Acts 12:25-13:3 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. 1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Barnabas and Saul have been south in Jerusalem, in order to hand over the famine relief money contributed by the church of Antioch. After they had finished their mission, they returned to Antioch, bringing with them John Mark. Saul and Barnabas first went to Antioch, in the church for a year, instructing a large number of the people - it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians". - Cultural and ethnic diversity of Antioch: The teachers and prophets of Antioch are an interesting mixture. They show what an interracial, cross-cultural church had grown up in that metropolitan city which from this point on became the headquarters of missionary Christianity. The Lord had called into the fellowship and into leadership positions people from several nations. A fellowship from the then-known world could be led to the decision of wanting to reach the world. This could never have happened in the Jerusalem church. The Lord knew what He was doing! Note the magnificent mixture: Barnabas, who had the rich background of the infant church in Jerusalem from Pentecost or shortly thereafter; Simeon, also called Niger, a Latin name showing two strong cultures in one person; Lucius of Cyrene, also a Latin name, clearly identified as coming from North Africa; Manaen, who had been raised in the court of Herod the tetrarch (that is, the court of Herod Antipas, father of Agrippa); and Saul, the converted Pharisee. It was a world fellowship to start a world movement. Even Mark, brought from Jerusalem, would add his own contribution later. As the Lord had gotten those men ready for world mission, so too, He would use the failures and difficulties such as Mark would face to get him ready to write the first Gospel. The prophets and teachers of the Antioch church were led by the Spirit to separate Paul and Barnabas for a work to which they already had been called by the same Spirit. After further fasting and prayer, Barnabas and Saul were commissioned and released for their new service. Their colleagues laid hands on them, and sent them away with their blessing and goodwill. Since both men had been labouring for years in the Lord's work, the laying on of hands was not for the purpose of ordination, much less to bestow the Spirit, but rather to release them into Christ's service and to signify that the whole group was going with them in spirit, committed to interceding for them and standing in solidarity with them. Profile of Saul and Barnabas Barnabas: (one of the first to sell his possessions to help the Christians in Jerusalem). owned and sold a piece of land gave money to apostle son of encouragement (Joseph, a levite from Cyprus) When Saul went to Jerusalem, tried to join the disciples, they were afraid of him. Barnabas took charge of him and spoke on his behalf. Saul: 1. Trained as a Pharisee; Entirely approved of killing of Stephen 2. Worked for the total destruction of the Church 3. He went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison 4. Breathing threats to slaughter the Lord's disciples 5. Converted 6. Threw people into confusion by how he demonstrated Jesus was the Christ. 7. Plotted against - disciples of Jesus saved him The two had an inner call which the church recognized by releasing them to the task. It was not the idea of the church. The responsibility of the church was to recognize what the Spirit had accomplished in creating the desire and clarifying the direction. Both Barnabas and Saul were not extremely outstanding men to begin with. Yet the degree in which these men were ready to defend and share the gospel reveals the intensity of their faith. Saul's personal encounter with the Lord forever changed his profile, forever changed the way he viewed life and the way he carried out his duties. For him, 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Situations and difficult circumstances can either draw people closer to, and further away from God. Both Saul and Barnabas were sure of the call and God's purpose in their lives. But the nature of the work to which the Holy Spirit had called Barnabas and Saul was not specified. It was not unlike the call of Abram. To him God had said, "Go to the land I will show you". To the church in Antioch, God said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them". Both cases the call to go was clear, while the land and work were not. So in both cases the response to God's call required a measure of faith. The process of discovering the will of the Lord in our own lives does not happen overnight. For Peter, Andrew, James, John and Paul, God gave very little details about their assignments. He basically says, "Just follow me and I will show you". What He wants of us is this: Matthew 6:33-34 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. The New Testament urges us to walk as Jesus walked. The guiding principal of Jesus' entire life and ministry was to do the will of His Father. He never moved until His Father told Him to, and when He did move, neither the threats of His enemies nor the pleadings of His friends could stop Him from doing what His Father required of Him. His daily food was to fulfill His Father's Will (John 4:34). As men crave for food to nourish their bodies, He craved to do the Will of the One who sent Him. Elements needed for finding and carrying out God's will: Paul exhorts the Ephesians (2:10, 5:17) not to be foolish but to understand what the will of God was for their lives. Faith - Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Wait on Him - Isa 64:44 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (eg: glass of murky water) Sometimes our perplexity is so great that it seems no guidance will ever come. For such times, Psalm 130:6 the psalmist has a precious message in his word about the night-watchers. Sometimes we wait in darkness, and the darkness seems to last a long, long time. Then the first faint streaks of dawn starts to come, yet so slowly! Yet, when it does come, even though very slowly, brings light and blessing without measure. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. The Church was not hasty in their decision to send Barnabas and Saul off to the ends of the earth. But this was done with careful waiting on the Lord, through worship and fasting. Obedience: The outward expression of love of God. Jesus said in John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command." James, in his letter to the believers, went to great lengths to indicate that faith that does not obey in actions is dead, or has no life. When the disciples obeyed Jesus, they saw and experienced God's mighty power working in and around them. Christians often become frustrated when their Christian service does not seem to be productive. STORY: Awakened by a noise, JOHN opens his eyes and looks around the room. At first, the rugged mountain man is terrified. Slowly, his terror turns to awe and wonder. His cabin is filled with a bright light and the unmistakable presence of God. Suddenly, a voice (which appears to be coming from every corner of the room) is addressing him. It is God speaking. God tells JOHN He has a job for him. Out in front of JOHN's cabin is a very large rock and God tells JOHN He wants him to push against it with all of his might. JOHN is to push against the rock from sunup to sundown. God tells JOHN this is his job until He visits him again. The next morning, JOHN gets up and obediently sets his shoulder against the cold massive rock and pushes with all of his might. Day after day JOHN obediently goes out to the rock and does what he was told. Night after night JOHN returns home exhausted and sore. As the years press on, JOHN begins to feel he is wasting his time. Discouragement begins to set in. Seeing that JOHN is showing signs of discouragement, Satan places thoughts in the weary man's mind. Satan says, "You have been pushing against this rock for years and it hasn't budged a bit. Why are you killing yourself over this? You know you will never be able to move this massive boulder. And, even if you did, so what! What would you really have accomplished? If you think about it, moving a rock from one spot to another isn't really important." These thoughts discouraged and disheartened JOHN. He thinks to himself, "Why should I kill myself over this? This rock isn't going to know the difference. I'll still come out and push, but I just won't push with all of my might." After a couple days of halfhearted effort, JOHN feels convicted of his disobedience. Falling on his knees, JOHN begins to pray. He says, "God, I have been obedient to you all of these years and I haven't accomplished a thing. I haven't been able to budge the rock at all; it is still in the same spot that it was when you first came to me 20 years ago. What is wrong? Why am I failing? I admit, I really didn't know what to expect when you first gave me my mission, but I figured after 20 years I would have something to show for my effort. I thought it would eventually become obvious to me why you asked me to perform this task." God responded compassionately, "JOHN, when I asked you to serve, you served. The only task I gave you was to push against the rock. I never asked you to move it. I asked you to push against the rock with all of your might and you were obedient. I didn't want the rock moved; I only wanted your obedience. Your calling was to be obedient to me and trust in my wisdom." We can learn from JOHN's experience. As Christians, we often think we must accomplish "great things" in order to be successful in our Christian service. We have this mental image of what a good Christian does and we feel bad if we don't measure up to this expectation. We should never assume God is seeking spectacular performances or "great accomplishments." We are to carefully listen to God and obediently follow His instructions. Above everything else, God desires obedience. If the task He gives you is to turn the world upside down, be obedient. If the task He gives you is an "unimportant" job (such as pushing against a rock), be obedient. Instead of being concerned about being "successful," we should be concerned about being obedient. Sometimes we want God to give us assignments and specific tasks and ministries. We vow to do whatever He asks. But suppose when God observes the little facets of our lives, will He then notice that we have not obeyed in the things He already has told us to do? God gave the Ten Commandments. Are we obeying? Jesus has told us to love our enemies. Are we able to do that? Jesus ordered the church to make disciples of all the nations. Are we doing all we know to obey Him? God's commands are not given so we can pick and choose the ones we want to obey and forget the rest. Saul and Barnabas did not choose the cities they wanted to go and leave the rest on purpose. Yet, out of their love relationship with Jesus and God, they obeyed. Obedience, however, is costly to us and to those around us. At this very point, "Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" John 6:66. Obedience to God and following His ways will require adjustments in our plans and directions. For Saul, the adjustment was costly. It even put his life at risk with the Jews. It may even lead to misunderstanding and opposition. Because of his obedience, Paul suffered much for the cause of Christ. The list of beatings, imprisonments, and danger could have turned him away, but even then Paul could still say, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Galatians 6:17). The Lord prepares us for the strategic opportunities each of us has. This is irregardless of work, at home, in our social circles. The way God led another person may never be the way He wishes to lead you. The broad principles are the same for all believers, but the exact mode varies from individual to individual. You will only be confused if you seek for the same type of guidance you heard someone else describe in his testimony. Leave it to God how He should guide you. Let your concern be, that you might always be available to Him, to do whatever He desires. He will make it His concern to ensure that you are made aware of His will, and that you are strengthened to fulfill it. Becoming a person of prayer will require a major adjustment of our life to God. Prayer will always be a part of the obedience. It is in a prayer relationship that God gives further direction, or any direction at all.

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