"As they ministered to the Lord...the Holy Spirit said..." (Acts 13:2).
Somewhat like the apostle Peter at Christ's arraignment, our speech frequently "gives us away" in terms of cultural or regional background (Matt. 26:72). This was driven home some years ago when, upon having moved to the South from "up North," we soon afterward encountered a congenial young man who observed: "You folks are not from around here, are you?" Upon our acknowledgement of the fact, he continued, "I thought so, because you talk funny." Given the "funny" dialect that we ourselves had been hearing following our arrival, his comment struck us quite humorously.
Somewhat similarly, one can frequently ascertain another's religious identity or background by the manner in which spiritual interests are at times addressed. Within the setting in which I was reared, for example, church services frequently began with the spirited challenge: "How many came to receive a blessing?" Little discernment was required to determine that one was not at First Presbyterian or All Saints Episcopal - commendable churches though they might have been. If nothing else, such "calls to worship" offered a rather reliable indication as to our own spiritual identity and orientation.
Unfortunately, efforts to so "prime" the service tended at times to reflect a philosophy focused more upon "receiving" in terms of inspirational uplift and/or attainment of personal objective than in terms of "giving" praise, adoration and thanksgiving - in other words, "worship" - to the heavenly Father.
This is not to discount those "times of refreshing...from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19) by which the believing body is both edified and nurtured (note, for example, the envisioned outworking of "the joy of the Lord" in Neh. 8:10). Nor would we disparage the believer's petitioning for divine favor in relation to personal need or situation (I Pet. 5:7). Scripture, indeed, abounds with encouragement relative to entreaties of this nature.
We would, however, underscore a somewhat frequent limiting of the term "blessing" to that which one receives from the Lord as contrasted to that which, in return, the believer is to render to God (e.g., "I WILL BLESS THE LORD at all times..." Given such, "His praise shall continually be in my mouth," Psa. 34:1). It is an expression of worship. Within a setting of spiritual viability (i.e., "in spirit and in truth") "the Father seeks such to worship Him" (John 4:23,24) - itself, as per Scriptural portrayal, constituting an act of "ministry to the Lord."
To this end meaningful interaction with the divine, as defined and illustrated in our "Lord's Prayer," begins with the believer's petition that: 1. God be exalted; 2. His kingdom advanced; and 3. His will effected upon earth (Matt. 7:9,10). What we have sometimes missed here is that Christ's words at this point represent more than a brief acknowledgement of the Father or pious introduction to one's subsequent requests.
Our Lord's intent lay rather in establishing the three-fold sphere of divine will and objective to which both believer and believing community are to be committed. (Thus, for example, his subsequent directive, when addressing life's more material needs and concerns, to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness", Matt. 6:33).
A significant example of the relationship between the foregoing objective and divine manifestation is seen in Luke's account of the apostolic era church at Antioch. While "ministering to the Lord" (in this instance by means of prayer and fasting, Acts 13:1,2), those serving in the role of church leadership (here identified as prophets and teachers) were moved on by divine inspiration to confirm the calling of Paul and Barnabas to a yet greater ministry.
This "moving of the Spirit" was not in consequence of God's positive response to their latest self-initiated agenda; emulation of another's program or methodology; or even of having engaged in pronounced agonizing before the Lord as means to inducing his benevolent response. It rather found expression within the context of their "ministering to the Lord."
Might it be that we have missed something here; not in terms of discovering some new tactical maneuver for accessing divine manifestation (e.g., the "Praise God For Everything Movement" of some years ago; itself but one of many off-centered strategies proposing to "move the hand of God") but, in the sense of a meaningful commitment to one's ordained role and calling in the faith - be it propagative, exhortative, administrative, spiritually and/or financially supportive, or otherwise - as such constituting an active, meaningful expression of "ministry to the Lord?"
"As they ministered to the Lord, the Holy Spirit said..."
Burl Ratzsch
