https://youtube/watch?v=sh0HNCa5Nw4 SORRY, I MADE A MISTAKE Acts 13:2-5, “One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.’ So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the Word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.” Acts 13:13, “Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.” Acts 15:36-40, “After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the Word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas…” (NLT). This is a very well-known story – Paul and Barnabas were partners in the Lord’s work, and John Mark was their helper. Because John Mark had abandoned them at some point in their journeys Paul didn’t want him to travel with them anymore. Barnabas didn’t think that Paul’s decision was right. The two servants of God had a big dispute over John Mark and eventually went their separate ways. Then in 2nd Timothy 4:11 Paul said, “Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry” (NLT). Have you ever done something you thought was right but later realized that you were mistaken? It may be that you blamed someone else for something and it later occurred to you that you were actually to blame for whatever it was. Or maybe you cut off all ties with someone because of a wrong he did to you or to someone you love only to realize later that he actually didn’t mean any harm or he didn’t know any better at the time or even that he acted out of fear or any other emotion. Maybe someone betrayed your trust and you decided that you never wanted to set your eyes on him, hear his voice or even hear his name mentioned around you ever again. But with time the Holy Spirit convicted you that you had overreacted. God healed your wound and you forgave that individual. Then you saw that he was in trouble and you were in a position to help him. Or maybe you had a need that you were sure he could satisfy. Probably neither of you needed anything from the other but the Holy Spirit prompted you to reach out to this former traitor. How did you respond? Im sorry, I made a mistake, It was my fault, I shouldnt have made that statement, I shouldnt have acted/reacted the way I did. These are examples of words and phrases that a lot of people have difficulty using when they are wrong and someone points it out to them. Sometimes its because they honestly dont see what they did wrong. Sometimes they actually see their fault with or without someone pointing it out but they refuse to admit it or make things right. They would rather silence their conscience than be the first to make a move towards reconciliation. Now we do not know from the scriptures if John Mark at some point asked Paul for forgiveness or if Paul realized that he shouldn’t have reacted the way he did and then went on to apologize to John Mark and Barnabas. We only know that Paul requested for John Mark, whom he had rejected sometime in the past because he had walked away from their company before. Now, if the Christians of those days were anything like today’s Christians the story of what happened between Paul and Barnabas (and why it happened) must have been all over the community. Many Christians/church leaders today would consider it too demeaning, shameful and humiliating to request for someone they had rejected before especially if there had been such a sharp disagreement between them and someone else on account of that person. They would rather let even the work that God committed into their hands get destroyed than extend a hand of fellowship to ‘John Mark’ even if the Holy Spirit tells them that he’s the one that God has chosen to help them. Some others would prefer to spend days or even weeks fasting and asking God to change His mind and give them another helper instead of ‘John Mark’ all because they don’t want to take what they see as a walk of shame towards reconciliation. If you have a problem admitting when you’re wrong or canceling wrong decisions you made in a fit of anger, ask God to deliver you from the spirit of pride. Humility is one of the character traits of our Lord Jesus Christ and you cannot be like Him without it. buildingfortheking
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:51:11 +0000
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