Open to the Spirit’s Leading

Acts 13:1–3 KJV (WS)

1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Introduction

Are there things that you wish were different in your life?

Can you look a year ahead and say, this time next year, I would like to…

What about your service to God?

Are you satisfied with your effectiveness in God’s harvest?

Or, would there be things that you would say, this time next year, I would like to be…

In our passage this morning we see how two faithful servants were invited into a greater degree of usefulness by the Spirit.

Along the way, we will see how we can increase in our service as well.

God uses prepared people to accomplish his mission.

Explain:

The focus of this passage is centered around a specific group of people that were in the church at Antioch.

The specific group we are introduced to is a group of men identified as prophets and teachers in verse 1.

A prophet is one who relays a message from God.

A teacher is an instructor

Some of these men may have been more skilled in one approach or the other.

The point of identifying them this way is to show that these men were not new to teaching or declaring God’s message.

They were already doing these things in their church.

Illustrate:

When Jimmy Doolittle suggested that he could take off in a B-25 in order to attack the Japanese mainland, he didn’t load up his bombers onto the Hornet and just give it a shot.

Instead he took his men and practiced and practiced taking off from a short runway.

This way, on April 18, 1942, his men were prepared to do what no one had attempted to do before.

God can use anybody, but he often calls those who are prepared to do what he is asking them to do.

Argue:

You are the same way.

If you are going to hire someone to do a technical job, you probably want someone that has prepared for that job.

If you are going to have a surgery, you want someone to perform the surgery that is prepared to do it.

If a person doesn’t care enough about something to prepare for it, then they are probably not serious.

Apply:

It’s one thing to say you want God to use your life.

It’s another thing to start preparing while you wait for God to open doors.

If your a teenager, you have a great opportunity.

You can enroll as a high-schooler to take a Bible class or two from a Christian college.

When you graduate you could go to Bible college for just a year before you start training for your career.

You could decide now to attend LIGHT camp next year and be trained to serve as a counselor at camp.

I challenge you to be faithful to youth group and to reading your Bible.

If you are an adult, you are not past the age of preparing.

I have three different men mention a desire to take some classes on the Bible to increase their knowledge of God.

That is not a decision that I think any Christian would regret.

God uses those who are prepared to be used.

If God wants to use someone’s life, how do they find out about this?

How can we stay informed about God’s will for our lives?

God speaks when his people are listening.

Explain:

In verse 2, we see that the leaders of the church at Antioch were in the midst of ministering and fasting when the Holy Spirit spoke to them.

I think we are all pretty accustomed to the word “minister” and it’s meaning; they were serving in their church.

We are not as familiar with the discipline of fasting.

Fasting is something that confirms our utter dependence on the Lord.

This is expressed through a voluntary abstinence of a substance, usually food, for a given time.

There is a balance in this picture that we need to understand.

Ministry is easily something that we can try do in our own strength.

Fasting is not.

Fasting is meant to reveal to us our own weakness and dependence on God.

Fasting goes against our flesh.

Fasting is a message to ourselves and to God that we need Him.

Many think that it’s a way to make God hear us, but really it’s the opposit.

Fasting is letting god know that we want o hear Him.

In this passage God speaks when his people are listening.

Illustrate:

Have you noticed how many people walk around with headphones in their ears?

Are you more or less likely to talk to someone that headphones in?

Sometimes people even leave the headphones in when you talk to them.

It’s like they don’t even want to hear what you are saying.

But, when they take the headphones out, you know they are interested in hearing what you have to say.

Fasting is like taking the headphones off.

Argue:

Whether you are in the ministry or not, you need God’s direction in your life.

In what part of your life are you ready to stand up and tell God, I don’t need you?

How would you react if someone actually did that?

We would be shocked.

How often do we do just that through our unwillingness to listen to God?

Apply:

You need to take the spiritual headphones off today and let God speak to you.

You may need to consider partaking in a fast,

Not to make God do what you want him to do, but to show god you are ready to do what he wants you to do.

The people at the church in Antioch were listening for God’s voice.

When he spake, they were ready.

God is alive and active, so if we’re going to listen, we should expect to hear something.

Like we see in this passage.

The Holy Spirit issues personal and specific callings.

Explain:

In the second part of vs 2, the Holy Spirit calls out Barnabas and Saul by name.

He calls out the most senior and the most junior of the leaders in Antioch.

God has a specific work for them to accomplish.

If you follow Saul’s trajectory from antagonist of the gospel to preacher of the gospel, you should already have an idea what this work is going to be.

God had this to say to Ananias regarding Saul in Acts 9:15 “15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:”

This is what they had been doing in Antioch already.

They were prepared for this work.

They were already active in bearing the name of Christ to their community.

Which is what Jesus had commanded his followers to do in Acts 1:8 “8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Their obedience to the general commands of God resulted in a specific commission for their lives.

Illustrate:

It’s kind of like how things work at your job.

There is a base level of expectations for all employees.

Some employees meet those expectations, others don’t.

Let’s imagine that your business has an opportunity to expand.

The management team gets together and asks the question, “who do we trust to replicate what’s going on here at the new location?”

It’s not going to be the employees who won’t meet the basic expectations of the job.

It’s going to the be the one’s who are doing the job and doing it well.

Now, maybe a job isn’t the right illustration to use.

We’ve all been there where it feels like no one recognizes our contribution.

Argue:

God knows your contribution.

He sees you specifically.

He knows how much or how little you have invested in his harvest where you are currently tasked.

Make no mistake, you are God’s child, but you are also his servant, you are his steward.

He rewards wise and faithful servants with more responsibility and opportunity.

You can’t hide from the eyes of the Lord.

When the time is right God knows how to call your name specifically to the work that he has prepared for you.

Apply:

Can you trust God to see and reward your investment in his harvest?

God can be trusted; He knows you specifically.

He is specifically interested in you and your future.

When He works in the life of His faithful servant, it is undeniable for those around him.

The church confirms and commissions the called.

Explain:

The church responded to God’s direction by entering into a conversation with the Lord.

We’ve already talked about the purpose of fasting.

We know that prayer is our communication to God.

The church believed that God would hear and answer them regarding this direction.

When they were convinced of God’s work, they responded by laying hands upon their brothers.

This is a sign of agreement with God by the church.

They are authorizing these men to represent the church to the world.

They are confirming their agreement with God’s direction.

This is an expression of submission to the church by Barnabas and Saul.

They didn’t act like rogues.

They waited for the church’s commissioning before heading out.

Illustrate:

The commissioning of a pastor or missionary is kind of like the tradition of a man asking for his potential father-in-law’s blessing to marry his daughter.

Could two adults just decide to get married regardless of anyone else’s opinion?

What a sad situation that would be.

I know there are circumstances where this is not feasible.

Let’s just assume that both parties are believers.

The families are believers.

But the potential bride and groom say, “we have peace about it…this is God’s will for us…we don’t need anyone’s permission.”

It shows a disregard for the authorities in your life.

That would have been the case if Barnabas and Saul had not waited for their church’s blessing on this new direction for their lives.

Argue:

If you are making a life changing decision, are you doing that because you believe God let you to it or not?

If God let you know this was what he wanted you to do, do you think he is capable of making it obvious to other people too?

Apply:

Be careful about making a decision that you feel like you have to conceal for your faith community.

It may be that God isn’t working at all.

No matter how much you try to blame God, sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Besides, if you leave the right way, it’s such a better experience.

God sends his servants out with divine authority and provision.

Explain:

The greek word for “sent” is easily recognizable to us, it’s the greek word for apostle or sent one.

Barnabas and Saul leave the church as authorized, commissioned, and celebrated representatives of the church and the gospel.

They were prepared, called, and confirmed in the church at Antioch.

Their departure was not motivated by anything fleshly or sinful.

It was a move of the spirit in the midst of the church.

So, rather than feeling like a betrayal or an amputation, it was a natural step in the life of a mature church.

Illustrate:

A church sending away prepared, called servants is very similar to a parent-child relationship.

When a baby is born, you expect that child to grow and develop over the years so that eventually they will go out and start their own family.

Argue:

God intends for churches to birth other churches.

This is accomplished by sending out prepared, called, and commissioned servants.

Apply:

I pray that God will make our church a sending church.

I pray that God will call our young people or our families to serve as ministers around the world.

Could the Holy Spirit be calling you today to follow Him into a work that he has prepared for you?

Will you follow him?

Conclusion

Visualization

Can you picture your life being used by God to reach more people with the gospel?

Is that something you want?

It doesn’t always mean full-time service, though that would be great.

We should all desire an opportunity to be more useful in God’s mission.

Reiteration

God calls the prepared who are listening for his voice.

It is a blessing to a church to be able to commission and send out laborers into the harvest.

Action

Are you preparing for what God might have in store for you?

Are you listening for his voice of direction?

Appeal

There is a great need for more servants that will engage with the open doors for ministry.

Will you prepare and listen for the Holy Spirit’s call in your life?