What can be expected?
· Assistants must expect temptations. Three obvious examples come to mind.
Pride. We quoted Jeremiah 45:5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. It is unclear exactly why Jeremiah spoke to Baruch as he did and what the great things are. No doubt having been so closely associated with the great prophet and reading his words to kings and princes it was tempting for Baruch to be proud. There is a temptation for an assistant to imagine that anything his teacher achieves is his achievement. I remember once hearing that a certain man had been Dr Lloyd-Jones assistant - suddenly he shot up in my estimation. However, it does not automatically follow that because a man has served as a great preacher's assistant he is a great preacher himself. Nothing will be gained by osmosis. Being appointed assistant pastor does not mean a man has 'arrived'. None of us has arrived - pastors, assistant pastors, people. We all need to humble ourselves daily.
Discouragement and fear. No doubt the reason Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas was because he was discouraged and fearful. Such emotions can come in very easily. We must all pray against them.
Coveting. Think of Gehazi for a moment who out of greed tried to get something by deceiving others. It is worth saying that although few assistants are paid much it may be more than they have had before. Such things must not steal their hearts. Again, we all need to take warning.
· Assistants either prove themselves or fail. What happened with Mark was a tragedy and it stands as a warning that there's no guarantee that everything's bound to work out fine. It may not. A work can suffer a real set back. On the other hand, think of those wonderful words in Php 2:22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself …. The best end is for a man to prove himself to be a preacher and pastor who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).
· People may disagree on their success. Of course, at the end of an assistantship there may be disagreement over how successful the exercise has been. If godly men like Paul and Barnabas could disagree so sharply on their opinion of a man it should not surprise us when such things happen to us. We pray against division but to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
· Failure here though undesirable is not the story's end. Perhaps we should make the point finally that failure in an assistantship is not necessarily an unmitigated disaster. John Mark's story convinces us that failure to live up to early promise does not mean an end to all future usefulness. John Mark went on, do not forget, not only to write his Gospel but also to be Paul's fellow-worker and comfort and one who was helpful to him.
· What follows an assistantship cannot be determined for certain. Lastly, note that though men like John Mark and Timothy certainly did go on to great things, as did Joshua and Elijah, with Erastus and Baruch we know almost nothing about what happened subsequently. In everything, we are in God's hands. He does as he pleases. We must not forget that.
· Assistants must expect temptations. Three obvious examples come to mind.
Pride. We quoted Jeremiah 45:5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. It is unclear exactly why Jeremiah spoke to Baruch as he did and what the great things are. No doubt having been so closely associated with the great prophet and reading his words to kings and princes it was tempting for Baruch to be proud. There is a temptation for an assistant to imagine that anything his teacher achieves is his achievement. I remember once hearing that a certain man had been Dr Lloyd-Jones assistant - suddenly he shot up in my estimation. However, it does not automatically follow that because a man has served as a great preacher's assistant he is a great preacher himself. Nothing will be gained by osmosis. Being appointed assistant pastor does not mean a man has 'arrived'. None of us has arrived - pastors, assistant pastors, people. We all need to humble ourselves daily.
Discouragement and fear. No doubt the reason Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas was because he was discouraged and fearful. Such emotions can come in very easily. We must all pray against them.
Coveting. Think of Gehazi for a moment who out of greed tried to get something by deceiving others. It is worth saying that although few assistants are paid much it may be more than they have had before. Such things must not steal their hearts. Again, we all need to take warning.
· Assistants either prove themselves or fail. What happened with Mark was a tragedy and it stands as a warning that there's no guarantee that everything's bound to work out fine. It may not. A work can suffer a real set back. On the other hand, think of those wonderful words in Php 2:22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself …. The best end is for a man to prove himself to be a preacher and pastor who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).
· People may disagree on their success. Of course, at the end of an assistantship there may be disagreement over how successful the exercise has been. If godly men like Paul and Barnabas could disagree so sharply on their opinion of a man it should not surprise us when such things happen to us. We pray against division but to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
· Failure here though undesirable is not the story's end. Perhaps we should make the point finally that failure in an assistantship is not necessarily an unmitigated disaster. John Mark's story convinces us that failure to live up to early promise does not mean an end to all future usefulness. John Mark went on, do not forget, not only to write his Gospel but also to be Paul's fellow-worker and comfort and one who was helpful to him.
· What follows an assistantship cannot be determined for certain. Lastly, note that though men like John Mark and Timothy certainly did go on to great things, as did Joshua and Elijah, with Erastus and Baruch we know almost nothing about what happened subsequently. In everything, we are in God's hands. He does as he pleases. We must not forget that.
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