27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
01 Acts 13 01-03 THE COMMISSIONING OF BARNABAS AND PAUL 04 Acts 13 02 Ministering to the Lord
📖 Acts 13:01-03
04 – Tue, 18 Feb 2025 – *Ministering to the Lord* - _Acts 13:01-03_ – THE COMMISSIONING OF BARNABAS AND PAUL – _I Chronicles 16:37-43_
_Acts 13:2 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."_
We have been considering the matter of gifts of the Holy Spirit and its expression in the church. Yet what we must ensure, foremost, in the church's life is serving the Lord.
As His people, we serve Him for who He is. _Deuteronomy 10:8 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 in His name, to this day._ / _Deuteronomy 18:5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever._
What was involved in ministering to the Lord? Ministering to the Lord involves worshipping, praising, adoring and glorifying the Lord for who He is. _I Chronicles 16:4 And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the LORD God of Israel:_
To come before the Lord to worship Him, our primary task as His people, we must come before Him with clean hands and hearts. _Psalms 24:3-4 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? (4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully._
We must first be cleansed to come before the Lord to serve Him. _Malachi 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, *That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness*._ / _James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. *Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded*._
The Lord is not interested in all our acts of worship, He requires repentance from us before we begin to worship Him. _Psalms 51:16-17 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. (17) *The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise*._
The following is a familiar passage. _Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? (7) Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (8) *He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?*_
We can thus conclude that *the first step in serving the Lord is to come before Him in repentance and brokenness*. This step is not just a heart of repentance but to set things right in our lives before we worship the Lord. _Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. *First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift*._ / _Mark 11:25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses._
The prayer of repentance and forgiveness is given priority in the order of service of the traditional churches, but this is not intentionally brought into the arrangement of the service of the newer churches. We enter into a time of worship directly. This must be corrected.
*When we understand what it means to serve the Lord, we will make this correction that we will first repent and set things right before the Lord before we serve Him by worship, adoration and praise.*
As the church, we must remember that we are priests before God to minister to Him. This is our primary task. _I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, *a royal priesthood*, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;_
When we have repented of our sins, have been forgiven and have ministered to the Lord, then we are ready to teach His precepts to the people. _Malachi 2:7 "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And *people should seek the law from his mouth*; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts._
This sequence has to be held with sacredness. God does speak to us in strange and unexpected ways. These are exceptions. As His people, we must follow the order that Scripture teaches us.
Consider the details of how King David served the Lord. _(I Chronicles 16:37-43)_ This shows the importance that we must give in serving the Lord. I sense that our worship today has become more of soothing our restless souls.
We being blessed when we worship God is a result, but our focus must be *to minister to the Lord*. ```He has to be our focus, not us.```