Life of Paul - The Mission to Jerusalem (Acts 11:27-30)
NOTE:
There was a certain man who went to his cardiologist.
His cardiologist ran the tests and came out and said to the man, “I'm sorry
things don't look very good. Your cholesterol is way too high, and you've got
several arteries that are 40% clogged. You need to make some changes; you need
to make them now. First, stop eating red meat. The man said, “No problem.” He
went home and immediately he stopped putting ketchup on his hamburger.
None of us like change, do we? We don't like change.
We're creatures of habit. I don't think I've ever met anyone that says, “Hey, I
really, really love change.” We don't come across those people. Honestly, we
are creatures of habit. Most of us have our morning routines and we've got our
bedtime routines and we've got our routines in between. Most of us eat the same
thing every morning or drink the same cup of coffee every morning, we brush our
teeth in the evening before bed at the exact time in the exact order as we do
all those other pre-bed routines. We're creatures of habit.
Some of us don't even get rid of our socks and our
underwear that have holes in them because we don't want to change. We're
creatures of habit.
Listen to what Albert Einstein said about change. He
said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” Ouch! My
guess, according to Albert Einstein, I'm a moron. Sometimes I do not like to
change.
Listen to what
Sydney J. Harris, a journalist, said about change, “Our dilemma is that we
hate change and love it at the same time. What we really want is for things to
remain the same but get better.” That is so true. We want things to remain the
same, but at the same time get better.
I imagine that the Christians in Antioch would have
said much the same thing. Last time we took a closer look at one of the most
successful churches in the book of Acts, the church in Antioch. It was firing
on all cylinders at that point in time. They were the only Christians on the
planet, who were regularly sharing Christ with everyone, not exclusively with
the Jews --not just with the Jews, some Samaritans, some God-fearers (those who
basically practiced Judaism to the best of their ability, even though they
weren't Jewish) they were sharing Christ with everyone. Anyone who would
listen.
We’ve looked at that example of the church in Antioch
last time and remember what we saw in Acts 11:21? “The Lord's hand was with him,
and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” Then
Barnabas, the son of encouragement, showed up to help lead and strengthen that
church. We read down in Acts 11:24 “He was a good man, full of the Holy
Spirit and faith and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” By
any measurement, Barnabas's ministry in Antioch was a home run. It was successful,
but he knew that the Christian's growth would be stifled if he tried to do it
alone and didn't get a partner to do ministry with him.
Remember, he traveled 150 miles to Tarsus looking for
the apostle Paul. He found him, and then he took him back there to Antioch. Together,
they led the church and taught the church for an entire year. We read this in Acts
11:26 “For a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught
great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
Revival had broken out in the city. The Holy Spirit was drawing hundreds,
possibly even thousands, to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit
was working through Barnabas and Saul's ministry in a powerful, amazing way.
Together they were baptizing and teaching hundreds, if not thousands of these
new baby Christians. They were preparing them to serve and lead in the church.
They were preparing them to go out and make even more disciples for Jesus Christ.
They were bringing so much glory to God. I can just imagine a group of Antioch
Christians coming out of a worship service during that time and saying to each
other this feels like heaven on earth. I never want it to end. They were
experiencing one of the most wonderful experiences any Christian can ever go
through here on planet earth. God invades our earth with a powerful touch of
heaven.
The Mission to Jerusalem
(Acts 11:27-30)
They didn't want it to end, but a big change was
coming to their church. The question would be how would they handle that change
when it comes? We're going to see here that God is going to bring to the church
the first “big change” as he sends Paul and Barnabas on a mini mission to
Jerusalem.
Acts 11:27-30 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem
to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit
predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This
happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able,
decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This
they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
May God bless us as we study his word and apply it to
our lives. For a whole year, Barnabas and Saul are being used by God in this
amazing way. They're leading groves to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
They're taking those hundreds, if not thousands and discipling them. They're
just doing amazing ministry. These great numbers are coming to Christ, these
great numbers are getting discipled. During that year a few special visitors
arrive at the church in Antioch from Jerusalem. They had traveled 300 miles to
spend time with the Christians there in Antioch and were told they were
Christian prophets. Now take a quick look at this map we looked at last time.
They came down from Jerusalem. That kind of strikes us as odd because Antioch
was North of Jerusalem. In our minds, it looks like they came up from
Jerusalem. Remember, Jerusalem was perched on top of a small mountain. Whenever
someone left Jerusalem from a Jewish standpoint, that person went down. Didn't
matter if they were headed North-South, East or West, they were going down to
wherever their destination was that they were heading. They went down 300 miles
from Jerusalem to Antioch.
Now there's a lot of confusion among Christians today
about what it is that prophets did in Bible times. I'll give you the short and
sweet answer to that question.
God’s prophets did two things:
1.
They
proclaimed God's INSTRUCTIONAL word for today (AKA FORTH-TELLING)
2.
They
proclaimed God's PREDICTIVE word for tomorrow (AKA FORETELLING)
Now, which of these two gets the most attention today
when we talk about biblical prophets? Obviously foretelling, #2. It gets more
publicity and more press today. That's what we like to talk about. They
predicted the future and the prophecies from the Old Testament about Jesus
Christ. Several hundred were fulfilled by Jesus Christ to the smallest detail. That's
an amazing sign that the Old Testament was in fact inspired by God. Because
he's the only one who knows the future, right? Foretelling is a beautiful
thing. But make no mistake about it, when you hear of biblical prophecy, the
primary messages, the main messages, the majority of the messages that prophets
spoke were forth-telling -- they were speaking to God's people a message for
today. Not a prediction of what would take place when these prophets came down
from Jerusalem to Antioch, certainly much of what they were doing, probably
most of what they were doing, was forth-telling. They were proclaiming God's
truth to the church at Antioch. Remember, the New Testament hadn't been written
yet. God spoke through prophets to relay
his timeless word to a church.
At the same time, we know from what we read here in
Acts 11 that at least one of those prophets by the name of Agabus was doing
some foretelling, letting him know about a famine that was coming to the land. Prophets tell you what God's will is and
teachers tell you how to live it out. According to Acts 11:28, Agabus comes
to that church and on one occasion when he is ministering to the church at
Antioch, he does some of this foretelling. He stood up and through the Spirit
predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. Now,
this shouldn't surprise us that God spoke through a prophet in this powerful
way, because the Holy Spirit was all over this church in Antioch. Remember, they
are experiencing revival and the Holy Spirit is moving left and right. He is
empowering everyone, regardless of their spiritual gift, to be able to exercise
that spiritual gift in some amazing life-changing ways. So much is going on during
this revival. Antioch is experiencing one of the greatest revivals going on at
the world at that time; drunks are getting sober, sex addicts were turning
their backs on temple prostitution and being saved. Pagans were trashing their
idols, and the Holy Spirit was moving in a big way. Therefore, it should not
surprise us that the Holy Spirit was speaking to and through the prophets in
that church and preparing them for the days ahead. And what happens here in
Acts 11:29, I think is so significant. As
far as we know, this is the first time in church history that a special
offering is voluntarily taken to help Christians hundreds of miles away. Think
about that for a moment and catch this. The offering is collected before the
Judean Christians asked for help. That collection is taken even before they
have the need that will prompt them to ask for help. They didn't even know if
famine was coming, but the gift was on its way anyway. Truly remarkable. That is Christian charity at its best, meeting
needs even before a brother or sister in Christ shares his or her need meeting
needs, at times, even before the person knows he or she has a need. If you
think back over your Christian life, many of you can probably remember a time
when someone came up and said something like this. You know, I just really feel
like the Lord laid it on my heart to give this to you. You receive it and you
are rather blown away, because maybe you did not even know you had that need
yet. Then within a day or two, suddenly you need what that Christian just gave
you? It is as if God was speaking to them. Amen? Because God works in amazing
ways.
One preacher tells a story he will not forget. One of
the men at church came up to him on a Sunday morning and he says I am going to
buy you a new set of tires for your car. I am going to buy you 4 new tires. The
preacher didn't even know he needed new tires for his car and he said well,
thank you! I don't think I need them. The man says, “No, I think you need them.”
And the preacher went out there and looked at his car. He hadn't even noticed.
Yeah, his tread was a little low and he was going through a tough time
financially and yeah, that was a godsend. God had laid that on his heart and he
met that need. It was a beautiful thing.
God just works in an amazing, amazing way. Paul writes
in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.
6 Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in
your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all
things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good
work.
We serve an awesome Lord and Savior, don't we? We sure
do! Well here in Acts 11:27-29, I believe we discover yet another reason why
the followers of Jesus there in Antioch were called Christians “First”. They
were cheerful, generous givers. They were giving to others in need even before
the needs arose. Even when those in need were 300 miles away and God loved it
because God loves cheerful givers.
Acts 11:30. After collecting the special
offering, the Antioch Church entrusted it to Barnabas and Saul, who delivered
it to the church elders and Judea. That would have been a 600-mile round trip,
my best guess is that trip probably took them at least a couple months. That
would have required the Christians in Antioch to make some changes and
adjustments. Barnabas and Saul were a critical part of their leadership team.
But they seem to have made those changes while anticipating Barnabas and Saul's
return. Well, that was Barnabas and Saul's mission to Jerusalem.
Life Lesson
Christ calls us to be CHEERFUL givers who give FREELY
and GENEROUSLY to God's work. And the most generous givers don't wait to be
asked to give.
Here in Acts 13, but it was an amazing calling. But
remember what we did see in Acts 11 a couple chapters earlier. They were doing
God's work by sending Paul and Barnabas with an offering to Jerusalem. What
they did so inspiring. Most people, when hearing that a famine was coming,
would have stocked up on supplies for themselves, right? Sounds familiar? Think
back just a little over two years ago. What did the shelves at Target and Walmart
look like in March and April of 2020? When people heard that COVID had arrived,
they were going to the store, and they were stockpiling stuff because obviously, every single household needs 150 rolls of toilet paper. They were stocking up
for themselves. They were going crazy throwing stuff in their cart. Buying up
stuff at every store and many of our neighbors went without those items, because
people were greedy. People think only about themselves and their own
families.
If the Antioch Church had been around in 2019, what
would they have done? Well, if they had been around in 2019, maybe a prophet
would have said in the upcoming year there's going to be a worldwide pandemic
and. And many of the key items that we use are going to be pulled off
supermarket and big box store shelves and many people will be without. What
would the Christians have done? They would have taken a collection there in
late 2019, and delivered toilet paper to Christians in cities where they knew
there was going to be a shortage in the upcoming months. Well, perhaps Paul and
the Antioch Christians had in mind what he would eventually write in Philippians
2:3-5 3 Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the
others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ
Jesus:
Let’s make sure that we're generous givers, giving to
needs even before those needs are voiced.
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