2022-09-25 Disagreeing Agreeably

DISAGREEING AGREEABLY (Acts 15:36-41) Date: ____________________ Read Acts 15:36-41 - I Cor 10:12: "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." When things are going well, our guard comes down; our confidence goes into overdrive and suddenly, we are vulnerable. If it happened to P&B, and it did, it could certainly happen to us. Barnabas vouched for Paul when he first came to Jerusalem and everyone else shunned him. Barnabas called Paul as asst pastor in Antioch as that church exploded onto the scene. They've stood shoulder to shoulder thru persecution and trouble. And they've just traveled hundreds of miles to a church council to determine the gospel they've been preaching is right. They've been confirmed in their mission. Things have never looked better. And then - Wham! You can see Satan rubbing his hands together, "How can I get to these guys? They love God and each other. So, how can I rip them apart?" And then he thinks, "Voila - John Mark!" So like him, isn't it? Take people who are going good - find some small Achilles heel and strike! Yet, God comes out on top. If we miss that, we miss the point. There is both warning and hope here. People won't always agree on everything. One of my profs used to say, "If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary!" But when we can't agree, it is critical we don't allow our differences to drive a wedge between us. P&B disagreed, but they did so agreeably. Great lesson. I. Determined Initiation 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." Amazing. Paul was nearly killed in Lystra, yet he says, "We need to go back, Barnabas." Why? He was helping lead the most dynamic church in the world. Why leave the comforts of Antioch for the danger in Galatia? First, we know Paul's heart: I Cor 9:16b: "For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" Getting the gospel out drove him. And he especially wanted to get the gospel to places it had never been. One of the churches I attended as a boy had a large sign painted over the platform that said, "Why should anyone hear the gospel twice until everyone has heard it once?" That's what drove Paul. He knew he was especially appointed to reach the Gentiles. Rom 11:13: "Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles." Other apostles knew that, too. He says in Gal 2:9b Peter and John "gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go the Gentiles and they to the circumcised." Paul intended to be faithful to his call. That gospel drove Hudson Taylor to China: "I must go to China. That land is ever in my thoughts -- 360 million souls, without God or hope! Think of more than twelve million of our fellow creatures dying every year without any of the consolations of the Gospel. Barnsley [where he lived] has only 15,000 inhabitants. Imagine if all these were to die in 12 months! Yet in China year by year, hundreds are dying, for every man, woman and child in Barnsley. Poor, neglected China! Scarcely anyone cares about it." If only we could see as God sees! He may or may not call on us to go, but he will certainly call on us to go thru our prayers, finances and help. As John Piper has said, "You are either going, sending, or living in disobedience." Paul also had a 2nd reason for going. He wanted to "see how they are." He was not a "win them and leave them" kind of guy. He followed up. On that 1st journey, as they reached the easternmost point in Derbe, he and Barnabas "returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch (of Pisidia) 22) strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them." They purposely backtracked into dangerous territory to help new converts. Like a newborn baby needs help to grow, so a new convert needs help to grow. Paul intended to be there for them. Ray Miller was once pitching coach for the Pirates. He said his hardest job was to scold young pitchers without losing their respect. He said, "They have an attention span of about 10 minutes, and they naturally tend to overthrow on the mound and overdo it off the field, so it's a race against time in trying to teach them. My job is to put old heads on young bodies." Great description for us - to build mature minds in young believers. The ministry of the Word to encourage and strengthen - that's our obligation to all who come to faith in Jesus. Paul was up for it. That's what he proposed to Barnabas. II. Divisive Interruption Barnabas was in. His heart moved right alone with Paul's. From a strategic standpoint, they saw things exactly the same. But then came the blow neither saw coming. The dispute that was to break up their partnership. The tactical proposal that they could not agree on. And it all started with an innocent suggestion. 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. John Mark was Barney's cousin. He'd been on the 1st journey with the team, but turned back as difficulties increased. We don't know why, but he abandoned ship. Now, several months later, Barney wants to give him a 2nd chance. Soft-hearted Barnabas (the encourager) had seen enough to think John Mark deserved another go. "Wanted to take" is imperfect - continuous past action. Barney was insistent. He believed in Mark and was dug in. Paul was equally insistent that Mark not go along. 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." Paul had a long memory. He knew the difficulties that lay ahead. He was a realist and did not want as his wing man someone who had utterly failed before. So when Barney suggested Mark go along, Paul said, "I don't think so." Neither wanted conflict, but neither would give. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement." No minor squabble, this was a παροξυσμός (paroxysm), an explosion, a rage - sharp disagreement. Each was dug in - sure he was right. Finally, "they separated from each other." So - who was right? Some say Barnabas, noting that his encouraging ways had previously benefited Paul and Paul should have been more open to giving Mark a second chance. Doesn't everyone deserve a 2nd chance? Others favor Paul, noting he had apostolic authority to which Barnabas should have submitted. In v. 40 Paul commended on his future path by the brothers, with no mention of Barnabas. Mark did go on to Cyprus with Barney, but that was a far cry from Galatia and the hardship Paul eventually encountered in Europe. We hear no more about either Barney or Mark - except, we do know Mark later appears to have been Peter's companion in Rome where he wrote the Gospel of Mark. He made his mark as a writer rather than missionary. That was his true vocation and mission. So, perhaps Paul was right. But here's the real point. No matter which man was right - both were wrong. Both! Neither practiced the Xn virtues Paul wrote of later. In I Cor 13:5 Paul defines love: "It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable (παροξύνω - prone to paroxysm) or resentful." Neither showed such love. Then Phil 2:3-4: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Who was right? Actually, neither lived up to their faith in this instance. Paul could have mitigated his concerns by taking Mark plus one other. Barnabas could have agreed that Mark might need more seasoning. Neither was humbly looking out for the interests of others - both were looking out for their own interests. Both were wrong. Neither really put their trust in the Lord. Thankfully, neither seemed to hold a grudge. They separated physically, but not in their respect and appreciation for each other. Barney takes the Cyprus part of Paul's suggestion. And Paul later shows appreciation for his time with Barnabas when he reminds the Corinthians in I Cor 9:6: "Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?" They disagreed on tactics, but fully agreed on strategy and maintained a love for each other despite having allowed things to escalate at one point. We don't always see eye-to=eye, do we? God's best people sometimes fail. But we seek unity, expressing opinions, not with emotional appeals, but rationally, willing, in the end, to look for compromise - "count others more significant than yourselves" and "look . . . also to the interests of others." In any case, we must not allow personalities to enter the fray such that we lose respect and love for each other. That would be tragic. Failed as their actions were, P&B never went there. They disagreed agreeably in the long run. Lingering bitterness only hurts ourselves and the witness of our Lord. Gal 5:15: "But if you bit and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." If you trust in your own opinion, you can't give in. If you trust in an omnipotent God, you can look to the interests of others even if you don't agree, knowing that He does all things well. All of life is that kind of test. It reminds me of the man who walked the steel girders while building skyscrapers in NYC. One night he was gingerly making his exit in the dark when he tripped. He managed to grab the edge of a girder. He clung desperately, calling for help to no avail. He held until he could hold no more. Into the darkness he fell with a loud scream --and landed on a scaffold - ten inches below. It had been there the whole time. And so, for us, there is God all the time. He's the scaffold there to catch us when He asks us to give up our rights to others. P&B missed a golden opportunity to do just that. III. Divine Intervention But here's the best part of this whole affair. God intervenes to bring good out of bad -- His glory out of our failure. Look what happens. Instead of one team going out, there end up being two teams. And the 2nd team, Paul and Silas, go far beyond the boundaries of that first journey. Out of man's chaos, God brings order. This is wonderful to consider given we all fail in many ways. To think that God overrides those failure to produce fruit to His glory is a glorious reassurance. In the end, we really cannot undo His purposes, tho we may diminish our own reward. He will always win. He actually increases the fruitfulness of these men in spite of their momentary lapse. God relishes turning human failure to His glory. Joseph's brothers hated him, and sold him into slavery in Egypt. They thought they'd sentenced him to a slow death and been paid for it. But they came to regret it later when they needed grain from Egypt and found Joseph in command. when their father died, they feared Joseph would exact his own revenge. They sent word saying, in essence, "Joseph, Dad said on his deathbed that you should forgive us" - something he'd already done, but their guilty consciences could not accept it. He wept to think they'd still think ill of him but said, Gen 50:20: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." That is the same sovereignty of God that is at work in even our most flawed moments. God even used Paul's murderous background to His glory. I Tim 1:13: "Though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent opponent . . . 16) But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." Paul's saying, "My past shows if God could save me, He could save anyone." God never loses. Satan must have rubbed his hands together when P&B got into a fight. He'd broken up a great team and thwarted their missionary intention. But days later, he had not 1 but 2 teams to contend with. And God similarly overrules every seeming victory of Satan - the most frustrated being in the universe. And if our repentant hearts are toward Him, we get to see Him use even our failures for His glory in the end. That's an amazing privilege from an amazing God. Conc - A young father overheard a great commotion going on in his backyard one morning. He peeked out to see his daughter and a couple of playmates in a heated quarrel. He asked, "What's going on?" His daughter replied, "It's okay, Daddy. We're just playing church." Unfortunately that is the opinion far too many people have of church. Bc far too often, it's true. In the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), the authors point out that "misunderstandings, conflicts, personality differences and even angry quarrels are not the assassins of love; self-justification is." If there's one major flaw in churches it is that: people defending their rights. Xns are great at making mountains out of molehills; we major in trivialities, most often exhibited in insisting on our rights. It's the American way, and we've made it the way of the church. But it is not the way of the cross. At the cross the only person whose every right was violated - the right to heaven, the right to live, the right to leave then and there, the right to be respected and loved. They were gone in a flash. Why? Because He trusted the Father to vindicate Him at the right time and by His sacrifice to redeem the world. And so He calls us to join Him there - to give up our rights - trusting that the Almighty Father will use our sacrifice in some redemptive way. That's the way of the cross. That's the way to victory, to disagree agreeably by giving way to the greater wisdom of the Father. Let's do it. Let's pray. DONE 7