Acts Chapter 5 verse 42 to Chapter 6 verse 9.

Sermon Notes: Acts Chapter 5 verse 42 to Chapter 6 verse 9.

When you read through those early Chapters of the Book of Acts, there’s this wonderful sense of God working, powerfully, transforming and changing lives. The seer amount of people coming to faith in Jesus is breathtaking. After the Day of Pentecost the church kept growing and being added to and huge amounts of people began to follow Jesus.

Acts 6:1, ‘In those days when the number of disciples were increasing.’ Those day! In those days, back in those days God was working. Jesus was saving, the church was growing, multiplying rapidly, increasing in numbers. In a sense this movement is spreading like wildfire, but you say, in those days these things were happening. But what about today? What about in our day?

We want to see Jesus changing and saving and transforming lives, and His church growing in numbers. We’ve a heart for growth, we’ve a passion for growth, so to see God glorified and magnified in people’s lives! To see more and more people choose Jesus as Saviour and follow Him, in a way that makes a noticeable change and difference in their everyday lives and relationships.

‘In those days when the number of disciples were increasing,’ then it brought new challenges.

What did Jesus say? Matthew 9:37, ‘He Jesus said to the disciples, the harvest is so great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest – ask him to send out more workers for his fields.’

The greater the harvest the greater the need for workers in God’s family, people who have a heart to serve God in all different kinds of ways, in different kinds of jobs.

What is happening here in Acts Chapter 6 is that there’s this rapid growth in God’s church, but it’s about to log jam unless they find new structures to cope with the bigger number of people.

The more people that we have to care for the more jobs there are to be done, and the easier it is for some people to feel neglected, overlooked or even uncared for, Chapter 6:2.

Some people felt they weren’t feeling cared for, some people felt that they were being forgotten in the numbers, that they were being overlooked in the crowds. So what happened when people felt like that? They began to complain!

So, the Apostles are faced with this issue and they came up with this solution v2-4. ‘So the twelve gathered all the disciples together.’ ‘It is not right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Choose seven men who are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will turn responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’

God calls His people to ministry, which is another word for service.

We need Christians everywhere to discover their place where they can serve in the church family.

Every Christian is called by God to do a job in God’s family. God has made us all different and given each of us different abilities and gifts. God has different ways that you and I can serve Him in His Church family. I would love you to pray and say, ‘Lord what would You have me to do?’ There’s a job for everyone to do!

Jesus said, ‘I came not to be served, but I came to serve.’

Jesus is amongst us as someone who serves, and we say, ‘here I am, wholly available – use me.’ ‘When God leads we will follow.’