Acts 6:1-7 - Do You Feel Overlooked?

Introduction

[ILLUS] When I knew that I would be coming to Emmanuel as pastor, I had a conversation with the pastor of Cheryl’s home church, Bro. Leland Hogan, a man now with the Lord but who eventually served that church for 45 years. We talked about a few things, but one thing he said that surprised me was that he was grateful that the church had grown slowly over time. It wasn’t a large influx of people all at once but a steady increase over decades.

Bro. Hogan said, “Because the church grew slowly, the growth didn’t overwhelm us. If it had happened all at once, it might have been too much for us.”

[CONTEXT] The growth of the early church happened more or less all at once. It went from 120 persons praying in an upper room to 3,000 added on the Day of Pentecost to 5,000 men alone a short time later, and day by day people were continuing to trust in Jesus and become a part of the church!

It was a marvelous time of exponential expansion, but it came with a problem.

The growth of the church had more or less happened all at once, and it was proving too much for the current system of care. Sure, some people were still being cared for, but some others were being overlooked.

[INTER] How would the church address this problem? How would the church adapt its system? How would the church do its best to make sure that no one was overlooked?

[TS] Let’s read Acts 6:1-7…

[READING - Acts 6:1-7]

Acts 6:1–7 NASB95

1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

[PRAYER]

[CIT] In those verses we just heard, the Apostles directed the congregation to select for themselves seven godly men who would strive to make sure no one was overlooked in the church.

This organizational structure would help ensure that everyone in the church received care, that everyone’s needs were met.

[PROP] Jesus has organized His church so that within scriptural limits everyone can have their spiritual and physical needs met.

We need to make sure that we are organized and functioning according to Jesus’ plan or else we run the risk of overlooking those in need.

[TS]…

Major Ideas

#1: The Complaint (Acts 6:1)

Acts 6:1 NASB95

1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

[EXP] Differences between the Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews may have led to the Hellenistic Jewish widows being overlooked as the church distributed food to the needy.

There was likely a language difference between the Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews. The Hellenistic Jews were likely more comfortable with Greek while the Hebraic Jews were more comfortable with Hebrew or Aramaic.

Perhaps this language barrier somehow contributed to the Hellenistic Jews being overlooked.

There was certainly a cultural difference. The Hebraic Jews were native to Palestine while the Hellenistic Jews were from the Diaspora, i.e., from the exile. The Jews from the Diaspora had surely picked up cultural norms different from those from the Jews in Palestine.

The cultural differences would have created suspicion between the two groups and contributed to the Hellenistic Jews being overlooked.

But the primary reason for this overlooking was that the disciples of Jesus were increasing in number.

The care-plan for the church at that time couldn’t handle the influx of so many new members that required care—specifically widows—so some of them were overlooked, and those among the overlooked lifted up a complaint.

Those who follow God have always been called to care for widows. Deuteronomy depicts widows as particularly vulnerable along with orphans and immigrants. Jesus speaks judgment on those who abuse widows, and Jesus often held up widows for their exemplary faith.

Anna, the widow who rejoiced over Jesus as a baby when He was presented in the temple, never left the temple but served night and day with fastings and prayers (Lk. 2:36-38).

The widow with two coins in Mark 12 (cf., vv. 42-44) put in more than anyone else because she put in all she had to live on.

James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

God’s command to care for widows led some to abuse that care. In 1 Timothy 5, the Word of God lays down qualifications for those widows who are widows indeed, i.e., widows that are to be cared for by the church.

First, widows must be without children or grandchildren.

If they have children or grandchildren, then they must be taught to honor the Lord by taking care of their widowed mother or grandmother.

Anyone who refuses to do this is worse than an unbeliever.

Second, widows who are widows indeed have fixed their hope on God and are constant in prayer night and day.

These widows are not looking to get married again but are committed to serving the Lord in His church through prayer.

Third, widows who are widows indeed are over sixty years old.

Fourth, widows who are widows indeed must have been the wife of just one man.

Fifth, widows who are widows indeed must have a reputation for good works such as…

…bringing up children to follow the Lord…

…showing hospitality to strangers…

…humbly serving her fellow Christians…

…assisting those in distress…

…and generally devoting herself to every good work.

As you can tell, this is a very high bar to reach if a widow is to be considered a widow indeed, but a church does not sin if it wants to help a widow who doesn’t meet these qualifications perfectly.

The instruction in 1 Timothy does mean, however, that a church is not obligated to care for a widow unless she meets these qualifications.

So, the church must be protected against abuse, but widows who are widows indeed must not be overlooked.

[ILLUS] A pastor of a huge church preached the funeral of one of his members, a man who was a close friend of his. The pastor was there as much as possible as his friend was dying, there to comfort his friend’s wife and family as they mourned this man’s death, and there to preach his funeral.

However, about six months later his friend’s widow approached him after a service and said, “Why haven’t you checked on me in the last six months?”

If it had been me, I think I would have been immediately defensive, “I’m sorry, do you know how many people are in this church? Do you know how many souls I’m responsible for?!”

But this pastor said, “What could I do but say, ‘I’m so sorry, please tell me how you are.’”

It wasn’t this pastor’s intention to overlook this new widow in his church.

I don’t think it was the early church’s intention to overlook these Hellenistic Jewish widows in Acts 6.

But we live in a fallen world—a fallen world that makes widows and imperfect pastors and churches that overlook them despite their best intentions.

[APP] I know that we are a small congregation, but we are a small congregation with many needs. Please know that if you’ve ever felt overlooked it wasn’t intentional on my part or on the the part of our deacons or even on the part of the members of this church.

We care about one another here.

We want to serve one another well here.

If we need to make adjustments in our care-plan so that we serve one another better, then we will do that.

Jesus has not overlooked you.

And we want to make sure that we honor Him by not overlooking you either.

[TS] The Apostles actually came with a plan to make sure that no one else was overlooked in the early church.

Look at…

#2: The Counsel (Acts 6:2-4)

Acts 6:2–4 NASB95

2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

[EXP] There are only 24 hours in each day. No one—not even an Apostle—has more than 24 hours. Take out 8 for sleeping, a couple hours for eating and grooming, and each person is left with about 14 hours. Each person must decide how they are going to best use those 14 or so hours. The Apostles had to decide how they were going to best use their 14 or so hours. They could use them serving tables, i.e., distributing food to the widows in the early church, or they could use them in prayer and ministry of the word.

[APP] Everyday we are devoting our hours to something. We should examine our hours to make sure that we are using our hours as God deems best.

[EXP] The Apostles said that it would not be desirable for them to use their hours distributing food to widows; their hours must be devoted to prayer and the ministry of the word.

That word desirable means fitting, so some translations say, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables,” (ESV, CSB). In other words, it would have been wrong for the Apostles to give up preaching the word of God to wait on widow’s tables.

[APP] In the body of Christ, there are different parts, and each part is important. The mouth is that part that serves the word of God. The hand is that part that serves food to hungry widows.

The mouth should never say, “I’m more important than the hand,” and the hand should never say, “I’m more important than the mouth.”

Likewise, the mouth should never say, “The hand should do what I’m doing,” and the hand should never say, “The mouth should do what I’m doing.” A mouth can’t function like a hand. A hand can’t function like a mouth. They must each function as God designed them.

Furthermore, the one who is served should never say, “The mouth doesn’t serve me well because it doesn’t serve me like the hand does” or “The hand doesn’t serve me well because it doesn’t serve me like the mouth does.”

Certainly the mouth sometimes has to help out like hands. We might think of the mouth holding a flashlight while the two hands work on something. Holding is usually the responsibility of hands, but the mouth will help out in that way when needed.

And the hands sometime have to help out like a mouth. We might think of the hands communicating through sign-language when communicating is usually the responsibility of the mouth. The primary purpose of the hands isn’t communication, but they will help out in that way when needed.

God has designed us to serve in ways that please Him.

We can’t all be mouths, and we all can’t be hands.

The body of Christ needs all its parts serving in the way that God designed or else the body won’t be healthy.

[EXP] The Apostles were mouths preparing in prayer to proclaim the word of God and then going out to proclaim that word among early Christians as they gathered in the temple and individual homes. The Apostles knew that it wasn’t right for them to stop serving as mouths in order to serve as hands, so they told the Greek part of the congregation to select from themselves seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.

Because these men would be supplying a valuable resource to a needy people, they had to men of outstanding character, men of good reputation. A good reputation is built on good character. Men of lesser character might take food for themselves or prey upon the needy widows in some other way, but these men wouldn’t be likely to do such a thing because they had been recognized as men of good character.

These men were to be full of the Holy Spirit too. As a couple upcoming stories in Acts will demonstrate, sometimes the Spirit led these servants to do more than serve tables. Thus, they needed not only the character to serve widows without overlooking them or taking advantage of them, they also needed the courage to follow the Spirit wherever He led.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge, and these seven men were to be full of wisdom. They were to walk wisely—i.e., apply the knowledge of God to caring for these widows and whatever else the Lord brought their way. The fool not only says but also lives as if there is no God, but one who is wise lives all of life before the face of God.

These seven men had lived their lives before the face of God and would now serve these widows before the face of God.

[ILLUS] I once had a pastor call me to ask about a young guy who had visited our church for a brief time.

“What do you know about him?” the man asked.

I told him what I knew, which wasn’t much but also wasn’t good.

The replied, “Well, we are thinking about making him a deacon.”

Obviously that was that church’s decision, but I advised caution.

The pastor then said something like, “Well, we just need someone, so I think we are going to put him on and see how it goes.”

That is not the way to go about things.

[APP] The church doesn’t just need someone to lead; the church needs qualified men to lead!

We don’t put someone in a position, give them a title, and then hope they rise to the occasion in terms of character, obedience to the Spirit, and wisdom. No! They should already possess those things, which is why the church selects them for service.

The church should never select you unless you possess these qualifications, and if you desire the church to select you for service, then pray and ask God to help you develop good character, obedience to the Spirit, and wisdom.

[TS]…

#3: The Chosen (Acts 6:5-6)

Acts 6:5–6 NASB95

5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

[EXP] When the Apostles directed the congregation to select these men, it was a direction that everyone agreed with. Verse 5 says, “This statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they choose...”

[APP] While this statement is certainly descriptive of what happened in the early church rather than prescriptive for all churches in all times in all places, I do think the pattern we see in the NT is churches led by elders but governed by congregations.

In other words, the elders or pastors point in the direction they think the church should go, but the congregation decides whether it will follow in that direction or not.

The seven men chosen by the congregation would be the hands serving these Hellenistic widows their food.

There was Stephen. He was singled out by Luke as especially full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. His faithful courage will be on display throughout the rest of this chapter and the next.

There was Philip. In Acts 8, he will follow the Spirit’s leading and help an Ethiopian eunuch trust in Jesus.

Beyond that, we don’t really know anything about Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas.

All of these are Greek names. Hebrew men had made sure the Hebrew widows were taken care of, and now these Greek men would make certain the Greek widows were taken care of.

As much as possible, those who had been overlooked in the church would be appropriately cared for by these servants, these deacons—and that’s what they were if not in formal title then certainly in general function.

Some like Stephen and Philip would also be preachers and evangelists when the need arose, but they were all servants of Jesus in His church.

The Apostles of Jesus laid their hands on them, which was a way of identifying with these brothers and affirming them before the whole congregation.

What an encouraging moment for these brothers.

If they doubted themselves, if they encountered hardships as they served the Lord, they could look back and remember these Apostles—these brothers—standing with them and find strength to keep moving forward.

[ILLUS] Several years ago, several of our men and some other brothers who joined with us laid hands on Mark Davis, Wayne and Sharon’s son, as he followed God’s call to ministry. We asked him questions, challenged him, and then during his ordination service, laid hands on him to encourage him and to tell everyone else that we affirm Mark and his call to ministry.

Mark serves as youth pastor at First Baptist Bay Minette.

[APP] When we are discouraged in ministry, it will lift us up to remember those who affirmed us along the way.

[TS]…

#4: The Consequence (Acts 6:7)

Acts 6:7 NASB95

7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

[EXP] There are actions and reactions, choices and consequences. The early church chose these seven men to care for those who had been overlooked, and the consequence of that choice was that the word of God kept on spreading, the disciples of Jesus continued to increase, and even many priests believed in Him.

No church is perfect. Sometimes people will be unintentionally overlooked, but when things are put right, the word of God can spread, disciples can be made, and even ardent unbelievers can be brought to faith in Jesus.

The priests were the servants of the Old Covenant of law, but the New Covenant in Christ’s blood was making that Old Covenant obsolete.

The priests had a front row seat to that very thing as they watched and listened to the early church in the temple everyday.

They saw the power of God in the Name of Jesus Christ!

They saw the love of God in the way the early church cared for one another!

And it seems that some of them saw this response from the church to those who had been overlooked, and it brought many of them to faith in Christ.

[APP] Let us not forget that our care for one another in the Name of Jesus is an evangelism tool; it is attractive to the lost, the lonely, the overlooked.

If you’ve been lost, you can find what you’re looking for in Jesus.

Turn away from your sin and trust in Jesus—trust in His death on the cross pay the price for your sin; trust in His resurrection from the grave to make you right with God.

Call on the Name of Jesus for salvation, and you will be saved.

Call on the Name of Jesus for salvation, and you will find brothers and sisters in His church.

Call on the Name of Jesus for salvation, and know that Jesus sees you and has brought you here to this church this morning so that you would be overlooked no longer.

[TS]…

Conclusion

[PRAYER]