if you would, to Acts the 15th chapter. Next Sunday, Pastor Wes is going to preach a message on the theme of Thanksgiving. The following Sunday we'll be back into the book of Acts as well and we'll be looking at that situation in Philippi. This Sunday, however, the text is before us and what I'm going to do is kind of read it as we go along. and we'll jump into it at that point. I won't read it all. We're gonna try to get through the 16th chapter, the 10th verse. We're gonna start in chapter 15, verse 36. Let me read that text, at least part of it, and then we will ask God's help. After some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along, who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to work, to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would do a powerful work in our hearts this morning. I pray that through your word, through your spirit leading, through the words that are spoken, that you will minister to us as only you can. We would ask that. We come before you as individuals who are of great need, and this congregation itself is a needy people. We need you to move in all those situations where health has failed, where individuals are suffering, where questions are asked and answers need to be given. And so we would ask for those who are perhaps under the weather, but for more that are just struggling with their own health, that you would move there, Father. Help us to encourage them, help the families involved, and we really are all involved in some way. to move forward in faith, believing and trusting in You. And Father, for those situations that have come, we thank You, and know that You're in charge and You're doing something, and there is opportunity that is before us for each of those, and for each of those individuals. And so I pray that You'd help us in those situations, no matter where we're at, to keep our eye on You, keep looking to Jesus, and share with those who we have opportunity with, the hope that is within us. So we ask, Father, your care there. For those that perhaps are grieving or still grieving over the loss of a loved one, may you minister your comfort to them. Do so today. For those, Father, that may be here today that have yet to understand what is it really to trust Christ and how can I know for sure that I have eternal life? Father, move in a special way there. For those of us that have tasted the forgiveness that is in Christ, who stand before you, not on our own merit, but on the precious blood of Christ, the work that He has done, His person, who He is, and all that He's accomplished. I pray that you'd minister strongly to us as well. Father, there are distractions that are in our minds and outside of this building, or perhaps even in this building. Father, may we just come before you, just kind of sit at the feet of our Lord for a few minutes here now. Guide me along, Father, I need your help. May your Spirit lead and lead the listener. May we each respond to that which is appropriate in your sight. In Jesus' name, amen. Too many have given up, too many have given up, have been discouraged in the journey of faith as followers of Jesus Christ. You know, someone says something or does something that offends them, and they quietly, or perhaps not so quietly, step back from serving, step away from fellowshipping, and no longer assemble within the body of Christ. Sometimes they take others with them. discouraging them from being a part of the local assembly. That can happen. Perhaps they've had an idea. Maybe that's what it is. And they're dispirited or angry and now disappointed because someone didn't pick up on that idea. The joy they once had escapes them. Their eyes long ago stopped looking to the Savior and began focusing on man. Conversely though, There are those who recognize that to follow Christ is to take up a cross. That's what it is. To engage in a spiritual battle for the gospel of Christ and the glory of the Lord. They recognize that on this side of heaven their brothers and sisters need forgiveness. They need to be extended grace. They need them to be patient with them. They need the same extended back. Because neither they nor their brethren are yet perfect on this side of heaven. They've come to understand that conflict will occur. It's part of life. And it's how we deal with conflict that really makes the difference. It's the deal breaker, if you would. I want to submit to you this morning just this thought that we need to be resolute in our commitment to furthering the gospel and strengthening the brethren. We really need to have a resolute thought and movement in our own heart and mind and body and a commitment to furthering the gospel and strengthening the brother. That means that sometimes we aren't going to get our way. It's not going to go exactly as we want it to. It means that sometimes we're going to have to compromise, not on doctrine, no, not on that, not on the essentials, but on the non-essentials. We'll have to take into account how another person feels, how they think, find a way to make it work, keeping in mind that our commitment to furthering the gospel and strengthening our brothers and sisters needs to be in the forefront of our thinking all the time. And this too, that God sometimes closes doors while opening others. We need to work with people with grace and love. Our parts remain resolute as we look to Jesus and share his love with others. And that's really what I see happening in the events that are unfolding before us today. It begins with the proposal. You see it there in verse 36. Now remember Paul and Barnabas, they've gone from Jerusalem back to Antioch some 300 miles. And they've taken with them those decrees that the Jerusalem Council had agreed upon. And so they've been teaching and preaching and having a wonderful time there at Antioch. And this is the church, Antioch, that originally sent them out on that first missionary journey. A tough journey, a hard road, but they saw God move in powerful ways. And so here's the Apostle Paul and he says to Barnabas in that place, let's return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. So that's the proposal right there. It's to return and you just see the heart of the Apostle toward the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel. You know, grass didn't grow under his feet. He has this vision. And he loves those saints, those ones that have come to Christ in those different places where they had been. He wants to go back. And he's close to the Lord. He's loving his Master. And he has a vision to go forward. And you know the Apostle Paul, he was the one that was so gloriously saved. And then he saw that in the work of others. He wants to go revisit. He wants to see how they're doing. That's the love of Christ and the love of the brethren. And so he's talking about the return there. Let's go back, Barnabas, and the wheels start turning about what that might look like. Okay, if we go back, what does that look like? Barnabas is thinking one thing, Paul's thinking another, and that leads to something here. Verse 37, and Barnabas here, and remember he's the son of encouragement. He's the one that first introduced Paul to the church. He's the one after Paul came to Christ that Barnabas was willing to get around him when everyone else would run. And Barnabas is this man and he's never going to let anyone slip through the cracks. And he says this, Paul, what about Mark? It says there, Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, sometimes referred to as John Mark, along with them also. And here's where the rub is, verse 38. And by the way, these two men are leaders in the church. They're elders. They are godly men, good men. Very different personalities, very different. Paul is driven. He is driven, he's single-minded. In his mind, he says, we're going back. This is how it's going to look, because this gives us the greatest opportunity to succeed. Barnabas says, let's take John Mark, and if you remember, John Mark abandoned them. That first missionary journey was too much for him. And he failed the apostles, and there's a sense in that. And Paul says, verse 38, Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along, who deserted them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. We needed this man, and when the heat of the battle came, he left Barnabas, you remember that. And it says here, there occurred a sharp disagreement. So you have these guys that are... Barnabas is saying, hey, you know, let's think this through. This is my own. Okay, this is Brad Cochran, Pastor Brad's interpretation of how that might have looked. The scripture doesn't say that. But I'm giving you it's something like this. Barnabas is saying, look Paul, Yeah, I know, but failure isn't final. And I've been around Mark lately, and I really believe he's gone. And Paul's on the other side saying, Barnabas, this is a critical journey that I believe God is putting before us. And look, I don't think he's there, and I don't think he needs to go. And you know what that was like to be abandoned back there in Pamphylia. one-third of our team left us and we had to go on and that was painful that was hard and so these men have this it says a sharp disagreement here occurred and and it says they separated from one another verse 39 so they both had made their mind up This is how it's going to happen. So they talked about the return. There's that disagreement. It was contentious. It's described as sharp. And they couldn't see eye to eye at all on this. And so, then you have the departure there. It says, Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. I believe that was a place where Mark could thrive, he could grow. It wasn't so frontline as, and maybe, in my view, not so sharp of a spiritual warfare there. It's not, you're going into a new city every day. Paul took Silas, and Silas was one who came down, if you remember, from Jerusalem with the apostles. He was sent to go with them when that letter was delivered. And so he's got some maturity to him. But it's kind of hard to see these men. They separate. They go different ways. And there's a lot of, a lot have thought about, well, who was right, who was wrong? I'll tell you, I don't know. You can make arguments all over the place. This I do know is God used it. There's this departure. And I believe it was somewhat painful for these guys. If I know the heart of Barnabas, I think it was painful. If I know the heart of Paul, I think there was some pain there. Friends, that's sometimes what it is to serve in a local church. There are people that don't always see it as you do. There has to be a give and take. And sometimes it's painful. You know, you can't love someone. You really can't love someone without feeling pain at times. You can't. And we're, folks, this side of heaven, we're not yet made perfect. And there has to be grace that flows from my heart to yours, and yours to other people, and all of us to one another, because listen, nobody does it perfect on this side of heaven. So when it's not an issue of theology or doctrine, there has to be some give and take. And that's what happens here. So they depart, and this is what I see from Barnabas. I see him doing what he does best. You know, to understand Barnabas and to see how he is and how he thinks about others. He's the guy that would come up when things were rough and put his arm around you and say it's going to be okay. God's not done with you yet. I think that's what he told John Mark. So he does what he does best. He wasn't going to allow him to be discouraged or give up on serving the Lord. He wouldn't do that. Failure from Mark didn't need to be final. And by the way, it doesn't need to be final for us. I asked the question this morning, have you ever failed the Lord? You know what the answer would be, right? Has He given up on you? No. No. No. Never, never does He give up on us. So Barnabas, he's that kind of guy. He says, I'm not leaving Mark. He's not being tossed aside, Paul. This is critical, what we're doing, yes. But there's somebody here that I think God's not done with yet. I have to tell you, I've lived enough of life to see and to watch individuals, and at times I think, whoa, boy, that's going to be a hard hole to climb out of. That's going to be a tough road to hoe. And here comes God, and He says, I'm not done with you yet, I'm not done with you yet. And He picks them up, restores them. So here's Mark. And by the way, by the way, God bears out that good things happened here with John Mark's life. We have a gospel written by him. I'll say more to that aspect further. And Paul's doing what he does best. Really, they've separated. Paul's a front-lines guy. He's a front-lines, in-your-face, I'll-take-it-to-the-town. God has equipped me that way. He can handle being in the middle of a spiritual battle. And boy, does this book bear that out. We'll get to that in a couple weeks. A great spiritual battle. We've seen some of them. He'd go city to city, right into the synagogue, and he took Silas with him, proclaiming the gospel, encouraging the brethren. See, he left there, it says, verse 40, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. He is traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the church. So Silas had that maturity and faith to be used of God really as a pioneer missionary under the tutelage or under the care of another pioneer missionary. And what God does here is use this division, don't get your eyes from this, for multiplication. We no longer have one missionary team going out, we have two. There's a side note here too, for all those that, and a reminder for our church, and I've seen it, every time we've sent a mission group out, You know what happens? At some point, we have some conflict. We look for it now. What's going to happen? So we have an issue that we need to work through. Every time we've sent a missions group out, there's something, or on the way. And by the way, when we respond to it, God uses it powerfully. It's part of life. So God took this sharp disagreement and used it for the furtherance of the gospel. Two missionary teams go out. And I need to say something here too. I need to ask the question, so did these men become bitter enemies? Barnabas and Paul? No, they did not. Paul mentions Barnabas four times in the church epistles. 1 Corinthians 9, 6, Galatians 2, 1, 2, 9, and 2, 13. And he never brings the situation up again, doesn't use it against him. This was a man-to-man, they both end up sticking with their convictions, and they didn't drag the church into this dispute. They didn't pull others into it. The gospel ministry goes forward. God uses this as a blessing to the churches and all those involved. Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas. Mark becomes a man who is used in amazing ways before God. He ends up writing the gospel. Mark becomes a close companion to the Apostle Peter. Even Paul, who at this juncture would not take him along, mentions him as well. In the book of Colossians, he says, he refers to Barnabas' cousin, he says, make sure you send him, Mark, back with me. In Philemon, he refers to him, this is Mark I'm talking about, John Mark, as a fellow worker. Isn't that beautiful? And there's grace in the Apostle's life, isn't there? He doesn't say, you know, yeah, there was a point in time when I didn't think Mark, he's not going, he's not ready for it, and he left us there, and I'll tell you, I'm done with him. No, it wasn't that at all. The Apostle Paul was able to see Mark's growth. He was able to see the Lord Jesus work in his life, and he could see that he's coming to maturity. And he's saying, you know what? He's a fellow worker, a fellow worker. And then he says in 2 Timothy 4, 11, and this is the Apostle's last epistle. He says there, he told Luke, pick up Mark and bring him to me for he is useful to me. That's our God. That's the power of the Spirit of God and the Word of God in the life of an individual who has failed. And God picks him up and uses him powerfully. God is able to overcome our failures and our shortcomings. Glory to His name. Because like I said, none of us do it perfect on this side of heaven. We're all a work in the Master's hand. So don't give up on the gospel or on others. Don't give up on serving the Lord. Don't give up on serving the church. This is, I want to remind you, His bride, is it not? The church is. He'll one day present us to Himself spotless, without spot or wrinkle. The Church, the Bride of Christ, those who have come to faith in Him. So don't give up on it. Don't ever do that. I need to move quickly. So here we go. Hang on. The encouragement is before us as well. Notice verse 41. He was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Paul said to Barnabas, we're going to go back, we're going to do this. Paul goes with Silas and that's happening. Look at verse 5 in chapter 16. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, were increasing in number daily. There was this strengthening. It says in chapter 16 verse 1, Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra, and a disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem for them to observe. So there's a strengthening here. It's happening. This is what Paul's vision was. He wanted to go and return. And I believe he was giving him those conclusions of what they decided about the gospel. It's not this, this, and this plus Christ. It's Christ alone. And in reference to that letter, I believe he was submitting the Word of God to them. I believe he was talking about people being saved, about God's work and so forth. So there's that strengthening that had gone on. And that's what we need to do when we fellowship with others. You know, this ought to be a place when we come together and we're around others, when we leave, we've been strengthened within. And it's not just me that needs to do that, folks. It's you as well. Are you speaking well of the Lord? Are you speaking well of His work? Are you telling others this is what God's doing? It's good stuff. I'm glad to be alive at a point in time in this messed up world where God is over it all. And He's able to take us through. And this is what's happening. So there's that strengthening that's going on. And the discovering of Timothy. Wow, what a blessing this man is going to be to the Apostle. It was God who raised up this young man and led the Apostle to this man who is like-minded and could further train him and encourage him in the ministry. You have those books, 1 and 2 Timothy, where you see that. He's still a young man at this point, a young pastor when Paul writes to him in 1 and 2 Timothy. He may be late teens here, early 20s. Paul sees him. And there's something in him. It's evident. He saw that this man could be used powerful in ministry. Wow, what a blessing to the church. What a blessing to the apostle and to Silas as they see this man. You'll see further on that he's with them as they go and minister. Paul did something here, and you might be thinking, what did he do that for? He had him circumcised. Verse 3. You might say, well, I thought the church just said, look, that's not to be a part of it. We're not going back under law, not going back under circumcision. And that's true. But Paul wasn't a Gentile. He had a Gentile father but a Jewish mother. And if he was going to go minister with Paul, and if Paul was going to have a ministry and had a Jew along with him who was not circumcised, to those unbelieving Jews, they wouldn't listen to a thing that the Apostle Paul would say. And so he did have him circumcised. Later on, He refused to circumcise Titus, who was a Gentile. We read of that in Galatians 2, 3. He was full Gentile. Paul said, no way, we're not doing that. But in this case, he did. So you have this encouragement, there's a strengthening, there's this discovering of Timothy, and I believe they're dispensing those decrees as well in verses four and five. They're passing through the cities, delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and the elders. And so they're going, what an opportunity to be encouraged and so forth. We're going to finish here with this revelation, verses 6 and following, 6 through 10. Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And so there's a closed door that they come up to there. After they came to Mysia, they were trying to go then into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. And so they're trying to move forward with the gospel, and God is closing some doors. And you've had that happen. So have I. You might have a vision for something, might think this is exactly what needs to happen here, and God closes the door. So we don't give up. You keep moving forward, keep pressing on. God closes a couple doors here in verses 6 through 8. And in verse 9, look what happens. A vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia standing appealing to him saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. This is referred to as the Macedonian call. God closes a couple doors and he opens this vast door to the gospel. Notice as well what this man is saying in this vision. Come over to Macedonia and help us. They've got religion there. They've got good works there. But they don't have Christ. They don't have the gospel. And I like how this is stated here, come over to Macedonia and help us. In this vision, this man represents the lost. He really does. He represents those without hope. And he says it well. And this is exactly where we need to get if we're going to understand the greatness in that which God has done for us. Every man needs Christ. And when we can see that, hey, we need Him, then we can start moving on with taking Him as our Savior, being forgiven. But it is that all men have sinned, fall short of the glory of God. All men are under the wrath of God. And that's why God sent his son. And he's not willing that any should perish, and many will, but that all should come to repentance. God's reaching out with open arms and saying, here is my son, I've provided him for you. Will you believe? Will you take Him as your own? Will you accept this gift of eternal life? So he saw this vision. In verse 10, when he had seen the vision, immediately we saw it to go into Macedonia. And the Apostle Paul says, I see it. Here it is. God's clear direction. We're going. We're going. We're going. So there were closed doors and open doors. The door God divinely directed was where we'll see in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, so forth. That's the door they walked through. And this is the gospel to Europe. And this is exactly, these men are exactly in the center of His will. Listen, I want to just wrap this up. Maybe today you look at your life and say, wow, last week, last month, last year, 10 years ago, I failed God miserably. And the devil comes along and says, you're done. Call yourself a Christian? Who do you think you are? God wouldn't take you back. He has no need of you. I'm glad Barnabas didn't see it that way. I'm glad God didn't see it that way. There are so many of these in the scripture. The Apostle Peter failed the Lord miserably, went on to be used powerfully. Mark's one of those guys as well. Don't let the devil confuse you. There's forgiveness in Christ. There's restoration in Christ. Get back to him. Don't give up on the gospel and being used in that area. Don't give up on the church and being used in that area. Listen, we need to be resolute. resolute in our commitment to furthering the gospel and strengthening the brethren, strengthening the church. You and I play a role in that. God wants to use you in that. Loving Father, we thank you for your love to us and it is amazing. Thank you that you've loved us enough that what you did is the very definition of love in that you sent your Son. Thank you for what Jesus did willingly As the God-man, fully man, fully God, He took my sin to the cross. He took these folks that are before you, He took their sin and it was laid on Him as well at the cross. He bore all our sin there. And your wrath was poured out on Him. The wages of sin is death. He took, He stood in our place and took what we deserved. And he died, his blood was shed, therefore meeting your holy demand for a righteous and perfect sacrifice. And a proof of that is that he rose again in triumph. Those who believe are saved. They've been released. from the wages of sin. Thank you for that. If there's someone here today that needs to trust in Christ as Savior, I pray that you would move them powerfully and urgently that way now. And Father, for us as believers, we're not in a perfect church. We never will be. Not on this side of heaven, There are not those who live it and do it right all the time. Give us grace with others. The same grace and forgiveness that you continually offer to us, may that be extended to those who you put in our path. And Father, I pray that our commitment will never sway, never sway from being used of you. Maybe it's that it doesn't look exactly like we would like it to look today. And maybe it is that I'm in a place that I'm a little uncomfortable, but you've placed me there with people who need to see, need to know, need to hear of the hope that is within us. Father, empower us to do that. Let us see those open doors that you put in our path. And I pray, Father, that we'll be encouraging, strengthening, gathering, that we'll be a part of what you're doing in the local church, that we might just put our arms around our brothers and sisters and say, this is a great journey. It has its ups and downs, but the Lord is carrying us. Thanks for doing that. Father, bless your people as we go. In Jesus' name, amen.