by Patrick Sawyer, Missional Living Pastor
I am a huge Michael Jordan fan. I would say he is the greatest basketball player to ever play the game and I would venture to say he could be the greatest athlete of all time. I know I am biased, but I truly believe this. When I was growing up I was also a huge Chicago Bulls fan. I love the dynasty years where the Bulls won three championships; Jordan leaves and they win zero championships; then he comes back and they win three more. Jordan had been with the Bulls for a number of years before they ever won a championship, so how did the Bulls go from a team who could never get past the Detroit Pistons to one of the most dominating dynasties in NBA history?
You could say Michael Jordan and I think you would have a great argument, but I think the answer is Scottie Pippen. I am not saying Pippen was better than Jordan, but I think when Pippen came to the Bulls he was an encourager to Michael Jordan. He made Jordan play better, which then made the Bulls play better as a team.
The truth is that we all need an encourager in our lives and we need to be an encourager in other people’s lives. When God created us, He never intended us to live alone. He always intended us to live in community. Here is another question - what does this have to do with the Great Commission? I would venture to say it has everything to do with the Great Commission.
In the New Testament, we meet a man named Saul who was also called Paul. In the book of Acts, we see Paul trying to stop the disciples of Jesus. Paul believed these Christians were spreading a false message so he was trying to stop them by any means possible. As Paul is on his way to Damascus to stop more Christians, he meets the risen Jesus and he becomes a Christian. Paul would go on to become probably the greatest missionary to ever live. Paul would plant many churches all over Asia Minor and would also go on to write most of the New Testament.
But, here is something to think about. I do not believe Paul would have ever been the missionary God called him to be if it had not been for a man name Barnabas. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying God could not have made Paul to be this great missionary without Barnabas, but I do believe God used Barnabas to help Paul become the man and missionary he would become.?
We meet Barnabas also in the book of Acts. Acts 4:36 “thus Joseph, who was called by the apostles Barnabas (which means sons of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus”. Barnabas was an encourager. Barnabas played a big part in the life of Paul, but also in the Great Commission.
In Acts, we see persecution come, led by Paul, and as this persecution came Christians started to scatter all over different parts of the region. As these Christians scattered, everywhere they went they were sharing the gospel and planting churches. One of these churches was the church at Antioch. The church of Jerusalem heard a report there were some great things going on at this church and who did they send to check it out? That’s right Barnabas. As Barnabas goes to this church and sees all the great things they are doing, guess who he goes and gets? Right again, Paul! Barnabas goes and gets Paul and this would start the adventures of Paul and Barnabas being sent out by this church to go and take the gospel to the Gentile nations.
When it comes to the Great Commission, God does not want His people sitting on the sidelines, He wants them in the game. One way God gets His people in the game is by putting people like Barnabas in their lives to encourage and challenge them to obey the Great Commission. Just as Barnabas goes and gets Paul in the game, we, as Christians, need to get other Christians in the game. How?
We need to invest in others and disciple and teach them the importance of obedience to the Great Commission.
We need to challenge each other to go and serve our community and the world with the love of Jesus Christ.
We need to challenge each other to go and proclaim the gospel to those who need to hear it.
Another reason Barnabas is vital for the Great Commission is because being obedient to the Great Commission is hard and it will be a sacrifice and we will want to quit, and in these moments we need a Barnabas in our lives to encourage us to persevere. As Paul and Barnabas start their journey we see the sacrifice they made. We learn from Paul how much he sacrificed for the Great Commission.
1 Corinthians 11:24-28 “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
As you read all that Paul went through and how much he suffered for the gospel, you have to wonder how did he do it? How did he not quit? We know he loved God, he loved the gospel and we also know he knew he was called by God to go and do this, but I would also say because of Barnabas. I will say it again, I believe God put Barnabas in Paul’s life to encourage him not to quit when times were hard. In those moments when Paul was being persecuted, Barnabas was right there with him encouraging him to keep going and not to give up.
When it comes to the Great Commission, we need people like Barnabas in our lives. Obeying the Great Commission will be hard and it will require great sacrifice. Some Christians will be hated, persecuted, arrested and even killed for it. Even though God is with us and empowers us through His Spirit to be obedient to the Great Commission, He still puts others around us to encourage us when times are hard, to encourage us to keep going and to not give up.
When it comes to the Great Commission, God has given us His presence and His power, through the Spirit, but He also gives us people like Barnabas in our lives to get us in the game. To encourage us and challenge us to quit sitting around, but to get up and go and be obedient to the Great Commission and to encourage us to keep going and not quit when the times are hard and the sacrifice is great. Being obedient to the Great Commission is hard and it is a sacrifice and the only way we will be able to be obedient to it is with God Himself and Barnabas.
Two questions
Who is your Barnabas? Who is encouraging you and challenging you to be obedient to the Great Commission?
Who are you a Barnabas to? Who are you encouraging and challenging to be obedient to the Great Commission?