Jump Start # 2536

Acts 11:29 “And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.”

Our verse today is about the church at Antioch. It was an amazing congregation. It was a church of “firsts.” It was the first Gentile congregation. It was the first place where the word “Christian” was used. It was the first to send out preachers. And, from our verse today, two more “firsts.”

This is the first time we read about money being sent from one congregation to another. There was a reason. There was a need. The brethren in Judea were suffering from a famine. Those in Antioch sent money to help the brethren in Judea. The other “first” here is that this is the first time a Gentile church helped out a Jewish church. That is remarkable. There were so many cultural differences and prejudices between Jews and Gentiles. One wonders if the roles were reversed, would the Jewish brethren send help to the Gentile brethren. We would hope so. Being one in Christ cancels all differences that we may have. Being of the same spiritual family pulls us together rather than separates us.

There are some amazing principles that we see with Antioch. They become a model for churches, even today. They had open eyes. They had big hearts. They grasped the concept of brotherhood and love. They had great leadership. And, they did something. What they did would make a difference for the suffering saints in Judea.

Let’s consider some thoughts from Antioch:

First, the church is not in the banking business. There are times and there are places when one would wonder about that. Too many congregations have fat bank accounts that are sitting there gathering dust. And, I know the justification. I’ve heard it for years. “You never know when we might need it.” “You never know when there might come a need.” And, my rely? Do you have insurance? Stick a little back to cover a deductible and then have some faith. Put that money to use in the kingdom. Find wonderful ways to use that money. It may be in supporting other preachers, but that’s not the only, and sometimes not even the best use of the money. Look around where you are. Is it time to clean up and update the church building? Some places are real dumps. While we live in nice homes, the church buildings are plagued with mold, junk and are dark like a dungeon. If you want to bring folks in, show that you take seriously the worship and the work of God. Next, look about what you are doing to get the word out. Do you have a great website? How about a Facebook presence? How about launching things on Facebook? How about a podcast? How about putting out material that looks great in both content and eye appeal? All of that takes money. Don’t have anyone who can do a website? Hire it out. Got an old black and white copier? Get a color copier. That costs. Yes, it does. Is it better to do things that can encourage, teach and help others or just fatten the bank account?

Second, Antioch had the core ingredients that makes a powerful church. Their members were active. We see that in our verse today. Each of the disciples determined to send money. This wasn’t a decision of the elders. The members were engaged, busy and active. Second, a powerful church must have money and resources. One poor guy can’t really help another poor guy. The saints in Antioch had money. They were willing to share it with those in Judea. It takes resources, talent and active members to do things. Next, they hand open doors and open hearts. You can have all kinds of resources, but if you don’t have any opportunity to use that talent, it doesn’t do much good. Antioch had a door of opportunity. Not only could they help the Christians in Judea, but they could also send Barnabas and Paul off on their first missionary journey. Sometimes opportunity stands before us and we do not even recognize it. Sometimes we miss opportunities because we move too slowly. Antioch didn’t seem to have to have months and months of discussion about sending money to Judea. The need was presented and they seemed to jump on it. And, obviously, running through all of this is incredible leadership. Leaders who understand the way of God. Leaders who can touch lives and get folks motivated. Leaders who know how to rally people around a just and good cause.

Powerful churches—there doesn’t seem to be many around these days. Oh, there are plenty of congregations, but active members, open doors, having the resources, incredible leadership—now, that’s what’s missing. People show up at the church building for worship without a purpose, mission or a need. Little to prayer for. Little to give for. Little to be excited about. Little to volunteer for. Not Antioch. Sending money and sending preachers—what a great place with a great heart.

Third, the Lord said to whom much is given, much is required. We are living in times when we can become a global church. It doesn’t take sending a Barnabas and a Paul in a boat to reach others. Not these days. Through email, social media, live Bible studies can be conducted across the oceans. Things can be sent to brethren in far away places that have no means, resources to have tools in their hands to teach, encourage and spread the word of God. It’s time that we lifted up our eyes and looked upon the fields. There are so many powerful and wonderful ways to spread God’s word, here and globally that could never be done before. I wonder when our days have ended here, if the Lord will ask us about these things. He might say, “You could watch Netflix from your bed, send an email to a friend hundreds of miles away, look at Facebook all day long, but you never thought about using things like that to spread My word?” Can you imagine what an Antioch church would be doing today with our technology and resources? And, yet, too many are content to do as little as they can. Content to stay in the dark ages. Content to just let things be. Content to watch the church whither and die. Content to just float along.

I believe there are several Antioch congregations around today. You hear about them. You hear about them because they are busy doing things. They are pushing and pushing the limits of what they can do to encourage, teach and spread the word of God. You ought to go visit some of these places. You ought to call up the leaders and ask to meet with them. You ought to go with a notepad and get ideas. You ought to see the good that is being done worldwide. God left us an example in the Scriptures of such an incredible church.

Antioch—the church of firsts.

Roger

Jump Start # 1926

Acts 11:29 “And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.”

The destruction of hurricane Harvey is now being felt and witnessed throughout the world. Dozens and dozens of Christians have been affected. Many lost homes and cars and are a point in life that starting over seems nearly impossible. This may ruin some families. For this generation, this may be the greatest need we will ever see among our brethren.

Our passage today reminds us of a time that a prophet warned of a world wide famine. No water. No crops. Dying livestock. The brethren in Antioch sent money to the elders in Jerusalem to help the brethren. This is the pattern we follow to this day. We need to help our fellow man. This is what the good Samaritan story is all about. But churches help fellow members. The church money goes to brethren.

Some thoughts for all of us:

First, we are one large family of God. Although we worship in separate and independent congregations, we belong to each other through the blood of Christ. This is why hurting one another or trash talking one part of the family hurts all of the family. We are connected. This hurricane has impacted our family in Christ.

Second, the needs are enormous. Supplies, man power and especially money is needed. There are multiple sites listening the names of brethren who are in dire need. Paypay accounts and Gofundme accounts are easy ways for individuals to send money directly to our family in Christ. This is going to be a long process with many layers of needs. Just sending a check one time probably won’t be enough for this.

Third, real sacrifices need to be made. It may be necessary for some congregations to rethink some of their plans in order to help out our family in Christ. Spending thousands on new carpet for the auditorium, or send that same money to brethren in Texas? Carpet is nice and it’s probably needed, but maybe because of the circumstances, we can live with it for another year and help our brethren. As we head to fall Gospel meeting times, I challenge my fellow preachers to donate their meeting money to help our brethren. I have decided to do that with my remaining meetings this year. Folks in Texas need it more than I do.

A sacrifice hurts. A sacrifice costs. That’s the very idea of a sacrifice.

Fourth, abled bodied men who have ability may need to go to Texas to help. What better feeling than knowing here are some brethren from all over the country coming to help their brethren in need. Go knowing this isn’t a sight seeing trip. You need to plan to be dirty, wet and tired. Don’t go if you are going to stand around and take pictures. Go to help. Multiple groups with supplies are on the way down now. Consider taking your vacation to help these folks. This is something that they will forever be appreciative of and it is something that will change you forever.

Fifth, pray. Pray privately for these folks. Pray in our congregations for these folks. In a short while, maybe even this week, the news media will move on to the next hot story. Texas will still be suffering. Recovery is slow and tedious. Don’t forget our family in Christ.

Sixth, Biblically, the question comes up, why did God allow so many of His own people to suffer? Why did God allow His people to suffer from the famine that our verse talks about? Why did God allow His people to suffer in Egypt? The answer to this is that we live in a broken world. Since Adam ate the forbidden fruit, the world has been falling apart. Disease, disaster, crime, violence and tragedies have plagued this planet. The world groans for relief, Romans tells us. This isn’t Heaven. It never will be. As long as we are on this planet, we are subject to destructive weather, sins of others, and the steps necessary to bring about death. Our hope is not for a better planet but for a home with God. In Luke 13, we learn about the murder of Galileans who were worshipping and a tower that fell and killed 18 people. Jesus’ response? Repent. You repent. This is what life is like in a broken world. The innocent are not sheltered. People like Abel are murdered. Righteous people like Job suffer. If fingers need to be pointed, it’s not upward to Heaven, but it’s in the mirror to ourselves. We did not directly cause the hurricane in Texas, but we contributed to the world being broken by our own sin. I preached on this last Sunday evening. Someone afterward said, “If Adam had never sinned, then there would be no hurricanes?” I said, “in theory you are right. But in reality, I would have let you down, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Seventh, being structured in independent congregations, as the New Testament teaches, can lead to isolation if one is not careful. We can stick our heads in the sand and only care about our specific people in our congregation and ignore everyone else. We could, but that’s not very loving. We could, but that wouldn’t please the Lord. We could, but reading our verse today ought to sting us about helping brethren elsewhere. Global communication allows us to be in touch world wide and fast these days. We can know. We can share information. We can help.

Finally, the simple golden rule reminds us that helping others, especially our brethren, our family in Christ, is the right thing to do. Next time, it may be us who are in need. What would you want done if it was your home, your cars and all your possessions that were lost?

I hope both individuals and congregations step up at this time. I hope folks will go above and beyond in helping others. I can only imagine someday in Heaven running into someone who embraces us and says “thank you, because of what you did years ago when I was in Texas. You made a difference to me.”

Share this Jump Start with others. Post and share this to encourage our family in Christ to help out. Print this in bulletins and get the word out. Our family is in need. Can we help? Will we help?

Let’s be generous! Let’s do it the Bible way!

Roger