Acts chapter 11. Let's read these
four verses again. And in these days came prophets
from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them
named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should
be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass
in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man
according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren
which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Now I want to point
out two things from this text before we get into the message
of it. I believe the Lord gave me personally
a message, and it was a message for me. I hope it's a message
for you all. But before we get into that,
I want to show two things, just point out two quick things. The
first one is here in verses 27 and 28. In these days came prophets
from Jerusalem unto Antioch and there stood up one of them named
Agabus and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth
throughout all the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius
Caesar. This man Agabus was a prophet
from the church in Jerusalem who traveled to Antioch. He was
one who could tell the future a prophet, things that hadn't
happened yet and no one had told before, never heard anything
about this before. And this was a gift that God
gave to some men, some men for a particular reason. Look over
at chapter 15 verse 32. It says, In Judas and Silas,
and that's Jude, And Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted
the brethren with many words, and confirmed them." They confirmed
them. Alright, now look at Ephesians
4 with me. Ephesians 4 verse 11 says, And he gave some apostles and
some prophets. Now, apostles were men who were
taught the gospel directly from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That was one of their requirements. We've said that many times, but
I want to keep reminding there are no more apostles. If you
run into one, make sure you know I did. I've run into one. Bless
his heart. Told me he was an apostle. But
there are no more apostles. Prophets were not just preachers. You know, we think of prophets
as being preachers, and they were, but they were not just
preachers. They were men who could tell things that had not
happened yet. There are no more prophets. None. Now, we preach things that
have not happened yet. We do all the time. Our Lord
is coming back. I mean, I'm telling you the truth.
He is coming back. And He is going to descend from
heaven with a shout. It is going to happen. The trump
shall sound. It is going to happen. But we're
not telling anything that has never been told. Right? I literally don't have anything.
If you're looking for something new, stop coming. I have nothing. I have nothing
new to say. We are telling the old, old story.
That's what we're doing. The old paths. And we're just
declaring His Word. That's what preaching the gospel
is. It's not telling anything new. It's just repeating what
God has said. Declaring the Word. The reason
that God gave apostles who could do miracles. Paul caused a man
to come back from the dead and they healed people. And the reason
that God gave apostles and the reason that God gave prophets
to foretell the future was to write this word. That was the
reason for them. and to confirm that it was indeed
the Word of God. He proved it with signs and wonders. But the canon is now finished. It's absolutely finished. And
there's no more apostles and there's no more prophets. Ephesians
4 verse 11 right here says, He gave some apostles and some prophets
and some evangelists, and there are still evangelists, those
who spread the gospel as far as they can take it, and some
pastors, and that's what I've been called to be, an under-shepherd
who stays with the flock, the master's flock. It's not my flock,
it's the master's flock. the owner's flock, and I'm just
the under-shepherd who's been called to sit here. And then
teachers who help the pastor. So back in our text, that's the
first thing I want to point out. Agabus prophesied and it came
to pass. Now here's the second thing.
Verse 29 says, Then the disciples, every man
according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren
which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. The disciples who were
in Antioch, this announcement of this dearth was to all the
world. I mean all the world. And so
these disciples in Antioch found out a dearth is coming to them
too. But in love and in concern for their brethren, in obedience
to the word, they gave. They gave. They started sending
relief. And they gave to their brethren
in need. And verse 29 says, they determined
to send relief. Verse 30 says, which also they
did. How many times have you determined
to send relief, but it just didn't, I didn't get around to it. They
determined to send relief, which also they did. If our God lays
it on our heart to take care of our own in need, let's do
it. Let's do it. It says right there
in verse 29, then the disciples, every man, don't let me say,
well, he has more money than I do, so I'm going to let him
take care of that part, and I'm going to do this part. Every
man. According to His ability, they
didn't give what they didn't have. The amount does not matter, does
it? Our Lord gave that illustration of the widow, and everybody was
pouring their money in, and she put in two mites, and He said,
She gave all. She gave all. It's not the amount.
Every man, according to his ability, determined to send relief, which
also they did, and they sent it to them by the hands of somebody
else. They sent it through Barnabas
and Saul, and they did that according to the Word of God. Now go over
real quick to Matthew 6. Matthew 6 verse 1 says, Take
heed that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them,
otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet
before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. that thine
alms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret
himself shall reward thee openly." And that's what they did. That's
what they did. God laid it on their heart to
give, and they gave, and they did it through Barnabas and Saul.
Now go back with me to Acts chapter 11. I have a message now, and I told
you those two things because that's what the scripture says,
and I'm not going to leave it out. I have a message, though,
that has been burning a hole in my chest since Monday. Right here in this
text, the message was declared. The message was responded to. That's what we just saw. Now, what was the message? What did he say right here? What
was the message? It's in verse 28. And there stood
up one of them named Agabus and signified by the spirit that
there should be great dearth throughout all the world. I fear this message. I fear this
message. I have a Sunday morning message
on Wednesday night. You know what that means? I fear
this message. I couldn't wait till Sunday.
I have to tell it tonight. This has been so sobering to
me. There is great dearth throughout all the world. Great dearth. Dearth means a scarcity of food. Famine. That's what it is. It's
famine. There is a famine throughout
all this world and the world does not realize it. They do
not realize it. And you already know what I'm
getting at, don't you? Everybody knows that there's
hunger all over the place. You already know what I'm getting
at. And we know this, and we hear this, and we say, ah, yes.
But it might go a little deeper than that. It might go just a
little bit deeper than that. There are places that are starving,
people that are starving from physical hunger all over this
world. There are places like that, plenty
of places like that. But that is not why this was
written. It's just not. Our Lord said,
search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal
life. There are plenty of people who
are searching these scriptures and gathering the first two things
that I just told you. And in those first two things,
they think they have eternal life. They think that they have eternal
life in feeding the hungry and doing good things, right? He said, These are they which
testify of me. Our Lord said, the poor you have
with you always, but me, you have not always. And here's the
message. There is a great dearth right
now. There is a great dearth. Go with me over to Amos chapter
eight. And if your Bible is anything
like mine, it's page one, page 1147. Amos chapter 8 and look at verse 11 with me. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine
of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord. And we are in that day. We are
in that day. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine
of bread. Not a famine of actual food. Not a famine of prosperity. Man,
this is a rich country we live in. And even the poor countries
are starting to become a little bit more rich. Not a famine of
religion. Religion is everywhere. Religion
is flourishing. It's thriving. Not a famine of church buildings.
There are church buildings literally on every corner. Not a famine
of preachers. There are 10 preachers on every
corner. I couldn't believe it when I
moved here. We moved here from Roanoke and it's a religious
enough place, but man, this is religious. I mean, everybody's
a preacher. Not a famine of those. There
is not a famine of dead sermons. There's not a famine of baptisms.
There's not a famine of professions. There's not a famine of theology.
There's not a famine of pride. There's not a famine of self-righteousness. There's a famine of Christ. Man, it is hard to find. Where is Christ? Where is Christ? Where is His Word? Where is His
Word? I'm usually low-key on Wednesday
night. I'm, I don't know, laid back. Why are you so fired up? Why are you taking this so seriously?
It's because we're in a famine. We are in a famine. And I'm starting
to see it. I'm starting to see it. There
is a famine in the land. We all know that there's a famine
throughout the world, don't we? We know that. We all know that
there is a famine in the churches, don't we? We know that. What
I want to know is, is there a famine in me? And as I wrote that down,
this is the thought that went through my mind. As I wrote that,
I thought, now does that sound like just a good ending point
to my outline? Because it's not. I mean, it's
not. I encourage every single one
of us to ask this question in this soul right now. Is there
a famine in me? Is there a lack of His Word in
me? Am I flourishing in everything
else? I mean just everything else,
but the one thing that I'm just really struggling to get a little
bit of is His Word and His Spirit. If that question does not affect
us, There might be a famine in us. Really? Is there a famine in me? Well,
that's a good question. That'll, that'll be the gospel
and we'll get the three R's and the five points and we'll get
it all right. And we'll walk out of here saying,
boom, here's my question. Is there a famine in me? If that does not affect me, there
might be a famine in me. There might be. It's famines are scary. They're scary. Lord, please don't
send a famine to this place ever, ever. Don't let me ever say don't
let me ever say. I'm not going to say that because
it might offend somebody. I think I'm going to withhold
those words because they might offend somebody. The day that
happens will be the day the famine begins. And we'll start doing
with less and less of His Word. Oh, don't let the famine enter
this place. Don't let the famine enter me. Go with me to Psalm
51. Psalm 51, look at verse 11. David said, cast me not away
from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Oh man, do you think that he
meant that when he said it? Do you think something in his
soul was just just on his soul's knees begging God, don't take
your Holy Spirit from me. Please don't take your Holy Spirit
from me. Don't take it away from me. Don't
take it away from this place. Turn with me to Isaiah 29. Isaiah 29 verse 9 says, Stay
yourselves in wonder. Cry ye out and cry. They are
drunken but not with wine. They stagger but not with strong
drink. For the Lord hath poured out
upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes. The
prophets and your rulers, the seers, hath he covered. And the
vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that
is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying,
Read this, I pray thee. And he saith, I cannot, for it
is sealed. What are you getting out of it?
Nothing. Nothing. Lamentations 2 verse
9 says, the prophets find no vision from the Lord. Micah 3
verse 7 says, there is no answer of God. He's not talking to them
anymore. No words. No words. Is there a famine of the reading
of the Bible? No. But it doesn't mean that God's
talking. It doesn't mean He's talking. A man will stand up behind a
pulpit and he'll load us down with plenty of the words of men.
We have plenty of that. Somebody has written a book.
There's a brand new book. And what we're going to do is
we're going to study the words of a man. We're going to see what this
man has to say. What about the word of the Lord? Well, we've
kind of exhausted that, but we have a book. We have a new book. Go with me to Ecclesiastes chapter
12. Ecclesiastes 12 verse 12 says,
now this is Solomon, well this is Christ who is inspiring Solomon,
but Solomon by God was made the wisest man on this earth. And
he is a picture of Christ himself and he pens right here in Ecclesiastes
12 verse 12, and further, by these my son be admonished of
making many books there is no end. And much study of those
books is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of
man." What he's saying is, quit reading those books. They're not real food. You know,
the country's so sick because we're not eating real food anymore.
Some of us have talked about that lately. We've got some food,
but it's not real food. That's the books. They're not
real food. They're just going to bring on
a famine. That's all they're going to do. Now, before we leave
here tonight, I want to find out, is there a famine in me? Is there a famine in me? Turn
with me to Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah 23, this is God speaking,
and He says in verse 29, Is not my word like as a fire,
saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Is not my word like a fire? If God sends His Word, it burns. It burns. It burns a sinner. Does it burn within me? Is it consuming me? Is it? He said right here, My Word is
like a hammer. When God sends His Word, it breaks
sinners. It absolutely crushes sinners. That's exactly what His Word
is. It crushes pride. It crushes
arrogance. It crushes self-righteousness.
Has this hard heart been broken by the Word of God? Look at Psalm
119 with me. Psalm 119 verse 105 says, Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. When God sends his word, it illuminates my feet, it illuminates my sin,
and it illuminates my path. Through
this word, we see Christ. Have I seen my own sin through
this Word? That's my first question. I've
got two questions on that. The first one is, have I seen
my own sin through this Word? The second question is, do I
still? Do I still? Have I seen Christ high and lifted
up? Have I seen what my sin did to
Him? Today? I mean today? Go with me over to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4 verse 12 says, For the Word is quick and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." When
God sends His Word, it slays men and women. It just slays
them. It pierces the heart. Have I
been pierced? Here's his word. He said it's
a fire, didn't he? He said, this is a fire. If the
fire doesn't burn, we have a little fire pit. And in the fall, we'll get it
out and put it in the backyard. And we'll build a fire. And the whole time, I'm telling
the girls, you watch that fire. I'm telling them, you respect
that fire. And they're doing their thing,
and they're running around, and I'm telling them, whatever you do, you keep
an eye on that fire. If the fire doesn't burn, this is a hammer, he said. If
the hammer does not break, he said, this is a light. If
the light does not expose. He said this is a sword. If this
word right here does not pierce. God is not talking to me. That's scary, isn't it? I'm in a famine. A famine of
the word of the Lord and he's not talking to me. And if I stay
there, I'll die. My soul will die of spiritual
hunger. This message is not for the world.
This message is for me. I'm telling you, this is for
me. It's for us. What if I'm in a famine? What
if I'm starting to realize that I'm in a famine? What if you're
starting to realize, as we sit here and we go through this Word,
You know, I thought, maybe I should take a few of these scriptures
out, and I thought, wait a minute, that's going to be a famine of the Word.
All right, now we've gone through the Word, and gone through the
Word, and we're like, wait a minute, this has been the most shocking
part of Wednesday. Maybe you're starting to realize,
I'm in a famine too. What will break a famine? What will break a famine? Bread. Bread does. Would you like a loaf of bread? I know where there's a whole
house of bread. A whole house full. Turn over
to John 6. John 6 verse 51, our precious
Lord and Savior said, I am the living bread, which came down
from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The
Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give
us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoso
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and
I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. As the living Father hath
sent me And I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he
shall live by me. Does that create a little burn? What is he talking about? He
is talking about a lamb that was slain. That's what he's talking
about. A sacrifice that was put on the fire of God's wrath to
end famine. I love thinking about the fact
that those priests were able to eat. They lived off of the
ministry and the people would bring a sacrifice and the priest
would take that animal and dress that animal and put the spices on that animal
and build a fire on that altar and put that animal on that altar
and the priest got to eat. He was able to eat. And that
sacrifice was such a sweet smell and savor to God. And I bet you
the taste was amazing. Absolutely amazing. He is a lamb
that was slain to end famine. He said, eat of my body, which
was broken for you, and drink of my blood, which was shed for
you, and your soul will never hunger or thirst ever again. And it's true. Now, if I come
Sunday, have a book, if I have a brand new book, And I opened
that book up, and it's from Dr. Reverend Bishop High and Mighty
Self-Righteous So-and-So. And I tell you what he said,
and this man has gone through so many studies, and all these
kinds of things. You will start to grow hungry,
and you'll start to grow weak, and you'll start to become sick,
spiritually sick. But if every time you come here,
there is a table spread, and on that table is a sacrificed
lamb, living bread, living water, then you are going to be full.
There will be no famine. The only thing that will break
a soul-killing famine is Christ Himself. So if you're hungry,
run to Christ. Run to Christ. He said, open
thy mouth wide and I will fill it. Isn't that what He said?
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. That's Christ himself. It's not
a better standard of living. He is our righteousness. Blessed
are they for they shall be filled. Revelation 7 says the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them. I said I'm going
to feed them myself. Agabus stood up and he signified
that there would be a great dearth throughout all the world. But
every child of God who was in need immediately started receiving
relief. And they were not without. They
were not without. They had plenty. So do God's
people because they have God's word. And it's always going to
be that way. It's always going to be well
with the righteous. All who just come to Christ are
truly going to delight their soul in fatness. They really
are. So run to Him. Run to Christ. All right, let's stand together.