Gospel Movement and Growing Pains

Intro

Introduce myself - Matt Prine, one of the elder/pastors here at RCB.

Our lead Pastor Jonathan is preaching at Acts Community Church down in Deer Park, south of Houston.

Today, as we continue in our series on Acts: The mission and Movement of God, there is a pretty significant shift in the movement of the Gospel

in Chapters 1-5, the gospel movement has been localized in Jerusalem

In Ch. 6, we will see that the gospel is now being spread among the Greek Speaking Jews who had been scattered among the gentiles in the dispersion.

In coming weeks we will see it move to Samaria and then very quickly to Ethiopia in Chapter 8.

Then in Chapter 9, the gospel collides with a man named Saul who then carries it around the known world

I want you to keep in mind what Jesus spoke in Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth

What we are getting to see are the words of Jesus playing out exactly how He said them.

The cool part is that we get to join Him in this mission to see gospel movement transform lives to the ends of the earth.

Prayer

Before we get going, let’s open in prayer.

If you would, silently, ask the Lord to speak to your heart through His word - that you might be changed by what you hear today and that you would walk out of here more bold in living out your faith.

Now, if you would please, pray for me. Ask that the Lord would use me as His mouthpiece and that I would not hinder His Spirit from moving in this place. Ask Him to get me out of the way so that you can see Jesus clearly.

Growing Pains

When I was a kid - maybe 8,9,10 years old, I had some wicked growing pains…

I am sure that some of you these growing up - they’re awful!

It would usually start in the late afternoons or evenings, and it was always in my legs.

Almost out of nowhere, I would have this deep throbbing pain in both legs.

Usually my calfs would hurt pretty bad, but it also affected my knees and quads.

I remember one time that I was having pain that was so intense that I just started screaming.

When I didn’t stop screaming, my parents got a little bit concerned and called my grandad who was a doctor. We only lived about 30 minutes or so from him, so he told them to bring me on over.

The whole car ride was awful because of the pain.

Looking back on that moment, now that I have kids, I am sure it was worse for my parents who were having to listen to me scream.

So we got to by grandparents house and no sooner do we turn off the car then my legs stop hurting.

It was miraculous!

But that was how growing pains were for me.

It would hurt pretty intensely for a while - but just as quickly as the pain set in, it would go away.

My growing pains remind me a lot about what the church was going through in Acts

There were these awesome God moments but then there were moments of difficulty and pain - sometimes intense

as they worked through the pain, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they grew and gospel movement progressed.

This is exactly what we see in Acts 6.

Let’s read vv. 1-3

Acts 6:1–3 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.

At this point in history there are thousands of believers who are a part of the church in Jerusalem.

There is some diversity as well - Hellenist Jews and Hebrews

The Hellenists were Greek Speaking Jews that had returned to Jerusalem, heard the gospel, and were now following Jesus.

They had different language, culture, history, and customs than the Hebrews.

As such, they were often viewed as outsiders and were subject to being marginalized - even within the church.

The Hellenists widows were being neglected in the daily distribution - which was what they needed to stay fed and healthy.

So this was a serious issue and needed to be addressed.

1. Gospel Movements come with conflict

There are probably many of you in this room that would do just about anything to avoid conflict.

I think it is definitely fair to say that most of us do not like conflict.

Conflict can be scary, it can cause mental stress, it can highlight an insecurity in ourselves that could be exposed, it can, when handled poorly, result in loss of a friendship.

Many just choose to avoid it rather than to deal with it, hoping it will go away.

But here’s the problem… conflict is a necessary part of not only the individual Christian life, but of the church as well.

Conflict is a necessary part of the process

Let me illustrate this for us in two ways:

First: Conflict for the individual

On an individual level, the gospel message starts with conflict

How so?

Ephesians 2:1-2 - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience

Romans 3:23 - All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

What is the conflict?

The conflict is that we are dead - sinners - helpless, and because of this, we are under condemnation - ALL OF US, without exception.

Then we hear two words that bring hope and resolution to the conflict in our souls:

Ephesians 2:4-5 -  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ

In our conflict, The Lord is the hero of the day - making us alive - washing us clean of every ounce of sin and shame.

We must recognize the conflict and our inability to resolve it, otherwise, we will never experience the mercy and love of God, who IS the only solution.

Conflict is a NECESSARY part of gospel movement in the hearts of people.

Second: Conflict for the church

When a group of people with different opinions, desires, backgrounds, and cultures get together, conflict is bound to happen

Satan knows this, and he will try and use it to bring division and ultimately to break the fellowship that is found in the church.

But this conflict does not have to be a bad thing - in fact it can be quite powerful

It presents the opportunity for us to display the redemptive love of Christ to those around us - both inside the church and out.

In the era of cancel culture and radically dismissing someone who thinks differently than you, this is EXACTLY what we need within the church.

Imagine if the church in our day faced conflict like this?

Instead of division, it led to deeper unity

Instead of canceling one another, it led to more intentional engagement

Instead of breeding hate, it fostered love

Churches that live this out would be a place that drew people in because there is no fear of being cancelled.

The western church has become largely irrelevant to those outside the faith because in many cases we look the same as the rest of the world - especially when it comes to conflict

Why would you want to be a part of a community that was no different than the world you’re currently living in?

Conflict creates the opportunity for us to either display the redemptive love of Christ or to mimic the world and make a mockery out of Him.

But either way, Gospel movements come with conflict...

If we want to display the redemptive love of Christ, we MUST be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 6:3–6 ESV

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.

This interaction is powerful, because the apostles tackle the conflict head on

They don’t ignore it, they don’t minimize it or dismiss the ones with the complaint.

They take action and invite the group into the process of solving the problem.

Part of what makes this interaction so incredible is is that the apostles are the cause of the conflict - they were the ones who were doing the distribution.

So this complaint is against them.

Their response shows a great deal of humility and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2. Gospel Movements need Spirit-Filled leaders

When the Spirit empowers leadership within the church there are several results. :

First, The Spirit gives people the ability to wisely navigate criticism

We have all, at some point in our lives, faced criticism from others - sometimes justified sometimes not.

In our flesh, we will have a tendency to jump to our own defense quickly and make excuses or try to explain.

But in the Spirit, we are given the ability to hear the criticism, assess the truthfulness of that criticism, and then respond in humility and grace.

This is exactly what the disciples did - they recognized that things were not balanced well.

They acknowledged that there were those who were being neglected and that wasn’t ok.

The result was that the Hellenists’ were elevated within the church and their dignity, value, and worth were acknowledged and celebrated which fostered deeper unity.

Second, The Spirit helps people acknowledge their own calling/purpose within the Body

Remember what the apostles said in v. 2 - “It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables.”

These guys were serving as the pastors, the elders, the shepherds of this church body, and as such, their primary responsibility was to preach the Word, to pray, and to lead the church in prayer.

They understood the heart transforming power that the Word possessed, but they also knew the importance of the church caring for those in need

It’s not a one or the other - it’s both/and.

They must preach the word

They also need to put people in place so that these widows are taken care of

If they did one without the other, then it would fall short

Preaching the Gospel without caring for the felt needs of people doesn’t display the heart of God for His children.

Meeting felt needs without sharing the Gospel only prolongs someone’s journey to hell.

This is exactly why we are so passionate about God’s Word and Meeting needs, here at RCB.

It’s a part of our vision, that we would share God’s Gospel and Grace to Bryan and beyond.

Serving tables, managing food distributions, meeting the felt needs of all of those in their church, while good and necessary was not what the twelve were supposed to be doing.

Pastors still struggle with this today in many churches..

There is a mentality that “Ministry is the pastor’s job”

“If there’s something going on at the church, the pastor is supposed to be leading it - unless it has to do with women and then his wife is supposed to be leading it.”

NO! That is NOT what the pastor is supposed to be doing!

At least not if you want to keep your pastors for very long.

What ARE pastors supposed to be doing?

Ephesians 4:11-12 - 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

The ministry is the job of the church body - all of us - pastors are to equip the church for that ministry.

John Stott - A vital principle is illustrated in this incident, which is of urgent importance to the church today. It is that God calls all his people to ministry, that he calls different people to different ministries, and that those called to ‘prayer and the ministry of the word’ must on no account allow themselves to be distracted from their priorities.

The pastors job needs to be focused on preaching the Word and prayer

Third, He helps people pursue Christ-centered solutions that unify the Body

The apostles rally the church to take a front row seat in the problem solving.

They tell them to choose seven men who can take on the ministry of serving tables

This, by the way was the point at which the office of Deacon was established.

There were key characteristics that these guys needed to have:

Good reputation

Filled with the Spirit

Filled with wisdom

So they employ the church body in the selection process of these men, who would ultimately be examined and then appointed by the apostles to serve as the first deacons in the church.

What is interesting to note here is that Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, NYcanor, TYmon, Parmenas, and Nicolaeus are all Greek names

It is possible that most or even all of these men were Hellenist Jews.

Imagine the message that would have been communicated to the Hellenist Jews in the church?

It would say - we see you! We hear you! We acknowledge you! We value you!

It would restore confidence in one another

It would display unity throughout the body

And because the Hellenists knew the pain of being left out, they would be intentional to make sure that didn’t happen again - to anyone, whether Hellenist or Hebrew.

The office of deacon was and is a vastly important and unifying role in the church.

The importance of Deacons

Deacons were not simply appointed so that they could get a job done.

The apostles were not looking for warm bodies to fill the spot…

They were looking for people whose lives were different because of their faith in Christ.

People who were exemplary in their walk with the Lord and their willingness to serve.

Paul talks about this extensively in 1 Timothy 3:8-13

Deacons are people who have been tested and proven.

They’ve gone through the fire and come out stronger.

They’re filled with faith and an unwavering devotion to Christ and His Church.

They are examples for the rest of the church to emulate.

They have Grit - as proven by Stephen

He is installed as a deacon and is almost immediately stoned to death - becoming the first martyr of the Christian church.

While awful, his death emboldened the church in their devotion

That type of commitment is contagious and makes others want to leverage their lives in similar ways.

Deacons became a model for the rest of the church to emulate in their walk with Christ.

Here’s the application:

Model your life after those in the church that are living this out!

Be like those that are walking in faith, sacrificially pouring themselves out for the Lord and the church.

Let me give you two great examples…

Kaleb Allison and Seth Berry are two of our amazing deacons at RCB.

There is so much that these guys do behind the scenes that most of you never knew about.

Weekly Setup

Baptism Prep

Covid Response

Kaleb

BENEVOLENCE: He oversees our benevolence at the church - making sure that those who are in material need have some of those needs met.

CHURCH LOGISTICS: He routinely assists in logistical conversations about how we can more effectively serve the church and the community.

He and Tori just had baby Selah six weeks ago, and he only missed one Sunday - and that was because she was born on Sunday.

Seth

Summer Prayer Gatherings

Wednesday Night food deliveries in the community

and many other things…

But they don’t do all of this because they have the title of deacon…

They have the title of deacon because they were already doing much of this.

Samuel Brengle, the Commissoner of the Salvation Army in the early 1900s said this: “The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart.”

I don’t tell you to emulate Kaleb and Seth so that you can be like Kaleb and Seth…

I tell you to emulate them because they follow Jesus really well and they have poured themselves out sacrificially for this church body.

My prayer is that we would have a church full of people like Kaleb and Seth who would take personal ownership of the ministry that the Lord is allowing us to be a part of here.

My prayer is that sacrifice, dedication, service, boldness, and faith would be the norm when you look at RCB people - ESPECIALLY our members.

Additionally, I am praying for that because I think that God get’s a ton of glory from a church like that

Not to mention, we need more Deacons…

I am looking forward to the day that Jonathan, Kevin and I get to lay hands on, pray over, and install some new deacons!

But it will be people who are of good repute, and full of the Spirit and wisdom!

Gospel movements need Spirit-filled leaders as well as Spirit-filled church members!

What is the driving force behind all of this?

Let’s look at v. 7.

Acts 6:7 ESV

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.

It’s the Word of God…

3. Gospel Movements are driven by the Word of God

Any Movement that is going to describe itself as a Gospel Movement must be driven by and built on the Word of God.

Without the Word, we would never see Gospel Movement happen.

Not only this, but without the Word of God - there would be no creation.

Remember, Genesis 1 - God Said…

His Words have power to create and by their power the universe is sustained according to Hebrews 1:3

There is a recurring theme about the value of God’s Word throughout the Scriptures -

Throughout the Old Testament we find passage after passage describing the infinite worth of God’s Word - especially Psalms and Proverbs.

In Psalm 119, nearly every one of the 176 verses give reference to God’s Word, law, precepts, etc.

Proverbs was written as it says in Ch 1:1 for us “to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight.”

And this theme continues through the New Testament as well

Matthew 4:4 - Jesus said “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Romans 10:17 - faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

This is precisely why we the 12 said in verse 2 that “it is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables.”

These are the same guys who walked with Jesus for three years - listening to Him speak and teach, and experiencing the power of Christ’s words first-hand.

They had to have had Jesus’ words in mind from John 6, when He said

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

If you remember the story, that was when a great number of his disciples turned away from walking with him because Jesus’ words had offended them.

He turns to the twelve and asks them a simple question...

“Do you want to go away as well?”

And it is Simon Peter - who responds to Jesus - “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

They understood the heart transforming power that the Word possessed, but they also knew the importance of caring for those in need

This is exactly why we are so passionate about God’s Word and Meeting needs, here at RCB.

It’s a part of our vision, that we would share God’s Gospel and Grace to Bryan and beyond.

Lord help us if we think that we are going to transform our community, our city, our country, or our world with the clever words of man.

May we have an unwavering commitment to God’s Word and the power it has to bring life, hope, peace, and reconciliation.

Gospel movements are driven by the Word of God

I will close with this

I did not like going through growing pains as a kid… they were terrible - and I don’t like going through pain now.

But if the growing pains that we endure here at Restoration make us look more like Jesus and less like the world, then praise the Lord!

There is no greater thing that the Lord could do for us than to refine us and mold us into the church that HE envisions, not what the pastors envision.

Yes, He will place vision on each of our hearts, but it cannot be our own.

We covet your prayers to be able to be led by His Spirit - because we are human and we need the Lord's strength to do so.

Gospel Movement is going to come with growing pains.

Gospel Movements come with conflict

So don’t avoid it at all costs - the Lord may be using it to strengthen His church

Gospel Movements need Spirit Filled Leaders

So pray for the leaders of this church to be compelled by The Spirit of God and nothing else - and strive to be one of those Spirit-filled leaders yourself.

Gospel Movements are driven by the Word of God.

So saturate yourself in the Word - and demand that we as a church stay firmly rooted in Scripture

Ask the Lord to help us cherish His Infinitely Powerful Word.