Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you have taught us that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth, oh Lord. And so we come to you hungry, asking that you would feed us by your word, enlighten us with the glories of your gospel, transform us by your grace and truth, and instruct us in your holy ways. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. If you'll open your Bibles, to our sermon text, continuing our series, working through the Book of Acts. We'll be looking this morning at chapter 15, verses 36 through the end of the chapter, 36 to 41. So Acts 15, 36 through 41, here now, this is the holy, infallible word of God. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. Now Barnabas wanted to take with him John, called Mark, But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. On Thursday, June 11, 1936, the hopes of many long years were realized. We became members at last. of a true Presbyterian church, we recovered at last the blessing of true Christian fellowship. What a joyous moment it was, how the long years of struggle seemed to sink into nothingness, compared with the peace and joy that filled our hearts. These were the words of J. Gresham Machen. After years of battling liberalism in the mainline Presbyterian church, Faithful ministers had finally established a denomination committed to biblical truth. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church had been founded. Yet within 12 months, that unity was fractured. 14 ministers and three elders departed to form the Bible Presbyterian Church, not over the gospel itself, but over questions of alcohol use and end times views. The very men who had stood shoulder to shoulder against modernism in the church now found themselves divided over secondary matters. This morning's passage concluding Acts 15 tells a strikingly similar story. We just witnessed the triumph of the Jerusalem Council. The gospel preserved, unity achieved, the churches strengthened. Paul and Barnabas, this great missionary team, returned to Antioch victorious. And the church rejoiced with encouragement when they received the good news. Yet here, in the very next scene, these same champions of the truth of the gospel find themselves in such sharp disagreement that they part ways. Not over doctrine, not over the gospel, but over whether or not to give John Mark a second chance. Both stories remind us of a sobering reality. Even when God's people stand united on the essentials of our faith, our human weakness, our differences of judgment, and ultimately our sin still drive us apart. Yet as we'll see this morning, Christ continues to build his church even through sinful servants like us. He is working, not only despite our conflicts, but sometimes even through them, to advance his kingdom in unexpected ways. Let's consider our passage this morning under the following headings. First, we'll see that Christ shepherds through his servants. This contrasts, second, with our human division. Third, nevertheless, Christ continues building his church, and finally, the application for us, how Christ works in our conflicts. So first, Christ shepherds through his servants. As we saw last time, the Jerusalem Council made its momentous decision. They didn't simply deliver a cold letter to Antioch. No, they sent a delegation They sent back Paul and Barnabas, but also Judas and Silas, and they stayed, explaining, teaching, strengthening the church. Even after Judas and Silas returned home, verse 35 tells us Paul and Barnabas remained teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. These men's hearts burned with pastoral concern for Christ's church. Now where does this shepherd's heart come from? It flows directly from Christ himself. As Jesus declares in John chapter 10, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep by name. I lead them to good pasture. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. Most profoundly, the good shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep. But Christ, the good shepherd, he didn't stop shepherding when he ascended to reign on high at the right hand of his father in glory. No, as we've been seeing all through Acts, he is still working. He is still active. This is the book of the Acts of the ascended and reigning Lord Jesus. But how does he do this? He continues his pastoral work through his servants. We see it right here in verse 36. Paul turns to Barnabas with concern for Christ's flock and says, let's return and visit the brothers in every city where we've proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are. Why such urgency? Why does he want to return? Because he knows these young churches are vulnerable. Yes, they had done something of crucial importance. They had appointed elders in every church. But Paul's nose, false teachers, prowl like wolves. The Judaizers had been defeated in Jerusalem, but they're still out there, especially in these far-flung provinces. Paul's letter to the Galatians reveals his deep anxiety for these churches. He wrote in Galatians 4.11, I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain, as they had come under attack. from false teaching. And even in that letter, he said he wished he could have been present with them. A letter can only do so much, can only communicate so much, can only shepherd so much from afar. He knows that sheep need protection, guidance, strengthening. They need a shepherding visit. This same pastoral care continues today. It is the duty of your elders. Just as these churches needed someone to check in to see how they were, we all need someone to come to care for us, to ask the vital questions. This is why we make elder visits, shepherding visits. We come and we ask, how are you doing spiritually? How is your soul? Are you trusting and resting in Christ? Are you following the shepherd's voice? Is he making you to lie down in green pastures? Are you following his lead in paths of righteousness? Are you walking with him perhaps right now through the valley of the shadow of death? And are you finding comfort in him? knowing that He is with you? Or perhaps, are you straying from Him and you need help finding the right path, returning to your Savior? Because the tendency of the straying sheep is to hide. And we all need someone to come in and check with us when we're running away, when we're hiding. Hebrews 3, 13, 17 says, it is the elder's duty to keep watch over your souls as those who must give an account. This is a sobering duty. But we do this not as hired hands, but as under shepherds, serving the chief shepherd who gave his life for you." So first Christ shepherds his sheep through his servants. But how quickly Paul's beautiful plan of pastoral care becomes shipwrecked on the shoals of human division. That's our second point, human division. Here, let's recall Mark's story. He's a young man from Jerusalem, first introduced to us in Acts chapter 12. When Peter is delivered from prison, he goes to Mark's mother Mary's house, where the believers had gathered to pray. And just like Paul, he has both a Hebrew name, John, and a Roman name, Mark. Sometimes we see both together, John and Mark, but more commonly just Mark. When Paul and Barnabas headed back to Antioch after delivering famine relief to Jerusalem, Mark joined them. And when they launched their first missionary journey, he went along as their assistant. And then we see that That turning point in Pamphylia, Mark left them. We're never told the reason why. There's all kinds of speculations, but we don't know. The text uses strong language. He didn't just withdraw, as the ESV says. The Greek is sharper. He deserted them. Here, this is where the human drama unfolds. Barnabas, true to his name, the son of encouragement, he sees potential for restoration. After all, he was the first to embrace Paul, to give him the To trust him, when the Jerusalem church doubted the sincerity of this former persecutor of the church, it was Barnabas who introduced him to the apostles as a faithful brother in the Lord. Now he wants to do the same. He wants to extend the same grace to this, his young cousin Mark. Paul, however, has a different perspective. His eyes are on the mission. Now, the express purpose of this trip is to revisit the churches from the first journey. Perhaps he also has something else in the back of his mind to push into new territory. And we'll see that is, in fact, what comes to pass. So what is Paul's? What is Paul looking for? He wants a proven team, battle tested companions. In his mind, Mark's previous desertion disqualifies him. Now you think, these two veteran missionaries, close friends who have served together for years, you think they could work this out calmly? Perhaps they could have strategically planned and said, okay, let's think about this rationally. We'll just plan two separate teams. We can do this. These aren't two young hotheads. These aren't fledgling believers. And remember, Barnabas didn't just introduce Paul in Jerusalem. He's also the one who specifically sought him out in Tarsus, who brought him to Antioch when he needed help. And yet despite these years of friendship, despite their maturity in the faith, they can't see themselves to a resolution. Instead, we witness what Luke calls a sharp disagreement, so sharp it splits them apart. Why does Scripture tell us this painful moment? It's not just a record history. There's many things that happen in history that Scripture does not tell us about. It's here because it wants to teach us, to teach us several sobering truths. One, that even the greatest of saints are sinners. Only Christ is our sinless savior. Second, unity in gospel essentials doesn't guarantee agreement on secondary matters. The triumph of the Jerusalem Council was that they not only found unity in the gospel essentials, they also made compromise on the secondary matter so that those things would not separate them. They were willing to compromise. And third, ministry decisions often involve wisdom calls, wisdom, decisions requiring wisdom and judgment calls. Think about our own church decisions. We pass annual budgets with hundreds of line items, each one a judgment call. There are building projects, property decisions. Sadly, we see churches split over such things all the time. And we haven't needed this in our congregation, but often a church needs to set up a pastoral search committee. They work through sometimes dozens, hundreds of applications, weighing candidates, recommending just one in the end. These are difficult wisdom decisions. Mature believers may disagree. And I'm sure you can multiply the examples. Interestingly, Luke does not tell us who was in the right, who was in the wrong. He simply reports that these two godly men, united in gospel purpose, separated over this wisdom issue. Scripture also doesn't explicitly mention sin here. And yet, I would say the sharp disagreement, Barnabas and Mark's quick exit, the church of Antioch's blessing, On Paul's team alone, if you read the text carefully, all these things suggest that they parted, most likely with at least some residual anger and not in perfect peace and reconciliation. But this human division, it sets the stage for something remarkable. As our story continues to unfold, our third point, Christ continues to build his church. What begins with human division becomes multiplication through the power of Jesus Christ. One missionary team becomes two. Paul partners with Silas, We saw him introduced in the delegation from Jerusalem. And so now this new team is the perfect combination of Antioch and Jerusalem, uniquely positioned to deliver the council's decision throughout Syria and up into Galatia. Meanwhile, Barnabas takes Mark and they head to Cyprus, visiting again the churches of Barnabas' home island. Now one team become two, they are able to cover more ground for Christ's sake. Though Barnabas disappears from this point forward in Luke's narrative, the book of Acts, his faithful work continues. Now Paul later refers to him in 1 Corinthians 9, 6, and he refuses to speak Elephant. Though they disagreed, they are still two brothers laboring for the same Lord, even if on separate paths, their split doesn't destroy their respect for each other's ministry. The most remarkable evidence of Christ's sovereign work appears in Mark's story as we follow it forward. Through Barnabas's patient mentoring, the young deserter becomes a stalwart servant of Christ. We see him later in Colossians, a letter of Paul. There he becomes, at that point, Paul's in prison and he is Paul's fellow prisoner. He had gone on in the future to work alongside Paul. And as Paul writes in the letter to Philemon, he lists Mark as one of his fellow co-workers. But the most powerful evidence of Mark's restoration comes in Paul's final days. As Paul sits in a Roman prison, knowing his execution draws near, he writes, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And in these final moments, as he is penning his dying words, who does he specifically request to be at his side? Of course, he's writing to Timothy, so he says, Come to me, my beloved, some ten of thee." And he says, get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. The once rejected deserter has become an essential companion to Paul in his darkest hour. But Mark's restoration, it goes even further. He's not only essential to Paul, but he also becomes one of Peter's closest companions. So close that Peter calls him in 1 Peter 5.13, my son. And this relationship extends to something extraordinary. Mark goes on to record Peter's eyewitness account of Christ's life, his death, his resurrection, giving us the gospel that bears his name. This young man who once abandoned the mission becomes the spirit's instrument in recording the story of our good shepherd who never failed us. Now is this all due to Barnabas sticking up for Mark, giving him a second chance, taking him on that one key trip to Cyprus? Perhaps that's saying too much. I think perhaps it helped. Barnabas loved to give people second chances. He was, after all, the son of encouragement. But ultimately, ultimately, this is Christ's master craftsmanship on display. He takes our human failures, our human discords, our sins, and he weaves them all together into his perfect plan. He never gives up. On us, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. He works all these things into his plan to build and to strengthen and to shepherd his church. And that's where our passage concludes, verse 31. As Paul and Silas go forth, he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Of course, it's speaking of Paul and Silas, but who is really doing the work through them? Christ himself. He is building his church through these imperfect servants. The same Christ who redeemed Mark's failure, who turns human division into two effective missionary teams, he continues his work today. He remains the master builder working through sinful servants like us, weaving even our conflicts and failures into his perfect plan for kingdom expansion. And that brings us to our final point this morning. Christ's work in our conflicts. When we witness division in the church today, our hearts can grow heavy. Perhaps you've experienced the pain of church conflict yourself. Maybe you're carrying still the weight of past disagreements, or perhaps you're in the midst of one right now. This passage speaks directly to our struggles. First it says, take comfort in Christ's sovereign control. Nothing happening in the church, no conflict, no division, no failure surprises the chief architect and builder of his church. Just as he worked through Paul and Barnabas's sharp disagreement, he continued working through our conflicts today. The king remains on his throne. And as we've seen all throughout the Book of Acts, nothing can hinder his plans to build his church. Second, we find hope. We find hope in Christ's pattern of using weak and sinful instruments. When we fail, When our judgment proves faulty, when our sin gets the best of us, these things don't disqualify us from continuing in Christ's service. Christ said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Paul therefore concludes, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Second Corinthians 12, 9. Our weaknesses become stages for displaying Christ's strength. He uses imperfect servants like us. Now, hear what I'm saying and what I'm not saying. I'm not saying, I'm not giving you permission to create division, saying, oh, God's gonna really use this. We never say, let us do evil, that good may come. Scripture categorically condemns such thinking, Romans 3.8. Instead, we take comfort knowing that when conflicts arise despite our best efforts at unity, When we fail, despite doing our best, we can trust that Christ remains at work, sometimes using even our failures to advance his kingdom in unexpected ways. We strive to serve him. We strive for unity. But when we fail, we take comfort he is still working. And so remember what we've seen, Christ builds his church through imperfect people like us. Our weaknesses and failures showcase his perfect strength. The mission continues even when conflicts arise. The same Christ who turned one fractured missionary team into two effective teams continues to work today. Trusting in him, we continue serving in confidence. even though we recognize our weakness, our sin, because the building of Christ's church doesn't ultimately rest on our shoulders. In the dark hours of August 9th, 1942, it was the Battle of Savo Island, an explosion rocked the USS Astoria. 19-year-old Navy signalman Elgin Staples was violently thrown overboard. As he plunged into the ocean, he was thankful that just moments before he had donned his inflatable rubber life belt, it was that life belt that kept him afloat for the next four hours. until he was rescued by a U.S. naval destroyer. When he was rescued, he saw his ship, the Astoria, was still afloat and he insisted on returning to her, desperate to save her. But the ship was doomed and a few hours he found himself back in the water again. But his trusty life belt kept him afloat. Three more hours until he was rescued once more. As he recovered after the battle, Staples examined the belt. To his surprise, it was made in his hometown of Akron, Ohio by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. When he returned home, he showed it to his mother, Vera. During the war, she had taken on work at that very plant. As she looked at the belt, her eyes widened in surprise. Son, she said, her voice barely above a whisper. I'm an inspector at Firestone. Here on your belt is my inspector number. Mother and son stood in stunned silence, then embraced. Vera had unknowingly saved her son's life from across the world. This remarkable story reminds us of a profound truth We never know how the Lord will use our actions, no matter how small they seem. Vera's diligent work saved her son's life, but our faithful service to the Lord may have impacts we'll never know, never comprehend. The Lord uses imperfect, sinful servants like Paul and Barnabas, like you and me. Because it is ultimately Christ who is building his church. If he can work disagreements and division into his glorious plan, how much more can he use our heartfelt efforts to serve him? We are imperfect vessels, but we rest in Christ's perfect work. His finished work on the cross. And We rejoice that he works continually even in us and through us to build his church. So let us serve him wholeheartedly, trusting he will use our efforts in ways we might never expect. But at the end of the day, Christ is using deeply flawed, sinful instruments like us. And so we know anything we accomplish in his service is purely by grace. Christ is the one who is doing it all. He is the one building His church. And that means He gets all the glory. Praise the Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, We lament and we grieve when we look at ourselves and we see our sin and we see how flawed we are, how quick we are to fall into disunity and division. This just shows us how much more we must rest on Christ, our perfect sinless Savior. We thank you that he is on the throne, that he is still shepherding us. He is still guiding us in perfect paths of righteousness. We thank you that he is still building the church. And we thank you that he uses imperfect servants like us to advance that kingdom. Oh Lord, how we long to see your kingdom built up advancing here in Hackettstown, throughout our state of New Jersey, across our country, and to the ends of the earth. Lord, we are so thankful that you would use people like us to build your kingdom. Help us to do this work as we follow Christ humbly, knowing it is all of grace, it is all that you use imperfect servants like us so that you might receive all the glory. Help us to serve you with all our hearts only out of gratitude for what you have done for us. Resting and trusting in Christ alone and his perfect finished work. For it's in his name we pray, amen.