There is no "Me" in ministry!

S- Acts 11:¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

O- It is amazing that the devil tried to stop what God was doing by sending persecution to the early church and new churches were started accidentally by Christians fleeing for their lives and sharing their faith with the people they met at their new location. This happened in Antioch and the church later became one of the bigger churches in the early movement of Christianity.

Barnabas was sent to help the church and he could have taken the attitude that this church was not a real church and/or these disciples are not real disciples because they do not operate how we operate in Jerusalem or because they were not getting the teachings that were sactioned by the other church "ministers." Instead, he recognized that God was at work in their lives and encouraged them to "remain" true to God. He realized that ministry wasn't about him at all but about recognizing what God was already doing and coming along side of it. He realized that he wasn't bringing the Kingdom of God to Antioch but rather the Kingdom of God brought him there.

Then there was a lot of fruit and most people would be tempted to take credit for it and try to continue to build it up so they can report back to other how great the work that they built up by themselves has become. However, the first thing that Barnabas did was leave the fruit behind and sought out Saul so he could train and equip him to do ministry as well. Barnabas knew that the work God was doing in Antioch started before him and would continue after him so he needed to train others to lead and to do what he did for the church.

In order for us to be successful in ministry for the long haul we need to learn from the example of Barnabas and recognize what God is already doing, being faithful with the work He has for us, and to raise up other to take over for us.

A- I want to follow the example of Barnabas and to be able to recognize what God is doing around me and to be open to new ways that God could be moving and instead of trying to teach people how I served God I need to encourage them to remain in the relationship that God has already started in them and teach them how to continue that successfully. I also need to raise up others who will be able to continue the work that God has called me to do and to invite them along in the ministry opportunities that God has opened up for me.

P- Lord, please help me to follow Barnabas' example and to minister the way you want us to. Also please help me to have the humility to be realize that the fruit around me is always from you and not from me. Finally, please place people on my heart that I can invite along as I minister and allow me to pour my life into them like Barnabas pour his life into other.