The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the Book of Acts. Please open your bibles to Acts chapter 13, verses 1 through 3.

Tony Clark: Now, we've already been introduced to him. His real name was Joseph. Did you know that? But he was called Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, according to Acts 4 and verse 36. Are you a Barnabas on your job? Do they call you Barnabas, or do they call you Debbie Downer? Because when you come round, you bring a cloud with you and you're bringing everybody down. They're hitting each other up, "Here she comes," and you just bring everybody down.

He was called Barnabas so much everyone thought that was his name. No, his name was Joseph. He was given the name Barnabas. Next was Simeon, who was called Niger. Now, Niger is Latin, which means black, indicating that he was probably from Africa. Some scholars suggest that he could have been the same Simeon from Cyrene who carried the cross of Jesus in Luke 23 and verse 26. We can't be dogmatic about it, but it's very well possible.

Next is Lucius of Cyrene. Not much is known about him, but it has been suggested that if this is the same Simeon from Cyrene, he went back home to Africa after his encounter with Jesus Christ and talked to his buddy Lucius about his encounter with Jesus. Together, they started walking with the Lord and eventually became leaders in the church in Antioch. Incredible.

I believe that there are many people like Lucius waiting on us to come back and tell them about how Jesus and the cross has changed our lives. Let me tell you something. There's some Lucius waiting on you tomorrow at your job, waiting to hear about how your encounter with Jesus today has changed your life. You never know, one day you may be serving in ministry together. I've seen this happen so many times here at our church.

Many of you have come through the doors and all of a sudden, you encountered Jesus. You went back and told others about your encounter and now you have coworkers and family members and friends that are filling up seats here. All of a sudden, now they're serving in ministry with you because you did the same thing that Simeon did here.

Next is Manaen. Notice Manaen gets an odd description. It says Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch. Tetrarch means one-fourth. When Herod the Great had kids, the kingdom was divided up into four parts. He had four sons, four parts. Each son had a fourth, which is what tetrarch meant. So, Manaen had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch.

This phrase "had been brought up with" in Greek is *syntrophos*, and it can be translated as foster brother. This means that he had been brought up in Herod the Great's household alongside Herod Antipas, the one who beheaded John the Baptist. This is a beautiful example of the grace of God. Manaen grew up in Herod's wicked, vile, and polluted family, yet the Lord rescued him and saved him for ministry.

Maybe this sounds familiar to you because maybe the house you grew up in was vile and polluted and it was evil. There was nothing godly that ever went on, but the Lord rescued you. Like it says in Zechariah 3:2, you were a brand plucked from the fire. The Lord rescued you, like we see here with Manaen. The reason why the Lord rescued you is because he loves your family, and he saved you so that you could go back and minister to them.

Do not separate from them like you're too good. I've seen this happen with many Christians. The Lord began to work in their lives, they go back to their families that are still fooling around out there, and they just come off smug. You're just too good and, "I don't do that anymore." You cross your little leg and your foot is dangling and you just say, "I just have a glass of water."

You fool around like you're too good for them. I've been there. Early on in ministry, my family began to say that I come off like I'm too good. That when I go back home, I have this little air. They were right. I did. God had to deal with me because God wanted to reach my family. When I separate from them and start acting like I'm too good for them, they will never receive the Jesus that I've had an encounter with.

I was coming off smug with my nose in the air like, "Oh, you peasant, poor peasant family." On the inside, I would say I am not acting like that, but I was. Finally, there is Saul. We will later see his name is changed to Paul. The name Saul means requested or asked for, just like King Saul in 1st Samuel 8 verse 6 was requested or asked for by the Israelites. Paul means little.

Something very beautiful happened in the life of Paul when he was converted to Christ. No longer did he identify himself as Saul, the requested one, the man in demand. No, he said, "Just call me little." When a person gives their lives to Christ, they start to see their lives in light of Jesus Christ, and Paul was no different. In the early part of his ministry, Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15 verse 9, "I am the least of the apostles."

In the middle of his ministry, he said in Ephesians 3 verse 8, "I am less than the least of all the saints." Finally, at the end of his life, he said in 1st Timothy 1 verse 15, "I am the chief of sinners." I find it amazing that the longer Paul walked with God, the more he saw how far he was from being like God. This is how it's supposed to be.

The prideful religious person says what the Pharisee said in Luke 18 verses 11 through 13. He says, "God, I thank you that I'm not like other men." The true believer says what the other man said in this same story, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Which one do you relate to when you pray or when you're around other people?

When you get around your family or coworkers, do you walk around and, in your heart, say, "God, I'm thankful that I'm not like them other people"? Or do you look at them and realize the grace of God that's been poured into your life and you say, "Lord, be merciful unto me a sinner. Be merciful to these people like you were to me"? Or are you like I was, walking around with the nose up in the air?

It needs to rain and drown you. That nose up in the air should drown that prideful, arrogant person that thinks you're too good to be around someone. I remember because I was the same way. I remember when I would get around those coworkers, back in the day when you still could smoke inside of a building, and I'd go through there and wave. Every time I would walk past someone that smoked and they blew their puff, I would act like I didn't know what a puff was.

"Oh, this pure lung, sanctified, holy ghost filled lung. I cannot stand your smoke." Many of you are still like that. Look what it says in verse 2. I love it how it says, "And they ministered to the Lord and fasted. The Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them.'" Notice as they ministered to the Lord. Stop right there.

Please notice that Luke the author was careful not to say they ministered for the Lord, but to the Lord. There's a huge difference between these two statements. There are a lot of people who desire to minister for the Lord saying, "Give me something to do, Pastor Tony. Tell me what to do for the Lord." These men in these verses ministered to the Lord.

Notice, also, not even to the congregation, but to the Lord. This is important to know because before you can go and do anything in ministry, you must realize God is the audience for all spiritual ministry. We're doing it for an audience of one, Jesus Christ. Never lose this perspective. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it for Jesus Christ.

If our goal is to minister to people, we will always have the temptation to compromise to achieve certain goals. But when we minister to the Lord, the temptation to compromise is taken away. We will keep Galatians 1:10 in mind, which Paul says, "Do I seek to please men? For if I still please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."

In other words, Paul is saying if I am seeking to please men, I am no longer a servant of Jesus Christ. Now, I am a servant of the people. This is why I teach to an audience of one, to Jesus Christ. If I was a man-pleaser, there are certain things I wouldn't dare say in fear I might offend someone. But when I'm preaching to an audience of one, Jesus Christ, then I just let it rip and I do it unto the Lord.

Every Sunday and Wednesday I go home, I drive home and I say, "Lord, if I've said anything that wasn't of your heart, please forgive me." Forgive me because I'm doing it to him. I'm ministering to him, not to you. You're just eavesdropping on a conversation I'm having with the Lord. As I'm teaching and it's for him, you're benefiting from it. I am not going to be a servant to people because I will compromise.

If people of high standing in the community come in here and I think, "Oh, I better not say this, I might offend," no way. I'm going to teach this word and let that word fall where it needs to fall. You're doing your service to God and people just happen to benefit from it. But you're not doing it for people. If you do it for people, you'll be tempted to compromise.

Whose servant are you? Are you a servant of God? I hope that when I said that, they didn't get offended. Are you fishing for compliments? "How do you think it went today?" I have a family member that's constantly like that. They struggle in this area. They do something and all of a sudden ask, "How do you think I did?" My lovely wife brought them down a rung or two.

We have to be a servant of the Lord. It is an amazing thing here that we're doing it for an audience of one. So, we prepare ourselves to go by, number one, knowing our gift or gifts. Number two, ministering to the Lord. The reason why I put serving the Lord at the very beginning is because *diakonos* is the Greek word we get deacon from, but it means servant.

Number three is fasting. Look at the second part of verse 2. Notice it says, "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted." Biblical fasting is always connected with abstaining from food. Some of you don't understand and I'm here to help you. Some of you say, "I've been fasting from social media." No, you're not fasting from social media, you're taking a break. Fasting is always associated with food.

"I'm fasting from working out." No, you're taking a break. Fasting is connected to food. You can call it something else, but don't call it fasting because biblical fasting is always connected to food. Fasting is denying the physical appetites to focus and turn your attention on the spiritual things of God.

It is saying no to your physical appetites and desires so when temptation comes your way, you will have the power and strength to say no to them. These leaders needed to hear from God as to when and where to go, so they fasted to hear his voice clearly. Did it work? Yes. Look at the third part of verse 2. "Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

The Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them." I want to draw your attention to the word "now." In this word, God is giving them the time to go, and it is now. There was an urgency in the command of God. It's time to go, and it's time to go now. God is saying do not delay in going.

Early this morning, I began to jot this down. Do you sense an urgency to do something for the Lord? Notice how the urgency came as they were fasting. In other words, don't try to say that you have an urgency to do something and you haven't spent one moment fasting. I can just leave it right there and just say the Lord said, "Go now."

Many of you would take that as, "Okay, I have to do this right now. I have to go right now." I didn't want to leave you right there. I wanted to show you how the urgency came and it was the time to go when they fasted. Don't say, "Okay, I'm going to get the U-Haul truck this afternoon because you said the time is now." Quit fooling around. Leave that U-Haul truck where it is and spend time fasting and praying.

In fasting and praying, they understood the when and the where. Do not ask God to bless your plan or to bless the mess that you're about to make. This is critical here. This is God sending Paul on the first of three missionary journeys. This is the Lord fulfilling the word he told them in Acts 1:8, which says that they will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem.

That was fulfilled in Acts 5:28 when it said they filled Jerusalem with their doctrine. "You shall be a witness for me in Judea." That was fulfilled in Acts 8:1 when persecution broke out. They went to Judea and preached the gospel. Then they were to preach the gospel in Samaria. That was fulfilled in Acts 8:8 when Philip went there and preached the gospel to the Samaritans and revival broke out. Now, they're going to the ends of the earth.

Look what it says in verse 3. "Then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away." After they fasted and prayed, the Lord spoke. How did the Lord speak? Through the prophets of verse 1. That's how God spoke. Many of you would think that God spoke all of a sudden. He spoke through the prophets of verse 1.

Then they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul, confirming what God has already done. Man can attempt to ordain you to do something, but at our church, when we ordain anyone, we're just confirming what God has already done. This is what they're doing here. After God spoke and said to separate Paul and Barnabas for the work I've called them, they laid hands on them and said, "You heard God, get to going."

There are three observations I want you to note from these verses. A, God chooses for ministry. He said in verse 2, "Separate to me Barnabas and Saul." God chose me to do what I'm doing right now. In a million years, if you had given me that much time to guess what God would do with my life, I would have never guessed this.

B, wait on God's timing. This is so critical. Something may be God's will but may not be his timing. Be mindful of that. Paul was called to preach to the Gentiles, but it wasn't the right time to go until God spoke as we see in these verses. C, to discern God's timing, you need to practice fasting and praying. And let me add Bible reading.

We speak to God through prayer, and he speaks back to us through the Word. Many people say, "I just pray all the time." And I always ask, "Well, what is God saying back to you?" If you don't know, that's where Bible reading comes in. You're only getting half of a conversation if you're only doing one without the other.

What happened when they left? You have to wait until next time as we pick it up in verse 4. Let me conclude with this. It's time to go, but before we do, we must number one, know our gifts. Number two, minister to the Lord and not to people. And number three, fast and pray. Finally, accept the calling God has given you.

Don't try to walk in somebody else's calling. Early on in ministry, I tried to imitate Bible teachers that I knew, and I was just out of character. I was afraid to be me. Don't try to walk in somebody else's calling. That's their calling. Wait on God's timing. Don't try to rush things, but when he reveals it, then it's time to go now.

When God reveals it, then go. Fasting and praying and Bible reading give us the discernment to determine when and where to go. Isn't it simple? Because I'm given the gift of teaching, I'm making biblical truth plain and relevant for you to understand. I'm teaching you the Word, teaching you how to walk with God.

I'm teaching you how to take the biblical truths, apply them to your everyday life, and begin to live this thing out. There are some decisions you have to make and you know now that you better not move one inch until you start fasting and praying. Your fasting doesn't consist of you getting off social media. Fasting deals with food.

When you fast, broccoli is going to look like steak. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich will make you think that you're getting Arby's. "We have the meats." That's how you're going to hear from God, when you begin to deny the physical so you can focus on the spiritual. Father, thank you for this time you've given us. Thank you for this time of prayer.

Thank you, Lord, that you speak to us through the Word of God. We talk back to you through prayer. Thank you for speaking into our hearts. Lord, I pray if there is anyone here who has not surrendered their lives to you, they'll repent of their sin and draw closer to you. Believe that you died on the cross and were buried and rose again.

Your Word says that they shall be saved. Lord, save souls, change lives. There are some who need wisdom and direction. I pray they come and get prayer today. Do a work in the hearts and minds of your people today in Jesus' name, Amen.

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