Hope Reformed Church, RCA

17,897. That the total number of comics strips you would have read if you’d started reading ‘Peanuts’ on October 2^nd, 1950 (the first day it was published) until the last day on February 13^th, 2000. Through his characters, Charles Schulz passed along pithy nuggets of wisdom. Take for example the time Linus wrote a comic strip of his own, and he wants Lucy's opinion. He tentatively hands Lucy his comic strip and says, "Look at this cartoon, Lucy, and tell me if you think it is funny." Lucy looks at it and then asks Linus, "Who drew it?" Linus says, "I drew it." In the next frame, you see Lucy throwing it to the side, and saying, "Then I don't think it's funny." Linus picks up his comic strip, throws his blanket over his shoulder, looks at Lucy, and says, "Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life."

None of us wants to be a source of discouragement. But if we're not careful, we can find ourselves being more pessimistic than optimistic, planting crab grass in the lawn of life. Encouragement is vital for life and for relationships. Encouragement is like ice cream outdoors on a hot summer day. It's like a water to a parched throat dry from desert dust. When you feel overwhelmed. encouragement helps you overcome. You soar rather than sink.

When encouragement comes our way, we soak it up like a sponge. We're ready for more because that's what gets us through the day. If encouragement is that important, what can you and I do to make sure we're more positive than negative? If encouragement brings hope and strength and growth to people's lives, what can we do to make sure we're more encouraging than discouraging?

God has placed a model and a definition for ‘encouragement’ in Scripture. It’s mentioned throughout the Book of Acts. The encourager's name is Joseph, and the first place you find him mentioned is in Acts 4. While his real name is Joseph, his nickname is Barnabas, Son of Encouragement. Whenever they saw Joseph coming, the apostles would say, "Here comes Barnabas. Here comes that Son of Encouragement." What was it about his life that made them give him that name?

Look at the kind of encouragement Barnabas was. Luke writes: "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." (Acts 4:36-37) Barnabas sells a piece of land, gives the money to the church, and they distribute it to those who have need.

Barnabas demonstrates that an encourager freely gives of his resources. Encouragers recognize what they have really doesn't belong to them but to God. What God has given to them is basically there to meet the needs of those around them. Barnabas freely gave. If you want to encourage someone, do something they can put their hands on; do something tangable.

In Balancing the Christian Life, Charles Ryrie says: Our love for God may be proved by something that is a major part of everyone's life, and that is the use of our possessions. How we use our possessions demonstrates the reality of our love for God. In some ways, it proves our love more consciously than depth of knowledge, length of prayers, or prominence of service. Those things can be faked. But the use of our possessions shows us up for what we actually are.

Encouragers freely give resources without expecting anything in return. They won't scratch your back so you can scratch theirs. They're content if they can just scratch yours. An encourager operates with an open-handed philosophy about life.

Corrie ten Boom said, "I've learned not to hold onto anything too tightly because it hurts too much to have God pry back my fingers to get to it. So I've learned to live my life with an open hand so that God can put in and he can take out whatever he wants, and that way I never miss the blessing." Encouragers give of their resources without expecting anything in return.

Here's a second characteristic of an encourager we learn from the life of Barnabas: Encouragers accept you where you are. In Acts, we read about the conversion of Paul. Instead of being a persecutor, he becomes a promoter of the gospel. As a result, his life is in danger. Acts 9:20-22 reads:

At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?' Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

Eventually, the Jews conspired to kill Paul, but his followers took him at night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. Paul went to Jerusalem to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him. They couldn't believe he had become a disciple.

Put yourself in Paul's shoes. At one time, this man was a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee of Pharisees. Now he's given all that up. He's proclaiming the gospel, and people are coming to Christ. Paul needs to find safe refuge in Jerusalem but he can't get in. And his opponents had a point. Think about Paul's life: Who oversaw the death of the first martyr of the church? Paul. Acts 8 says that "Saul began ravaging the church." The word "ravage" has an interesting word picture behind it. It's like a pig going into a field to root it up. Paul's sole purpose was to root up the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples. I'd say they had good reason to be concerned about Paul!

But notice who comes to the rescue. In Acts 9:27, we read: "…Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord."

Encouragers are willing to accept you where you are and help you get where you need to be. They're the kind of people who don't look at your reputation or your past. They have a wonderful ability to let the past be the past and to start fresh right where you are. Encouragers realize that none of us come to Christ with an advantage—all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All are new creations in Jesus Christ, and because of that, the encourager can pick up anyone from where they are and help that person get where they need to be. No blame; no shame. Just a fresh start.

A modern-day Paul is Chuck Colson, who had the experience of not being accepted into the Christian community. Can you believe that? This is the man who wrote a book titled Loving God. But Colson had been Richard Nixon's close assistant during his presidential campaign and years in office. He was so ruthless in his dealings with people, he was frequently referred to as Nixon's "hatchet man"—the one who handled the president's dirty work. It's not surprising when Chuck Colson became a Christian and confessed his wrongdoings that many people doubted his sincerity. After he served his jail term and began his ministry, many Christians were skeptical. If it were not for those who knew the reality of Colson's Christian experience and were willing to play a Barnabas role, Colson would have had a difficult time convincing people he was indeed a converted man. Thousands of people might never have been blessed by Prison Fellowship. Now think about Paul—we might not have had half the New Testament if Barnabas hadn't been there for Paul!

A third characteristic of an encourager is found in Acts 11. Because of the death of Stephen, we find that the church is growing and spreading across the map. Gentiles are getting saved. In Acts 11:19-22, Luke writes:

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem.

At this point in the story, the church needs a follow-up program to minister to Gentiles. And their follow-up program happens to be a guy named Barnabas. They choose to send him because he doesn't judge people by their past.

Think about it: What does a new believer need more than anything when they first start their walk with God? Encouragement. Notice what Barnabas did. When he got there, he witnessed to the grace of God and began to encourage them to remain true in the Lord. He rejoiced. He got excited about their progress. Encouragers get excited about the progress of others.

Paul suggests to Barnabas that they visit the folks in every city where they have preached. Barnabas wants to take John Mark. But Paul keeps insisting they should not take him because he deserted them in Pamphylia. The disagreement is so sharp that they separate. Barnabas takes Mark with him to Cyprus, and Paul chooses to take Silas, and another characteristic of encouragers emerges: Encouragers are the kind of people who are willing to give a second chance. They realize that one failure doesn't mean total failure. "Try again," they say. That's exactly what Barnabas did for Mark. There is power in encouragement.

Painter Benjamin West tells how he loved to paint as a youngster. When his mother went away during the day, he would pull out the oils and try to paint. One day he made quite a mess. He hoped to get it all cleaned up before his mother came back, but she came home before everything was clean. West says what she did next completely surprised him. She picked up his painting and said, "My, what a beautiful painting of your sister." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away. And with that kiss, West says, he became a painter.

Every day you and I are trying to paint the picture of Jesus in our lives through what we say and do. But we make messes. The last thing we need is for someone to come along and say, "What a mess!" What we need is a kiss of encouragement. It's vital for life and for relationships.