You Can Serve Too
Notes
Transcript
Handout
1 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. 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. 7 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.
How can a church continue acting like a church? Ministry service is at the core of church life.
Two types of ministry are mentioned in this text. Word Ministry and *Work* Ministry. Every area of ministry is vital in church life.
Three lessons from the Jerusalem church about church life and ministry service.
As we continue forward...
Expect Unique Problems - 6:1-2
Every church will experience unique problems as they seek to live out their faith in Christ and fulfill His Great Commission .
The early church was not a perfect church. Even though the church in Jerusalem was growing and blessed (praise God), they were not immune to ministry problems. In fact, it’s precisely because they were growing that new issues arose. More people will produce more potential for problems…
The Church in Jerusalem experienced three unique problems as they grew:
There was potential for ethnic disunity. - Acts 6:1a.
1 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.
Unity is essential for church community and effectiveness in fulfilling the great commission. It’s also a negative reflection on the gospel when unity disintegrates.
The text indicates that rather than taking their issue and seeking restitution, the Hellenists didn’t give the Hebrews the benefit of the doubt and pursue peace. This could possibly be a sin issue. People allowing frustration to grow and throwing out accusations. They did have serious reason to be frustrated, though. That leads to the second problem the church faced.
Greek widows were unintentionally being neglected. - Acts 6:1b.
1 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.
This is what led to the potential for ethnic disunity. It’s unfortunate that there even was an issue like this and widows were being neglected. Most likely, the Apostles where involved in distributions, but obviously, they weren’t doing the best job at it. This isn’t so much a sin issue as much as it is a capability issue. That leads to the third problem the Church faced.
The preachers couldn’t manage the matter because they would be neglecting their preaching ministry. Acts 6:2b.
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.
While material needs and widow care are a priority for Christ’s church, the ministry of the Word must not be subservient to the physical. The ministry of the word is spiritual. While the ministry of work is physical. We want to be holistic in our ministry, but not so much so that it threatens our proclamation of the gospel and discipling of new believers.
These three issues were unique to the Jerusalem church… Just like the issues we face will be unique to us…
I personally don’t think we are experiencing the first two problems they were experiencing, but I can definitely identify with the third problem, even if we aren’t at 10,000 people. Preachers can’t manage every issue that comes up in a church. It’s not just widows who can get neglected. It’s administration, building needs, outreach needs, hospital visitations, music, greeting people, being present in our community… There are seriously many different work ministry needs that the preacher just can’t handle on his own.
To be quite frank with you all. This means that I can’t manage all the ministry issues that come up! In verse 2, we see the Apostles are honest with the whole church about their inability to deal with it. Acts 6:2.
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.
If the Apostles can be humble and honest enough to admit this fact, then I should be humble and honest about it.
Church, I need help! Others serving need help! *Explanation of Needs??*
But, how can I get help?
That leads me to the second lesson in this text...
I can get help if you...
Embrace Ministry Opportunities - 6:2-6
Unique problems provide you with ministry opportunities that you must not run from!
Notice how I said, “Unique Issues Provide You With Ministry Opportunities...”
The Apostles didn’t say “Oh yeah!! Now I get to earn my paycheck”!. Instead, they told the church three things:
Acts
We can’t give up preaching to do this work. - Acts 6:2.
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.
Therefore, identify reputable, Spirit-filled, wise men to serve and meed the need. - Acts 6:3.
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.
We are going to keep focusing on prayer and word ministry. Acts 6:4.
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The Church responded positively to this.
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.
They did as the Apostles said. The gathering chose the men listed… This wasn’t a list of the Apostle’s favorite members. They were eventually set before the Apostles who then laid hands on them as a means of commissioning and affirming them. These were men who were identified as being able to serve a need, they didn’t run from the opportunity, and then they were released for service.
Now, Let me take a moment to talk about the Office of Deacon...
Some people would say this is the first official establishment of the diaconate…
Concise Oxford English Dictionary Diaconate
diaconate /dʌɪˈakəneɪt, -ət/
■ noun the office of deacon.
▶ a body of deacons collectively.
—ORIGIN 18th century: from ecclesiastical Latin diaconatus, from diaconus
We need to remember that the church is in it’s infancy here. They are working at this as best as they can at the pace the Lord reveals it to them. This event isn’t necessary the first official setup of the office of diaconate. What this text is doing is laying out for us how the church will solve problems later on and, from what I can tell, it’s laying down the ground work for the office of deacon to be established later on; which actually isn’t recorded in Acts.
The MacArthur Study Bible Chapter 6
These were not deacons in terms of the later church office (1 Tim. 3:8–13), although they performed some of the same duties.
This whole process is descriptive before it is prescriptive.
There isn’t a rule that says a church can only have seven members of the diaconate. (I used to think this)
There isn’t a rule that says the diaconate is only supposed to serve widows.
Believe it or not, there doesn’t seem to be a biblical precedent that says only men can serve within the diaconate. 1 Timothy 3, when properly exegeted seems to indicate that women can serve within the diaconate office. Look at the NASB or NIV’s rendering of 1 Timothy 3:11 for, what I believe, is a more accurate rendering of the verse. Then see Romans 16:1 as it even identifies Phoebe as a deacon.
11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon, of the church in Cenchreae.
There are scriptures in other places that discuss the office of deacon. 1 Timothy 3, is a good example. Some of the parameters the disciples used here to identify the men to serve are shared with the lists from Titus and Timothy (i.e. reputable, full of the Holy Spirit, and wise.) But, here, the Apostles, nor the church, say “let’s establish the office of deacon.” Or “Let’s set up a diaconate and create standards for it.”. Instead, they say, “we have a need to be met so let’s have some men step up and meet it!
All that to say, even though this doesn’t talk about the office of deacons, establishing recognized, ordained, and commissioned deacons is still a good application for us at FBC San Bruno.
I’ve appreciated some of the conversations our Leadership Team has had recently. Everyone is in agreement that we want to have a more biblical mode of governance and service here at FBC. We’ve been discussing nominating a deacon or two while we still have the Leadership Team in place. And we’ve also discussed pursuing an Elder/Pastoral board to govern the church. Which would mean we will need to change our bylaws. But these things will take time.
The most likely scenario (I hope) is that, come October, we will be recommending to the members a deacon or two to be appointed for some type of official, recognized service.
Like
A Deacon of Hospitality
A Deacon of Finance and Financial Needs
A Deacon of Campus Maintenance
A Deacon of Membership Assimilation
A Deacon of Music Ministry
A Deacon of Child Care and Children’s Ministry
A Deacon of Kitchen Service
A Deacon of Tech and Sound
The point you should be seeing is that we have ministry needs that must be met. Some are being met on a more unofficial basis: Haydee and Abraham have been leading the Children’s Ministry; Teri and Eddie have been Serving in hospitality; Eddie has been serving some of our Campus Maintenance needs; There’s a man who has been visiting homebound widows with me regularly (he would hate it if I said his name because he doesn’t want the spotlight); Daryll has stepped up to serve some of our Sunday Morning Tech needs; Bob has been faithful to serve in sound. I could go on. FBC, you’ve been stepping up. But there is a whole lot more for us to do.
So, unique problems create ministry opportunities for you. But, when you embrace them...
Trust God to Make Our Ministry Fruitful - 6:7
We don’t have the power to change hearts and minds. God does that. What He expects from us is for us to trust him while we fulfill the ministry opportunities he gave us.
7 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.
Jerusalem’s Effective Witness
Knowledge of the gospel spread. Acts 6:7a
7 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.
This means that the appointment of the seven enabled the apostles do continue to do faithful preaching and teaching.
We want the word of God to continue to increase here. The only way that can happen effectively is if we all are participating in service. I’m called to serve in the Word. Most of you are called to serve in a work. This doesn’t mean I won’t serve in the work
More and more people believed the gospel and followed Jesus. Acts 6:7b
7 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.
We also want to see God save people through us existing. Wouldn’t it be an amazing thing to see our baptismal filled every month!
Even enemies of the gospel embraced it. Acts 6:7c
7 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 Gospel transforms even the most hostile opponents of Christ.
These are excellent results from just being faithful to Christ and his mission. These should be results that we ask God to give us. We are responsible for the first part: sharing the gospel so that the knowledge of Christ increases… But God is responsible for applying it to hearts and minds. He is the one who convicts and converts.
Summation
Expect unique Problems. Unique problems become ministry opportunities that you must not run from. And as you embrace these opportunities, continue to trust God to make the ministry fruitful.