Called to Serve

Children’s Church

Last week we talked about the Plan of God.

His plan being the proclamation of the Gospel.

This is what we are all called to do.

It has always been his plan.

And it is a plan that cannot be shaken.

That ends in victory.

This week we focus in to a small point of contention within the early church.

This moment gives us a look into the nuts and bolts of how we are to go about accomplishing the task we have been given together.

Acts 6:1–7 CSB

In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch. They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

There is Work to Be Done

There was a dispute from the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.

A complaint rather than a statement of fact.

Could be true, could be false - that is not the point of this passage.

Realistically, the language barrier between these two groups may have cause some of these issues.

I don’t know how particularly earth-shattering this issue was in the life of the church, but this passage is foundational in the church.

The seven men selected are widely regarded as the first deacons in the church. We will touch more on this later.

The basic thing we see is that there is work to be done in the early church.

This goes beyond simply preaching the Gospel.

The church even then was not perfect.

A word about Bible translations - Read multiple. An Interlinear, literal (NASB, KJV) In the Middle (ESV, CSB) and thought for though (NLT)

Things can be translated accurately, and there can still be things lost in translation.

For example, many puns that we make (most commonly in the form of dad jokes) wouldn’t make sense with different words, even if the meaning of the changed words were the same.

“I don’t trust stairs, they are always up to something.”

“I don’t trust stairs, they are always conspiring.”

We must remember that english translations are the translators doing the best they can to faithfully reproduce the original text in the English language. This is difficult.

I feel that in this translation this passage has two places that need a further look.

The first is that the word for complaint could (and in some translations is) be translated as “a murmuring, or a grumbling.”

I feel that by the way this was handled, this may be a more accurate translation of this passage.

In every church, there are many things that need to be done and dealt with that are not the primary functions of the church. Things that can be disagreed upon.

It is essential and regular that there are many many things that happen within the life of the church.

It is also possible in the course of events for things to not go exactly as might be hoped.

It is also very real that people will disagree from time to time about how things should be done.

The problem that can occur is when these things that need to be done produce “a murmuring.”

Some of the life of the early church can be reflected as an improved version of what Israel went through previously. This murmuring is reminiscent of Israel after being freed from Pharoah. Exodus 16:2

Exodus 16:2 CSB

The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

A murmuring seems to be when a good thing is happening or has happened, but someone is not happy with some particular aspect of it.

This does not mean that there is no issue in itself, but it means that the way that it is being pursued is the problem. (although sometimes those who murmur do it with no real cause).

As members of the body of Christ, we carry gasoline and water… We must be careful how we use them.

Gasoline = causing to grow and spread.

Water = putting it out.

How they should be used:

When dealing with ministry in the church and good things are happening. We pour gasoline on that fire!

So that it will burn brighter and larger!

If someone has an idea for a ministry, and we support it, we pour gasoline on this idea causing it to grow and spread.

We pour water when things cause distraction and disunity in the church.

So that it will stop there and go no further.

If someone is sharing a rumor about another church member, we pour water on that so that it will not go further than that.

However… sometimes its the opposite:

Sometimes people pour water on the good ideas that advance the Gospel.

This causes discouragement and prevents ministry from happening.

Sometimes people pour gasoline on the things that cause distraction and disunity.

This causes rumors to run rampant and discontentment to reign in the church.

When the twelve caught wind of this “murmuring” among the people, they realized that it needed to be dealt with.

The point of this issue is that there is something of importance - accusations of discrimination in the church body - However, that is not what the Twelve needed to be focused on.

They also realized that they were not the ones that needed to be dealing with it.

This is where you see that we that you must...

Clarify Your Calling

The Disciples did not discount that the work needed to be done, they just realized that the work was beyond the scope of their calling.

The apostles occupied an office most similar to what we commonly call a Pastor, but could also be called an Elder or Overseer. (Though they have clear distinctions and authority in their calling that is a differentiation)

This office is the leadership of the church body. They are charged with overseeing the church body and preaching and proclaiming the word of God.

All three of these words, pastor, elder, and overseer refer to the same office within the church body.

Some churches have one elder. Currently this is how we function.

Some have as many elders as they have paid staff.

I.E. Churches with multiple pastors.

Some have a plurality of elders. Some paid, some lay elders.

Any church that has “elders” is simply a church that has identified people called to lead and make decisions within the church.

Upon hearing of this “murmuring” the Twelve realized that for it to be handled properly, they needed someone to oversee this vital ministry of serving within the body of Christ.

In the passage the disciples said it would not be right for them to give up preaching the word of God to “wait” tables.

This may be better translated as “serve” and the greek for this word is (DEE-Ah-KO-NAY-O) “diakoneo.”

As mentioned earlier. There wordplay that the english does not convey. They say they should not stop the preaching of the word of God to “serve” tables. Others should be selected for that. They will instead pray and “serve” the word.

This shows the distinction in their callings to be doing the same type of work, in different areas.

The word “Deacon” comes from another form of this word (DEE-Ah-KO-NOS)“diakonos” which means servant. It is the second of the two recognized “set apart” offices in the New Testament.

These men are not directly referred to as “deacons” as a title. That distinction is seen elsewhere in Scripture, particularly in Paul’s qualification list in 1 Timothy 3.

Despite not being called deacons, the word for deacon is used in regards to their service.

They are called to be the people to help do some of the practical ministry that was beyond the Disciples scope and ability.

A major part of their purpose was to put down and prevent the murmuring that started all this. Again, this is not just a complaint, this is discontent and the beginnings of division within the church if not dealt with.

This is done by:

Dealing with actual issues.

Helping lead people toward contentment when issues are overblown.

This situation imagined two ways:

The greek widows were being neglected. They should fix that.

They were not being neglected, but assumed they were. They should fix that.

What we see here is the Apostles clarifying their calling and being faithful to what God is calling them to.

They understood that both things needed to be done. (The preaching of the word, and the practical care in the church).They also understood that they could not do both.

They made sure to focus on what they knew was most important for them, and delegate the other aspects to those who were qualified and called to that particular task.

This does not mean that they literally do nothing but pray and preach, but that that is their primary focus.

The other things they did served that purpose as well. Peter and John healed, and through it proclaimed the Gospel.

This is reminiscent of the advice that Moses receives from his father-in-law Jethro in Exodus 18.

Moses was personally handling any and every dispute of the people.

Jethro tells him this is no good, to go and find trusted people to take care of the easier disputes and to let Moses focus on leading and handling the harder disputes.

This is exactly the model that the disciples follow in this process.

As you look at your life you must clarify what God’s calling is upon your life.

What is it that God has made you to do?

What are you gifted in?

What are you excited about?

What are you burdened by?

What things are necessary but could attempt to get in the way of doing those things?

First and foremost remove unnecessary distractions.

After, figure out which good things you do that take away from the primary, and figure out how to delegate those things.

What good things are you doing that are getting in the way of the best things you need to be doing?

What this does NOT mean.

You should NOT (necessarily) be seeking to do less overall. You are seeking to do more of what you are called to and less of what you aren’t.

It does NOT mean that if you don’t like something you aren’t called to it. No task is beneath any person, we only delegate to focus on what matters most.

It is NOT an excuse to pass things onto others. Many times when you have an idea or an urging to do something, you very well may be the one who is being called to do it.

With that being said. There are times where we need to focus on what are called to, and there is still more work that needs to be done. When this happens we must...

Call Others to Service

Upon realizing that the were not the ones to handle this situation, they told the people to choose from among them 7 men qualified to take on this task.

They even delegated the selection of the 7 to the body of the church!

Helps ensure that these are trusted, respected, Godly men among the congregation so that they can actually do what they are called to.

This was not a task simply to be taken on by anyone in the church.

7 men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom.

The limit to 7 shows that sometimes having too many people engaged in a simple task makes it more complicated.

It was not that everyone who had a good reputation and was full of the Spirit and wisdom should do this.

There should be enough that can share the burden of the task.

There should be few enough that it can be done efficiently.

The standard of being full of the Spirit and wisdom showed that leadership within the church matters, no matter the area.

While these men were not entering the same office as the Apostles, and had different rights and responsibilities, this did not make their role any less important.

If something in the church matters, it matters who we place in charge of it. They should be full of the Spirit and have wisdom that is commensurate to their position.

This means that when we see tasks and roles in the church that need to be filled, we need to look within and call people to serve.

They should be tasks that are important enough to call someone to.

They should be people who are qualified for the role.

They should also be trained and instructed by others.

The calling should be based upon gifting and ability, and not simply filling a role.

We should use wisdom and discernment to call people to things based upon things they may not yet realize about themselves.

Some of the most effective people I have had serve alongside me in ministry are people who I approached personally and told them that I could see them serving in a certain way. They flourished in this area because they had an ownership and felt a calling to what they were doing.

Church isn’t simply about “getting stuff done” it is about working together to do things to the glory and honor and praise of God!

There is not a task or role in the church that is not important.

The greatest thing we can hope for is that people take the roles they occupy and the places they serve seriously.

A pastor isn’t just someone not afraid to speak in public.

A worship leader isn’t just someone who can sing well.

A nursery worker isn’t just a baby sitter.

A Sunday School teacher isn’t just a person who can read from a curriculum.

A Committee member isn’t just a person who goes to meetings.

If these things work in the way that they should, as a church we can...

Enjoy Gospel Efficiency

When everything is working the way that it should the church will flourish.

People do what they are called to.

Identify and delegate when they are not called to something.

Identify and empower people to take on those tasks.

The danger of not putting these things into practice.

Something get’s neglected.

If the apostles “served tables” they would in those situations have to sacrifice “serving the word.”

People have only so much bandwidth and ability, when more people come into the picture, the overall bandwidth and ability increases.

The church rises and falls upon one or a handful of people.

There are many churches that were built soley on one person. Usually a pastor with a particular ability. When that pastor left, the church suffers.

Sharing the load of ministry allows for ministry to always continue, even when changes occur.

People get burnt out.

There are many people who serve for long periods of time, who after a while stop entirely. They are worn out and run down. They didn’t delegate because they couldn’t or wouldn’t and they and the church pay the price.

The results of putting these things into practice.

The apostles leadership and delegation stopped the murmuring, ensured that the practical ministry they could not do was carried out, and ensured that they continued to preach the word.

Verse 7 makes clear that the word of God continued to spread and more people got saved.

When done correctly, the delegation of leadership will lead to far better results than is possible without it.

The Gospel will be preached.

Practical ministry will be done.

All will be cared for and the things that need to be accomplished will be.

The Gospel will spread and people will be saved.

This passage ends by saying that the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

It could and should be assumed that some of these priests were Sadducees. This means those who rejected the idea of resurrection outright, came to faith in the Living Savior.

Consider:

There is work to be done… How are you using your gasoline and water?

Correctly? or in ways that cause “murmuring”

What is God calling you to?

Are you actively following this in your life?

What things need to be done that you may need to delegate?

What good things keep you from doing the best things?

Who could you call to serve?

What people do you see ability in that they are not yet realizing?

Are you a person who needs to be called out?

It is often said of churches that 20% do 80% of the work… Which part do you find yourself in?

Do you need to respond to Christ?

No amount of serving or trying can accomplish for you what has already been done for you.

Are you one that needs to believe for the first time today?

3 Things:

Come & See Sunday and Church Picnic.

Prayerfully consider stepping up and volunteering for one of the positions we have in the church (from last week’s bulletin).

ALSO Join our Psalms study - Youth Leading Worship on Wednesday night.

ALSO ALSO nominating committee Stand Up Meeting.