The choosing of the seven Acts 6:1-7 WBC 16/6/2 am
The Satanic Strategy
= true that wherever God is at work, the evil one is at work, too
- even in the church
These were days when ‘the number of disciples were increasing’ (v1)
- can see Satanic opposition building in the background
His first strategy to stop the Word spreading was PERSECUTION
- = silly, really. Seldom stops it. Here and in history
- even persecution to death only proves to be the seedbed of further spreading
- one of the major challenges we face is INDIFFERENCE!
Second strategy was that of corruption of the church
- usually has to do with money (sex or power)
- was, here. Ananias and Sapphira
- =NOT the issue that they didn’t sell all. Rather that they pretended they were “very spiritual” with regard to money, and were in fact lying. Lying to gain prominence, power.
- Where God is in great power, you just can’t get away with these things. “what you got away with in the outer courts will kill you in the Holy of Holies”
- = an illustration of why you just can’t go to heaven ‘as you are’
- = an incentive for you, me to realise “the things we have done last week DO matter to God”. He is not ambivalent to them
- as HE is here, now… get them sorted.
= tragic how often the work of God is destroyed by corruption of the church. Have seen it in the USA
- a number of prominent folks are NOWHERE, now
see it in our press. Corruption. Desire for prominence-> faking of qualifications (may God have mercy of us all). Lifestyles inconsistent with Christians (laity and clergy alike)
Satan now tries his third strategy to destroy God’s work. It’s the best. Works! (nowadays, anyway. Didn’t here)
= two components to it. One is division. The other is distraction
The issue
= typical scenario. You know the story.
- where there is growth there is grumbling.
- (some don’t experience this because they’re DEAD)
- actually- you lot don’t grumble much. Seriously! (that’s not excuse to start!). Because you’re so darn nice! It’s great, actually. Dunno how I’ll pastor any church after this!
- Word = lit ‘murmuring’. It’s the same word as used in the Gk translation of OT Hebrew passage where the Israelites murmured against Moses
- Probably murmured to the apostles, against the Hebrew Jews
Such ‘murmuring’ is inappropriate to Christians. And so- this is just what Satan wants
The complaint is about the welfare of the widows
- who God has promised to protect
- who the church had taken responsibility for if not able to support themselves, or had no living relatives
don’t think it was a deliberate neglect. = administrative oversight. Things just get too busy!
- = specific to the Grecian Jewish widows
- so there’s a cultural aspect to it. It’s not a division of language as many of them spoke Hebrew and Greek (cf Paul)
- = their background culture.
- The Jews from the Diaspora in Gk culture weren’t getting as god a deal as the Hebrew Jews
But the issue is more than just cultural tension and division. It always is, in our churches. It threatens to do what Satan had strategised (and always aims to do)
= distract from the preaching of the word and prayer
- because without it people don’t hear about Jesus
- watch for stuff that happens when Jesus is being spoken about!
Note: it’s not a distraction for all. Rather SPECIFICALLY those who have been called to this task
The solution
There’s no hint that this work was below the apostles. It was an issue of ‘calling’
- had no liberty to be distracted from what God had called them to
- the consequences would be too far reaching!
The apostles have the idea- but they don’t impose it on the ‘church’- they gather them all together and say ‘you choose these people’
- 7 of them!
- = interesting! = very Biblical number
also very interesting that where before (v2) the apostles have said ‘we mustn’t neglect the ministry of the word’
- they now say (and add) “we will give ourselves to the ministry of the word AND prayer” (v4)
- which is of course so true as without prayer to know what God wants to say and prayer for the seed sown to germinate- very little happens
What is most interesting, though, is who they chose. Look at them
- what links them?
- They’ve all got Greek names!
- One of them wasn’t born a Jew. He was a convert (proselyte) to Judaism… and then became a follower of Jesus
- The rest of them, I reckon, were from Jews of the Gk Diaspora
- I.e. people with a heart for these needy widows
It’s very much like the building of Nehemiah’s wall around Jerusalem.
- Each person built the bit near their house. The bit in which they had a heart, home, vested interest.
And so with us- if you have heart from something, someone… are linked because it’s near your ‘house’ (i.e. your kids are in COGS)
- don’t wait for someone else to serve the table, build the wall
- you do it!
- Illustr: those who come to me and say ‘someone in the church ought to do THIS”. “You do it!”
Anyway- they laid hands on them and commissioned them
- note: not for a trivial task… or a less spiritual task
- FOR A DIFFERENT TASK. For a spiritual task
Here’s
The principle
1) God calls all people to MINISTRY
- that’s the word used here (daikonia). Both for the MINISTRY of the word, and the MINISTRY of tables
- one is not more spiritual than the other. All require people filled with the Spirit
- the other translation of ‘diakonia’ is service. And that’s what these things are
- service to God and others
- ministry to God and others
- and all are called to minister and serve
- it’s wrong, actually, to say of Pastors that they are ‘in ministry’ or ‘going into ministry’, or in ‘full time ministry
- all are in full time ministry. Ministry = generic term and needs descriptive adjective added to it ‘ministry of word, tables etc’ (food!)
- whether you minister in social work, caring, tables etc
and the service doesn’t stop there: our service, ministry (and worship) includes our homes, family and other jobs, too!
- Illustr: LT meeting on Weds, looking towards TTT
- Recognising our workplace as service, and how many of us have chosen our jobs specifically as we feel we can serve God better in that way. (loads in teaching, caring)
All of you as Christians are in ‘ministry’ and should be in ‘ministry’. Indeed- MUST BE
2) God calls people to different ministries
it’s different ministries for different people
3) Don’t get distracted from your calling
- your calling by circumstances (i.e. where you are in the wall) or specific gifting
This applies particularly, here… and really is what we should take away from this passage
- it’s so easy for Pastor/teachers to get distracted from Ministry of the word and prayer (pastors are not apostles, like here, but the principle applies)
- it’s what the enemy is seeking to do
- consequences are disastrous if this principle is not followed
Sometimes it’s the pastor’s fault
- wants to keep all the reins in their hands
- (= insecurity? Control)
- actually likes administration (can be a break from Pastoral demands… sense of achievement)
Sometimes it’s the congregation’s fault
- see the pastor as ‘all things’ (thankfully not here)
- Illustr: ‘get the ball!!” (when they’re on the couch)
- Sometimes busyness, laziness, apathy can stop the congregation doing what they should, too. Basically they don’t want to be active, and come for a rest!
Result: stagnating church. Pastor dependant
- so many collapse when pastor moves on!
- Here: be committed to 1) people 2) purpose 3) then Pastoral team
Result
Here-> the word of God spread rapidly
- because the pastors (apostles) were able to devote themselves to the Word and Prayer
- because others were doing their job. Others were ministering, too.
Can I suggest
1) you keep yourself open to responding to calls for help in the church as heard about… if you are gifted… near that bit of the wall
2) help me by letting me know what areas you feel called to (blue sheets)
3) Better still- great suggestion from one of our HGS this week. Let me read to you from Becky’s email:
We suggested that maybe one way to help with this could be to keep a record within each housegroup of each members gifts and talents (like filling in one of the blue leaflets things that we apparently have in the foyer - for example) that the housegroup leaders kept and so that the housegroup could learn more about each others gifts. Then when it was announced that a particular job needed doing, someone could think ’oh, fred bloggs in my housegroup could do that, I’ll suggest it to him’, and that may g et the position filled more effectively than if it was just announced and everyone thought that someone else would do it!
We thought that people quite liked to be asked and told/encouraged that they could do something, and if all the housegroups help each other out like this and work together then we thought that would take some of the pressure off you and the leadership team to always be thinking of who they could approach if no-one has volunteered.
Good, eh?
Result-> priests got converted!
