The Holy Spirit: Setting apart and Sending

Acts 13:1-4 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. 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.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 
What an exciting time for the Church!  Christ had promised and prodded His followers to "go into all the world", and they had been forced to do so through persecution.  But now the Holy Spirit was moving them to do something more intentional - to go on a mission.  It was not that these were the most holy of the followers - maybe just more prepared.  They had travelled together before, and Paul would have had a lot of sky miles already in our day and age.  These two balanced on another in their personalities and approaches.  But this really had as much to do with the church as them.  The church was listening, so together they could hear the Holy Spirit say: "Set them apart and send them away." He was the one sending, not them.  That explains the remarkable success of their journey.

Believing what the Holy Spirit has breathed out...

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 
God's Word is a solid foundation for what we believe and how we respond to life.  It tells us what we need to know, where we go wrong, how to get back on track, and very importantly, our responsibilities in relationships, with God and others.  It is our "get ready for life" book - for today, tomorrow, future encounters, and for eternity.  let us continue to incorporate it into our lives with confidence.

When the Holy Spirit is at Work, It's the Word that is Prominent

Acts 13:4-12 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 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. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician for that is the meaning of his name opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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? 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. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. 
This is the first stop of Paul's first missionary journeys.  In a sense it sets the stage to confirm his call.  They proclaim the Word of God, when this encounter takes place.  The one who came to hear the Word of God believed, not because of this awesome demonstration of power against evil, as much as "the teaching of The Lord."  The Holy Spirit is not into showing off His powerful presence; He wants to get the Word out. He is used to being unseen, in the background. Anything He does is to draw attention to and faith in His Word.  He gives Christ's followers boldness, the words to say, and the lives to back it up.  May we be into what He is about.

Word and Spirit

1 Thessalonians 1:4-7 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 
This letter is probably one of the most positive letters by Paul in the New Testament: He likes what he sees in and hears about this church.  He hears the Word being spoken and He sees the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers living out their faith.  It makes sense, because indeed both are activities of the Holy Spirit - He has breathed out His Word, and He influences us, sanctifying us into Christlikeness.  Whenever we find ourselves ignoring or overemphasizing one over the other, we are creating a tension that does not exist.  May we be consistent Christ-followers in Word and Spirit.

The Holy Spirit - Figuring it all out...

Acts 1:15-20 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers the company of persons was in all about 120 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”...  “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,“‘May his camp become desolate,and let there be no one to dwell in it’;and“‘Let another take his office.’ 
As the Apostles were obediently awaiting the promised Holy Spirit, according to Christ's command, they were praying.  Peter, putting together the truth of Scripture with current events, was able to come up with another next step.  Key to this process was their view of God's Word: the Holy Spirit, Whom they were waiting to come fill them, had spoken.   His Word is Truth, and worthy our acting upon.  There are many things about which we do not need to "wait for a sign", we simply need to listen to God's Word and Spirit putting it all together, and respond.  Today, let's read, pray, listen, respond.

Speaking the Language of the Holy Spirit...

Acts 4:23-31 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves,and the rulers were gathered together,against the Lord and against his Anointed’— for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 
As we look back on the early church, it is easy to become... jealous.  It looks so exciting, and it was!  The Holy Spirit was rushing in and controlling His people to share the Gospel with others. As they were praying and waiting for His leading, one of the things they did was pray the scriptures. They understood that the pushback they were receiving for sharing the good news was the same as David had alluded to - a resistant world with darkness in high places.  They were speaking the language of the Holy Spirit, the one Who had led David to write and record these truths of Scripture. And they asked for boldness, the exact thing Jesus had told them the Holy Spirit would provide.  Let us not be jealous, for these can be great days as well.  We have the same message; we have the same Holy Spirit; we face the same darkness.  Imagine what God will do when we get on the same page.

The Holy Spirit: Protector of Truth

2 Timothy 1:8-14 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 
In Paul's last recorded words, we find his most passionate statements about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which He has been entrusted to share.  In charging Timothy to follow with likewise conviction, Paul knows that it is not our own power and inner strength that is needed to endure, but ultimately, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to protect the truth in our lives.  The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will go all out to keep us from twisting the truth in our words and in our lives.  In a day marked by revisionist history, we must have the same convictions when it comes to the Gospel, both what we share, and how we live it out in our lives.