Inward Conflict Resolved

Sermon Text: Acts 6:1-7

Intro

Hook

Josue’s new song. Wants to sell it to people. But who is actually going to listen to it? He does all sorts of ads for his new hit music. He uses posters and publishes them thorughout all the town. He starts telling his friends and his family… he even gets together with Genny, our graphics designer here at the church, and goes online and starts creating advertisements and images of himself that he can put on the internet so that people will be interested in his music… and among other things he uses all these means to sell his product to the world. Now, which of the methods will be most effective? Why?

“The power of word-of-mouth advertising was made evident in a well-known Nielsen survey, which found that 92 percent of people trusted recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising when making a purchasing decision.” - Max Freedman, Senior Analyst at Business News Daily

Word of Mouth is the most effective tool. People tend to trust close friends’ and family members’ recommendations. If someone could just tell me about a great product and their enjoyment of it, I am the most likely to buy that product because of that interaction.

How does God spread the Gospel? Through word of mouth. The word of God will continue to increase greatly in our passage, and we will see that it will rapidly grow the church as people begin to believe the word of the Lord. And this word, is, of course, the Gospel of His Son, who came to the earth to save people from sin.

So then, in our passage, we will see how God continues to spread forth his word through the mouths of the apostles and the disciples. But, as we saw last week, they will face conflict as they spread his word. We have seen how they have faced external conflict, conflict from outside of the church, but tonight we will see how they face conflict from within.

Context

Turn with me to Acts 6:1-7, as we will read the word of God together.

Acts 6:1–7 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. 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.” 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.

Thesis

The church faces conflict within. To deal with this conflict, the apostles acknowledge and address the problem so that the word of God can continue to spread.

Prayer

Body

MP1 - The Problem is Acknowledged (vv. 1-2)

Assertion

The Hellenists complain about their widows being neglected and the Apostles acknowledge it.

Evidence

vv. 1-2

Commentary

The Hellenists, or, Grecian Jews (also means Greek-speaking), rose up against the Hebraic Jews (they mainly spoke Hebrew). These two groups of Jews both had Jewish descent, but they lived in very different cultures and spoke different languages. Deeply imbedded in different cultures, the two groups had acquired a rivalry amongst themselves. The Hebraic Jews thought themselves superior to the Grecian Jews. Because this tension was already at play, now the church started to experience conflict from within. So the Grecian Jews are the offended party, because they have widows who are being neglected in the daily distribution. Do you remember how the church had been selling all of its goods so that everyone would be provided for? Well the widows were part of the poor group, as they had lost their husbands, were assumed to not have relatives to provide for them, and were assumed to not be able to make a living for themselves. So they needed to be cared for, and the church took that responsibility upon themselves.

So the Grecian Jewish widows are being neglected, and there is already this tension between them and the Hebrews… what should be done? The apostles acknowledge these things and realize that the bigger issue is that the distribution of the funds is an organizational mess. The apostles were busy preaching the word of God and praying together, and they did not have enough time to care for all of these people’s physical needs! So what are they to do? Keep in mind, there’s more than 10,000 people in the church at this point. How well do you think 12 men could keep 10,000 people sustained? They would need help, and so they bring the entire church together and propose a solution:

“A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” - Charles Kettering, Head of research at GM in the 1920s-40s. In other words, if you write a problem down clearly, then the matter is half solved, or halfway to solving it.

These men were needed so that the Apostles did not have to give up preaching the word of God.

MP2 - The Problem is Addressed (vv. 3-6)

Assertion

The Apostles propose the appointment of helpers, “almoners”

Evidence

vv. 3-6

Commentary

The Apostles, in the wisdom that God had given them, propose that seven reputable men, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, should be selected to take care of “serving tables,” which was the serving of common daily distribution of food, by the church.

The proposal was for men who had these characteristics:

Good Repute (comes over time - maybe my story at the church)

Full of the Spirit

Full of Wisdom

Again, the apostles had enough on their plate. They were preaching and praying for thousands. Others needed to be recruited for the task of serving the church’s physical needs.

It is important to note that they single out these two ministries: preaching and praying.

The Church happily goes with the proposal and they choose seven men in accordance with the apostles’ qualifications.

The mention of Stephen and Philip foreshadows these two characters to come.

The men are brought before the apostles and confirmed for the ministry.

The laying on of hands was a typical practice for receiving into leadership. Yet, it also signaled a granting of authority from the apostles to these men as leaders in the church.

MP3 - The Word of God Spreads (v. 7)

Assertion

The problem was acknowledged and addressed and now the word of continues to spread.

Evidence

v. 7

Commentary

Remember, word of mouth is the most effective tool for persuasion. God takes good use of this and uses men and women to do this work.

Waterfall analogy

The number multiplies greatly - the importance of numerical growth.

A great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Conclusion

Restate

As the church continues to grow spiritually and numerically, they continue to face problems, but this time from within. So, the leaders of the church, the apostles, acknowledge the inward problem and address it appropriately. This they do that God’s word might continue to spread with a united force.

Reflect/Apply

What is your post?

Men, if you aspire to be a pastor, then devote yourself to studying God’s Word and praying. God will use your training years now to equip you for the future.

Anyone, if you love serving people food or taking care of the poor, find opportunities to do that so that you can grow in that skill now.

To all, has the word of God reached you?