1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,569 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,697 --> 00:00:06,593 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,689 --> 00:00:09,657 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,681 --> 00:00:10,685 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,985 --> 00:00:14,625 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,665 --> 00:00:16,245 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,745 --> 00:00:17,577 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,641 --> 00:00:21,765 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,425 --> 00:00:24,913 So we're in Acts chapter 15. 10 00:00:24,969 --> 00:00:29,355 Where we left off was there was a dispute. 11 00:00:29,655 --> 00:00:32,963 There was a conflict at the beginning of Acts chapter 15. 12 00:00:33,026 --> 00:00:38,955 And really, when we look at Acts 15, we see conflict resolution, 13 00:00:39,295 --> 00:00:40,235 Conflict. 14 00:00:40,695 --> 00:00:42,999 I like to call it the conflict sandwich, right? 15 00:00:43,087 --> 00:00:46,063 We see a conflict at the beginning, and then we see a resolution 16 00:00:46,119 --> 00:00:49,039 at the Jerusalem Council, and we think, hey, everything's going 17 00:00:49,047 --> 00:00:49,535 to be okay. 18 00:00:49,575 --> 00:00:50,799 They're not going to have another conflict. 19 00:00:50,847 --> 00:00:52,403 They're not going to have another dispute. 20 00:00:52,519 --> 00:00:57,123 And all of a sudden we see two of the leaders, well renowned leaders, 21 00:00:57,179 --> 00:00:58,715 have a dispute here at the end of the chapter. 22 00:00:58,755 --> 00:01:00,467 And we're going to talk about that here this evening. 23 00:01:00,531 --> 00:01:03,411 So what happened at the beginning of this chapter? 24 00:01:03,563 --> 00:01:07,763 Well, there were a group of people coming from Jerusalem to a 25 00:01:07,779 --> 00:01:09,107 place called Antioch. 26 00:01:09,251 --> 00:01:12,747 And it was a church that was made up of Jews and Gentiles. 27 00:01:12,891 --> 00:01:15,295 Two different cultures merged into one. 28 00:01:15,595 --> 00:01:18,883 And we know that the Jewish people had their Jewish traditions 29 00:01:18,939 --> 00:01:21,805 that they followed, which in and of themselves are not wrong, 30 00:01:21,925 --> 00:01:24,189 as long as they don't believe that that's what saves them. 31 00:01:24,277 --> 00:01:27,013 The problem was that there was these Jewish people that were going 32 00:01:27,029 --> 00:01:30,165 to the Gentiles and saying, you must be this way. 33 00:01:30,205 --> 00:01:32,461 You must follow the ways of Judaism. 34 00:01:32,493 --> 00:01:36,621 You must follow the traditions and the law to, number one, be saved 35 00:01:36,653 --> 00:01:38,333 and number two, to keep your salvation. 36 00:01:38,469 --> 00:01:39,013 And that was. 37 00:01:39,069 --> 00:01:39,741 That was a conflict. 38 00:01:39,773 --> 00:01:41,837 That was a stumbling block because the Gentiles didn't understand 39 00:01:41,901 --> 00:01:42,413 this. 40 00:01:42,549 --> 00:01:44,909 They said, well, wait, I thought that Paul preached that it 41 00:01:44,917 --> 00:01:46,317 was salvation by faith. 42 00:01:46,461 --> 00:01:49,373 They said, well, it's faith plus these things. 43 00:01:49,549 --> 00:01:52,717 And so what happened was, is that they had to have a council back 44 00:01:52,741 --> 00:01:54,509 in Jerusalem to figure this out. 45 00:01:54,557 --> 00:01:55,789 And there was this great discussion. 46 00:01:55,837 --> 00:01:59,605 We had guys like Paul and Peter and James. 47 00:01:59,685 --> 00:02:03,765 And essentially what happens is that they basically say, no, it's 48 00:02:03,805 --> 00:02:06,029 not an extra burden that we need to put on the Gentiles. 49 00:02:06,077 --> 00:02:07,805 This is not something that they have to follow. 50 00:02:07,925 --> 00:02:09,861 It's salvation by faith alone. 51 00:02:10,013 --> 00:02:12,837 And so they were excited to go back and tell the church at Antioch 52 00:02:12,861 --> 00:02:16,415 that you're not saved by works, you're not saved, you're not 53 00:02:16,455 --> 00:02:17,863 added to in your works. 54 00:02:17,959 --> 00:02:18,999 All it is is faith. 55 00:02:19,087 --> 00:02:21,711 But they did give them a List of rules to keep unity. 56 00:02:21,783 --> 00:02:25,159 Remember the idea of love and unity, right? 57 00:02:25,247 --> 00:02:30,615 We have liberty, but because of our love, we take boundaries. 58 00:02:30,655 --> 00:02:33,111 We put boundaries up in our life to be cautious. 59 00:02:33,303 --> 00:02:34,719 And so what happened was, is there. 60 00:02:34,767 --> 00:02:37,631 There was these rules, essentially, be cautious of these 61 00:02:37,663 --> 00:02:39,577 things so that there's unity in your church. 62 00:02:39,711 --> 00:02:43,261 And those rules were obviously, stay away from idolatry. 63 00:02:43,333 --> 00:02:47,973 Stay away from any meat that was sacrificed to idols and all of 64 00:02:47,989 --> 00:02:48,189 that. 65 00:02:48,237 --> 00:02:50,701 And the reason they gave them those rules was so there could be 66 00:02:50,733 --> 00:02:54,117 unity in the church, Unity in the church at Antioch. 67 00:02:54,301 --> 00:02:57,437 And so we see that when they bring that letter to the church in 68 00:02:57,461 --> 00:02:59,333 Antioch, they were excited. 69 00:02:59,389 --> 00:03:01,525 They were like, yes, we're not bound by the law. 70 00:03:01,565 --> 00:03:03,901 And we're willing to do these things because we love our fellow 71 00:03:03,933 --> 00:03:05,519 brothers and sisters in Christ. 72 00:03:05,677 --> 00:03:09,107 And there was this great moment where we see the end of all 73 00:03:09,131 --> 00:03:09,459 of this. 74 00:03:09,507 --> 00:03:15,219 And we see verse 31 of Acts 15, which when they read, they rejoice 75 00:03:15,307 --> 00:03:17,707 for the consolation or the comfort. 76 00:03:17,851 --> 00:03:19,851 They were comforted by this truth. 77 00:03:19,963 --> 00:03:20,787 They were excited. 78 00:03:20,851 --> 00:03:21,723 There was unity. 79 00:03:21,779 --> 00:03:22,891 There was fellowship. 80 00:03:23,003 --> 00:03:24,387 And we see that in verse 32. 81 00:03:24,411 --> 00:03:27,723 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves exhorted 82 00:03:27,739 --> 00:03:29,731 the brethren with many words and confirmed them. 83 00:03:29,763 --> 00:03:33,447 And after they had tarried their space, they were let go in 84 00:03:33,471 --> 00:03:35,783 peace from the brethren unto the apostles notwithstanding, to 85 00:03:35,799 --> 00:03:37,319 please Silas to abide there still. 86 00:03:37,367 --> 00:03:41,183 So Silas stayed, and he wanted to disciple these folks. 87 00:03:41,359 --> 00:03:45,647 And then we see in verse 35, Paul also and Barnabas continued 88 00:03:45,671 --> 00:03:49,391 in Antioch teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with 89 00:03:49,423 --> 00:03:50,287 many others also. 90 00:03:50,351 --> 00:03:53,275 So we left off with everything going well. 91 00:03:53,855 --> 00:03:57,599 Paul, Silas, Barnabas, they're preaching, they're teaching. 92 00:03:57,647 --> 00:03:59,365 We see discipleship happening. 93 00:03:59,495 --> 00:04:00,881 We see growth happening. 94 00:04:00,993 --> 00:04:02,449 And then we see verse 36. 95 00:04:02,497 --> 00:04:06,593 Now, we don't know how much time exactly took place between verse 96 00:04:06,649 --> 00:04:07,905 35 and verse 36. 97 00:04:07,945 --> 00:04:12,657 It just says, and some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, let 98 00:04:12,681 --> 00:04:15,465 us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have 99 00:04:15,505 --> 00:04:19,005 preached the word of the Lord and see how they do. 100 00:04:19,425 --> 00:04:23,657 And so Paul had this spirit of evangelism, but Paul had a spirit 101 00:04:23,681 --> 00:04:24,665 of discipleship. 102 00:04:24,785 --> 00:04:27,595 Well, what Paul wanted to do, obviously, was to go to new places 103 00:04:27,635 --> 00:04:29,459 and preach the gospel to new people. 104 00:04:29,587 --> 00:04:32,107 But he also had a heart for going back and checking in with the 105 00:04:32,131 --> 00:04:34,043 people that have already received the Word. 106 00:04:34,179 --> 00:04:37,251 And so Paul's heart at this point was, hey, we need to go speak 107 00:04:37,283 --> 00:04:40,035 to other people that have already trusted in Jesus Christ, 108 00:04:40,075 --> 00:04:41,851 but we need to see how they're doing. 109 00:04:42,043 --> 00:04:45,379 And so he understood the importance of strengthening and encouraging 110 00:04:45,427 --> 00:04:47,995 those people who were already Christians. 111 00:04:48,155 --> 00:04:50,975 And so as a church, we also have to have that same desire. 112 00:04:51,425 --> 00:04:53,753 We need to have an evangelistic heart. 113 00:04:53,929 --> 00:04:57,569 One of the pillars of our church should be evangelism, meaning 114 00:04:57,657 --> 00:04:59,485 preaching the gospel to the lost. 115 00:04:59,785 --> 00:05:03,473 But another pillar of our church, another deciding factor of 116 00:05:03,489 --> 00:05:07,361 our church, should be that we must be discipleship oriented, meaning 117 00:05:07,433 --> 00:05:09,009 we need to preach the gospel to folks. 118 00:05:09,097 --> 00:05:11,497 We need to see them come to Christ, but we also need to come 119 00:05:11,521 --> 00:05:13,825 alongside of them after they've trusted in Jesus Christ. 120 00:05:13,905 --> 00:05:14,849 And we need to teach them. 121 00:05:14,897 --> 00:05:16,145 That's part of the Great Commission. 122 00:05:16,265 --> 00:05:18,003 Because go to the Great Commission, one of the words that 123 00:05:18,019 --> 00:05:19,643 you see is teaching them. 124 00:05:19,779 --> 00:05:21,179 Teach, teach. 125 00:05:21,347 --> 00:05:23,595 And so teaching means what we say. 126 00:05:23,715 --> 00:05:25,059 It means what we demonstrate. 127 00:05:25,107 --> 00:05:26,283 It means how we live. 128 00:05:26,419 --> 00:05:27,755 And so Paul said, you know what? 129 00:05:27,795 --> 00:05:29,775 Let's go and let's talk to these people. 130 00:05:30,195 --> 00:05:34,451 And so Paul had a heart for the lost, and he had a heart for 131 00:05:34,483 --> 00:05:37,483 those who were believers that needed shepherding, that needed guidance, 132 00:05:37,539 --> 00:05:39,187 that needed maturity. 133 00:05:39,331 --> 00:05:40,795 And that's how we should be in our church. 134 00:05:40,875 --> 00:05:43,761 We can't overemphasize one or the other. 135 00:05:43,913 --> 00:05:46,993 If we overemphasized evangelism, what would happen is 136 00:05:47,089 --> 00:05:49,689 we would be full of a bunch of spiritual babies. 137 00:05:49,817 --> 00:05:51,369 And we see that throughout the New Testament. 138 00:05:51,417 --> 00:05:52,721 Paul, he doesn't like that. 139 00:05:52,753 --> 00:05:55,457 He says, hey, if you guys all stay as spiritual babes, you can't 140 00:05:55,481 --> 00:05:57,649 take the next step of leading other people to Christ. 141 00:05:57,817 --> 00:06:00,705 You should be on the meat, but you're still on the milk. 142 00:06:00,825 --> 00:06:04,321 And so if we only emphasize evangelism and that alone, we're 143 00:06:04,353 --> 00:06:05,825 missing out on that next step. 144 00:06:05,905 --> 00:06:08,985 But if we only emphasize discipleship, what will we be doing? 145 00:06:09,025 --> 00:06:12,355 We would be keeping a focus on our own people, and that's it. 146 00:06:12,475 --> 00:06:15,995 And so what we have to do is have a healthy mix of both evangelism, 147 00:06:16,115 --> 00:06:17,947 discipleship, evangelism, discipleship. 148 00:06:17,971 --> 00:06:19,491 And that's what we see Paul doing here. 149 00:06:19,523 --> 00:06:20,523 So everything's good. 150 00:06:20,619 --> 00:06:21,851 He wanted to see how they're doing. 151 00:06:21,883 --> 00:06:25,135 This shows Paul's his shepherding heart. 152 00:06:26,115 --> 00:06:28,803 He was not content with just planting churches. 153 00:06:28,899 --> 00:06:33,003 He wanted to see them nurtured and matured and growing. 154 00:06:33,099 --> 00:06:34,699 And that's how we should be within our own church. 155 00:06:34,747 --> 00:06:38,833 So he has this heart, and I think this is a good place to be. 156 00:06:38,929 --> 00:06:40,281 I think this is how we should be. 157 00:06:40,353 --> 00:06:42,769 And what we're going to see here in this passage is that people 158 00:06:42,817 --> 00:06:45,445 with good intentions can make mistakes. 159 00:06:45,825 --> 00:06:49,393 Paul and Barnabas, I think, by all accounts here are good men. 160 00:06:49,489 --> 00:06:50,561 They're men that love the Lord. 161 00:06:50,593 --> 00:06:51,945 They're men that love the ministry. 162 00:06:52,025 --> 00:06:54,873 But we're Going to see them have a disagreement and we're going 163 00:06:54,889 --> 00:06:56,393 to see them have a struggle here. 164 00:06:56,529 --> 00:06:59,825 And so what we need to see is that conflict and disagreements are 165 00:06:59,865 --> 00:07:00,685 inevitable. 166 00:07:01,105 --> 00:07:04,925 I wish that we could all walk in the same mind all the time. 167 00:07:05,225 --> 00:07:08,441 And the truth is that we can walk with the same goals but sometimes 168 00:07:08,473 --> 00:07:10,161 we're going to have a different opinion on how we should 169 00:07:10,193 --> 00:07:10,857 get there. 170 00:07:11,001 --> 00:07:12,445 Now how do we deal with that? 171 00:07:12,865 --> 00:07:16,409 Well, a lot of times what happens within bodies of believers 172 00:07:16,457 --> 00:07:18,209 is that we have a disagreement. 173 00:07:18,337 --> 00:07:22,577 Well, either becomes a fight or it becomes a way to flee. 174 00:07:22,721 --> 00:07:23,169 Right? 175 00:07:23,257 --> 00:07:24,965 You've ever heard of fight or flight? 176 00:07:25,545 --> 00:07:29,449 Fight or flight is we either respond with fighting a person or 177 00:07:29,497 --> 00:07:30,987 we respond with running away. 178 00:07:31,121 --> 00:07:34,271 And that's how we react in many cases within conflict within 179 00:07:34,303 --> 00:07:34,775 the church. 180 00:07:34,855 --> 00:07:36,079 I have been guilty of both. 181 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:38,903 I have been guilty on the side of lashing out in anger because of 182 00:07:38,919 --> 00:07:41,319 a disagreement and I've also been guilty of, hey, you know what, 183 00:07:41,327 --> 00:07:43,207 I'm just going to back off, I'm going to run away, I'm not going 184 00:07:43,231 --> 00:07:44,351 to deal with this issue. 185 00:07:44,503 --> 00:07:47,175 And neither one of those are really what we should be doing within 186 00:07:47,215 --> 00:07:48,031 a conflict. 187 00:07:48,183 --> 00:07:50,623 Both of those really have a self focus. 188 00:07:50,799 --> 00:07:52,367 How can I get out of this? 189 00:07:52,471 --> 00:07:53,623 How can I win? 190 00:07:53,719 --> 00:07:55,391 We're going to see here this evening that that's not the right 191 00:07:55,423 --> 00:07:58,555 route to go when we have a disagreement, when we have a dispute. 192 00:07:59,535 --> 00:08:01,915 And so let's look what happens in verse 37. 193 00:08:02,415 --> 00:08:06,075 This is where the root of it actually begins. 194 00:08:06,815 --> 00:08:09,479 Well I wouldn't say the root, the root is actually started before 195 00:08:09,527 --> 00:08:12,395 this, but this is what causes it to explode. 196 00:08:12,695 --> 00:08:17,119 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname 197 00:08:17,167 --> 00:08:18,111 was Mark. 198 00:08:18,303 --> 00:08:23,283 So Barnabas goes to Paul and says, hey, we need to take John Mark, 199 00:08:23,479 --> 00:08:25,375 he's going to be a good help to us. 200 00:08:25,875 --> 00:08:28,979 And that was Barnabas opinion. 201 00:08:29,107 --> 00:08:32,987 Now the Bible here in this passage, this is interesting, at 202 00:08:33,011 --> 00:08:34,275 least the way that I read this. 203 00:08:34,315 --> 00:08:36,335 We really don't see who's right or wrong. 204 00:08:37,475 --> 00:08:40,451 I think that there's actually people on both sides that have good 205 00:08:40,483 --> 00:08:41,171 opinions. 206 00:08:41,323 --> 00:08:44,995 But I think that people on the both sides were not willing to compromise 207 00:08:45,035 --> 00:08:45,627 and come together. 208 00:08:45,691 --> 00:08:47,587 So I think there's right on both sides and I think there's wrong 209 00:08:47,611 --> 00:08:48,577 on both sides. 210 00:08:48,731 --> 00:08:51,205 But what we see here is that Barnabas says let's take John Mark, 211 00:08:51,245 --> 00:08:54,205 he's a good guy, but let's see what Paul has to think about John 212 00:08:54,245 --> 00:08:54,825 Mark. 213 00:08:55,445 --> 00:09:00,005 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed 214 00:09:00,045 --> 00:09:03,861 from them from Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. 215 00:09:03,973 --> 00:09:07,253 Now if you remember back a little while ago when we were in 216 00:09:07,269 --> 00:09:11,181 this study, we saw in Acts, chapter 13, verse 13, it says now, 217 00:09:11,213 --> 00:09:14,421 when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to 218 00:09:14,453 --> 00:09:15,805 Perga and Pamphylia. 219 00:09:15,925 --> 00:09:19,109 And John, that's the same John, Mark and John departed from 220 00:09:19,157 --> 00:09:21,033 them and returned to Jerusalem. 221 00:09:21,229 --> 00:09:24,809 Now, we can understand through context that it was basically John, 222 00:09:24,857 --> 00:09:25,737 Mark fled. 223 00:09:25,801 --> 00:09:26,801 He said, I'm going back. 224 00:09:26,833 --> 00:09:28,137 I can't handle this. 225 00:09:28,321 --> 00:09:29,449 This is too difficult. 226 00:09:29,537 --> 00:09:33,161 And basically he left Paul and Barnabas, you know, up the creek 227 00:09:33,193 --> 00:09:33,905 without the paddle. 228 00:09:33,945 --> 00:09:35,473 He said, I'm going to bail on you guys. 229 00:09:35,569 --> 00:09:36,593 I can't do this. 230 00:09:36,729 --> 00:09:40,337 And so Paul's response is, no, we don't want a guy like that around. 231 00:09:40,521 --> 00:09:42,809 Now, we could understand Paul's sentiment here, right? 232 00:09:42,897 --> 00:09:45,565 We don't want to take a guy with us that we can't trust. 233 00:09:45,865 --> 00:09:49,991 Now, Paul is a guy who is strong in his faith, but Paul is 234 00:09:50,023 --> 00:09:51,151 strong in his opinion. 235 00:09:51,303 --> 00:09:52,215 And we see Barnabas. 236 00:09:52,255 --> 00:09:55,775 Now, what is Barnabas most characterized by? 237 00:09:55,815 --> 00:09:58,195 Does anyone remember what's his name even mean? 238 00:09:58,655 --> 00:10:01,535 He's an encourager, like the son of consolation, the son of encouragement. 239 00:10:01,575 --> 00:10:04,359 So Barnabas is going to always err on the side of, I'm going to 240 00:10:04,367 --> 00:10:05,023 be an encourager. 241 00:10:05,039 --> 00:10:07,367 I'm going to pour out grace and mercy upon people. 242 00:10:07,431 --> 00:10:11,231 Paul, though he had mercy and grace, was the guy out front. 243 00:10:11,303 --> 00:10:12,199 He was a prophet. 244 00:10:12,247 --> 00:10:14,015 He was the one who was going to be leading. 245 00:10:14,055 --> 00:10:18,525 And so Paul's seeing it from a very administrative standpoint, right? 246 00:10:19,145 --> 00:10:20,761 And I can understand this. 247 00:10:20,833 --> 00:10:22,897 I can understand Paul's sentiment here. 248 00:10:23,001 --> 00:10:25,937 Paul's like, I don't want a guy coming with me that bailed on 249 00:10:25,961 --> 00:10:26,193 me. 250 00:10:26,249 --> 00:10:28,325 That's not going to work on the mission field. 251 00:10:28,785 --> 00:10:32,113 Well, he's coming from that administrative mindset that, that, 252 00:10:32,169 --> 00:10:33,457 that business mindset, if you will. 253 00:10:33,481 --> 00:10:36,433 Now, I'm not going to say that Paul is thinking business here, but 254 00:10:36,449 --> 00:10:38,873 what I am saying is that there is a spiritual gift of administration 255 00:10:38,969 --> 00:10:42,419 that Paul is seeing here, and we're seeing it acted out right here. 256 00:10:42,507 --> 00:10:44,955 And then we see what happens with Barnabas is Barnabas is one 257 00:10:44,995 --> 00:10:45,915 with mercy. 258 00:10:46,075 --> 00:10:47,787 He's the one that's like, hey, well, you know what? 259 00:10:47,851 --> 00:10:48,979 Let's give him a second chance. 260 00:10:49,027 --> 00:10:49,691 Let's take him with us. 261 00:10:49,723 --> 00:10:53,475 Now we're gonna see that Barnabas has a reason for this. 262 00:10:53,635 --> 00:10:55,819 Barnabas is related to John, Mark. 263 00:10:55,867 --> 00:10:58,535 And so there's a familial connection as well. 264 00:10:58,955 --> 00:11:02,587 But both of them naturally, in and of themselves, have their opinion. 265 00:11:02,771 --> 00:11:04,243 Now, I wanna stop here. 266 00:11:04,299 --> 00:11:07,193 Tonight's gonna sound more like a Lecture than preaching. 267 00:11:07,299 --> 00:11:08,893 There will be some elements of preaching. 268 00:11:08,949 --> 00:11:10,285 They're kind of merged together here. 269 00:11:10,365 --> 00:11:12,901 But what I will say is that sometimes within a conflict within 270 00:11:12,933 --> 00:11:16,053 the church, there are good opinions on both sides. 271 00:11:16,229 --> 00:11:18,225 You can see points on both sides. 272 00:11:18,725 --> 00:11:21,637 And actually what happens is that sometimes people are seeing 273 00:11:21,661 --> 00:11:24,149 it from this perspective and another person seeing it from this 274 00:11:24,197 --> 00:11:24,805 perspective. 275 00:11:24,925 --> 00:11:27,421 And what could have happened is they could have come together 276 00:11:27,613 --> 00:11:30,549 and talked this out and maybe come up with a compromise in the 277 00:11:30,557 --> 00:11:31,501 sake of unity. 278 00:11:31,653 --> 00:11:33,263 But we're going to see that they don't do that. 279 00:11:33,389 --> 00:11:35,603 We're going to see that they don't want to talk this out, or at 280 00:11:35,619 --> 00:11:37,971 least in this case they don't talk it out and they go their separate 281 00:11:38,003 --> 00:11:38,619 ways. 282 00:11:38,787 --> 00:11:41,043 Now some people preach this passage and say, well, this is what 283 00:11:41,059 --> 00:11:43,059 you're supposed to do in all sense of conflict. 284 00:11:43,187 --> 00:11:45,603 If you can't figure it out, just turn your back and go, well, 285 00:11:45,619 --> 00:11:47,723 I don't think Paul or Barnabas are sinless. 286 00:11:47,779 --> 00:11:49,971 And so I think there are some elements of their flesh being played 287 00:11:50,003 --> 00:11:51,243 out in this passage. 288 00:11:51,419 --> 00:11:53,935 And we see that through verse 39. 289 00:11:54,475 --> 00:11:57,275 And the contention was so sharp between them. 290 00:11:57,435 --> 00:12:01,195 Now that is not how you would describe two individuals following 291 00:12:01,275 --> 00:12:02,019 in the Spirit. 292 00:12:02,067 --> 00:12:02,497 Right? 293 00:12:02,611 --> 00:12:05,749 If they were both following the Spirit and trying to fix this, 294 00:12:05,877 --> 00:12:10,425 it wouldn't be described as having sharp contention between them. 295 00:12:10,805 --> 00:12:14,141 And so for me, that's a clue to show us that neither one of them 296 00:12:14,173 --> 00:12:16,625 are completely walking in the Spirit in this. 297 00:12:17,125 --> 00:12:21,653 There is a way that we can have a conflict in the Spirit and 298 00:12:21,669 --> 00:12:24,025 there's a way that we can have a conflict in the flesh. 299 00:12:25,805 --> 00:12:28,877 How do we know that Jesus had conflict with people? 300 00:12:28,941 --> 00:12:29,501 Right? 301 00:12:29,653 --> 00:12:32,893 Well, we know that there were people that opposed Jesus's teaching 302 00:12:33,029 --> 00:12:35,541 and Jesus handled it in a perfect way every single time. 303 00:12:35,573 --> 00:12:38,845 Did that mean that Jesus backed down to every single opposition? 304 00:12:38,925 --> 00:12:40,837 No, Jesus was firm. 305 00:12:40,901 --> 00:12:42,925 Jesus was strong with the Pharisees. 306 00:12:43,085 --> 00:12:46,989 But there was a way that Jesus handled conflict in a Spirit filled 307 00:12:47,037 --> 00:12:47,221 way. 308 00:12:47,253 --> 00:12:50,581 And that's our description of how we should follow everything in 309 00:12:50,613 --> 00:12:51,637 Christ like ways. 310 00:12:51,781 --> 00:12:55,427 And so there's also fleshly ways that we can respond to conflict. 311 00:12:55,621 --> 00:12:58,175 And when we respond to conflict in a fleshly way, it always 312 00:12:58,215 --> 00:12:59,479 goes back to ourselves. 313 00:12:59,647 --> 00:13:02,191 It always goes back to us winning. 314 00:13:02,343 --> 00:13:02,607 Right? 315 00:13:02,631 --> 00:13:04,035 There's no winning in that. 316 00:13:04,335 --> 00:13:06,655 There's no winning in a conflict within the church. 317 00:13:06,815 --> 00:13:09,647 Because what happens is that both sides hurt and ultimately the 318 00:13:09,671 --> 00:13:10,951 body of believers hurt. 319 00:13:11,023 --> 00:13:13,503 You remember back in that passage in first Corinthians that 320 00:13:13,519 --> 00:13:17,223 talks about the church being the body and there's different parts 321 00:13:17,239 --> 00:13:18,007 of the body, right? 322 00:13:18,071 --> 00:13:21,009 When one part of the body's hurting, whether we know it or not, 323 00:13:21,127 --> 00:13:22,465 the whole body hurts. 324 00:13:23,125 --> 00:13:26,197 And so what we see in this passage of Scripture is that Paul 325 00:13:26,221 --> 00:13:28,437 and Barnabas are having a conflict. 326 00:13:28,541 --> 00:13:30,465 And they're sharp contention. 327 00:13:30,765 --> 00:13:32,757 Barnabas was determined. 328 00:13:32,941 --> 00:13:35,345 But we see here that Paul insisted. 329 00:13:36,805 --> 00:13:39,717 Paul insisted that John Mark couldn't come. 330 00:13:39,821 --> 00:13:41,677 What Barnabas said was, well, I'm determined. 331 00:13:41,701 --> 00:13:44,141 So we have a guy who's determined and we have a guy who's 332 00:13:44,173 --> 00:13:45,065 insisting. 333 00:13:45,525 --> 00:13:47,845 And so Paul thought it wasn't good to go. 334 00:13:48,005 --> 00:13:50,305 Barnabas was determined. 335 00:13:50,925 --> 00:13:54,597 And so Luke, the writer of Acts, didn't give us a clue as to 336 00:13:54,621 --> 00:13:57,225 who was right or wrong in this dispute. 337 00:13:57,965 --> 00:14:01,941 But it's never good when personal disputes flare up amongst 338 00:14:02,013 --> 00:14:02,985 the ministry. 339 00:14:03,925 --> 00:14:06,789 The conflict that happened at the beginning of Acts, chapter 15. 340 00:14:06,877 --> 00:14:07,557 What? 341 00:14:07,741 --> 00:14:11,213 Okay, this is where you guys can speak back to me. 342 00:14:11,229 --> 00:14:13,565 And I know this is what everyone gets nervous, even the person 343 00:14:13,605 --> 00:14:15,733 asking the question, because you might not understand where I'm 344 00:14:15,749 --> 00:14:16,339 going with this. 345 00:14:16,437 --> 00:14:18,967 But where was the conflict at the beginning of Chapter 15? 346 00:14:19,071 --> 00:14:20,719 There at the church in Antioch. 347 00:14:20,887 --> 00:14:21,719 What was it over? 348 00:14:21,767 --> 00:14:22,831 What was that conflict over? 349 00:14:22,863 --> 00:14:24,311 And they brought to Jerusalem Council. 350 00:14:24,383 --> 00:14:25,515 What was that over? 351 00:14:26,575 --> 00:14:27,463 Grace and law. 352 00:14:27,519 --> 00:14:28,687 So, so we would say. 353 00:14:28,791 --> 00:14:30,983 We would say scriptural things, right? 354 00:14:31,079 --> 00:14:32,567 It was about belief. 355 00:14:32,751 --> 00:14:34,631 It was about the essentials. 356 00:14:34,743 --> 00:14:35,271 Okay? 357 00:14:35,383 --> 00:14:39,367 It's okay within the Church to have conflict and disputes amongst 358 00:14:39,391 --> 00:14:40,007 the essentials. 359 00:14:40,031 --> 00:14:41,555 And we need to figure that out. 360 00:14:41,945 --> 00:14:43,809 Those are things that we should be dealing with. 361 00:14:43,857 --> 00:14:46,473 The essentials, the doctrines, the teachings. 362 00:14:46,609 --> 00:14:49,025 Is this about grace or is it about the law? 363 00:14:49,145 --> 00:14:50,777 What does the word of God have to say? 364 00:14:50,801 --> 00:14:51,833 How do people get saved? 365 00:14:51,889 --> 00:14:55,305 We should wrestle with these things within the Church in a good 366 00:14:55,345 --> 00:14:55,961 way, right? 367 00:14:56,033 --> 00:15:01,817 It's okay to talk about these things, but what really here, what 368 00:15:01,841 --> 00:15:03,449 are Paul and Barnabas fighting over? 369 00:15:03,577 --> 00:15:04,881 Personal disputes. 370 00:15:05,073 --> 00:15:06,817 A slight against Paul. 371 00:15:06,961 --> 00:15:09,207 He was forgotten about by John, Mark. 372 00:15:09,401 --> 00:15:12,531 And this is where we really see a lot of the conflicts happening 373 00:15:12,563 --> 00:15:13,443 within the Church. 374 00:15:13,579 --> 00:15:17,695 Personal slights, personal disputes, not about theology or doctrine. 375 00:15:18,635 --> 00:15:21,451 Now, we shouldn't fight about theology or doctrine to a place where 376 00:15:21,483 --> 00:15:22,579 we're separated. 377 00:15:22,667 --> 00:15:26,003 But what we do need to understand that in many cases, I 378 00:15:26,019 --> 00:15:29,811 would say that most cases within the Church, usually the conflicts 379 00:15:29,883 --> 00:15:32,675 come when it's personal slights or personal disputes. 380 00:15:32,715 --> 00:15:35,615 And that's what we see here as a personal dispute. 381 00:15:36,475 --> 00:15:39,135 And so we see that the contention is sharp. 382 00:15:39,715 --> 00:15:43,267 Wherever there is sharp contention, somebody is. 383 00:15:43,371 --> 00:15:46,535 Somebody is acting in the flesh, somebody is wrong. 384 00:15:47,075 --> 00:15:50,815 And usually there is elements of the flesh on both sides. 385 00:15:51,595 --> 00:15:56,491 And so there was no way that both Paul and Barnabas would be walking 386 00:15:56,523 --> 00:15:59,171 in the spirit with this contention, so it says. 387 00:15:59,243 --> 00:16:02,665 And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed 388 00:16:02,705 --> 00:16:05,365 asunder one from the other. 389 00:16:06,105 --> 00:16:07,885 Now, this is Paul and Barnabas. 390 00:16:08,545 --> 00:16:11,045 These guys were partners in the ministry. 391 00:16:11,545 --> 00:16:15,193 And something over this, something over bringing another guy 392 00:16:15,249 --> 00:16:19,217 onto the ministry staff caused them to separate themselves, turn 393 00:16:19,241 --> 00:16:21,005 their backs on each other, essentially. 394 00:16:21,545 --> 00:16:25,805 And so what happens here is that there is this dissension. 395 00:16:26,745 --> 00:16:29,077 One goes one way, we see that happening. 396 00:16:29,201 --> 00:16:33,317 Barnabas took Mark, Barnabas takes John Mark, and he sailed onto 397 00:16:33,341 --> 00:16:34,045 Cyprus. 398 00:16:34,205 --> 00:16:38,629 Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren 399 00:16:38,677 --> 00:16:39,945 unto the grace of God. 400 00:16:40,485 --> 00:16:43,277 And so earlier in this chapter, we saw that there was a 401 00:16:43,301 --> 00:16:45,205 dispute over a doctrinal matter. 402 00:16:45,365 --> 00:16:49,525 Here we see contention in what I would consider a less important, 403 00:16:49,605 --> 00:16:51,349 more personal issue. 404 00:16:51,517 --> 00:16:55,653 And so the relationship between Paul and Barnabas was probably 405 00:16:55,749 --> 00:16:58,903 strained for many different reasons. 406 00:16:58,959 --> 00:17:03,215 One, maybe Paul was thinking, well, of course Barnabas wants John 407 00:17:03,255 --> 00:17:03,791 Mark to come. 408 00:17:03,823 --> 00:17:04,847 That's his family. 409 00:17:04,991 --> 00:17:05,655 We know that. 410 00:17:05,695 --> 00:17:09,035 Other passages of Scripture tell us that that was his nephew. 411 00:17:09,495 --> 00:17:14,423 We also do know that In Galatians, chapter 2, verse 13, if 412 00:17:14,439 --> 00:17:17,823 you remember, back in the story of the church at Galatia, there 413 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,735 was this issue of the Judaizers that were appealing back 414 00:17:20,775 --> 00:17:23,268 to the flesh, appealing back to man tradition. 415 00:17:23,406 --> 00:17:26,744 Well, we see that In Galatians, chapter 2, verse 13, it 416 00:17:26,784 --> 00:17:31,208 say this, and other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch 417 00:17:31,256 --> 00:17:35,044 that Barnabas was also carried away with their dissimulation. 418 00:17:35,784 --> 00:17:39,296 So we actually even see a situation where Barnabas had fallen 419 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,536 over to the side of the Judaizers at one point. 420 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,200 And so the relationship between Paul and Barnabas was strained 421 00:17:46,352 --> 00:17:50,200 where Barnabas even later on sided with the Judaizers in Antioch 422 00:17:50,232 --> 00:17:53,044 when Peter came to visit in Galatians, chapter two. 423 00:17:53,825 --> 00:17:57,033 And so since Barnabas was John Mark's cousin, and if you want to 424 00:17:57,049 --> 00:17:59,465 check me on that, the passage of Scripture is Colossians, chapter 425 00:17:59,505 --> 00:18:00,685 4, verse 10. 426 00:18:01,585 --> 00:18:06,601 We can see that John Mark is Barnabas cousin, actually not nephew 427 00:18:06,673 --> 00:18:07,345 cousin. 428 00:18:07,505 --> 00:18:11,617 And because Barnabas had such an encouraging spirit, he. 429 00:18:11,761 --> 00:18:13,489 And he had that accepting character. 430 00:18:13,537 --> 00:18:16,273 It was easy to see why he would want John Mark to go. 431 00:18:16,369 --> 00:18:17,769 And so they parted. 432 00:18:17,937 --> 00:18:20,977 So Paul is accompanied by Silas, Barnabas is accompanied by 433 00:18:21,001 --> 00:18:21,513 John Mark. 434 00:18:21,569 --> 00:18:21,945 They split. 435 00:18:21,985 --> 00:18:23,165 They go their different ways. 436 00:18:23,235 --> 00:18:26,945 And so it's hard to know if their personal relationship was strained 437 00:18:27,025 --> 00:18:27,913 for forever. 438 00:18:27,969 --> 00:18:30,401 We know that ultimately it gets fixed. 439 00:18:30,593 --> 00:18:34,969 But we know that there is scripture to deal with personal conflict. 440 00:18:35,097 --> 00:18:38,045 One scripture I'd like to take you to is Matthew, chapter five. 441 00:18:38,345 --> 00:18:39,593 Matthew, chapter five. 442 00:18:39,689 --> 00:18:42,201 This is what Jesus taught on personal conflict. 443 00:18:42,233 --> 00:18:44,753 Now we're going to come back here in a few minutes and we're going 444 00:18:44,769 --> 00:18:47,945 to talk about Paul and Silas, and we're going to talk about John, 445 00:18:47,985 --> 00:18:48,761 Mark and Barnabas. 446 00:18:48,793 --> 00:18:50,777 And we're going to see ultimately that I do believe that 447 00:18:50,801 --> 00:18:54,211 there is resolution to this later on down in the story, down 448 00:18:54,283 --> 00:18:57,347 throughout the history of the early church. 449 00:18:57,531 --> 00:19:01,443 But I want us to see what Scripture has to say about conflict 450 00:19:01,499 --> 00:19:04,579 resolution, and we'll see what Scripture has to say about conflict 451 00:19:04,627 --> 00:19:08,195 resolution, and then we'll see if we think that Paul and Barnabas 452 00:19:08,235 --> 00:19:08,739 followed that. 453 00:19:08,787 --> 00:19:11,395 I think that most of us will agree that they don't essentially 454 00:19:11,435 --> 00:19:13,483 follow all the things that Scripture says to follow at this 455 00:19:13,499 --> 00:19:13,651 point. 456 00:19:13,683 --> 00:19:15,811 Now, this isn't to beat Paul up. 457 00:19:15,963 --> 00:19:17,651 This isn't to be Barnabas up. 458 00:19:17,803 --> 00:19:20,533 I have been Paul in this, okay? 459 00:19:20,589 --> 00:19:23,109 Just to be honest, there's been times in my life where I knew, 460 00:19:23,197 --> 00:19:24,061 you know what? 461 00:19:24,213 --> 00:19:25,625 I just don't want to deal with this. 462 00:19:25,925 --> 00:19:27,709 It's better that we just split up. 463 00:19:27,757 --> 00:19:31,149 It's better that we turn a separate way because that's the easier 464 00:19:31,197 --> 00:19:31,861 route. 465 00:19:32,053 --> 00:19:34,525 But what we can see here in this case is that Jesus doesn't teach 466 00:19:34,565 --> 00:19:36,680 that in Matthew, chapter 5. 467 00:19:36,786 --> 00:19:43,825 If you go to verse 23, this is a very convicting passage of Scripture 468 00:19:45,665 --> 00:19:49,537 and actually leads up to this idea of being angry with a brother 469 00:19:49,721 --> 00:19:50,961 and saying all these things. 470 00:19:50,993 --> 00:19:54,241 But he says, therefore, verse 23, therefore, if thou bring thy 471 00:19:54,273 --> 00:19:58,529 gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath 472 00:19:58,577 --> 00:19:59,857 ought against thee. 473 00:20:00,001 --> 00:20:05,033 So basically, if you remember that your brother has something against 474 00:20:05,089 --> 00:20:06,365 you, what do you do? 475 00:20:07,185 --> 00:20:13,445 Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way and first 476 00:20:13,485 --> 00:20:17,813 be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. 477 00:20:17,949 --> 00:20:18,861 Meaning this. 478 00:20:19,013 --> 00:20:24,077 God isn't interested with any of your ministry, any of your gifts, 479 00:20:24,141 --> 00:20:27,093 any of your worship, unless you're right with all those that 480 00:20:27,109 --> 00:20:29,757 are around you with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 481 00:20:29,941 --> 00:20:33,581 You know, sometimes we think that we can offset our anger against 482 00:20:33,613 --> 00:20:35,125 our brother by just loving God more. 483 00:20:35,165 --> 00:20:37,623 But what we can see in that passage is, hey, leave your gift, 484 00:20:37,749 --> 00:20:39,867 go get it right with your brother, then come back and give 485 00:20:39,891 --> 00:20:40,615 that gift. 486 00:20:41,155 --> 00:20:43,763 And that's one of the things that I'm really convicted by. 487 00:20:43,819 --> 00:20:47,395 Especially when we inspect our lives in a communion service or something 488 00:20:47,435 --> 00:20:51,131 like that, we need to really think like, am I is the best of my 489 00:20:51,163 --> 00:20:53,731 ability living in harmony with those around me. 490 00:20:53,763 --> 00:20:56,555 Now, if I go to try to make it right with my brother, and my brother 491 00:20:56,595 --> 00:20:59,283 doesn't want to make it right with me, hey, I've done my part right? 492 00:20:59,379 --> 00:21:02,259 And Matthew chapter 18 tells us what we are to do next. 493 00:21:02,387 --> 00:21:05,617 If I go to my brother and try to make it right, and he doesn't 494 00:21:05,641 --> 00:21:07,673 want to make it right, well, it depends on who's been the one 495 00:21:07,689 --> 00:21:09,377 who sinned against each other, right? 496 00:21:09,561 --> 00:21:12,273 If I've sinned against you and I've tried to come to you and try 497 00:21:12,289 --> 00:21:14,961 to make that right, and they don't care, then, hey, it's over. 498 00:21:14,993 --> 00:21:16,497 I've done everything that I can do. 499 00:21:16,641 --> 00:21:20,017 But if that person has sinned against me and I go to them to try 500 00:21:20,041 --> 00:21:22,873 to have that restoration and they reject that, well, we have to 501 00:21:22,889 --> 00:21:25,625 bring two or three, as the Scriptures say in Matthew chapter 502 00:21:25,665 --> 00:21:26,225 18. 503 00:21:26,385 --> 00:21:28,521 And then ultimately we have to take the next step. 504 00:21:28,553 --> 00:21:30,633 If they reject that, we have to take the next step of bringing 505 00:21:30,649 --> 00:21:32,023 it for the whole church family. 506 00:21:32,169 --> 00:21:33,155 This isn't my teaching. 507 00:21:33,195 --> 00:21:35,455 This is Jesus teaching in Matthew chapter 18. 508 00:21:35,755 --> 00:21:39,859 And so there is Jesus always has a path for us when it comes to 509 00:21:39,907 --> 00:21:40,907 conflict resolution. 510 00:21:41,011 --> 00:21:44,099 So we see in that passage that God is more concerned with our heart 511 00:21:44,147 --> 00:21:48,067 than our actions, and our heart must be to be restored back 512 00:21:48,091 --> 00:21:48,907 to a brother. 513 00:21:49,051 --> 00:21:51,123 Another passage of scripture that I think we could go to when 514 00:21:51,139 --> 00:21:54,130 it comes to conflict resolution is Galatians chapter 6. 515 00:21:54,288 --> 00:21:56,579 Galatians chapter 6. 516 00:21:56,667 --> 00:22:02,521 This shows us the spirit of the conflict resolution, the spirit 517 00:22:02,553 --> 00:22:06,057 of when someone wrongs us, the spirit of when we have a disagreement. 518 00:22:06,161 --> 00:22:07,705 Now, first of all, I will say this. 519 00:22:07,745 --> 00:22:10,321 The Bible says live peaceably with all men if possible. 520 00:22:10,393 --> 00:22:16,089 So it's obviously in many cases an impossibility to be at peace 521 00:22:16,137 --> 00:22:17,457 with everybody at all times. 522 00:22:17,521 --> 00:22:17,721 Right? 523 00:22:17,753 --> 00:22:19,849 There are going to be people that are just upset with us because 524 00:22:19,937 --> 00:22:20,641 we're Christians. 525 00:22:20,713 --> 00:22:22,937 There's going to be people that are upset with us because we 526 00:22:22,961 --> 00:22:24,713 looked a certain way, or there's going to be people that are 527 00:22:24,729 --> 00:22:25,281 upset all the time. 528 00:22:25,313 --> 00:22:28,587 We have to do everything that we can to live peaceably with them. 529 00:22:28,771 --> 00:22:31,779 And but the problem is, is that in most cases in a dispute, 530 00:22:31,827 --> 00:22:35,515 or in most cases when there's a disagreement, what happens is, 531 00:22:35,675 --> 00:22:40,011 is that we are focused on, like I said before, winning or pulling 532 00:22:40,043 --> 00:22:42,267 that person down or making that person look bad. 533 00:22:42,331 --> 00:22:45,139 Well, Galatians chapter six tells us the Spirit that we should 534 00:22:45,187 --> 00:22:45,659 have. 535 00:22:45,787 --> 00:22:48,675 When we're dealing with an individual that has this. 536 00:22:48,755 --> 00:22:51,043 Has a dispute with us, it says brethren. 537 00:22:51,179 --> 00:22:52,899 And this is specifically dealing with sin. 538 00:22:52,947 --> 00:22:54,313 Right, says brethren. 539 00:22:54,369 --> 00:22:58,325 If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual. 540 00:22:59,025 --> 00:23:01,297 So this is assuming that you are the one that's walking to the 541 00:23:01,321 --> 00:23:02,845 best of your ability with Christ. 542 00:23:03,185 --> 00:23:07,685 Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in Spirit of meekness. 543 00:23:08,585 --> 00:23:11,601 So the Bible tells us, in the midst of a conflict, in the midst 544 00:23:11,633 --> 00:23:15,081 of a dispute, in the midst of someone sinning against us, we need 545 00:23:15,113 --> 00:23:20,073 to be the better person, the more spiritual person, we need to 546 00:23:20,089 --> 00:23:22,745 be, the more Christ like person and say, I'm going to treat 547 00:23:22,785 --> 00:23:23,965 them with meekness. 548 00:23:24,425 --> 00:23:28,225 Now what happens usually when someone wrongs us, we don't respond 549 00:23:28,265 --> 00:23:29,025 in meekness. 550 00:23:29,145 --> 00:23:30,361 We respond in. 551 00:23:30,473 --> 00:23:32,969 Here's the big long list of things opposite of meekness. 552 00:23:33,097 --> 00:23:38,601 We get angry, we get divisive, we start calling them names, we start 553 00:23:38,633 --> 00:23:39,761 trying to tear them down. 554 00:23:39,873 --> 00:23:42,017 The Bible says that's the opposite of meekness. 555 00:23:42,161 --> 00:23:45,549 We are to have a spirit of meekness for those that have fallen. 556 00:23:45,737 --> 00:23:50,341 He says, why considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted? 557 00:23:50,453 --> 00:23:55,445 What happens here is that if a person has wronged us in sin and 558 00:23:55,485 --> 00:23:58,325 we don't meet them with meekness, what does it say here? 559 00:23:58,445 --> 00:24:01,013 That we would be tempted to follow suit. 560 00:24:01,189 --> 00:24:02,997 We would be tempted to join in. 561 00:24:03,061 --> 00:24:04,125 In that bitterness. 562 00:24:04,245 --> 00:24:05,741 We would be tempted to join in. 563 00:24:05,773 --> 00:24:07,989 And when that root of bitterness starts, I want you to 564 00:24:07,997 --> 00:24:09,101 see another passage of scripture. 565 00:24:09,133 --> 00:24:09,917 Keep your finger there. 566 00:24:09,941 --> 00:24:12,403 In Galatians chapter six, we're going to go back, but I want 567 00:24:12,419 --> 00:24:15,187 you to see the danger of that root of bitterness starting in our 568 00:24:15,211 --> 00:24:15,827 hearts. 569 00:24:15,971 --> 00:24:17,803 Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. 570 00:24:17,922 --> 00:24:21,195 Hebrews chapter 12 talks about that root of bitterness starting. 571 00:24:21,235 --> 00:24:22,787 Because usually what happens is this. 572 00:24:22,891 --> 00:24:27,355 When someone wrongs us or maybe someone just is against us, 573 00:24:27,515 --> 00:24:30,715 we then begin to have that root of bitterness against them. 574 00:24:30,755 --> 00:24:33,175 Now what happens when that root of bitterness takes place? 575 00:24:33,835 --> 00:24:36,147 Well, it's like a seed being planted. 576 00:24:36,291 --> 00:24:39,687 And at first it doesn't look like a big deal, but ultimately that 577 00:24:39,711 --> 00:24:42,915 bitterness can totally, totally engulf our lives. 578 00:24:43,215 --> 00:24:44,959 Hebrews chapter 12, verse 15. 579 00:24:45,007 --> 00:24:49,343 It says looking diligently, basically keeping your eyes open. 580 00:24:49,399 --> 00:24:53,375 In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 15, looking diligently lest any man 581 00:24:53,455 --> 00:24:58,895 fall, or, excuse me, fail of the grace of God, lest any root of 582 00:24:58,935 --> 00:25:02,831 bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be 583 00:25:02,863 --> 00:25:03,255 defiled. 584 00:25:03,295 --> 00:25:06,071 Meaning this, when a root of bitterness starts in our heart, we 585 00:25:06,103 --> 00:25:11,131 begin to leave the grace of God and we begin to live a life that 586 00:25:11,163 --> 00:25:13,123 is defiled because of that bitterness. 587 00:25:13,219 --> 00:25:18,051 Defiled means poisoned, messed up, corrupted. 588 00:25:18,243 --> 00:25:20,955 And so what ultimately can happen is when that root of bitterness 589 00:25:21,035 --> 00:25:23,891 starts in our hearts, it can start as a root, as it says there, 590 00:25:23,923 --> 00:25:26,495 but ultimately it can grow and defile us. 591 00:25:26,875 --> 00:25:29,307 Now, that doesn't mean that we lose our salvation, but what that 592 00:25:29,331 --> 00:25:32,355 means is that we're characterized by that bitterness 593 00:25:32,395 --> 00:25:33,227 in our heart. 594 00:25:33,371 --> 00:25:36,371 And so if we Go back to what Galatians chapter 6 says. 595 00:25:36,523 --> 00:25:37,795 Think about that root of bitterness. 596 00:25:37,835 --> 00:25:39,795 Now we'll go back to what Galatians chapter six says. 597 00:25:39,835 --> 00:25:43,291 It says, do it with meekness. 598 00:25:43,443 --> 00:25:45,771 Now, we talked this morning in our Sunday school class about what 599 00:25:45,803 --> 00:25:47,055 meekness is. 600 00:25:47,635 --> 00:25:49,659 But meekness is strength under control. 601 00:25:49,787 --> 00:25:53,875 Meekness is that understanding of knowing something, but yet having 602 00:25:53,915 --> 00:25:57,219 the ability to say, I don't need to exercise this, like someone 603 00:25:57,267 --> 00:25:58,123 has wronged me. 604 00:25:58,219 --> 00:26:01,275 I could chew them out, I could yell at them. 605 00:26:01,355 --> 00:26:04,451 I have every right to, within our human nature to do that. 606 00:26:04,523 --> 00:26:05,907 But I'm not gonna do that. 607 00:26:06,051 --> 00:26:07,259 That's what Jesus did. 608 00:26:07,387 --> 00:26:11,323 Don't you know that Jesus could have just basically gotten 609 00:26:11,339 --> 00:26:14,939 onto everyone that he walked by every single day, every single 610 00:26:14,987 --> 00:26:16,611 hour, like he could be walking down the street. 611 00:26:16,643 --> 00:26:17,931 Remember, Jesus knew everyone's mind. 612 00:26:17,963 --> 00:26:19,931 He could look at that person and go, that person's a hypocrite. 613 00:26:19,963 --> 00:26:21,331 I'm just gonna chew them out right now. 614 00:26:21,403 --> 00:26:22,995 That person over here is doing this. 615 00:26:23,115 --> 00:26:26,971 Jesus did have times where he spoke the truth in love. 616 00:26:27,083 --> 00:26:30,347 But there were times where Jesus held his mouth right. 617 00:26:30,451 --> 00:26:32,883 Jesus didn't address every single person that he came across. 618 00:26:32,939 --> 00:26:35,713 There were times that he picked, and there was times that 619 00:26:35,729 --> 00:26:38,929 were appropriate that he was able to exercise his strength. 620 00:26:39,017 --> 00:26:40,805 And it was strength under control. 621 00:26:41,105 --> 00:26:43,641 So that's how we deal with people that have wronged us. 622 00:26:43,673 --> 00:26:46,265 That's how we deal with people that have a disagreement with us. 623 00:26:46,305 --> 00:26:47,521 We do it with meekness. 624 00:26:47,633 --> 00:26:48,285 Why? 625 00:26:48,585 --> 00:26:53,153 We watch ourselves, lest we be tempted, lest we have that root of 626 00:26:53,169 --> 00:26:53,529 bitterness. 627 00:26:53,577 --> 00:26:58,225 Because let's say that person is angry with me and I don't respond 628 00:26:58,265 --> 00:26:59,089 with meekness. 629 00:26:59,177 --> 00:26:59,897 Guess what's going to happen? 630 00:26:59,921 --> 00:27:01,139 I'm going to be angry with them. 631 00:27:01,257 --> 00:27:04,519 And that cycle is going to just continue to grow, and that separation 632 00:27:04,567 --> 00:27:06,007 is going to continue to be there. 633 00:27:06,071 --> 00:27:07,231 And then it says, really? 634 00:27:07,263 --> 00:27:09,615 Verse 2, bear ye one another's burden. 635 00:27:09,655 --> 00:27:13,447 So it's done in meekness and it's done with selflessness. 636 00:27:13,551 --> 00:27:16,303 Not selfishness, but selflessness, meaning I'm putting 637 00:27:16,319 --> 00:27:17,863 the other person before myself. 638 00:27:17,999 --> 00:27:19,515 Can I bear your burden? 639 00:27:20,375 --> 00:27:23,639 It's seeing somebody that's fallen or struggling and saying, 640 00:27:23,687 --> 00:27:24,995 how can I help you? 641 00:27:25,455 --> 00:27:26,977 Now that's counter. 642 00:27:27,111 --> 00:27:28,545 Counterintuitive, right? 643 00:27:28,845 --> 00:27:31,573 If you're against me, then I'm done with you. 644 00:27:31,709 --> 00:27:32,901 You're cut off. 645 00:27:33,053 --> 00:27:34,029 But what does he say here? 646 00:27:34,077 --> 00:27:37,025 Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 647 00:27:37,565 --> 00:27:42,705 For if any man think himself to be something when he is nothing, 648 00:27:43,685 --> 00:27:45,145 he deceiveth himself. 649 00:27:46,565 --> 00:27:50,597 So a lot of times, in the midst of a conflict we go back to 650 00:27:50,621 --> 00:27:52,345 that self focus. 651 00:27:52,655 --> 00:27:54,479 And what does he say there in verse three? 652 00:27:54,567 --> 00:27:59,995 For if any man think himself to be something when he is nothing, 653 00:28:00,695 --> 00:28:02,115 he deceiveth himself. 654 00:28:02,815 --> 00:28:05,599 So we can deceive ourselves by saying that we are the focus in all 655 00:28:05,607 --> 00:28:06,275 of this. 656 00:28:07,135 --> 00:28:08,955 I take it personally, right? 657 00:28:09,655 --> 00:28:12,031 What the Lord is telling us here is don't take it personally. 658 00:28:12,143 --> 00:28:14,195 Use it as an opportunity for ministry. 659 00:28:14,655 --> 00:28:16,879 Use it for an opportunity to help them. 660 00:28:17,047 --> 00:28:21,709 But let every man prove his own work or test his own work, and 661 00:28:21,757 --> 00:28:25,149 then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not another. 662 00:28:25,197 --> 00:28:27,705 For every man shall bear his own burden. 663 00:28:29,285 --> 00:28:32,265 And we could go on in that passage, but we won't. 664 00:28:32,765 --> 00:28:35,141 But he goes down to say, I will go down to verse number 10. 665 00:28:35,173 --> 00:28:37,949 It says, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto 666 00:28:37,997 --> 00:28:40,245 all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 667 00:28:40,285 --> 00:28:43,381 Meaning we should look to do good to others, even if others are 668 00:28:43,413 --> 00:28:45,195 difficult to deal with. 669 00:28:45,325 --> 00:28:49,535 And so what I would tell you is, is this Paul, I think personally 670 00:28:49,575 --> 00:28:53,791 Paul and Barnabas could have sat down and said, hey, look, let's 671 00:28:53,823 --> 00:28:55,275 talk about John Mark. 672 00:28:55,735 --> 00:29:00,231 And maybe Paul could have explained to Barnabas, hey, here 673 00:29:00,263 --> 00:29:01,031 are my concerns. 674 00:29:01,063 --> 00:29:02,831 And John Mark could have been there. 675 00:29:02,863 --> 00:29:05,303 And maybe there could have been this opportunity for repentance 676 00:29:05,359 --> 00:29:06,375 right then and there. 677 00:29:06,535 --> 00:29:07,799 But we don't see that happening. 678 00:29:07,847 --> 00:29:10,479 Now I will go forward and say this. 679 00:29:10,647 --> 00:29:13,485 If you, if you go to, um, back. 680 00:29:13,525 --> 00:29:14,814 Let's go back to Acts chapter 15. 681 00:29:14,860 --> 00:29:16,465 Let's go back to Acts chapter 15. 682 00:29:17,925 --> 00:29:21,705 We're going to kind of jump ahead in our timeline here. 683 00:29:22,725 --> 00:29:25,157 If we jump ahead in our timeline, we're actually going to 684 00:29:25,181 --> 00:29:30,665 see that Paul does have some good things to say about John Mark 685 00:29:31,365 --> 00:29:32,301 when that happened. 686 00:29:32,333 --> 00:29:37,301 We're not entirely sure when his mind changed, I should say. 687 00:29:37,333 --> 00:29:38,985 But we do know when he says it. 688 00:29:39,555 --> 00:29:43,771 And we can actually find that passage of scripture in a couple 689 00:29:43,803 --> 00:29:44,935 of different places. 690 00:29:45,795 --> 00:29:48,043 And I know I got you turned in a lot of different places, but we 691 00:29:48,059 --> 00:29:48,935 could look at. 692 00:29:50,155 --> 00:29:54,095 Well, we could look at Colossians, chapter 4, verse 10. 693 00:29:54,435 --> 00:29:59,135 He mentions John Mark there and he talks about receiving him. 694 00:29:59,635 --> 00:30:02,043 But then really the main one that I would have you look at is 695 00:30:02,059 --> 00:30:04,758 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 11. 696 00:30:04,849 --> 00:30:09,069 Obviously, you know, Paul wrote 2nd Timothy and he's writing 697 00:30:09,117 --> 00:30:11,597 it to Timothy, the young pastor. 698 00:30:11,701 --> 00:30:14,461 And in verse number 11, he says, only Luke is with me. 699 00:30:14,573 --> 00:30:18,261 And then he says, take Mark, this is the same John Mark, and bring 700 00:30:18,333 --> 00:30:23,305 him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 701 00:30:23,925 --> 00:30:28,949 So the beginning of the story was Paul says, I can't Use John Mark. 702 00:30:29,077 --> 00:30:30,551 He's a burden to me. 703 00:30:30,653 --> 00:30:32,675 He's going to destroy our ministry. 704 00:30:32,835 --> 00:30:36,619 And whatever happened between that time and second Timothy, chapter 705 00:30:36,667 --> 00:30:37,163 four. 706 00:30:37,299 --> 00:30:38,227 What does Paul say? 707 00:30:38,251 --> 00:30:40,883 He says, take John Mark with you. 708 00:30:41,059 --> 00:30:43,091 He is profitable to me for ministry. 709 00:30:43,123 --> 00:30:44,675 He's beneficial for me for ministry. 710 00:30:44,715 --> 00:30:47,931 So in my opinion, I think that there was probably at some point 711 00:30:47,963 --> 00:30:52,491 in time Paul came to this understanding that there were valuable 712 00:30:52,563 --> 00:30:55,415 contributions to the work of God through the life of John Mark. 713 00:30:56,465 --> 00:31:01,985 We don't know if it was Mark who changed or Paul who changed his 714 00:31:02,025 --> 00:31:02,845 perspective. 715 00:31:03,265 --> 00:31:06,121 Probably God had to do a work in all of their life, let's say it 716 00:31:06,153 --> 00:31:06,745 that way. 717 00:31:06,865 --> 00:31:09,385 Paul probably had to work in the life of Paul Barnabas and John 718 00:31:09,425 --> 00:31:09,913 Mark. 719 00:31:10,049 --> 00:31:13,601 And through their maturity and through their time of understanding 720 00:31:13,633 --> 00:31:16,577 the word of God, Paul comes back and says, john Mark's a good 721 00:31:16,601 --> 00:31:16,761 guy. 722 00:31:16,793 --> 00:31:18,521 He's profitable for the ministry. 723 00:31:18,713 --> 00:31:21,525 You know, maybe I was a little bit harsh with him at the beginning. 724 00:31:21,915 --> 00:31:22,419 And that's. 725 00:31:22,467 --> 00:31:23,451 That's spiritual maturity. 726 00:31:23,483 --> 00:31:25,219 It's understanding to exercise meekness. 727 00:31:25,267 --> 00:31:28,855 There we see the meekness of God played out in the life of Paul. 728 00:31:29,755 --> 00:31:33,387 So Paul and Silas leave, though that's the end of the chapter. 729 00:31:33,491 --> 00:31:34,443 They leave and they depart. 730 00:31:34,499 --> 00:31:36,331 And Paul and Silas go and serve. 731 00:31:36,363 --> 00:31:40,659 And we know that God uses Paul and Silas for great things. 732 00:31:40,787 --> 00:31:43,075 We know that God uses Barnabas and John Mark. 733 00:31:43,115 --> 00:31:43,803 So this is. 734 00:31:43,899 --> 00:31:46,331 This is a lesson for us to know that even in the midst of our 735 00:31:46,363 --> 00:31:48,115 failures, God can still use us. 736 00:31:48,275 --> 00:31:49,507 It's not like you've ruined it. 737 00:31:49,531 --> 00:31:51,763 If you've had a conflict with somebody and you've messed up in 738 00:31:51,779 --> 00:31:53,531 that conflict, well, now God can't use you. 739 00:31:53,563 --> 00:31:56,815 No, God uses us in spite of our failures. 740 00:31:58,515 --> 00:32:01,211 And one of the things that I struggle with in my own life, I can 741 00:32:01,243 --> 00:32:02,867 be really honest with you tonight. 742 00:32:02,931 --> 00:32:04,563 I will always be honest with you. 743 00:32:04,699 --> 00:32:08,827 And I hope you understand that this sometimes takes a lot of risk 744 00:32:08,891 --> 00:32:09,227 for me. 745 00:32:09,251 --> 00:32:11,995 But let me tell you, there are times in my life where I struggle 746 00:32:12,115 --> 00:32:13,469 with my own failures. 747 00:32:13,627 --> 00:32:15,153 I sit there and I say, you know what? 748 00:32:15,249 --> 00:32:16,825 I can't believe I said that at that point. 749 00:32:16,865 --> 00:32:18,769 I can't believe I dealt with this person at this point. 750 00:32:18,857 --> 00:32:20,969 And it almost gets to the point where I'm like, can God even 751 00:32:21,017 --> 00:32:23,873 use me because of all these problems that I've had? 752 00:32:24,049 --> 00:32:26,081 But then you gotta go back and say, you know what? 753 00:32:26,233 --> 00:32:28,805 God is using me in spite of my failures. 754 00:32:29,345 --> 00:32:32,633 If God was selecting perfect people, he would not select any of 755 00:32:32,649 --> 00:32:33,553 us, right? 756 00:32:33,729 --> 00:32:36,321 Because the truth is that all of us have issues. 757 00:32:36,393 --> 00:32:37,577 All of us have problems. 758 00:32:37,681 --> 00:32:39,101 And so it's what it is, it's this. 759 00:32:39,193 --> 00:32:42,037 We don't wallow in our mistakes. 760 00:32:42,181 --> 00:32:43,237 You know what I mean by wallow? 761 00:32:43,261 --> 00:32:45,421 We don't just stay in there and woe is me. 762 00:32:45,493 --> 00:32:46,413 What do we do? 763 00:32:46,549 --> 00:32:49,229 We learn from our mistakes, right? 764 00:32:49,357 --> 00:32:53,133 We learn from our sin and we learn how we can grow and change 765 00:32:53,189 --> 00:32:55,305 from that and allow God to work on our lives. 766 00:32:55,645 --> 00:33:00,757 So it's like, you know, the classic story of, you know, when 767 00:33:00,781 --> 00:33:04,453 a little kid, you know, we try to tell our, you know, nowadays they 768 00:33:04,469 --> 00:33:06,781 have the little stops there for the electrical plugs. 769 00:33:06,813 --> 00:33:09,015 Like kids are not supposed to put their fingers in there, right? 770 00:33:09,095 --> 00:33:11,655 It only takes a child hopefully one time, if they ever 771 00:33:11,695 --> 00:33:14,343 did that, to know, hey, you know what I need to learn from that. 772 00:33:14,399 --> 00:33:15,887 I don't need to go back and say, you know what? 773 00:33:15,911 --> 00:33:18,775 I kind of, maybe it won't hurt me this time, maybe I'll do it again, 774 00:33:18,815 --> 00:33:19,135 right? 775 00:33:19,215 --> 00:33:20,639 It's kind of like touching the hot pan. 776 00:33:20,727 --> 00:33:24,055 How many of you at restaurants when they say, this is confession 777 00:33:24,095 --> 00:33:24,415 time? 778 00:33:24,495 --> 00:33:26,615 When they say, hey, this is a really hot plate? 779 00:33:26,655 --> 00:33:29,007 You know what I do every single time I go, I wonder how hot 780 00:33:29,031 --> 00:33:29,695 it really is. 781 00:33:29,775 --> 00:33:30,231 And I touch. 782 00:33:30,263 --> 00:33:31,943 And every time I'm like, woo, wow, that's hot. 783 00:33:32,039 --> 00:33:33,977 Every time I'm like, I don't learn my lesson. 784 00:33:34,111 --> 00:33:36,389 And the truth is that sometimes that's how we are as Christians, 785 00:33:36,437 --> 00:33:37,025 right? 786 00:33:37,405 --> 00:33:41,985 God gives us discipline in the midst of our mistake. 787 00:33:42,965 --> 00:33:45,421 And instead of growing from that and learning from that, we go 788 00:33:45,453 --> 00:33:48,117 right back to that well, and thinking that it's a better, it's 789 00:33:48,141 --> 00:33:49,317 going to be better this time. 790 00:33:49,461 --> 00:33:51,125 My fleshly decision is going to be better. 791 00:33:51,165 --> 00:33:54,237 Well, what we can see is that when we make mistakes, we have to 792 00:33:54,261 --> 00:33:57,141 learn from them spiritually, learn from them and grow. 793 00:33:57,213 --> 00:33:57,901 That's wisdom. 794 00:33:57,973 --> 00:34:01,133 Wisdom is applying the knowledge, right? 795 00:34:01,229 --> 00:34:05,053 We can have knowledge of God, we can have knowledge of his Word, 796 00:34:05,149 --> 00:34:06,693 but knowledge is not wisdom. 797 00:34:06,749 --> 00:34:08,893 Wisdom is the application of knowledge. 798 00:34:08,989 --> 00:34:10,925 I've always used this as an analogy for you. 799 00:34:10,965 --> 00:34:12,465 You guys will understand this. 800 00:34:13,085 --> 00:34:14,533 I grew up in Florida. 801 00:34:14,709 --> 00:34:16,917 We have a lot of like crazy wild animals there. 802 00:34:16,941 --> 00:34:20,693 How many of you have been to Florida and you saw a sign that, 803 00:34:20,749 --> 00:34:23,425 oh, I know some of you have been there, but let me finish. 804 00:34:23,765 --> 00:34:26,045 How many of you have been to Florida and then you saw a body of 805 00:34:26,085 --> 00:34:28,933 water and on the side of the body of water had like alligators, 806 00:34:29,029 --> 00:34:30,661 be careful, don't feed the alligators. 807 00:34:30,733 --> 00:34:32,609 Don't get, you know, don't go into the right. 808 00:34:32,737 --> 00:34:34,145 If you haven't seen that, they're all over. 809 00:34:34,185 --> 00:34:37,553 Okay, now Knowledge is okay. 810 00:34:37,609 --> 00:34:39,805 I know that there's alligators in this water. 811 00:34:40,225 --> 00:34:42,129 I know I shouldn't go into the water. 812 00:34:42,257 --> 00:34:45,097 I know I shouldn't at least have, like, food in my pocket and 813 00:34:45,121 --> 00:34:45,857 go into the water. 814 00:34:45,921 --> 00:34:47,137 That would be knowledge, knowing. 815 00:34:47,161 --> 00:34:48,121 You shouldn't do that. 816 00:34:48,233 --> 00:34:51,105 Wisdom would be staying out of the water, not doing it right. 817 00:34:51,265 --> 00:34:53,513 So there's some people that live in Florida that know that there 818 00:34:53,529 --> 00:34:54,817 are alligators in the water. 819 00:34:54,961 --> 00:34:57,089 They know that they could attack them, but yet they go, yeah, 820 00:34:57,137 --> 00:34:57,457 you know what? 821 00:34:57,481 --> 00:34:58,417 I'm still gonna go in. 822 00:34:58,481 --> 00:34:58,937 Okay? 823 00:34:59,041 --> 00:35:02,021 And that's why you see a lot of people that are attacked. 824 00:35:02,113 --> 00:35:04,253 Alligators aren't usually gonna jump out of the water, come 825 00:35:04,269 --> 00:35:05,701 into your front porch, and attack you. 826 00:35:05,733 --> 00:35:05,941 Okay? 827 00:35:05,973 --> 00:35:06,925 That's not how it goes. 828 00:35:07,005 --> 00:35:09,197 It's when you put yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. 829 00:35:09,221 --> 00:35:10,469 Now, they're freak accidents. 830 00:35:10,597 --> 00:35:11,117 We know that. 831 00:35:11,141 --> 00:35:13,341 And there are people that don't know, you know, that you shouldn't 832 00:35:13,373 --> 00:35:15,693 walk a little dog right next to the water in the middle of the 833 00:35:15,709 --> 00:35:16,265 night. 834 00:35:16,565 --> 00:35:17,509 That's a red flag. 835 00:35:17,557 --> 00:35:18,069 Don't do that. 836 00:35:18,117 --> 00:35:18,565 Right? 837 00:35:18,685 --> 00:35:21,869 And so I say all that to say that there are some Christians who 838 00:35:21,997 --> 00:35:24,925 know intellectually that this is wrong. 839 00:35:25,005 --> 00:35:26,785 I know that conflict is wrong. 840 00:35:27,445 --> 00:35:30,139 I know that acting out of my flesh is wrong. 841 00:35:30,237 --> 00:35:33,207 I know that fighting these people, and I know that standing 842 00:35:33,231 --> 00:35:34,207 on my point is wrong. 843 00:35:34,271 --> 00:35:34,875 But. 844 00:35:35,335 --> 00:35:37,591 And then there's all these justifications that come with it. 845 00:35:37,623 --> 00:35:39,191 But you don't know what happened to me. 846 00:35:39,303 --> 00:35:40,951 You don't know how that person wronged me. 847 00:35:40,983 --> 00:35:42,815 And the truth is that I don't know. 848 00:35:42,935 --> 00:35:46,175 But what I can say is that the application of that knowledge is 849 00:35:46,215 --> 00:35:46,655 the wisdom. 850 00:35:46,695 --> 00:35:49,435 And God wants us to exercise our wisdom in our life. 851 00:35:49,815 --> 00:35:52,615 And, you know, and I think that that's one of the challenges 852 00:35:52,655 --> 00:35:55,995 as a Christian is to live in God's wisdom and not our own wisdom. 853 00:35:56,345 --> 00:36:01,177 And so we see at the end of Acts 15 that they went through Syria 854 00:36:01,201 --> 00:36:02,825 and Cilicia, confirming the churches. 855 00:36:02,865 --> 00:36:04,845 And so Paul continues on with the work. 856 00:36:05,225 --> 00:36:08,441 And so Paul is not a failure because that there was this division. 857 00:36:08,513 --> 00:36:09,641 Silas is not a failure. 858 00:36:09,673 --> 00:36:10,681 Barnabas is not a failure. 859 00:36:10,713 --> 00:36:12,065 John, Mark is not a failure. 860 00:36:12,185 --> 00:36:14,777 Silas was actually recognized as one of the leading men among the 861 00:36:14,801 --> 00:36:16,057 brethren in Acts 15. 862 00:36:16,201 --> 00:36:17,345 He was a prophet. 863 00:36:17,465 --> 00:36:23,057 He was someone who was used by the Lord in many ways in the ministry 864 00:36:23,121 --> 00:36:24,303 of Paul. 865 00:36:24,449 --> 00:36:27,091 And so this was Paul's work to go on. 866 00:36:27,163 --> 00:36:31,011 And he added to evangelism the strengthening of churches. 867 00:36:31,203 --> 00:36:34,495 New Christians need strong churches to grow in and mature in. 868 00:36:34,835 --> 00:36:39,971 And so what I would say is this what can we learn from this 869 00:36:40,003 --> 00:36:40,819 passage of scripture? 870 00:36:40,867 --> 00:36:44,803 Well, we can learn how to deal with biblical conflict, and we can 871 00:36:44,819 --> 00:36:47,099 also learn how not to deal with biblical conflict. 872 00:36:47,267 --> 00:36:51,539 We can also learn that the burden of the church should not just 873 00:36:51,587 --> 00:36:53,947 be evangelism, but also strengthening the folks that we've 874 00:36:53,971 --> 00:36:55,455 preached the gospel to before. 875 00:36:56,695 --> 00:37:01,375 One of my heartbeats is like, we need to preach the gospel to people, 876 00:37:01,415 --> 00:37:03,275 but we need to help them grow. 877 00:37:05,415 --> 00:37:10,215 I grew up in a situation in the way that my church was, that 878 00:37:10,335 --> 00:37:12,823 they were very, very strong in the gospel preaching message. 879 00:37:12,879 --> 00:37:15,927 They were very, very strong in that there wasn't a service where 880 00:37:15,951 --> 00:37:19,159 the gospel wasn't preached and there wasn't a comfort invitation. 881 00:37:19,287 --> 00:37:21,479 There wasn't a Saturday that we didn't go out. 882 00:37:21,527 --> 00:37:24,521 Passing flyers out and going door to door and knocking. 883 00:37:24,593 --> 00:37:26,337 And that was a good thing, not a bad thing. 884 00:37:26,361 --> 00:37:28,721 I'm not saying those are bad things, but what I am saying is that 885 00:37:28,753 --> 00:37:29,805 there can be a. 886 00:37:30,785 --> 00:37:33,761 I need to caution us to say that, hey, yes, we should preach 887 00:37:33,793 --> 00:37:36,485 the gospel, but we can't forget those people in the pew. 888 00:37:39,425 --> 00:37:40,805 Let me say it this way. 889 00:37:42,065 --> 00:37:44,401 There are people that are within churches in America. 890 00:37:44,433 --> 00:37:46,241 I'm not going to say this one, but I am going to say there are people 891 00:37:46,273 --> 00:37:48,841 in churches in America that have been in churches for decades 892 00:37:48,873 --> 00:37:51,265 and they still have not understood certain things of scripture 893 00:37:51,305 --> 00:37:52,955 because it hasn't been explained to them. 894 00:37:53,285 --> 00:37:55,821 And maybe they've even been misled because of certain things 895 00:37:55,853 --> 00:37:56,865 within the church. 896 00:37:57,245 --> 00:38:00,565 I would say as a church, we need to be open, be a berean. 897 00:38:00,645 --> 00:38:01,317 Right. 898 00:38:01,501 --> 00:38:04,653 I always encourage people to say, let's study this together. 899 00:38:04,709 --> 00:38:06,093 Let's look into this together. 900 00:38:06,229 --> 00:38:08,773 If you have a question, hey, look into the Word and see what the 901 00:38:08,789 --> 00:38:09,853 Word has to say. 902 00:38:09,989 --> 00:38:12,357 The moment that we start saying, don't look at that, you know 903 00:38:12,381 --> 00:38:12,541 what? 904 00:38:12,573 --> 00:38:13,261 Just let's move on. 905 00:38:13,293 --> 00:38:13,485 That's. 906 00:38:13,525 --> 00:38:15,781 That's not the way that we should be preaching the message. 907 00:38:15,813 --> 00:38:18,677 And so I would say that there is that understanding of grace and 908 00:38:18,701 --> 00:38:22,767 humility and meekness in our lives in conflict, but also in the 909 00:38:22,791 --> 00:38:24,159 church with spiritual growth. 910 00:38:24,207 --> 00:38:26,511 And so are you going to disagree with people? 911 00:38:26,623 --> 00:38:27,275 Sure. 912 00:38:29,495 --> 00:38:31,871 Is there going to be a time where you might need to separate 913 00:38:31,903 --> 00:38:32,575 from someone? 914 00:38:32,695 --> 00:38:33,355 Sure. 915 00:38:33,935 --> 00:38:36,795 But what I would say is that's not the first step. 916 00:38:37,335 --> 00:38:38,927 It's not the first step. 917 00:38:39,111 --> 00:38:39,847 Go back to that. 918 00:38:39,871 --> 00:38:40,703 Fight or flight. 919 00:38:40,799 --> 00:38:42,915 That's what we see within churches today. 920 00:38:43,255 --> 00:38:45,871 And I'm not here to say that every single person that has left 921 00:38:45,903 --> 00:38:47,343 the church is wrong. 922 00:38:47,479 --> 00:38:48,071 Not saying that. 923 00:38:48,103 --> 00:38:50,767 I actually think that there are biblical times for people to 924 00:38:50,791 --> 00:38:52,519 leave churches and go to other churches. 925 00:38:52,567 --> 00:38:54,231 That's going to happen. 926 00:38:54,423 --> 00:38:58,191 But what I am saying is that there is a biblical way to do those 927 00:38:58,223 --> 00:39:00,791 things, and there is an unbiblical way to do that. 928 00:39:00,983 --> 00:39:03,835 And the unbiblical way is the fight or flight mechanism. 929 00:39:04,295 --> 00:39:06,647 I'm either going to fight with the people in the church when they 930 00:39:06,671 --> 00:39:08,479 go against me, or I'm going to just leave. 931 00:39:08,607 --> 00:39:10,831 What I would encourage you to do is think about that understanding 932 00:39:10,863 --> 00:39:13,315 of Galatians, Chapter six. 933 00:39:13,995 --> 00:39:17,339 I would think about another passage of Scripture in Romans, chapter 934 00:39:17,387 --> 00:39:17,667 12. 935 00:39:17,731 --> 00:39:20,335 Let your love be without hypocrisy, the simulation. 936 00:39:21,235 --> 00:39:24,603 I would think of another passage of Scripture in First Corinthians, 937 00:39:24,659 --> 00:39:25,615 chapter 13. 938 00:39:26,155 --> 00:39:29,331 One of the things that we should do is love other people within 939 00:39:29,363 --> 00:39:30,091 the church. 940 00:39:30,243 --> 00:39:34,083 I know that's like, what we say all the time, but that's biblically. 941 00:39:34,219 --> 00:39:36,291 Biblically, it's the agape. 942 00:39:36,483 --> 00:39:40,147 It's the love of sacrifice that should be seen in the church. 943 00:39:40,171 --> 00:39:41,489 Now, what does that look like? 944 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:47,333 Some of us have heard First Corinthians 13 read at weddings, 945 00:39:47,469 --> 00:39:49,821 and certainly it applies to weddings, but it's more than just 946 00:39:49,853 --> 00:39:50,141 that. 947 00:39:50,213 --> 00:39:52,865 First Corinthians 13 is about how we should love other Christians. 948 00:39:53,165 --> 00:39:57,277 And one of the elements of love that's described in First Corinthians, 949 00:39:57,341 --> 00:40:00,785 chapter 13 is not to assume evil in other people. 950 00:40:01,805 --> 00:40:05,701 Okay, here's where we get into trouble the most. 951 00:40:05,813 --> 00:40:07,061 Let me just be honest with you. 952 00:40:07,173 --> 00:40:10,397 It's when we come into a situation assuming the worst in a 953 00:40:10,421 --> 00:40:10,985 person. 954 00:40:11,405 --> 00:40:13,133 Now, I've said this before. 955 00:40:13,269 --> 00:40:15,805 Could that person be doing terrible things to you? 956 00:40:15,885 --> 00:40:16,665 Possibly. 957 00:40:17,205 --> 00:40:17,917 Possibly. 958 00:40:18,021 --> 00:40:21,629 But when we think about that as our default mechanism because 959 00:40:21,677 --> 00:40:25,245 of what's happened to us before, what happens is that we then 960 00:40:25,285 --> 00:40:26,389 assume the worst in someone. 961 00:40:26,437 --> 00:40:29,981 And even if they haven't done that, or even if they don't think 962 00:40:30,013 --> 00:40:32,317 that we assume the worst and we get to a place where we're not 963 00:40:32,341 --> 00:40:32,701 loving them. 964 00:40:32,733 --> 00:40:33,947 Like, what if. 965 00:40:34,091 --> 00:40:35,371 What if I go. 966 00:40:35,403 --> 00:40:39,723 I always go back to my relationship with Alicia, and I know 967 00:40:39,739 --> 00:40:41,651 that some of you go, well, why you always talk about Alicia? 968 00:40:41,683 --> 00:40:45,531 She's the only wife I've got, so I gotta talk about her. 969 00:40:45,563 --> 00:40:46,175 Okay. 970 00:40:46,595 --> 00:40:51,915 If every single situation in our marriage, I just said, oh, she 971 00:40:51,955 --> 00:40:55,175 hates me, she didn't cook what I wanted her to cook for me tonight. 972 00:40:55,795 --> 00:40:58,275 How could we have a healthy relationship if I assume the worst 973 00:40:58,315 --> 00:40:59,995 in her every situation? 974 00:41:00,575 --> 00:41:03,475 If I love her, I must assume the best. 975 00:41:03,775 --> 00:41:05,195 She had a tough day. 976 00:41:05,615 --> 00:41:06,559 Kids were loud. 977 00:41:06,647 --> 00:41:07,703 The kids were yelling. 978 00:41:07,799 --> 00:41:10,431 You know, maybe she didn't have time to make my meal that I 979 00:41:10,463 --> 00:41:13,111 wanted to make or maybe, maybe, you know what? 980 00:41:13,143 --> 00:41:15,727 I didn't, you know, she came home and she wanted to talk to me. 981 00:41:15,751 --> 00:41:17,183 And I said, I talk for a living. 982 00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:20,031 I used to, when I used to teach school, I used to teach all 983 00:41:20,063 --> 00:41:20,351 day. 984 00:41:20,423 --> 00:41:25,619 So from like 8am to 3pm and then I coached from 3pm to 6pm I 985 00:41:25,667 --> 00:41:26,707 talked all day. 986 00:41:26,771 --> 00:41:27,691 And I like to talk. 987 00:41:27,763 --> 00:41:30,739 But there was a point in my day that I was just done talking. 988 00:41:30,867 --> 00:41:31,907 I was done talking. 989 00:41:31,931 --> 00:41:32,683 I didn't want to talk at all. 990 00:41:32,699 --> 00:41:33,803 I wanted to go home. 991 00:41:33,899 --> 00:41:37,035 I wanted to get my bag of chips after dinner. 992 00:41:37,115 --> 00:41:38,771 I wanted to turn my show on. 993 00:41:38,803 --> 00:41:41,215 And I just want to sit and just say, I just want to veg out. 994 00:41:41,515 --> 00:41:45,131 The truth is that she was home alone all day with a baby, home alone 995 00:41:45,163 --> 00:41:46,627 with kids, and she wanted to talk. 996 00:41:46,691 --> 00:41:50,595 She wanted to have a human conversation, an adult human conversation. 997 00:41:50,715 --> 00:41:54,163 And I'm going, well, she wants to bug me now. 998 00:41:54,299 --> 00:41:55,075 You know what that is? 999 00:41:55,115 --> 00:41:57,099 That's, that's, that's selfishness, right? 1000 00:41:57,187 --> 00:41:59,571 And sometimes as Christians, we assume the worst than somebody 1001 00:41:59,603 --> 00:42:03,755 else because they're coming to us with, with genuine concerns. 1002 00:42:03,835 --> 00:42:04,947 I've done that as a pastor. 1003 00:42:05,011 --> 00:42:08,495 Someone's come up to me with a genuine concern about the church 1004 00:42:09,275 --> 00:42:12,731 and I've been like, oh, God, I can't believe they're questioning 1005 00:42:12,763 --> 00:42:13,931 my, my leadership. 1006 00:42:14,003 --> 00:42:15,945 And the truth is, is that they're not doing that. 1007 00:42:16,115 --> 00:42:18,213 They're coming up with legitimate question, or maybe they 1008 00:42:18,229 --> 00:42:20,397 are questioning my leadership, but I shouldn't assume that in the 1009 00:42:20,421 --> 00:42:21,301 first step. 1010 00:42:21,493 --> 00:42:24,085 And so that's how it goes when it comes to these conflicts. 1011 00:42:24,205 --> 00:42:26,749 Now, whether or not Paul assumed that, we don't know. 1012 00:42:26,877 --> 00:42:30,413 But we do know that there was that sharp contention that happened 1013 00:42:30,509 --> 00:42:32,077 and that didn't need to be there. 1014 00:42:32,221 --> 00:42:33,661 And so I would encourage you to think about that. 1015 00:42:33,693 --> 00:42:35,125 Within the church, you're going to have conflicts. 1016 00:42:35,165 --> 00:42:37,421 You're not going to agree with everybody, but what do you do? 1017 00:42:37,493 --> 00:42:39,789 You deal with it with meekness, you deal with it with love. 1018 00:42:39,837 --> 00:42:41,029 You deal with that with patience. 1019 00:42:41,077 --> 00:42:43,865 You deal with that with bearing other people's burdens. 1020 00:42:44,225 --> 00:42:47,409 You know, it would be so much different in our churches today if 1021 00:42:47,417 --> 00:42:49,249 we just said, you know what, that person's having a bad day. 1022 00:42:49,297 --> 00:42:50,685 I'm just going to overlook that. 1023 00:42:51,345 --> 00:42:52,665 You know, we can overlook things. 1024 00:42:52,705 --> 00:42:53,113 You don't. 1025 00:42:53,169 --> 00:42:58,441 Every, every single slight in the church does not have to end in 1026 00:42:58,473 --> 00:42:59,425 church discipline. 1027 00:42:59,585 --> 00:43:00,233 Okay? 1028 00:43:00,369 --> 00:43:01,425 It's kind of the same thing. 1029 00:43:01,465 --> 00:43:02,297 Again with the marriage, right? 1030 00:43:02,321 --> 00:43:04,425 If you have, there's sometimes in marriage you just overlook it. 1031 00:43:04,505 --> 00:43:06,569 You don't have to have a sit down, come to Jesus moment. 1032 00:43:06,617 --> 00:43:09,031 Every single time you have a disagreement on something, right? 1033 00:43:09,113 --> 00:43:10,059 The same thing within the church. 1034 00:43:10,107 --> 00:43:11,659 There are gonna be times within the church that we say, hey, 1035 00:43:11,667 --> 00:43:11,899 you know what? 1036 00:43:11,907 --> 00:43:13,375 I'm not even gonna let that bother me. 1037 00:43:13,675 --> 00:43:16,011 But there's gonna be times where you can't do that and there's 1038 00:43:16,043 --> 00:43:18,803 times that you can't just let it go. 1039 00:43:18,939 --> 00:43:21,907 That's when we need to have this biblical confrontation, but 1040 00:43:21,931 --> 00:43:23,803 a biblical loving confrontation. 1041 00:43:23,979 --> 00:43:28,855 And so that's the story of the dispute between Paul and Barnabas. 1042 00:43:29,675 --> 00:43:32,923 John Mark was at the core of it, but really it wasn't John Mark's 1043 00:43:32,939 --> 00:43:33,575 fault. 1044 00:43:34,075 --> 00:43:35,751 We just know that he had left. 1045 00:43:35,883 --> 00:43:38,519 Now, again, there are going to be people that turn their back on 1046 00:43:38,527 --> 00:43:38,647 you. 1047 00:43:38,671 --> 00:43:39,799 There's going to be people that leave. 1048 00:43:39,847 --> 00:43:41,743 There's going to be people that bail out in your ministry. 1049 00:43:41,839 --> 00:43:44,335 There's going to be people that don't show up to a Bible study. 1050 00:43:44,455 --> 00:43:45,063 There's going to be. 1051 00:43:45,119 --> 00:43:48,519 I remember there were times we were running a ministry in Florida 1052 00:43:48,647 --> 00:43:52,503 and there would be times where Alicia and I would show up and no 1053 00:43:52,519 --> 00:43:53,591 one would be there. 1054 00:43:53,743 --> 00:43:54,999 Do you know what we did? 1055 00:43:55,127 --> 00:43:57,511 We had a date and we had a Bible study together, right? 1056 00:43:57,543 --> 00:43:58,415 Because that was what it was. 1057 00:43:58,455 --> 00:43:59,263 And you know what? 1058 00:43:59,319 --> 00:44:00,527 We could have been mad. 1059 00:44:00,671 --> 00:44:03,367 Next time I came back, I could have said all you people told me 1060 00:44:03,391 --> 00:44:04,943 you were going to be there and you didn't come. 1061 00:44:05,039 --> 00:44:07,383 And you know, but it was like, you know what it is what it is. 1062 00:44:07,399 --> 00:44:08,315 We're going to keep doing this. 1063 00:44:08,355 --> 00:44:09,635 We're going to keep doing this. 1064 00:44:09,795 --> 00:44:11,531 And Micah asked me a really interesting question. 1065 00:44:11,563 --> 00:44:15,123 Tonight we were coming here, it was like, it was like 5:30 and 1066 00:44:15,139 --> 00:44:16,147 no one had showed up here yet. 1067 00:44:16,171 --> 00:44:16,963 And it was dark. 1068 00:44:17,059 --> 00:44:18,795 So in his mind he's like, church should have already started. 1069 00:44:18,835 --> 00:44:20,787 He's like, dad, what if nobody comes tonight? 1070 00:44:20,811 --> 00:44:22,347 Are we going to still have church? 1071 00:44:22,531 --> 00:44:24,147 I said, son, people are going to show up. 1072 00:44:24,171 --> 00:44:25,675 But even if they didn't, we would still have church. 1073 00:44:25,715 --> 00:44:26,651 He's like, how would we do it? 1074 00:44:26,683 --> 00:44:29,299 I said, well, I'd get up and I'd lead the music and you'd sing 1075 00:44:29,347 --> 00:44:31,851 and then we'd have testimonies and I would preach you a message. 1076 00:44:31,883 --> 00:44:32,987 And he was like, we would really do that? 1077 00:44:33,011 --> 00:44:34,547 I said, we would really do that, right? 1078 00:44:34,571 --> 00:44:35,731 Because this is what we're doing. 1079 00:44:35,883 --> 00:44:38,243 We don't do it for people, we do it for the Lord. 1080 00:44:38,379 --> 00:44:40,147 It's a lot better when there are people here. 1081 00:44:40,251 --> 00:44:41,619 Like, I enjoy that you're here. 1082 00:44:41,707 --> 00:44:44,979 I remember back in Covid, I had to preach to this little camera 1083 00:44:45,027 --> 00:44:45,659 right here. 1084 00:44:45,787 --> 00:44:47,779 And I'm trying to think, like, am I saying the right stuff? 1085 00:44:47,827 --> 00:44:49,699 Because it's a lot easier to talk with people in front of you 1086 00:44:49,747 --> 00:44:50,963 because you can play off. 1087 00:44:51,019 --> 00:44:51,851 You can talk to people. 1088 00:44:51,883 --> 00:44:54,171 You can play off the energy when there's just a camera there. 1089 00:44:54,203 --> 00:44:55,659 It's like, man, I just don't know. 1090 00:44:55,747 --> 00:44:57,099 I don't know if this is going well. 1091 00:44:57,187 --> 00:44:59,563 And the truth is that there are times where we are tempted to 1092 00:44:59,579 --> 00:45:04,073 quit because we don't see the result, right? 1093 00:45:04,129 --> 00:45:06,153 We don't see it coming to fruition. 1094 00:45:06,289 --> 00:45:08,113 But what I would say is just stay faithful. 1095 00:45:08,249 --> 00:45:10,225 Stay faithful in what God has for you. 1096 00:45:10,345 --> 00:45:12,057 And there's going to be people that say things against you. 1097 00:45:12,081 --> 00:45:14,377 There's going to be people that dispute against you. 1098 00:45:14,481 --> 00:45:17,041 But, you know, nonetheless, we have the opportunity to minister 1099 00:45:17,113 --> 00:45:18,633 for the Lord, and so that's exciting. 1100 00:45:18,769 --> 00:45:22,193 So we're going to come back next week, Lord willing, and we're 1101 00:45:22,209 --> 00:45:25,585 going to start Acts chapter 16, and we're going to have this 1102 00:45:25,625 --> 00:45:29,907 guy come in and join Paul and Silas named Timothy. 1103 00:45:29,971 --> 00:45:31,507 We're gonna learn about this new guy named Timothy. 1104 00:45:31,531 --> 00:45:33,155 And Timothy's an awesome character. 1105 00:45:33,275 --> 00:45:34,163 Love Timothy. 1106 00:45:34,259 --> 00:45:38,627 Young man, got a really interesting background, and I hope 1107 00:45:38,651 --> 00:45:41,971 that it will be a blessing for you as we come along here. 1108 00:45:42,043 --> 00:45:44,859 So, all right, let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer, and 1109 00:45:44,867 --> 00:45:46,827 then after that, I'll have a few announcements and you'll be dismissed. 1110 00:45:46,851 --> 00:45:47,811 Lord, we thank you for this time. 1111 00:45:47,843 --> 00:45:50,371 We thank you for this opportunity to come here this evening 1112 00:45:50,523 --> 00:45:51,371 to study your word. 1113 00:45:51,403 --> 00:45:54,435 Lord, we're thankful for the reminders of what it means to be 1114 00:45:54,515 --> 00:46:00,299 meek and gentle and loving and forgiving and patient in the midst 1115 00:46:00,347 --> 00:46:01,455 of disputes. 1116 00:46:02,155 --> 00:46:06,211 Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to know that you do give 1117 00:46:06,243 --> 00:46:07,323 us hope. 1118 00:46:07,499 --> 00:46:11,171 Lord, help us in the midst of silly disputes, Lord. 1119 00:46:11,203 --> 00:46:12,027 Silly division. 1120 00:46:12,091 --> 00:46:17,003 Lord, help us to get over our personal issues and help us to see 1121 00:46:17,019 --> 00:46:20,985 the importance of the doctrines, the truths, the essentials. 1122 00:46:21,105 --> 00:46:23,177 So, Lord, I pray that you keep us safe as we go our separate ways 1123 00:46:23,201 --> 00:46:23,497 this evening. 1124 00:46:23,521 --> 00:46:25,361 We thank you for this wonderful church that you've given 1125 00:46:25,393 --> 00:46:25,753 us. 1126 00:46:25,849 --> 00:46:29,097 We thank you for the opportunity to love you and to serve 1127 00:46:29,121 --> 00:46:30,205 you here this week. 1128 00:46:30,505 --> 00:46:32,977 We thank you and we give it all to you. 1129 00:46:33,001 --> 00:46:34,001 We give all the glory to you. 1130 00:46:34,033 --> 00:46:35,081 In Jesus name we pray. 1131 00:46:35,153 --> 00:46:35,885 Amen. 1132 00:46:36,825 --> 00:46:39,409 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1133 00:46:39,457 --> 00:46:40,225 podcast. 1134 00:46:40,385 --> 00:46:42,925 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1135 00:46:43,265 --> 00:46:45,561 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1136 00:46:45,593 --> 00:46:47,642 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1137 00:46:47,770 --> 00:46:52,155 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1138 00:46:52,615 --> 00:46:57,079 You can also email me directly at joshmissaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1139 00:46:57,127 --> 00:47:01,599 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 1140 00:47:01,647 --> 00:47:04,635 along for future podcasts and updates. 1141 00:47:05,015 --> 00:47:06,127 Thank you so much. 1142 00:47:06,271 --> 00:47:07,103 God Bless. 1143 00:47:07,239 --> 00:47:08,255 Have a wonderful day.