The disciples in the New Testament spent a lot of time in fasting and prayer, after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Perhaps this was due to the many challenges that they experienced following Jesus’s ascension. We also saw Jesus’s response to John the Baptist’s disciples, when they enquired about his disciples and fasting. Jesus said that they were like guests at a wedding with the bridegroom, and so they could not fast. “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day” (Mark 2:20).

Later on in Acts 13, the disciples experienced death and imprisonment. Saul was a major antagonist of Christians until his amazing conversion on the road to Damascus. Soon after his conversion, Paul started ministering with the other disciples. Barnabas was the person who introduced Saul to the disciples and explained his conversion. Saul was now Paul, he was zealous for God and went around spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul also faced prosecution and threats to his life and spent time in prayer and fasting with the other disciples. It was during their prayer, fasting and worship session that Paul and Barnabas’s appointment happened.

‘Set them apart for me for the work which I have called them to.’ This was the leading of the Holy Spirit and the disciples obeyed. After fasting and praying, they laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them on their assignment. Why was it important for the disciples to lay their hands on Paul and Barnabas? This was the way that they demonstrated the transferring of the anointing and their divine appointment. In the Old Testament, the prophets would mostly anoint those who were appointed by pouring oil on their heads. The New Testament references to spiritual appointment was through the laying on of hands.

“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you” (1 Timothy 4:14). Timothy later expounded on this and made mention of the elders laying their hands for appointing. This would allow someone to operate in their spiritual gifts and abilities. What this meant is that being gifted did not automatically mean that someone was appointed. It is true that our gifts often point to our areas of spiritual gifting and opens doors of opportunity. We need to seek God in fasting and prayer, to confirm how he wants us to use our gifts for the expansion of his kingdom.

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Jesus taught his disciples about the necessity of being ready for his return. “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). The idea is that Jesus could return at any given time, when we least expect him. Even if Jesus does not return during our lifetime, it is appointed unto man, once to die and then comes the judgment. We are not born to live on this earth forever, but sent here for a certain time to fulfil our God given purpose. As such, we have to live as though any day could be our last day on earth.

What has God entrusted to you and what does he require of you to do? We have each been given gifts, abilities, dreams and desires to fulfil during our lifetime. Within these lie our God given purpose and destiny. Our desires for good things is God’s road map to our life’s purpose. If God has invested something in you, then he has already created a way for you to accomplish it. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

Life will present obstacles and roadblocks to accomplishing our goals, but God also creates a way around them. “No temptation or challenge has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). God sees ahead of time, the trials and difficulties that you will experience on this journey and he has already determined that you will overcome. “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

There are challenges on this life’s journey. There are obstacles on the road to fulfilment of your dreams and aspirations. God has already created a way of escape, around the difficulties and he requires that we manifest those dreams invested in us. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

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We serve a great and mighty God who is full of love and mercy. God is a dreadful God who is powerful and he loves justice. I think that one of the most significant characteristics of God is his love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). God is himself love and created us out of his love for us and his desire to be in relationship with us. Even when we drift away from God, he is patiently waiting for us to return to his presence and to be in fellowship with him.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). God would go to the ends of the universe to demonstrate how much he loves us. He continues to extend his mercy and grace despite our weaknesses and failures. God is kind and longs to do great things for us. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). We often experience hurt when we stray away from the presence of God and the devil is good at trying to convince us, that it is because God does not love us.

God does not move away from us, but there are seasons when we feel far from God, because we have strayed away from his presence. “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you” (Jeremiah 29:12). It does not matter how far you have strayed away from the presence of God. It does not matter how long it has been since you prayed and spent time in his presence. He is waiting for you to return to him and he is waiting to answer when you call out to him.

At times, sin can make us feel far away from God, but he is patiently waiting for us to return to him in repentance. God is faithful and full of mercy and he wants us to be close to him. God is ready to forgive us when we confess to him and he is ready to restore our relationship with him. He is not like people and we don’t have to work to earn his trust because he knows everything there is to know about us. God is not surprised when we mess up and he loves us just the same.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

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Moses’s mother’s name was not mentioned in this scripture, but I paused to reflect on her journey to bringing Moses into the world. Let us assume that God promised her a male child, who would one day deliver his people out of slavery. During the time of his conception, Pharaoh gave the command that all male children should be thrown into the River Nile. Jewish women may have had historical practices, that helped them confirm the sex of their children before birth. Fear and worry filled Moses’s mother as she imagined her newborn baby drowning in the river. ‘God, you promised me a great child, but he may not live past a few days with Pharaoh’s threats.’

Moses was born and his mother nursed him daily. She bonded with this baby and is sure that she has to hide him from the Egyptians. Every cry from Moses would have filled her with fear and regret. ‘Hush my baby, please don’t cry, lest they come and take you from me.’ She managed to hide him for three months, but she could not sustain the constant fear and anxiety. In her prayer time, perhaps she heard God telling her to build him a basket and place him in the river. After all, she wasn’t disobeying Pharaoh’s command. She was simply making the process as humane as possible.

She cried as she lowered the basket and then ran into her tent to weep. She could not watch as her son floated down the river. His sister however, could not take her eyes off the basket and followed it closely for as long as she could see. “Oh no, Pharaoh’s daughter has discovered the basket. She will definitely take my brother to her father and have him killed.” To Miriam’s surprise, Pharaoh’s daughter gently lifted Moses from the basket and cuddled him in her arms. Her eyes were filled with love and compassion and she desired to keep this child for herself. Miriam is relieved and one of the servants saw her in the distance.

Miriam runs to meet the servant who asked about her mother’s whereabouts, as Pharaoh’s daughter needed a nurse. Moses’s mother could not believe how this story has unfolded. She was reunited with Moses, as she was allowed to nurse him until his time of weaning. Pharaoh’s daughter had agreed to adopt and raise her son. Not only was her son not killed, but he was now the son of royalty. She was not sure how the rest of the story would unfold, but she was comforted by God’s amazing grace and mercy. She sang for joy at this miracle and wondered what she had done to deserve such a blessing.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22).

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Yesterday we discussed three parables related to the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. These parables illustrated heaven’s mandate to win the lost to Jesus Christ and our role in leading people to God. Today I want to look at two examples of times when Jesus went to great lengths to minister to a lost person. In Luke 4, Jesus told his disciples that he needed to go through the city of Samaria. He was on the way to Galilee, but went through Samaria in order to minister to a woman at the well. The Jews did not have much dealings with the Samaritans over long standing issues. The woman who Jesus travelled to minister to was an adulteress.

“for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly” (John 4:18). This woman was someone who I believe, that most Christians would avoid, based on her lifestyle. Nevertheless, Jesus considered her important enough to travel to her city to minister to her. The result was her salvation, deliverance and ministry. She became an evangelist and went throughout her city, telling everyone about Jesus Christ.

The second story was of a man who lived in the tombs, in the city of Gadarenes and was demon possessed. Jesus had to travel with his disciples by boat and the boat almost capsized due to a storm. “Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him” (Luke 8:30). Jesus commanded the evil spirits to come out of the man and the man was restored to his right mind. The man begged Jesus to allow him to follow him and his disciples. ““Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39).

In the first story, Jesus took the time to travel to minister to a woman who was a adulteress. The second story outlined Jesus’s journey to heal a demon possessed man. This is someone who people had given up on, who spent the time in the tombs cutting himself daily. The freedom and salvation that this man must have felt was immeasurable. Both of these people found freedom and redemption and went on to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Who would have imagined that they would become ministers of the gospel? God is not like us and he examines the heart, while we look at the outward appearance.

God went to great lengths to rescue us from destruction and to offer us redemption. We have a duty to minister the salvation of Jesus Christ to the lost and hurting. We don’t get to be the judge and jury concerning who is worthy of salvation. Even the vilest of sinners is worthy of salvation and redemption. Our job is to witness to sinners and allow God to do the job of transforming. For every person who comes in our sphere of influence, we have to be a witness for Jesus Christ. “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23)?

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Jesus shared three parables in Luke 15, to illustrate the plight of sinners and the cost of discipleship. The Pharisees and Scribes grumbled about Jesus’s habit of spending time with sinners. In his first parable, Jesus likened a sinner to a lost sheep. The concept was that, if any of them owned a hundred sheep and one of those sheep was lost, that a shepherd would leave the ninety nine and search for the one lost sheep. Once he found the lost sheep, he would call his neighbours to celebrate and rejoice for finding the sheep. Jesus told the audience, that in heaven, there us rejoicing over one soul who is saved, than for ninety nine who are already saved.

The second parable was of a woman who had ten coins and lost one coin. She would light a lamp and search her house diligently until she had found her lost coin. When she had found the coin, she also called her friends and neighbours to rejoice with her. The third parable was of a prodigal son who left his father’s home. He asked his father for his inheritance, spent it on reckless excesses and ended up broke and destitute. In an effort to sustain himself, he got a job with a farmer to care for pigs. Due to hunger, he ate the food reserved for the pigs to satisfy his appetite. At some point the son came to his senses and returned home to his father.

His father welcomed him home gladly and threw a party to celebrate his return. “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:24). In each of these three illustrations, Jesus demonstrated the father’s heart to those who are lost and dying. In each of the instances, there is mention of heaven rejoicing for the lost souls that were found. God created us in his own image and likeness, to serve him and to have relationship with him. Mankind was separated from God due to the fall of Adam. God did everything, including sending his only son to die on the cross, to redeem us back to himself.

Hell was created for the devil and his agents. The devil wishes to win as many souls as possible for hell and make them spend eternity with him in torment. We have a responsibility to point people towards God. As a wife or husband, the salvation of your spouse should be your primary responsibility. Whether or not your children spend eternity in heaven, should be a burden for parents. I do not want my greatest enemy to spend their eternity in hell. Our primary assignment is to lead lost souls to God and rescue the souls of others. Who have you led to Christ and who will be in heaven because of your witness?

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

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David declared that God would arise and scatter his enemies. Did you know that when you serve God, that anyone who makes you an enemy, has made God an enemy? David said that those who hate God would flee before him. Some people who hate you, actually hate the God in you. ““Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11). Jesus’s encouragement is to rejoice, because they have long persecuted the prophets of old. People hated prophets because they were God’s messengers.

You may not be a prophet, but you carry the mark of Jesus Christ. You can anticipate being hated by the devil and his agents. Who are the agents of the devil? Anyone who is not fully surrendered and submitted to God, who allow themselves to be used by him. Remember that even saints can be used by the devil and not everyone who professes Christ are actually his children. “As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God” (Psalm 68:2)! God has a reward for the wicked. They are driven away like grass, stubble or smoke.

“But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy” (Psalm 68:3)! God also has a reward for his children and the outcome is the opposite of what the wicked receive. The righteous will be glad and rejoice when God causes us to triumph. Challenges are hard and persecution does not feel good, but God is our strength. He is our present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). Our strength will not fail us and we declare that we are strong because God is with us. We don’t operate in our own strength, but the strength of the Lord of host.

“The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” (Psalm 46:11). Have you ever had an older brother, sister, cousin or friend step in to defend you in a fight? God also steps in to defend his children and he gives strength to the weak. “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Remember to wait in the presence of the Lord, so that your strength can be renewed like eagles.

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