Growing Pains

Introduction

Series Recap

Written by Luke the physician

he is writing a historical account of the early church

Luke like details, and it is easy to get caught up in those details

short summary

we have seen the church begin and the Lord ascend into heaven with a promise

power would come to be witnesses for Christ, through the Holy Spirit

apostles would be arrested a few times for preaching and healing in the name of Jesus

they were beaten

drug in front of the Sanhedrin and questioned

their response was to two fold

rejoicing that they were found worthy to be associated with Jesus

and pray for boldness to continue

through all of these things the church, group of believers in Jerusalem continue to grow

there are now thousands of people who confess Jesus as savior and Lord. That he is the messiah that has been promised and that Israel has been waiting for

Some believe it could be between 10-20 thousand people

Today - Growing Pains (not my title, I saw in a commentary and used it)

We have all experienced it, when growth comes, there comes pain

this happens in all areas of life

littles have growing pains, especially when they grow quickly

one of our kids would say they were, “growing a pain.”

the church is not any different

as the church grows problems arise

multiple reasons for this

it is harder to serve a larger group of people

logistically, there are challenges that arise

also, when you get a group of imperfect people and enlarge that group to more imperfect people, you have more problems

As great as most like to claim the early church was, it had its problems

remember the husband and wife who lied about the money they received for their land sale

now today we will see where a ministry is overlooking a certain people of the church

but we will also see the solution and what is produced out of the problem

Acts 6:1–7 (CSB)

1 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.

2 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.

3 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.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 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.

6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 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.

PRAY

Ministry of the church is not simply proclaiming the word of God, but meeting the physical and spiritual needs of those in the community.

The Problem

Where there are imperfect people there will be problems

it is not everyone else

we must offer the same grace and mercy to those in the church that we are asking for

we admit that we are not perfect people, that we too bring problems into the church

but where we really get off track is seeing others problems and murmuring as if their problems are the ones messing up the church

murmuring is what was happening in the first church as it is growing and a certain people are being overlooked

Acts 6:1–2 (CSB)

1 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.

2 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.

What is the problem

I have said this many times to different people (as you have said, I can get kind of blunt)

I have said it to my family, to some of you when discussing different things, to some that have played sports for me when I coach

what is the problem

it is an important question,

if you do not know what the problem is, then you cannot find the solution

all that is left without defining the problem is living with it or complaining about it

complaints have started…

(v1) complaint = murmuring (KJV) or grumbling

it means that the complaint has not reached a formal status but people are talking

Hellenistic Jewish widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution

Acts two and four, those who had need were taken care of by those who had

daily distribution = the generosity of the people of God was helping to take care of the the needs of fellow believers

Hellenistic Jews = People of Jewish ancestry who lived outside of Judea and took on Greek customs and language

Hebraic Jews = Those of Jewish ancestry who lived in Judea and spoke Hebrew and Aramaic

what we are seeing is a cultural problem

this could have easily split the church

we have seen far less consequential problems split churches

The Apostles address the problem at a murmur

they do not let the problem fester, grow or become something bigger than it really is

were they being overlooked because they were hellenistic

was there simply a language barrier that was causing the issue

Luke does not tell us how the problem began, just that there was a problem and the Apostles were going to address is right away

in doing so, they recognized there was a bigger problem that was a part of this

with the size of the church as it was, they could no longer be overseeing the distribution of goods to the church and maintain their ministry of preaching and prayer

this is the goal of Satan when he introduces problems into the church

when he begins to murmur in the ear of the people of God, he is hoping they begin to murmur and that murmur will stop the word from being proclaimed, the prayers being petitioned before the Lord and the kingdom of God from being advanced

The church today is not problem free

we cannot run from them

if we run from a problem to another place, we only spread our problems to others like a disease

we cannot focus on them so much that we take away from the preaching of the word and prayer

it is this ministry that will lead to gospel centered, spirit led solutions

The Solution

We have an election coming up

all the politicians have solutions to our problems

as I sit an listen to them I realize, most of the problems that they are trying to solve are because of them

and we fight and argue every few years about who has the best solutions for the problems that they create for us to fight about

the apostles recognized that the church was not simply to identify problems for them to fix, but was to be a part of the solution

church leadership are servants of the church

but they are not slaves of the church to be summoned to fix issues that we see arise

do not misunderstand I am not saying that we do not tell church leadership about problems we see

I am saying that when we see these problems, we must be a part of the solution, not simply finger pointers

Acts 6:3–6 (CSB)

3 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.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 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.

6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The Apostles have the church select men to take over this ministry of the daily distribution

criteria was given

they have a good reputation among the people

the Holy Spirit is evident in their lives

this criteria is similar to that given in Paul’s letters for Deacons

this is not specifically titled deacon in this passage, however the word that is transliterated as deacon in english is in v1

distribution = diakonos = deacon

when used elsewhere in the NT it is translated deacon

we have Elders and Deacons in our church

Elders in charge of the spirituality of the church

elders include the pastors but not limited to pastor, NT pastor/elder are the same thing

I would be the preaching elder, or paid elder

Deacons are in charge of caring for physical needs of the church

the building, the needs of people like benevolence

Deacons to take over an important part of the church

the apostles were not diminishing the benevolent ministry

but giving it the proper attention that it needed without eliminating the vital ministry of God’s word

sometimes we get so caught up in the practical needs in our lives that we forget about the spiritual needs or put them behind the practical

we want the good income, for a good lifestyle, for the good life for our families

so we work and fill our lives with tasks to make that happen

then we do not have time for the nourishment that we need from God’s word

How many of us do not read and pray daily because we just do not have the time

we have the same amount of time everyday it is just how we use it, how we organize it and what is a priority to us

The apostles did not simply give a solution but made the church a part of the solution

they chose the deacons

seven men with greek names that will serve the entire church, but will not overlook those who speak greek

when the church is focused on the word of God and prayer, when the church is focused on the gospel

solutions can be found that serve the church for the gospel to be proclaimed and the church to continue to grow

The Result

It is easy to see, when something unhealthy is left to linger that it can become something larger

we see this in our health issues

if we let something go that is bothering us it can become something much bigger

for a year, I would have these pains in my upper abdomen, a bad stomach cramp or something

it kept getting a little worse with time

eventually, after about a year, I was in so much pain that I could not sleep and I was vomiting

I told Heather that I had to do something I could not live like this

it was about 2 or 3 in the morning she said lets go to the ER.

me, being a man, said I am not going to the ER because my stomach hurts

Heather reminded me that it would only be six plus hours before I could call, let alone get in

so off to the ER I went, turns out the pain I had been having that I refused to deal with was my gallbladder that was going septic and wanting to burst

problems that fester, turn into bigger problems, but problems that are faced head on in a biblical way turn to growth

out of love of the calling that Jesus gave

to love God… his word and prayer

and to love people… in this case the widows of the Hellenistic Jews

Acts 6:7 (CSB)

7 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.

In 5a we see that the whole community was pleased with the proposed solution

not only does the text tell us that they were pleased, but we see that they put the plan into action

this was not a sure we will go along with it acceptance

they were excited by the plan and immediately put it into action by selecting the seven men, and the apostles commissioned them, or ordained them and put them to work

but in verse seven we see the fruit of that solution come

the church grew

not just a few people here and there but look how Luke described it

they grew greatly in number

the word of God is being preached and held up as it should be, the people of God are being loved as they should be

growth occurs, more people come

not just people, even those who despise the church and its ministry

some priests began to come to faith in Jesus

some thought there were about 8000 priests in Jerusalem

This is our goal at FFC

we desire that the word of God be proclaimed

not just portions, but all of it

we believe that the word of God is inerrant

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

This is the job of the church

to hold tightly to the word of God so that we all may see the righteous standard to which we fall short, yet see the grace that is offered through repentance

not so that we can sit in judgment on anyone but that we too will do the work of the ministry

this is what is proclaimed in Eph 4:11-13

Ephesians 4:11–13 (CSB)

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

He gave some as leaders of the church for a purpose

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

This should be the mission and goal of the church

Love God

the reading and preaching of his word

prayer and reliance on him

Love People

desiring that all come to know him

that all are encouraged and strengthened by the church family

until that day when we all reach maturity

a maturity not measured by human standard but measured by Christ’s fullness

a complete maturity that we will not see until we are with him in glory

Exalting Jesus in Acts Reflect and Discuss

1. What does this passage teach about church growth? How should we view it?

2. Why did the apostles consider caring for widows important?

3. Why was the unity of the church threatened?

4. Why must prayer and proclamation be central in pastoral ministry?

5. How did these seven men assist the apostles? How was their role similar to that of deacons today?

6. What does it mean to have shared ministry in a local church?

7. On which do you prefer your local church to focus: management or mission? Explain.

8. What is your reaction to the conversion of these priests? How should it impact your church’s outreach to unbelievers?

9. What does this passage teach about appointing leaders in the local church?

10. Pause and pray for the unity of your local church, asking God to advance the gospel through it.