This is the final message in our quest to “follow the money trail.”  We have seen the church at Jerusalem as a generous church, a grieving church and a growing church.            A question that I have grappled with for a long time is a question that asks, “What responsibility do we have to other Christian churches.  By Christian churches, I am not talking about the name on the door, but of the gospel that they proclaim. 

                    Two ideas collide in my head when I think of this question.  Coming from one direction is the idea that the church is one church.  We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism and so on.  Jesus prayed for unity in the church, the same kind of unity that exists in the Trinity. 

                    The second idea that comes from the opposite direction and collides with the first is the issue of false teaching.  Some churches that have the gospel right have other parts of the message wrong.  So we view them and they view us as family, but messed up family.  I recently heard a Presbyterian minister who preached on the word and it was great.  But he believes in infant baptism and that communion is a sacrament that confers grace, ideas that I do not find in the Bible. 

                    So colliding with this issue of unity is the issue of not exposing people I know and love to false doctrine.

                    I remember contacting World Vision, a Christian relief agency, a number of years ago and asked them if they could give me a doctrinal statement about what they believed?  I was interested in possibly taking an offering to help them in a relief effort.  I received no reply.

                    Unity in the Bible is unity of the faith.  But if we don’t agree on faith issues, then how far can we go as a church in cooperating with other churches?

                    You will hear us speak about working with churches of “like faith.”  What we mean when we say that is that within the circle of churches that call themselves Christians, there is a smaller circle of churches that are similar in doctrine and practice with our fellowship. 

                    This is baffling for young Christians and the world around us.  They speak of unity in the church.  They ask, “Why can’t everyone just get along?”  The answer to that is simple:  Ideas have consequences.

                    A number of years ago Linda and Leroy Bosworth attended this church.  She had MS and has since gone to be with the Lord.  They related a story about going to a healing service so Linda could be healed of her MS.  This meeting was run by people who agree on the gospel with us, but they have different attitudes in the area of healing.  They told her that if she had enough faith, God would heal her.  They picked her up out of the wheelchair and moved it away.  They prayed for healing, let go of her and she fell to the floor.  The reason she wasn’t healed, they said, was because she didn’t have enough faith.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot walk with Christians who mislead people in that way.   Ideas have consequences.  And this family was hurt because of some wrong doctrine put into practice in a real life setting.

                    So why can’t we get along together?  One reason for the unity in the early church was that they were so new that they didn’t have thousands of years to come up with hundreds of problems.  The apostles were the final word in matters of faith and teaching.  The church at Jerusalem was the mother church from which all other churches were born.

                    Perhaps the most influential church outside of Jerusalem found in the New Testament was Antioch.

                    Antioch was named after Antiochus I.  Several cities throughout the Roman Empire have that same name.  They are distinguished by a second label, such as Antioch Pisidian. 

                    This church is the church that caught Jerusalem by surprise.  Follow the text in Acts 11:19-30 and you will see what I mean.

“19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.

                    The church at Jerusalem was scattered.  The main cause of this scattering was our own apostle Paul.  He was at the stoning of Stephen and he was the main attacker of the church. When he came to Jerusalem looking for Christians, they scattered like hens running from a fox in a chicken house.  All, that is, except the apostles.  Somehow they remained hidden and safe from attack. 

                    The people who were scattered spread the word of God where ever they went.  Imagine if the elders went into hiding.  It would be people like you who were scattered and would spread the word of God.

                    As the church was mostly Jewish, the Jewish Christians spread the gospel to Jewish people.  For the church historians among us, the trip of Peter to Samaria and also his encounter with Cornelius, a Gentile, took place after the scattering.

                    Why is this significant?  Because the Jewish Christians thought that this message was for the Jewish people.  “Your messiah, Christ, has come.”  They may not have been aware that God broke Peter’s prejudice against Gentiles by informing him that the gospel was for the whole world.  Christ died for all.

                    But the gospel unifies us.  It brings us together.  We all can sit around the table saying “Jesus saves...” and mean it.

                    So they arrive at Antioch and preach Jesus Christ to the Jewish people and many were born again.

                    A second group of people arrives in Antioch as we see in verse 20.

    20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

                    Who is the “them” in this verse?  The “them” refers back to those who were persecuted and scattered.  Men from Cyprus and Cyrene came from Jerusalem down to Antioch.  Their homes were Cyprus and Cyrene, but they had stayed in Jerusalem.  They stop in Antioch as they travel away from the persecution in Jerusalem. They were not afraid to speak to the Gentiles. 

21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

                    Notice the results.  “A great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”  How do we know someone believes?  They turn to the Lord.  Have you made this turn?  You say you believe?  Have you turned yet?  They did in Antioch. 

                    Notice that both Jew and Gentile turn to the Lord, but the text does not make that distinction in this verse.  People who turn to the Lord find unity with one another.  When we walk forward with God, we walk forward with others who walk forward with God.

22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

                    The church at Jerusalem heard of this.  It wasn’t by email or telephone, so a period of time went by when a report came that Jews and Gentiles turned to the Lord.

                    So they sent Barnabas.  It is obvious that they felt a responsibility toward Antioch.  If I hear of a church starting in Portland, I don’t go investigate.  It’s not my responsibility.  But the apostles not only investigated, they sent one of their best people down to help them out.

                    Barnabas was the man highlighted in Acts 4 for selling his property and giving the proceeds to the apostles to help needy people in the church.  He was known as an encourager.  He brought Saul, the persecutor of the church, to the apostles and stood up to those skeptics who didn’t believe that Paul was not following Jesus. 

23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

                    He was an encourager.  He was extremely happy to see Jews and Gentiles come to Christ.  He encouraged them, “Stay true to the Lord with all your heart!”

                    What a perfect man to come into this new church that was racially divided.  Do you think some warmth is building in Antioch towards Jerusalem?  They sent a good man down and he approves of all that is going on!

                     Notice how Luke goes on about him.

                    24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

                    He was a good man.  All encouragers are.  But he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.  He trusted Jesus and that faith became contagious.  A great number of people were brought to the Lord.

                    So what did Barnabas do when the job got too big?  He went for help.

                    25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So 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. 27

                    Saul, the one behind the persecution that brought evangelists to speak to the Jews and then more evangelists to speak to the Gentiles, is called to become the one who teaches the new Christians and helps them grow in the faith.  Why?  Because Barnabas saw Jesus in Paul.  He saw a young man who knew the Bible and had a passion for Jesus. 

                    Notice that the church was unified to the point that no one was left out because of past history.  Saul, who persecuted and tried to split up and destroy the church, is called in to teach the Bible so that they would be able to understand together the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

                    I am looking for these kind of people.  I am looking for young men who are learning the Bible and have a passion for Jesus.  I am looking for young men who have the courage and the priorities to step up to the plate to do God’s work here in this area.  I am looking for people who walk in unity with passion and conviction.

                    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.)

                    I don’t understand this.  I have never had anyone make a prophecy to me that was not so general that it was sure to succeed.  I had a man visit me one time who said he had a message from God.  He sounded mysterious and motivated, so I listened.  I didn’t want to pass up a message from God.  He told me, “God has told me to tell the pastors that people need to love one another.”  I was terribly disappointed.  I had read that in my Bible, the Holy Spirit had convicted me of that truth, and I was expecting something more profound.  The message was true, but the messenger was not giving me anything new like what happens here.

                    Agabus said that there would be a severe famine in the Roman Empire. That is like someone saying that the bridges crossing our rivers are going to collapse and we won’t have any food delivered for 6 months.

                    Now if someone came to me with that prophecy, I would have a hard time swallowing it and a harder time acting on it.  But this was not the case in Antioch.

                     29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” Acts 11:19-30, NIV.

                    The disciples in Antioch acted immediately.  They took an offering, each according to his ability, and sent it on to Judea to the Christians in that area. 

                    I tell you, when I read this passage, there is so much love flowing around that it takes my breath away.  People in Jerusalem are selling land and giving to help those in need.  People in Antioch, on the word of a prophet, take up a collection and send it with Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem to help people they have never met and never seen.  The love hits the pocketbook and the checks flow.

                    What effect would this have on the people in Jerusalem?  It would tie the two churches closer together.  Anyone from one church would be welcome in the other city.  The church at Antioch would talk about how wonderful the church in Jerusalem was because they sent Barnabas, Paul, Agabus and others down to help them.  The church at Jerusalem would talk about how wonderful the church at Antioch was in helping them in their time of need.

                    By the way, why would the church in Jerusalem be in need?  Didn’t people give hand over fist in that church?

                    Yes, but I can think of two reasons why the church in Jerusalem was poor.  First, the persecution caused Christians to lose jobs, move away from gardens and be uprooted.  Second, I can believe that the church at Jerusalem gave away all that came in. History records one group of early Christians from Jerusalem who called themselves the Ebonites which, translated, means “the poor.”

                    When I think about this church, I see reflections of this early church in our actions as a church.  Some people think we are a rich church, but we are not.  Almost all the money that comes in we give away.  We support three staff members, ten missionaries, benevolence needs in the church and community, scholarships as well as paying the bills for lights, heat, ministry items, etc.  We hold no trust funds, have no rainy day funds and are trusting that God will supply the needs by the tithes and offerings of the Christians who attend.

                    We seek to share our resources with others.  The facilities have been used by many people at no cost, members of our church have filled pulpits at other churches, our youth have ministered with music and drama in other assemblies, the Exchange offers clothing for free and we have tried to be a help to Christians around the world.

                    I do not say that to brag.  Christians believe that everything we own belongs to God.  It is through the prompting of the Holy Spirit that we have given.  God has made us stewards of his resources.  If all we have is His, than all we have is available for Him to use as he sees fit.  There is nothing to brag about as God is behind all that I speak of. 

                    But many people have felt the love.  They have sensed the unity.  They have seen Christ through you.  If you have been part of the giving spirit, have been one who has helped others, then you know the blessing that comes by being a part of all that God has.

                    But if you have not, then you are missing out.  You can hang on to your time, your talents, your energy, your pocketbook with a tight hand...and miss the blessing.  Or you can get involved in the business of loving God and loving people...and share in the blessing.

                    We don’t see many churches like the early church anymore.  I read a few years back about a church that, when they passed around the offering plate, told people to take out if they needed and put in if they had it.  That in that same church people might share needs, a need for a car or an apartment or help fixing something.  In that church people who meet the need right in the morning service, giving a car, an apartment or offering to come over after church to fix what was broken. 

                    How would you like to be part of a church like that?  How would you like to experience that kind of unity? You can, you know!  Selah.