How God Uses Willing Believers

BARNABAS, SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Barnabas was an exceptional character. He was a Levite from Cyprus whose name was Joseph until he was called Barnabas by the Apostles. Barnabas means Son of Encouragement or Son of Prophecy. This means he had a servant heart to encourage others in an exceptional way. But it means more than that. There is no record of prophecies given by him but he had exceptional supernatural wisdom and discernment through the Charismatic gifting of the Holy Spirit.
The early church remained community of Messianic Jews until persecution drove the believers out of Jerusalem and even then they preached only to Jews as they went.
Acts 11:19-21 (NKJV)
19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
This was a radical revolution, even though it was a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and commanded by Jesus.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
But it was revolutionary because it was a spontaneous initiative of so called lay Christians, apparently not directed or authorised by the Apostles in Jerusalem or anyone with executive authority in the church.
This should teach us a lesson which many have not been willing or able to receive.
God often directs His church through preachers in official leadership positions but the Holy Spirit also bypasses the official chain of command on occasions and leads Christians who appear to be virtual nobodies to take significant pioneering initiatives, sometimes initiatives of strategic importance. Without this kind of initiative, the mighty Chinese church of today would not exist.


The Apostolic leadership in Jerusalem was wise. They did not reject or criticise this movement because it did not come from them. But they needed to check up to see if it was a true work of God. They needed leaders with exceptional wisdom and discernment to do this job. They chose Barnabas for the work, a Levite with outstanding Christian character and spiritual discernment.
Acts 11:22-24 (NKJV)
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.
It appears in this brief text that Barnabas was also a gifted preacher and leader with the ability to encourage and empower believers and also to evangelise.
Some preachers in this situation would grasp the opportunity to take over this wonderful church and set themselves up as apostolic leaders. If Barnabas had done this, we might have seen the Gentile church in Antioch converted into “Joseph Barnabas Ministries: Reaching the Nations for Christ.”
But Barnabas did a remarkable thing. He trusted the new church to keep going with the pioneer leaders who had planted it and he set off to find another man of God prepared for this ministry, Saul of Tarsus.
Barnabas was not only a kind, generous and encouraging man but he was also a man who did not put himself first in any way. He sacrificed wealth when he donated his property in Cyprus to the church in Jerusalem and he sacrificed his opportunity to be a superstar church leader when he left Antioch to find and empower another man of God,  Saul (later Paul) who was destined to outshine him.

Is your life an adventure?

Is the story of your life interesting?
A church member once stood up and testified.

“Before I was saved, I was wicked, sinful and boring. I want to thank God I am not sinful any more.”
When you respond to the call of Jesus, God forgives all your sins and changes your character. God’s purpose is to make you like Jesus.
Most of us will never walk on water or die on a cross. But if you are like Jesus, the story of your life will never be boring. If your life is routine, ordinary and predictable, ask Jesus to show you what is missing, and he will answer.
Please don’t misunderstand me. Many people today demand constant entertainment. I am not suggesting every moment must be exciting. We also need to cultivate patience. But spiritual patience is not the passive acceptance of a mediocre life.
Are you actively pursuing a big dream for your life? Are you living an adventure story?
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
The peace God gives is not a domestic tranquillity where nothing exciting happens. It is the peace of Jesus who slept through a terrible storm at sea because He trusted in His heavenly Father’s care.
The prophet Jeremiah was in prison when God spoke to him.
'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)
Prison can be a place of dark suffering because you stand for God in spite of persecution. Prison can also be a life dominated by a grey routine.
God can deliver His children out of both kinds of prison.
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  Luke 4:18 (NKJV)
Even if you are trapped in domestic slavery with no means of escape, God can give you adventures in the Spirit.
Acts 2:17-18 (NKJV)
 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

• Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
• Your young men shall see visions,
• Your old men shall dream dreams.
• And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
• And they shall prophesy.

God created you with a purpose. When you repent and believe, you are forgiven. But the plans of God do not stop there.
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:30 (NKJV)
God has a plan and a destiny for your life. He wants you to experience His glory and to reveal His glory through you.
Why not read the story of Jesus of Nazareth? Fast forward to the book of  Revelation and see Jesus in Heaven. Then you will understand that GLORY can never be boring.
If your life has no adventure, ask God to put you on track to glory.
I hope you will allow me to conclude with some essential practical wisdom. One thing which imprisons so many good people is THE TYRANNY OF THE URGENT.
Of course you must not neglect ESSENTIAL practical duties. But are you setting aside time every day to work on your life dream?

For example, if you are called to minister the Good News of Jesus, start a house church or do something special for God, you need to MAKE time to prepare, to read and pray.

What are you doing TODAY to advance towards your destiny?

Jesus. Good vs Evil

Jesus came to this planet from a better place. He came to bring heaven to earth. He came to destroy evil. Evil was His enemy and He came to win the war. But his primary strategy was not to teach about sin but to teach and demonstrate perfect love and goodness.
... God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 (NKJV)
The Bible gives us a lot of information about every kind of sin, about murder, lying, adultery and many horrible things. Jesus never sinned Himself and He spoke strongly against sin.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. John 8:34 (ESV)
He warned of the horrible consequences of sin.
The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. John 8:35 (ESV)
Jesus, as the Son of God, has a permanent home with His Father God in Heaven, where there is no evil, not even human imperfection. But a sinner is a slave of sin and has no place in the Father’s House, no home in heaven.
But Jesus did not stop there. He offered a cure for this addiction to sin. He had a remedy for the hopeless condition of every man and woman without God.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (ESV)

Jesus came to set us free from the addiction to bad things, things  that make us unfit for heaven.

The Old Testament tells us a lot about different kinds of witchcraft, sexual perversion, worship of false gods and many other sins. 

• But Jesus did not talk much about these things.
  

The people who Jesus criticised the most were the religious leaders.

• These people were obsessed with avoiding sin and criticising sinners. 

  • They also memorised whole books of the Scriptures and tried hard to live correctly. 

  • They did not worship idols or commit many of the sins that God condemned in the Old Testament.

So why was Jesus so opposed to these righteous Pharisees?
The Pharisees tried to obey the Law of God and taught the people not to sin. So what was wrong with that?
The Pharisees attacked sin but they also oppressed and punished sinners. They opposed sin but they offered no remedy or escape for ruined lives. They hated sin but they also despised sinners.
God hates abortion, witchcraft, pornography, sexual perversion and drug smuggling.
But if we go into battle against these things, we must be sure we are not like the Pharisees.

• The Pharisees hated sin but did not love the sinners.

• The Pharisees condemned sin with such self righteousness that they were completely ineffective in bringing sinners back to God.

• The Pharisees were obsessed with sin but could offer no remedy capable of saving people addicted to sin.

We can talk about sin and repentance and the saving power of God but we must also demonstrate the saving love and power of Jesus. If we only preach righteous words without love and power, we become like Pharisees who tell a drowning man to swim for his life but do not go out to him in a boat to pull him to safety.
"... the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10 (NKJV)
2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV)
⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

You may read this and think you must stir yourself up to be like Jesus. But remember, without HIM you can do nothing. Only in HIM you can do all things.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)
28 Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 

ISLAM AND THE BIBLE

Devout Muslims desire to know God but they do not believe God is personally knowable. 
The Allah of the Qur’an is not personal but an unknowable supreme authority, lawmaker and judge.

The Bible tells a different story.

• God is love.

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 (NKJV) 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

• God is love. 

Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 (NIV) 

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) 

We cannot be saved and enter Paradise by our good works or religious life but only by the love and mercy of God, the God who LOVES His enemies.

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10 (NIV)  

The Bible says that everyone who is motivated by hate and anger (or even by mere selfishness) is an enemy of God. 

• There are angry holy warriors of Islam like this. 

Jesus is quite different. When He was dying on the cross, He prayed for God to have mercy on His enemies.

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." ...Luke 23:34 (NIV) 

Even people who are unselfish and serve others from an attitude of self righteousness or religious duty are unable to know God. 

There are good moderate Muslims like this. 

• They live like good religious people who live morally good lives and help others. 

• They fear the fire of hell and they hope when they are weighed in the balance of judgement, their good deeds will outweigh their sins.

But the Bible teaches that we cannot earn salvation. We all deserve God’s punishment but God gives salvation and eternal life as a free gift to everyone who trusts in Jesus.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT) 

Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.

• Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. Ephesians 2:8-9 (TLB) 

The Bible says we can know God personally as our Heavenly Father.

Islam teaches that Allah is the supreme God but he is not a father, has no sons or daughters and cannot be known personally. 

• Muslims hope to enter a Paradise full of luxury, happiness and sexual pleasure but in this Paradise, there is no personal friendship with a supreme personal God.

The Bible tells a completely different story.

And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." 

And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." 

Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 

I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.  

"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:5-7 (NASB)

The Qur’an teaches that Jesus was a prophet of Allah but NOT the Son of God.

The Bible says the only way to know God is by believing in Jesus as the Son of God.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB) 

Jesus answered, 

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV) 

JESUS, MUSLIM PROPHET OR THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD?

God so loved the world...

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 
This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. 
And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 1 John 5:5-6 (ESV)

When the beloved Apostle John wrote these words, there were false teachers who declared that The Son of God did not really die on the cross.

The “Christ Spirit” came on Jesus when He was baptised in water and the same “Christ Spirit” departed back to heaven before the man Jesus was crucified and poured out his blood. So these false teachers said and they deceived many.

About 500 years later an Arabian religious leader named Mohammed came and taught the Arabs also to honour Jesus (Isa in Arabic). But Mohammed’s Isa is not the Jesus of the Bible.

The Muslim Isa was the son of Mariam and he was a great prophet and miracle healer. But Isa in the Koran was a man and not God. He did not die on the cross. Another man took his place before the execution.

• In Islam, Jesus did not die for your sins. Allah has no son. 

• Allah did not sacrifice his son to pay the penalty for your sins. 

  • Muslims are taught they must try to be good obedient Muslims in the hope that their good deeds might outweigh their sins. If not, they will burn in hell. 

• This terrible uncertainty is a thousand times worse than the Roman Catholic fear of a time of temporary punishment in Purgatory. 

• In Islam there is only one way to sure you are going to Paradise. You must shed your own blood for Islam.

Mohammed taught a Muslim martyr can go directly to paradise by shedding his own blood in holy battle against the infidels. 

• In the Palestinian territories in the Holy Land, Palestinian televison shows sexy girls calling teenage boys to become suicide bombers or terrorists. The reward is the assurance of a very carnal salvation, the instant transportation to Paradise where they can immediately lose their virginity with sexy girls and continue in the same manner for ever and ever.

But the Bible tells us that salvation comes not by pouring out your own blood but by believing in the Holy Son of God who poured out His blood on the cross to pay the penalty of your sins.

• If you believe and trust in the Son of God,

• if you are willing to receive the grace of God to transform your character,

• if you are willing to receive the supernatural eternal life that God gives as a free gift, 

  • you can not only be saved but you can be sure you are saved.

Jesus was born by water and blood. 

• As a natural human baby, he left his mother’s body with the flowing of water (amniotic fluid) and blood. As a Jewish baby boy he shed his own blood when he was circumcised and he was of course washed with water.
• As a young man he was baptised in the River Jordan and the Spirit of God came upon Him to empower Him for His supernatural ministry.

• As He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, His sweat came as water and then blood. 

• When He was whipped by Roman soldiers, the blood poured from His back.

• When they pushed a crown of thorns onto His head, the blood flowed again.

• When He gave up His spirit on the cross and died, a Roman solder thrust a spear into His side and out of the wound flowed water and blood, a sign of extreme torture and trauma.

All this is recorded in the Holy Bible, which was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. 

Many Muslims have read the Bible and the Koran side by side and decided the Bible is not mistaken. 

They have been converted to Jesus Christ by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God who inspired the Jewish and Christian Scriptures but who did not inspire the Koran.

Loving people where they are...

How did Jesus reach people?

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” Matthew 11:19 (ESV)

During His earthly life Jesus of Nazareth was known as a friend of sinners. The strictest observers of the Word of God accused Him breaking God’s law by hanging around with bad people. Were they right?

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:9-11 (ESV)

There are many Christian ministers today who will organise missions and outreaches. Some will invite drug addicts and prostitutes to come to Christian meetings. Why? To preach the gospel and save sinners.

But Jesus went a step further, a very big step further. He accepted invitations to eat and drink with the worst sinners in their own homes. If a notorious gangland boss invited Jesus to a party with underworld people, would Jesus go?

In the New Testament, we read that Jesus not only preached to sinners. He went to their homes and their dinner parties.

Does that mean that Jesus was always available for every invitation from any crook in town? No. King Herod was impressed by the stories of the miracles of Jesus and he wanted to see this new “celebrity” but Jesus avoided him. Luke 9:9 (NKJV)

There are some major Christian leaders today who are campaigning against human trafficking for sex slavery. They are actually going to pick up bars and houses of prostitution to make friendly contact with prostitutes and even sometimes with pimps. There are many hard core sinners and oppressed victims who cannot be reached by preaching but only by believers who dare to do what Jesus did, seek out the lost sheep in the dark places and reach them with genuine friendliness.

I have seen Joyce Meyer on Christian TV, talking to a poor Indian prostitute in her work place. English born minister, Kathie Walters goes out into the streets of American cities to talk to prostitutes. In one city she found that many of the young girls were from Pentecostal Christian homes. After sharing the love of Jesus with them, many turned to God, perhaps for the first time, and many returned to their families.

There was a young homosexual prostitute in Chile who was dying of AIDS. Many people would visit his hospital ward to mock and abuse the dying addicts and homosexuals. But one visitor was different. She was an old woman filled with the Spirit of Jesus. She went to this young man with compassion. She prophesied healing and restoration and he believed. He was raised up by the power of God and completely healed. His testimony reached many in the hospital including doctors who turned to Jesus. The doctors offered finance and help to plant a Pentecostal church nearby. Over time, the young man was restored in every way. He got married and began a ministry by sharing his testimony with many homosexuals, prostitutes and addicts.

But isn’t it dangerous to mix with sinners?

Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NKJV)

I believe this is one reason that Jesus sent out His disciples TWO BY TWO.

The Apostle Paul was single himself but he usually went on a mission with at least one partner in ministry. At various times these included Barnabas, Timothy, Silas and Luke. With the help of the grace of God, Paul penetrated dark places and planted churches in many previously unreached cities.

But there was one place where Paul’s great spiritual gifts only succeeded in winning a few converts. That was in Athens. In Athens Paul ministered alone and without a partner.

There is a new move amongst the people of God. Many are no longer looking to the priest, pastor or evangelist, the spiritual giant on the pedestal. Many are no longer waiting for the Man of God to move.

Many of us are rediscovering spiritual partnership, personal spiritual experience, spiritual community and teamwork. This is the way hundreds of millions will see that Jesus is alive in His people and many more millions will find God for themselves.

Please let me know what you think.
God bless you from
Bill Derham

Finding your purpose in life.

God has a good plan for you.. You have a high calling...

• For if by the one man's offence death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Romans 5:17 (NKJV)

The first man was Adam, created by the hand of God. Then God personally breathed His own breath into the first man and he became alive with the breath of God. Adam was created clean and good, in the image and likeness of God Himself.

God is wise and good. Adam was wise and good.

God is love. Adam loved God.

The God who rules eternity made Adam and Eve the rulers of this earth.

Every evening Adam walked and talked with God in the garden of Eden, in the lovely twilight. They were best friends. God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with the goodness of God.

There was to be a balance in Adam’s life. He was to live close to God and follow God’s instructions but these instructions included the responsibility to think for himself and make decisions.

The first job that God gave Adam to do was to name all the animals. Whatever word Adam invented for each animal became the word used by God himself.

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. Genesis 2:19-20 (NASB95)

In obedience to God, Adam made the first free decisions in human history. But God also gave Adam and Eve another choice, to obey or disobey their loving creator. Why? Because God is free to make choices.

Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, so they must also have the freedom to make choices, including the decision to obey or disobey God. We still have that decision to make every hour and minute by minute.

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17 (NASB95)

Then Satan, the former chief angel, appeared as a snake to Eve and deceived her.

Satan deceived Eve in the same way he deceives men and women today. He questioned the interpretation of the words of God.

Genesis 3:1-4 (NASB95)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' "
4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!

So Satan’s demons still whisper in our ears.

• “It is not really that bad. A man needs sex after all.”

• “God says you are called but do you really think you can do it?”

• “The bible says Jesus is your healer but look at all the people who pray and are still sick.”

• “The bible says give and God will supply your need but you really can’t afford to give.”

• “The bible says you are a priest of God through the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God living in every believer but aren’t you just an ordinary sinful Christian?”

• “The Bible says your prayers can save your children but look how bad they are and you know it’s your fault because you were a bad parent.”

You may not be called to be a platform preacher but you are so loved by God and He has amazing plans for you. Trust Him!

You might be like Mary Magdalene who was delivered from demon possession and was appointed the first witness of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Please let me know what you think.
God bless you from
Bill Derham