Good morning. Barnabas and Saul are back in Antioch. There
were a group of prophets and teachers gathered together there. It does not say
which ones were which, or if all of them were both. While they were ministering
to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for Me Barnabas and
Saul for the work to which I have called them. First notice that this was a
group of leaders gathered together and not the entire church. It does not say
why they were fasting. It could have been that they were seeking to hear from
the Lord and He spoke, or that may have been totally unexpected. God
specifically called both Barnabas and Saul to an important task. It does not
say whether or not they already had heard from Him within their hearts, but
usually a person has an indication of their calling before an audible word of
the Lord comes to them. They didn’t just say, goodbye, have a good trip. Even
after hearing from the Lord, they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them,
and sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is where Barnabas was from – his hometown. They
continued on proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and
they also had John Mark as their helper. Father thank You that You call us for
the task You have for us, even sometimes giving us verbal confirmation. Help the
reader to hear Your calling for him/her.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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