Life, Everlasting, Part IV – The Work of the Holy Spirit, Part C.
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.
In our last message we talked about:
God Works His Own Plan
God Reveals His Own Plan
Yet that doesn’t release us from certain responsibilities that we as disciples of the Lord have.
We must ALWAYS be PREPARING
We must ALWAYS be LISTENING
We must ALWAYS be WILLING
We must ALWAYS be PREPARING
“While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting.”
Do you see the attitude that they have here? By attitude I mean their susceptibility, attentiveness, and sensitivity to the Spirit. Now before we go any further, I’d just like to say that for various reasons, God has not provided a particular formula with which to obtain answers, miracles and guidance. Other than the outline for prayer that Jesus gives in the Lord ’s Prayer, there really isn’t a prescription or a cosmic set of blueprints that we can use. Why is that? Because (1), people would give up seeking the Lord in intense prayer and opt out for the simple method. And (2), because people would focus on just that method and traditionalize it and make some kind of religion out of ‘the way to talk to God and get answers quickly’ and the Bible would become a thing of the past.
Everyone is different and God comes to them through various means, methods, and sources in order to explain, lead, answer, or heal. But, there are some things that we can do, specifically, to prepare ourselves, not only to receive an answer or a direction from God, but to prepare ourselves for the answer. Meaning, to get right to work on what it is He would have us to do or to have our hearts always inclined to serve Him no matter the communication that we receive.
God is wants to extend your boundaries, to extend His love and influence through you.
Isaiah 54:2
"Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your pegs.”
The disciples of Jesus, through the Spirit, had enlarged the place of their tent and stretched out the curtains of their dwellings. They were not limiting themselves to just their workplace. If they had, the only Christians would be fishermen.
The disciples of Jesus, through the Spirit, were not limiting themselves to just their relatives, or their close friends, or even their age group. They were reaching out beyond the borders and boundaries of their own Christian groups and cliques to anyone that would listen and put their faith in Jesus Christ. And, because of that God was using them. Let me say that again…BECAUSE of that, their willingness to follow Him wherever He led them, God was using them. And, God had extended the church to Antioch, and He had tremendously and richly blessed the church. These men were part of that church, part of the body of Christ ministering in Antioch. What were they doing when they received the word from the Lord? They were worshipping the Lord.
They were preparing.
One thought that is always prevalent in any book on prayer is the proper attitude or proper heart condition of the one that is seeking the Lord. These men made it a practice to worship the Lord everywhere they went. In their hearts they had set apart Christ as Lord, and they were ready to give an answer to everyone who asked them the reason for the hope that they had. They prepared their hearts.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
In their hearts they had set apart Christ as Lord, and they were prepared to give an answer to anyone.
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
Not only were these men prepared to give their all on behalf of Jesus, but they were prepared to receive as well. Their hearts’ inclination was to the Lord and what He had for them. They knew that only the Spirit of God could lead them, and that is the inclination that burned in their hearts.
What else did they do? What else is prevalent in books on prayer? Fasting!
These men were worshiping the Lord and fasting. They were seeking the Lord. They had purposed in their hearts to separate themselves from the daily longings and urgings and seek out the Lord. He didn’t disappoint them, and He won’t disappoint you, either.
These men realized early on, that only by getting a group alone in prayer with one goal in mind, only by getting a group focused in prayer on one aim: ‘seeking the Lord,’ then the Lord would hear and answer their petitions with power.
We have to remember that it is only in hearts that are totally and entirely surrendered and entirely devoted to the Lord that the will of God will be made manifest.
We have to remember that it is only in hearts that are separating themselves from the world, hearts that are separating themselves from religious exercises, and giving themselves up to Him in prayer, that the will of God will be made manifest.
They knew if they were to be prepared to hear from the Lord that they needed to separate themselves from the world, to get alone, and offer intense prayer. When you prepare yourself for prayer, isn’t it sometimes good to get alone, in a secluded place where you get away from the noise of the traffic and focus on prayer? Isn’t it good to get away from the noise of the world and just seek the Lord? Jesus recommends that method:
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
And, while they were worshiping, while they were fasting, while they were seeking the Lord, the Spirit spoke to them. These men got their hearts right, first, through worship and fasting, then they made their supplications to the Lord; then they pleaded with the Lord.
Again, He didn’t disappoint them, He responded to their requests. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t it wonderful when you have prayer answered? Sure, you get the direction, you get the plan, you get the command or choice to make, but, what’s more exciting is that the very God of this universe, Who is so much more then you or I, decided to answer me, a worm. That’s how compassionate He is.
Preparedness is essential. As an example listen to this illustration from Our Daily Bread:
Several centuries ago, a Japanese emperor commissioned an artist to paint a bird. A number of months passed, then several years, and still no painting was brought to the palace. Finally the emperor became so exasperated that he went to the artist’s home to demand an explanation. Instead of making excuses, the artist placed a blank canvas on the easel. In less than an hour, he completed a painting that was to become a brilliant masterpiece. When the emperor asked the reason for the delay, the artist showed him armloads of drawings of feathers, wings, heads, and feet. Then he explained that all of this research and study had been necessary before he could complete the painting.
We must ALWAYS be LISTENING
These men were always preparing to receive a Word from the Lord. And, they were always listening. Their hearts’ condition was so inclined to the Lord, that were indeed prepared to lift up their prayers at any time of the day. And, their hearts’ condition was also so inclined to the Lord that they were always listening, or seeking any type of communication from the Lord, whether solicited or not. Just because we may be expecting the Lord to talk to us, doesn’t mean He won’t communicate with us about something else that we didn’t know about. This is called ‘being sensitive to the Lord’s leading.’ We go about our day in with our hearts an active listening mode.
Listening doesn’t just mean that we hear the noise that is going on around us without any discernment, that is sort of a passive listening mode. We’re not focusing on it. For example, you’re riding the bus and judging by your surroundings, you know your stop is still 10 stops away, so you don’t really listen to the bus stop announcements. You’re in a passive listening mode. Then, when you’re nearer to your stop, you begin to pay attention. You go into an active listening mode and you begin to notice whether any one has pressed the ‘stop at the next stop’ button.
That active form of listening can include not only hearing what is being said, but doing what is being given to us.
Here are some thoughts:
You’re sitting in your house all alone. Suppose that, you think you heard something outside. Up to that point you were in a passive listening mode to the sounds outside of your concentration. You get up from your chair and you quietly walk around, ‘ACTIVELY listening’ for the sound again, or the source of the sound you heard.
When you’re walking down the street, someone calls out your name, but many times it’s not until the second time that you hear them. You were not listening for your name. Instead you were listening to the general noise of the area, or you may have been listening to something else.
These men actively sought the Lord, and they actively listened for the Lord’s direction while they went about their daily lives. They were always preparing to hear the Word from the Lord. These men went into their prayer groups with the intention of hearing from the Lord. They put everything else aside and only focused on listening.
When you are in a conversation with the Lord, are you the one doing all the talking? Is all the input to the conversation coming from you? If so, think about the last time you went to a movie and someone was talking while you were trying to listen to the movie. Didn’t work very well, did it? Try to listen to listen to two radio stations at the same time…that’s what it’s like if you’re doing all the talking, when you need to be listening. Remember, your brain works four times faster than your mouth…so, sometimes it’s better to just be still before the Lord.
G. Campbell Morgan, pastor, said:
"Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given."
We must ALWAYS be WILLING
Two employees were chatting. "The boss wants a meeting today at 4:30." "Why does he always have to have them on Friday at 4:30?" "People tend to agree with him!"
Doesn’t that say a lot for our society? Many times we are willing only when it is convenient for us, or, our own success. Yet, for these Disciples of Christ, it wasn’t convenient for them to let their two best evangelists and teachers go on the road. They could have taken those two men, and put them up front in Sunday school. They could have used those men to fill the pulpit on alternating Sundays. They could have used them to pass out tracts at the local synagogue. But, that’s not what God wanted. God wanted them to go somewhere else. Sometimes we have to forego convenience. Sometimes we need to forego our own comfort in order that others who are less fortunate, can hear the Word of God.
These men were willing. They had worshiped and fasted in preparation to hear from the Lord. And, the Lord, knowing their willing hearts, heard their petition to lead them as He saw fit. They were surrendered to Him to use them as He needed, not according to their own comfort or their own convenience.
Summary:
“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.”
God has a specific direction for each one of us. He desires that you be set apart for the work that He has prepared for you. His directions are clear, concise and timely. They won’t lead you astray, and they won’t confuse you, like this illustration:
A brochure put out several years ago by the Durham, N.C., County Public Library explained the use of the card catalogue, acknowledging that this can be mystifying at times. The brochure told of one patron who, upon reading "See Main Entry" on a catalogue card, went out to the front steps of the library.
The one that sends the rain doesn’t want to confuse even those that lack the common sense to come out of that same rain. His desire is to grant you the desires of your heart. Incline your heart to Him in preparation. Listen for His direction, and be willing to take Him up on the adventure that He has planned for you.
