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| Acts 13:1-3 - The Holy Spirit gives Guidance |
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Jesus promised that He would not leave us on this journey alone. He promised us the help of the Holy Spirit. As we follow Jesus on this journey from earth to glory, the Holy Spirit will guide us along the way. It will take adventurous faith for us to move forward, but Christ followers do what God wants them to do instead of what they want to do.
Acts Chapter 13 marks another critical point for the early church. The central theme of the book of Acts is the Lord’s prophecy - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8 ESV). Up to this point, Luke records how the prophecy in Acts 1:8 is fulfilled as the Gospel is delivered in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Through the first twelve chapters of Acts, the focus has been on the Palestinian and Syrian mainland, but now the Gospel will be taken overseas and to the “end of the earth” and we will see Jesus’ prophecy and the theme of Acts being fulfilled.
Saul and Barnabas have been in Jerusalem delivering famine relief money contributed by the church of Antioch (Acts 11:30). Now that they completed that mission, they return to Antioch (Acts 12:25).
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of 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." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
(Acts 13:1-3 ESV)
The list of prophets and teachers in the Antioch church represent the ethnic and cultural diversity of Antioch. Barnabas was a Jew from Cyprus. There was Simeon, a Hebrew name, who was called Niger, a Roman name which indicates that he must have been active in the Roman spheres of influence. There was Lucius of Cyrene who was from North Africa. Manaen had political connections and was close to Herod Antipas the son of Herod the Great who had John the Baptist beheaded. Manaen was probably influenced by the preaching of John the Baptist and later became a Christ follower in Antioch. And lastly, there was Saul who came from Tarsus in Cilicia and was a trained Rabbi. These five Christ followers were the leaders of the church in Antioch and represent the ethnic and cultural diversity of the city.
Prophets are used by the Holy Spirit to bring edification, exhortation, comfort and encouragement. Teachers receive gifts from the Holy Spirit which enable them to teach the Word of God effectively. They instruct those who act on their faith and become followers of Jesus Christ. These gifts are given by God to equip the “saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-14). Luke does not tell us which ones of the five were prophets and which ones were teachers and if any ministered as both prophet and teacher, but Luke does tell us their names so that we would know the diverse makeup of the church.
Beloved, the church today should represent the ethnic and cultural diversity of the community. When the church is segregated, the community becomes segregated and this breeds an unhealthy environment that bares the fruit of injustice and all of the racial, gender, economic and health inequality that come with it.
Notice in this paragraph of Scripture that the Holy Spirit gave guidance when the church was mixing worship with fasting. The guidance was more than likely verbalized in accordance to the gifts of the Spirit outlined in 1 Corinthians 12. After the guidance came, the church mixed prayer with fasting as they sought confirmation of the verbal utterance. The commonality in both the deliverance and the confirmation of the guidance was fasting, but fasting was not done alone. I have always told people that fasting done alone mixed with no other spiritual discipline is simply dieting, but when you mix fasting with another spiritual discipline such as worship or prayer as in this case, you are positioning yourself to receive God’s guidance and change in your life.
The Holy Spirit revealed his will, gave guidance and confirmation to the church. What was revealed was vague. Specifics were not given, but the call to go was clear. Where to go and work was not clear. The response requires an adventurous step of faith. Christ followers never do what they want to do, but always what God wants them to do knowing that more specific direction comes with every step of faith they take in obedience to what they have already been given.
Beloved, in your journey as you follow Christ from earth to glory, the Holy Spirit will give you guidance. That guidance will often come in times of fasting, praying, worshiping, and studying the Word of God. The guidance of the Holy Spirit will be confirmed to you through God’s Word and through the council of other Christ followers. The guidance may be vague, but details will be given along the way as you move out in total faith. As you move forward in adventurous faith, more specific guidance will come in the exact timing needed. The journey may be rough and turbulent at times, but the end result will always be Christ exalting.
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