Acts 11:22-24

Different gifts are given to believers. Some may seem small and insignificant but to God they are suited and designed just for you to be used for others and the good of His Church. 

Barnabas was an encourager. 

That inside this conflicted, brilliant, complicated, deeply flawed self is a light--capable of love, graciousness, mercy, generosity, humanity, restitution, rebirth--capable of the very reflection and image of God.

Henri Nouwen, “The question is not ‘How am I to find God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be found by him?’ The question is not ‘How am I to know God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be known by God?’ And, finally, the question is not ‘How am I to love God?’ but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?’ God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home. ”Sabbath Moments 

Acts 11:22-24

22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. The New King James Version

Seleucus I founded the city of Antioch, naming it after his father. The city was cosmopolitan, attracting people of various cultures and ethnic backgrounds—including people from Persia, India, and even China. The gospel proclaimed in Antioch would have had tremendous potential for reaching other areas of the world. Moreover, because the city was culturally diverse, it was not controlled by one religious group, making the people there more open to hearing the truth of the gospel message. 

Barnabas, nicknamed “Son of Encouragement” by the apostles, was sent to discern what God was doing in the lives of the new converts. When Barnabas saw the grace of God in these converts, he was true to his name and encouraged them in their new faith. 

Purpose of heart describes a resolve of the will to make up one’s mind about one thing. The resolve here was to remain with the Lord. Because Barnabas was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, God was able to bring Saul of Tarsus to his mind again. The disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul and refused to believe that he was a disciple. Barnabas, however, had defended Saul before the apostles. The NKJV Study Bible

Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Acts 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.