Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / What If You Need a Second Chance │ Msg 712

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What If You Need a Second Chance │ Msg 712 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: It was Jeremiah the prophet who said, your words were
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Speaker 1: found and I did eat them and they were to
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Speaker 1: me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. What an
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Speaker 1: interesting expression of faith. He said, in effect, I assimilated
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Speaker 1: your word. I saw it on the scroll and I
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Speaker 1: digested it so that it became a reason for joy
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Speaker 1: and rejoicing deep within my soul. We're in the middle
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Speaker 1: of an interesting series that I've titled, What If? And
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Speaker 1: each message is designed to take us to an area
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Speaker 1: of practical interest to everyone. Today has to do with
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Speaker 1: what if you need a second chance? I think the
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Speaker 1: best response to that is, who doesn't? We live our
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Speaker 1: lives needing another chance to get it right. We're going
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Speaker 1: to be reading about an interesting situation between two very
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Speaker 1: great men who had such a disagreement over a subject
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Speaker 1: that it resulted in their separating from one another and
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Speaker 1: never serving together again. revolved around a young man named
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Speaker 1: John Mark. And the two great men are Paul and Barnabas.
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Speaker 1: The story reaches a climax in the 15th chapter of
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Speaker 1: the book of Acts. If you have your Bible, please turn.
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Speaker 1: We're looking at the last few verses of that 15th chapter.
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Speaker 1: If you're not sure where to find the book of Acts,
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Speaker 1: the New Testament has four gospels, Matthew, Mark, and then
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Speaker 1: Luke and John. Then the fifth book is a book
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Speaker 1: of history that covers the apostles' lives and ministry. Hence
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Speaker 1: it's called the Acts of the Apostles, written by a
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Speaker 1: man named Luke, a physician in the first century who
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Speaker 1: traveled alongside Paul as his personal physician. Luke records the
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Speaker 1: event in Acts chapter 15, beginning at verse 36 down
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Speaker 1: to the end, verse 41. Because we respect our God
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Speaker 1: and his word, may we stand for the reading of
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Speaker 1: his truth. I'll be reading from the New Living Translation.
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Speaker 1: Verse 36 begins, After some time, Paul said to Barnabas,
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Speaker 1: Let's go back and visit each city where we previously preached.
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Speaker 1: the word of the Lord to see how the new
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Speaker 1: believers are doing. Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along
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Speaker 1: John Mark, but Paul disagreed strongly since John Mark had
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Speaker 1: deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them
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Speaker 1: in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they
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Speaker 1: separated Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus.
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Speaker 1: Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted
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Speaker 1: him to the Lord's gracious care. Then he traveled throughout
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Speaker 1: Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there. Our hope is
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Speaker 1: that the Lord will help us understand what it means
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Speaker 1: to give another person a second chance. the importance of
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Speaker 1: that in our everyday lives. Please be seated. Today as
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Speaker 1: we pause for prayer, I want to remind you of
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Speaker 1: a body of people that number in the millions who
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Speaker 1: are this day persecuted for their faith. A hundred million
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Speaker 1: believers are persecuted every year The church is persecuted in
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Speaker 1: no less than 60 countries around the world. That's six O,
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Speaker 1: 60 countries. 75% of the world we live in lives
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Speaker 1: in an area with severe religious restrictions. God continues, however,
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Speaker 1: to make himself known in these difficult places. where believers
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Speaker 1: are persecuted by violence, discrimination, abuse, imprisonment, or murder. Join
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Speaker 1: me as we pray for these who suffer today and
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Speaker 1: give God thanks for the freedom we enjoy. May we pray.
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Speaker 1: It is sobering, our Father, to realize How many there
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Speaker 1: are who worship you under duress and under the threat
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Speaker 1: of assault, mistreatment, certainly misunderstanding and for some even abuse,
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Speaker 1: imprisonment and death itself. Nevertheless, the power of the cross
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Speaker 1: holds them close to your heart, and gives them the
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Speaker 1: strength to go on in the midst of the struggle
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Speaker 1: of our times. We pray for them. Our brothers and
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Speaker 1: sisters who speak a language we don't understand, who live
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Speaker 1: in a culture and a country most of us will
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Speaker 1: never see. Nevertheless, they are there. day in, day out,
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Speaker 1: serving you, representing you, worshiping you. Remind us, our Father,
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Speaker 1: that you are still at work and that you've always
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Speaker 1: done your best work through the minority. And therefore, our Father,
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Speaker 1: we pray that you will lift up the name of
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Speaker 1: Christ Hold high the banner of the cross and cause
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Speaker 1: those who would otherwise turn against them to realize what
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Speaker 1: is missing in their own lives and by your grace
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Speaker 1: turn to you. We pray for those brave women and
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Speaker 1: men in uniform and many of them fighting out of
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Speaker 1: uniform for the freedom that this land enjoys and we
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Speaker 1: pray for their safety. and that you would bring them
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Speaker 1: home to their families. Whole and grateful for the country
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Speaker 1: they've had the privilege of serving. Thank you, our Father,
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Speaker 1: in this great place of worship that we know the
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Speaker 1: joy of speaking openly of Christ without fear of interference
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Speaker 1: or restriction. It's all because of the cross. It's all
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Speaker 1: because of what Christ provided. We give our gifts today
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Speaker 1: that that message might go forth across the street and
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Speaker 1: across the states and across the seas. May our Savior
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Speaker 1: be exalted as we survey the wondrous cross on which
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Speaker 1: the Prince of Glory died. except our gifts which we
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Speaker 1: give in the name of the Savior. And everyone said, amen.
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Speaker 1: Our lives are filled with a need for a second chance.
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Speaker 1: Being imperfect and fallible human beings, we regularly fail and
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Speaker 1: sometimes fall flat on our faces. Not just once, not
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Speaker 1: just twice, but over and over and over again. You see,
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Speaker 1: because of our fallibility, we have trouble getting it right.
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Speaker 1: We want to do it right. We would love to
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Speaker 1: do it right the first time and from then on,
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Speaker 1: but we would have to be superhuman to do that.
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Speaker 1: From our earliest years, we remember learning by failing. Remember
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Speaker 1: learning to hold a glass of milk without spilling it?
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Speaker 1: My father used to say, it will be a great
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Speaker 1: day of success when this family can have one meal
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Speaker 1: without a glass of milk being spilled. We just learn
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Speaker 1: by picking it back up again being forgiven, given a
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Speaker 1: second chance, doing it again. We stumble and fall as
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Speaker 1: we learn how to walk. We take our bicycles as
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Speaker 1: we are given them and we run them into a curb,
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Speaker 1: learning how to ride a bike. Simple as that. We
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Speaker 1: suffer the consequences when we lie and that we lie
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Speaker 1: again and yet again. Without being given a second chance,
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Speaker 1: we would never get anything perfected. Not one marriage represented
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Speaker 1: under the sound of my voice at this moment would
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Speaker 1: ever endure without being given a second chance on both sides.
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Speaker 1: The skills we have, we've developed them by doing them
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Speaker 1: wrong and ultimately learning to do them well. Driving a car,
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Speaker 1: Aren't you glad you had more than one chance to
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Speaker 1: do it right? I learned how to drive in my
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Speaker 1: grandfather's 1939 Ford. Now remember, first I learned on a
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Speaker 1: tractor behind the little bay house where we would go
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Speaker 1: for our vacation, and he thought I was ready to
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Speaker 1: graduate to his steering wheel. He was soon to learn
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Speaker 1: that there was more involved in that than he expected.
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Speaker 1: I drove fairly well. Well, there weren't any lanes back then,
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Speaker 1: so I was safe. But then he said, let's now
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Speaker 1: take it into the garage. The opening of the garage
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Speaker 1: was more narrow than the width of the little car
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Speaker 1: that I was driving, or at least it certainly seemed so.
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Speaker 1: And I tore the right fender off. I'll never forget it.
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Speaker 1: And I started to cry. He said, oh, Charles, just
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Speaker 1: back out. Let's do it again. I said, I'm sorry, granddaddy.
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Speaker 1: He said, you know what, son? I can get more fenders,
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Speaker 1: but I can't get more grandchildren. Just try it again.
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Speaker 1: I used to think it'd be good if my father
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Speaker 1: could learn words like that. You have to develop the
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Speaker 1: skill of public speaking by doing it wrong and being
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Speaker 1: given a second chance, a third chance. Believe me, as
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Speaker 1: a preacher, you would dread the fact that they recorded
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Speaker 1: your very first sermon. It's a horrible recording. or playing
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Speaker 1: a musical instrument, or learning to sing beautifully, or writing
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Speaker 1: an article for a magazine, or perfecting a sport. You
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Speaker 1: learn by doing it wrong and having your coach help
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Speaker 1: you know how to do it right, and staying with you,
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Speaker 1: being given a second chance. You learn to be a
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Speaker 1: leader by being given a second chance. You become a
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Speaker 1: good physician in that way, a good dentist, a good attorney,
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Speaker 1: a patient father, a caring and loving mother. You don't
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Speaker 1: get it just because you have a baby. You learn
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Speaker 1: how to do it, and there are those in the
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Speaker 1: family that provide you with a second chance because they
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Speaker 1: were willing to deal with you through the process of learning.
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Speaker 1: It takes over and over again for someone to say,
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Speaker 1: we understand, let's try that again. Just back up and
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Speaker 1: let's try that again. You see, back behind the second
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Speaker 1: chance is the willingness for the person who is giving
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Speaker 1: you the second chance to forgive you. Don't forget that.
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Speaker 1: We talked today about second chances, but what we're really
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Speaker 1: dealing with is forgiving someone again and again and again
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Speaker 1: and again and again. Sometimes it's a blind spot And
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Speaker 1: the person doesn't realize how wrong he or she has
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Speaker 1: been until the one close to them helps them realize it,
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Speaker 1: gives them a chance to do it over and over.
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Speaker 1: The problem is sometimes we are blinded to the fact
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Speaker 1: that we need a second chance. We think we've got
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Speaker 1: it pretty well put together, like this fellow minister who
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Speaker 1: wrote these true words. I was a very angry man.
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Speaker 1: The problem was that I didn't know I was an
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Speaker 1: angry man. I simply didn't see myself as angry. No,
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Speaker 1: I didn't think I was perfect, and yet I knew
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Speaker 1: I needed others in my life, but I lived as
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Speaker 1: though I didn't. My dear wife was very faithful over
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Speaker 1: a long period of time in bringing my anger to
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Speaker 1: me She did it with a combination of firmness and grace.
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Speaker 1: Again and again, she let me know my anger was
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Speaker 1: neither justified nor acceptable. I look back and marvel at
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Speaker 1: the character she showed during those very difficult days. When
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Speaker 1: she would approach me with yet another instance of my anger,
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Speaker 1: I would always do the same thing. I would wrap
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Speaker 1: myself in my robes of righteousness, activate my inner lawyer,
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Speaker 1: and remind her once again of what a great husband
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Speaker 1: she had. I would go through my well-rehearsed and rather
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Speaker 1: long list of things I did for her, all the
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Speaker 1: ways I made her life easier. So I had a
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Speaker 1: lot of things I could point out that assured me
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Speaker 1: I was not the guy she was saying I was.
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Speaker 1: On one occasion, confronting me with yet another instance of
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Speaker 1: my anger, I got on a roll and actually said,
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Speaker 1: these deeply humble words, 95% of the women in our
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Speaker 1: church would love to be married to a man like me.
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Speaker 1: How's that for humility? She very quickly informed me she
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Speaker 1: was in the 5%. How blind does one have to
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Speaker 1: be to let a statement like mine roll out of
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Speaker 1: one's lip? Maybe you have a husband like that. Maybe
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Speaker 1: your wife is like that. Or one of your children
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Speaker 1: has an anger problem or whatever, you fill in the blank.
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Speaker 1: It's amazing how we need those people around us who
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Speaker 1: are willing to help us see the issue and forgive
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Speaker 1: us and then go on. hopefully seeing us improve and
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Speaker 1: resolve something like an anger problem or an impatient problem
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Speaker 1: or a critical spirit, and I could go on and on. See,
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Speaker 1: the other side of the blind spot is those who
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Speaker 1: deliberately do what is wrong and aren't willing to change.
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Speaker 1: That's where it gets really tough. In those situations, it's
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Speaker 1: a real challenge to stay married or to continue to
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Speaker 1: show understanding and forgiveness to one of our adult children.
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Speaker 1: Or maybe you deliberately continue in making life miserable for another.
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Speaker 1: That may describe your husband. or your wife, or a
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Speaker 1: person who is your best friend but continues to make
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Speaker 1: the relationship difficult and irksome because of something that doesn't change.
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Speaker 1: But back to the subject of a second chance, where
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Speaker 1: would we be without that? I would never have learned
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Speaker 1: to drive. I would never have learned to preach. I
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Speaker 1: would never have learned how to raise children so that
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Speaker 1: when they're adults, they still love me. I would never
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Speaker 1: have a relationship with anyone else on our pastoral staff.
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Speaker 1: But because I'm given second chances rather regularly, I've been
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Speaker 1: able to grow and learn and still needing those second chances. Now,
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Speaker 1: The case in point before us is a very interesting story.
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Speaker 1: And context is everything. Because you read what I read
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Speaker 1: for you earlier, verses 36 through 41, you want to say, well,
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Speaker 1: what's the big deal? Why in the world couldn't they
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Speaker 1: take John Mark with them on that next journey? Good night.
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Speaker 1: He had every reason to go with them again. So
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Speaker 1: what if he failed? Hold it. Let's get the context.
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Speaker 1: Go back to chapter 13 and you will see that
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Speaker 1: there is a church that's begun in a place called Antioch. Antioch.
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Speaker 1: It's healthy. One of the reasons is there are five
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Speaker 1: very strong, capable, gifted teachers of the truth of God.
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Speaker 1: We read in verse 2 of chapter 13 that one
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Speaker 1: day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting,
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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit said, you see in those days he
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Speaker 1: spoke directly. The word of God was not complete. For
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Speaker 1: people to know God's will, they needed direct information, sometimes
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Speaker 1: through prophets, sometimes through the audible voice of the Spirit
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Speaker 1: of God who would speak. In the midst of that
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Speaker 1: church's growth, the Spirit of God speaks to the church
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Speaker 1: and says, two of the five teachers are to be
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Speaker 1: set apart for me. I want to use them in
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Speaker 1: a special way. In fact, verse 2 names them, dedicate
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Speaker 1: Barnabas and Saul, that was Paul's earlier name, dedicate Barnabas
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Speaker 1: and Saul for the special work to which I have
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Speaker 1: called them. Very clear. God had a mission. He was
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Speaker 1: to send them to places that had never heard the
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Speaker 1: truth before, and these two men were to lead in
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Speaker 1: that mission. So after fasting and prayer, the men laid
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Speaker 1: their hands on them and sent them on their way.
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Speaker 1: How great is that? Two of the five are removed
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Speaker 1: from this healthy, wholesome church and sent on their way.
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Speaker 1: They pack their goods, they put their thoughts together, they
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Speaker 1: plan their trip, and they set sail for the island
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Speaker 1: of Cyprus. But wait, before they left, the end of
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Speaker 1: verse 5 says, John Mark went with them as their assistant.
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Speaker 1: Some of you will remember in a message I brought
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Speaker 1: in the same series a few days ago when I
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Speaker 1: talked about under rowers. Remember the word the under rower
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Speaker 1: mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter 4? It's the word for
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Speaker 1: one who serves as an assistant, who serves behind the
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Speaker 1: scenes to help in taking care of the details of
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Speaker 1: a particular work. That's the word used here, translated assistant.
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Speaker 1: John Mark is the young son of a woman named Mary.
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Speaker 1: Mary owns a home in the city of Jerusalem. The
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Speaker 1: church has found refuge in Mary's home and John Mark
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Speaker 1: is growing up under the sound of the teaching of
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Speaker 1: those in her home as from one Sunday to the
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Speaker 1: next they would meet because it was illegal in those
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Speaker 1: days to meet openly in worship. So Mary's home was
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Speaker 1: a wonderful, solid place of Christian fellowship and good, strong teaching.
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Speaker 1: John Mark grew up in that. Let me add a
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Speaker 1: little detail. According to Colossians 4, John Mark is also
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Speaker 1: Barnabas' cousin. So we have a relative in the group.
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Speaker 1: Barnabas thinks, I think it's a good time for us
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Speaker 1: to pull John from the home and let him travel
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Speaker 1: with us. Paul shrugs his shoulders, no doubt. We should
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Speaker 1: certainly use help along the way. Let's go. And Mark
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Speaker 1: went with him. They sailed to Cyprus, which by the
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Speaker 1: way was Barnabas' original home. And they went from the
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Speaker 1: east coast to the west coast of the island, preaching
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Speaker 1: the truth. And John Mark is traveling along with them.
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Speaker 1: They set sail north and they came to Pamphylia and
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Speaker 1: the city of Perga, which is a rugged coastland. Diseases
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Speaker 1: were there. In fact, it wasn't unusual for disease to
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Speaker 1: be carried there through the mosquito. And malaria was not uncommon.
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Speaker 1: It could be that there one of the men got sick.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps it was there Paul's problem with his thorn in
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Speaker 1: the flesh began. We don't know. But it was tough.
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Speaker 1: It was rugged. And in front of them were cliffs.
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Speaker 1: that they must climb with all the load. And they
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Speaker 1: were to go into an area filled with Gentiles, people
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Speaker 1: they had never known before, who had never before heard
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Speaker 1: the gospel of Jesus. And we read at the end
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Speaker 1: of verse 13 that once they got to that place,
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Speaker 1: there John Mark left them. He left them. The word
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Speaker 1: means to withdraw from It could even be translated, deserted them.
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Speaker 1: How he did this, we're not told. Maybe he simply
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Speaker 1: left in the middle of the night, too embarrassed to
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Speaker 1: tell them that he couldn't continue, and he departed. They
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Speaker 1: found his empty sleeping bag when they woke up the
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Speaker 1: next morning. John was gone. Or maybe he did mention
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Speaker 1: it to his cousin Barnabas. All we know is that
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Speaker 1: he left them. There seems to be a suddenness in
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Speaker 1: the decision, and he returned to Jerusalem. The word means
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Speaker 1: to turn back. So he not only deserted them, he
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Speaker 1: went back home. One of the church fathers named Chrysostom
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Speaker 1: adds this little detail that might explain why he did it. Quote,
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Speaker 1: the lad wanted his mother. Could be. I know we're,
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Speaker 1: for the most part, adults as we sit here, but
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Speaker 1: hopefully you're not too old that you can't remember when
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Speaker 1: you got homesick. You were younger, and no matter how
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Speaker 1: nice the place may have been where you were, your mother,
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Speaker 1: your father weren't there. And you felt a desire to
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Speaker 1: be with them. And it was stronger than anything. You
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Speaker 1: could hardly eat. You couldn't sleep until finally you had
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Speaker 1: to go back home. That's John Mark. So John, for
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Speaker 1: whatever reason, leaves them high and dry. John had been
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Speaker 1: helping carry the load. You carry a lot of things
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Speaker 1: when you travel as far as they went. And when
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Speaker 1: you go in such rugged vehicles as they traveled on,
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Speaker 1: mainly their own feet, and when they were on boats,
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Speaker 1: they certainly were not comfortable ships, so they traveled in discomfort.
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Speaker 1: And maybe all of that piled in on young John Mark,
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Speaker 1: whatever the reason, he left. It's interesting that he's never
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Speaker 1: mentioned any further in that first journey. It's sort of
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Speaker 1: out of sight, out of mind. Maybe Barnabas was embarrassed.
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Speaker 1: Maybe he had been told things by John Mark that
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Speaker 1: John didn't want him to tell Paul. Whatever may have
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Speaker 1: been the reason. By the way, by now, Paul is
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Speaker 1: the leader of the group. Not only has his name
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Speaker 1: changed from Saul to Paul, And it's no longer Barnabas
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Speaker 1: and Paul, it is now Paul and Barnabas, or Paul
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Speaker 1: and his companions. He's the leader. Maybe that was hard
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Speaker 1: for John Mark. He came thinking his cousin was going
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Speaker 1: to be the leader, but no longer. Things changed. So
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Speaker 1: he withdrew. He deserted them. The journey continues on, and
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Speaker 1: they go from the height to the depth of experiences.
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Speaker 1: In one place, they are even praised as if they
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Speaker 1: are gods, Barnabas and Paul. In another place... Paul is
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Speaker 1: stoned and left for dead. Dreadful experience going through that.
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Speaker 1: Barnabas and Paul have traveled together and bled together and
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Speaker 1: prayed together and wept together and dreamed of the future together.
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Speaker 1: John Mark is out of the picture. When you get
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Speaker 1: to chapter 15, they're back in Antioch. They've given their
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Speaker 1: report to the church and there were some doctrinal issues
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Speaker 1: that need to get solved and they are successfully. And
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Speaker 1: so when they come toward the end of that time
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Speaker 1: where Paul and Barnabas stayed in verse 35 of chapter
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Speaker 1: 15 and they continued to teach the word of God there,
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Speaker 1: Paul began to think, verse 36, Let's go back and
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Speaker 1: visit each city where we previously preached the word of
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Speaker 1: the Lord. And let's see how the new believers are doing.
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Speaker 1: You can understand that. If you've ever ministered on a
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Speaker 1: campus and then you move from that campus to another,
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Speaker 1: you often wonder how those young believers are doing. And
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Speaker 1: in a year or two, you'd like to go back
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Speaker 1: and see if they're growing. If you're a pastor, you
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Speaker 1: think back over churches you've served, and you wonder how
27:59
Speaker 1: the people are in that congregation that you left a
28:03
Speaker 1: year or two or more ago. You care about them.
28:08
Speaker 1: So Paul cares about these people. Barnabas does as well.
28:12
Speaker 1: Let's go back and see how they're doing. Good idea.
28:15
Speaker 1: This begins to be the second missionary journey. Verse 37 says,
28:22
Speaker 1: Barnabas sort of gums up the works when he says,
28:26
Speaker 1: let's take John Mark with us. I mean, he left before,
28:33
Speaker 1: but my, this would be a wonderful opportunity for John
28:38
Speaker 1: to go back and to begin again, given a second
28:42
Speaker 1: chance to do that. Let's take John Mark. Look at
28:46
Speaker 1: Paul's response. Paul disagreed. Strongly. Now, the only way I
28:56
Speaker 1: know to emphasize that Greek word is just to say
28:59
Speaker 1: it louder. Strongly. But it is a term that involves
29:08
Speaker 1: almost an explosion. You and I would say, no way.
29:12
Speaker 1: There's no way we're taking a deserter with us. He
29:17
Speaker 1: failed us the first time. You can't trust a guy
29:19
Speaker 1: that will leave you in the lurch. There's no way
29:22
Speaker 1: we're going to do it. Barnabas doesn't give in. The
29:28
Speaker 1: particular tense that is used for Barnabas wanting to take
29:32
Speaker 1: along John Mark is a continued action. A.T. Robertson writes,
29:38
Speaker 1: Barnabas willed and wished and stuck to it. I really
29:42
Speaker 1: do want us to take John Mark. Nobody's perfect. I
29:48
Speaker 1: vote for Mark to go with us. And Paul, we
29:52
Speaker 1: read in the same tense, kept on insisting that this
29:56
Speaker 1: one not go with him. Now, how could there be
29:58
Speaker 1: such a disagreement? Stop and think. In every argument, there
30:03
Speaker 1: are two phases or two viewpoints. One is objective and
30:07
Speaker 1: the other is subjective. One focuses on feelings and people.
30:13
Speaker 1: That's Barnabas. The other focuses on principles and issues. That's Paul.
30:21
Speaker 1: It fits their personality. Barnabas is a man of great compassion.
30:26
Speaker 1: Paul learned to be, but he wasn't by nature that.
30:30
Speaker 1: By the way, it would be a long time before
30:32
Speaker 1: Paul would write the words, love is kind, does not
30:36
Speaker 1: take into account a wrong suffered. But Paul is younger.
30:42
Speaker 1: Paul has no interest in bringing along a man who
30:45
Speaker 1: has failed. Barnabas desires to do that. Paul says, there
30:51
Speaker 1: is no way we're going to do it. In fact,
30:53
Speaker 1: look at Paul's words. Paul disagreed strongly since John Mark
30:59
Speaker 1: had deserted them in Pamphylia. See the word deserted? It
31:04
Speaker 1: could be rendered apostatized. It means to stand apart from.
31:10
Speaker 1: He wasn't even one of us. And Paul sees it
31:15
Speaker 1: as borderline apostasy. So Paul is clearly looking back at
31:21
Speaker 1: his failure and Barnabas is looking ahead at his potential.
31:25
Speaker 1: You got the picture? One wag put together an imaginary conversation.
31:31
Speaker 1: I like this. Paul may have said, John Mark, we
31:36
Speaker 1: can't take John with us. He failed us last time. Barnabas,
31:41
Speaker 1: but that was last time. Paul, well, he's likely to
31:45
Speaker 1: fail us again. He's a deserter. Barnabas, he said, time
31:48
Speaker 1: to think it over, Paul. We've got to give him
31:51
Speaker 1: another chance. There's that second chance. He's got the makings
31:55
Speaker 1: of a great missionary. Well, tell me, Barnabas, says Paul,
31:58
Speaker 1: isn't it because he's your cousin that you want to
32:01
Speaker 1: take him along? You do things like that when you're arguing.
32:05
Speaker 1: You start attacking character or motive. I mean, isn't your
32:10
Speaker 1: reason based on the fact that he's your cousin? Barnabas responds,
32:13
Speaker 1: that's not fair. You know, I've tried to help many
32:17
Speaker 1: people who aren't related to me. I'm convinced this lad
32:21
Speaker 1: needs understanding and encouragement. He could be a great evangelist someday. Paul,
32:26
Speaker 1: we need someone who can stand up to persecution, an
32:29
Speaker 1: angry mob, beatings, perhaps jail. Our team has to be close-knit,
32:34
Speaker 1: thoroughly reliable. How can we trust a lad who failed
32:37
Speaker 1: like John Mark? No, Barnabas. Remember the words of the master.
32:42
Speaker 1: By the way, that helps in an argument, is to
32:44
Speaker 1: quote Jesus. No man who puts his hand to the
32:48
Speaker 1: plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
32:51
Speaker 1: Paul was ready with the verse. I'm sure Barnabas had
32:54
Speaker 1: the verse. Yeah, but don't you remember what the psalmist writes?
32:58
Speaker 1: He forgives us all of our sins. He remembers that
33:01
Speaker 1: we're but dust. And Paul could answer, yeah, but Solomon wrote,
33:06
Speaker 1: confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is
33:09
Speaker 1: like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint.
33:11
Speaker 1: I mean, you can argue from the scriptures, whatever position
33:14
Speaker 1: you are. I mean, these guys are going at it. Barnabas,
33:19
Speaker 1: I've talked to him about his failure. I'm sure he
33:21
Speaker 1: won't defect again. To refuse him might do spiritual damage
33:25
Speaker 1: at the moment of his repentance. It would be like
33:28
Speaker 1: breaking a bruised reed, like quenching smoking flax. That's also
33:32
Speaker 1: from a verse of scripture. Paul says it's too soon
33:36
Speaker 1: to trust him, period. Barnabas. Paul, remember how soon after
33:42
Speaker 1: your conversion I took a chance on you? That's an
33:46
Speaker 1: interesting thought, isn't it? Remember when they didn't trust Paul
33:50
Speaker 1: and Barnabas came along and said to the disciples, no,
33:52
Speaker 1: his conversion is true. I know he persecuted the church,
33:56
Speaker 1: but that was then. This is now. Here's a trustworthy man.
33:59
Speaker 1: His conversion is real. Barnabas, the apostles were afraid of you,
34:05
Speaker 1: thinking you were faking your conversion in order to infiltrate
34:08
Speaker 1: the church at Jerusalem. I didn't make you prove yourself first.
34:12
Speaker 1: I'd rather not keep John Mark waiting. I vote for him.
34:18
Speaker 1: I vouch for him. And so, there is a standoff.
34:30
Speaker 1: In fact, verse 39, their disagreement was so sharp, they separated.
34:44
Speaker 1: Look at that. These are partners in ministry, if you will.
34:50
Speaker 1: These are co-missionaries. These are the best of the best,
34:59
Speaker 1: chosen by the Holy Spirit to take on the task
35:03
Speaker 1: of reaching those who have never been reached before They
35:08
Speaker 1: prayed together. They bled together. They dreamed together. They've eaten
35:15
Speaker 1: alongside each other. They've hurt together. And now we read
35:22
Speaker 1: that they separated. What a strong disagreement. Paroxysmos is the
35:31
Speaker 1: Greek word. We get our word paroxysm from it. Webster
35:36
Speaker 1: defines paroxysm, a sudden outburst of emotion, convulsion. I don't
35:42
Speaker 1: know if you have had an argument like this. You
35:47
Speaker 1: may be in a family where you never raise your voice.
35:50
Speaker 1: Some of you are smiling. You, however, may be in
35:53
Speaker 1: a family where you argue rather loudly. Perhaps you were
35:58
Speaker 1: born and raised in a family like that. I don't
36:02
Speaker 1: believe I ever heard my mother or my father raise
36:05
Speaker 1: their voices to each other. Oh, they were angry with
36:10
Speaker 1: us at times and should have been, but I was
36:13
Speaker 1: raised in a rather peaceful kind of setting. Maybe you weren't.
36:19
Speaker 1: Not that I'm better than you. It's just that you
36:22
Speaker 1: would understand better than I an explosion in a disagreement.
36:26
Speaker 1: I will tell you, as an adult, I've had explosions
36:29
Speaker 1: like that. I've had convictions so deep and the other
36:33
Speaker 1: person did not hold them that I was willing to
36:36
Speaker 1: stand toe to toe with them. And so were many
36:39
Speaker 1: of you. You may be right now separated from a
36:43
Speaker 1: relationship because of such a paroxysm in your life. We'll
36:49
Speaker 1: say more about it later, but churches can reach a
36:51
Speaker 1: paroxysm and they split. And other churches are spawned. Same
36:57
Speaker 1: can happen in schools. Now, Question, who was right? Don't
37:06
Speaker 1: answer too quickly. Who was right? Well, as we often say,
37:12
Speaker 1: if you go with your gut, certainly Barnabas was a
37:16
Speaker 1: man of compassion. But before you get too broad-shouldered and great-hearted,
37:24
Speaker 1: when's the last time somebody asked you to borrow $ 50
37:27
Speaker 1: and you loaned it to them and they never paid
37:28
Speaker 1: it back? Then they came back to borrow more. How
37:32
Speaker 1: you doing with that? I don't think I'm looking at
37:36
Speaker 1: many people who would loan them another dollar. Why? Aren't
37:40
Speaker 1: you willing to forgive and give a second chance? There
37:42
Speaker 1: are some things that cause you to stand off and say,
37:45
Speaker 1: hold it, hold it, wait a minute. We need more
37:48
Speaker 1: time here. There need to be more changes that happen.
37:52
Speaker 1: That's where Paul is. Now here's the difficulty. I got
37:56
Speaker 1: this from Winston Churchill in his book, we shall not fail,
38:00
Speaker 1: I quote. Of this I am certain, that if we
38:04
Speaker 1: open a quarrel between the past and the present, we
38:08
Speaker 1: shall find that we have lost the future. Isn't that
38:11
Speaker 1: a great statement? Some of you are going, what? So
38:14
Speaker 1: let me say it again. Of this I am certain,
38:18
Speaker 1: if we open a quarrel between the past and the present,
38:22
Speaker 1: we shall find that we have lost the future. And
38:25
Speaker 1: that's true. If you live in the past, If you
38:29
Speaker 1: focus only on the disagreement of the present, you won't
38:33
Speaker 1: go much further. John Pollock writes, there must have been
38:38
Speaker 1: some serious wrong in a situation that made the lovable,
38:42
Speaker 1: even-tempered Barnabas use angry words. And Paul had a long
38:48
Speaker 1: ways to go before he could write, love is patient,
38:51
Speaker 1: love is kind, love does not insist on its own way.
38:56
Speaker 1: So what did they do? They separated. Look, verse 39,
39:01
Speaker 1: Barnabas took John Mark with him and they went back home. Remember,
39:06
Speaker 1: Barnabas is from Cyprus. They sailed to Cyprus. I'm sure
39:10
Speaker 1: he said to John Mark, we'll have an understanding group
39:13
Speaker 1: of people there. My family doesn't operate like this. Let's
39:16
Speaker 1: go back to Cyprus. Interesting. Paul chooses another traveling companion
39:22
Speaker 1: named Silas, verse 40, and he left The believers in
39:27
Speaker 1: the church entrusted to them the Lord's gracious care. and
39:30
Speaker 1: then they travel through Syria and Cilicia beginning the second
39:34
Speaker 1: missionary journey. Now, let's deal with today, okay? Let's put
39:46
Speaker 1: ourselves in the place of these people and let's change
39:50
Speaker 1: the details from the first century and Cyprus and Antioch
39:54
Speaker 1: and Pamphylia and Perga and let's go to Frisco or
39:58
Speaker 1: Dallas or Fort Worth or wherever may be home for you.
40:04
Speaker 1: Let's choose an individual with whom you have had a disagreement.
40:10
Speaker 1: Pause and think about that. You once felt that you
40:15
Speaker 1: were close, but now, because of that sharp disagreement, there
40:21
Speaker 1: was a dissension, and you're now moving in separate directions.
40:25
Speaker 1: I know the feeling. I have some people in my
40:27
Speaker 1: life like that. I don't see them as enemies, but
40:32
Speaker 1: I find it very difficult to fellowship with them. And
40:37
Speaker 1: I think there are issues too great for us to
40:39
Speaker 1: be close as we once were. So there are times
40:43
Speaker 1: that Second chances are questionable. Should you offer someone another chance?
40:55
Speaker 1: Should you who needs another chance be given a second chance?
41:01
Speaker 1: As you can see, there are a lot of extenuating circumstances.
41:05
Speaker 1: It isn't quite black and white as we would wish
41:08
Speaker 1: it were, obviously. We are to forgive. Can we forgive
41:14
Speaker 1: and not give a second chance? And if we give
41:18
Speaker 1: the second chance, do we give a message that is
41:21
Speaker 1: more than we want to give, having forgiven them? If
41:25
Speaker 1: we don't give them a second chance, are we making
41:29
Speaker 1: things worse? I'm going to leave some of that to
41:32
Speaker 1: you and your conversation privately with someone you love who
41:37
Speaker 1: is a part of this same audience today. So let
41:41
Speaker 1: me give you four guidelines when you are the one
41:44
Speaker 1: who has to decide whether somebody needs a second chance, okay?
41:49
Speaker 1: You might get your outline out and write them down.
41:52
Speaker 1: Not that you wouldn't remember them, but it's easier to
41:54
Speaker 1: remember after you've written something down. So here are the
41:57
Speaker 1: four guidelines I've come up with that will help us
42:00
Speaker 1: put this into everyday life. Number one, when in disagreement,
42:05
Speaker 1: work hard at seeing the other point of view. When
42:12
Speaker 1: in disagreement, work hard at seeing the other person's point
42:17
Speaker 1: of view. Philippians 2, 3, and 4, don't look out
42:22
Speaker 1: for your own self, but look out for what is
42:26
Speaker 1: best for others. So consider the other viewpoint. It's the
42:30
Speaker 1: hardest thing to do when you have deep convictions as
42:35
Speaker 1: Paul did and as Barnabas did, to look at it
42:38
Speaker 1: through the other person's eyes. But agreement never comes until
42:43
Speaker 1: we're willing to do that, or at least some form
42:46
Speaker 1: of agreement. To do that, you will need grace. You
42:53
Speaker 1: will need patience. You will need objectivity. You will have
43:01
Speaker 1: to swallow your pride and realize that your opinion, while
43:05
Speaker 1: it may be yours, may not be the right answer.
43:11
Speaker 1: especially when you put yourself in the other person's place. Okay?
43:17
Speaker 1: Here's the second. When both sides have excellent support, seek
43:27
Speaker 1: a wise compromise. When both sides have excellent support, seek
43:34
Speaker 1: a wise compromise. I am indebted to Leslie Flynn in
43:42
Speaker 1: a great book he wrote, Great Church Fights. I like
43:45
Speaker 1: the name of that book, but that's another subject. Anyway,
43:48
Speaker 1: in this book, he offers compromise for this argument. Listen
43:52
Speaker 1: to some very reasonable compromises. Could Paul or Barnabas or
43:56
Speaker 1: both have developed a reasonable compromise? Giving in would not
44:01
Speaker 1: have meant heresy for no doctrine was involved. That's a
44:05
Speaker 1: good point. Neither Paul nor Barnabas was a heretic. There
44:13
Speaker 1: was disagreement over an issue regarding young John Mark's faithfulness,
44:18
Speaker 1: but it had not had to do with doctrine. And
44:23
Speaker 1: because of that, couldn't Paul have said, we'll tell him
44:27
Speaker 1: he's on probation. If he doesn't work out the first month,
44:31
Speaker 1: then he'll need to go home again. That's a compromise.
44:35
Speaker 1: Let's bring him. But let's understand, he'll need to prove
44:38
Speaker 1: himself to be more faithful than he was before. Here's another.
44:43
Speaker 1: Barnabas could have conceded, we do need dedicated workers on
44:47
Speaker 1: our team. Let's give Mark a minor assignment and see
44:51
Speaker 1: how he does with it. Meanwhile, we'll start on our journey.
44:55
Speaker 1: If we hear that he's been measuring up, we'll send
44:58
Speaker 1: for him and he can join us along the way.
45:00
Speaker 1: It's a compromise. Or could they have agreed on a
45:04
Speaker 1: contingent plan? Let's take John Mark, but also others with us.
45:09
Speaker 1: If Mark deserts us again, we'll still have others to
45:12
Speaker 1: fall back on to travel with us. When both sides
45:16
Speaker 1: have excellent support, seek a compromise. Those are good suggestions.
45:22
Speaker 1: Think a little creatively, and I know you don't like
45:24
Speaker 1: the word compromise, but no partnership in business would ever
45:28
Speaker 1: stay strong if it weren't for that word. If you're
45:32
Speaker 1: a person who never compromises, you're going to die an
45:35
Speaker 1: awfully lonely person. So if both sides have excellent support,
45:40
Speaker 1: seek a wise compromise. Compromise is an essential part of
45:44
Speaker 1: keeping yourself married. If you have no interest in compromise,
45:50
Speaker 1: please don't date much. Don't even start falling in love.
45:59
Speaker 1: I could say so much more about that. Number three.
46:01
Speaker 1: Number three, here it is. When conflict persists, care enough
46:08
Speaker 1: to work it through rather than stomp out. When conflict persists,
46:18
Speaker 1: care enough to work it through. In today's terms, don't
46:24
Speaker 1: slam the receiver down to end the phone conversation. Don't
46:30
Speaker 1: throw out a few curse words and stomp out the door.
46:34
Speaker 1: That's no ending. That's not the way mature people deal
46:38
Speaker 1: with things. Do your best to work it through. It
46:42
Speaker 1: may be very, very difficult. And admittedly, you may not
46:50
Speaker 1: be able to do it. And there may be consequences
46:55
Speaker 1: that have to be paid for the wrong And for
46:58
Speaker 1: you to give the second chance does not give the
47:00
Speaker 1: consequence it's time to run their course. I'll give you
47:02
Speaker 1: a personal illustration at my own embarrassment. Okay? I was
47:08
Speaker 1: a young teenager and my father felt that all of
47:10
Speaker 1: us in the family should get a job as we're
47:12
Speaker 1: going through school. And so my after school job was
47:16
Speaker 1: to work at a five and dime store. I worked
47:19
Speaker 1: in the back as a stock boy, they called it,
47:22
Speaker 1: and I took care of the of the product that
47:27
Speaker 1: would later be displayed on the shelves of this Five
47:29
Speaker 1: and Dime store, a fairly good-sized store. But I was
47:33
Speaker 1: the only stock boy, and Mr. Hubbard, who was the manager,
47:36
Speaker 1: trusted me. I was back there with all the merchandise.
47:41
Speaker 1: And one day, I came upon cases of softballs. Softballs, OK?
47:50
Speaker 1: Far more than the store needed, I thought. Why does
47:56
Speaker 1: any store need nine cases, 12 in every case? So
48:01
Speaker 1: I stole a case of softballs. Thieves are usually not
48:07
Speaker 1: very bright. To steal a case of anything right away
48:13
Speaker 1: proves stupidity. So as I'm going home on the bus,
48:19
Speaker 1: I realize I've got to put the softballs somewhere. And
48:24
Speaker 1: like you, I had a mother who was omniscient and omnipresent.
48:29
Speaker 1: And I thought, maybe if I put them in the
48:32
Speaker 1: drawer with my shorts, hide it under all those shorts,
48:36
Speaker 1: she won't go through that. Of course, I forgot she
48:39
Speaker 1: did the washing. And before school was out the next day,
48:44
Speaker 1: the box wound up on my bed with a note
48:47
Speaker 1: on it, wait till your father comes home. I thought
48:52
Speaker 1: of taking my life that day. So I began to
48:57
Speaker 1: explain to her, really, I'm going to take them back.
49:00
Speaker 1: I've never used them. You stole them, son, and I'm
49:04
Speaker 1: ashamed of you for stealing them. Well, about 5.30, Attila
49:10
Speaker 1: the Hun arrived home. Just kidding. I had a magnificent father.
49:15
Speaker 1: But he had no room for any of his children
49:19
Speaker 1: to be thieves. So he put me in the car
49:22
Speaker 1: and we drove over to the Five and Dime store
49:24
Speaker 1: and I walked in and I brought the case of
49:27
Speaker 1: softballs to Mr. Hubbard and I stood there with tears
49:30
Speaker 1: and I said, Mr. Hubbard, I stole these softballs. I
49:37
Speaker 1: took the lid off and I said, but I didn't
49:40
Speaker 1: use any. You know how you'll start rationalizing. They're all
49:43
Speaker 1: brand new. Some still have the wrapper on them. And
49:46
Speaker 1: I know exactly where they're from. I can put them
49:48
Speaker 1: right back. He said, you stole these. You took them
49:52
Speaker 1: home with you. Yes, sir. You're fired. Get out. So
50:02
Speaker 1: I walked out. My dad was waiting for me. And
50:06
Speaker 1: I got in the car and closed the door. And
50:08
Speaker 1: he said, well, how'd it go? I said, it was terrible.
50:11
Speaker 1: He fired me. My dad said, good. Good? You're going
50:19
Speaker 1: to learn early in life, son, that when you're a thief,
50:23
Speaker 1: there are consequences. Be glad that's all he did. He
50:29
Speaker 1: could have arrested you. So we drove home in silence.
50:35
Speaker 1: I'm crying. The softballs didn't seem nearly as much fun now,
50:40
Speaker 1: by the way. I got home, and I went to
50:42
Speaker 1: my room, and I decided to stay there the rest
50:44
Speaker 1: of my life. And I closed the door, and after
50:49
Speaker 1: a while, knock on the door. It was getting dark.
50:53
Speaker 1: My dad said, son, let's talk. And we talked. And
51:03
Speaker 1: I learned an invaluable lesson not only about the importance
51:06
Speaker 1: of telling the truth and not stealing, but also there
51:12
Speaker 1: are consequences when you do that. To have given me
51:16
Speaker 1: a quick second chance and covered for me and let
51:18
Speaker 1: me lie my way through it would have done me
51:21
Speaker 1: no favor. I didn't need a second chance. I needed
51:26
Speaker 1: the consequences of my wrongdoing. As he put it, there
51:30
Speaker 1: will be other jobs you can get. You might not
51:33
Speaker 1: want to mention that you used to work for Mr.
51:35
Speaker 1: Hubbard at the Five and Dime store. But then he smiled,
51:39
Speaker 1: put his arm around me, and he said, let's go
51:43
Speaker 1: have some Mexican food. I'm going to take the family
51:45
Speaker 1: to dinner. And I thought he's going to let me go,
51:48
Speaker 1: and he did. And that night, he made sure before
51:53
Speaker 1: I went to bed that I knew how much he
51:56
Speaker 1: loved me. Simple story, but it's one that I will
52:03
Speaker 1: never forget. And I will tell you, there are temptations
52:12
Speaker 1: that come along, and I'm immediately doing a flashback to
52:16
Speaker 1: that experience with my father and with Mr. Hubbard, where
52:22
Speaker 1: the best thing for me was not a second chance.
52:25
Speaker 1: It was to be told, you're fired. Get out. Because
52:31
Speaker 1: I can assure you, every job I've had since then, boy,
52:35
Speaker 1: I don't touch a penny that isn't mine, I tell you.
52:38
Speaker 1: I don't go near that because of that one experience
52:44
Speaker 1: when I was a young teenager. Now then, having said
52:49
Speaker 1: all of that, listen to the fourth. When you can't
52:54
Speaker 1: resolve the argument Agree to disagree without becoming disagreeable. When
53:07
Speaker 1: you can't resolve the argument, agree to disagree without becoming enemies.
53:14
Speaker 1: Don't drag around a grudge with you. Don't go to
53:19
Speaker 1: your grave hating someone. Remember, the background of all of
53:25
Speaker 1: this is forgiveness. And a matter of forgiveness, it's always
53:29
Speaker 1: our move Always. As a matter of fact, I thought
53:34
Speaker 1: about some situations where good came from a separation. This
53:41
Speaker 1: may surprise you. Some marriages ought not last. They're marriages
53:47
Speaker 1: of abuse with the very real threat of molestation, even
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Speaker 1: death to the partner. And the one who was in
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Speaker 1: that marriage realizes it later on and has to do
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Speaker 1: something about it. Let me add here, some excellent schools
54:06
Speaker 1: have been formed because they separated from schools that had
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Speaker 1: begun to erode. The very seminary where I trained came
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Speaker 1: into being as a result of conflict with a long
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Speaker 1: established denomination that no longer revered the inerrancy of the
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Speaker 1: scriptures or the substitutionary death of Christ. or the virgin
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Speaker 1: birth of the Savior. There had to be a school
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Speaker 1: where that kind of teaching would be taught, where young
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Speaker 1: individuals would be taught to teach the Word of God
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Speaker 1: in its entirety, sometime because of doctrinal disagreement or unethical leadership.
54:48
Speaker 1: There needs to be a separation. If there is an
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Speaker 1: erosion in the mission, and you still believe in the mission,
54:55
Speaker 1: but the but the original organization has drifted from it.
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Speaker 1: You need to get out of it. It's amazing to
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Speaker 1: me how people stay in wrong churches, all the while
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Speaker 1: disagreeing with that church. It's remarkable. In fact, that brings
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Speaker 1: me to the second. Some very healthy churches have been
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Speaker 1: spawned from churches that had once been strong but were
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Speaker 1: no longer. The church begins to change from its biblical
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Speaker 1: commitment The word of God is no longer being taught
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Speaker 1: as it should be. The worship is shallow and superficial.
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Speaker 1: And another church is formed that takes all that into consideration.
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Speaker 1: And they're not throwing rocks at the other church. They're
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Speaker 1: simply going on doing what they believe to be true.
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Speaker 1: Some partnerships need to be severed. And you move in
55:44
Speaker 1: a different direction when you realize that you can't continue
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Speaker 1: in this conflicting situation. You've been removed from a position
55:53
Speaker 1: trust me, sometimes a loss is really more a deliverance.
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Speaker 1: A truth I learned from Ney Bailey. Sometimes what seems
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Speaker 1: like a loss is in fact a deliverance. And by
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Speaker 1: the way, when you are a part of another place
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Speaker 1: of ministry and no longer a part of that one,
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Speaker 1: rejoice as they rejoice. Be big enough to Realize God
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Speaker 1: may choose to bless them again. I love Dr. Bob
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Speaker 1: Cook's words, God reserves the right to use people who
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Speaker 1: disagree with me. Isn't that good? God will bless some
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Speaker 1: churches that aren't at all like Stonebrower Community Church. I
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Speaker 1: want to be a part of this church. But God
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Speaker 1: has plans that are bigger than this church. I'm not
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Speaker 1: his only spokesman. God forbid that you ever think that.
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Speaker 1: There are people that are being blessed in ways I
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Speaker 1: would not have ever imagined. In churches, I wouldn't attend.
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Speaker 1: But it's not my task to throw rocks at them
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Speaker 1: and to find fault in them. Be careful about doing that.
57:09
Speaker 1: You show yourself very mature by your silence. As I've
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Speaker 1: said so often, no one has died and left you
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Speaker 1: in charge of the world. Thank goodness. As you grow
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Speaker 1: and mature, learn to be broad-shouldered. I love the way
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Speaker 1: one man wrote this, and it's with a sigh. Paul
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Speaker 1: and Barnabas parted in anger, but both in sorrow. Paul
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Speaker 1: owed more to Barnabas than any other man, and Barnabas
57:44
Speaker 1: was leaving the most significant spirit of the time. when
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Speaker 1: he left the companionship of Paul. There's a touch of
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Speaker 1: tragedy in it. At the same time, there's a mysterious
57:59
Speaker 1: plan of God unfolding. Bow with me, will you? Let's
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Speaker 1: just sit quietly here for a moment. You've listened very,
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Speaker 1: very well. There may be an enduring conflict that is
58:16
Speaker 1: eating your lunch, You think of it when you get
58:22
Speaker 1: up in the morning, you can't put it out of
58:23
Speaker 1: your mind as you go to bed at night. When
58:27
Speaker 1: the subject comes up, you have to get in your
58:29
Speaker 1: two cents worth because the situation is unresolved. Will you
58:34
Speaker 1: leave it alone? Will you let it go? Will you
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Speaker 1: remove it from becoming a fetish in your memory? Who knows,
58:47
Speaker 1: that may be the reason you can't seem to grow spiritually.
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Speaker 1: You've not simply said enough of that. I go on.
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Speaker 1: Or maybe you realize as you're sitting in the sound
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Speaker 1: of the truth of the gospel that you have a
59:06
Speaker 1: big hole in your own heart and it can only
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Speaker 1: be filled by the one who died for you. His
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Speaker 1: name is Jesus. It's not going to be filled because
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Speaker 1: you join a church, because you promise to do better,
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Speaker 1: or you'll no longer lie or cheat or steal. Jesus
59:30
Speaker 1: comes into the heart that's submissive, that invites him to
59:33
Speaker 1: come in and take charge. Simple prayer. Lord, at this
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Speaker 1: very moment, I acknowledge I am a sinner. I've done
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Speaker 1: so many things wrong, and I can't make them right.
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Speaker 1: And I do need you to forgive me. I don't
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Speaker 1: need a second chance. I need an eternal chance to
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Speaker 1: have my life transformed by your son, Jesus. I take
1:00:00
Speaker 1: him now as my own master and Lord. Let us
1:00:08
Speaker 1: help you in your decision if you choose to go there.
1:00:11
Speaker 1: We have our soul care ministry in our church. We
1:00:14
Speaker 1: also have ministries that make available themselves to you to
1:00:18
Speaker 1: help you get on your way in your walk with Christ.
1:00:22
Speaker 1: But you need to make the first move and let
1:00:24
Speaker 1: us know. Thank you, Father, for the things we learn
1:00:28
Speaker 1: from the truth of the word. Thank you that it
1:00:31
Speaker 1: is timeless as it is true. And thank you that
1:00:35
Speaker 1: these things make a difference in the way we conduct
1:00:38
Speaker 1: ourselves today and the days ahead. Deliver us, our Father,
1:00:44
Speaker 1: from those blind spots that make life miserable for others.
1:00:48
Speaker 1: And may we realize that life is filled with a
1:00:51
Speaker 1: desire to work through issues, not stand against them. Help
1:00:58
Speaker 1: us with that. for we have such strong opinions and
1:01:02
Speaker 1: we tend not to want to give in. Finally, Father,
1:01:07
Speaker 1: build within us big forgivers. Give us the ability to
1:01:13
Speaker 1: forgive a mate, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister,
1:01:21
Speaker 1: a friend, a former business person, someone in the church,
1:01:32
Speaker 1: Give us that ability to forgive, our Father, that we
1:01:35
Speaker 1: might be your ministers in our own missionary journey through life.
1:01:44
Speaker 1: In the name of Christ, we pray this. Everyone said, Amen.
1:01:52
Speaker 2: The preceding message, What If You Need a Second Chance,
1:01:55
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2013 and 2015, and the sound recording
1:02:00
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2015. by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All
1:02:04
Speaker 2: rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial
1:02:09
Speaker 2: use is strictly prohibited.