God's Providence, Prudence, and Peace - Pastor Tom Loghry
God’s purpose works itself out even through what may appear like a setback or a hindrance to the Gospel message.
Transcript:
Sometimes Christians part ways. Most of you here know that I, I grew up in this church. I've gone from the nursery to the pulpit. However, between those points, my path also went other in other directions. My family left this church when I was 12 years old, and I understood the reasons, it made sense to me, but as time went on, it seemed more regrettable, more regrettable to me, even if understandable. That was then and here I am now. Was it lost time? Hardly. God used the in-between, he used the parting of ways in, in my formation. My exposure to different churches broadened my vision of the church. And I have to say, like, that, that experience inspires my present efforts to unite pastors and churches in our area across denominations and different traditions for, for the sake of the gospel.
My participation in a youth group that was in my hometown, a youth group that was closely connected to my school, it gave me natural leadership opportunities that God used to reveal to me my, my call to pastoral ministry. And I'm confident that there's more besides that God did through my time away. And perhaps as you think back on your life, you can think of similar situations that God worked through.
God works in surprising ways, ways that defy how we would've drawn things up. And today's text reminds us of this even, even as it will also remind us of our own part in exercising prudence in order to promote the peace and purpose of God. So first we, we do look at verses 36 through 41, which conclude chapter 15 in Acts.
There, again, Luke tells us, some time later Paul said to Barnabas, let's go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and and see how they're doing. Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cypress, but Paul chose Silas and left. Commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches.
So what we're entering upon here is the threshold of Paul's second missionary journey. And the purpose that Paul has in mind here is that he and Barnabas would go back to the churches that they had previously visited. You can't see all the towns listed here, but they went up into this area in Asia Minor, a little bit into the provinces of Cillica. And also, um, well that's part of the course that he took. He went through Syria and Cilicia and they're gonna head up into this, this area of Asia Minor in particular. Sounds like a great idea.
And it also reminds us too, that the purpose of Paul's missionary journeys was not strictly just about evangelism, bringing the gospel to people that hadn't heard it before. Yes, that was always part of his purpose, but it wasn't just about conversion. Discipleship is about leading those who come to believe in Christ into their full formation as followers of Jesus Christ. And so Paul says, we need to go back. We should see how they're doing. Make sure that they're, they, they are progressing well in the faith.
Sounds like a great idea, but there's a problem that emerges because Barnabas wants to take Mark, also known as John Mark along with them. Now, as we learn elsewhere, Mark is Barnabas's cousin actually, so there's a little bit of a family connection here. Now Paul doesn't want to take Mark with them though, because on their first journey when they got to Pamphylia, Mark deserted the mission. And we don't know why he left, but based upon how Paul's assessing things here, it wasn't really a favorable departure. Perhaps the journey just became too much for Mark and he wanted to go home. Now we can understand why Barnabas probably wants to bring him along beyond the relationship of him being his cousin. We know that Barnabas is one known for encouragement. That's literally what his, his name means. And we remember that back in Acts nine when Paul, at that time known as Saul, was first being introduced to the Apostles. He wasn't readily welcomed because he had been previously persecuting the church. Everyone was suspicious of him, and yet Barnabas advocated for him.
So we see that Barnabas has this special gift of kindness and trying to bring people along, bring people in. And so we see this present now as he's not giving up on Mark. We can appreciate that quality, quality about Barnabas. That's an important quality for us to have as, as Christians, as members of the church, not just easily giving up on people.
At the same time too, we can also understand Paul's concern here. Paul wasn't talking about Mark's membership in the church or anything like that. They were going on a very serious mission, wasn't a vacation. It, it's filled with all kinds of difficulties and hardships. And Paul's kind of evaluation of what ministry takes and what a mission like this would take is it's kind of like suiting up for warfare. In second Timothy two verses three through four, he says, join, he says to Timothy, join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
So again, this isn't like a vacation, it's more of like Lord of the Rings if you watch that, you're trying to get, you're trying to get to Mount Doom. This is, this is no joke. And so in Paul's evaluation, he's, he's thinking, I don't think this would really be best for us to, to bring him. Now maybe you can think about sort of differences you've had with people, maybe with, you know, within the church family before about things that matter and, but there's two different perspectives on it. And the thing that's just amazing about this whole situation is you can truly see both sides, and you can see that in some sense, both of them were right. You can see that Paul was probably right, that Mark had some growing to do, potentially, maybe he wasn't going to be ready for this journey. And yet Barnabas was also right that we shouldn't give up on this guy.
And so they are led to take different courses because they just firmly just disagree on, on this. Now Luke doesn't tell us how things kind of leave off with their relationship, but as we go forward in scripture there seems like there's some indication that they're on friendly enough terms, we just don't, the Bible doesn't tell us every single thing we might want to possibly know. So we shouldn't assume that they're enemies from hence forth or anything like that. And part of the reason why we might come to this conclusion is 'cause Paul's evaluation of Mark changes later on. And just to remind you, Mark is the, is the author of the Gospel of Mark, so pretty significant fellow to put together that gospel.
In Colossians four 10, Paul says, my fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You've received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him. Well, that sounds like a pretty positive evaluation. Paul's encouraging Mark to be welcomed. And second Timothy four 11. He says, only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry. It's like, wow. Talk about a big change. Firstly, he doesn't want to have this guy coming with him on a mission, and now later on in his ministry he's saying, this guy is helpful.
And so what this passage really kind of illustrates for us, it gives us an example of is how God's providence, his sovereign purpose can be at work even through the midst of differences. A lot of times we think, oh, people have different opinions on things, like this is a disaster. Every, everything's ruined. It's not the case. God can work through differences. You'll remember the, the verse in Isaiah 55: 9, which is familiar to many of us, says the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God can see what we cannot see. He has a plan that can defy our greatest imagination. And so Barnabas and Mark go to Cyprus and Paul and Silas, they go to Syria and Cilicia.
And so what we can kind of see here, I mean, we don't, again, we can't even comprehend everything that God did through this parting of ways. But one basic thing that we can kind of just gather, just looking at the map is, wow, they're covering more territory this way. And so we can see how God might have a purpose there in that. Now, one example of God's providence is that God, Paul's path seems to open a door for a young man to enter the ministry with him. So we move on to Acts Chapter 16, and we'll just be looking at verses one through five today. It says, Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother, his mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
So I was referring to the map earlier. This is a little more colorful map. You can see Lystra and Derbe. You can barely see Tarsus over here, the purple area. So they've moved up into the province of Galatia, and as Paul and Silas are going through Derbe and Lystra they come into contact with a disciple named Timothy. Now perhaps Paul had had some contact with him from the first mission missionary journey that he took. It wouldn't be a surprise. And this young man was someone that was commended by all the believers that knew him and he has a very interesting background. His, his father is a Greek, and by that it seems to also be implied that he's not a Christian, probably. But his mother was Jewish, and part of the reason why we might suppose that his father wasn't a Christian is because when Paul talks about his family background, he, he speaks of the faith of his mother and grandmother. Second Timothy one, five. He says, I'm reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I'm persuaded, now lives in you also. So there's a, there's a legacy of faith here, but it's on the mother's side, not so much the father's side.
Now Paul is so impressed by this young man and by the testimony of the other believers. It seems as though, whether it was at this point, maybe earlier, that the body of elders laid hands on Timothy and prophesied regarding what God's call upon his life would be, record of that 1st Timothy four 14. But from all this, Paul says, I wanna take you with me on this mission to revisit these, these churches. But before they go, Paul first has Timothy circumcised. Now, this is very surprising to us, especially if you've been tracking here, because just in, in the previous chapter, in chapter 15, Paul was giving very strong testimony that the Gentiles do not need to be circumcised and, and generally Paul does not believe that circumcision is required of of Christians. In 1st Corinthians seven 19, he says circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. In Galatians five, six, he says, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing it, through, itself through love. And in the next chapter, he says in Galatians six 15, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.
So we think based on Paul's previous advocacy and what he says elsewhere, we think, we're surprised. Like why does he feel compelled to have Timothy circumcised? Well, we're given some explanation here in the text, um, says, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area where they all knew that his father was a Greek. Says that in verse, verse three. So the thinking here is this, is that apparently with Timothy's mother being Jewish, there's some historical reasons for thinking that might be actually determinative in evaluating whether a person's Jewish or not. Based on his parentage, in the eyes of other Jews, they would see him as a Jew, and by virtue of the fact of him not being circumcised, that would've caused controversy. And if you'll recall from the settlement that was made in Jerusalem earlier, not much was said about, as far as what the expectations were with Jews as far as circumcision was concerned.
Yes, Gentiles were not expected to be circumcised, but Paul was not going to be advocating that Jews should not be circumcised. That would've caused a whole load of controversy. And actually, we'll see later on, there's a rumor that Paul is telling Jewish men, oh, you don't need to be circumcised, and it leads to his, his arrest and him eventually being shipped off to Rome. It stems from that whole rumor. But we see here early on that Paul's eager to not, not give, give merit to that rumor. By having Timothy circumcised, he's concerned with being able to reach people with the gospel. And what we see testimony of, kind of Paul's philosophy when it comes to reaching people with the gospel. In 1st Corinthians nine verses 20 through 23, he says to the Jews, I became like a Jew to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, though I myself am not under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law, though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law, so as to win those not having the law. To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
So what Paul is saying here is that, yeah, circumcision is not necessary, but it is permissible. And in this case it is prudent, it is advisable for the sake of the mission. Yes, he's trying to reach Gentiles, but he's also trying to reach Jews with the gospel, and he doesn't wanna set up any barrier to that. Now, as we think about our own situation today, can we think of maybe analogous situation? Sure. This is a situation that doesn't arise for you as much, but I can think of my, myself, if I'm gonna go visit another church, and maybe it's a very traditional church, they expect the pastor's gonna wear a suit and tie. I might ask about that and say, would you like me to, you know, is the expectation that I would wear a suit and tie, because I want the people to hear the message that I would bring. Now, maybe you might think that's kind of a silly thing for people to expect, but this is a very live consideration, especially missionary work across the world. You have to be sensitive about the way that you dress, especially thinking about as you enter into a Muslim context, how are you gonna meet those people? Yeah, you, you probably, if you're a woman, you don't think, I don't need to wear a head covering, but to reach those people, well, I wear a head covering so that I can get contact and access and be able to share the gospel. Probably would be a good idea. If I'm going to a place where it's offensive for me as a man to wear shorts, am I gonna wear shorts even as I'm trying to share the gospel? No, I'm not. I'm not going to do that. If you're thinking about, you know, those situations might not come up for you as much, but perhaps, you know, we do live in a more diverse society today. If you have a friend who is a practicing Jew, or someone who's a practicing Muslim and you invite them over for dinner, probably not a good idea to cook a bacon, even if you're like, you don't have to eat the bacon, but just to have that on the plate next to it, probably not a good idea. That's not, that's not doing your best to accommodate and, and reach them. So these are the kinds of ways that we can think about how we can accommodate. We don't accommodate sin. We don't wink at sin, but these are issues that are permissible. They're not sinful matters altogether.
As we think about all these things and all these considerations, what a great relief it is that God is in control. God is in control. Yes, it's important that we, we do our best and that we try to make the best decisions. That's just what it means to be faithful and responsible. But in service to God and the church, sometimes things don't go the way we would hope. To our surprise, we see something one way, a brother or sister sees it another way, and it's not clear that one person is right and the other person wrong, is wrong when it comes to a matter of discernment, requiring an exercise of, of wisdom. We have the same faith, we have the same goal in mind, but how we get there requires wisdom and sometimes judgment differs. Can God work through difference? Yes, he can. Because he is in control. So we should not become overcome with disappointment, we should not become downcast in spirit when things don't pan out exactly as hoped for, because God has a plan. And throughout our disagreements, even sharp disagreements, we can and should continue to show grace to one another and wish and pray for the best for each other. We should never stop loving one another.
And in the interest of advancing the gospel, we should consider if there are any roadblocks that we can remove that will help someone hear the gospel. Of course we shouldn't lie and we shouldn't play nice with sinful behavior, saying kind of you do you. That's the tendency in our culture to say, oh yeah, you do you, I'm gonna do my thing. That's not what we're talking about here. But we can think about those things that are negotiable, how we dress, what we eat and drink in their presence. We can think about how we're gonna approach conversations with those who, who need to hear the gospel. It's tempting to talk about hot button issues right out of the gate, but I think we should be careful. We should be careful here and just consider whether that's the best way of going about things. Sometimes it is, sometimes talking about important issues opens people up and that's how they get led to Christ. But we have to consider, if I talk about this now, where this person is, is this just gonna shut them down? Are they just gonna peg me in, in some sort of way and not be open to hearing what I have to share? We have to think, can they even begin to think differently about an issue before they begin to take Jesus seriously for who he is? People come to Jesus in various various ways, but my point here is that we need to be thoughtful and mission minded like Paul. He could have tried to make a point by not having Timothy circumcised, but his concern was that the gospel might gain a hearing. That too should be an important concern of ours, even, as in all things, we altogether entrust the outcome of our efforts to the Lord. Let us pray.
Dear Father, we, we come before you and we confess that we do not know what you know. Father, it is our desire to be faithful to you, and we want to strive to do our best, and we pray that the Holy Spirit would give us wisdom to know what is best. It is our desire, father, to be in one accord, to be united in, in pursuing the same things together, father, as the body of Christ.
Even so Father, we do recognize that sometimes there is differences in the body of Christ and that you can even be working through those differences. Father, we pray that differences would not lead to division and animosity toward one another. Maintain, father, the love of Christ among our body and in the larger body of Christ we pray. We pray that we would trust you rather than our own plans of how things should go. And Father, we pray that you would make us a mission-minded people. That we wouldn't be fearful of what people would, would think, but that you would make us ambitious to think creatively and thoughtfully about the best approach we can take in meeting people where they're at in order to share the gospel with them, father, so that they can know the, the freedom that we have in Christ, so that they can know the new life that we have in Christ.
Father, we just pray that in all these things, we would be faithful to you, even as we know that you are faithful to us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we worship God and hear the preaching of his word. It's our joy to welcome you into our community
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)