TEXT: Acts 6:1-7 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. INTRODUCTION: “Living for others, commitment to God's redeeming purposes, is a means of grace. We give because of our faith, and our faith deepens as we give. If we permit ourselves and our people to give casually, we are really teaching contempt.” [Richard S. Emrich, “Stewardship,” in The Anglican Congress 1963: Report of Proceedings, p. 170] I. God positions us for READ v. 1 MSG, “During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds” After Pentecost in Acts 2, there was rapid growth in the church Acts 2:41 (NIV), “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:47 (NIV), “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 4:4 (NIV), “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” Acts 5:14 (NIV), “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” MSG, “…hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—'Hellenists’—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines.” READ vv. 2-4 There are 2 things we learn about how God uses this opportunity to use us for ministry: We all have a Romans 12:4-6a (NLT), “4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” MSG of v. 6a, “let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.” 1 Corinthians 12:14, 18-20, 27 (NIV), “14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. “God is the great Conductor, and the individual members of the orchestra [namely, the whole body of Christ] each play their varying parts on different instruments; but if all follow the Conductor the whole composition will be a complete and beautiful symphony in perfect harmony.” [Kokichi Kurosaki, One Body in Christ, chapter 5] We all have a NLT, “And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.” II. God positions us for READ vv. 5-6 They were All 7 of these men had Greek names, which suggests that they were probably Hellenists There were This practice of laying hands on people and praying was to signify commissioning and the granting of authority to another person 1 Timothy 4:14 (NLT), “Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.” READ v. 7 The increase was seen by the number of disciples that were being greatly multiplied in Jerusalem The ONE THING: When we are to God, we will be for God NEXT STEPS: involved proactively generously your time, treasures, and talents in dependence on God