Missions Week 2
Acts 13:1-3
Ephesians 4:11-16
Introduction
Who do you work for?
Some people might say “Well I work for a particular government department or private business”. Self employed people might say “I work for myself” or “I work for my clients”.
People like myself could say “I work for the Church”.
I wonder how many of us responded to my question with the thought “I work for God”?
Think about that for a moment. When you pause to consider your life is it possible for you to say “I work for God. I work for my Lord, Jesus Christ”?
Today we are exploring the topic of “God’s Call to Ministry”. We will continue to be challenged through God’s Word as we were last Sunday, to consider our work for the kingdom of Jesus Christ
We are going to ask the questions “Who does God Call to Ministry?”; “How do we hear God’s Call to Ministry?” and “How should we respond to God’s Call to Ministry?”
These questions are answered for us as we take a look at the way God called Barnabas and Saul to a particular ministry as recorded in…
Acts 13:1-3
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger , Lucius of Cyrene
Who does God Call to Ministry?
In Acts 13 we see two men – Barnabas and Saul – called by God and set apart by the church in Antioch
Sometimes we read stories of people like Barnabas and Saul (who from here on is called by his new name Paul), and we think that there are some people who are called to ministry as they were, and the rest of us stay in our churches and support them as best we can.
We have this false distinction of people who devote themselves to ministry and the others who still have normal jobs and fairly normal lives but who serve God where they can. We sometimes think of some people as super-Christians because of their devotion and sacrifice for ministry that seem to be beyond what normal Christians are capable of.
We need to refresh our minds with what the Bible says about this:
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are all God’s workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus. There are no super-Christians, just a super Christ!
God by His grace works in us in order to prepare us to do the good works that He planned in advance for us to do. We are ministers not on the basis of our choosing but on the basis of God’s choice. It was the Holy Spirit who told the church at Antioch
Why does Luke specifically mention that these men were present in the church at Antioch
He points this out for us so we will know that it was a mature church. There were people exercising gifts of ministry that are further described in…
Ephesians 4:11-13
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
When a church is mature it has within it Christians who are gifted by God to prepare other Christians for works of service which then build up the whole body.
The Church at Antioch
Ephesians 4:14-16
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
So the Bible clearly says that every one of us is called to ministry in some form or other – we have all been assigned good works to do. It also clearly says that it is God who assigns us those tasks, working within us through His Spirit to enable us to know what our tasks are and to carry them out by His power.
The issue is not what we think we are capable of or what we would like to do with our lives. The issue is: “what has God prepared for me to do and called me to do?”
The call to ministry is not about ambition but obedience.
That’s exactly what happened in the case of Barnabas and Paul. God called them through His Spirit. They and their local church simply had to choose to obey.
When by faith you realise that Jesus is Lord, it means that you recognise His right to command your life.
Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Sometimes we break our life into compartments. We have:
· Home life
· Work life
· Church life
· Social life
· Sporting life
· Etc!
God gets a definite look-in in our church life. He may have a reasonably significant role in home life. He might sneak in to our social life, work life and maybe even our sporting life occasionally.
We were never meant to look at life this way, for we died and all our life is now hidden with Christ in God. So when we think of our home life, we must think of Jesus. When we think of our work life, we must think of Jesus. When we think of every part of our lives, we must set our hearts and our minds on things above and look to Jesus. That is the Christian life.
· Every Christian has been raised with Christ, and now lives for eternity.
· Every Christian has died to their sinful nature and sinful desires, being controlled by them no longer. On the contrary…
· Every Christian has proclaimed that Jesus is Lord and therefore has a right to command their life.
· Every Christian has been prepared by God to do good works that He has planned in advance for us.
· Every Christian is called to Ministry, it’s just that God’s calling to ministry is different for every Christian.
Who does God call to Ministry? Every Christian!
I sense that there will be some Christians here today who still may not be convinced that they really do work for Jesus Christ.
If you’re in that position today I’ll share with you one more passage of Scripture – although there are many I could choose on the subject.
Colossians 3:23-24 says:
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Whatever you do, it is the Lord you are serving! He’s called you, He’s prepared you, He indwells you through His Spirit in order to work through you, no matter what work it is that you are doing.
God is calling you to be a minister. He is calling you to do the work of ministry. How do we find out what it is that we’re supposed to be doing?
Does God want you to be a missionary somewhere overseas? Does He want you to be a full-time Christian worker in Australia
How Do We Hear God’s Call to Ministry?
Sometimes Christians bear a misplaced sense of guilt or inferiority because we don’t do some of the things that other Christians do. Most Christians don’t give up all their worldly possessions or travel to foreign lands. Most Christians in our country aren’t ridiculed or persecuted for their faith. Most Christians don’t do door-to-door witnessing or stand up and preach to crowds. Many Christians though have a sneaking suspicion that they’re supposed to be doing these types of things and wonder if they lack faith or obedience because they’re not doing them.
Many Christians struggle with the idea of finding God’s will for them. We’re often not sure whether we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. We’re not sure how to make decisions on what we should do next.
The first thing I want to say about that is “Relax!” God is always at work. God is always at work in you and around you. God is at work in your past, present and future. We don’t need to find God’s will as if it was some mystery just out of our grasp, we just need to learn to see it, hear it and do it.
So how did it work in the passage we’re studying today?
Verse 2 simply says: “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.””
There’s something that comes out of reading this passage in it’s original Greek phrasing that I reckon is exciting.
When it says “they were worshiping the Lord”, the word translated as “worshiping” is
λειτουργέω [leitourgeo /li·toorg·eh·o/] (it’s where we get the English word “Liturgy”).
What’s so exciting about that?
Well in Romans 15:15-16 Paul writes:
15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God
As Paul describes his calling to the ministry of the gospel that God called him to, he calls himself a λειτουργός [leitourgos /li·toorg·os/]. It’s the exact same word that described what he was doing before he was called to be a minister of the gospel, except in Acts 13 it’s in it’s verb form and in Romans 15 it’s in the noun form.
Do you get that? Paul was ministering, then God called him to minister! He was ministering in the church at Antioch , when God called him to minister among Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire .
The NIV uses the word the phrase “worshiping the Lord”, other translations us the word “ministering to the Lord” or something similar. The point is that they were worshiping God by serving Him. However that’s not all they were doing.
This group of five prophets and teachers were serving the Lord together… and fasting.
I’d love to sidetrack onto a study on fasting in the Bible, but what you need to understand about most fasting is that it is all about humbling yourself before God and casting yourself completely upon His mercy and grace. It’s reminding yourself that you cannot do it on your own, that you need God. It’s a way of demonstrating to God and to yourself your complete dependence on Him to sustain you. It’s a way of focusing your attention on praying to God instead of doing what you normally do to sustain your life and to enjoy your life.
So these men were serving God together, in an attitude of humility and dependence upon God which was expressed in their fasting. At that point the Holy Spirit said…
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
How did the Holy Spirit say that I wonder? Was there an audible voice that came from thin air? Probably not! It was probably through one of these men who had a gift of prophecy, BUT I think it’s important that we’re never told, because how the Holy Spirit said it isn’t the point. The fact that He said it is the point.
God is more than able to reveal His calling to you. He is more than able to redirect your life. The key here is on what the people in the story were doing.
They were serving where they were, and they were doing so in humility and dependence on God.
Illustration - Thomas the Tank Engine
Point: it’s easy to direct something that’s moving!
Eg: My aim in going to Uni, ministry hopes for Bsn.
Some of the things God needs to do to change our direction can be traumatic, and those are the times we especially need to have humility and trust in Him. He can be relied on to direct us well.
However if we are serving God together with others – prayerfully, humbly, dependently – then we can be confident that God will make clear for us the things He wants us to do.
How Should We Respond to God’s Call to Ministry?
Acts 13:3
3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off
The response
When God speaks to us the best response is to continue to fast and pray. Continue to earnestly seek God and make sure that you are sure of His leading in the situation.
Well before both Chris and I were called to our roles here the Elders of the Church began meeting at 6:30 on Tuesday mornings to pray. I won’t recount the whole story to you – I doubt that I even know the whole story – but God made it clear to them what the church needed to do to follow His calling. The Elders, Pastors and our Board Chairman still meet on Tuesday mornings to pray, and I’ve got to say that it’s quite often not that easy to get there. That’s actually part of the point! It’s meant to be a sacrifice. It’s meant to be something that demonstrates our firm belief that we rely on God to work in people and to work through people. Our service to the Lord is not based on what we can do for Him, but on how we can be in step with what He is doing.
When you are sure of God’s calling, you have great confidence in doing what He’s called you to do.
We are all called to ministry.
As we serve God faithfully and humbly He will show us what He wants us to do.
We must respond in faith and faithfulness – faith that God has spoken, and faithfulness to do what He has said.
Some people see the church as a bit like a cruise ship. What matters most is how comfortable we can get and how much we enjoy the trip.
Jesus told His first followers that He would make them “fishers of men” (Matt 4:19).
I see the Church as more like a fishing boat than a cruise ship. Our job is to work together effectively to bring men, women and children into the joy of eternal life with Christ. My job, and the job of others on this boat, is to serve you not by indulging you or pampering you, but training you to do your job well, and helping you when there are things that hold you back from doing so.
Our boat has bunks for resting in when you’re weary, but no deck-chairs for lounging around in. It features an infirmary to patch up the sick and hurting. It features a galley for keeping the workers well fed and in good spiritual health. It has navigation equipment not to find the warmest climates or the calmest seas, but to help it go wherever the fish are.
I could go on but I think you get the point!
God has called you to be a worker, not a tourist.
He has placed you in homes, in schools, in workplaces, in clubs, amongst friends, amongst strangers – He has placed you in these places in order for you to do the work there that He has prepared in advance for you to do. He’s placed you there to do that work not in your own strength but in His. He’s placed you there not for your own purposes but for His. It’s not about you, it’s all about Him. It’s not about now it’s all about forever.
It may be that God will direct you to serve Him in some other place or in some other way like He did for Barnabas and Paul. If He’s does then obey. If He’s speaking to you about that today then respond as you ought to. If He spoke to you through Mike last week then I hope you’ve already responded – keep it up!
Response Cards:
· More teaching on Prayer and Fasting
· More teaching on hearing God’s will – eg: making decisions about study, career etc.
· More teaching on / help with Spiritual Gifts or finding your area of service
· Interested in joining a team of intercessors who will fast and pray for our church
· Share your feedback and prayer needs.
We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them - Robert Moffatt
