The Church Functioning Biblically
Acts 6:1-7; Romans 12:4-6
P.S. When every person begins to play their postion in the body, you will have a church functioning biblically.
INTRODUCTION:
ILLUSTARTION: When Everyone Plays Their Position- Chip Ingram
30years ago, the Miami Dolphins embarked on an unforgettable & unparalleled season. 14-0 regular season, then a 3-0 run through the playoffs culminating with a Super Bowl victory. No other team has matched that perfect record. Every year 30-some odd teams try, but for 3 decades, it stands alone. Sports enthusiasts all have their own opinion about who might be the “Greatest Team of All Time”, but one of the 1972 Dolphin team members put it best: “Perfection has a way of shutting peoples mouths.”
The opposing coach going into the’72 Super Bowl was asked 2 comment on stellar Miami defense. "I cant recall any of their names," he said, "but they are a matter of great concern to us." Who knows the nickname of the ’72 Dolphins Defense? The "No-Name Defense."
What made that team special was not the handful of superstars – it was the dedication of every team member. The willingness of every player to execute his position with excellence for a common purpose. Something special happens when everybody plays their position.
Did you hear that last statement? Say it aloud with me, Something special happens when everybody plays their position.
What would happen if the players on the field all of a sudden decided they did not want to play their positions? What would happen if the players felt they were not good enough?
You would have a recipe for disaster.
Well, the world of sports isn’t the only place where “Positional Confusion” can take place. It happens everywhere, and it happens in the church. The positions and roles in the Kingdom are more varied and more critical than any game any day, anywhere. The church is chock full of people who are uniquely gifted for the position that God has called them to play.
When every person begins to play their postion in the body, you will have a church functioning biblically.
Can you see in your mind's eye what it would look like, if everyone in the church was playing their position.?
Picture, how effective we could be if everyone offered their gifts to serve the Lord
Imagine what it would look like if everyone operated in their gifting?
Just think what it would look like if people worked in cooperation with one another and not competition against one another?
What you have is a picture of a church functioning biblically.
I think we all can describe a dysfunctional church. Someone wrote this little humorous story, entitled ‘You Know You’re in a bad church when…
10. The church bus has gun racks.
9. The church staff consists of Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor and Socio-pastor.
8. The Bible they use is the "Dr. Seuss Version."
7. There's an ATM in the lobby.
6. Choir wears leather robes.
5. Worship services are B.Y.O.S. -- "Bring Your Own Snake."
4. No cover charge, but communion is a two-drink minimum.
3. Karaoke Worship Time.
2. Ushers ask, "Smoking or Non-smoking?"
1. The only song the organist knows is "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."
Well, some of us laugh. And more than a few probably feel little uncomfortable, because it’s all too true of many churches in Canada.
When I speak of a church functioning biblically, I am not talking about a perfect church. Most of us have been around long enough, to know that there are no perfect churches just like there are no perfect pastors. ( O did I say that)
The church of Acts was a great church. But it was far from a perfect church. It was however, an ever growing body. That is the key to functioning biblically. It is a church that continues to move forward, upward and outward, no matter what challenges it faces. That is the essecnse of a church functioning Biblically. It keeps moving in God.
Come with me and let’s observe together what a church looks like that is functioning biblically.
1. A church functioning Biblically will be Faithful not Perfect
Luke gives us a glimpse into the reality of everyday living in the early church. On this particualor OCCASION the disciples were increasing in number
Up to this point, the church has been growing at an exponential rate. The church is still very young but growing VERY FAST. Last count was 5,000 men whom theologians claim could have easily been 15 to 20,000 members including the women and children.
Satan would love to disrupt the CHURCH and this was his third attempt to silence it’s voice. You’ll recall how His first attempt was…..
a. Through persecution in Acts 4-5 which actually only accelerated the growth according to Acts 4:4: “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.”
b. When persecution did not work, Satan then tried deception in Acts 5:1-11. But again God stepped in and judged Ananias and Sapphira for their attempt to deceive the church. Once again this attack only resulted in seeing the explosive growth of the church continue. Acts 5:14: “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
c. Finally, Satan brought out his most potent weapon, dissension.
In Acts 6:1-2. Satan sought to create dissension within the church. This is one of Satans most devastating weapons.
When a church is racked by internal conflict its message will be lost in the conflict and its energy dissipated. The church with dissension will focus on itself and will find it difficult to reach out to the lost world.
In spite of these devilish attempts to paralyze the churches ministry, the fire of revival was fueled and the gospel fans were flamed until the entire city was permeated with the good news. The church continued to serve the Lord faithfully in spite of all the obstacles Satan put in its path.
Like the early church, we will face challenges to our mission. The Lord calls us to remain faithful. When Jesus spoke to the 7 churches in Revelation, there was one single message He gave to each church, HOLD ON, Be FAITHFUL!
2. A Church Functioning Biblically, Will be Focused on Biblical Priorities
a. The Complaint.
The church was experiencing growing pains., and this was making it difficult for the Apostles to minister to everybody. Luke tells us that
…a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
The Grecian Jews were Greek speaking believers who were born and lived outside of Isreal.
The Hebraic Jews, were people who had been born in Jerusalem and were educatd in Hebrew and Arimaic.
What were these Grecian Jewish followers of Jesus doing in Jerusalem in the first place?
French Arrington in his contribution to the Full Life Commentary points out that, ‘Many devout Jews who lived outside of Palestine most of their lives moved to Jerusalem in their old age so that they could be buried near the city.
When the men died, few of the widows were capable of supporting themselves.They depended on the benevolence of others for survival.
Because these widows were not well known, and great in number it was easy for the leaders to overlook them.
The widows of the Aramaic speaking Christians were more likely to have been better known and so less likely to be overlooked in the daily distribution of food.’
As often happens in the church, dissension began as a relatively insignificant issue. The Hellenists complained that “their” widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.
One of the important factors that we understand in the Body of Christ it is NOT ‘us and them.’ We may be different in color and different in culture but we all have the same Father when we have been redeemed by the BLOOD of the LAMB. There is only ONE CULTURE in this Body and that is the culture of Christ.
b. The Conference:
The Apostles very wisely and quickly addressed this problem. It was a distraction that could have taken their attention away from what their real mission was.
Notice what they said in Acts 6:2: 2And 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.
b. The Apostles’ Call
I have often pictured Acts 6:1-7 as a description of two very different offices in the church; Pastors and Deacons.
The Pastors look after the spiritual side of the church, while the deacons are the business heads who make sure everything is running properly financially
The unspoken understanding is that spiritual ministry is somehow more important than practical ministry.
This was not an attempt to show superiority by the Apostles. Serving tables was not considered a menial task. The church had grown so large so fast, they could not do everything.
I see two very important principles at work here. First, the Apostles recognized THEIR CALL was to preach the Word. They knew who you were and what they did best.
Theirs was not more important, they were simply wanting to keep focused on what God had called them to do.
c. THE CHURCHES CALL
Furthermore, They Recognized the churches call was not their call. In other words they recognized NOT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME GIFT. When you realize this, you will not fall into the comparison trap and worrying about what gifts you don’t have. You will commit youraelf to use what God has given you to serve Him.
The apostles knew their priority was praying, preaching, teaching, and studying the Word. They would let nothing, however pressing, distract them from those duties.
d. CHARACTER OVER CAPABILITY
There were seven names submitted to the Apostles for consideration. The Apostles then made the decision where they would serve and said, “We will turn this responsibility over to them.”
We are not told the specific process the assembly used in choosing the seven. However, what is clear is how the Holy Spirit is sovereignly superintended the whole process.
Notice that the priority was to be character before capabilities. Did you notice who the people chose?
First of all they selected SPIRITUAL men
The Apostles instructed the gathering to choose ‘men from among you…’ These were not men known only for their administrative expertise. These were men who first and foremost knew Jesus. They were men who clearly were saved, and living for Jesus.
It sounds almost redundant to say, that the first priority of leadership is that they be SPIRITUAL MEN. A common myth about church leadership is that a person does not need to be spiritual. As long as they tithe, are strong administrators, and support the church.
How important it is that when leadership is chosen that a church fist of all consider the character of a person. We need to have men and women serving who are first of all committed to Jesus.
Secondly they selected SANCTIFIED men.
The ESV says ‘men of good repute…’
The KJV says, good report. The root of the word is the same as what Jesus said in 1:8, You shall be WITNESSES unto me…
The root of the word report is the same as that from which we derive the term “witness” or “martyr.” Essentially it means that these were to be men whose lives were consistent both inside and outside the church circles.
No one could point a finger at these guys and accuse them of anything immoral or unethical. There were no skeletons in the closet. There was no worry that their faces would end up in a Toronto Star expose.
They were to be MARTYRS, WITNESSES. Literally they were livng dead men. They were dead to sin and living for Jesus..
Another word we could use to describe their lifestyle is HOLY. Theologians call this word SANCTIFICATION.
The word sanctified means to be set apart for God. We need men and women today who would be willing to live their lives separated unto Jesus. Sanctification or holiness is not an option, but a command as Paul declares in 1 Thess.5:3
“This is the will of God even your sanctification…”
The tense of the word means that it is an ongoing movement towards sanctification. It is not a static experience, that occurs once then can be forgotten.
Being sanctified or made holy is not a static event. It is an ongoing process of submitting yourself to Holy Spirit. It is the everyday PROCESS of LIVING OUT the Christian life. It is choosing to walk in humble obedience to God’s word.
Chuck Colson summarizes what living a holy life is all about in his book ‘LOVING GOD”: Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and the things we do, hour by hour, day by day.’
Can you say AMEN or OUCH!
In addition to being saved, and living a sanctified life, the ASSEMBLY selected SPIRIT FILLED men.
What does it mean to be full of the Spirit?
It means to be ABANDONED to the Spirit “…do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
Just as an alcoholic abandons himself to liquor, so the believer must abandon himself to the Spirit. Instead of satanic intoxication there must be spiritual intoxication.
This calls for a decisive act of the will and the handing over of one’s total life to the Spirit’s control.
Illustration: Imagine yourself driving down the road of life. When you come to an intersection you see Jesus Christ standing there trying to flag you down. You stop the car, and He says He wants to ride with you. First, you open the back door, but Christ refuses to get in. Then you open the passenger door, but He still won’t enter. Finally it dawns on you: Christ won’t get into the car unless you move over and let Him take the steering wheel!
To be full of the Spirit means to be ABIDING in the Spirit. The words, “…be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), might be better translated “be being filled with the Spirit.” The verb is in the present tense, and thus gives the thought of continuance. The secret of such abiding is obedience to the Word of God. John reminds us in1 John 3:24: “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” As we obey the Word, so our capacities are developed to receive the greater fullness of the Holy Spirit; thus our experience of consecration never becomes static but progressive and always growing in spiritual maturity.
To be full of the Spirit means to APPROPRIATE the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit means to “…drink deeply of God’s Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). This implies the appropriation of the Spirit’s resources that make it possible for a Christ-like life to impact the world around us. John 7:37-38: “… Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Drinking deeply of God’s Spirit is the secret of overflowing and being a blessing to others.
The people selected men who were spiritual, sanctified, Spirit filled and finally
They selected SENSIBLE men.
Luke says the people chose leaders who were full of the Holy Spirit and WISDOM.
In the New Testament, we read of two kinds of wisdom:
There Is a Self-seeking Wisdom: James 3:13-15: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. [14] But if you harbor bitterenvy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. [15] Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.”
There Is a Spirit-controlled Wisdom: James 3:17-18: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [18] Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
This Spirit-controlled wisdom is the right use of knowledge. While it has insights that are often supernatural it also manifests itself in what can be called “Spirit directed common sense.”
Common sense is an indispensable qualification for Christian leadership and service.
So let’s backtrack for a moment. A church that functions biblically will be Faithful not perfect. It will be focsed on Biblical priorities and finally,
3. A Church that is functioning Biblically Will be Fruitful where it is planted
Acts 6:1-7 reads “So the Word of God spread.” Why? Why did the Word of God spread? Because they preached better? Because they finally sang the songs I like? Why did the word of God spread?
Because people did what they were wired up to do. Gods plan was executed because spectators became players – because people got out of stands, onto the field, found their position.
They took the abilities God gave them, and used them for eternal purposes. ‘the number of disciples increased rapidly.’ Lost people came to faith because believers stepped up and got in the game. Souls went to heaven, because believers served food! God is amazing.
Folk that is what ministry is all about. It’s not about what position you play. It’s about are you playing in the position God has called you?
CONCLUSION:
This Thursday, our family will be going to watch the Blue Jays play. On the field will be 9 players running, batting, and striving for that coveted home run. IN the stands will be 50,000 or so screaming fans cheering on their favorite players.
After the game, shouts of victory will be heard. “WE WON!” The relity is, WE did not do anything. We were not part of the game. We will only be spectators. The real heros are the men on the field and bench who together join their talents together, under the direction of their GM, so that as a team they can share the prize.
Do you know who also shares the prize? The water boy. The Ball catchers. The seemingly insignificant people who get to T.V. time. They are still part of the team functioning in their ‘call.’
Once the assembly selected the men to fulfill this task, Luke says that the Apostles laid hands on them, prayed over them and they were RELEASED TO SERVE the people.
We commonly call these seven men the first DEACONS. However, it was not a title they received or an office they held. It was how they functioned in ministry. They were chosen to serve others through the gifts they were operating in.
The word servant, in verse one is DIAKONI and simply means servant. These men were humble servants whose work made it possible for the Apostles to carry out their ministry without hinderance.
Being called by God to serve in the Kingdom encompasses far more than just teaching Sunday School, serving on the board, singing in the worship team, or being missionary.
Some think all the ‘other areas’ are trivial. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Some think, ‘Well, I just serve cookies for the VBS.’ Well, you know what? U don’t ‘just’ do anything!
The enemy would love for you to think that what you bring to the table isn’t important. Satan is dead set on keeping you from the truth about how valuable and indispensable you are to Gods plan in this place. The truth is that you have an opportunity to impact eternity in ways you hadn’t considered. So don’t fall for the lie.
Let me summarize by leaving you Eugene Petersons rendering of Romans 12:4-6
Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
