In our last visit we found that God authenticated Agabus’s faithful exercise of the gift of prophecy God gave him. Exercising other gifts faithfully might not have as demanding a test to be authenticated. God, however, will take care of authenticating them in His own way when they are faithfully exercised.
This leads to a consideration of the third point in our outline: Results when God’s servant faithfully uses his gift.
The outcome of Agabus’s first prediction was an outpouring of love and grace by the believers in Antioch as they “each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea” (Acts 11:29). This started a ministry of “Food for the Hungry” that continued in the life of Paul right up to what led to Agabus’s second prophecy. In fact it is still being carried out by many in the church today, formally and informally.
The results of the second prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21:10-11 are not quite as clear. If Paul had heeded the warnings he received from a number of prophets and finally from Agabus, he might have had many more years of carrying out his mission, including getting to Rome as a free man. He, on the other hand, was convinced he should go to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission of delivering the offering he had collected from the churches. He was willing and ready to face whatever consequences, including those predicted by prophecy.
It’s interesting to notice that Agabus never tried persuading Paul to heed his prediction. He gave his prediction and left the results with God. That’s a good example to follow when exercising a gift God has given you.
