I heard a story about a girl who went off to college.  She didn’t write very often, but on this one occasion she wrote her parents.  When they got the letter they were elated.  But when they opened it, it read,

"Dear mum & dad, I would have written sooner but all my stationery burned up when the dormitory burned down.  Please don’t worry though.  I found this good friend, & I have been living with him now for the last 3 months.  And mom, I think you ought to know that he is such a good friend that we have decided to get married. And oh, by the way, you’re going to be grandparents soon."

After she had written all that, she signed her name & then added a P.S. "Please disregard all the above. The dormitory did not burn down. I am not living with a man. I am not going to get married. And I’m not pregnant. But I did get an ’D’ in History."

People find all sorts of ways to deal with bad news and today we’re heading back to the book of Acts – that’s not bad news; but we left it last time at a point where there had been a huge issue for the church to deal with and the reading today takes us on a bit from there.

First a little reminder of the story so far: Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and, since then, the church has been growing quickly.  Something very unexpected happened – some people who were not Jewish believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit just like the Jewish believers did.  For a time it didn’t make much difference but as the gospel spread more people became Christians without having any Jewish background.  They didn’t understand Jewish Law or traditions and some legalistic people decided that they would teach that in order to be truly saved you had to be circumcised and follow the law.

This resulted in a council in Jerusalem where the issue was debated and the outcome was that they decided to make it as easy as possible for these gentile Christians, excluding circumcision, but asking them to avoid certain meat and sexual immorality.  The reason for that was that they were still worshipping in synagogues and they needed to respect the more obvious Jewish customs.

Today, we live in a land where people don’t understand or respect our traditions; where, as a national church, we have been unable to apply this kind of wisdom to issues we face, thereby making it so difficult for some that they have left the denomination.  However, there are lots of places where the gospel is proclaimed and lived out and lives are being changed as a result.  So according to this passage what might we expect of church?

William Carey: Expect great things from God, attempt great things with God

Expect new strength:

• V32 Judas and Silas said much to strengthen and encourage the church
• Encourage each other
• See people grow in faith and experience
• Read and pray

Expect new support:

• v34 Silas decides to stay
• v40 Silas partners with Paul
• people who have helped me through the years.
• New people coming and bring different experience and skills
• Working together with other churches

Expect new opportunities for service:

• Let’s go to all the places we’ve been before but ended up going in entirely different directions. (We like to stick with things we know)
• As long as you are in this world, God will have new things for you to do.  It doesn’t have to be across the ocean. Most of the time it will be across the street, or even across the room.
• CIA, Prom Day, Sutherland House, Messy Church and the Gathering

Expect new starts:

• Thank God that failure isn’t always final!  God gives second chances!
• In Acts 13 Mark left Paul and Barnabas in Pamphylia and went back to Jerusalem – why?

o   Maybe he was homesick. (Have you ever been homesick?)

o   Maybe he was afraid of persecution or afraid that he had bitten off more than he could chew. (Have you ever been afraid that you had bitten off more than you could chew in the Lord’s work?)

o   Maybe the Lord led him to go back home, although Paul certainly didn’t think so.

• Later, Paul says Mark is a comfort to him; useful in ministry; a fellow labourer
• Mark wrote the first Gospel and it is the source for much of what is included in Matthew and Luke
• God gave Mark a second chance! Thank God that failure isn’t always final! And that God is still in the business of giving second chances to people – and often third and fourth chances.  I know because I’m speaking from experience!

Expect new struggles:

• One problem is resolved and almost immediately a new one pops up
• A sharp disagreement – A story is told about a woman in an airport. She had a “red-eye” flight and it was around midnight. She was tired, but also hungry so she bought a box of cookies. She sat down and opened her hand bag, searching for a book to read. A man sat down next to her and the next thing she knew, he opened the box of cookies and was eating one of them! This upset the woman but she did not want to create a scene. Besides, she thought, “Well, he is only eating one.” But then he took another one. Rather than have a row, the woman simply took one herself. Then he took one and she took another one. This continued until there was only one cookie left. The man picked up the final cookie and said to the woman, “Would you like to split it with me?” She was so furious that she grabbed it out of his hand, took her bag and stormed away. When she got on the plane, she was still fuming. Before she sat down, she reached into her bag to find her book. What she pulled out was the box of cookies which she had bought! – disagreement often because we are right…
• Could have been resolved amicably
• There will be disagreements in the church. Sometimes they are silly, and sometimes they are serious, but they are always sad.  And there must have been terrible heartache in the church at Antioch over the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas.
•  

o   *Think about it: Barnabas and Paul fighting!

o   -Barnabas whose very name meant the son of encouragement.

o   -Barnabas had introduced Paul to the Apostles and vouched for his salvation.

o   -Barnabas later went 100 miles to find Paul in Tarsus and bring him back to help lead the church in Antioch.

o   -Barnabas went with Paul on that first mission trip together and saw the Hand of God at work in a wonderful way.

o

o   *Now they were fighting with each other. What a tragic mistake.

• The truth is that we will face struggles and heartaches in Christian life, setbacks, disappointments and problems. So do all you can to be a peacemaker.
•  

Expect new success:

• Paul and Barnabas fell out but two new teams were formed and as a result the gospel was spread even more
• Here is some wonderful news for you today! God still works in spite of our shortcomings. And glory to God, He can even work through our disagreements, just as He did here with Barnabas and Paul.

 

Video

Andrew Murray: Beware in your prayers above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do.

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I heard a story about a girl who went off to college.  She didn’t write very often, but on this one occasion she wrote her parents.  When they got the letter they were elated.  But when they opened it, it read,

"Dear mum & dad, I would have written sooner but all my stationery burned up when the dormitory burned down.  Please don’t worry though.  I found this good friend, & I have been living with him now for the last 3 months.  And mom, I think you ought to know that he is such a good friend that we have decided to get married. And oh, by the way, you’re going to be grandparents soon."

After she had written all that, she signed her name & then added a P.S. "Please disregard all the above. The dormitory did not burn down. I am not living with a man. I am not going to get married. And I’m not pregnant. But I did get an ’D’ in History."

People find all sorts of ways to deal with bad news and today we’re heading back to the book of Acts – that’s not bad news; but we left it last time at a point where there had been a huge issue for the church to deal with and the reading today takes us on a bit from there.

First a little reminder of the story so far: Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and, since then, the church has been growing quickly.  Something very unexpected happened – some people who were not Jewish believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit just like the Jewish believers did.  For a time it didn’t make much difference but as the gospel spread more people became Christians without having any Jewish background.  They didn’t understand Jewish Law or traditions and some legalistic people decided that they would teach that in order to be truly saved you had to be circumcised and follow the law.

This resulted in a council in Jerusalem where the issue was debated and the outcome was that they decided to make it as easy as possible for these gentile Christians, excluding circumcision, but asking them to avoid certain meat and sexual immorality.  The reason for that was that they were still worshipping in synagogues and they needed to respect the more obvious Jewish customs.

Today, we live in a land where people don’t understand or respect our traditions; where, as a national church, we have been unable to apply this kind of wisdom to issues we face, thereby making it so difficult for some that they have left the denomination.  However, there are lots of places where the gospel is proclaimed and lived out and lives are being changed as a result.  So according to this passage what might we expect of church?

William Carey: Expect great things from God, attempt great things with God

Expect new strength:

• V32 Judas and Silas said much to strengthen and encourage the church
• Encourage each other
• See people grow in faith and experience
• Read and pray

Expect new support:

• v34 Silas decides to stay
• v40 Silas partners with Paul
• people who have helped me through the years.
• New people coming and bring different experience and skills
• Working together with other churches

Expect new opportunities for service:

• Let’s go to all the places we’ve been before but ended up going in entirely different directions. (We like to stick with things we know)
• As long as you are in this world, God will have new things for you to do.  It doesn’t have to be across the ocean. Most of the time it will be across the street, or even across the room.
• CIA, Prom Day, Sutherland House, Messy Church and the Gathering

Expect new starts:

• Thank God that failure isn’t always final!  God gives second chances!
• In Acts 13 Mark left Paul and Barnabas in Pamphylia and went back to Jerusalem – why?

o   Maybe he was homesick. (Have you ever been homesick?)

o   Maybe he was afraid of persecution or afraid that he had bitten off more than he could chew. (Have you ever been afraid that you had bitten off more than you could chew in the Lord’s work?)

o   Maybe the Lord led him to go back home, although Paul certainly didn’t think so.

• Later, Paul says Mark is a comfort to him; useful in ministry; a fellow labourer
• Mark wrote the first Gospel and it is the source for much of what is included in Matthew and Luke
• God gave Mark a second chance! Thank God that failure isn’t always final! And that God is still in the business of giving second chances to people – and often third and fourth chances.  I know because I’m speaking from experience!

Expect new struggles:

• One problem is resolved and almost immediately a new one pops up
• A sharp disagreement – A story is told about a woman in an airport. She had a “red-eye” flight and it was around midnight. She was tired, but also hungry so she bought a box of cookies. She sat down and opened her hand bag, searching for a book to read. A man sat down next to her and the next thing she knew, he opened the box of cookies and was eating one of them! This upset the woman but she did not want to create a scene. Besides, she thought, “Well, he is only eating one.” But then he took another one. Rather than have a row, the woman simply took one herself. Then he took one and she took another one. This continued until there was only one cookie left. The man picked up the final cookie and said to the woman, “Would you like to split it with me?” She was so furious that she grabbed it out of his hand, took her bag and stormed away. When she got on the plane, she was still fuming. Before she sat down, she reached into her bag to find her book. What she pulled out was the box of cookies which she had bought! – disagreement often because we are right…
• Could have been resolved amicably
• There will be disagreements in the church. Sometimes they are silly, and sometimes they are serious, but they are always sad.  And there must have been terrible heartache in the church at Antioch over the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas.
•  

o   *Think about it: Barnabas and Paul fighting!

o   -Barnabas whose very name meant the son of encouragement.

o   -Barnabas had introduced Paul to the Apostles and vouched for his salvation.

o   -Barnabas later went 100 miles to find Paul in Tarsus and bring him back to help lead the church in Antioch.

o   -Barnabas went with Paul on that first mission trip together and saw the Hand of God at work in a wonderful way.

o

o   *Now they were fighting with each other. What a tragic mistake.

• The truth is that we will face struggles and heartaches in Christian life, setbacks, disappointments and problems. So do all you can to be a peacemaker.
•  

Expect new success:

• Paul and Barnabas fell out but two new teams were formed and as a result the gospel was spread even more
• Here is some wonderful news for you today! God still works in spite of our shortcomings. And glory to God, He can even work through our disagreements, just as He did here with Barnabas and Paul.

 

Video

Andrew Murray: Beware in your prayers above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do.

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