Is It Worth The Fight? Part 2 (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: There will be conflict, but it must never disrupt the Gospel’s spreading, and restitution should always be sought wherever possible.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:36-41
This morning we’re backtracking just a bit and wrapping up Acts chapter 15. Then next week we’ll get as far as we can through chapter 16 before pausing our Acts study for the continuation of the “summer in Psalms”, which at the rate we’re taking them, should only take us about 8-9 more years☺️!
The passage we’re coming to this morning is the context that led to Paul’s second missionary journey, the one where we saw last week he took Timothy under his wing. However, this journey starts with conflict. As I’ve studied this passage for the last several weeks, I’ve been incredibly convicted by the message it has for us here. Let’s start by reading Acts 15:36-41, then we’ll break it down.
“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37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.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.”
Conflict isn’t pleasant, and I’m not setting out to expound a grand treatise on it this morning, nor am I preaching this message because of any specific observations. This is simply where we are in our text study. However, when in our lives are we not experiencing some conflict? Sadly, it’s a large part of living in this broken world. So, what I want us to see then this morning is this gist: There will be conflict, but it must never disrupt the Gospel’s spreading, and restitution should always be sought wherever possible.
First, let’s look at the plain truth that→
I. There Will Be Conflict (36-39a)
In this passage→
It happened. Notice that the mission that led to this dispute though was good. Paul wanted to go back to the churches they previously visited and check on them. This is great! These individuals needed encouragement and support. However, before they can go, they’re distracted by a dispute over taking or not taking John Mark with them.
Let’s just clarify this from the beginning, this was not an issue of who was right or wrong. It might be easier to try and side with Barnabas here because he comes across as the more compassionate, but both arguments had merits. Really it came down to this should they take him on as a redemption project, or should they not risk their witness by bringing along someone who was not fully prepared for the journey. At the end of the day though, this simply wasn’t something worth fighting for. Two weeks ago, we talked about how we should always be willing to stand up and fight for the truth of Jesus and His salvation. This isn’t one of those issues. Yet, it caused a sharp disagreement between them. So much so, in fact, that they separated ways. Did God still work in their lives? Yes, in fact, He moved even through this, and we’ll talk about that in a second. However, the conflict itself was not God-honoring. So, we see that this conflict happened→
And it will. I’m not saying you should go looking for conflict. Too many people thrive in the midst of conflict. They want to be in the midst of controversy. That’s not healthy, and by no means am I advocating you go out of your way to just be confrontational. However, we do need to be aware of this truth: when sinful people live life together, conflicts will arise...because sin, at its core, is selfish. Consider what James wrote about conflicts in James 4:1-3 “1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” We don’t get what we want, or life isn’t going our way, so we get feisty. I know this is true of all of us, and I’m no exception. Just ask Melissa, I am most likely to get cranky, and honestly, just mean, when what I thought was going to happen a certain way doesn’t. Though I typically “go with the flow”, I also try and balance a lot of things, and when that balance is disrupted, my dependence on Christ is tested.
For you and me both, much of what becomes conflict then could be avoided if we followed what James also prescribes in chapter 1, “19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:19-22) Too often we try and pull the “my anger is righteous or justified card”. Jesus could pull off the righteous anger thing. I’m not so good at it. And face it, neither are you. Listen, face your own sin first, and don’t let anger rule in your heart.
I might be hitting a whole different sermon here, but I didn’t want to miss those points. So, we see that conflict will arise—>
II. But It Must Never Disrupt The Gospel’s Spreading (39-41)
Though we can see that the source of this conflict was wrong, we can’t help but notice→
The Gospel Was Still Spread. In the end, both continued spreading the Gospel, and two young men were strengthened because of this! Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus. John Mark benefited from his guidance and eventually came under the wing of Peter...which resulted in him being used to write the gospel of Mark. Then, we saw last week that Paul quickly picked up a young man on his journey, Timothy, who he would mentor for the rest of his life.
Despite their differences, they managed to keep the main thing the main thing. We can learn from this, as well. →
The Gospel Must Be Our Priority! In your conflicts, keep your priorities in tack. If your perspective is gospel-driven (that is, if your life is), the way you face conflict will be directly and dynamically effected. Think about how differently you’d face confrontations and their resolutions if your driving thought was how can I help the gospel be spread best here? Ask this question instead of how can I win?
As part of that, I wholeheartedly believe we need to remember there will be conflict, but it must never disrupt the Gospel’s spreading, →
III. And Restitution Should Always Be Sought Wherever Possible
While we don’t see it here, we do know→
Paul Reconciled With Both Mark and Barnabas. Not only does church history uphold this, but we see Paul defending Barnabas’ ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:6 ("6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?") and speaking very positively of John Mark on several occasions, not least of which is recorded in his very last letter, not long before his death, when he asks Timothy to “...get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11b). So, there is reconciliation here. But even more so→
The Bible Calls For Reconciliation. As I’ve been praying through this passage, many verses have been hitting me between the eyes. I just want to share of few with you as we conclude this morning, so you see that this isn’t some isolated, fringe teaching.
Matthew 5:9: “9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” You want people to see that you’re connected to Jesus, that you’re truly a child of God? Be a peacemaker. Don’t seek your own gain, instead… well, look at this next two verses→
Matthew 5:23-24: “23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” You want to worship God, but hold something against your brother? It’s not going to work. Your heart isn’t prepared to worship because it’s already full of that seed of bitterness. Take care of that because→
Romans 12:18, 21: “18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ... 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This should be our lives!
Colossians 3:13: “13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” The greatly loved, love greatly. The greatly forgiven, forgive greatly. Can you say that about yourself? Do you hold grudges and recent people even within this congregation? If we do, and I’m including myself in this, we’re not living like Jesus. We’re not living like we’re saved, like the gospel has made any difference in our lives. Because→
The Gospel Itself Is A Message Of Reconciliation! Let me just give you two more passages:
Colossians 1:21-22: “21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” We were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil junk and STILL we were reconciled by His death because He wanted to present us blameless! AMAZING GRACE! And one of my favorite passages→
Romans 5:6-11: “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
How can you effectively proclaim the truth of the gospel, that we were once enemies and haters of God who have been offered unconditional forgiveness, if that truth has not transformed your life, if you’re not living the gospel in the way you interact with others?
There will be conflict, but it must never disrupt the Gospel’s spreading, and restitution should always be sought wherever possible--because that is always in the interest of the gospel’s message!
TAKEAWAYS
So, just in summary today→
1. Don’t be surprised by conflict. It’s going to happen. Don’t go looking for it, but don’t be blindsided by it either.
2. Don’t be distracted by conflict. Don’t let it consume you. Because guys, let’s face it, it does. I know what it’s like at my house. If we’re concerned about some potential or ongoing conflict, it can become all we talk about...if we let it. It can rob our joy and ruin our days and distract our hearts and minds from the Savior who came to reconcile us to himself. Don’t let it stop you from keeping Jesus and His gospel as your priority.
3. Don’t let conflict fester. The verse I just haven’t been able to shake is that passage from Romans 12: “18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ... 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
No comments:
Post a Comment