Called to Serve and Forgive

Transcription

1 1 Called to Serve and Forgive

2 2 Called to Serve and Forgive Empowered To Serve Text: Acts 6:1-15, 1. In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2. 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, 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. 5. This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 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. 8. Now Stephen, a man full of God s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,

3 3 10. but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God. 12. So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13. They produced false witnesses, who testified, This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us. 15. All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Introduction: I. Who is your hero? A. Michael Jackson B. Michael Jordan C. Stephen II. This lesson tells about unprecedented growth of the early church, its compassion for the needy and the rise of Stephen to a position of prominence among the disciples. Commentary: Acts 6:1, In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

4 4 I. The Jerusalem church multiplied, experienced a period of phenomenal growth. A. As in the growth of a city, the rapid growth of the church gave rise to certain problems. B. Problem: The Grecian Jews murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily ministration of assistance. C. The Grecian Jews and Hebrews were all Christians. 1. The Hebrews, Jews living in Palestine, spoke Aramaic while the Grecian Jews, those of the diaspora, dispersion who lived elsewhere, spoke Greek. 2. Prejudice between these two groups persisted even after they were converted. 3. In the early church there was evidently prejudice between these two groups, obvious murmuring and neglect of certain widows on the basis of their being of the dispersion, Jews who normally lived outside Palestine. 4. There was murmuring in the wilderness and there was murmuring in the early church. a. Numbers 14:27, How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. b. Philippians 2:14, Do everything without complaining or arguing,

5 5 c. 1 Corinthians 10:10, And do not grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. II. In the church, in one way or another, we are all givers and receivers. Acts 6:2, 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. I. The apostles wisely solved this problem: A. by calling the multitude together and B. appointing men of integrity to take charge of the food distribution program. II. The apostles primary work was preaching the gospel! A. The preaching of the word could not be neglected. B. The apostles could not do both the preaching and the serving tables because of the rapid growth of the church. The jobs were too big for one group to handle unaided. C. Serve means minister to and is translated into English by the words minister, servant, deacon. D. While Christians are to do works of benevolence, our prime duty is to preach the gospel to save souls. Acts 6:3, Brothers, 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

6 6 I. The apostles directed the church to select seven (7) men from among the membership who would then be appointed over this work of benevolence. A. Those selected were to be: 1. of good report. 2. full of the Holy Spirit. 3. full of wisdom. 4. (Stephen) full of faith. Acts 6:4, and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. I. The apostles would then be free to give all their time to: A. prayer B. ministry of the word. II. Preaching and prayer are prime in the church. Acts 6:5, This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. I. This apostolic decision pleased the entire church. II. The church selected the following men to be in charge of the daily ministration:

7 7 A. Stephen (wreath or crown), bold preacher, able debater, first Christian martyr. B. Philip (Lover of horses), evangelist, preached in Samaria, converted the Ethiopian eunuch, later lived and preached in Caesarea. C. Prochorus (Leader of the dance.) D. Nicanor (Victorious) E. Timon F. Parmenas G. Nicolaus (Conqueror of the people), (a form of Nicolas), a proselyte of Antioch. Nicolaus was a Gentile who had been converted to Judaism. He was a native of Antioch of which we will hear much in Acts in its relation to Paul. He was accused by early church men of founding the sect of the Nicolaitans. Revelations 2:6, 15, But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Likewise you also hate those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Note: All seven of these men had Greek names. Evidently the congregation chose seven Greeks to fix the Grecian problem. Acts 6:6, They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. I. These nominees were brought before the apostles and appointed to this work by: A. prayer

8 8 B. laying on of the apostles hands, evidently imparting a special gift of the Holy Spirit to enable these seven to do well the work to which they had been appointed. 1. Acts 8:18, When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money. C. Stephen did great wonders and signs among the people. (verse 8). II. These men obviously did not confine their work to serving tables. Acts 6:7, 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. I. Harmony had been restored in the church enabling the growth of the church to rapidly continue based upon the increased fervor and increased amount of preaching of the gospel. A. Acts 12:24, But the word of God continued to increase and spread. B. Acts 16:5, So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. C. Acts 19:20, In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. D. Acts 28:31, Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. II. The spread of the faith even led to the conversion of a great number of priests.

9 9 A. They became Christians by being obedient to the faith, not by mental acceptance of the truth of the gospel only. B. Romans 1:5, Through him and for his name s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. C. Romans 16:26, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him Acts 6:8, Now Stephen, a man full of God s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. I. Stephen was: A. full of grace, God s favor. B. full of power. II. Stephen produced: A. great wonders, B. great signs C. among the people. III. Christians such as Stephen, not just the apostles, performed wonders and signs. Acts 6:9, 10, Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men

10 10 began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. I. Stephen s wise and powerful preaching converted many and resulted in opposition especially from: A. the synagogue of the Libertines (Freedmen). B. Cyrenians. C. Alexandrians. D. Cilicians (Saul s home was there in Tarsus). E. Asians. Note: These were of the Dispersion. II. These debated with Stephen, but they clearly lost the debate! Acts 6:11, Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God. I. These enemies of Stephen, having been defeated in debate, did not accept the truth, but bribed (suborned) men to falsely testify against Stephen saying: A. We heard Stephen blaspheme God and Moses. B. Suborned means false, bribed, perjured, bought and paid for. These witnesses said what they had been paid to say! Acts 6:12-14, So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the

11 11 Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us. I. Stephen s enemies agitated the people, the scribes and elders of the people brought him before the Sanhedrin (council) and put forward false witnesses to testify against him. II. The false witnesses claimed Stephen had unceasingly spoken against: A. the temple (this place). B. the law. C. the customs of the Jews. D. and said that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the temple and change the customs Moses had delivered to the people. 1. John 2:19-22, Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. The Jews replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days? But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. They then believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 2. Matthew 22:7, The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Acts 6:15, All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

12 12 I. All that sat in the Sanhedrin saw Stephen s face as if it had been the face of an angel. A. This radiance of holiness and righteous zeal was observed by the wicked, but it did not change them. B. They were obstinate in their rebellion against the truth.

13 13 Questions Acts 6 1. A problem arose in the Jerusalem church. What was that problem? 2. What solution did the Twelve propose? 3. What were the qualifications for those appointed to oversee the work? 4. This would allow the apostles to give their to and the of the. 5. Those appointed were: 6. All these men had names. Why do you believe this to be significant?

14 14 7. Who selected these leaders? Who appointed them? 8. The appointment was made by and the of the s. 9. Now that the problem had been resolved, the of spread and the number of in increased, and a of became to the. 10., a man full of and, did great and among the people. 11. From whom did opposition arise? 12. These enemies of Stephen could not withstand his nor the by whom he spoke. 13. What did these enemies of Stephen then do?

15 15 What does this tell you about their character? 14. What church problems have you witnessed? How were they handled? What were the results? 15. How do the religious leaders you have known, good and bad, compare with the religious leaders mentioned in this chapter, good and bad?