Things have been going so well here at Decker Prairie that, as so often happens to people, we start thinking that it can’t last forever- we wait for the other shoe to drop. Looking at the early church in Acts 6 we see something similar – the church is growing rapidly but there are challenges on the horizon.
The church in the beginning lasts about two chapters in the book of Acts before there are problems – it starts with Ananias and Sapphira and their greed. And then in chapter 6, the first internal struggle with the brethren – a complaint about the serving, people are being neglected. This is not just something small, this could blow up into a major problem. The Greek speaking Jews and the Hebrew speaking Jews were at odds – that could cause a major problem.
Growing churches….
1. Turn obstacles into opportunities. The apostles don’t even mention the two groups, they focus on finding a solution. Difficulties will emerge, we just have to realize that is a fact and not let it discourage us. We deal with problems directly and we handle them humbly. They bring the people together and find a common goal. Everyone is happy.
2. Focus on people not numbers. The whole focus of this text is the widows being neglected. The apostles haven’t lost sight of the people. They listen to them. This appears to just be a mistake, an oversight, not an intentional situation. One thing worth mentioning – this church had a culture already in place so that when a situation like this arose, it was far easier to resolve. When people are together all the time, they love one another, motives are good, and they readily address anything that comes up. What matters is on Sunday and Wednesday we want to be together.
3. Keep priorities in place. The apostles keep their focus where it should be, spreading the gospel and assign this physical task to others who can put their focus on this and resolve it. There is no micromanaging going on. They find men they can depend upon and turn this over to them. And because the people were devoted, the apostles can turn this over to them and know it will be handled .
What could have been an explosive and damaging situation turned into an opportunity for further growth in the Jerusalem church.
The conclusion? “So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number…” (Acts 6:7).
Sermon by Brent Moody
Watch On Vimeo
