Practical Lessons from Tense Times - Acts 6:1-7

Bruce Goettsche

Union Church of La Harpe Illinois

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago • Presented 21 years ago

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“Practical Lessons from Tense Times”

Acts 6:1-7

Few of us have escaped the experience of some kind of church conflict. Some of you have felt you had to leave a church because of controversy. Others of you are reluctant to serve because of bad experiences in the past. Other still have battle scars from your time in the trenches of church battles.

At the beginning of Acts 6 we see that church controversy is not something new. In the first century church a conflict threatened to fracture the young church. Luke tells us, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”

Let’s try to understand what was happening. The Hebraic Jews were those who lived in and around Jerusalem. They spoke Hebrew, Aramaic and probably Greek. They considered themselves to be the “true” or “pure” Jews. The Grecian Jews were those who had lived in other parts of the empire. They were Jews, but they had adopted some of the Greek ways and ideas. Most likely these people didn’t speak Aramaic and had Greek as their primary language. Many of these people were probably older and widowed because they were returning to Jerusalem to be buried in the Holy City. Some of these people had come to trust Christ as their Savior and Messiah.

William Barclay describes the way the women and orphans were taken care of in the Jewish culture.

In the synagogue there was a routine custom. Two collectors went round the market and the private houses every Friday morning and made a collection for the needy partly in money and partly in goods. Later in the day this was distributed. Those who were temporarily in need received enough to enable them to carry on; and those who were permanently unable to support themselves received enough for fourteen meals, that is, enough for two meals a day for the ensuing week.

When these widows and orphans became Christians they were quickly excluded from the regular offerings and support. The church took over the care of the Christian widows and orphans.

Apparently, the Grecian widows were not being treated as well as the Hebraic widows. We don’t know why. The situation appears serious. Notice that it is reported that the Grecian widows were being overlooked. It seems to imply intent. It is possible that the church leaders were being accused of deliberately discriminating against their needy.

The disciples understood that this was a serious problem. Many churches have split over lesser issues than this. This new fellowship of believers was being threatened before it ever was able to get off the ground.

The disciples with great wisdom establish a search committee to find 7 qualified men to lead the “Widows and Orphans Committee”. When seven were selected, they were commissioned and given authority to do the work. It is interesting that all seven of the men had Greek names. In order to avoid any hint of evil, they put Grecian Jews in charge of the program.

I ask you to reflect on this simple account with me. I find four basic and simple principles that we need to remember as we follow Christ.

THERE ARE NO PERFECT CHURCHES

I was reading the other day about a church that split and the two factions had to go to court to determine who would stay in the church building. When the cause of the conflict was tracked down, it turned out that it started when an elder in the church was given a smaller piece of ham than the boy sitting next to him at a church dinner!

As long as there are people in church, there will be the potential for conflict. People, even Christian people, sin. There are times when we say things we shouldn’t. There are times when we try to get “more power” than the other guy. We can be petty and sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own agenda that we don’t even see each other. It’s not the way we want things to be, but that’s the way it is.

As long as there are people in the church there will be the potential for conflict. Feelings may get hurt, needs may be overlooked, people will disagree. Let’s be honest, we expect more from our brothers and sisters in Christ. The expectations are greater and so is the disappointment when those expectations are not met.

I think it is helpful to remember that the church is like a family. There are no perfect churches just like there are no perfect families. Every has a few oddballs. Every family has people that are hard to deal with. Every family has difficult times. We still love each other. We still are family.

PROBLEMS MUST BE IDENTIFIED BEFORE THEY CAN BE ADDRESSED

The Apostles could not address the problem of the Grecian widows until the disciples were aware that there was a problem. That’s the way it always is.

It is important that we address potential conflict as quickly as possible. When there is a church conflict several things happen,

· The unity of the church is hampered

· We begin to focus on the problem rather than the Lord

· Our witness is hampered and people are pushed away from Christ rather than drawn to Him.

What often happens in a church is someone gets their feelings hurt, disagrees with a policy or procedure or feels neglected. Rather than addressing the issue directly they stew. They talk to everyone but the people involved. If you ask them if the people involved know of the offense they will say, “They should know.”

I’ll admit I’m more of a “stew-er” than a “confronter”. Sometimes I choose to feel like a martyr rather than address a problem. I don’t like conflict. But I also know that when problems are not confronted, the body of Christ suffers.

There are other people who love to confront people. They seem to look for conflict so they can confront someone. In fact, some of these people seem to create conflict so they can confront others. These people sound noble but they are just as destructive as the “stew-ers”. They make mountains out molehills and don’t seem to be happy unless there is some kind of controversy brewing.

There must be a middle road. Let me suggest a few ideas.

· The primary people involved should be the ones to address an issue. The more people you get involved the more difficult a problem is to solve.

· We must always approach someone with the understanding that we may be wrong. We may have misunderstood what someone did or said. We may have the wrong information.

· We must seek resolution and reconciliation rather than to be punitive.

· We must always be willing to extend forgiveness and grace

NO ONE CAN DO EVERYTHING

I can envision what was happening back in Jerusalem. The Grecian Jews came to the disciples and probably said, “the Grecian widows are being neglected . . . Someone should do something.”

I’ve had this experience hundreds of times. Someone says, “I think we need to visit more people”, or “I think we need to be more organized”, or “I think we should start a ministry to (the elderly, college students, young adults, parents, alcoholics, etc.). What these people are usually saying is “I think this is something YOU should do.”

By the response of the disciples, I’m thinking that is the kind of thing that was being said to them. The disciples responded, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” It wasn’t that the disciples thought that waiting on tables was beneath them. It wasn’t that they thought this ministry was a waste of time. It was that they understood that there job or their role in the household of faith required them to spend a great deal of time in study and prayer.

Chuck Swindoll recounts a parable from a Springfield Oregon newsletter,

Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world. So they organized a school.

They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming; in fact, better than his instructor, but he made only passing grades in flying, and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running. This caused his web feet to be badly worn, so that he was only average in swimming. But average was quite acceptable, so nobody worried about that—except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He developed charley horses from overexertion, and so only got a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined for being a nonconformist. In climbing classes he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there.…

The obvious moral of the story is a simple one: Each creature has its own set of capabilities in which it will naturally excel—unless it is expected or forced to fill a mold that doesn’t fit. Rabbits don’t fly. Eagles don’t swim. Ducks look funny trying to climb. Squirrels don’t have feathers.[1]

No one can do everything. In fact no one should do everything. The Bible has designed us to be mutually dependent. You and I hurt the body of Christ when we try to do more than we have been called to do.

· Because we are stretched too far, excellence will give way to mediocrity.

· Ministry will become a burden rather than a delight.

· Those who can and should be involved are hindered from fulfilling their God-given calling.

Sometimes the most difficult word in the English language to say is “No”. Each of us needs to make choices. Those choices need to be made through prayer and the study of Scripture. If you are a Christian, God should have first claim on your life. If He doesn’t, you need to make changes. We need to ask certain questions when we are evaluating demands on our time and energy:

1. Is this something I am called/qualified to do?

2. What is the cost of doing this? (If you do one thing it means there is something else you cannot do . . . even if it is sleep)

3. Is there someone else who is better able to do this?

A CHURCH CAN GROW ONLY IF WE HELP EACH OTHER

The disciples identified the fact that they could not do this work without it negatively affecting their primary calling. Rather than throw up their hands they enlisted help. They sought qualified people who could lead this ministry. They commissioned them and set them to work. When they did so, the church continued to grow.

We need to work together in order to become the church that God has called us to be. We need you to be honest about what you can and cannot do. We need to recognize that ministry is not the job of one person with the title Reverend, it is the work of the entire body of Christ. Our church will grow in direct proportion to involvement of our people.

CONCLUSIONS

There are a few things I want to leave you as we conclude our study. First, there are some lessons regarding good leadership (which is what we see in this passage). The Life Application Commentary points out the ABC’s of Leadership,

A- Assess the Problem Accurately

B- Budget Time Appropriately

C- Choose Leaders Wisely

D- Distribute the Load Widely

Good leaders have to know their limits. They need to remember that Jesus is the Saviour – they are not.

Second, there are lessons to those who like the Grecian Jews are frustrated by things. It’s possible that you may be frustrated with the way things are going in this church. You may be frustrated with me. If you find yourself in this situation please ask yourself some questions,

· Do the leaders know about my frustration or am I expecting others to read my mind? Have you gone to the leaders or are you talking behind their backs? The Grecian Jews had a legitimate complaint. Their widows did have a need. They were right to share their frustration

· Are your expectations realistic? Are you expecting your church to be perfect? Are you expecting your leaders, teachers, and brothers and sisters in Christ to maintain a standard that is unfair?

· Is it possible that the problem is more with your attitude than the situation itself? Ken Taylor, in his Romans for the Family Hour , relates the following story:

One hot day a family traveling down the highway between Johnstown and Jamestown stopped at Farmer Jones’s place to ask for a drink of water, which he gladly gave them.

“Where are you headed?” he asked them.

“We are moving from Johnstown to Jamestown to live,” they told him. “Can you tell us what the people there are like?”

“Well, what kind of people did you find where you lived before?” Farmer Jones asked.

“Oh, they were the very worst kind!” the people said. “They were gossipy and unkind and indifferent. We are glad to move away.”

“Well, I am afraid you will find the same in Jamestown,” replied Farmer Jones.

The next day another car stopped, and the same conversation took place. These people were moving to Jamestown, too.

“What kind of neighbors will we find there?” they asked.

“Well,” said Farmer Jones, “what kind of neighbors did you have where you lived before?”

“Oh, they were the very best! They were so kind and considerate that it almost broke our hearts to have to move away.”

“Well, you will find exactly the same kind again,” Farmer Jones replied.

Finally, there is a question for every one of us to answer. We need to ask, “What is it that God wants me to be doing?” Perhaps it is teaching. Maybe it is serving. It could be administrative or it could be leading a group or ministry. Maybe God is calling you to visit the lonely and the hurting; perhaps He is nudging you to begin a new ministry; maybe He is nudging you to give a substantial gift to the building program. Once we discover what God wants us to do we can focus on those things and do them to the best of our ability in the strength that God gives us. If we do, God will be honored, and His church will continue to grow.

[1]Swindoll, C. R. (2000, c1998). The tale of the tardy oxcart and 1501 other stories (electronic ed.). Logos Library System;Swindoll leadership library. Nashville: Word Publishers.

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