In Peter Allison's sermon 'Ministering to the Lord,' he discusses a pivotal moment in Acts 12:25-13:2, as the focus transitions from the church in Jerusalem to the one in Antioch. Barnabas and Saul, later known as Paul, fulfill a diaconal ministry by serving the needy in Jerusalem, exemplifying 'ministering to the Lord.' The sermon explores how this concept shifts from Old Testament Levitical service to a New Testament spiritual service involving prophets and teachers. Allison emphasizes fasting as an integral part of ministering to the Lord, suggesting it is not for personal gain but as a devotion to God. He distinguishes between diaconal and liturgical ministry and highlights the congregation's role in supporting missions through prayer and release, as directed by the Holy Spirit. The sermon calls for humility, prayer, and communal support as essential components for advancing God's Kingdom.

Our scripture this morning is from in Acts chapter 12. We're going to pick up the last verse. Acts 12, 25. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry. And they also took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manian, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. Then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Solution, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

May His statutes be our songs in our pilgrimage. Heavenly Father, we ask that You would open Your Word to us this morning. You give to us understanding, but also may you give to us a zeal to obey and to do all that you command us to. May we be quick to hear and also to obey. And I ask that you would sanctify My sinful lips, that through a vessel of clay, the riches of Your grace, may be opened to us.

In Jesus' name, Amen. Please be seated. Please be seated. Well, this is a major turning point or change in the book of Acts as the focus shifts from the church in Jerusalem and the apostles there, and their ministry in Jerusalem and in the surrounding region of Samaria and Galilee, as it shifts to the church in Antioch and the ministry of Saul and Barnabas. In fact, Saul's name changes at this point from Saul to Paul.

It's right in the next verse that they are sent out in the very first encounter account that we read in this first missionary journey that Luke changes from using Saul to using Paul, as he's also called. And it also somewhat shifts from Barnabas and Saul to when they're together more often now being Paul and Barnabas. So there's a shift here. When Barnabas, remember, has been this one who has sought out Paul. He's hunted him.

He introduced him to the apostles in Jerusalem when Paul was a new convert. He sought Paul out at Tarsus and brought him to Antioch to teach. And here they have now returned. This text begins with them. Barnabas and Saul have returned to Antioch from Jerusalem, having completed their ministry there.

And if you remember, that ministry was a diaconal ministry, serving the needs of the poor in the land of Judah. Because of the high price of food, some of the people there were not able to buy enough food for themselves. And so they were serving, ministering to these people by bringing them a gift of money. And that word there, ministering, when they have fulfilled their ministry, that word for ministry is where our word for deacon comes from. They were ministering in that sense.

And then in verse 2, we read a little bit about this church in Antioch. There were certain prophets and teachers there. We read earlier about how some of the Jews that had come out from the Jerusalem church were only preaching to other Jews, witnessing to other Jews. But there are others who came from outside of that, other areas from Africa and from Cyprus, who were going to the Gentiles. And So this church has Jews and Gentiles in it, but we also see another mix here in that there are certain prophets and teachers.

Those are offices and callings in the New Testament church, and they're listed Barnabas. And then Simeon, who was called Niger. So Simeon, Niger is the Latin word for black. So Simeon was a black man. And Lucius of Cyrene.

Cyrene is in Africa, would be Libya today. So Lucius may have been another black man. Manian, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. So here's somebody who was in some way, went to school with or was close to the king, Herod. And then Saul, who was a Jew, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, learned from the feet of Gamaliel.

You have all these people here in this church, and these prophets and teachers. And In verse 2 we read that these five people were ministering to the Lord. That's an interesting phrase. I typically think of ministering to someone, or we probably do, typically think of ministering to someone as helping them, in some way providing for a need. That's what Paul, Barnabas, and Saul had done, ministered to the saints in Jerusalem, providing for their need in that famine.

But God has no lack of anything. There's nothing that we can give Him that He doesn't already have, because there's nothing that we have to give that He hasn't first given us. So what does it mean to minister to the Lord? They were ministering to the Lord. I want to look at that briefly this morning.

What is being said here? In the Old Testament, the priests and the Levites were said to minister to the Lord through their temple service. So Deuteronomy 10 verse 8 says, At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to bless His name to this day. Or in Deuteronomy 25, then the priest, the sons of Levi, shall come near for the Lord your God has chosen them, the priests and Levites, to minister to Him. The Lord chose priests and Levites to minister to him.

The Lord chose priests and Levites to minister to himself and to bless in the name of the Lord and by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled. So they were they ministered to the Lord and in this official capacity they they rendered judgments and controversies. And when Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled, because they thought that Moses and Aaron took too much upon themselves, Because they said, well, all the congregation is holy. Moses said, God had said, all the congregation was holy. And therefore, they thought it was wrong that Moses and Aaron would exalt themselves above the assembly.

So Moses said to these people, these were Levites themselves, he said to them in Numbers 16, is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, to stand before the congregation to serve them." That's the same word there, to minister to them. Now you want the priesthood also. They were separated from the Lord to serve in this official capacity. And the warning was pronounced in Deuteronomy 17 that the man who acts presumptuously and would not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord, your God, or to judge, that man would die. See, these people, these priests and the Levites, were set apart, they were separated from the congregation, and they were set apart to minister to the Lord.

Now, the Greek word that's used in the New Testament to translate this service, this ministry of the priests and the Levites to the Lord, is the word from which we get liturgy. So for an example of one of these places would be in Luke 1, 23, where Luke says of John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, who was a priest, it says that, so it was as soon as the days of his service were completed that he departed to his own house. What was he doing? He was ministering to the Lord in the temple. And that word there that's used of that service is the word we get in our liturgy.

This was a liturgical service that was being offered. Or in Hebrews 10, 11, and every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which cannot take away sins. Ministering daily. In the New Testament, that's the same word that was used of Zechariah and Luke 1. It's a liturgical service.

It's a liturgical ministering to the Lord. It's not a diaconal ministry, although that's also talked about. So outside the New Testament, this word from which we get our word liturgy, it was used by outside the church, it was used in the Greek world to refer to a public service, or to serve in a public office. In the Greek and Roman world of that time, distinguished citizens were expected to serve in a variety of offices, including serving as high priests with all the costs, and to bear all the costs that that service required. Or, It was used of wealthy citizens that were expected to assume the cost of construction, or the maintenance of public buildings, and the productions of dramas and games and so forth.

Wealthy citizens that undertook to bear the cost of these and to organize these things, this is what that word was used for. They were serving in some public office. And for their services, they would be recognized as people of exceptional merit or benefactors. It was considered a high, a prestigious honor to serve in that way. Occasionally, it's used for less prestigious service, but generally it was meant to honor people that were serving in this way.

But in the Christian literature, it's used exclusively of religious service. And so it's the word the New Testament uses to describe the work of the priests in their temple service, but it's also used of the leadership of the Christian congregation. It's used of the work of prophets and teachers in this text and in others. You See, all believers, we're all called to minister to the Lord, but this word that's used here refers to the official ministry of those in ordained office. And so this is probably meaning that these prophets and teachers were engaged at this time in leading a service.

See, faithful teachers who instruct believers on how to serve Christ and how to advance His Kingdom do, in fact, minister to the Lord. Those that minister in the church and in prayer and in preaching of the Word are said to minister to the Lord. In fact, even those who offer their tithes as a part of their religious worship are said to minister to the Lord in this way. That we, when we tithe, we bring our gifts to the Lord. It's a part of our worship.

It's a part of our official worship. And we are said to serve the Lord with this word. We get our liturgy from that. One example is in Romans 15. Paul said, I'm going to Jerusalem to minister.

That's diaconal ministry there. The Greek word diakonio. I'm going to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution to the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors.

For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things." So they're bringing this ministry. But Not only were these teachers and prophets in the church, they were ministering to the Lord. So they were engaging in this work of preaching and of teaching. It may have even been in the middle of a worship service in some way. That they are ministering to the Lord as they are doing this.

They are also fasting. As they are ministering to the Lord and fasting, It's when the Holy Spirit gives to them this revelation. I wanted to look a minute at fasting and how does that tie into this ministry, ministering to the Lord. They were ministering to the Lord, and they were fasting. Because fasting is a service to the Lord as well.

It's one that probably most of us neglect to our own detriment. One of the purposes of fasting is to be fasting unto God. They were ministering to God. They were ministering to the Lord. And the purpose of their fast is not for what they got out of it, it was part of their service to the Lord.

Zechariah 7 says, Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, verse 5, Say to all the people of the land, And to the priests, when you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for me? For me, Zechariah repeats it. When you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Fasting is a fast to the Lord. It's not primarily for what we get out of it.

It's not for the benefit that we would get from it. This fasting that is ministering to the Lord is a fast to the Lord, predominantly. It's to minister to Him. And so the first question we should ask is not what do we get out of it, but it should be is God pleased with this? How do we minister to God?

Isaiah speaks of people fasting, but not unto God. He says in Isaiah 58, he said of the Israelites, they ask, why have we fasted? They say, and you have not seen. Why have we afflicted our souls and you take no notice?" And Isaiah's answer is, well, in fact, in the day of your fast, you did it for pleasure. And you exploit your laborers.

They did it for their own benefit. And so God didn't hear their fast. He wasn't pleased with them because it wasn't to the Lord. So the first purpose of fasting is to the Lord. Fasting like prayer must be God-focused, God-ordained, God-initiated.

Otherwise, it's just legalism. Otherwise, it's just bondage. It's not fasting that is ministering to the Lord. It's like prayers. Do we pray just so that we can get what we want, or are we praying to the Lord out of our devotion to Him?

Out of a desire to have fellowship and communion with Him. Anna served the Lord with fasting. Luke 2.37 says, this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings. It's one way that she served the Lord. Now that word serve there is a related word to the word in our text for serve, minister, where they were ministering to the Lord.

But it's a broader ministry. It's a ministry not of those in office, but of the entire congregation. So you could say it's a broader. It's a different word, but it's closely related. So, But we do fast for personal sanctity.

Because humility is the basic ingredient of holiness. It's the soil in which grace flourishes. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble, Peter said. And so fasting is a corrective to the pride of the human heart. It teaches us humility.

Deuteronomy 8 says, You shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you. He allowed you to hunger. And He fed you with manna. God sent a fast, God imposed a fast on Israel to test them and to humble them.

Ezra 8.21 says, Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him the right way." First, he was fasting first to humble themselves because remember they had told the king about the Lord's protection and so he didn't feel that he could then go back to the king and ask for protection after he talked about God would protect them. So he's fasting here to humble themselves. Psalm 69 says, when I wept and chastened or humbled my soul with fasting. Humble his soul with fasting. Fasting is to humble ourselves because God gives grace to the humble.

If we desire His grace, then we need to resist the pride that's in us. And one way is through fasting. We also fast to be heard on high, to be heard of God. Because fasting is connected with seeking God, with drawing near to God, and with prevailing with God. You see, when we're willing to set aside our legitimate needs of the body in order to focus on the work of prayer, it shows that we mean business.

It's the heart of fervent prayer. Isaiah 58-4 says, Indeed you fast for strife and debate and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast to make your voice heard on high. That's why we should be fasting, to make our voice heard on high. Fasting, in essence, is like Jacob saying to God, I will not let you go unless you bless me.

Fasting demonstrates our seriousness, the fervency of our heart. And God said in Joel 2, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting. God is ministered to. We minister to the Lord when we turn to Him with all of our heart, with fasting.

And God also offers to change His mind when we turn to Him with all of our heart, with fasting. In Jeremiah 18 verse 7, God says, The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it. If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it." That's God's promise. If that nation against whom he has spoken judgment turns from its evil, God says he will relent. And that's what he did with Nineveh.

In Jonah 3, the people of Nineveh believed God, and what did they do? Proclaimed a fast. They believed God. Jonah came through and preached this simple message. In 40 days, God will judge you.

The people believed God, that He would, and they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. And then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented the disaster that He said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. God relented through the fasting, as people turned from their evil way and repented with fasting. Even God heard wicked King Ahab. Ahab was arguably one of the most wicked kings And but when Ahab heard God's words of judgment upon him for his wickedness.

He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted. Ahab was not a believer by any stretch of the imagination. He fasted and he went about in mourning. And the word of the Lord came to Elisha the Tishbite saying, See how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this calamity in His days.

In the days of His sons, I will bring calamity on this house." See, fasting is the means that God has ordained for us to change His mind. Now, we're certainly not changing what God has ordained from before the foundation of the world, because God has also ordained these means as well. But fasting is how God changes His mind. Fasting is ministering to the Lord when we fast to Him. Fasting is also to free the captives.

Isaiah 58 says, Is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke, it's all connected with the fast that God has ordained. You remember when Jesus had sent the disciples to cast out this demon, and they couldn't, And Jesus came and cast it out, and they asked Him afterwards, why couldn't we do it? And Jesus said, these can only come out by prayer and fasting. Fasting is connected to setting free of captives, to delivering them from bondage of Satan. Jesus, as a man, needed to fast in order to cast those demons out.

He didn't say, well, that can only happen if you're God and you cast it out. He said this only happens by prayer and fasting. Jesus, in His human nature, needed to pray and fast to cast these demons out. But fasting is also connected with revelation. They were ministering to the Lord and fasting, that we have this revelation come to them.

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted. And I believe that the they there is speaking of these five prophets and teachers. Because it names them all. And it says as they ministered, and it's using that word that we get our liturgy from, that's referring to the special office of service to the Lord. It was used to the Old Testament Levites and priests.

So as these five people were teachers and prophets, and there may have been others that joined with them, but they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit now reveals to them, separate to me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them." Remember Paul in Acts 9 was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. He is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel." That's what the Lord told Ananias, and that's what the Lord told Paul himself. That he was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. And yet Paul did not go at that point. Paul waited until the Lord called him to that office.

Just like David. Remember David was anointed to be king. But he didn't then run out and say, well, I've been anointed to be king, now you all need to submit. He didn't say, Saul, I'm the anointed king, you need to get out of there. He didn't fight Saul.

He recognized that Saul was God's anointed, until such time as God raised him up and made him king. And also the same was true of Saul. Saul was anointed king. And he went back to his work. It wasn't until God ordained a set of circumstances that elevated Him in the eyes of the nation, and the nation then rose up and made Him king.

Wanted Him to be king. See, Saul was called from the womb to be set apart, to be this apostle. But he didn't undertake this ministry until the Holy Spirit revealed to them that it was time to do so. He said, separate to me Barnabas and Saul. And until then, Saul was content to minister locally in the church in Tarsus, to minister in Antioch, and to do whatever was needed.

He was the one who carried the money from the church in Antioch down to Jerusalem. He was willing to do whatever God needed him to do until the Holy Spirit set him apart for this purpose for which he had been called, to be an apostle to the Gentiles, to the work to which I have called them. They had already been called to that work. But now they are being set apart. They are being separated from the rest of these apostles and teachers.

There are five of them that are named, but two of those are to be set apart. Barnabas and Saul, the first and the last. Barnabas was probably in some way a leader at this point, and Saul was the younger one. And that, as I said earlier, is what is about to change, is God is about to use Saul in a mighty way. And most of the rest of the book of Acts, In fact, I think all of the books of Acts is dealing with Paul, as he will begin to be called.

Notice that they are set apart just like the fast is to be to God. Barnabas and Saul were set apart to the Holy Spirit. Separate to Me. Separate to Me. They weren't just separated, but they were separated to the Lord.

And in the Old Testament, God said that his people, the Israelites, were separated from the other peoples of the world to the Lord, to be a holy people to Him. You shall be holy to Me, in Leviticus 20, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine." So the congregation is set apart from the people of the earth, the whole nation. But then the priests and the Levites were separated from the congregation to be priests and Levites and to minister to the Lord. And that's what's happening here. Paul and Barnabas are part of the congregation, and they are being now separated from that congregation, separate to the Lord, to serve the Lord.

They're set apart to the Holy Spirit. Separate to me. And then the Holy Spirit sends Barnabas and Saul. It looks like the congregation sends them. It says when they had fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

But if we read verse 4, So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is the one who has commissioned them and is sending them. And that word, sent away there, is the same word for divorce. It's the word that means release, to let go. So you could really say the role of the congregation was to let them go, was to release them. They weren't the ones who were sending them, that was the Holy Spirit.

They were being sent by the Holy Spirit. But the congregation, out of which they had been separated, was releasing them, was letting them go. You see, these men, Barnabas and Saul, are going to be preaching. And the Scriptures say how can they preach unless they are sent? How can they preach unless they are sent?

How can they preach unless they are sent? Remember in Romans 10. So the one who does the sending is the Holy Spirit. Even Christ was sent by the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 48-16. Come near to me now, hear this.

I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, but from the time that it first was, I was there, and now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent me. Christ was sent by the Holy Spirit. And so Barnabas and Saul here are separated from the congregation, separated from these other teachers and prophets, and sent by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is commissioning them because you can't preach unless you've been sent. And the church then releases them.

But notice what happens before they do that. The church fasts and prays and lays hands on them. This is what we see throughout the Scriptures with the ordination of elders. There is a laying on of hands and fasting. Having fasted and prayed.

It's for all those reasons that we talked about, to be heard on high, to fast to free the captives. These people are going out to preach the Gospel. They're going to be dealing with, as we'll see right in the very next passage, with demonic powers and forces. And they need to be holy. Fasting, one of the purposes is for sanctity, for holiness.

It's to set the captives free. It's to be heard on high. So these are all parts of sending these men out, commissioning them and ordaining them for this ministry. Now what purpose then does the congregation have in the ministry of these people? Paul and Barnabas.

Well, it's a ministry of prayer and support. One, we pray for the laborers that are sent out. And that is ministering to the Lord. That's a ministry that we all need to engage in. Just like Anna served the Lord with prayer at the temple.

Who was she praying for? She was praying for the coming of Christ, the coming of the Messiah, and she was praying for that ministry and for the Lord to pass this promise that He had made. And we also, as holy priesthood, minister to the Lord by praying for His work, for the advancement of His Kingdom, for the preaching of His Word, for the ministry of His Word. That's an important part of our service to the Lord. This general service that we all offer to the Lord, to be ministering to the Lord.

We also serve the Lord with our giving. Remember, those who give a cup of cold water to a prophet in the name of a prophet have the prophet's reward. Those who support the work of the prophet have the prophet's reward. In other words, God sees this support as its equivalent to the work of the prophet. And it's rewarded in the same way.

It's an important work. And I alluded earlier to the fact that in this work of tithing, the same word for ministry is used, that's used of the special office. Because it's no less important than the work of the one who is doing the preaching, Paul and Barnabas in this case. We tend to think of, well, that's more important, but it's not. That's something that's a higher office, but it really isn't.

God has given many different gifts to the body. And the foot, I can't say to the foot, well, I don't need you. And the mouth can't say to the rest of the other parts of the body, I don't need you. No. The body only works when all the parts are functioning.

And so all of these ministries are equally important. We shouldn't think of one ministry as being more important. The whole body is necessary to the functioning of the body. And when one part of the body isn't working, the whole body feels it. And so this is an important ministry that the congregation has here in the fasting and praying and laying hands on them and releasing them.

The congregation is serving God by praying for the laborers that have been sent out. They are serving God in their support of those laborers. Because for every one person that you're going to send out, it's going to take ten people to support that. So for every one person that can be a preacher And an evangelist as Paul and Barnabas were, you're going to need at least ten people to support that and more for other aspects of that work. And thirdly, we have the role of praying that God would raise up other laborers.

Remember Jesus told the disciples that fields are white to the harvest. Pray that the Lord would raise up other laborers. So those are three very important aspects of our ministry as the congregation to the advancement of the kingdom. And we shouldn't in any way think that those labors are somehow less important or less vital or less pleasing to the Lord than those who are being called and gifted for the teaching and preaching ministry, the prophets and teachers. Not everybody's a prophet.

Not everybody's a teacher, Paul said. But all these other parts of the body, all these other gifts are vitally important and necessary. And so may the Lord raise up more labors for the harvest. May He raise up more preachers of His Word. And may He equip us as a congregation to support those that He's raised up with our prayers and our giving.

Let's pray. Almighty Father in Heaven, Your Word is sufficient for us that we can be equipped for every good work, whether that is as whatever ministry you have called us to, or may we first minister to you. May our first goal be to serve you and to honor you. May that be the foundation of all of our service, whether that is as fathers and mothers, as husbands and wives, or as laborers, in whatever vocation you have called us. Lord, yours is a holy calling.

You've called us to be saints, and you've set us apart that we might minister to you. Strengthen us for this ministry and equip us by your Word. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks for watching!