Acts 6
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Disciples are carrying own the mission Jesus gave them
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Holy Spirit came, and they are being witnesses in Jerusalem
preaching, doing miracles and those miracles are leading to more opportunities to preach
Number of Christians growing (though not called Christians yet)
there has been persecution of the Apostles - jailed, threatened, whipped
there has been a problem within the church, two particular members - concerning money and lying to the HS
lesson - there will be problem members
today - problem within the fellowship of the whole church - concerning money/culture
lesson - money can cause a lot of trouble (love of money)
Why we try to be transparent at WMBC (business meetings, weekly report)
Outline of the Problem
Outline of the Problem
We have the Jews
Descendants of Abraham
Jesus came as a Middle Eastern Jew, his disciples Jews
as Jews hear the message the apostles are telling about Jesus, some of them are becoming Christians
They believe Jesus is the Messiah
today we call them Messianic Jews, Christians who are Jews
(other Jews still waiting, or don’t believe he will come)
This group of Christians in Acts 6, all Jews, but two main groups
Hebrews Vs. Hellenistic (Grecians)
Hebrews - old school, traditional, isolation, mainly spoke Hebrew (Aramaic)
Hellenistic - new school, modern style, work with outsiders more, mainly spoke Greek
so there is a language and cultural barrier (though all probably spoke at least a little of the other)
Examples
Hispanics - raised in US, raised in Mexico
Blacks - raised in US, raised in Nigeria
both black, but so different, it’s almost two totally different races
both speak English, but accents are different
Nigerian might speak English but have other dialects
different slang, food, culture, thought process, values
I might even be Nigerian descent, but it’s hard to connect
but we can connect on being black
all that to make this story real, and to say . . .
There will be problems in a church
There will be problems in a church
church is made up of imperfect people
even though we are Christians, you have to deal with real people, with real problems, with real issues, with real differences, in a real world
Differences in our church - young, middle aged, old, work in office, work with hands, retired, married, single, people with children, people with grandchildren
so don’t get bent out of shape when there are problems (since the beginning)
when differences cause problems, work through them with wisdom, love
sometimes you might have to leave a church, but if you leave with every problem . . .
at WMBC, those who went to DHS, think we’re better than the rest, and we try to stop thinking like that (us an IM Terrel), pray for you all
1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.
many sold their land and gave money to church
this money is used to help the poor in the church
widows were usually among the most poor (widows without children)
Hellenistic Jews say their widows are being overlooked, (skipped, not getting as much)
Sis. so and so got two bags, my friend only got one
so some Christian(s) was not being fair
2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
It’s the main job of the spiritual leaders to lead spiritually, but a church has non-spiritual issues that have to be taken care of
Apostles: Our main calling is teaching/preaching. It’s hard to focus the Word when if we are passing out groceries
they are not saying that they are too good to do it
just that it’s not their main calling (they have been called to change history itself)
There is work to be done in a church
There is work to be done in a church
It takes a lot to keep a church going, just like a household
reality check - it’s hard for one person/group to take on all the roles of a household, and it’s hard for one person/group to take on all the roles needed in the church
one main reason why we make children do chores - need help around here, do what you can
why others are needed to do “chores” for the church - need help around here, do what you can
Preparation for Sunday - just like someone is coming to your house
Cleaning, setting up furniture, Unlocking doors, checking restrooms
work in service (musicians, singers, ushers, big screen, security)
work with children, visitors
getting trash after service
counting offering
someone has to last to lockup
Things during the week
Business - paying bills, repairs, replacing light bulbs, improvements
Pest Control
checking on members
Special Occasions mean extra work - Baptism, Communion, SOS events (put up and take down)
There ARE ways to serve, that help our church household keep going, get in where you fit in
it’s always great when a pastor see another member finally understand it’s OUR CHURCH
not the pastor’s church or their church
it would be great that when you miss church - your presence and your work will be missed
3 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
Chose seven men (?) - don’t know why (apostles must have prayed about it)
one a day?
good report - Even back then every Christian didn’t have a good report, so don’t fall apart when Christians mess up
full of the Spirit - everyone Christian has the Spirit but not filled with the Spirit
wisdom -ability make good decisions
they are not picking people and and instilling leadership qualities, they are picking out the people who have already shown that they are leaders, and giving them the official title
WMBC Way - as much as possible, to pick people who are already doing
Dr. West has been Asst. Pastor for several years
Remember, that You are always building a reputation
good or bad
among your family, neighbors, co-workers, church members . . . so build a good one
dependable - funny and embarassing when new member greets old member like a visitor
honesty
includes saying, “my fault”
4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
they will handle this, and we will focus on PRAYER and the Word
prayer is so important , they mentioned it first
a reminder to me (and all of us) - main job is prayer (depending on the Lord for everything)
verses 5 - 6 - found seven guys, Greek names, so probably all the guys were from the complaining group (nobody to blame but yourselves if this is still a problem)
many understand this passage to describe the first deacons
serve the physical needs of God’s people
while pastor can serve the spiritual needs
of course, there is always overlap
7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
by others joining in the work of the church, so that the spiritual leaders could focus on the spiritual, led to the Word spreading, and the church growing
Want to help the preacher preach better?
Pray for Him
Take something off of his plate - every job is helping the spiritual
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
one of these seven men also did great miracles
one area of ministry led to another ministry
9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.
10 But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council.
Some Jews, not Christians argued with Stephen (against this new movement), but they could not win any of the arguments.
Wisdom and the Spirit of the Lord
So these people got others to lie on Stephen - blasphemous words - Moses/God - serious charge
so they drag him away to the council
versus 13 - 14
lies
speaks against the temple, and the Law
this guy is saying Jesus will destroy this temple, take away the customs of Moses (they followed a lot of customs that Moses did not hand down actually)
Jesus was referring to himself one time in speaking about destroying the temple
Jesus was not changing the customs but fulfilling them
not lambs blood, but the blood of the Lamb of God
15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel.
he is on trial, in a lot of trouble, but they could see the power of God on him (Moses)
next time we will see what he says
Announcements
Announcements
Wake and Funeral this Friday and Saturday, have new dates for other things soon
Bro. Westbrook still awaiting results
Wallace’s