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What happens when two of the greatest missionaries in the Bible have such a heated argument that they split up forever—or so it seemed? How could God possibly take a painful church conflict and turn it into rocket fuel for spreading the gospel? In this message delivered by Pastor Mark Hudson, we'll discover why being “perfectly imperfect” might be exactly the qualification God is looking for in His laborers—including in you.
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LearningTranscript
00:00I remember as a child, I used to always, every year at Christmastime, watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed
00:04Reindeer. Many of you probably have seen Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, too. Okay, there we go.
00:12Yeah, there we go. So, yeah, you know, you remember pretty much how the storyline goes,
00:17but as they're traveling around, Rudolph and his friends, as they're making their journey,
00:22they get on an ice pack, and they're traveling around, and they land on this island,
00:27and the island's called the Island of Misfit Toys. And Kitchy Christmas, it's a website,
00:34they said, this group of characters is a collection of toys that just do not fit in because of the
00:40unique quirks or design flaws. When the visitors arrive, these toys break out into a song,
00:45sharing their unique attributes and make them different. They were different, but they were not
00:50broken. They were just misfits. All they wanted to do was find a good home in which the children
00:55would love them, but no child wanted them because they were misfits. Yet, they had a value because
01:03they were toys. Even if they were misfits, they were perfectly imperfect toys. And I remember thinking
01:11about that. That is, that's, I understand that. I am perfectly imperfect. I have, I am not what I used
01:19to be, but I am not yet what I will become. And I'm right in this transition. As God is perfecting
01:26me by his spirit and making me more like Jesus, I'm still imperfect. And we call ourselves Medical
01:31Aid Community Church, the perfectly imperfect church. Because none of us have, in fact, if you're perfect,
01:36you might as well just go ahead and leave right now because none of us are.
01:39I think we need to be talking about the raise we gave the youth pastor.
01:53No, it's just, we know that none of us have arrived yet. And so in our church, we give each
01:58other a lot of grace and a lot of love because none of us have arrived yet. We're a perfectly
02:03imperfect church. We understand that. I mean, but think about that. This is what God has to work with,
02:09isn't it? Perfectly imperfect people. None of us are perfect. I mean, he could have chosen to send
02:15angels out with the gospel message, but he didn't. He chose to use us, imperfect vessels, to carry this
02:21wonderful message of the gospel out into the world. We are perfectly imperfect people. I guess you could
02:25say, welcome to the island of misfit toys. Perfectly imperfect people. When we come to the book of Acts,
02:34and we're going to, we skipped over last week because Andy was preaching, we'll come to the end of
02:38chapter 15 and then bleed over into the first part of chapter 16. But what we'll see in the text here is
02:45that God uses imperfect people to carry out his sovereign plan. However, they must be willing to become
02:53effective witnesses. There's a responsibility on the side of the witnesses also that we'll see in the text
02:59exactly what this person does to become an effective witness for the gospel message. God has this sovereign
03:06plan that he is working out and he's using us imperfect people to do it. And we all fit into one way or
03:11another. Maybe the youth pastor who's perfect already. You could be the pastor who's not yet
03:16perfect already. And so we all have part of, we're all part of this plan. And it's not that the leaders
03:22are more important than everyone else. No, we're, the body is important. We are important, not just the
03:28leadership. So we're going to see here that Paul is beginning his second missionary journey.
03:33That's why I titled it the second journey begins, his second missionary journey. He's beginning from
03:37the same place he began his first one, and that is Antioch. It was called Antioch of Syria, but if
03:42you look on a map today, it actually fits into Turkey today. It's actually part of southern Turkey,
03:48actually. So look at verse number 36 of chapter 15. So open your Bible. We're going to look at the text
03:55together. This is God's word. We want to, we want to see what God has to say to us. So after some days,
04:01and that's Luke's way of saying, he's not giving us a timeframe, but it's, he's making a, he's making
04:05a transition from one time to another. So he's opening up a new topic. Basically. He likes to
04:10use that phrase after some days, after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Hey, let us, Hey, it wasn't
04:17in there. Sorry. That was, that was not in there. Okay. This is God's word. Okay. Let us return and
04:24visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. Remember
04:29they started churches. They were gone for about, I think it's about two years. They were gone. Okay.
04:33So they were going to go back to all of those churches and make sure that they're growing
04:36in their faith. Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. We were introduced to him
04:43earlier in chapter 13, but Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them
04:50and Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. So they crossed over to Cyprus by boat from
04:56Cyprus to Perga and Pamphylia. And right there, John Mark, for whatever reason, the Bible doesn't
05:01say, we don't know. It's all pure speculation. He goes back to Jerusalem for whatever reason.
05:06He abandons the missionary team that happened right there. So, so, and there arose, there arose a sharp
05:18disagreement between two godly men, Paul and Barnabas, a sharp disagreement so that they separated
05:25from each other. That's how, that's how serious it was. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away
05:32to Cyprus. And that's Barnabas' home country. But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended
05:39by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the
05:45churches. So they're going back on now on their second missionary journey. We don't know how long he was
05:50there before he left. A period of time transpires after some days. That's all that Luke tells us. We don't know.
05:54But I want to show you a picture of the graphic of their second missionary journey is as they're
05:59traveling upper middle right. On the right, you'll see Antioch and the Bold. And instead of sailing
06:05over to Cyprus, which he did last time, and then sailing over to Perga and Pamphylia, they go by foot
06:10northward. And you'll see that they're going not from west to east, but they're traveling from east to
06:15west on this journey. And he intended, if you see the word Asia right there, he intended just by
06:21Derby and Lystra to circle back down towards Perga and Pamphylia and maybe sail back over.
06:27But God has other plans for them. His desire was to revisit the churches started on their first
06:33missionary journey, but God had other plans. And at that point, he switched their plans.
06:39He actually, we're going to see next week in the text, I think next week in the text, we'll see that
06:42he directed them to someplace that they weren't even prepared to go to. They weren't ready to go to
06:47there. But God said, no, I got plans for you. I got plans for you. It wasn't his plans, but it was
06:55God's plans. I think the saying goes something like this, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your
07:01plans. But God, that's not part of my plans. My five-year plan doesn't include that right there.
07:06And God said, but I got a plan for you. So I think we need to be open to the moving of God in our lives,
07:12and he may switch our plans up a little bit. He may add to it. He may subtract from it. He may direct
07:16us in a completely different way, but it's the idea of being open for God to work in our life and
07:22change our plans. So this major disagreement, again, we see why the disagreement happened,
07:29but it caused a division in the missionary team. Paul and Barnabas, on the first missionary,
07:34they traveled together. Now they're divided out. It was such a sharp disagreement is what the text says.
07:39Actually, it means an intense argument. So they each had a position, and they were debating
07:46their positions back and forth. If you look at it like that, a sharp contention implying exasperation
07:52that got to the point where there was no giving. I mean, they're both set in their positions.
07:57An intense, unreconcilable difference of opinion. Now, Paul and Barnabas does reconcile later, but
08:03right at this point, this unreconcilable division happens. A sharp disagreement. The text says that
08:09Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, and that wanted is the idea that he wanted over and over again.
08:15So as they're debating, no, I want to take him. No, I don't want you to take him. No, I want to take
08:18him. No, I don't want to take him. No. So he wanted, over and over again, he wanted, and that Paul
08:23thought, in other words, over and over again, no, I don't want to take him. So this is debate going
08:28back and forth, this sharp dissension. This disagreement caused a rupture in the team.
08:37Of course, we've never had anything like that before with any of our workmates before,
08:40that we've had a disagreement on positions or something that could cause a sharp disagreement
08:45to happen. Yet, even in the midst of that terrible disagreement, this intense conflict,
08:52actually from the disagreement came something good. Two missionary teams were formed instead
08:58of one. Isn't it interesting, even in the midst of something as bad as a sharp disagreement that
09:03God can take it and make something good out of it? He made two teams instead of one. He made
09:08something good out of this sharp disagreement. The reason why Paul didn't want to take him was
09:16that he abandoned the first team. He just, whatever reason, he went back to Jerusalem. We don't know.
09:22Some think maybe his mom may have been sick, so he went back. For whatever reason, he left them in
09:27the work and abandoned them. And Paul says, I need someone who's dependable. I need someone I can count on.
09:33I need someone that's not going to abandon us in the middle of this battle that we're fighting,
09:36in the spiritual battle that we're fighting. In Acts 13, 13, we read this.
09:42Now, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga and Pamphylia,
09:46and John left them and returned to Jerusalem. That's all that Luke tells us. We don't know why.
09:51I mean, that's it. He just left them. He went back. So Barnabas, this guy who is, he's such an
09:58encourager. Barnabas, ever the encourager, saw the potential in John Mark and wanted him to go.
10:04Paul's looking at him as undependable, and Barnabas, this encourager type of guy.
10:10Isn't encouragers good to have around us? He just says, let's take him. Come on. Let's go ahead
10:16and take him. It's okay, Paul. Always the encourager, Barnabas says. Let's bring him along.
10:23Perhaps Paul thought, no, he'll do the same thing again. But Barnabas thought, no, one mistake in a
10:29young Christian. No, let's give him another chance. And Paul's saying, I don't want to do
10:33that. So here's the question. Who was right? We don't have enough information to know. Perhaps
10:39they were both right in one way or another. We don't know. All we know is that a disagreement
10:44happened. It's a good thing that God does not require perfect people for his work. Yeah?
10:52He uses perfectly imperfect people for his work. It's a good thing. It's a really good thing.
10:59You know what? Because if he required perfect people, he wouldn't get any work done on this
11:03earth. He's using imperfect people. And from even our conflicts, he can make something good
11:09come out of it. Mark, we don't hear about for the rest of the book of Acts. He's listed
11:15in some other places in the Bible, but not in Acts. He's gone now. He said, well, whatever
11:19happened to John, Mark, and Paul? I mean, did they always stay separated? No, actually, Paul
11:25and John Mark, they reconciled. At the end of Paul's ministry, he's saying, Mark is useful.
11:30I think he's a great guy. Bring him. He's my fellow worker. So reconciliation between Paul
11:37and John Mark comes later. Paul said Mark was his co-worker and he was useful for ministry.
11:42Here's a couple of the passengers from Philemon and 2 Timothy. Paul writes,
11:47Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus,
11:54Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. They divided here, but there was reconciliation that took
11:58place at some time. I don't know when. We don't know exactly, but at some point there
12:03was reconciliation that took place. 2 Timothy 4, Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring
12:09him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. So at some point, he didn't leave
12:14an unreconciled relationship. Paul preached reconciliation. How much time has transpired?
12:21I'm not sure, but he preached reconciliation. He preached reconciliation between God and man,
12:26and he preached reconciliation between man and man. He preached reconciliation, so he's not a hypocrite.
12:32He reconciled with John Mark at some point in time. He was unwilling to let the broken relationship
12:38continue. He wanted to reconcile it. Again, not sure how long, but he was unwilling to let it continue.
12:48Some of us here today are living now in unreconciled relationships.
12:55Some of them we can't really do anything about because the person is dead. Can't reconcile with them.
13:00But there are other people here today that are living in unreconciled relationships.
13:08And I say, and Paul says to us, is do not let broken relationships continue.
13:13Reconcile. I mean, if it's within your capability of doing it, seek reconciliation.
13:18Say, but they may not listen. They may not.
13:21Seek reconciliation for your heart.
13:23We always want to wait for the person to come to us who has offended us.
13:31They have to take the first step. No, it's time for us to take the first step.
13:36We take the first step in reconciliation.
13:41Colossians 3, Paul, again, the reconciler, he says this,
13:45bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another,
13:49forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you,
13:53so you also must forgive.
13:56Seek reconciliation.
13:59I wonder today, with whom do you need to reconcile?
14:03This is the time of gift giving in our society at Christmastime.
14:08We give gifts to one another.
14:11Maybe a gift of reconciliation is the gift that you can give
14:15to somebody this Christmastime.
14:20Paul says, I'll choose Silas.
14:22John, Mark, you can go with Barnabas.
14:25I'll choose Silas.
14:26He's a Roman citizen.
14:27He's a prophet, we're already told.
14:29So he's probably a Greek-speaking Jew.
14:32So he can speak to the Greeks, and he can speak to the Jews at the same time.
14:35So he's a good minister and a prophet at the same time.
14:39Notice that the missionaries were traveling two by two,
14:42just as Jesus had instructed his apostles to travel two by two.
14:45We never want to do ministry alone if we can help,
14:49but we want to have someone with us.
14:50We want to minister together.
14:52It's encouraging.
14:53When one gets down, we can encourage one another.
14:55So doing ministry alone is not the best practice.
14:59Ministry together with people is a better practice.
15:03Mark 6, and he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two
15:07and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
15:09Jesus understood, he understands humanity, he understands us humans.
15:15Again, last mention of Barnabas in the book of Acts.
15:18We hear about him in other places, Colossians 4, but not in the book of Acts.
15:21He's gone now from the scene.
15:22It's Paul and Silas from now on.
15:25And I want to show you that map again one more time.
15:27As they come up, they're traveling by foot.
15:29Again, no cars, bus, railroads.
15:31They're traveling by foot.
15:32They're going northward, and they're going from east to west
15:35instead of west to east.
15:36So they're doing the reverse order, basically,
15:39of how they went the first missionary journey.
15:41And again, as I mentioned, right up there where the word Asia is
15:43is where God changes their plans.
15:46They had thought just to hook back down south and come back over to Antioch,
15:49but God says, no, I've got something bigger for you planned.
15:52And God changes their plans right there.
15:54But that's where that takes place.
15:57So he visits the churches and tells them about what the Jerusalem council has said.
16:00Hey, and the Gentiles rejoice.
16:01Anyways, so now Luke introduces us to a new person, Timothy,
16:08who's going to play a major role throughout the Bible here.
16:11So look at chapter 16, verse number one.
16:15Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra,
16:18and a disciple was there named Timothy,
16:21the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
16:24but his father was a Greek.
16:26So it's a mixed marriage, Jew and a Gentile.
16:28He was well spoken of by the brothers,
16:30so he had a good reputation at Lystra and Iconium
16:33in both these cities in this general region.
16:36Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him,
16:39and he took him and circumcised him
16:40because of the Jews who were in those places.
16:43Well, why?
16:44We'll talk about that in a second.
16:46I thought we just talked about it in 15,
16:48that circumcision wasn't necessary to be accepted by God.
16:51Why here?
16:52For they all knew that his father was a Greek.
16:56So as they went on their way through the cities,
16:59they delivered to them for observance
17:02the decisions that had been reached
17:04by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.
17:06So they're telling people about
17:07what the Jerusalem council said.
17:10So the churches were strengthened in the faith,
17:12and they increased in numbers daily.
17:14That phrase, increased in numbers daily,
17:16is often in the book of Acts.
17:18That something is happening,
17:19that more believers are coming into the churches,
17:22increased in numbers daily.
17:24Let's keep going.
17:24Paul was from, excuse me,
17:27Timothy was from Lustra,
17:29and he probably was converted
17:30when Paul came through there
17:31almost five years earlier.
17:34Again, we lose track of time in the Bible.
17:35It's hard to tell how much time has transpired.
17:37It's been about five years
17:38since he's been in that city.
17:40So it's been about five years,
17:41but he probably was converted
17:42when Paul was there.
17:45And he may have been, remember when,
17:47in Lustra is when Paul was,
17:48they threw rocks at him, remember?
17:49Tried to kill him.
17:50They stoned him and left him outside,
17:52drug him out of the side of the city as dead.
17:54And there was a group of disciples
17:55that gathered around Paul,
17:56and then he stood up and walked back into the city.
17:59Timothy could have been there.
18:00It's likely that he probably was, Acts 14, 20.
18:04But when the disciples gathered about him,
18:06he rose up and entered the city.
18:08On the next day, he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
18:11So Timothy could have been right there,
18:13right there on that day when Paul was stoned.
18:17Most likely, Timothy was converted
18:19on their first visit to Lustra.
18:20So the first time he came through preaching,
18:22Timothy was converted.
18:23He was saved.
18:25Mom was saved.
18:25His grandmother was saved as well.
18:28So I asked the question while I was talking,
18:31why did he circumcise Timothy?
18:34I mean, we were told that Gentiles could be,
18:37or aren't accepted by God
18:38apart from circumcision or the works of the law.
18:42Timothy was a Jew.
18:43His mother was a Jew, but his dad was a Gentile.
18:46But according to Jewish law,
18:47he would be considered Jewish.
18:49But he wasn't circumcised.
18:51And if you think about the ministry
18:53that Timothy was going to have,
18:54he was going to have a ministry
18:55among the Jewish people.
18:57And to enter into a synagogue as a Jew and uncircumcised,
18:59he immediately would not have their attention.
19:01They probably would throw him out of the synagogue.
19:05In Galatians, Paul didn't even have Titus,
19:07who was a Gentile, circumcised.
19:09Of course not.
19:09No, because circumcision does not make one acceptable to God.
19:12One is made clean by faith and by grace alone.
19:17In Galatians, it was more about
19:20how is a person justified?
19:22How is a person made right before God?
19:23But here is not a question of justification.
19:25Here is a question of being an effective witness
19:28of the gospel.
19:30Removing any hindrances or stumbling blocks.
19:33Him speaking to a Jew, being uncircumcised,
19:35a Jew himself would be a stumbling block to the Jews.
19:40Galatians 2.3.
19:41But even Titus, who was with me,
19:43was not forced to be circumcised,
19:44though he was a Greek.
19:45Of course he was a Greek, but Timothy was a Jew.
19:50His father being a Gentile, his mother a Jew,
19:52according to Jewish law, he was a Gentile,
19:54but he was an uncircumcised Jew.
19:55Excuse me, he was a Jew, uncircumcised Jew.
19:57The Jerusalem Council agreed that Gentiles
19:59do not need to be circumcised to be saved.
20:01Yes, we know that.
20:02But the opposite is also true.
20:05Jews did not need to abandon circumcision
20:07as a mark of the covenant people of God.
20:09And especially if we're going to witness to Jewish people,
20:13he wanted to be an effective witness.
20:15And he was willing to remove any stumbling block
20:18that would get in the way of him
20:20effectively witnessing for the gospel.
20:23In the first part of 1 Corinthians 7,
20:25he's writing to Gentiles, so keep this in mind.
20:27But was anyone at the time of his call
20:30already circumcised?
20:31Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision.
20:34So if you're already circumcised, don't...
20:35But if anyone at the time has called uncircumcised,
20:38let him not seek circumcision.
20:39So if you're just circumcised, don't go around and say,
20:41okay, I want to undo this now.
20:42No.
20:44And especially for Timothy,
20:45if he's going to speak in the synagogues,
20:47as a Jew, he needed to be circumcised.
20:50He was already a believer,
20:52didn't make him a believer,
20:53didn't make him acceptable to God.
20:54He's already acceptable to God by grace and faith alone.
20:56So this was a ministry consideration,
21:00not a salvation issue.
21:03How can he be an effective minister for the gospel?
21:08Going into a synagogue, being a Jew and uncircumcised
21:10would definitely be a stumbling block.
21:13How can I be an effective witness,
21:15is what Timothy is saying.
21:17In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says this,
21:19to the Jews I became as a Jew in order to win Jews.
21:23To those under the law, I became as one under the law,
21:25although not myself being under the law,
21:27that I might win those who are under the law.
21:29He was willing to do whatever was necessary
21:31to make it his ministry effective.
21:34If something was in the way, he was willing to remove it.
21:36That would make his ministry effective.
21:39Timothy, being a Jew and a Gentile,
21:41would have a great open door among both groups of people,
21:44Jews and Gentiles,
21:45yet this issue of circumcision was a problem for the Jews.
21:50Most people who are circumcised are circumcised as a baby,
21:53so none of us remember that process, okay?
21:56This is an adult.
21:58Think about the process of circumcision for an adult male.
22:02No, wait, let's not think about that, okay?
22:05Not think about that.
22:06I mean, it would be extremely uncomfortable, right?
22:10Extremely uncomfortable.
22:11A period of time of healing, all right?
22:14It would be a difficult thing to do,
22:16yet Timothy goes,
22:17if I'm going to be an effective witness,
22:19I'm willing to do that.
22:21That's a big step.
22:23It's a big step to say,
22:25I'm willing to put myself through this pain
22:27and through this process
22:29and through this healing time
22:31so that I will not be a stumbling block
22:33to those I'm preaching the gospel to.
22:36Wow.
22:37It just made me ask the question of myself,
22:39and I'm going to ask it of you.
22:41What would you be willing to do
22:43to become a more effective gospel witness?
22:45He was willing to be circumcised.
22:47What would you do
22:48to become a more effective gospel witness?
22:53Maybe you say,
22:54I'm going to be committed to know the Bible better.
22:57And in 2026,
22:58I'm going to make it my goal
23:00to read through the entire Bible
23:02because I've never read through the entire Bible before.
23:04I've never read all the Bible before.
23:06But I want to be an effective witness,
23:08so I'm willing to take the time
23:09and the commitment,
23:11and I'm going to read through the Bible.
23:13There's Bible reading plans in the back.
23:14There's a one-year one,
23:16a two-year one,
23:16a chronological Bible reading.
23:18Maybe you have your own plan,
23:19but you've never read through the Bible
23:21all the way through.
23:23This is the year.
23:24I'm going to be an effective witness.
23:26I'm going to read the Bible.
23:28Maybe you want to get some biblical training
23:30on how to talk to people about Jesus.
23:32I mean, I don't know how to start the conversation.
23:35How do I talk to people about Jesus?
23:36So maybe you want to get some extra training.
23:38I'm sure there's great stuff on YouTube.
23:40We'll have training here in a little bit.
23:41So there's places you can go
23:42to get some good biblical training.
23:45Maybe there's a sin that we need to repent of
23:47that's getting in the way
23:49of being an effective witness.
23:52Maybe it's the idea that, you know,
23:54I was convicted on a Friday evening
23:56congregational meeting.
23:59We were talking about this,
24:00and someone brought up the idea
24:01of knowing our neighbors.
24:02And I'm thinking to myself,
24:03you know, I don't even know
24:05if I can name the neighbors
24:06five houses down on my side of the street,
24:10all of them.
24:10I think I know most of them,
24:12but I'm thinking,
24:12I don't even know all of them.
24:14I gotta fix that.
24:16I don't even know my neighbors well.
24:18So I gotta fix that.
24:20You know, and I have to understand,
24:22my neighbors don't know Jesus,
24:23so the stuff that they do,
24:25I mean, there was a gentleman
24:26on our street that,
24:27or down at the bottom of the street
24:29that had this Halloween stuff
24:30with a bunch of evil,
24:32wicked, yet nasty stuff.
24:34And, you know,
24:35the first thought is,
24:35well, why would I want to talk
24:36to that person about Jesus?
24:38Is that loving my neighbor?
24:40I need to learn how to do that better.
24:43Or maybe you are in a position right now
24:46that God is saying to you,
24:47I need you in what we call
24:50full-time Christian service.
24:51I want you to commit yourself
24:52to go to a foreign field.
24:54I want you to commit yourself
24:55to be in the ministry here,
24:56maybe locally.
24:57I want you to dedicate your life to this.
25:00What are we willing to do
25:02to become a more effective gospel witness?
25:04Timothy says,
25:05I'll be circumcised.
25:05I'll do that.
25:06I want a witness about Jesus.
25:10Matthew, Jesus said in Matthew 9,
25:12and he said to his disciples,
25:14the harvest is plentiful,
25:15but the laborers are few.
25:17In other words,
25:18there's a lot of harvest out there.
25:21Therefore, pray earnestly
25:22to the Lord of the harvest,
25:24the one who harvests the people
25:26to send out laborers into his harvest.
25:29Our responsibility is simply to tell them.
25:33We cannot convert anyone.
25:35We don't have the power
25:36to convince them to become a Christian.
25:38Our job is simply tell them the story.
25:39Tell them what we know.
25:40Tell them what happened to you
25:41when you became saved.
25:42God the Spirit is the one who saves them.
25:47Paul and Timothy became very close over time
25:49as they traveled together.
25:51Paul even calling Timothy his son in the faith.
25:54That's how close they were.
25:55He's like a son in the faith.
25:56In 1 Timothy 1,
26:00to Timothy, my true child in the faith,
26:02grace, mercy, and peace
26:04from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord.
26:07Paul wrote two letters to Timothy
26:09who became a pastor in Ephesus,
26:11and he was a co-sender of six letters of Paul.
26:14So I mean, he was an integral part
26:16in Paul's ministry.
26:18He was willing to be effective.
26:20Now there's three co-workers
26:22on the missionary team.
26:23They're traveling from church to church,
26:25and they're telling them
26:26what the Jerusalem Council decided.
26:28And Luke loves summary statements.
26:30Verse five is a summary statement.
26:32It kind of summarizes it
26:33before he goes on to the next idea.
26:35Verse five is a summary statement.
26:36So the churches were strengthened.
26:38They were made solid.
26:40They were made firm in the faith.
26:41They weren't like being tossed to and fro
26:45with the waves of the sea
26:47with winds of doctrine
26:48that would lead them astray.
26:49They were solid.
26:50They were firm in their faith.
26:53And they increased in numbers daily.
26:58So not only was Paul concerned
27:00about planting seeds of the gospel,
27:02but also to see them grow and bear fruit.
27:06And as he was doing that,
27:07God is adding to the church daily.
27:10All these people were getting saved.
27:12The churches were growing in numbers.
27:17Isn't that what we desire?
27:19Not just medical aid community church.
27:21It's not about numbers.
27:23But each person is a soul
27:25that has eternity in front of them.
27:28That's what it's about.
27:29It's not about numbers.
27:31It's not about having the biggest number of people
27:32in your church.
27:33That's not it at all.
27:34It's about the souls of the people
27:36that we're ministering to.
27:38And it says the churches increased
27:40in numbers daily.
27:41Well, the book of Acts lays out clearly
27:43how and why they increased in numbers daily.
27:46Why did the churches in the book of Acts grow?
27:48Number one, they were united in purpose.
27:51They had one heart and one soul.
27:52They agreed that this is the effective thing
27:55that we need to do.
27:56This is what we need to do as a body.
27:57And they were united in that.
28:00Secondly, they preached the word of God.
28:02They preached the word of God.
28:04They went out and they told people about God.
28:07They were willing to open their mouths
28:09and speak about God.
28:11And in the process of speaking about God,
28:13they were committed to evangelism.
28:14It wasn't just telling about God,
28:15but telling about God's salvation.
28:18So they were committed to evangelism.
28:21And then they were committed
28:22to teaching the people discipleship,
28:24to disciple them so they can be solid
28:26and strengthened in the faith,
28:27firm in their faith,
28:28not tossed to and fro
28:29with every wind of doctrine.
28:31And the most important reason why they grew
28:34was the Lord added to the churches daily.
28:39It's the Lord of the harvest that adds to the churches.
28:43It's not us.
28:44It's the Lord of the harvest.
28:45We just tell the story.
28:46It's his harvest.
28:48We're his laborers.
28:49He's the one who brings in the harvest.
28:51We tell the story.
28:52He brings in the harvest.
28:54He added.
28:55That's why I'll come back to Matthew 9 again.
28:57This is what we need to do.
28:58We need to pray, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
29:03to send out laborers into his harvest
29:05that the people in Medical Lake
29:07can hear the gospel message.
29:10They can know who Jesus is.
29:12They may reject him.
29:13They may laugh at us,
29:14but our responsibility is to tell them.
29:18Tell them about Jesus.
29:20Let's pray.
29:21Father, thank you.
29:24It saddens us to see two godly men
29:26come into such a sharp disagreement,
29:28and I'm just thankful that even in the midst of our conflicts,
29:31you can make something good out of it.
29:34I thank you that they did reconcile
29:36and that that's an important part of our lives.
29:39Lord, I just thank you.
29:40I just thank you for what you're doing
29:42through these missionary teams
29:43and how they're teaching us important things in life
29:46and important things for our church body to do,
29:50our responsibility and what it is
29:52and how we carry that out.
29:54So, Father, thank you.
29:55Thank you for this.
29:56But also, each one of us here
29:58want to be an effective gospel witness.
30:01We want to be able to tell people about Jesus.
30:03We desire that.
30:04That's what our heart wants to do.
30:06So we're praying to you, the Lord of the harvest,
30:08that you would send out laborers
30:10and that you would harvest a great number of people
30:12in Medical Lake
30:13and bring them into your kingdom,
30:16that we would spend eternity with them.
30:18Oh, God, open our mouths and make us effective witnesses.
30:23We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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