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The Weekend Pulpit: Don't Stop Now! · Enjoying the Journey

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There is no substitute for the preaching and teaching of God's Word.
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Each weekday on Enjoying the Journey, Scott Pauley leads us in
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a brief study of Scripture. Today on The Weekend Pulpit,
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we are happy to share a full-length Bible message
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given through Scott's pulpit ministry. These messages
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were recorded live in a local church or gospel event
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in recent days. It is our prayer that the message will be a help to
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you today.
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I want you to open your copy of the Word of God with me one
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more time to the book of Acts. This amazing historical record of the
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first-century church and of so many of the characters connected to it.
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Remember, churches are not just crowds. Churches are
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a connection of individual believers. And so, in these local
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churches, you had people just like us who became followers
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of the Lord Jesus and then led so many others to Christ. And Barnabas,
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I think, is one of the chief, if I might say it
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that way, of the Lord's servants in the first-century church.
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You know, it's interesting. Everybody wants to be like Paul. Everybody wants
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to be like Paul. I'm going to tell you what we need. We need some
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churches filled with people like Barnabas. Not everybody
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has the gifts of a Paul, but everybody can have the spirit of a
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Barnabas. And we learned something on the Lord's Day from Acts
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chapter 4 about the first mention of Barnabas's name.
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Remember that? He is the son of what, church?
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Consolation. And of course, I really believe that Consolation is
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just a reflection of the Father who is the God of all comfort and
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the real Son, capital S, of consolation, the Lord Jesus,
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and the Spirit who is the Counselor and the Comforter that
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comes alongside to help. Really, it wasn't so much about Barnabas, it was
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God in Barnabas' life. The refreshing
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thing about people is not their personality.
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The refreshing thing about people is the Christ that lives
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inside of them. And we saw that exhibited in chapter 9
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when he comes alongside Saul of Tarsus. Do you remember that terrorist
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who got born again? And Barnabas gives him a little entry
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place to come into that local assembly. And we saw it in chapter 11
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and chapter 13 in the church at Antioch. And we see Barnabas
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being used of God everywhere he went and every person he crossed
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paths with to be a blessing and to be an encourager.
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Let's pick up right where we left off. Stay with me, we're taking a little
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journey tonight. Go to Acts chapter 13 again. This is where we left our brother
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Barnabas last night. Verse number 43, now when the congregation was
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broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes
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followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them persuaded
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them to continue in the grace of God. Remember that
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word continue because it's going to come back to you in just a moment.
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And if you haven't done this already, I want you to mark verse 43.
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It is the first mention of Paul's name listed
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before Barnabas' name. And I love this
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because all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Nothing is incidental in the Word
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of God. What started as the mission team of Barnabas and Saul has
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now become the mission team of Paul and Barnabas. But that's all right. That's all
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right with Brother Barnabas 'cause Barnabas wasn't in it to get his name in lights.
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Barnabas didn't have to be the big cheese. Barnabas didn't have to be the big
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man on campus. Barnabas was just glad to be a servant
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of the Lord and of the Lord's people. And so here's Barnabas,
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in a sense, stepping back a little bit in the public eye and yet still
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being used of God. The Bible says in verse 44,
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all you preachers know this is every preacher's dream. Look at verse 44.
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And the next Sabbath day came almost the
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whole city together to hear the word of God. How many of you preachers vote
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for that? Can you imagine? I mean, you try to get people to come
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to church and the next Sabbath day they couldn't get them in the
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building. The whole city has come to hear the word of God.
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Now don't forget, don't forget that with a great
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door there are always many adversaries. Well,
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Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say that a great door of opportunity
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always swings on the hinges of opposition. And so
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we come to verse number 45. But when
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the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and
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spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,
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contradicting and blaspheming. By the way, if you can't
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get excited when people are getting saved, something's wrong with you.
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It's wrong with you. And for the record, it's not
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my sermon, but But if you can't rejoice when God's blessing somebody else's labor
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for the gospel's sake, something's wrong with your spirit. We're not
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trying to build our thing. We're servants of Christ.
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And so there's this religious contention going on.
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Come to verse number 49. They have a spiritual breakthrough. And the word of the
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Lord was published throughout all the region. How many of you vote that this
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region will get a good dose of the gospel in this generation?
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Sure, this region needs the gospel. But again,
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with great blessing, guess what comes? Great battles.
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Verse 50, but the Jews stirred
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up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city and raised
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persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them
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out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them
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and came unto Iconium. Can't you hear Jesus say, shake the dust off, boys?
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Shake the dust off your feet. That's exactly what they did. They just picked themselves
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up, shook the dust off, and went right on. Verse 52,
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and the disciples were filled with joy and with the
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Holy Ghost. Anybody starting to notice a pattern here? Watch please.
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You ever look at a pendulum? You know, the little
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move, the swing from side to side, from one extreme to another? Can I tell
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you that life is like that? There's ebb and flow.
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Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're not.
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How many of you ever have a really, really, really, really, really, really great day?
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Would you raise your hand please? At least once every 6 months, right?
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And how many of you ever have one of those days you got to look
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up to see the bottom? Yeah.
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There's mountains and valleys. There's light
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and night. There's great blessing and great battles.
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That's not strange. That's normal.
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Some of you have this idea— you wouldn't believe in some health
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and wealth gospel preacher, but in some personal way you
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have this idea that at some point, if you're really obedient to God, surely it's
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going to get easier. I hate to bust your bubble tonight, but it's not.
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Not till you get a new body, not till you go to be with Jesus,
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not till the devil gets shut up forever. That's gonna be a good day,
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isn't it? But until then, just brace yourself.
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There's an ebb and flow to life and not only to life,
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but to labor in the Lord's work. There are days it just
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seems to, man, we're being carried along by the wind of the Spirit of God.
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And then the other days you feel like the gale winds are against you.
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That doesn't mean you're moving in the wrong direction. In fact, it may mean you're
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moving in the exact direction you're supposed to be moving in.
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And so we come to chapter 14. Look at verse number 19. They're still preaching,
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they're preaching the gospel. Verse 19: And there came thither certain Jews
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from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the
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people, and having stoned
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Paul Man, about the time you think it can't
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get any worse. Drew him out of the city supposing he'd
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been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose
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up and came into the city. And the next
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day he departed with— who, please? There he is again.
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I tell you, Brother Barnabas just staying right with his stuff.
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I mean, he's traveling with a marked man now, you know.
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Paul's got a target on him. Guess what that means? Barnabas has got a target
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on him. But here he is departing with Barnabas to
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Derbe. And when they preached the gospel in that city, to that city, and had
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taught many, they returned again to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch. Can you imagine
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what it must have been like? I mean, look, put yourself in Barnabas's sandals
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for a minute. Look through his eyes, because Saul,
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who's now become Paul, who is your friend, who is
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your fellow laborer, has just gotten drug outside the city and
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stoned and left for dead. And you're standing in the circle looking at
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that corpse thinking, well, I guess God's finished with him.
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And about the time that, that old fella got up.
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And Barnabas says, hmm, the Lord's not finished with us.
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And so what do they do? They press on with the gospel.
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Turn a page, would you please? Come to chapter 15,
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verse number 12. Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience
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to Barnabas and Paul. Interesting here that
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Barnabas's name one final time is mentioned first.
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And can I show you the context of that? It was not at Antioch.
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They're back in Jerusalem giving a report to their
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to their kind of their sending agency, if you will, to the apostles. And I
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think this is interesting, but in the eyes of the apostles back there,
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Barnabas still seems to be kind of the leader of the group. But out on
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the front lines, Paul is the one who's tip of the spear.
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Interesting, isn't it? But they're laboring together. They're striving
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together for the gospel. And so they declare what miracles and
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wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
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Come to verse number 25. The believers at Jerusalem
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speak of Barnabas and Paul now and said, it seemed good unto us,
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being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas.
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Don't you love that expression? Our beloved Barnabas and
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Paul. By the way, look at me just a minute. Do you
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want to know why they loved Barnabas so much? Because Barnabas was full of the
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love of God himself.
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It wasn't that he was just some lovable kind of guy.
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It was rather that the love of God so overflowed
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in him. I mean, good night. How could you not love somebody full
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of the love of Jesus? And look
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at verse number 26, in case you think he's some mamby-pamby.
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Men that have hazarded their lives for the
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name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whew.
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Do you see a beautiful mixture here of strength and gentleness?
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Let me tell you about Barnabas. We'll come full circle back to this thought at
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the end of the message. Let me tell you about Barnabas. It's really not Barnabas.
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It's Christ in Barnabas. Let me tell you about Jesus. He is
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the strong man and he is the meek and
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gentle man at the same time. You know,
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some people only have a Christ of their own making.
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Not the Christ of the Bible. Some people, they like
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that rough, tough Jesus. You know, the one that goes in, kicks over the tables
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of the money changers, and drives them out with a scourge. And that's
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the only Christ they ever know. And they
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never learn to stand on the mountain outside that city and weep over Jerusalem.
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And others like the meek and gentle Jesus, the baby in a manger,
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but they don't want the Jesus that looks the Pharisees in the face and calls
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them a generation of vipers. Watch this carefully. He wasn't one
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or the other. He was both and the perfection of both. And the closer you
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get to Jesus and the more of Christ's heart becomes your heart, the more the
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strength and the gentleness of Jesus Christ will be seen in your character.
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And I think Barnabas is really a reflection of that. Let me
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come now to our text in Acts 15:35.
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After all the back and forth, the ups and downs, the blessings
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and the battles, look at verse 35. Paul also and
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Barnabas continued in
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Antioch teaching and
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preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.
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And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas,
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Let us go again and visit our brethren in
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every city where we've preached the word of the Lord and see how they
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do. I'd like you to take your pen out tonight and I'd
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like you to write something down. If you're taking notes, you can put it on
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your paper, and if you're not, write it in the margin of your Bible right
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next to Acts chapter 15 and verse number 35, because we're coming very
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near the end of the historical account of Barnabas's life and labors, I want
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you to write this statement. And once you write it down, I want you to
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underline it about 3 times and put 5 exclamation points after it. All right,
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matter of fact, when you write it, write it in big bold boxcar letters.
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Just write this down just exactly this way. Ready? Don't stop
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now! Don't stop now!
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Did Barnabas have a great start? Yes. Has he had a great run?
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You better believe it. But here we are all these years
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later in Acts chapter 15, and what's he doing? He's pressing on
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for the Lord. Can I tell you that in the Lord's work,
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there is a place to start, that's wherever you are, but there is no
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place to stop until you see Jesus. I say again,
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don't stop now.
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See, I'm not preaching tonight for tonight.
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I'm preaching tonight For a decade from now?
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I won't be here a decade from now in this church.
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Will you? Oh, somebody say, well, Jesus is coming.
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Well, he may, but if the Lord tarries his coming and lets
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you live, what kind of church will be here a decade from now?
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And how about you? Because a decade ago, there were some people sitting in these
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pews that aren't here tonight. How about you?
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See, lots of people start and some people stay for a while, but fewer
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and fewer people are finishing well. And I came to tell you tonight, on the
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authority of the word of God and the example of Brother Barnabas, that God's divine
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design for every one of us is that we would press on
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to the finish line for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I say again, don't stop now.
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How's that happen? I want to give you 3 principles tonight, and they
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all come from the example of Brother Barnabas. Let's begin right here where we
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are in verse 35. I'm going to read again. When I stop,
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you say the next word. Paul also and Barnabas— what's that next word,
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church? Everybody circle it in your Bible. They what?
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They continued. Do you remember what they were exhorting the church
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to do? To what?
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Continue. It's one thing to preach it, quite another thing to live it.
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And I want to say to you, number one, would you write this down?
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If you're not going to stop and you're going to finish well for the Lord,
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finish your course with joy, hear, well done, thou good
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and faithful servant. Number one, you've got to determine you're
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going to continue. You got to continue in the truth yourself.
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You got to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus
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Christ. You know, some of us have who've been saved a little while have stunted
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our spiritual growth because we've gotten satisfied with how far along in the faith we
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are because we're further along than somebody else or we're further along than
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we used to be. I wanna tell you something. There is no place to
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stop in your own personal walk with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul
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would write in Philippians chapter 3 that he'd not yet apprehended.
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Let me just tell you, friend, if Paul had not yet apprehended, you better believe
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we have not yet apprehended. Don't stop now.
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You continue growing in the faith. And he continued to share
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it with others. And watch this, not only share it with others,
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but don't miss this, to develop others who would tell others.
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Did you notice this? Look at verse number 35. They continued
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in Antioch teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. Mark this phrase, with many
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others also. You know,
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one of my missions when I come into a church for a meeting like this,
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it's not just preach sermons. It is not preach
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sermons. It is to place an emphasis.
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I could care less if you remember what
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the sermon titles were and the sermon structure or
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some story I gave. That is not important to me. What's important to me
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is that somehow the truth of the Word of God would so possess
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you that it might set something in motion that would continue
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long after the preacher's voice is silent and the meeting is just
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a memory. It's not what can be accomplished this week, it's what can be
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set in motion for eternity.
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What will change because we had this 3 days together? Anything?
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For if nothing changed, I wasted my breath,
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you wasted your time. We're not having a meeting
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to have a meeting. We're not filling time on a calendar and checking boxes
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off of religious obligation. What are we here for? We're here to say, dear Lord,
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we want to become everything you want us to be so we can do
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everything you want us to do. So Lord, you help
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us to set in motion what you want done for the glory
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of God. I say again, I'm not preaching tonight
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for tonight. I'm preaching tonight for the days ahead. Will there be any
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others also who get passionate about the gospel? Will there be any others also who
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say, I want to be a Barnabas? Will there be any others also who get
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the spirit of consolation and the soul of an
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exhorter and say, I want to find my place and do my part?
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It will be not because the preacher preached a good sermon. It will be because
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you determine you're going to continue until the day you
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see Jesus face to face. Maybe I'm just getting old.
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Maybe that's what it is. I started liking tea,
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hot tea, and I enjoy watching birds. What's wrong with
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me, you know? I looked in the mirror and saw gray hair
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and thought, how'd I get this old? Maybe I'm just getting old, but let me
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say this. I'm to a point in my life where I'm thinking less
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about the starting blocks and more about the finish line.
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And I'm so tired of seeing people who started well that foul out
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and drop away and do not press on to the finish line.
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And I want to say to God's children in this place, if it's the last
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sermon I ever give to this congregation, don't you stop
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now. God is not finished with you and God is not finished with
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this church. Don't die before you die. Don't quit
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before God is finished. Don't shift it into neutral and coast your way into
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glory. You press to the finish line. Toward the mark for the prize of the
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high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let me show you something.
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Hold your spot here. We'll come right back. Look at Galatians
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chapter 2 just a minute. We'll come
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back to Galatians 2 momentarily, but look at the first verse
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of Galatians chapter 2. Did you ever notice this? It's one of the
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references to Barnabas, but notice the timeline here.
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Galatians 2:1, Paul wrote, Then 14
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years after, I went up
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again to Jerusalem. What's it say, church?
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With Barnabas. Everybody mark that in your Bible. With Barnabas. And I want you to
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circle 14 years after. This is fascinating.
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Do you remember that Saul of Tarsus came under Barnabas' wing
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in Jerusalem in those early days? Barnabas is the one who brought him to
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the church at Jerusalem, introduced him. The apostles and helped him get started,
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and that got it set all in motion. Now here we are way down the
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line from that, and the Apostle Paul is referencing a visit when the
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2 of them go back to Jerusalem. And I
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love this, he even says 14 years after.
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May I just make a little application here? Where will you be 14 years
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from now?
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14 years from now.
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Somebody say, well, we'll be in heaven. You don't know that.
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Only God knows that. What if God
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lets you live? If God lets you live, where will you be?
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I'm not asking geographically or circumstantially or materially.
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I'm asking spiritually. Where will you be 14
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years from now if Jesus tarries His coming?
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And the answer to that question is, You'll only be where you're supposed to
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be if tonight you determine you're going to continue.
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Go back with me to our text in the book of Acts. Let me give
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you the second principle. I love verse 36. Paul says
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to Barnabas, let's go again. I've marked that word again in my
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Bible. Aren't you glad that our God is the God of the again?
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Again and again he speaks to us. Praise God for a God
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of second chances and multiplied mercy. Do you know what the Christian experience
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is? The Christian experience is God's grace again and again. Can I
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get a witness there? And on our side, it is us
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doing again the same things. Did you ever notice
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that the Christian experience is not lots of new things, it's the basics
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over and over and over what? Again.
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And Paul said, let's go again, visit our brethren. Let's check on
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these new converts and new churches. And verse 37 says,
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and Barnabas determined to take with him John,
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whose surname was Mark. Now I got to tell you, to this point it's all
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sounding good to me. They're getting ready to take another missionary journey,
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Paul and Barnabas together. Let's take
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John Mark with us. Verse 38, but Paul
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thought not good. Hmm, I don't like those words,
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not good. Do you? Not good.
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To take him with them who departed from them from Pamphylia
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and went not with them to the work.
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Verse 39 is one of the sad verses of
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the historical account in Acts. And the contention
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was so sharp between them. Did you know that word contention is
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a word literally for an explosion?
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Must have been, must have been quite a disagreement for
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Brother Paul and Brother Barnabas to get into it and say, well,
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we're just going to part ways.
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Did you know good people disagree? It might shock you to
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know God's people disagree sometimes.
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They departed asunder one from the other, and so Barnabas
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took Mark and sailed into Cyprus,
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and Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the
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brethren under the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia confirming
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the churches. Now I want to say something about this before I give
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you my thought. Would you just listen to me with your heart? John Mark had
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gone with him on the first missionary journey, and somewhere in the middle of it—
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I don't know if he got homesick, got tired, got distracted,
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I don't know what happened— But he went home. And Paul
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got ticked off about it.
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He did. Just kind of fed up with it.
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I think Paul was such a diehard. No man putting his hand
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to the plow, looking back, fit for the kingdom of God. And Paul was finished
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with him. Then I want to stop right here and say, I'm glad Barnabas wasn't.
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In fact, I think you get a little glimmer of a son of consolation
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again right here. Of the encourager,
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of the spirit that Paul would later write about in Galatians 6:1. Brethren, if a
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man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in
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the spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. Let me tell you
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about Barnabas. He was a spiritual man.
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Now God takes all things and works them together for good. How many of you
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believe that? One of the great good goods that came
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out of this thing that was not good is that now instead of one missionary
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team, there's 2 missionary teams. There's multiplication even through the
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division. So we see God at work in that, and the gospel is going
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in every direction that these men are going. And somebody said, well, which one
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you think was right? Isn't that the way we always think?
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Let's vote on it. Can I take a church vote? Has nothing to do with
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money. Is that all right? How many of you vote with Paul? Raise your hand,
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please. You vote with Paul. How many of you vote with Barnabas?
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How many of you afraid to vote?
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All right, the truth of the matter is only God knows all that was in
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either of their hearts, and that's between them and God and them and one another.
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And only the judgment seat of Christ will reveal many things in
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their lives and in our own. I got my own messes to deal with.
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How about you? But I'm gonna tell you what I think.
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I think Barnabas was right.
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You say, well, how do you know that? This is fascinating to me.
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Can I just take a little detour? How many of you, how many of you
25:41
give me, how many of you give me 2 minutes? Would you raise your hand,
25:43
please? 2 minutes. Hold your hand. Hold your hand. I'm looking, looking. Good. Now that's
25:47
at least 30 minutes right there. That's good. All right. Go with me.
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Go with me now to the book of Colossians just a minute. Would you please
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go to Colossians? Let me
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show you something interesting. Did you know Chronologically now,
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chronologically, this is the last mention of the name Barnabas. Remember, he's mentioned 29
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times in the New Testament, most of them in Acts. Here's chronologically
26:10
the last one. This is so good. Colossians chapter 4.
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I was looking at this on the front row a minute ago, started laughing to
26:16
myself. You know, there's a little humor in all this.
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Colossians chapter 4, verse number 10.
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Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, Paul writes, saluteth you and
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Who is that? Marcus. Would you like to
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know who that is? Keep reading. Sister's son
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to who? Barnabas, touching whom he received
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commandments. If he come unto you, receive him. Now somebody
26:42
say, why are you taking us through this? What's the importance of this? You ready?
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This was written perhaps 10 years after
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Paul and Barnabas split up. Over Marcus.
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Barnabas says, let's give the boy another, another chance.
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I mean, you know, Paul, God's been good to us. He's given us second chances.
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Let's give him another chance. Paul said, I don't think he's ready for that.
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And Barnabas says, all right, well, I'll take him. I'll take him then.
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Watch this. And perhaps a decade later,
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guess who's not only back in the ministry? You ready for this one? Back on
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Paul's missionary team? John Mark.
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Oh, it gets even better when you get to the last letter Paul ever wrote
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under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the book of 2 Timothy. You know who he
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asked for? John Mark. Bring him, bring him.
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He's profitable to me for the ministry.
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Look, only God can take an unprofitable man and
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make a profitable man out of him, but he sure does use men like Brother
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Barnabas to get that done. Isn't it fascinating
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that this young man who was in a sense not
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received by Paul, Paul now writes and says, receive him, he's doing the work of
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the Lord. You know what that is, brother? That's the grace of
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God. Let me really blow your mind.
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Second book of your New Testament is called the Gospel According to same
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young man. Best we can tell, Bible teachers
28:15
are in agreement that Mark, who wrote the 2nd gospel record,
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was the same young man known as John Mark who got associated
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both with Peter and with Paul and was used of God
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to pen one of the gospel records. I just want to stop and say hallelujah
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for the grace of our great God and thank the Lord for men
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like Barnabas who make it possible.
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And so we come to our principle. Would you go back with me to the
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book of Acts and write down the second one? Don't stop now. Don't stop now.
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I know the devil's going to try to stop you and flesh is going to
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try to stop you and there's going to be hurdles and sometimes there's going to
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be disagreements and even a possibility of division and disruption in
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the midst of blessing. But number 2, if you're not going to stop, not only
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do you have to determine to continue, you got to work through conflict.
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You got to work through conflict. It's going to come.
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If you're going to move forward, some barrier is going to get in the
29:09
way somewhere. And by the way, stop giving
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the devil all the credit for that. I get so
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sick of people saying, well, I tell you, the devil, he just loves to get
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his foot in the door. He does. But you really think the devil's doing all
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this? We make a lot of our own messes.
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Flesh is my biggest enemy. Can I show you
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something in Acts chapter number 15? The chapter actually opens with
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enemies, external enemies. You see, certain men teaching
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that you had to be circumcised to be saved, and they came into the church
29:44
and they brought questions and some confusion
29:47
that had to be worked through and dealt with. And by the way, I love
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this. You know what they did when questions came? They took it to the church
29:54
and they went to the Scripture. Can I just say this? When there's questions and
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problems, the church is the Supreme Court of the Christian life, the word of God
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is the final authority. When there's questions, the only way to straighten it out to
30:05
exclamation points is bring it to the church and bring it to the word of
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God and let the Lord straighten it out. Let me
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tell you where it gets tough. Come to the end of the chapter. When you
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come to verse number 37, to the end, the problem is not external
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enemies. The problem is internal strife. Can I
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tell you that internal strife is much worse than external attack
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when it comes to the Lord's work. Look here, church,
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you can deal with the onslaught of hell.
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You can deal with the hounds of hell. You can deal with the gates
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of hell as long as you don't give the devil a place in
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your midst.
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You really think the hounds of hell are going to leave you alone?
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No, they're going to keep fighting. Till the day the,
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the victor returns. But I want to say to you, you stay right with
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God and you stay right with each other. You stay one with
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the Spirit and you stay unified as the brethren. And if you will do that,
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neither give place to the devil, God will help you
31:09
to keep moving forward for the glory of God. You know what it
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means? It means not only do you have to determine you're going to continue,
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but at times you even have to work through conflict. Can I give
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you 4 little practical things that Barnabas did, and I think even Paul did
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in this passage. Write them down. I think this may help you, because everybody
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at some point is going to have some disagreement with somebody. Don't let every little
31:30
disagreement become a division. Don't, don't let every little thing that you
31:34
don't like become explosive. Don't do that. A few suggestions.
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Number 1, obey what the Lord tells you to do.
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You don't violate scripture and you don't violate your own conscience. Barnabas did
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what he believed God wanted him to do. Paul did what he believed God wanted
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him to do. In the end, you got nobody to please but
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Jesus. There's only one person that you have to answer
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to ultimately, and that's the one you're going to meet at the judgment seat of
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Christ. Obey what God tells you to do. Number 2, show mercy.
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Show mercy. Err on the side of mercy. You know what we do?
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We are easy on us and hard on others.
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Think how much of our own junk we excuse.
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And then when we come down on other people, let me tell you,
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that's not the right spirit. Why don't you flip that thing around and be hard
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on yourself and your own sin and show mercy
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to others? Blessed are the merciful, for they
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shall obtain mercy. See, watch this.
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Wisdom's justified of her children. Sometimes the children got to grow up.
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I think Barnabas made the wise decision and time will tell.
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You ever hear grandma say, time will tell? Actually, eternity will
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tell. The truth of the matter is, in time, God begins
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to reveal that those who obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit
32:56
and showed mercy were the ones used to make such a tremendous difference. Number 3,
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write this one down. Refuse to criticize.
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Refuse to criticize. You know what is conspicuously absent
33:08
in the book of Acts? Barnabas talking about Paul and Paul talking about Barnabas.
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Isn't that interesting? Somebody said, did you
33:17
hear— hey, did you hear about the blowup between Paul
33:21
and Barnabas? Here's a big one.
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Did you hear that Paul and Barnabas aren't traveling together anymore?
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It's crazy, isn't it, how our old nature— we We want
33:32
to hear those details and tell me more. Watch this. In the
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rest of the entire book, there's not a single reference to it. Not one.
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Not one. They dealt with it between themselves as
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brethren and before God, and as far as we know, didn't talk about
33:49
it anymore. Can I just say this? When things have to be
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dealt with, deal with it in the spirit of grace and mercy
33:56
and obey the Lord. And then get past the past
34:00
and get on with it. Stop talking about it.
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I meet people who say, well, I tell you, preacher,
34:08
years ago, and then they start telling you about something that happened 30 years ago.
34:12
And they go through all the details, who did them wrong,
34:16
what was said, how they felt, on and on and on and on
34:20
and on ad nauseam. And then they always sigh and say something like this,
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but I'm over it now.
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No, you're not. As long as you're still talking about it,
34:30
you're not over it. And for the record, as long as you keep
34:34
talking about it, you never will get over it. Put it under the blood of
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Jesus. Lay it at the nail-pierced feet of Christ.
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Cast your burden on the Lord and leave it there and
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get on with what God has given you to do.
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Number 4. Give God time to work.
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Give him time to work. Barnabas, you can't convince
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Paul, and Paul, you can't straighten out John Mark, but let me tell you,
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God can work on both ends and God can take care of what you can't
35:03
take care of. Just give him time to work.
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You understand that there's always going to be something that disappoints
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you, somebody that disappoints you, something that could disillusion
35:15
you and detour you. Don't let that happen.
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Don't stop now. Determine to continue and work
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through your conflict. Number 3,
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you're not gonna like this one, but this is the one we're gonna end on
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'cause this is the one the Holy Spirit ends on with Barnabas. Be willing
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to be corrected.
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Somebody said, but I thought you just said you thought Barnabas was in the right.
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On that, I do. But he wasn't always right.
35:43
Barnabas wasn't sinless. There's no perfect church members and there's no perfect preachers.
35:47
My grandpa used to say, find a perfect church, don't go there, you'll mess it
35:50
up. That's right. We never arrive.
35:54
There'll never be a moment in your life that you don't need some reproofs
35:57
and correction. What's that proverb? Reproofs of instruction are
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the way of life. Heard about a young man recently
36:05
who dealing with just a spirit of rebellion and, and,
36:08
and can't can't, uh, seem to, to listen to
36:12
authority. And so he's decided that he's going to join the military.
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It's the way it works, isn't it? Sometimes as kids we think,
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well, when I get older, nobody's going to tell me what to do. How many
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of you have lived long enough to know that doesn't work that way? Somebody's going
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to. Let me tell you who really needs to speak to you. The Lord does.
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And the Lord will speak to you through spiritual people. Now let's take a little
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journey Stay with me. Come to 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
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Mark these in your Bible. 1 Corinthians 9 is
36:45
actually a positive about Barnabas. He's commended.
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He's referenced by Paul. 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 6,
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or I only and Barnabas— would you mark that?— have not we power
36:57
to forbear working? Wish I had time to study the context with you, but the
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principle was these were hardworking men. Did you know these men were willing to
37:04
even work with their own hands and make tents and do whatever had to be
37:07
done so they weren't a burden to the churches. I love that.
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My dad was a bi-vocational pastor for a long time. I thank God
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that many of us can be full-time, what we call full-time in the Lord's work,
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but really a bi-vocational pastor just has 2 full-time jobs. That's what he has.
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And I thank the Lord for a hardworking man like Barnabas. He was a hard
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worker. Let's get another one. Come over to Galatians 2. We were there earlier,
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verse 1. Look at verse 9. Here's another commendation.
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When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
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the pillars of the church, perceived the grace that was given
37:44
unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of
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fellowship. You ever hear that expression in a church? We're going to give them the
37:51
right hand of fellowship. I've often wondered exactly what that means.
37:56
They shake hands? Did they high-five? Did they— what does that mean? Pat them on
37:59
the back? The right hands of fellowship, that we
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should go unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision. Again,
38:06
another commendation. Barnabas is given the right hand of fellowship
38:10
by James, Cephas, and John. He's connected to Paul and to
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the evangelization of the Gentiles. So far, so good.
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And then you come to verse number 12. For before that
38:23
certain came from James, verse 11 says that Paul withstood Peter to
38:27
the face. Why? For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the
38:30
Gentiles. But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them that were
38:33
of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled
38:38
likewise with him. That word dissembled means to have some hypocrisy. They acted one way
38:42
to one group and one way to another. Don't you hate that?
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Look at me just a minute before you keep reading. Could I just say,
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deal with your own hypocrisy.
38:52
It's easy to spot the Pharisee in somebody else. But the dirty little
38:57
secret is there's a little Pharisee in every one of them.
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They dissembled with him insomuch that—
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what's that name, church? Aha.
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Barnabas also was carried away with
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their dissimulation, with their hypocrisy.
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He's commended, he's commended. Now he is what?
39:22
Correct it. Did you know that the real test of spirituality
39:26
is not how you respond when everybody tells you you're doing well? It's how
39:30
you respond when somebody tells you you're not.
39:35
As long as somebody's saying, you're doing so good, we're proud of you,
39:39
it's easy to feel spiritual. What about when they turn
39:42
around, get in your face, and say, that's, that's not
39:46
right? That's not right.
39:51
Paul had to look his friend in the face— watch this, a mentor,
39:56
a mentor— in the face and say, you've gotten
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carried away with the wrong thing. I've marked that phrase. Would you mark it?
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Carried away. Can I just say, don't get carried away with things.
40:07
If you're going to press on and you're going to finish well, you got to
40:11
be on guard constantly about getting carried away with
40:15
things. There'll always be something trying to blow you off course and carry you
40:18
away. Can I show you 3 of them? They're right here.
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3 things he got carried away with. In verse number 11,
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mark the name Peter. You know who Peter was?
40:29
Peter was the Lord's right-hand man.
40:32
Peter was the lead apostle. You know
40:36
one of the things people get carried away with? The fame of man.
40:40
Somebody gets famous, gets a name, and so they think,
40:43
well, must be right, they said it. I mean,
40:46
good night, it's on YouTube, it surely is right.
40:51
Be very careful about that. Be very careful about getting carried
40:55
away with the fame of man. Here's a second one. In verse number
40:59
12, mark the word circumcision. Do you see? Fearing them
41:03
which were of the circumcision. Don't get carried away with the fame of
41:06
man, but don't get carried away with the fear of man.
41:09
Remember what the Bible says, the fear of man bringeth a
41:13
snare. And they fear these religious leaders and what they
41:16
would think and what they would say. Who cares what they say? What does God
41:20
say? If that were not enough, mark the third one,
41:24
verse 13, and other Jews dissemble. Don't get carried away
41:27
with the folly of man. Anybody tells you
41:31
peer pressure stops when you turn 18 is lying to you.
41:35
And a multitude— don't follow a multitude to do evil.
41:39
There are many others here making foolish decisions instead of
41:43
wise, and Barnabas gets carried away, carried away, carried away.
41:46
Was it Peter that carried him away? Was it the Jewish leaders that carried him
41:50
away? Was it the many multitudes that followed the wrong direction that carried him away?
41:53
I don't know what carried him away, but he got carried away by the wrong
41:56
thing, and Paul had to look him in the face and say, stop it right
41:59
there. I was thinking about this today. Do you see the 3 things? Look at
42:02
your list. Determine to continue, work through conflicts,
42:07
and be willing to be corrected. Watch this. They're all directional words.
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Determine to continue, keep moving forward.
42:14
Work through conflicts, there's going to be obstacles. Don't let it stop you.
42:18
Don't let it detour you. Work through that. Get over that and
42:21
move on. Watch this. And sometimes along the path,
42:25
God says, mm-mm, you're going the wrong direction.
42:28
You need to make a little course correction here. Can I end with a
42:33
scripture by Brother Barnabas's friend Paul? Everybody go with me to the book of Philippians
42:36
for just a moment. I quoted a verse from Philippians chapter 3.
42:41
Let me show you a principle that will help us all as we come to
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the end of our study of Barnabas and
42:48
think about the end of our lives. Look at Philippians chapter 3.
42:53
We love to quote verse 13 and 14, don't we? Forgetting, reaching, pressing.
42:58
Look at verse 15. Philippians 3:15,
43:01
let us therefore, as many as be perfect— that means mature— be
43:07
thus minded. And wait
43:12
for it, here's a mark of maturity: if in anything ye
43:16
be otherwise minded,
43:19
God shall reveal even this unto
43:23
you. Nevertheless, verse 16,
43:26
nevertheless, whereto we've already attained,
43:30
let us walk by the same rule. Let us
43:33
mind the same thing. Do you
43:37
see 2 truths wedded together? Look at verse 15 and verse 16.
43:41
Verse 16 says, you keep doing what you've already learned to
43:45
be right. But verse 15 says every now and then God's going to show you
43:48
something that's not right, and when he shows you, you get that right.
43:54
You want to know how people finish well? They continue in
43:58
what they know is right to do,
44:02
and they stay open and willing to change anything
44:06
that God says needs to change.
44:12
I came tonight to say to this church, a church full of consolation
44:16
and exhorters, I might add, that have been a blessing to me, showing the love
44:19
of God this week. I came to say to the Barnabases among us,
44:23
listen, don't stop now.
44:28
Determine to continue and work through any conflicts.
44:32
And by the grace of God, be willing to be corrected. Stay right
44:36
with God and right with one another. Stay in the Word and prayer. Stay close
44:40
to Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. After souls and engaged
44:44
in the work of the Lord. This is not the time to drift. This is
44:48
the time to get as close to God and God's people as you've ever been
44:52
and say, Lord, help me not to stop now.
44:57
You know the great goal of this meeting and the goal of these messages?
45:00
It's not to be like Barnabas, it's to be
45:03
like Jesus.
45:07
It's not to say, I'm gonna imitate Barnabas. It's to say,
45:11
Lord, I want the Christ I saw in Barnabas to be
45:15
formed in me in such a way that others will see Christ in
45:19
me. That starts here,
45:23
and it does not end until we see Jesus and are made like him.
45:28
Don't stop now.
45:33
The Barnabas in my life, though there have been many of them,
45:36
many of them, too many to recount,
45:41
but the chief Barnabas in my life has been my dad.
45:47
I started preaching as a boy preacher. It was for my 13th birthday.
45:53
A lot of kind people patient with me and encouraged me.
45:58
You know, a kid preacher is a novelty.
46:03
What that means is all the grandmas tell him he's wonderful.
46:07
And I'd go to churches and preach, and they meant well,
46:11
you know, all these precious saints to tell me that was the greatest sermon
46:15
they'd ever heard. And we'd get in the car
46:19
and my dad would tell me what I needed to hear.
46:26
It let all the air out of my bubble.
46:30
It was good for me.
46:35
All through these years, my dad has been the encourager,
46:39
the exhorter, the consoler, the Barnabas.
46:45
We have the privilege now of living near them, and when he retired from a
46:49
33-year pastorate, they came on our evangelistic team, and he and Mom travel
46:53
a lot and preach and teach the word of God.
46:58
God's using him at this season of his life. He's 25 years older than me.
47:04
The other night he went with me to a meeting where I was preaching,
47:07
a little over an hour from home, and we stopped in the capital city
47:11
of our home state and had dinner with a state senator that I
47:14
grew up with. He's a dedicated Christian. We had a great time, and we're
47:19
standing out on the street after our meal, getting ready to go to church.
47:23
And this state senator, a businessman, said something
47:27
to me about the need for integrity in elected office
47:30
and how utterly deficient it is in so many places
47:34
and people. And we're having this conversation and I said
47:39
to Brian, I pointed to my dad and I said, this is the man I
47:42
want to be. This is the man I want to be.
47:48
My dad's been married to my mother for 52 years.
47:51
He's been faithful to her. He's been a faithful example
47:56
to me and to my sister. He's been
48:00
a friend to people. He's fought battles.
48:03
I've watched him go through challenges and difficulties,
48:08
critics and enemies, and I have watched him keep
48:12
the joy of Jesus. And I'm just testifying that that's
48:18
the man I want to be. I'm thinking now, if I add
48:22
25 years to my life and I'm standing at 74,
48:26
almost 75 years of age,
48:30
what kind of man will my children say their daddy is?
48:36
I don't want to stop. Would you pray
48:40
for me? Somebody said, how can we
48:44
pray for you? Would you pray I'll continue? Would you pray I'll not be detoured?
48:49
Would you pray I'll stay humble enough to be corrected and people
48:53
can speak to me when I need to be spoken to and God can speak
48:55
to me when I need to be spoken to? Would you pray that for me?
48:57
Would you please pray that for me?
49:01
And know that I'm praying that for you.
49:05
Because for a Barnabas, there's no place to
49:15
If this Bible message has been used of God in your life or we
49:19
can pray for you in some definite way, please contact us
49:23
at enjoyingthejourney.org. We hope you will share the message
49:27
with others who may also be encouraged by it. For additional
49:30
full-length Bible messages, please visit Dr. Scott Pauley's YouTube channel.
49:34
Tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and we want to encourage you to be faithful
49:38
to attend a Bible-preaching church in your area this Sunday.
49:42
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49:46
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