Living a Life that Matters

Introduction. - Thank you guys for having me here. I honestly love coming out here to be with you all, it feels like my second church family. - Eveytime I come here, it’s like going to your aunts house or your grandmother’s house, where you get to see everyone and stay in touch. So, it’s honestly a joy to be here with you today. - Lets start by going before the Lord in prayer. - I’d like to start today by reading a poem I read this week. The poem is called “Life Well Lived”. “A life well lived is a precious gift Of Hope and strength and grace, From someone who has made our world A brighter, better place It’s filled with moments, sweet and sad With smiles and sometimes tears, With friendships formed and good times shared And laughter through the years. A life well lived is a legacy Of joy and pride and pleasure, A living, lasting memory Our grateful hearts will treasure.” - Now this poem is a description of what one person viewed a well lived life to be. A life that left this world a better place, memories of time shared that people treasure.\

- But let me ask you today, What would you consider a “Well lived life to Be?

- That is the question that we want to address today as we look into God’s word. Because I believe that there are many different examples of what the bible considers to be a life well lived. Today we will look one example. We will look at a situation that took place in the early church that had such a tremendous impact and influence on the world.

- I believe there are some principals that we can learn from and apply to our lives that will help us to live a life that matters.

- If you like to take notes, I have titled todays message……. “Living a Life that Matters”.

- Now if you have you bible would you turn with me to Acts 6 Transition - Read Acts 6:1-6 - Now as we start our story today, it’s important to know the context of our story. Veres 1 starts off by saying….”Now at this time”…..

- What we are looking at is the early days of start of the church.

- In chapter 2 we see the Holy Spirit fall upon the people of God at Pentecost . We see the preaching of Jesus with great power and great effectiveness as there were thousands of people converted due to the conviction of the Holy Spirit

- The church began to grow. Now as with any organization, growth often comes with growing pains, or with problems arising as due to the growth. The church was not exempt from this reality.

- What we see happen is a spiritual attack on the church. We see Satan brings different obstacles and challenges to the early church with the attempt of stopping the work of God. He first attempted to stop the work with opposition from the outside.

- In Chapter 3-4 we see Peter and John not only heal a crippled man but they proclaim the name of Jesus at the temple and are arrested by the religious leaders and are threatened to stop preaching Jesus.

- Now when these attacks from the outside did not work, Satan shifted his attack and began to bring attacks from the inside.

- In chapter 5 we see the corruption of husband-and-wife Ananias and Sapphira. There was corruption in their hearts as they lied about the offering they were bringing before the Apostles.

- And as we jump to chapter 6, this is where we pick it up. “Now at this time”. I. The Problem Arises (v. 1-2) - Now we begin to see the problem arise. Again, there is a practical side of growth in any organization that will produce natural problems due to the growth, but there is also the spiritual attack that Satan is attempting here in our story.

- The main complaint that arose came from Hellenists.

- The Hellenists were Jews who were more inclined to embrace Greek culture , who spoke Greek because they were those who at one point lived in the Roman Empire outside of Jerusalem. - The Hebrews were those who more inclined to embrace the Jewish culture and were mostly from Judea. - Hebrews tended to regard Hellenists as unspiritual compromisers with Greek culture, and the Hellenistregarded the Hebrews as holier- than- thou traditionalists. There was already a natural tension between these groups that Satan tried to take advantage of. - Now its important to note that both groups were Christian believers. While both groups had been converted to Christianity, there were still some underlining prejudices from their past that was at work here.

- And the complaint was that the Hellenist widows were being overlooked or neglected during the daily distribution of food.

- In Acts 4:35, we see that the early believers were selling their land and giving it to the apostles in order to meet the needs of the people. It is very likely that this was what was taking place here. There was a daily distribution of food for those in need that might have been separate from the distribution of food at the temple by the Jews.

- Because of the underlying issues between these two groups, the complaint was that the Hellenist widows were being neglected in comparison to the Hebrew people

- Now we don’t know if this was an intentional neglect or if it was accidental. It is very possible that the neglect did not come because they were Hellenist but simply because there were too many people, as we mentioned; there were thousands who were converted.

- The main issue was more than likely a practice problem of growth that Satan attempted to turn into a spiritual issue by attempting to create division. Transition

A. The Apostles understood that you cannot do everything effectively. - At some point during the arise of the complaint, the suggestion must have been made for the Apostles to take charge. Either for them to figure out the problem or for them to be responsible in the daily distributions.

- We know this because of the response of the Apostles. “it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.”

- It was not that the role of serving tables was beneath the apostles or was not as important as the preaching of the word of God, it was that the Apostles understood what they were called to do. The preaching the gospel was their first priority.

- It gives us insight into the reality that everyone has been called to a specific task. It does not mean that one person’s task it more important than another’s, it simply means that we each have a specific calling by God. That is what we should be prioritizing in our lives.

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

- God has created us with purpose in mind. The word “workmanship” is Poema, where we get the word Poem from. We are God’s poem, specifically created and designed by Him before we were born. He has a purpose for us to do good works and that we should walk in them.

- Everyone is created differently with a specific calling on their lives. God intends for us to be busy doing what we have been called to do….. BUT, the problem is that we often get ourselves busy doing things that we are not called to do.

- Just because there is a need, does not mean that we are the ones that are supposed to meet that need. - When we busy ourselves doing things we are not supposed to be doing, we weaken our effectiveness on the things we are supposed to be doing. As we see in our story here, the reality is that we only have so much time, and if I take on additional tasks, I will have to neglect other areas in my life. - What tends to happen when we take on additional tasks, is that our priorities get affected. We shift our priorities. What was once a priority gets pushed out and we neglect those things.

Something or someone will always suffer when I take on too much. The first ones that will suffer when we take on too much will be our families, our wives, our kids.

- I’ve seen this happen in the ministry not only in my life but in those around me. Doing way too much, doing things that I shouldn’t be doing….. sacrificing time with our families for other added things. - This happens in the workplace as well. Striving for the new position or for more money often leads to taking on more hours, taking on more responsibilities that will keep me away from my family at home or even my church family.

- When we spread ourselves too thin, we will lose our effectiveness to do what we were called to do.

. It is so important for us to prayerfully seek the Lord on what He has called us to do and not simply jump into everything.

. Our emotional excitement and physical energy will with wear out and we will grow weary if the task is not of the Lord II. The Solution to the Problem (v. 3-6) A. Delegating the Tasks (v. 3) - - because of the complaints and the real needs at hand, they decided to get 7 men who would be able to help with the task of the daily distribution.

- Again, its not that the task was not important, it was more of a need to have more people help out. The solution to the problem at hand was to delegate the needs to able men who would be able to meet the needs.

- - you see this picture in the old testament story of Moses in Ex. 18:13-26. You see Moses’ father in law Jethro come to him. And we see that Jethro would see how Moses was operating. Moses would sit before the people from morning to evening, all day giving judgement to the issues that people would bring. - - Jethro told Moses that this thing he is doing is not good. This way of doing work would weary him and the people.

- The counsel of Jethro was for Moses to get able men to help him in the judgement. To have them over groups of people and basically only bring the large problems to Moses. The thought here is the same as what we see in our story, the importance of delegating work. When one person doing everything will eventually lead to a lack of effectiveness.

- - an encouragement to both leaders to allow others to help carry the load but also for the congregation to help carry the load in areas where God might be calling you to B. Requirements of those in Leadership (v.3) - Now the men that the congregation were to elect from among them had to meet certain requirements. - There were certain character traits that they were supposed to look for when choosing these men. 1. They were to have a Good Reputation

- This word speaks of being witness, to give witness to. It has the idea of being able to speak about something because they have seen or heard or experienced something. - Biblically speaking, a man or woman of good reputation, is someone who has firsthand experience of the transforming power of the gospel message in their own lives and now their actions bear witness to the things they have seen, heard and experienced.

- Their own lives bear witness of the grace of God, of the love of God, of the truth of God’s word. They are a people who exemplify grace, love, kindness, selflessness, integrity, honesty, truth, loyalty. - Their lives and actions match their words! - I’m sure we can all think of a person we know who has a bad reputation. They are known as being liars, being unfaithful, being rude, being hypocritical…… People at our work, in our families, in our schools, even in the church at times. But that should not be a description of the followers of Christ.

We should be a people who exemplify the character of Christ because we have been transformed by power of His words. Personal Story - At my job there is a running joke between a few co workers and myself. We all take our lunch at different times because we start at different times. One day I received a comment from one of my co-workers as I was walking in from lunch. - He made a comment that I am always punctual, like clockwork. It was the first time, I realize that I was being watched, and what they noticed is that I was faithful to punch in and out at the same time everyday. - Years later, they still make the same comments as a joke….Without me noticing, I was building a case for my character among my co-workers by my consistent actions. I was building my reputation for who they think I am. Benjamin Franklin- “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it”. - This is true isn’t it. It can take years to build a good reputation, and in one moment, I can lose all credibility with one poor decision. We must guard our reputation for the Lord’s sake. - Our lives should bear a testimony of the things God has done for us.

2. Full of the Holy Spirit

- That word “full” speaks of being filled completely. To be so filled that it overflows. The picture is of a vessel being filled to the top where it overflows to the outside of the vessel.

Ephesians 5:18

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,” - That phrase “be filled” in the original language speaks of “be being filled”. In other words its an exhortation to be continually, daily filled with the Holy Spirit.

- There is a time when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us at the time of conversion. This is a one time event. But, we have the ability to be filled daily with the empowerment of the Spirit, as I seek God in His word and in Prayer. As I ask the Lord to fill me with His Spirit.

- When you and I get into the word of God, when we seek God in prayer, the spirit of God fills us, its like recharging the battery of your phone. There is a need for us to daily come before God’s throne and be recharged.

- The reality is that living in this fallen world, has a way of depleting us of the Spirit of God. Have you ever noticed when you are at a retreat or at a conference you are completely in the spirit. You are loving people, you are hearing from God, you are excited for the things of the Lord…..

- but then you leave and make your way home. You start to experience traffic on the road, then when you get home, the kids are going crazy, your wife has a list of things for you to do…. then you go to work and have to deal with all the craziness of work and stress.

- All of a sudden, you aren’t the same person you were at the retreat. Why? Because the things of the spirit have been met with the things of this fallen evil world, including our sinful nature. All of a sudden, we react to things in the flesh.

- This is the reality of all of our lives. This is why there is a need to continually go back to the source of life and be recharged. To go back to the presence of God and be refilled with His spirit. - This is the only way you and I can walk in the spirit and exemplify the fruits of the spirit we see in Gal. 5. - To walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. - The men who were chosen exemplified a complete dependance on the spirit of God, it was evident in the character of their lives, how they resembled Christ’s character. Resembling the Character of God is something we cannot do on our own strength……. We need the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need a fresh filling of the Spirit of God. - One commentator had this to say…

“A man full of the Spirit is one who is living a normal Christian life. Fulness of the Spirit is not a state to which a few can attain. Anything less than the fullness of the Spirit for the Christian man is disease of the spiritual life, a low ebb of vitality. Fulness of the Spirit is not abnormal, but normal Christian life”. Morgan - In other words, living a life of being full of the Spirit is what all believers should be doing. It is not only for a select few… but we all have the ability to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to live according to the Spirit.

3.They were full of Wisdom

- Their wisdom would be evident by the decisions they make in their daily lives, by their good conduct.

- They would be filled not simply with the worldly wisdom….. but that they would be filled with Godly wisdom. There is a difference.

James 3:13–18 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” - So we see the difference between Worldly Wisdom and Godly Wisdom Worldly Wisdom - Is envious - Self seeking Godly Wisdom

- Pure - Peaceable - Gentle - Willing to yield - Full of mercy - Without partiality - Not hypocritical

- This is what the Apostles would be looking for in the men they chose. These would be the first deacons selected to the church. Those responsible for the practical services of the church. Today we would have those fulfilling those roles in the parking lot ministry, the sound ministry, the setting up and tearing down ministry, the children’s ministry, the hospitality ministry….. just to name a few. - Their lives would be a culmination of the Godly decisions that have translated to their daily behavior. - The idea behind full of the Holy Spirit and full of Wisdom is that these men were to be both spiritually minded and practically minded.

Transition - Here is an important thing to take away from this portion. The qualifications for leadership in our story were based on Godly Character. It was not based simply on availability or on talent. Often times, those selected for leadership roles are chosen because they are the only ones available or because they are super gifted.

- Character is what we need to look for. Godly Character will always supersede any amount of talent and availability. Godly character is what we need to strive for in our own lives. - Godly character that lines up with that given by Paul the Apostle in selecting leaders in the church, in 1 Tim. 3 & Titus 1

C. Choosing of the Men (v. 4-6)

- The selecting of these 7 men gave the opportunity to for the apostles to focus on what they were specifically called to do, to the prayer and the ministry of the word.

- It was through the teaching of the word, that God would transform lives. It was prayer that would allow the vessels to be prepared to give out the word of God. Now they could be effective in the preparation and the proclamation of the word of God.

- As the congregation chose these men based on them meeting the requirements, the apostles then prayed and laid hands on them which was the confirmation that God was appointing these men to the service. God’s confirmation is what is always needed in the selecting of men to the work of the Lord.

III. The Result of their Godly Decisions (v. 7)

- There were good things that were produced out of the Godly decision they made.

. Now understand that there was a practical issue that Satan used to create disunity and division, but the apostles and the congregation worked in unity and made a Godly decision….. a great lesson for the church

-and Certain things were produced as the word of God was prioritized and as Godly Character was prioritized.

. Rather than there being a division there was unity and increase in spiritual things

1. There was an increase in the word of God. (v.7)

- As the apostles were able to focus their attention on the word of God, the word of God spread……

- They made the choice not to neglect the word of God by being busy. They could give their full attention to the word of God.

- This is a great lesson for our lives. The reality is that we can neglect the word of God in our lives, by being busy with many other things.

- I worked with youth for many years, and this was one of the excuses I heard when asking youth why they didn’t read the bible…. They would often respond with …. I don’t have time.

- The reality is that can be the same excuse that many of us have for neglecting the word of God….. I don’t have time.

- Understand that it was the refocusing their priorities and giving the proper place to the word of God that allowed for the word of God to spread in their world.

- When we give the word of God it’s proper place in our lives, there will be an increase of it’s influence in my life, and in the life of those around me.

2. There was an increase in discipleship (v.7)

- As the word of God made its way throughout Jerusalem, many people came and gave their lives over to the Lord, including many Jewish priests we are told.

- A Multitude of conversions was the result of the word of God spreading.

this would be a fulfillment of the great commission given by Jesus after His resurrection.

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

discipleship is necessary in the church, it is a requirement. The need to pour into people, to teach them. This is what should be taking place in our lives. Looking for younger believers to be able to pour into. Sometimes its the younger generation, but other times it may be someone younger in their spiritual maturity.

i encourage you to pray and look for people in your life that you can disciple. The church needs more discipleship.

3. There was an increase in their witness ( Acts 6:8-15, Acts 7)

- One of the 7 chosen was a man by the name of Stephan. In the following verses we are told that he was filled with faith and power and he did great signs and wonders among the people.

- He was a man who was used tremendously through his life. But you see as the Lord used him it created issues with the religious leaders . Their jealously and rejection of Jesus would lead to stoning him to death. He would be the first martyr in the church.

- The word “witness”, means “martyr”.

- His life shined so brilliantly before a dark world that it would forever impact the state of the world.

- His witness would cost him his life, but it would be the spark that would transform the world. See one of the men standing watching and consenting to the death was a young man named Saul of Tarsus, who would in time would become, Paul the Apostle.

- No doubt he was impacted by the bold faith and witness of Stephan. Often our witness will not show immediate results, but we must stand boldly shining the light of Christ in this dark world, knowing that our witness is not in vain. It brings glory to God and it convicts the hearts of the lost.

- It also would be the spark that caused many to leave Jerusalem to neighboring areas taking the gospel message with them. The gospel would reach the world because of this event.

the world would be changed forever by a man who had Godly character and who was faithful to do what God called him to do; simply serving tables

4. There was an increase in the spiritual blessings in their homes (Acts 21:8-9)

- Another man named in these 7 chosen was a man by the name of Phillip. He would be known as Phillip the evangelist by the church. But I want to suggest, that in his home, he was known as Phillip the lover of God.

- What do you mean? In Acts 21:8-9, years later from this story….. you see Phillip living in the area of Caesarea. And as the apostles come into town, they go to stay with Phillip.

- And we are given a quick insight into the life of Phillip. We are told that he has (4) virgin daughters who are prophetesses.

- In other words, they were young women filled with the spirit of God, speaking on His behalf… just like Phillip had done.

- There is no doubt that Phillip’s love and service for God and his Godly Character had a way of influencing his immediate family.

- See the way you and I chose to live our lives, the things you give your time and money to, the Character you have will have a direct influence on your wife and kids. They will learn from you.

- And maybe you might think, its too late for me, my kids are grown up…… God will always give us new opportunities with adult kids or our grandkids. Its never too late to be a Godly influence in the lives of our loved one.

Application

- Now this is a snap shot of what took place in the early church when they gave priority to the word of God and when they gave priority to Godly character.

- But, we must understand that we all have the same potential as the men in our story. As we mentioned earlier, we are God’s workmanship, His special creation. He has created us for His specific purpose, to walk in those good deeds.

- We each have a specific task God has called us to. Not everyone is called to the ministry, or to teach the word of God….. but everyone is called to bring glory to God through their lives by doing what they are called to do. And by doing it well and faithfully.

- You might be called to be a mom, a father, an employer, an employee, a student, a solider, a police officer, a teacher ,an electrician…. Whatever it may be, it is an important task God has called you to.

- And our responsibility is to do that task well.

- This is what it means to live well according to biblical standards. Not just to be remembered because we made people laugh or made people happy, but to live a life that has eternal value. To live in such a way that makes a difference spiritually in the lives of the people around us.

- To make a difference in the lives of my kids, of my wife, of my neighborhood, my job, my school.

- When we prioritize the word of God in our lives and when we prioritize the development of Godly Character in our lives……

An increase of spiritual things

the influence of the word of God will increase in my life. It will affect how I think; how I act, how I speak. It will pour out of me and influence those around me

- We will see an increase in opportunities to disciple people. To disciple our wives, our kids, people we work with, family members, within the church.

- We will see an increase in our witness..... at work, in our schools, and among our friends.

- We will see an increase in the spiritual influence in our homes with our parents, spouses, siblings, kids and grandkids.

time is short. We need to live this life with Eternity in mind.

- This is what it is to live a life that has meaning, to live a life that has impact for the kingdom of God. To live a life that matters.