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. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:20-21 NIV
Acts Chapter 11:19-30 tells of the early church using its resources for the kingdom of God. Believers had scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. As the church leaders in Jerusalem learned about these new believers, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to evaluate their maturity and determine if he could help them grow. He found a group of believers experiencing God’s grace, and so he went to Tarsus, found Saul, and the two of them teach, lead, encourage, and disciple the church in Antioch for a year. Then a famine came to Judea, and the members of the church in Antioch, each according to his ability, decided to send Saul and Barnabas with their gift of money to the church in Jerusalem.
These verses in Acts demonstrate many ways we can use our resources for the furtherance of the gospel in God’s kingdom. First, Barnabas was sent to another area to teach. He takes Saul with him, and the two of them teach and lead together. Believers grew in their faith, and when another group of believers, in another city are in need, the Antioch Christians demonstrate their spiritual maturity by generously giving money to the believers in Jerusalem who do not have enough to eat.
I believe we are all called to be involved in kingdom work. We all have a responsibility to grow and learn in our faith. As we mature, hopefully we will seek out opportunities to encourage other believers and share the gospel with those who we encounter daily, with others in our city, in our nation, and with people in other countries. We may not all be able to go to other countries ourselves, but we can all become involved in ministries that do kingdom work locally and abroad.
What are your resources you could use for God’s kingdom? Could you encourage someone to grow, or lead a small group? Are you a prayer warrior? Do you have an extra room or a basement, or a car a missionary could use while home on furlough? Consider going on a short term mission trip, or support someone else going on one. Find an organization that you believe is involved in kingdom work, and use your resources, your time, talent or treasure to support them. For example: watch this video about how Samaritan’s Purse supported the Bahamas last month.
By Grace Hunter
