Serve (In the Right Ministry)

The Word of God Prospered

'During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, 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. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.”

Seven Men Chosen to Serve

The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicolas, a convert from Antioch. Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task.

The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.' Acts 6:1-7 (MSG)

I have written about these verses in the past. But the Word of God is living and active, and it is more alive and more relevant when we read and listen to it with a heart open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God's Word always come out fresh and alive daily, in fact the Lord gives it to us, as our daily bread, our daily sustenance. Scriptures also say the Word is like a double-edged sword penetrating bone and marrow and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Now me reading these passages again today but in a different version above, gave me new insights about how the first leaders of the church conducted theselves and how the early church overcame obstacles.

One truth is that in the church, there will always be times of misunderstanding. This will be inevitable, especially during times of church growth and among people of different backgrounds (i.e. Greek vs Hebrew). In fact, there were misunderstandings even just among the Hebrews themselves, even going back to when Jesus was still walking the earth with them.

Two, the first church leaders' (the apostles') first mandate and responsibility is to pray and to preach the Word, including teaching and training.

Three, the church members weren't passive and didn't  just sat on the pews -- they were proactive and they decided on matters concerning their church.

Four, all the other church functions (ministries) are to be distributed to abled servant-leaders (Stephen and the others) who the apostles commissioned when they laid their hands upon them (the first ever mention of the laying of hands in the New Testament church).

Five, these servant-leaders weren't ordinary church members, they weren"t just random names picked out of a hat, they were full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, and they were chosen and commissioned to lead others and to serve in the Body of Christ -- the church.

And the results were amazing -- continued teaching of the Word, resolution of misunderstandings, growth in the number of new believers, even winning over of their staunchest detractors and the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth -- our great commission.

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." Hebrews 4:12-13 (NLT)

“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Luke 8:18 (NLT)