Seven Chosen to Serve
6:1 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. 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.
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.
Stephen Is Seized
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (ESV)
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
I’m just thinking of how the church is growing into being so big. Well, first we must give all the credit to God because He is doing a work. Also, here are what they are doing. They are devoting themselves to prayer and preaching the word! I just hope that we will have a reputation of devoting ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
Many times, the Pharisees and Sadduces were accusing Jesus and even the disciples here in this chapter of trying to set up a new religious system. These people were accusing these followers of Jesus of trying to abolish the Law. Jesus tells them back in the books of the Gospel that he is not trying to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
7 men chosen of good repute and their courageous faith added to the disciples witnessing about Jesus caused an increase in the number of disciples and many of the priests to repent and believe
Power in God’s word – it does not come back void. May we all be bold and speak up for Gospel of truth.
Just like True Northers who speak out for Christ! Thanks Glenn!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Like the sermon yesterday, grace and power are talked about with one another. And Stephan was a man full of it! :]
Exactly, Payt! What an incredible example God gives us in Stephen of His incredible power through His grace.
Acts 6:10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Then: God filled Stephen with the Holy Spirit and exactly the right words of truth for all to hear when he was outnumbered and up against the corrupted establishment.
Always: God gives us the words (and strength) to accomplish His plan even when we cannot imagine how we can be used by Him and for Him.
Now: Repent, confess, ask and everything we need for life and godlienss will be given to us today! And do what He says – the power of God is INSIDE His children! And even in dire situations remember He is coming back soon to fix this mess Himself for all eternity!
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.
This verse inspires me so much because Gods word has been spreading so much around the world over the years. People have been saved because of God. I pray that more and more people get saved by hearing how amazing god is.
ELLO… I read
I like verse 10,”But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”
I like this verse because it talks about how people who have studied the BIBLE their whole lives couldn’t outsmart a man of GOD who had his faith in GOD. GOD promises to give us wisdom and if we ask for it HE will give it. Stephen did so and he knew far more the the teachers of the law did. This is encouraging to me because I always feel at a loss of words when I am talking to others about GOD. I need to ask GOD for wisdom and have faith that HE will give it.
CYA
12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.
Christians should not be surprised by pain and persecution in this life. Stephen’s seizing and the barrage of false witnesses that gave testimony against him is sadly similar to Jesus’ arrest, trial and death. This account in Acts 6 is an example of what Jesus said would happen to His disciples in John 15:18-21:
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you:’A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”
Persecution and slanderous attacks against me are not a problem or a sign that there is something wrong with my faith….just the opposite is true! If I am being persecuted by non-Christians then I must be speaking out for Christ and living in a counter-cultural way. Lord, please help me to live my life in obedience to You and Your Word. Help me not to seek a cushy, comfortable life, but to be bold in sharing Your gospel with the lost, no matter what the consequences are in my life!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Steven was full of grace and power, and people could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. God was giving Steven the grace and the power to do these wonders and to boldly preach the gospel! These two verses reminded me of the final Don’t Stop Standing sermon this past weekend, and how grace and power were parallel in the text. Here, it seems like Luke is trying to give us a connection between grace and power and the Holy Spirit! These to verses show us this connection in practice, as Steven proclaims the truth. I can have 100% faith in God because of who He is, and because we know and can see how He is using people, people like Peter and Steven! I need to be trusting in the Lord to use me for His glory, and seeking to do His will trusting in Him!
Stephen was bold! They described him as a man, “full of…faith…the Holy Spirit…grace…and power.” Stephen was no ordinary man. He had something distinct about him, something that was “not of this world”, something different: He was sold out for Jesus Christ!
Street Cred could be summed up in the characters that Acts is about to talk about. Stephen and Phillip were evangelists. They were known for for talking about Jesus all the time. I want to have Street Cred like these guys!
Lord, for your glory, would I not live like the rest of the world, only looking out for my own interests, but instead would I set before myself Jesus Christ, and share his name boldly, with courage, and power that comes from you. Amen!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Stephen. Quite a super hero. All by the power of God’s increasing grace. I love the simple but necessary word, “full,” in verse 8. Stephen was FULL of grace and power. I just get this image of a glass filled to the brim. One more drop, and it’s spilling over.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is no room for anything else to wedge its way into our minds, hearts, soulds, or strength. Every cell within our body–it’s all fueled by God. And His point in filling us with His Spirit’s power and grace IS so that we will let Him spill over from us and onto others.
And the response in verse 10: “…they COULD NOT WITHSTAND the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”
I don’t know who Stephen is–what I mean is, I obviously didn’t know him personally. Yet somehow, I feel incredibly connected to him. I find myself in tears reading this account of my brother’s life, and it inspires me, encourages me–GIVES ME COURAGE–to embrace the Holy Spirit and seize the grace and power He extends me so lavishly. Oh, that lives would be saved-hearts would be broken for the sake of being healed and reconciled to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Yesterday in Big Church we sang, “Blessed be the Name of the Lord. You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, “Lord, blessed be Your Name.” May we seize God’s power in His grace and give Him praise in ALL circumstances, keeping our eyes and heart fixed on that which is to come. May we embrace His power to rise above it all in the grace and spirit of love that He commands us to be filled with. May we search and study His Word, and may it dwell within us and be etched into our hearts so that we may fully equipped for this life and every good work that God lays out before us (II Timpothy 3: 16-17).
>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.
This is the kind of thing I’d love to see happen in Orange County today! Ultimately, this is up to God, and I’m confident it took up a major portion in the disciples prayers — we definitely need to follow their example to pray for God to bring in the harvest. But I’m also confident that God uses workers to bring in that harvest. As Jesus said: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. The disciples spoke clearly, with boldness, and with wisdom. If I want to see the harvest come in, it’s critical that I commit myself to working in the harvest fields!
Verses 11 and 12 really struck me. This has a valuable lesson to learn. People of satan are always going to try to find some sort of flaw in us and they are going to try to prove that we don’t really believe what we believe. This is when we need to make sure that our street cred is really on (I don’t think that made sense…but you get the idea). Whenever people ask me about religion (especially when it’s a non Christian), I get nervous because I know that what I tell them will sound crazy. But you know what? It’s the truth, and since I have the Holy Spirit living in me, I have nothing to be afraid of. Get behind me satan!
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.
This is my prayer for the high schools of Orange County. I just recently went to an event at Aliso Niguel and all I could think the whole time was that these kids are lost and need a Savior! It is so sad to see them walking around in darkness. I want to see the Spirit work in the hearts of the high schoolers here. I want to see Revival take place! It is God who saves people but God uses us. I need to be faithful to always speak the truth in love. I need to be faithful to share the gospel whenever I can. I need to be faithful to pray for Revival!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Stephen is a great example of a godly man who is doing God’s will! He is preaching and doing miracles. He is the real deal. I pray I can be more like Stephen, brave and a follower of the Lord.
MARANATHA
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Its so cool that grace and power of the holy spirt was in him.
great chapter to read, after we were talking bout grace after church. Also a great sermon as well!
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
It is awesome to imagine these conversations, where those who challenges Stephen were literally left speechless at the end. We may not have this same effect on people, but God has given us all the tools we need to be fully prepared for similar conversations about the Gospel. Fruitful evangelism does not just happen; I need to prepare myself through prayer and diligent study of the Scriptures, so that I may be prepared to answer anybody who questions the hope that I have in Jesus Christ!
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
This verse is amazing! The people against Stephen had no words they could say to go against him. The wisdom God put in Stephen was so strong that the people were pretty much left speechless. I want to be able to have the wisdom to talk to people about the Word of God like Stephen did! I need to continue to pray that I will have new opportunities every day to speak to people about God’s awesome Word.
4 “but we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word”.
we have to live our life through God’s word and prayer is our way of communicating with him. but not praying we lose our relationship with God. it is the same thing if you never called your parents to talk you would not know them very well. and by teaching God’s word and his ministry we are learning what he wants for us.
You are so right Andie! If we don’t pray or read God’s word how do we know God??
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.
we need to be brothers out in the world helping each other with our problems. You need 3 close friends and help you in your walk with God.
Amen brother! Awesome hanging out with you yesterday.
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.
This is how every day should be. Making disciples of all men and spreading the word of God to those who do not believe.
Love seeing you on here Chelsea! :)
15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
This verse stuck with me and at first I didn’t know why. I sat here for a few minutes and was like “ok, there are plenty of other verses to choose from that have more meaning” but when I went back nothing really got to me like this verse. So again I started thinking about it and I realized that it reminds me of how you can always tell those who are real Disciples of Christ. How you know just by the way people act toward others and the way they always are talking about the gospel when ever the occasion rises. Granted, you probably aren’t going to be able to look at a complete stranger and know that he is a Christian because his or her face looks like an angle or something, but I think his face looked like an angel because of the work he was really doing. There are people in my life that at first glance you would think “hmm I don’t know…” then they open their mouth to speak and show in their actions what beautiful children of God they are. That is what we should all be striving for. I know that the greatest compliment someone ever gave me was in my chemistry class, the boy next to me was being really immature and inappropriate (which was weird because I’d never seen him like that) and suddenly he turned to me and was like “Oh shoot! I’m sorry! I forgot I was sitting next to like the biggest Christian ever!”. I don’t think he meant it as a compliment, but I took it that way and put it up on my wall of things to remember. Next to it I put another little sign that says “live up to this statement”.
When times get tough, I see that there is a pattern with leaders appointing helpers. Moses did it and now the apostles are doing it. Stephen is one of two that gets a descriptor out of the seven helpers picked. But Stephen did some amazing work in the church.
But I’m not going to talk about Stephen. The instigators intrigue me. They wanted to hear him so they seized him and “disputed with Stephen” (v. 9). Afterward, they become infuriated and these words are said of them: “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which [Stephen] was speaking” (v. 10). It is understood that these men are not simple men, but have a knowledge with the Law of Moses. Clearly, they understood that the Law must be preserved and they thought that they were doing just that. Sadly, they didn’t see how the Law was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and that this man, Stephen, was speaking truth that leads to salvation. Instead of understanding and softening their hearts, they harden their hearts and sin against him. In direct contradiction with the Law “they set up false witnesses” (v. 13). Having an understanding in the Law, they know that this crime is punishable by stoning. But because of their hardened hearts, they no longer are trying to protect the Law, but they are now trying to destroy a man with whom they don’t agree. I think that’s the real sin they committed. They hardened their hearts to the truth and thought they were doing good but were hindering the church’s growth. That’s Satan’s greatest trick: making man think he’s doing good when, in fact, it’s evil.
I read…
This chapter gives me confidence. Stephen went out by himself preaching the Word. He had so much wisdom that the Jews could not argue with Him. So they gave up and seized him which eventually lead to his death. The Gospel has great power when its truth is spoken. Some people, however, are hard hearted like the Jews in this chapter. We need to be praying for people with hard hearts so that God may soften them and so they might be saved.
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 would be awesome if this happened today in Orange County and especially in all of California! I will be praying that more people would hear God’s Word and that He will use me to tell others about Christ.Many people hear God’s Word, yet how many remain faithful? I want to always be faithful and never fall away. I also want to encourage others to continually grow in Him and not become immature in their faith.
11 “Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’”
This reminds me of the sermon that Pastor Bobby preached on about how Satan is a Lion. Here, Satan is manipulating people and devoured them. Satan is trying to get the most influential and powerful people to make Stephen fall. He will do the same for you and me. Satan will stop at nothing to try to devour us and we need to be prepared and resist the Devil.
!!!MARANATHA!!!
4 “but we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word”.
They had this complete devotion to prayer and what God wanted them to do. Complete devotion to prayer is so important and my life will be very hard if I dont. God loves to hear me talk about my day, and to tell Him whats going on in my life. I need to, befor I go and tell everyone, tell God whats going on in my life so it shows He is absolutly number 1. My prayer life deff needs to be pumped up a few notches. I cant do anything or succeed in anyway without it, so it needs to increase.
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.
God is the highest authority in the Universe, so He should be on a higher regard of priority, instead than to other people. rather, it should be that anything that I’m gonna do, I’m doing it 1000% for Jesus.
I think it’s interesting that the people who didn’t like Stephen tried to discredit him, but he ends up amazing them with his wisdom from God. I’m sure Stephen might have been wondering before talking to them, “what am i gonna say?” Well, obviously he prayed and was asking God to speak through him. And He did. That’s really encouraging! Ask, and God will give us wisdom!
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.
I liked reading this! It was super encouraging. This revival needs to happen here in our schools! When revival in orange county seems far from possible it is so encouraging to read this and remind myself to not give up and keeps sharing the gospel!
I like how Stacy pointed out the end of verse ten: “they could NOT WITHSTAND the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking”
Its amazing to think about how non Christians react to Gods holiness..they cannot withstand wisdom!Just think, if we dig deep into Gods word each day and gain wisdom and knowledge from it, then we will be able to stand up for Christ with full knowlege so that we can answer any questions that would come our way!And they also could not withstand the spirit..thats intense!I want to stand firm in the knowledge of Christ and be a superhero!
Maranatha!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
This reminds me of the sermon this weekend! Stephen wasn’t doing anything great and glorious on his own ability, it was all God’s power through His grace. He was able to debate the people in the synagogue and have a face “like the face of an angel,” all through the grace of God. When I speak at my campus lunch this week and go to school I want to plug into that superhuman power and live in the grace of God!
Praying for your campus lunch, Hunter!
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
These verses remind me of the sermon this weekend; Stephen has strength and power through grace, and using that power he is able to accomplish great things for Christ. But of course his success leads to opposition and persecution (as we also recently talked about at TN). And how does Stephen contend with that opposition? By continuing to rely upon the Holy Spirit–and by demonstrating wisdom. Where did that wisdom come from? From God’s word. It always comes back to our need to read, study, and know the bible. As I begin my summer, I want to make sure I devote myself even more wholeheartedly to getting into God’s word. Summer shouldn’t be down time when it comes to my walk with the Lord.
This is a really great chapter in Acts. From verses 1-6, it talks about how that you can stand up and speak boldly and with no fear, if you are a Christian. In verse 7, it talks about how a lot of people get saved from hearing how awesome God is. From verses 8-15, it talks about how you can talk to people, and if you have the Holy Spirit in you, how you can dramatically change people’s lives. The one verse that certainly caught my eye is verse 10. 10 “But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” That means two things. 1. That if you have the Holy Spirit within you, that you can affect people in a big way and you can even get people saved. 2. Use your time wisely. Use every second that you have on this Earth to praise God and also to encourage other people. Remember, we are only here on Earth temporarily, so praise the God who gave you life and live your life for God!
Awesome to see you on SOTD Russell! Great post brother. We are real life super heroes when we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We can do things that the world can’t do on their own.
Praise God!
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.
Miesha had a goood comment on this. This is what i wish my high school to be like. This reminds me to be asking God for Wisdom and boldness so that i can tell peeople on campus about Him.
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.
- the word of God can spread like a wild fire if WE will step up and share it! I want this to happen to all over, especially now when our world is failing and our world is “God-less”. Be sharing the gospel! :D
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Oops- anyways…
We so often worry about evangelizing because we won’t have the right words to say. But this verse reminds me that it’s not what I say, its what God says through me. Stephen had the Spirit of God to guide him, as well as the knowledge he had from being in the word. With these two things, the people could not argue against him. It is amazing the power we have in God.
yay! Good post! :)
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Stephen definitely knew his stuff! But more than that, God gave him the wisdom he needed to leave these men speechless. Reading about Stephen and the godly, bold man he was really encourages me to be studying God’s Word so that when I am confronted, I can know how to respond and be prepared to give an answer for the hope that’s in me!
13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.
The religious leaders hated the wisdom of Stephen so much that they sought to silence him. When they couldn’t find anyway to speak against him truthfully, they brought in false witnesses to condemn him. His conduct was above their reproach so they were forced to falsify his charges. When I am slandered for being a Christian, I want to have the same testimony as Stephen. I need to examine my life to make sure nothing can be said against me. That my actions are completely honorable and that I am always obedient to God’s Word.
5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…
I love the description of Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. It later says that he was full of grace and power. This description emphasizes the word full and is opposite of the widespread misconception that one can add God to their life like He was a condiment. Stephen did not see God as an add-on and because of Stephen’s all-in attitude, God used him in a powerful way. The pairing of words stick out to me, just as saving faith is connected with the Holy Spirit, grace and power are inseparable.
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.
It is critical that our pastors are able to fully devote themselves to the Word and preparing to teach it to us the congregation. If their time is spent doing logistical things or “serving tables” how can they really be well prepared to challenge us with good sermons from the Bible?! Sometimes people don’t take initiative to serve, always thinking it is someone else’s job. This is something I think about a lot and definitely work hard to do myself, being married to a pastor. If everyone in the church is eager and consistent to meet the needs within the church in all the ways God has gifted them and given them opportunity for, it would free up our pastors to devote themselves as they should to preaching.
“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. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.””
God has blessed Compass Bible Church with accurate, expository teaching from great pastors. In the early church, they saw fit that the pastors should be strictly devoted to the teaching and ministry of God’s Word, and that there should be a staff to serve. This reminded me how in my life, whenever I serve, it needs to be for the glory of God. Even the small things need to be done in such a way that God would approve of my work. Not only in the church should I be serving, but my whole life should be a life of service to others with humility and love!
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
This was so cool to read. All these intellectuals and groups tried to dispute with Stephen but they could not defeat the reasoning of God. It wasn’t that Stephen was relying on special intellect or knowledge or anything, but it was the Holy Spirit who was working through Him. It’s so encouraging to know that even if I feel I don’t have all the answers I shouldn’t shy away from evangelizing to anyone because even if I don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit promises to work through me. LORD, thank you so much for your Holy Spirit at work within me. Please forgive me for and help me to never depend on myself and worry about whether I can accomplish things. Please help me always to instead trust in you and seek you alone so that you would work through me to do powerful things that I could never do on my own.
I really like verse 8. Stephen was on fire for the Lord and his life showed the Lord working through him. Gods grace gave Stephen power and he was bold. I need to be more like Stephen and not fear persecution or man, but fear the Lord and what he commands me to do!
I like verses 1 through 7 and how it talked about serving. It makes total sense that running everything in a church for Gods ministry is way too much for a few people to be taking on by themselves. That is why it is so important that we serve the church in any way that we can. We are blessed with amazing pastors at compass that have given their lifes work to serving Christ and spreading the gospel, but they can’t focus on their messages and serving people when they have to worry about all the little things that still need to be done. I want to make sure that I am available to serve God by serving our pastors so that they can fully serve the church in the way that the Lord has gifted them to do through teaching and leading.
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.
God’s word has the power to change lives and if I really believed that I would tell everyone I came to contact with the good news and the bad news. I mean I do believe that God word is amamazing but sometimes I think the words oh ye of little faith would apply to me. I pray that God will give me confidence in the power of his word and the boldness to share.
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.
The Bible is what moves our ministry forward. Today a lot of people are trying to do other things to help their churches grow. But from the book of Acts it is clear that the early church leaders were not using tactics or trends. They devoted themselves to the Word. I pray that I will do the same and that True North well let God’s truth lead us into the future.
Only God could make the church grow as it did. we are soon to see stephen become the church’s first marter…It is only by the grace of God that these early desiples were given the power and ability to spread the good news as they did in the face of such persecution! It is awesome to see just how powerful the grace of God is.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
If this doesn’t hit the nail on the head for what Pastor Bobby was teaching about this weekend, I don’t know what does! Let me start by saying that first of all, This is an awesome description that the Bible is giving Stephen. To get this kind of description, he would have to be a seriously legit dude (which is confirmed later in Acts). Just looking at the first part of this verse, Stephen is described as full of grace and power. It is very clear that these two things go together like Pastor Bobby so heavily stressed! Stephen had God’s grace, and because of that, he had some incredible power to fight sin that God gave him! I want to be like Stephen and realize that I have the power to fight sin, no matter how difficult, because of God’s grace. I need to strive for perfection, not just settling with good.
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Stephen’s speech was so clear and convincing that his “opponents could not withstand it.” But this does not mean that they repented or agreed with Stephen. They were so angry that they made up lies about him! This incident reminds me that no matter how convincing or clear I am in presenting God’s truth, I must anticipate people rejecting and hating it. I should never adjust the message to please people!
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. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
This was the first appointing of deacons in the church. As the numbers grew, various jobs needed to get done. The disciples saw things like this, such as serving tables, needed to be done. Yet they realized that they could not pull time away from their job of preaching the word of God. While wanting to get good things like this done, the disciples kept in mind what everything was all about. What mattered most was the teaching of God’s Word, so they sought out certain godly men to be deacons and take care of these matters so they could focus on their job in the body of the church.
I need to keep in mind at all times what my purpose is on earth. The number one thing that I need to be doing now that I won’t be able to do in heaven is evangelizing to people who are lost. While many things may seem like nice things to do, as “serving tables” like a waiter was an example in this passage, I need to prioritize what matters most. I need to make sure that whatever other things I may be doing, it is not taking away from the work I am doing in witnessing to the lost! I have my role in the body of Christ, and I need to seek to do my job with Christ’s strength at work in me!
Acts 6
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
These 6 verses are a great example of the need for highly committed Christians to serve. Without the many members of the church the body would suffer like we see here with the daily distribution. The disciples were stretched and needed help so they could spend their time preaching and ministering to others. We see the same type of delegating at True North. Bobby, Ben and Christa would not be able to teach and minister to students if they were busy doing things that were taking up their time. They would get bogged down and would become less effective in their ministry. At Compass Bible Church we have our 8 distinctives and two of those are:
1. We have highly committed participants.
2. We will look to authentic and sacrificial leaders
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.
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
This verse is a great response to grace in our lives. Devoting yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word – is there anything truly more satisfying? It’s sad but true, so many people don’t realize where the true glory is at. It’s not in how much money we have, what kind of car we drive, or what house we live in – our satisfaction comes from devoting our lives to God and to His will for us.
My prayer today is that I’ll be more focused on His will, and His desires for my life, not my own earthly wants.
Stephen is the type of person I want to be. He is so strong and outspoken in his faith that people are getting angry at him, and wish to kill him. He is defintely a strong man of God, who is willing to be persecuted, and even killed for God’s Glory. I have never been persecuted about my faith directly, and I need to use that as encouragement to get back on the right track with God, so that one day people can see God’s Glory through me.
hmmmmmm All of the pharisees were against the people that were standing up against God’s disciples…and that’s normal! They will stand up against us and think that we’re freaks (which I know I am!) but for the wrong reasons. They don’t understand what the Gospel is or what it can do to us! It’s one of those passages that reminds me that I need to show mercy and grace on those who don’t have the Holy Spirit because right now, God has blinded them from seeing the truth. May God take off that blindfold and reveal to them what life is all about. Save Your people Jesus! Maranatha. (where’s today’s sotd??) haha :)