Don't Give Up On Those Who've Given Up!

DON’T GIVE UP ON THOSE WHO’VE GIVEN UP

Acts 15:35-40

I was raised in a Christian home. I came to know Christ at the age of 15. When I was 20 years old I realized that the Lord was calling me to preach. Instead of surrendering to His will for my life, I began to run from God. For about 2 years I lived life on my terms, I lived in rebellion. Not only did I refuse to surrender to God’s call, I quit church and walked away from the Father. During that time certain people refused to give up on me. My parents, my pastor and some great Christian friends encouraged me to repent and seek restoration. Among that crowd was one person who stood out above all the rest. My pastor’s wife was relentless, almost every week she would plead with me to make things right. Eventually I agreed to attend church one Sunday just to get her off my back. That was in 2004 and my life hasn’t been the same since. I returned to the Lord and began to go to church on a regular basis. Because of that I was surrounded by a great church family who loved me, discipled me and helped me mature in the Lord. Within a year I surrendered to God’s call on my life and I things have never been the same. I had given up, but that precious lady refused to give up on me.

There was a time when a man named John mark was faithfully serving the Lord. He was a fellow laborer with Paul and Barnabas. But there came a time when he abandoned his associates and the work that God had called him to do. Some time later, Barnabas sought to see John Mark restored to the Lord and to the Kingdom work. Living up to his name, Barnabas was a great encourager. The Bible records the wonderful story of his restoration.

As we look around this church today we see many empty pews. These empty pews were once filled by faithful followers of Christ. But now, these people have turned away from the Lord and are living in rebellion. They have abandoned the church, the work of the ministry and worst of all they have abandoned their Master. We have a tendency to we write the people off… in doing so we give up on those who have given up. May we never forget that these people are our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible says “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

As Christians we should have the same kind of compassion that Barnabas possessed. We should reach out to those who have turned away and do all that is within our power to see them restored. We can’t restore them, but we can point them to the One who can.

I would like to look at the relationship between John Mark and Barnabas and preach on the thought “Don’t Give Up On Those Who’ve Given Up”.

- Let’s begin by examining the fact that:

I. IN CHRIST, WE ARE DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE SAME BODY

v35 Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.

The book of Acts records the names of numerous members of the early Church. Our selected text mentions 4 of them: Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, and Silas. These are men who were born into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Today, we are assembled together as a congregation of believers. We are many members who make up one Body.

The Bible speaks of this in - Romans 12:5 we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Also in - I Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body-so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 So the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body.

The picture here is one of unity and togetherness. Concerning the physical body, if one part hurts the entire body hurts. The same is true concerning the spiritual Body, when one member hurts, we all suffer. Paul goes on to say in - I Corinthians 12:25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.