Separated
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Title: Separated
What this is all about: How we see things
What I want you to know: Disagreements are inevitable
What I want you to do: Handle disagreements in an appropriate manner
How I want you to do it: With love, with grace, with peace.
Series: Acts of Harvest
Text:
Date: March 18, 2018
Pastor Mike Ellis
Introduction:
Read
After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
1. Same Passion
· Paul and Barnabas
· The best of friends who had been through a lot together
o They traveled together for about a year throughout Paul’s first missionary journey.
o They saw the great works of God, people being saved, people being healed.
o They planted many churches together
o They had been persecuted and beaten together
· Both in agreement of wanting to go back and check up on the churches they had planted.
o This should be a wanting for all who discipling others.
o When you invest yourself into others, you want to know how they are doing.
· Both in agreement about the mission and the purpose.
o This is what happens when people are of one mind.
o We focus ourselves on what is important.
2. The Disagreement
· Not in agreement about who should come along.
· John Mark
o Cousin to Barnabas
o Likely the same young man who was written about in
Then they all deserted him and ran away. Now a certain young man, wearing nothing but a linen cloth, was following him. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.
o The same young man who grew up to be an outstanding early church leader
o The same young man who would pen the gospel of Mark
- We find Mark struggling early on in the ministry.
o Had left Paul and Barnabas in the middle of the work.
Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.
o The Greek says that he had deserted them.
o Barnabas wanted to give John Mark a second chance
o Paul did not want any part of him involved in the work that him and Barnabas were doing.
· Unresolved issues
o It is likely that this disagreement had some old feelings tagged to it.
o We can read in that during the middle of another tense filled moment between Paul and Peter that Barnabas had wrongly sided with Peter.
We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,”
- We would be wise to recognize when we are allowing old—unresolved feelings to creep up and cloud the issues that are at hand.
- It is never a good idea to be in a new argument when an old one is unresolved.
- The outcome could be disastrous and the relationship may be ruined.
· The debate begins
o What should come first the work of God or the people of God?
- A question that all of us would have an immediate and honest answer to.
- God has wired each of us with different capabilities, gifts, strengths, weaknesses and lives.
o Paul’s focus was the work of God
o Paul would look at the people as ask, “what can they do for God’s work?”
§ As far as Paul was concerned, John Mark had deserted him and those with him, as well as the work in which they were all called to do
o Barnabas’ focus was the People of God
o Barnabas would look at the people and ask, “what can God’s work do for them?”
§ Barnabas, wanted to give John Mark a second chance, regardless of what was done in the past.
· Barnabas sees something
· Paul sees something
- Having different perspectives is normal.
- No two people are going to see things the exact same way.
· So, who’s right, and who’s wrong?
o Luke does not take sides in his account of Acts.
o We have no idea if he received his information from Paul whom he worked directly with, or if he met up with Barnabas at a later time and got his account.
o What we do know is that he does not take sides.
o Nor should we.
· The fact is, in this instance neither are wrong.
· God has made some to see the people and some to see the work, and the idea is that we need to do what we can to co-exist with each either for the greater good of the ministry.
· We need both.
· Which means we need each other.
- So, how do we do this?
- We need to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good.
- There will be times where the work is what needs to be focused on.
o So those who are people focused need to yield.
- There will be times when the people will need the focus.
o So those who are work focused need to yield.
- The attitude of its my way or the highway does not work with God nor does it work with His people.
- Love, grace, and peace need to be rooted in what we do.
- When we love, we put aside our own desires and seek Gods.
o It is then that we are start to build one another up.
o We recognize God inside of the other person.
o We see how God is using them.
- Disagreements have a way of putting people on edge.
o We start to pull away from love and instead of seeing the other person as God does which is forgiven and washed clean from their sins; we see the flesh.
o We need grace.
- That same grace that God extends and continues to do so to us, needs to be extended to the other.
o We dare not undermine God and His work in other people by thinking that we are somehow worthier of His love and grace then they are.
o We should always give each other the benefit of the doubt first.
o Showing each other grace, forgiveness, and love in such a way that it can only be recognized as God’s work in you.
- Then and only then we will be able to seek peace.
o This is not peace at any cost.
o We dare not sacrifice the gospel for peace.
o But a peace that comes with an understanding that we are all God’s children and that He uses each of us in different ways as He chooses.
- This is the Gospel.
o In our sins we are separated from God.
o We are in disagreement with Him.
o And in His unimageable wisdom He saw in it necessary to seek peace.
o A peace that could only come through the blood of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
o And because of His unimageable love for us He made the sacrifice.
o He extended His grace to all of us, by emptying Himself of what was rightfully His, becoming a man, and dying one of the worst deaths imaginable.
o As His blood ran down that cross, He thought of you, as His lungs filled with His own blood, He thought of you.
o He did all of this so that you can live at peace with God.
o He did what we were never capable of doing on our own.
o Through Love, He gave us grace, so that we could have peace with our Father in heaven.
- We should never show anything less to anyone else.
- Unfortunately, for Paul and Barnabas their disagreement lead to them separating.
3. Bitter ending
· Choices always lead to consequences
· Sometimes they are bad
o There are moments in life when we make decisions that we will regret.
o Sometimes they may even haunt us for the rest of our days.
o Sometimes they may be quickly forgotten.
o Either way, we are forced to live with the consequences of our choices.
o For Paul and Barnabas this may have been the end of the road, and in their own anger they walked away not knowing what the future would hold.
· Sometimes they are good
o The choice that Jesus made led to salvation to any that would choose Him.
- We should always remember that God is in control, and no matter what we do or what we decisions we make, we can never alter God’s plan.
- He still works, even thru the hard times.
4. Sweet ending
· Two mission teams
o Now there were two teams of missionaries.
· God still works.
o The story of Barnabas ends here.
o Scripture does not tell us what became of him beyond this point.
o But we do know that Paul gives Barnabas some praise after this event.
§
Or do only Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from working?
o We also know that Paul eventually makes things right with Mark as well.
§ We read in that Mark was around often when Paul was imprisoned.
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),
§ Mark in fact became important to Paul, in that at the end of his life, while writing his final letter to Timothy just a short time before he would be executed, he asked for Timothy to bring Mark with him, because “he is useful to me in the ministry.
Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
Conclusion: