Dear God, we do thank you for all that you have done for us so that we can say
it is well with my soul and Lord as that song says, oh Lord haste the day
when we can see you coming in the clouds of glory and Lord continue each and
every day to take our hand because we recognize that you are our precious Lord.
Guide us and bless us. In your name we pray, amen.
It's good to be back here. Like I said, it's been a couple weeks since I've been
here. So as we're getting started here, question is, are you easily distracted?
Anybody easily distracted? Are you distracted by a screen over here that says
loading? Have you ever gone into the kitchen and you find yourself in the
kitchen and then you look around the kitchen and you're like, why am I in
here? I know I came in here for some reason but I cannot recall, I cannot
remember why I am in here. Or maybe you recognize that there's more and more
different laws, there's different things that want to keep us safe and so so many
laws that about distracted driving do not be texting or talking when you're
driving down the road because there's so many accidents that take place and maybe
you've seen people as you're driving down the interstate you look over and
there's some person and they're looking at their phone and you're like, let me go
a little quicker to get past this person because I'm not sure that they
recognize that I'm here because they're obsessed with their phone that's going
on here. Anybody experienced that or recognize that? Sometimes we see that
because we are easily distracted and sometimes those distractions can be
dangerous, sometimes those distractions can even be deadly in the case of
driving. I'm going to try one more time and then we're not going to try anymore.
Let me try one more time, cast, church roving TV available. There we go, all
right. So we are kind of to a new segment in the in the book of Acts that we've
been studying about. We've been looking through the the early chapters of Acts
and in those early chapters we've seen the church is on fire, the church is
growing rapidly, that many people are being baptized and lots of cool things
are happening with the church. It's growing and as we move into the next
little segment of the book of Acts, I'm gonna throw out a word here and
sometimes this word can be good and sometimes the word may not be good and
it's the word viral. Viral, that means something that's passed from person to
person, something that spreads rapidly, something that goes beyond where you are
and goes to other people and I don't know about four years or so we were
reminded that if something is going viral can be very negative and it can
cause sickness and different things like that but still today in the in the
internet world if something goes viral that's a good thing. That means it's
popular, that means people are looking at it, that means people are sharing it with
someone else and saying look at this picture that I saw, look at this video
that I saw. Well in these next few sections of the book of Acts, the church,
the gospel is going viral. It's spreading from person to person, it's moving
rapidly throughout the territory, throughout the segment. The church is
going viral because individuals are passing it to someone else because
they're excited about it and they're like let me share with you what I have
learned. The church went viral and I'm gonna say guess what, it needs to go
viral again, the gospel needs to spread from person to person and you can help.
In Acts chapter 5 and 6 the church has exploded. We've talked about these
numbers before but the church went from 120 people and then there was a 3,000
people on the day of Pentecost and then the next number that's thrown out
there's 5,000 men and then it talks about in Acts 6 verse 1 it says in those
days when the number of disciples was multiplying so no longer are they
adding people to the church but now they're multiplying which goes faster
it's exponential. How many people are there and yet there's these Christians
that are being baptized, they're caring for each other, they're caring for the
poor and needy but you know whenever the church is successful God is happy, church
members are happy but the devil is not happy and in the book of Acts we
immediately begin to see this great controversy taking place because we see
that the devil can't stand to see lives revived and as people are baptized as
the church is growing there are attacks and there's friction. I would say even
today we could anticipate that as this church grows as it expands as the gospel
goes viral as more people come we're glad visitors are here with us today that we
could expect some attacks from different things we could expect some some
friction we could expect some distractions so please as in your prayer
time be praying for our church be praying for the unity of our church
because what are distractions that we have in our world in our in our church
today you know sometimes we may not like the person who's preaching from time to
time and that can be a distraction or the computer may not work that can be a
distraction or we may be upset about decorations or music or so many
different things colors of carpet or walls or whatever and we can allow those
things to be distractions from what is most important that spreading of the
gospel so in the book of Acts what were some distractions that took place we're
not going to dig into it too much but in Acts chapter 5 there was a couple
Ananias and Sapphira who were distracted because in Acts chapter 4 it talks about
a man named Barnabas who sold some land and he brought the money and he gave it
to the church and he got a nickname they called him the son of encouragement
and in Acts chapter 5 this couple Ananias and Sapphira they sold some land
and they brought some money to the church which was a good thing they were
doing something good but they maybe they didn't do it for the right reason we
don't know all the details but for whatever reason they kind of lied they
told some untruths they said oh yes this is all the money that we received maybe
they saw the popularity that Barnabas had gotten or the you know the the cool
nickname that Barnabas had received and they were asked several times was this
all the money and they didn't have to give all the money they could have said
no this is a portion this is a segment of the money we just want to help the
church but over and over they kept saying yes this is all of it they were
lying to the Holy Spirit and there was a drastic event that took place for
Ananias and Sapphira as they actually died and because there was this
distraction there was this negative thing that was happening to this early
church in its infancy and then we come to chapter 6 where we're gonna look at
today and we see another distraction as we go back to Acts 6 verse 1 and it
says now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying growing
quickly there was a distraction there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by
the Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution so
what's happening here the church is caring for those in need the church is
doing something good the church has grown rapidly and for whatever reason we
don't know exactly what the reason was but there were some people who needed
help but they were not being helped they were falling through the cracks it could
have been that the church grew so fast they they lost track of people that
could have been the reason or you notice some nationalities there it could have
had something to do with people being from different backgrounds different
nationalities that shows up later in Acts chapter 10 and we recognize that in
in our world today people are still treated differently because of different
backgrounds whether it's different economic levels different education
levels different racial backgrounds whatever it is people are sometimes
treated differently because of their backgrounds and that has no place in our
world and especially that has no place in the church I don't know if that's
what's happening here but unfortunately it still happens sometimes in our world
today but whatever was happening there were people that were not being helped
that needed help and so there was a distraction as this church was growing
so there's two different things that could have happened there was a job not
getting done so that was a distraction that was taking place and the second
part of this distraction was how are we going to deal with this situation what
are we going to do about this and so it says in verse 2 then the 12 the 12
disciples the Apostles summoned the multitude of the disciples and said it
is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables there
was a job that needed to be done but the Apostles recognized that it was not
their role to do it when there's wrong attitudes as was happening here the
solution to that is finding the right people to do the right thing the
Apostles knew something needed to be done but they knew it was not their
place to do it and so they came up with a solution it says therefore brethren
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation full of the Holy Spirit
and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business we need to find the right
people to do the right thing in this circumstance we need people who have a
good reputation who are full of the Holy Spirit who are wise who are able to take
care of this solution of this situation we need to find the right people to do
the right thing the Apostles said we're not those people but we will give
ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word those 12 they
knew that they had a particular role of proclaiming and preaching and reaching
the world and that was everybody's role but they had it in a particular way and
so they wanted to find the right people to do the right thing and believe it or
not this is the pattern that is laid out throughout scripture you can go back to
the Old Testament what was the name of the person who led the children of
Israel out of Egypt Moses now Moses led the people out there the ten plagues
happened they came through the Red Sea and as they were in the wilderness
somewhere close to Mount Sinai Moses's father-in-law whose name was Jethro you
guys are really good with these quizzes Jethro came to visit Moses and his
daughter and he wanted to see you know spend some time with his their family as
they were traveling through perhaps close to where they were from and as
Jethro came to where Moses was he recognized that he could not even see
Moses because there were so many people who were lined up at Moses's tent who
wanted a piece of Moses they wanted to ask a question they wanted help solving
a situation we don't know what the questions were you know what do I do my
my sheep has a has a sore on his foot what do I do do you have any more
recipes for manna we're kind of getting tired of the recipes that we have I'm
having an argument about you know this brother of mine ripped my tent and he
won't fix it we don't know what the issues were but we know that the line
was so long the papa-in-law Jethro didn't even get a chance to talk to his
son and so he pulls Moses aside and he gives some wisdom he says this thing is
too much for you you are not able to perform it by yourself and then in the
verse 21 he says moreover you shall select from all the people able men such
as fear God men of truth hating covetousness and place such over them to
be rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds rulers of 50s and rulers of
tens you've got to divide up you have hundreds of thousands of people in this
group you've got to break them down into smaller segments and let these people
judge the people at all times then it will be that every great matter they
shall bring to you but every small matter they themselves shall judge so it will
be easier for you for they will bear the burden with you divide these people up
into smaller groups put people over these small segments and if someone has
a small problem you got a new recipe for manna somebody can take care of that if
there's a bigger issue you can push it up to the next bigger level and the next
bigger level and finally if there's a major issue that needs to be dealt with
well Moses that's the issues that you need to deal with because you're the
leader you don't have time to take care of all the little things we got to
divide and conquer and Moses said that that is wise wisdom and that is what has
happened so that was in the Old Testament that's one example you can
look in the New Testament and you can find other examples for instance 1st
Corinthians 12 is a great example if you were to read 1st Corinthians 12 it talks
about the body of Christ and it says the head is Jesus he's the head of the
church which is the body of Christ and it says each part of the body each
member of the church is a part of the body and each person has received
skills and talents and gifts and you know each person each part of the body
is important you probably know people I know people who are maybe missing a part
of their body missing a limb or an eye or a finger or whatever it is and
because of the beauty of our created bodies we're able to adapt to different
things we're able to wear glasses or a hearing aid or whatever it might be but
when we have all parts of the body working in the most efficient way that's
when the body is in peak condition in the same way in the church you're a part
of the body you're a part of the church God has placed in you some sort of gift
some sort of talent some sort of circle of influence that only you can reach you
know people that I don't know you have gifts and skills that I don't have but
God has placed that in you and yes the church can adapt the body of Christ can
adapt and we can function even if you choose not to use what God has placed in
you but if we want to be the most efficient in working for God then each
one of us needs to recognize what skill do I have what talent do I have what can
I do for God what can I do for the body of Christ and there's different ways to
to do that you can someone may come alongside you and say you know what I've
noticed you are really good at playing the clarinet he wouldn't say that to me
no one would say that to me people may come along or maybe you will participate
in something and you're like I really enjoyed that I enjoyed knocking on some
doors around the neighborhood a few weeks ago I can do that again or maybe
you said I hated doing that role and that's a sign you know what that's not
what God placed in your heart but praise the Lord you just learned one thing
you're not supposed to do and so you can then continue to experiment and find
what God wants you to do but the early church and the church we are seeking to
find the right person to do the right thing I'm gonna tell you right now you
are the right person for something have you discovered what your role is yet I
wanted to look back at verse 4 just one more time because it says we the
Apostles say we Peter James and John and the others we will give ourselves
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word think about that if
those people who wrote the scripture much of the scripture those people who
spent time with Jesus those people who empowered by Jesus and the Holy Spirit
worked miracles if those people needed to give themselves to prayer needed to
give themselves to the study of God's Word how much more do we need that are
you spending time in God's Word during the day during the week are you spending
time in prayer during the day during the week come join us Wednesday evening as
we were reading about revival reading about the spirit we're talking about
prayer join us if you have time at 630 on Sunday evenings because if these
people needed prayer how much more do we need prayer let's look on at verse 5 it
says and this this shows me that God is truly at work this shows me that a
miracle has taken place because it says the same pleased the whole multitude
have you ever been in a group of people whether it's at your place of employment
or at the church where something is done where something is said and it pleased
everyone that that tells me a miracle took place because even in the church
when decisions are made sometimes somebody's not happy about something but
in this case it says the same pleased the whole multitude and they chose seven
people Stephen a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit and Philip procures my
canner Timon Parmenus and Nicholas a proselyte from Antioch and I'm gonna
guess that there's a good chance that there's probably only two of those
people that you've really heard of except for reading that verse Philip
shows up in a in chapter 8 and Stephen shows up later in this chapter and in
chapter 7 but those other guys guess what we don't know very much about them
except that one verse and that tells me that even if someone is unknown even if
someone is not famous even if someone is a common person just like us that we can
make a difference that God can work through us to make a difference when you
are the right person doing the right thing well guess what these guys were
particularly Stephen it says whom they set before the Apostles and when they
had prayed they laid hands on them and notice what happened in verse 7 the word
of God what it do spread and the number of the disciples there's that word again
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem not only are people being added to the church not
only are the disciples or the believers multiplying but it says a great many of
the priests were obedient to the faith even those who seemingly were against
this newfound faith in Jesus we're beginning to see something different and
we're believing and we're following through these were the right people
doing the right thing and it made a huge difference but guess what that cycle
continues that cycle repeats there's a controversy at work and the church is at
attack and so we see Stephen the right man doing the right thing full of faith
and power he did great wonders and signs among the people verse 10 they were not
able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke they tried to shut him
down they tried to debate but they couldn't because he was guided by the
spirit and finally they were tired of it verse 12 they stirred up the people the
elders and the scribes and they came upon him and seized him and brought him
to the council so they brought him to a trial to a place of a court and they
wanted to shut this down they attacked him they accused him of talking about
Jesus of working with Jesus and it says in verse 15 that as they he was in this
court setting that he looked like an angel truly the right person doing the
right thing but then they made a mistake because they asked him a question they
they were shutting him down they were fighting against him but then they asked
him a question and it's an open-ended question almost he made it an open-ended
they said are these things so and for the majority of the rest of chapter 7 is
Stephen's reply to that one question we're not going to have time to read it
but if you're looking for something to do on Sabbath afternoon read through
that response of Stephen because Stephen recites the history of the children of
Israel and he recites how over and over God led them somewhere or raised up a
leader and the children of Israel rejected it and turned away and allowed
this to be a distraction from what was really happening Stephen was the right
person and he began to proclaim the story of God the story of God's people
and the story of God's guidance but over and over they rejected it and finally
this group of religious leaders could not stand this truth anymore and so we
come down to verse 51 and Stephen calls them stubborn and he calls them out and
he says you stiff-necked and uncircumcised people you always resist
the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did and he says you resisted and killed the
just one you even killed Jesus and in verse 53 it says you have received the
law by the direction of angels and you haven't kept it you even rejected this
thing and the people were so mad the people were so upset that they had to
shut him down and it says let me get there they cried out with a loud voice
and stopped up their ears so they're Stephen is talking Stephen is preaching
and they are yelling and trying to shut it down and every time I read this I
think of a story when I was a child we were sitting at the table one morning
probably at breakfast probably having biscuits and gravy Sunday morning or
something and my brother and I were talking about something that my mom
didn't want to hear any more about if I recall correctly it was might have been
snakes that we'd seen some snakes and they were slithering around and my mom
kind of shivered and oh and so of course we had to talk more about snakes and how
slithery these these little things were now I don't I do not like snakes but my
mom really did not like snakes and so this is what she did I'll never forget
it as we were talking about this thing that she didn't want to hear she put her
fingers over her ears and she just started making a noise to drown out
what we were saying something kind of like and the reason I remember that is
not because of what she did but because of what the dog did when my mom started
to do that the dog thought well it's time to howl and this dog that we had it
never barked it never howled and for the very first time this dog started howling
away under the table and from that time on if we wanted the dog to howl we could
make a noise and the dog would join in the choir but that's what I think of
when I see this story because they did not want to listen to Stephen anymore
they didn't want to hear another word to come out of his mouth they didn't want
to hear anything else that he said and it says they stopped up their ears and
they gnashed their teeth at him and they drug him out of the city and they shut
him down and they shut him up by throwing rocks at him have you ever been
hit with a rock have you ever been hit maybe with a baseball or a softball or
even a soccer ball those hurt when you're hit by it and Stephen was not hit
accidentally but was hit on purpose and was hit with the purpose of killing him
and notice back just a verse it says Stephen full of the Holy Spirit gazed
into heaven and saw the glory of God and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand
of God and he said look I see Jesus there and he could say it is well with
my soul and he could say precious Lord take my hand even in this challenging
situation even as so many people are against me so many people are upset so
many people are trying to shut me down as they're throwing rocks at him and it
says in verse 59 they stone Stephen as he was calling on God and he begins to
echo the words of Jesus upon the cross he says Lord Jesus receive my spirit and
Jesus said into your hands father I commit my spirit and it says then he
knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord do not charge them with this
sin and when he said this he fell asleep he was standing for God he was the right
person doing the right thing and it cost him his life in this situation there was
a story just the beginning of March you may have heard it it was in Louisville
Kentucky and there's a bridge that goes across that massive Ohio River the Clark
Memorial Bridge or the second Street Bridge in Louisville and I believe it
was March 1st there was a accident on that bridge it was a four-vehicle
accident and before everything had stopped one of those vehicles an 18
wheeler a tractor-trailer was hanging over the side of the bridge you may see
that they're barely hanging on I'm not sure how it's not going all the way over
now down on the other side of that tractor-trailer that's hanging down was
the cab and inside the cab was the driver of the truck and she was in there
suspended you know on the edge of this bridge and then the pictures you know
almost look like an action movie or a superhero because it seems it's a
spider-man himself comes dangling down on ropes hanging down off the edge of
the ladder of the fire truck but it is not spider-man instead it is firefighter
Bryce Carden and he lowers himself down off these ropes and he comes down by the
cab of the truck and he's able to open the door and he's able to hook up the
driver of the vehicle and the story said that the driver she was a military
veteran and this is how they described the driver she was cool as a cucumber
as they were being pulled back up now firefighter Carden he specializes in
high-angle rescues so this is what he was quoted as saying he said like I was
telling the chief it all goes back to the training we've done we've probably
done this a hundred times so we have good leaders that have taught us how to
take care of a situation like this he this was a crazy situation but he was
the right person doing the right thing because he had been trained for that and
he knew how to come down the ropes he knew how to hook up the driver he knew
how to reassure that driver and it said they eventually made it back up to the
bridge after a few prayers and help from the other first responders and this is
what the firefighter said she was just praying she was praying a lot so I prayed
with her he'd done it before he was experienced he was the right person
doing the right thing and look at the difference it made in this situation
Stephen was the right person doing the right thing and yet he ended up being
stoned he ended up dying and you could say what a tragic end to that story and
yet and yet in that story there's a hint of something to come there's a hint of
the gospel about ready to go even more viral I forgot that picture there they
are coming up because in Acts 6 verse 58 there's a hint there and it says the
witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul and that
is a hint of what is to come because in Acts chapter 9 we see Saul again and in
Acts chapter 9 we see the Holy Spirit showing up in Saul's life so that at
that time he is the right person to do the right thing to help the gospel to
blow up to spread throughout the the Roman Empire to go throughout the entire
world so you are the right person God has something for you to do Jesus laid
down his life on the cross Jesus died so that each one of us could be part of the
family of God each one of us could have some role could have some aspect to play
in bringing other people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior you are the
right person the question is have you found what the right thing is for you to
do that's my challenge for you this week say God what is it that you want me to
do what can I do as in my part as the family of God let's bow our heads for a
word of prayer dear God we thank you you have laid down your life for us and we
read here in Scripture about how sometimes there's distractions that Satan
wants to send our way and the way to to push through those distractions is to
unite and and being the right people doing the right things for you and Lord
help each one of us here to find something that you would have us to do
to find someone that you would have us to talk to to find a talent or a skill
that we can put to use for your kingdom and Lord may each and every day we do
the right thing for you in your name we pray amen