Yeah. Good afternoon. Thank you for being back in your place. If you would stand we'll get started with our service Psalms 118 28 says thou art my God and I will praise thee thou art my God I will exalt thee I'll give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth forever It's good to be back in the Lord's house dad. Would you open us an order? Join me in singing page 146, A Shelter in the Tide of Storm. There's a rock deep in the isle, A shelter in the tide of storm. It's good for a living anytime, A shelter in the tide of storm. in a weary land. Lord Jesus seems to ride in a weary land, a shelter in the tide of storm. Day by day, day by night, a shelter in the tide of storm. But there is no harm, no fault of pride in a shelter in the tide of storm. Lord Jesus seems to ride Shepherds in the field, shepherds in the field, ♪ A shelter in the time of storm ♪ ♪ I'm here by your refuge, dear ♪ ♪ A shelter in the time of storm ♪ ♪ Now or never, never near ♪ ♪ A shelter in the time of storm ♪ There's wonder in the time of storm. I thought we were going to sing page 63. What a day that'll be. There's a flood in your day. And your worries shall fly. God has peace forevermore on that happy golden shore. What a day, glorious day that will be. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. The saints deny the dead, and lead them to the promised land. But in faith, for their sake, I believe. And in love's sorrow there, love for merit is to bear. Let's sing, you may be seated. There's a sweet, sweet spirit in the air. There are sweet expressions on each face. And I know they feel the presence of the Lord. Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly Stay right here with us, filling us with your love. And for these blessings, we lift our hearts in praise. Without a doubt, we'll know that we have been revived when we shall There are blessings you cannot receive. believe. You're the one to profit when you say, I am going to walk with Jesus all the way. If you say we saved you from your sin Now you're weak and bound and cannot enter in You can make it right if you will yield You'll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we give. Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly dove, stay right here with us. ♪ Filling us with your love ♪ And for these last days ♪ We lift our hearts in praise ♪ Without a doubt we'll know ♪ That we have been revived ♪ When we shall leave this place ♪ Without a doubt we'll know ♪ When we shall be Christmas trees ♪ Well, amen. Thank you, ladies, appreciate that very much. So 16 years ago today, we moved into our building. Isn't that amazing how quickly time just moved on? So what a blessing it is to have been able to worship the Lord here for 16 years. And it's good to have Brother Roy preaching, because his job's to keep you awake. So come on, brother. Thank you, sir. Well, back home, we do this kind of three times a year in the summertime and do the afternoon service. And so sometimes I'll have one of the associates or somebody else preach, or we've done even popcorn preaching just to kind of keep it interesting so we didn't lose people and so forth. But after eating that good food, I had some of that homemade syrup, and I need to figure out how to make that stuff. That was good. I could put it on everything. So that was some good stuff, and there was all sorts of good food. I had a piece of bacon that tasted, well, I don't know what you did to it, but that was some good pig there, so I appreciate all the good food. And normally, I don't like to eat right before I preach, but I was so hungry, I said, okay, I'm gonna eat, and hopefully nothing else comes back up as I'm preaching. And so Acts chapter nine this afternoon, Acts chapter nine, and So you don't fall asleep just yet. I'm going to have you stand as we read the text. If you're able to, appreciate the special in song. Acts 9, verse 23 is where I'm going to begin. The Word of God says this. And after that, many days were fulfilled. The Jews took counsel to kill him. Speaking of Saul, or Paul. But their laying awake was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night, and led him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him unto the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them in the coming in and the going out at Jerusalem, and spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians, but they all went about to slay him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. When he then had the church's rest throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria and all were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied, shall we pray. Lord, I do thank you so much for the truth of the word of God. I pray as we look into it this afternoon, it'll be a help to us. I pray that you would keep us alert and awake to what you'd have for us out of the word of God today and we'll thank you for what you do in this service. For it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Thank you, you may be seated. You know, Acts chapter 9 is a very exciting chapter. We understand this is the conversion of Saul, whom we know as the Apostle Paul. We also find out and read about a man by the name of Ananias who was told to go and see Saul and touch him and to tell him that the Lord had sent him and that he has a job for him to do and so forth. And so that all happens in the verses that we did not have time to read. But Saul's life was changed on the road to Damascus. He was strengthened physically, but not only physically, he was strengthened spiritually after his conversion. Both strengths are important in our lives. So we had food so we can strengthen physically, and then we need the preaching of the Word of God, and we need to get into the Word of God to be helped physically. Because guess what's going to happen? Verse 23 the Bible says this and after that many days were fulfilled the Jews took counsel to kill him You see there will always be those who do not like what you do for the cause of Christ the way you live the things that you say the Attitude that you have in your life. There'll be those that wish you were out of the picture completely I remember I while I was in Bible college. I heard this a lot people saying oh, we're doing up the Company party tonight. Oh, you're I'm so excited. Oh wait. I'm sorry. You can't go Yeah, you're not allowed to go, are you? Yeah, I forgot you're in Bible college and you guys don't do that kind of thing. And all those different things that I almost at times, I almost felt like bad that, man, I want to be there. I want to do this and that type of thing. I didn't want to drink and all that, but, you know, to be a part of that. But in reality, I should have stood up. I should have said, hey, you know, I can always be like them. I can always be like the world, but the world can't have the same testimony that I have in Jesus Christ. And so we ought to be grateful that we have a testimony for the Lord. But there's going to be people that come along that don't like what you do. There will be those who wish you were just out of the picture, like I said, but know that the Lord protects his own. And then when you come to verse 26, the Bible says this. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he has said to join himself with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. So Saul has come to Jerusalem to seek refuge and to seek good godly relationships. So Saul has been transformed and changed on the road to Damascus. His life is not the same. He's now received his sight both physically spiritually and he comes and he desires to join himself with the disciples the followers of Christ those that claim the name of Christ and so the word there I want you to notice in verse 26 is the word assayed. The word assayed means to test or to attempt or to endeavor. It's like you go to into a place and you The people don't even want you there. It's like the attitude of, I want to go in with these people. So on one side, Paul was persecuting Christians, and he had a certain religion, and he lived that way. And so he had to turn his back on that to follow Christ. So he can't go this way because they're trying to kill him. Then he says, well, OK, I need to go follow the the disciples and I need to get in with the Christian crowd. I need to get in with the ones that that claim to know the Lord and love the Lord and all of that. And the Bible says that they were afraid of him and believe not that he's a disciple. Saul finds himself in a in a terrible position in his life at this moment. He can't go back to his old life and he shouldn't want to go back to his old life. But he can't even go forward in his Christian life because those that are there don't really truly believe that he's a Christian, that he was a changed man. Maybe in their thought was this, you don't know what he did to my family, you don't know what he did to other believers, you don't know what he was responsible. I don't even have to tell you about Stephen and what he did there and so we can't allow him to come into this place We're not gonna allow him to be a part of that. He's probably trying to get in good with us so he can kill us, too You think maybe that was the conversation going about about Saul's life? On the one side they want to kill him on the other side they're afraid and don't believe him No, this is where many Christians that come to the Lord find themselves when they trust Christ. I I find it often that somebody comes into the doors that's a little different. And I mean that because they're coming because they want a different life, and they come in and they look differently. They don't smell the same way. They don't have the same look on the outside. And maybe they want a change in their life, but then maybe somebody doesn't come alongside of them and come and treat them the way they should be treated, that they are an individual that God loves, and an individual that needs somebody to help them, maybe they've turned their back on their old life. They were drunkards, they were in drugs, they did the party scene. They didn't like it, and so they come to church and they need Jesus Christ, but then when they come into a church, how does the church respond to them? How do people that are saved, well, what are they doing here? person that trusts Christ has turned his back on religion, many relationships, everything he held to or believed for many years. I mean, some people get saved later in life and they have a whole lot of baggage that they bring with them when they come to church. I mean, they're old life. They still talk a certain way. They still have these things. They haven't grown in their Christian walk. You see, myself, I grew up in a Christian church, or in a Baptist church, and I grew up in a pastor's home, and all of those things. I was raised in that. I was a drug baby, they say. You know, I was drugged to church on Sunday. I was drugged to church on Sunday night and Wednesday night and everything in between. And so forth. And so I know what I'm supposed to be as a believer. I know what I'm supposed to do. But somebody who does not know that, they might come into this place searching for help, searching for someone. And because they look a certain way or act a certain way, we think, you're in the wrong place, buddy. Because of their past life and the sins that he or she has committed, there are believers that are afraid and do not believe that there's any way that they could change. So many young new believers find themselves with nobody to turn to. Who can fight in. To help them on their newfound path. But notice verse 27. Four words. But Barnabas took Him. If you remember, we are introduced to Barnabas in chapter four. Turn back with me real quickly there. In chapter four, in verse 31, the Bible says this. When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they assembled together. Talk about a powerful prayer, right? And they were assembled together. That's a good thing, too, as well, right? And they were filled with the Holy Ghost. There's another good thing. So when you pray, you're gathered together, and you're filled with the Holy Ghost, there's going to be something that happens. something will take place in the service when you pray and you're prepared and you're together and the Holy Ghost is there and they speak the Word of God with boldness so they preach and proclaim the truth of the Word of God and the Bible says this and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul neither said any of them that out of these things which he possessed was his own but they had all things in common they basically said this My life is not my own. My things are not my own. They all belong to the Lord. Everything I have is from Him. This is where they're at. Notice in verse 33, and with great power. gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked. For as many as were possessors of land or houses sold them, and brought them the prices of things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, Joses, who's by the apostle was surname Barnabas, which being interpreted the son of consolation, a Levite and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. So he has a piece of land, this man by the name of Barnabas, Joses, the Bible says, the son of consolation. Joses is enter or Barnabas is introduced to us in chapter 4. He sells a piece of land He gives that money to the Lord and people are That have needs are getting their needs met. We know that chapter 5 barn Ananias and Sapphira come on the scene They try to do the same thing, but they kept back a portion of the land and boom they died right on the spot probably heard that passage before But they were of one heart, one soul, great power, great grace. They had all things in common. We find here that his name was Joses, but they called him Barnabas, the son of consolation. The word consolation means exhortation or comfort in the sense of strengthening as well as soothing. In simple terms, he was the son of encouragement. The Son of Encouragement. In the New Testament, the word most often translated encouragement is the word paraklesis. It comes from two Greek words meaning para, alongside of, and kaleo, to call. The word of the word encourager means someone who's called to come alongside of you Along beside you to renew you to comfort you So when you're going through something in your life when you're when you're wondering I can't go to my old life And I'm having struggles going to my new life. What do I I don't know how to get in with the it crowd I don't know how to get involved in church. I don't know how to get involved with the new life. I I still find that that my friends They'll take me back anytime. The world, all of a sudden, you turn your back on Christianity, you can go start drinking and partying with the world and they'll welcome you with open arms. Why do you think so many people go back to it? Because it's a welcoming crowd. So when they come to church, somebody needs someone to come alongside of that individual to say, sit by me. Here, I'll encourage you. I'll be there with you. You need to be a man or a woman that will be willing to say, I'll come alongside of someone and make them feel like they belong here at church. Jerry Furso. A man that I learned some from, I was reading in one of his, it was like a daily devotional. And he said, I'm constantly reminded of how many new Christians need encouragement in their spiritual journey. I heard someone once say, people grow the best when the atmosphere of acceptance is present. We need the influence of others in our lives if we're gonna grow spiritually. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. You have found a good friend if they are sharpening you in your spiritual development. Now I'm not talking about that you just accept people and the wickedness and their sin, but you have to understand that some people are not where you're at spiritually. Some people don't have the knowledge. Like we talked about it, it was talked about, you know, when you say, where's the book of Genesis? And they're going, I have no idea. And you're going, you don't even know where the book of Genesis is? If they have never been in church, how are they going to know where Genesis is? One of the saddest truths was I preached a sermon on a Sunday morning and there was a 22 year old girl in the service and I gave the invitation and afterwards I I said if if anybody needs to be dealt with we always make ourselves available after the service So I went and we were shaking hands and people are leaving and it's I mean We're talking like 25 minutes after the service and this girl is still waiting and I didn't know it I would have went and she wanted to talk to me and she said you said if anybody has questions And I said, well, sure, I'd be happy to answer them for you. She said, I've never heard that before. I said, you've never heard what before? Never heard any of it before. Somebody invited me to come to church and something just told me that I should come here. I said, you've been in America? Because she was maybe, I don't know, she was some different, she was probably, I don't even know where she was from. I was like, but the reason why I'm saying it is because I said, you've been in America, because I asked her, how long have you been here, like in America? And she said, I've been here all my life. So I was born here. And I said, you've been in, you grew up in America, and you've never heard about Jesus? No. Why would anybody do that for you? Why would anybody die for you? And she had so many questions. Can I just have my wife speak to you and show you scriptures? And man, my wife is over there and she's giving it home to her, sharing her scriptures, sharing her scriptures. And she still, she just could not understand, could not grasp that she was one a sinner and that she needed a savior. But she had never heard. I mean, if you're talking somebody that's grown up in America and has never heard the gospel, you have to understand there's going to be people that walk into this building at times and maybe doesn't know the things that you know. Maybe they haven't been. And you know, the thing about it is, to much who is given, much will be required. And you and I have to understand that if we've been given the truth, then we need to shine our light like we talked about in the last hour. See, Barnabas was a man that was greatly used by God to reach people for Christ, but he's probably one of the least preached about. I mean, we preach about Paul and we preach about all these different things, but you know what? When I read this passage of scripture, I think God used a person by the name of Barnabas to bring about a person by the name of Saul or Paul and changed his life because we don't know what would have happened if somebody didn't come alongside of Paul and to help him. You see you may never be the person that comes up with an individual and say hey, I'm the one preaching I'm the one doing that I've given this illustration in my church a couple different times have had people that you know I'll preach and all those different things and I Walk out of the service and and a lady will come up and pinch my cheeks and she said this I used to change your diapers I Said well, thanks for the encouragement I knew exactly what she was saying. You're up there preaching, you're up there singing, but I did the dirty work. You would have been nothing without me, is what she's trying to say. You want to know why? because it takes every person in a church to do the work so others can. So if you're serving in the nursery, if you're serving in a junior church, you're serving somebody on a bus route, whatever it is, whatever you do for the cause of Christ, you come alongside somebody, and you'd say, you never know, that could be the next The Apostle Paul. That could be the next person that's gonna stand for the cause of right and be a blessing to someone else. When you come alongside a teenager and you love on him, even though they're rebellious at times, even though they make wrong decisions. I mean, I'm grateful that I had somebody come alongside me when I was growing up that said, hey, John, God's gonna use you. He wants to use you. You gotta let him use you. Somebody just come alongside you. Like a Barnabas. Barnabas is one that every Christian should desire to learn from. We can all be an encourager. Every Christian can have a come alongside mentality. To help in need physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, whatever it is, God may lay it on your heart for you to do something. Today in this message, I want to preach on being a Barnabas for the next few moments. What are three powerful lessons that we can learn from the life of Barnabas to help us to encourage others in this world? First of all, he was willing to invest in the work for others. We find that in chapter four, we already read it, how that he was able to invest in the life for others. Barnabas got saved, his life was changed, now he's willing to give to the work of God to see others changed as well. You see, it takes money to be able to minister to people, right? I think we all understand that, because it takes money to have a building. It takes money to run the air conditioning. It takes money to have the heat on. And we don't use that very much in Arizona. But you have all those different things. It takes money to be able to encourage or be able to have a place for people to be encouraged. Right? So God uses that in our life. And so we look at Barnabas. He was willing to invest in the work for someone else. He was willing to sell a piece of his property and then they put it into the coffers, you could say, and then they distribute it as people had need because all things had in common. They wanted to be filled with the grace of God. They wanted to be used for the glory of God. And so here they are doing the work of God together as a church. So you find somebody in need, whether it be emotionally, physically, financially, whatever it is, if you can be a help, whether it's helping somebody move, whether it's helping somebody get into the church or helping carry stuff, you come alongside and you help that individual. Barnabas is willing to invest in the work. for others. See, Ananias and Sapphira, they made it sound like they were willing to invest, but it was all about themselves in chapter 5. But see, Barnabas was willing to invest in the work of God. So if we are going to be an encouragement to somebody else, I need to invest. And I just know this, what people invest in, they believe in. Or what they believe in, they invest in, I should say. Barnabas got saved and his life was changed. And so now he wants to make an impact in someone else There's a second thought about Barnabas life. He took an interest in the worth of others Here's Barnabas saying These men but Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way That he had spoken to him how he'd preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Here's Barnabas Barnabas is preaching a message to these other Apostles about the message that Paul preached to him You know what Barnabas is saying? No, no, guys, he's the real deal. I heard him preach. I know what he did. I know who he was, but he's a changed man and he's vouching for Saul. Saul's sitting over there probably going. I am changed, I am. Yeah, that's right. And Barnabas is going, hey, I'll take him, I'll show you. He is a man of God now. His life has been changed. I know what God did in his life. You can just see it in his life. Barnabas took personal responsibility and an interest in Saul. While others would have wrote him off, Barnabas took him. When Saul was at the most vulnerable time for new believers, he found a friend and found fellowship in Barnabas, who stood behind him, beside him, before him. I wonder, who's been a Barnabas in your life? Who can you think about that God used in your life to make a difference for you? I can think about my youth pastors, and my parents, and my friends, and the church people, how they come alongside you, even when as a pastor you need someone to come along beside you. Because pastors have down days too. And God uses different individuals to come alongside you, and to be a blessing to you, and be a help to you. We had a man in our church, his wife couldn't come to church very often because of health reasons, but his name was Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers, he had his own bus route, so we called it Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. And Roland Rogers, his wife, he never really talked about his own health, and he had health issues, too. But he had a Ford F-150. It was a single cab, and these were the days where you could pretty much pick up anybody how you wanted to. And so he put a cover over the back of it, and he built benches in there in the back of his truck. And so this wouldn't fly today, probably. A man comes to your neighborhood and said, I want to take your kids to church in that truck. Let me open the back hatch of the vehicle. But he'd pack out that truck, always had a smile on his face. You know what he did? He just wanted to be an encourager. Sometimes you'd have, man, I'd be a teenager. And of course, rebellious times and rough day and all this, and I'd come in. I don't even want to be here. I have to be here because I'm the pastor's son, you know. Brother Rogers come in, a big old smile on his face. He go, hey, John, how's it going? I'd say, fine. He goes, tell me, John, do you love Jesus? Oh, yes, I love Jesus. Are you sure you love Jesus? Yes, I'm sure I love Jesus. Tell me why you love Jesus. This is why I love Jesus. And before you know it, half the church was singing, because he first loved me. Oh, how I love Jesus. You know, when Brother Rogers passed away, all the family was there. All of our family was there. You know what the testimony over and over again? Brother Rogers always had a smile on his face. You mean even when his wife wasn't there? Even when his wife wasn't there. Even when he only had a little bit to scrape by. The reason why he bought that truck was to bring kids to church. The reason why he left everything, everything when he died to the church. Because he believed in it. He didn't have any kids, he couldn't have kids. Him and his wife weren't able to have children, so he had a bunch of kids of his own. He had a bunch of kids that he picked on a bus route. He had a kid by the name of Michael Bowie that got saved on a bus route. And now he's a pastor in Hawaii. I want that job, by the way. You wonder how that happens. It happens because of somebody who says, I'm going to be an encouragement regardless of my circumstances, regardless of my troubles, regardless of what I'm going through. I can come to church with a smile. And I guarantee you, when he started singing that song, didn't matter what you were going through, you automatically said, I can't be sad at this guy. I can't be upset. He's just so happy. Sometimes those people make you sick. You're like, you're always so happy. Well, that's because he just took joy in the Lord. He'd come alongside you. Brother Rogers was my Sunday school teacher. He would always have these competitions. He'd say, if you win the competition, I'll take you to Dairy Queen. You could get whatever and however much you wanted. And you, man, at one time, I won that. And I was like, I got to go. And I was like, I'm going to get everything. I ate, like, one thing. And I was like, I was full. He's like, that's it? Come on, you can have anything you want. I'm like, I can't eat anymore. Banana split, I was done. I mean, he got off pretty easy, but you know, a man of encouragement. He was taking an interest in the worth of others. You know, Brother Rogers didn't see anybody He died before Michael Bowie got pastor. He died before my brother Phil became a pastor. He died before I became a pastor. He didn't see any of it. But we're still talking about him. So you can be a person that just greets people in the door and welcomes them to church and encourages somebody, and somebody might be talking about you 20 years later, about your impact on their life. Saul at this moment in his life needed a Barnabas. You see, Saul, Paul was not really an encourager because we know that Paul had a problem with Barnabas at times. John Mark was wanting to go with them in the ministry, and Paul says, no, I'm not going to send him. He's left us high and dry last time. And the contention was sharp between Paul and Barnabas, because Barnabas is saying, we need to take him. And Paul's saying, no, he's worthless. So Paul and Barnabas, or John, Mark and Barnabas go one way, Paul and Silas go another way. Paul and Silas, they're in this prison singing praises to his name. We don't know what happened to Barnabas and Mark, but we do know what happened to Mark, because at the end of Paul's life, Paul said this, only take, only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. How is Mark profitable now when Paul's about to die? Because somebody was willing to come alongside of him, and take the time to work with him, and take the time to use him. And so Paul is saying, now he's beneficial to the ministry. Paul wanted to write him off. Good thing that Barnabas took an interest in the worth of others. Paul's message to the Galatians brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault you which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness considering thyself Lest I'll also be tempted bury one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ for if a man think himself to be something when he has nothing he deceiveth himself Think about this, that somebody needs somebody to come along. You may need someone at times in your life. You see, when somebody is overtaken and in a fault, the Bible says, ye which are spiritual restore such a one. The spiritual one will be the one to come alongside and to help that person get up. You see, like when you go play basketball, when you play football, when you play a sport and your teammate gets knocked down to the ground, you don't go, ah, ah, ah, ah. What do you do? You help them back up. When a Christian falls in their life, guess what they need? They need each and every one of you to stick out their hand. You which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. That means you don't go spread it all over Facebook and you don't go spread it over anything else. Somebody does something wrong, hey, they have to live with that. But you won't find me with a stone in my hand ready to cast it to somebody. You, without sin, cast the first stone. You see, all of us have been guilty of wrongdoing, and somebody needs someone to help pick them up. Think of somebody who's been out of church for a while. You need to be out there reaching out their hand, being an encourager. Encourage them, get back into church. Encourage them to get back into serving God in their life. Just look back at your life and see who God has placed in your path to bring you back to Him. I still remember I was telling the man about my brother Paul being killed on a motorcycle when I was in Bible college. When I left that room that day, I didn't give the whole story because it's a good time there, but I left that office where we were as a family because I had other brothers and sisters in college at the time. And when I left that facility, we walked down and I had every intentions to go pack up my stuff and leave. But here I am, God, I'm wanting to serve you, I'm trying to live for you, and all these things are happening. I got in an accident. I was hit by an 18-wheeler that year. Lost my car, didn't have any money. I went to school. I had two cars and a motorcycle. And in the middle of school, I couldn't even pull out $20 out of the bank because I didn't even have $20. I tried to, and it declined me. And I was like, man, just six months ago, I had everything in this life. And then this was kind of like the struggle. And this was kind of like that moment, like the brother was talking about. Just time after time, here I was. The Lord broke me that year in school. And all these things happened. And all that took place. And I was ready to just go back and pack up my stuff. And I came out. And there was that friend that I was talking about. His name was Adam Carnes. He was about this tall. And Adam, he came walking out, tears in his eyes. He had heard the news. He walked out and he came and gave me this big old bear hug. And he wouldn't let go. He said, John, it's not your fault. John, don't give up serving God. I'm so thankful that I had a friend at that moment that was willing to come alongside. And I can look back at how many different times in my life and in my ministry That when you feel like giving up and you feel like giving in, God gives you a certain person at a certain time at a certain place to come alongside you. And God wants every Christian to be that person. Not only you will need one, but you need to be one. When you're in that time, when you don't have somebody that cares about you, you feel that way, somebody will come alongside and say, man, I'm so grateful for that individual. I'm so grateful for my church family. They're so loving. They're so compassionate. Barnabas was willing to invest in the work for others. He took an interest in the worth of others. And finally, he was influential in the welfare of others. Turn quickly to chapter 11. In chapter 11 and verse 22, the word of God says this. He was influential in the welfare of others. In verse 22 of chapter 11, then tidings of these things came in the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth, guess who? Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who when he came, and had seen the grace of God, and glad exhorted them all with all purpose of heart, that they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people was added to the church." You know what doesn't say anything about his message? It says everything about the man. Because if you're the right man, you'll always have the right message. He exhorted the church, he helped the church, for he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost. You find a man or a woman that is full of the Holy Ghost and much people was added to the church. Why? Because of Barnabas' example, because of Barnabas' message. Many times we don't look at Barnabas as making that big a difference in the lives of people. But here's a proof of what kind of influence he had on people. He said that the that the many were added to the church, and the Bible says in the end of verse 26, and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Man full of the Holy Ghost and faith, and the result was much people added to the Lord. What we do is for the Lord. Barnabas was willing to contribute. He was willing to comfort. He was a man of real character. We will never know the true impact of Barnabas' ministry, but we can rest assured there was one who does. God sees it. God sees and knows exactly what you do for His glory. You see, Adam, I've often told him, Adam, thank you for being there for me, but Adam's not a preacher. Adam just serves faithfully at his church back home. Adam was just that young kid. I mean, he was actually older than me, but he was just always there to encourage me. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. The Bible says in Hebrews 6.10, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward His name, and that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Every Christian should be a minister. Well, no, we only have one minister. No, every Christian should be a minister. Will you be a Barnabas to a believer that needs help when they're in a burden? Or when they're dealing with a struggle? Your church family needs you. Your pastor needs you. The staff needs you to be an encourager. You see, there's encouragers and then there's discouragers. I'm grateful that God allows so many people to encourage in our church. And here's what we get, and I love it here too. Man, your church is so friendly, so welcoming. We said this, we want you to feel like your family. Well, sometimes that's not always good either. Family sometimes is treated worse than friends. I trust it's our desire to be a Barnabas, to come alongside somebody who needs our help, and to encourage them in the things of God. Lord, I do thank You for this passage of Scripture. I thank You for Barnabas' life, and I thank You that he was just a behind-the-scenes kind of guy that was willing to just come alongside and to help Paul in his time of need. Lord Paul, know what would have happened if he didn't have somebody like the man Barnabas. Lord, we often think about different men and women in our world and in our churches that come alongside. I think of my pastor that had somebody knock on his barracks door and share the Gospel in the Philippine Islands. He got saved, comes back and starts a church. A church that's growing today and sending forth missionaries all over the world. Here's a man, by the name of Mike, that was just willing to share the Gospel. Never did anything big in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of many people, but he was willing to just share the truth of the Word of God. Lord, we never know what our help and blessing, what you've done in our lives, if we can be a help to someone else, what it'll do. Lord, I pray that we would just encourage others to grow in the grace of God and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Bless this invitation, use it for your honor and glory. For it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Let's all stand as the Lord leads. Maybe you could say this, I don't really have a whole lot of talents. I don't have a whole lot of treasures. I don't have a whole lot to give. But you can say this, I can be an encourager. I can encourage somebody else. I may not have the strength to do it, but I can encourage somebody else who does have the strength. A lot of young people in this church, they need somebody else that'll say, hey, you keep staying strong. Come beside a young person. Tell them you love them. Tell them you're there for them. Tell them you want to be an example for them, and then live up to it. Be an example for the cause of Jesus Christ. Don't make me Thou art the water I am the clay Hold me and make me Laughter, laughter Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way. Search me and try me. Why do you ask her today? Why do you ask her? What she deserves?