Parts of the Whole

Bottom line

We all have a part to play in God’s vision, but we cannot lose sight of the bigger mission.

Opening Line

Where are my sports fans?

Introduction

When it comes to team sports, not everyone can play the same position, right? The World Cup just wrapped up. In soccer, not everyone can be a striker, otherwise there would be no one to play defense. In baseball, not everyone can be the pitcher otherwise no one would catch the pitch. In football, not everyone can play defense otherwise you wouldn’t put up too many points.

But this team dynamic is more than just sports. Let’s take camp for example. Not everyone can be in the cabins with the kids, otherwise who would make the food? Not everyone can be in the kitchen otherwise who would plan out the week?

The strength of any team, no matter what realm of life we are talking about, is dependent on the ability of everyone to do their part. But more than that, it is also dependent on everyone keeps their eyes on the prize. Even though everyone has a specific role to play, every role is still moving towards the bigger vision.

Main Point

The same applies to the church. As disciples of Jesus, and as part of his church, each of you has a part to play, but each of those parts work together towards the common goal. Even as you serve in your role, it is always in light of the greater mission, of being disciples who make disciples.

Why it matters

The problem, especially for the church in the West, is that many have lost sight of one of those two key components of being a disciple, or in some cases both components. I believe we are left with 4 different groups of people in the church. There are some who believe they just have to show up for church, because it is a good thing to do. They don’t serve or get involved in anyway, mostly because they believe that the pastor is paid so he or she should have to do everything.

There are some who come to church and serve in some capacity because they really like what is happening in church, but their faith stays at church until the next time they come back. The rest of the week, they live however they so choose.

There are some who are so consumed with the mission, to make disciples, that they don’t serve at church, and in some cases don’t even show up church at all. They believe that church just gets in the way of what God has called them to.

The fourth group, I would say, are the ones who get it. They understand that as disciples, they need to do both. They serve at church, get involved in a team, and help the church achieve its mission. Then, the rest of the week, they are on the mission, looking for opportunities to share their faith or pray for others. They serve, and they never lose sight of the greater mission.

I start there because over the next couple of weeks, you are going to read about a man named Stephen. Stephen is such a fascinating person in the story of Acts, and he embodies just what I described; someone who served in the local church, and never stopped being about the mission of God in his community. My hope for each of you, and even for myself, is that you would be more and more like Stephen.

Scripture

We are in Acts 6:1

Acts 6:1 NLT

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

More people, more problems

This should surprise no one. The bigger a group gets, the more problems start to arise, and they begin to arise on a grander scale. The church is multiplying in size. Not adding, multiplying, rapidly growing, and so the problems are starting to scale right along with it.

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One of the values of the early church was to have everything in common and meet one another’s needs. One group of people who would’ve had the greatest needs are widows. Women couldn’t work, and so these women had lost their husbands and their only source of income right alongside with it. They had to be provided for.

The problem is there is a racial dynamic at work. I would say that even if the Greek-speaking widows weren’t being discriminated against, the perception that they were being discriminated would be enough to derail everything that is happening in the church. Even if what is happening isn’t true, it is still an important enough issue that it needs to be addressed.

Acts 6:2–4 NLT

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

Stay in your lane

Are the apostles saying that the food program for the widows isn’t important? No, they are not saying that. What they are saying is that in order for the church to continue to grow and more disciples to be made, they must do what only they can do, and that is pray and teach the word of God.

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But the food program is important too, so they suggest that they select some guys to run the program, so that it gets the attention it needs, and the apostles can continue to do what they need to do. We know they think it is important because of the criteria that the apostles give for who can lead it. They must be well respected and full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. Aka, not just anyone would be selected to oversee this. It had to be done right.

Acts 6:5–7 NLT

Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

So again, just like Ananias and Sapphira, we have a situation that could potentially slow or derail the early church, they address it with prayer and wisdom, and the church continues to grow. In fact, the message was spreading so effectively that even Jewish priests, those who are normally opposed to the Gospel of Jesus, are starting to come around and become part of the church.

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Now as I read that, I’m struck by something. In the first seven verses of this chapter, Luke has recorded that the church is multiplying in numbers, and that the numbers greatly increased. Now, we don’t know with certainty how much time has passed between the beginning of Acts and this point. If we include the events of chapter 7, the best guess that scholars can come up with is about a year. So in a year, they have absolutely exploded in size.

Now I don’t want to undermine the amazing things that are happening at OneChurch right now. We are growing in amazing ways, and by God’s grace and power we have exceeded almost every one of our prayer goals we set out this year. But we are not multiplying the way they did, and I can’t help but ask why? Like I said last week, if everyone of us picked one person, and the goal for the year is to see that person become a disciple of Jesus, we would essentially double in size. That’s multiplication.

This past week, Paul Fraser was one of the speakers, and he leads the Multiply Network, which is part of the PAOC. He shared that the Tanzania Assemblies of God went from 3,300 hundred churches to over 17,000 churches in 10 years, and they plan to hit 40,000 churches by 2033. They hit 17,000 in 2020, and intend to hit 40,000 in just over 13 years. That tells me that what I read about in Acts is not impossible.

So why isn’t it happening in Canada? One of the things that Paul suggested, and I would tend to agree, is that the church in Canada has become too comfortable. Too comfortable with just sitting and listening in church without serving. Too comfortable with the way things are to actually grab hold of the mission and live. Too comfortable with the size of the church and not really too interested in adding people because as we saw earlier, more people means more problems.

Whatever the case may be, I believe it starts with believing in the church enough that when a need arises, or an opportunity to serve comes up, you jump at it instead of hoping someone else does. Just like any team, if they church is going to grow, everyone needs to do their part, whatever that part may be.

Acts 6:8–10 NLT

Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

A disciple first

Stephen was just selected to be one of the seven who were in charge of feeding the widows. Why is out here performing miracles and debating with the Jews? Isn’t that the job of the apostles? Didn’t we just talk about staying in your lane?

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Yes Stephen was one of the food program guys, but he was a disciple of Jesus first. So as he went about his day to day life, he still prayed with sick people when he came upon them, and they were healed. He never stopped being a disciple who made disciples. He never stopped being about the mission. And because he lived out his faith in his day to day, it put him right in the cross hairs of everyone’s favorite religious leaders.

Acts 6:11–15 NLT

So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.

“When people lie about you...”

These Jews that were debating with Stephen couldn’t outsmart, so they resorted to dirty tactics. They started to lie about him, and the lies they told ultimately got him thrown into prison.

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Yet his face shone as bright as an angel’s. Last week, after the apostles were flogged for preaching the gospel, it says they rejoiced. It is as if they know something, that no matter what happens, their default setting is joy.

Matthew 5:11–12 NLT

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Oh. I think I found it. This is Jesus speaking. This is both promise and prophecy. Prophecy because he says when. When they mock you, when they persecute you, when they lie about and say all sorts of evil things against you. When this happens, be happy. Be very glad about it. Why? Because God will bless you, and your reward in heaven will be great. That is the promise. Prophecy, they are going to make life miserable for you because you are my followers. Promise, you will be blessed and a great reward will be waiting for you in heaven.

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Transition to Application

How many people know that God’s blessings and rewards far surpass anything man can do to you in this life?

That is the problem right there. You don’t actually believe it. It is written in here, Jesus himself said it so it is as true as it gets. But there is a hesitancy when it comes to getting uncomfortable for Jesus and his mission. So instead of serving and really going all in on church and its mission, you reduce church to its most base form, which is so up and consume, not realizing you’re actually missing all the best parts when you do that.

Main To Do

So what do you do? Well, if the church has become too comfortable, you start to pray that God will make you uncomfortable. In Church Renewal, one of the things I and the other pastors pray for ourselves is that God would make us dissatisfied. That until I see renewal grab hold of every single person in our church and in our community, I will not be satisfied. If comfort is preventing you from getting on mission for God, than it is time to pray that God will make you uncomfortable. If you are satisifed with the way things are, even after reading Acts 6, then it is time to pray that God would stir a dissatisfaction.

The other big one that I pray over myself is that God would increase my sense of urgency. Time is short, persecution and tribulation are coming, and I want to attack every day with the urgency that the apostles felt. As David prayed, teach me the number of my days. What he was saying was remind me that time is short and I can’t waste any of it.

Why it matters

The underlying theme in Acts is that the early church was committed to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. Last week we talked about how these things become a priority when you really get on mission for God. This week we are just building on it, asking God to create in us the urgency and dissatisfaction that is necessary to push us into living missionally.

And when the challenges come and persecution tries to hold you back, you smile and be very glad, because you know your reward in heaven is great.

Closing Line

We all have a part to play, we are all part of the mission. May God stir in you a desire to see it through.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

In what ways do you believe God is calling you to serve within the church community?

How can you ensure that you are keeping your eyes on the greater mission while fulfilling your role at church?

What steps can you take to engage more actively in the mission of making disciples outside of Sunday services?

What has God revealed to you about your unique role in the body of Christ?

How can you encourage others in your church to recognize and pursue their part in the mission?

What challenges do you face in maintaining your faith and commitment to Christ outside of church?