Acts 13:1-13 – “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.  2.  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.  3.  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.  4.  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.  5.  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.  6.  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:  7.  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.  8.  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.  9.  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10.  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?  11.  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.  12.  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.  13.  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.â€?

Now verses 2 & 3 – “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.  3.  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.â€?

Notice first that they were ministering unto the Lord. Now God is not going to call someone who is not on the move for God.  If you want to be used for God, then get busy about the Father’s business.

There are three things we need to notice.

The Holy Ghost said….It was not the deacons who did the calling.  It was not the elders that did the calling.   It was not the apostles that did the calling.  It was not the congregation that did the calling.  And they were not even mama or papa called.  It was the Holy Spirit that did the calling.  “separate me Barnabas and Saulâ€? He meant for the church to give them liberty to go forth to preach with authority as representatives of the assembly in Antioch.  Notice that God spoke to the church – not to the business world nor even to the Christian business world.

Notice the conditions that made possible this activity of the Holy Spirit. “And when they had fasted and prayed…â€? It was as they gave themselves wholly unto the Lord that the Holy Spirit was able to work through them. We, too, can know the will of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit if we surrender ourselves to Him and place ourselves at His disposal. The Holy Spirit still guides the child of God if we but would let Him.  I Cor. 2:10 – “For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.â€?

The church in Antioch listened to and obeyed the voice of the Spirit. vs. 3b – “they sent them away.â€? Notice that they were ordained by the church. Remember that they had already been called of God. Notice also that they were sent forth by the church.