Joseph Barnabas, Son of Encouragement

September 27, 2026

Acts 4:32-37

Have you ever felt discouraged? I am sure most of us have had more than one experience in being discouraged about something. There is so much that can come our way on earth that can discourage us. Over a lifetime, scores of things come our way which do discourage us. Dealing with discouragement is part of living. Discouragement is a weapon thrown at us by the evil one. He wants us to be discouraged. He wants us to wallow in discouragement. He wants us to feel powerless and even helpless. Satan wants to steal our joy as we become discouraged. The best we can do is live as people who encourage others and even encourage ourselves. The worst we can do is give into the joy destroying tactics of the evil one. This morning I want to introduce you to a man who was the opposite of a discourager. He was one who brought good news, not bad news. He was such an encourager that his friends called him, “Son of Encouragement.” His given name is Joseph and he was of the priestly tribe of Levites. His family left Israel and settled on the Island of Cyprus. In the first century, there were more Jews living outside of Israel than in Israel. The city of Alexandria, Egypt had a million Jews living in it. Joseph’s family was part of the Diaspora—Jewish people who practiced their faith but lived in other lands. I am sure you know who I am talking about. The first biblical reference about him is in Acts 4:36-37: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the Apostles’ feet.” He gave the money to the apostles to use in helping Christians in Jerusalem. Barnaba had a key role in the proclamation of the good news of God in Christ Jesus to non-Jewish people, to Gentiles. In the face of the discouragements we deal with in life, let us look at the characteristics of a godly encourager. Godly encouragers are generous givers. Barnabas could have used his money for other things than giving to the church. However, he was unselfish and gave as the Holy Spirit led him. In the same way, godly encouragers see part of their life in Christ as being generous. The New Testament writers did not specify the number or amount Christians are to give for the work of the Gospel. However, the Holy Spirit will lead us in our giving and in our generosity. The Lord wants us to be generous and will bless our generosity. Barnabas was a generous giver. He sold property he owned and gave the proceeds for the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem. Encouragers are also people who see strengths in others and help them build those strengths. Barnabas sought out Paul for the work of the Gospel. Although he knew Paul’s history, he saw his strengths and commitment to Christ Jesus. The apostles in Jerusalem were suspicious of Paul. They knew his reputation. They knew he held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr, to death. They knew he was a zealous persecutor of the church. They knew him as a bad guy. They were suspicious of him and likely did not believe his testimony of faith. Barnabas saw Paul’s strengths. He saw that Paul’s conversion to Christ was real. Instead of seeing him as a dangerous bad guy, he saw his potential as an evangelist. If 1 Barnabas had not intervened, the great mission trips to the Gentiles would not have happened. We would not have Paul’s thirteen letters in the Bible. Barnabas brought Paul to the apostles and helped them see that he was genuine. He helped them see his strengths. School is a mixed bag for many people, mostly boys. Few men look back on their school experiences with fond memories. I was one who found school discouraging rather than encouraging. My memories of school remind me that the focus was not so much on what we did correctly but on what we got wrong. I remember papers returned with the teacher’s red pencil boldly noting at the top of the page the number wrong. If it was really bad, they would circle that number. On the other hand, if you listen to people, you might hear them talking about that special teacher who encouraged them. I must have had a couple of those kinds of teachers. Encouragers see beyond our weaknesses and what we lack. They see our potential strengths. They do not see what we got wrong but see our potential. God want us to be encouragers. Encouragers overlook our diamond in the rough condition. They see us as God sees us, as who we can become when we are surrendered to the Lord. Think of that one person who came into your life at just the right time to encourage you. God wants you to be like that person. He wants you to see the other person’s strengths. He wants you to look beyond their faults and inadequacies to see who they can become in Christ Jesus. God wants everyone to encourage others. He is especially calling us to encourage the children and young men and women. Who is God putting in your path so that you can take them under your wing and encourage them? Encouragers are people who support others and stick by them even, especially, when they fail. Most of us have not reached the high calling of sanctification, of perfection in love. Even the best of us will, at times, not live up to our calling in Christ Jesus. As we live out our faith, we will, at times, fail. It is easy to fall back into previous ways. It is easy to forget we are Abba’s children. And it is easy to fall back into judging and even condemning others. Someone once said, “The church is the only army who kills its wounded.” While it is easy to gossip and say critical words about those who have failed, God wants us to be encouragers. Every time I get self-righteous, God reminds me of my failures and how he encouraged me, not judged me. Encouragers have a high tolerance for the humanness of others. New Christians especially need encouragement. There are many speed bumps in the Christian life. We fall down and then instead of wallowing in our failure, we ask God to forgive us and get back up. God wants His church filled with people who pray for others when they are down and encourage others when they have failed. God’s grace does not condemn. It encourages us to get up and walk with Jesus. Encouragers are people who work for reconciliation. God has given His people the ministry of reconciliation. In Christ Jesus, God reconciled the world to Himself. Jesus reconciles us to God. Paul knew about reconciliation and wrote the Christians in Corinth: “All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).” In the same way, encoruagers bring people together and do not throw gasoline on the fires of discord. Barnabas 2 was a reconciler as he brought Paul and the apostles together. Sometimes people see the early church, the New Testament church, as a community of believers who had no problems but simply loved each other. Given what we read in the Bible, we know this is not so. Early on a dispute arose which put Paul and Peter at odds with each other. It was a serious dispute which created quite a rift between the two. Their effectiveness in ministry was at stake. Barnabas worked as a reconciler and brought them together. His work of reconciliation ended the estrangement and Peter and the other apostles accepted Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles. Estrangement is a big issue in our world. God is calling us to be encouragers, to be peacemakers who bring unity and community rather than division and discord. Encouragers are people who seek the Spirit and obey Him. Before Barnabas did anything significant he likely fasted, prayed and worshipped God. He likely sought the Holy Spirit and wanted to be guided by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and directed by the Spirit. He centered his life on seeking God, knowing his will and being obedient to Him. When we center our lives on Christ Jesus and seek to know and do His will in every area of our lives, we then become people who are standing firmly in the Kingdom of God. We are not fence straddlers. We have made a genuine and solid decision to serve God. Barnabas could encourage others because he was devoted completely to the Lord. He could encourage others because he walked daily with Christ Jesus. The most important job we adults have is to encourage children. Our job as adults is to help children see themselves as valued and appreciated. Much of childrearing is done in the family but we adults still have that task even if the children are gone from home. Even if we are grandparents, we still have the task of encouraging our grandchildren. Your task is to encourage your children and grandchildren. The apostle Paul wrote the Christians in Ephesus and Corinth words telling fathers to encourage their children. I suspect his advice works for all parents and grandparents. To the fathers in Ephesus, he wrote: “Fathers do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).” To the Christians in Colossae, he wrote: “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged (Colossians 3:21).” Our job as parents and grandparents is to encourage the young people. God wants us to be like Barnabas. Encouragers are people who are generous and who lift up others. The evil one wants us to be discouraged with life and look into the future with discouragement. However, God owns the future. God has a marvelous future laid out for each of us. There are people in your life who need a boost. They need a strengthening word from you now, today. If they do not live locally, we have all kinds of communication devices that you can use. Ask God who in your circle of relationships needs encouraging. Yes, there are people in all of our circles of relationships that need encouragement.