“So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could.”
Acts 11:29 (NLT)
After we see who Barnabas is and what he does to help this church in Antioch by partnering with Saul, believers are given a new name in this place where God is moving. They start calling us Christians in Antioch. That name tells you something. God is forming a people, and the world can see Christ in them.
During this year that Barnabas and Saul are ministering to the people in Antioch, some people with a prophetic appointment by the Holy Spirit, from the church in Jerusalem, they come visit Antioch. Agabus stands up and by the Holy Spirit predicts a great famine is going to come upon the entire Roman world. Wow. When godly leadership is present, when the Holy Spirit is allowed to move, and when the body is empowered to share their gifts, God speaks. He warns.
The next verse seems small and simple, but I think it’s a big deal. The believers in Antioch, these relatively new Christians, decide to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Everyone participated and gave as much as they could. And they trust their leaders, Barnabas and Saul, to carry it to the elders. No one forced them. It says the believers decided.
Another layer to this is Barnabas himself. He was a giver. He gave the proceeds from selling his property to the apostles. After a full year of teaching these believers, his generosity has rubbed off on them. When a God-given desire aligns with biblical teaching, people receive the heart and the how to do things God’s way. God’s people need both.
In the natural, you’d think the church at headquarters would be the one sending help. But in the body of Christ we are one family in different locations. When Christ is in us, we start to love like Him and give what we have. Today I pray you will encourage another believer and give what you have, whether it be finance, wisdom, courage, or prayer. Lord, convict us and show us how to be generous like these believers in Antioch.