Acts 15 and verse number 36. We'll read just a few verses and then I'll have you be seated. Notice verse 36. And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them, excuse me, from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder, one from the other, And so, Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas and departed being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. Father, we thank you. for this opportunity to be in church. And Lord, I can say that Sunday night is certainly my favorite service. I've always enjoyed a good Sunday night service. People have served, Sunday school, bus ministries, van ministries, different people in different places serving the ministry. And then Lord, even as faith goes out on Sunday afternoon and there's soul winners that have gone about And then as a family, we come together on a Sunday night, and I just pray that tonight would be extra special. Looking forward to what you'll do. And we certainly pray for our brother tonight, Brother Fernando, I pray that you'd touch his body. Bring healing. to him and bring comfort to him tonight. And we'll give you praise for that. And we know you're the great healer. And tonight, Lord, I just pray that you'd be mighty in our midst, be with grace tonight in the church they have there. And Lord, for tonight at faith, that you'll do something special. Help us, please. Speak to us, tailor fit the message for what it needs to be. We'll give you praise and honor and glory for it. In Jesus' precious name, amen and amen. You may be seated. Thank you so much for standing. I want to, if I can, and I'm just sitting there and I jotted a few extra notes on my phone that I was thinking about with this passage of scripture. It's been on my mind and I didn't know what I was going to preach. I was driving up this afternoon and just asking God but to help me in one word kept coming back to my mind, Silas. I wanna talk to you tonight about being a Silas. I want you to notice that in this passage of scripture, we find that even good men can disagree. It can happen, it will happen. There's a pretty big world out there and plenty of places to go to and they could serve God far and wide. So Paul and Silas are gonna be okay. I want you to notice tonight that it came to an end. Paul and Silas had teamed up for ministry since even when Paul first was saved On the road to Damascus, Barnabas was one of the first men that came to him and loved on him and spoke up for him. And he came along at a time when Saul, at that time, who became Paul the Apostle, needed somebody to vouch for him. He needed somebody to verify that there was true change that had taken place in his life, to take him sort of under under the wing and to train him up and to help steering just a little bit. He needed someone to come along that would be a Barnabas-type minister to him, a compassionate caretaker, someone who will travel the extra mile to make sure that somebody is trained for God. Now, most likely, we've all known such a person. Perhaps you've been helped by such a person as a Barnabas. We thank the Lord for people like Barnabas. They look out for others. They have a desire to train people, to disciple people. We're very grateful for these people. I could mention some people. I have one here in my note. and time for mentioning tonight some of these different names, but there's some people that have really helped me in my ministry and helped me along the way. I remember when I first started preaching, there were certain pastors who helped me in the early days with the first church that I pastored and just came alongside me and were part of the discipleship of helping me to get to where I needed to get. I think about Barnabas, who seemed to be a man who found the underdog. He was famous for that, certainly starting with Saul and taking somebody that maybe nobody else could trust or nobody else wanted anything to do with. And I always think about my mom. When I think about that, my mom's always been for the underdog and having that kind of a mindset. And that's where I see Barnabas. And we see then with John Mark. John Mark, he certainly saw something in John Mark. And as they intersected and as they worked together for a period of time, he saw through John Mark's own character issues, his own failings and his own faults. And maybe as they traveled together, maybe Barnabas heard John Mark say some silly things or some things that would not be right and correct him gently and trying to help him get to where he needed to get and maybe just had kind of a smile as he said some things that Barnabas thought to himself, one day you'll lose that kind of nativity. And one day you're going to grow up and everything is going to be all right. But he saw through all of those immaturities and those things and says, you know, one of these days, he said, everything will be all right. You just need somebody to come alongside of you. And so there's a very strong bond that is going to be there with men like Paul and certainly with men like John Mark who've been brought along. and certainly been helped. Now, seemingly there was some unfortunate separation that took place between these two men and we don't like that. And we noticed tonight that Barnabas certainly believed John Mark needed to be given a second chance so badly that he was willing to jeopardize his own relationship with the Apostle Paul so that he could help this young man get to where he needed to get. And Paul certainly believed so strongly that John Mark could not and should not be trusted to go with them, and he's willing to separate with Barnabas over this matter. And their contention, as the Bible helps us here, it was so sharp, it was so piercing that these two men divided asunder. And the Bible helps us see it came to an end, came to an end. But I also want you to notice tonight, if you would, not only did it come to an end, but it came to a beginning. It came to a beginning. That which came to an end also came to a beginning. One partnership is going to end and this is gonna open the door for another bond, another partnership, another relationship to go forward. It came to an end and it came to a beginning as the ministry must continue. It's gotta go forward. It's bigger than any one person. It's more important than any one of us who think that maybe we're special, that we're God's gift to everybody. And it's more important, it's found, it's flourished, if you will, because of one eternal man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what makes the ministry go. All things consist by him and for him. And there's many different ministers tonight of the gospel. who served the same Lord Jesus Christ. And we're grateful for that. And we've had different ministers maybe that have ministered over. If we took a poll tonight and we just kind of went around the room and we said, who helped you out, sir? And ma'am, tell us who helped you. And why don't you tell us who's helped bring you along? We probably could each name a different people. Several different people have had a part in a place in bringing us along. But we all understand this, all things consist by Him and for Him. And so certainly the emphasis, the different places and all of that, none of us can figure all that out. That all belongs with the Lord Jesus Christ. So it came to an end, but it also comes to a beginning. Now we pause to recognize the selfless investment of Barnabas, which produced or contributed to John Mark. Barnabas felt so strongly about John Mark, that he's willing to separate from the apostle Paul so that he could train John Mark. And though we're not privy to the journey, we don't know all the details about it, we are told in 2 Timothy in chapter number four, something about this that even helps us with regards to Paul's interest in John Mark. 2 Timothy, I'll go back to Acts chapter number 15 in just a moment, but I wanna show you 2 Timothy chapter number four, We don't know all that there is to know about what the training might have been, but we do know that he became profitable to Paul because Barnabas had made this investment in this sacrifice, because he was determined I like that word. He's determined to take him with him. I'm glad that God let us know. This helps us out just a little bit here. Look at verse number 10. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica, Cretans to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. And then notice what he says. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable. to me for the ministry. That's the investment of Barnabas. Now, this investment that we make in people for the sake of the ministry and for the cause of Christ is great, but a lot of times the value of it is unknown. Not a lot we know about what Barnabas said. to John Mark. We don't know what he talked to him about. We don't know what he said personally to him. We could maybe infer some things that certainly that came out in Paul's life that maybe John, excuse me, that Barnabas had an input in that. The true value, the purity of the investment and And only Christ knows the real motives and the given investment for all eternity, the profit, if you will, that's going to be there for the whole of what Christ is doing and others are going to benefit on it, even though we don't know all that there is to know about it. So it came to an end, but it also came to a beginning. It came to an end for Paul and Barnabas, but it comes to a beginning for Paul and Silas. Notice with me, please, once again, Acts chapter number 15, and look at verse number 40 with me. Please don't miss this. Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. I want you to notice Paul chose Silas. Paul chose Silas. And so as I read that statement some time ago, I wondered how he got there. You ever wonder how somebody got where they got? I want you to notice, if you will, that he's right there. Why is he right there? Look back at Acts chapter number 15 and verse number 22 with me. Verse number 22. but then pleased at the apostles and the elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, surname Barsabas, and Silas." Notice this, chief men among the brethren. Chief men among the brethren. They sent chosen and chief men out of their own company. That's who you want to represent you, by the way. You want chief chosen men, especially, now listen to this, during a time of conflict, and there was a conflict. Judas, Barsabbas, and Silas. And we can wonder why they were sent. We can kind of maybe muse on that a little bit to keep an eye on them, you know. We'll make sure that it's done right to kind of keep them straight and make sure that they report back and they tell about what's happened to assist them in what they're doing, to partner with them, to validate what they said. Spies, influence, we can wonder about some of that support and courage. All of the above. What caliber are these men? Notice verse number 25 with me please. Verse 25, it seemed good unto us being assembled with one accord to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. Notice that. Judas and Silas have earned the recognition as men who have surrendered their lives. Men who have dedicated themselves to the gospel ministry. These are the type of men that you want in the church. These are the type of men, if you will, that the Lord desires to be there as good examples of the Lord Jesus Christ and His church. Christ-like followers. Christ-like people, that they have a good testimony among the brethren. And we need a lot of those people in the church. Such men become, if you will, examples without someone having to say they're examples. Everybody just kind of knows that these guys are the right kind of examples. They live their life, they walk the walk, they've surrendered, they've sacrificed, they're serving the Lord, they're emulating Christ, they're copying Him whose faith follow. We see that with these men. And there's no cause like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no greater thing that any man could do, any woman could do, than to follow Christ. There's no greater purpose that we could have. There's nothing more satisfying. There's nothing more fulfilling. There's nothing with a greater return of an investment than to follow Christ. Those who have discovered, have discovered great joy in the treasure of following the Lord Jesus Christ. They've made themselves available to it. They're willing, if you will, to go on and to perfection, they're willing to have the best posture, the right kind of attitude, the right kind of spirit. The church, if you will, needs lots of men and women just like these. Ready, willing, able to serve. Now, they don't have to consider putting their life on hold to walk with God and His purpose and His ministry. It's not an interruption to them, it's not a bother to them. Their life revolves around Christ. These are men that are in the church and they say, hey, we need you to go over here and we need you to testify. And they went. They went. There was nothing more important in their life. Christ was their life. We've sent, therefore, Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth, confirming the word, making stable, absorbing, testifying. These are people that we can count on. What word do we give? What confidence do you and I bring? What help are we? What support are we? What contribution do we make? Are we supportive? Are we trustworthy for the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm not talking about what everybody else thinks about you. I'm talking about what the Lord thinks about you. Is this our testimony? Is this who we are? Is there confidence that can be placed in us in delicate situation? This is a delicate situation. that they could speak on behalf of the Lord, that His plan and others are listening to what's being said. And we need somebody who's solid and we need somebody who has the right kind of reputation who can speak for the Lord. And when you look that man in the eye, you know when he said what he said, you can trust it, you can believe in it. I'll tell you who we need to send. We need to send Barnabas and we need to send Silas. They're the guys that will look somebody in the eye and you can trust what they said. Those are the guys we need representing us in this very delicate situation. God gives people something that He intends for that person to give or to use. If God gives you influence, if God gives somebody influence, He intends for them to use that influence in His service. for him. He gives people and he gives them talents that they will utilize for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is their opportunity. Guess what? They took it. Trustworthy people. Look back at Acts chapter number 10, if you would, as we look at some of these characters, some of these people in the church at this time who have a huge responsibility This ministry, this gospel ministry, as it was the Gentile ministry at this time, is just getting started. And the Lord needed to have certain people speaking on behalf of this Gentile ministry as it goes forward. Look at verse number 13. Acts chapter number 10 and verse number 13, we notice, and there came a voice to him, rise Peter, kill and eat. Verse number 14, but Peter said, not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. Look at verse number 24 in this. And on the morrow after they entered into Caesarea and Cornelius, waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. Notice this, he's gathering a group of people that will listen to Peter and hear what he has to say. Notice verse number 27, and as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together. Here's Peter coming to this place, and Cornelius is taking his reputation and who he is, and he's gathering this crowd together that will listen to Peter as he preaches the gospel. Look at verse 44. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision which believe were astonished. as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnified God. Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water that these should be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, Then prayed they him to tarry certain days." So God gave Peter something so that he could then give this to others and bring this. Why him? Well, he's a key figure in the church. Notice chapter number 11. Verse number one, and the apostles and the brethren were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision, notice this, contended with him. What do you think that means? Well, they didn't like it very much. Conflict, saying thou wentest into men circumcised and did eat with them. Conflict, they didn't like it. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance and I saw a vision, a certain vessel descended as it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners and it came even, notice how he says it, even to me. It was brought to me. I had to deal with this. God brought this to my doorstep and I had to deal with it. I didn't go out looking for it. I didn't go out and try to find this, if you will. God brought it to me. I'm the one that has to deal with this thing. Very interesting how he says it. Uses the one that's the loud mouth, the bold one, the brazen one that everybody thinks. You know what? When Peter said something, they had confidence in him. They believed in Peter. Notice verse number 14 as we continue. Who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved? He's testifying. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning. It wasn't any different. The Holy Ghost fell on them the same way He fell on us at the very beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. For as much then as God gave them the light gift as He did unto us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance until life. His experience was valuable. He could testify. He spoke up. He gave support. He gave influence so that others could be helped. Such a special thing was entrusted to the Apostle Peter. What has or what might be entrusted to you and I whereby God would use us, whereby God would use us to support his plan and his program, even if it's going to ruffle somebody else's feathers and even if somebody else isn't going to like it, can God call on you and say, you're the one I need to be able to use in this situation. I can't use just anybody, but I need to use you. Would he call on you? We still have people that have a hard time witnessing to their own family members because they're worried about what they will think. Amen. They might not get invited to any more birthday parties. Come on now. Better they die and go to hell? Peter said, this came to me. The Lord brought this to me. I didn't go looking for this. Look at Acts chapter number 15, verse number one, please. Testimony. A lot of moving parts in the ministry. Look at verse number one. And certain men which came down for Judea taught the brethren and said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question." Notice it's still there. It hasn't been solved, it hasn't been resolved. There's still some people saying something about it. The reason that they went, the report that they brought, it's right there. Look at verse number 30. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch. And when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. The letter that they were given to deliver came from the church at Jerusalem, which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. Then when it was time, the accompaniment, if you will, those that came with them, spoke. They spoke up. They're going to make contribution. Look at verse number 32, if you would. And Judas and Silas being prophets also themselves exhorted the brethren with many words. And notice, confirm them. Well, it's nice that they had the testimony that they could speak in such a way as to confirm the words. We won't tell you what the church there at Jerusalem says about it, and God used these two men. They did what they came to do. They accompanied Paul and Barnabas, confirming the letter that came from the elders at Jerusalem. They testified, they gave authenticity to what was said, they supported the conversation, they're supporting the process and the resolution that's here. Now watch this, now they're free to go. They did their duty. They're dismissed, you can go back home now, thank you. We appreciate your service and your help in this particular matter. You can go back home now. Verse 33. After they had tarried, there is space. They were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. You can go. Said all that we've said to show that there's this conflict. There's a dispute. And Silas is in a position, he's in that chosen position. Might not have been good for others, maybe not, but it helped to reposition him. It put him into a particular position at this moment in time. You know, troubles have a way of being a key to open a door to an opportunity that God's gonna give you and gift you with. That a conflict brings you to something and you think it's a bad thing, but conflict that's presented also an opportunity as you contribute to a solution with regards to it. That's where Silas is. It's repositioned him in life. It started as a conflict, but guess what? It made room for Silas. Yes, these two men that are against each other that have been friends, and one says go this way and the other says go that way, and they're going to part. They're going to go two different directions. Then we notice, if you will, verse 34, notwithstanding it, please Silas to abide there still. There was something there. that Silas saw. Paul, also in Barnabas, continued in Antioch teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others. Also, Paul and Barnabas are still there. They're still teaching. Everything is still good. And Silas has heard something. He's heard some things there at Antioch, and he says, Judas, you go on back. I think I'm going to stay here a while. I don't know what it is, but there seems to be something here, something that I feel like that the Lord has for me here, and I want to be a part of this. It invited him. Perhaps he didn't want to miss out. He didn't know all that it would be. He didn't know what might happen with regards to it, what purpose. Yes, he knew the conflict brought him there, but now he feels this compulsion. He feels a desire to just stay right there, so he decides to stay. He's not been promised anything. Nobody's offering him a salary. Nobody's giving him a position on staff. Nobody said, hey, listen, stay here. And when we send out Paul, we're going to send you with him. Nobody said anything like that to him. He's just decided to stay. He's trading one place for another place. Yes, that used to be home, but now he's willing to make this home for a little while and I'm gonna stay here at this station and I'm willing and I'm available whatever's next God just let me know, you know, God needs people just like that and what he's doing people who are willing to be Displaced they're willing to go from one place to another place because they see a need that's there and that's exactly where he's at And as things start to move forward, because he stayed, he's right there in a position for Paul to choose him. Because he stayed there, and Barnabas and Paul parted ways, I'm taking John Mark, and Silas is standing right there. He's gonna assist the great apostle in the Gentile ministry. He's right there, he's chosen, he's available. He's in a right position where he can get chosen. Hey, where's Silas at? Didn't he come back with you? No, he decided to stay at Antioch. Last I heard, he was going to assist Paul in his ministry. Paul chose him to accompany him on his journey. Perhaps he saw something, he heard something. He had the liberty of the Spirit of God to serve. Whatever it was, he's right there. Once again, it was a conflict that made room for him. It was a disagreement. It was a separation that gave him an opportunity. It gave him a space to take up whatever slack was there. Because of the conflict, there's room that's made for Silas. There's a lot in all this. Look at verse number 40 with me. Paul chose Silas, departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. After they left, after John Mark and Barnabas left, Paul is looking around for someone to go with him. There's Silas. He doesn't have to go alone. You know, the road can be lonely for a guy like Paul as he's traveling by himself. He doesn't have to go alone. God's made it so that he's got somebody to be with him. He looks around and there's Silas and maybe smiling as big as life and maybe perhaps he's resolute and he's committed and he's surrendered. He's in the right place at the right time. He's available. He's willing to serve. You want to go with me? Sure. You know where we're going? Not exactly. You know what we're going to be doing? I guess we're going to be serving the Lord. I guess we're going to be giving out the gospel. I guess we're going to be witnessing the Lord Jesus Christ. I guess we're going to be living by faith. You want to go with me? Yeah. I didn't unpack my bags here in Antioch. I'm ready to go. My bags are not unpacked. I'm ready to go. You know what Silas had already proven? He could leave to go where he's needed. He could leave Jerusalem. He didn't have to stay there with all the big time apostles that were there. Come on now, he didn't have to stay with all the big time preachers with Peter and James and all those guys. He didn't have to stay there. He could get out and go somewhere else and go serve God. Gil Anger who was an extraordinary missionary tells a story about a young man who wanted to go and visit the mission field and Brother Anger took him on a mission journey one time to the bush of Africa way out in the middle of nowhere and this young man arrived with all of his electronics and all the stuff that they had, they wind up at this little teeny tiny hut, no electricity for miles, right? Definitely no Wi-Fi, come on now. And this guy, this young man, he's there and he shows up at the lodge, he's looking for a plug to plug in his electronics so that he can do it. He's asking Brother Anger, he said, where's the outlets at? You know, when you find out what there's not, do you still wanna go? You still wanna go? You still wanna be there? Uncertainty, yes. Hardship, yes. Difficulty, yes. Unknown troubles, yes. It's not the path of least resistance. Perhaps the path was what the other guy took when he went back to Jerusalem and maybe he got back around. Well, I just want to be in the shadows of James and Peter and maybe they'll give me an opportunity to preach one day, not Silas. He said, I'm going to stay right here. I don't know where this is going. I don't know what's going to come of it. I don't know what's going to happen with it. This I know. Silas was mentioned again. You don't hear much about Judas from... You still want to go? He went, he went with Paul. He's in the shadows of Paul. Look at chapter number 16 with me, please. Then he came to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed. But his father was a Greek, which was well reported by the brethren that was at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Greek." Notice that. They're going to leave? They're gonna leave and they're making room for Silas. John Mark's leaving, if you will, but notice, guess what? Now they gotta make room for Timothy. Notice, if you will, as they continue with the conversation, verse number four, as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep and were obtained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in number. Now, when they had gone throughout Phyrgia, And the region of Galatia, and we're forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. Notice, I just can continue on. After they were come to Mycenae, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passed by Mycenae, came down to Troas. I want you to notice, if you will, that as they're moving forward, you find the they. His name's not mentioned. It perhaps is just a small thing, but he became they, making room for more. You know, that's what happens when you work with other people, you make room for more. Verse number 10, and after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, surely gathering that the Lord had called for us to preach the gospel unto them. Now we get the us and the we. So Silas is on this Macedonian trip, not Barnabas or John Mark. Look at verse number 19, stay with me. And when her masters saw that the hope of the Gaines was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers and brought them to the magistrate saying, these men being Jews do exceedingly trouble our city. Notice Silas runs into some trouble hanging out with Paul. These men. He's brought into the light at this particular point in time with persecution. In verse number 22, they're beaten. In verse number 23, they're striped and cast into jail. Verse number 24, they thrust them into the inner prison. You notice, if you will, that they put stocks on their feet. Verse number 25, they're praising and praying. Verse number 26 through 30, we find that Paul and Silas are there together serving the Lord in that Philippian jail. Still with me? Look at verse number four of chapter number 17. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas and of devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of chief women, not a few. I don't know exactly what happened with regards to Timothy. His name's not mentioned now and Silas' name's mentioned. even though he pops back up and we see him once again as they show up. I don't even know, did he go to jail with them? I don't know. There's a separation, something happens and they're not in the same place and then they're in the same place. There's some of these things we don't know. Where did Timothy go and when did he come back into the picture? Was he there all alone? Was he there just and he was unmentioned? Going into the jail? Look at chapter number 16 and verse number three, would have him to go. We know Luke was there, he's part of the us. What do we see? We see a strange group of guys kind of all traveling together and notice, if you will, the trouble that they get into. Then we find that Timothy's gonna resurface again, he's gonna be brought back into the conversation that God's gonna bring him back onto the stage as sometimes you're mentioned and sometimes you're not mentioned. Sometimes that your name's called out and sometimes your name's not called out. We get that. You climb a tree and Jesus comes along, comes your way, and he passes by, and he might just look up, and he might speak to you at that point in time, and he invites himself to your house, and you might become part of the stage in what God's doing. And then other times, nobody even mentions you. You okay with that? Hey, Esther, you wanna be a part of this? If not, God will find somebody else who can take your place. A lot of things we could talk about tonight. Take your time, we won't. But I want you to see with regards to Silas, that he filled the void. It's a breach made in a relationship. And when that breach took place, Silas got a spot. Right there. He served with Timothy. Timothy came into his own, his own strength and his own position. Paul would recruit and train others as they traveled along the way. For a period of time, Silas traveled with him. I like to think about just for a few moments that Silas may be riding home, what would he say? We didn't take time for all of these verses. I didn't want to take time for that tonight, but I just began to think about Silas as maybe he wrote home and he talked about the uncertainty of his travel. He talked about how the Holy Spirit, how he saw the Holy Spirit work. These unfamiliar roads in these many different places and that people are everywhere that need Jesus. They're all over the place. Not expected dangers that are there. The devil worked to rile up and to go against Paul and maybe it made him mad. Then there's a lady that was helped, but there was a cost and a price to be paid as they were thrown into jail. So we were thrown into jail, we were thrown into prison. Maybe his family at that point in time, they got a little bit worried, but it was no big deal. We started singing at midnight and everything was okay. I look forward to what comes next, and the joy in serving Jesus, and I like it. Signed Silas. How did he end up on the journey with Paul? He was willing to serve, outside of his comfort zone. He was willing to do what God needed him to do. He helped solve a problem. Thus he had clout and credibility. The Lord chose him, proved him, all because room was made for him. Don't leave me, I'm going somewhere. I want you to hear this in. Because you were willing to come, be a part of it. God says, I'm gonna use that one. Because you were available, God made you a Sunday school teacher. Because you decided to spend extra time with God, God says, I can use that person. Paul chose Silas because he was there. I don't know about what fruit that there might be in his heavenly account. Greg, I don't know, I'm not sure. But I know how valuable it is to have somebody who's there. Who's always right there. Recently the Lord helped me with this thought of Silas. We have a man in our church right there. Please don't miss this, carefully, right there. I've just been there a little less than a year. You know all the politics of a new church when you come in and knows who and who likes who and who doesn't like who and who can teach Sunday school and who can't teach Sunday school, I don't know any. Getting to know people. who likes who and who doesn't talk to who and who sits here and if that person gets their seat, then they're upside, I don't know none of those. Come on now, y'all with me? They think I know all that stuff, right? Day one, well, you saw they got my seat. I didn't know, just got here, remember? Just voted me in a couple of weeks ago, come on now. You know what I'm talking about, right? And I'm thinking to myself, God, I need some new people. Now when I say new people, I'm not just talking about people from outside. I need people who see, if you will, that there's a new pastor who wants to get on board with it. That's what I was thinking. I need some people. Lord, I can't do this by myself. There's a man, and his name's Emerson, and the Lord's used him to help me. Now listen to me. He's right there. It's always right there. I could make you a long list tonight of all the things that Brother Emerson, that all I have to say is, you know, I think those filters in the air conditioner are not doing good. And I'll come back a couple of days, hey pastor, I changed those filters out in the air conditioner. He's always right there. Today I walked in and did the Korean service before I left to come down here, and I walked in the auditorium. We didn't have a piano player. So he actually says, are we going to have somebody play the piano for the Korean service today? And I said, no, we don't have anybody. I walk into the auditorium, and there's music playing. And I'm going, is somebody on the piano? I'm looking across the auditorium to see if somebody's on the piano. No, he's gone online to find a place where there's hymnal and music that goes with songs that we've already got picked out. And he said, I just thought we'd just go ahead and match these up and that would work, pastor, for our songs. I'm just looking, I'm shaking my head. Brother Chad, I'm shaking my head. I'm going, where'd this guy come from? And it's always like that. He's always right there, sister. He's always right there. Now listen, here's the thing about it is, I'm not talking about somebody who's been saved for 20 years. I'm talking about a guy who just got saved this year. I'm talking about just months ago. He came to know Christ as a savior. I baptized him this morning in our church. He hadn't been baptized, been saved for a few months and he hasn't been baptized yet. He got baptized this morning. but he's always right there. He's always, he's always, he's right there. You need anything, pastor, just let me know. He shows up in my house the other night with a generator, our power went out. At our house, it was out for several hours, it was hot, all that kind of stuff. Wife gets fussy, starts whining and complaining. I ain't recording this. air conditions out, shows up with a generator at my house, gas already loaded up. I walk outside and the generator's already running. He said, Pastor, we got a place we can plug this in, we can take it inside. I've got this light. He said, I know you guys are in the dark. He said, I got this tall light, it's one of them big construction kind of lights or whatever that just booming. It lit up the whole kitchen. I mean, when you light it up and then it lit up the living room, I mean, it's one of those big lights, come on now. He brought it in, he said, pastor, I got this fan. And then we ran over to the church and he says, I got this brand new air conditioning that we got. He says, I'll bring that over. And he says, it's a portable, we won't have it fixed. I'm telling you within 15 minutes, we had power, we had air conditioning, we had the whole nine yards. He's right there. Hadn't been saved but just a few months, he's right there. Now listen to me, please listen. I didn't train him. I can't, Brother Aru, I can't take credit for him. I didn't train him. God gave him to me as a gift. Oh, yeah, I preach and I teach and, you know, he learned some things or whatever, but my son, when my son went away to college, took over the whole sound ministry and took over all the video ministry. Here. Here. Pastor, what do you need? Pastor, can I help? Can I do something? What do you need? His wife, now listen, before he got saved, his wife tells me he didn't like pastors and he didn't want nothing to do with church. I literally went down and spent at a job site where his wife is, he was down there. I went down, I talked to him, I spent an hour and 30 minutes with this man. He told his wife, his wife had already come to me and told me, she said, I don't think my husband's ever gonna come to church. I said, well, you come to church and let the Lord work on his heart and let God take care of the rest and I'll try to help you out. So I went down and I spent an hour and a half with him. He came to church that next Sunday. The next week I was in his house, I was dropping off a homemade apple pie. We give a homemade apple pie to somebody at our church. Gave him a homemade apple pie and I'm about ready to walk out the door and he asked me a question. He said, why do you guys call each other brother? Because we're a family. Born again, you get in the family. Come on now. Did anything keep you from getting saved? Go through John three with him. Then his son got saved. Another son got saved. Then his daughter got saved. Baptized three this morning. As a gift. I was just rejoicing on. But I'm so. Can't take credit, but he is. Say to you, like that. That's where you say amen, that's the part. Amen, that's where they go though. I'll tell y'all where they go at. We need more like that in our churches. People who help solve problems. Think ahead. Paul didn't have to go alone. He didn't have to go by himself. After they parted ways, Silas was right there, ready to go. Paul didn't train him. He was available to go with no questions asked. Born out of conflict. Good friends, parting company, went two different ways. Silas was, I don't know about you, but there's a God in heaven, needs more people, are right there.