Although, as we have pointed out, the influence of Barnabas continues on through the New Testament. I hope you'll think about that today, even as we are working through this text. With this sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, what did they learn? What happened as a result? And, if I may be so bold, What phrases do we find even in Paul's letters that tell us that he learned a great deal from this situation? Acts chapter 15, I'm going to begin reading today in verse 35 where we left off last time and read down through verse 41. Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord with many others also. 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 it not good to take him with them, who, speaking of John Mark, departed 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 into 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. Shall we pause together to pray? Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. to help us see even the difficult times when sharp contentions, disagreements occur even among godly people. Lord, it is a marvel to us that the Holy Spirit has recorded these things and yet we see in these verses ways that we can look ahead ways that we can anticipate, ways that we can think carefully through the days ahead, especially as we see the great need for Christians to draw together in unity, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So Father, I pray today that as we look upon Barnabas, a man whom you made to be faithful by your faithfulness as he was holding fast the word of life as he was professing a good profession of the Lord's faithfulness, that you would help us to be a faithful brother like Barnabas. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Charles Swede Momsen was still troubled by what happened on the Saturday before Christmas in 1927. As the U.S. submarine S-4 rose to the surface at 3.37 p.m. on December 17, it was struck by the U.S. Coast Guard destroyer, Paulding. The submarine had been conducting trial runs just below the surface between two buoys that were a nautical mile apart. And it came to the surface just in time for the officers on board the destroyer palding to see a periscope beginning to break the surface. And the destroyer rammed the S-IV submarine and the submarine sank just off of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Paulding had been searching for rum runners near Boston, paying very close attention to the horizon and not seeing the sub as it surfaced immediately before them. They immediately put out the lifeboats. They immediately found the oil slick where the submarine had gone down. They put up a buoy and put the anchor down for that and radioed for help. And for seven stormy days, there were nor'easters coming through the bay during this time, for seven stormy days, They tried desperately to reach those who were on the submarine. As the first divers put their feet on the hull of the submarine, immediately they recognized that there was a tapping. And they began to recognize it as Morse code. And as the story unveiled, as the story, they began to understand it. What had happened was that of the 40 men on board, As the seawater had rushed in around the batteries of the submarine, it had produced a toxic chlorine gas and killed 34 men. There were six men still alive who were signaling in Morse code. They were in the forward torpedo room, sealed off from the rest of the ship, desperately trying to contact those who were their rescuers. They gave their names, they told what had happened on the ship, and then they asked one question continually, and that question was this, is there any hope? Is there any hope? I would say to you today that in a wider context than the sinking of that submarine, in the world in which we live with all of its evil, all of its adversity, all of its controversies and deaths, that question is still hanging in the air for those around us. And yes, even for ourselves. Is there any hope? And I would say to you that the text we are looking at today in Acts chapter 15 actually shows us how to find hope, how to latch on to the hope that is there. What can we learn from these men, from Paul and Barnabas? What can we learn from them as they parted ways? Because here's what we know. We know that we are longing for a brighter future ahead. We know there are tremendous difficulties and storms all around us, but we're asking the question, well, how could we come together in unity, especially when two of the greatest evangelists the world has ever known, Barnabas and Paul, were not able to work together? What does that say for the rest of us? Dear friends, I believe the reason this is recorded in God's Word is so that you and I can look at the disagreements that we have had in the past with people. What can we learn about the way that Barnabas and Paul parted ways? What can we learn about the parting of our own ways with other Christian people? Perhaps this text will address something that you are facing at this very moment in the situation, your story right now. You're facing something where you need to stop to consider this text. This text could be like a magnifying glass to look carefully at the dissension and the disagreement. And most certainly, this text will really help us for the future. as we have to process and think through disagreements we may face with others. I believe it can help us to understand differences of opinion and I think as we look ahead to see what is here that we can recognize that just like those people tried to help and they tried to minister to those who were on board that ship, the S-4, As they tried desperately to reach those people, they came together in unity. You and I could do exactly the same. Don't you love verse 35? Verse 35 is the bright spot on this entire presentation. When you see what happened there in verse 35, that Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. with many others also." I love the phrase there, with many others also. It wasn't merely that Paul and Barnabas were the only preachers, even the only pastors. There were many others also. And the testimony that we see of Antioch is that there were people who were constantly using the word of the Lord and that the spirit of God was using the word of God in the lives of other people. And people were being gloriously saved. As I've worked through this series on Barnabas, I have prayed many times that Calvary Baptist Church would be like the church at Antioch. There is nothing better than for God's people to come joyously around the Word of the Lord and rejoice in the treasures that are there and what they can find there. It's the Word of God that brings us together in unity. That's what helps us to be able to press on for the Lord's glory. It is the Word of the Lord, doctrine and reproof and correction and instruction in righteousness. What a joy it must have been. As Barnabas thought back about his ministry in Antioch when he had first come to that place, he had seen the grace of God and was glad. And he was so very glad that he had selflessly sought out Saul of Tarsus and brought him in, and for a whole year they ministered together. And it was of historic impact because the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. I mean, just amazing things that had happened there. Yes, the false teachers had come in. Yes, a problem had erupted there. And the church had sent Paul and Barnabas down to Jerusalem where they had consulted, received biblical advice, and came back to joyously tell their brethren what the Lord had done. They were eager, I think, to take that same message, that same letter from Jerusalem, and go on to the other churches. I think that's reflected in the first part of Acts chapter 16. So those must have been the very best of days, all built around the teaching and preaching of God's word. And I raise that question that I raised a moment ago again. Is there any hope? Is there any hope? In the midst of the evil, the adversity, the controversies, yes, even the deaths all around us, is there any real hope for a bright future? I would imagine that one of the most remarkable testimonies, one of the most remarkable letters ever written in the whole history of the human race was written by a chaplain who faithfully ministered the Word of God. His name was Henry Gorecki. And Henry Gerecki sent a letter to his wife Alma on June 14th, 1946, and here's what it read. My dear, here's the most unusual letter signed on the original by the most talked about men in the world. You are, without a doubt, the only woman in the world to get such a letter. Here is what the letter read. My dear Mrs. Gorecki, your husband, Pastor Gorecki, has been taking religious care of the undersigned during the Nuremberg trial. He has been doing so for more than half a year. We have heard, Mrs. Gorecki, that now you wish to see him back home, and we understand this wish very well. Nevertheless, we are asking you to put off your wish, to gather your family around you, Please consider that we cannot miss your husband now. Our dear Chaplain Gorecki is necessary for us, not only as a pastor, but also as the thoroughly good man that he is. And the letter was signed by the Nazi war criminals on trial in the War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. Now stop to ask the question that we raised a moment ago, is there any hope? Can there be any hope? When you see pictured here on the screen those Nazi war criminals who killed so many people and did so much evil, is there any hope? for such men who had committed such atrocities. Was there any hope? Even the chaplain wondered. He wrote in his journal, as Gorecki looked at the crimes of which the 15 were accused, he felt totally inadequate. How can a pastor, a Missouri farm boy, make any impression on these disciples of Adolf Hitler? How can I approach them? How can I summon the true Christian spirit that this mission demands of a chaplain? The answer, as you and I know this morning, from Acts chapter 15 verse 35 is this, it is the teaching and the preaching of the word of the Lord. Gorecki testified that as he went from cell to cell, he was in the cell of men like Hermann Goering. He visited each of these Nazi war criminals in their cells to ask them if he could pray with them, if he could be of benefit to them, and if they would come to a chapel service. Some of them told him to get lost. Others said, I will be there. And on the very first chapel service that he held, there was a man named Fritz Salkel. Salkel was the head of supplying labor for Hitler's workforce. It has been estimated that Salkel's devastating slave labor killed more people than even the pharaohs in Egypt. Millions of people died in the slave labor camps that Fritz Salkel set up. But after the very first chapel service, Salchow asked Garecki, could you please come to my cell? And when chaplain Garecki went to his cell, they talked. Garecki could tell that he wanted to talk over spiritual matters. And finally, Salchow said, could you just open your Bible and read to me and pray for me? Salchow, when it was his time to pray, he got down beside his bed, fervently prayed, and concluded with these words, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Dear friends, if a Nazi war criminal who was guilty of killing so many slave laborers under Nazi Germany, if he could get on his knees and pray, God, be merciful to me, a sinner, that I say to you, there is hope for every sinner. Gorecki began to see a change in Salchow. In fact, he said about Salchow that he had seen such a change that he made up his mind he was going to get him a Bible. Salchow gladly received the Bible, gladly received Luther's catechism. A catechism is a list of questions and answers using the Bible to basically help a person to better understand the word of God. And he saw such a change in Salchow that he knew He had been genuinely born again. On October 16th of 1946, as these men were condemned to death, I think all but two of the Nazi war criminals were put to death. There was another man that you can see pictured here on the screen named von Ribbentrop. Von Ribbentrop was the foreign minister under Adolf Hitler, coming from Canada, going back to Germany. He was the man who was responsible for keeping the Japanese and the United States from forming treaties, trying constantly to foment dissension. And von Ribbentrop was the very first one who was to be hanged at 1 a.m. on the morning of October 16th. He had been attending the services. He had often talked to Gerecki. In fact, Ribbentrop had his family members, his wife and his children come in to meet Chaplain Gerecki and ask Gerecki to show them the way of life. And he encouraged his wife that after his death that she would raise their children in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was asked if he had any last words, Ribbentrop responded this way. He said, I place all my confidence in the Lamb who made atonement for my sins. May God have mercy on my soul. Then he turned to Gerecki and he said, I'll see you again. The black hood was placed over his face, the 13-coiled noose was put around his neck, and he dropped through the trap door. One of the reporters who observed the executions wrote, it was a grim and pitiless scene. But for those who had sat through the horrors and tortures of the Nuremberg trial, who learned of mankind subjected to degradation, destruction, and terror, The scene conjured a vision of stark, almost biblical justice. There is no doubt in my mind that every one of these war criminals was justly sentenced to death. But there is also no doubt in my mind about the amazing grace of Jesus Christ that can save the worst of sinners. Dear friends, you and I need to stop to think today when we ask the question, is there any hope? We need to really think about the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. You may be here today, you may be listening to me online, and you would say, I'm no Nazi war criminal, but would you agree with me that Romans 3.23 says that all have sinned, that all of us are sinners, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but there is good news, Romans 5.8. God commended or demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And Romans 5, 9 tells us that we can be justified by his blood. We can be cleansed from our sin. In the book of the Revelation, it speaks of him who loved us and washed us in his own blood, freeing us by his own blood. I would say to you, based on the testimony of these Nazi war criminals, yes, there is hope, but that hope is found in the teaching and the preaching of the word of the Lord to show us the great ways of Jesus Christ, his wonderful saving ways. Now when you think about this, think about all of this in the context of what happened in verse 36. And as you do this, I hope that you had a chance to read through your glimpses email and actually work through this. Ask the question, what's missing here? What is absent from this text that you would have expected to see in the text? And maybe that can help us as we think about our own difficult times ahead. It says in verse 36, and after some days, 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. It has been said about the apostle Paul, this man had traveling in his blood. And what did Barnabas do? Barnabas was saying, let's go. I mean, both of these men were so committed to going to see how the grace of God, how it had prospered people. I mentioned in a previous message in Derby and Lystra, Paul later found Timothy. That was a result undoubtedly of their previous preaching in that area. And so they were rejoicing. They were looking for the fruit of their ministry. They were excited about this. They were both eager to go, but the trouble broke out when they were talking about not going, but who was going with them. Barnabas very willingly here said, let's go, and Barnabas determined to take with him John whose surname was Mark. Now it tells you in Colossians chapter 4 and verse 10 that John Mark was a relative of Barnabas. You remember John Mark because he had pulled away before. He had been on the first mission trip with them, and after the incident with the sorcerer, he had turned back, and that's what Paul was really focusing on there. But as you see the willingness here of Paul and Barnabas to go to the work and to just throw themselves into the task, What was missing? What was missing? Scholars think, by the way, that the Jerusalem Council occurred in winter, and by the time that these men had returned to Antioch, that the mountain passes were filling up with snow, it would have made travel very difficult. And so it was probably in the springtime that Paul said to Barnabas, hey, let's go. I mean, let's go back to the areas where they had faced such dangers, where their lives had been threatened. Paul had even been stoned with heavy stones, and yet they were eager to go back. but there's something that's missing here. What is it that is missing? Turn back with me if you will to Acts chapter 13 just for a moment and see if we can find there what was missing in the situation. Look at what it says in Acts chapter 13 verses two and three. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, The Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. What was missing in Acts chapter 15? Perhaps it was there, but Luke failed to record it, or perhaps the Holy Spirit is showing us here's exactly what was missing in the situation that You don't see a reference to prayer and fasting and the leading of the Holy Spirit. I don't think we can make too much of this, but it is a very important study in contrast, especially as we face difficult times ahead. If you haven't already heard the news, just this week, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled against the Grace Community Church, where Brother MacArthur is the pastor. And they are telling them that they cannot meet indoors to worship the Lord. And their lawyers are even saying that the outdoor services that they can have, those outdoor services have very strange, unusual burdens that they are placing on them. The county, I believe it was, recently canceled the lease of one of their parking lots so that the church can no longer park their cars there close by. I'm saying that because I think it's a very, very important time for all of us to come together in unity when you see this kind of opposition. So studying a passage like the one this morning is really helpful to us in looking at the disagreements, looking at the difficulties that we may face. To do so, to go forward as a church on our knees. in our prayer meetings, praying, fasting, looking for the mind of the Spirit in the Word of the Spirit, that is, in the Scriptures, in the Word of God. In any case, what we see about Barnabas here was that he was faithfully responding. We're studying, kind of focusing on Barnabas in this series. It is very interesting to me that he was faithfully responding and saying, let's go. I mean, let's do this, even though they had faced such dangers before. But the dissension between them was so sharp from what we learn in the next verses. Paul didn't think it was a good idea. He said John Mark departed from them in Pamphylia, went not with them to the work, and wow, when you think about verse 39, just think about what's here. It says the contention was so sharp between them. The original language here uses the Greek word paroxysmos. It's where we get our English word paroxysm. And a paroxysm is a very strong demonstration of emotion that just kind of suddenly comes on the situation and that's exactly what happened here. A very sharp contention between these two brothers who were just in such unity, they suddenly began to crash into each other and they had a They had such a sharp contention because one of them was saying about John Mark, look, he's a problem. And the other was saying, look, he has potential. I think it will always be this way. Godly men will disagree about issues, about people, about their perceptions of how people can go forward. Can they be fruitful? Can they serve the Lord? And that was what was at the heart of this situation. And notice what it says in verse 39. the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other." Now at least implied in that, implied is that the controversy, the breakup occurred well before Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus. In other words, it wasn't the division, it wasn't the dividing asunder, one just went his way. No, apparently there was something going on between them and they were having a really hard time talking to each other. This is really kind of fascinating because in Acts chapter 13 especially, 12, 13 going on into 14, as Luke records this, you would see he says, Barnabas and Saul. Even the Holy Spirit had said, separate unto me Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas and Paul, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas, and Paul and his company, Paul and Barnabas, Barnabas and Paul. And what you're seeing there is in their switching of roles, you're looking at two selfless servant leaders. They were both leaders. They were both leadership material. They had demonstrated that over and over again. And as leaders, they had very different perspectives. So what do you do when leaders have those kinds of perspectives? I am just in agony thinking about what occurred between these two wonderful evangelists. I would say to you that both of them had a God-honoring perspective. Think about that the next time you're in one of those situations. Think of it this way. Quick, quick, now give me the answer here. Is God a God of justice or mercy? Quick, quick, now which one? Is God a God of justice or mercy? And if you pause to think, you say, well, he's both. He's both justice and mercy. That's a really important perspective for us. I once had a man I was talking to and he talked about the arguments he had with his brother when he was younger. And when they get in the argument, the brother would say, you always think you're right. And he would respond, okay, are we having this argument because you think you're wrong? Well, no, I think I'm right too. Yeah, we both, you both end up thinking that you are right, right? And couldn't it be that whether it be husband and wife or two godly leaders that both of them are with God honoring motives and with God honoring thinking are in disagreement? Yes, I think that's exactly what is happening here. I just want you to try to think through this from a biblical perspective, because I think it's actually helpful. As I was meditating on this, think about what Paul could have said. Now, the Scripture doesn't tell us. It's an argument from silence. I'll freely acknowledge that. The biblical mind of Paul and the Bible-filled mind of Barnabas, what were they thinking? And I think Paul, right off the bat, could have said, listen to me, Barnabas, think about the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember this in Luke chapter 9 when Jesus talked about three men who wanted to follow the Lord, but each one said, let me first do this. Here's what Jesus said in Luke chapter 9 verse 62. He said, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Wouldn't it have been right for Paul to say to Barnabas, listen, listen to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. That's exactly what John Mark did. And I could see Barnabas saying, yeah, that's a really good point. Or Paul saying to Barnabas, well, what about Proverbs 25, 19? Confidence in an unfaithful man in a time of troubles like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint. By the way, how are those two similar? How is a broken tooth like a foot out of joint? The answer is when you put them under pressure, they both give you pain, a broken tooth and a foot out of joint. And Paul could have said to Barnabas, don't you get it? John Mark is an unfaithful man. He demonstrated that in Pamphylia. You shouldn't go with us. In today, you'll hear occasionally, you'll hear somebody use the proverb, they call it the bent nail principle. If you're hammering a nail in and the nail bends and then you straighten it back out and you hit it again with a hammer, where is the most likely place for that nail to bend again? And the answer is in the place where it bent before. And I've heard people say that to me. It's the bent nail principle. You put them under pressure, the same thing's gonna happen over again. So listen. Don't you think that we shouldn't take John Mark on this trip? And Paul could have added, and by the way, he's got a dubious reputation. I can almost see Barnabas smiling at Paul saying, hey Paul, what if I'd felt that way about you the first time we ever met? The fact is that Paul had a dubious reputation. Everybody thought he was a terrorist. They thought he was coming in in disguise to try to trouble the church at Jerusalem. But Barnabas was bold and in his boldness he reached out to Saul and caused that he would have fellowship with them all. As Barnabas was thinking through this, I think he would have thought or said something to Paul like Isaiah chapter 42, verses 3 and 4. It's a wonderful servant song. Let me encourage you to read that. It's the first of the servant songs. Isaiah 42, verses 3 and 4. The prophet wrote, a bruised reed shall he not break and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment on the earth and the aisles shall wait for his law. You say, how would that apply in this situation? Barnabas could have said to Paul is, don't you remember about the Messiah that it says, a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench? You say, what's with the bruised reed? Well, in a woodwind instrument, those of you here who play clarinet or saxophone or something else know that if you have a problem with that reed, you're gonna have a hard time producing really beautiful music out of that. And the most common thing is to say, hey, get rid of that reed and put another one in there. But then it says about the Messiah, the bruised reed he will not break." When you look back at your past and you look at the ways that you have failed the Savior, aren't you grateful that His restoring grace has caused that you are now able to be filled with the Word of Christ, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, and that when you sing, you praise God even though you have failed in the past. When he refers to a smoking flax, he's talking about the little wick that would be in one of their oil lamps. And, you know, after a while, if it's just smoking and it's not producing light, I mean, the main goal for the lamp is that it would produce light. It's not producing any light. So, hey, just take that wick and throw it away. Put another one in there. You're good to go. And here's what it says about the Messiah. The bruised reed he would not break, and the smoking flax he would not quench. In other words, the Messiah delights in bringing forth beautiful music out of bruised reeds and tremendous light out of smoking flax. That's the way our Messiah's grace works in us, dear friends. And it honors the Lord to think in those ways. Or I can just imagine Barnabas looking into the eyes of Paul and saying, I got two words for you, buddy. Consider Peter. Consider Peter. Have you ever looked at those words over Mark chapter 16 and verse 7? You might want to turn over there. You might want to underline these two words because they're so significant in this context. Mark chapter 16 and verse 7, the angel there at the tomb of the resurrected Christ says these words, but go your way and tell his disciples, here's the two words, and Peter. Wait, wait. Wasn't Peter one of the disciples? Peter had messed up so badly. He had failed so terribly that he probably wondered, am I still one of his disciples? And here's what the angel says. Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you into Galilee and there shall you see him. Don't miss those two words and don't miss the point. Peter's story teaches us that failures are not finished. You'll remember that a while back, we went through a whole series on that. I've linked to that on the manuscript online. Peter, the dismal failure, was the humbled, mighty preacher of Pentecost. As the son of consolation, I believe Barnabas was very determined to come alongside a former failure. And as we shall see, the results were absolutely amazing. Yeah, people can talk about the bent nail principle, but you could respond with a broken bone principle. Do you know how that works? The broken bone principle, it tells you that at the place the bone is broken, as the healing process takes place, that place of brokenness becomes the place of greatest strength for many years after that. I think that Barnabas could have said, you want to talk to me about the bent nail principle. I want to talk to you about the amazing grace of God. I want to talk to you about the broken bone principle. As you think about this, I would ask you this question today. Who have you given up on? About whom could you rightly, rightly apply the words of Jesus Christ and the proverb about the unfaithful man? But could you not go on to respond like Barnabas to help someone through brokenness to grow better? I think this is the point. I think that Barnabas was the encourager. Faithfully enlisting others for the challenges ahead. He did the very same thing with Saul who became Paul. He did the same thing with John Mark. And I think it's necessary that you and I would understand how this works. It's fascinating, consider this message, to think about, Lord, why is it this way? We're coming around to the time of year where we're getting ready to go out and prune our apple trees. Now wait, why would we do that? Why would we cut perfectly good, healthy, living wood off of apple trees? And it's not diseased, there's not a problem with it, it's very healthy. Why would anybody cut perfectly good, healthy, living wood off their apple trees? And the answer is because you want apples and not apple wood. I mean, that's just the nature of it. That's exactly what you see Jesus talking about in John chapter 15. Several years ago, probably five or six years ago now, I remember I was out in the garden working one of my square foot boxes and knew that this one tomato plant really needed to be, need to be propped up. So I went and got a tomato cage and I was working at trying to be very, very careful not to break off any branches. And I broke off a branch and it was a nice branch too. I broke off a branch. I thought, Oh, I cannot believe I did that. I thought, okay, just for fun, I'm going to try something out here. I, I, I set the other one and that took that broken branch and I dug a little hole and I put it down in and covered it up and put water on it. Now, what do you think happened? Friend, that became one of the most productive tomato plants in our garden that year. You say, no way. You must have a green thumb. I'll talk to you afterward. I think it's the soil and I think it was just the perfect situation for that tomato plant to grow up. But the point is this, that failures aren't finished. that you and I, by the grace of God, could go on to enlist others, people that you may have given up on. And the end result was that the word of the Lord was preached all over the region. Barnabas and John Mark down in Cyprus, the area that Barnabas was from, Paul and Silas throughout those regions. By the way, Silas apparently was a Roman citizen. If Barnabas had faced the same situation that they had faced at Philippi, it's very likely that he would have been beaten very, very severely. He wasn't able to say, I'm a Roman citizen, as Paul and Silas were apparently able to do. I'm saying all that to say that in God's providence, many times, even when there are sharp disruptions and sharp arguments, that in God's good providence, he still gives us good hope through grace. So let's ask the question, what is the rest of the story here? What is it that the Lord is teaching us? Well, I think to their credit, first of all, you don't find either one of these men continuing to make an issue of this matter. It's not like I'm right, you're wrong. I think they both recognized There were parts of this that were right, but they just didn't see it the same way. Later in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 6, you actually find Paul writing in a commending fashion about Barnabas, holding him up as an example, as we saw during our Christian Liberty series. I think the point is that the Great Commission was more important than the great frustration they felt with each other. So we're asking the question throughout this message, is there any hope? Think about this. You never know when a person might change the course of history. You never do know that. The person that you have given up on, that the Lord is speaking to you about this morning, you never do know. In the amazing grace of Jesus Christ that can even save Nazi war criminals, what the grace of God could do when you just don't think there's anything really to come of it. Let me illustrate it this way. If you were to go next door today and knock on the door and say, I'm doing a survey, can I just ask you a couple of questions? And the neighbor says, yeah, whatever. Have you ever heard of the Syrian church in Antioch? I think most people would look at you and shrug. What's? What's so important about the Syrian church at Antioch? Then you'd say question number two, have you ever heard of the gospel of Mark? You get it? I think a whole lot of people would say, well, now that I've heard of, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that Mark is the John Mark that Barnabas restored to faithfulness. Do you see it? Do you see how the faithful influence of Barnabas brought on more than one historic impact. Yes, the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch, but you also see the Gospel of Mark used by the Holy Spirit of God to bring many, many people to the Lord across these centuries. In 2 Timothy chapter two, I'm sorry, 2 Timothy chapter one, verse seven, you can quote the verse where Paul said to Timothy, for God has not given us, what has he not given us? God has not given us a spirit of fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And as Pastor Rod has really helped us understand in his excellent series of Paul working with Timothy, knowing Timothy's fears, And by the way, Paul being very transparent about his own fears, his own trembling, that as he is helping Timothy here, he says, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Here's something that's really interesting. Just a little later in that same letter, in 2 Timothy chapter four, verse 11, Paul writes to Timothy, as he's writing to Timothy, he says, only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. Wow. Think about this just for a moment. What's Barnabas doing? Barnabas is saying, I really believe this is where I ought to make my investments. I really think you can accuse me of nepotism because he's my relative, but I really think the Lord wants to do something special with this young man. And later, Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, verse 11, about this John Mark, he is profitable to me for the ministry, and by the way, As Paul is reaching out to his own disciple, Timothy, and he wants to encourage him, he says, get Mark and bring him with you. And Paul's thinking to himself, well, I bet that'll be a fun conversation along the way. Here's a former failure talking about the ways that he's failed and how God's grace has restored him, how God's grace has held him up. And Timothy thinking, you know, the Lord could do that through me as well. And then certainly over in Philemon 23 and 24, you see John Mark listed among those. wonderful laborers, co-laborers with him. So what can we learn from this? I think we can learn that failures aren't finished and that there is hope. John Mark, if he were speaking up here, would remind failures who have been faithless and fearful, he would remind them of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ who said in Mark chapter four, verse 40, why are you so fearful? How is it you have no faith? And he probably thought about his own fears before the sorcerer at Cyprus. But if you want real help, you don't keep fluttering and floundering in your failures. You watch for a Barnabas who can help restore you to faithfulness. In the days ahead, I believe there will be a very desperate need for faithful men and women to carry the message of Christ to others. In the words of Paul, as he is writing here to Timothy in that very same letter, he is saying, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Men like Barnabas, help restore people to faithfulness so that they can carry the word of God throughout the generations. 12 years later, as Swede Momsen was thinking about the S4, he was undoubtedly still very troubled. Hampered by the severe storms, the nor'easters that I mentioned a moment ago, the rescue operations were brought to a halt. On Christmas Eve 1927, all six of those men in the forward chamber perished. But Commander Momsen resolved that they would learn from this episode. Like Paul, Momsen learned how to answer the question, is there any hope? His tour of duty led him to be an officer in the submarine division of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, and when he got there, he immediately began to set to work on how to rescue submariners, men in submarines, how to rescue them from the depths. He came up with a device called the Momsen Lung, basically allowed men to re-breathe their own air as they rose to the surface out of the depths. But certainly his crowning achievement was the Momsen-McCann Rescue Chamber, which could be lowered and attached to a submarine's hatch. And 12 years later, in May 1939, the U.S. submarine Squalus sank off the coast of the Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire, stranded in, this time, 243 feet of water. The men on board wanted to know, is there any hope? Is there any hope? Charles Momsen raced to the scene and used the Momsen-McCann rescue chamber from the deck of the USS Falcon, and 33 survivors owed their lives to Momsen's diving bell, which rescued them all in four trips into the icy depths. Momsen's answer would have echoed the answer of Barnabas and Paul. Yes, there is hope. Would we be faithful to minister the word of the Lord to others? Shall we bow our heads together? Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for your amazing grace which transforms the lives of people. It is amazing grace to us. It is restoring grace to us. It is a precious fount of blessing that flows out upon us. And so, dear Heavenly Father, we are asking you today for anyone here who is nearest to hell For anyone here who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, that they would seize upon that great saving grace that the Nazi war criminals took hold of. That they would be gloriously saved. And Lord, today, for any failures, and all of us can look into our past and see where we have failed. I pray this day that you would demonstrate that you can bring beautiful music out of bruised reeds and that you can cause smoking flax to once again be the light of the world. Help us, dear Heavenly Father. We pray these things in Jesus' name.