Written by Mark Driskill:
Thursday April 28, 2011
Read Acts 13:1-3

Last year as I drove to our community’s monthly Ministerial Association meeting, the Lord brought this passage to mind.  He reminded me how all the spiritual leaders of the city of Antioch came together, not to plan a revival, or a crusade, and not to start a program in the community, but simply to pray and minister to him.  Through that prayer meeting the greatest missionary effort in history was launched.  So I challenged our ministers to begin meeting early for prayer each month. From that God has begun to move in marvelous ways in our community.  Oh that we would take to heart God’s call to seek him together for our communities. For too long we have kept ourselves from revival by our fear of unity and of prayer.  God is calling us to seek his face again like the leaders of Antioch.  He is calling us to do the unthinkable.

The Spiritual leaders of Antioch did something unthinkable.  Three things actually.  When you read these verses you can see them clearly. First they all gathered together to seek God for thier territory.  You see prophets and teachers from all over Antioch gathering with one purpose.  You don’t see little subgroups of prophets meeting all to themselves, each trying to protect his part of God’s work.  You don’t see Simeon trying to do his own thing while Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen were doing their thing.  All the leaders in that city came together to seek the Lord.

It’s a blessing to see God moving in some communities among the pastors.  In many communities they are coming together for the city, not just for their own denomination or church.  God isn’t interested in a Southern Baptist, or Methodist revival.  He has no desire to transform the Lutheran or Pentecostal segment of a city.  God is interested in his kingdom coming and his will being done, on earth as it is in heaven.  The second unthinkable thing they did was to seek God before seeking their own methods.  They gathered to fast and pray and minister to the Lord. God can do more with a group of people completely dependent upon him than with a multitude of experts who know how to manipulate demographic trends in order to lure the masses into a feel good gospel with no lasting fruit.  The third unthinkable thing they did was to obey the Spirit regardless of the cost to them personally.

As they sought God he spoke clearly to them, “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  As soon as that happened they fasted and layed hands upon them and sent them out. Wow! Do you see that? God asked the leaders of Antioch to send the cream of the crop out away from thier city to fulfill His purpose. How unthinkable to do that! They could have said, “Oh no! Not them! We need those guys here. We need them to run our local outreach program and develop our Sunday School. That can’t be God.” But such a self serving attitude, which effects so many today, was not present in the Antioch church. Today we clutch tighly to our best people and resources, never allowing the Spirit to call them out from among us.

Friends, we will only see God at work in our communities and our lives when we throw away our own agendas and begin to seek the Lord and follow His plan. God will never fail to lead anyone who is totally dependent and obedient to his voice. Will you seek the Lord today? Will you obey his voice? Pastor will you gather other pastors from your town to seek His face for revival?

I see a day coming when all over this country you will find groups of Christian leaders praying and strategizing together for the glorious work of the kingdom. In that day we will see the city wide church arise and minister the gospel in power and love unlike any other time in history. We will see whole communities transformed by the power and Love of Jesus Christ. You see the answer to all of our ills is not your denomination or mine. The answer is Jesus Christ, Crucified, Risen and Returning!

When Jesus Christ returns will you and I be ready? Will he find us seeking his face or pursuing our own agendas? Are you looking for hope in your community? In your own life? Then run whole heartedly to Jesus, accept nothing less than his will for your life. Place your trust in him for he is mighty to save!

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten by the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and www.facebook.com (to group “Begotten by the Word”)
Begotten by the word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.