:30):

She did.

Sharon (01:31):

Oh my goodness.

Nicole (01:31):

And all that crazy. And I thought, oh, thank you Lord.

Sharon (01:34):

That was a blessing.

Nicole (01:35):

It was such a blessing.

Sharon (01:37):

I really was. And encouragement can change your whole mood.

Nicole (01:39):

It really can. And it’s something, so mundane, like I have to grocery shop. I bring the kids cause I have to bring the kids. You just get through it. (Sharon: Absolutely) And she’s like, you’re so organized. I’m like, am I? Well.

Sharon (01:48):

Mothers, mothers need to be seen cause they don’t even see how much they do themselves. (Nicole: Yeah) they don’t. (No) So, oh, I love her.

Nicole (01:57):

Yeah. She made me happy.

Sharon (01:57):

Whoever she was.

Nicole (01:58):

So, how about you? Have you been encouraged?

Sharon (02:01):

Well, I can get really discouraged with my books sometimes. (Nicole: Oh yeah) Writing a book is a huge investment of time and energy. (I’m sure) And there’s such a strong desire in my heart that the book would be useful to those that read it and God would be honored through it. I mean, it’s my heart. It’s like birthing a baby, you know? So I love the writing part. I really do. I love nestled in and talking about Jesus and writing it all down. But I am terrible at the marketing part where you’re supposed to rally all your followers and jazz them up to write multiple reviews for your books. It just feels awkward to me. (Yeah) You know? So for my latest book, the ‘Loved’ book, the Bible Study on the Gospel of John. (Yeah) I didn’t do much in the way of revving the crowds, Nicole. I really just wanted people to write reviews organically, you know, cause they loved the book. (Right) So people who read that book and generally like it enough might tell me and tell their friends, but they’re not writing the reviews, shall we say? Reviews are hard to write and I don’t write reviews myself. (Right) So, who am I expect others to write ’em. I don’t even do it. So I might love a book and tell my friend about it, but I don’t take the time to go to Amazon and write the reviews. (Oh yeah. You don’t think of it) For crying out loud. So anyways, for months I only had eight reviews. I’d go every day. I made myself just go once or twice a day. Not like every hour. How many reviews does the new book have? Right? Eight, eight. Eight.

Nicole (03:29):

Still eight.

Sharon (03:29):

Like, yes. Still eight. Like for a couple of months. And most of those eight are from people I know. I mean, I think they really like the book, but they know me so it doesn’t mean as much. But anyways, just recently I got three more reviews from people I didn’t know as well. (Nicole: Oh) Good reviews. (Oh, good) I know. And I was so encouraged to know the book is a blessing. (Oh, wonderful) Because that’s why I wanna know. (Yeah) You know, I just, is it, is it doing what I asked God for it to do? (Right, right) Right? And a review from someone that doesn’t know me says, oh, it did minister. Oh.

Nicole (04:03):

I’m not just spreading a review cause I love you.

Sharon (04:05):

Right, exactly. So kind words and thoughtful appreciation are rich gifts, aren’t they?

Nicole (04:11):

But it’s true though. And you know, we don’t, I forget sometimes to do those encouragements, if it’s not like a clear thing from God to go and encourage this specific person. (Sharon: Yeah) The daily little encouragement sometimes, you know, we forget to encourage our husbands or my kiddos. (Yes) And they need it so much too, just like I do.

Sharon (04:28):

They do, they do. In fact, I used to have a nag rule, you know, when I had to nag Ray about something. (Nicole: Yeah) Like, could you please fix the dripping faucet or whatever. (Yeah) Five compliments. Five encouragements, (Five) For every critique.

Nicole (04:43):

Ooh, that’s good.

Sharon (04:44):

Yeah. Because I didn’t wanna be known for the nag.

Nicole (04:47):

Right.

Sharon (04:47):

I wanna be known for the encouragement.

Nicole (04:49):

But sometimes you have to remind them.

Sharon (04:51):

You do.

Nicole (04:51):

But I like the five encouragements.

Sharon (04:52):

So. Five encouragements for one nag.

Nicole (04:54):

Oh, I like that. I have to remember that.

Sharon (04:56):

So anyways, yeah, it really helps. And also, I, this is the other thing I did. I’d put the nag on the calendar. I reminded Ray about this on this day. So, Sharon, don’t you be talking about again for another week, so that I wouldn’t get after him all the time.

Nicole (05:12):

That’s great.

Sharon (05:13):

Because Proverbs talks about that a nagging wife is like, they wanna run away and hide.

Nicole (05:17):

Hide in the corner of the roof.

Sharon (05:18):

They’d rather eat dried bread.

Nicole (05:19):

Right. Which sounds terrible.

Sharon (05:21):

I know. So I didn’t wanna be one of those women.

Nicole (05:24):

Well that’s a good way to prevent it.

Sharon (05:25):

That’s so off topic, but just there we are.

Nicole (05:28):

Don’t nag your husband. Be nice.

Sharon (05:30):

Yes, Yes. A little marriage advice, thrown in with the encouragement thing.

Nicole (05:33):

Perfect.

Sharon (05:34):

So, well, today we are looking at a man named Joseph who got his name changed to Barnabas, which means son of encouragement because he was that encouraging.

Nicole (05:43):

That’s so cool.

Sharon (05:43):

Nobody called him Joseph anymore.

Nicole (05:44):

I love that.

Sharon (05:46):

He just went by Barnabas. He would’ve been a great person to be around.

Nicole (05:50):

I think so.

Sharon (05:50):

You know, I just had Annetta, our team member with us. (Nicole: Yeah) She is a great person to have around. (She is) She, her whole ministry is called, ‘I Celebrate You 365’, because she loves celebrating people. She loves celebrating God. She loved everything. She loved the bed I had for her. She loved the colors in my bedroom. (Oh my goodness) She loved the little rocking chair. She loved that there was a water bottle. She, Annetta, is son of encouragement, she’s daughter of encouragement. (Oh) We should call her Barnabelle. So Annetta, if you’re listening, I love you. Thank you for being so encouraging. So, okay, we’re gonna look at Barnabas now, There are multiple passages in Acts about him, so we can’t even get to all of them. But let’s, let’s begin where we first meet him, in Acts chapter four, I’ll read this one. It starts at verse 32. “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own. So they shared everything they had. (The Apossibles, hah, the Apossibles?) “The Apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the Apostles to give to those in need. For instance, there was Joseph, the one the Apostles nicknamed Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the Apostles.”

Nicole (07:21):

Oh my.

Sharon (07:21):

So, this is how we first meet him.

Nicole (07:23):

This is so neat. This whole passage is so fascinating that there were no needy among them. Like what a beautiful gift of like hearts of sharing and (Sharon: I know. Yes) really just focused on God. Like, God, what do you need me to do? Oh, okay. I’ll sell my house and give money to the needy and we’ll all be.

Sharon (07:36):

Yeah. And it was all voluntary.

Nicole (07:37):

Yeah.

Sharon (07:37):

It’s not Communism, (Nicole: No) where you’re like, guess what? You’re sharing? You know, whether you want to or not. (Right) It was freely done.

Nicole (07:44):

Oh yeah. And then Barnabas just kind of pops up cheerfully, oh hey, I sold a field. Here’s some money.

Sharon (07:49):

Here’s some money.

Nicole (07:50):

They nickname him Barnabas

Sharon (07:51):

That would definitely encourage somebody, right?

Nicole (07:52):

Yeah. Well they named Barnabas right then. This is the first time we see him, right? In scriptures?

Sharon (07:56):

Yeah, that’s right.

Nicole (07:56):

So they must, he must have been quite a cheerful guy to, get the nickname so soon.

Sharon (08:01):

I know it. And you know what? And he didn’t just encourage with words. He encouraged with money.

Nicole (08:05):

Yeah. With actions too.

Speaker 3 (08:07):

And he didn’t actually have money. So had to sell something to give the money.

Nicole (08:10):

Yeah. It wasn’t like he was—,

Sharon (08:11):

Wow.

Nicole (08:11):

That’s pretty cool.

Sharon (08:13):

Yeah, it’s a great start.

Nicole (08:14):

I like this guy. So Barnabas shows up in Acts nine, and lo and behold he’s being encouraging. So I’ll read this passage now. “When (Paul) when Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer. Then Barnabas brought him to the Apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He had also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the Apostles and went all about Jerusalem with them preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.”

Sharon (08:51):

Go Barnabas. That took some courage.

Nicole (08:53):

Yeah. To vouch for Saul.

Sharon (08:53):

You know? Cause, yeah, Saul at that point had, you know, was pretty new at being a converted Christian.

Nicole (09:01):

Yeah. You’re just like, is this gonna hold or is he going to drag us all away?

Sharon (09:04):

Yeah, cause you’ve been dragging women out, men and women out of their houses. Right.

Nicole (09:08):

Yeah, I’d be a little nervous too, but that was so sweet of him to stand beside him and to vouch for him.

Sharon (09:13):

Yes. Yes.

Nicole (09:15):

When he might not have really known if he was gonna stick with it, you know?

Sharon (09:17):

Well, I know, I know. And you know, Saul telling his story is one thing. People are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, cause we still don’t trust you.

Nicole (09:23):

Right.

Sharon (09:23):

They had a bias. Barnabas is like, listen to his story. This is the coolest story.

Nicole (09:28):

I know.

Sharon (09:28):

Right? He’s affirming Saul’s ‘on the road to Damascus Jesus came and saw him’, you guys, you know?

Nicole (09:36):

Right.

Sharon (09:37):

That’s just so Barnabas.

Nicole (09:39):

Yeah. And then he had just been talking about how he preached boldly in the name of the Lord. So that’s, that’s really cool that Barnabas was able to come along and just, (Sharon: I love it) set the stage for Saul. (He did) Yeah. (He did).

Sharon (09:48):

So, so then Saul, who becomes Paul, and Barnabas become, surprise(!), good friends and partners.

Nicole (09:54):

Yeah.

Sharon (09:55):

I am so not surprised about that. So the next time we are gonna look at them is in Acts chapter 11. And I’m reading verses 19 through 26. “So meanwhile,” (so I don’t know what had happened meanwhile, but we have two chapters we skipped) “the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them. And a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing he was filled with joy and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.” Barnabas was a good man. I love this. Luke is, nobody can stop saying nice things about him.

Nicole (10:52):

I know.

Sharon (10:53):

So anyways, verse 24, “Barnabas was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith, and many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians by the way”.

Nicole (11:21):

That’s a nice little side note.

Sharon (11:22):

Yeah. Yeah. So here he is getting Paul welcomed again in a new congregation.

Nicole (11:27):

Yeah.

Sharon (11:27):

Come, come with me to Antioch. Unbelievable things are happening here, you gotta see it.

Nicole (11:32):

That’s so neat, I love it.

Sharon (11:34):

Be part of this.

Nicole (11:34):

He was full of joy. He was all excited about what was happening.

Sharon (11:37):

My goodness. Yeah.

Nicole (11:37):

With God, that’s so neat.

Sharon (11:39):

Yeah. Barnabas actually reminds me of my mom. (Nicole: Oh) In this way I’ll tell you. (Yeah) If there’s a family gathering and my mom is talking to me and she sees a person sitting by themselves she is compelled to leave me mid-sentence, thanks mom, and go and talk to them. So, she says as she sits down and pats their knee. (Yeah) Tell me how you’re doing. She can’t stand to see anybody left alone. (Oh, she’s so sweet) She is so sweet. But then of course, if she’s talking to them and there’s someone else, (Nicole laughs) off she goes again, that’s just my mama. (Oh) She doesn’t want anybody left out. And this is Barnabas.

Nicole (12:17):

Yeah. Oh, I love that.

Sharon (12:19):

Nobody left out. I love that so much.

Nicole (12:21):

Oh, he’s so cool.

Sharon (12:21):

Oh boy. But now we’re gonna turn a little corner here. It’s gonna get a little tougher. It’s not tough yet. I’m just sort of preparing us for the toughness that’s coming, but it gets real. (Nicole: Mm-hmm). Just because Paul and Barnabas were Christians and lovers of Jesus did not mean they were perfect people. (Mm-hmm) Which is definitely a relief to all of us who are also lovers of Jesus and also not perfect people. (Yep) Right? They’re gonna have a sharp disagreement and part ways, (Mm-hmm) somewhere in the next few readings that you and I are gonna do. (Yeah) But let’s read the passage, set the stage, and remember that the Bible tells us true stories. (Mm-hmm) The Bible speaks the truth. (Yeah) And real people get offended and disagree.

Nicole (13:00):

Yep. And it’s good to learn from their examples. So.

Sharon (13:02):

It is.

Nicole (13:03):

All right. Well, I’m gonna set the stage. I’m reading Acts 13:1-5. “Among the prophets and teachers of the Church of Antioch, of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon, called the black man, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas and Saul. One day, as these men were worshiping the Lord in fasting, the Holy Spirit said, appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them. So after more fasting in prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There in the town of Salamis they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.” So now I’m gonna skip down to verse 13 because it’s really important to the disagreement that is coming. “Paul and his companions left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia landing at the port town of Perga. There, John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.” So in this passage, Barnabas is called by God to work with Saul, soon to be called Paul, on a missionary journey to the Gentiles. He brings along John Mark, who is actually his cousin.

Sharon (14:25):

Yeah. Isn’t that fun?

Nicole (14:27):

That’s cool. I didn’t know that.

Sharon (14:27):

Yeah. It says that I think in Colossians.

Nicole (14:30):

Oh yeah.

Sharon (14:30):

That John Mark is his cousin.

Nicole (14:32):

That’s neat.

Sharon (14:32):

And so he’s there to assist them.

Nicole (14:34):

Yeah.

Sharon (14:34):

But then he leaves.

Nicole (14:35):

Leaves. So why did he leave?

Sharon (14:37):

We don’t know.

Nicole (14:37):

You’ll have to let us know Sharon.

Sharon (14:39):

Stay tuned. So continuing the tale, we’re now in Acts 14:21 and I’m reading through 28. So they, you know how you had to read this incredibly long list of names of cities?

Nicole (14:52):

Yes.

Sharon (14:52):

I’m about to do the same thing. They went to a whole lot of places.

Nicole (14:55):

They were busy.

Sharon (14:56):

Yes. So in between what we didn’t read, they were in many places. (Nicole: Yep) So picking it up, “After preaching the good news in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them (go Barnabas) (Yeah) to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord.” Isn’t that beautiful? (Mmm, that is) They turned them over to the care of the Lord (Oh) (I love that) in whom they had put their trust. Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia. They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia. Finally they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles too. And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.” Isn’t that nice?

Nicole (16:11):

It must have been a really nice time to hear the stories and kind of feel the excitement.

Sharon (16:14):

Yes. You guys, lemme tell you. (Nicole: Yeah) And I just so love they stayed a long time. (Yeah) They weren’t always on these missions trips. (Mm-hmm) They actually got to rest in between. (Yeah) As a Selah person, (I appreciate that) it’s just really nice that they had rest in between. So. (Yeah) But they seemed to have continued that journey in complete harmony. That’s what God called them to was that first missionary journey.

Nicole (16:33):

Yes.

Sharon (16:33):

They did it.

Nicole (16:33):

Yep. And they completed their work.

Sharon (16:35):

And they completed it. They finished it with great joy, great reports to the church at Antioch. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) They fellowshipped with other believers. They hung out in Antioch a long time. (Yeah) So now we come to the parting of the ways. (Oh) Yes. I’ll read Acts 15:36-41. “After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord to see how the new believers are doing.” (Which is really smart of him. Let’s check up on them, you know?) “Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work.” Okay. So this was desertion according to Luke.

Nicole (17:19):

Okay. It wasn’t a little side trail.

Sharon (17:20):

John Mark’s like, I’m done.

Nicole (17:21):

Wow. Okay.

Sharon (17:23):

Their disagreement. And that’s not the John Mark disagreement. If I would not just keep interrupting myself reading the Bible.

Nicole (17:29):

It’s such an interesting story though.

Sharon (17:30):

I like wanna talk about it while I’m reading it. The disagreement we are talking about, this one between Paul and Barnabas, their disagreement was so sharp that they separated.

Nicole (17:40):

Wow.

Sharon (17:40):

“Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. Then he traveled through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches there.” So it was a sharp disagreement.

Nicole (17:57):

Yeah. Enough to part ways. That’s —

Sharon (17:58):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (18:00):

That, Ooh. It makes you feel like, ooh, inside (Sharon: Owies!) To think of two believers so in disagreement they couldn’t reconcile. They just went different ways.

Sharon (18:07):

Right. They had to go different ways. And it so reflects the personalities. Paul was driven. Right.

Nicole (18:12):

Yeah. Oh yeah.

Sharon (18:12):

He’s always been driven. And that is why God chose him. Because he, you know, if he’s told to go, doesn’t matter how many cities he’s stoned in, he’ll go to the next city and do it again.

Nicole (18:23):

And he had a hard path to furrow, to preach to the Gentiles. (Sharon: Yep. Yep) To go against the Jewish people. And I mean, he had a tough task ahead of him. He needed that personality.

Sharon (18:33):

He did. He did. And he felt like we’ve gotta have an assistant we can count on.

Nicole (18:37):

Yeah.

Sharon (18:37):

Right?

Nicole (18:37):

Yep.

Sharon (18:38):

But Barnabas, who has the little soft, melty heart.

Nicole (18:42):

Right. It was like, let’s give another chance.

Sharon (18:42):

Let’s give another chance like Jesus did Peter. Right?

Nicole (18:47):

Right. And it was his cousin too. He probably felt that sense of responsibility as well.

Sharon (18:51):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (18:52):

So you can see each side.

Sharon (18:53):

I can see each side, yeah.

Nicole (18:54):

And like kind of pick, Oh yeah.

Sharon (18:55):

And Paul might be like, yeah, he’s your cousin. Right?

Nicole (18:58):

Right. Okay, he still deserted us, so.

Sharon (19:01):

Oh man alive. So, but because of that departure, there are now two missionary sets going out.

Nicole (19:09):

Isn’t that cool? God used that.

Sharon (19:12):

Yeah. Out of the hardship. Silas got an opportunity to be with Paul. (Nicole: Right) Which is great. And they went in one direction and Barnabas didn’t stop working. And as we’re about to find out, when you tell us what happens next, John Mark didn’t go ‘Well fine, I’m not gonna be a Christian anymore, Paul didn’t want me’ (Right) at all. So.

Nicole (19:31):

Well, let’s find out then.

Sharon (19:32):

Move on.

Nicole (19:33):

So this story does have a happy ending. We’ll finish with Colossians 4:10-12. Paul evidently reconciled really well with John Mark. This is what he writes at the end of his letter to the Colossians. This is verse 10, Articus, wait Aristarchus—

Sharon (19:52):

That works for me Nicole.

Nicole (19:53):

“Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greeting and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin, as you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. Jesus, the one we call Justus, also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my coworkers, and they’re working with me here for the kingdom of God and what comfort they have been.”

Sharon (20:14):

Oh, Mark has been a comfort.

Nicole (20:16):

He’s been comfort. And he’s asking people to take care of him. So he clearly has some feelings of kindness toward him.

Sharon (20:22):

Yes. Yes. And Mark, instead of being bitter and saying, well I’m not working with Paul again.

Nicole (20:27):

Right.

Sharon (20:27):

What’s Mark doing? He’s gone to prison to serve Paul. (Nicole: Yeah) Where Paul is, I mean, Mark’s not in prison. Paul’s in prison.

Nicole (20:34):

But he goes to someplace not fun (Sharon: Yeah) to serve him. (Yeah). Oh.

Sharon (20:38):

Now this is what should distinguish Christians. (Nicole: Yes) We’re going to disagree, we’re going to have personality clashes. We’re going to see things in different ways. (Mm-hmm) but we’re not allowed the option of staying bitter and not forgiving. (Right) Jesus is so blunt about this. It’s downright scary. (Yeah) If you don’t forgive, I won’t forgive you. (Yeah) Okay. Okay. I’m forgiving.

Nicole (21:01):

Right. I’ll go right now and do it.

Sharon (21:02):

Yes. I’m doing it right now. You know, it’s very clear. (Nicole: Yeah) That we have to.

Nicole (21:06):

And look at what would’ve been lost if that disagreement had broken up all of those men. And if, well, fine, I’m not going. Even if John Mark hadn’t decided to keep going, he wouldn’t have been able to encourage Paul at the end when he was in prison.

Sharon (21:19):

I know.

Nicole (21:19):

And he probably really needed the encouragement and help then.

Sharon (21:22):

Yes. Yes. And Paul’s like, and take care of Mark. (Nicole: I know) He’s brought me such comfort. (I love that) I think as Paul matured in the faith, cause we all mature, a little bit of Barnabas rubbed off on him.

Nicole (21:34):

Oh yeah. And softened his edges a bit.

Sharon (21:36):

Yeah.

Nicole (21:37):

That is really neat.

Sharon (21:38):

So, but don’t you love that the Bible tells the truth?

Nicole (21:41):

Yes.

Sharon (21:41):

It doesn’t, just like Luke who’s writing Acts doesn’t go, well maybe we won’t mention the part about the disagreement. You know, it might discourage people. No. It’s what happened.

Nicole (21:50):

But I love that and I love that it shows the ending as well. It shows cause this is life. We are going to have disagreements. We are going to butt heads.

Sharon (21:57):

It is. Yes.

Nicole (21:57):

But if we are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, if we are daily walking with God, quick to forgive, God takes all of our mess, cause he knows we’re going to be messy.

Sharon (22:06):

He does. Yes.

Nicole (22:06):

And he makes something beautiful out of it.

Sharon (22:08):

Doesn’t he?

Nicole (22:09):

A separate missionary team and encouragement later on. Like we don’t, we have no idea.

Sharon (22:13):

No idea.

Nicole (22:13):

We just have to be faithful and forgive and be ready to serve where he call us.

Sharon (22:17):

Exactly.

Nicole (22:17):

To who he calls us to.

Sharon (22:17):

Exactly.

Nicole (22:20):

Even if we fought with them before.

Sharon (22:22):

Yep. Yep. And we can be at least reassured that even the great ones in Acts had their disagreements too.

Nicole (22:28):

Yeah, exactly. And we could follow their examples.

Sharon (22:31):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (22:31):

Oh, I love this story.

Sharon (22:32):

Oh, I do too. Okay. Well, with the little bit of time we have left, let’s look through the nine fruit of the Spirit. And this is the last time we’re going to do this because next week is another kind of episode. So I’m gonna talk about Barnabas and love. That’s the first fruit we’re gonna look at is love. Well, I feel like he oozed love. I mean, it just came kind of poured out of his pores. You know, giving John Mark that second chance is an example of it. And you know, that was just what John Mark needed, I’m sure. (Nicole: Oh yeah( Because John Mark must have felt terrible that he had deserted, but who wants to go to a new town and get beaten up again? (Yeah). Right. I don’t, I just don’t think he was quite strong enough for that yet. And he’s like, you guys, I’m so, my body hurts too bad. I’m going home. Or whatever the reason was. (Yeah) But Barnabas is like, let me take you, let’s do this again. I wanna restore you. (That’s so beautiful) You see love in that. And you definitely see love way back at the beginning when he sold this property. (Oh yeah) There are needy people among me. I don’t need this property. Let me sell it and help you. So yes on love. (Yes) Check mark for Barnabas.

Nicole (23:40):

All right. So Barnabas and joy, I feel like this one’s really easy.

Sharon (23:44):

Isn’t it easy with Barnabas?

Nicole (23:45):

Joy. There’s so much joy and encouragement though, you know, to be given words or a mission to come alongside a brother or sister in Christ, to encourage them and lift them up and point them to God. There’s, it gives back this beautiful gift of joy too. (Sharon: Yes) Because that’s why he was so joy filled. (Yeah, yeah) God equipped him to go and be joyful. And then he received the joy of encouragement, like of being an encourager back.

Sharon (24:08):

Yes. It’s perfect.

Nicole (24:09):

I just think it’s so fun. Yeah. So, he seems to really encourage with joy and he didn’t complain about going with Paul or anything. He just did encourage joyfully.

Sharon (24:16):

Yep. He did. He did. And it’s joy that makes you an encourager because you’re happy. (Nicole: Yeah) You see the good, you’re like, oh, look at that. As Annetta said, that rocking chair is perfect. Right?

Nicole (24:30):

Yes. You see, and he saw, he was so excited about what was happening.

Sharon (24:34):

Yes, yes.

Nicole (24:34):

He was joyful.

Sharon (24:36):

Oh, my goodness. Yay! And he’s definitely peace. He’s a peacemaker. (Nicole: Yeah) In the beginning when Saul is being suspected (Mmm-hmm) and the Apostles don’t want anything to do with him, he’s like, come with me, I’ll make peace between you. Let me tell you Saul’s story, you guys, you’ve gotta welcome him. (Yeah) And then making peace again with John Mark. He definitely wanted to live at peace with all men. So he brought, he brought a desire not only to be peaceful himself, but to make peace, I think.

Nicole (25:06):

Oh yeah. That peace kind of was far stretching. (Sharon: Yeah) It wasn’t just on him. No, it’s cool. I like that. (Yeah) Patience too. He showed lots of patience. I think he showed patience with his disagreement with Paul, it doesn’t say that. (Yeah. Yeah) He held a long grudge and then he was patient with John Mark and brought him back. (He was) So, he had some patience too.

Sharon (25:22):

He sure did. Absolutely. Kindness. Kindness to Paul who was a new believer, kindness to John Mark, kindness to random people that needed the money from his field.

Nicole (25:34):

Right.

Sharon (25:35):

Kind.

Nicole (25:35):

He was a kind guy. Yeah.

Sharon (25:36):

Kind. He was kind. Yes.

Nicole (25:37):

And then for goodness, um, I don’t know. He really seemed to encourage others out of the goodness of his heart and not to further himself or to bring himself glory. (Sharon: Yes) You know? (I agree) In fact, some of his encouragements brought him on rather tricky journeys. He had to go to those places where they were not welcome and they were treated so poorly. So it wasn’t something he was doing to get a kick out of it. Like, oh, this is fun, encouraging. Like, this is not fun. (No) This is difficult. Some of these places were not (Uhhuh, yep) very welcoming. So I think that he had this goodness in him.

Sharon (26:08):

Deep down goodness.

Nicole (26:09):

Yeah.

Sharon (26:09):

I agree. And boy he was faithful, faithfulness. Little John Mark there’s like, I’m done. I’m out of this mission trip.

Nicole (26:17):

Yeah.

Sharon (26:17):

Barnabas finished.

Nicole (26:18):

He did, I like that.

Sharon (26:19):

He finished the journey even though the conditions were incredible. I mean, every city they walked into and then they go back the way they came and encourage, they’re going back into cities that they’d been tossed out of.

Nicole (26:33):

When they knew their faces, they knew—.

Sharon (26:35):

Yeah. But he faithfully did it.

Nicole (26:38):

That’s crazy. Gentleness. Um, I don’t think Barnabas, he didn’t seem to force the encouragement, you know, and I love, I loved when he brought Saul with him to vouch for him. There was a gentleness in that and like, Hey guys, look at what God has done in Saul’s life. You know, and he didn’t get all heated and try to debate with them that Saul was okay. He just gently showed them (Sharon: Mm-hmm) this is who Saul is now through Christ. And then later with John. He just was very gentle.

Sharon (27:03):

He was, and even in Antioch when Saul’s back in Tarsus where he grew up, probably cause he didn’t know what else to do and Barnabas is like, come on. Come to Antioch. You wouldn’t believe the things that are happening in Antioch. Gentle inclusion.

Nicole (27:18):

That is nice. He did these gifts, he did these fruits really well.

Sharon (27:21):

Yeah. He did the fruits well.

Nicole (27:22):

He did.

Sharon (27:23):

And then self-control. I kind of had the same landing places. The faithfulness. He had the self-control to go to the next town that might beat him up again. I feel like that takes self-control because (Nicole: Yeah) naturally we don’t wanna go to the next town and get beaten up again. (No) I mean, I don’t.

Nicole (27:39):

No, thank you.

Sharon (27:39):

I don’t like pain. I don’t even like pain in the dentist chair. Which is why I pray for persecuted Christians whenever the dentist is working (Nicole: Do you really Sharon?) in my mouth because that embarrasses me. It shames me. I’m like, right. So they’re sticking something in your teeth, for two seconds to make your teeth better. You just go pray for persecuted Christians right now in your brain.

Nicole (28:00):

That’s so funny.

Sharon (28:01):

Yeah, it helps. Cause I’m such a wimp.

Nicole (28:04):

That’s great. Oh, I love that though.

Sharon (28:04):

Oh, I’m such a wimp. So I admire these guys tremendously and I’m secretly thankful God’s never asked me to do that. At least not so far.

Nicole (28:13):

Dental fillings are the hardest things.

Sharon (28:14):

I know. Oh, well, let’s pray. Heavenly Father, how grateful we are for the witness of Barnabas. A gentle man who wanted to include people, who didn’t wanna exclude people. One that richly loved you. Father, thank you for this dear man. Thank you that he got a new name because he was so encouraging. It was so much a part of who he was. Thank you, holy Spirit, for the work you did in Barnabas’s life that we can all benefit from. Oh Lord God, help us to be encouraging. Help us not to be just critical. Give us the five good things for the one little criticism, that we are looking for how to encourage, to lift up the spirits of those around us. In Jesus’ name we ask this. Amen.

Nicole (29:09):

Amen. Thanks for joining us today. We would be so encouraged if you would write us @SweetSelah.org/podcast or donate to this ongoing ministry @SweetSelah.org/donations. We love chatting with you each week and hope with all our heart that these podcasts truly are an encouragement to you. Join us for one last episode next week before we stop for the summer. Episode 110 is extra special. It’s called His Strength in Our Weakness. You won’t wanna miss this one. Until then, let’s be encouraging to everyone we meet.

Speaker 2 (29:44):

We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries. More information about this podcast can be found @SweetSelah.org. Thank you for joining us.