T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S Christ. If He is consulted He will give directions as to the conduct of the Church. He will speak, select His serv ants, send them forth, supervise all af fairs and fill it with His glory. 2. SENT FORTH BY THE HOLY SPIR- vs. 4-8. “So they, being sent forth.” . The church fasted and prayed. Why? Had not the men already been selected? Was it to prepare the hearts of these two men for their call? If we had more fasting in the Church we would have less need of feasting, and if we had more praying we would have more power. The church laid hands upon them. They simply set their seal of approval where God had set His. This is the real ordination. When God sets His seal up on the ministry of a man, the Church should affix its seal. Where the Spirit has laid His hand, the Church should lay her hands. Any other kind of min istry will be fruitless. It must have been a glad day, as well as a sad day, when Barnabas and Saul •started on their jour ney. They were going upon a mission of mercy, mighty in its import; destinies were to be determined by the direction taken. Had they gone east instead of west, India and China would have been the first recipients of the good news, and our forefathers would have been depen dent upon the Celestials for the “Light of Life.” When they set sail the pillar of cloud was moving westward to lighten the lands of darkness. How meaningless in the eyes of men—how momentous in the. eyes of Hod—two humble men with no kingly credentials. Ambassadors from Heav en’s court, on a mission second only to that on which Christ Himself came, go- ing forth to insert the thin wedge which was destined to break asunder the pow ers of heathendom and prepare the way for the universal spread of the Word of God.
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With what satisfaction can they go forth on any mission who are sent by the Holy Spirit. No need of anxiety or unrest. One who has the conscious call of the Spirit and the conscious consecra tion by the Spirit, will have the con scious confidence of the presence of the Spirit and joy in His service. 3. SOWING IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, vs. 9-12. “Then Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit.” The work began in Cyprus, the home of Barnabas. The message was the Word of the Lord. The character of the message may be judged from the one re corded in the latter part of the chapter. The order laid down by Christ is fol lowed,—to the Jew first. There is opposition even where the Spirit leads. Satan’s sorcerer seeks to prevent his prey from escaping—the bat tle is on. Contrast Saul,—full of the Holy Spirit, and Elymas,—full of all sub tlety. The victory is the Lord’s. So soon as Christ was anointed, He had His conflict with Satan. As soon as the Gospel was preached in Samaria, Si mon Magus opposed it. Every step in the history of the Church has been marked by conflict, and this is true also of our individual experiences. In the development of any enterprise for the Lord the same characteristics are mani fest; the Adversary of souls endeavors to arrest our advance, but He who is for us is more than all they that be against us, and judgment must ultimately fall upon the oppressors of the truth. The deputy confesses Christ and , his confession is the seal of the Lord upon the ministry of Saul, and a sign of those greater things which were to be wrought through him. PRACTICAL POINTS ( 1 ) n?r * P W Spirit is a person equal w ith Father and Son and the Adm lnistra- tor of the affairs of the Church. Fasting and prayer have largely gone 2« h i . fa/ n lon i? the Church, and so has fellowship w ith God and power from above.
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