Failed But Not Finished - 13
Not Fit to Serve God! - Acts 15 Verses 36 to 39
I feel a little sad as we come to the last of our series on "You may have failed but God hasn’t finished with you yet"! Today we’re looking at a keen Christian worker who failed and there’s always something pathetic about a Christian worker who doesn’t go on with God. There are hundreds of men and women who have faithfully prayed and worked to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and His saving work upon the cross, who are no longer walking with the Lord because of failure in their lives. This should never be! The God who saved them and kept them for so many years, and in some cases used them very powerfully in His service, does not want them to be thrown on the world’s scrap-heap.
Over these past programmes we have looked at some people in the Bible who passed through an experience like this, but came out of the long tunnel of failure and disappointment, and were used of God once again for His glory. Today’s character is one of the lesser known disciples of Jesus, and as you listen today you may say "Well, that’s me"! You may be thinking that you’ve never really done great things for God, but you can remember a time when you taught boys and girls in a Sunday School class, or stood up in front of a few people to witness for Jesus Christ. But that was in the past; you think those days have gone for ever! Well listen carefully today, because God may well be speaking to you! The young man we are looking at is named John Mark, and we will divide our talk up into four simple parts: His Mother, His Mission, His Mistake and His Ministry.
His Mother
There is a beautiful tradition, that seems to have a fairly good foundation, that John Mark’s mother’s house was where Jesus and His disciples regularly met when in Jerusalem. It was here that they held the Last Supper. If this is so the young man probably sat and listened spell-bound as the Lord Jesus taught those who were gathered in the house. Certain it is, that it was in this house that the early church had gathered for prayer when Peter was imprisoned by King Herod (Acts 12 verse 12). As they prayed, Peter was released in a most remarkable way, and this probably made a deep impression upon the young man. Next we see …
It seems as though John Mark had a mother who loved the Lord, and this is a tremendous privilege.
His Mission – Acts 13 Verses 1 to 5
What a thrill it was for the young man to be hand-picked to accompany his uncle Barnabas and the Apostle Paul as they set out on their first missionary journey. There is a lovely touch by the writer Dr. Luke, as he adds "They, that is Paul and Barnabas, had John as their minister". No doubt he had to perform the menial tasks, but he was ministering to two men of God. He was playing a small but important part in spreading the good news about Jesus Christ amongst people who really needed the message. He accompanied the apostles on the boat to Cyprus. There he witnessed the stirring events involving the sorcerer, Bar-Jesus, resulting in the conversion of the pro-consul, Sergius Paulus. This was followed by a further boat trip to Perga in Pamphylia where we read of …
His Mistake – Acts 13 Verse 13
The Bible record tells us "John left them to return to Jerusalem". Was the young man home-sick? Did he tire of the constant experience of "living out of a suitcase" after the ease and convenience of home-comforts? Did he feel that his task was relatively unimportant? We’re not told, and we don’t know, but we do know that he left the little group who were eagerly preaching the Good Word of God to people who needed the message. And we are left in no doubt as to what the Apostle Paul thought about his conduct.
When they were setting out on their second missionary journey sometime later, Barnabas wanted to take his young nephew with them again, but we read "Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work" (Acts 15 verse 37). The young man had proved a great disappointment to Paul, and he considered him to be a failure ... someone who couldn’t be trusted a second time. He had failed and it looks as if the great Apostle Paul was not willing to give him another chance. How do you think John Mark must have felt? I’m sure that he thought God had written him off. There couldn’t possibly be another chance for him.
Perhaps you feel that you’re a failure; you know you’ve let God’s people down; you feel as though you’ve let God down. You can recall all the things you’ve failed to do for God; you think of all the wrong things you have done which you shouldn’t have done. You just feel a total failure. Well, listen as the story unfolds! In a wonderfully encouraging way, we read that Mark’s uncle, Barnabas, was prepared to trust him again, and taking the young man with him he set sail for Cyprus once more. If that was the end of the story we would be left wondering if Barnabas should have given him that second opportunity after the way in which he had deserted them, and returned to his home in Jerusalem. We would have reasoned that Barnabas only took him because he was his uncle, and after all blood is thicker than water. We would probably have felt that Paul must have known best, and no doubt Barnabas would be let down once again. Thankfully that isn’t how the story ends, for finally, many years later, we read of …
His Ministry – 2 Timothy 4 Verse 11
Paul is in prison, and is writing to his friend, Timothy. He fully expects that the time of his execution is near.
He actually writes "the time has come for my departure"; then he asks Timothy to come to him quickly, before it is too late. He says "only Luke is with me". The Apostle Paul is obviously a lonely man; one who has served His Lord conscientiously and faithfully for many years, and now awaits the horror of being executed for his faith. He only has the doctor, Luke, as a companion, and he is longing for further Christian fellowship and friendship. He wants to see his good friend, Timothy, once more before he leaves this earth.
And who is the other man whose name is impressed upon his mind? Is it Silas, with whom he shared so many difficult experiences? Or Barnabas, who was at his side throughout that first missionary journey? Or perhaps Titus, who could minister the Word of God so effectively? No, it is none of these! As his pen pauses above the parchment, his mind is filled with thoughts of young John Mark, the man who had forsaken him in Pamphylia, the companion who had let him down, the very man who had failed God. His pen continues to write "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry".
What an encouragement that word is for us! John Mark, the young man who gave up in his work for God may have failed but he wasn’t finished. God had further work for him to do.
John Mark is not one of the best known disciples, yet he did a powerful work for God as he wrote the second gospel. All this was because he was given another chance! He failed but he wasn’t finished!
Will you receive this message personally. In whatever way you have failed God in the past, He is willing to forgive. He is calling you back to Himself. My prayer is that you will return to Him in repentance and faith. God bless you and use you in His service.