Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of 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 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. (ESV)

It seems that fasting, worship and prayer were part of early church life. This mission to the Gentile world was no mere human enterprise. The initiative was the Lord’s. Note that the ‘setting apart’ was first ”for” the Holy Spirit and then for His work. The Holy Spirit spoke, and the Holy Spirit sent. ””The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become,” said Henry Martyn. We are not told how the Holy Spirit spoke, only that He did. But the inference may well be that it was through one of the ”prophets”,

It is interesting to note the diversity of the ‘leadership team’ in this missionary sending church. But it was not about fulfilling any diversity quota/agenda. It was how the Lord had set up and resourced this church for the mission He had for them to fulfill. He builds the church, and He provides His own leaders for the work.

I am intrigued by the little note about Manaen being Herod’s friend. How influential was that friendship in gospel terms I wonder? May Jesus lead us in building ‘bridges’ of genuine friendship with unbelievers, that He may cross these bridges into their lives. May God also bring us into contact with people like Sergius Paulus, who are hungry for God’s Word (7). Not only did he hear the Word, but he saw a sign and wonder, and ”believed” (12).

‘This is one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament, making a new departure in the ministry of the gospel, which henceforth begins to pass out to the uttermost part of the earth, Acts 1:8 . It is likely that the mother church at Jerusalem was too conservative to lend herself to the pressure of the Holy Spirit, urging to world-wide evangelization, and that he had to employ the more mobile church at Antioch, which was more susceptible to the passion for humanity, since it stood out on the edge of the great heathen world, like a lighthouse on the shore of a desolate sea… We should ever seek to co-operate with Him in discovering and setting apart chosen men and women for His work.’ F.B.Meyer

PRAYER: O Holy Spirit, keep me ever in step with you, I pray.