Be Sent | Christian Smith – Follow Me: The Adventure of Discipleship (Week 4)

Christian Smith Devotional Plan for: Week of June 28 - July 4 Monday - Read Acts 12:25-13:3 Acts 12:25-13:3 NIV: " When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with 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." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." Saul (also known as Paul) and Barnabas are freshly coming back from doing missions. They've been traveling all around the Mediterranean sharing the Gospel in extremely tough spots. The news of Jesus is fresh and changing the world all around them, causing extreme positive disruption. Their work has been grueling and hard. They get back to Antioch and spend time with gifted followers of Christ who, it appears, receive word from God that Paul and Barnabas are to be sent off once again. They have been specially set apart for this task, gifted by the Spirit to do all they need. This short story can tell us so much about what it means to be a follower of God. At TLCC, we're talking about being "sent", or how God has called each of us to "go somewhere". The early Christians were marked by their readiness to go and sacrifice all for the call Jesus had on their lives. They would abandon self-interest in the interest of the Gospel. Today, the call on our lives is no different. We live in the same era as the first century Christians, who are constantly seeking to hear the voice of God and follow its leading. Two points from today's reading: In order to hear the voice of God, they (1) prayed and fasted, (2) worshipped the Lord, and (3) surrounded themselves with other gifted believers. Likely, the prayer part of the above list comes as an obvious way to hear the voice of God in order to see where we're sent. But fasting, active worshipping, and doing all of this in the context of community may be put to the side in our contemporary context. As a pastor (Christian) I've heard countless people say what they believe "God is telling them". Which is great! But, when you think you hear the voice of God, you always need to bring it into new contexts to make sure it really is his voice: fast, worship, and bring it to other mature Christians who can assess the voice. After they get back from a missionary journey, they get called back out to another one. Again, this work was life threatening and grueling. We may be scared off by the call of God in our lives, because what if he's going to take us somewhere too difficult for us? Be confident: God called Paul to the task specially set apart for him; meaning, he knew what Paul could handle if he was connected to Christ through his Spirit. You, too, are being called to something adventurous. Just remember that whatever God is calling you to, he has equipped you to face. Reflection Question(s): Have you spent time praying, fasting, worshipping, and talking to mature believers about what God has called you to? Make a plan to set time aside to do this in the near future. - Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries Tuesday - Read Acts 13:4-12 Acts 13:4-12 NIV: "The two of them [Barnabus and Saul], sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcere