We saw yesterday that Antioch was a place of special spiritual significance. According to the account in Acts it moved from being a rapidly growing, newly formed church to becoming a resource base in its own right. It had become so fruitful that it was able to give of its abundance to the work of the Kingdom in other places. The Council in Jerusalem was still the Governmental Headquarters(Acts 15), with Peter and others who had been with the Lord but Antioch was a Gentile Church, preaching the Good News.
The founding of the church in Antioch was first introduced in Acts 11:19-30 and the last two verses record the new disciples’ gift to the brothers living in Judea. The foundations had already been laid and built upon by Barnabas and Saul, also the prophets who had come down from Jerusalem. Yet the book of Acts records this gift sent to the parent church in Judea. The question is why? Why did the Holy Spirit want this in God’s Word for such a significant Gentile Church. Yes it is good to honour and love spiritual parents, those who helped us grow and develop in our own walk.
I have used the phrase before, ‘you’re going where you’re giving’. Did this voluntary gift by those early believers seal something of the future destiny for the Church in Antioch? Did it confirm them as a resource Church for the Kingdom of God? I believe the gift had importance beyond what may be immediately apparent, in any event it’s the final thing mentioned regarding this powerful new church.
In the 1990s I was part of a ministry team in China and saw some amazing things take place in that land. We visited a museum in the city of Xi’an, previous capital city and saw the Nestorian Stele, a pillar of stone over 9 feet tall documenting the existence of early Christian Communities(erected 781, gives 150 years of their history). Xi’an lies at the start of the Silk Road and some of the travellers and merchants on that route brought the Gospel to China. I shared this with a young Chinese student at the University in Belfast, who at first didn’t believe me but checked photos they had of the Stele and confirmed the history(His-story). It is believed that the Church in Antioch sent out believers along the Silk Road with the Gospel and the Tang Emperor Taizong recognised and accepted the Gospel. Unfortunately China lost the Gospel until the coming of Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission.
Before the return of the Lord the whole earth will be filled with His Glory. We don’t know all that He has for us, but I do believe that giving to the work of His Spirit(where the Spirit is moving, not religious ritual) unites our own hearts to the work today.
Give and it shall be given unto you, spiritual as well as physical.
God bless you and encourage you as you serve Him today.