You Can Always Turn Back

You Can Always Turn Back

(This sermon was last preached at Cedar Ridge Baptist Church in Burleson, Texas. It was preached in June of 1991, in the morning service. Cedar Ridge Baptist Church had been meeting in the cafeteria of Fraizer Elementary School. We were preparing to move into a newly built church. I had been serving as a Sunday school teacher for an adult couples class. The pastor was out of town on vacation. I took this occasion to present a message of commitment to the work that was at hand with this new move. This message was first presented, in a slightly different format, as a Commencement Address to the Seniors, families, and friends of Carney High School in 1978)

         If I were to share my testimony with you, it would reveal that I have encountered a number of crossroads in my Christian journey. I believe that all of us encounter these crossroads. It is my opinion that the decisions that we make at these crossroads can very well color and shape the rest of our lives. No doubt that you have already come to a few of these crossroads. It may be in the area of education, where and if you will attend college? It may be in the area of determining your life vocation. It may be in regards to choosing a life partner.

         As we make ready to move into a new place of worship, we come to a crossroad. At this crossroad we must decide the direction that our Christian ministry in this community will take. To help us do this I solicit the help of the Bible. The text today is taken from the Book of Acts, the 13th chapter. It presents a very young John Mark at a crossroad similar to the one we face. In your mind’s eye I want you to imagine the scene with me.

         I can see young John Mark now. He is sitting around a campfire on some remote road just outside of some town of which he can't even remember the name. The Apostle Paul and his Uncle Barnabas lay asleep just beyond the campfire. He can't sleep; his mind is occupied with a hundred concerns.

         He had pleaded to go on this journey with these older men. He had thought that it would be exciting. But, he had no idea that it would be like this. Why, this very day they had faced death, hunger, angry mobs, and worst of all for a young man, loneliness. He is seriously disillusioned with the whole affair.

         He can't resist his thoughts any longer. He jumps to his feet and first wakes Paul. "Paul, I've got blisters on my feet. I've cot calluses on my hands. My body is dirty. Paul we need to go back. There is good work to be done in Jerusalem. They need us at home!"

         Paul shakes the sleep from his eyes and replies, "You asked to come as my helper, John. My work is here. I'm sorry, but I can't go back."

Frustrated, young John Mark turns to his Uncle Barnabas. "Uncle Barnabas, could you reason with this man? If we have traveled a mile today, we have traveled 50. I just can't take it any longer. We haven't even had one convert today. We could do better at home!”

Barnabas shakes his head and says, "Mark, you have got to understand, I've got to stay. I promised to finish the trip with Paul." You know the rest. It is found in the Book of Acts, chapter 13, verse 13. It says simply:

         From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

         Luke, the writer of Acts, does not give us any explanation or excuse; nor does he use any amount of reasoning of why John Mark would leave the party. But for some reason young John Mark turned back and went home to Jerusalem.

         John Mark had come to a crossroad. He had a decision to make. To go on or to turn back? This is not unlike the crossroad that each of us will encounter when faced with the question of what shall we do with our Christian witness and this new church building. "What kind of commitment shall I make for Jesus at this new place?" With the help of your prayers we shall consider this question this morning.

         First of all, as you come to the crossroads of Christian Commitment, rest assured that you can turn back, but dreams don't come true without commitment. It is said that to have a dream is an important thing. Nothing has ever been accomplished that did not first live in the heart of the dreamer. So, if you have dreams that you would one day wish to realize, that is good.

         The Temple of Jerusalem, in all its glory first lived in the heart of Solomon. The Taj Mahal is said to be the most beautiful structure in the world. It first lived in the heart of a king as a memorial to his departed queen. He was unable to build her a palace while she lived, so he built her the most beautiful tomb in the world; but it first live in his heart as a dream. My friends, I'm confident that this church building on Alsbury Boulevard, in Burleson, Texas, first lived in someone’s heart as a dream.

         The Apostle Paul had a dream. If you know anything at all about Paul it is probably not as a dreamer. We see him as aggressive, driven, bold, and intelligent. But we don't often think of Paul as being a dreamer. From the biblical account of Paul, it appears that he is eternally focused and busy about his work. But I feel that Paul had a dream. What was this dream? I believe that I wouldn't be far off to say that Paul's dream was to spread the Gospel message of redemption to all the world. Barnabas, his close friend, shared in that dream. And they thought that young John Mark did also. Well, at least Barnabas had thought so. But it is obvious by this account that John Mark didn't share that dream.

         My friends, the church building is up. It isn't completely finished today; but it will be soon. What is your dream for that empty building? Do you have one? I pray that you would share Paul's dream. It would be a grand dream indeed to wish to share the Gospel message of God's redemption to the neighborhood surrounding that building; and then to share it with the community as a whole; and, then to reach out beyond these borders of this city and touch the world. Will you make that your dream today if you haven't already?

         There is another thing that I would share with you about dreams. And that is that there is a price to be paid for dreams. Most often it is at the expense of a lot of hard work. I don't think anyone needs to tell this church that. But just as there is a price to be paid in hard work to build the church building there is a price to be paid in building the Spiritual Church. And our willingness to pay that price is measured in our Christian commitment. We must be fully committed to the Christ of the cross if our dream for this church is to be realized. Nothing less than total commitment to Jesus will do.

         This great dream will be realized only after much sacrifice, blood, sweat, and even a lot of tears. And friends its going to take committed lives strengthened in Jesus to do that. Paul was willing to pay the price. Barnabas was willing to pay the price. And, Christ was willing to pay the price. Two thousand years ago, on a hill called Calvary, a price was paid for my life. And a price was paid for your life. The bill was quite clear; it read, "Payment due for sinful lives !" My name was on that bill. Yours was too. Now, I don't know if God has dreams. But if He does, I feel sure that His dream for His "man creation" was for us to be reconciled with Him. And so Jesus, God's Son, said, "I’ll pay the price for their lives, Father. I'll bear the burden of their sin. I'll pay the price, Father, for your dream."

         And so, because of Jesus' great act of love we have been redeemed from the penalty of sin. And that is why the first dream in every Christian’s heart should be to have Jesus Christ controlling his life. You see, my friends, it is committed Christians that make committed churches.

         As we stand at the crossroads of Christian commitment, I also want you to know that you can turn back, but if you do you will miss the joy that God intends for you to have. Who was the real looser in this passage that we are dealing with today? As we consider this whole ordeal of John Mark's, who do you think was the real looser? Was it Paul? No not Paul. Was it Barnabas? No it wasn't Barnabas. It was John Mark, wasn't it?

         Mark was right about the suffering that would be experienced on this journey. He was right about the scorn, the beatings, and the abuses. We know from Luke's account in Acts and Paul's own letters that Paul and Barnabas endured them all. But when all was said and done, the bottom line is that Paul and Barnabas had something to show for it. They had done something for the kingdom of God. More yet, they had done that thing for the kingdom of God that God had wanted to be accomplished.

         Where is John Mark? Where is John Mark? Well, John Mark sits at home in his Jerusalem easy-chair; and he wishes that he were with Paul and Barnabas. No doubt John Mark busied himself with things in the local church; but, I would hazard to guess that his joy in the work was not with him. This provides us with a lesson. Too often we may tell ourselves that we are content and happy; and we even may be. But we have missed the real reward and joy that God would have us experience. And the sad thing is that we may not even realize it.

         I have a friend of mine who recently told me a very relevant story. When he was a little boy he was amazed one day at something he saw in the sky. In the distance was a tiny speck of a thing. It was colorful; and, it had a long tail that followed as it soared through the sky. You and I both know that what he saw was a kite. But JD (my friend) had never seen a kite before. He watched and studied the kite all day long. In the evening he told his mother about the wondrous thing that he had seen. She explained to him that what he had seen was a kite. JD asked her to tell him everything about it, which she did.

         The next day he proceeded to make himself a kite. However, he had never seen one up close and did not know how is should be constructed. When he finished, his kite was very colorful; and it had a long tail attached. But the thing was much too heavy to fly. The only way he could get it into the air was to hold the string and run as fast as he could. As long as he was running the kite was in the air. He ran all day long to keep that kite in the air. It never went very high and it wouldn't stay up; but JD didn't care. He was as happy as he could be. To him he was flying the kite; he had succeeded.

         The sad thing is that he didn't realize the capabilities that a kite has. He didn't experience the thrill of having it soar to amazing heights and distances; he didn't know the joy and excitement that he was missing. It is good to be happy with what you have, and you can be very happy. But please realize that God has more for you to experience, and you will never realize the fullness of your Christian relationship until you commit it totally to God.

         There is a valuable lesson here. The person who stands to lose the most is the one who stands back and watches the forward thrust of the Church pass him by, afraid to step out in faith and take the risk, never realizing what great things he is missing. No, my friend. You don’t have to take the risk. You don’t have to go on. You don’t have to pray. You don’t have to serve. You don’t have to teach. You don’t have to visit. You don’t have to give. You don’t have to stand by your convictions and be branded as a religious fanatic. You don’t have to go on. You can do as John Mark did and turn back.

         The story is told of the great missionary to Africa, David Livingston. It is said that a missionary society contacted Dr. Livingston and asked of the roads so they could send help. To this Dr. Livingston replied, “If they need roads, then I don’t need their help. It takes sacrifices, a willingness to go where the roads are not.” The John Marks of this world have little faith in themselves, less in their brother, and none in God. To them it is too much of a risk to be a committed Christian. They simply are not willing to go where the roads are not.

         What if Christ had not been willing to take the risk? What if he had come all the way to the cross and then turned back? He would still have been known as the greatest teacher who ever lived. He would have still been known for His kindness to little children. He would still have been the greatest moral example for mankind. But when it came to dying on the cross, Christ would have proclaimed, “I can’t do it! I just can’t risk it!”

         And, God the Father would have replied, “But Jesus, don’t you realize that if you do this then the world will be redeemed?”

         And, Jesus would have said, “Father, I can’t do that. I can’t gamble that men will come back to you in righteous living. That is just too much to risk!” But Praise God, that Jesus did not do that.

         The Pauls and Barnabas’ of today are those who are willing to go on in faith. Willing to take the risks. Willing to go where the roads are not. And so to the John Marks of today, I want to say that we love you. We care for you. We want you with us. But if you can’t go forward with us then you’ll just have to stay behind. Our motto shall be that of Joshua, who said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” You can turn back, but if you do you’ll miss a great adventure.

         And Finally, my dear friends, you can turn back, and even if you do, God still loves you and wants you to go on. John Mark quit and went back. He would have felt much better if the two older men would have come with him. It would have been easier for him to walk into Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas by his side. But they did not. He walked alone through the gates of Jerusalem. With the knowledge that his task had been unfinished, he walked down the streets of his home town.

         John Mark turned back. I suppose that he busied himself with the work in Jerusalem. But I have to believe that at times the work that he had left unfinished came upon him with an intensity that he never could have imagined. Has that ever happened to you? I have lived long enough to realize that you can’t get away from God. It isn’t that God tracks you down and torments you. I think that perhaps I could handle that. I could fight back against that. I could at least strike out against a tormentor. But, God comes to you in love. His perfect love stands alongside of my imperfection, forgiving me and comforting me. I can’t handle that.

         And young John Mark couldn’t handle it either. Let’s look at the scripture and see what happened to this young man. In the Book of Acts, chapter 15, verses 36 through 40 this account is given:

         Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus

         We find that John Mark has returned to the task. He has seized his opportunity to finish the task that he had begun years before. Unfortunately, he had not proven himself to Paul. And as a result, a division was created between Paul and Barnabas.

         But the scripture is not finished with young John Mark. In the Second Letter from Timothy, chapter 4, verses 9-11 this further accounting is given of John Mark. In this passage a much older Paul, a Paul who is near the end of his ministry as well as his life, is seeking stable ground in a stormy sea. This time Paul says this:

         Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

         Paul sends for John Mark because he is good for his ministry. What a turn-a-round for John Mark. But Mark still isn’t finished. He goes on to write the Gospel according to Mark, and by so doing is still leading people to Jesus today. There is a great lesson here. That lesson is that failure does not have to be final. No matter what has happened yesterday, God still wants you to go on today.

         There was once a wise Indian chief; and, the only way he could be replaced was to make an unwise decision. And there was a young brave that concocted an idea. He said, “I will go into the forest and get a bird. And I will put that small bird in my hand. And I will let the tail feathers stick out so that the old chief will know that it is a bird. I will call a great council meeting; and, I will ask the chief, ‘Is this bird alive; or is this bird dead?’ And if the chief says that the bird is dead, I will open my hand and let the bird fly away. And if he says that the bird is alive, I’ll tighten my fist and crush the life out of it and let the bird fall to the ground dead.”

         He called the great council meeting together. And said to the chief, “Old chief, you’ve been a wise chief. You use wisdom in everything that you do. Here are two questions: First, Oh chief, what do I have in my hand?” The old chief said, “I suppose that it is a bird.” The young brave said, “Old chief, you are right. You have answered wisely. Now, old chief, the final question is: Is this bird alive or is it dead?”

         The old chief looked at the young brave; and, he looked up to heaven. He consulted with the Great Spirit on high. He dropped his head; he focused his eyes on those of the young brave; and, he said, “Young brave, that bird is in your hand. Whether he lives or dies is up to you.”

         A crossroad lays in front of you today. Christ stands at that crossroad. What kind of commitment will you make in your relationship to him? What way will you travel? Your direction, my friend, is up to you. You can turn back; but, dreams don’t come true without hard work. You can turn back; but, if you do you will miss a great adventure. You can turn back; and, even if you do God still loves you and wants to you go on. God bless you and keep you.