From the Pastor's Pen...
| Pastor: Bro. Rodney Troutman |
 | |  |
FROM THE PASTORS PEN
“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join himself to the disciples: but they were all
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and
declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” Acts 9:26,27 (KJV)
Barnabas was a man that had the gift of encouragement. We are introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4:37 where
Luke says “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, the son of
consolation)”…The apostles had given him the nickname that means “encourager.”
How can all of us be thought of like this by our friends? By following some of the examples that we see in the life
of Barnabas, we too can become an encouragement to others.
Encourage others by being a Good Steward. When Barnabas saw a need in the church, he sold some property
and donated the proceeds to the church. What if we have nothing to sell? Peter and John told the man in the
Temple “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give to thee.” We can give people the good news about
Jesus. We can give of our time. We can give of our knowledge and experience. Everyone has something to give,
and everyone has a gift from God that was given for the edification of the church. Do an inventory of what God has
blessed you with and share with others.
Encourage others by Extending Friendship. Paul had been an enemy of the church before he was converted.
Even then, the apostles were afraid of him. Barnabas took Paul in and befriended him, and later took him to the
apostles and spoke on his behalf.
Encourage others by Building Partnerships. When revival broke out in Antioch, the church at Jerusalem sent
Barnabas to investigate and make sure that they were teaching the Truth. When Barnabas got there, he saw that
the Holy Spirit was indeed moving, so he left to go get Paul and returned with him to teach and preach for a year.
Barnabas helped build that partnership
between Paul and the New Christians at Antioch.
Encourage others by Developing Leadership. Barnabas never wrote a book that is in the Bible, but he
mentored two men that did. Barnabas had a great influence on Paul, and later on the young man John Mark. Mark
was the first to write a gospel of Christ’s ministry, and Paul went on to write thirteen (fourteen if you include Hebrews)
letters of the New Testament Bible.
Encourage Re-Building of Relationships. Barnabas helped heal the rift between Paul and John Mark. We see
evidence of this in 2nd Timothy 4:11 where Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him, for he is profitable to Paul in
the ministry.
God has given a spiritual gift to every believer. I know that some of you have the gift of encouragement, for you
have exercised that gift by encouraging me. I thank God for those who can be an encouragement to others. I also
pray that we can all learn from Barnabas and try to be an encouragement to someone in our life!
Now…Go, And Serve Your King!
Bro. Rodney
“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join himself to the disciples: but they were all
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and
declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” Acts 9:26,27 (KJV)
Barnabas was a man that had the gift of encouragement. We are introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4:37 where
Luke says “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, the son of
consolation)”…The apostles had given him the nickname that means “encourager.”
How can all of us be thought of like this by our friends? By following some of the examples that we see in the life
of Barnabas, we too can become an encouragement to others.
Encourage others by being a Good Steward. When Barnabas saw a need in the church, he sold some property
and donated the proceeds to the church. What if we have nothing to sell? Peter and John told the man in the
Temple “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give to thee.” We can give people the good news about
Jesus. We can give of our time. We can give of our knowledge and experience. Everyone has something to give,
and everyone has a gift from God that was given for the edification of the church. Do an inventory of what God has
blessed you with and share with others.
Encourage others by Extending Friendship. Paul had been an enemy of the church before he was converted.
Even then, the apostles were afraid of him. Barnabas took Paul in and befriended him, and later took him to the
apostles and spoke on his behalf.
Encourage others by Building Partnerships. When revival broke out in Antioch, the church at Jerusalem sent
Barnabas to investigate and make sure that they were teaching the Truth. When Barnabas got there, he saw that
the Holy Spirit was indeed moving, so he left to go get Paul and returned with him to teach and preach for a year.
Barnabas helped build that partnership
between Paul and the New Christians at Antioch.
Encourage others by Developing Leadership. Barnabas never wrote a book that is in the Bible, but he
mentored two men that did. Barnabas had a great influence on Paul, and later on the young man John Mark. Mark
was the first to write a gospel of Christ’s ministry, and Paul went on to write thirteen (fourteen if you include Hebrews)
letters of the New Testament Bible.
Encourage Re-Building of Relationships. Barnabas helped heal the rift between Paul and John Mark. We see
evidence of this in 2nd Timothy 4:11 where Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him, for he is profitable to Paul in
the ministry.
God has given a spiritual gift to every believer. I know that some of you have the gift of encouragement, for you
have exercised that gift by encouraging me. I thank God for those who can be an encouragement to others. I also
pray that we can all learn from Barnabas and try to be an encouragement to someone in our life!
Now…Go, And Serve Your King!
Bro. Rodney
