The Church: A Place to Belong, A Place to Serve
Acts 6:1-7
Introduction: OK, the United States Soccer team, even though it
lost it’s game on Thursday, has made it through to the final 16 of the World
Cup. Some teams in the competition have
great stars, but really don’t play well as a team. Others, with perhaps less raw
talent, do well because they play together. I never played soccer in my life, but I watch
these guys and like talking about what they do right or wrong. I’m an “expert”…
from my Lazy-Boy! A healthy church
requires teamwork. Christianity is not a spectator sport. None of us is here to
sit in the stands. God saves us on
purpose for a purpose: to have a part in His mission, for His glory. You
are a part of God’s team!
The
Big Idea: God calls all of his people
to ministry. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something. Have
you found your place?
I.
The Problem: No one can do everything
for a church to be healthy (1). It’s not surprising that people looked to the
apostles for leadership, but no one can do everything!
“Now
in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the
Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected
in the daily distribution.”
The
church was doing well, despite the opposition and persecution the believers had
experienced. But the next “test” the church was to face could have had
devastating results if it had not been handled well.
“In those days…” That is, during a time
when there was opposition and persecution from the Jewish leadership, and
steadfast endurance from the Christ followers, “the disciples were increasing in number.” God was working and the
church was growing, but it was about to face its next test. But it would not only be external trials that
would put the church to the test. This
trial would come from within.
“…a complaint… arose…” I.e., a “murmuring.” The verb form of the same root is used to
describe Israel’s murmuring and grumbling against Moses (and the Lord!) in the wilderness (see Exodus
16:1-9 [emphasis added]).
“They
set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the
wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the
second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of
the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the
wilderness, 3 and the people
of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in
the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for
you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with
hunger." 4 Then the LORD
said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and
the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test
them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it
will be twice as much as they gather daily." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all
the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7
and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard
your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble
against us?" 8 And Moses
said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the
morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling
that you grumble against him- what are we? Your grumbling is not
against us but against the LORD." 9
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of
Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"
It’s easy to look at the Jews in the
wilderness and shake our heads at their grumbling and murmuring against Moses,
and ultimately against the Lord. Of
course we never hear grumbling in the
church do we? Even for New Testament believers it’s easy to forget the
blessings God has given, and to get focused on things that seem unfair or even
hurtful.
We
get a hint about the potential division of the church in the next phrase, the
Hellenists (the Greek speaking Jews) were complaining against the Hebrews (the
Aramaic/Hebrew speaking Jews). They were all Jews, but the Hebrews spoke
Aramaic and were concentrated in and around Jerusalem. The Hellenists were
Jewish, but their day to day language was Greek and they were familiar with the
Scriptures in the Greek translation known as the Septuagint. Most of them lived a distance from Jerusalme
and their worship centered in a Synagogue. They often had a lot of interaction
with gentiles for trade and business. Ethnic and linguistic barriers can
sometimes breed mistrust, and mistrust is fertile ground for divisions. For the
church to function the way God designed it, we need to focus on the unity that
we have in Christ. We can’t let divisions separate us.
This
is not the last time that divisions threaten to separate a church in the New
Testament. When Paul writes to the Corinthians, for example, he has to admonish
them not pridefully align themselves with one leader or apostle against
another. If we have believed in Jesus we are baptized into Christ. He is the
head, we are each a part of the body. And God calls all of his people to
ministry. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something. Have
you found your place?
II.
The Solution: Each of us must
discover his gifting and calling for the church to be healthy (2-6).
First
of all notice what does not happen here. There is no defensiveness, no denials,
no passing the blame. I’ve heard Dan C. say more than once, “There are no
problems, only solutions!”
2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples
and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of
God to serve tables. 3
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of
the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to
prayer and to the ministry of the word."
5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and
Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of
Antioch. 6 These they set
before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
In
6:2 we see the first time in Acts that the term “disciples” is used for the
believers. The twelve called “the full number of the disciples.” The
implication is that the believers were all viewed as “disciples.” “Disciples”
were not a super-spiritual segment of the believers in Jesus. In the context of Judaism, a disciple followed
the teacher, learning from him, usually because he wanted to be like him. Even
though Jesus was in Heaven the believers still followed Him as they were led by
the Spirit. Do you think of yourself
that way? The Great Commission
characterizes the work of the church from this perspective. After the
resurrection Jesus told his followers at the end of Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples…” That’s at the heart of what we see in Acts.
People believe and are baptized, then they follow the Lord, learn about Him,
and begin telling others. It pictures an engaged body of believers. For the
church to be healthy everyone needs to do something.
The
apostles recognized their calling and understood that they had to prioritize
the things Jesus had given them to do. They didn’t say this matter was not very
important, they simply could not take on this task without neglecting their
primary calling and ministry. No one can do everything. If we start thinking
that we can, or that no one can me it as well as we could, or if I don’t do it,
it will never get done, well that is the epitome of arrogance. God designed the
church to be a body of mutually interdependent parts. An eye can’t be a foot
and an ear can’t be a hand. We all can and must do our part, as God has gifted
and called us. Notice here that the
apostles don’t just ask for volunteers. We need bodies to fill these positions.
No, the people, together, nominate some to fill the need. I think it is still
true that others in the body will encourage us to see our gifts, and to “try on”
various ministries.
Here,
the people affected, the Hellenists, were to choose from among themselves seven
men who had certain qualities: men of “good repute,” “full of the Spirit” and “wisdom.”
Each of those characteristics are important when we choose leaders and delegate
authority to them.
·
“Good repute” – What kind of reputation
do they have in the church and in the community? What do people think about them? Ministry
shouldn’t be a popularity contest, but perceptions usually have some basis in
truth. Later when Paul tells Timothy and Titus the requirements for elders and
deacons, they were to be men “beyond reproach” (I Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6,7) and
“well thought of by outsiders” (I Tim 3:7).
· “Full of the Spirit” – The evidence of a
life transformed by the presence and power of God was a requirement. This week
Daniel was leading us again in a study of the Book of Galatians in the mixed adult
Sunday School class. Paul speaks in
Galatians 5:22,23 of the “fruit of the Spirit” which stand in contrast to the
works of the flesh. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control…” People who are
controlled by the presence of the Spirit begin to stand out, people notice the
change. Not that they are perfect – no one is. But there is less of the “old
man” and more and more of Jesus.
· “…and wisdom…” Wisdom, from a biblical
perspective, is more than knowing facts about God or having good theology.
Proverbs 1:7 makes it clear that there is a spiritual element in biblical
wisdom, “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Wisdom is
God’s truth applied in the believers thinking and living. We are being transformed by the renewing of
our mind (Rom 12:1,2).
Notice, by the way, that the apostles
don’t ask for volunteers, nor do they simply choose these men themselves. They
ask the Hellenists, the Greek speaking believers in Jesus, to choose them from
among themselves. This is implicit recognition of the priesthood of believers,
as they exercise discernment and make choices, trusting that God is guiding the
entire process. This is why we have structures
in place in our church that ultimately put the authority in all the members,
the congregation. We have elders and
deacons and deaconesses that have certain responsibilities in the church, but
they are chosen by the members from among the members.
As
a side note, while these men serve,
tending to the need at hand, the apostles would give themselves to prayer and
the “ministry” of the Word, the same word, diakonia,
is used. Notice that whether it is distributing to the needs of widows, or
preaching and teaching the Word, it is all serving, it’s all ministry. Let me ask you an important question: Who
are the ministers in this church? The answer should be: every single member
of Boothbay Baptist Church. We are called to serve. How is your serve? By the way, I’ve tried to avoid calling these
men who are chosen in Acts 6 “deacons,” since the text never uses that word for
them. The offices of “deacon” and “elder” are in place by the time Paul is
writing his letters to Timothy and Titus, but Paul is not even converted to
faith in Christ at this point in the story, and churches are not yet being
planted outside of Jerusalem. It may be that this event was the background to
the establishment of the office of deacon. In our church, the elders serve
essentially as lay pastors, and the deacons and deaconesses seek to assist the
elders in the shepherding ministry of the church. When Paul admonishes the elders in Ephesus he
tells them to “Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His
own blood…” (Acts 20:28). What do shepherds do? They know the
flock, feed the flock, protect the flock, and lead the flock. Part of the
knowing is watching out for needs, but also encouraging each one in the body to
discover and use their spiritual gifts. No one can do everything, but we are a
team, and everyone can do something!
We
have names of the seven who were chosen, of most of them we know almost
nothing. A couple of them, Stephen and Philip, are soon found preaching the
Word (Stephen, in the immediately following context, starting in 6:8 and into
chapter 7, and then Philip in Acts 8). So once this critical need was met, it
is clear that they could continue to operate in the area of their giftedness.
The Spirit sovereignly bestows gifts, we are responsible to discover the gifts
we have been given and then to use those gifts for the edification of the
saints.
Notice
that the apostles laid hands on those who were chosen, indicating the unity of
the church and affirming that they recognized that God had indeed chosen these
men for work. God calls all of his
people to ministry. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do
something. Have you found your place?
III.
The Outcome: As we recognize and
embrace God’s design for the body we can fulfill our potential to the glory of
God (7). Verse 7 is one of the key “summary statements” we see in Acts,
indicating that Jesus is indeed working through His Spirit empowered followers
to build His church.
“And
the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became
obedient to the faith.”
The
positive expansion of the mission is described in three phrases. First of all,
“…the Word of God continued to increase…”
I think the idea here is that the Word was going out, it was being preached and
shared more and more. We know the
promise that God’s Word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword
and the certainty that God’s Word will not return void, but will accomplish the
purpose for which it is sent. And we see the effect of the increasing
dissemination of the Word in the next phrase…
“…the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…”
So we see the program Jesus outlined in
Acts 1:8 is making strong and solid progress in phase one, in Jerusalem. Remember He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you
(Pentecost) and you will be witnesses for
me, starting in Jerusalem…” The Word is being preached, the Spirit
empowered witness continues strongly, and the church in Jerusalem is growing explosively.
And though the impression is that most of the growth was from among the masses
of Jews and proselytes, that wasn’t exclusively the case. Luke, the writer of
Acts, let’s us know that “…and a great
many priests became obedient to the faith…”
Jerusalem was the
location of the Temple, and it was now, in phase 1 of God’s New Testament
mission, that the priests in Jerusalem we having ample opportunity to hear and
respond to the Word. After being threatened by the Sanhedrin, the apostles
returned to the Temple daily preaching! God blessed their faithfulness. As the
church was multiplying, a great many “priests” believed. Notice that that we
don’t see any mention of “priests” in the church. A priest is a mediator
between God and the people. In this age, there is one mediator between God and
man, the Man Christ Jesus. The protestant doctrine of the “priesthood of
believers” recognizes that idea. We can go directly to the Father, through the
Son. That doesn’t imply that we can be “lone ranger Christians”! Quite the contrary, it affirms the central
truth I am emphasizing here, we are called and gifted, every one of us, to be
part of the Body.
What is God saying to me in this passage? God calls all of his people to ministry. None of us
can do everything, but all of us can do something. Have you found your place?
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Does it make
sense to you that God has saved you and that you have a place in the body? No
one is saved simply to be a “rester” or an observer. Christianity is not a
spectator sport. We need to get out of our Lazy Boy and get into the game. For this Body to be what God intends it to be
every one of us must consider our calling.
1. First of all, we are all called to
be witnesses. I know we’ve repeated that a lot these last few months, but
it is a key idea in the book of Acts. We are not all evangelists, but we are
all witnesses, placed by God exactly where He intends us to be. Be praying for
those around you who need to know Him. Next week looks like an excellent
opportunity to invite one or more of those that you are praying for to come.
Darryl Witmer will bring a dynamic message, we’ll have inspirational music, and
a picnic/barbeque to follow. If everyone brings one, we’ll have a full house!
2. Secondly, we have all been given a
spiritual gift (or gifts). Have you discerned what your gift is? Are you
using your gift for the encouragement and building up of the body? If you haven’t
discovered your spiritual giftedness or if you are unsure about how you might
be able to serve, talk to a deacon, or deaconess or elder and we’ll walk with
you as you seek to discern God’s direction for your involvement. God saved you
for a purpose. None of us can do everything, but by His grace all of us can do
something. Ask God to help give you direction.
3. Maybe you have trusted Christ as your savior and have been attending
Boothbay Baptist Church for a while, but have not yet become a member. Why not?
If you feel that God has you here, if you agree that the Bible teaches “every
member a minister,” why not talk to an elder about making it official and fully
becoming a part of the body?
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