A Colloberative Mission
Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewJesus called each of us, He prays over each of us, that we would have unity in Him. He gifts each of us… Not for personal gain, but for the sake of the Kingdom. The Gospel spreads best when His children use the gifts He has given them in unity for the sake of the people. We are called to “A Collaborative Mission”.
Notes
Transcript
We are going to be working in the Book of Acts — Acts chapter 6 to be precise. (So, if you’ve got your Bibles with you, or your Bible app, go ahead and turn there)
As you are getting there, let me ask you this: When Jesus was preparing to return to Heaven, do you remember what He prayed?
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Do you realize what Jesus just did there? (He proclaimed that He and The Father are one and the same!)
We serve an awesome God! He didn’t just send help, He stepped out of heaven Himself, and showed us wha He can, and will, do!
Before He left us, He prayed for our protection and unity!
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Why would He pray this?
He knew what they/we would face.
He knew the things that would come and try to divide us.
In the opening of Acts, the disciples experience:
the ascension (yes, They were all there)
commissioning “You will be my witnesses…”
Waiting/receiving the Holy Spirit
Peter and John w/ the lame man
their detention and questioning and the resulting conversions
And, through it all, What did they experience? Pain? (maybe) Hardship? (sure) Division? (NO!!!)
unity
Luke tells us that when Peter and John were released and told their people what had happened…
Acts 4:24 (NIV)
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
Do you see what Luke is telling us about them?
— They were in the upper room — Together
— They received the Holy Spirit — Together
— They worshipped & preached — Together
— They chose Judas’s successor — Together
— Acts 2:42
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
They were unified!!!!
— Peter & John were unified when they went to the Temple & encountered the lame man…
— (Acts 4:24) They were unified in prayer over the issue of the opposition to the Gospel after Peter and John’s arrest…
Luke tells us in…
Acts 4:32 (NIV)
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
— They were unified in service
— in the care for the less fortunate
— in healing
— even in suffering!
18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
— That doesn’t say “they arrested Peter and John,” it says: They were ALL arrested!
There is no doubt that the early Church — those first believers — were UNIFIED in their faith, Amen?
there were no denominations, no divisive doctrines, no people fighting for control, arguing over who is right and who is wrong, & causing division…
There was only the mission they had been given — sharing the Gospel!
So, What Happened?!? (How did we go from that kind of single minded — unified focus in the Church to what we see today?!?)
— satan got his foot in the door…
Spurgeon states: “satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another, he delights in. (Now listen to this) he attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.”
satan takes our relationship with God, VERY SERIOUSLY!
This is why Peter tells us to:
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
— satan doesn’t want us to be strong Christians…
— he doesn’t want us to be unified in our faith, or in service to the Kingdom…
he doesn’t want our churches to be strong
so, he looks for ways to break down our unity (we have to be on guard for that… BUT let me give you some hope here…)
the Early Church wasn’t immune to this…
Look at Acts 6:1-7
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
What is happening in the opening of this passage?
The Church is continuing to experience growth… (1a)
Acts 6:1 (NIV)
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, …
They were unified… the Gospel was being shared… people were getting saved, AND committing their lives to Christ! (That’s Key!!! It’s what we call “Entire Sanctification” in the Nazarene church)
— — side note — — The Gospel isn’t just about “getting people saved”… It’s not about saying a prayer & asking God into your heart… It’s about committing your life to Him!
— — over and over throughout the NT, the disciples taught one thing: “Repent, and turn to God…” (Acts 3:19) — that means turn away from this world and commit yourself to God.
— — When scripture says “the number of disciples was increasing,” it is talking about people completely committing themselves to Christ — all their wealth, health, problems, and abilities… Holding nothing back!
“Sure… We are all on different levels in our walk with God… We are all still growing and learning… BUT COMMITMENT IS WHERE IT STARTS!” (me)
Commitment is where we receive forgiveness and grace, and that’s where we begin to figure out that — It’s not about us… It’s about the Gospel!
That’s where they were at!
I. The Problem. Acts 6:1-2
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
A. What was the problem?
the “Hellenistic” Jews complained about the “Hebraic” Jews not treating their widows equally in the distribution of food.
The issue wasn’t really about “food distribution”
“Hellenistic” means “Greek speaking”
This was really a disagreement between two groups of Jews. (It was like “liberal” Christians vs “conservative” Christians)
You see, the “Liberal” Jews — those who spoke Greek and were more “progressive” thought the “conservative” Jews were biased and prejudiced.
BUT… look at that word in verse 1, “overlooked” — “overlooked” infers that it was not intentional. They had simply “slipped through the cracks”… WHY? Because the Apostles were the only oversight!
B. This was a serious issue, because satan was trying to use it to divide them.
C. The Apostles understood this. (look at that verse again…)
The Apostles could have jumped right in!
They could have taken control… (that’s what they had been doing)… They could have worked more & harder to fix the problem… BUT… They didn’t!
(What was their solution?)
II. The Solution. Acts 6:3-4
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Let me ask you: What is the Apostle’s responsibility in the Church?
Prayer, and the ministry of the Word.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
What did they do?
A. They gathered the people together.
the apostles took this seriously, but they also knew that they couldn’t do it all. That was the reason this was happening in the first place…
They couldn’t care for the spiritual condition of the people, AND work the “food ministry” as well… one or the other would suffer…
what they’re really saying is this: “We cannot properly focus on our duty to you spiritually and take care of all the day to day stuff.”
So, what did they do? (I love it!)
B. Gave the responsibility to the community — to the Church!
Now… Did they dictate it? Did they assign people to it?
NO!!!
What did they do?
They told the people to choose 7 men.
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
This is awesome!!!
They involved the people
They empowered them to choose
This wasn’t a “top-down” decision —> It was a matter for the community.
We are ALL called to work together in the kingdom.
What were the qualifications did they give for these men? Acts 6:3
Acts 6:3 (NIV)
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
known to be full of the Spirit
known for their wisdom
What do those two things require?
Commitment
How often do we not do we look for those two things in our leaders? In our church board members? In our deacons?
How often do we choose people to lead just because they have money, or seem to be good businessmen, or are popular… but we don’t worry about their walk with God?
Look at verse 3 again…
Do you see what the apostles did?
They empowered the people
By giving them the work and the guidelines
How did the people react?
Acts 6:5 (NIV)
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They were pleased!
6. Who did they choose?
Stephen (sound familiar? I bet you thought he was a pastor, right?)
Phillip
Procorus
Nicanor
Pamenas
Nicolas (a prosolyte)
— Do you notice anything unique about these men?
They were ALL Hellenistic Jews, and a Gentile convert.
The Spirit will guide us to the right people without prejudice!
C. Commissioning.
Did the apostles just “wash their hands” of the issue and move on?
NO!!!
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
They commissioned them!
They prayer over them
They approved them
They recognized God’s call on them!
They gave them their blessing.
— — side note — — There is nothing more affirming & encouraging than that! (ordination example — and first license)
So, What does this all mean to us?
We are ALL called to serve!
We are all called to collaborate in service. (What does that mean?)
If you think the Church ought to be doing something — Pray about it — Choose some people to recruit to help — take care of it!
It is a Circle of Empowerment!
It is our responsibility as a congregation to ensure that our pastoral leaders in the church are free to focus on prayer and bringing us the Word!
That’s what we need the most!
Their responsibility to us is to help us grow… to prepare us to serve… by bringing us what we need from God…
It is our responsibility to ensure that they are free to do that!
Look back at Acts6:1
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
This all started with this complaint.
Let me tell you what it reveals (what it means to you):
I. You Are A Minister.
A. “Distribution” is the word “diakonia” (where we get the term ‘deacon’, but that’s not what it means here) — “diakonia” means “ministry”
This is the same word Paul uses in Rom 12:7
7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
“serve” — “diakonia”
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
“service” - “diakonia”
Let’s read those again…
Romans 12:6–7 (NIV)
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
7 if it is [ministering], then [minister]; if it is teaching, then teach;
2 Corinthians 9:12–13 (NIV)
12 This [ministry] that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13 Because of the [ministry] by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
B. Giving, Serving, Caring for others, Preparing the Church for worship, Mailing out cards, Leading small groups, Teaching, mowing the lawn, cleaning the restrooms, etc… ARE ALL MINISTRY!!!
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
When you use your giftings for the sake of others, you are doing ministry!
No matter how big or how small the task is.
II. Powerful Results. Acts 6:7
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
A. When we engage in collaborative ministry, the Gospel spreads!
B. It is the circle of life in the Church!
The apostles empowered the people to participate in ministry, and the people empowered the apostles to do what God called them to do…
The Result… the Gospel spread!
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
For What?
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
What is the pastor’s purpose?
to equip the people for the work of ministry!
to watch over the Church’s Spiritual health
What is your purpose?
to empower the pastor & other leaders and teachers by serving.
to fill the little needs.
Do you see the circle?
the Pastor empowers you, and you empower the pastor.
Result — The Church becomes strong!