The Church in Antioch of Syria
Acts 11:19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
Peter’s testimony about the events at Cornelius’ house electrified the church! So God sovereignly chose to baptize Gentiles in the Holy Spirit and wasn’t’ even demanding that they keep any of the multitude of Jewish laws. What were things coming to? And now believers were preaching the Gospel in Antioch and Gentiles were flocking to the Lord. We generally fail to give credit to these early believers, for in preaching to Gentiles, they are exposing themselves to uncleanness, making it difficult if not impossible to worship in the temple without undergoing ritual purification. Remember that many of these early believers are thorough-going Jews, schooled in the minutiae of the Jewish religion. But God is working in the hearts of these people just as much as He is in thehearts of their converts.
22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.
Although we know this man by the name Barnabas, “Son of Encouragement,” his true name was Joseph and he was a Levite from Cyprus. Barnabas must have been a joy to be around. Whenever people met Barnabas, they were always encouraged and uplifted. Joy is contagious, and Barnabas was a joyful man. Barnabas was also brilliant and humble. Barnabas could see that these new converts needed more teaching than he could give them, and he knew exactly where to find a great teacher. Paul had been cooling his heels in his home town of Tarsus ever since he caused so many problems in Jerusalem that the church leaders had to pack him off to Caesarea and put him on a ship back to Tarsus. But Paul’s time of waiting is over, and now he joins Barnabas in one of the greatest partnerships of all time.
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
27 During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29 So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.
When revival breaks out, people become generous, sharing whatever they have. Now these new believers in Antioch band together to send relief gifts to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas. Such phenomena continue to the present day. One outstanding example of charity during ongoing revival is the deeds that accompanied the Methodist movement under John Wesley. Humble villagers shared their resources. Wealthy individuals coming under the influence of the Holy Spirit became equally generous. It has been said that the only thing that prevented Great Britain from suffering a bloody revolution similar to that of France was the Methodist revival.
Jewish believers might not realize it, but their church will continue to move further and further away from traditional Judaism the longer things go on and the more believers are persecuted. Now people on the streets of Antioch of Syria are calling these believers Christians, a title that will echo down through the ages.
It’s likely that those believers from Cyprus and Cyrene who were preaching in Antioch were merchants going about their normal pursuits. But wherever these people went, their customers and colleagues could tell there was something different about them. These people were joyful, fair, and loving-qualities not common among many groups of merchants. Once people began asking why these people were different, the way was open to speak about Jesus.
In mission circles, it’s popular to speak about people groups, small groups with particular interests or particular trades. I once spoke with a young man in Long Island who owned a sail boat. “If I accept Jesus, will I have to give up my boat?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “You can reach people in the sailing community who would never listen to me for an instant.”
When Moses had his interview with God at the burning bush, God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” All Moses had in his hand was his shepherd’s staff, but that staff was sufficient for God to use it in all kinds of ways. When we yield our lives to God, God will send us to people with whom we can identify. My husband has a prayer ministry to uniformed service members because he is a U.S. Navy veteran. Only when we reach heaven will we know how many lives my husband has touched. God can use our professions, our hobbies, and our recreation to reach people if we will only yield our lives to Him. So today, what is that in your hand? There are people waiting whom you can reach for God if you will open your life and your heart to Him.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to tell others about You and to demonstrate Your love and encouragement wherever we go. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment