Acts 6:1-7

The First Deacons...

Good morning my friends, it is a special day, Palm Sunday. It is the time we recognize when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem and was heralded as King..

But as usual, the religious leaders hated it, called for Jesus to rebuke His followers for their cries and phrase but Jesus replies if they were silent the very rocks would cry out.

This day marks the last week of the physical life of Jesus before his death, burial and resurrection.

And how wonderful we have baptisms at the end of the service.

This will be special, they will never forget they were baptized the week before Easter.

Now I also want to encourage you that each day this week, take time to ready through the different gospels about these last days leading up to and during his death, burial and resurrection.

This Friday will be Good Friday and it is the day we mourn and celebrate. We mourn the way mankind treated the Savior but we celebrate His words...”It is Finished” as He gave up His life on the cross and was later that day buried and on the third day rose from the dead alive forever more.

Now today we come back to Acts 6 and we will talk about the formation of the first deacon body and what this body of men were called to do and why..

Remember the early church is together, for the most part they lived and held everything in common. And as the church grows we know there were people from different backgrounds.

And a complaint arises in the Church, some felt they were no being treated as fairly as others. Something had to be done to ensure this didn’t happen any longer.

So 3 thoughts today

The first point today my friends is this....

1. The Complaint.....

As the early church was growing and expanding, we know that many different groups of people were coming together.

That my friends is one of the greatest blessings of the church, we are different people, from different backgrounds and together under the common bond of the cross, the salvation of Jesus, we form one body with a singular mission to advance the gospel at every turn.

And at times, we (the body of Christ) have problems. I am not making excuses, it just happens. And we see this here.

Look at verse 1 Acts 6:1

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.

Here you go, a problem arises. So lets look here break the text down.

So Luke tells us here that during these days, the days we have looked at in the first 5 chapters where the church has been blessed by the coming of the Holy Spirit, great growth and there have been many who have experienced miracles through the hands of the Apostles and finally, during times of persecution the church grew…

A lot of wonderful things are happening, yet at times there were issues. Listen, where humanity exists, there can be problems at times. Here in verse one we see the Hellenists raise a complaint…

You see the Hellenists raise a complaint against the Hebrews. Who are these two groups?

Now who are the Hellenists? These are Greek speaking Jews. Typically they are those who lived away from Jerusalem, most likely outside of Palestine itself were the world was Greek speaking.

The Jews native to area of Palestine and the nation of Israel itself would be Hebrews and Hebrew speaking.

So you have people in Jerusalem who are Christian, who are made up of different nationalities, one of which are those considered as Hellenists.

And they raise a complaint, go back to verse 1. The Hellenists raise a complaint that their widows were given less than others in the daily distribution. This most likely was food and other provision needed to sustain the widows and others in need.

The felt like their widows received less than everyone else. Why did this happen? We are not completely certain, there could be cultural differences that caused division, there could be religious differences between the two groups, how they viewed the law, worship and so forth…

Yet none of that matters, what we know is this… One groups had reason to bring a complaint to the attention of the Apostles for the way their widows were being treated.

So if there is anything we need to know, no one can be neglected my friends. That cannot happen, we recognize this and understand this, no matter our background, our cultural upbringing, whatever… All that matters is that we are in Christ and we are brothers and sisters together in Him.

Understand, coming to Jesus means we are no longer members of this group or that, we are all together as one group, Christian.

Now this brings us to our next thought my friends...

We go from the complaint to the solution provided by the Apostles.....

2. The Solution....

The complaint arose and soon the Apostles were involved in trying to provide a solution. Just like in the Old Testament, when there was an issue between tribes or people, they would bring their complaints before Moses and later Moses and his father in law Jethro.

In this day, it was the Apostles who needed to make decisions in much matters.. so what would they do that would bring a peaceful solution for the good of all people.

So lets turn back to our text for today my friends; Acts 6:2-4

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.”

So upon hearing the complaint brought by some of those believers , the Apostles call a meeting with everyone, literally everyone.... They were the leaders of the church,(Under the Lordship of Christ) and it was their job to lead toward a solution. So they called a meeting…

So with everyone, while it was the Hellenists who brought the complaint to the Apostels ears, the problem evolved everyone. And the Apostles wanted everyone in on the solution to solve the problem.

So lets look at the meeting and the points the Apostles bring...

A. Their role was important… The Apostles tell them “it is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables.”

Some look at that and they might say, well they think a lot of themselves, but frankly that is not the case at all.

In the church we understand God gives different gifts, callings and roles to those who serve in the church.

As the Apostles, they could serve, without a doubt, it wasn’t beneath them at all. There were times with the people I’m sure they did… But is it the best use of their gifts? No… The were ministers of the Word, they were teaching and preaching daily.

They were the ones Jesus left to lead the church outward to the world to advance the Kingdom of God, carrying the light into the darkness.

This was their role....

But the Apostles knew they need to take action so they speak to delegation.

B. There Needed to be a Delegation of Responsibility; The Apostles understood they couldn’t do it all. It is impossible for a few to take care of all the needs of the people.

The Apostles called for the church to select 7 qualified men from among their group to serve the needs of all. And we will continue in our role and ministry.

That was a very practical application my friends. Even today we need more people who are willing to set up and help. We are a body, the heart, lungs and kidneys don’t do all the work and so a few in the church cannot, we need everyone working and serving...

And the Apostles called for the people to choose men with good qualifications.

Now what were the qualifications? The Apostles share 3 qualifications; Listen, the first is to the number of men needed. there were to be 7 men, and beyond that they were to be men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.

So lets look at these 3 inward qualifications....

1. They were to be Men full of Good Reputation.. known among the church as good men. It is likely these were men who were already serving and leading in such a way their lives stood out for their honestly, their love and care for others. They were well known and thought well of already.

A good reputation is a necessary part of life, a good reputation is something we cannot be back once destroyed. Our reputation is a reflection of our life in Christ.

Moving on....

2. They were to be full of the Spirit and of Wisdom… When you consider this phrase we see these men were those who had given their life and work over to Christ and His people already.

They were men whose life reflected the love of Christ in ways that blessed and built others up. You could see and tell who they were and whose they were…

How wonderful my friends to see and know that within a few minutes of conversation a person could tell that you are a child of God. That is the type of life we want to live and see.

Like these men my friends, it should be our goal that people know who we are without a doubt by what we say and what we do or do not do.

These men were men who had been saved, and their life was indeed led and lived by the Holy Spirit

And then the final qualification was they were to be men who were full of wisdom. They were to be men who had skill, experience and good judgment. They might be good in administration, having the ability to be effective and efficient…

They were wise, having the ability to lead and act with a sound mind, unwavering in their commitment to those around them in the name of Jesus.

Godly men were the needed component to assist the Apostles in ensuring the needs of all the people were met fairly and equally.

And while they serve in this area, the Apostles make it clear “they will devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Ver 4.

When the Apostles talk about prayer here, it is prayer both private and corporate, they were to keep their face before the Father. They were to intercede on behalf of the welfare of all the church, praying to be effective in ministry and preaching so that they understand clearly were the Lord Jesus is leading...

The Ministry of the Word is the commitment to the power of the communicated Word of God. To share not only what Jesus told them, but to share as God spoke to their lives and taught them through the Spirit

As this problem came to them, the Apostles were committed to leading the church and they would ensure the needs of all people were met and daily each person were built up.

That is still the role of the church today, we are committed as a body of believers to gather and hear the word of God and we are here to help.

We have men who lead and serve, men who pray and help.. but we need more men to not only take a stand for Christ, but to exhibit that devotion outwardly daily.

We need women who will mentor the next generation, who will love and share Christ with the children around them. Will you be those men and women..

People say it’s not my job… my gracious, whose job is it. Ours, it is the task of the corporate body of Christ. It is all out job.

Now just one last thought...

3. The Outcome....

The people did as the Apostles had instructed them and in doing so 7 men were chosen to assist in the ministry of serving in the church.

Lets look at the text .. Acts 6:5-7

Acts 6:5–7 ESV

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.

This recommendation pleased the people, and they selected seven men from across the body of believers who lived among them.

Stephen,- Philip, - Pro chorus, -Ni Canor, - Tom on, - Par men as, - and Nicolaus who was a proselyte of Antioch.

Now we don’t know a lot about these men, just a little here and there. Stephen and Philip we have information about.. Pro chorus seems to later be connected to John the Revelator, =helping Him manually as like a secretary. He will later become Bishop in Nicomedia in Beth a kneea , later martyred in Antioch.

Nicolaus is only said to have been a proselyte from Antioch. What does it mean to be a proselyte? He was a gentile who worshipped God and became a Jew in faith and practice. He would have been circumcised and gave a offering to the temple.

But now we know that Nicolaus has become a Christian and is a servant to the Apostles and the Lord Jesus.

Now verse 6 says that these men were set apart, prayed for and the Apostles laid there hands on them.

So the Apostles confirm the congregations work in selecting these them. The laying on of hands is something we see all the way back in the Old Testament, it is the commissioning if you will of these people to ministry.

They have been set apart, commissioned as official servants called for God’s purposes. They were to be a arm for the body to lean upon

As a pastor there is nothing better than having godly people under me who I know will carry out the will of God to the best of their ability for the glory of God.

It’s like John and Amy who lead our youth, Like Jarret and April who have represented Upward, our deacons who do and have done a multitude of tasks to ensure this church is blessed...

They partner with me and help carry the load, and they partner with you to assist you in growing in the ministry.

And look at verse 7 again..

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.

Because of the partnership of these men, alongside the Apostles we see several things happened

A. The Word of God continued to increase. - Meaning more and more people were hearing the word of Gospel, the message of Salvation was able to be preached and more heard it.

B. The number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. The number of believers increased greatly, the church continued to grow.

C. Even many of the Priests, those who once opposed Jesus and more recently His Apostles were being saved and coming to the faith.

How wonderful to see these religious leaders, members of the Sadducees and other groups like the Pharisees were being saved.

The church and its mission was restored, people now felt like all people were being treated fairly and as the church lived in harmony together we can see God’s blessing upon the church and its explosive growth into the world that more and more might hear about Jesus.

So stop right here and let me ask you… as you heard God’s word today..

Has anything kept you being in harmony in the church? If so confess it to God, ask him to change your heart and life.

Make sure your life is right with others and yourself///

If you are hear and you would say Preacher, it’s been a long time since I have really walked with God, if you recognize that today, ask Him to forgive you and to restore you.

If you are here and say, I have never asked jesus into my heart but today I want too, today you can, I would love to help you invite Jesus into your heart

And finally, if you need prayer, come and let us gather around you and pray for you.

Would you come today