The Pentecost Effect: Keeping Focused On The Mission

Sermon – Keeping Focused on The Mission

Scripture Lesson- Acts 6:1-7 “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.”

Introduction: Having proper priorities can help any ministry to maintain its focus. Organizations of all sizes acknowledge the importance of setting strategic priorities to focus their time, energy, money, and human resources to accomplish the mission. One of Satan’s most successful attacks against the early church was to attack the leadership. He wanted to distract the disciples from their most important task of prayer and ministry of the word. Where could they do the most for the church and where should they place their attention, time, and energy in supporting the mission, Jesus gave them? Prayer and the Word!

It’s no secret that we’ve all got a million things going on. As many of us are going back to our jobs and our lives beyond the pandemic. It’s easy to get overwhelmed as we try to find balance in ministry, family, work. Our lives are all full of things we need to accomplish, spiritual, social, and vocational demands that fight for our attention. All needs are not created equal, and we shouldn’t give them the same weight in our lives. That’s where a practice of healthy priorities comes in.

As believers, God’s glory should always take that number one spot in our lives. Regardless of what’s going on in our lives or what has happened to our schedule. We’ve been experiencing a season where our schedules, routines, and our lives are in a constant state of change. In cultural moments like these, we need to realize that even if the events of our lives are changing, our priorities can remain firmly in place. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6. When he talked about the anxieties of the heart, he said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, And all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

As we’re adjusting to the changes of life, it’s important that we keep our priorities straight. When we keep those priorities straight, we can experience life the way God intended. With every decision we make, we need to make sure our priorities stay in the right place. If our decisions distract our focus from God’s purpose, our mission diminishes, and we need to rethink our priorities. We all need to do a priority check every now and then. We need to consider how much time and attention we are giving to each area of our life. If you find that your priorities aren’t lining up the way they should be, don’t be discouraged. God wants to do a work in you! Spend some time with the Lord and ask him to help you align your life with his goals. When our priorities look like God’s priorities, we will find that our lives are balanced in the best way.

Establishing and maintaining proper priorities was the secret to the disciples staying focused. There is no way to avoid the challenges in the life of a fast-growing church. Challenges will come. We can be assured that the Holy Spirit can lead us safely through the challenges of life and ministry. The early church needed the Holy Spirit's guidance as they faced the challenges of ministry. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the early church had successfully overcome outside persecution and inside hypocrisy. Now, the Holy Spirit must guide the church in resolving inner conflict among its members. Any growing church will face new challenges. We must always remember that growth brings changes, changes bring challenges and unresolved challenges become problems. These Spirit filled leaders were able to keep the church focused, united and on mission. The people came together to address the conflict which resulted in more cooperation and additional church growth.

1. Seek to Resolve Conflict. It seems as if the church leaders had an open-door policy. The membership had the liberty to bring their concerns forward. The leader addressed the conflict openly. Satan was attempting to use conflict to divide and conquer. Satan’s efforts are often successful when the church allows unresolved conflicts to distract them from their focus. When the focus is lost, the mission is abandoned. All of Satan's efforts to hinder the church through persecution failed. Instead of hindering the Church, the church membership increased and grew. Real growth demands change. It is impossible to experience real growth without change. Change has a way of creating challenges, conflict, and confusion. The early church experienced all three. The church attracted people from all walks of life. Although, the church was still primarily made up of Jewish Christians, there were both Hebrew speaking Jews of Palestine region and Greek speaking Jew who had lived in other parts of the Roman Empire within the congregation.