The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers: Barnabas, Simon, nicknamed Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod, Saul. One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: “Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do.” So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off (Acts 13:1-3, The Message).
The Holy Spirit is integral to the work of missions. More to the point, the Holy Spirit is integral to any successful work of missions. We see from Acts 1:8 that the Holy Spirit brings power. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit in-dwelt the believers in dramatic fashion and launched a new missionary age.
The Holy Spirit is the source of power for those who go; power abundant and never ending. This is an incredible promise. Let this soak in for a minute. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Three in one. God dwells in you and God goes with you. Afraid of what might lie ahead? That’s natural. But the all-powerful God dwells in you as you go. Intimidated by the people you meet? God, who knit each of those people together in their mother’s womb, who knows every hair on their head, greets them with you. Worried about visiting a land where nobody appears to follow Jesus? Remember that the “earth is the Lord’s and all it contains” (Psalm 24:1). The rightful owner, the Master, the King of all lands and countries and seas and presidents and emirs and dictators and kings and queens is traveling with you. Of course, none of these places are new to the Lord. He’s been there all along. People have just lost him along the way, and you’re there to help them rediscover him.
Through every bit of this discovery process the Holy Spirit is involved. When you ask someone to become a disciple of Jesus, you are asking them to change their entire reason for living. This decision will change their life, their family, their future. One decision changes everything. We cannot change a person in this way. But the Holy Spirit can and the Holy Spirit does all the time. As we go, our success does not depend on us, but on our reliance on the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Have you every experienced the Holy Spirit clearly at work in your life? Take a minute and pray and ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit.
Are you willing to follow wherever the Holy Spirit leads? Will you trust your fears and your future to the care of the Holy Spirt? As you pray, continue to pray for the courage to follow wherever the Lord may lead.
