SUNDAY - JANUARY 11, 2026 "Sovereign Reconciliation"

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God bless.

As we return to Acts this morning, we'll be in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

We'll begin reading in verse 36.

As we return to Acts this morning, it's kind of a difficult passage that we begin back with.

In this passage, what we're going to find is Paul and Barnabas are going to separate and go different ways because they disagree on a guy named John Mark, they disagree on his joining them on their second missionary trip.

And as us, the church today, what we can see in this, what we can glean from this, is that within the church, sometimes there are going to be disagreements.

We are going to disagree sometimes within the church, even with people who are seeking and following to follow after God.

And what we need to do, a lot of times when those disagreements come, is we need to step back and see the bigger picture of what God is doing.

We need to just slow down and see how God is working and how He is moving.

Our challenge as we come to this passage today is going to be this: that we need to be reconciled with one another.

If disagreements are going to come and they're going to happen, then we need to face the truth that we are called to reconcile with one another, and that looks different ways, and we're going to see that.

Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture is going to help us to hopefully reconcile with one another.

The question that we want to seek to answer then this morning is this.

What is the bigger picture that allowed Paul and Barnabas that they step back and say, what is the bigger picture that they saw that allowed them and helped them to be reconciled?

Because while we may not see it in Acts, we're going to see reconciliation happen with Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark.

We're going to see this happen.

So I invite you this morning, if you are able, to stand with me as we give honor to the reading of God's Word.

We're going to be in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

We're going to start reading in verse 36.

Luke writes this, and God says, And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are.

Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark, but Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.

Barnabas took Mark with him and they sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Let's pray together.

God, as we approach this passage today, God, it is a difficult passage.

It is one that we don't necessarily love to talk about.

But God, we do understand that your word is how you have chosen to reveal yourself to us.

You show yourself to us through Scripture.

So, God, as we approach, as we look, as we study, as we dig, God, show yourself to us today.

Help us to see you.

Help us to grow in our relationship with you.

Help us to know you more.

Jesus, it's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen.

May be seated.

A couple of things let's just remember because it's been a while since we've actually been in Acts.

Where we are in Acts in chapters 13 and 14, Paul and Barnabas, they began their first missionary journey and fulfilled that missionary journey in those chapters, in chapters 13 and 14.

They traveled to Cyprus, they traveled, traveled to uh Derby and Lystra and Iconium.

They traveled to these places and shared the gospel with people, and many people accepted Christ, including Gentiles.

Many numbers of them came to Christ and became followers of Christ.

And then where we are in chapter 15, there arose a disagreement within the church of what about these Gentiles?

Should they become, should they become Jewish before they can become a Christian?

And so, in order to approach this situation and approach this question, they went to Jerusalem, to kind of the headquarters of the church at that time, Paul and Barnabas, they sailed to Jerusalem and others sailed to the Jerusalem, uh, to what we call the Jerusalem Council, and they they met there to address whether Gentiles should become Jewish.

They were especially concerned with circumcision.

Should this be something that takes place before a person can become a Gentile can become a believer?

And as they traveled through, as they came back to Jerusalem and sat in this council, what they came to the to the to the understanding of is that Gentiles did not have to become Jewish first.

They did not have to become circumcised, they did not have to celebrate all the Jewish festivals or anything like that.

But there were some things that they should abstain from.

They should abstain from eating uh from eating meat that that still had the blood in it.

And they should abstain some from abstain from some things to keep unity within the church.

Because this is a big thing to be unified within the church.

So they they said this, and so everyone at the council, the apostles, the the disciples, the people who had traveled from the Gentiles, Paul and Barnabas, they all said, this is a good decision.

This is a good place.

And so Paul and Barnabas traveled back to Antioch where they had been sent from.

They traveled back to deliver this good news, and what we find in in verse 35 of chapter 15 is that they remained in Antioch for some time teaching and preaching.

So they had been in Antioch for a while, teaching and preaching and delivering this message.

So now we come to verse 36.

Again, remember our question: what is the bigger picture that happened here?

What is the bigger picture that they saw that's gonna help them reconcile?

Well, if we're gonna see this bigger picture, I think where we got to start is seeing the smaller picture.

We need to begin with seeing where they are and what's taking place.

And the first place to do that is to see the split between Paul and Barnabas.

To see the separation that comes.

So let's take a moment and look and see who is involved in this split.

Who is involved here?

Well, the first person that we have to see is John Mark.

Now, you may hear me say, John Mark.

You may hear me call him Mark.

You may even hear me call him John.

The reason we do that is because all three are his name.

Scripture refers to him in all three of these ways, as John, as Mark, and as John Mark.

He is referred to throughout Scripture by these three different names.

First time we see John Mark is really back in Acts chapter 13, when Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

The first place that they went on this journey was to Cyprus.

And in chapter 13, verse 5, we find John Mark for the first time.

It says, when they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews, and they had John to assist them.

This John, here on Cyprus at Salamis, was John Mark.

And where we find him is there assisting Paul and Barnabas as they share the gospel in the synagogues of the Jews.

Here's John Mark, and he is helping them.

He is assisting them.

But then, if you read on in the chapter, he is mentioned again as you come to verse 13.

It says, now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, and they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

So John Mark, who assisted them, John who assisted them, now he has returned to Jerusalem.

We don't know why.

There's speculation, there's lots of speculation that if you read commentaries on this and study this, people will tell you all kinds of different things of why he returned home.

Scripture doesn't really tell us why.

Here's what we know: he returned home.

And we're going to glean from this in a moment that Paul didn't like it.

Paul didn't like the way that didn't like the fact that he went home.

So this is John Mark.

We see him, we've met him, we know him.

So now let's turn to the two who are really the two from whom the big disagreement comes.

First, it's Paul.

We probably know more about Paul, so let's start with him.

We see in verse 38 that we've already read that Paul did not like the idea of John Mark going on this missionary journey with them on the second one.

He didn't like the fact that he had left them on the first journey.

Again, don't know why he just left them, and Paul was not a fan.

He didn't like it.

We know a lot about Paul, even without here, we we know that Paul was saw, that he was converted dramatically on the road to Damascus.

We know that God used Paul to write a majority of the New Testament.

I mean, so many, so much of the New Testament was God you God used Paul to write so much of it.

We can say this about Paul, that he was a man after God's.

He loved the Lord and God used him in a powerful way.

He was a man of God.

But let's remember for just a moment the first part of that.

He was a man.

We'll come back to that in just a minute.

While he was a man of God, he was a man.

So you see John Mark, we see Paul.

Now we see Barnabas.

Barnabas is first introduced to us way back in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

If you remember in Acts chapter 4, people are selling everything that they have and bringing it and laying it at the disciples' feet to take care of people within the church.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

This is where we first meet John Mark in chapter 4, not John Mark, mate Barnabas in chapter 4, verse 36.

Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Early on we find Barnabas being an encourager, an encouragement to those around him.

We see in Acts chapter 9, he was even an encouragement to Paul.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

When he was still Saul, after he had been converted and had been preaching for a little while, we see Saul go travel to Jerusalem, and as he approaches the temple and comes to the temple, they don't want to, they don't want to accept him.

They don't want to let him in because he has been a persecutor of the church, persecutor of those who are who believe in Christ.

We saw him at the martyr of Stephen.

He may not have thrown a rock, but he held the coats of those who did.

People didn't like and didn't know and didn't appreciate Saul.

But in chapter 9, verse 27, we find Barnabas.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road that he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

We see Barnabas.

We see him encouraging.

Even as you go on to chapter 11.

What happens there with Saul, by the way, is they they accept Saul.

He goes in and out.

It tells us that he goes in and out of the temple freely and among the believers freely until such persecution arose to him that they sent Saul to Tarsus.

And then later, what we're going to find in this book, as you come to chapter 11, there's a church in Antioch that arose.

People believing and trusting in Christ.

After the martyr of Stephen, they fled that persecution.

Many of them wound up in Antioch, sharing the gospel, and Gentiles came to Christ.

And the church in Jerusalem heard about this, so they sent some people to check and find out what was going on.

One of the people that they sent was Barnabas.

We see him there in that they sent him.

If you go to verse 22 in Acts 11, the report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.

Now here verse 24.

For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

And a great many people were added to the Lord.

He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and people were added to the Lord.

We even see Barnabas right after this when he arrived in Antioch, do you know what he did?

He went to Tarsus, found Paul, and brought him back to Antioch, and together they preached and taught the word of God.

Then we see them go on this missionary journey.

So we see the the who is involved here, which leads us now to the to the why.

Why would they disagree?

Why would they separate and go their ways?

It seems that they were really good friends.

It seems almost as if Paul owes Saul a huge that Paul owes Barnabas a huge debt of gratitude because Barnabas has stepped out on a limb for Paul.

Barnabas has brought Paul in to help at Antioch.

Barnabas has done all of these things for Paul.

It would seem that he would owe this debt of gratitude.

And we also see Paul is an apostle.

He was the apostle to the Gentiles.

So why?

Why would they have this?

Why would this happen?

Why would there be such a disagreement?

Well, first of all, and we said it about Paul, and we'll we saw that Barnabas was a good man full of the Holy Spirit.

But again, we must recognize that both of these guys were men.

They were human.

They were wrapped in humanity.

And what we must understand about our humanity and about our human nature is that all of us are depraved and we battle sin.

Even heroes such as Paul and Barnabas battle sin every day.

And if we come to the place, there was not a place, there was not a person in Antioch, and there is not a person here except for the Lord Jesus Christ, who hasn't fallen to their sin nature, who hasn't given in to temptation, who has made some wrong decisions, who has made some bad decisions.

And what I what I believe that we see happening here, partially between Paul and Barnabas, is there are two men who are seeking to follow God who are dealing with their sin nature.

So often we want to pit disagreements between good and bad, and between good people and bad people.

When often it's good person and good person, or maybe not often, sometimes it is good person and good person who are both striving after God.

But they are still wrapped in a sin nature that they are dealing and battling with.

If you come down and it says in verse 39, and there arose a sharp disagreement.

What it can be is there is a huge emotional disagreement between these two.

It is an emotional thing.

It is not something where they just say, well, let's agree to disagree.

There is an emotional disagreement.

There is something big going on here.

And so when we stop and we introduce emotions to anything, it changes dynamics.

Sometimes that's for the good, right?

Sometimes our emotions lead to good, powerfully good and positive things that happen in our lives.

Sometimes emotions lead to that.

But sometimes.

Sometimes our emotions lead to powerfully negative things in our lives.

Emotions can affect the way that we feel.

They can affect our actions.

They can really affect our reactions.

And so what we have here is not just Paul and Barnabas saying, yeah, John Mark, he's a good guy.

He just made a bad decision.

It is deeper than that.

It is stronger than that.

There is this emotional divide between these two men.

So we see, we see the smaller picture here, the split.

Who is involved?

Why there was the split.

So now we need to step back and see the larger picture of the sovereignty of God.

If we look back and see the sovereignty of God, what we can see here is we can see God working even in the midst of this disagreement.

Here's the simplest way to see this.

One is this.

God uses this split, this separation.

And now there's not one missionary journey, but there's two.

Barnabas takes John Mark and he goes to Cyprus.

And guess what they're going to do at Cyprus?

They're going to spread the gospel and strengthen the churches.

Paul takes Silas, they're going to pick up next week.

We'll look at, they're going to pick up Timothy, and they're going to travel back to Lystra and Derby and Iconium.

They're going to go back and they're going to spread the gospel and strengthen the churches.

So instead of just one missionary journey, now there is two with the possibility of more people hearing the gospel and coming and following Christ.

That is a good thing.

And that is how God's sovereignty works so often when there is disagreement and failure of a man.

But I think there's something bigger that we need to see.

I think what we need to see also here is the bigger picture and how it didn't end with just the two splitting.

Now, we don't see it right here in the pages of Acts.

But as we dig further into the relationships of these three men, what we're going to find is reconciliation taking place.

A reconciliation that really can't come from any human strength and individual.

We're going to see sovereign reconciliation take place.

First, we need to see this between Paul and Barnabas.

Now here's some things that we know.

Paul and Barnabas, well, I'd say things that we know.

Here's some things that Scripture never indicates to us.

Scripture never indicates to us that Paul and Barnabas ever got back together and made missionary trips together.

We don't know that.

If you read on through Acts, it's a pretty safe assumption that they never did.

But what we're going to see is Paul come to a place where he recognizes that Barnabas' ministry is a good ministry.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

As you come to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, some things to recognize about 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

Paul wrote this letter to Corinth after the split.

After Paul and Barnabas had split, Paul writes this letter to Corinth.

And as you come to chapter 9, he is addressing some complaints that people have against his ministry.

They're complaining against Paul and complaining against some things that he's doing.

So as you come to chapter 9, verse 6, here's what Paul says.

Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

So while we won't get into the complaints necessary that Paul's addressing, see what he's saying about Barnabas.

He's taking Barnabas' ministry and putting it on the same level as his ministry.

He views Barnabas as an equal.

He views Barnabas' ministry as relevant and good.

And after such a sharp disagreement where they split, when Paul can come to a place where he views Barnabas' ministry as equal and relevant as his own, there must have been some reconciliation to take place.

There must have been something that happened that brought them back together.

So we see some reconciliation between Paul and Barnabas.

We also see some reconciliation between Paul and John Mark.

More than one occasion, Paul writes and mentions John Mark.

We're going to see that in other epistles that John Mark even joins Paul.

But in 2 Timothy chapter 4, in 2 Timothy, understand Paul is at the end of his life.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

He's writing these letters to Timothy saying, hey Timothy, I'm about done.

It's about time for me to go home.

You've got to pick up this mantle and carry it.

And as we come to 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 11, here's what Paul writes.

2 Timothy 4:11

Luke alone is with me.

Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

This is Mark.

This is John Mark.

This is the one who Paul and Barnabas split over.

This is John Mark that now Paul recognizes his usefulness to the ministry and doesn't just recognize his useful to the ministry.

He calls him to come and join him and help him as he is doing ministry.

Here, what we see is reconciliation taking place between these two men.

See, I think we have to dig deeper than just to say, oh, well, they split.

And now there's two missionary journeys instead of one.

So what do we do with this?

How do we take this?

And if if the bigger picture is going to help us recognize that we need to be reconciled with one another, how do we take this?

And what do we do with this?

Well, first of all, I think we need to do this.

We need to recognize who we are.

We need to recognize that we are clothed in a sin nature.

And we make mistakes.

You may not believe it.

I know you do because I've made too many.

I make mistakes often.

But when you're honest with yourself, guess what?

You do too.

And not only do we make mistakes, guess what?

We sin.

We give in to temptation.

We turn away from God at moments in our lives.

And what we have to do, if we're going to see this bigger picture and see what God is doing, sometimes what we have to do is we have to step back and recognize who we are.

But we also need to stop and we need to recognize that in the midst of our humanity, God is sovereign.

Now, this can be difficult for us to recognize his sovereignty.

Not because we don't believe it.

If I poll people in here and said, how many of you believe in the sovereignty of God?

I'm pretty confident that 99.9, if not 100% of you would say, I believe in the sovereignty of God.

The difficulty doesn't become in that we don't believe it.

Here's where the difficulty lies with us in the sovereignty of God.

We don't understand it.

We don't understand the sovereignty of God.

We don't.

God was not standing back and saying, okay, Paul and Barnabas, you shouldn't disagree like that.

Okay, you're going to separate.

Sure, I'll just fix it.

And now we'll have two missionary trips.

The sovereignty of God works deeper.

What we have to understand is the sovereignty of God works within our fallen natures to carry out his plan and to bring him glory.

I don't understand it totally.

I don't get it.

I don't understand how he can do that all the time.

But he does.

That's the sovereignty of God.

And if we're going to see this bigger picture, if we're going to step back and see this bigger picture, we need to understand that the sovereignty of God is working within even our fallen natures to carry out his plan and his purpose, and we need to trust that.

But third, what we need to do with this message, with this passage, is we need to seek reconciliation.

Now I know that I just said it is God working and it is God's sovereignty.

And hear me, the only way that reconciliation is going to come between individuals is by the act of God.

It is not something that I'm not asking you to do something easy.

Reconciliation when there is an emotional divide and there is an emotional, a sharp emotional disagreement and split, that is not an easy thing to do.

I understand what Scripture is calling us to is not an easy thing here.

And I understand, and you need to understand, that the only way that reconciliation is going to come from a sharp divide like that is through the sovereignty of God and Him working.

But we also need to understand that we bear responsibility in this.

We must seek reconciliation.

We must go after it, we must long for it.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew.

In Matthew chapter 5, verse 23, Jesus says this.

Matthew 5:23

So if you're offering your guilt, your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you.

Leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

We must also seek reconciliation.

We must go after it.

And here's the big part of why.

Our reconciling with a brother and sister in Christ is an illustration.

It is a living illustration of how Christ provides reconciliation between us and God.

How could Jesus love a sinner condemned like me?

How could God love and be in a relationship with a sinner condemned like me?

He does it because Jesus came and he died and he arose.

Not an easy thing.

So that we can be reconciled with God.

And when we reconcile with brothers and sisters in Christ, it is an illustration of how God reconciles with us.

We need to be reconciled.

Disagreements are gonna come.

And sometimes they're gonna be sharp because we are emotional human beings.

But we need to step back and understand the bigger picture that it could be my fault.

And even if it's not my fault, I probably didn't handle it the best.

I didn't communicate well.

I didn't react well.

Lots of things.

I need to step back and I need to see God's hand moving and working.

And I need to own some responsibility to seek reconciliation.

We're about to enter into a time of invitation.

Here's what the decision we're I am inviting you to make.

First of all, you need to see this.

You need to be, before we are reconciled with each other, you need to be reconciled with God.

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, you need to understand that right now between you and God, there is a sharp separation.

A separation that you cannot fix.

It can only come through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that he came, that he lived, that he died, that he arose, and through that, and him placing his righteousness on us.

Now, because of that, we can be reconciled with God.

And if you've never received that reconciliation, you've got to start there.

So I pray that this morning we are inviting you.

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior and been reconciled with God, let today be that day.

Just a moment as we stand and sing, we invite you to come.

I'll pray with you.

There will be counselors who can take you out and share with you how you can be reconciled with God.

Secondly, is this we need to be reconciled with one another.

Take a moment.

Search your heart.

If you're before the altar, and hear what it says.

If you are before the altar this morning and don't and it doesn't say, and you realize that you have something against someone, what it says, if you realize that someone has something against you, if they have something against you, leave your altar and be reconciled.

And then come back.

This morning, we need to be reconciled.

As we stand and sing, look, I encourage you, if there's somebody in this place, go to them.

Go find them.

It's not easy.

And reconciliation probably isn't going to come in the split moment.

But it begins like that.

We need to seek it.

Or maybe there's somebody else that's not here.

Maybe when we leave this place today, you need to go make a phone call.

You need to go make a visit.

You need to go do something and seek that reconciliation and be a living example of what God has provided to us through Jesus Christ.

This morning, as we stand and sing, I invite you to make a decision for Christ.

To trust Him.

To follow Him.

Let's pray together.

God, you are so good.

We love you so much.

We thank you for this opportunity that we have this morning.

God, this is heavy.

And it is not an easy thing that you are asking of us.

But God, we understand, Christ, your death on the cross was not an easy ask for you.

We understand that your sacrifice was not easy for you.

But God, you loved us.

And Jesus, even when we didn't deserve it, you died for us.

Help us this morning, those who are here who have never trusted you and sought reconciliation for with you.

May this morning be the day.

But God, I also pray for us.

Help us to seek reconciliation with one another.

God, so we can illustrate how you love us.

God, it's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at DeSotoHills.com.