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The book of Acts chapter 6 will 
be focusing on the first seven verses. I realize the word deacon 
is absent from this particular passage, but I agree with several 
commentators, several theologians who would agree that if not deacons 
in the proper sense, certainly they are deacons in seed form. What would later go on to be 
those men called by the church to function and serve in accordance 
with the truth of God's Word. Their qualifications are given 
elaboration in 1 Timothy 3, verses 8 to 13, which we've already 
preached on and considered and looked at in some detail. So 
this morning, God willing, we'll go through an exposition of Acts 
6, 1 to 7, then call our brothers up here to lay hands upon them 
and install them into the diaconate within the Free Grace Baptist 
Church. So I'll just pick up reading in Acts 6 at verse 1. 
Now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, 
there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists 
because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then 
the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, it 
is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve 
tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven 
men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, 
whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves 
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. and 
the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, 
a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, 
Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch, 
whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they 
laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, 
and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, 
and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious God 
and our Holy Father, we come to scripture now and we pray 
for the ministry of your Holy Spirit. We ask that you would 
illumine our minds and our hearts and cause us to think rightly 
your thoughts after you. Forgive us for all sin and anything 
that would darken our understanding. Wash us afresh and cleanse us 
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Purify us and cause us 
to be humble men and women before the God of heaven and earth. 
Cause us to be contrite. For the prophet says, you look 
upon those who are humble, those who are contrite, those who tremble 
at your word. May that be the case with us 
here this morning. And to that end, we confess our 
pride, our arrogance, and every bit of wickedness that is in 
our hearts. We pray that you would just deal with us and that 
you would cause us to receive, with thanksgiving, your word. 
God, for any and all who've come here this morning outside of 
Christ, we pray that in the installation of these men, in the continual 
progress of this local church, we pray that many would come 
to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We thank you for 
Luke's progress report here in verse 7, that many of the priests 
became obedient to the faith. God, we pray that such would 
be the case today. that as the gospel is preached, 
many would come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that they 
would know the joy of being found in Him, not having their own 
righteousness, which is from the law, but that righteousness 
which is from you through faith in the Savior. We thank you, 
God, for the gospel We thank you for the privilege that is 
ours to be a local church, and we pray that in all that we do, 
we would bring glory and honor and praise unto you, Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. And we ask this through Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, the church does not progress 
in the world without its challenges and its difficulties. If you 
remember back in Matthew 16, our Lord Jesus Christ promises, 
He affirms, He confirms that He will build His church and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But in that promise, 
he doesn't say it will be without trial, it will be without difficulty, 
it will be without care. No, in the building of the church, 
there is going to be opposition. There is going to be hardship. 
In the book of Acts, up to this point already, in Acts chapter 
4, we see opposition to the church via external persecution. In other words, the unbelieving 
leaders in Israel or in Jerusalem wanted to target for destruction 
the apostles because they preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. So the church has to deal with persecution from without. In Acts chapter 5, we see threat 
to the church with reference to the internal workings. There 
is corruption. Ananias and Sapphira lie to the 
Holy Spirit. The Lord God strikes them dead 
to purify the local church. And here in Acts chapter 6, we 
see the devil's attempt to disrupt the church through distraction. 
That's what's going on here in Jerusalem, in the first century 
church, with reference to Acts 6. We have this situation where 
there is a daily distribution of food, and the apostles are 
involved in such a way that it keeps them from doing what the 
Lord God has called them unto. One commentator says, if he, 
the devil, could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, 
which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect 
their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so 
leave the church without any defense against false doctrine." 
So the deacons are appointed to answer to a particular task 
that has been given to the church. We see the continuities I've 
already mentioned in 1 Timothy 3, 8-13. Paul gives the qualifications 
for deacons. Now, there are no longer apostles 
in the life of the church. And so we must make some implication 
that it's the elders of the church today that take the responsibility 
to primarily make it their calling to pray and to preach the gospel. And Paul gives qualifications 
for the eldership in 1 Timothy 3. verses 1 to 7. And so what 
we find here is a temporal problem that could potentially distract 
the apostles from their primary goal of proclamation of the truth. So we'll look at this section 
under three considerations. First, the problem in the church, 
verses 1 and 2. The proposal by the apostles, 
verses 3 and 4. And then the provision by God 
in verses 5 to 7. So note first the problem in 
the church. I've already mentioned it was 
temporal in nature. Now in those days, when the number 
of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against 
the Hebrews by the Hellenists. And the Hebrews were Aramaic-speaking 
Jews that were native and resident to Palestine. The Hellenists 
were Jews, but they lived in the dispersion, and so they were 
Greek speakers, and they probably imbibed more of Greek culture 
than did the Hebrews themselves. So we have these two groups of 
people occupying the same church. And wouldn't it be wonderful 
if when two groups of people occupied the same church, there 
would never be any trials? There would never be any issues. 
There would never be any friction. There would never be any tension. 
You know better than that. We have issues. We have tension. We have friction. And what we 
find is that going on in the context of the local church. 
Dennis Johnson makes this perceptive observation. These kinds of things 
happen when you actually obey the Great Commission. Jesus says, 
go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Spirit. He says to teach them, to observe all that I have commanded 
you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So 
you bring people together from various people groups and you 
put them in the same place and there's going to be tension. 
That's what's happening here in Jerusalem. Johnson says the 
friction that results when different kinds of people have contact 
with each other is an inevitable byproduct when churches try to 
be faithful to the Great Commission. A church that only touches our 
kind of people in language, culture, social status, and background 
is a shrunken distortion of Christ's holy catholic church. I agree 
with that. The Church of Christ is made 
up of men and women and boys and girls from every tribe and 
tongue and people and nation. If that's what the Church triumphant 
looks like in heaven, the Church militant on earth ought to bear 
that resemblance as well. It ought not to be one simple 
group of people that gather together. We ought to preach the gospel 
in such a way that old and young, black and white, whatever your 
nationality, can gather together and worship the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit in blessed solidarity and in unity. In this 
instance, however, there was this discord because their widows, 
the Hellenists, were neglected in the daily distribution. And 
isn't it intriguing that the early church took seriously Old 
Testament law? Wasn't it a provision in the 
law of God Most High that the widows be looked after? I'll 
just read two sample texts for you. In Exodus 22, 22, you shall 
not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in 
any way and they cry it all to me, I will surely hear their 
cry and my wrath will become hot and I will kill you with 
the sword. Your wives shall be widows and 
your children fatherless. God is concerned for widows. 
God is concerned for the fatherless. God is concerned for the stranger. 
God is concerned and mandates in His law that His people take 
note of these and they deal graciously and mercifully with them. There 
is another passage in the book of Curses in Deuteronomy chapter 
27, verse 19. This would be their portion and 
lot if they went into the land and they rejected the helpless 
among them. Deuteronomy 27, 19. Cursed is 
the one who perverts the justice due to the stranger, the fatherless, 
and the widow. Is it a surprise that in the 
church in Jerusalem, in those days that they were feeding the 
widows, It's not a surprise. They're consistent with Old Testament 
law. The next section in our study 
in the pastoral epistles, 1 Timothy 5, 3 to 16, what does Paul deal 
with in that section? How to care for widows, how to 
love them, how to tend to their physical needs, how to seek to 
alleviate any problems or trials or hardships that they now have 
because their husbands have passed away. And this is the primary 
task of the diakonet. It's a ministry of mercy. It 
is to show compassion. It is to show kindness. It is 
to show love. You brothers who are being installed 
today, if this is something lacking, then pray to God to give you 
a heart full of compassion. to have that mercy and that disposition 
of graciousness to look out for the needs of the weak and to 
seek to help them. That's what the deacons are supposed 
to do within the context of the church. But notice as we consider 
the problem in the church, it is temporal, But the apostles 
realized there's something else at stake. Notice in verse 12, 
then the twelve, two rather, then the twelve summoned the 
multitude of the disciples and said, it is not desirable that 
we should leave the word of God and serve tables. They're not saying it's wrong 
to feed widows. They're not saying it's wrong 
to care for the weak. They're not saying that it's 
wrong to minister mercy to the downtrodden and poor among us. 
That's not their point. They speak in terms of it being 
a good thing, but if they pursue that good thing, it will cause 
them to sacrifice the good thing that has been specifically entrusted 
to their care. One commentator says, there is 
no hint, whatever, that the apostles regarded social work as inferior 
to pastoral work or beneath their dignity. It was entirely a question 
of calling. That's the point. That's what's 
going on. It is not desirable that we should 
serve tables to the neglect of prayer and study. Why is that? Because as much as widows need 
to feed on the physical bread, they need to feed upon spiritual 
bread. And as much as the church must 
be looking out for those downtrodden and poor and seek to alleviate 
their particular wants, the church's primary function in society is 
the proclamation of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This 
is Paul's emphasis throughout the pastoral epistles. We've 
seen this in 1 Timothy 4, verses 6-16. We don't need to go there. Hopefully, it's still in your 
mind from our exposition. 2 Timothy 2.15, what does Paul 
tell Timothy? Study to show yourself approved, 
a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
truth. You see, when he says that, he's not saying, just have 
no regard for widows. Kick them to the curb and be 
done with them. No, that's not it. It's a question of calling. 
It's a question of emphasis. It's a question of priority. 
And the apostles were called to preach the word. When Paul 
writes his last epistle to young Timothy, when Paul's about to 
go the way of all flesh, do you know what the apostle enjoins 
upon him? He says, preach the word. Be 
ready in season and out of season. convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. Why, Paul? For the time will 
come when they will not endure sound doctrine. They'll heap 
up to themselves men who will scratch their ears or tickle 
their fancies or cater to their felt needs. But Timothy, you 
need to be faithful in proclaiming the whole counsel of God. That's 
what's going on here. It's good to feed widows. It's 
good to tend to the fatherless. It's good to minister mercy. 
It's good to do all these things. Social work is not a bad thing. It is not condemned. But the 
apostles had the perceptiveness to see that for every meal that 
they served to these widows, they were not spending that time 
in prayer and in the ministry of the Word, and that was their 
primary calling under God Most High. And that brings us, secondly, 
to consider the proposal by the apostles. Note their recommendation 
in verse 3a. Therefore, brethren, seek out 
from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy 
Spirit and wisdom. So they summon the congregation 
as a whole to look out upon the congregation and to select seven 
men. Seven is not prescriptive. In other words, that is not the 
prescribed number of how many deacons each church is particularly 
to have. Diaconate is a need-based ministry. If you need two, if you need 
three, if you need seven, well then that's how many you're supposed 
to have within the context of the church. That's not prescriptive. 
Probably seven answers to the seven days of the week. And one 
of these particular deacons had the task each day to make sure 
that no widow left hungry. Now, maybe that's wrong, but 
it's as good an observation as any other. But that's what they 
recommend. Select from among you seven men, 
and then they make qualification. Not seven men who are good in 
their business. Not seven men who you really 
like. Not seven men who are really 
popular among the others. No, there is qualification mandated 
by the apostles to the church that these men must be. It's 
not a popularity contest. It's not just to check off out 
of these five guys who you think might actually do it. No, there's 
qualifications. Again, we've looked at those 
1 Timothy 3, 8 to 13, that have been preached. You're to take 
your Bible, you're to survey the brother, you're to pray, 
you're to consider, you're to look, not for perfection, because 
we'd never have deacons, and we'd never have elders, but the 
root of the matter is there, and God willing, they will grow 
in their understanding of the office, and they will thrive 
and flourish and be the ministers of mercy that we desperately 
need. So they tell them, look out among 
you, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full 
of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. See again, it's not just worldly 
accomplishment. Not just that they're good with 
money, because that's primarily what's going on here. In Acts 
4, when people sold their property, they brought the proceeds and 
they laid it at the feet of the apostles. So the apostles had 
charge of the church's resources. The apostles had charge of the 
church's money. In this particular instance now, 
the apostles want to delegate that authority to these particular 
deacons so that they can administrate the funds to make sure that the 
widows get their daily portion of food. Now certainly you don't 
want to install a man into office who likes to steal. You don't 
want to install a man into office who likes to live high on the 
hog and will take some money out of the coffers for his own 
account. You want men who are of good 
reputation. But you see, it's not only men 
of good reputation. There's pagans out there that 
don't steal. There's heathen out there that do nice things 
for their neighbors. But this is a spiritual office 
and a spiritual organization, and therefore it demands that 
they're full of the Holy Spirit, that they have the requisite 
wisdom, that they have the ability to function in this capacity 
in a manner that is consistent with the mind of Christ as revealed 
to His churches by His Word. In the qualifications in 1 Timothy 
3, verses 8-13, the first section deals with his personal qualifications. Deals with him as a family man, 
but in the first element, he is a man before God. There is 
a positive, and then there are three negatives. Positively, 
he is to be reverent. Probably corresponds to this 
idea of being of good reputation. He's an honorable man. He's a 
man who conducts himself with respectability. He is a man that 
is not two-faced. He's a man that is consistent 
in his walk before God. He is reverent. But then the 
apostle specifies three negatives that the man must not be. He 
is to be reverent, and he is not to be double-tongued. Alexander 
Strock said a double-tongued man represents a double-minded 
man, and you don't want that. You want a man whose yes is yes 
and his no is no. So he must not be double-tongued. The second negative that Paul 
indicates in 1 Timothy 3 is that he must not be given to much. 
Why? And the Bible doesn't condemn the moderate use of alcohol, 
it condemns drunkenness. And a man who engages in drunkenness 
does not have sobriety of mind. He is not accurate, he is not 
precise, he is not living in a manner that God the Lord has 
called him to, to exercise self-control. But the third negative that Paul 
says is that he must not be greedy for money. Again, this is requisite 
for men who serve in this capacity. If they are to orchestrate the 
distribution of church funds, we cannot suspect for a moment 
that they're embezzlers, or that they're extortioners, or that 
they're coming with receipts to be paid that have provided 
a nice vacation for them and their wife. Boy, that's a nice 
tan. Here you go, church. Pay for 
it. No, that's not the way it's supposed 
to be. George Knight says, in all three 
of these negatives, the quality of self-control is spelled out 
with reference to speech, appetite for drink, and perspective on 
money, all of which the deacon must have under control rather 
than being controlled or betrayed by them. Self-control means the 
ability to use these things in a responsible, godly manner, 
not to be mastered by them. And that's what Paul prohibits. 
This is what the church in Jerusalem specifies. They are to be men 
of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. And then notice the purpose for 
which they make this proposal. Verse 3. Therefore, brethren, 
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full 
of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this 
business. But we will give ourselves continually 
to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." This is repeated 
from verse two. It's not desirable that we should 
serve tables and neglect the Word. Here they say, we want 
you to choose seven men who will orchestrate and administrate 
this particular task so that we may give ourselves continually 
to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Now, let's just 
spend a moment here. This is the great need in terms 
of the church. Again, any group, any agency, 
any body of persons can do the task of feeding widows. That is not uniquely or distinctly 
Christian. The Lions Club does that. The 
Masonic Lodge does that. The Elks Club. I don't know if 
you have the Elks and the Moose here in Canada. I don't think 
I've ever seen those, but there are Elks and Moose in America. Why you would choose a moose 
as your mascot escapes me, but nevertheless there are moose 
out there that engage in the kindness of alleviating the downtrodden 
and the poor. You see, what is specific and 
what is distinct and what is absolutely crucial in the Church 
is this element, that there is a body of man set apart for the 
express purpose of continuing in prayer and in the ministry 
of the Word. The sinfulness of man and the 
reality of the devil requires that there be hard-working men 
in the eldership. Look at what they say in verse 
4, but we will give ourselves continually. Does that mean 24 
hours a day? No, but it means a lot. They 
give themselves continually to this task. They are not first 
and foremost CEOs. They are not first and foremost 
managers. They are not first and foremost 
visionary leaders. They are men set apart for these 
two particular tasks, prayer and proclamation. The Apostle 
says, or at least in this passage, they say, we will give ourselves 
continually. Listen to Paul's description 
of his pastoral ministry. He says in Colossians 1, 28 and 
29, Him we preach, Christ. Not ourselves. This is the way it's going today. 
Men stand up and talk about themselves. You don't want to know about 
me. You want to know about the Savior. You don't want to know 
about Stephen Furtick or Perry Noble or Mark Driscoll or John 
MacArthur. You don't want to know about 
a Ralph Davis. You want to know the scriptures of the Old and 
the New Testaments. Ralph Davis has made the perceptive 
comment concerning Micah of Moresheth. That's all we know about him. 
He is Micah of Moresheth. We don't know his wife's name, 
we don't know how many children he had, we don't know anything 
about him, save that he's a prophet of God out to declare the truth 
of God. These apostles say, we will give 
ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. 
Paul in Colossians 1 says, him we preach, warning every man 
in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving 
according to his working, which works in me mightily. There are 
those out there who think that the pastoral ministry is like 
being a garbage collector. You work one day a week. Our 
garbage gets picked up on Wednesday. You know, I'm not so foolish 
as to think there isn't a Tuesday, a Thursday, a Friday, a Saturday, 
and hopefully they take Sundays off. Garbage men don't only work 
one day a week. They work every single day. There's 
an idea out there that pastors, all they do is preach on Sunday, 
and then they just have coffee for the rest of the week. That's not typical of the apostles' 
ministry. What does he say? To this end 
I also labor, striving according to his working which works in 
me mightily." The apostles in the Jerusalem church says, select 
these seven men, but we will give ourselves continually to 
prayer and to the ministry of the word. That's their purpose, 
that's their calling, that's their distinctive task, that's 
what it's about for these men. Again, not that it's wrong to 
feed widows, not that it's wrong to help the fatherless, but these 
men were primarily set apart to pray and to preach the gospel. 
Listen to our dear Baptist brother John Gill on this statement. 
He says, we will give ourselves continually to prayer, both in 
private for themselves and the church, and in the houses and 
families of the saints, with the sick and distressed, and 
in public, in the temple, or in whatsoever place they met 
for public worship. And then he comments, and to 
the ministry of the word, the preaching of the gospel, to which 
prayer is absolutely prerequisite, and with which it is always to 
be joined." He says, these two, prayer and preaching, are the 
principal employment of a gospel minister. That's the principal 
employment of a gospel minister. As a gospel minister, it baffles 
me at times to see what other professing gospel ministers do 
to busy their time. It's not about golf. It's not 
about having the most attractive building. It's not about managing 
and effectively carrying out leadership groups and discipleship 
groups. It is prayer and preaching. That's what the apostles saw 
as their primary emphasis. Back to Gil. He says, these two, 
prayer and preaching, are the principal employment of a gospel 
minister, and are what he ought to be concerned in, not only 
now and then, but what he should give himself unto wholly, that 
his profiting might appear, and what he should be continually 
exercised and employed in. And if parting with that branch 
of the ministerial function, the care of the secular affairs 
of the church and of the poor of it, was necessary in the apostles, 
that they might be more at leisure to attend to the more important 
and useful duties of prayer and preaching. He says, it therefore 
seems necessary that those who are called to labor in the word 
and doctrine, if possible, should be exempt from all worldly business 
and employment, that of the ministry being sufficient to engross all 
a man's time and thoughts. So what the apostle said. Now 
I spend a few minutes here because it is crucial. Many of you probably 
do not know what today is in terms of holiday. As Reformed 
Christians, we know it's the Sabbath. It's the holy day of 
the Lord. Do you know there's actually 
a couple of holidays this weekend? Tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo. It's 
a holiday in Mexico. And today is a holiday of sorts 
for nerds. Star Wars Day. I'm not making this up. Do you 
know why? For you older folk among us, 
the tagline for that movie that came out in the seventies was, 
May the force be with you. Today's May the fourth. May the 
fourth be with you. You realize that today in a United 
Church in Vancouver, they are turning not to the gospel of 
Luke, but to Luke Skywalker and Yoda to be instructed on the 
big questions of life. Do you realize that two weeks 
ago on Easter Sunday, when we came to publicly proclaim He 
is Risen, there was a church in Winnipeg that had a Star Wars 
service? Dancing stormtroopers, Darth 
Vader, all the characters of that movie were up on stage. Sometimes people say, why do 
you spend so much emphasis on telling us that we need to know? 
Actually, nobody here does say that. Praise God. Thank you. 
It'll pain my heart if you say, why do we have to keep being 
taught that we need to pray and love the word? If you say that, 
you're going to see me do something not good. That's the kind of stuff that's 
going on. Did the apostles say, we want 
you to select seven men who have good reputation, who are full 
of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, so that we may create and plan 
and innovate to have the most excellent Star Wars service that 
this world has ever seen? No, but that we may give ourselves 
prayer and to the ministry of the world. There was another church that 
had an Easter service, and in their production, people came 
flying down from the ceiling, suspended on wires, doing a dance. What's happened? The man of God is to be a man 
of prayer and preaching. There's a church in the United 
States where they've developed a coloring book for their Sunday 
school children. And when it comes to you, they 
have unity. We are unified under our visionary 
leader. And that visionary leader is 
not the Lord Christ Almighty. It's their pastor. Vision casting, 
visionary-ism is the big thing in the church today. That's not 
what's going on in the church in Jerusalem. That's certainly 
not the apostles' emphasis in 2 Timothy 4. That is certainly 
not what Titus is told. when he's looking for elders 
to serve in the church and creed. You are to take sound doctrine 
and encourage and exhort the people of God and convict those 
who contradict. It is to be a word-based ministry. It is to be about scriptural 
exposition. Now granted, the church in Vancouver 
and the church in Winnipeg is low-hanging fruit, as my brother 
might point out to me later. But what of the many churches, 
evangelical and even reformed, that have substituted faithful, 
expository preaching for mysticism? Or emphasis on experience? Or on prosperity? Or on that 
most wretched opponent of the biblical gospel, which makes 
its way in just about every pulpit, moralism? What about those? That's not low-hanging fruit. 
That's going on all over the place. We need men that are committed 
to prayer and preaching. This is what the apostolic church 
saw. This is what the apostle mandates 
and deacons are given to make sure that such a thing takes 
place. Most of you know I have a son 
in the Air Force. I myself was in the Air Force. I'm just using biographical, 
not so you can know about me and say, wow, isn't that cool? 
But it's interesting. If you introduce yourself and 
you say, I'm in the US Air Force, people automatically assume that 
you fly. Oh, you must fly planes. I mean, it's a good assumption. 
I don't take away from that. Air Force, fly. Do you know there's 
only a handful of people that actually fly in the Air Force? 
You go to an Air Force base, there's cooks, there's cops, 
there's firemen, there's civil engineering. You name it, it's 
there. They support the mission. They 
make sure everything's done so that people can fly. Oh, well, he's just a deacon. 
That is most important. The ministry of mercy must not 
be sacrificed. We don't get rid of it. We don't 
say no ministry of mercy. Rather, we appoint men to take 
care of the ministry of mercy so that the men who are supposed 
to can devote themselves or give themselves continually to prayer 
and to the ministry of the Word. Do you see the wisdom of our 
Lord Jesus? Do you see the ingenuity of our 
head? Do you see how gracious and kind that he is to divide 
up the labor to make sure that everything gets done? Nothing 
is sacrificed. But as well, note the simplicity 
of our Lord Jesus. Not the simpleness, but the simplicity. Look at what the church is supposed 
to do. Exercise benevolence and preach 
the word. Right? You know what happens when the 
church tries to do many, many things? She typically doesn't 
do anything well. If she does what God calls her 
to do, then she's freed up by the power of the Holy Spirit 
to pursue those things in a manner that is consistent with the high 
and lofty calling that God has given to His church. It truly 
is a beautiful passage of Holy Scripture. Now note, thirdly, 
the provision by God, verses 5 to 7. And the saying pleased 
the whole multitude." The church agreed with this. The church 
listened to the apostles. The church said, yes, that's 
a good idea. We're on board with this. This 
makes sense to us. You see, the biblical doctrine 
of the church ought to make sense. Again, it's not so difficult. It's not so hard. It's not so 
convoluted that we can't piece together what we're supposed 
to do as the people of God. The church agreed. They saw the 
wisdom. The church then selected the 
seven men. Again, not based on popularity, 
not based on worldly exposure, but based on the reality that 
they were men of good reputation. They were men full of the Holy 
Spirit and of wisdom. And of the names that are indicated 
here, the only one that we really know, and this serves as a link 
to what follows in the rest of chapter 6 and in through chapter 
7, is Stephen. Some suppose that this Nicholas 
is the Nicolaitan heresy guy in the book of Revelation. There's 
no warrant for that. was something that arose in the 
early church, I think under Irenaeus, but there's no biblical proof 
for that, and I'd hate to tar and feather this Nicholas, who 
served faithfully as a deacon, with being the spawner of the 
Nicolaitan heresy that is condemned by Jesus through John on the 
island of Patmos. We don't know a lot about these 
men, except that they did what they were supposed to do. And 
it's interesting that they were involved. The church was involved. 
The church selects these seven men, the church then brings these 
seven men and sets them before the apostles. Here's our choice. Here's who we say. Here's who 
have our conscience. Here are the men that we trust 
to carry out this particular task within the life and context 
of the church. We trust that these men aren't 
going to be stealing money out of the coffers. We trust that 
these men are not going to be double-tongued men. We trust 
that these men are not giving them much wine. We trust that 
these men are reverent, are of good reputation. We trust that 
their families are in order. We've looked at them. We've witnessed 
them. We've seen them. We've scrutinized them. We know 
they're not perfect men. We know they have their issues. 
We know that they stumble. We know that they sin. But we 
know that they seek God, and they seek mercy, and they seek 
forgiveness. So they bring these seven men 
to the apostles, and then we see what the apostles do. Verse 
six, whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, 
they laid hands on them. Now, when you take your Bible, 
you'll see several instances throughout the scripture as to 
why hands are laid on a particular person. In this particular context, 
I think the idea is consecration. They're being set apart for a 
specific task within the context of the church. As well, this 
laying on of the hands indicates that we support these men. We've 
identified them as the gifts from Christ to His Church that 
He has promised to give for her well-being. We support these 
men. They're consecrated, they're support, we affirm our support 
to them, and it affirms them in their calling. See, we are 
physical beings and when these brothers come up at the end of 
the sermon and we lay hands on them and we pray for that, there'll 
be something that we can remember in the future concerning this 
particular day. It is a public act. Christ is 
giving gifts to his church and we want to thankfully and happily 
receive those from his most gracious hand. And then in terms of the 
provision by God. Note verse seven. the divine 
blessing. Luke the apostle who writes, 
or Luke the man of God who writes the book of Acts, gives us several 
progress reports along the way. You know what those are, kids? 
When you go to school and you do well, they give you a star, 
they give you a card that says, take it home to mom and tell 
her how good you're doing. Or the progress report could be 
negative. Take this home to mom and tell her how miserable you're 
doing. There's a fear of bringing that one out of the pocket, right? 
Well, she doesn't need to know about that progress, or lack 
thereof. It's a lack of progress report. 
But Luke does this throughout the book of Acts. He gives us 
progress reports. What's happening? What's going 
on? What's going forth? It's the 
Word of God. Acts 6, there's one. Acts 9.31, 
Acts 12.24, Acts 16.5, Acts 19.20, and Acts 28.31. You see, the 
author is conspicuous. He wants you to understand that 
what he's recording here isn't a piece of secular history just 
to dazzle the intellect. It is a piece of theological 
history calling us to worship and to praise our great ascended 
Lord who now sits enthroned at the right hand of the majesty 
of God on high and who continues to do what he did when he was 
on earth. That's Luke's purpose. And is 
there any wonder that there's a progress report put in this 
particular instance? If the apostles had been serving 
the widows in the church and they had been neglecting prayer 
and the ministry of the word, when seven men are brought before 
them and they lay hands on them and they give them the reins 
of this particular task or this particular activity, the apostles 
can resume their commitment to prayer and to the ministry of 
the word. And then look what happens in 
verse seven. Then the word of God spread. It's not a mystery, is it? When 
the Word of God isn't preached, it doesn't spread. But when the 
Word of God is preached, it spreads. Again, the emphasis. Prayer, 
preaching. Pray for God to raise men up, 
consistent with our Lord's instruction in Matthew 9 into chapter 10. The harvest truly is plentiful, 
but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest 
to raise up men. So we've got men now taking care 
of those particular issues connected to the life and benevolent ministry 
of the church. It then frees up the apostles 
to send them back to prayer, back to the ministry of the word. 
And it's no surprise whatsoever that verse seven tells us, then 
the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied 
greatly in Jerusalem. It's great. If there's something 
from keeping the church, from preaching and praying, we need 
to deal with that something so that preaching and praying can 
continue. Is that foundational? Is that elemental? Does everybody 
get that? That's the point. That's what we need to see. That's 
what we need to appreciate. If every day you're cooking supper 
for your man and your children, ladies, If every day you start 
that particular task at 3, and something happens at 3.30 to 
sidetrack you from that task, it doesn't take a rocket scientist 
to say, I've got to deal with what happens at 3.30. Does it? That's not tough, is it? You 
would deal with what happens at 3.30 so it doesn't sidetrack 
you with your task so that you can have dinner on the table 
for your man and children. Oh, that probably offends in 
some churches. What do you mean I'm a self-made 
woman and you're telling me to do that? Yeah, that's what Paul 
said in Ephesians 5. or husbands. You're supposed 
to love your wives as Jesus Christ loves the church and gave himself 
for her. If there is something prohibiting 
you or inhibiting you or keeping you from self-sacrificial love 
to your bride, get rid of it. If your hobby keeps you from 
effectively loving your wife, get rid of it. If your self-love 
keeps you from effectively loving your wife, get rid of it. You 
get rid of the distraction so you can pursue those things that 
God the Lord says. And in this instance, the distraction 
wasn't widows who needed to eat. That's a good thing and a blessing 
from the church to be able to provide and help. The distraction 
was that the men who are supposed to pray and preach were serving 
food. deal with somebody to serve the 
food so that the men who are supposed to pray and preach can 
pray and preach, and then everybody's happy, the Word of God spreads, 
and then multitudes are converted unto Jesus Christ. This is what 
the text says. The number of the disciples multiplied 
greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient 
to the faith. Again, our dear brother John 
Gill. says, this stratagem, great Gilean word, this stratagem of 
Satan did not succeed to divide the church, but issued in the 
better decorum and discipline of it, and in the spread and 
success of the gospel, God thus making all things to work together 
for good. You see, instead of seeing this 
issue within the context of the local church, instead of just 
yelling at the Hellenist widows and telling them to shut up and 
be happy for whatever it is that they got, instead of farming 
this out to the state or referring them to the local welfare office, 
the apostles exercised some godly common sense and said, why don't 
we get these men to do this task so that we're freed up to do 
the task that God has called us to? And as Gill properly points 
out, this issued in the better decorum and discipline of the 
church, and in the spread and success of the gospel, God thus 
making all things to work together for good. What starts off as 
murmuring, grumbling, the same word that's often used in the 
Old Testament, the great translation of the Old Testament, when the 
children of Israel murmured, To Moses, this is how it starts. They're murmuring to the apostles, 
and the apostles say, we have a very simple fix for what is, 
in essence, a pretty simple problem that will free everybody up to 
do what God has called them to do. Praise the Lord most high. for His kindness, His mercy, 
and His grace in giving us such gifts, so that the task of praying 
and preaching can continue. Well, we learn first the necessity 
of the office. Chapter 6, verses 1 to 7, but 
as well 1 Timothy 3, verses 8 to 13. You see, when the apostles died, 
they did not duplicate themselves. They did not duplicate that office. That office has passed away with 
the original twelve. The two remaining offices in 
the Church of Jesus Christ are indicated in 1 Timothy 3. They 
are elders, which is synonymous with bishop or pastor. or overseer, all those words 
refer to that same office, that same particular calling where 
the men have as their primary role teaching the scriptures 
and exercising oversight within the context of the church. And 
then the diaconate or the deacons, the men whose task is to serve 
the church. When you look at 1 Timothy 3, 
the fundamental difference is not in virtue. It's not in godliness. It's not in how they are supposed 
to conduct themselves. The fundamental difference between 
elders and deacons is found in 1 Timothy 3.2. The elder must 
be able to teach. The elder must be able to teach. He must be able to take the word 
and explain the word so that people can understand the word. 
That calling is not given to the deacons because the deacons' 
task is primarily service within the church. So it is not required 
of them to be able to teach the people of God. Now, Stephen is 
a man that ultimately preaches. Philip is a man that ultimately 
preaches. But their primary task in this 
particular context was to alleviate the suffering of the widows and 
others who were having needs in the church so that the apostles 
could do that task. The church is tasked with acts 
of benevolence. There's an office for that. The 
church is tasked with prayer and preaching. There's an office 
for that. The Lord Christ has adequately 
supplied for every need that local churches have today. Anything 
above and beyond that, most often, can actually work against these 
two primary things. The seven were chosen so that 
the apostles could give themselves continually to prayer and to 
the ministry of the Word. Secondly, there is a necessity 
for qualified men Again, we need to be very careful here. We're 
not looking for perfect men. If you want perfect elders, you're 
in bad shape. Nobody knows the imperfection 
of your two elders better than your two elders. Men of God seeking 
to maintain short accounts with God and men. I think Paul summarizes 
the way everybody should live in Acts 24. He strives to maintain 
a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. I 
think that's what we're looking for with brothers. We're looking 
for men who are honest, men who are seeking to be faithful, men 
who do what God calls them to do. It's specified here in terms 
of good reputation, full of the Spirit, full of wisdom. It is 
elucidated in 1 Timothy 3, 8 to 13. Thirdly, the nature of the 
office. First, to the brethren of the 
Free Grace Baptist Church. To the brethren of the Free Grace 
Baptist Church. One. The deacons take care of 
those temporal things associated with the maintenance of the house 
of God. The deacons take care of those 
things associated to the administration of the temporal affairs of God's 
house. Gill is masterful here. He says, 
the deacon makes sure that the table of the Lord is set, the 
table of the poor is looked after, and the table of the minister 
is looked after. It's a great paradigm, a great 
pattern. This is what you ought to expect 
from deacons. Now, that doesn't mean if somebody 
vomits during a worship service that only a deacon can clean 
it up. Deacons are not slaves who alleviate any responsibility 
on the part of God's people. If somebody throws up, the person 
closest has to clean it up. Just kidding. But that's the primary task, 
or these three elements. We'll look at each one. So if 
there's something wrong in terms of the temporal administration 
of the house of God, feel free to go to the deacons. That's what they're for. Second, 
the deacons take care of those things uniquely connected to 
the ministry of mercy to the poor. If you know there's needs 
within the context of the church, tell a deacon. Existing elders 
and deacons do not know everything. They are not omnipotent, all-knowing. They are not, I'm sorry, omnipotent 
being all-powerful. Omniscient, all-knowing. They 
are certainly not omnipresent. If somebody has a need, don't 
conclude the church doesn't care about that person and their need. 
No, maybe the church doesn't know about that person and their 
need, so go to one of the deacons and we can trust that one of 
the deacons will take care of at least bringing it to the next 
level so that we can discuss it and deal with needs. There's 
this idea that if somebody doesn't do something, it's because they 
hate everybody. No, it might just be because 
they don't know what's going on. You ever had that, husbands? Your wife says, you'd never do 
this. Whoa, wait a minute. I didn't even know it needed 
to be done. You mean you didn't hear that fan squeaking? Yes, 
I did. I was just hoping you'd do it. Deacons are for that, the mercy, 
ministry of mercy to the poor. And then the deacons take care 
of those things connected to the minister's provision. If 
you have needs in these areas, talk to them. That's what they're 
for. That's why they're here. Don't 
complain because things aren't being done. At least express 
the particular issue and let us try and deal with it. And 
to the brothers that are being installed today, and by way of 
reminder to Steve Lawson, who has served this church Well, 
first, the motivation for your service must be love to Christ 
and love for the church. That's it. That's why you're 
doing this. It's not for notoriety. It's not for a privileged parking 
space. It's not so you get your name 
on the door. And let me just tell you, brothers, 
being a deacon can be thankless service. I've shared before when 
I was a deacon at a church I was in in California. I remember 
very vividly vacuuming the floor one time and having a brother 
in the church simply raise his feet so I could get underneath 
there. That really tried my sanctification. I'm going to pick this vacuum 
up and say, you do this. It can be a very thankless job. Servants, right? Servanthood. A lot gets done here that brethren 
don't always know people do. It's not like elves come in here 
three nights a week and tidy everything up. We've got to be 
quiet because they're going to come and do. Humans do that. Men do that. And thankfully, 
women do that as well. Secondly, the dedication of your 
service ought to be manifest to the church. In other words, 
if the apostles give themselves continually to prayer and to 
the ministry of the Word, and Paul can tell Timothy in 1 Timothy 
4, as an elder, let your progress be evident to all, the service 
of a deacon, by implication, ought to be evident. It ought 
to be manifest. It ought to be on display. There 
ought not to be a wonder in the part or in the hearts of anybody 
in the church saying, why is this fellow a deacon? Why is 
this fellow an elder? He's an elder or he's a deacon 
because he works hard. He does what Jesus calls him 
to do, he does it faithfully, he does it perseveringly, and 
he does it at times without any thankfulness on the part of the 
people of God. Work at it. Now, thankfully, 
we have three brothers. They can divvy up the labor, 
and that's a blessing, because the one brother who has been 
serving in this regard, his service has been manifest at least to 
one of us in the church. And then thirdly, and finally 
to the brothers, the example for your service in the office 
of deacon is to be the Lord Christ himself. And the text here that 
just should ring in the heart of every deacon, in the heart 
of every servant of God, is Matthew 20, 28. When the Lord Christ 
said, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. That's why elders should do what 
they do tirelessly. That's why deacons should do 
what they do tirelessly. That's why anybody tasked with 
Christian service or in anything we do If it's not distinctly 
Christian service, if you're a plumber, if you're a lawyer, 
if you're a doctor, if you're a writer, whatever it is you 
do, we ought to do it with our might. Because if the Son of 
Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His 
life a ransom for many, how should that bear in our own hearts? 
and in our own consciences. So you brothers, when you enter 
into the office this Lord's Day Sabbath, May the 4th, the Lord's 
Day, God's Day, Sabbath Day, when you enter into office on 
this day, let Christ be your example. Let Christ be your model. Let Christ be the one that ultimately 
you want to serve so that on that day he will say, well done, 
good. and faithful servant. And you 
have the promise from the scripture that such will be the case from 
our Lord. Well, in conclusion, if you are 
here this morning and you have not come to that Christ, that 
One who said He didn't come to be served, but to serve and to 
give His life a ransom for many. You see, Mike and Doug and Steve 
cannot give their lives as a ransom for any It must be the Son of 
God. It must be the Lord Christ. It 
must be the darling of heaven. It must be the second person 
of the blessed Trinity that comes into this world, that takes on 
man, that takes on our flesh, that lives, that breathes, that 
moves, that has his being among us, a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. A man who at every step of the 
way obeys completely the law of God Most High. He never violates, 
he never transgresses, he never lacks conformity to that blessed 
holy law of his father. He says things like, my meat 
is to do the will of him who sent me. He's able to say, I 
always do what pleases the Father. At His baptism, the Father says, 
this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Doug and Mike 
and Steve will never be that. Christ alone is that. We don't 
look to man. We look to the God-man. We look 
to the one who said, I didn't come to be served. And he had 
the right. He had the prerogative. What 
happens in heaven in Isaiah 6? The angels sing, holy, holy, 
holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his 
glory. John tells us that Isaiah wrote these things because he 
saw his, Christ's glory. It's Christ being glorified in 
Isaiah the prophet. It's Christ who's the darling 
of heaven. It's Christ who's worshipped by Seraphim and Cherubim. 
It's Christ who comes into this world and instead of being worshipped 
and served, He actually serves. He gives His life as a ransom 
for many. You are here this morning and 
you have not closed with Christ. You have not believed the gospel. You may forget, and I give you 
authorization, everything said about the diaconate, but this 
thing let ring in your ears. I need Christ. I need the Lord 
Jesus. I need forgiveness. I need a 
righteousness that avails with God. And the only means by which 
I get such is the grace of God through faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Believe on him. come to the Savior. The Word of God spread and a 
multitude, a great number of disciples were added to the church 
in Jerusalem. Wouldn't that be the most encouraging 
thing to remember about this day? Yes, we installed a couple 
of brothers into the diaconate, but it was the day of salvation 
for sinners. They believed on Him who said 
that He gave His life a ransom for many. come to the Savior 
and He will forgive you of all your sins and cleanse you of 
all unrighteousness and give you that blessed garment, that 
righteousness that avails with God His Father. Well, let us 
pray. Our Lord in heaven, we thank 
you for this happy day. We thank you for this occasion 
that brings us together. First and foremost, the worship 
of our triune God. We praise you for the Sabbath 
day. We praise you for this one in seven that you give. for your 
people to come out of the world and to call it a blessed day 
and to find rest in you and to be sanctified by the power and 
the presence of your spirit. And as well, God, we rejoice 
in the life of this church as we reflect on many years and 
many difficulties and trials that we have been through together. 
We thank you for this blessed gift that you have given to this 
church. We thank you for these brothers and pray that you would 
bless them and encourage them and strengthen them and together 
as a church may we be well equipped to serve you and to glorify your 
most holy name. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.