1 John 3:17, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” • This is pretty remarkable when you think about it. I mean, for a long time, the Jews sort of looked down their noses upon the Greeks, the non-Jews. But here you’ve got these non-Jews, these Greeks, in Antioch and they’re like, “Hey, those guys down there need help, let’s send it.” Imagine when the Jews in Jerusalem received that money gift from Barnabas and Saul. They’re like, “Where’d you get all this money?!” And Barnabas and Saul say, “From the Gentiles.” • It is worth noting that the money is not flowing from the parent church to the assist a church in some foreign field, but from the mission field to the homeland. • God will bless the individuals that see a brother or sister in need and quietly, spontaneously, without pressure, give to meet that need. The famine easily could have hit Antioch as well as Judea. • The church members in Antioch could have said, "We need to look out for our own needs; let the Jewish brethren take care of themselves." But they trusted God and gave to meet the needs of others. God will pour out His blessing on a generous people. • God loves to unleash the extraordinary through ordinary people. • It’s been said we have too many “tippers” in our churches and not enough “tithers.” While tithing (giving 10%) is a good place to start, the Bible also speaks of proportional giving, meaning the more God prospers us, the more we give. Here are just two passages, one from the OT and one from the NT. Deuteronomy 16:16-17, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. 2 Corinthians 8:3-4, “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”