Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Acts chapter 13 verses 2 and 3.

Talking about the church the Antioch says,

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.

And after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So this picture is describing the sending of missionaries from the church at Antioch.

So you've got the church in Antioch worshiping, fasting, praying together and in the middle of

their worship, the spirit of God says it doesn't tell us how but somehow the spirit of God says I've got

particular work for Barnabas and Saul to go and do for the spread of the gospel beyond Antioch and the church says yes

and they fast and pray and lay their hands on them and send them off and so here in

this picture at Antioch, we see a pattern for what God will do throughout

his church in the book of acts and over the last 2,000 years. God by his spirit sets apart certain men and women from local churches

for the spread of the gospel in places where the gospel has not yet gone.

We often call these people missionaries,

those who are sent out from the church

for the spread of the gospel and the planning of the church

where the church doesn't exist.

And I see this in the church at Antioch,

and then I look at the number of churches

...