While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.
And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;
Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, and also Obed-edom and his sixty-eight brothers, while Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord. “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.