No Man Forbidding Him

CHAPTER SIX pr “TAN FORBIDDING HIM

“Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those. things which concern the Lora Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (Acts 28.31).

I want you to notice especially that last part of this verse,. “no man forbidding him’, or “no man hindering him”. The Christian life can be compared to a hurdle or an obstacle race. This is a sport which we hope all learned at school. Those entering the race are required to jump various hurdles without knocking over the hurdle or hitting the bamboo stick, That is haw the runner wins the prize. The obstacles often consist of a wall, sometimes tables, chairs, fences, mud puddles, and other things difficult to jump over.

As I have read these (twenty-eight chapters of the book of Acts, I seer to see at least twenty-eight hurdles to be overcome by us as God's servants: and how wonderfully and perfectly the Holy Ghost moved through God’s servants in different places. .1 overcoming every one of these hurdles—no man forbiddi.

fn previous days also, God had shown His prophets that they must continually expect Him to remove mountains.. That was His way of confounding their adversaries. as we shall see tn Isaiah 64.1-3,

“Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou, wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. us when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the water to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

When thou didst terrible things. which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flawed down at thy presence.”

As long as we are conscious of God’s abiding presence in His service, we will see every mountain flowing before His presence. Our purpose now, is to consider, not ali, but a few of the obstacles placed before God's servants and how they went on jumping over hindrances, and saw the mountains flowing down, by the grace of God. We shall begin with:

Acts 1.10-“And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.”

That was the first hurdle that they had to overcome. The Lord Jesus Christ had been taken up into heaven-He was gone!

Those few disciples stood helplessly gazing toward heaven! The Lord had just commissioned them to be witnesses unto Him in Jerusalem, Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. They knew that the Lord meant what He said, but He had left no detailed instructions of any kind no plan--no blueprint to fallow! So they were asking themselves: Where do we begin? What are we to do? Where shall we go? He could have laid down some rules by which they would have known immediately—so many days in Jerusalem; and so many days in Samaria, and so on; but He simply went off without writing any plans! The only thing He told them to do was to wait in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Ghost to come upon them.

Numerically, they were very few -that was a great problem, But in addition to this, there were three other great mountains which were against them; and which they had to overcome.

—the nation of Jews who hated them,

~the political Roman rulers who kept them in bondage.

—the Greeks with their idolatrous culture.

Whenever we receive a message from God, or a charge of any kind, the first question we ask is, “How do we begin?” You may also be feeling that it is a very heavy responsibility, and that ‘our case’ is different. “We are finding these people too hard we are troubled and don’t know how to proceed we would therefore like some clear directions.” Bul God doesn’t work that way.

In any work of God, do not suppose that because God worked in a certain way in England, America or in Madras, that He will do exactly the same in another place. God is. not bound to our ideas or plans, He only wants us to wait patiently until He begins to move. To us it seems to he a very real problem, as it was in the case of the disciples. (verse 11).

“Two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into’ heaven.”

They were so disturbed that He had gone; that their Lord Jesus had gone! They had been told plainly that the Lord Jesus Christ would be coming back again, and they had only to believe Him and wait, it might be for a short time, ora long time. That was not their business! They must go and wait, as they were told to wait, and in God’s time, He would Himself tell then what tc do next.

First of all we have to learn to wait for God’s time. We have to wait patiently, for God has a time for every work, and He works in His own time. We must not move until we. have received clear marching orders from the Lord; and certainly not the command of men.

When the work began in North India, we never pursued ‘ any plan of our own, We had no scheme, that first we must go and evangelize in the south, then north and Central India. We had no preference; and even then we had to pray again and again for the Lord to break our plans, take away our own thoughts and ideas, and give us His plan. And when God’s direction came, we went; regardless of the weather,

If God is speaking to you on any matter, then wait patiently. Don’t go and discuss it and argue about it with your co-workers! They cannot help you. It is a personal matter between your own soul and God. Only we can know how God is dealing with us as individuals, and we have to learn how to wait patiently till the Lord’s exact time arrives, ‘ as it surely will.

: In the beginning, the question the disciples raised was: ‘We are too few!’ But here in the second chapter it is other- « “S’ wise: ‘We are too many!”

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (ch.2.41).;

Now the second obstacle faces them: How to shepherd them; how to keep order; how to keep discipline?

If the work began small and grew slowly, then they could easily cope with it, and prepare for its needs; but this is so sudden, and the people so many! What shall we do about a building? What about accommodation? What about food?

I The next verse gives the divine answer, and it has ever I remained the governing principle upon which God works—“And they: continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (verse 42),

I ° Whether God gives us two souls or two thousand souls, I the number is not the guiding factor. The scriptural principles are always the same, and God’s servants were told how. to establish His work, and how to make a proper provision for its growth.

You may emphasize the need for regular Bible study; and you, may start cottage meetings, and put everybody to work witnessing, paying up their old debts, confessing their faults and sins to each other, and making bonfires of cigarettes, bad books and idols; and yet the converts are not growing spiritually because you have failed to follow God’s order. Note the God-given order: ‘And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine”. It was the pure Word of God given without the adulteration of man’s philosophy, or man’s argument. For this reason, we compel people to read God’s Word, and not so many other books. I am not disputing the value of the various literature services--they have good books. But I recommend that the Bible be read first of all.. The believers must become familiar with the Word of God. They must learn of God’s plan through His Word. That is what the apostles did, They drew attention to all that was written about the Lord Jesus Christ in the law and the ‘ prophets and the psalms.

Then comes fellowship. The apostle encouraged true fellowship, for fellowship is a strength to the believers. Believers should be encouraged to meet together as often as possible, to share with each other what the Lord has done for them.

By sharing together of God’s faithfulness, we encourage each other, and grow spiritually. Why is it that people like to come for meetings, but they don’t want to stay for fellowship? They prefer their ‘tea’ fellowships and ‘coffee’ fellowships, but, to my mind, this is not true fellowship.

Then the apostles began the breaking of bread straightaway. Wherever you are labouring, please don’t fail to have gatherings for the breaking of bread,on the Lord’s Day—even if there are just a few: your co-workers, friends or servants! Such times of fellowship are so wonderful, you will wish you could continue for the whole day! It is my feeling as well as my experience, that where people learn to take ‘ part in worship at the Lord’s table, they give more generously, they suffer more gladly, they are not dependent upon preachers or preachings. Their eyes are drawn away from things, men, and weather conditions. Their eyes are upon the Lord.

We have found to our joy, that in the villages where we have begun worship gatherings, only 2 short while ago, the believers are progressing happily and spiritually. At first they could not even read the Bible, but now how they pray! how they worship! and they have learned to give joyfully, even though they ate sa poor!

People do not learn how to give by hearing a good sermon on tithing, but they learn how to give, because they ° have first learned the secret of worshipping the Lord.

I have been asked again and again, “How are you able to meet the need?” I tell them, “We cannot meet the need!

‘ We have gone into villages among very poor people, and yet the Lord supplies through them. Then we have found that it is only because they have first learned how to worship. How interesting I is to see their shyness vanish and tongues that were tied being loosened. They also testify boldly in the open air; simply because they have seen the Lord in worship.”

Similarly they learn to pray for each other, and with each other, remembering that by prayer and supplication we make ail our needs known to God.

I request of you, please do not be afraid of criticism by having breaking of bread. Don't fear what your friends of other denominations may say. Of course, they will not understand! They may never ask you again to preach! Thank God for that! We are never bound to any particular place, or church building, for our ministry, What the Lord, has opened, no man can shut. We must be faithful to the heavenly vision.

Now for the third obstacle, let us turn ta Acts 3.6:

. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none”.

No money! What a confession for a man of God to have to make! And yet he does not say so apologetically, as I I have heard so many missionaries do! Some are always begging: “We have no funds—Please give—We are depending upon you!” They say they have faith, but their faith is in their country and their friends. I think that is why they look so longingly for the postman to come and bring the mail, thinking: ‘Is there going to be something for me?’ I think it is a shameful thing to do! We must take our eyes off our friends and relatives, and look only to the Lord. He has every right to meet the need through any persons He wishes.

Peter is joyful because he already has the answer: “Such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” This is the way he overcame the barrier, We to a may use the authority and power of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When God first spoke to me concerning His service, it was half-past two in the morning. He made it very clear that if I wanted to be His servant, then I should withdraw all claim from any property in the Punjab; I was never to join a mission or a society; and I was never to hint or speak of any financial Gr material need. After that I was only to look to God. I gladly submitted to these conditions, though I knew nothing about the life of faith.

Then as I began to think of returning to India, and its poverty, the Lord assured me that He was the same everywhere and in every country. With that faith I came back. I did not know how God would supply my need; there were many months when I had food; but sometimes I was hungry.

It does not matter how great the need, whether personal or for great campaigns. We have had as many as sixty, or a hundred in our party when we have gone on Gospel raids; we have travelled for many miles to places where we were unknown; yet He has met our needs. On the other hand for some reason He would sometimes withhold; that we might learn to trust Him at all times.

The question is, Are you sure you are in God’s will? Are you in God's plan? If so, the matter is settled, and God is committed to it!

One day a man came to me and told me he had rent to pay, but he had no money. I prayed for him and asked God to supply his need. The Lord told me, “You are keeping that twelve rupees in your box, give that to him’’. I said, “But no, that is my train fare te Ajmer. I have promised to attend that convention on Thursday, and if I give it away, I cannot go”, The Lord spoke to me again, “That money is Mine; not yours”. So I gave the money to the man. Thursday came; train time came; but no money came! Sol. took my suit-case and went down to the station. While I was standing there, 2 man came near and asked, “Are you Bakht Singh? Someone told me to give this to you, anonymously”. He went away. I pulled out just enough money to pay for my fare!

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we overcome barriers, We say that we have faith, but when the test comes, we really do not believe; sa God takes us through the testing time to give us faith; that we may know the power of His Name.

In chapter 4 we find the fourth obstacle to be of a different kind. (verse 16):

“What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”

This obstacle came from the civil authorities. They were afraid of the influence which the apostles had over the. people. They were forbidden to preach in the name of Jesus. But in spite of their threatenings, the apostles continued to testify boldly in the Holy Ghost that: ‘We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard; are we justified in keeping quiet?” They judged things that were right in the sight of God and not men.

Let me ask you, are you justified in keeping quiet concerning any spiritual truth which God has shown you? We often face this difficulty. We are warned by church members and nominal Christians, not to speak upon certain doc- Tines in their church or they may say: “We will not allow ‘ou to speak any more in our building if you are going to peak that way.” What do you do in such a case? Are you just diplomatic and say, “Yes, yes, we don’t want to cause ny difficulty in the congregation”, thinking that you may ave a better chance of ministry by doing so? ‘ It is by authority in the Holy Ghost we have better results! If people do not want God's Word, it is up to them; ou are freed from your responsibility. But you must give. od’s message whatever it may be. What God says to me, e intends me to declare. But I must say it in love; I must ly it in meekness,

One day in South India, a man came to me and asked if would give a fifteen-minute message. I said, “No, I have uy God's message, and I cannot give you any promise”,

I always pray that the Lord will give me His message, and ke away my own words and thoughts. Then in His power, boldness and authority, I can give that message without any ology or hindrance.

Now turn to Acts 5.17 to see the fifth obstacle: “Then the high priest rose up, and ali they that were with n, (that is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put 2m in the common prison.”. The council had now fulfilled their threats, and put the apostles in prison—to punish them, of course. We find that id does not always use supernatural means to protect us,: 1 He did in this case. He took the responsibility for their deliverance, and overcame the obstacles immediately.

“The angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, I brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in %I the temple to the people all the words of this life.” (verse 19).

In 1947, in West Pakistan, there was a time when the Muslims began to kill the Hindus—they wanted to kill the Christians also. So three nights in succession these Muslims came with their weapons to attack the people of Martinpurwa. The Christians were hiding in the fields here and there, and could see that they were coming every night, but didn’t dare to come near. On the fourth night, they sent a message of apology saying, “We have been coming to attack your village for the last three nights, but every time we came near, We saw a man on a white horse, with a drawn sword, and we couldn’t proceed further, Please forgive us.” This actually happened.

If there is to be any persecution or suffering of any kind, we believe our Lord is able, and knows how to protect His own. There is no need to be anxious, worried and troubled. If we believe Him, He will protect us.

When the missionaries were being turned out of China, some missionaries in India appealed to Lord Salisbury, who was the Viceroy of India, and asked him why he didn’t send his armies to protect the missionaries in China. I do not remember the exact words he used, but he asked them what they were doing there. Of course, they told him that they were commissioned to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. To that he replied, “If the Lord Jesus Christ is unable to defend the missionaries, what can my army do?” He was an unsaved man!

We must not depend upon earthly powers for protection. We must depend upon the Lord. We must not depend upon any country and their promises and hopes for protection. They will fail. We only believe in God’s faithfulness.

In the last great war, many testified of how the Lord had kept them safely, when the bombs were falling outside.

During the recent flood in Poona, more than a lakh of GLORY people were affected. The wall of the flood-water was about thirty feet high coursing down towards the.city of Poona at the speed of forty-seven miles an hour. On the other side of the river was a large lake—so there was no escape. Many thousands of people were literally washed away; but we discovered afterwards, that every believer was safe. Near the new bridge, there were ten rows of buildings in which two families of believers were living. We saw with our own eyes, how the buildings had fallen completely, and theirs was the only one standing. How it happened, we don’t know! There was a Christian orphanage nearby, surrounded with water, yet everyone inside was safe.

So I believe that in times of calamity, God manifests. His supernatural power to protect His own, We must believe in His faithfulness—that ts how the early believers overcame their obstacles.

Now in the next chapter, we shall consider the sixth obstacle of murmuring. See Acts 6.1: “In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.”

Whenever a work of God increases there are bound to be murmurers in every congregation. The Greeks were tempted to feel that there was partiality shown toward the Jews, ““while their own needs were being neglected. It was a very * difficult barrier, but how did they overcome it?

The apostles called the congregation together and said, “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and: serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”

You might think it is a God-given responsibility to serve tables, but the apostles recognized that their first commitment was to the ministry of the Word and prayer; and under no circumstances must they leave that, in order to serve tables.

Many of us are tempted in the same way, and the devil often succeeds in making us forsake the first job for the second. Men who have been commanded of God to preach, and anointed by the Holy Ghost to proclaim and teach His Word, are now serving tables. These men say, “Somebody has to do it! If I don’t do it, who will?”

The question remains—Did God call you to serve tables, or did He call you to teach the Word? You must find this out for yourself. If God has called you to minister the Word, then don’t be carried away by what seem to be ‘important’ duties.

When I came to India, I faced this problem also. My father was involved in a high court case in the Punjab, and suffered the loss of more than a lakh of rupees. He turned to me, and told me that the family were counting on my help, as an elder son; and that I was to find a job for at least three months. He appealed to me for the sake of the younger brothers, and said that the relatives at least would be happy. I told my father that I knew clearly God had called to me to preach the Gospel. I have already spoken of the struggle which lasted for two years, when God finally made me willing to yield to Him my life, time and energy for the Gospel; and I told my father that if I disobeyed my God he would suffer more loss.

T said to my father, “I can’t give you any help. I cannot keep you from dangers, but the Lord can. Your safety lies in my obedience. If I obey my Lord, I know that eventually. you will ali be blessed--1 believe in God.” With that, my mother began to weep; and my father began to weep, and taking off his turban and laying it at my feet, he said, “Not even for a few months?” Again, I said firmly, “‘No, God must come first; one day all of your trouble will be over through my obedience.”

Now, when I return to the Punjab, my relatives express their gratitude to me for my obedience through which they have been so abundantly blessed. Everyone in the family has Been richly blessed- more than you can imagine! And they say, “It is because of prayer that we are what we are.” The result is, that I have an open entrance for the Gospel in every home. They sit up till midnight in the hope that I will give God’s message when I come.

At the very first, I confess, it was a great temptation to yield to the pleas of the family! I know many missionaries who under similar pressures have lost their calling, and are spending their time doing ‘good’ things, but not fulfilling - their calling. But we all can overcome that barrier, through faith and waiting upon God in prayer.

Let us proceed to the seventh obstacle and consider the, barrier of being falsely accused. Read Acts 7.54,55.

“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”

This man of God, Stephen, was full of the Holy Ghost; and he proved it in the way in which he patiently endured such accusation and cruelty, He allowed them to do what they wanted. He ignored their false charges. He gave no word of retaliation. He forgave, praying: “‘Lord lay not this sin to their charge.””

In the work of the Lord, it doesn’t matter how cautious and careful we may be—we are bound to be falsely accused, and have horribly unkind things said to us; even by our co-: workers, who sometimes rise against us. We argue the hours away, in our own defence. We waste time writing letters to prove and clear ourselves. But we never succeed that way! Stephen forgave them! '

Some years ago, two or three men got together and issued a paper in which they wrote some horrible and untrue charge against me. Later, I found out about this but I determined that I would always speak nicely to them, and always pray for them, After three or four months one of them came and held my hand. He said, “Brother, can you give me five minutes?” I told him, “Please don’t ask me for time- I have already forgiven you!” He insisted that he must explain everything; but I assured him I knew exactly who had done it, and that I knew it a long time ago! I also added that no weapon of man would ever prosper against me. “This is my faith”, I said, “you may say anything you like against me- it will never harm me. If I am in the right,. I know that my Lord will defend me. That is why I forgave you the very same day I heard about it; and I have also prayed for you. I have learned to pray for my enemies”.

; The man broke down and pleaded for forgiveness.

If you find in your area or community, men of this type~ just forgive them! They are the devil’s agents. Don’t waste any more time defending yourself, but like Stephen—forgive them. They are put to shame in this way—come to themselves, and apologize. That is how to overcome the barrier.

Shall we go further into chapter 8, for the eighth obstacle.

Verse 12—“But when they believed Philip preaching the things’ concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Verse 14—“When the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.”

This may not appear like a problem, but there is definitely the barrier of nationality arising here. This is a problem which we find everywhere. Were the Samaritan believers entitled to receive the same love and recognition as the Jewish believers? In a very subtle way the devil would create a big barrier of a communal nature—Americans and Indians; educated and uneducated; rich and poor people; Brahman converts and outcaste converts, and all sorts of distinctions and parties.

Now God knew that it would be that way; and that is why He sent the apostles from Jerusalem to Samaria, when the Samaritans believed in the Lord Jesus Christ through Philip, that they might see for themselves that the very same gift, which God had given to them at Jerusalem, was given to the Samaritans also—there is no difference. My warning is—be careful of distinctions—don’t yield to the pride of nationality. You will only lose ground—you will only have strife!

We must as far as possible remain as one family—as one. fellowship. Unless we work as one family, the devil is sure to bring in some communal strife. In some places, they have a Hindi service and an English service. To my mind this is wrong. It makes divisions. In our experience, we have. always refused this distinction, and we have worked on the principle of giving God’s message in English wit, as many interpreters as are necessary, with the view to maintaining this oneness of living together and serving together; and overcoming every barrier together.

The ninth obstacle is contained in the ninth chapter, Beginning at verse 31 to the end of the chapter, we have an account of Peter being used of God in performing miracles. But here also I want you to see a very big obstacle—a mountain in the heart of Peter. But Peter himself was not aware of this barrier, perhaps because God was blessing his ministry so greatly. It was something that others also couldn’t see. It was known throughout the country that he was a man of God. But God knew that Peter was limping in his ministry because of his pride; so unless God did a new work in Peter He could not use him fully; and He could not send him to. the house of Cornelius.

Now please watch how God broke this barrier, In verse 43 it says that “It came to pass that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.” Peter probably came for one day. You will see from the story that, to visit Joppa, where he raised Tabitha back to life again, was not in his plan—a messenger was sent to Lydda to bring him. God changed any plan that Peter might have had.

From chapter 10 we can see clearly how God delayed His servant for a special purpose, though unknown to Peter. God was preparing a man in Caesarea, called Cornelius, at the same time. When He appeared to Cornelius, He revealed to him the exact place where Peter was staying; and instructed him to send men to fetch Peter. So in verses 7 to 10 we see God’s perfect plan being fulfilled:

“And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, 2s they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance.”

It was the day that dinner was very late, and Peter became very hungry. This delay was also in God’s plan. And while he waited on the housetop, praying, he saw this vision and heard the voice saying, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat!” It was God breaking in on Peter’s pride. [t was pride speaking: “Not se, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean”—as though God would ask anyone to do anything wrong! God showed him three times before Peter was willing to obey. But now, God was able to use him to take His message to the house of Cornelius.

That is how God had to prepare Peter before He could use him in a fuller way. Now, don’t you be deceived about your ministry. Like Peter, we may be used mightily, and thank God for it; but God wants to do so much more.

Now let us turn to Acts 11.19:

“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.”

The people bad to be scattered so that they could take the life of the Lord Jesus Christ wherever they went. The barrier was, that they gave preference to the Jewish community, and they neglected to go further afield to the Gentiles. It was persecution that scattered them abroad.

It was through persecution that the Gospel came to the Grecians in Antioch, and through famine, God shifted the centre from Jerusalem to Antioch.

God is showing that He is not going to keep Himself bound to Jerusalem, even though the work began there; and even though the apostles and other good people were stilt there, He is not dependent upon the money and talents of. America and England—He is not bound to any country! He can shift His centres and He will go on shifting, until we are brought into His plan.

In verse 27, we see another possible danger—the danger: of being exclusive.

“In these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.”

God had done a mighty work in Antioch through the ~ ministry of Saul and Barnabas and here was a real temptation for the believers to say, “Brothers Saul and Barnabas, you stay here; you must not leave: we need you here”. This was quite true, because the whole city was in deep need. They all believed, and they needed to be helped and shepherded. But God sent a famine to Jerusalem, That is how God overcame that barrier!

According to Acts 12.1-5 the apostles came into a very grave situation in Jerusalem but they were also brought there by God to see the unceasing prayer meeting going on in the church,.

In their poverty they were praying: in their trouble they were playing and the apostles also returned with that same burden for prayer. Outwardly, they came with relief for the poor saints, but in reality they. came to receive this spiritual blessing.

On returning they declared to the believers in Antioch the mighty things God was doing by prayer. That same spirit was communicated to the believers, and while they were at prayer, they heard the Lord speak: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work.” The church had to obey: they could not hold the apostles for themselves any longer! Thus we find new doors being opened for the gospel throughout Europe and Asia.

Many men of God are held in positions by human pressures, by human reasoning, while God has some other work for them to do. In times like these God may have to send. a famine, persecution and other difficulties, in order that we go upon our knees and prevail in prayer, and that we may also hear Him say, ‘Separate me so-and-so for the work’.

. Now please study all twenty-eight chapters and you will see the apostles and believers overcoming twenty-eight obstacles under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Finally the last words of chapter twenty-eight—“No man forbidding him’’—shew so completely how every barrier was fully overcome--mountains flowing down at His presence, and believers coming out triumphantly.