Kingdom Focused — Week 3

What Kingdom Living Looks Like

Seek First. Live Different.

Introduction — Meet Barnabas

Over the last few weeks, we have been discovering what it means to be Kingdom Focused. We began by learning that the Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God. Last week, Jesus challenged us in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This week, I want us to take the next step and ask a very practical question: What does Kingdom living actually look like? If Jesus is truly our King and we are living under His rule, then eventually His rule should become visible in the way we live.

To help us answer that question, I want us to look at the life of a man named Barnabas. Interestingly, Barnabas wasn’t actually the name his parents gave him. His name was Joseph, or Joses in some translations. We first meet him in Acts 4, where Luke tells us that he was a Levite from the island of Cyprus. The apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which Acts tells us means “Son of Encouragement.” Apparently, encouragement was so much a part of his character that it became the name by which everyone knew him.

Barnabas was not one of the original twelve disciples. We don’t have a Gospel bearing his name, and we don’t have a New Testament letter written by him. He wasn’t usually the person standing at the center of attention. Yet when we follow Barnabas through the book of Acts, something remarkable begins to emerge. Everywhere Barnabas appears, he seems to make the people around him better.

Takeaway One

Kingdom Living Changes What We Do With What We Have

Acts 4:36–37

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement),
37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Bible Notes

The first time Barnabas appears in Scripture, he is giving something away. Acts 4 describes an extraordinary spirit of generosity among the early believers. There were needs within the church, and believers were voluntarily using what God had entrusted to them to meet those needs. Barnabas owned a piece of land, and when he saw the needs around him, he sold that land, brought the proceeds, and placed the money at the apostles’ feet.

The important thing isn’t simply that Barnabas gave money. His actions reveal something deeper about the way he viewed what he possessed. Barnabas understood that what God had placed in his hands could be used for something greater than himself. His property was no longer simply about what it could provide for Barnabas; it could become a resource that God could use to help others and advance His work.

That is an important characteristic of Kingdom living because when Jesus becomes King, our understanding of ownership begins to change. We stop looking only at what we have and asking, “What can this do for me?” Instead, we begin asking, “How can God use what He has given me?” That question applies to far more than our money. God has given us time, abilities, experiences, homes, relationships, opportunities, resources, and influence. Kingdom living means recognizing that all of those things can be placed at the disposal of the King.

Application

One of the practical questions we should regularly ask ourselves is, “What has God placed in my hands that He could use for His Kingdom?” For one person, the answer may involve finances, while for someone else it may be time, an ability, a home, a vehicle, experience, or simply a willingness to be available when somebody needs help.

Kingdom living does not mean that everyone sells everything they possess. It means that we stop treating everything we possess as though its only purpose is to serve us. When Jesus rules our lives, we begin to understand that everything God has placed in our hands has the potential to be used for His purposes.

Takeaway Two

Kingdom Living Changes How We See People

Acts 9:26–27

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26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.
27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

James 2:2–4
2 For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in,
3 if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,”
4 haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

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Bible Notes

This may be one of the most significant things Barnabas ever did. Saul had encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, and his life had been completely changed, but the believers in Jerusalem had a difficult time believing that transformation was real. Their fear was understandable because Saul had previously persecuted Christians, entered homes, arrested believers, and supported the efforts to destroy the church. Now the same man arrived in Jerusalem claiming to be a follower of Jesus.

The disciples looked at Saul and remembered who he had been, but Barnabas was willing to look at Saul and consider what Jesus was doing in his life. Acts 9:27 simply tells us, “But Barnabas took him.” Barnabas stepped into the gap between Saul and the frightened believers. He listened to Saul’s story, believed that Jesus had changed him, brought him to the apostles, and was willing to stand beside him when others were still uncertain.

We know what happened afterward. Saul became known as Paul and became one of the most influential missionaries of the early church. God used him to plant churches, spread the Gospel throughout the Roman world, and write much of what would become our New Testament. Somewhere near the beginning of that incredible story stands Barnabas, a man willing to see more in Saul than his past.

Kingdom living changes how we see people because Jesus does not merely see people for what they have done; He sees what His grace can do in their lives. Barnabas understood something that we sometimes forget: A person’s past does not have to determine what God can do with their future.

Application

There may be someone around us who doesn’t need another person reminding them of who they used to be. They may need someone who believes that Jesus isn’t finished with them yet. Kingdom living means being willing to stand beside someone, encourage their growth, and give them the opportunity to become the person God is calling them to be.

Takeaway Three

Kingdom Living Builds Others Up

Acts 11:22–24

“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. 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. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”

Bible Notes

Something exciting was happening in Antioch. People were coming to faith in Jesus, including Gentiles, and word of what was happening eventually reached the church in Jerusalem. The church needed someone they could trust to go to Antioch, evaluate what was taking place, and help these new believers grow. The person they chose was Barnabas.

When Barnabas arrived, Acts tells us that “he had seen the grace of God.” That is a wonderful description of the way Barnabas viewed what was happening. He didn’t arrive looking for problems to criticize or asking how he could make himself the center of what God was doing. He recognized God’s work, rejoiced in it, and encouraged the believers to continue faithfully with the Lord.

That pattern appears repeatedly in the life of Barnabas. He saw potential in people, encouraged them, gave them opportunities, and helped them move forward. He wasn’t threatened when God used someone else, and he didn’t need to receive the credit for everything that happened. Barnabas seemed to understand that Kingdom living wasn’t about building a name for himself; it was about helping other people become who God was calling them to be.

Luke then explains why Barnabas lived this way when he writes, “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” His encouragement wasn’t simply the product of a naturally positive personality. It flowed from a life surrendered to God and filled with the Holy Spirit. Because God was working in Barnabas, Barnabas could recognize and encourage the work of God in others.

Application

Every one of us has people around us whom we can either build up or tear down. Our words, attitudes, reactions, criticism, encouragement, and even the way we speak about people when they are not present can either help them move forward or make their journey more difficult. Kingdom living causes us to become increasingly aware of the influence we have on the people God has placed around us.

Final Thought

When we put these three moments from Barnabas’s life together, we begin to get a beautiful picture of what Kingdom living looks like. Barnabas allowed God to change what he did with what he had. He allowed God to change the way he saw people, and he allowed God to use his life to build others up.

Barnabas wasn’t trying to build the kingdom of Barnabas. He was living for the Kingdom of God.

And perhaps that gives us the question we need to carry with us:

If Jesus is truly King of my life, where can people see evidence of His rule?

Seek First. Live Different.