I want to look today at just the opening verses of Acts chapter 13. If you want to turn there in your Bibles, Acts chapter 13. Rick has meditated on this passage before, I think, to draw out some aspects of the group prayer and the fasting that happens here. Today, I'd like to take a look at this and think on the diverse makeup of the people that are described in this in this scene. So Acts chapter 13, I'll read it for us here. In the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Mannaean, 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." I love writing by Luke, the author here, because he is so detail-oriented and I don't know about you, but I'm a note taker and a detail oriented kind of head to a fault and to the annoyance of many people around me. But I resonate with that kind of aspect of Luke. You'll see through his writing in his gospel and in Acts, several times he lists the names of people who was at this particular meeting. You see that at the opening of Acts, who was praying together in the upper room. Chapter six, he lists the names of the people that were chosen to be deacons. And again, here in Acts 13, he lists the names of prophets and teachers who were at Antioch. Why does he do this? Is he just OCD like me? No, I think there's a good reason for him to do this here. I think at least one reason is that, so the reader can know what diversity existed among the leaders of the church at Antioch at this time. So we can see the gifted men that God placed there and through their ministry together, we can understand how God's hand among them was displayed. Okay, so let's just take a, moment to think about these. The first in the list is Barnabas. Now Barnabas, we know something about him because he features throughout the acts. Barnabas is a Hebrew name, okay, so this is most likely a Jew. His name means son of encouragement and we know that he was the one to connect with Saul when he was newly converted and encountered by the Lord. And when no one else would dare touch him, the son of encouragement came alongside Saul and brought him to the brother. So here we have this sort of soft-hearted empathizer kind of man. He was a prophet and teacher in Antioch. Beside him, there's someone named Simeon called Niger. Simeon, again, a classic Hebrew name. But he had a nickname, meaning dark or maybe black. So I don't know, could this have been a dark skinned man, maybe an African? But he was named after one of the sons of Israel. So he was probably also a Jew and dark skinned. Then someone named Lukias from Cyrene. Lukias means bright or light. Now, this guy is not a Hebrew, or at least his name isn't. He's got a Roman name, and he's from a Roman province in North Africa, what today is Libya. Now, he might be the same Lucius from Romans 16, but I have no way of telling. But here's a man from a different demographic, a different part of the world. He probably has different outlook on life and ways of thinking, and probably a completely different way in which he encountered the Lord Jesus. Someone else named Mana'in, who grew up with Herod. So Mana'in means comforter. And depending on how your translation describes him, his relationship with Herod is interesting. So the NIV I just read said he had been brought up with Herod or he grew up with Herod the Tetrarch. Some other translations indicate he was a close relation, maybe even a foster brother of Herod. And who's Herod? Yeah, the Tetrarch, the very one, the very king who beheaded John the Baptist because of his illegitimate, because Herod's illegitimate wife's daughter danced for him at his birthday party. Remember that? Matthew chapter 14. And so because of that, he had John the Baptist, the prophet, beheaded. Was Manna'in part of that birthday party? Was he part of those festivities if he was such a close friend, maybe even a brother of Herod? I don't know. Maybe he was there. So Manayin, I mean, what gives? What on earth are you doing in the church? Who do you think you are? You are the friend of one of the earliest enemies of this gospel movement. Oh, but I think there's beauty here. You can see how the spirit can take two men who are in the same environment and grew up in the same circumstances in two very opposite directions. Two brothers who share the same womb end up differently. One despises his birthright. The other wrestles with God for blessing. Two criminals hang on the cross on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ. One reviles and remains defiant to his last breath. The other one pleads for mercy. Is that the same? between Herod, the Tetrarch, and Manna'in, the prophet and teacher. The last name, Saul, okay? And there's no explanation there, because everybody who's reading Acts knows who Saul is, right? Saul, he's the persecutor of Christians. He's the guy who approved the execution of Stephen the deacon. In fact, he went on to hunt us all the way to Damascus. Oh, come on. Him? He's in Antioch? He's a prophet and a teacher? You can imagine the Christians in that church, right? There's always that guy. Oh, hold on. I want to talk to the people who did his membership application. I have an issue here. Let me talk to him. Who let this guy into the church? Wow, such different men, all of them in positions of influence. They could not possibly agree, right? Ever. Different cultures, maybe different languages, different religious backgrounds, different, different, different, different. Never could they ever agree on an important issue that affects the church, right? They're hardwired to be disagreeing. No. because something happens here that transcends their human differences, their social differences. They are together gifted by God and together at Antioch. What does it say? They are there in verse two, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting. And their brothers and sisters is the great unifying power of prayer together in the church, the spirit of God moving among his people. The practice of corporate prayer here is linked to the unity of believers and the advancement of the cause of Christ. What happens in verse two? The Holy Spirit speaks in this group and in the church and says, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work I've set for them. And you know that in Greek construction, often a list or a paragraph has the most important things at the beginning and the end. I mean, in English, we construct our speech in the same way. Who's at the beginning and end of this list? Barnabas and Saul. So the spirit says, those two guys, I want you to set them apart. and I'm commissioning them for a certain work to advance the gospel. And the spirit only spoke this direction to the church through these prophets because they were assembled together in this way, seeking the Lord. It wouldn't have happened if they weren't together. On a practical note, look at verse three, after they had fasted and prayed, fasted and prayed. These two things, prayer and fasting, they're mentioned here as tools used to discern God's will, tools that are used to send God's servants onward and outward to a special mission supported by a body of the local church. Very often Christians find it easy to tend to the praying but neglect perhaps the fasting. But here in Acts 13, the two of them are equally balanced. They're both held up and equally emphasized in this text. Okay, so I'll just wrap up by summarizing the three takeaways that I want to encourage our time of prayer today. Number one is that prayer itself is a conduit for spiritual unity. If you want Unity in your church. There's some, I don't know, there's some factioning or some fissures dividing your congregation, or I don't know what it is, but you need, you want unity. Prayer is an actual conduit for that unity to flow from the spirit into the body. Number two, prayer and fasting are equally emphasized as tools to discern God's will. So is the church, is your church facing any matter in which you really need to know God's will? What should we do about this? How should we proceed in the next step in this matter? I bet you everybody here on this call can nod their heads in agreement. Yeah, we're there with something. Okay, prayer and fasting are tools to discern God's will. Thirdly and finally, When you pray and fast, don't neglect listening. Prayer is a multi-way communication, amen? God answers. We're not speaking into a vacuum, into this great cosmic void. Many people pray aloud, but his answer might be given to someone else. one person might bring the request another one adds on top of it another one says amen amen and pleads more and adds another element to this you know you fill out this bigger bigger picture of prayer and then God comes with the answer and it might come to another person in the body when you pray don't forget to listen for God's answer amen brothers and sisters with that let's Go before the Lord and seek his face.