Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:1-3

In addition to being led by faithful elders as mentioned in Acts 11:30, the church at Antioch was guided by a cadre of prophets and teachers. And in the midst of a time of worship and fasting, the Holy Spirit speaks to this dynamic congregation of believers.

Luke writes this as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Reading this today, I don’t know what impresses me more: the fact that the Holy Spirit spoke to these believers or the fact that they were able to hear His voice. No doubt their fasting and worship created conditions more conducive to discerning the Spirit’s voice.

The Holy Spirit speaks!

The voice of the eternal God!

How incredible!

And the Spirit directs the church there to set apart Barnabas and Saul. It seems that the Spirit has something else planned for these two. One scholar writes, “It is perhaps worth noticing that the two men who were to be released for what would nowadays be called missionary service overseas were the two most eminent and gifted leaders in the church.” Simeon, Lucius, and Manaean will continue to feed and nurture the flock in Antioch. But this is one of those Kingdom moves of multiplication through division.

How do we listen to the Holy Spirit in our assemblies today?

Is this limited to those with special gifts of prophecy?

Or is this something available to all believers?

It’s worth noting that fasting is mentioned twice here in this passage. Might this be one of the ways for us to hear the Spirit’s voice?

The rest of the narrative is impacted by this activity of the Spirit. Needless to say, Paul’s life was never the same after this commissioning. He readily steps into the adventure to which the Spirit calls him.