The Spirit of Encouragement - Part I

1. Introduction

• Encouragement in service is vital for a healthy and fruitful service. We all need
encouragement! The servant can really thrive in their service if properly encour-
aged, or they may not achieve their full Christian potential if they are not properly
encouraged.
• Christian encouragement builds the spirituality of the servant, whereas discourage-
ment and negative talk bring them down and makes them unproductive and stagnant.
• We can be a great spiritual stumbling block to others if we do not encourage them in
their service.
• The person who is full of encouragement is full of the Holy Spirit. The person who
finds it difficult and even impossible to encourage others is greatly lacking in their
spiritual life and is in spiritual decline.
• We must encourage one another in service! This is the only way that service can
spiritually grow so that all can be of one mind, one heart, and one spirit.

2. Barnabas - The Son of Encouragement

• A great example of a servant who encourages others in the Bible is Barnabas.

• Barnabas was a great leader in the early Christian church. His Jewish name was
Joseph but he was such an inspiration that the apostles gave him the nickname,
Barnabas, meaning “Son of Encouragement.”
• He is first mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Acts, for his outstanding example
of generosity when he sold a field that he owned and then took the money to the
apostles to distribute to those in need (Acts 4:32-37).
• In Acts 9:27, Barnabas is seen encouraging Saint Paul. Saint Paul, who was originally
Saul of Tarsus, had made a name for himself persecuting and killing Christians.
After his radical conversion experience, St. Paul went right to work preaching that
Jesus was the Son of God but many Christians were understandably suspicious of his
motives. However, Barnabas befriended him and even took him to the apostles in
Jerusalem for an introduction.
• Next, we read of Barnabas encouraging new believers in Antioch (Acts 11:22-26). He
was described as a good man, confident in the Holy Spirit. Many people came to
belief with his help. During this time, Barnabas went to find St. Paul and brought
him back to Antioch, where they worked together.

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 • Later, Barnabas stood up to St. Paul in defense of a young disciple, John Mark,
who did not meet St. Paul’s expectations on an earlier missionary journey. Here, St.
Paul parted with John Mark, taking Silas on his journeys, and it was Barnabas who
took John Mark under his wing. His objective was encouraging and building a future
leader in the church.
• As we read about Barnabas, we see a man who had a close walk with God.
– He was willing to give his personal wealth to help the less fortunate.
– He was confident enough in the Holy Spirit leading that he trusted and befriended
the repentant persecutor of Christians Saul.
– He went out of his way to help new believers in their walk with Christ.
– He was strong enough to stand up to the dynamic St. Paul, knowing his place
was that of an encourager.
• Barnabas fulfilled God’s purpose for him as an encourager.

3. Characteristics of an Encouraging Person

(a) The Cup is Always Half Full - An encouraging person always has a positive
disposition on service and always sees the cup as half full instead of half empty at all
times, especially in difficult or uncertain times. The encouraging person always has an
optimistic disposition and view on service. The discouraging person is always negative
and sees the service as failing or not meeting their unreasonable and hypocritical
standards. The discouraging person always points to the negatives and the weaknesses
in others.
• St. Paul himself was also a great example of an encouraging person, especially later
in his ministry. He always opened and closed his Epistles on a positive note. He
always mentioned people by name and how useful they were in his ministry, and he
often cited their service. He was especially encouraging of a young Timothy, where
he told him to hold on to his traditions, reminding him of his strong faith.
• St. Paul talks specifically about encouragment in Ephesians 4:29, where he says,
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary
edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
(b) Always Optimistic and Supportive of New Services and Ideas - Another
great sign of an encouraging person is their creativity in starting new and ambitious
services, or expanding existing services for growth and fruitfulness in service. The
encouraging servant always thinks big, and plans services that may seem impossible,
whereas the discouraging person loves the status quo and to go backwards. The
encouraging person is always seeking to attain a higher level in their service, to do
things that they have not done before. They love hearing ambitious and creative
ideas from others.
(c) Always Seeks and is Eager to Give Words of Encouragement to Others -
The encouraging servant finds joy in uplifting and comforting others. He finds joy
and spiritual satisfaction in lifting others to a higher spiritual level by his encouraging

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 words. The encouraging servant loves seeing spiritual success in service, whereas the
discouraging servant is content with and may even desire failure in other’s service.
(d) Spiritual Confidence and Security - The encouraging servant does not fall into
the trap of pride, sinful anger, the satanic attack of creating a lack of self-esteem
and inferiority complex, envy, or jealousy. These are the great sins that lead to
discouragement. It is impossible to be in one of these states and encourage others.
The encouraging person has the confidence of the Holy Spirit, as did Barnabas. The
Apostle John says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we
ask anything according to His will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). The encouraging
person is also emotionally and mentally stable. Those who are emotionally unstable
find themselves in constant depression and unable to encourage anyone. St. Paul
says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and
confidence” (Ephesians 3:12).
(e) Encouragement is a Measure of our Spiritual Level - Summed up, encourage-
ment is a measuring stick of our spiritual level and relationship with God. The more
we encourage, the higher our spiritual level and love for Christ. The love of Jesus
Christ shines through us in how we treat and encourage others.