Sermon Tone Analysis

Many things in life things just don’t make sense to us.

It might not make sense when a bride is killed in a vehicular accident just hours before her wedding.

It might not make sense when you get news that you need a major surgery.

The loss of a job, or the disintegration of a close relationship might not make sense.

We certainly try to make sense of difficult situations.

People tend to make sense of things by asking, “How can God use something as awful as this?” (Pause)

This may have been a question many fellow countrymen voiced on December 7, 1941.

That was the day when Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo led a thirty-three ship strike force which steamed under cover of darkness to within two hundred miles of Oahu.

His carriers launched 360 airplanes against the American Pacific Fleet.

The first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor about 7:55 a.m.

Eighteen U.S. ships were sunk or severely damaged, some 170 planes destroyed, and American forces suffered about 3,700 casualties.

President Roosevelt described it as “a day which will live in infamy,” and the motto “Remember Pearl Harbor!” became a rallying cry for the rest of World War II.

In Great Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill received the news of Pearl Harbor differently.

Though deeply sympathetic with American losses, he understood that this fatal mistake by the Japanese in underestimating American resolve would now force full-scale U.S. involvement in the war.

Upon grasping this enormous consequence, Churchill reportedly said, “Now we will win.”

The United States had been forced to enter World War II.

Our nation’s grief didn’t initially make sense, but that brought a few years later, our tragedy was cause for hope and rejoicing to the world.

When things don’t make sense, people shake fists at God, or they doubt, or wonder aloud, “How can God use something as awful as this?”

What they are really asking is this,

“How can God redeem this impossible situation?”

Redeem” is a key word here because God loves taking something that is broken and transforming it into something new.

GOD IS THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS!

What is more impossible than creating a world out of nothing?

What is more impossible than the virgin birth?

What is more impossible than conquering death?

What is more impossible than eternal life?

What is more impossible than forgiveness?

What is more impossible than sin’s deep burden being lifted?

God is the God of impossible situations!

That is who He is.

Redeeming the impossible is what He does.

This is why He is God and we are not.

(Pause)

If we experienced the events recorded throughout Acts so far, those situations may not have made sense to us.

Christians tears brought hope and rejoicing to the world.

Today we will consider the events recorded in Acts 15:36-16:15 and the troubles which brought about these event.

I wonder if you and I experienced those same things, would those things have made sense to us? Would our heads have been spinning.

Would we have asked, “how in the world can God redeem these impossible situations?”

This morning, we will see that our missionaries had three appropriate responses to troubles.

First, we need to consider the troubles they encountered, then we will discover how God used those troubles to accomplish mighty things for His kingdom.

Paul and Barnabas encountered relationship troubles.

What should we do......

When Relationships Don’t Make Sense (15:36-16:5)

Please follow along in Acts 15:36–16:5 (ESV)

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.

Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.

A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Here we find...

The Problem: Troubles ended a successful relationship.

(15:36-41)

Paul and Barnabas had been a VERY successful missionary team!

I wonder if Paul and Barnabas might have been Star Trek fans because...

These were the voyages of missionary team to seek out new life and new civilizations untouched by the Gospel.

They had boldly gone where no Christian had gone before!

Many hundreds or thousands of people placed their trust in the God of impossible situations because Paul and Barnabas were faithful to Christ’s mission.

For several years, Paul and Barnabas had been closely connected… they ate together, they stayed in the same house when they travelled, they preached together and probably even finished each other’s sentences.

They would have constantly prayed and encouraged each other with Scripture.

They would have talked about personal joys, sadness, and trials.

When enemies closed in around them, their backs were to each other, so to speak.

They had each other’s sixes.

Barnabas would have nursed Paul back to health after he was stoned to the point of death by their enemies.

Have you ever had a relationship that beautiful that became broken somehow?

Maybe for you it was death, or distance, or sin’s entanglement, or maybe it was a disagreement.

For Paul and Barnabas, it was a disagreement which separated these closest of friends.

In fact, their paths were so separate, that Barnabas is not mentioned in the rest of Acts.

(PAUSE)

When relationship troubles grieve us, we are tempted to lash out in anger or are tempted to ask “why?”

We don’t see these responses from these Spirit-led people.

We don’t find blameshifting, name-calling, or angry words.

Instead, they settled on a compromise and chose to honor God.

Think of how you responded when you had relationship troubles.

(Pause) When life doesn’t go the way we want it to, we are tempted to think, “This relationship ended.

I didn’t want it to end, therefore this must be a bad thing because it didn’t go how “I” wanted it to go.” Paul and Barnabas’ had a different perspective.

They believed in the God of impossible situations and responded in a manner that brought God glory.

God turned their “problem” into a blessing.

Troubles caused new relationships to form!

The Blessing: Troubles caused new relationships.

(16:1-5)

By God's providence, two missionary teams came into existence!

Paul/Silas made up one team.

Silas was mentioned back in Acts 15:32.

He was one of the men who traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch to encourage the believers after the debate about faith/works, so, verse 40...

40 Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

(Acts 15:40 )

Paul did not function as a lead missionary or lead pastor.

Barnabas had not been under Paul’s authority and Silas was not under Paul’s authority this journey.

They were equals, they were co-laborers together in Christ.

In a moment, we will discover that Paul’s ministry team continued growing.

Besides having an equal co-laborer, Paul also looked for ministry partners he could actively disciple!

It seems that John Mark during the first journey needed to be discipled.

Maybe that was why John Mark was not commissioned by the Antioch church… he might have been too immature for the task at hand.

Troubles caused the Barnabas/John Mark missionary team to form.

Missions had doubled!

Even though relationship troubles separated the best of friends, Barnabas chose his cousin, John Mark, and plodded on.