Acts 13:1 “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen 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.”
So what’s happening here? These godly leaders (prophets and teachers) in the local church at Antioch were 1. Together and 2. Worshipping God and 3. Fasting
It was in this context that they heard from the Holy Spirit – and it wasn’t because they read an OT bible verse on being a missionary.
Here are five Spirit filled men worshipping God together and the five of them together apparently all clearly sensed God calling them to set apart Barnabas and Saul. So what did they do?
v 3 “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”
There was no congregational vote. They didn’t seek out the wise counsel of others – these five men were indeed the wise counsel. God clearly prompted them and they acted together decisively.
This is a highly significant and detailed Scripture, informative of the way God moved in His church in the first century. If applied within most modern Western churches today, it would cause nothing short of uproar. Yet here it is…seeded into our “How Tt book of books, to use and apply appropriately TODAY. Brian’s Comment in conclusion is also on point and bound to draw heat from the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Harodians of our day.