← Back to sermon library

But I do want to read the whole 
chapter. Acts chapter 6, I'll begin reading 
in 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. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great 
wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what 
is called the synagogue of the freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, 
and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they 
were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. 
Then they secretly induced men to say, We have heard him speak 
blasphemous words against Moses and God. And they stirred up 
the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, 
seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up 
false witnesses who said, this man does not cease to speak blasphemous 
words against this holy place in the law. For we have heard 
him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change 
the customs which Moses delivered to us. And all who sat in the 
council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face 
of an angel. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for the written word. Thank you for this record of 
the early church. And I pray now the ministry of 
the Holy Spirit would be upon each and every one of us, that 
you would help us to appreciate this passage, help us to see 
what is going on, and may we indeed be strengthened and edified 
and encouraged. We ask God that the gospel would 
be made clear and plain that the Spirit would open hearts 
to receive that truth so that sinners can come to know Christ 
as Lord and Savior. Again, forgive us now for our 
sins and our transgressions and anything that would darken our 
understanding. And we pray this through Jesus 
Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, our Lord Jesus, in 
Matthew chapter 16, promised to build his church. Remember 
that interaction with the disciples? Jesus said, who do men say that 
I, the Son of Man, am? And then they give the various 
responses, and then Jesus says, but who do you say that I am? 
And Peter says, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God. Jesus then pronounces a beatitude upon Peter, and he says that, 
upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades 
shall not prevail against it. But Christ there, and nowhere 
else that I know of, ever promised the church that she'd have no 
problems. that she'd have no difficulties, 
that she'd have no trials, that she'd have no hardships. In fact, 
up to this point in the book of Acts, we have seen persecution. In Acts chapters 3 and 4 and 
5, we have seen persecution by unbelieving priests and the unbelieving 
Sanhedrin. They targeted the church for 
destruction. So there was persecution. We 
also see an example of corruption in the church in Acts chapter 
5, verses 1 to 11, that case of Ananias and Sapphira. Brethren, 
we are not promised that there will never be any hardships, 
any difficulties, any trials for the church on earth. And 
here in Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7, it's not persecution 
from without, it's not necessarily corruption from within, but rather 
it's the potential for distraction. It is the potential for the ministers 
of God's Word being distracted from preaching that Word, and 
they have a solution calculated to secure their place as preachers 
of the gospel. John Gill made the very good 
observation. He says, so that as it appears 
from the instance of Ananias and Sapphira, that this first 
and pure gospel church was not free from hypocrites. It is also 
manifest that though they were at first so united and harmonious 
in their affections and judgments, yet they were not always clear 
of feuds, animosities, and contentions. Satan bestirred himself and got 
footing among them, as he commonly does where the gospel is preached, 
and there is an increase of it." So we've got outside persecution, 
inside corruption, and in this particular situation, the threat 
of distraction. The apostles leaving their task 
and serving tables. That's the issue. So I want to 
look first at the problem in the church in verses 1 and 2, 
secondly, the proposal to the church in verses 3 to 4, and 
then finally, the provision for the church in verses 5 to 7. Now note, in verses 1 and 2, 
there's both a practical problem and a spiritual problem, a practical 
challenge and a spiritual issue or concern. If we deal with the 
practical, then it will alleviate the spiritual. That's the argument 
that the apostles produce in this particular section. But 
note in the first place, with reference to this practical problem, 
the time. Verse 1 of chapter 6 tells us, 
now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, 
Now, we always look at revival and awakening, at the increase 
of the church, as a blessed privilege or a blessed provision from God. In other words, we ought to praise 
God with the addition of new people who confess saving faith 
in our Lord Jesus, who have come out of darkness into marvelous 
light. But brethren, it's like anything, where there's more 
people, there at least is the potential for there to be more 
problems. Sometimes you hear, is the world 
much more wicked now than it was, say, at the time of the 
early patriarchs? Well, there's more people, so 
therefore, yeah, I guess it is more wicked. When you've got 
what's the current population, 7 billion, you got 7 billion 
people, that makes for a pretty polluted world. And so that's 
what's happening. The church has been growing. 
We start off in Acts chapter 1, and the number of disciples 
was 120. In Acts chapter 2, after the preaching of Peter on the 
day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls are added to them. We get to 
Acts chapter 4, we have 5,000 added to them. So we have quite 
the large church in Jerusalem. And so now that there's all these 
people, the potential for problems is there. And that's what's happening. These are growing pains. These 
are challenges. These are difficulties. These 
are hardships. Remember, the church on earth 
is not the church triumphant. The church on earth is imperfect. The church on earth is persecuted. The church on earth has corruption. And the church on earth oftentimes 
goes through distraction. When we get to heaven, the church 
triumphant, none of those things will obtain in the eternal state. But in this state, They're all 
there. They're all present. And the issue is, how does the 
church deal with that? It's not the case that we just 
pretend that there's no problems. Rather, we seek by God's grace 
to deal with those problems. Now, note the issue. 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. So 
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews. Now, if you don't 
know what a Hellenist and a Hebrew is, this passage is going to 
trouble you and puzzle you. So let me just try and explain. 
All of them are Jews. Remember, this is Jerusalem. 
But a Hellenist was a Jew that lived outside of Judah. The Hellenists were Greek-speaking 
Jews that lived outside of Judah. And so now, in Jerusalem, these 
Hellenists are there, they're saved. The Hebrews are those 
who were Jews that lived inside of Judah. And so in this daily 
distribution of food for the widows, again, a very thorough 
concept in the Old Testament, very much emphasized in the book 
of Exodus and in the book of Deuteronomy, it's repeated here. 
It's also seen in 1 Timothy chapter 5, how the church is to care 
for widows. God says we're to care for widows. And in this particular instance, 
there was this daily distribution, probably of food and perhaps 
money, which also shows us there wasn't a common refrigerator. 
Remember in those scenes before where they sold their property 
and they brought the proceeds and they laid them at the feet 
of the disciples? It wasn't the case that the disciples 
made one giant kitchen and everybody just came and went as they pleased. No, there was still this distinction 
of property, and so they were distributing it to these particular 
widows. So the Hellenists are complaining 
because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Now, 
I think J.A. Alexander explains the situation 
well, because initially, brethren, we're going to think, oh, this 
is a problem that, boy, this is, you know, they're not woke. They just need racial sensitivity 
training. I mean, these Hellenists and 
Hebrews, they've got some friction and some tension. The only thing 
that's going to help them is to get them conditioned on how 
to deal with one another in terms of racial sensitivities. I don't 
think that's what's happening, and I think the solution evidences 
that. But notice what Alexander says. 
He says neglected, literally overlooked, not necessarily implying 
ill will or contempt. They were being overlooked, but 
it's not necessary to conclude it was ill will or contempt. 
Remember, the Hellenists lived outside of Judah. The Hellenists 
are now in Jerusalem. The Hellenists just aren't as 
well known as the Hebrews. They're just not as known to 
everybody as were the Hebrews. So it might have just been sort 
of an administrative problem, or a managerial problem, or an 
organizational problem, and not a racial thing, not a racial 
problem. He goes on to say, "...but merely 
such neglect as might arise from their being less known than the 
natives. The jealousy of the races may 
have prompted the complaint without affording the occasion for it." 
In other words, that might have crept in and said, well, they're 
slighting us because we're Hellenists. Well, that might have occasioned 
the complaint, but it's not necessarily the cause. It could have just 
been a matter where they were overlooked. That sort of thing 
happens. And we always ought to be careful 
not to conclude the worst at every given turn. Oh, you racist. No, maybe we just forgot. You terrible human. No, maybe 
we just overlooked. an administrative error or an 
organizational defect shouldn't be interpreted as the unpardonable 
sin. Now, again, I'm not saying they're 
doing that, but you can see the scene. The widows are getting 
their food, the Hellenists are coming up short, and then they 
complain. Well, you know, perhaps if we 
were Hebrews, perhaps if we lived in Jerusalem, perhaps if we were 
native, then we wouldn't be overlooked. Now, let's see how The text proceeds. Verse one, this is the practical 
problem. There was a complaint against 
the Hebrews by the Hellenists because their widows were neglected 
in the daily distribution. That brings us to the spiritual 
issue. Verse two, 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. You 
all get that, right? The apostles, they're the 12th. 
Their primary calling was to preach the word. Remember in 
Acts chapter one at verse eight, Jesus tells these apostles, you 
will be witnesses to me, first in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 
and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. That's their primary 
function. That's their calling. That's 
what Christ has given them to do. And so they rightly observe 
that if every single day we need to sit behind the table to make 
sure that no Hellenists ever get slighted, it's going to take 
us from that primary calling. Now, they're not saying it as 
if serving table is beneath them. They're not saying it as if they 
are some prestigious or elitists that can't be bothered getting 
their hands dirty with reference to feeding, but no! They're not 
saying it that way at all. They're saying it as a matter 
of priority. It's not desirable that we stop 
doing what Jesus called us to do and start doing this other 
thing, which is good in and of itself. And the context makes 
that clear because they provide seven capable men to carry out 
that particular task. So is everybody with me? This 
is the spiritual problem, this is the challenge, this is the 
potential distraction. If the apostles have to leave 
their study and have to leave their pulpit to go serve food, 
this is not what Jesus intended for them. In other words, the 
apostles advocate what's called the division of labor, which 
is a beautiful thing, because no one man, or even in this instance 
12 men, can do everything. Does that make sense? Christ 
can. The Father can. The Spirit, the 
Lord God Most High, can do all His holy will. But men, creatures, 
are limited. Creatures aren't infinite. Creatures 
have times that they need rest. Creatures get spent. Creatures 
overlook things. And so these apostles recommend 
to the congregation that we divide the labor. So the work of serving 
tables is legit. 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. They're not elitist. Oh, you're 
too high and lofty to get down there and, you know, dole out 
some soup to a widow. You're just too good for that. 
No, that's not the claim. The claim is Jesus called me 
to witness. Jesus called me to testify. Jesus called me to lead 
in this church and to make sure things get done that doesn't 
stop us from continuing in the work. This was, in fact, the 
specific work committed to the apostles. After the apostolic 
era, even within the apostolic era, that baton is passed to 
the elders of the church. One of the things that an elder 
must be able to do, according to 1 Timothy 3, is he must be 
apt to teach. 1 Timothy 4, Paul highlights 
Timothy's role in exhortation and reading and preaching. In 
2 Timothy 4, Paul says to Timothy, preach the word, be ready in 
season and out of season. Titus 1, Paul mandates that an 
elder, a bishop, an overseer, a pastor, all those terms are 
synonymous in the church must with sound doctrine be able to 
edify the people of God and refute those who contradict. The other 
office in the church is that of deacon. And while that word 
deacon is absent from Acts 6, 1 to 7, this is most likely at 
least the seed form of what would be the diaconate, men committed 
to serving in that capacity. Not because one class is better, 
not because one class is more dignified, not because one class 
is less refined, but because of the division of labor. This 
is what this necessitated. So the specific work of preaching 
the Word, committed to the elders. Bach says, he says, in the Apostles' 
view, the ability to prioritize activities and not be responsible 
to do everything reflects good leadership and stewardship. Delegation, 
right? Isn't that what Moses learned 
from his father-in-law? You know, you wonder if Moses' 
hair was coming out because he was doing this so much. Moses 
had a tough job, brethren. I know we all say how hard our 
jobs are. Read Exodus sometime. Put yourself 
in Moses' moccasins for a few steps and see what that brother 
had to deal with. But it was his father-in-law 
who said, you can't take all this on yourself. There is no 
way possible for you to effectively adjudicate every single situation. Appoint 70 men. They can hear the lesser cases. Something that's actually needing 
your attention, you can function as the Supreme Court. those things 
will be brought to you. Delegation is not a sign of weakness. Delegation is a crucial aspect 
of leadership, and that's what's being exercised in this particular 
passage. So everybody clear on what the 
problem was? There's a practical problem. 
The Hellenists are complaining that their widows are neglected. 
The Hebrews are slighting the Hellenists. But the spiritual 
issue is, if the apostles have to weigh in on that, if the apostles 
have to ladle out the soup, then the apostles will not be doing 
what Christ has called them to do. So let's look secondly at 
the proposal. And in the way that we might 
imagine, they deal first with a solution to the practical problem 
and then highlight the solution for the spiritual problem. Notice 
in 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. In other words, they 
must be qualified men. Not just any man. And I don't 
think we should ever interpret this as to suggest that every 
other man was bad. I've sort of met with that in 
my time as a pastor. I've met with people, or I've 
learned of people, or I've seen people. I always hesitate because 
you're gonna think, who is it in our church? Not necessarily 
in our church. Where guys wanna be in the ministry. 
And Paul says, if you wanna be in the ministry, that's a good 
thing. But if you don't wanna be in a ministry, that's okay 
too. If you're qualified for the ministry, 
that's good. If you're not qualified, not 
because you're a horrible specimen of a human being, that's okay 
too. Not everybody's gonna be in the 
ministry, and that's okay. Is everybody with me? Your life, 
your identity, your fullness, your pleasure, your being isn't 
caught up in what you do. It's caught up in who you serve. Isn't this the mistake the apostles 
make when they come back, the 70 return, and they say to Jesus, 
Lord, we saw demons cast out in your name. We saw people healed. We saw amazing things. Jesus 
himself says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. But 
as they're rejoicing, Jesus says, I don't want you to rejoice in 
that, and it's an idiom. I don't think he means never 
rejoice when a demon's actually cast out, but it's an idiom. 
Don't rejoice so much in that that you forget to rejoice in 
this. He says, don't rejoice in that, but rather rejoice that 
your names are written in heaven. That's where our identity is, 
isn't it? Isn't it? Yes, everybody can 
give me a nod and a wink at this particular moment. It's not a 
sin to not be a pastor. It's not a sin to not be a deacon. 
It's not evil. You're not missing. You're not 
out. Everybody that God saves has particular skills and gifts 
and abilities. And it's all different, and that's 
why it's so blessed that there is this division of labor so 
that not one man or twelve men or the seven here has to do everything. Now, in this instance, Stephen 
was able to preach. Philip was able to preach. But 
that doesn't necessarily mean that those who serve today as 
deacons have to preach. No, it doesn't mean that at all. 
They have to do what God says. Notice the solution in terms 
of the practical problem. These men must be qualified. 
The men must be of good reputation. The word in its active sense 
means to affirm in a supportive manner, testify favorably, speak 
well of, approve. Passively, which is how it's 
used here, it means to be well spoken of, be approved. In other words, they are to be 
men of good reputation. They're not the guys that you 
would put forward and everybody kind of rolls their eyes and 
says, Him? Them? Really? But notice it goes on 
to say, the man must be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, 
which I think underscores this principle. It wasn't just effective 
managers that they needed. They needed godly men who happened 
to be effective managers. So I think that's a problem, 
too, when the church shops out elders or deacons. Is a man good 
in business? Is a man good in this particular 
regard? Does he have savvy in the marketplace? Those things 
are great, sanctified by the presence and the power of the 
Holy Spirit, but the main emphasis is, is he a godly man? See, the 
presence of the Spirit is absolutely requisite for service in the 
church. Because a man may have great 
management skills and great organizational ability, he may not have the 
Spirit necessarily, he's successful at Envision, he's successful 
at Prospera Credit Unis, he's successful in the world, but 
he's not to be a servant in the church. And then wisdom. Now, 
wisdom is one of those statements or one of those words in the 
Bible that, you know, we all want more of, I hope. I hope 
it's part of your prayer list every day to pray to God for 
wisdom, to be a Solomon and dare ask for wisdom. But why wisdom 
here? Of course, they would need a 
general overarching degree of wisdom. But brethren, when you're 
dealing with people and you're dealing with money, and you're 
dealing with unhappy people that are complaining about others, 
you need wise men in place to be able to try and navigate through 
such things. Not just, oh, this is the way 
it's going to be. Here's your one ladle of soup, and everybody 
just knuckle. No, you've got to negotiate. You've got to facilitate. You've got to be wise in the 
way that you carry out this ladling out of the soup. You got to make 
sure that the Hellenists aren't slighted. You got to make sure 
that things are accounted for. And you need wisdom in order 
to do this. Again, I don't think we're blown 
away that the apostles put this mandate down. They need to be 
seven. Seven there isn't imperative 
for the church forever. It's not the case that every 
church has to have seven deacons. It's just functioned here. And 
some say it's connected to the number of perfections. Some say 
it's connected to the way that Jews did other things, and they 
would use seven men. Some have suggested, real practically, 
one man for each day of the week. It's not the detail that we're 
supposed to take away from this. Not the case that you either 
have no deacons or seven deacons. That's not what the point is. 
They are men of good reputation, they're men full of the Holy 
Spirit, and they are men that are wise. And they, can I just 
say this kindly, graciously, cautiously, but ever so firmly, 
they're men. This isn't human beings. There's 
two Greek words for man. The one for man is specified 
here. It is man who is the leader in 
the church. It is man who functions as elder 
in the church. It is man who functions as deacon 
in the church. God did not call women to function 
in the church in that capacity. And that's God's call. That's God's mind. We do not 
have the right to change it. We do not have the right to try 
and place a cultural construct on it. Well, that's because, 
no, it's because God said it. Some do this with 1 Timothy chapter 
2. Paul says, I do not permit, I do not allow, I do not authorize 
a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. And so 
people today say, well, that was a problem in Ephesus. You 
had some pushy women. You had women that weren't doctrinally 
sound. But Paul's argument isn't about 
pushy women. Paul's argument is not the culture 
at Ephesus. Paul's argument is, guess, the 
garden. God made man first. The woman, 
being deceived, transgressed. Those are the arguments for this 
perpetual position within the context of the church. It's supposed 
to be men. Now notice their function. I love this. I'm gonna tell you 
why I love this in just a moment. 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. Have 
any of you ever dealt this way with your kids? Your kids, say, 
have dart guns. Just pulling that out of the 
hat. And they're shooting each other with those dart guns. And 
they come to you, and they say, we're shooting each other with 
these dart guns, and it hurts. And you respond by saying, I'm 
going to take the dart guns away. I think I fathered that way a 
lot. rather than taking the time to 
encourage, to instruct, and say, there are limitations in terms 
of how you use this dart gun. There's things you can point 
at. There's things you're not supposed to point at. Rather, 
the knee-jerk reaction, at least for me, was, well, just give 
it to me. This is why we can have nothing good, that sort 
of argument. The apostles don't lead that 
way. Well, if the hell in us feel slighted, forget it! No 
soup, no food, no daily distribution. Cut them off! We don't want to 
hear the squabbling. We don't want to hear the belly 
aching. We don't want to have additional problems. This is 
why we can have no good things. They don't do that. Notice that 
they do not recommend sensitivity or racial sensitivity training. 
They don't do that. Well, you know, as Hebrews, you 
need to appreciate that the Hellenists really are Jews too, though they 
speak a little bit different and they've been exposed to Greek 
culture perhaps more than you. We need to have encounter sessions 
and we need to make sure that you are racially sensitive to 
one another. They don't take to Twitter and 
Facebook and upbraid everybody in the church for not being hashtag 
woke. They don't do it that way. They 
have minds that function in a very good way. Find seven men that 
are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, men who have good reputation 
among you all, and we'll appoint them over this business. We'll 
give them charge of this, men that we can trust, men that we 
know will take care of it, men that won't have to say, this 
is why we have no good things, or you need to be educated on 
racial sensitivity. No, that's not it. See, what 
was a potential hot potato in the context of the Jerusalem 
church that could border on racial discrimination, the apostles 
don't see it that way. They don't say, we need to make 
you more racially sensitive. They say, get competent men and 
put them in charge. I love that. Find some men that 
know how to do these kinds of things and let them do these 
kinds of things. That's the solution to the practical 
problem. It's not, well, we need to go 
and think on the top of a mountain and figure out the best way not 
to slight these out. No, find men, put them in charge, 
and we trust they'll be able to figure it out. It's a beautiful 
thing, isn't it, when the church functions the way the church 
is supposed to function? And then, of course, this provides 
the solution for the spiritual issue. Verse 3, the end, whom 
we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually 
to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. We have seen this 
give ourselves continually, or this continually emphasis in 
Acts up to this particular point. It means to persist in something, 
to busy oneself with, to be busily engaged in, to be devoted to. In Acts 2, they continued steadfastly, 
same word, in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking 
of bread and prayers. See, the apostles see this as 
their calling. We will devote ourselves to prayer 
and to the ministry of the word. Now, this doesn't just mean private 
prayer, though it certainly includes private prayer, but it means 
public prayer. Its association with the word 
probably speaks to public worship. In other words, the apostles 
are responsible to make sure the people of God are worshiping, 
to make sure the people of God are learning, to make sure the 
people of God are receiving preaching, and they will continue steadfastly 
in it. They will give themselves continually 
to it. Now, turn over for just a moment 
to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. I'm going 
to end this morning with a few observations, and one of them 
is going to be, we need men like this. We need these kinds of 
men, not apostles. That's not what I'm suggesting. 
Lord God, please provide for us apostles. No, the apostolic 
ministry is over. There's not going to be any more 
apostles. Fundamental requirement for the apostle was that they 
witness the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody living 
today witnessed the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's 
not going to be apostles. Remember I said at this particular 
time, it was the apostles who took the lead in teaching and 
preaching. Those apostles then said there will be elders that 
will take the lead and were taking the lead in the churches at that 
time in preaching and teaching. Now notice in Colossians 1, verses 
28 and 29, this is the kind of man that we need. Him we preach, 
warning every man and teaching 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. See, there's activity, there's 
rigor, there's diligence, there's labor involved. You know, sometimes 
those trades or those jobs or those sorts of professions or 
those sorts of things, like ministry, where you use your mind, it's 
almost looked at, well, you know, that's nice for your job. You 
know, guys digging ditches, that's a job, that's work, that's man's 
work. Brethren, the engagement of the 
mind for, you know, any period of time is taxing. It is labor. It does require effort. And there 
is a spentness that occurs when somebody engages in that. It's 
just the reality. But this is the kind of man that 
we need. Turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 
2, specifically at verse 14. Paul is giving a series of commands 
to Timothy. In fact, look at the beginning 
in 2 Timothy 2, 1. First command, be strong. Second 
command, verse two, commit these things to faithful men. Verse 
three, you must endure. Verse seven, consider what I 
say. Verse eight, remember that Jesus Christ. Verse 14, remind 
them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive 
about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Now 
notice in verse 15, Be diligent to present yourself approved 
to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
the word of truth. The commands continue, shun profane, 
verse 16. Verse 22, flee also youthful 
lusts. Verse 23, avoid foolish and ignorant disputes. Do you 
see that emphasis there in verse 15? Be diligent to present yourself 
approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth. It ought to be the case 
that a man carries out his ministerial task in such a way that he seeks 
approval, not from men, but from God. And that he's able to do 
so with a clear conscience. He's able to do so knowing that 
he has, by the grace of God, carried out the task he was called 
to. So back to Acts chapter 6, the 
apostles recognize the potential for distraction to keep them 
from prayer and the ministry of the word. The apostles and 
elders after them are not just... No, not at all. Shouldn't have 
put just in there. They're not CEOs. They're not 
accomplished businessmen. They're not leaders of the pep 
squad. They're not cheerleaders. They're 
not motivational people. That's not their calling and 
their task. What's the task in the Christian 
ministry? Prayer and preaching. Why have 
we made that so hard? Why is it so difficult? Why have 
we created sort of a ministerial niche where prayer and preaching, 
come on, what else do you got? What kind of bedside manner do 
you have? How good do you smile? How white 
are your teeth? How perfect are your hair? What 
schools did you go to? I mean, not that all that stuff 
is unimportant, but it is unimportant when it comes to the function 
of the pastor. It's to preach the word and pray. That's the 
job. You say, well, that's it? That's 
a lot. That's tough. It ain't a pity 
party. I'm like, oh, you hear my walking 
mind. It is a tough job, praying and 
preaching. Try it sometime. Pray and preach. I've always been amused, the 
few times it's happened, where persons have come to me and said, 
boy, I had an opportunity to speak in public, and it's tough. 
It's tough. It is tough. It's difficult. You get butterflies. You get 
afraid. You don't want to look at mean-faced 
people. Not that anybody here is, of 
course. It's tough. But these are the 
kinds of men we need. Praying, preaching men. Matthew Poole says, the two great 
employees, I don't know if that's the accurate way to use employees, 
but I love it, prayer and preaching. The two great employees of a 
minister of Jesus Christ to pray unto God for the people and to 
speak unto the people from the Lord. John Gill 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 up unto wholly, 
that his profiting might appear, and what he should be continually 
exercised and employed in. See, that's crucial. Why? Because the people of God depend 
upon the Word of God. The people of God need the word 
of God. Jesus was not kidding when he 
cited Deuteronomy in his combat with the devil out in the wilderness. Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Sometimes 
people read their Bibles or sometimes people hear sermons and they 
don't see immediate effect. Give it some time. There's a 
cumulative effect. 20 years of hopefully decent 
preaching, 20 years of reading your Bible every day, 20 years 
of calling upon the Lord. I guarantee you, cumulatively, 
there's going to be positive benefit. I think I've shared 
with you before a story I read once where a man was, well, I 
think he was writing to Dear Abby, or somebody was mocking 
the concept of preaching. Oh, preaching doesn't do any 
good. Preaching doesn't serve any purpose. Preaching doesn't 
help people. And this fellow wrote in, and 
he said, you know, my wife has been feeding me food for 20, 
30, 40 years. I don't know. Couldn't tell you what we had 
last night for dinner. I certainly don't know what we had 20 years 
ago for dinner, but I do know this. It has sustained me, it 
has nourished me, and it has kept me whole. I think preaching 
is like that. If you want the immediate flash 
in the pan, all your problems are fixed, and everything's going 
to be hunky-dory, you don't understand preaching. You don't have a clue. You have to be under the Word. 
We have to be discipled by, disciplined by, conditioned by the Word of 
God. And that requires exposure. And 
the men that expose that Word to the people of God must be 
men who pray and men who are given to the study of that Word. We see this elsewhere. I've used 
the example. You're going to hear it again. 
You don't want to go to an orthopedic surgeon who's looking at Google 
as he's trying to navigate on your hip. That's not a helpful 
thing. You don't want a guy who says, 
yeah, I've watched some YouTube videos, and I think I'm ready 
to undertake. And yet we do that with ministers. You wouldn't take your car to 
somebody. Now, if he's really good and he's brutal, that's 
fine. But for the most part, you know, I've watched 15 YouTube 
videos on this particular mate, and I think I'll get it. I'm 
not sure I want you to get it. And yet anybody, anybody can 
stand on a pulpit and preach. Why is that? Because people aren't 
discerning. People don't read passages like 
these. People don't think. We need a 
class of men that pray and are devoted continually to the ministry 
of the Word. That's why the Confession of 
Faith rightly summarizes the biblical doctrine of eldership 
in terms of paying ministers. John Gill's quote, if I were 
to continue in this section, says this is why they ought to 
be paid, because it's a demanding job that requires all their efforts 
and their energies. Those that preach the gospel 
ought to make their living by it. not high on the hog, not 
the guy that just bought his wife a Lamborghini, not that 
kind of living. But brethren, he ought not to 
have to worry about his next meal so that he can preach your 
next meal. That's the emphasis in Scripture. 
Now, that brings us finally to the provision for the church. 
The choice of the men, verse 5. This is intriguing. The saying 
pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen. Now, 
Stephen is explained a bit further here because Stephen comes up 
later in the chapter and all of chapter 7. So, Stephen is 
described. I don't think it means that the 
rest of the guys didn't have what Stephen has, but it wants 
to set apart Stephen because we're going to deal more with 
Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. But it's intriguing that each 
of these seven names are all Greek. And the suggestion is, 
I think, good, that they're all Hellenists. They're all probably 
the sorts of guys that were Hellenists, except for the one man. Notice 
the one man, Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch. We're going to 
deal with Nicholas in just a moment a little bit more. But all the 
men were Jews. that were Hellenists. Nicholas 
was not. Nicholas, in a sense, was the 
first Gentile. We typically refer to Cornelius 
in Acts chapter 10 as that sort of first Gentile convert. But 
he was a proselyte, so that means he wasn't a Jew. He proselyted 
or converted into Judaism. That's Nicholas. So the inference 
is the other six men were Jews, but their names indicate that 
they were Hellenistic Jews. What a good solve, isn't it? 
What a good answer. The Hellenists feel slighted. 
You pick seven men. They don't say, well, that's 
Hellenist heavy. Now the Hebrews are going to 
be slighted. No, this speaks to their honesty and their openness 
and their beautiful wisdom in applying this. I mentioned Nicholas. Later on in church history, Irenaeus, 
for instance, associated this Nicholas with the Nicolaitans 
of Revelation 2. This Nicolaitans, or this group, 
plagued the church in Ephesus and the church in Pergamos, Revelation 
chapter 2. And so Irenaeus, and not a few 
of the fathers, said this Nicholas was sort of a leader of these 
Nicolaitans. Now, if it was in fact that, 
it shouldn't surprise us because one of the original 12 apostles 
chosen by Jesus was Judas. You know, it happens, right? There's Ananiases in Sapphira. 
There's corruption. There's issues. Not all that 
glitters is gold. But the association that this 
Nicholas is in fact the leader of the Nicolaitans is pretty 
much based on the name. So, I don't know that I'd want 
to hang my hat and say this Nicholas ended up affecting and plaguing 
the churches in Ephesus and Pergamos. Now, all respect to Irenaeus, 
I, you know, maybe he had more information that I don't have, 
but to just hang it on the association between the name Nicholas and 
Nicolaitan, I wouldn't want to do that. So the significance 
of the names there, and they are referred to later in Acts 
21 as the seven. It wasn't like this was forgotten. 
It wasn't like this was over. It wasn't like, no, this was 
the selection of again, of what would later probably later become 
the diaconate or deacons. So the appointment of the men, 
the church sets the men forth before the apostles. And then 
notice at the end of verse six, and when they had prayed, they 
laid hands on them. The laying on of hands in this 
context is probably a solemn sign of consecration. You see 
it when Moses passes the baton to Joshua in Numbers 27. You see it used as well in places 
in the pastoral epistles, this laying on of hands. It doesn't 
necessarily or only rather mean that it's a consecration to office. You see laying on of hands connected 
with healing. You see laying on of hands in 
the Old Testament connected with association or transfer. When 
the worshiper laid his hands upon the victim, when he laid 
his hands upon his animal, the significance was a transfer of 
his guilt to that particular animal. When the high priest 
laid his hands upon that goat, that scapegoat, before sending 
it out into the wilderness, that was the significance, that association, 
that transfer. but it becomes, in the New Testament, 
not a giving of the Spirit, but rather a conferral of authority 
upon those who evidence the presence of the Spirit. And so this is 
basically what we would call today ordination. The church 
brings the apostles, or rather brings the men to the apostles, 
they pray, and they lay hands on them. And it was probably 
the case that they prayed while they were laying hands on them. 
I jotted down a note from Matthew Poole with reference to prayer. 
He says, prayer is the salt which seasoneth and sanctifyeth all 
things. I think that's a good statement. So you see, there was a practical 
need in the context of this church. that threatened to wreak havoc 
on the spiritual needs of the church. And very often it happens 
that way. Something practical, something 
that is sort of out there, will affect or distract us in such 
a way that we can't be about the work of preaching and teaching. 
And so they say, select men, seven men, good men, and make 
sure they have the Spirit, make sure they have wisdom, and we'll 
appoint them over this, and for our part, we'll continue in prayer 
and in the ministry of the Word. Everybody in the church is happy, 
everybody's pleased, they pony up the men, they lay hands on 
the men and pray. And then that brings us to this 
progress report in verse 7. Now Luke does this at several 
places in the book of Acts. He gives us a progress report. 
Kids, you know what a progress report is. It's like a report 
card. And Luke does that. Notice in 
verse 7, he says, 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. For those taking 
notes, you can look at 9.31, 12.24, 16.5, 19.20, and 28.31 
for the other progress reports. They read similarly. And in fact, 
it kind of helps break up the book of Acts, not break it up 
in a way of disunity, but it sort of gives us facets, it gives 
us stages of the church and its growth and increase. But look 
at what he says here. He says, the Word of God spread. 
Don't miss the connective word, then. We can't read or interpret 
the progress report negligent of the context. They deal with 
the practical issue, frees up the apostles to continue in prayer 
and in the ministry of the Word. Having been freed up to continue 
in prayer and in the ministry of the Word, what happens in 
terms of the ministry of the Word? The Word of God spreads. 
Men that are equipped, men that are studied, men that are prayed, 
now are men that are preaching in such a way that that word 
is going forth. It is increasing. It is spreading. And not only is it spreading 
in some nebulous way, but he goes on. And the number of the 
disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. You see what happens? You deal with a practical problem, 
freeing up the spiritual concern so that the Word of God can now 
spread and the number of disciples can multiply. But that last part 
of this progress report is really amazing. It's really glorious 
what Luke goes on to say. And a great many of the priests 
were obedient to the faith. That's huge, isn't it? The priests 
were not the ones that were sort of ripe for conversion. The priests 
were not the ones that were sort of conducive to this new movement. 
The priests, by and large, had an animus against the church, 
against the people of God. The priests were opposers of 
the Christian church. And yet we're told in 6-7 that 
a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. I need 
to read, this isn't, I'm gonna because it's helpful. I need 
to read this quote from John Gill because I think he just 
beautifully explains this. He says, and that the priests 
and a large number of them should do this is very marvelous. We'd all agree. since they were 
the most inveterate enemies of the gospel and persecutors of 
the saints." And it's this next bit that I think is glorious. He says, but what is it that 
efficacious grace cannot do? What is it that efficacious grace 
cannot do? It can save a great number of 
the priests. It can save those who are inveterate 
enemies of the gospel. It can save those who are persecutors 
of the church of Jesus Christ. It can do this because it's efficacious 
grace and it's God most high. And it's Jesus' promise that 
I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail 
against it. There will be persecution. There 
will be corruption. There will be, and I hate it, 
distraction. But nevertheless, King Jesus 
builds. Nevertheless, men continue steadfastly 
in prayer and in preaching. And nevertheless, the Word of 
God spreads. Nevertheless, the number of the 
disciples multiplies. And nevertheless, inveterate 
enemies of the gospel itself come into the camp of the saints. It's really glorious. It's really 
beautiful. It's really amazing. And if you 
think that there's going to be a church on earth that never 
has these kinds of problems, you need to change that way of 
thinking. I tried to say it as gingerly 
and as sweetly and as kindly as I could in 6.1, but brethren, 
when there's a multitude of people, there's probably gonna be a multitude 
of potential problems. I wanna say it's always the case, 
but potential. And what does the church do? 
They navigate through it. They don't stop being a church. 
They don't say, forget it, no more food. They don't say, we're 
too high and lofty. No, find good men that we can 
put over this business so that we can be freed up to do what 
we're supposed to do. So there will be, in conclusion, 
problems facing the church. We've seen it here all the way 
in Acts 1 to 6. We see it all the way through 
the book of Acts. We see it all the way through 
church history. We'll see it all the way through 
until the new Jerusalem. The church was persecuted from 
without, saw corruption from within, and experienced difficulties 
within that threatened to distract the preachers of the Word. But 
Christ's promise remains firm. He will build His church. Gil, 
once more, says, 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. He took this potentially 
explosive and divisive situation, and through the wisdom of these 
apostles, turned it for good. It's beautiful. Secondly, we 
need to appreciate the government of the church. We're not supposed 
to mess with it. We're not supposed to add to 
it. We're not supposed to take away from it. 1 Timothy 3 is 
the marching order in terms of qualifications, both for elders 
and deacons. That's it. Those are the two 
offices in the Church of Jesus Christ. We don't have some hierarchical 
structure. We don't have weird guys in weird 
hats at the top telling us what we need to do. Elders and deacons 
look after the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elders are 
tasked specifically with preaching and teaching and with oversight. 
Deacons are primarily concerned, as John Gill explains elsewhere, 
with the table of the Lord, the table of the poor, and the table 
of the minister. That's it. Service. Doing those 
things that make sure that the table of the Lord is looked after, 
the table of the poor, and the table of the minister. Those 
two offices abide. We ought to praise God as well 
for the division of labor. And if you think that one man 
or five men or seven men or twelve men can do everything, you don't 
know and appreciate the division of labor. I know you do, I know 
you've said to your kids at one time, I'm only one mom, I'm only 
one dad, I'm only one person. We cannot look at any one person 
as we do the infinite God, who is able to do all things according 
to his own counsel and will. We cannot lay that burden upon 
people and demand too much from them. Third, as I said, we need 
biblically qualified men who are committed to giving themselves 
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. Brethren, 
pray for that. Pray for those kinds of men. 
Pray that kind of man goes to Vernon. Pray that kind of man 
goes to wherever God's people are, and they need a minister, 
they need a pastor, they need a preacher, they need an overseer, 
a bishop, whatever it is you want to call them. Again, all 
those terms synonymous, we need men who will continue in prayer 
and in the ministry of the Word. That's my plea to you. Pray for 
that. Pray for that for Vernon. Pray for that for every body 
of believers. Not that they'd have the most 
handsome men. Not that they'd have the most, sort of, oratorically 
skilled men. Not that they would have the 
most, you know, business-savvy men. But they would have praying, 
preaching men. That's the dire need in the church 
at every time, every epoch, every situation. What's the need for 
the church? Praying, preaching men. And when 
we have praying preaching men, we can in confidence and with 
a hopeful expectation say to the Lord God Most High, Lord, 
we hope and pray and we want to see your word spread. We want 
to see disciples multiply. And we want to see even the enemies 
of Jesus Christ come into the camp of the beloved. God, we 
know you're able to do that. You did it in Acts chapter 6, 
1 to 7, and you're in the business of saving. That's what you do. 
So we can pray to that end, with that confidence, that God the 
Lord will do what He has promised to do. And if you're not a believer 
here this morning, the way to salvation isn't by serving Hellenistic 
widows. The way to salvation is by the 
Christ, by the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Him is the means by 
which sinners receive the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that 
avails with God. Well, let's close in a word of 
prayer. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for 
the wisdom of the early church, taking on these problems and 
dealing with them in very, very simple, very responsible ways. We ask God that you would help 
us to have the mind of Christ as it comes to churchmanship. 
Help us as well to see men raised up, committed to this life of 
praying and preaching. We ask God that you would supply 
a man to the brethren in Vernon, And wherever your people are 
gathered together, wherever there are churches that don't have 
men, we pray that you would raise them up. As Jesus taught us, 
the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So we pray 
to the Lord of the harvest to raise up men and send them forth. 
And we ask this for your glory. We ask this for the increase 
of disciples. We ask this so that even the 
enemies of Jesus Christ will come to know Christ as Lord and 
Savior. Go with us now and help us to 
have a blessed Lord's day. and we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, let's close by standing 
and singing the doxology in praise to our God.