Growing Concerns
Handle Growing Concerns with Discernment (Acts 6:1-2)
Don’t Ignore the Problem
Don’t Resent the People
Don’t Over-react to the Problem
Do Realistically Assess the Problem
Handle Growing Concerns by Delegating (Acts 6:3-6)
Delegate to those who are of good reputation (known well of)
Delegate to those who are full of the Spirit
Delegate to those who are wise.
Handling Growing Concerns Produces Dividends (Acts 6:7)
Slide 1
If you have been here for the past 6 months or so, you have been privileged to see God doing an incredible work at Hickory Creek. We have experienced incredible growth in these past 6 months.
But while that growth is exciting, that kind of growth also brings about challenges.
We face challenges in space that we are dealing with.
Sanctuary space
Classroom space
Parking space
We are working at dealing with that but it is quite a challenge in the meantime.
But even as we face and deal with space problems, this kind of growth is also going to bring about issues in our interpersonal relationships.
Our relationships will be challenged as we fall short in communication.
Our relationships will be challenged as actions get misinterpreted.
Our relationships will be challenged as we miss opportunities
to care for someone, or
to love someone, or
to show concern for someone.
The kind of growth we have been experiencing will bring about some of these challenges.
The question is
How do we deal with those things as a church?
And how can we close those gaps when
they do occur and
even before they occur?
Well, thankfully, the early church faced some of these same issues.
We are going to look at Acts 6:1-7 (P. 774)
Slide 2
We will seek to learn how we might deal with these situations in a manner that would honor the Lord.
We have just talked these last 2 weeks about being a church that Honors God.
Now as we face challenges that will come from within the church,
how can we be a church that honors God?
Let’s see what we can learn from God’s word.
Acts 6:1-7
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
(from New International Version)
Ok, we have seen since we have been going through the book of Acts that Satan has tried to thwart the work of the church through attacks from outside the church.
Church leaders and members have been getting flogged and threatened and thrown into prison, but so far it has not stopped the church from growing and the message of the gospel from getting out.
When one type of attack doesn’t seem to be working, Satan will often try a new type while he continues the former type as well. We will see that attacks from outside the church will continue, but now we are seeing that he is trying to cause dissension in the church
While the problem of some widows being overlooked is not the attack, but stirring up of hard feelings is.
It says the Grecian Jews Complained against the Hebraic Jews.
How is this problem going to be handled by the Apostles?
How are they going to face the concerns among the people caused by their growing, or as I call it
How will they face these Growing Concerns?
The first thing we need to learn is to
Handle Growing Concerns with Discernment
Slide 3
Acts 6:1-2
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
The Apostles here were in a tough spot.
They were experiencing great growth.
Acts 1:15 – 120 people
Acts 2:41 – 3000 added on that day.
Acts 2:47 – Lord added daily those being saved.
Acts 4:4 – number of men grew to about 5,000
Acts 5:14 – more and more men and women believed and were added to their number.
Acts 6:1 – number of disciples increasing
There were more and more people being added to the church which means more and more people to minister to for the Apostles.
And it was beginning to get a little overwhelming for them.
And it was starting to show among the people. There were some who were starting to feel neglected and began to complain.
The Greek word used here for complain is gongusmos (gong-goos-mos’). It means murmuring or complaining but not openly, but loud enough to be heard. Grumbling.
The Greek Jews weren’t going to the Apostles with their complaint or concern. They were just grumbling and murmuring among the people.
This is just the kind of thing that Satan can use to destroy the church. Attacks from the outside have not been working.
When people start to fall short of expectations, Satan doesn’t want the people to give the benefit of the doubt to the Apostles and think they need more help. Instead, Satan whispers in their ear that
“Nobody cares about you.”
“Look at other people’s needs being met, but not yours.”
So they start murmuring.
Understand that they have legitimate concerns.
But, the way to handle it is not to murmur and complain among themselves or to others.
They needed to go directly to the Apostles and not let it just get back to the Apostles through the grape vine.
We have an obligation, if we think someone has wronged us in some way, to go to them and speak with them personally.
Matthew 18:15
15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
Now there is much to be learned here not just for leaders but for all who desire to honor God.
We can learn as much about handling a problem with Discernment from the way the Apostles don’t respond as from the way they do respond.
We see here that they Handle a Growing Concern with discernment because they
Don’t Ignore the Problem
Slide 4
The people were just murmuring and complaining among themselves. They did not go to the Apostles with the problem.
The Apostles, could have easily justified in their heads,
“Well, nobody is coming to us with this complaint. If it was really so bad, someone would coming to us directly.”
And they could have ignored it thinking that they have too many other responsibilities than to deal with these complainers.
But they don’t.
When they realize that there is a problem they begin to deal with it.
A second way they Handle a Growing Concern with discernment is they
Don’t Resent the People
Slide 5
“Those Greek Speakers are just a bunch of complainers.”
“If they don’t even have the common sense to come and let us know directly, we aren’t going to do anything to help them and their widows out.”
The Apostles don’t do that. They recognize that even despite the way the people handle the situation, there is a legitimate concern that needs to be dealt with.
They don’t resent them, they love them as Christ would.
Another way they dealt discerningly with this Growing Concern is they
Don’t Over-react to the Problem
Slide 6
They don’t drop everything and start fixing the problem themselves.
The Greek speaking widows aren’t being cared for, so let’s solve this problem right now and get over there and feed them.
Over-reacting seldom solves the problem. It may put a temporary bandage on and silence these particular people that are complaining, but by over-reacting, you have most likely created another gap somewhere.
So what to do?
We see here that the Apostles
Do Realistically Assess the Problem
Slide 7
The Apostles met together and assessed the problem.
Notice that by the time they called together the church, they already had in mind the solution they would offer and the reasons for it.
While we read this section in just under a minute, there was definitely some time that passed from verse 1 to verse 7.
This did not occur in one afternoon or probably even a week.
It may have taken weeks or maybe even months to get from verse 1 to verse 7.
So the Apostles
met together,
talked over their priorities, the things that God called them to.
They knew that God called them to lead the church, but their main priority if they were going to lead the church effectively was to be
praying and ministering the word,
sharing the gospel and teaching others sound doctrine.
So they knew that they could not take on this role. But who?
So they call together the disciples and lay out realistically what the problem is.
Acts 6:2
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
We see that this is an issue that needs to be resolved, but it would not be right for us to neglect what God has called us to in ministering the word.
So they had realistically assessed the problem. Well, after assessing it realistically, they could now come up with solutions to solve it.
So they handled the growing concerns with discernment and they learned to
Handle Growing Concerns by Delegating
Slide 8
Acts 6:3-6
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
(from New International Version)
The Apostles did not try to do everything themselves. They recognized what the priorities were and focused on those and were willing to delegate to others.
Hickory Creek needs to Delegate to others
This is the direction that Hickory needs to be heading. Like I said earlier, the events of these 7 verses did not happen overnight.
As we continue to grow here at Hickory Creek, Jim and I recognize that we are going to need
more elders to help shepherd the people,
deacons helping to minister to and serve the people,
ministry leaders heading up the ministries we have and the new ministries that will be started.
We know that we can’t do it all.
We know that we can’t do really anything more until we have more people to help.
As the church grows, more people are needed
to effectively minister to the people of the church and
to effectively reach those outside of the church.
But who to delegate to?
What were the requirements that the Apostles laid down here?
Acts 6:3
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. (NIV)
I don’t think the NIV translation is the best in this case.
The word they translate “known” here is one carries with it more of a meaning of being knowing good of, you know they have a good reputation
Other translations, translate it like this
Acts 6:3
3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, (NKJV)
Or
Acts 6:3
Men of good report (NET Bible)
So while the Apostles are getting ready to appoint men into a positions that would later be known as Deacons, I believe that these basic requirements would be necessary for any leader in the church, not just deacons or Elders.
So, the church should be delegating responsibilities to people who are of
Delegate to those who have a Good Reputation
Slide 9
This is basic. You don’t want someone in an important position of responsibility who does not have a good reputation among the people they are serving.
Character Counts
If God has given you gifts and a desire to be a servant leader, then you need to make sure that your life matches your talk and that it is lived in a way that brings glory to God.
When Paul is giving qualifications for Elders, this is one of them.
1 Timothy 3:7
He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap
While this is a listed qualification for elders, this is something that every Christian should be living.
Another thing the church should look for when delegating responsibilities is to
Delegate to those who are Full of the Spirit
Slide 10
Acts 6:3
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom
This is not just signifying a Christian, but a Christian
who is walking in the ways of the Lord,
who is controlled by the Spirit.
Paul writes in
Gal 5:25
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(from New International Version)
It isn’t enough simply to be a Christian. You need to be a Christian who is walking in the Spirit and power of the Lord.
Lastly, we need to
Delegate to those who are Wise.
Slide 11
Acts 6:3
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom
When delegating tasks in the church or anywhere, you want to delegate to people who are wise.
What does a wise person look like?
Proverbs gives us much about what a wise person looks like.
A wise person is Humble
Proverbs 11:2 tells us that “with humility comes wisdom.”
A wise person keeps has self-control.
Proverbs 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
A wise person fears the Lord
Proverbs 9:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
So requirements to be a servant leader in the church are
to have a good reputation,
to let your walk and your talk be the same.
To be full of the Holy Spirit,
being controlled by the Spirit in the things that we do.
to be Wise,
showing yourself to be a person of humility, with self control, and a proper respect for the Lord.
When we face Growing concerns in the church, it is incumbent on the leaders to recognize the issue and to seek to alleviate those concerns by seeing that the tasks that need to be done are delegated to godly individuals.
When that goes on, we see that
Handling Growing Concerns Produces Dividends
Slide 12
Acts 6:7
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
The church grew even more because they handled these growing concerns in a God honoring way.
That is our challenge here at Hickory Creek.
As we grow, we are going to need
more leaders to rise up,
more people to take on various ministry positions,
and for myself and Jim to be able to delegate many of these tasks to other people.
And as we grow, we are going to face times where we drop the ball. Where something gets overlooked, where someone falls through the cracks.
The thing we would like for you to do at those times is come and express your concerns personally to us.
Don’t just complain about it. If there are gaps in the ministry to people, then we want to know about it.
But, if you are seeing gaps in the ministry, then that also indicates opportunity for people to step up into service.
If God is showing you these gaps, perhaps He wants you to step up into some of those roles.
Ask yourself if you meet the requirements that God has laid down.
Am I a person of good reputation? What do those who know me best think of me?
Am I full of the Spirit? Not just someone who has received Christ as Savior, but someone who is controlled by the Spirit. Someone whose priority in life is to honor God.
Am I wise?
Am I a person who recognizes that when something is accomplished through me, it is really God who does it?
Am I a person who does not let my sinful nature control my actions?
Am I a person who has a healthy fear and respect for the Lord and His ways?
If you can’t answer yes to those questions, I can tell you right now that God wants you to be able to.
And not only does He want you to be able to, He wants to help you be that person.
He wants you to trust Him in making you into a godly man or woman that can be used to effectively be part of the body so that His kingdom continues to grow.
That starts with Receiving Jesus as Savior.
If you have never made a conscious decision to receive Jesus, why not do that today.
Or if you have received Jesus, but you haven’t been letting the Spirit of God control you, then repent and ask for His help in doing that.
Or maybe you have been here and see some areas where Hickory Creek is not being effective in ministering.
Come and talk to me or Jim so that we can continue to be a church that honors God.
If want to begin your walk with Christ, express your heart to Him now and pray along with me.
Pray.
