Acts 15:36-41 | Conflict & John Mark

Good morning.

Welcome back.

And uh I tell you what, the white team may have won fall retreat uh last year, but the team wearing white last night did not win.

Go mean green, baby.

Okay.

If you guys don't know, shout out uh to the football team dominated uh the Houston Christian Cougars, our brothers and sisters in Christ, our losers down there in Houston.

God bless them.

Hey, thanks for joining us this morning.

Hey, I will say this before we uh jump in.

Uh guys, fall retreat is an incredible weekend.

There's a reason why we just plug that for a few minutes.

If you're a college student, it is an incredible time.

And I do just want to say this to the non-fun people, as Owen said, to the non-college students, uh to the members of King's Church and regular attenders, I do just want to say thank you for belonging to a church that loves college students.

Uh, this is an incredible opportunity for us to pray for them.

And I do want to say uh when you give financially to King's Church, guys, a huge chunk of that goes to our college ministry and specifically that fall retreat.

Uh, I don't think the college students know this, but because of your generosity, they're only paying about 35% of what the uh retreat actually costs.

Because we want to be a church that comes alongside them.

We're working the scholarship of them, and so if you are giving to King's Church, thank you.

This fall retreat can happen uh because of you.

And it's not too late to join what God's doing here and add fuel to what God's doing at UNT and Texas Women's.

Go mean green, baby.

Acts 15, baby.

We're in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Get a Bible.

Uh, we are just continuing our study in Acts 15, in the book of Acts, and a little bit of housekeeping uh with our study of the book of Acts, if you've been with us for a while.

Uh today we're in Acts 15.

Uh, and next week uh is an exciting week for King's Church because Austin Wadlow, one of our provisional elders, uh, yes, and the lead pastor of the Commons Church in Michigan, our sending church, is coming to preach.

Uh, and we're jumping ahead to Acts 17.

Uh we're skipping Acts 16 because about a year ago we actually taught a whole sermon on Acts 16 in our Philippians study.

The church in Philippi is founded in Acts 16, and so your homework this week is to read Acts chapter 16 and come ready for Acts 17.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Sound good?

Okay, we're in Acts 15.

We're gonna be at the end, uh, and we're gonna slow down.

Uh, you're welcome.

We've been covering huge uh chunks of scripture, but today we're gonna look at uh a very interesting paragraph at the end of Acts 15.

Uh and it's interesting, uh, and you'll see why, but before we read it, I need to tell you about a fight that our staff team had last week, okay?

A conflict, uh, a sharp disagreement, okay, that almost split our staff team.

And I'm only partially joking.

Um, the guys on our staff team specifically, uh, we love sports.

Okay, we're passionate about sports, and we love to debate and dare I say argue uh sports.

And we're sitting in the middle of a coffee shop, and guys, we had a very serious debate on which sport uh produces and has the best athletes.

And the question that was on the table that you know caused most of the disturbance there in that coffee shop is this question.

Uh, which sport has the best athletes?

The MLB and baseball or the NBA and basketball?

Okay, that was the question on the table that split our staff team right in half.

It was 2v2.

I won't tell you who was on which side, uh, because I don't want to embarrass the other side.

Uh but guys, this was a heated debate.

Okay, while I think the answer is obvious, it was not obvious there at Zara's coffee shop.

If you were there for 30 minutes, uh we debated this issue.

We're trying to figure out uh do baseball players have the best athletes?

Do basketball players?

We're trying to figure out how you'd even judge that.

Okay, what events determine athleticism?

We're talking strength, speed, hand-eye coordination, and this this was a 30-minute debate, a sharp disagreement.

Now, I do want to share this, uh, two things to encourage you.

First of all, uh by the end of the conversation, uh, yes, we did win one of the other two uh to my side, the right side.

And the second thing I'd say is this we came back united, okay?

We were able to have a very sharp disagreement and still love one another and stay in unity with one another.

We didn't divide over this sharp disagreement.

And yes, the NBA players are more athletic.

Okay, but I share that.

I gosh, no offense, those guys to LeBron James in any anyways.

I share that because while that might sound silly, uh a silly debate over a silly conflict that maybe we shouldn't have had for that long.

Um, today it sets our text up because today in the book of Acts 15, we are gonna talk about conflict.

And not silly conflict, but serious conflict, and not just conflict with anybody.

Today, we're gonna look at conflict between believers.

Like, what does it look like when believers who love Jesus find themselves in conflict with someone they love?

What happens when conflict comes to uh a church, uh to a small group, to a marriage?

Okay, and I know as I talk about conflict, there's different emotional responses happening in the room.

Okay, some of you are already uncomfortable that we're talking about conflict.

Uh, it is by your nature to avoid conflict, to sweep it under the rug, and this is already uncomfortable for you.

And there's other people in the room who love conflict and love fighting, uh, which I have other questions about a heart that loves that, probably also unbalanced.

But today we're gonna talk about conflict, serious conflict, what happens when a church or small group or friend group finds itself in conflict and how do we handle it?

Uh, because I'll admit we found ourselves in a paragraph that I'm surprised makes the Bible.

Because of what happens in this paragraph, what's said in this paragraph, and what's not said in this paragraph.

But I think we as King's Church can learn something about each other, about conflict, and about the grace of God from Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Sound good?

Do you guys with me?

Okay, let's jump in.

We're gonna jump into a very short and obscure part of the story.

Verse 36 is where we'll be.

Chapter 15, verse 36.

As the train goes by, it says this.

After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, let's go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we preach the word of the Lord and see how they're doing.

It's a great idea, verse 37.

Barnabas wanted to take along John, who was also called Mark.

But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.

They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.

Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed.

And after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord, he traveled through Syria, Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Okay, and there it is.

Okay, a quick text, uh, but a big text that we're gonna dive into first a little context.

Okay, you guys remember this?

Last week we sat in on something called the Jerusalem Council, this big meeting dealing with the Jews and the Gentiles and how they become saved and united into the family of God.

And we saw this incredible idea from Peter that we're saved by grace through faith.

Amen.

This is good news for us, okay?

And if you think about Acts 15, as a believer who knows the word, you always think about one big idea: unity.

Acts 15 is the chapter of unity.

It's a big deal.

The church is united on this front.

But then at the end of the chapter, there comes a sharp disagreement, not unity, but a sharp contrast between two of our heroes in the faith.

Okay, Paul turns to Barnabas.

Guys, this seems like a good idea.

He tells Barnabas, hey, let's go back to all the churches that we planted on our first mission trip.

Let's go say hi to the fellas and the ladies.

Let's go encourage them in the faith, see if they're still following Jesus, right?

That's a good idea.

Might be a good idea for us who have friends who follow Jesus to check up on them.

Well, anyways, Barnabas is like, that sounds like a great idea.

Fantastic.

I'll pack my bags, I'll go get Johnny, and we'll rendezvous and go back.

And Paul responds says, no shot.

He's not coming with us.

We're not taking him.

And you can see it says in verse 38, it's not like this was a preference for Paul.

This is a line in the sand for Paul.

Because it says, Paul insisted.

Again and again, that's the idea.

We're not taking this guy.

Why?

Because he ditched us and he wasn't with us in the work.

And that's right here that we learn the source of the conflict.

And he has a name, and his name is John Mark.

Who is this guy, John Mark, and why is Paul so upset?

Well, if you remember Acts chapter 13, we actually read it.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

It's a short little line that Luke includes.

Acts 13, 13, on the missionary journey says this.

Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga and Pamphilia, but look at this.

But John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

And so Luke, as Luke's recounting the scene, look at the verb.

John left them.

But as Paul describes the scene, he chooses a different verb.

He says, John deserted us.

He ditched us.

And, you know, we can somewhat relate to this, right?

We don't like when people ditch us.

We don't like when people desert us, like when football players transfer to another team, like it hurts us.

But what's interesting about this story, and if you know the Bible, Luke, he doesn't tell us why Luke left or why John Mark left.

He just says he left.

He could have gotten sick, he could have been homesick, he could have been scared of the persecution that was going to come.

He could have been upset that the Gentiles are coming to faith.

He's still trying to figure this out.

We actually have no clue why John Mark left the team.

We're just told he did.

Paul's not happy with it, and it led to one of the biggest breakups in all the Bible, one of the closest duos in the scriptures.

Paul and Barnabas.

Guys, they are up there with David and Jonathan, with Peter and John, like these guys.

Think about your closest friends.

These guys spent so many years together teaching new believers.

They saw miracles of God.

They risked their life and limbs to go together, and they couldn't solve a disagreement over John Mark.

Like it almost leaves us wondering if those dudes can't stay together, what hope do we have today when difficult and painful disagreements come that we'll stay together?

You know what else is interesting about this conflict is you can see it from both sides.

Like try to enter the shoes of Paul and the shoes of Barnabas.

Whose side would you be on in this conflict?

You know what's interesting?

Okay, on one side you got Team Barnabas, right?

We know Barnabas.

His name speaks to his character.

His first name's Joseph.

He was named Barnabas, the son of encouragement.

And guys, if you read the scriptures, and we've already seen this in the book of Acts, Barnabas seemed to have an extraordinary ability to discern the heart and the character of other people, even when they couldn't see it.

Right?

What happened?

We've seen this in the book of Acts.

Like when Paul the Apostle got saved, and everybody's freaking out because he was on the bad guy, who steps in and says, No, this is our guy?

Barnabas.

And when the Gentiles are coming to faith in Antioch, who did the church trust to go and discern the spiritual state of their hearts?

Barnabas.

If anybody deserves to be trusted, to discern the spiritual state of someone's heart, to never give up on somebody, wouldn't it be Barnabas?

Doesn't he earn our trust here?

Well, that's Barnabas' side.

But it's easy to get on Team Paul here as well, right?

Because it's hard to count the accolades on that dude's Letterman jacket, okay?

He is the great apostle to the Gentiles.

The most trusted theologian, ecclesiologist, missiologist, the dude that wrote more letters in the New Testament, more books than any other single author.

And you understand Paul, like all his knowledge.

This wasn't some academic philosophical dude up in an ivory tower just theologizing about his ideas.

No, Paul earned his wisdom on the streets.

He was out there.

And this is the dude, like, if he's going on a mission trip, he's leading it.

And you would think, I mean, John Mark ditched him, didn't he?

And so shouldn't we trust Paul going on the second missionary journey not to compromise the integrity of the team, not to compromise the morale, bringing a dude that already left?

Shouldn't he earn the right to be trusted here?

Can you see it?

This is a tricky situation.

And even though Luke only records Paul, the rest of the book, guys, it's not easy.

It's not, it can't be just as easy to assume Paul was right.

Barnabas is concerned with restoring a young brother.

Don't we like that?

Paul is concerned with advancing the mission.

They're both concerned about the gospel, so who is right?

We don't know.

But it leads to such a sharp disagreement in verse 39 that they parted company.

And that's the end of the missionary duo.

We don't ever hear about Barnabas again.

Now here's what I want to do now.

Okay, I want to zoom out and I want to ask the question: is there anything we can learn from this breakup conflict here?

Like, is there anything true we can learn?

Anything good we can learn?

Is there anything bad that we can learn from our brothers here?

Well, I think there's some truth we can glean from this text that would be good for King's Church to see and process together.

I want to give you three quick things about conflict, and then maybe a surprise plot twist at the end to wrap things up.

Okay, the first thing that we learn here, I'm gonna say it, it's gonna sound really obvious, but I want to say it out loud.

The first thing is this believers can have conflict.

That believers, Christians who love Jesus, can disagree and they can have even sharp conflict.

Okay, Christians in the same situation can see things differently.

Just because you love Jesus and you love his word and they love Jesus and they love his word and you have the Holy Spirit and they have the Holy Spirit, the spirit of unity and truth, even then we can still have conflict.

Because you got two godly dudes here who love the mission of God who have this sharp disagreement.

And I think it's important to say that loud because there's some people who are Christians who think that if we're all following Jesus together, we'd never follow him into conflict because that's not what the Bible gives us here.

Okay, you have two men here who are unified on the gospel, but divided on a judgment call.

Okay, and this is a good word for us that you and I, we can believe the Bible and get in disagreements with other Christians.

And some areas are gray.

It can be curious to know what faithfulness look like in this situation?

You can have conflict, like how loud should the music be on Sunday mornings?

Okay, you can ask the people in the back, they disagree with the people in the front.

What should the thermostat be set on in this room?

We've had a lot of conflict on how cold should it be, how warm should it be.

But you can have conflict on all kinds of things: parenting decisions, if you should break up with the girl or not, should you take this job or not, where should we spend Christmas this year?

Good Christians can disagree and still love Jesus.

And guys, that should not surprise us.

Because yes, as Christians, we just sang about it, we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, but we are not yet perfected fully by the blood of the Lamb.

We still have sin.

Dare I say Paul and Barnabas, our heroes in the Bible, still have sin, and there could have been sin involved in this moment.

The Bible does not airbrush our heroes here.

You and I, all of us, have limited perspective.

We can't see the full story, we can't see the future, we have our own preferences, and it makes sense that as Christians, over time, we are gonna have conflict.

There's bound to be conflict with real relationships.

If you want a relationship that has no conflict, only talk to artificial intelligence.

It's not even a relationship because it's designed to do what?

To always tell you you're right, to affirm you, and to never disagree unless you tell it to, which you should probably start doing.

But my point is this if you want to live in real human relationships, which you need, there's gonna be conflict.

And just because there's the presence of conflict, it doesn't mean something is wrong.

Uh, which might lead to just a final clarification from our boys before we go to the second point.

Just because conflict is inevitable, it doesn't mean division has to happen here.

Okay, just because two Christians disagree, it doesn't mean they have to separate, okay?

And I just want to say this the fact that Paul and Barnabas chose to separate here, it doesn't mean that we should separate from Christians every time we disagree, okay?

This is a descriptive text on a specific conflict, not a prescriptive for all conflict.

You guys with me?

We shouldn't disagree and divide, which leads me to the second point we can learn here.

Number one, that Christians can have conflict, and number two, the right answer isn't always clear.

Uh the right answer is not always clear.

Sometimes we're in disagreement, the answer is clear, okay?

Like NBA players are better athletes.

But sometimes and sometimes it's obvious, guys.

If you have a Christian who's disobedient to God's word, who has sinned, lied, gossiped, like disobeyed obvious thing in God's word, oh, there can be conflict, but the answer is repentance there, right?

But not every conflict deals with that.

It becomes more complicated here.

Can you guys think of, here's good like thought experiment.

Can you think of the last time you were in a conflict like that, where the right answer is not always clear?

Like you're genuinely convinced that you're right, and you have Bible verses to back it up.

But another Christian is also equally as convinced that they are right, and they also have Bible verses to back it up.

There's a stalemate, like what do you do?

What do you do in that moment?

Well, we don't learn a lot about what to do in Acts chapter 15, okay?

Acts 15 · chapter mention

If you read this story, there's not conflict resolution in this Acts 15.

They kind of part ways, but I want to ask the question because it'd be helpful.

What do we do when there's conflict?

Uh well, there's something interesting that's written later in the Bible, uh, years after the breakup, that Paul, one party in the conflict, writes to a church in Philippi.

And you don't have to turn there, but there is a section there that I'm curious about that Paul writes later in his life to the church that he goes to next in Acts 16.

He's gonna write a letter about relationships that I want to look at, and we are not gonna have enough time to chop this up.

I just open a can of worms, but in connection group, we're gonna dive deep into conflict resolution.

Look at Philippians 2 for a moment.

I have it on the screen.

Paul's writing this about 10, 15 years later.

He says, if then to the believers, if there is any encouragement in Christ, and there is, if there's any consolation of love, any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, here it is, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

You can see the unity, verse 3.

Look at what he says to do.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

Everybody should look not only to their own interest, but rather the interest of others.

Now, I don't know what Paul's thinking about Barnabas when he wrote that.

Uh, but it is interesting that the same Paul who disagreed so sharply is now telling believers not to do that, to be united, to be humble, and to look at the other person's interests.

And if you guys know Philippians 4, he says two chapters later, there's some women in that church who are disagreeing, who are in conflict.

And Paul, when he writes to him, he doesn't say, hey, tell them to do like I did, bro.

Just break up, somebody go to a different church.

He doesn't say that.

He says, hey, fight for reconciliation and bring another brother to help them find unity.

Can you see it here?

Paul's heart is for humility.

And I and I think the thing that's helped me most from this passage and navigating my own conflict is this.

I'm in the middle of conflict uh with my wife or with other people in my life.

I'm usually thinking the question, how can I convince this person I'm right?

At Zara's coffee shop, that was happening, dude, you know.

But the question that Philippians 2 makes us ask, guys, is not like, how can I be right in this conflict?

It's how can I be Christ-like in this conflict.

Can you see it?

Because take it from me, you can be right on an issue, but do it in the wrong way, to say it the wrong way.

And guys, that does not mean we compromise on truth.

It does not mean all points are valid, a lot of invalid points at Zara's the other day.

But still, we want to be a church that handles conflict, especially with believers, treating them like a brother and sister and not like an opponent.

Can you see it here?

We want to have Christ-likeness, which does lead me to the final thing we learn about conflict in Acts 15.

And probably the biggest, like, as you read this, and especially if you read the rest of Acts, there's a better and bigger point from this conflict that you have to see, and it's the answer to this question where was God in the middle of that conflict with Paul and Barnabas?

Like, was God on someone's side?

Like, couldn't God have Like stepped in.

Like it's interesting.

It seems like God's story, his mission, some of the players he's working through are in conflict.

I would think God would step in and speak to Paul and Barnabas, send an angel, say, hey, chill out, like, come together.

Where is God in the middle of conflict?

And as you read this, and like I said, especially as you read forward, you're gonna see very clearly.

Guys, God is not absent in the middle of this conflict.

And it did not catch him by surprise.

Because the third thing that we see here, it's clear, God uses conflict for his purpose.

That God uses or works conflict, works together conflict, even serious ones for his glory and his purposes.

And it's almost always doing two things in our life, as you think about conflict.

Conflict is that God uses.

God uses conflict to both make us more like Jesus and to advance the message of Jesus.

He's always almost doing those two things.

Okay?

He uses conflict to push the gospel deeper in my heart and in your heart.

He's trying to get it down there because as you're in conflict, think about what happens.

You have to learn to apologize, to forgive.

And as you learn to do that, it does make us more like Jesus here.

I'd like to think that Paul grew a lot through this conflict.

Because through fire, diamonds are made.

But also, conflict, it doesn't just push the gospel inward, but here, certainly, the gospel pushes it outward.

Because here you can see the providence of God on full display.

Because you and I around coffee, we can debate who was the source of the conflict.

Was it John Mark's cowardness?

Was Paul too hard on him on the mission trip?

Was Barnabas too loyal?

Is that what led to it?

But guys, make no mistake, the reason for this conflict is the good, sovereign providence of God.

He uses this conflict to act it out, to move things forward.

And you can see it very, very clearly.

The math is very simple in Acts 15.

Before the conflict, we got one mission team.

After the conflict, two.

Before the conflict, the movement is moving in one direction.

After the conflict, two.

Before the conflict, you got two dudes with responsibility and leadership learning what it looks like.

But after the conflict, we got four here.

And you can see it.

God works through conflict.

His mission is bigger than the people he chooses to carry it out.

And I say I'll say this.

I'm not sure what kind of conflict you find yourself in with other believers or who you're struggling with relationally, but I do know this on the authority of God's word: God is not going to waste your conflict.

He is going to use it to make you more like Jesus and to advance the mission of Jesus.

Maybe in ways that you can't see right now, but guys, he is going to use it to advance the message of Jesus.

He is sovereign, he is good, and he's very creative.

Which leads me to the final person in the story that we haven't spent a lot of time talking about, but now I want to turn all of our attention to.

And the question is this whatever happened with John Mark?

Like this dude, it's a pretty brutal situation for John Mark, right?

Like imagine being John Mark in the middle of this.

Put yourself in his shoes.

You're a young dude who just got an opportunity to travel with the two best missionaries in the early church.

And then for whatever reason, on that first trip, you quit.

You go home.

And when they try to rendezvous again, you're the reason for the breakup.

Like imagine having to deal with that.

Being known as the quitter, the deserter, like the guy who can't handle the mission.

You're the runner.

And it's funny, some scholars think there's a story in the gospel, a little bit earlier than this, in the Gospel of Mark, of this young man who follows Jesus, who gets caught by the Romans, and he's just wearing a linen cloth.

You guys know the story?

And they come and get him, and under the pressure, the young man runs away, but they grab the linen, he runs away naked.

You know, most scholars think that is Mark.

We got a guy, Mark, who ran away from Jesus when the pressure was hot.

We got a guy, Mark, who ran away from Paul when the pressure was hot.

He's known as the runner.

He's identified and probably defining himself by his biggest mistakes.

And so as we read Acts 15, if you kind of just freeze frame on Paul on John Mark, like if you timestamp him, like this is who Mark is, right?

This is what he does.

And Mark will always do that, right?

Like I had this feeling a little bit uh last Friday when I took my older kids to Honey Grove for homecoming.

You guys know homecoming, big Friday night lights, Honey Grove.

And uh it was a good time, guys.

I took him to the pepper alley, uh, to the parade, they caught some candy, and then to the football game where my dad's the coach, my brother uh is on the team, he's offensive lineman, built different.

Uh, and then my cousin won Queen of Homecoming.

Just, you know, all the all the fun.

But I'll say this: if you've ever been to your hometown recently, uh, in the middle of all those positive feelings of nostalgia, uh, there was another feeling that started to come up.

Because I'm walking through these bleachers and around this football stadium with my kids, and I'm seeing people I haven't seen in 13 years.

Uh, people who probably still remember the old me, the less sanctified me.

And in a sense, like these are people I've sinned with and people I've sinned against.

And guys, you get this feeling when you're around people who used to know you that they have also timestamped you in their minds.

Like they know you as the 16-year-old, as the 18-year-old.

And you get this very strange desire now on the other side of Jesus to want to run through the bleachers and tell everybody, like, hey, that's not the old me, like God has changed me.

But we do this, right?

Like we timestamp people's life by their biggest mistakes.

We define them, like, oh, that's the girl that blew up her marriage, she'll always be like that.

Oh, that's the dude who struggles with anger, he'll always be like that.

Can you see it here?

We timestamp people in our minds.

And if it's not other people, maybe worse, we do it to ourselves.

You take your worst failure in life, and you think it defines you, and we'll do this.

And it's very difficult as a Christian to navigate that reality thinking this is who I'll always be.

And it's easy to do that to John Mark here, but guys, here's what you got to see about the Bible, praise God.

This ain't the end of the story for John Mark.

You know, if you read the scriptures, I think John Mark is a great case study for us.

Because as you read the scriptures, they go separate ways.

John Mark goes with Barnabas back to their hometown, their cousins.

The book of Acts, it doesn't mention John Mark, but later, what's interesting in the letters of Paul, years and decades later, John Mark's name starts popping up again.

But it's not Paul talking trash, you know, like, hey, don't be like John Mark.

Let me tell you about what he did to us.

You guys know it's something happened.

We can't read, we don't know exactly what happened, but something changed in their relationship.

And you read it, like in his early letter of Philemon, he calls John Mark his fellow worker again.

And that's interesting if you know how big of a fight Paul just got into.

Broke up his best friend.

And then later in the book of Colossians, he tells the Colossae Church, hey, John Mark's coming to you.

And he doesn't say avoid him, it says welcome him.

And then at the end of his life, like when Paul's about to die, the people he wants closest to him, he writes a letter to 1 Timothy or 2 Timothy, and it writes this bring Mark with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.

He says he's useful.

Can you see it?

Like, think about what's wrapped up in that word useful, the transformation, transformation.

The guy that Paul could not depend on, he wants him in the end.

Can you see it?

The big transformation that happens here.

Paul all of a sudden is asking for John Mark and calls him useful.

And the point here is this: this guy who deserted Paul becomes one he can depend on.

Or in other words, John Mark's failure is not final.

And if you guys know the rest of the story in John Mark, it actually doesn't end in Timothy.

Do you guys know John Mark becomes a disciple of Peter?

And the entire gospel of Mark is written by our guy John Mark.

And later in church history, he's known by the symbol of a lion because he became the courageous apostle, the evangelist, Saint Mark the evangelist.

And at the end of his life, he doesn't run away because of his faith.

No, guys, he dies as a martyr because of his faith.

Why?

Because John Mark's failure is not final.

And I share that to encourage us this morning with the time I have left, because I think there are people here who need to hear this.

Because I've talked to multiple people in our church, even this last week, okay, who are struggling with failure in their life.

Sin that they're just absolutely wrecked with.

I talked to a college guy this week who fell into sexual sin again.

And he asked me the question through tears over coffee.

Zach, is there any hope for me here?

Is this always going to be part of my story?

Am I always going to do this?

I talked to a married couple who is just going through a season of suffering and sin and grief, and they're asking the same question.

Is there any hope for us?

And guys, I think John Mark's story gives us a clear answer.

Absolutely, yes, there's hope for us.

Absolutely there is.

Your failure, guys, it can be real, but it's not final.

Does sin have consequence?

Yes.

Does it sometimes impact our relationships?

Yes, but it's not the end of our story.

And so, yes, as you consider your life, there can be chapters of your life that you deeply regret, but those chapters do not have to be the title of the whole story.

No, no, no.

God works through us, He can transform us.

This is Christianity.

This is what John Mark is the perfect gospel story.

You know, while I was working on the sermon, I got sent a clip, uh, like a sermon YouTube clip, uh, and it's an old popular video uh that that went around years ago, and it's his pastor up in Minnesota, and as he's preaching, he's detailing his own story and how God has saved him, and specifically how God has changed him.

And he says over and over again the same phrase, he just repeats it over and over again.

He says, I'm a grace case.

I'm a grace case.

And I think that's perfect to describe John Mark here.

He's a case on grace.

He is a case study that a man is saved by grace, and sometimes your biggest failure can come not before following Jesus, but after.

That's John Mark's story.

And he's a case on grace, and guys, Paul is a grace case, and guys, if you know Jesus, you know all of us in this room.

There's a bunch of grace cases in this room.

And you notice John Mark's redemption.

It's not because John Mark bettered himself.

Like he didn't leave this disagreement and reinvent himself by his own strength and his own accord.

You know why John Mark became who he was at the end?

Grace.

God's grace.

Grace that is deeper than all of our sin.

It changed him.

Because we're saved by grace, but the same grace that saves us, it changes us.

And guys, we have to have hope in our stories for this.

That God can change us.

This is what the gospel is all about.

Because your life and the fact that your failure is not final, it's not because John Mark had a comeback.

Can I say it like this?

Jesus had a comeback.

That's what defines us.

Like he died for us.

And guys, when he went to the cross, he took our guilt and our shame and all of our running away, and he died on the cross.

And the message of Christianity is not this: you've never failed.

God loves you.

No, guys, the message of Christianity is you have failed.

And he still loves you.

And that's the gospel.

And that's what happens here.

Jesus takes our sin, our shame, our guilt.

We have failed.

But guys, failure is not the end of our story.

And I share all this to say this.

I want King's Church to be a place of hope and grace for people like this, people like John Mark and people like me, one that's quick to confess, quick to forgive, and quick to reconcile.

And you notice, because the cross has reconciled us back to God, now when we face conflict, guys, we can be reconciled together.

That is the means by which we can be reconciled together.

It's only through the cross and our common identity under the cross that we can now find peace.

And so, church, let's be a church here at King's Church that's full of people, grace cases, people who can give hope.

Because, guys, somebody's gonna wrong you.

We're gonna have conflict in this church, sometimes serious conflict, but if we approach it, knowing we're all works of grace, products of God's grace, and projects for God's grace, he will change us for the better.

And so let me pray for us that we'll be people who can see that clearly.

God, I'm thankful for your grace and the story of Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark.

Lord, I'm so thankful that you have given this man, John Mark, to see that his failure is not final.

And Lord, I just know the people in this room.

I have talked to people recently who would consider their last week an absolute failure.

The sins they chose to do, commit, the relationships they feel like they've ruined.

But God, I pray they can see that there's hope for them here in this church.

There's hope for them in the grace of God.

Lord, I'm thankful for the cross of Jesus that doesn't pretend like our failures aren't real, but does handle them really on the cross and truly.

God, thank you for Jesus that he died for us, that he rose again, so that in your eyes you don't see our failures, but you see the perfect life of Jesus.

And God, as we handle conflict in our life, whether it's with the people we love, our husbands, our wives, our friend group, our roommates, people in this room, God, would we come to them with a heart of humility?

Would we look to their interest over our own?

God, would you reconcile even the deepest pain that exists in this room?

We trust you to do that.

Do the impossible.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You guys can stand and we think.