Cheer UP! Podcast
Cheer UP! Podcast
Journeying With Barnabas from the Bible
Can being a peacemaker really change lives? Join us in this episode to see how Barnabas bridged gaps in the early church and what we can learn today!
What’s your take on conflict resolution?
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Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me is the beautiful and kind and glamorous and fabulous Sherri Swalwell. How are you today, Sherri?
Speaker 1:I think that you might be talking about a different Sherri, because I'm not on that, but I am very flattered so thank you, but I am very flattered so thank you and hello and hi and welcome to all of our listeners out there. Just welcome to Chirp Nation. We so appreciate you tuning in every week, liking, subscribing, downloading. We're available, sharing with your friends and we just want to say thank you. And today we are getting ready to continue our discussions into in deep dives well, I can't say deep dives because, honestly, we're just really skimming the surfaces of some of the biblical figures we have been covering this year, some of the biblical figures we have been covering this year. And again we're doing it this year, excuse me and again we're doing this because in the Bible, in these biblical figures Old Testament and New gosh we've just been learning so much and a lot of them we didn't even do a deep, deep dive into because that would just take one biblical figure could easily take up to a month or more of episodes. So you know, we've just been kind of pointing out some of the major things that God had seen them through and how, even though that was thousands of years ago, how God is still doing that for us today. And last week we did Paul, oh my goodness, and that was just such an awesome, awesome, awesome episode that Sherri did. And so if you haven't heard it yet, then you can easily just just wherever you are, just kind of go to last week's episode and you'll be able to see Paul. And if you're interested in any other biblical figures that we did, just kind of scroll down or up. However, the platform you're on has them organized and you can just click on any of the ones that you listen to, or you can listen to all of them. So and we would greatly appreciate it if you did Today we are going to be talking about Barnabas B-A-R-N-A-B-A-S.
Speaker 1:Barnabas. It is definitely one of those names where you think the ending should be B-U-S and not B-A-S, but it's actually Barnabas, you know, which means son of encouragement, of encouragement, you know, and just a little bit of the notes that I found as I was researching a little bit on Barnabas is that he was a very and I was just talking with this about Sherry, excuse me, with Sherry he was a very important figure in the early Christian church. He doesn't have a book of the Bible named after him, like Matthew, mark, luke and John, so he doesn't have that, but he was such an important figure. You can hear he's, I think, initially introduced in Acts, chapter 4, I think Don't quote me on that but surely when you start reading Acts you're going to come across Paul. He was a native of Cyprus and he was a Jewish Christian. His original name was Joseph, but he was later given the nickname Barnabas, which means, like I mentioned earlier, son of encouragement in Aramaic.
Speaker 1:He played a key role in the early Christian community by introducing the newly converted Saul. Saul was later known as Paul. Barnabas played a key role in the Christian community by introducing the newly converted Saul to the apostles in Jerusalem and vouching for his sincerity. The apostles in Jerusalem and vouching for his sincerity. And you can find that in Acts, chapter 9, verses 27 and 28,. I believe I actually had it right there in front of me but I put it away and it'll make probably some noise if I was to get up right now and try to go digging for it. And he actually vouched for the apostle formerly known as Saul as Paul, and he did that. He had to do that. And again, this is in Acts, chapter 9, verses 27 and 28. He introduced him to them because they were afraid of him. They were afraid of Paul.
Speaker 1:And so when Paul after his conversion at Damascus, after his road to Damascus moment, you know, and he became a full-on believer in the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth and he was living that life and he wanted to kind of get involved with the disciples and things like that. But he was. They were just like what you Wait a minute, you're known for killing Christians, not just killing them, torturing them, stoning them, murdering them, and you want to be so. They were a little bit apprehensive, they were a little bit scared, they were a little bit nervous Probably some anxiety there too about letting him into the boat. But it was Barnabas that actually said hey, I've witnessed some things this guy has done. I've seen him, I've heard him preach, I've seen him do some things. I'm telling you he's the real deal. So Barnabas was huge in doing that and he was also known.
Speaker 1:Barnabas was also known for his generosity, which is demonstrated in Acts, chapter 4, when he sells a piece of property. Because he was a wealthy man or he came from wealth, I should say. But he owned a piece of property that he sold to the church in Jerusalem and he actually supported the apostles with that, if I'm not mistaken. But he was also known as a peacemaker, which I want to talk about a bit later. But he was also known as a peacemaker and he was an encourager and to me when you have encouragement, when you pair the two gifts of encouragement and peacemaker together, that just makes for a wonderful, wonderful human being, if you ask me, because they just seem to coincide so much together. So again, he was just a key figure in early church.
Speaker 1:He was known for his encouragement, generosity and peacemaking efforts and he played an important role in introducing Paul to the apostles and partnering with him in early missionary work of church Excuse me, of the early Christian church. Like they say, he was an encourager. He definitely was that. He was definitely generous and as you read through the book of Acts on him you'll be able to see that pretty clearly. But I kind of wanted to talk about his peacemaking, because I'm just in awe of it, and one of them was he was a peacemaker between a disagreement between Paul and Peter and that's in Galatians 2, 13, over the issue of Gentile believers observing Jewish customs, and so there was like that little disagreement there with Paul and Peter and I guess it was there to what the King James Version calls it with Paul himself, and again, this is in Galatians 2.13.
Speaker 1:They had a quarrel because Paul blasted him and I believe it was him and Peter for going astray and being hypocrites. And Paul didn't just do this like on the side of a mountain or a hill or at the sea and he's talking to like Barnabas and Peter and just saying, hey guys, you know you're being a little bit hypocritical with some of the things you're saying and things you're doing no, he blasted them, paul blasted them and called them out, basically in front of the church at Antioch. I think Ain't that right, sherry, I think he was. He just blasted it, he just blasted them, he just called them out, you know there. And he did it in such a way that I'm just thinking like wow, because afterwards it wasn't long afterwards that him and Paul were back in good graces again and he was able to make peace with Paul and I'm going, wow. I just don't know.
Speaker 1:I would have had some feelings emotionally about that and I don't know if the scriptures say this in the book of Acts. So, sherry, let me know if it does. But I don't think Paul talked to them quietly about it at first at all. I think he just kind of put them on public notice and blast right there when he was talking to the church of Antioch, put them on public notice and blast right there when he was talking to the church of Antioch. And so I would have been like, wow, really, paul, you're my friend, you're my best friend.
Speaker 1:Like I introduced you to the disciples and the apostles and I vouch for you, you couldn't even give me a heads up that you think I was maybe heading in the wrong direction with something. You couldn't just whisper my ear. You can call me over for dinner. The wrong direction with something. You couldn't just whisper in my ear, you couldn't call me over for dinner. We talk about it. But you got to put me on blast like that in front of the very church that we've all been ministering to, like I don't know, and I don't know if I would have been quite as forgiving. But remember Barnabas, he's a peacemaker. He made peace between Paul and Peter because Peter was quite upset about that whole ordeal. He made peace when John Mark, barnabas's cousin, he made peace with John Mark and Paul. So Paul seemed to, you know, kind of stir the ire up in people from time to time, but yet he was always there for Paul and he kept forgiving him. And maybe he was mad at first after they quarreled about what happened I think they're in Antioch but he obviously he forgave him and he just moved on. He was more concerned about just keeping the peace than you know his own feelings. And this was even after, because he not only just vouched for Paul and pretty much was like hey, you know, this is who he is, you know and all of this stuff, but he also what's the word I'm looking for Now? He didn't mentor Paul, so that's not the word I'm looking for, but he vouched for Paul and in Paul's ministry like, excuse me, in Paul's ministry just kind of took off like fire. Barnabas didn't necessarily get the same attention, I guess I could say, as Paul did. I mean, paul went on to write all these books of the Bible and a lot of his trials and triumphs are very much well documented, you know, and things like that. So Barnabas didn't quite get that same attention that he did, but yet he was responsible for bringing Paul, like into the disciples, you know, fold and everything else.
Speaker 1:So then, if someone called you a hypocrite in front of people, that takes a lot, but it always makes me question am I a peacekeeper, you know? Am I able to just forgive and just put peace above everything else? I know the answer to that. I don't know if I'm willing to share it right now, but you know I might, but in any other question. If I saw two people arguing too. Um, if I saw two people arguing and it depends on whether they were family or friends then I would immediately um put a stop to it, um, like Barnabas did between Peter and Paul and his cousin John, mark, mark and Paul.
Speaker 1:But if it was two people I knew them, but I wasn't necessarily close to, but we were all working on a project together I wouldn't pursue peace first, and one of the reasons is I'm going to sit back and I'm going to listen, not because I'm enjoying them arguing, but because I believe so much truth can come out in the heat of the moment them arguing. But because I believe so much truth can come out in the heat of the moment. The way people really feel, the way people really think the truth of what they did and why comes out when the pressure's on, in the heat of the moment, when high anger is involved, when emotions are involved, when they're confronted with something and they haven't had a chance to prepare an answer. I think truth comes out because they're not able to fake it or phony their way out of it, because someone's really just calling them out right then and there, or confronting them or asking them something. And in the heat of the moment the truth tends to come out. They just haven't had a chance to run it through all their mental and emotional filters. You know when the pressure's on.
Speaker 1:So it wouldn't be because I'm enjoying them arguing, but especially if we were working on something together or we had a mission not necessarily a mission, but we were all supposed to do something together I want to know who I'm involved with, I want to know what kind of people I'm dealing with, and so I would probably just sit back and just listen, because I'm mentally taking notes, I'm mentally seeing what these people are made of. If there's anything hidden that I probably need to, you know. Hmm, do I need to look more into this, or?
Speaker 2:is this the right?
Speaker 1:person for me to be working on this project with. So I do it, you know, for those reasons. However, if it ever got to the point where it got heated enough to become the fisticuffs where you know they just are brawling or it looks like it was definitely going to be headed that way, of course I'm going to intervene, but in the beginning no, because I find out a lot of information when people are in the heat of the moment, you know and the scripture talks about how the heart, the mouth speaks and truth comes out when you put the pressure on. There's a reason so many shows like Metlock, perry Mason Murder, she Wrote shows like that.
Speaker 1:Perry Mason Murder, she Wrote shows like that. It's like when they're confronted with something and they don't have a time to repair a lie or escape or anything like that, they just come forth with the truth, and so that's one of the reasons why I would probably let it go on for a little while, because I'm mentally taking notes and making observations, but again, before I got physical, I would intervene. What about you, sherry?
Speaker 2:There's just so much to to focus on with Barnabas. Like I didn't know that part about um Paul calling him out, but I can totally see Paul doing that after talking about Paul.
Speaker 2:Um, but the thing that really struck me the most about what you were talking about was how God uses every single one of us in each assignment that God gives us. Even if it's not out in the spotlight, it is so vitally important. Not out in the spotlight, it is so vitally important Barnabas had said to God. When God said hey, I want you to introduce and I want you to pave the way, because you are, you're the cool head in in this group People look up to.
Speaker 2:So it's your up to you to present Paul to these people who think that he's going to kill them, and you need to make it right and you need to help them feel less intimidated or less uneasy or whatever it is.
Speaker 1:Afraid.
Speaker 2:Right, you need to pave the road for Paul, because I need somebody and you're the perfect person to do it, because I need somebody and you're the perfect person to do it.
Speaker 2:So that job was more vitally important, I would say, than Paul writing all the different books in the Bible, because he wouldn't have been able to do any of that if he hadn't been accepted by the disciples and had been a part of that part of God's plans that was in his life. So I think, yeah, I think that's the part that really speaks to me the most out of what you've been talking about that. And then I think, because Barnabas is, I get the impression and I don't think the Bible specifically says this, but just from what you've been saying about him, I get the impression that he had a very soft heart, and by that I mean soft towards God. So, yeah, he screwed up and he was doing things he shouldn't have been doing and Paul called him out, probably not the way he was supposed to. You're supposed to call out another believer.
Speaker 2:Was that Paul? I wonder if Paul wrote that after the fact going um, I kind of screwed this up with Barnabas, I think. I thought he wanted to do it differently, like how fun would that be if that was really the case?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I know, I think, I think the scripture you're referring to is uh, confront each other in love.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, and I don't know if that was Paul or not, because, yeah, I'm pretty sure, you know, I like what you just said about Barnabas, how he must have had a tender heart. He had a calm spirit, you know, and he had like a tender heart, a soft heart towards God and towards Paul. And you know what's so funny? Because I think Paul needed Barnabas, like you said.
Speaker 2:He needed Barnabas because he could be hot.
Speaker 1:I mean, he already got into it already. Look, barnabas introduced them. And then Paul goes and gets into arguments with them and calls them out for being hypocrites, you know, calls them out for being hypocrites, you know. And so yeah, but that was Paul's personality, right? He didn't walk on eggshells around anyone, and so I think he needed. It's just so funny. I could just imagine God being up in heaven and be like man. Paul's going to do some. Paul's going to do some great things. But I need to put Barnabas in his path.
Speaker 2:He's a little rough around the edges and he needs a little help.
Speaker 1:Right, you know he's going to need a Barnabas. He's going to yell at Barnabas, he's going to scream at him, but yet he still needs him. You know he's still going to need him to kind of soften out. You know his rough edges, you know, and things like that. And so it's just funny how God just puts those people in a path we need and we think we don't need them. And they probably annoy us because they're always so calm, cool, collected. You know, nothing really rattles their cage, so to speak.
Speaker 1:And yet you're all passionate, passionate and you're ready to just read the riot act to everybody who deserves it, breed or foe. And you know you have Barnabas there and he's like, hey, just let's calm down. You know like it don't have to be this way, let's. You know we can work this all out. And it even says you know that they quarreled. So you know we can work this all out. And it even says you know that they quarreled. So he obviously said a few things, but I think his heart was so soft towards God and his fellow disciples that he just didn't let those feelings get in the way. What do you think, sherry?
Speaker 2:I think you're right. It reminds me of my pastor. He always is talking about how he tries to wake up every morning and live unoffendable. And I kind of get that impression from the way that you're describing Barnabas, that he wasn't perfect, he made mistakes, but that he tried to live life unoffendable. So, in other words, yeah, paul called him out. So, in other words, yeah, paul called him out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there were times when, you know, he argued with people and didn't agree with everything that they said, which, if you agree with everything that people say, then you have a problem, then you're pretty unhealthy, because if you are truly living the way that God wants you to live, then you're going to disagree with people at some point, because that's just, that's his life, so. So he's going to disagree with people. He's going to, you know, have issues with people or have an opinion or whatever, whatever. But I just kind of get the'm thinking to myself. Paul lived that way too, like Paul's personality was on one side of the spectrum, barnabas' personality was on the other side of the spectrum, but their goals were exactly the same. It was to live life the way that God wanted them to live, to be on point and to fulfill the mission and the purpose that God gave them. And while it looks different, it was the same.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it was the same purpose, just they had different things on how to do it.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly, and they were both working for the same goal. God would be saying well done my good and faithful servant to both of them and it would look completely different. So there would be times when they would clash, because one would be coming at it from one side of the spectrum, one would be coming at it from the other side of the spectrum, but yet God would be pleased with both Exactly.
Speaker 1:And then when you look at the situation where he had to make peace between his cousin Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, and Paul, who wrote a significant amount of the New Testament, I think the disagreement was along.
Speaker 2:Paul didn't want Mark to come along, right, he was mad at him because he was bailed on him before, so he didn't want to bail on him again yeah, he he was, he was pretty.
Speaker 1:It's so funny because he was mad at him. So let's, so. It's obvious he still had a grudge. Right, paul did, and barnabas. I could just see him going seriously, paul, like can't we just forget about that? That was the past, let's move on. You know, and I know that we need, we need Mark with us. You know, and I could just see Paul being adamant like nope, never again not going to do it. You know, and you have to be a true peacemaker to be able to work with someone who could be that obstinate and stubborn even though they have a good reason for it.
Speaker 1:right, you have to. There's like a, I think, a special anointing for peacemakers who can deal with people like that, you know, but he wasn't able to make Paul see his and Mark's view on things. So they parted, you know, and you know Barnabas and Mark went one way and then John ended up going another. But you know what happened they ended up in two different missionary journeys instead of one, and God blessed that and even more people came to know Christ. So it was like it was almost as if God said, oh my gosh, really, you guys, but that's okay, that's okay. You know, I'm going to redeem this.
Speaker 1:And it's going to work, it's going to all work. It's going to even work better. You know Not that you guys are, you know, are apart. But have you ever had to make peace with someone, Sherry, that they just weren't the kind, they just didn't want peace in that particular situation?
Speaker 2:I don't know if I'm very good at that, but something you just said, I think I want to be better at that than I am. But one of the things that you said struck me. So I'm thinking in the Bible how sometimes and I can't off the top of my head come up with an example in the Bible, but I know there are examples but sometimes I think in life we get too comfortable and sometimes I think god will use conflict to move us in the direction that he wanted us to go to begin with, because without the conflict we wouldn't move, because we're too comfortable so I'm wondering if it wasn't even part of god's plan to begin with, because they weren't moving, he knew that he wanted double the spread of the gospel.
Speaker 2:They weren't out, they weren't getting the memo, so he was like I'll go ahead and let normal human nature, normal human conflict happen so that I can accomplish the goal that I wanted to. Not that I think that he necessarily wanted them to fight, but I think that he used that for his good. Because they weren't, maybe, for whatever reason, they weren't willing to look at the option of hey, maybe we need to do this separately instead of together.
Speaker 1:You know what that is so true? Because they were so comfortable and they had been doing this for a while, and those mission journeys that they went on, they weren't like overnight, they were long journeys. You know, they were long journeys and not only when you're with someone for that long period of time or you're going to have disagreements right, you generally do but then you become comfortable with them, right, like you said. And when you become comfortable, I think we kind of just always assume, oh, this is the way God wants it, when he's like yeah, I need you guys to split up because I got bigger plans. Yeah, I'm not seeing a bigger picture, you know. So I can definitely.
Speaker 1:I can definitely see that, and I can't help but admire people who can and I said this before but who can just deal with difficult, stubborn, obstinate. You know, people that won't bend, and in this case it wasn't just Paul. It doesn't look like John Mark was being bendable either, right, and so eventually Barnabas had to make a choice and he chose his cousin. But it all worked out because, you know, god is good and Barnabas ended up making peace with Paul again. You knowoffendable, you know, as you said earlier, and as you said, excuse me, how your pastor says he tries to live earlier and just staying focused on the mission, because a lot of times, sherry, you and I both know those offenses can keep us stagnant for a very long time for a very long time.
Speaker 2:Well, and that makes me think about a modern day example, and that is how many of us serve at church and I'm just going to use serving at church as an example right now but how many of us serve at church, how many of us get comfortable with the people that we serve with?
Speaker 2:How many of us get comfortable in the roles that we're in. What about if, one Sunday, in the roles that we're in, what about if, one Sunday, the people who so I'm going to talk about serving in the nursery, because that's what works for me, that's what I'm comfortable with. So you're in the two and three-year-old room and you're with your family, because we served as a family for many, many, many years. So you're with your family. Well, all of a sudden, the people in the baby room, the infant room, don't show up. So you're being asked to go over there or say, for instance, the people in the baby room are having surgery and they won't be around for six months. They have six months of feeling and they aren't allowed to listen to anything. So you get approached by your leader and said hey, you're so good, would you be willing to go serve in the infant room for six months?
Speaker 2:God wants us to be flexible. God wants us to be willing to go where he can use us the most. So we need to be willing to have an open mind, be unoffendable and to not look at it as but this is where I always serve, this is my family, this is my friend, this is what I want to do. It's not about us. The missions they went on were not about them.
Speaker 2:The missions were about who. Who is going to be um, who's going to be reached like we're talking about eternity things here and we're talking about eternity things.
Speaker 2:If you're serving at camp with kids, oh absolutely. If you're talking about serving in the nursery, you might say, well, yeah, but their babies are going to heaven anyway. Yeah, but their parents need to sit and listen to the service on the um uninterrupted instead of having it either somebody very inexperienced, so that the parents are called every week, or somebody who doesn't go in at all, and then the parents have to take the kid in with them and then the kids, the parents are distracted. Like we're talking. Like we're talking major eternity stuff here. We're not talking comfort. So I think that's something else that we really need to think about.
Speaker 2:When we're called and challenged to do something that we don't necessarily want to do or that's outside of our comfort zone, or we worked with so-and-so before, or so-and-so has a reputation for not working and just sitting on their phone for an hour. I don't want to work with that person Really, because maybe God wants you to, maybe you need to be, maybe you're in the position where you were mentored and now it's time for you to mentor. We need to step outside of what's in it for us and what's the best, most comfortable for us, and instead be like okay, what does God want me to do?
Speaker 1:You know what? That reminds me of a Beth Moore study, excuse me, a Beth Moore Bible study. I was in a couple of years, actually several years ago, and again, I don't work for Beth Moore, I don't work for her ministry, we're not sponsored by them. I just happened to be in a women's Bible study who was using one of her Bible studies that she designed for women and I honestly cannot think of the name of it, so I apologize of which study of hers we were doing. So I apologize for that, but I remember there was a part in there that really struck me to the core and it piggybacks off of what Sherry had just said. In this particular Bible study you know Beth Moore was and for those who don't know, beth Moore is like a Bible teacher and, excuse me, bible study, women's Bible study teacher. But anyway, she had mentioned in there how sometimes God puts people in our life to kill us, and I just remember that. That struck me to my core because she wasn't talking about physically kill us, right, she meant spiritually to kill off stuff that didn't need to be there in the first place. And that can be done by when you have to work with someone you don't like someone you disagree with, someone who annoys you, someone who irritates you, someone who pushes you to your limit, someone who brings out your sin nature, everybody else. You're this good Christian, you're happy, you're joyful. You're this wonderful person and that's your natural self. You're this wonderful person and that's your natural self. You know, until you're rubbed the wrong way by the wrong person on the wrong day at the wrong time, you know. And so, basically, what she was just saying was that sometimes God put those people in our lives to kill off the rough edges you know, to bring them to light so that you could see like, oh, my goodness, lord, I thought I dealt with that anger a long time ago. I thought I dealt with my temper a long time ago. I thought I, you know, dealt with dismissing people I don't like a long time ago, you know. But this person is in my path and I'm starting to recognize that old sin nature come back up. And so that's what she meant why sometimes God put people in your life to kill you.
Speaker 1:Right Now, you have to tolerate their nonsense or their shenanigans, but it's a learning experience for us, and so, like Sherry said, sometimes we just need to change our perspectives on it and not be so offended and trust and believe there are a lot of people out there. Sometimes we just need to change our perspectives on it and not be so offended and trust and believe. There are a lot of people out there who say things intentionally to offend you and they get joy from it. You know they're not saying it absentmindedly or anything like that. They know it's going to get under your skin and they do it simply to watch your face breathe in pain, right, so there are those people out there, but let's take those opportunities right To see how we feel.
Speaker 1:Does love come out or does that old sin nature come out, the one that God has redeemed us from, you know? Does that old sin nature come out? Do you snap back at them? Do you start offending them in another way? Do you start plotting your them? Do you start offending them in another way? Do you start plotting your revenge on them for saying what they said or did what they did?
Speaker 1:If that, if that you start seeing more of that than just, than love and or peace, like with Barnabas, you know, in a way, you, you, you, you respond to them, not saying, accepting what they said, not saying accepting what they're doing, but you no longer have a heart for them. You have just hatred, just pure hatred. Then that's part of us that needs to be killed off. God is letting us see that that that's a part of us that needs to be killed off, so those people can really be beneficial to us, and I think sometimes God uses that to help us open our eyes, to see that that part is still there and that he can move us a lot further and a lot faster in our Christian journey. If we dealt with it. Did that make sense, sherri?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, and I think, when we find ourselves in those types of situations, I think one of the prayers that I like to pray myself is God what do you want to teach me in this situation?
Speaker 1:What do?
Speaker 2:you need me to learn, because we're not going to like look at all the different missions and so forth that God had the disciples on in the early church, where he's not going to graduate us and promote us to the next place until we're ready. And we won't be ready until we kill off some of those negative parts. In fact, in the ministry that I myself do, I have to be patient. Well, two things. One, I want to be patient because I don't want to step into full-time ministry until God is ready for me to step into full-time ministry.
Speaker 2:I don't want to be ill prepared, I don't want to be um, I don't want to have not learned the lessons that God wants me to learn. And I can feel, because I started, I've shifted and instead of God, I want to be in full-time ministry right now. Make it happen. I've shifted and I've said okay, god, what is it that you still need to teach me that I haven't learned yet? Because I don't want to. I don't want to be put in a position prematurely to where I'm not ready, and then I fall miserably. And not only is it that I don't want to fall myself, but I don't want to take anybody with me. Right, right, exactly. I think we need to really, really focus on that.
Speaker 2:And that was one of the things that Barnabas like. Barnabas did a lot of wonderful things. They were under, yeah, under the radar. He wasn't held in high accolades, but he did a lot of wonderful things that God was very pleased with him for, but he never once had to take the credit leave with him for but he never once had to take the credit. Never once, in any of our discussion today, have I heard anything about Barnabas being prideful or needing attention or any of those things Like he knew his place, he was happy in his place and when he was far from perfect which I love how God points that out, so that we don't, they were all far from perfect, which I love how God points that out they were all far from perfect.
Speaker 1:They were arguing, they were quarreling, and sometimes we kind of think that the disciples and stuff were saints. Far from it, right.
Speaker 1:You know, and it's just nice to see that they were regular, everyday people. Who has to deal? And this brings us to the end of this discussion and the reason why we're talking about biblical figures it's just nice to see that they were human beings as well. They didn't have halos over their heads, they didn't have wings on their back. They were flawed people, just like all of us, but yet God used them all. He used them anyway. He taught them major things and he blessed them to do mighty things for his kingdom. And, like Sherry said, barnabas didn't even cry about the credit. He didn't.
Speaker 1:He was another person who did not complain. We talked about that with Paul last week. He didn't, he didn't. He was another person who did not complain. We talked about that with Paul last week. He didn't complain Like Lord. Why is Paul getting all the attention? And you know they wouldn't even know. You know he wouldn't be in with the disciples or whatever it was for me. He didn't do any of that. You know he, yeah, he knew his lane and he stayed in it. He knew his lane and he stayed in it.
Speaker 2:And I think he liked his lane, he seemed happy in his lane. He you know that goes back to and we do need to wrap it up because we could talk for hours, but that goes back. I'm pretty sure Barnabas knew who he was in Christ. He knew his identity in Christ and Paul definitely knew his identity in Christ.
Speaker 2:He knew what it was like to be not in Christ and knew what it was like to be in Christ, and that, right there, I think, is the perfect way to end. When we know our identity in Christ, we have a godly confidence that we cannot have any other way, and when we have that God's confidence, then we know who we are, we know what our mission is and we can stay on point, because that that is what our focus is. Our focus is not to be another Paul. Our focus is not to be another Barnabas. Our focus is to be Sherry Falwell and Kara R Hunt, and you know whoever you are, fill in the blank. Whatever your name is we. So, actually, I think that that might be the real challenge today that I want to leave you with is do you know your identity in Christ?
Speaker 2:If you, don't we have a series that you can go back and listen to. All you got to do is is, you know, look on the whatever platform that you're using, look back to past episodes, because we have we have a whole series that we did on the identity of Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what your gifts are, to show you what your mission and your purpose is. And he might not answer you immediately, but that's part of the fun, that's part of the adventure. The journey, the discovery is that God wants you to dig deep with him. He wants you to have that close relationship with him and you will not disappoint.
Speaker 2:So that's my, that's my challenge to you this week is to, if you don't know what your identity in Christ is, then ask the Holy Spirit and go back and listen to the episode and if you do, if you are confident in your identity in Christ, then live it, absolutely, step out. You have confidence that you are where God wants you to be. You ask God to open the doors that he wants to open and live expectantly. We had a guest speaker at our church a couple weeks ago and it's funny because every time he comes he brings a word from the Holy Spirit and I was so excited when I saw that he was coming and before he started preaching, I remember I bowed my head. It was after worship, before he got on stage and I said to God. I said God, I am here expectantly this morning.
Speaker 2:I know you're going to show up, I know you're going to speak and I can't wait to hear what it is. And not two minutes later he said man, I hope you guys are here expectantly this morning. I go.
Speaker 1:Yes, I already did, I'm here, I'm ready, I am expectant.
Speaker 2:And you know what God brought it. And there is nothing that brings more enthusiasm and more joy and more hope and more excitement than knowing that you are where God wants you to be, even if you don't know all the details of where God wants you to be, but knowing that you are where God wants you to be and that he is going to open the doors in his timing and he is going to do great and mighty miracle signs and wonders, and you get to be a part of it. There is nothing better, and you know what. That is not just something from the Bible, that is not just something that well, that happened way back then but that's not ever going to happen now. Nope, not true. God did miracle signs and wonders way back when and he does miracle signs and wonders again now. Karen and I could both sit here and talk to you for hours about ways that God has done miracles in our lives and in the lives of others If not days.
Speaker 1:What was that? I said if not day? You said hours. I said if not days, it would take forever.
Speaker 2:The way God has done miracles in our lives and in our family's lives, and he wants to do the exact same thing for you. So on that note, I am going to end it today, because otherwise we would continue to go on and on and on. But I hope that you got a glimpse a little bit more into Barnabas's life and how vitally important he was. He seemed like he was a minor character, but far from it. How vitally important he was for the mission of God, for God's purpose of humanity and mankind, but also for the purpose and destiny that he had for Barnabas' life himself. So John 16, 33 tells us these things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace In this world. You will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. No matter what happens in this life, god is right, there with us and he's taking care of us and I am so, so grateful that we don't have to go through life alone. If you have been listening to the podcast, or if the Holy Spirit has just been stirring in your heart that you want what other people have, you want that relationship instead of that religion. You don't exactly know what it is, but you know that you want it. You don't exactly know what it is, but you know that you want it. I want to take a few minutes today and invite you to say a prayer with us. It's not the saying of the words that brings you to salvation. It's believing it in your heart. It's saying the words and believing them in your heart, and God says, you will be saved. So if that is something that you want to do today, then I invite you to pray this prayer with us. If you want to start a relationship with God or move from going through the motions of a religion into stepping into a relationship with a Heavenly Father, I'll tell you what it is one decision that you will make that will change your life forever, and it will be the best decision that you will make. That will change your life forever and it will be the best decision that you have ever ever made. So if that is, you, then repeat this prayer after me oh Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus' name. I believe you died on the cross and that you rose again and you're seated on the throne. Jesus, forgive me for all that I have done wrong and I choose to forgive all others Come into my life today and forever. I am yours In Jesus' name, amen. If that was you, would you reach out to us and email us at cheeruppodcasts at gmailcom and just say I prayed that prayer today. We are so happy for you, we are so happy that you did that and we say welcome to the family.
Speaker 2:The next step is finding a Bible believing church, getting into a group, a community of believers who believe the way you do, and growing your faith. And part of growing your faith is um opening up your Bible and reading it, and I hope that, as you have um listened to us throughout the different weeks and we've been talking about the different Bible figures or the figures in the Bible that you've gotten excited and you want to start reading the Bible. If you don't know where to begin in reading the Bible, reach out to us again at cheeruppodcasts, at gmailcom, and I have a gift that I can give you that can just kind of be a little helpmate. Come alongside you to just kind of give you that little extra support of maybe you want to start here type of a thing. Kara and I are here for you. We are so grateful for the opportunity to encourage you every week and point you back to the one who loves you more than anybody else ever could.
Speaker 2:Head over to Kara's website, kararhuntcom, and she will, or you can find out all the wonderful things that's going on in her ministry and with her book. You can also head over to SherrySwalwellcom there's a membership if you're interested in checking that out. There's fiction, nonfiction, and we both have YouTube channels, so you can check those out as well. We I just I don't think we can say it enough how much we enjoy spending every week with you all, um, spending every Wednesday with you all, um, so enjoy the rest of your Wednesday. Today, um, it is August 14th. It is August 14th, so this is the last week of freedom that we have here at our family. Full starts next Monday, so we are going to have an extra special rest of our week. I hope that you all do too, and we will talk to you next week when we start talking about Tennessee.
