Paul - Part 4 Living for a Change
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We are in the 4th part of this message series on the Apostle Paul.
View Series at: https://www.bethelshalom.org/paul
Self-Improvement
but we asked two very heart challenging questions:
What breaks your heart?
What should I do about it?
You may not be able to change the world but you may be able to change one person’s world.
What breaks my heart?Lauren’s heart got broken for Jewish people when a friend of hers who was Jewish said he could not hear the gospel because it was too Christian and not Jewish.She went on a trip with Chosen People Ministries and ministered to Jews in a Jewish context but what always stands out to her was her time with a Holocaust survivor.
Twenty years later we are still broken hearted and last year we took a trip to Israel with the goal of bringing joy and light to Holocaust survivors, Victims of Terrorism and children in orphanages.I remember in the days after we got back home from that trip all I could think to myself was, “At the end of my life I would like for Jewish people to line up and say ‘thank you’ for introducing me and helping me to see that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and he is for me and not against me.”
What do you want people to line up and thank you for at the end of your life?
Superficial Things
Self-Improvement
Number of Likes on Instagram
Amount of Money You Made
You Fit into that “Dream Dress” or “Suit.”
You Got that Bigger House
What really Counts when people approach the doors of death: hurt that went unhealed, relationships that were restored, children talking to each other, a wife that is taken care of, a life that was changed because of one act of kindness.
Tension: The problem with this question, “What do I want people to line up thank me for at the end of my life?” Is that it will “Cost you some life.”
It will cost you some time, tears, talents and treasures. You will feel exhausted and exhilarated. You will want to give up but something will pull you back in.
It does not come natural. By nature we are “Life Savers.”
And the truth is by nature I'm a life saver, I'm a life preserver. I don't want to give away my life. I want to save my life. I don't want to risk my life. I've got insurance and a security system and a seat belt and air bags. I do everything possible to preserve my life and to preserve my family's life and to preserve my time and to save my money. I'm by nature a life preserver. And you are by nature a life preserver, a life saver. It's all about you, It's all about me.
And the problem with what breaks my heart is at some point I have to begin letting go of some of this. It starts to feel as if I'm losing my life or the things that I define as life. My time, my money, my reputation, my opportunity, my advancement, my forward progress and whatever it is I'm leading or involved with. So that's the tension isn't it? Some of us are more geared this way than others. But either way, if you decide to lean in the direction or if you discover or if you pinpoint the thing, the group of people whether it's families or children or people in poverty or something going on economically or even politically in our country. When you find out what it is and you decide to get involved, it's gonna cost you and it's gonna feel like you are giving up or giving away a part of your life. And as we wrestle with that tension, and it's a real tension. And it's a tension that everybody should wrestle with. As we wrestle with that tension, this is where the story of Paul comes in. Well, actually the story of a person who is wrapped up in Paul’s story. His name is Barnabas. Barnabas comes into Paul’s life and he has this philosophy:"
Whoever devotes themselves to themselves will have nothing but themselves to show for themselves.
With great power the emissaries were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and abundant favor was upon them all.
No one among them was needy, for all who were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds
and set them at the feet of the emissaries. And the proceeds were distributed according to the need each one had.
Now Joseph, also called Barnabas by the emissaries (which is translated Son of Encouragement), was a Levite and native of Cyprus.
He sold a field that he owned and brought the money and laid it at the feet of the emissaries.
Acts 4:33-37 - He Sells a Piece of Land for the sake of Others. He was denying himself so that others could go further, others could continue their race. He was named Joseph by his parents but re-named “Barnabas” by the Apostles which means in Aramaic “Son of Encouragement.”
He was an encourager not because of the money he gave but because of the attitude he lived by, the guiding philosophy of his life that, “The essence of following Yeshua is self-denial not self-improvement”.
Gal 1:18-19 we read last week that Paul made a brief trip to Jerusalem but that trip did not go well according to Acts 9:26 then you get this great contrastive statement… Acts 9:26
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples—but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and the Lord had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua.
ἐπιλαμβάνομαι epilambonomai means to “be concerned about him.”
Other people looked at Saul and were concerned what it would cost them to be in relationship with him but Barnabas looked at Saul and was concerned the body of the Messiah needed him and he needed the body of Messiah.
This is a crowd thinning statement but you got to hear this.
If you live for yourself you will have nothing but yourself to show for yourself.
Everyone else was serving themselves but Barnabas was all about serving someone else. But if you really wrestle with the question, “What breaks your heart, you will be led away from yourself.”
So Saul was with them, going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
He was speaking and arguing with the Hellenists, but they were trying to kill him.
When the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
So Messiah’s community throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had shalom and was built up. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, it kept multiplying.
Barnabas was trying to make a big difference in the world, he was trying to make a big difference for one person and as a result it changed his world.
You don’t have to do something globally significant, just do something significant for one person.
Now those scattered because of the persecution that happened in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Judeans.
However, there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Yeshua.
The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
News about these things reached the ears of the community in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was thrilled. He encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with heartfelt devotion.
Barnabas “saw the grace of God.” What was that grace that he saw? He saw a racially segregated people becoming one. He saw Hellenist coming to faith.
“he was thrilled.” Just think about this, Acts 4:36-37 told us that Barnabas was of the tribe of Levi. He was an attendant in the sanctuary. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, yeah Barnabas, might have once been that guy. Can you imagine every time he heard that parable about the good samaritan, “and the levite, Barnabas, also passed him by.”Not this time because this levite, this Barnabas had met Messiah and he knew the teaching of Yeshua, “He who lives for himself will have nothing to show for himself in the presence of God.”
He knew the essence of the body of Messiah was denying yourself and embracing the stranger, the other, the foreigner the outsider as one of you.He was thrilled to see “all” and encouraged them to keep on keeping on. And again, he was not trying to make a worldwide difference, he was just trying to make a difference for the believers at Antioch and it says..Acts 11:24 “and a large number was added to the Lord.”
For Barnabas was a good man, full of the Ruach ha-Kodesh and faith. And a large number was added to the Lord.
Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met together with Messiah’s community and taught a large number. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christianoi.”
Barnabas and Saul taught devotion in such a way that people created a term for them that distinguished them “christanoi.” There were lots of terms for groups in the first century: Greeks, Romans, Barbarians, Pharisees, Saducees. They were so devoted to Messiah people called them “little Messiah followers.”
It was probably a term of derision, a mocking term, in the beginning. Yet, by the end of Peter’s life he says in 1 Peter 4:16 “if anyone suffers as a “messianic” a “christian” let him not be ashamed.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met together with Messiah’s community and taught a large number. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christianoi.”
Barnabas was not setting out to change the world he was just trying to make a difference in one man’s life. Think about what that did:We name our dogs Nero and our sons Paul.The cross has become a symbol of hope for billions of people around the globe and the name “christian” well for many it has also gone from a term of derision, mockery to a term of endearment.While in the Jewish community we may never be able to recover the word Christian because of the long history of violence and anti-semitism, the word “messianic” has become a term of new hope, new family, new opportunity, new beginnings for many Jewish people.
And, even the cross as symbolized by Marc Chagall has become a symbol that Jews are embracing as part of our history of Jewish suffering, and well, more and more, leading Jewish thinkers are embracing Yeshua and the writings of the New Testament as authentic and valuable.So much has happened from those early days at Antioch. So much that Barnabas could not predict and even though there was a brief breach in their friendship we know later on that Barnabas and Paul re-united.Barnabas devoted himself to what broke his heart and at the end of his life billions of people are thanking him for it.
He was not trying to make a global impact he was just trying to make an impact on one person. Barnabas knew...
Whoever devotes themselves to themselves will have nothing but themselves to show for themselves.
You don’t want to end up in your 40s and 50s and spend your whole adult life living only for you.
You are not enough for you to live for. There is more to you than having a perfect body and a better balance sheet. There is so much more to you than having a nicer car and a prestigious degree
There is more to you than you “never looked better” and “more money” There is so much more to you than that.
And let’s face it, you are not powerful enough to have a global impact, financially strong enough and probably not emotionally ready but you could impact the life of one person and change the world.
In so many words, Barnabas’ actions to Saul is in invitation to us. It is recorded to challenge us to do something different to have a life of real purpose.
You may think, "I don't need purpose. I need a car and I need a job and I need a girlfriend. That's what I need. And if I have the car of my dreams," and I already picked it out, okay, "And if I had the ultimate job where I didn't have to work too hard, but I had a lot of money and I had like a really good-looking girl-friend.“
"If I could have those three things, it would be enough. And I'll let somebody else go figure out purpose and you can just purpose yourself to death. But I don't need purpose, I need a good car, a lot of money, a job that didn't take too much time and somebody that makes me look better than I am and then I will be happy. I will be fulfilled. I don't care about purpose."
And you can hear this word and think, "It just doesn't matter. It's just not that big a deal. That must be something religious people are all tangled up in, but I don't need that.”
But here's what I've discovered and here's what every single person listening and watching, you are going to discover at some point in your life, that when you get the stuff, and no matter how successful you are or no matter how unsuccessful you are, no matter what you own, no matter what you don't own. No matter where you end up at some point in your life, at some point in your experience, at some point along the way, everybody asks a question and it’s different words and different forms, but basically the question is this; Does any of this matter? Does any of this count? Is any of this going anywhere? Does it even matter? Does it even matter? Does it even matter?
And the answer to that question is, if it is all about you, no, it does not matter. Remember the admonishment of Solomon in Eccl 2:12, after he talks about the palaces, gardens, and all his accomplishments he says Eccl 2:12. Because the whole book of Eccl is about this one thing, “If you focus on you, you will be empty.” And the whole of the Gospel of Yeshua and Barnabas’ life is a response that says “If you empty yourself for others, you will be full.”
Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly. For what more can the one who succeeds the king do than what he has already done?
Because the whole book of Eccl is about this one thing, “If you focus on you, you will be empty.” And the whole of the Gospel of Yeshua and Barnabas’ life is a response that says “If you empty yourself for others, you will be full.”
Rick Meadow on busting a large Sex Trafficking Ring: this is God’s work.
Here is what he was saying “I can’t go back to normal, I’ve tasted real purpose.”Here is what I have learned from men like Rick, Barnabas, the apostle Paul…Real purpose is always found just on the other side of the border of “what is in it for me?”
I don’t think for a second this happens naturally, I believe it takes the work of Yeshua. I believe it takes a relationship with God that makes all things possible. Why couldn’t the rich man give all his possessions away when Yeshua asked him to, the disciples wondered, “With man it is not possible with God all things are possible.” If you try it on your own you will fail. If you go with God, all things are possible.
The best thing you can do for you has very little to do with you.
Say no to you so you can say something bigger and broader than you. Take a risk at what looks like a lost. That might mean starting with giving your life to Messiah even though it looks like a loss but beyond that there are others.