Background to passage: Church is growing. Pentecost 3000 people got saved. Healed a lame man and preached the gospel, and the number of men was up to 5000 (plus women and young people). They were brought before the Sanhedrin twice, threatened, jailed, beaten, and given an ultimatum, preached the gospel a couple more times, “multitudes and multitudes” are being saved. Miracles done, gospel preached some more, then two problems—Ananias and Sapphira, and now the widows conflict.
Acts 6:1–7 ESV
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.
Opening illustration: Explain that bucks rub trees in the fall, and why, and tell about the man with the chainsaw who saw the buck rubbing a tree in the giant trunk
Main thought: This morning we will set aside one to serve as a deacon. This is a pattern for the church and an example for each to follow.
1) Growing Churches Have Growing Needs (v. 1)
Acts 6:1 ESV
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.
1) Growing Churches Have Growing Needs (v. 1)
Explanation: We can see the second problem that the church is having—widows aren’t being taken care of. Interesting note, taking care of the poor among them (that’s why widows were a priority) has been a ministry of the church for 2000 years, and we must ask ourselves are we taking care of the poor, needy, and widowed among us? Anyway, complaints and grumblings that one group was being preferred and favored at the expense of another. The leaders recognized this as a legitimate need, and set out a solution that pleased the congregation.
Argumentation:
Illustration: Tell about Living Stone and it’s growth. Needed new SS teachers, VBS workers, parking lot shovelers, musicians, mission trippers, people to build floats and hand out water in Jesus’s name, serve on teams, take care of children, youth workers, greeters, evangelism workers...
Application: Today we set aside (that is the meaning of ordain) one to serve in the biblical office of deacon. Zach has a number of roles in the church, but today we recognize something that he has been doing already. My “bootlegging” the gospel in SS. We are a growing church. We must be like the man with the chainsaw. We must be able to see what can be. What can be is Western Heights Baptist Church with this sanctuary full, voices rising to the ceiling, making deep/passionate disciples willing to take up their cross and die to self to serve King Jesus. What can be is an deep impact hitting LaGrange and Troup County like an asteroid, ministering to people left and right.
If that happens, and it will, we will need servants, ordained and otherwise to take up a mantle and give their lives away for the kingdom.
?
2) Everyone Has A Place in Meeting Them (v. 2-4)
Acts 6:2–4 ESV
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.”
2) Everyone Has A Place in Meeting Them (v. 2-4)
Explanation: Now, a solution is proposed for the problem. It takes into consideration the first things first. The apostles, the leaders of the church, noted that it is not right to leave their primary duty preaching under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They reiterated that point in v. 4 and included prayer as a priority. Side note: the two most important duties of your elders are prayer and ministry of the Word. You are to make sure they have time and resources to do it, and that they ARE doing it. Elders (including myself) delinquent in their two primary responsibilities should either step down or be removed. Also side note: the congregation was pleased with the suggestion. There is a togetherness and unity within the body between the apostles/elders and the church body. The solution was to choose seven men to release the apostles from direct supervision of this ministry.
1 Corinthians 12:14–18 ESV
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
Illustration: I went and visited with some new members the other day, and they had been to the class, and we were talking about getting involved. They said, we remember what you said in the class, the three basic requirements for membership are the you come, you give, and you serve.
Application: We must be ready. God is moving in Greenville, Centralhatchee, Hendersonville, TN, and those are just the ones I have read about in the last two to three weeks. We if we had a person who wanted to be baptized, then 5 more came to be obedient, then 20 more, then 30 more. Who would help me? Who would disciple them. What if 25 children show up next week, are we ready?
God has commanded you and gifted you to serve. We have places right now. I need a children’s ministry director/team leader. We need instrumentalists. We need security personnel. We need Wed night children’s workers. We need youth ministry team members. We need van drivers. We need people to visit our home bound members. We need givers. We are commanded to give and to serve.
Now what I don’t want you to feel is guilt. Don’t feel a beat down because you are not serving, or because you are not serving enough. What God wants is for you to want to serve and give. God wants you to feel the excitement of teaching children about Jesus. God wants you to at least be willing to enjoy it. God wants people to want to come and pray his blessings down.
If you are not serving somewhere inside the church, don’t wait for it. Go get it. God will bless your life. That is why he has given you spiritual gifts and abilities, and you will find fulfillment when you use them. If you don’t want to serve or unwilling to serve, ask God to change you from the inside.
?
3) When Needs Are Met, The Kingdom Advances (v. 7)
Acts 6:7 ESV
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.
3) When Needs Are Met, The Kingdom Advances (v. 7)
Explanation: Notice the three things that happened in this text, 1) the Word of God increased, 2) the number of disciples multiplied, 3) many priests became obedient. Success is measured by faithfulness and fruitful ministry. Faithfulness produces this fruit. Kingdom advance is made up of the Word of God going out further and expanded. That happens with believers as they share. It can happen if we plant other churches. It can happen if we take mission trips. Discipleship is when a person is not just converted, but taught to follow Jesus, to observe all the commands he gave. Finally, people put their faith in Christ. Interesting that he puts that last on the list of things that happened when the widows are taken care of...
1 Corinthians 3:6 ESV
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Illustration:
Application: Setting Zach aside as a deacon will help meet needs here at the church. We do have other needs. The question that we must ask ourselves is: are we willing to prioritize the most important things to bring about the furtherance of the Word, the development of disciples, and the faith and obedience of the 60,000 people in Troup County that need Christ.
In part this is a question of heart/commitment, and in part a question of stewardship. We can do a lot of things, but are they the right things. We must pray.
?
Closing illustration: Edward’s promotion to Colonel this summer. There was a ceremony for it this summer that I missed. More people are now under his command. Things are not the same with Zach or our deacons, as they are “ordained” or set aside to this ministry, not to be over more people, but to serve more people. Jesus said that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to give his life. He said the greatest among you will be those who serve the most. We now designate Zach to serve as a deacon as he seeks to please the Lord
Recap
