Chapter 13 of Acts is a hinge of history as 12 years or so has gone by from the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8. You will remember His words prior to the ascension, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” They are now heading through the door of, “to the end of the earth.” The first 13 verses of this chapter are the hinges and we shall see how God’s sovereignty works alongside man’s free will. In doing so I believe that we will discover some principles that we can apply to times of change in our lives as well as how to have “turning points” for greater effectiveness.
God’s working in human lives and specifically our lives is often debated. How do we know God’s leading? How much of what directions we take in life are our following God or of our own making. Perhaps it could all be better said by the old adage, “Some people make things happen, others watch things happen, while still others are left wondering what’s happened?” Folks there are in every life certain “hinges” or turning points, which forever change our direction, but is there a way that we can be sure not to miss them?
Now notice three things about God’s direction
Now separate to Me: The call of God never happens upon a person apart from a deeper commitment to the Lord. You can not go forward until you first draw nearer. We often want God to tell us what to do or where to go instead what He says is, “Come to Me!”
Barnabas and Saul: It is God who chooses the men! The Church did not select the men, God did. I doubt they would have pulled out so many valuable folks.
For the work to which I have called them: God chooses the work. I love it! No doubt these men had already been hearing the Lord speak to them about reaching the Gentiles but it is God who chose them and the work.
The call was clear but where to go and what to do was not. God very rarely gives us the blue prints of our lives. Instead He gave a clear call to go but only enough information to keep us coming to Him for everything. Folks, life is meant to be a venture of faith!
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