A YEAR WITH JESUS=> Listening for My Call: Note from Jesus Dear Precious Disciple, When you truly worship Me as Lord, you offer yourself to Me. Your worship acknowledges My sovereignty as the only truly and living God — Father, Son, and Spirit. This worship invites the Holy Spirit to lead you into Our work to bring the character and compassion of the Kingdom of Heaven into your world. The Spirit longs to make clear what you need to do to fulfill My mission in your lost world. This guidance from the Holy Spirit is something I had promised you and prayed for you on the night I was betrayed (John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33). This guidance from the Spirit unleashed in worship leads you to mission and is something I promised again to you before I ascended into heaven (Acts 1:8). Genuine worship should lead you to mission. This has been true through the ages — the call of Isaiah comes during a powerful time of worship and is a great example of this principle (Isaiah 6:1-8). It was true of My earliest disciples. It should be true in you. Worship of Me leads to mission outreach with Me. That is the natural direction worship leads My disciples. That is what happened in the church in Antioch with Barnabas and Paul in the verses cited below. Paul (who is still identified in Acts at this point by his Jewish name, Saul) and Barnabas delivered the gift of Christians in Antioch to the believers in Jerusalem. This gift was to help the Jerusalem believers through the severe famine that Agabus had prophesied (Acts 11:27-30). On returning to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas were accompanied by Barnabas cousin Mark (also known as John Mark). Mark was the son of a very influential lady in Jerusalem that had hosted meetings for Me in My ministry and for the early disciples in her home (Acts 12:12). Mark had witnessed a number of key events in My life, including the events that led to My crucifixion and then My resurrection (Mark 14:43-52). He would accompany Barnabas and Paul on their first mission trip, and even though he had his moments of failure (Acts 13:13), Barnabas mentored him (Acts 15:37-39) and Mark proved to be incredibly valuable to My church through the ages through the influence of his writings (2 Timothy 4:11-13). Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with this young disciple and witness. They joined in worship and fasting with the other Christians in Antioch. In their worship, the Spirit made clear that two of their most important leaders needed to be sent out on mission. The two chosen to be sent were Barnabas and Paul (Saul) — two of their most important leaders. So with prayer and more fasting they placed their hands on these two and they sent them to bless people in other places who had never heard the good news of My grace. Mark accompanied them on this crucial mission journey. Verses to Live When you worship, anticipate the movement of the Spirit in your worship to lead you and stir you to mission. The event described in the following verses is not just the story of what happened in the early church long ago; it is also a reminder of what the Spirit longs to lead you and your fellow believers to do today! Meanwhile, the time Barnabas and Saul spent in Jerusalem came to an end, and they reported back to Antioch, bringing along John, who was also called Mark. (Acts 12:25) The church in Antioch had grown strong, with many prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (a dark man from Central Africa), Lucius (from Cyrene in North Africa), Manaen (a member of Herods governing council), and Saul. Once they were engaged in a time of worship and fasting when the Holy Spirit spoke to them, Commission Barnabas and Saul to a project I have called them to accomplish. They fasted and prayed some more, laid their hands on the two selected men, and sent them off on their new mission. Having received special commissioning by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went to nearby Seleucia on the coast. Then they caught a ship to the island of Cyprus. (Acts 13:1-4) Response in Prayer O Father, as I worship you personally and as I worship you with other Christians, I offer myself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Stir my heart with joy and enthusiasm. Convict my heart of sin, especially the sin I do not or will not see in myself. Convict and correct me gently O God, but please do convict and correct me, both for my good and for Your glory. Open my eyes and my heart to the mission to which You are calling me. Give me courage to go and to serve and to share the gospel of Jesus in tangible ways as the Spirit leads me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. A Year with Jesus is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2014, Heartlight, Inc. A Year with Jesus is part of the Heartlight Network. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 05:22:06 +0000
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