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The Church Member of My Dreams (1259)
Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Acts 4:36-37
The Book of Acts tells the story of a man called Barnabas. His name means “son of encouragement.” And there are five characteristics that make Barnabas the church member of any pastor’s dreams.
First, he was a load lifter. In Acts 4:36, Barnabas meets a need by selling his property and giving the profits to the church. He saw a load and he decided to lift it. Encouragers understand that we all have something to give. Encouragers find out what it is that can be used to lift another’s burdens and offer it.
Encouragers are also friend finders. After the Apostle Paul’s conversion, he was despised by his old colleagues, but feared by his new brothers and sisters in Christ. He was a man who needed a friend. Barnabas found him and became a friend to this very lonely new disciple. A lot of new Christians need somebody to find and friend them. An encourager finds the lonely and neglected, puts an arm around them, and brings them into the fold.
Encouragers are also bridge builders. Barnabas knew the old and he saw the new; he was used to link the past to the future. Adrian Rogers says, “Barnabas believed in the tradition, but he believed in the frontier. And he was used by God to mold it all together. He was a bridge builder.”
Encouragers are disciple developers. Barnabas often found buried gifts in new disciples and he brought these hidden talents out of them. There are people in our churches with gifts and abilities that need to be discovered and developed. But it takes a “Barnabas” to find them.
Finally, encouragers are failure fixers. After the disciple Mark ran away from his calling, Barnabas sought him out and gave him another chance. This young disciple went on to write the Gospel of Mark.
Thank God for Barnabas, who strove to fix this failure with words of encouragement. And thank God for the encouragers in our churches, who see second chances in us when no one else does.
Apply it to your life
Would you consider yourself to be a church member of your pastor’s dreams? Are you an encourager like Barnabas — a load lifter, friend finder, bridge builder, disciple developer and a failure fixer?
How much time do you spend thinking about what you are thinking about? The Bible says we were created with the ability to determine what thoughts enter our minds and what thoughts we dwell upon. We are to set our minds on things above. (See Colossians 3:2.) We are also to keep our hearts pure because everything else springs from the heart. (See Proverbs 4:23.)
But controlling your thought life is not as easy as only thinking positive thoughts. God created your mind to be much more complex than that, and He wants you to be able to experience everything in life—the positive and the negative—with a healthy mindset. He has given you discernment in order to know the difference between good and evil.
Mastering your mindset is a constant battle, but one that God equips us for in His Word. He fights alongside us through the Holy Spirit. He works to transform us to be more Christlike. We invite you to spend six weeks learning how to control your thought life. This journey begins by inviting Jesus to be Lord over every part of your life—including every thought. Come with us and learn how to master your mindset.
