Title: The Man Heard and Written by God
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bsp; Acts 11:22-26
bsp; ‘Barnabas’ Encourager, comforter, builder… What a wonderful nickname. Joseph had many other nicknames besides this one.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith... 11:24
A good person, a person full of the Holy Spirit, a person full of faith, this is another nickname for Joseph. God used this kind of Barnabas as a worker in the early church. God moved this Barnabas to do those things at every very important moment for the first church.
bsp; First, he entrusted you with material commitment.
In the early days of the church, when there was no organization and there were not many proper members, God touched Barnabas's heart and made him dedicate himself materially.
When he had a field, he sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Acts 4:37
In the early days of the church, there were not many members, and it must have taken a lot of money to establish the church and spread the gospel. At that time, Barnabas was the first to sell his possessions and give them to the church. When the church needed it, it did what it needed. When the Holy Spirit moved his heart, he obeyed unconditionally.
ご纛?You work through people. That's how God works. At that time, depending on the need at that time, He moves the hearts of those in need so that they can do God's work. If you obey such a feeling, God will work through him and bless him to do more and better. What will happen if he is moved and doesn't follow him? Can't God do that? no. It's a little late, but he does it by touching the hearts of others. And that blessing also belongs to someone else. Therefore, those who believe that it is an opportunity for blessing when they are moved by God and obey and act according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are blessed people. This is because doing God's work becomes the way for me to receive blessings.
bsp; Nasikawa Vision College, Fiji, is now a well-known school, but originally it was just a small, unknown town with a few people. There, Chief Timothy donated tens of thousands of acres of his land to the school. It is said that some chiefs earn a monthly income by giving land to the hotel. But Chief Timothy, who donated land to the school for free, gets nothing. But it is his name that shines with time. It is rewarding to see talented people grow there. This time, when he dedicated the Antioch Chapel, he came to see him weeping tears of emotion. His name will remain with Vision College forever. Now, through his devotion, he saw the town becoming the center of its periphery.
We realize that God moves the hearts of those who need them when they need them, makes them do the work, and blesses them. He dedicated Barnabas to what he needed most when he needed it most. That is why his name has become a blessed name that has been passed down for 2000 years.
bsp; Second, he entrusted the work of building people.
&nご纛?You know the good character of Barnabas. He was said to be a good man (Acts 11:24). Who is a good person? A person who is considerate of others and behaves virtuously is said to be good. God, who loved Barnabas, entrusted him with another most important task at the most important time. That's what builds people up.
bsp; In addition, Barnabas took Mark, who had failed once, to the end, increasing his faith, building him up, and making him a worker. It was Barnabas who re-established the very same Mark that even Paul did not acknowledge, overcame the initial failure, and raised him as a great man. After that, Mark became a great person in the early church and became the person who wrote the first Gospel, the Gospel of Mark.
bsp; When the first church needed material things, he devoted himself to it, and God entrusted him with the work of building and nurturing people at a time when the first church had a lot of work to do and lack of people. He gave him the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gave him courage, and increased his faith, and made him work. Not all people follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. More often than not, people lose their emotions and follow human thoughts and conclusions for this reason or another. However, when Barnabas was most needed, he acted in faith, following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and became the most needed person. I was happy to do the work God had entrusted to me. How pleased God must have been to see Barnabas like this! How reliable you must have been! How many times do we say we believe in God, but how often do we not believe in God? How often do you not walk by faith, not follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but rather grieve the Holy Spirit! Joseph, how reliable he must have been that his nickname would have been Barnabas son of comfort, son of encouragement, upbuilding. That is why God entrusted him with the task of raising people.
bsp; Third, he entrusted the church.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
To this a great crowd was added to give. 11:24
Because he was ‘Barnabas’ with a good personality and full of the Holy Spirit and faith, God trusted him and entrusted him with the first church. And in order not to go against that expectation, Barnabas was faithful and the Antioch church was gradually revived and stood firm.
In the end, the honorable and beautiful name of ‘Christian’ was born in this Antioch church. The beginning of the gospel began in Jerusalem, but the beginning of the mission to the Gentiles began at this Antioch church. Antioch Church is a church that has several modifiers of ‘first’.
It was the first church to be established in a foreign country.
It was the first church in which the name Christian was born.
It was the first church to send missionaries to a foreign country.
The first meeting of the leaders was held in Jerusalem because of the Antioch church. As a result of this conference, the gospel could be preached powerfully to the Gentiles.
It was the first church to send missionary donations to its parent church, the Jerusalem Church.
Antioch Church was a church with such a proud tradition, and God allowed Barnabas to carry out these tasks. We bless our church, which has the same name as the Antioch Church, to become a beautiful church and beautiful saints worthy of that honor.
When the early church needed it most, he entrusted the most necessary tasks to Joseph. Joseph happily carried out the work that was moved and entrusted to him by the Holy Spirit. The nickname given to such a loyal person is ‘Barnabas’. To such ‘Barnabas’, the early church members said that he was a good person, a person full of the Holy Spirit, and a person full of faith. And even after 2000 years have passed, we still remember his name and nickname together.
bsp; Dear brothers and sisters, if you are touched by the Holy Spirit at any time, please don't miss it. It is because God has considered you the best fit for the job. Therefore, I bless you that you will not always quench the inspiration of God, and that you will always follow the inspiration and become believers who walk by faith. At that time, I believe that God will work through you and fill you with greater and more precious blessings so that you can work even more. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will have such gracious faith, blessed faith, and full faith.