The Ministry Of A Deacon

Notes
Transcript
The role of deacon is a leadership role. But what kind of a leadership role? What kind of authority do they have? What are they called to do? And how does the office of deacon contribute to a healthy church?
I invite you to look with me at Acts 6:1-7 for the answer.
[SLIDE: THE PREACHING OF THE WORD…]

#1: The preaching of the word leads to growth

The first thing we learn in the very first verse of Acts chapter 6 is that the church was growing. “In those days, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews.” Now we’ll get into what their complaint was, but first we just want notice that the account starts off by telling us the church was growing.
Now, it was God that did this. But He did this through the preaching and teaching of His word. In fact, if you’ll look right above Acts 6:1, move back just one verse to the end of chapter 5, the last two verses, and this is what we read. Acts 5:41-42:

41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

As the apostles preached the word, people got saved, they were gathered into churches, they were discipled, they grew, they became strong, they became self-sufficient, and as the apostles went on to the next place to do the same thing. Meanwhile, the churches kept doing their thing; they raised up pastors, who preached the word, people got saved, they grew, they were discipled, they discipled others, they became strong, they became self-sufficient.
And so in verse 1 of Acts 6, when we’re told that the number of disciples was increasing, that’s what’s happening. The apostles are preaching and teaching the word. God is making their preaching and teaching effective for the saving of the lost and the sanctifying of the saved. And so the church is growing.
What happens next? What happens next is that growth precipitates conflict.
[SLIDE: GROWTH BRINGS CONFLICT]

#2: Growth brings conflict

When you think about it, all growth, no matter what it is, brings pain of some kind. If you’re training to run a marathon, you’re going to grow, but you’re going to hurt. If you’re trying to bring up your GPA and get into your first choice school, you’re going to grow, but you’re also going to hurt. When you’re family grows and you bring home another child, you’re going to be tired for a while. Actually, you’re going to be tired for the rest of your lives. There is no growth without pain.
In the same way, as a church grows, it faces conflict. Do you see that here in verse 1? Luke the physician, who wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, he draws that connection between the growth of the church and the rise of conflict within the church. “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1).
Who were these two groups of people? Who were the Hellenistic Jews and who were the Hebraic Jews? Maybe you’re like, “Dustin, I didn’t know there were different types of Jews.” Well, there are now and there were then.
[SLIDE: HELLENISTIC VS. HEBRAIC…]
Hellenistic vs. Hebraic:
Hellenistic Jews: ethnic Jews who adopted Greek culture and language
Hebraic Jews: ethnic Jews who maintained their purity
Let’s start with the first one. Who were the Hellenistic Jews? Very easy - the word Hellenistic, that just means Greek. These are Greek speaking Jews. They were born as Jews, but they primarily spoke the Greek language. Alexander Great had conquered the known world and that included Palestine, so the Greek language was imposed on them. Mainly they spoke Greek, but they may have shared the same worldview and ideas as the Greeks around them. [I. Howard Marshall, TNTC, p134; also NBC p1077]
Hebraic Jews, by contrast, these were Jews who spoke Hebrew rather than Greek. Hellenistic Jews spoke Greek. Hebraic Jews spoke Hebrew or Aramaic. Both were ethnic Jews. They had become Christians. And now they’re in the church together.
But they speak different languages. And they think in different ways. So it’s easy to see how this would have created resentment. They were ripe for conflict.
So look with me at verse 1, the second part:

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews e among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

The church took care of its own. They also especially took care of those who couldn’t care for themselves. In the first century that would have been widows and orphans and slaves. But the Greek-speaking Christian widows weren’t getting the same food distribution, it seems, as the Hebraic Jews. That situation would not have happened if the church had not been growing and bringing in the Greek speaking Jews who were becoming Christians. So we see that growth precipitates conflict.
And just briefly we should note this: How many of you want to see Buffalo grow? How many of you want to see the lost in our community and the unchurched in these pews, learning to love Jesus and love one another? In fact, we are growing. We’ve taken in nearly 40 new members in the last three and a half years.
I believe God will give us more. But let’s just be prepared: it’s going to be hard. There will be conflict. New people mixing with older people changes the dynamic, it upsets the status quo, and you have to adapt and learn to love one another and focus on the mission and not your own preferences or church growth can actually lead to a church split.
The preaching of the word grows the church. The growth of the church precipitates conflict. But next, conflict gives rise to wise and godly pastoral leadership.
[SLIDE: CONFLICT GIVES RISE…]

#3: Conflict gives rise to wise and godly leadership

Look with me at verses 2-4:

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Can we glean some Christian leadership principles from this text? I think we can. What does wise, godly leadership look like? There are three things wise and godly leaders do and we can learn them from the apostles’ leadership here.
[SLIDE: THE PREACHING OF THE WORD…]
Principles of wise leaders
Understand their priorities
Let others lead too
Give guidance, not coercion
First, wise leaders understand their priorities. They aren’t distracted by good things. You know what I mean by that? There are always countless good things leaders could spend their time on. But there are good things and then there are the best things. Now no one has every gift; and leaders do not have unlimited time. So if you want to lead, rather than focus your energies on 15 good tasks, identify for yourself the two or three best things, the most important things, the high priorities, things you do well, things that maybe others can’t do.
For the apostles, the best things were prayer and the ministry of the word. That means preaching the gospel, teaching the Bible, and all the study that goes into that. And it means prayer - praying for God to work in and through your ministry and then stepping back and waiting for Him to show up.
Pastors priorities are the same. A pastor’s main work is teaching and preaching. Those are the best things. If they aren’t done well, it doesn’t matter what other things we do. The most important things are being neglected. Wise leaders understand their priorities.
Second, wise leaders are willing to let others lead. There are some leaders who are afraid to delegate. Sometimes that’s because they don’t trust anybody but themselves to do it; sometimes it’s other reasons. If there are good things and best things, and if the most important things have to get done, and if there’s limited time for you to do all of this, you have to be willing to entrust other people with doing those things.
Third, wise leaders give guidance, not coercion. The apostles set certain parameters for the congregation. They said, “Look, serving food to our widows is important; but we are called and equipped to preach the Word and teach the Word. So, we trust you, we’re going to hand this off to you. Find seven men, make sure they are godly men; make sure their lives are controlled by the Spirit and make sure they have wisdom, make sure they have a good reputation, that they’re well thought of. Those are your parameters. Now we trust you to do this task well. We trust that God will lead you to these men. It’s all yours.”
Because it’s easy to tell others what to do. The apostles could have chosen the seven seven men for them. It’s harder but better to lead them to where you know they need to be, but lead them there in such a way that they see it for themselves. It’s far better to guide rather than force; it’s so much more fruitful to give general direction rather than specific, step by step instruction. There may be times when someone you’re leading needs that step-by-step instruction. But it’s almost better not to do that. The apostles wisely avoided that. Instead, they entrusted these tasks to the church as a whole, they gave guidance, and then they stepped away.
This is wise leadership. And it pays off, too, as we’ll see.
The preaching of the word grows the church. The growth of the church precipitates conflict. And conflict gives rise to wise and godly pastoral leadership. Next, wise pastors and leaders empower a mature congregation.
[SLIDE: WISE PASTORS EMPOWER...]

#4: Wise pastors empower a mature congregation

I want you to notice something here. We sort of touched on this a minute or two ago but here we really see it. The apostles fully trust the congregation that they are capable of discerning God’s direction and making the right decisions.
Look at the language they use in verse 3. They don’t say “We will choose.” The apostles instruct the church to choose: “You choose,” they say, “you choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3a NIV). The apostles trust their people. Pastors will do well to trust their people. Pastors will do well to trust their deacons. Deacons will do well to trust the pastor and the people.
The preaching of the word grows the church. The growth of the church precipitates conflict. And conflict gives rise to wise and godly pastoral leadership. Wise pastors and leaders empower a mature congregation. Next, a mature congregation fulfills its divine calling.
[SLIDE: A MATURE CONGREGATION…]

#5: A mature congregation fulfills its divine calling

What happens when you entrust tasks to others and believe in them? We see it in verses 5-6. They chose the men. Their names were Stephen, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas. Seven men, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. Seven men well-thought of by the church and people outside the church.
Of course, this may not always be the case. You may not always have confidence in the people you lead. Sometimes any combination of pastors or deacons or congregation can be weak when it comes to leadership. But here’s what I’ve found: if you entrust a task to the right person, and if you empower him to be able to do it, and then express confidence in them, encourage them, they will rise to the occasion. Maybe not right away. But they will.
[SLIDE: J. OSWALD SANDERS]
I like what J. Oswald Sanders said about this kind of leadership.
“The man who is impatient with weakness will be defective in his leadership. The evidence of our strength lies not in streaking ahead but in a willingness to adapt our stride to the slower pace of our weaker brethren, while not forfeiting our lead. If we run too far ahead, we lose our power to influence.” [Quoted in Swindoll, p336]
As far as we know, the apostles were in agreement with their choice. The apostles trusted that these men were the men God had led the church to select. They asked no questions. They didn’t do a further investigation of their own. What did they do?

6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

What the apostles did is what we’re going to do shortly with Dan. The laying on of hands in the Bible - it doesn’t actually convey anything itself. It’s not magic. It’s a symbol. It’s a symbol. It’s a symbol of men called by God to serve now extending that same divine calling to another man called by God to serve in that same way.
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.”
When our deacons lay hands on our brother Daniel, that’s a picture: it’s a picture of men, who are called by God to serve the church, symbolically transferring God’s call on their own lives as deacons to a man newly called by God to serve as a deacon.
The apostles though patiently trusted the church there in Jerusalem, believing that God would guide them and that they would follow. They acted. They prayerfully chose the men. They presented these men to the apostles, who we assume would make the final decision.
A few weeks ago, you all did the same thing. You all prayerfully selected three other men - Frank, Ronnie and Dan. I’m confident God led you to these men.I trust you, Buffalo. I believe in you. You are a mature congregation. You have wisdom and discernment.
The preaching of the word grows the church. The growth of the church precipitates conflict. And conflict gives rise to wise and godly pastoral leadership. Wise pastors and leaders empower a mature congregation. A mature congregation fulfills its divine calling. Lastly, the preaching of the word leads to greater numerical and spiritual growth.
[SLIDE: THE PREACHING OF THE WORD…]

#6: The preaching of the word leads to greater numerical and spiritual growth

Look with me at verse 7:

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Now here’s the point of the sermon and the point of the passage. Growth is where we started out. Growth is where we’ve ended up. And — here it is — are you ready? It is deacons who are the center of this growth.
The church was growing and that growth created conflict. The conflict needed to be addressed. But the apostles needed to keep preaching and teaching, because it was that that God was using to bring the lost to Himself and grow the church. That’s the main thing.
They decided to keep the main thing the main thing. So they called upon the church to select seven godly men, seven men of good character. They entrusted the task of the distribution of the food to them. The conflict was resolved. The main thing stayed the main thing. The church grew. The word went forward. And God was honored.
[SLIDE: DEACONS ARE CALLED…]
Deacons, we see here, are called to find creative solutions to manage conflict so that the conflict doesn’t distract from the mission and hinder the message.
Deacons, we see here, are called to find creative solutions to manage conflict so that the conflict doesn’t distract from the mission and hinder the message. What a crucial role that is to play! What an honor it is to be entrusted by Jesus with the health and well-being of his church! What an honor it is to serve in this way.
[SLIDE: SCRIPTURE]
Serving is what Jesus did for us. Jesus has served us.

27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves

[SLIDE: SCRIPTURE]
How amazing is it that our God serves us? How has He served us?

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus laid His life down for us. That is how He served us. He laid His life down for us in our place and for our sin. He bore our sin and absorbed the wrath of the Father that was due to us so that, believing on Him, we might be forgiven and have eternal life.
And in response, not to pay Him back, but in response, we are called to lay our lives down for others.
Deacons, Dan, that is what we’re called to do. Before we are anything else, a Christian is first and foremost a servant. Before a pastor is anything else, he is first and foremost a servant. Before a deacon is anything else, he is first and foremost a servant. In fact, the word deacon comes from a word meaning “to serve.”
Deacons, serving is not something you do when you’re not leading. Serving is the thing. Serving is not opposed to leading. Serving is the way you lead.
This is what Jesus calls every Christian, every pastor, every deacon, every church member to.
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