Good Morning Friends,
“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. 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.’ So after they had fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:1-3)
In the church at Antioch, Barnabas and Saul
were the primary leaders. Barnabas had been sent to Antioch by the apostles to
teach the new Christians there more fully. When the work became too much for
Barnabas to handle alone, he found Saul and brought him to Antioch to help with
the teaching. The church grew and matured and additional men took on the
responsibility of helping with the teaching. But even though there were
additional men involved in the teaching, Barnabas and Saul had to still be the
ones to whom the church looked to for leadership.
Then, the Holy Spirit asked that Barnabas and
Saul be sent out to preach the good news to others. That would have been a
difficult thing for the church at Antioch to do. They loved Barnabas and Saul
and I’m sure they were convinced that they needed them. They had been the vessels
God had used to bring many of them to faith in Jesus Christ and the teachers
responsible for their spiritual growth. Perhaps they argued with God about who
they should send out to preach to others. There were five teachers in the
church, wouldn’t two of the other teachers be acceptable to God and allow them
to keep Barnabas and Saul?
What God asked from the church at Antioch was
for them to give their very best to the work of spreading the gospel around the
world -- to the work of missions. That’s how important the work of missions was
to God. And it is still that important to Him today! It is God’s will and His
plan to send people around the world to share the good news. And God doesn’t
just want to send anyone -- He wants to send His very best.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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