Acts 12:25; 13:1-5 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. Now 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. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
The Antioch church was functioning as the body of Christ on earth. The many parts of the body: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, speakers of tongues and interpreters were known to all in this community of believers. In the above focus we see five leaders fasting and praying for the guidance of the Spirit in their community and in the world. What will happen through their worshipping of God, seeking his direction in their lives and in others, will far exceed their imaginations. These five men could not realistically envision that the results of their prayers would impact the world to the point that billions would know Christ and accept him as their savior. This work that God had for Barnabas and Paul would open the Gentile world to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. When the Holy Spirit said, to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them, they could only know that God meant for Paul and Barnabas to spread the Good News to other communities. But as we see subsequently in Paul’s ministry to a variety of communities, the mystery of God from the beginning of time was being revealed to mankind. The reason for the creation of mankind was to make children of the living God. To be God’s children they must have the experience of what it is like to be in bondage to slavery, to not know God because of the darkness of their souls, and then to be released from this darkness through the works of the Son of God on the cross. They must accept this work of Christ by faith, a substance that has no limits. Belief might have boundaries, but faith has no boundaries that limit it. As reflected by Job’s life, he declared: Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him, (Job 13:15) Job would put his trust in God no matter what circumstance he faced in his life. The mystery of being born again through faith in the works of Jesus Christ will be offered to all people. Paul and Barnabas were set apart to reveal this Good News to people. As they traveled through the Greek world, God accompanied them with power and authority. They spoke the Good News of eternal life IN CHRIST everywhere they went, even under the threat of death, they expounded the purpose of God to save people from their finiteness, to give them eternal life in and through Christ. Many of the Gentiles received this word gladly; others rose up in opposition to the Good News. For them the Good News represented folly, disrupting their lives and their communities’ lives, destroying the structure of their societal norms, built around worshipping gods made out of their own imaginations. But Paul’s revelation of God’s mystery to bring children into his existence was paramount in his ministry. It was his purpose on earth. I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:8-9)
What grace has been given to you dear friends around his breakfast table? What is your purpose in life? The people in Antioch prayed and fasted, opening up their hearts and lives to God’s purpose in this world As born-again people, they desired to follow God passionately. We see the church of Antioch operating within the will of the Spirit of God. For them this world was not their home anymore: they knew they were just moving through. Eating, drinking, socializing, and working were not the primary purposes of their lives. As with Paul and Barnabas, they had a purpose for their lives, one intricately planned out for them to fulfill. They no longer lived as slaves to the devil’s will. They were living new lives, in a new kingdom, not in the sin of the camp of slaves. But as Christians in this time, are we so entangled with the affairs of life that we have no time for God, for the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives? No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (2 Timothy 2:4-7) Are we in this world soldiers under command or are we living a civilian life, designed for our fleshly desires? Are we the athlete in training or are we freewheeling it through life, little Bible reading, no prayer, no meditation on God? Are we the farmer whose efforts have produced many lives for God or are we unconcerned about bringing the salvation message to others? Where is our foundation laid, on ephemeral sand or on the eternal Rock of God? We cannot deceive God; He knows the reality of our lives. The believers in the Antioch church knew their primary purpose for living was to exercise the gifts of God within their community. They were not nonchalant about life; they had a purpose for living, not just eat, drink and be merry and then tomorrow die, facing a Creator with an empty life. Can we say the Father’s will is primarily our will? What is the Father’s will? My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:40) Do we want everyone to know Jesus or is this kind of life passe, old-fashioned in our day of electronics, computers that can work independently of human involvement? Of course, Christ is real for us believers. God is on the throne regardless of the nature of our society, of the world’s involvement in living finite, purposeless lives. We have an eternal purpose for our lives. As Christians we will serve God and not ourselves. We will wear the stripes of Jesus on our backs, not the logos of this world. Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53)
After the Antioch believers knew the will of God for Paul and Barnabas, they sent them out. They did not wait around, thinking whether they should or should not obey what the Spirit of God was inspiring them to do: after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. God’s will was to send two of the people in their group out into a dangerous world, one that would include persecution, threats of death and deprivation. The believers in Antioch knew they were serving God’s will in this action. Paul and Barnabas were sent out as Jesus was sent out into the world. As Jesus, they would have no permanent place to lay their heads; they would have to trust God for the provisions they would need: food, clothing, housing. Paul related that often he had no place to lay his head, that many times he had little food, and sometimes his clothing was inadequate to keep him warm. But he would serve God regardless of the vicissitudes of life. While belief will often be based on circumstances; faith will serve God regardless. Sometimes Christianity has been discarded by people because of difficult circumstances in their lives, but faith in Christ’s work will hold steady, for we know Christ also suffered. God’s love for Paul and Barnabas sometimes did not correspond to the circumstances in their lives in the flesh. Sometimes the abundant life promised to them was not a reality in their pursuit of God’s will in their lives. Nevertheless, they knew they were living abundant life, for they possessed eternal life in their souls, and what is more abundant than that? John said emphatically about this life, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17) Sometimes we wrap God’s goodness and kindness to us around how we feel the world is treating us, our love for the world and its good things is much in us. If we have rough weather in our lives or if our lives seem to be going nowhere, we feel God has abandoned us. But the I AM has never abandoned us. The I AM went with Moses into the land of Egypt. The I AM does not abandon you, even when you face your enemies. The Old Testament is full of this testimony. The I AM is the I AM WITH YOU, even in exile. His enduring love is so often extolled in the Old Testament. Paul and Barnabas knew the God of faithfulness and the eternal love of God. The struggles of life were not going to deter them from serving God. As with Abraham they knew the voice of God, and they would serve him with an enduring faith in that voice. As in Abraham’s life, the voice of God was so important to Paul and Barnabas that they felt no sacrifice was too great for them. They would lay their lives on the altar, as Abraham did when he tied Issac to the altar. The love of God compels people to give their lives to an eternal God. Therefore, when they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They would proclaim the word of God without counting the cost. Moses, the prophets, Jesus, all declared the word of God regardless of the cost. Are we there my friends? Or are we engaged in the cares of this world, living fruitless, empty lives, full of loving the world, never involved with the task of serving God. Is your gift in the body of Christ on a shelf somewhere, maybe placed there because of circumstances in your life or sadly because the love of this world is too much in you. Breakfast friends, sensitize your ears to the voice of God. If you do so, your involvement in propagating the Good News will be on your lips and in your actions. Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28 KJV)
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