So once again, with the help
of God, I would like you to turn with me to the chapter that we
read together, Acts chapter 4, and the text you'll find in verse
36. And Joseph, who by the apostles
was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son
of Consolation, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus. The chapter gives us an insight
into the early church as the Lord Jesus Christ ascended up
into heaven and he gave the Holy Spirit of God to the apostles
and as they ministered the word the Holy Spirit was poured out
and multitudes were saved. And as the gospel advanced, there
was that persecution that took place and that resistance from
the Jews and from the Gentiles. And we see in the first part
that they were Peter and John were brought before the Jews
and they were threatened not to preach in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And they decided and they proclaimed
that it was better that they obeyed God rather than man. And so they rejoiced in the fact
that they were persecuted and they remembered what the scriptures
said in the Old Testament, how David had said that these things
were going to take place and that they were going to be persecuted
and they were going to stretch forth their hand over the Lord's
Christ. which as time went on we see
in the life of Jesus that he was persecuted, he was crucified
and then the church also went on to be persecuted and suffered
opposition. But the word of God continued
to go forward. The Holy Spirit continued to
work with and through the apostles and the early church and multitudes
were saved. Here we read in verse 4, the
number was about 5,000. And it's hard for us to to think
about or imagine such a case that we are able to read in church
history of multitudes being saved, multitudes being born again as
the minister preaches and the Spirit of God moves. And there
are those revivals that are spoken about in England and in America
and in other countries of when that took place. But in our day,
as we minister the Word of God, we hear of one and of another
coming to a saving knowledge of the truth. The Holy Spirit
is still working. The Book of Acts is still continuing
and people are still being added to the church. And as we heard
by Brother Philip Hopkins on the other Friday, how we may
be seeing in our own land a days of small things yet, In other
countries the Lord is working and there is a great hunger for
the Word of God and we know that once a life is changed, that
person, their character is altered, they are born again, their old
nature is put off and they put on a new man, they have a new
heart. And they possess the attributes of God. The Holy Spirit is indwelt
in them and their flesh is crucified. And they walk in newness of life. They walk in a new direction.
They follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the same effects
that we see in the early church. It is always the same effect. As the Spirit of God works, as
people are born again, the same effects take place. The people
are changed. They're taken from the darkness
to the light. They become followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as we see in this man Barnabas,
or Joseph, he was changed. We read that he was a Levite
of the country of Cyprus. And we don't know when he was
converted, but he could, as he was a Jew, he would have had
to make his way to Jerusalem throughout the year for the various
feasts. And maybe he came under the sound
of the gospel on the day of Pentecost. And maybe he heard the preaching
of Peter. And the Holy Spirit moved in
him and he was born again. And he cried out, what must I
do to be saved? And he heard the cry, believe
upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. And maybe
he went home back to Cyprus and then he comes back and he continues
with the apostles. And he was changed. He was transformed. He was a new man. He had a new
heart, new desires. And he was noticed. by the apostles
and he was given a name. I don't think his name comes
from the fact that he just had land and he sold it. I don't
think his name just comes from one generous act. I think his
name comes from a continued love that he had to people. His character
was so changed that the love of Christ so shined forth in
his life that they surnamed him or they nicknamed him Barnabas. Not that he just did one act of grace, one act of giving,
but such was his life. Such was the way that he spoke.
Such was the way that he dealt with people. that it was noticed
that he was somebody different. Somebody to be a Christ-like
character we might say. And so they named him Barnabas
which is being interpreted the son of consolation or the son
of comfort. As we look about us as we look
at various people's lives we see a lot of sadness. We hear
of people passing away. We hear of anniversaries of people
passing away. We hear of people that are unwell,
people that are anxious about the future, people who are diagnosed
with things and you wonder, well, Now how can you console or how
can you comfort someone in such a situation and you look and
you think, well words can't really express what I'm feeling. Words can't really offer any
comfort. And sometimes you need a Barnabas. There are some people who are
so gifted with words. They know just what to say. They
have the right way of saying it. And sometimes we have some
people who seem to put their foot in it. They can't quite
get the words out and they say the wrong thing at the wrong
time. But there's a need. for Barnabas' in the church,
sons of consolation. As we look through the Book of
Acts you see that this man Barnabas was greatly used and he's often
mentioned throughout the Book of Acts. He was a great helper
of the Apostle Paul, he was the first one that introduced the
Apostle Paul to the Church. You will remember that as the
Apostle Paul was a persecutor of the Church. And yet in the
Lord's mercy he is saved, he's transformed by the power of God
and he's a new creature in Christ. He's been born again. And understandably, the church
are very nervous of him. Maybe they think it's a trick.
He's doing it so that he can infiltrate into the church. He
can find out who the leaders are and he can then have more
evidence and arrest more people. And so the church, no doubt,
are afraid of him. But it's Barnabas. who takes
the Apostle Paul and he introduces him to the disciples who are
in Jerusalem. In Acts chapter 9 and from verse 26. And when Saul
was come to Jerusalem he said to join himself to the disciples
but they were afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. You see they thought that it
was a trick. They didn't believe that he had been transformed
and so they wanted some evidence. They wanted to know what he had
done, what he had been doing that proved that he was a true
disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's Barnabas who comes along
and who takes the apostle and brings him to them. But Barnabas
took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them
how he had seen the Lord in the way. and that he had spoken to
him and how they had preached boldly at Damascus in the name
of Jesus and he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And so it's Barnabas, this son
of comfort who provides comfort and consolation to the Apostle
Paul as he is rejected by those whom he came to join with. Barnabas comes alongside. He
knew exactly what to say. He knew the right thing to say
to the other apostles. He's truly been converted. The
Lord has met with him in the way. I've seen him preach. I've seen the effects that preaching
has had. He preached in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. This man who was once a persecutor
of the church, a persecutor of those who call on the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, he is now one of us. He's now been
brought to see his need of Christ and he's a follower of the Lord
Jesus. And so he's introduced to the
church by Barnabas. In Acts chapter 11, He is now trusted by the church. In verse 19 it says, and they
which were scattered abroad upon the persecution. or that a rose
about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenice and Cyprus and Antioch,
preaching the word to none only but to the Jews only. And some
of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they would
come to Antioch, spake unto the Goricians preaching the Lord
Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number
believed and turned to the Lord. And the tidings of these things
came unto the ears of the church which was at Jerusalem, and they
sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch,
when he came and seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted
them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord for he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and
faith and much people was added unto the church. Then departed
Barnabas to Tarsus to seek Paul. You see, he was trusted. He introduced Paul to the church. They saw the work of grace in
the life of the apostle Paul and now they trust this Barnabas. And so they hear that the word
of the Lord is having an effect in these places and they send
him. to go and find out what's going
on. And what a lovely thing it is that the Word of God says
about him. He was a good man, full of the
Holy Ghost and faith. That's what marked him out as
different. He was the comforter, the son
of comfort. And the reason was is because
he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was a good man, a righteous
man, a man who loved the Lord Jesus Christ, a man who loved
to see the Word of God taking effect upon the people's lives. And he was a trust, a worthy
man. And in the end of chapter 11,
it says that he was also trusted with Paul with the finances that
were sent back to Jerusalem. And the disciples, every man
according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren
which dwelt at Jerusalem, which also they did. And they sent
it by the elders, by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. And so not only was he a gracious
man and a trustworthy man in the ministry, he was also a trustworthy
man. He could be trusted with the
providential things of the church. And he was able to carry the
money that was given and take it back to Jerusalem. And this is what we see in a
person that has had the work of God done in their lives. They've
been transformed. They become trustworthy. They're able to be sent on a
mission. They're able to be given work
and to be trustworthy and diligent in their work. Barnabas was a
man who was trustworthy. He was trusted by the church
and the work of God was seen in his life. It was evident to
the people not just because he did one act of giving but he
had a constant lifestyle of faithfulness and graciousness and love to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did the church trust
him and love him but also the Holy Spirit separated him for
the work of the ministry with the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter
13. They were in Antioch and as they ministered
unto the Lord and fasted The Holy Ghost said, separate me
Barnabas and Saul, for the work wherein I have called them. And
when they had fasted and prayed, I laid their hands on them, and
they sent them away. And so Barnabas goes off with
the Apostle Paul on a missionary journey, faithfully preaching
the word of God and faithfully being used of the Lord for the
advancement of the gospel, for the adding of the church. His name, Joseph, can also be translated Joseph. As we look at his namesake in
the Old Testament, Joseph there, we see that he was faithful also. He was a man who feared God. He was a man who fled at the opportunity of sin. He was a man who suffered for
his faithfulness to the Lord as he was placed in prison for
a crime that he didn't do. Yet he was a man who was used
of God and as he was able to have those dreams and to to prophesy
regarding the future, the seven years of famine, sorry the seven
years of plenty and the seven years of famine that the Lord
used him and blessed him and blessed others through him. These men that the scripture
lays before us and speaks well of, they are just men. And although Barnabas is the
son of comfort, although the Holy Spirit was upon him and
he was a good man, it was just a man. And we see that in the
way that he fools out with the Apostle Paul over John Mark. John Mark is, we think, is his
nephew. Mark, who wrote the Gospel of
Mark. And through John, Mark and Paul,
they fall out. In Acts chapter 15 and verse 36. And some days after
Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren
in every city wherewith we have preached the word of the Lord
to see how they do. Barnabas determined to take with
them John, whose surname was Mark, but Paul thought it not
good to take him with them and departed from them to Pamphylia
and went not with them to the work. In their first journey
Mark had left them halfway through and it seems that Paul didn't
trust him and He thought that maybe he would leave them halfway
through again and so there was a division between Barnabas and
Saul and Paul. They're just men at best. and even godly men, men who are
filled with the Spirit of God, good men, theologically sound
men still have their own nature and they're still able to become
angry with each other, they're still able to fall out with each
other. We're thankful as we read through
the book of Acts and in the letters of Paul we read that Marcus mentioned
And there seems to be that in Timothy it says that Mark is
profitable for the ministry. And so there was reconciliation
that took place and even with Barnabas. Barnabas is also mentioned
in one of the letters of Paul. It is useful. And so though we are presented
with these faithful, good, spirit-filled, used men And they are godly examples
yet their faults are laid out before us to warn us and to comfort
us no doubt. That we can be spirit-filled
and yet our own older nature can rise up and it can show its
ugly head and it can cause us problems. And no doubt every
believer here knows something of that. So I said on Sunday
I think of that's our constant battle. Our old nature rising
up and that daily battle with sin. And the apostle proved it
and Barnabas proved it. We're thankful for that reconciliation. And so they surnamed him Barnabas
which is being interpreted the son of consolation. Now this
wasn't his natural character. It could have been but the scripture
tells us that the Lord gifts the church with people, people
of different characters people who are beneficial to the body
of Christ and who are used for different reasons and for different
purposes. Every believer has a gift that
has been given to them that is beneficial for the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Every member of the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ, his visible body, the church, has a specific
use and is and is beneficial for the church. There are no
useless Christians. Although we may feel ourselves
to be useless yet Christ ascended up on high in order to give gifts
unto men. In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 8 it says or from verse
7 but unto every one of us is given grace according unto the
measure of the gift of Christ Wherefore he says, when he ascended
up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. In verse 11 it says, and he gave
some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. So as the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
up into heaven, as we see him comforting his people in the
book of John, that he is going to go away and he's going to
give his Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit the comforter and he is
going to take the things of Christ and he is going to reveal them
unto people. He's not going to speak of himself
but but he's going to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ and it
is the Holy Spirit of God whom Christ sent to assist in the
ministry of the Word. As the Word is preached, as the
Word is read, the Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and
opens them up He is the one who causes somebody to be born again
of the Spirit, to be brought into the body of Christ, to be
brought into the church. And every one of those who is
brought into the church has a specific reason for being there. They
are gifted. Some of their gifts are more
evident and more visible, as are listed here. prophets, apostles,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but they are gifts that have
been given. And the reason why they have
been given are for the edification of the whole body, for the good
of the whole church, not so a man may be lifted up in pride and
say, well, I'm a pastor, you're a Sunday school teacher, you're
a cleaner. There is none of that. Each gift
has been given so that the body may be edified and that the gifts
that are given may be used so that the body may grow and be
established in the truth for the edification, for the edifying
of the body. And so the Spirit of Christ,
it is him who changed Barnabas It is Him who changed me and
you. It is Him who gave you the gifts
that you have, not for self edification, but for the edification of the
church. Jesus says to His disciples,
they will know you by your fruits. Barnabas was known by his fruits. He was a good man and filled
with the Holy Spirit. He was the son of consolation,
the son of comfort. In Corinthians it tells us some
other gifts that are given to the church through people. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. He speaks there of the body and
the completeness of the body that no one can exist outside
of the body and no one can be useful, severed from the body. And he goes on to say or to show
us that there are varying gifts that are given in verse 27. Or we can go from
verse 26 because it's similar to what we want to say. For whether
one member suffers, all members suffer with it. Or one member
be honoured, all members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body
of Christ and members in particular. And God has set some in the church,
first apostles, secondary prophets, thirdly teachers, and after that
miracles and gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities
of tongues. So right in the middle there
it says helps. Some people are gifted just like
Barnabas. helping. They have a natural
ability to hold the hand. of another. They have a natural
ability to put their arm around someone and to know exactly what
to say. They can come to the right scripture. They can point to the right verse.
They can speak the right words that are like a balm to those
who are mourning and to those who are sad. It is a great gift
to be able to offer comfort to those who are downcast to know
exactly what to say. And you shouldn't be discouraged
by the fact that maybe you think you're not a minister or maybe
you think you're not a Sunday school teacher or maybe you are
a Barnabas. Maybe God has gifted you in this
specific way that you know exactly what to say. That it is evident
to everybody round about that you are a son or a daughter of
consolation. That you are able to console
and to lift up the downcast. And so it's a gift of the Holy
Spirit to help. one another. The Lord Jesus Christ,
it said of him, no man spake like this man. He knew exactly
what to say. He was able to speak the right
word at the right time at the right place. And he gives that
gift to his people that they know exactly what to say and
when to say it. So his name was called Barnabas. the son of consolation, a good
man, a man filled with the Holy Spirit of God. So what is our
name? What is our name? In family life we make up nicknames
for each other. Things maybe stand out about
someone's personality or Or often in our family it's a little one
trying to say the name of somebody else and so that sticks. And
so we have Daniel. Edith couldn't say Daniel. She
used to say Dan Rawl. And so he ended up being called
Rowley. And so we have names that we give to people. And it's
a theme that runs through the New Testament. The Lord Jesus
Christ nicknamed the apostle Peter Cephas, the rock. upon this rock I was going to
build my church. James and John, they are called
the sons of thunder by the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of
Acts chapter 11, the church, the Christians were
first called Christians at Antioch. verse 26, and when he had found
him he brought him to Antioch and it came to pass the whole
year they were assembled assembled themselves with the church and
taught much people and the disciples were called Christians first
at Antioch. They were nicknamed Christians. They were followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ. They behaved in a different way
to everybody else. They weren't worshipping other
idols. They weren't going to the same
places. And so they nicknamed them Christians, followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That was the the name by which they were tagged
because it was evident by the way that they lived and what
they did that they were followers of the Lord Jesus. Barnabas,
they named him Barnabas because what they saw in him. He was a good man. He was a man
who was called R.C. Sproul. and he was a theologian
and only died a few years ago. And he was of a great use to
the church and his teachings are still very clear and he's
able to take hard theological truth and present it very simply. And he was greatly used in the
church. And when he died, they put on
his grave R.C. Sproul. A kind man. That's what people saw of him. As they saw of Barnabas that
he was the son of comfort. And what they saw of R.C. Sproul was that he was a kind
man. But underneath a kind man is written redeemed by a kinder
saviour. And this would have been the
same as Barnabas. He was the son of comfort but
he was saved by the greater comforter. He was saved by the Lord Jesus
Christ who is the counsellor who sent his Holy Spirit, the
comforter And at a point in Barnabas's life that counsellor chose him
and gave him words of wisdom and gave him his Holy Spirit
and broke open his hard heart and caused him to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as he followed the Lord Jesus
Christ, Christ radiated from him and it was evident by all
who saw him. that this man is a man of comfort,
a man full of faith, a man, a good man, a man filled with the Holy
Spirit. And as people saw R.C. Sproul,
they said, this is a kind, he is a kind man. And as he died,
they thought we're going to write this on his tomb, but he's redeemed
by a kinder saviour. Corinthians tells us it is the
God of all comfort. God himself is a great comforter. His word is a word of comfort. His son is a son of comfort. His Holy Spirit is the comforter. And so the source of Barnabas's
gracious character comes from God. the source of the kindness
of R.C. Sproul came from God, came from
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And this is something that you
and I as believers, we need to pray for, that the grace of God
may be greatly manifested in our lives, that they may say
of him or her, son of comfort. He's a kind man, a kind woman,
greatly of a great benefit to the church. They are filled with
the Holy Spirit of God. And it's very interesting that
the Lord has laid it down in chapter 4 and then in chapter
5 is contrast with Ananias and Sapphira. Barnabas, the comforter
of the church, Ananias and Sapphira, greedy people who were out for
themselves and they suffered the wrath of God. upon their
lives. Or may it be that we are seen
as Christians and people look at us and they say, oh, somebody
different. Somebody who follows the Lord
Jesus Christ, who's built upon the rock, who's trusted in the
Lord Jesus Christ, who has evidences of the Holy Spirit of God in
their life, who can be named Barnabas. What a blessing to
be called a son of comfort or a daughter of comfort. The one
where people say, oh I think I'll ring up so-and-so because
they know exactly what to say. I think I'll invite them round
because they know exactly what passage of the scripture. When
I talk to them I feel so comforted. I want them to be in my company. It's like having the Lord Jesus
Christ with me, to be a son of comfort, to be a help to the
church. May the Lord make us helpful.
May the Lord make us comforters for his people. May the Lord
add his blessing. Amen. May the Lord help us as we close
this service by singing hymn number 556, Name of the Lord. The Lord proclaims his name,
and sinners hear his voice. His mercy ever stands the same,
and we'll in him rejoice. Hymn number 556, to the tune
number 66. is his name, and still, until
his rise, his mercy ever stands the same, and will be ever just. He is gracious still, and freely
he bids us. The bounty of his own fair will,
all over them. ? Grace and strong angels and sacred
sinners now ? ? Let all the suffering still restore their joy and fitness
now ? The first shall see in Christ
the Christ, and will foretell His birth. ? My mercy free ? Dear Lord and Heavenly Father,
we thank Thee for the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus
Christ and for the descension of the Holy Spirit of God. We pray that He may be greatly
manifest in our lives, that we may be sons and daughters of
comfort, that we may be good men and women, that we may be
men and women filled with thy Holy Spirit and we pray that
thou help us to be useful instruments in the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ for the edification of our brethren. We ask that thou
dismiss us with thy blessing and now may the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the fellowship
and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with us each now and forevermore. Amen.