<p>13:2 - see on Acts 18:18.<br /><i>And as they ministered to the Lord</i>- All spiritual endeavour leads to the Lord inviting us deeper into that endeavour; thus it was <i>as</i> Barnabus and Paul went about their ministering to the Lord that they were invited to go on a missionary journey (Acts 13:2). Likewise it was <i>as</i> the Levites were in process of collecting funds for repairing the temple, that they found the book of the law- perhaps because they needed more space in which to store the donations, and whilst making space they found the scroll (2 Chron. 34:14).</p><p><i>And fasted</i>- Perhaps for guidance as to how to further progress the Lord's work. For the response to this fasting was to call Barnabas and Saul to go forth. Have you fasted for such guidance in your own ministry?</p><p><i>The Holy Spirit said: Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul</i>- Paul uses the same word to describe how he had been 'set apart' for his missionary work from before creation (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:15). Now the time had come for that ancient plan to be realized. But Paul had the freewill not to respond to it. He was not bound to go forth in his missionary work just because it had been planned from the beginning. There are for each of us good works prepared for us to execute in our lives (Eph. 4:10), but we do them by our own freewill. There are many such works, and many individuals, who do not respond. And in this must be the tragedy of God; that He has arranged the potential for us to perform or achieve much for Him, which is not performed because of our dysfunction or unbelief. We are never better than when we are fluently responding, open to God's intentions for us, and sensing His willing us forward in the service He intended for us.</p><p><i>For the work-</i> Paul appropriates the words of Hab. 1:5 LXX to his work of preaching: &ldquo;I <i>work a work </i>in your days, which ye will in no wise believe though <i>a man</i> declare it unto you&rdquo;. And so when we read of the <i>men</i> Barnabas and Saul being sent out on the <i>work</i> of the first missionary journey, we are to see an allusion back to Hab. 1:5 (Acts 13:2; 14:26). And yet that passage went on to say that the work would not be believed. Yet hoping against hope, they embarked on the missionary journey. Cyprus didn&rsquo;t respond, initially- as they had expected. But soon their positive spirit was rewarded, and converts were made, against all odds.</p><p><i>Unto which I have called them</i>- In Acts 16:10, the same word is used of how Paul proved or concluded that he had been called to preach the Gospel to Gentiles. The implication could be that he somehow doubted his calling- he would far rather have been the apostle to the Jews. Later in this exposition I seek to demonstrate that Paul struggled with his calling as the apostle to the Gentiles, preferring rather to fill Peter's role. The parable of the talents suggests the Lord has specific hopes and callings for each of us, and man is never better than when he is working at those callings with the Lord's every support and blessing.</p>