WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 Well, good morning, and I'm very pleased to be 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:08.339 able to bring to you the readings for this morning. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:10.960 We're going to carry on looking at some of the 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:18.339 key events in the life of us. We'll begin with 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:21.780 Acts chapter 11. This one actually we did have 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.480 last week, but we're going to read a little bit 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.039 further. So some of these verses will be familiar 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.440 to you from last week, but not all of them. Acts 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:38.240 chapter 11, starting in verse 19. Now those who 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.460 had been scattered by the persecution that broke 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:43.219 out when Stephen was killed, travelled as far 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:46.960 as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:51.979 word only among Jews. Some of them, however, 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:56.340 men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:59.869 began to speak to Greeks also. telling them the 00:00:59.869 --> 00:01:02.969 good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand 00:01:02.969 --> 00:01:05.629 was with them and a great number of people believed 00:01:05.629 --> 00:01:09.349 and turned to the Lord. News of this reached 00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:12.150 the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:15.030 to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the 00:01:15.030 --> 00:01:19.049 grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged 00:01:19.049 --> 00:01:21.730 them all to remain true to the Lord with all 00:01:21.730 --> 00:01:24.829 their hearts. He was a good man, full of the 00:01:24.829 --> 00:01:28.459 Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of 00:01:28.459 --> 00:01:32.879 people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.319 went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.120 found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:40.700 a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:44.239 church and taught great numbers of people. The 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.439 disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 00:01:48.380 --> 00:01:50.859 During this time, some prophets came down from 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:53.819 Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:56.519 stood up and through the Spirit predicted that 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.700 a severe famine would spread over the entire 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:01.760 Roman world. This happened during the reign of 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.799 Claudius. The disciples, as each one was able, 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:07.439 decided to provide help for the brothers and 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:11.599 sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.819 their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:22.520 We'll continue at the very end of chapter 12, 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.599 verse 25 and continuing into chapter 13. The 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:31.699 story continues. When Barnabas and Saul had finished 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:34.080 their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:39.199 taking with them John, also called Mark. Now, 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.400 in the church at Antioch, there were prophets 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:45.370 and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon, called Niger, 00:02:45.710 --> 00:02:48.370 Lucius of Cyrene, Manan, who had been brought 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:52.210 up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:54.389 were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy 00:02:54.389 --> 00:02:57.810 Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:00.770 for the work to which I have called them. So 00:03:00.770 --> 00:03:03.810 after they had fasted and prayed, they placed 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:10.289 their hands on them and sent them off. And if 00:03:10.289 --> 00:03:12.389 you turn forward for our third and final reading 00:03:12.389 --> 00:03:16.449 this morning, that will be in chapter 15, Acts 00:03:16.449 --> 00:03:28.210 chapter 15, verses 36 to the end. Sometime later, 00:03:28.229 --> 00:03:31.009 Paul said to Barnabas, let us go back and visit 00:03:31.009 --> 00:03:33.250 the believers in all the towns where we preach 00:03:33.250 --> 00:03:36.050 the word of the Lord and see how they are doing. 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:39.819 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, 00:03:39.939 --> 00:03:42.639 with them, but Paul did not think it wise to 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.240 take him because he had deserted them in Pamphylia 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:48.759 and had not continued with them in the work. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.240 They had such a sharp disagreement that they 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.800 parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed 00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:00.400 for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.259 by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:06.259 went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening 00:04:11.129 --> 00:04:14.669 If you'd kindly turn back to chapter 11 as we 00:04:14.669 --> 00:04:20.329 pray together. Lord, thank you for these words 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:23.470 recorded by Luke of Barnabas, a good man full 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:28.990 of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Please, through 00:04:28.990 --> 00:04:33.910 his story, by your words, in your spirit and 00:04:33.910 --> 00:04:38.339 by your grace, may we also walk with the wise 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:42.060 that we might see in him the work that you did 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:45.519 and that we in turn might have hearts and minds 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:48.279 open to the goodness of the lord jesus christ 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:52.639 that he would work similarly in us we ask in 00:04:52.639 --> 00:05:00.879 jesus's name amen so this is the second of two 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.779 talks about barnabas i hope you remember last 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:07.649 week we began with Proverbs chapter 13, which 00:05:07.649 --> 00:05:11.290 says, walk with the wise and become wise, but 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:17.089 a companion of fools suffers harm. And we thought 00:05:17.089 --> 00:05:20.750 about how the people we walk with will always 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:24.910 leave a mark on us for good or for ill. And in 00:05:24.910 --> 00:05:28.110 these readings and talks, We're focusing, of 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:30.750 course, on Barnabas. We're tracing through his 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:34.569 character and his convictions. And we want to 00:05:34.569 --> 00:05:37.970 see in him what happens when the grace of Christ 00:05:37.970 --> 00:05:42.110 works powerfully in and through a real person. 00:05:42.209 --> 00:05:45.569 And we're walking with him with the aim that 00:05:45.569 --> 00:05:49.069 we too might be wise, that we might be marked 00:05:49.069 --> 00:05:53.990 or moulded by that same transforming gospel grace 00:05:53.990 --> 00:05:57.750 that was so powerfully and evidently at work 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:00.750 in Barnabas. Our aim, as I said last week, is 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:04.470 not to lionize him. Luke's center is always the 00:06:04.470 --> 00:06:10.470 Lord Jesus Christ and ours should be too. Last 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:13.449 week, a quick recap. We looked at chapter four. 00:06:13.509 --> 00:06:15.350 You don't need to turn there, but we saw that 00:06:15.350 --> 00:06:17.629 wonderful description of the church where Luke 00:06:17.629 --> 00:06:21.810 tells us that God's grace was powerfully at work 00:06:21.810 --> 00:06:25.879 in them all. Barnabas sells a field and lays 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:28.920 the proceeds of that at the apostles' feet. And 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.600 because he had received from Christ what he could 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.040 never earn and could never lose, it does seem 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:39.279 that he is freed to release his grip even on 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:42.759 his possessions. That powerful grace at work 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.699 in him, that costly grace. We then looked at 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:50.120 Acts 9 and we saw this new convert, Saul, who 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.300 comes into Jerusalem. And we saw how the Christians 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.240 there and the apostles were afraid of him. After 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.519 all, this was, or in their minds might still 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.860 be, the high priest hatchet man, persecuting 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:07.360 and imprisoning and killing Christians. So they 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:12.000 don't easily accept him. But along comes the 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.269 grace -filled Barnabas. who doesn't naively overlook 00:07:16.269 --> 00:07:20.569 Saul's past, but because he knows grace, he can 00:07:20.569 --> 00:07:23.870 recognize it and he stakes his entire credibility, 00:07:24.209 --> 00:07:28.449 his life even, you might say, on Saul, trusting 00:07:28.449 --> 00:07:30.790 that through the powerful work of grace in Saul, 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:34.209 the old has gone and the new has come. And of 00:07:34.209 --> 00:07:37.170 course, he was right. And then again, last week, 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:40.370 we saw in chapter 11 how the apostles were apparently 00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:43.689 bemused and confused by all that was taking place 00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:47.250 up in Antioch, where a large number of Gentiles 00:07:47.250 --> 00:07:49.790 were coming to Christ. And this unprecedented 00:07:49.790 --> 00:07:54.370 intercultural church was forming all of it outside 00:07:54.370 --> 00:07:57.370 the control and leadership and direction of the 00:07:57.370 --> 00:08:00.310 church in Jerusalem. Humanly speaking, this was 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:04.509 a moment of enormous significance. Will the church 00:08:04.509 --> 00:08:08.829 remain funded? centered on Jerusalem and bound 00:08:08.829 --> 00:08:12.470 by Jewish cultural identity? Or will it be released 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:16.569 to become a multicultural, polycentric, decentralized 00:08:16.569 --> 00:08:21.509 global people of God? The apostles needed someone 00:08:21.509 --> 00:08:25.230 with grace -filled eyes and grace -filled heart 00:08:25.230 --> 00:08:28.910 to see God's bigger purposes, so they sent Barnabas. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.200 Remember what Luke says happened? He arrived 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:35.340 there and saw what the grace of God had done 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:42.559 and he was glad. So today we're going to take 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:46.700 some more steps on our journey with Barnabas, 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:51.019 walking with the wise. Some are characteristically 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:57.379 encouraging for us. Some will feel sadder, even 00:08:57.379 --> 00:09:01.529 painful. We'll begin with Acts 11. We left the 00:09:01.529 --> 00:09:04.490 story last week in 24 with that grace -filled 00:09:04.490 --> 00:09:07.470 gladness of Barnabas arriving in Antioch. See 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:11.450 what happens next. Chapter 11, verse 25. So Barnabas 00:09:11.450 --> 00:09:14.950 went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he 00:09:14.950 --> 00:09:17.269 found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for 00:09:17.269 --> 00:09:19.389 a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the 00:09:19.389 --> 00:09:21.990 church and taught great numbers of people. The 00:09:21.990 --> 00:09:24.549 disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. 00:09:26.250 --> 00:09:29.230 Barnabas is apparently heading up this rapidly 00:09:29.230 --> 00:09:33.070 growing new international multicultural church 00:09:33.070 --> 00:09:36.669 in the Roman Empire's third largest city. And 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:39.750 it seems that his instinct is not to embed and 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:44.149 establish himself as its sole front man and figurehead, 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:48.289 but rather to seek out Saul and bring in this 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:52.830 newer leader. For a whole year, they teach together. 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:56.269 It's intentional. Barnabas is not just defending 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:58.710 Saul now like he did in Jerusalem back in chapter 00:09:58.710 --> 00:10:02.169 9. He's developing him. Barnabas is spending 00:10:02.169 --> 00:10:05.029 his own social capital and leadership influence 00:10:05.029 --> 00:10:10.070 on all that he believes God can and will do through 00:10:10.070 --> 00:10:13.789 Saul. Barnabas is the one with the platform and 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.409 the opportunities and the experience and the 00:10:16.409 --> 00:10:18.710 status and the connections and the authority. 00:10:19.009 --> 00:10:26.779 He's the gatekeeper. wide open for others rather 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:30.980 than slamming it shut and defending it for his 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:36.620 own privileges and so that year in or after that 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:38.899 year in Antioch they then head down to Jerusalem 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:41.659 at the end of chapter 11 a second visit together 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:45.100 to Jerusalem this time they're entrusted with 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:48.269 money for famine relief for the brothers and 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:51.950 sisters who are suffering in Judea. And then 00:10:51.950 --> 00:10:55.750 after Luke gives us a sort of interlude in Barnabas' 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:59.049 story with Peter in chapter 12, we then get to 00:10:59.049 --> 00:11:02.429 chapter 13. Famously, the Holy Spirit directs 00:11:02.429 --> 00:11:05.710 the church to set apart Barnabas and Saul for 00:11:05.710 --> 00:11:08.350 the work to which he's called them. And the church 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:11.429 prophets and teachers, they fast and they pray 00:11:11.429 --> 00:11:14.529 and they lay hands on this pair and send them 00:11:14.529 --> 00:11:18.279 out. And so Barnabas and Saul begin that first 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:20.960 missionary journey together. And of course, many 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.740 of us are so used to calling it Paul's first 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:27.799 missionary journey that we sometimes miss Luke's 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:31.740 deliberate ordering. They set out repeatedly 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:37.750 as Barnabas and Saul. Does seem to be intentional. 00:11:37.929 --> 00:11:42.090 Barnabas as the established leader, Saul as the 00:11:42.090 --> 00:11:45.090 younger convert. But as that story of that missionary 00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:48.750 journey unfolds throughout chapters 13 and 14, 00:11:48.909 --> 00:11:51.370 that ordering starts to get reversed. Have you 00:11:51.370 --> 00:11:54.129 ever noticed that? Increasingly, Luke uses the 00:11:54.129 --> 00:11:57.889 phrase Saul and Barnabas or Paul, later Paul 00:11:57.889 --> 00:12:01.309 and Barnabas. And even later the phrase Paul 00:12:01.309 --> 00:12:04.960 and his companions. Barnabas is still there, 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:08.700 but Paul and his companions. Luke does seem to 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:11.840 be indicating that the dynamic is shifting with 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:15.720 Paul increasingly growing into the leading role. 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:20.159 At Lystra in chapter 14, the crowd calls Barnabas 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:25.039 Zeus and Paul Hermes. And Luke tells us that's 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:28.919 because Paul was the chief speaker. So Barnabas 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.759 is senior, but Paul is speaking. And as Acts 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.879 moves on and as that journey moves on, it is 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:39.039 hard to escape the conclusion that Barnabas is 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.879 willingly and consistently investing deeply in 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:47.639 training and raising a co -leader whose influence 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:55.620 and standing is eclipsing his own. Let's think 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:57.580 about that for a moment. So often the metric 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:03.809 we use when we're measuring a leader. is evaluating 00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:08.149 what they have done or what they have achieved. 00:13:09.750 --> 00:13:13.070 But maybe another criteria we can and should 00:13:13.070 --> 00:13:18.570 use is to ask, who have they enabled? By that 00:13:18.570 --> 00:13:22.950 measure, Barnabas is flying. He's minimizing 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:26.629 his own platform and prominence to see that the 00:13:26.629 --> 00:13:30.909 grace of God is multiplied and magnified in others. 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:34.549 particularly through Saul. And in this way, and 00:13:34.549 --> 00:13:37.129 we can assume with God's smile upon him, his 00:13:37.129 --> 00:13:41.690 success secures in history and memory his own 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:47.889 lesser status. I don't know about you, that makes 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:50.870 me ponder my journey, leadership journey. We 00:13:50.870 --> 00:13:53.590 all have leadership journeys to reflect on, ongoing, 00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:58.710 I assume, for all of us. Maybe we look back in 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:02.700 our past and Recognize gatekeepers in our lives 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:07.299 who have released their grip to empower us to 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:10.159 move forward in leadership? I've certainly got 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:14.059 people in my life like that. Or maybe we're wondering 00:14:14.059 --> 00:14:19.779 if we will be, like Barnabas, leader makers in 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:22.139 the future. Not just leaders, but leader makers. 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.899 People pleased to make ourselves smaller without 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:28.759 becoming bitter for the growth and benefit of 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:32.720 others. Because that's the way of Christ and 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.720 that's the way of Christ in Barnabas. And it 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:38.899 can be the way of Christ in us. It does require 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:42.500 a renewed gospel mind and a deep gospel identity. 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:47.360 Because after all, if my worth depends on my 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:50.480 influence, then I need to protect my platform. 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.240 And another person's growth becomes a threat 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.960 to that. But if the all -surpassing joy of knowing 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:00.960 Christ Jesus, my Lord, means that status and 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.460 significance is worth as nothing to me for the 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:08.600 sake of Christ, then I am free, wonderfully free, 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:11.879 to spend whatever significance I may have or 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:15.600 may have been gifted on someone else, on their 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:21.019 fruitfulness. I'm reminded of former Oak Hill 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:24.460 principal Mike Ovi. He preached the sermon at 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:27.600 an ordination service in 2015, two years before 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.620 he died, and said to that small group of new 00:15:30.620 --> 00:15:35.299 Christian leaders these words, quote, we want 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:40.860 you to be better than us. We want you to be more 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:43.940 faithful than us. We want you, spiritually speaking, 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.600 to tower above us so that the cross of the Lord 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:50.720 Jesus Christ stands high in this land and that 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.279 men and women may know the blessings of eternal 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.600 life. That is our dream for you. That is our 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:02.960 prayer for you. Not that you are as we are, but 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:08.830 that you are better. Seems to me that is the 00:16:08.830 --> 00:16:12.269 grace of God at work in a very Barnabasian way. 00:16:13.090 --> 00:16:16.090 Those who have gone before us, investing themselves 00:16:16.090 --> 00:16:20.710 in us, that we might even surpass them in faithfulness 00:16:20.710 --> 00:16:25.269 and fruitfulness. Followed, of course, by our 00:16:25.269 --> 00:16:29.269 doing the same for those who follow us. Grace 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:34.289 received becomes grace invested, generation after 00:16:34.289 --> 00:16:38.490 generation. after generation. That is the grip 00:16:38.490 --> 00:16:43.990 -loosening grace of God. We've seen that grace 00:16:43.990 --> 00:16:46.909 of God at work in Barnabas that loosens his grip 00:16:46.909 --> 00:16:49.649 on his possessions, that loosens his grip on 00:16:49.649 --> 00:16:53.230 his assumptions, his suspicions, and now grace 00:16:53.230 --> 00:16:57.350 that loosens his grip on his status and his significance. 00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:02.149 And again, I don't know about you, but I find 00:17:02.149 --> 00:17:08.069 myself crying out, That's who I want to be. Or 00:17:08.069 --> 00:17:10.869 more specifically, that's what I long for the 00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:16.470 grace of God to do in and through me. God, give 00:17:16.470 --> 00:17:21.730 me, give each of us, as with Barnabas, an open 00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:25.549 heart and willing spirit to turn grace received 00:17:25.549 --> 00:17:34.109 into grace invested. This principle of grace 00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:37.670 received, grace invested, we thought about it 00:17:37.670 --> 00:17:40.210 there on a personal level for us, perhaps as 00:17:40.210 --> 00:17:45.730 individuals, as leaders. But I am so supremely 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:49.710 not sorry to think again, like last week, about 00:17:49.710 --> 00:17:52.029 applying this principle, not just on a micro 00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:54.690 level to us as individuals, but on a macro level 00:17:54.690 --> 00:17:58.759 to the global church. We talked last week about 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:01.220 how in recent decades, Christianity has become 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:05.200 a genuine global polycentric faith with a demographic 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:09.019 center of gravity now lying decisively in Africa, 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:15.380 Asia and Latin America. Yet. Institutional power, 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:20.119 money, accreditation, cultural influence and 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:24.529 public platforms remain. disproportionately concentrated 00:18:24.529 --> 00:18:30.089 in Western centres. You know where this is going, 00:18:30.170 --> 00:18:34.750 don't you? Are we, like Barnabas, willing to 00:18:34.750 --> 00:18:38.750 recognise this moment, invest in others globally, 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:43.450 and see multiply what God is doing around the 00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:49.130 world, even if this decentres or diminishes us 00:18:49.130 --> 00:18:53.829 here in the Western church? Now, friends, I do 00:18:53.829 --> 00:18:56.390 understand that increasingly and wonderfully, 00:18:56.569 --> 00:18:59.109 not everyone sitting in Oak Hill College Chapel 00:18:59.109 --> 00:19:02.410 this morning locates themselves ethnically or 00:19:02.410 --> 00:19:05.670 culturally within Western Christianity. Some 00:19:05.670 --> 00:19:08.930 of you I know have been formed principally in 00:19:08.930 --> 00:19:12.420 churches within the majority world. But I don't 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.339 think any of us can stand outside of this challenge 00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:18.119 because after all, we're all being formed in 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:21.559 a college located in the West. And the challenge 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:24.140 is this, again, are we in the Western church 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:29.039 willing to move from merely a welcome to others 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:33.400 and inclusion of others towards a genuine mutual 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.599 partnership with others? That's the challenge. 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.819 It's more than merely inviting others into the 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:44.819 church structures and ministry systems and assumptions 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:47.759 that we in the West have designed and continue 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.859 to manage. It is actually more than that. It 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.759 is empowering brothers and sisters from elsewhere, 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:57.359 not only to contribute to conversations, but 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.619 also to help determine what those conversations 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:05.680 are. Let's put it this way. I heard a story from 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.259 a U .S. missiologist, Todd Johnson. He tells 00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:10.500 the story of sitting at a conference next to 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:13.279 an African Christian leader. And when the American 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:16.180 speaker talked about the goodness of sharing 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:19.599 a table together as representatives from every 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:22.539 continent, the African leader leaned over to 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:25.779 him and whispered, it's good if you invite us 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:29.359 to the table, but it's far better if you let 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:33.480 us into the kitchen. You see, the table is where 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.640 the meal has already been decided and delivered. 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:39.799 The kitchen is where the recipes are worked out 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:43.220 and the meal itself is made. And that's the challenge. 00:20:44.170 --> 00:20:47.690 It is easy for those of us located in the Western 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:51.410 Church to celebrate African, Asian, Latin American 00:20:51.410 --> 00:20:54.490 Christians and Christianity, describe them as 00:20:54.490 --> 00:20:57.950 partners in mission, while still quietly assuming 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:01.390 that our theology is normative and theirs is 00:21:01.390 --> 00:21:05.069 contextual. That our biblical exegesis is rigorous 00:21:05.069 --> 00:21:08.569 and theirs is immature. That our ways of organizing 00:21:08.569 --> 00:21:12.210 churches and ministries are default and theirs 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:17.319 is exotic. Like Barnabas, is the Western church 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:22.180 willing to recognize grace beyond our own familiar 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:27.380 world and then relinquish enough control to see 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:31.660 that grace flourish? And there are few questions, 00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:34.440 I believe, that will determine the future of 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:37.900 the church in the 21st century more than that 00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:42.920 one. Let's go back, though, directly to the story 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:45.220 of Barnabas. It continues. So he left him and 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:48.440 Saul on that missionary journey in Acts 13, sent 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.420 out by the church in Antioch. It takes about 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:53.700 two years, that missionary journey, and it involves 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:57.420 extensive travel around modern day Cyprus and 00:21:57.420 --> 00:22:01.759 Turkey. It is anything but easy. They encounter 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:06.180 opposition and spiritual conflict. They are chased 00:22:06.180 --> 00:22:09.779 away from some places. They are mistreated and 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.339 abused in others. In Lystra, the crowds mistake 00:22:13.339 --> 00:22:16.140 them for gods and then with a kind of terrifying 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:19.960 volatility, then turn against them. Paul is stoned 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.380 and dragged out of the city and left for dead. 00:22:22.579 --> 00:22:26.619 But brave Barnabas and courageous Paul continue. 00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:30.140 They even returned to some of those places where 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:33.299 they had been previously attacked in order to 00:22:33.299 --> 00:22:36.259 strengthen the churches there. Paul and Barnabas 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:39.059 are preaching, we must go, a quote from them 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:42.359 that Luke records, we must go through many hardships 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:44.920 to enter the kingdom of God. That's what they're 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.009 preaching. Barnabas, the son of encouragement 00:22:48.009 --> 00:22:51.049 with Paul, is strengthening people through his 00:22:51.049 --> 00:22:55.049 words and his example to remain faithful where 00:22:55.049 --> 00:23:00.190 grace is costly. After that journey, they return 00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:03.009 at the end of chapter 14 back to Antioch where 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:05.730 they started and they report back to the church 00:23:05.730 --> 00:23:08.750 all that God has done and how he's opened a door 00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:12.190 of faith to the Gentiles. And that question then 00:23:12.190 --> 00:23:16.130 explodes into the great controversy of Acts chapter 00:23:16.130 --> 00:23:21.380 15. Must Gentile believers become Jewish? In 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.500 order to truly belong to the people of God. And 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:26.960 so, of course, the apostles convene a council 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.940 to discuss that question. Barnabas is right there 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:35.200 in the heart of it as he and the apostles reach 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:38.559 that wonderful conclusion that salvation is by 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.440 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and Gentiles 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:46.339 belong fully to him without first becoming culturally. 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:50.759 That is the foundation stone. That decision is 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.720 the foundation stone on which the whole expansion 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:56.660 of the church since then to the ends of the earth 00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:59.980 is built on. That's the moment that Christianity 00:23:59.980 --> 00:24:04.619 becomes translatable, movable, migratory, contextual, 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:10.559 multicultural and ultimately universal. And Barnabas 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:15.039 is right there in the thick of it. Representing. 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.759 And again, advocating for voices of others, these 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:22.000 Gentiles in Antioch, from the margins who had 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:28.980 no voice there in Jerusalem, but his. I'd love 00:24:28.980 --> 00:24:32.819 to end Barnabas' story there, because he's so 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:36.960 great, isn't he? I think so. And I'd love to 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:41.759 end it there. A man who has helped to recognize 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:46.859 and mature and nurture. and defend some of the 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:50.059 great gospel breakthroughs of the early church. 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:53.759 Let's end it there. But of course, Scripture 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.819 refuses to give us quite such a neat portrait 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:02.240 because there are two messier moments that remain. 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:07.519 And we must finally, albeit briefly, look at 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:10.539 those two incidents as they occur chronologically, 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:13.380 starting with the Jew -Gentile table fellowship 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:17.960 incident. of Galatians 2 and then we'll look 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:21.380 at Barnabas's parting from Paul that we read 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:25.460 in Acts chapter 15. As I say that those two incidents 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:27.359 we're looking at them in that order Galatians 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:30.619 2 then Acts chapter 15 the parting that that 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.799 chronology is debated the question revolves on 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:38.519 how Paul's visits to Jerusalem in Galatians line 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:42.210 up with how Luke records Paul's visits to Jerusalem 00:25:42.210 --> 00:25:45.190 in the book of Acts and whether therefore the 00:25:45.190 --> 00:25:48.210 Galatians 2 incident happens before or after 00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:50.769 the Jerusalem council. We're not going to get 00:25:50.769 --> 00:25:52.890 into that now. I'm following the more common 00:25:52.890 --> 00:25:55.970 and I think more convincing view that the Galatians 00:25:55.970 --> 00:25:59.589 2 incident happens before the council of Jerusalem 00:25:59.589 --> 00:26:03.230 in Acts chapter 15 and therefore before the split 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:07.309 between Paul and Barnabas. So Galatians 2, let's 00:26:07.309 --> 00:26:09.750 turn to it. I didn't read it earlier. But let's 00:26:09.750 --> 00:26:14.450 turn to it, Galatians chapter 2. This is one 00:26:14.450 --> 00:26:16.930 of the most uncomfortable moments in the New 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:19.730 Testament, don't you think? Let's read from verse 00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:25.170 11. Paul says this, when Cephas, Peter obviously, 00:26:25.269 --> 00:26:28.170 came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because 00:26:28.170 --> 00:26:31.910 he stood condemned. For before certain men came 00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:35.509 from James, He used to, Peter, used to eat with 00:26:35.509 --> 00:26:38.470 the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began 00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:42.190 to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles 00:26:42.190 --> 00:26:44.730 because he was afraid of those who belonged to 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:48.430 the circumcision group. The other Jews joined 00:26:48.430 --> 00:26:52.829 him in his hypocrisy so that by their hypocrisy, 00:26:52.910 --> 00:27:02.369 even Barnabas was led astray. Do you feel the 00:27:02.369 --> 00:27:07.529 heartache in that as I do? Even Barnabas, I think 00:27:07.529 --> 00:27:09.849 you can even hear Paul's shock and sadness as 00:27:09.849 --> 00:27:14.559 he writes. Barnabas. The man sent to Antioch 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:17.319 because he could recognize grace at work among 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:20.039 the Gentiles. Barnabas, who had rejoiced in the 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:22.920 culturally mixed church growing there. Barnabas, 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:26.180 who had led and nurtured a Gentile church and 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:29.099 suffered on mission to Gentiles and advocated 00:27:29.099 --> 00:27:34.579 for Gentile inclusion. Even Barnabas is now allowing 00:27:34.579 --> 00:27:37.299 pressure from Jewish background believers from 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:44.500 Jerusalem to pull him away from eating. It's 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:51.559 heartbreaking. The grace of God made him so open 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:55.440 -hearted and open -handed. What's happened here? 00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:01.619 Well, it seems to me that Barnabas' weakness 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:05.059 actually here may be a misdirection of his strength. 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:09.480 Those very instincts that made him generous, 00:28:10.109 --> 00:28:12.609 have also made him vulnerable to this sort of 00:28:12.609 --> 00:28:15.450 relational pressure. He's caught in the gravitational 00:28:15.450 --> 00:28:18.829 pull of these people from Jerusalem whose fellowship 00:28:18.829 --> 00:28:21.769 matters to him such that what he knows to be 00:28:21.769 --> 00:28:26.910 true about Gentile inclusion is momentarily overridden 00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:30.289 by the social cost of living that out in his 00:28:30.289 --> 00:28:35.349 life. At the beginning of Paul's Christian life, 00:28:35.470 --> 00:28:38.710 Paul needed someone with a willingness to advocate 00:28:38.710 --> 00:28:43.710 for an outsider. Up stepped Barnabas. Now, years 00:28:43.710 --> 00:28:47.150 later, Barnabas needs someone with a harder edge 00:28:47.150 --> 00:28:50.609 of doctrinal clarity to correct him where his 00:28:50.609 --> 00:28:54.809 relational instincts have led him astray. Up 00:28:54.809 --> 00:29:00.009 steps Paul in return. What a kindness of the 00:29:00.009 --> 00:29:05.920 Lord to bring the two of them. together. Wonderfully, 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.839 though, by the time of the Jerusalem Council 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:10.660 in Acts 15, Barnabas is once again, as we saw, 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:14.460 standing with Paul and indeed the gospel, testifying 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:17.299 to God's work among the Gentiles and defending 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:23.000 their full inclusion in Christ. God's grace remains 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.480 as evident in him as ever, this time through 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.000 his readiness to be rebuked by the gospel through 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:35.890 Paul and then realigned with the gospel. So there 00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:41.210 is a happy ending after a painful incident. And 00:29:41.210 --> 00:29:43.910 so we turn finally, and perhaps even more painfully, 00:29:43.990 --> 00:29:48.849 to that second messy moment, I said, in Barnabas's 00:29:48.849 --> 00:29:51.329 life. This is just going to be inappropriately 00:29:51.329 --> 00:29:54.450 brief. Our time is almost done. But it is a troubling 00:29:54.450 --> 00:29:57.789 moment. Acts chapter 15. Go back to that, if 00:29:57.789 --> 00:30:01.930 you would. The split from Paul after the Jerusalem 00:30:01.930 --> 00:30:05.170 Council. Let's look at it again. Acts 15 from 00:30:05.170 --> 00:30:40.529 verse 36. Oh, that stings as well, doesn't it? 00:30:40.549 --> 00:30:43.809 Does that sting for you? This extraordinarily 00:30:43.809 --> 00:30:48.529 beautiful and fruitful ministry partnership ends 00:30:48.529 --> 00:30:52.029 in a disagreement sharp enough that Paul and 00:30:52.029 --> 00:30:58.329 Barnabas can no longer continue together. Who's 00:30:58.329 --> 00:31:03.059 to blame? Well, it seems, doesn't it, that Luke 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:08.339 is remarkably reluctant to direct us one way 00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:12.240 or the other. on that question. Paul has a serious 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:15.240 point. Mark has left them on the previous journey 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:19.400 and taking someone back into a demanding pioneer 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.559 missionary journey again is not a trivial decision 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:25.579 and he doesn't want to do that with Mark who 00:31:25.579 --> 00:31:28.019 he feels can't be trusted. Barnabas also has 00:31:28.019 --> 00:31:31.059 a serious point. The man who once saw beyond 00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:35.740 Saul's past It is unwilling to let someone's 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:38.240 previous failure become their final word. He's 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:41.160 unwilling to let Mark, his cousin, go. They cannot 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:45.140 agree. And so after 15 years of Christian friendship 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:48.039 and ministry partnership, they separate. Paul 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:50.920 takes Silas and Luke follows him in the story 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:53.880 of Acts. And Barnabas takes Mark and heads off 00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:57.180 to Cyprus and effectively out of the biblical 00:31:57.180 --> 00:32:02.049 narrative. Is there a gracious goodness in God's 00:32:02.049 --> 00:32:05.029 providence here as one missionary team becomes 00:32:05.029 --> 00:32:11.549 two? Maybe, maybe yes. But perhaps we shouldn't 00:32:11.549 --> 00:32:15.789 rush too quickly to that happy, hopeful conclusion. 00:32:17.150 --> 00:32:20.650 We cannot simply appeal to God's providence and 00:32:20.650 --> 00:32:23.690 provision in a way that kind of simplifies the 00:32:23.690 --> 00:32:27.579 hurt and loss. of this painful Christian division. 00:32:27.779 --> 00:32:30.619 The fact that God can sovereignly work in and 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:33.539 through relational breakdown does not inherently 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:37.539 make that breakdown good. And ministry expansion 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:41.319 does not, of course, somehow cancel out the pain 00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:44.940 of Christian brothers pulling away from one another 00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:47.539 like this. And I think at this point in Acts 00:32:47.539 --> 00:32:51.099 15, we're just being asked to sit uncomfortably 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:56.519 in lament and faith. As we read about this parting. 00:32:57.740 --> 00:33:00.359 It is good to know, isn't it, that a few years 00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:04.400 later, Paul does mention Barnabas in his epistle 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:06.940 to the church in Corinth. And he mentions Barnabas 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:11.019 in a complimentary and admiring way. And he's 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:13.359 also, Paul, many years later, is desperate to 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:16.140 have Mark come and join him in his ministry. 00:33:16.299 --> 00:33:20.220 So the rupture does not appear to become permanent 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:25.230 or permanently hostile. The grace of Christ at 00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:28.490 work in Barnabas and Paul, of course, keeps pressing 00:33:28.490 --> 00:33:32.410 them towards repentance and restoration and reconciliation, 00:33:32.509 --> 00:33:36.990 as it must, of course, in our own lives and relationships. 00:33:39.710 --> 00:33:45.150 So let's end where we began in Proverbs 13, walk 00:33:45.150 --> 00:33:50.730 with the wise and become wise. For two chapel 00:33:50.730 --> 00:33:53.940 talks, we've walked with Barnabas. And I hope 00:33:53.940 --> 00:33:57.900 we've seen the transforming grace of Christ in 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:02.819 a real person. Grace received, grace recognized, 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:07.279 grace relied on, grace rejoiced in, and grace 00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:12.239 that radiates out to others. It is a grace that 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:16.199 loosens our grip on things of this world and 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:20.510 gives us something better to hold on to. Because 00:34:20.510 --> 00:34:23.329 in Christ, of course, we, like Barnabas, have 00:34:23.329 --> 00:34:27.730 received what we could never earn and never lose. 00:34:28.469 --> 00:34:32.130 And so our standing before God is not secured 00:34:32.130 --> 00:34:36.190 by our usefulness, our reputation, our possessions, 00:34:36.429 --> 00:34:44.210 our success. It is secured by Christ alone. Let's 00:34:44.210 --> 00:34:51.480 pray. Our Lord Jesus, may your grace, so present 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:57.420 and evident in Barnabas, both flourish and form 00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:03.039 in us too. For the name, for your name and glory 00:35:03.039 --> 00:35:05.219 we ask it. Amen.