PROBLEM SOLVING –
GOD’S WAY
Acts 6: 1-7
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.} 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. 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. 4 "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and
to the ministry of the word." 5 The statement found approval with the
whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor,
Timon, Parmenas and
Nicolas, a proselyte from
The
early church was spirit-filled – T [ ]
F [ ]
The
early church was problem-free – T [ ] F [ ]
I PRESSING
PROBLEM - vs. 1
The church was experiencing “growing
pains” and this was making it difficult for the elders to minister to
everybody. The Hellenistic Jews were
non-Palestine Jews who normally spoke Greek.
They were “newcomers”, the “outsiders”.
The
fact that the “outsiders” were being neglected created a situation that could
have divided the church. However, the
elders handled the problem with great wisdom and did not give Satan any
foothold in the fellowship.
II PERFECT
When a church faces a problem, this
presents the leaders and the members with a number of opportunities. For one thing, problems give us the
opportunity to examine our ministry and discover what changes must be
made. In times of success, it is easy
for us to maintain the status quo, but this is dangerous. Any ministry or organization that thinks its
success will go on automatically is heading for failure. We must regularly examine our lives and our
ministries lest we start taking things for granted.
The elders studied the situation and
concluded that they were so busy serving tables that they were neglecting
prayer and the ministry of the Word of God.
They had created their own problem because they were trying to do too
much. Even today, some pastors are so
busy with secondary tasks that they fail to spend adequate time in study and
prayer. This creates a “spiritual
deficiency” in the church that makes it easy for problems to develop. This is
not to suggest that serving tables is a menial task, because every ministry in
the church is important. But it is a matter of priorities: the elders were
doing jobs that others could do just as well.
D.L.Moody used to say that it was better to
put 10 people to work that to try to do the work of 10 people. Certainly it is better for the church as a
whole.
III PROPOSAL
- vs. 3-5
Church
problems also give us an opportunity to exercise our faith, not only faith in
the Lord, but also faith in each other.
The leaders suggested a solution, and all the members agreed with
it.
Principles
emerge from these verses.
#1
– The call to Christians in the Body of Christ is to obey their leaders.
Hebrews
13: 17
17 ¶ Obey your
leaders and submit {to them,} for they keep watch over your souls as those who
will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this
would be unprofitable for you.
Spiritual
Leaders are: WATCHFUL
ACCOUNTABLE
VULNERABLE to weariness
Spiritual
leaders fulfill the call God gives them to lead His church. As elders, they preach and teach, study and
pray, evangelize and disciple, examine and exhort, deliberate and decide.
#2
– Our model of church structure is CONGREGATIONALIST. Why?
Because it’s
Biblical.
What does this mean? The congregation is the “final” place for
these matters:
* Disputes between believers –
Matthew 18: 15-17
* Disagreements in matters of
doctrine – taught in Galatians 1
* Discipline – I Corinthians 5
* Restoration / Church Membership
IV PATTERN
- vs. 5-6
The assembly selected seven qualified men, and the elders
set them apart for ministry. The church was not afraid to adjust their
structure in order to make room for a growing ministry. When structure and ministry conflict, this
gives us an opportunity to trust God for the solution. It is tragic when churches destroy ministry
because they refuse to modify their structure.
Elders were not afraid to share their ministry with others.
We commonly call these seven men of Acts 6 “Deacons”
because the Greek noun diakonos is used in Acts 6:1 ( ministration) , and the verb diakoneo (serve) is used in Acts 6:2,
you find deacons mentioned in Philippians 1:1 and their qualifications given in
I Timothy 3: 8-13. The word simply means
“a servant”. Theses seven men were
humble servants of the church, men whose work made it possible for the
elders to carry on their important ministries among the people.
How would a similar pattern
look at
V PERMEATED
with love – vs. 7
Problems also give us the opportunity to express our
love. The Hebrew leaders and the
predominantly Hebrew members selected six men who were Hellenists and one man
who was both a gentile and a proselyte!
What an illustration of Romans
What is the result? THE BLESSING OF GOD CONTINUED AND INCREASED! The church was still:
UNIFIED
- vs. 5
EDIFIED
- vs. 6
MULTIPLIED
- vs. 7
It has been estimated that
there were 8000 Jewish priest attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and
a “great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour.