BOOM,A BATTLER, and A BROTHER

  Have you ever noticed how a baby learns to walk? Yeah, it's the "step,
  boom" method. Someone comes along and says, "I think it's about time",
  sets them up on their legs - you know, kind of spaghetti legs - and they
  take one step, boom. And, of course, they get up again, and the next time
  it's step, step, boom. And then step, step, step, boom, etc. You know.

  Now, we have family movies of our oldest son learning to walk years ago.
  It was pretty much by that method. And when he went down, you could see
  him grabbing something and battling to get his muscles going all in one
  direction so he could get up. And then you saw his big sister reaching
  over to give him a hand. Actually, that's what it takes whenever you go
  step, boom.

  I'm Oluwafemi Olawale and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Boom,
  A Battler, and A Brother."

  We're going to look today at a man who stepped out to serve the Lord and
  went "boom." His name is John Mark. Acts 15 is our word for today from the
  Word of God, where we're hearing about a missionary journey that Barnabas
  and Paul were launching. "Barnabas," it says, "wanted to take John, also
  called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it was wise to take him,
  because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them
  in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement they parted company.
  Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus."

  Now, in order to get the full story, realize you need to turn to 2 Timothy
  4, where at the end of Paul's life he is now alone in a Roman prison. He
  will soon be executed for his loyalty to Jesus Christ, and guess who he
  mentions? Mark - this guy who bombed out earlier in his Christian work,
  and Paul said, "Boy, I don't think this guy's going to make it." Now Paul
  writes, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful for me in
  my ministry." Wow!

  You know what the message is? When you're following Christ, failure is not
  final! But it takes two kinds of people to recover someone from a fall. It
  takes a battler and a brother. Mark was the battler. You know, if that
  baby goes "step, boom" he can't just say, "Well, I fell down. I guess I'll
  never walk. I'm not cut out for this." He can't just keep lying there
  helpless on the floor. No! He'll still be there when he's 18; his Mom will
  be vacuuming around him. No, he gets up and he says in his own little
  brain, "I will walk again."

  Maybe that's you. Maybe you've been giving up because you failed. But the
  gospel of Mark's life is that you can be restored. You can be useful again
  if you're willing to battle back. But recovery also requires a brother;
  one like Barnabas, who will work with you patiently, who will deal with
  your weaknesses, who will give you an extra chance. And it takes a brother
  like Paul, who though he had his doubts, is willing to accept him once
  he's restored, and not to continue to say, "Oh, yeah, he's the failure."
  Now, one of these is you, or it needs to be. Maybe you're a Mark and you
  feel that you've fallen. But now ask the Lord for the courage and the
  patience to battle back. Maybe you're a Barnabas who reaches out to that
  person that others have given up on, maybe even a member of your own
  family. Or maybe you're Paul, who can make or break somebody's comeback by
  whether you greet them with open arms or folded arms.

  When one of God's kids goes "step, boom" there is hope if there's a
  battler determined to walk again and a brother who's offering a hand.