Sermon Tone Analysis

*Peace in the Valley of Failure*

*Acts 15:36-41      September 19, 2004*

* *

*Scripture Reading:*

 

*Introduction:*

 

ILLUS.: “Lady’s wild ride sets nursing home abuzz”, Chgo.

Trib., Fri., 9~/17~/04:

 

God is never surprised by our sins or failures.

He always has a contingency plan.

He is the God of Second Chances.

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."”

(Ge 2:15-17 NivUS)

 

 “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

And he said, "Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

The man said, "The woman you put here with me— she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"

The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

(Ge 3:6-15 NivUS)

 

 

Abraham

Judah (Er, Onan, Shelah) Tamar – Perez

Joseph

Saul

David

Jerusalem – Ezra, Nehemiah

Peter

 

Simon Peter, the Rock, very often looked more like a sandpile than a rock.

John Powell

 

Among the apostles, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter.

Judas was a success in the ways that most impress us: he was successful both financially and politically.

He cleverly arranged to control the money of the apostolic band; he skillfully manipulated the political forces of the day to accomplish his goal.

And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread: he was impotent in a crisis and socially inept.

At the arrest of Jesus he collapsed, a hapless, blustering coward; in the most critical situations of his life with Jesus, the confession on the road to Caesarea Philippi and the vision on the Mount of Transfiguration, he said the most embarrassingly inappropriate things.

He was not the companion we would want with us in time of danger, and he was not the kind of person we would feel comfortable with at a social occasion.

Time, of course, has reversed our judgments on the two men.

Judas is now a byword for betrayal, and Peter is one of the most honored names in church and world.

Judas is a villain; Peter is a saint.

Yet the world continues to chase after the successes of Judas, financial wealth and political power, and to defend itself against the failures of Peter, impotence and ineptness.

Paul

 

 

The Life of Mark (John Mark, cousin of Barnabus)

 

*            At the time of Jesus*

 

“"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.

But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."

Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.

When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

(Mr 14:48-52 NivUS)

 

*            After Pentecost during the beginning of the church*

 

“Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”

(Ac 12:11-12 NivUS)

 

/   Was Mark one of the first people in history to be raised in a Christian home?

His mother's home in Jerusalem, where Mark was likely born and raised, was a gathering place for early Christians; it was the house to which Peter fled after he miraculously escaped from prison.

A Byzantine tradition says the house was also used for the Last Supper, and the Church of John Mark in Jerusalem is said to mark the site.

/

/   -- "Paul and His Times," Christian History, no.

47. /

 

*            On the first missionary journey*

 

“When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.” (Ac 12:25 NivUS)

 

“The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

John was with them as their helper.”

(Ac 13:4-5 NivUS)

 

“From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.”

(Ac 13:13 NivUS)

 

/Sometime after Pentecost, Mark moved to Antioch, and when the church there commissioned Paul and Barnabas to carry the gospel to Asia Minor, Mark was invited to assist them.

For some reason, at Perga, Mark left the mission and returned to Jerusalem--a move that eroded Paul's confidence in Mark.

/

/   -- "Paul and His Times," Christian History, no.

47. /

 

*            On the second missionary journey (see Gal. 2:11-13)*

 

“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.

They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.

Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

(Ac 15:36-41 NivUS)

 

/   When plans were laid for the next missionary journey, Paul argued vehemently with Barnabas against taking Mark again.

The disagreement was so sharp, the group split up, and Mark went with Barnabas to Cyprus.

/

/   -- "Paul and His Times," Christian History, no.

47. /

 

The Greek word for this conflict is a strong one, but does not give us a hint as to who was right or wrong.

It is the old problem of whether you put the interests of the individual or the work as a whole first.

Human problems happen, but God’s purposes are never thwarted as now two teams set out.

Even so, God’s providence is never an excuse for Christian quarreling.

It is just that God is bigger than our problems.

Some Christian relationship conflicts may never get resolved.

In the end here, however, Barnabus refuses to give up on Mark and his hopes for him prove to be well founded.

*            Renewed acceptance by Paul (12 years later)*

 

“My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.

(You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)”

(Col 4:10 NivUS)

 

“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings.

And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.”

(Phm 1:23-24 NivUS)

 

/   Later, Mark and Paul must have resolved their rift, for Paul calls Mark his "fellow-worker" and tells the Colossians: "If [Mark] comes to you, welcome him."