First Presbyterian Church of Inglewood
Telephone numbers: (310) 677-5133 Fax (310) 330-8342
Electronic mail: PRESBYTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Rev. Dr. Harold E Kidd
Acts 15: 36 – 41
When Team Work is Threatened
“Then
the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to
I
want to preach this morning on the subject of Growth through failure, conflict,
and division; as we consider this theme “When Team Work is Threatened.” Amen.
No
one is going to live this life without some failure. It simply does not happen that one goes from
one stage of life to the next, facing the temptations, the uncertainties, the
obstacles and adversities that we all face without stumbling and falling somewhere
along the way. Amen.
Life
is made up of conditions and circumstances over which we do not have complete
control. Even when you have done the very best that you can do. When you have guarded against all error and
prepared for every possibility, the unforeseen, the unexpected and the
unpredictable do happen, and so we discover that even the best made plans can
often go astray.
Yes,
at the bottom of everyone’s cup of life is the residue of failure and
defeat. We would not be able to proclaim
‘there is no failure in God’, if we had not at sometime in our lives tasted the
bitterness of failure.
In
Acts 15 we read of the glowing success experienced by Paul and Barnabas on
their first missionary journey. Like
Starsky and Hutch; Batman and Robin; JFK and Jackie; Nelson and Winnie Mandela;
Paul and Barnabas were one of God’s dynamic duos.
They,
speaking of Paul and Barnabas, had preached Christ in strange places, and the
power of the Holy Spirit was upon them.
In Lystra Acts 14 They called Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because
God working through them performed many signs and wonders.
They
had planted churches in strategic places;
We
do not know why he quit. Maybe he was
too young, maybe it was too demanding - - too dangerous traveling by foot from
one hostile town to another. No hot
running water, no warm bed, no good food, no restrooms, no Quality Inn, no
IHOP. And just about everywhere they
went there was the danger of being stoned, beaten and driven out of that city.
Maybe
Mark became homesick, became ill or maybe he just couldn’t stand Paul’s
demeanor or perhaps he had second thoughts of living the life of a missionary.
Whatever the reason, Paul didn’t like the fact that Mark had quit on the first
missionary journey.
And
so Acts 15:36-40 records that as they were preparing for their second
missionary journey, “Barnabas was determined to take John Mark with them but
Paul insisted that they should not take with them one who had deserted them in
Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.”
Can’t
you hear them this morning, Barnabas saying, “Paul, Mark deserves another
chance. It was his first experience,
yes, he deserted us, but he’s learned from his mistakes. Paul, if anyone should
be sympathetic and understand what it means to fail, it ought to be you, didn’t
Jesus give you a chance to redeem yourself when he came to you on that
And
the word of God says in vs. 39 (NKJV) “Then the contention became so sharp –
meaning the disagreement over John Mark; became so sharp; John Mark’s going
with them on a second missionary journey – drew so much conflict between Paul
and Barnabas, until it severed their ability to work as a team. It fractured
God’s dynamic duo; they parted company and so Barnabas took his nephew John
Mark and sailed to
And
there are two themes – lessons that can be drawn from this passage. Firstly, everyone deserves a second
chance. Everyone ought to be given an
opportunity to learn from their mistakes, and to grow from their failures.
Did
Mark deserve a second chance? Was Paul
too hard on him? Do we sometimes give up
on people too soon? Do we sometimes
label persons as unworthy of our time or personal investment because of their
moral failure or ethical failure or because we view their lifestyle as being
beyond God’s redemption. Aren’t there
too many person’s living in our world and our communities whose lives have been
and remain unfulfilled because we gave up on them too soon?
Thank
God for people like Barnabas, who in the midst of seeing our mistakes and
blunders, are willing to reach out to us with the helping hands of
encouragement. Thank God for Jesus, who
does not give up on us, no matter how dark the sin, no matter how often we
fail. Thank God that God believes in us beyond our failures. Well, John Mark did make a comeback, John
Mark did learn from his mistakes, John Mark did benefit from his uncle Barnabas’
belief in him.
Some
of the John Mark’s in this world who have yet to find their way; all they need
is for someone to reach out to them with the welcome of “I believe in
you.” There is no failure in God because
this same John Mark in years to come became the author of the First Gospel;
titled with his name, the Gospel of Mark.
There is no failure in God because, in those lonely days that Paul spent
in a Roman prison it would be John Mark standing by his side.
In
one of his letters to Timothy, Paul would write, “Only Luke is with me. Take
Mark, and bring him with you for his is profitable to me for the ministry.”
Yes, there is no failure in God.
Secondly,
because we are human, and because we will not always agree, and because the
devil is always seeking to find a way to destroy, divide, and bring conflict to
what God has brought together; we have to agree to disagree without giving the
devil the victory.
The
devil is a demolition expert. He is a master in trying to break up what God has
joined together; we’ve got to watch as well as pray. Without prayer- without seeking God, without
a willingness to humble ourselves and admit our mistakes, the devil will break
up a friendship, he’ll break up a marriage, he’ll seek to devour the unity in
God’s Church.
But
all conflict need not be fatal to a relationship or the unity of a group. In
fact there are times when some degree of conflict is necessary to stimulate our
continued growth and development as persons and a community. Sometimes conflict
causes us to evaluate our own motives and personality, and then there are times
when conflict helps us to grow beyond our comfort zone. But all conflict need
not be fatal to a relationship. Amen. But if it is, God still has a plan B.
Amen. Plan B; “Barnabas, you take John Mark, and Paul you take Silas.”
When
you feel like you have failed in a relationship, failed in a marriage, just
remember that there is no failure in God. Remember that God always has a plan
B. For while the devil was able to break up the dynamic duo of Paul and
Barnabas, God took their failure and put together a new configuration in
ministry; Barnabas and Mark; and Paul and Silas. Where God started out with one
dynamic duo he ended up with two. What
the devil tries to take away from you in one relationship God can give it back
to you in some other way. God has a way of making up the difference.
The
very young man whom Paul had labeled as a deserter and a quitter, God used him
to be a consolation and companion for Paul in the lonely years of his imprisonment. “Only Luke is with me; Take Mark, and bring
him with you, for he is profitable to me for this ministry.”
Yes,
not only did Mark learn from his failure, but God saw to it that Paul learned
from his own mistake of giving up on Mark too soon. There is no failure in God, because God has
ways of giving us new beginnings. God
has ways of helping us to grow through our mistakes. God has ways of replacing
what the devil has tried to steal.
To
God be the glory!