Acts 13:1

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manion who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. They ministered to the Lord and fasted. The Holy Spirit said, "Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." When they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them away. Being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, they departed unto Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they were at Salome, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John as their minister.

Let's pray. Father, as we now take time to look into Your Word, as we just sang, every good and perfect gift comes from You. Lord, we find that in the book of James, and in that same book, James said that You give wisdom to those who ask. So we ask this morning that You would give us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge as we study Your Word. Lord, continue to wash us by the washing of the water of Your Word and transform us, that when we leave here today, we would not be the same as when we came. We yield ourselves to You and ask that by Your Spirit, You would change and transform us. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitled them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the cause which impels them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

And that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light or transient causes. Accordingly, all experience has shown that mankind is more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right and it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security. That's not from the Bible. Most of you know that these are the opening words of the great Declaration of Independence, upon which a revolution began that altered the course of history for the last 233 years.

Now, while we are exceedingly grateful as a people here and privileged today to live under the Constitution of the United States of America and the liberties afforded to us by it, we must recognize that this is not our eternal home. Amen? In thinking of the fact that this is not our eternal home, I think we would all, at the very least, be happy for that, because I don't think any of you want to live here for eternity.

As a disciple of Christ, the Bible reveals that we are citizens of heaven and ambassadors of God's kingdom here in this place. Now, while the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are powerful, the gospel of Jesus Christ has fundamentally changed the course of human history for the last 2,000 years. In fact, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence would not have come about if it were not for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Every year on the 4th of July, we as a nation celebrate our independence, and it's likely that holiday is probably the most unified holiday.

That's celebrated here in our nation. In fact, it's one of my favorite holidays because, when I was growing up, my whole desire was to grow up and be a pyrotechnician. A pyrotechnician is the one who blows things up and sets off those fireworks. That was my goal until I took chemistry in high school.

Independence is a wonderful thing, and I think we all would agree. There are those within our fellowship who recognize the greatness of liberty more than others because they grew up in a nation that was not this. They weren't born in the United States of America; they grew up in maybe one of the Eastern Bloc nations or another nation that does not have the liberties that we are afforded here. Sometimes, those who came as immigrants to this nation love the liberties of this nation more than those who are born here because they recognize the difference.

As we celebrated our independence yesterday, I think it's important to consider just a little bit about the idea or the concept of liberty. You'll find that it fits with what we're going to talk about here in Acts chapter 13 today. I want us to consider just a few things about this idea of liberty and independence that we have.

Number one, if you're taking notes, is the cost of liberty. It is cliché, no doubt. It's on bumper stickers and shirts that freedom is not free. However, the recognition of that truth is also very important, although it is sometimes just kind of flippantly said. We should recognize its truth. We certainly recognize that the liberty we as Americans experience today, here in the year 2009, came on the backs of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, who lost their lives in the fight for liberty and in the defense of liberty. Many within our fellowship defended our liberties by serving in our armed forces, and we are indebted to you. We are thankful for your service.

We recognize that the earthly liberty we have in our nation comes on the backs of those who gave their lives fighting for or because of the liberties that we have. More importantly, we should recognize where our true liberty comes from. If you would, open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5. We find a very interesting verse as Paul the Apostle writes to the church of Galatia, which was planted by Paul on his first missionary journey.

Which we're going to be studying here in a number of weeks. After Paul and Barnabas left, there were people who came into the church and began to lay upon the people a heavy yoke of bondage in the form of legalism, following all kinds of different laws and traditions of the Jews. That was really what caused Paul to write this letter to them.

In Galatians chapter 5, verse 1, he says to this church, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." If you would underline in your Bibles, "Christ has made us free." When we consider the cost of liberty, we recognize that our liberty, first and foremost, speaking of true liberty, comes from Jesus Christ. The book of Romans reveals that it is Jesus, by His death, burial, and resurrection, that has set us free from the law of sin and of death. Liberty is costly, and we see that cost in the form of the payment that Jesus paid to save us from our sins and to set us free.

Isaiah chapter 61 declares the ministry of the Messiah prophetically, 700 years before Jesus came. We read of Him in Isaiah chapter 61, verse 1: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound." Jesus, at His coming, His gospel declaration proclaims liberty to the captives—those captive and bound by sin and death. There on the cross, He gave the power for you and me to be set free. What an awesome work it is that He did.

So, we see in that, number one, the cost of liberty. But secondly, as we look through the scriptures, we also consider the danger of liberty. Now, when I say that, some of you might pause for a moment and think, "What do you mean by the danger of liberty?" Well, if you're in Galatians chapter 5, just look a few verses down. In Galatians chapter 5, verse 13, Paul says, "For brethren, you have been called unto liberty."

Only do not use your liberty for an occasion of the flesh. Do not use your liberty as a license to sin. There is a danger in liberty, wherein one can take their liberty and think that this is freedom to do whatever they please. It has been said that liberty is not the right to do wrong. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 16, expressed a sentiment very similar to what Paul says.

A lot of times, people take their liberty and use it as a license. We are not to use our liberty as a license to sin or as a cloak for our evil. Liberty is not the right to do wrong. A British poet from the 1600s once said, "Most men love not liberty, but license."

Over the last 50 years or so in our nation, we have seen that people have taken their liberty and applied it to justify doing whatever they want. They reference our founding documents, like the Declaration of Independence, which states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." People argue that anything done to keep them from pursuing what makes them happy infringes upon their rights. Thus, they use their liberty as a license to sin.

The Bible addresses this issue and applies the terms "licentiousness" or "lasciviousness" to it. Licentiousness is, again, using your liberty as a license to sin. It represents shameless sin, unbridled lusts, and excess. Our nation has become a licentious nation. If you look at the last 50 years of history, you will see the progression of how these things took place.

Many of you were alive during June of 1962 when the Supreme Court first began to move in this direction by banning prayer in schools. Not long after that, within a year, they also banned the reading of God's Word in schools. We see a sharp turn at that point because, as soon as you remove God,

God removes His moral law, and His moral law dictates our independence and liberty. When there is no longer a dictate over our liberty, people figure they are free to do whatever they want. How dare anyone say to them that something is wrong? We live in a time in our nation where it is difficult to assert that something is wrong because what is wrong for one person may be right for another. How dare anyone step on their freedoms? Often, this mindset is directed at the church, with claims that it is the church that is holding back progress and stepping on our freedoms. However, we must not use our liberty as a cloak for lawlessness.

I was thinking about the concept of the misuse of liberty this week. As I did, I considered how every single one of you can relate to this, especially those who have children. How many parents are here? Most of you are parents. You begin to recognize, as your children get older—my son is only eight months old, so I don’t see this quite as much yet—that many of you have noticed certain sinful characteristics and tendencies in your kids. You may feel appalled by the fact that these tendencies resemble your own sinful behaviors.

What causes our children to struggle with the same sort of sinful tendencies that we do? We start to think it is almost hereditary, that it is in their DNA. Perhaps my child is genetically predisposed to being disobedient, backtalking, selfish, or telling lies, even if they are just small, white lies. As I reflected on this, I believe that, in many ways, these sinful tendencies are passed down to our children as they witness the liberties we take in our lives.

As they observe us, they see the liberties we allow ourselves. We sometimes cover over the truth, and we feel entitled to lose our temper or be selfish. When we take liberties and allow ourselves to be easily angered, quick-tempered, and selfish, we find that our children begin to adopt the same sort of liberties.

In themselves, they roll over into these sinful tendencies. For some reason, the sin disgusts us more when we see it in other people than when we see it in ourselves. But they are blaring inconsistencies. The cost of liberty is great, and the danger of liberty is also great. With liberty comes the opportunity to use our liberty as an occasion for the flesh. Otherwise, Paul would never have said to the church in Galatia, "Do not use your liberty as an occasion for the flesh."

As Christians, there is amazing liberty in Christ, which gives us the opportunity to do many things that would be against God's moral law. Yet, these actions would not align with His desire, nor would they be righteous or glorifying to Him. Therefore, Paul admonishes us not to use our liberty as an occasion for the flesh. Peter also warns us not to cloak our wickedness with liberty, saying, "I'm free in Christ; I can do as I please."

Thirdly, we must consider the response to liberty. I might actually say the proper response or the proper use of liberty. Again, referring to Galatians 5:13, Paul states, "For brethren, you have been called unto liberty. Only do not use your liberty as an occasion for the flesh, but by love serve one another."

In 1 Peter 2:16, Peter emphasizes that we should be free and not use our liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. In Romans chapter 6, Paul the Apostle speaks to the church at Rome about the freedom we have received in Christ. Jesus, by His death, has set us free from the bondage of sin and death. Paul tells the church in Romans 6:18, "Being then made free from sin, you are become the servants of righteousness." As we have been made free from sin, we have become the servants of righteousness.

In 1 Corinthians 8:9, Paul advises that we should not use our liberty to stumble others. We should not use it in a way that causes others to fall.

That would trip other people up. The proper use of liberty, as we see in Galatians 5:13, is that we are to use our liberty to serve one another. In 1 Peter 2:16, we are to use our liberty as the servants of God. In Romans 6:18, we are to use our liberty, having been set free from the bondage or slavery of sin and death. We are now given the opportunity to be servants of righteousness and do what is pleasing to God, rather than stumbling others.

As we consider the cost of liberty, the danger of liberty, and the response to liberty, it is important to recognize that although we are free as a people and as a nation, we are utterly dependent upon God. The cost of liberty, the danger of liberty, and the response of liberty remind us that while we are independent, we are also dependent.

In John 15, Jesus speaks to His disciples about this concept. Many of you have read this; you know that He is the vine and we are the branches. Notice what Jesus says in John 15:5: "I am the vine, and you are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without me, you can do nothing." Jesus emphasizes that we can do nothing without Him.

I have had a great opportunity in the last year to have a very clear illustration of this. When my wife and I moved into the house we bought on the east end of town, the entire yard was basically dead. It was one of the foreclosures that hadn't been watered for months. Everything was dead except for one plant in the backyard—a very well-established grapevine that had taken over one side of my yard. Shoots were going off from this vine about 20 feet.

However, it was not fruitful because all the strength and vitality of the vine were going into its growth. Towards the end of last year, Josh came over, and not really knowing anything about plants, I said, "All right, let's prune this thing." We cut it back, and it looked dead. Yet this year, as spring came, little shoots started to come forth.

Even a little bunch of grapes illustrates a significant point. If I were to cut that vine that holds the fruit and lay it out, could that branch continue to grow the fruit? Absolutely not. We know this; we understand this very clearly. Jesus, speaking in earthly terms that we can understand, says, "Here's the spiritual principle: apart from me, you can do nothing."

Just in case we misunderstand what He is saying, He gives us a perfect example. Just like the vine and the branch, the branch cannot produce any fruit apart from the vine. In the same way, apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. The Apostle Paul, along the same vein, says in 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." Paul emphasizes that we are insufficient by ourselves. Apart from God, we can do nothing. Apart from Jesus, there is no possible way that we can produce fruit in our lives.

However, Paul also says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." We recognize that the Scriptures reveal we are free in Christ; we have been set free by Him. The cost of liberty is great, and the danger of liberty is also significant. There should be a certain response to liberty, but we must recognize our dependence upon God. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. We are insufficient of ourselves; we need Him for everything. We are completely dependent upon Him.

We see this in another way in Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, specifically in Matthew 6. I believe I referenced this last week. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, "Therefore I say unto you, do not worry or take any thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

He continues, "Consider the birds of the air. They do not sow, nor do they reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much greater than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? And why do you worry for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin, and I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed..."

Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" For after all these things, the Gentiles, or the unbelievers, seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Do not worry, for tomorrow shall take thought of its own things. Sufficient unto the day are the evils thereof.

You see, as a follower, as a believer in Christ, we recognize that we are completely dependent upon Him. The unbeliever, who does not have God and does not recognize their Father in heaven, worries about what they will wear, what they will eat, and where they will sleep. All these things are what the world seeks after. Here’s the key: if you are not dependent upon God for those things, you will be dependent on something else. Dependency is inherent; essentially, we are dependent beings from birth.

I find it so interesting in this whole abortion debate how you hear pro-choice or pro-abortion advocates say that they do not believe it is a viable human being until it can survive on its own. I know 30-year-olds who cannot survive on their own. Very clearly, if Ethan was born eight months ago and I said, "Alright buddy, you're a viable human being; survive on your own. See you later," I would be thrown in jail for child abuse. We are dependent just in our person. If you remove your dependency from God, there will be a vacuum of dependency, and you will have to seek something else.

We see that in our nation, which has cast off God. We do not want anything to do with Him, and so there is a dependency that focuses somewhere else. In our day, we are finding that this dependency is shifting towards the government. We look to the government as the entity that will alleviate our concerns or cares, and we will not have to worry because they will take care of these issues, whether it be healthcare or, who knows, at some point in time, it may be clothing. Whatever it is, there comes a point where, if you remove...

Your dependency on God will have to go somewhere. Some of you, before you became Christians, were dependent upon a substance for your daily life. You had to have alcohol or drugs; whatever it was, you were codependent. You recognized that desire within yourself, but every single person has it. Jesus tells us that we are to seek God for these things and seek the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet, when you remove your focus on the Kingdom of God and God Himself, you will seek the kingdoms of this world to fill whatever dependent needs you have.

There is an interesting thing about freedom and liberty. This idea or concept of freedom allows you to do whatever you want. The next step from freedom, which you can observe in any individual, is courage. We saw this with the basic liberation of the people in Iraq. When the forces went into Iraq and cast off the Iraqi government, the people came out into the streets filled with courage to do something they had never done before. They protested in the streets, danced in the streets, and tore down statues of dictators—actions they could never take before. Freedom gave them courage.

That freedom to do whatever you want, when built with courage, hopefully moves in the direction of liberty. You recognize that, although you have the liberty to do what you want, you should show constraint for the sake of others. This is what Iraq has been trying to build over the last several years: an understanding of liberty so that they show constraint for their fellow man. Freedom moves into courage, courage moves into liberty, and for the Christian, liberty moves into a place of blessing. When a group of people is liberated, especially in Christ—not just on a national level—they begin to receive the blessing of God as they use their liberty in a right way, not as a cloak for their sin.

One of the things that happens with blessing is that the next step from blessing is abundance. We live in a nation that has experienced great abundance, and you individually have experienced great abundance as well.

In the last 30 years, our nation has seen a rise in economic growth that is unprecedented and phenomenal. For a lot of people, they thought this is how it’s going to be forever; this is just going to continue. Some economists were saying we were going to see the Dow Jones go to 35,000 and just keep going through the roof. People’s home equity values were just going to keep going up.

It was the exact same mindset that we find in Isaiah chapter 56, where Isaiah says the people in his day, 2,700 years ago, had the mindset that tomorrow is going to be like today and much more abundant. It moves from a place of blessing into a place of abundance, where we are full and have everything. God gave His people caution before they came into the Promised Land. He said, “Listen, when you come into the Promised Land, be careful, because I’m going to give you cities that you didn’t build, crops that you didn’t plant, and vineyards that you didn’t tend to. I’m just going to give it to you.”

But be careful that when you get those things, you don’t just cast off God when you have the abundance. Abundance breeds complacency. When you are full to the point of satisfaction, you can become unaware of the possible dangers. You might think tomorrow will be like today and much more abundant. Complacency, which our nation has experienced in the last several years, moves to a place of apathy. I believe that’s where we are today—apathetic.

Apathy is a word that means a lack of concern. We don’t fight for anything any longer; everything is just kind of accepted as the way it is. We sit back and relax, becoming apathetic and indifferent—a careless indifference, so to speak. The next step from apathy is dependence, and we are on the verge of that in our nation right now. We are moving from a place of lack of concern, not really caring about anything, into a place of dependence, where we just look to somebody else to take care of everything and meet our needs.

But you see, the next step from dependence is bondage, and you find yourself back at the same place again—back at that place under tyranny, away from freedom.

Leads to courage, leads to liberty, leads to blessing, to abundance, to complacency, to apathy. Apathy leads to dependence, and dependence leads to bondage. As we look at our nation, we find ourselves in those places today. But not just as a nation; I speak to us as individuals. We should recognize that this is the case. When you shift your focus from God and He is no longer the one you look to and depend upon, you will find something else to depend upon. As you depend upon that thing, you will become a slave to it.

The Scriptures speak in a good context of us being slaves of God. It is a good thing to be a slave of God; it is a wholly different thing to be a slave of man. Dependency upon God is good. It leads to a place where you enter the right recognition that He is God and you are His follower. He is your Lord; He provides for every need, and that is a good thing. Hopefully, we move to that place, and that we here and now declare our dependence upon Him.

For the last fifty years plus, this nation has cast off God and said we don't need Him. We don't want Him in our schools; we don't want Him in the public arena. We just keep it inside the kind of walls at 1675 7 Oaks Road. Don't bring it into the public square, don't bring it into work, don't bring it anywhere except for church. Just keep it there and keep it in your heart, and don't talk about it. We are on the path to slavery, so we need to declare our dependence upon God.

We celebrate on July 4th the Declaration of Independence; may we celebrate every other day our Declaration of Dependence. Amen. We are dependent upon God.

What does this have to do with Acts chapter 13? Good question; I'm glad you asked. How does dependence on God practically play itself out? What does it look like? Now, this isn't the whole; it's just in part. But what does dependence upon God look like in Acts chapter 13? We read that there were in the church at Antioch certain prophets and teachers. Jesus had given the command and the decree to His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.

To go and to teach them, there among this flourishing church in Antioch, were five men who were given to the prophetic leadership and teaching of the body of Christ. In chapter 10, we also read about Simeon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene. It is very likely that these two men came from North Africa; Cyrene is in the region of modern-day Libya, and Niger seems to indicate that he was also from that region.

Then we read of this man, Manaen, a man who was brought up under Herod the Tetrarch, which indicates that he was from the region of Judea. Ultimately, there was Saul of Tarsus. At that church, these men prophetically led and taught the body of Christ. It was a church that was growing and flourishing, not just in numbers but in their power, influence, and in lives that were righteous.

It says in verse 2, as they ministered unto the Lord, that these five men were given to the ministry within the body of Christ. They were teaching, preaching, and doing all kinds of different works within the body. Yet, we read that they corporately ministered unto the Lord.

In this room today, there are many people who are serving God and His people. Whether in children's ministry, men's ministry, women's ministry, or other areas, we can sometimes get so focused on those things that we miss the most important aspect of our lives: to be spent ministering unto the Lord. The word "ministering" in some of your translations might be written as "worshiping." It is the very same Greek word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to describe the work that the priests and the Levites did in the temple or the tabernacle.

When we think about the work that the Levites did in the tabernacle, our minds often go to the area of sacrifice. Reading the book of Leviticus, you'll find that predominantly, that is what they did: they offered lambs, goats, bulls, and so forth to God, sacrificially offering.

These animal sacrifices to God raise the question: what do we do in the New Testament church in ministering unto the Lord? Obviously, we don't have an altar here, and most of you don't come to church on Sunday morning with a bull or a goat. Many of you are probably happy about that, though there may be some who think it would have been fun.

So, what is it that we do? How do we minister unto the Lord? A few passages to consider are found in Romans chapter 12. The Apostle Paul says to the church there in verse 1, "I beseech you, or I beg you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, holy and completely dedicated to Him. You bow yourself down before Him as if you were the sacrifice, but you are a living sacrifice. You say, "God, whatever, whenever, wherever, I will go. I will do whatever you call me to because I'm Yours." This, Paul says, is our reasonable service. It is the right response to all that Jesus did for me and for you. It is the right response that we bow ourselves down before Him and say, "I am Yours, Lord."

Furthermore, if you flip over to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, the author of Hebrews also uses the term "sacrifice" in the New Testament. In Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15, he writes, "By Him, by Jesus, therefore, let us offer the sacrifices of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."

Yes, the New Testament sacrifices are different from the Old Testament sacrifices in the sense that we don't physically offer burnt sacrifices and sin offerings to God any longer.

The offering was taken care of by Jesus, but we still have New Testament sacrifices. Here, he says one such sacrifice is that we are to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. What does that look like? Well, it is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to or praising His name.

But not just that. Look at the next verse, verse 16, because he adds to the sacrifices that we are to give to God, saying, "But to do good and to communicate, forget not." Notice this: "For with such sacrifices, God is well pleased." What is a pleasing sacrifice to God in the New Testament? He says one is offering sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.

Number two, he says to do good and to walk in righteousness. That is a sacrifice. How many of you have found that to be true? To follow God in a righteous way is pleasing to Him. But not just walking in a righteous way; he also says to communicate. Some of your translations may focus on the idea of sharing with one another and giving to those in need.

The author of the book of Hebrews says that offering praise to God, the fruit of our lips, is a sweet-smelling sacrifice to Him. He says that walking in righteousness and doing good is also a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God. To communicate and share with those who are in need is yet another sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.

Not just in Hebrews chapter 13, but also in Philippians chapter 4, Paul the Apostle wrote the letter to the church at Philippi when he was in prison in Rome. Obviously, being in prison, he had very little wealth and very little to take care of himself. Most people in those days, if they were in prison or under house arrest as he was, had to provide for themselves. They weren't taken care of by the Roman Empire with three meals a day and shelter.

So there he was in prison in Rome, and in Philippians chapter 4, verse 18, notice Paul says, "I have all and abound. I am in abundance. Why? I am full because I received from Epaphroditus."

The things which were sent from you show that the church at Philippi took an offering. They collected funds and sent a man by the name of Epaphroditus from Philippi to Rome to take care of Paul's needs. Paul says, "Hey, I am full. You have taken care of my needs. Epaphroditus brought me the things that you sent." Notice this: at the end of the verse, it describes it as an odor and a sweet-smelling sacrifice, acceptable and well-pleasing to God. In God's eyes, that sacrificial giving to Paul's needs was considered a sacrifice that was well-pleasing to Him.

The early church, as seen in Acts chapter 13, was ministering unto the Lord. They were likely serving God in various ways, presenting their bodies as living sacrifices, offering praise to God continually, and living in a righteous fashion before Him. They shared with one another, and as they did these things and fasted, the Lord spoke to them.

Fasting is an extremely important aspect of the early church. The idea or concept of fasting is not found very often in the New Testament; in fact, it is only mentioned in the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—and in the book of Acts. The word "fasting" in the original language is merely the negative form of eating, meaning they were not eating. They had set aside time to seek God and were not focused on their physical needs.

Why were they doing this? Perhaps it was already the pattern of the early church to do so, but there was also a strong possibility that they sensed an urgency to hear from God. As they fasted and ministered unto the Lord, God, by His Holy Spirit, spoke to them. God still speaks today, just as He did 2,000 years ago to Saul, Barnabas, Simeon, and all those men in the city of Antioch. The question is, are we ministering to the Lord and fasting and praying in such a way that we can hear Him?

Francis Schaeffer once said, "God is there and He is not silent." He is speaking; He is always speaking. The question is, are we listening? Notice what God said to the church there: He spoke to these five men as they ministered to the Lord and sought Him.

The Lord said, "Separate unto Me Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called them." He wanted them to be released to His work. The word translated "separate" means to set apart for a purpose. What purpose did God give them? In Acts chapter 13, verse 2, it states, "As they ministered unto the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.'"

Notice that God did not specifically reveal to them just what it was that He wanted them to do. This can be extremely hard for me, and perhaps for you too. I often struggle with the way that God deals with things. He reveals, "Hey, I want you to step out in this direction," but when I ask, "What do you want me to do?" I am met with silence. I have found in my life that God reveals things one step at a time. Perhaps He knows that I can be a little scatterbrained, or maybe He recognizes that if He gave me the whole story, I would probably flip out.

Whatever it was that God desired to employ them to, He said, "Listen, I want you to release them to this work." This was undoubtedly hard for the church at Antioch. Saul and Barnabas were the main figures who helped establish a strong foundation for the church. They were the primary teachers in that city, and now God was instructing them to release these men for a work that extended beyond the walls of the church in Antioch.

We, as a church here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido, have experienced this for many years. Throughout the years, God has said, "Separate unto Me Todd and Donna Kent for the work that I have called them to in the Philippines." They have since returned, but God also said, "Separate unto Me Donna Burkle," "Separate unto Me Chris Blake," or "Separate unto Me Tony and Karen Kordakis." Just this last year, He said, "Separate unto Me Pastor Pat for the work whereunto I have called him."

When Pat stepped out, all the specifics of everything were not clear. He did not fully know what it was that God was leading him to. It was painful, yet it was God's call.

We are dependent upon Him. Laying ourselves before Him, we say, "God, whatever it is that You call us to do, we will do." Then He directs us, completely dependent upon Him.

When they fasted and prayed, as noted in verse 3, after God had said, "Separate unto Me Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called them," they still continued to fast and pray. They laid hands on them and sent them away. They fasted and prayed before God spoke, and they fasted and prayed after as well. If there was a sense of urgency prior to God speaking, there was even more of an urgency after the Lord spoke.

So they sought the Lord. Any genuine work of God begins with prayer, and I would suggest that fasting is equally as important so that we can hear from God what He is wanting us to do. We must recognize that we are dependent upon Him. We must, before Him, declare our dependence. We say, "God, You are my God. You are my Father. I will rely upon You. I will wait upon You. I will yield before You. I want to do what You want me to do."

This will lead you to a slavery in your life. We have the pattern, the example in our nation for the last 50-plus years, of removing our dependency from God. We say, "No, we don't want anything to do with God. We don't believe in God. We don't trust in God. We don't think that He's really going to answer us." When we say we don't want anything to do with God, we allow that to take place.

But man, because of how he has been created by God, will search for something else to be dependent upon, and he will become a slave to that. We've seen it in our nation; we're watching it take place. You've experienced it in your own life individually.

So my exhortation to you would be to come before God and declare to Him this day that you are dependent upon Him. Sign, as it were, your declaration of dependence. Recognize that apart from Him, you can do nothing. We can do nothing, but in Christ, by Him, we can do all things because He strengthens us. He has promised to take care of our needs, and sometimes God's taking care of our needs doesn't fit with what our expectations are, and it doesn't always fit with what our wants are.

But God does take care. Notice the dependency of this church in Antioch upon God. They waited upon God until He spoke. After God spoke, they prayed and fasted until He directed them. After God directed, they laid hands on these men and sent them away. As they were sent away, they were sent by God. This was a church that was completely dependent upon God.

In a day and age where many churches are dependent upon man's wisdom, philosophy, or ideas, many churches are governed by committees. Many churches operate under a congregational system, and often you find the congregation split down the middle. Someone might call a friend who hasn't been to church in ten years, saying, "Hey, you have to come down here; we need a vote to finish this whole thing." Alternatively, you have elder-run churches where a group of five, six, or twelve people gather together to make decisions for the church. While that may be well and good, the Scriptures give us a principle of men laying themselves down before God and asking, "God, what would You have us to do?"

They actually depended upon God to speak and direct. It is novel and very interesting that God speaks and directs, and He wants to speak and direct your life specifically and individually today. However, this will not happen if your dependence is upon something other than Him.

So I would exhort you: cast your care upon Him. I guarantee He cares for you far more than the Congress of the United States of America. He cares for you far more than the White House. Cast your cares upon Him. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. Father, we cannot enjoy liberty without life in You, and we cannot pursue happiness without liberty.

You have given us the abundant life, allowing us to experience more happiness than any person who does not know You. I know that my flesh has a tendency to drift, and so I ask, Lord, that by Your Spirit, You would remind me this week that I can do nothing without You. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, "Amen." Thank You.