Giving Freely

Acts 11:25-30

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

It seems that some of you need a Barnabas to go with you. See, much has happened with the early church since Saul went away. Look how he had been sent to Tarsus. His was a situation of "occupy until I come" from Luke 19:13. He could have had many hard feelings about it given all the Lord had shown him. See, Saul was to suffer much for his name. But instead of feeling sidelined or stuck, Saul gets to work. Nor has his time been spent in idleness there as we will soon see. Some take vacations often and cannot wait to go away to relax. Others use every spare moment as an opportunity to take one. You know, you set sail on your phones to lands of adventure. You call all your family for the latest bit of tea. Then you sit on the couch after a hard day of watching movies at work to have your nightly siesta fiesta. My friends, Saul was not at all like that; neither was the Lord. In this time, Barnabas has been called to full-time ministry at Antioch. He came, he saw, and he praised the Lord for the state of the church there. Then he went hunting for Saul.

As I have said before, Tarsus was a ship-building place. Barnabas had to go seeking among the dockhands, deckhands, and jack-hands of that day just to find Saul. The situation might make no sense to some of you at first. But how many know that nothing is ever wasted in the house of God. Just as Saul needed Barnabas, so Barnabas also needed Saul. Saul had already been made known for his teaching gift. He has been many places and clearly knew how to talk to people. Some of you get so caught up in being persuasive that you miss the point of the whole message. It is not always about making friends and having an influence, even though such things are certainly nice. The reason some of you know nothing to share with anyone is because you must first listen. Then you can learn from those whom God has called. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a situation. If you will not, you might suffer much noise. See, these two came together to strengthen the church as a body of Christ. Here they taught and ministered unto the people. For this cause the people were called Christians, literally those who followed Christ.

And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Here we see the Spirit of prophecy come to the church. Remember, this was one of the signs of the outpouring spoken of in Joel 2:28. You might be saying, 'but that comes in the latter days.' Surely then you would be partially right, for this text seems to be the place where all roads come together. See, a lot of ground is being covered quickly in this text. The last days of Herod, a regional ruler, who did not reverence God are mentioned. Then we jump all the way over into the days of Claudius Caesar of Rome. Here the times of great persecution are recorded spoken of before. These continued even until the time of Nero and beyond. Those of you familiar with history will know where I am going with this. Even the prophets of God sent for such a time as this have been called forth. Could it be that God kept Saul here until his time to be revealed had come. There is a hidden time spoken of in Saul's life whereunto the Lord kept him. Some of the things we go through in this life would have finished us. I know each of you have a testimony of what might have been had God not kept you.

It seems but a few short days that Saul spent in each place. In reality, it was one rather small year. To explain what I am seeing here a little better, it is even as the diverse places spoken of in Luke 21:11 from whence the earthquakes come. Some of you might be familiar with the recent Titan tragedy which claimed the life of five individuals. They were a company known for exploring the wreck of another ship, known as the Titanic, once deemed unsinkable even by God. Before you even knew what was happening, the entirety of several navies descended upon the site. They each tried to see if they could figure out whatever was going on. These prophets here have been from sent from God, guided by his Spirit. For this cause, the origins of their sender must be seen as eternal, rather than of their own selves. Unlike Ephesians 4:14, they are not hopelessly driven on high seas by every wind of doctrine. They have not an idea nor yet a smart hunch that must be explored. Rather, God has sent them for the preservation of the church. As such are they not under his power and control. They came to continue the work Saul had once begun, albeit badly. See, the great dearth was associated with the days of Nero, once known as Caesar Augustus.

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

The ruler might have intended to do good at first. However, he became corrupted by his position and his influence much as the last of the Herod's also had been. That is why the disciples determined to send relief. They were here in this place a short while. Yet, to the rest of the world it seemed like an eternity. Saul and Barnabas are here long enough to see the prophecies come to pass. This is the mark of the true prophet sent by God when all things come true. If it were not so, they were not truly sent in John 14:2. Good has been purposed to come from a great tragedy as in Genesis 50:20. God is so good, he makes even the days of great evil to praise his name. So, each believer gave as God moved them and as they were able. They did not send the whole of their house on a mission, leaving themselves with nothing. Rather it was a relief of a mercy mission. The giving of such, as with prophecy, was under the Spirit's control. All the Spirit gifts are shown in these texts in complete and working fashion. What some of you do not understand, is the language barrier between all these places. It was not that Saul and Barnabas were very learned. Rather, they had the gift of the Spirit to speak in tongues.

As they were sent, they went. So also, they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. Some of you today could have come up with several new tragedies, new doctrines, and new people groups if entrusted with such a task. Now, I could speak much of the Judean believers versus those at Antioch. However, the Spirit of God makes no such distinction. Thus, the gifts of giving and service were entrusted to those who displayed the greater gifts. Here is shown a principle of the lesser giving way unto the greater. Now, I am not saying that the gift of tongues is very important. Rather, the gift of teaching and of building up the church was what distinguished them. With their greater position came a greater condemnation. This is why we should not all desire to be teachers or preachers. This is why we should not all have leadership positions. The burden of the people is placed upon the shoulders of these two; thus, they bear it like two pack mules for the Lord. Bear it they did until they reached the elders of the people at Judea. For this reason, the people in Judea just kept on dwelling here. It is nothing less than a miracle of the power of God. It amazes me how God goes to such great lengths to display his care for his people.