Dr. Rick Mandl - September 11, 2020
The Most Difficult Instrument In The Orchestra
Devotional Manuscript: The Most Difficult Instrument In The Orchestra
By Dr. Rick Mandl on September 11, 2020
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Hey church family. This past weekend, as part of our “Stay Positive” series, we looked at the importance of encouragement. We saw that God is the ultimate encourager. And that in order for us to be like him, we need to grow in our ability to encourage others. If I were ask you, to name for me, an individual in the Bible who you think of when you think of encouragement, I wonder who would you name?
There might be a number of different names that could populate your list. You might think of Jonathan for the ways in which he provided encouragement to King David. Or maybe Aaron for the ways that he encouraged his brother Moses. But suppose I said, okay there ARE many encouragers in the Bible, but give me the one name that stands out head and shoulders above the rest... If you thought about that for a moment, you might suggest that of course it’s got to be... Joseph. You know the apostle Joseph, from the tribe of Levi, who came from the island of Cyprus. You hear me say that, and you might counter with… Actually Pastor Rick, I wasn’t going to name this guy Joseph, that you’re talking about. In fact, I’ve never even heard of him. I was going to name “Barnabas”. The guy we meet in the book of Acts. The guy whose very name means “Son of Encouragement.” At which point I would say, “You’re right!” “Same guy.”
In Acts chapter 4 we read about how those first followers of Jesus were known for their generosity. And one example is this guy we’re talking about – Joseph -er Barnabas. Acts 4:36 (NLT) tells us, “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.” From this point on in the book of Acts, every time that we meet Joseph the Levite, from the island of Cyprus, he’s simply known as “Barnabas – the Son of Encouragement.” And almost every time we see him, we see him encouraging someone else.
One of the first examples was the Apostle Paul, who had been known as Saul, who before he met Jesus, was most famous as the persecutor of the first Christians. Saul was so committed to his task of persecuting Christians that he was willing to leave Jerusalem and hunt down Christians wherever he could find them and bring them back and throw them in prison. It was on one of those fishing trips that he met the resurrected Jesus (you can read all about it in Acts chapter 9) and that meeting changed everything. Paul the persecutor, became a follower of Jesus Christ. Which was great for him, and great for the future of the church, but at first no one believed that Saul’s conversion was real. They thought that maybe it was some clever con-job to try and gain the trust of the Christians so that he could infiltrate their ranks and arrest more of them.
In fact, Acts 9:26 tells us, "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! It’s at this point that we see Joseph... er Barnabas, step us on behalf of Saul. Acts 9:27 tells us, "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." Barnabas stood up for Paul when he needed someone to stand up for him. He encouraged Paul by believing in him – by trusting that he had really changed. These two became partners in missionary work together. In fact, when you first read of these two together, Barnabas' name is listed first. You know why? It’s because he was the major-leaguer and Paul was the rookie--until you get to Acts 13. From that point on, it’s no longer Barnabas and Paul. From that point on it’s "Paul and Barnabas." I love this: Barnabas saw a need and pushed Paul up higher and higher until Barnabas himself became less significant. The truth is - - - If we didn't have a Barnabas, we wouldn't have Paul.
Encouragement is a needed gift, and it goes a long way. I started out by talking to you about Joseph, from the tribe of Levi, who came from the island of Cyprus who was so much known for his encouragement that they renamed him – they gave him the nickname – son of Encouragement. I wonder if the people who know you best were going to rename you, and, as a result, from this point forward they were going to refer to you by your most visible character trait, what would that be? hat can be a pretty humbling thought when we stop to think about it. I pray that the nickname they gave you, would be one that they gave you, because of an area of your life where they see that you are a lot like Jesus. Amen.
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