The Offering for Jerusalem (Acts 11:27–30)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 19, 2025

Think about God’s love:

Tim Keller shares:

But if you want to know that infinitely high and transcendent God loves you, and you can enter into an intimate, personal love relationship with him, the only way to find that out is in the Scripture. Why? Some people say, “What do you mean, only in the Scripture? That doesn’t really make sense.”

Sure, you don’t need to believe God is love by reading the Scripture. In fact, lots and lots of people in New York over the years have told me, “I don’t believe in the Bible, because I believe in a God of love.” They say, “When I read the Bible I see this God of judgment, and he’s got his laws and all that sort of thing, but I don’t believe in a God of judgment. I believe in a God of love. That’s why I don’t believe the Bible.” Here’s what I always do. This is very Psalm 19-ish to do.

I say, “Oh, really? Okay, that’s interesting you believe God is a God of love. Where did that idea come from? Where did you get the idea that if there is a God, he must be a God of love? Did you look at nature, with all of its hurricanes, and volcanoes, and all of its forest fires, and all of its avalanches, and all of its tsunamis, and its tornadoes? Did you look at nature? Did you look at natural selection? Did you look at how nature really works? Did you see the animals in a pack, and then one of them is diseased, and they all turn and eat it?” Bye, Mom. You know, you’re holding the pack back.

Annie Dillard, who wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and won a Pulitzer Prize for it, went out into the woods by a creek in Virginia years ago to observe nature and thought it was going to fill her soul with a sense of love. It didn’t, because she saw that nature is red in tooth and claw! She saw it’s incredibly violent!^[1]

Think about that. People always think we can find ideas of love from nature, but I like how Tim Keller points out that you cannot. Christianity teaches a God of love. Christianity teaches that Christians are to love others. Someone once said, I think it was Fred Rogers, that whenever there is a tragedy, say a hurricane, look for the workers.

In this text, prophets come, and the church helps with a famine.

Let’s read the passage from Acts 11:27-30, and I want you to see that the church at Antioch agrees to help the church in Judea.

Acts 11:27–30 (ESV)

²⁷ Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. ³⁰ And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

1. As we look at this passage notice that God sends prophets to tell us of a need. This is in verse 27.
   • Notice that God had already prepared the foundation for the prophets. So, in the previous few verses, God had opened up the Gospel to the Gentiles, and here in this passage, Antioch, this major city, had become this operation center for many to receive Christ. Now Barnabas had come and encouraged people to stay true to the Lord. That was verse 23. Barnabas is an encourager.
   • Then we come to verses 25 and 26, and Barnabas had gone to get Paul, and they teach the people for a whole year and are first called Christians in Antioch.
   • Why does that matter? Why do I belabor that? Why do I go back to the context? To be Christians means that they identify with Christ.
   • Now, we come to verse 27, and the Bible says, “About that time…” or in the N.I.V., it says, “During this time…” or the ESV says, “Now in these days…” It was while God was laying the foundation of the discipleship that God sent prophets.
   • I have a strong application that just hit me square in the jaw. Am I ready to hear from God today? Are you prepared to hear from God today? Suppose a prophet came here like this; what would I do? How would I react? What would I say? How would I respond?
   • They responded positively because they were being taught the Word of God.
   • They responded positively because they were being a disciple.
   • They responded positively because they were following Christ.
   • They responded positively because Barnabas encouraged them to stay true to the Lord.
   • They responded positively because they were Christ-ians—they identified with Christ.
   • Do I identify with Christ?
   • Do you identify with Christ?
   • Are you ready to hear from a prophet?
   • They were ready, and then the prophets came during this time.
   • So, one of them was Agabus, and verse 28 says that he stood up and spoke.
   • Know that the Bible says that he spoke “Through the Spirit.” He did not just talk in any way but “through the Spirit.” He has the gift of prophecy from the Holy Spirit.
   • He told of a severe famine. This famine was to spread over the entire Roman world.
   • This is likely hyperbole. However, you should also note that there is a parenthesis. Luke tells us that this happened under Claudius’s reign. We know that there were several famines under him.
2. In verses 29-30, the church responds.
3. 1. We see that the church responds.
   2. They give.
   3. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are willing to serve. They could have said, “No, no, no, choose someone else; I am not going on a mission trip to Jerusalem.” But they did not.
   4. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are also trustworthy.
   5. I pray that I am trustworthy as well.
   6. I pray that I am willing to serve.

Close:

According to People magazine, two customers walked into a Lincoln, Neb., Cracker Barrel and asked to be seated with the “grumpiest” server they had. The restaurant host replied that there were no grumpy servers in that restaurant, but they did have the “happiest” server: 18-year-old Abigail Sailors.

After seating, the two patrons listened to Sailors’ life story, which included a mother incapacitated by a car crash, a father incarcerated for abuse, and a horrible foster care experience for herself and her four siblings. She finally found a forever home with John and Susi Sailors about five years ago. Sailors currently attends North Dakota’s Trinity Bible College where she majors in psychology and youth ministry and participates in basketball. But she admitted to her guests that she wasn’t sure how she would afford the next semester, since she was paying her own way.

“I’m just thankful,” she told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “Everything we went through, my attitude is: God blessed me with a lot of things. I’m doing good. That’s all that matters to me.”

One of the customers—a Trinity alumni, as it turns out—then proceeded to write a check to Sailors for $5,000 for tuition and another $1,000 for books and supplies, then left her a $100 tip. Sailors told the local media she couldn’t believe it and tried to thank them, but they both replied, “Thank God.”

Maybe you cannot serve in that way, but how can you serve?

First, do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).