The Blessing of Tough Choices (Acts 6:1-7)

Where: College Baptist Church

When: August 12, 2001

Why: To show how our choices effect who we are as individuals and as the church; to encourage the choice of priority of prayer and the choice of following godly leadership.

Text: Acts 6:1-7

Introduction

When I was single, I had a roommate who was fond of saying that life was a series of choices. He suggested that the choices and decisions one makes on a day-to-day basis effects everything from how our day goes to who we are and who we are to become.

There's truth in that, isn't there? Ultimately, who we are is because of choices we have made. The choices we make have consequences with which we live.

On a very simple level, we experience this is the way we eat for example. If fast food joints are our primary means of culinary satisfaction, high cholesterol and soft waste lines are likely to result. On the other hand, choice for a lean, healthy diet combined with a regular, vigorous exercise has a more satisfactory result.

On a deeper level, there are other choices that effect us even more profoundly. They are choices that have to do with internal values, character, interpersonal relationships, and our spiritual and eternal well-being. Do we tell the truth, or hedge on it? Are our friends a positive influence or negative? Do I fall in love with that person or this one? (Yes, that is a choice too.) Do I wait until marriage or do it now? Do I live with Jesus Christ at the center of my life, or myself?

We could go on and on. But clearly, the choices we make effect who we are and the experiences we have.

As he was wrapping up his God-dependent, nation-impacting life, Moses put it this way: This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (emphasis added, Deuteronomy 30:19-20). It's a principle found throughout Scripture. You choose God's way, good things tend happen to you- blessings. You choose another way, bad things tend to happen.

Review

Things have been going wonderfully for the early church in the book of Acts. Ever since they had received the Holy Spirit amazing things had been happening. Boldness. Power. Healings. Miracles. People being saved. Three thousand here. Five thousand there. A bunch more later.

With God's transcendent glory being reflected through the Spirit-anointed Christians, came opposition. Spiritual opposition that had physical effects. From within the church and from the outside. Persecution. Imprisonment. Beatings. Judgement.

Through it all, the choice to obey God and walk in the filling of the Holy Spirit, ultimately brought blessing- the blessings of unity, of love, of fellowship, of growth.

Transition

Life is a series of choices.

This morning, as we examine Acts 6:1-7, we see that once again Satan is subtly trying to bring about division and disruption from within the church. We see that much like the church in our modern society, the early church wasn't perfect. But faced with a series of tough choices, they ultimately experienced God's blessing and ongoing growth.

Like the early church, individually and collectively, we face a series of choices. They are choices that effect our interpersonal relationships, our character, our priorities, and who we allow influence us.

The choice of social relationships- who do we associate with?

The first choice in this text that we see the early Christians struggling with has to do with the choice of social relationships. Who do we associate with?

Acts 6:1. 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.

Luke, the historian, reminds us that these were days when the number of disciples was rapidly increasing. It was a time of elation and excitement. God was clearly moving among them. He was answering prayer. People were being saved.

Yet, even in this time of positive spiritual growth- this time of revival, as it were- a problem comes up that has incredible destructive potential. There is grumbling and complaining among the widows over what they perceived as partiality and favoritism in the distribution of food.

This situation actually grew out of the tremendous sense of love and goodwill that the church had been experiencing through the filling of the Holy Spirit. They had been caring for each other, looking out for one another. In 4:34, 35 we studied that that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

At the heart of this problem were ethnic and cultural issues. There were widows who were Grecian Jews who were complaining that they were being prejudiced against. The widows who were Hebrew Jews were getting more food in the distribution.

Kent Hughes explains, "Jerusalem had a large minority of Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews- Jews who, though they spoke no Hebrew because they had lived abroad for centuries, returned to Jerusalem because it was their holy city. Many of these Jews had returned so they could spend their final days in Jerusalem- much like modern-day Zionists. As a result there was an abundance of Greek-speaking women who had outlived their husbands. Resentful, the native Aramaic-speaking Jews discriminated against the Hellenistic Jews, whom the Pharisees held in utter contempt, considering them second-class Israelites" (Hughes).

At Pentecost and in the following weeks, thousands of Aramaic-speaking, Hebrew widows were converted- as were hundreds of Greek-speaking, Hellenistic widows. It seems that some of the old prejudices still lingered in their hearts. And the Greek-speaking widows felt that- whether justly or unjustly we don't know- they were being overlooked in favor of the others. "Hey, she got two loaves of bread, and I only got one." They complained about it. It was a definite point of tension. It had the potential of causing a church split.

The early church wasn't without problems. Like them we are faced with choices that effect the life of the church. One of those decisions may have to do with social relationships. Who do we associate with? The prejudices we grow up with are often unconscious until the Holy Spirit convicts us in the process of bringing transformation to our lives. Those prejudices may be cultural, or racial, or economic. But they all have tremendous destructive potential.

Our choices of who we associate with and how we treat those who are different than us are crucial decisions in our personal lives and that of the church.

The choice of Christian character- how do we act?

There is also the matter of the choice of Christian character. How do we act when we are slapped in the face by perceived injustice. How do we respond when things don't go our way?

This is a matter of character. And character, for the Spirit-filled Christian, must reflect the character of Jesus Christ.

All to often though, small things- even petty things- like the distribution of food, can become mountainous obstacles that can bring destruction and division to the body of Christ. These small things creep up on us and catch us unaware. Ultimately, they have to do with character- with choices and responses when we feel things aren't going our way. Maybe when we been slighted. Or when we feel we haven't gotten the attention we deserve. Instead of handling it biblically, it builds up to become a dangerous, swollen Mt. St. Helen's or Pinatoubo waiting to erupt.

Kent Hughes relates this story told by Dwight Pentecost in his book The Joy of Living:

Ultimately, it's a matter of Christian character, isn't it? The choice to be loving, to put the other person first, to care about their interests over our own effects how we act. A size slice of ham can be a personal insult or an opportunity share the joy of a child. Character is often a matter of choice.

The widows in the early church faced an issue of character. Complaining erupted. We will see in a few minutes, that by God's grace, through submissive and Spirit-sensitive hearts, godly character was their choice that day.

The choice of how we use our time- what priorities do we have?

As we examine these verses, we see that there is the matter of the choice of how we use our time. What priorities do we have?

Acts 6:2-4. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

This is actually a critical crossroad in the leadership of the church. It seems someone suggested that it would be a good idea for the apostles to take this situation in hand by distributing the food fairly and evenly between the out-of-towner crowd and the homegrown folk. After all, everyone trusted the apostles. Who would dare complain about the decisions of Peter, John, and the rest?

Although apostles knew the value and virtue of servanthood- Jesus Himself had waited on tables and washed their feet- they insightfully realized that prioritization and delegation were the solution to this problem.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they established that it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables . . . we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. They clearly established that church leadership should make prayer and the ministry of God's Word it's top priority. There was certainly nothing wrong with waiting on tables. That was noble task, not too lowly for our Lord. It was a matter making the tough choice of choosing the best over the very good. In the big picture, the priority of the church leaders needed to be waiting on God in prayer and in teaching the Word. From this flowed the nurture of the church.

These verses have clear issues for us to consider when it comes to establishing the priorities that guide through the tough choices of the use of our time. For our church leaders, and for myself, in particular as the pastor, there is an example to follow. Sometimes the practical concerns of ministry must yield to the priority of prayer and study of the Word. When your pastor and church leaders are focusing on prayer and applying God's Word to our lives, they are not neglecting the ministry. They are making tough choices that by God's grace will bring blessing to the church.

For each of us individually, this situation calls us to consider our personal priorities. In the rush of modern life, have we each made the tough choice to put God first in our time. The competition for our time is intense. Let's give God our best hours. We all need to establish the priority of prayer and the personal study of God's Word as the best thing to choose in our daily lineup.

The choice of leadership- who influences us?

The apostles priority decision included the choice of leadership. With this choice we ask ourselves, who influences us?

Acts 6:3-6. ³ Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Through the prayerful choice of the church, the apostles delegated the leadership over the practical concerns of the ministry to Spirit-filled individuals. These were people that everyone would recognize as trustworthy people who had God's hand on their lives.

All of us have people who influence us. We don't often think about how much this is a matter of choice. We are not victims of circumstance and society. Though we often have to sit under ungodly influence in work, by-in-large we choose who influences us and how much they influence have. Even if we have to face an ungodly, mean-spirited supervisor everyday, ultimately it is our choice what affect they well have on us.

We can't tell from this text what process they went through to decide on who would fit the bill, but they came up with seven special people. The choice pleased the whole church. There was a sense of unanimity as a result of God's leading.

Remember how I said a few minutes ago, how these widows would soon demonstrate Spirit-led and Spirit-filled character rather than the grumbling and complaining that had been dominating them? Here it is! The wisdom of God is on them as they chose seven men- all with Greek names! Talking about sensitivity and love! They chose individuals who's background would diffuse any remaining tension and concern over the issue of partiality and favoritism.

Who do we allow to influence us? In the church and outside of the church, who are the people we follow? Sometimes it's a tough choice. But tough choices, rightly made, bring blessing.

Conclusion

Acts 6:7. ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Like the early church, individually and collectively, we face a series of choices. They are choices that effect our interpersonal relationships, our character, our priorities, and who we allow influence us.

This morning, I am going to ask you to honestly face your tough choices. How have your choices been going? Have they been the kind of choices that have brought blessing? Or have they been the kind that brought about challenging consequences that you will live with for the rest of your life?

When the early church determined to make the choices that honored God in their lives, they were blessed. As a result of the tough choices as they wrestled with decisions about social relationships, character, time use and the influence of leadership, God's word continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased "rapidly." And even a large number of priests became Christians!

I am asking you to approach the crossroad of decision and to choose to make the Lord the focus of your choices. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. Though we all live with the consequences of choices we have already made, the Holy Spirit can help us to make choices now that can begin a new flow of consequences in our lives.

And it doesn't matter our what circumstances are. That kid next to us may have a bigger slice of ham than we do. But circumstances don't create character; choices do. Let's surrender our will and our choices to the one who longs to bring blessing into our lives.

Resources