So I want to preach to you this morning about a man who was empowered to preach and live the gospel, but he was empowered despite some failure. So we're going to be looking at this man, Mark. So if you would turn for introduction to Philemon, and then we'll be going over to the book of Acts. But I want to focus basically in our missions conference here with you very much on people. I think you've gotten that idea already. We're going to be looking at real people. These people that we're talking about, such as Luke, or Aquila and Priscilla, or Jodias, or Timothy, or Titus, these were real people like you and me. And they have real gifts, and they have real challenges, and they have real failures. So how does God empower someone like that, or can He empower someone like that who has weakness? And I hope you'll be encouraged to know that He can and He does. And this fellow, Mark, is a fascinating study. And so we're going to be reading about him, just establishing the fact that he was another one of Paul's co-workers. If you'll look in Philemon, and the last three verses. There salute the Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, Marcus, and that's the man we'll be talking about, Aristarchus, and I want you to remember this name. We'll get around to this one a little bit later, Demas. And then Lucas, we talked about him already this morning, my fellow laborers. And then Paul says, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Okay, now if you would go back to Acts chapter 12. Just trying to establish a little bit about this man, Mark. Who is he? Where did he come from? What's his background? What kind of gifts did he have? What kind of challenges did he have? So in Acts chapter 12, we get a little glimpse into Mark's background. It says, when he had, this is Mark 12 verse 12, 12-12, when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, this is Peter, when he's released in a miraculous way. He hadn't really understood what's going on, and the people who had been praying for his release didn't understand what was going on. So when he actually shows up in answer to their prayers, they think, well, it can't be him, which is a bit telling on how we pray sometimes. We ask God to do it, and then it happens, and we think, Really? This can't be. Well, it was. It was true. And so where did Peter go? He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. So just a little background on Mark. His name was John Mark. He came from a Christian family there in Jerusalem, and apparently that family was a fairly prominent family because that's where a lot of the Christians would go when they gathered. And so that's where Peter goes. So what about his dad? Well, We don't know about his dad. Maybe his dad's passed away. Maybe his dad is there. We just don't read about him. We're not quite sure. But one other bit of information that we need to keep in mind as we look at an introduction to this man, John Mark, is the fact, and I won't have you turn here, but in Colossians chapter 4, it talks about Barnabas and Mark. They are related. Some translations say he was Barnabas's sister's son, which would make him the nephew of Barnabas. Other translations say he was the cousin of Barnabas. Whatever the situation, Barnabas and Mark are related. So let's go now to Acts chapter 13. We've talked a bit about this last night, so I think you'll know the story. The church is gathering for prayer. Praying for what? Last night we learned what they must have been praying about. And that was, we have a burden for the world. What do we do? We've just been sitting here in Antioch enjoying the blessings, but what do we do for the future? Where do we go? Who should go? And we can gather that that's what they're praying because that was the answer to their prayers. The answer to their prayers was, I want Barnabas and I want Saul to go. And where do I want them to go? Well, we can gather that He told them where to go because they went to Cyprus and then they went on up into Turkey or Asia Minor. So we have Mark. He's from a prominent family. He's the cousin of Barnabas. His mother was a Christian. And so we see God's hand in his background. It's a very good background, something that any of us would enjoy having. So when they decided to send Paul and Barnabas as missionaries, The church seems to commission them. This is not so much an ordination, because Barnabas and Saul have already been preaching, and they've already been doing mission work in a lot of ways. So it's not that they are called to the ministry, that's already happened. But the church commissions them. So it's just the two of them, right? Barnabas and Saul are going out, they are the first missionary team." Well, that's what we would think if we just read verse 2 of chapter 3, "...separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth, go. But there's something else happening here, and that is there's someone with them. It says in verse 5, when they were at Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And notice this, they had also John to their minister. Who is this John? Is this John the Baptist? Is this John the Apostle? No, we already saw this is John Mark. And what is he doing? Now we're talking about missions, and we're talking about those who are sent as missionaries. Here's the question, and we discussed this a bit last night, so if you were here, you might remember the answer. Is John Mark commissioned and sent out by the church as a specific missionary? Is he sent on this mission? Well, there's no indication that that was the case. Barnabas and Saul are mentioned, but John is not mentioned, and we wouldn't know about him except this verse. So that indicates to me that there are ways that others can go and serve right along those who are sent, and they are really going to do missions work. But basically, you know what John is? John Mark is? What would we call him in our day? What's the colloquial term? You go for this, and you go for that. He's the gopher, right? That's really what this word means. John Mark is one who is just their attendant. The words used in Luke chapter 4 for the guy who takes the scroll when they read it in the synagogue, and he puts it back. and probably does anything else that needs to be done in the synagogue. He may sweep the floors. He may set up the chairs. We don't know. But that's what John Mark's doing. He is the gopher. He is the attendant. It says minister, but that word is probably a little strong for actually what he's doing. He's the attendant. He's the literally kind of means like the under rower. In other words, you've got some guys in those old ships who are directing things, and then you've got other guys who are just there rowing, trying to follow orders, trying to keep in harmony with the other rowers. That's what he is. He's in the subordinate position. But he is with Paul and Barnabas on this first missionary journey. That sounds like a great opportunity, doesn't it? How would you like to be with Paul and Barnabas? Barnabas is the leader of what's happening in the Christian world up to this point. John Mark gets to go with Paul and Barnabas. Great opportunity. Thrilling, at least on the surface of it, right? But you know what? Serving the Lord has its challenges. It's not easy. you're going against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And not only that, you're going into new territory which could be just physically dangerous, physically challenging. So as things go along, this is what happens. We won't read all the story, but they are serving the Lord, and they go to Cyprus. That's where Barnabas is from. And then they decide they're going to go up into Turkey. So they go from Cyprus. If you go north, you end up in Asia Minor, which now is Turkey. So when they get there to a place called Perga, look at what happens. Verse 13, Now when Paul and his company, loose from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John, John Mark, departing from them, return to Jerusalem. The joy and thrill of being with Paul and Barnabas wore off pretty quickly. Why did John Mark depart from them and return to Jerusalem? Well, we actually don't know. But here's the question. Was this legitimate? Was this a good thing? Was this, you know, really required? Was it the proper time? And the answer is no. This was a bad time. So here's a story, here's a summary of what's happened thus far. God is blessing the work in Antioch. The church started in Jerusalem. People are scattered. The work in Antioch prospers, and they need someone to come. They need a missionary to come and guide them and help them with their church planting and their church development. So who do they send to Antioch to help with that ministry? It's Barnabas. So Barnabas goes there, and he begins to teach the people. Barnabas is a gifted teacher and preacher. He's great. But the work is prospering so much that he needs help. If you'll look back, just to give you an idea of what's going on here, look at Acts chapter 11. And I want you to see something about Barnabas in the process. It says, verse 22, "...when these things came into the ears of the church which is in Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas. And when he came, and he had seen the grace of God, he was glad, he exhorted them, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord, for he was a good man. He was full, notice this, of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Wouldn't you like for someone to say that? Wouldn't you like for the Holy Spirit to say that about you? A good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and full of faith. That's about as good as it gets in the human realm, right? Here's a good man. Verse 25, Then he departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul. He brings Saul back with him. Verse 26, He brought him into Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. So Barnabas and Saul make a great team, right? Barnabas knows about Saul. He's been preaching. He finds him up in Tarsus, and he brings him back together. They teach for a year, and God's just really blessing the work there in Antioch. And we've got two good men, and the Bible says specifically about Barnabas, he's a good man, full of faith, full of the Holy Ghost. there is a famine that happens in Jerusalem. So the church in Antioch, now that it's being blessed, realizes they have responsibility, and so they decide to send famine relief. They decide to send some money. And who's going to take this money back to Jerusalem to help those people? Well, they decide on Paul and Barnabas. If you go down to verse 29, The disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto their brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." So are you with me? They're back in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, apparently, they meet up with John Mark. They no doubt go back to his mom's house where the church may be meeting. And in the process, they decide to bring John Mark with them back to Antioch. So look at chapter 12 and verse 25. Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they took with them John, whose surname was Mark. Okay, so all of that is background. Mark, related to Barnabas. Barnabas, a good man, full of the Holy Ghost, full of faith. He and Paul are working together, building up the church in Antioch. They're teaching and preaching. And as you see in Acts chapter 13 and verse 1, which we read last night, over time God sends other teachers and prophets, even A guy like Simeon, Manan are added to this teaching group that's establishing the church in Antioch. So John Mark is in Antioch and we see that he decides to go with Paul and Barnabas. Did they invite him? Well, probably he said, can I go? And they said, yes. That seems to be kind of what happened. And they said, we can use someone to, you know, be a helper and a servant. But John Mark very soon, for some reason, leaves. Here are some suggestions about what happened. It could be that he was concerned about his health. Maybe his health broke down a bit. It could be that he was just afraid. They're getting ready to go. They land in Turkey, and they're getting ready to go up into the mountains, into an area that they haven't visited. They probably know that it's going to be rough traveling. They probably know there are robbers, and there's danger along the way. There are rivers to cross. And they don't know what those cities are like. It could just be fear. It could be that he had a doctrinal difference with Paul. It could be that he just got tired of serving in that way. It could be And this is possible. It could be he was jealous for Barnabas. About this time, you begin to see a change in the Bible. The focus is not on Barnabas as leader so much now. The focus begins to be on the apostle Paul. So maybe Mark just didn't like seeing Paul taking leadership. Whatever the case, he departs. We'll go over now to Acts chapter 15. This is where a lot of our application comes from today. Acts chapter 15. Paul and Barnabas, they go up into Asia Minor and they finish their first missionary journey. And they come back and report to the church in Antioch. God really blessed that first missionary journey. After they come back, there's a doctrinal issue that has to be dealt with in Jerusalem. And after that, Paul and Barnabas begin to think, you know what, let's go back and see those churches that we helped establish and see how they're doing. So that's where we are in Acts 15 verse 36. 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. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them. Why? What's Paul's concern about John Mark? Barnabas wants to take him. Paul says, no, that's not good. Why? He departed from them, from Pamphylia, and notice how Paul views this. He went not with them to the work. Some of you have been in the military, right? Some of you, military? A lot of you, lots of you. If you were sent on a mission and you got there and then you just left. Recently we were in France and on a previous visit to France we went to Normandy. And I appreciate the fact that the French people still appreciate what America did to help them at that time. There's a beautiful, beautiful cemetery there honoring American soldiers. But what if you had been a soldier in that day, and you said, I think I will leave, and maybe even hopefully not join the enemy, but you just leave all of your other fellow soldiers to be slaughtered. And there were many that were slaughtered, as you know. What is that called in military terms? AWOL. Is that a good term? That's the last thing you'd want to be called, right? Someone who went AWOL. But really, that's how Paul viewed Mark. He said there was work to do, and he didn't do it. And to be honest with you, I'm not going to take a guy like that with me on another opportunity. He may desert me again right when I need him. No way. I don't need people like that. He might be a good guy, but I can't trust him. I can't put confidence in him. I'm not going to do that. No way. And Barnabas says, well, I think you ought to give him a second chance. Who's right? Well, you know, the Bible doesn't clearly answer that, so I'm not going to try either. But let me just suggest that, in a way, your heart probably goes with Barnabas. Give the guy a second chance. But if you're thinking, your head probably goes with Paul. Like, you know, I don't need that. We can't have, you know, we can't put our confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like what in the book of Proverbs? It's like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint. You ever tried to walk on a foot out of joint? Not only is it not, it doesn't work, but it's painful. And Paul's thinking, I'm not, you know, I don't need that kind of pain. So I would say that Whatever the case, the division, the paroxysm is the Greek word used here, and we use that in English. Look at verse 39. The contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus, and Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And from then on, the focus in the book of Acts is the apostle Paul, and in this case now his co-worker Silas. So, the contention was so sharp, and what I wanted to do with the introduction was to indicate that Paul and Barnabas had been like this, right? They had worked together. Barnabas sought Paul out. He can help me, and they worked together, and God really blessed them, but now, There's this sharp contention. And Mark obviously has had a failure in ministry. He turned back. He did not go to the works. So here's the question for us then. Is there any hope for a guy like that who went AWOL in the Lord's work? Well, thankfully Mark did not join the enemy. We'll talk about someone who did apparently, but Mark did not. And so I'm very encouraged to tell you that as we go further and look at the life of Mark, we see some amazing recovery. He obviously served with Barnabas. Was that faithful, good service? As far as we know, it was. But did you know that he also served with Paul? Remember what we read in Philemon? You probably hadn't made the connection, but Paul calls him what? A fellow worker. When is that? That's six or seven years later from this time. By that time, Paul considers Mark a fellow worker. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4. I want to show you another text about Timothy, or about Mark. 2 Timothy chapter 4, and it says, and before I read it, let me give you the background on this. The apostle Paul is again in prison. He was in prison when he wrote Philemon, but then he was released and he had further ministry. Here's a few years later, Paul's in prison again, and he knows that his time to be killed is very near. He says, for instance, verse 6, I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my exodus, my departure is at hand. I've fought a good fight. I've finished my course. Kept the faith. There's a crown laid up for me. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. But Paul's very human. He's not superhuman. Paul's human. He's lonely. He's hurt. Really? I thought Paul was pretty tough. Paul had great love, like any godly person does, and when those you love disappoint you, you're hurt. Paul was a hurt man at this point. But he was looking forward to getting to heaven, but he's still very human. So he goes on and says, verse 9, Timothy, do your diligence to come shortly unto me. I want to see you. I would be encouraged by your fellowship. Please do all you can to get here and see me. And here's one of the reasons why I'd love to see you. Verse 10, Demas has forsaken me. Demas went awhile and apparently he went over to the enemy. He's loved the present world. He's departed. Verse 11, notice this. Remember Luke we talked about this morning? It's another reason I love Luke. Here's Paul in his last days, and Luke is with him. In fact, it says only Luke is with me at this point. Now this is something else I want you to do, Timothy. Take Mark, look at verse 11. Take Mark and bring him with you. Before I die, I want to see Mark again. Why? He is profitable. Profitable to me for the ministry. The man who was a failure. Who went AWOL. Who deserted Paul. And Paul really did not get over that quickly. But he gets over it. And he says now, bring him with you. He is profitable to me for the ministry. Isn't that encouraging? This man did not give up. Mark did not give up. Demas is called a fellow laborer in other places. Now he has forsaken me. Does that happen? Do people forsake the cause? They do. And you never are quite sure. You look at Mark and you think, well, what's going to happen with Mark? Is he going to be a Demas? And the answer is no. It's real with Mark. He learns from his failure. So let me make a couple of applications to you that are here. By the way, that word forsake is a strong word. It says, Demas forsook me. Remember what Jesus said on the cross? Why have you forsaken me? Bible talks in Hebrews about those who forsake the assembling of themselves together. And then we have that great promise where Jesus says, I will never leave you or forsake you. But Demas forsook Paul. So, application. Maybe you've had a failure. You had a ministry you should have been doing. Maybe you've given up on your devotional life. Maybe you've given up on your service for God. Maybe you've given up on church. You just happen to be here today. I don't know. Failure, catch this, is not a reason to quit. It's not a reason to quit. You say, well, I failed, so there's just no hope for me. No, that's not the case. Let me give you two examples. Did you know that Barnabas had a serious failure? We don't have time to look at that text, but Barnabas, Paul talks about this in Galatians, was with a group and some Jews came and they began to say, now, you know what? The Jews shouldn't be eating with the Gentiles. You say, well, I thought they got beyond that. Well, you would think that. And yet Barnabas got carried away with, Paul calls it there, hypocrisy. Got carried away. And Paul actually rebukes it publicly. Barnabas had a failure. What about Peter? By the way, we also read in 1 Peter that Peter and Mark worked together. So Mark worked with Barnabas. He worked with Paul. He worked with Peter. He had a pretty good, pretty good, pretty good situation. In the end, as he became faithful, And by the way, and this is not a minor thing, God used Mark to write one of the eternal Gospels. Did God use that man after his failure? Not too many got to write a Gospel. He wrote the Gospel of Mark. And by the way, what does he focus on in the Gospel of Mark regarding Jesus? Jesus is focused on as the servant. Mark was a servant. But let me get back to the application. Failure is not a reason to quit. One other example there, and that's Peter. If you go to the Vatican, the focus is not on Paul, the focus is on Peter. I remember standing there and seeing this big statue, and you've got Peter with the key. You've got Paul with the Bible. It tells you something, doesn't it? But the focus was on Peter. What about Peter? Well, Peter is the one who three times denied Christ. Is there any hope for a denier? You know, Jesus said, if you deny me before me and I'll deny you before the Father. That's pretty serious, right? That could be utter apostasy. But again, it wasn't. He didn't go AWOL to the enemy. He repented. And you know what God told him? This still staggers me. This man who had such a failure to say, I don't know the man and to swear that he doesn't know the man. That man, God says to him, when you are converted and says in the King James, it's not his salvation. It just means when you come back around, when you return to me in repentance, I want you to go around and apologize to everyone. Is that what it says? No. It says, I want you to strengthen the brethren. Huh? You mean this guy who had such a failure, who's so weak as to deny Christ three times is to strengthen the brethren? Yes. He learned, he repented from his failure. And if we will, God can use us just like He used Barnabas, and just like He used Peter, and just like He used Mark. And the fact is, if we're honest, we've all had those failures. I mean, if we really dwelt on our failures, we would give up, right? But don't. Mark didn't, Peter didn't, Barnabas didn't. What work is it that you need to finish? Remember Paul said about Mark, he didn't go with us to the work. It's interesting that Acts 14, I think I mentioned this last night, the Bible says Paul and Barnabas fulfilled the work. They did it. Mark did not. Not at that time. So let me ask you, what work do you need to fulfill? Some of you know Mr. Milner. He's passed away now, but he was an older saint at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. And every time I would see him, I think every time, pretty much, that we talked, he would say something to me. And I found that he said it to other people, too. And this is what he would say. He would say, don't quit. Don't quit. Did he say that to you? Yeah. He would say that to you if you talked to him very long. He would say, don't quit. So let me just exhort you, don't quit. Don't quit your devotions. Don't quit your witnessing. Don't quit your ministry. Don't quit your friends in the gospel, your friends in the Lord. Don't quit. If you will continue, you can be like Mark. Now we have his gospel that he wrote. Now we know that he was profitable for the ministry. That encourages me, and I hope it will encourage you that God is using real people who have real victories and they have real failures. But don't quit. In the end, if you will learn from your failure, you can be like Peter. You can actually strengthen the brethren. If we will be humble before God, He will teach us, and then we can help others. We can actually strengthen others who may be facing the same kind of disappointment. So don't quit. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for the example of Mark. Thank You for the honesty of Scripture. It tells us about these men, tells us about their strengths, about their failures. and how You use them in spite of all these things. Thank You that You use earthen vessels. Help us to be willing vessels, we pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.