Acts chapter 13 and we will come back soon, God willing, to our series in the book of Exodus but I feel that the theme of missions is very much fresh on my heart from the trip as well as considering what the Lord is currently doing in our own church here in raising up labourers for the harvest field and so I thought it would be timely for us to consider this missions model. the church at Antioch and so that's what we're looking at this morning, the church of Antioch as a model for missions, a model for world evangelism and we're going to read from verse 1 through to verse 4. Acts chapter 13 verse 1 through to verse 4, why don't you read it with me on the count of 2, we'll read it all together, 1 and 2. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Menaen which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus." Let's ask God for help this morning, shall we? Dear Gracious God and Heavenly Father we thank you for the wonderful privilege of being involved in eternal work. There's nothing more thrilling and nothing more rewarding in this life than to be a part of what you are doing in the harvest field. And so Lord we pray that this message might be used of you this morning to help us as a church to be the kind of church that we need to be. that we might be, as we've prayed many times, a base for missions, for sending out servants, Lord, but also for supporting the work of missions around the world. We pray that we might have the same spirit in this church that was there in the church of Antioch. Lord, we pray that we might know the same ministry of your spirit. We thank you that you have not changed and that you're still looking for local churches through which you can work. to accomplish your will. We pray that you may even use this message this morning to confirm a call in someone's heart and life. We just pray for labourers Lord and that you would settle upon hearts. We pray especially for young men to yield to you and to be available for you to use and we pray Lord that you would search us and help us, instruct us, just give us what we need this morning through the Word of God and we'll thank you for what you will do in Jesus name, Amen. The Church at Antioch really was a model church and correct me if I'm wrong but I don't find one word of censure in the New Testament against this church. Now of course it wasn't a perfect church because every church is made up of sinners saved by grace but as far as the New Testament record is concerned the Bible has nothing but positive things to say about the church at Antioch. Now how did the church at Antioch get established? Well you have to go back to Acts chapter 11 and verse 19 to 26 to find out the details of how the church at Antioch started. It started through the witness of those who were dispersed over Stephen. Remember in Acts chapter 8 verse 1 there was a great persecution unleashed against the church at Jerusalem and God used this persecution to scatter his people and to spread the gospel flame. And so there were certain disciples, certain believers that came to Antioch and a great work of God was commenced. Acts 11 verse 19, now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phoenix and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord." Praise God. So here you have the servants of God who come and they preach the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the great theme, isn't he, of our preaching. Christ and the gospel and God's hand moved and a great number there in Antioch believed and turned to the Lord. Then, verse 22, tidings of these things came under the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch who when he came and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first, Antioch. So this is a significant church, Christians, followers of Christ, that's the first time the word was used and it was used in connection with a church that was very Christ honoring and Christ centered. When people looked at them they said they're Christianos, Christ followers and so that is the background to the founding of the church at Antioch. the Church of Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch, he then has a ministry of discipleship and strengthens the converts and then the church experiences further growth. Then Barnabas seeks out Saul and brings him to Antioch and they minister together for a whole year. That's the backdrop to where we come now to chapter 13. and so we can see right here at the outset that the local church is God's vehicle for the training and sending out of servants for the harvest fields we're going to get into text in a moment but let's just get that in our minds up front now there were in the church that was at Antioch this is a local visible church and the local church is God's primary instrument that he has ordained for the carrying out of the work of the Great Commission, not mission boards, not parachurch organizations, there are parachurch organizations out there that may do some good work in spreading the gospel and they say they're fulfilling the Great Commission, what they mean is they're going out and evangelizing trying to get people saved but if you look at the entirety of the Great Commission It also involves baptising them and teaching them all things that Christ commanded and that kind of work can only be effectively and properly carried out within the context of a local New Testament church. Now we have to emphasise that today because there is a great drift away from local church evangelism and local church missions, but local church evangelism and local church missions is God's way, really when you think about it, it was from the church at Antioch that the gospel first spread out to the Gentile world. it goes down, this church goes down in biblical history as a church that had in many ways a worldwide impact for the gospel and that is the pattern we see in the New Testament, local churches sending out servants, preparing servants and sending out servants for the work of the harvest field. Not a denomination, not a universal church, not a parachurch organisation, but a local, New Testament, literal church. And so the passage before us gives us pattern for sending out missionaries, servants of God, and it also shows us the kind of church we need to be in order to be a mission base, an effective mission base. May God make us here like the church at Antioch. And so we want to look this morning at three points about the church at Antioch. qualities about the Church of Antioch that made it an effective mission base, an effective base for the sending forth of servants into the harvest field. So number one, I'd like you to notice that the Church of Antioch was firstly what I would call a single-minded Church. Number one, a single-minded Church. Now they were in the church that was Antioch, certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucian of Cyrene and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted. And when they had fasted and prayed, verse 3, and so they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost. There's a wonderful spirit of unity that runs right through this passage here. I mean we see a church praying together, we see a church serving together, there's just a wonderful spirit of unity that is evident in the church at Antioch and it starts with the leadership team referenced in verse 1 and it flows through the whole church and that's the kind of church that God is going to use when it comes to the work of missions. Folks, a divided church is the missionaries worst nightmare. I can't think of anything worse for the missionary than to hear that there are troubles back home at the sending church, that there's division in the sending church, that would have to discourage and dishearten the hearts of those who are serving on the field. And so this was the right kind of unity, we have a church that's working together, a church where the Spirit of God is free to move, and that is the kind of church that will have an impact in the harvest field. Folks, if we're divided as a people, if we're at war with one another in the local church, if we're caught up in carnal conflict, then we will be very ineffective in the work of world missions. So they're unity. Notice a couple of points about that unity. We note what I would call their unity despite their diversity. Their unity despite their diversity. Now let me just say, when we use the word diversity today, people go, ah! Because it's a word that's been hijacked and misused and the world uses the word diversity to mean inclusion of everything wicked and abominable, but there is the right kind of diversity in the local church. And as you read here in verse one, you see five men working together who've all come from very different backgrounds, and yet there's a marvellous unity in their working together. So there's the right kind of diversity within the local church. There's diversity of gifts, there's diversity of backgrounds. Not all of us come from different backgrounds, but we're all united by the common salvation. We have different gifts, different abilities, The kind of diversity within the local church which is appropriate is a diversity of function, not doctrine. Diversity of doctrine in the local church, that's a very damaging thing, and that's the wrong kind of diversity. The Bible calls upon us to have doctrinal unity. We must be united on the doctrines of the Word of God, but here we can see that these men were from diverse backgrounds, no doubt they had diverse gifts and abilities, and yet there was a wonderful unity. So five men are mentioned here as being in the category of prophets and teachers, these were the preachers and the teachers we could say of the local church at Antioch and no doubt they needed five preachers for a church that size. So these men had diverse backgrounds, diverse gifts and personalities, yet we see this wonderful unity, this oneness of heart and mind in doctrine and practice. So we have Barnabas. He was a Levite from Cyprus, Acts 5.36. Because he was from Cyprus, he was what they would call a Hellenistic Jew. That means a man with Jewish ancestry and yet a man who was influenced by the Greek culture. Then we have a man by the name of Simeon. That's a good name, isn't it? He was a black man from North Africa because the word Niger literally means black. He was being called black and that was not a derogatory term. You know, the world just makes so much out of skin color, but in the local New Testament Church there is no and should not be any racial prejudice. I mean here you have Barnabas Greek Jew. You have Simeon, a man who was black. Then you have Lucius, he was from Cyrene. Cyrene was also located in North Africa but Lucius is a Roman name so we're looking at someone who was Roman but probably stationed initially in Cyrene. So here you can see a real diversity here can't you? You've got Barnabas, a converted Jew, Hellenistic Jew. You have Simeon, a black man from North Africa, you have Lucius, a converted Roman, you have a man by the name of Menaen and he is noted as being brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. So you could say this man was from high society. he'd been an associate of Herod the Tetrarch. Now, whenever you see the name Herod in the Bible, there's trouble. Herod was a very wicked king, but I love this. God reached down into Herod's court and he reached into Manin's heart and life and pulled him out of that high society, as it were, converted him and placed him in the church at Antioch in the leadership there. Then you have Saul. He's familiar to us, isn't he? He was the Hebrew of the Hebrews, the Pharisee of the Pharisees. But what did all these five men have in common? They'd all been saved and set apart from God. And so we see a wonderful unity despite this diversity of background. That's the nature of the local New Testament church. Aren't you thankful the local New Testament church just brings us all on the same level. We all have the same savior, the same Lord. Doesn't matter what your skin color is. Doesn't matter what your cultural background is. Those things become less important, don't they? When we get saved and when we get set apart for God, we are one. Christ Jesus but you see these men were clearly unified despite all those differences in their backgrounds. You know we have to be careful because we all have enough in our background to cause division if we're not careful. Well, in my culture, we do it this way. In that culture, we do it that way. Manane could have said, hey, listen, fellas, I have some training in Herod's court. I know how to run the church finances. Just settle down. No, no, no, we don't see these men arguing. We don't see the clash over skin color or clash. We don't see any clash over background. We see men who are just in a spirit of spiritual unity and working together. That's so important. So we see unity despite their diversity. Then we notice unity in their ministry, verse two. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said. So we see these men working together. What kind of local church do we need? We need a local church where we work together, not against each other. that is absolutely vital on a leadership level. Pastors need to work together, pastors and deacons need to work together, there needs to be that spirit of unity working together, but it's not just for those in leadership, it's also for those in membership. We could say in this church we see unity in the pulpit and unity in the pew, we see unity in the leadership and unity in the membership. A church working together for the cause of Jesus Christ. Did you know we have a cause and the cause is the cause of the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ and we need to rally around that cause as God's people and work together for the cause of Christ. So look at the evidence of their working together here, they're ministering together, they ministered to the Lord, they're fasting together and fasted, they're cooperating together, there's the laying on of hands symbolic there of their united mission. the unity of the early church is one of its key features. Read through the book of Acts and watch out for the words, in one accord, in one place, in one accord, in one place, of the same heart, one in heart, gathered together, How did God use the church? Why is it that the church in Acts had such a powerful impact on the world? Because they were in one accord, in one place. Don't miss the one place part. Do you know how hard it is to get God's people just to faithfully gather in one place? Are you with me this morning? One accord, one place. And when you neglect your place in the local church, that to a degree can affect the unity of the church. If we're going to work together, we have to show up and actually get together. That's God's method. The word church means a called out assembly. We have to assemble together if we're going to work together. And we understand if you're ill or if you have some reasonable excuse for absence, but that's not usually the case for most absences. Most people just don't have it on their priority list to be faithful in the local church. Don't see the church as a drop-in center, see the church as a place where you can be involved in something that God is doing. And so it's a unified church, a single-minded church that is the kind of church that's going to be used powerfully in the work of world missions. Therefore, let us guard the unity that we have. Let us guard the unity that we have. You get a bit of a sense sometimes as a pastor, and I'm not suggesting that there's any major problem, but I was only just thinking a few weeks ago, boy, there's a wonderful spirit of unity in the church, boy, there's some wonderful things happening at Northside, and I thought, which angle is the devil going to take next? So that's a bit of pessimistic thinking, that's pessimistic thinking, no, it's realistic thinking. You get to know as a pastor, the devil's not happy to let a church stay unified because he knows that's the kind of church that's going to damage his kingdom. He knows if he can get in the back door and start getting us angry with one another and having bad attitudes to one another and have friction amongst each other. He knows that very quickly that will dismantle the work of missionaries. Do you really think that the devil wants a church that is powerful? Do you really think that the devil wants to leave a church alone that's going to have an impact for missions and is going to storm the powers of darkness and the strongholds of darkness? Of course Satan doesn't want that and so he's going to try and disrupt the unity in this church. So watch out for the devil. Praise the Lord. Missionaries getting supported. Praise the Lord. Brother Paul getting sent out. Watch out for the devil. So what kind of church does God use in missions? Well, a single-minded, united church. But I want you to see a second quality of the church at Antioch that made it such an effective church for missions. Number two, the church of Antioch was a spiritually active church. Number two, a spiritually active church. So it was a single-minded church, there was unity, and it was a spiritually active church. Notice the words here, verse 2, or just notice that little word first in verse 2, as. Circle that word, if you have a pen. Underline that word. So what kind of church is God going to use for missions? Well, it's a single-minded, unified church, but it's also a church that is serving a spiritually active church. I want you to see the environment in which the Spirit of God moved here. This was a church that was spiritual. This was a church that was spiritually alive, spiritually active. Oh brethren, if there's one thing I long for, it's for a church that knows spiritual power. A church that is spiritually alive and alight with the presence of God. I don't want a dead church. Hey listen, I don't want the compromised church, I don't want the falsified, but I don't want the dead thing either. We don't need, there's the false fire of fanaticism out there, but we also want to watch out about the no fire of formalism, where we're just happy to be dead and cold and orthodox. No, we need to be a church that is full of life and power. spiritually active church, that's the kind of church that's going to be a base for missions, that's the kind of environment where people get called, where young men get called, where young women get called, that's the kind of environment where the Spirit of God has a freedom to move. So this church was a church that was, look at a couple of points here, serving the Lord. As they ministered, notice this, to the Lord. We could call this sacrificial service, the word ministered there is a word used to describe, was a word used to describe in the ancient world, voluntary service rendered to the state. So it's service, when you have the word ministered, it's service of a voluntary nature. That's the nature of true service. You don't serve in the local church with an expectation, you don't serve to get, you serve because you love the Lord. it's the same word used in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 11 to describe the ministry of the Levitical priests. So there's really two concepts in this word. It contains the idea of willing, voluntary service and service of a spiritual nature. Do you know service for the Savior involves sacrifice? service for the Savior is going to involve some sacrifice and we're living in a day where nobody wants to sacrifice anything. Nobody wants to do the hard yards and become a member. Nobody wants, or very few, very few want to put their hand to the work. We want a Christianity that costs us nothing. But if you're going to minister, that means you're going to have to give of yourself. give of your time and give of your talents and give of your treasure, that's the kind of church we want to be, a serving, giving kind of church. So it was sacrificial service but it was spiritual service, notice the phrase there, to the Lord, that lifts Christian service to the highest plane doesn't it? Do you know the problem why, you know why many of us get discouraged? We're serving for other people. We're serving, very often if we're not careful, if we don't watch our motives, we're serving for the praise of other people. Or maybe we're doing it for the pastor, or we're doing it for that brother or sister. And that's why Christians get discouraged. I put so much time into this person here. I mean, I laid myself out for hours and hours and hours, then they bombed out in the Christian life. I guess I'll never do that again. Well, let me ask you, were you doing it for them first and foremost, or for the Lord? Because if you were doing it for the Lord, no matter what they chose to do, it wasn't wasted. So this service was to the Lord and not to men. We could say it was Christ-centered, Christ-focused service. Service done for Christ and for Christ's glory. That's the kind of service we want in the local church, Christ-centered service. If you preach, preach for the Lord Jesus. If you sing, do it for the Lord Jesus. If you play in the orchestra, do it for the Lord Jesus. If you serve in Christ, do it for Christ. If you serve in the kitchen, do it for Christ. If you vacuum the floor, do it for the Lord Jesus Christ. That's spiritual service. I think that's a key to unity too. Because when our hearts are focused on the Lord, that brings a wonderful spirit of unity. That's why these men were so unified, they're just looking to the Lord, they're doing it for the Lord. And when you're looking to the Lord, rather than men, that saves head-butting with each other a lot of the time, doesn't it? So this was a church that was serving the Lord and I want you to notice that God called men who were active in sacrificial spiritual service. As they, who's they? The five men mentioned in verse 1. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted the Holy Ghost said separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work around you I have called them. You want to be called of God you better start serving God where you are. God does not call lazy Christians to full-time service. Sometimes people think, oh well, I've just got nothing to do, I suppose maybe I should try being a preacher. No, it doesn't work that way. This is not a career choice, it's a calling. And you notice here that Barnabas and Saul were not agitated and going, what's the next step? Where am I going? No, while they were in the church at Antioch, they just served the Lord. And let me say this, until the Spirit of God clearly tells you to go somewhere else, you put your heart and your passion into serving where you are now in this local church. I'm very thankful for one of my Bible College lecturers who helped me when I graduated from Bible College and he said, look, when you go back to serve under your dad, he said, go and serve as if you're going to be in that church forever. Now, in reality, the Lord's going to probably move you on somewhere else, but serve with the attitude that you're there forever, otherwise you'll see it as a stopover point and you won't put your heart into it. Bible College students, bear that in mind. God's called me. What's he got in the future? That's natural to think about those things, but be careful you don't just see Bible College as something to sort of just get through so you can get on with the will of God for your life. No, you better embrace the current season of service God has for you, because that is a training ground to prepare you for what is coming. Do you understand? This is how God works, we're looking at a model, we're looking at a pattern about how God prepares and raises up servants. You've got to serve the Lord faithfully where he has you if you want to be a candidate for special service somewhere else. there's also a proving aspect to that, you've got to be proven in the environment of the local church before you launch out. These guys that just want to sidestep all of that and just get out there and serve the Lord, guess what happens? They don't last. They don't. My dad's saying, he's observed in the ministry that these men who just got to go, got to go, got to go, won't knuckle down and prepare, they don't last. They don't, and I'm very thankful for a father who, when I got back from the mission field, all fired up, he didn't pop my bubble, he didn't pour cold water all over me, but he sat me down, took me out for lunch, which dad didn't do very often, okay, took me out for lunch with mum and he said, Simeon, it's wonderful you've come back from the mission field trip, the mission's trip here with a zeal for the Lord, but now we need to talk about how you can be prepared to be in this for the long haul. That was great wisdom. There are no shortcuts to Christian service. There are no shortcuts to being a preacher. There are no shortcuts in the work of God. You must serve in your local church. The local church is the training institute for servants. So God calls faithful men to special service. You find that all through the Bible. find men like Peter, active men, working men. God calls working men, not lazy men. Think of Paul, sometimes people get the wrong impression that Paul got saved and then immediately went on his missionary journey. Wrong! Bible students who have studied this estimate that Paul had about, there was about a 10-year lapse between Paul's conversion and when he went out on his first missionary journey. Now as soon as he got saved he preached Christ and that should be every convert's desire especially, and you understand with Paul he had all the background there of the Old Testament Scriptures well trained and it's like that final piece fell into place and I think in the New Testament context some of the Jewish men were probably better equipped than you and I to just go maybe quicker into the ministry Because they had all the benefit of the Old Testament Scriptures there, they just needed to see Christ and how it all fitted together. But even with that background, we find Paul three years in Arabia. We find him here one year in the church at Antioch. There's four years, I know there's four years there. And I haven't studied it in detail, I've just read reputable men who say there's a roughly about a 10-year time span from Paul's conversion to his being sent out on the first missionary journey. Think about Christ and his disciples, three years of training. Paul, three years in Arabia. Sometimes people don't realize we do get some of these, we get these concepts from the Bible and that's often been seen as a good principle. If you're called to the ministry you should be willing to give at least three dedicated years to intensive training. That doesn't mean you stop learning but it helps you discipline you and helps prepare you. Don't be in a rush. Let God work with you where you are, embrace it, come under it. Sometimes people see someone like Brother Paul go, oh wow, he's getting sent out, I want to be sent out too, hang on there's a background to this. We're talking about someone who was saved in this church, raised in this church and most importantly gave time to preparing cooperated with his pastor's leadership, came under his pastor's leadership and has been faithful waiting on the Lord and just serving the Lord faithfully waiting for the call or waiting for the leading of the Lord as to where to go. So if you believe God has called you to the ministry, there's some practical wisdom here, it is vital that you wholeheartedly embrace the current season of service and preparation in the local church the Lord has for you while you wait on confirmation on how and where he would have you to serve. So we see a church that was serving the Lord, spiritually active. A church that was, number two, seeking the Lord. That's a powerful church isn't it? A church that's serving the Lord and a church that's seeking the Lord. As they ministered to the Lord and what's that word? Fasted. You there? I know it's muggy this morning but try and stay with me. Verse 3, and when they had, what's that word? Fasted and? I think you'd agree with me, this is a church that's seeking the Lord. I mean, a church that's fasting and a church that's praying is a church that is taking the work of God seriously. I mean there is some earnestness in this church, would you not agree? This is a church that's serious and a church that's earnest about prayer and that's the kind of church that has power. Because when you have the mention of fasting in the Bible that should tell you that this is praying of a serious kind. This is not just saying, thank you Lord for the food. This is some serious, there's some serious praying going on in this church. And so there's power in prayer. But there's also, there's special power in prayer coupled with fasting in certain contexts. See Matthew 17, 21, Mark 9, 29. You say, I don't understand that. Well, I don't understand it completely either, but just accept it by faith. There's special power in prayer coupled with fasting in certain contexts. Why? Is it because we're twisting the arm of an unwilling God? No. I don't fully understand it, but just do it by faith. Fast and pray and see whether God doesn't do something. I know this from personal experience. As the physical appetites are denied, the spiritual senses sharpen in the context of fasting. So it's definitely does something for you as the prayer. I think fasting also helps to maintain a spirit of prayer and dependence on God for that period of fasting. As you feel more weak physically in the spiritual realm, you cast yourself on the Lord more fervently. Fasting also allows extra time to be given to prayer that normally would go to eating. It's amazing, you fast for a day and you realize you feel like you've got so much time. A praying church is a powerful church. A prayerless church is a powerless church. And what we see, the trend in our day, is less prayer not more. We're very blessed to have a decent attendance on a Wednesday night, but that doesn't mean we don't have room for growth. Some of you could get on board with that. That's the heartbeat of the church. But I live too far away. We have Zoom for you. Why can't you get on there? Prayer is the heartbeat of the church. Why do we have a prayer clock? Why do we have prayer before evening service? Why all this prayer? There's so much prayer in the church! Well because much prayer equals much power and little prayer equals little power and if we want to be a force as it were for God in this area of missions and seeing the lost delivered from darkness we're going to have to be a praying church. Andrew Murray wrote in his book, The Key to the Missionary Problem, Let me run that by you again... always connected with a deep revival of spiritual life and a higher devotion to the Lord Jesus. There is a connection between revival in God's people and missions endeavour. So why are there so few men being called to the ministry? Why so few churches sending out missionaries, church planters, preachers? Why so few churches giving much to missions? I'll tell you why, because of sin in the church. Because of a lack of revival in the church, because of prayerlessness in the church. That's the reality. So get involved in the prayer life of the church. Get involved in the weekly prayer chain. get involved in the all nights of prayer, get involved in the extra prayer meetings, get involved in the Wednesday prayer meeting. So can you see that this kind of environment, local church environment, is an environment in which missions can thrive? Can you see that? we're getting a picture of the kind of church that God can use, unified. Clearly there's teaching and preaching going on here, starts with that, prophets and teachers, so there's preaching, teaching, praying, fasting, serving, that's the kind of environment that we need in the local church if we're going to be used of God in missions. May God give us that kind of church, I believe we have it to a point but let's increase. So we see... so what kind of church does God use in missions? A single-minded, unified church and then number two, a spiritually active or serving church. Then number three, we notice now the church at Antioch was what we could call a spirit-led church... a spirit-led church. And notice the Take note of the moving of the Spirit of God in this church. As they ministered to the Lord, verse 2, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Verse 4, so they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost. Missions is the great burden of the Spirit of God. soul winning missions, the reaching of the lost is the heartbeat of God. It's the heartbeat of God. Aren't you thankful for a God whose heart is full of love for lost sinners? Without that love in the heart of God, where would we be this morning? That's the heartthrob of God. God loves sinners and the Spirit of God is interested in finding labourers in the local church, fitting them for service and sending them out for service. That's the work of the Spirit of God, the local church under the headship of Christ and the moving of the Spirit of God in the assembly to raise up labourers for the harvest field. This is a very spiritual thing, isn't it? This is something that God does. It's not someone just saying, well, I think I'll just end the ministry because I've got nothing else to do. It's not a career choice. No, it's a calling. It's the Spirit of God moving in the assembly to raise up labourers for the harvest field. as you read through the book of Acts you will find that the the main character of the book of Acts is the Holy Spirit and he was the one active in the church there at Antioch calling and separating Barnabas and Saul for the work of missions. Therefore, we do need to be careful we don't grieve the Holy Spirit in the church. We need to be careful we don't grieve the Holy Spirit in our lives because if we grieve the Holy Spirit in the church, people are not going to be called. Can you see that the moving of the Spirit in the local church is key to the raising up of labourers? Can you see that? And so it was a Spirit-led church. We could say firstly under that, the Spirit called. See that word called. What's the context of the call? Well, the call came in the context of a serving, fasting and praying church. As I've mentioned, it's this kind of environment in which the Holy Spirit delights to move. Notice the candidates of the call. Paul and Barnabas were separated to the gospel ministry by the Spirit of God. This is something that only God can do. We do not need self-appointed men in the ministry. Are you listening? We do not need self-appointed, self-called men in the ministry or men called by their wives or called by their mothers. We need men who are called by God. And we understand that every believer, in one sense, is a full-time servant of the Lord. We understand that every believer should serve the Lord, but we also need to recognise that God does, by divine appointment, set apart to Himself certain men to give themselves more fully and totally to the work of the Gospel. must be recognized, there are some churches out there that don't recognize that, we need to recognize that, here the Spirit of God is separating two men, calling them to a specific task to give themselves to gospel ministry. Paul wrote in Romans 1 verse 1, Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God. That's kind of calling we're talking about, a calling to be separated unto the gospel. I can't think of anything more wonderful than that, can you? If God would call you to be a gospel preacher, why would you stoop to be an emperor? If God calls you to preach, why would you stoop to be a king or a CEO or anything else? There is no higher calling than to be called of God, to be a preacher of the unsearchable riches of Christ. I can't think of anything more marvellous. But what was the character of this call? And this word really jumped out at me, I love how that each time you come back to a passage, the Spirit of God can show you something fresh. And this word jumped out at me, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the, what's that word? Work. Where unto I have called them. Oh, praise the Lord, I'm called to the ministry. What a wonderful position, you've been called to work. You've been called to work. sometimes young men get the wrong impression of the ministry, they think the pastor has just this wonderful breezy week, he sits there and just studies the Bible, wouldn't that be wonderful, I wish I could leave my work and study the Bible all day every day, if only it was that simple. Some people think it's a one day a week job, like someone told one of one of our sisters here, why does the pastor's family need your help, he only works one day a week. Well, maybe if you're a Catholic priest who's got nothing to say and nothing to preach and just get up and ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, maybe you don't have to work very much. I can't speak for everybody else, but I will say this, if you're called to New Testament church planting or if you're called to some form of ministry as a pastor, an evangelist or a missionary, you are called to work and work hard. And you better get that into your heart if you feel called of God, the ministry involves work. You're called to be a labourer. So therefore the ministry is not first and foremost a place of prestige and position. Now there is an appropriate honour that the Bible requires from members to their pastors. but that's not the primary reason why you enter the ministry. The ministry is the most demanding, don't miss this at the same time, the most rewarding work. I can't think of anything more demanding because it has demands upon the whole man, spirit, soul, and body. but I can't think of anything more rewarding. You know why? Because this kind of work is eternal work with eternal fruit. I can't think of any greater privilege than to see souls come to Christ. I can't think of any greater privilege than to preach the Word of God and to see the transforming effect of the Word of God in hearts and lives, to see people growing, to see strongholds broken down by the power of the Word of God. Oh, it's wonderful work, but it's work. Young men used to come to G. Campbell Morgan, who was a master expositor, and ask him, The secret behind his preaching success and his reply was work, hard work and again work. It's work. How many times I've said to my wife you could never say the ministry is boring. A few months ago I had what I ended up calling my 5b week, a 5b week. I had a burial to look after, a new baby was born, I had to go and visit them in the hospital, say a prayer, there was a fairly nasty battle, I had a birthday to attend and then a baptism Sunday. Five B's, burial, baby, battle, birthday, baptism, that's the ministry, not every week thankfully, otherwise you die, but it's work and you better have a realistic expectation of things. Paul's about to work harder than he's ever worked in his whole life... he is! But that's the nature of the calling, you're called to work for the Lord. Therefore there is no place in the ministry for lazy people and sadly some men do misuse the pastorate, misuse their position to indulge in laziness. That is against the very core of your calling. These preachers that sit and waste hours on their Xboxes when they should be studying the Bible. These preachers that sit around and watch the television when they should be praying. Are you listening? They exist out there. but that is dereliction of duty. Get ready to work and work hard. That's why college is good for you, if you're called to the ministry, because it's going to instill hopefully some discipline in you. So the church, sorry, the spirit called, notice secondly now, the church cooperated. The Spirit called, the church cooperated. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. So the church cooperated. So this is, again, this is a wonderful model, isn't it? The Holy Spirit called, and the church then cooperated. Now, I find something striking here. It says in verse 3 that the church sent them, do you see that? They fasted, prayed, laid their hands on them and they sent them away. Then it says in verse 4 that the Holy Ghost sent them. Question, who sent them? The church or the Holy Spirit? Both, and this is a very important principle. You have the Spirit of God working in the individual, then you have the local church reviewing the call with a view to recognizing the call. And there is a very important safety mechanism in that. The testimony of the individual, I'm Phil called, is important but the review process of the local church is also important and there's safety in that. Therefore the attitude that exists in some, well I'm called, I don't care what my pastor says, I don't care what my local church says, I'm just going because I'm called, that's not the spirit we see here. We see men testifying to a call, but then the church actively participating in a review and recognition of that call. So the church cooperated, they submitted to the Spirit. So the Spirit of God spoke, they submitted. You say, how did the Spirit of God make His will known? I don't know exactly, the Bible doesn't tell us. You say, how does the Spirit of God call people? Well, you'll just know. through the Word of God, through the Council, through different things, the Spirit of God will make it known to you, not with an audible voice I believe in our dispensation, but he will make it clear to you that he's called and so they submitted to the Spirit. Now I don't think this would have been necessarily an easy command for the church there to obey. Think about it, Paul and Barnabas had been instrumental in this church in its infancy. They'd both... Barnabas came and he had a ministry of discipleship, strengthening the believers and he exhorted the young believers, that's good advice by the way, cleave to the Lord. That's a message young believers need to get real early, just hang on to the Lord, okay. Then he gets Saul and together they minister there for a year. Don't you think this would have been a bit hard for the church at Antioch to let go two of their precious teachers? Barnabas and Saul, men who had been instrumental in their discipleship and had been an integral part of the church. I would suggest there was a probably a deep bond between Paul and Barnabas and the church at Antioch but we see a church that is yielded to the will of God and I'll say this, sending out choice servants involves sacrifice for the local church. I didn't used to understand it when I was being sent out to come over here I didn't fully understand it because I was just excited about next stage in God's will and I'm thankful for a father who just was totally behind it but he did say to me with some emotion he said I won't lie to you I'm finding it hard to see you go why one of his key helpers is about to leave there is a sacrifice involved, it involves surrender because what often happens is God takes the choicest servants from a church that are an integral part of the church and transplants them somewhere else to accomplish his will. That involves submission on our part doesn't it? Very important because some pastors kindly hang on to people because they're beneficial to the ministry and don't ever let them follow God's will for their lives. I'll be honest with you, it's an emotional struggle to see this couple go. Don't get the idea, pastor can't wait for them to leave. We love them, they're a special part of our church, they've been a blessing to me as their pastor. Paul's been a very loyal, faithful kind of man who's been a real blessing and so We see them play in the orchestra, we think about them leaving and there's some surrender involved there but we must cooperate with the Spirit of God. So they submitted to the Spirit. By the way, just mention this too, it's a bit of counsel. When the Lord takes servants out of a church and transplants them somewhere else, that leaves gaps and that means some of you may have to be prepared to step up with your pastor's leadership and crack out of a comfort zone even and be prepared to help your pastor with the gaps that are left. That'll help me if you'd be willing to do that. They submitted to the Spirit, they sought the Lord, and I think this is an important pattern, even though the mind of God had been made clear, they still sought the Lord, that's the right approach, God's will had been known, but they wanted to send Barnabas and Saul out with the backing of fasting and prayer. So, newsflash, there will be a day of fasting and prayer coming up before they go, okay? We need to follow the biblical pattern there. They fasted and prayed, then they laid their hands on them and sent them away. So we see here that the ordaining and sending out of men for the gospel ministry is something that must be approached carefully, spiritually and soberly. Can you see that? This is not a flippant thing. This is not, oh yeah, just grab your Bible, jump on the plane, off you go. I've heard preaching like that in some of our circles and I think it's damaged a lot of people. Don't worry about Bible college, grab your Bible, jump on the plane and go to the mission field. Some tried that and landed on their faces. and some of them aren't in church anymore, it destroyed them because they weren't properly prepared, properly reviewed, and it wasn't done in a spiritual manner. We see a church here that's very sober-minded about this. It's not a light matter to send a young family out to face the devil on the coal face. It's not a light matter. They need the prayer backing. They submitted to the Spirit. They sought the Lord. then they sent out the servants. They were sent by the church. We have here the laying on of hands which speaks I believe of ordination and David Cloud cites or suggests three things as signified by the laying on of hands. Ordination number one is the church's recognition of God's call upon a man. Ordination does not confer something on the candidate, it's simply a public recognition by the local church of a man's calling. So the Spirit of God called Barnabas and Saul and the church recognised that call in a public manner with the laying on of hands. Ordination is to set apart men for a special work, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, so that's involved, it's a public separating of someone to the work of gospel ministry and in many ways ordination is a pledge to stand behind that man and support him in the work God has called him to. And I love, read on in the book of Acts and you'll see a wonderful relationship existed between Paul and Antioch ascending church. Coming back, reporting, fellowshipping, that's important. So they were sent by the Church and sent by the Holy Spirit. As I've said, there's no contradiction, they were sent by the Church and by the Spirit, the two together. So, there's an important safety mechanism there. The local church needs to review a man's scroll with a view to recognising it, if there's clear evidence it is genuine. On the church's side, it must be careful not to obstruct the spirits leading in an individual's life. Some churches stifle a man's call to the ministry and kindly hinder him from filling God's will for his life. So we have to approach this very spiritually and carefully. The testimony of the individual as to the Lord's calling, the review process of the church, and then eventually recognition if it is indeed in the Lord's will. So what kind of church does God use in missions? Well, a spirit-led surrendered church. Can you see those three features, three qualities of the church at Antioch? Single-minded church, Spiritually active church, spirit-led church. That's the kind of church that God will use in the harvest field, may we be such a church. And so with this order in mind, we're going to seek to follow this in relation to Brother Paul. Okay, we're going to, before they leave, we will set aside some time for serious prayer and some fasting. And then we will look to recognize his call by ordaining him to the gospel ministry, God willing, during our May Missions Conference. So we'll keep you posted on these things as they develop, but we want to follow the biblical order here as closely as we can, because here we have the pattern, the model for New Testament missions. And we trust that God will use our church in a very powerful way, not only in the lives of this couple, but in many others we trust to come. So what about me, I'm not called to be a preacher or a missionary, where do I have a place in all of this? Home base desperately needs faithful labourers too. You see here in the book of Acts, in the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas were sent out, half the church didn't go with them. Can you see that? And I'm not saying, God can I believe, sometimes touch a heart or two and send them out with someone, but the model we see sometimes where, you know, someone's sponsored in from overseas to a church and then they walk off with half the flock, then send photos back and say look at what I've started in Australia, send me more money, that's not a biblical model. because the home base needs to also be strong and I'm always conscious of this balance. We need to pray that God will take people out, send them out, but we also need to pray that God will add to home base and strengthen home base because if we want to do much for missions out there, the work of the gospel, we need some ballast in the ship here. So one of the best things you can do is get on board with your local church, be faithful, be available, be teachable, be a fat Christian, faithful, available, teachable, get on board, that's what we need. Give, pray, get behind what God is doing and God will bless that, let's pray. Thank you Lord for this wonderful model in the church at Antioch, we pray Lord that you would give us your wisdom and your strength Lord as a church to follow this model we pray you keep us from the devil's attacks we know that Satan hates the work of the gospel hates the truth does not want to see this church used to support missionaries to send out servants at home and abroad and so we just pray that whatever Satan has planned that you would bring those plans to naught And Lord, I pray that you would help us all as a church to be unified during this time, not to scatter, not to get distracted, Lord, but to pull together and to get behind what you are doing. And we pray for Paul and for Bianca, Lord, that you would prepare them for this very big move and that, Lord, they might sense the prayer support of the church Lord, and our love as they launch forth into the corner of the harvest field you've called them to. We pray for your preparation of this area in Perth. We pray that you might use them to reach precious souls, that the church there would be strengthened and protected, Lord, until the new pastor arrives. We know, Lord, that transition times in any church are vulnerable and Satan often sends in his agents when there's no shepherd around, so we pray for protection over Northside Baptist Church there in Perth. and that, Lord, you would just do mighty things. Use us as a channel of giving. Use us as a channel for praying. Lord, add to our number faithful members who can hold the ropes, be a part of home base. Lord, you don't call everybody to go out. You call some to stay and to hold the ropes and to be that support. So we pray for that. In Jesus' name, amen.