by Pastor Cecil | Jul 16, 2020 | Acts
Acts 11:26
“And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch. There must have been great rejoicing in the church, not so much for Saul since he was not well known and was still a student of The Way, but for the encourager and teacher Barnabas.
For an entire year the church (a great many people) assembled and listened as Barnabas taught them the basic principles of being sold out soldiers for Jesus Christ.
Prior to this time the followers of Christ were known only as believers or sometimes THE WAY. In Antioch they began to be called Christians. That was a name that gave identification and in some cases insured they would experience persecution.
Barnabas was the primary teacher in this dynamic church and for an entire year he taught a large number of believers what it meant to be a sold out follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Among those who sat under his teaching was Saul who would become known as Paul. WOW!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 15, 2020 | Acts
Acts 11:25
“Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.”
It is important to grasp the significance of what Barnabas did in searching for Saul. Remember that there was no rapid transit systems back then and so travel was done on foot. Tarsus was roughly 80 miles northwest of Antioch, so it would have taken the better part of a week for Barnabas just to get there. Then there was the daunting task of finding him in fairly large city. Without doubt Barnabas must have been led by the Holy Spirit to find the man God would use in a mighty way.
Keep in mind that at this time, Saul was not the mighty man of God that we see later in the New Testament. He was a fairly new convert to Christianity and was the target of the Jewish religious leaders who wanted him dead.
I can only imagine the conversations that took place between Barnabas and Saul about what would happen next. Finally Barnabas convinced Saul to leave the city where he had been raised and travel into the unknown with a man who had been the one who had paved the way for him to have access to the Apostles back in Jerusalem.
A new life for both of these men was about to begin!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 14, 2020 | Acts
Acts 11:24
“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.”
What adjectives would someone use if they were asked to describe your character? Have you ever considered that question? Would you have to close your ears so you would not feel embarrassed by their negative comments? We have in today’s Scripture the glowing adjectives used to describe our dear friend Barnabas.
The first adjective is good. That word implies that he had merit and a reputation for doing the right thing at the right time. A good reputation qualified Barnabas to be trusted for service to the Lord and the early church.
He was also a man that was full of the Holy Spirit. That necessitated him to be empty of self. It is impossible to be full of the Holy Spirit and full of yourself at the same time. A spirit-filled believer must increasingly have more of Christ and less of self.
The final adjective mentioned was that he was full of faith. Barnabas was a believer who let go of any sense of self-importance in order to allow the Lord to accomplish His work through him. Oh, for more believers who would live their life in such a manner as Barnabas!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 13, 2020 | Acts
Acts 11:23
“When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.”
Veni, vidi, vici is a Latin phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar. In essence it means I came. I saw. I conquered. The long-lasting result of Caesar’s conquests was a trail of suffering and death.
Barnabas was sent on a mission to Antioch to investigate reports that believers had fled Jerusalem because of the persecution and had started a church in that city. They wanted to send someone who knew what true believers were and one that was a faithful follower of the risen Lord Jesus. Barnabas was their man.
When Barnabas arrived in Antioch he saw that the grace of God was evident in this new church and he rejoiced with them and EXHORTED them. That means he gave them words of encouragement and blessing. We need more of that today!
Not only did he encourage them, he instructed them to remain faithful with a steadfast purpose. It is too easy to get our eyes on minor divisions and lose sight of the calling God has given us to keep our eyes on Him and Him alone. Barnabas’s report to the church back in Jerusalem must have been received with great rejoicing.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 9, 2020 | Acts
Acts 11:20-22
“But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.”
In times of armed conflict, commanders frequently need to gather as much intelligence information as possible to know what is happening beyond their area. To do this they send the most reliable person who they are confident will be able to gather the information they need. THE APOSTLES SENT BARNABAS!
Before we began this study on Barnabas, did you realize the vital role he played in the early church? This man who was known as an encourager was also one who was able to discern the difference between the true and false gospel. He knew the Lord and served Him faithfully.
The apostles in Jerusalem needed to know if the truth was being proclaimed in Antioch, so they sent Barnabas. (I love this guy!) I can imagine him appearing in Antioch with a grin on his face and asking questions that encouraged truth and not making accusations as to whether what was being taught was faithful and true.
He was convinced it was true and sent the word back to the apostles: IT IS TRUE!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 8, 2020 | Acts
Acts 9:27
“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 also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.”
If you go to bat for someone, you want to make sure that what you say about that person is accurate. If that person is known to have been responsible for arrests and executions of members of your group, it is even more of a responsibility if you attest to their reliability.
That was the situation when the feared Saul of Tarsus returned to Jerusalem after a life-changing trip to Damascus. He had gone there to arrest followers of Jesus and see to their imprisonment and even execution. NOW HE RETURNS AS ONE OF THEM!
We are never told how Barnabas gained information about Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. What I have been led to infer is that Barnabas was always listening and searching for truth, especially when a person had been born again and was now a follower of the Jesus that he also followed.
Barnabas was very accurate in describing what had happened to Saul, but he also was reliable enough that the apostles believed him and gave Saul the right hand of fellowship. From then on Saul was accepted by the apostles and given free access.
Don’t you long for believers who would go about looking, listening, and watching for the good in others? There are already too many people who look for the bad and ugly around them. We need more FAITHFUL REPORTERS!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
