Life, Everlasting, Part IV – The Work of the Holy Spirit, Part B.
ACTS 13:1-4
13:1 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. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
Last week as sort of a prelude to this message, we discussed the importance of being cleansed before we begin any good work for the Lord. And, we used 2nd Timothy 2:21 to support that:
If a man cleanses himself …useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
After we are cleansed and made useful for the Master, and are prepared to do any good work for Him, to where should we turn our attention? What is it that we should now concentrate on if we are to do what is right for God? What can we attend to in our own lives if we are to receive God’s blessing on the work that we are to do for Him?
First and foremost, we need to ensure that we stand in a right relation to the Holy Spirit. We need to ensure that we give Him the place of honor that belongs to Him. We have to realize that the Holy Spirit is the director of the work of God upon this earth. As a matter of fact,
Gregory of Nazianzus.
The deity of the Holy Spirit ought to be clearly recognized in Scripture. Look at these facts: Christ is born; the Spirit is His forerunner. Christ is baptized; the Spirit bears witness. Christ is tempted; the Spirit leads Him up. Christ ascends; the Spirit takes His place. What great things are there in the character of God which are not found in the Spirit? What titles which belong to God are not also applied to Him? He is called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the mind of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of adoption, of truth, of liberty; the Spirit of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, of godliness, of the fear of God. This only begins to show how unlimited He is.
Now, ask yourself this question. Do you have a relationship with Him? In our public and private lives, does He have first place? In our worship and praise, is He depended on to lead guide us?
When we have finally came to that point where we are an empty and clean vessel ready for the Master’s use, we must hesitate and ask ourselves that question: “What is my relation to the Spirit of God?” “What place does He have in my life?” “Do I depend upon Him to show the way?”
Elizabeth Elliot, A Slow and Certain Light.
Elizabeth Elliot tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians. She writes: "Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me -- confident and, we think, well-informed and well equipped. But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?
She suggests that we often ask God for too little. We know what we need--a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way. What we really ought to have is the Guide himself. Maps, road signs, a few useful phrases are things, but infinitely better is someone who has been there before and knows the way.
In our scripture passages before us, we have several thoughts that are suggested:
God Works His Own Plan
God Reveals His Own Plan
((Next Week))
We must ALWAYS be PREPARING
We must ALWAYS be LISTENING
We must ALWAYS be WILLING
((Three Weeks))
Wonderful Blessing
God Works His Own Plan
God has His own divine plan that He is working through man for His own good purpose. He established that church at Antioch. He brought those ‘certain prophets and teachers’ and placed them in that church in Antioch. He had already scripted plans for the church and the people, and for any evangelistic efforts beyond that. They were His plans; they were not Barnabas’ plans or Paul’s plans, but God’s plan for Asia with regard to His Kingdom.
Every campaign, every effort at Antioch was organized by our great commander-in-chief. They received His orders and His messages. They were clear, concise and in a timely manner. How about today? Can the church today, as a whole, say the same thing? Can we say without hesitation that the church of God on earth today consistently receives clear, concise and timely communications concerning God’s plans? And, if the answer is what I think it is, then what is the reason?
I think the main reason is because the church today makes the plan first and then asks God to bless it. A lot of times we may be worried that God won’t okay our plan. We may be worried that He’ll take too long, or He’ll use someone else instead of us, so we go on ahead without His direction.
We have to remember that the Spirit of God is the director of God’s work upon the earth. He is not the associate director, nor is He simply to be relied upon sometimes, like an advisor. God has a plan for this church, for your family, for your life, and the Spirit of God is the one that will work it through you.
Sometimes you don’t get the whole picture. Sometimes you only get that small piece of the puzzle. But, rest assured, God sees the whole. He sees the big picture and we have to trust Him in knowing where exactly we will fit into the plan.
Several years ago, they began construction of the new International Christian School. When I first visited the plot of land where they were going to build the school, all I saw was rock, grass, trash, and junk. We gathered together as a group and prayed over the land. We weren’t asking for the big picture, but what we could do individually to further the work, the plan of the Lord in regard to His Kingdom. We were praying for the laying of a foundation of a building that only God alone knew what it would become.
Sophie Yu, before she went to China, and I were very fortunate to be in the early planning process of the ICS building. We were able to have our own copies of the plans. We were able to look at the dimensions, the stairs, the doors, the wiring, and the plumbing, and this began to give us a bigger picture of what the building would look like when it was completed. But, unlike God, we still had to see the finished product to know what it was really going to look like.
God has His workers, and God has His plan. God has His workers for His plan, and rest assured that all the steps are clearly and precisely worked out. What do we need to do? We only need to be faithful in obedience to carrying out His orders.
Those travelers that stopped and only received a small bit of information from Elisabeth Elliot simply didn’t ask for any more. Why? Because they thought they knew what they needed. Too often we think we know what we need, so we don’t ask. Too often we are so full of ourselves or that God is too busy so we go about making a plan. Then after we’ve constructed the plan and got it underway, then we pause and have a word of silence as we ask God to bless the plan.
Before any plan is thought of, before any steps are taken, before any diagrams are drawn or mapped out, we should instead refuse to go forward until He goes before us.
Again, God has His workers and His plans. Those plans are clearly mapped out, and we, His workers, simply need to be faithful in obeying His plan for our church, our families, our jobs, and our lives.
The Holy Spirit is the director of God’s workers and God’s plans. Our position is to cleanse ourselves for the Master’s use, and simply wait until we are told what to do
The Spirit said,
"…the work to which I have called them."
Where in that sentence do we see any individual thought or individual planning on our part? That’s right, there isn’t any!
God Reveals His Own Plan
The Holy Spirit spoke to the men at Antioch. The Holy Spirit revealed that a plan was to be followed. Communication came directly from God that Barnabas and Saul [Paul] were to be set apart for a work that God had for them.
Before we go any further, there is one thing that we must understand…It was God’s will for those men at Antioch, and it was God’s plan for those men at Antioch. It wasn’t any human effort.
Now, we can ask the question…Does communication still come from God? Do men and women today still receive communications from God? Well, when you look at the number of pastors that are leaving the ministry, apparently they would tell you no! Depending on which poll or survey you want to believe, approximately 1,000 pastors or paid ministerial workers are leaving the church monthly to find work somewhere else! I suppose it could safely be said that the majority of those that are leaving the church for employment elsewhere are leaving because they haven’t been following God’s plan for their lives. If they had, they may not have entered the church work force; they may not have taken that position. But people want more and expect more, and when people want more and expect more, then the people they serve will want more and expect more, and it’s like a dog chasing its tail. It goes round and round until something breaks, and “they grow wearing of doing good.”
Every work should be started and finished in God. So many times we either start without God and then are forced to have Him save us from ourselves, or, we start with God and then try to finish it ourselves. This is exactly what Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Galatians…
Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Interim Summary:
It’s good to be involved. It’s good to be in attendance at as many church events as possible. It’s good to hang out with Christians and have prayer parties and Bible studies. Yet, all of that, every bit of it, must begin in the Spirit and end in the Spirit. It must begin in the Spirit for not only those that plan it, teach it, or lead it, but it must also begin in the Spirit for those that are affected by the plan, or are a student of the teacher, or a disciple of the leader. It must begin in the Spirit for the one that offers the class, and it must begin in the Spirit for the one that chooses to take that class. It must begin in the Spirit for the one that chooses to undertake a ministry, and it must end in the Spirit.
It is so easy for even a mature Christian to become over-extended. Why? Because we’re human! We simply want to be involved, or we simply want to be included in the group. Maybe it’s because we want to fit in. maybe it’s because we’re afraid that we’ll miss something.
And, then again, maybe it’s because we didn’t begin in the Spirit, or if we did, we’re trying to attain the goal by human effort.
That’s not part of God’s plan for your life. You know what? He may want you back at your house on your knees in prayer for that very group that you are trying to participate in…You see, God Works His Own Plans and, God Reveals His Own Plans…They are His plans for your life. It is HIS will for YOUR life.
Begin in the Spirit and end in the Spirit…
