DEACON ORDINATION Acts 6:1-7
FBCF – 1/12/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – WELCOME ONLINE AUDIENCE
Peyton – Testimony
ACTS 6:1-7 – This passage of Scripture is generally considered the first instance in which a group of men was selected to help w/ the ministry functions of the church. As we come to the ordination of Peyton Barnes to the ministry of deacon, let’s take a moment to examine this passage to discover why there is a need for deacons within a church body. I hope this will be a great reminder to those men who are here today & are ordained deacons as to the huge privilege that they’ve been granted by the GRACE of God to serve the Lord as a deacon. I also hope this will be a challenge & encouragement to Peyton as he steps into this new role in our church FAMILY.
LOOK AT THE REASON – The Church in the first chapters of the book of Acts had a problem – a good problem – it was growing – v. 1a
- Acts 2:41 – 3000 people saved & added to the church after Peter preached on Day of Pentecost
- Acts 2:42 – Those 3000 “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching & the fellowship, to the breaking of bread & the prayers.”
- Acts 2:47 – “…And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
- Acts 4:4 – 5000 men were saved
- Kept on growing – Acts 5:14 – “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men & women.”
- By the time we get to Acts 6, the church had grown to 20-25,000 Christ-followers.
- The leadership & administration problems associated w/ such a large congregation had to be enormous.
- Meeting spiritual needs & dealing w/ sin were daunting tasks in themselves, let alone trying to deal w/ physical needs of members.
- Those original 12 apostles who had waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 had to have some help.
Another reason for additional organization w/in the church was due to the fact that the apostles had fulfilled the first part of the Lord’s charge to them in Acts 1:8.
- Had saturated Jerusalem w/ the Gospel message – High priest in Acts 5:28 – “…you have filled Jerusalem w/ your teaching…”
- Had begun reaching out to the surrounding region – Acts 5:16 – “The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem…”
- Now poised to begin evangelizing Samaria & the Gentile world
- In order to be able to do this – to be obedient to Jesus’ command! – there needed to be some additional planning & structuring w/in the congregation.
No surprise that in a church this size that someone’s needs were being overlooked – v. 1b
- Here was an issue that Satan could use w/ devastating force against the church. Consider this: By the time we get to Acts 4, Church was characterized by:
o Unity – “one heart & one soul” – v. 32
o Powerful teaching & testimonies – v. 33
o Money was being given to apostles for distribution & ministry – v. 34-35 – Much more organized for effective ministry.
- Satan hates all of those things – unity, Gospel proclamation & teaching, effective ministry. So, he 1st attacked through persecution. Only caused the church to grow faster – Acts 4:3-4 – “And they arrested them & put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, & the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
- Then he attacked by introducing sin into the body w/ the dishonest & deceitful actions of Ananias & Sapphira – Acts 5 – That backfired, too.
- 3rd tactic – attempt to create dissension w/in the body. Satan knows that:
o A church that is wracked by internal conflict will find its message lost in the conflict.
o Energy that could be used to advance the K’dom of God will be depleted having to deal w/ the conflict.
o A church focused on itself will not be able to focus effectively on a lost world.
LOOK AT THE RESPONSE – All came to understanding of what apostles’ priorities would be & what these men’s priorities would be.
- Apostles – prayer & teaching/preaching of the Word – v. 2, 4
- Not saying they’d never be involved in some of administrative work of church. But majority of time would be spent praying, studying, & sharing Word w/ the people “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to building up of the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12)
- Even the act of choosing these 7 men was a fulfillment of their God-given responsibility to equip others to do ministry in the Church.
These 1st deacons were given the joyous job of ministering to the needs of a special group of women in the Church.
- Imagine the fulfillment they received in being able to minister the love of Christ to these poor women who had lost their husbands – some probably still grieving. Imagine the blessing these men received in the act of being a blessing to others.
LOOK AT THE RESULTS – v. 7
- “The W of G continued to increase” “spread” (NIV) – v. 7a – WHY? B/c the apostles were able to concentrate their time & energy on prayer & the ministry of the Word – GOD’S PLAN!
- “The number of disciples [Christ-followers] multiplied greatly” – v. 7b – WHY? B/c the lost in Jerusalem heard the Gospel being proclaimed AND they SAW it being lived out in the lives of these men who were faithfully & obediently serving the Lord through ministry to others – GOD’S PLAN!
- “And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” – WHY? B/c they saw the impact that a LIVING faith had on their community through the ministry of a Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered, obedient Church – GOD’S PLAN!
CHARGE TO CANDIDATE – Peyton, would you please stand & remain standing? Do you promise to strive to so live that you may honor Christ w/ your life? And do you promise, in the presence of this your church FAMILY, to accept the responsibility of deacon in this church, & to the best of your knowledge & God-given ability, to discharge all the duties of this ministry? (I DO)
Ask all other ordained deacons (members of FBCF) to stand & remain standing: Do you also promise to renew your commitment to so live that you may honor Christ by your life? And do you promise, in the presence of this, your church FAMILY, to renew your commitment to carry out the responsibility of the ministry of deacon in this Church, & to the best of your knowledge & God-given ability, to discharge all the duties of this ministry? (I DO)
CHARGE TO CHURCH – Ask Church to stand: Do you, the members of FBCF, promise to encourage & pray for Peyton in his ministry as a deacon & to cooperate w/ him & the other ordained deacons of this church in the fulfillment of the mission of this Church as we continue “Making Much of JESUS”? (WE DO)
LAYING ON OF HANDS
