03/10/11

Disagreements between Believers

Acts 15:39 - And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

Among Christians there are two categories, one which follow the Word of God above all and then there is the other category which follow man irrespective of it is according to the Word or contrary to the Word.

Among the later you will find not much disagreement about what they follow, but among the prior category if you put five of them in a room chances are not even two will have an agreement on all matters. They may agree more or less with each other on many matters but they will disagree on some or other matters.

The second category will nod their head even if their leader says the world is flat and we are the center of the universe. In science they will learn of the solar system and how man landed on the moon but when it came to their leader they will not question the belief of their leader. The good part of the first category is that they question, they reason and do not follow blindly whatever is thrown at them. Now the question comes about the disagreement. Is it a spirit of error that is working among them and causing them to disagree? In fact it is the deaf and dumb spirit which keeps the second category from knowing God but about the first the Lord wants us to understand what the problem is.

We see in today's scripture there is a strong disagreement between Paul and Barnabas which caused them to separate their ministry. The cause of this disagreement was Mark; whose real name was John and the issue here was the Gospel of Mark and this caused Paul to get Luke to write the Gospel.

Paul was very upset with Mark because he was chosen by the Apostles to write the Gospel and he had left the Gospel incomplete. But Mark being a man of few words and a man to the point did not find it necessary to explain everything, and with this attitude he missed emphasizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ which Paul would not compromise on. He had stopped the Gospel at Mark 16:6 and it was later others had to complete the Gospel. Barnabas (whose real name was Joseph and known as Barsabas in Acts 1) who was one among those who was with Jesus right form the time of baptism and had worked a lot with Paul, in fact was instrument in building Paul's spiritual life in his initial stages. He was firstly blinded to the important point which Paul raised because of his blood relationship with Mark and the other point which could be the fact he was earlier in the Lord than Paul.

People should realize one cannot be a permanent leader here in the Kingdom of God. It is like the medical industry where people are specialized in different fields and according to the knowledge and skillset of a person one is given position in the industry. One cannot be on a higher position forever if one does not continually keep building oneself in knowledge and experience every day.

Many believers do not understand the most primary fact that we are part of the Body of Christ; we are all different parts of that Body. So many of us have different callings and therefore have different viewpoints and understanding on the same matter. And the second and most important fact is that the Lord is always teaching people and building them, if we are not listening to Him we miss and do not grow in Him. Like Barnabas we may be pulled back by our fleshly connections or thinking.

If I do not spend quality time with the Lord and do His work every day I realize the amount of knowledge and understanding I miss on from the Lord and that one day I will be left way behind in the Kingdom of God. The other factor I realize I always need others to get a full dimension of the same matter which I am knowledgeable of, for I know one thing as to why the Lord symbolized Truth as a pomegranate fruit.

Like the fable of the race between the hare and the tortoise the Kingdom of God is not about speed or being slow but of being consistent. Many like the hare go crazy about God and have a great hunger for Him but after some time this hunger dies or they become confident in themselves and then spiritually go to sleep. We should not laugh at those who are slow for one day they being consistent will surpass us and move far ahead spiritually. All of us need to look at our spiritual life every day and see are we moving ahead or are we at the same place?

It is very important to remember that a spiritually blind or lame person will never grow in the Kingdom of God, all other disabilities the Lord may tolerate but especially not blindness or lameness.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we rebuke the spirits of dumbness, deafness, blindness, lameness and the spirit of laziness which has engulfed all your people and is preventing them from growing in You. May their blindness and their lameness be healed and may the Kingdom of God grow and your glory fill this earth...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Mark 16:5-6
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Exodus 39:22-26
22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;
23 and the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be rent.
24 And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates;
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

Haggai 2:19 - Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.

Leviticus 21:18 - For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or anything superfluous,

Deuteronomy 15:21 - And if it have any blemish, as if it be lame or blind, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto Jehovah thy God.

2 Samuel 5:6-8
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither.
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
8 And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and smite the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul. Wherefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.

Acts 1:21-23
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Acts 4:36-37
36 And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
37 having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Colossians 4:10 - Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Mark, the cousin [kin] of Barnabas (touching whom ye received commandments; if he come unto you, receive him),


The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others.
(All rights are with God)