Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to Me and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Acts 13:1-3.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently hear and obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you listen to and obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Days of crying, sighing and whining are over. Let the good times roll in like a flood of blessings. It is up to you. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20.
If you are willing and obey you will have days of Heaven on earth. Why? Everything I tell you to do is for your benefit.
When you pull out the root of bitterness and remove the hindrance of unforgiveness to grace, you open he flood gate and My Blessings flow in like rivers in the Judean desert at the time of the early rain.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20. As long as you keep fostering a root of bitterness the door to your heart is locked tight. It is bronze, the metal of judgment. But with My help you can leap over a wall. If you are willing, that is, if you are tired of not seeing the answer to your prayers for healing and prosperity, I can help you to pull out that bitter root. “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.” Isaiah 45:2.
When you pull that root out by speaking about the person and your life to yourself in love and thankgiving, instead of thinking how much you dislike them and thinking hateful thoughts and words, and speaking ill of a supervisor, co-worker, teacher, family member, or a host of others, even fellow church members or your pastor, then suddenly all the good things you have been praying for will flood in—they will come upon you and overtake you. “Now it shall be, if you diligently hear and obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you listen to and obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2.
When you step out of the darkness of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and depression, then healing, prosperity, and all good things and perfect gifts flow freely into your life. And if you have been trapped in that prison of unforgiveness as you nurse the bitter root for many years, there are so many pent up answers to your prayers that have been blocked during the years even though I made every effort to get them to you, they will inundate your entire being and spill over into your life and the lives of those around you. When you discover this you will NEVER allow the root of bitterness to plant in your heart again. You will not let the sun go down on your anger and offense, on your hateful thoughts and words. And this is renewing your mind. Renewing your mind for many people is simply learning to think, talk, and walk in love as I do. I will correct when you are doing things that hinder your living days of Heaven on earth but I do not crush you. I crushed Jesus in your place so that, “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” Isaiah 42:3.
A heart free of offense and filled with love and gratitude, that is, a gentle spirit, is the key to releasing the flow of My blessings into your life. Take a check up now and see if there is anyone against whom you have anything that is stopping you from receiving your healing. Do not be foolish but wise. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17.
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and strife in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and strife exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” James 3:13-18.
In yesterday’s Life Lesson and today you have learned the key to receiving My blessings and all My magnificent promises into your life. You can bring the Kingdom to earth.
So let us continue with our study of the miracles worked by believers in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. For you too should be doing the greater works and releasing My goodness into the earth. But if you are harboring a bitter root, you will not be able to receive My goodness into your own life let alone the lives of others. But the key is hearing from Me by My Spirit in you.
Those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. We already studied that Philip went to Samaria. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And My hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to Jesus as Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. If you recall, Barnabas, whose name had been Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, became a believer in Jesus after Peter spoke to the crowds at Pentecost when My Spirit fell. He who owned a tract of land, which he sold, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet and joined the community of believers in Jerusalem. The apostles called him Barnabas, which translated means Son of Encouragement, which tells you a lot about his personality. Acts 4:36-37. When he arrived in Antioch and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to their faith in Jesus; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to faith in Jesus as Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts 11:19-26.
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to Me and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Acts 13:1-3.
You see that the Holy Spirit speaks, in fact, My Word is Spirit breathed. The inner witness that you experience witnessing with your spirit is the Holy Spirit. You access Me in the Spirit. Do not be concerned though about who you are talking to in your heart. As Jesus taught you, always address your prayers to Me and your answers come from Me. But I communicate with your spirit by My Holy Spirit in you and on you. Jesus said, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” Acts 16:12-15.
To hear clearly from Me in the Spirit you must set aside time to listen. In this instance you see that the whole group was fasting, which means there were not getting distracted while in My presence ministering to Me. In other words, they were so focused on Me that even eating and drinking receded to the background. Moses had the same experience in My presence on Mt. Sinai. He did not even feel the need for food or drink.
And this group of believers all heard the same instructions from the Spirit, which established the testimony.
Paul and Barnabas became a team by My choice and not their own. They both had hearts for Me and were filled with faith and My Holy Spirit. Paul as the preacher and Barnabas as the encourager complimented each other perfectly. They were all in, no matter what persecution occurred because of the Word. They were mature and strong.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim My Word in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear My Word. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith, but Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.” Acts 13:4-12.
Saul became “Paul” for the first time in the Bible in this passage. And it was when he was fearlessly preaching My Word in the face of major opposition by one who had been taken captive by the devil to do his will that you see his new name. And the opposition became an opportunity for a mighty work that propelled the proconsul to believe, just what the devil was trying to stop.
Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. Even though I had not counseled them to do so, Barnabas took along his cousin John Mark as their helper. John Mark was not prepared yet for facing difficulty because of the Word, so after the first leg of the journey, he left them and returned to Jerusalem to his home with his mother. Later, trying again to bring John Mark along finally caused a rift between Barnabas and Paul, who was trying to protect an immature believer from facing fierce opposition beyond him at his stage of growth in Me, and after that you never hear of Barnabas again in My Word. Be careful about being stubborn to bring relatives or friends along if they are not prepared to be all in. This happened to Abraham with Lot.
I love you. Keep your heart free for Me. Fill it with faith and the Holy Spirit overflowing with love and gratitude.