A Charge to Deacons (06/03/2001)

Turn to Acts chapter 6, just have a few thoughts today that I want to Use to challenge our deacons to charge them, but not only that but also to charge the church with regard to the deacons

Acts chapter 6 verses 1 through 7 say says And in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied

There arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration

Then the twelve called the multitude of disciples unto them and said it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve

Tables Wherefore brethren looking out among you seven men of honest report Full of the

Holy Ghost and wisdom and we may appoint over this business But we will give ourselves

Continually to prayer in the ministry of the word and this saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose

Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost and Philip Trachurus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenes and Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch Whom they set before the apostles and when they had prayed they laid their hands on them

And the Word of God increased and the number of malt a number of disciples was multiplied in Jerusalem greatly

And a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith just a few thoughts I want to pull out of this passage, but I think as these deacons are being ordained and brother

Otis is being Instated as an active deacon that we need to think about the first thing that we see in this passage is whenever The people begin to multiply

The problems begin to multiply with it now that's just the way it is in a church as a church grows the problems grow with it and A lot of times as we're sitting in the pew we may not realize that that ministry is basically helping people solve their problems according to the

Word of God as This church grows as this church has grown over the last several years I know even not having been here that the problems have also grown

And the problems will continue to grow as the church continues to grow and I guess that's because there's three kinds of people with problems in the church or three kinds of Problem causers in the church there.

There are those That get things going I guess we call those instigators

You're always gonna have instigators in the church I don't know why it is I guess it just wouldn't be a church Lest you had some instigators and you gonna have some here if you don't already you gonna have some

And then there are perpetuators. There are those who keep things going Some people don't know how to get it going. But man once they see it going they like to keep the ball rolling don't they and Then there are accommodators.

Those are the ones who don't stop things from coming into their ears. They don't they listen to the murmuring

It's interesting the word murmur means to have a complaint but not to voice the complaint loud enough for anybody to hear you

Kind of mumbling under your breath about the problem so you can show everybody that there's a problem, but you don't really tell anybody

That there's a problem And you know as I think about churches that I know that have split and that's not what this is about But in essence, it's it's kind of to keep that from happening down the road

You know, I've never seen a church split over a spiritual position or over a scriptural position

Usually churches split over carnal dispositions over selfish dispositions

And we need to make sure that we always keep our our selfish dispositions subject subject to God's plan to God's will what

I want what color I want the carpet to be what color what what what I want to happen in the church is not near so important as what

God wants to happen in the church and and So we see in this passage that as the people multiplied the problems also multiply

We see also here an interesting thing that problems usually stem from differences

That's where problems come from. It's amazing. How even though we know that God made us all different in in Differences bring contrast and bring beauty into life

It seems like some of us want to go through life and make everybody else just like us. It's not possible and The difference was the

Grecians thought in this passage that their widows never were neglected just because they were Grecian man

Here they are. They're just leaving us out because we're Grecians well The interesting thing was the disciple or the

Apostles when they saw this problem They didn't go about necessarily to be the solution for the problem

Which brings me to the next thought that I got out of this passage and that is that just because something needs to be done

Doesn't mean it needs to be done by the pastor You know there are those in church who think you know if I get a flat tire on the middle of the road in the middle of The night what

I need to do is I need to call my pastor If I get a headache and don't know what to do.

I'll just call my pastor. My cat gets a cut up a tree I'll just call the pastor But the

Apostles had the wisdom to see that even though this problem was a real problem

It was not a problem that they Themselves needed to physically handle but that they could point appoint somebody else to this problem to handle this problem

And that's what the appointing of these deacons were about Was about you know

Having been a pastor and I can really relate to this From the standpoint of people think they know what your job is

Now I'm tell you brother Dave most I mean a lot of folks think they can pastor this church better than you can

They did I mean they think that matter of fact There's three things that people can do better than you especially if you're a pastor they

But and then again, even if you're not people know How to do your job better than you do you can go extra sure they know and even if they don't know how to do

Their job. They think they know how to do your job better than you do They think they know how to raise your kids better than you do man.

If that was my kid We wouldn't have that around my house. That's my kid Huh? So that people know how to do your job

They know how to raise your kids and they know how to spend your money That's what people know how to do. They do it better than you every time Now if you need some advice on any of those areas, you just ask somebody anybody

I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you But just because something needs to be done doesn't mean it needs to be done by the preacher

The third point I got out of this or the third thought I got out of this is this Be as interested in participating in solving the problem as you are in pointing out a problem when you have one the

Apostles Took these people that had this problem. He called them together. He said, okay now you brought a problem to us

Now be a part of the solution you take Seven men from among you be a part of the solution

Don't just notice a problem don't be a part of the problem, but be a part of the solution and I I think that's really

What what Christianity is all about? I think that's what the church environment is about and certainly what a deacon is being about And we see that When they chose these men these they didn't call them deacons here

But I believe later they they called them deacons and the word deacon as brother David said means to be a servant

What is a deacon a deacon is a deacon is a servant leader a Deacon is a servant leader and the reason

I know that is the Bible says in verse 3 He said wherefore brethren look ye out among you seven men of honest report.

He didn't say look ye out above you He didn't say look ye out below you he said look ye out among you a deacon is a servant leader

It's not some not some super Christian put up on a pedestal, but somebody who is here to help serve

Not You know a lot of churches think that well, man, I'll be glad a lot of people think sometimes you have deacons

I'll be glad we get these deacons in line because the deacons will be the reins through which we can control the pastor That's not the purpose of a deacon purpose of a deacon is to assist the pastor in the work of the ministry

That's the purpose of a deacon They were among you they weren't below they were or they weren't above they weren't below they were honest men

They were honest. They had an honest reputation men. The Bible says of honest report They were honest in the community a good reputation in the community and a good reputation in the church

And there's no doubt in my mind that these two men have that Honest report I Guess of all the things that a deacon needs to be being full of the

Holy Ghost May be the most important The Bible says when you choose these deacons choose men that are full of the

Holy Ghost And that full of the Holy Ghost implies that that when somebody's full of the

Holy Ghost They are controlled by God and at the same time they cannot be or are not manipulated by men

When the Apostles were taken and they were beaten and they were threatened They were so full of the Holy Ghost when they were threatened and they were beaten they said hey we cannot but speak the things which we've seen and heard because we are full of the

Holy Ghost and a Deacon is somebody a lot of times in churches Unfortunately deacons are people that are manipulated and plotted by the people in the church

But that's not the purpose the purpose of a deacon is to be controlled by God and not to be manipulated by men and I believe these two men are those kind of men and certainly we need men like that in our churches and They were men that were full of wisdom

You know wisdom is one of those words in the Bible that we use a lot But we don't have the slightest idea what it is You know, it's one of those

It's one of those words that we say, but when we say it it doesn't really connect anything in our mind But you know what

I know I know a man Cannot be full of wisdom if he doesn't have any knowledge you you can't have wisdom without knowledge

You know a man can't have be full of wisdom if he doesn't have understanding You have to have knowledge and understanding before you can have wisdom see because the

Bible talks a lot about a fool Well, what is a fool a fool is a person who has an absence of truth in their life?

They just kind of they just kind of go through life and think life is the way they want it to be it and they Have an absence of truth in their life

But a person who has knowledge is a person who has accumulated truth and for a person to be a deacon They need to have accumulated some truth from God's Word over the years.

That's what knowledge is Understanding is

The assimilation of that truth that you've accumulated, you know, you can you can accumulate truth without assimilating that truth

You can you can have you can know what the Bible says without knowing what the Bible is saying And since the

Bible is not just what God has said But it is what God is saying to us today

Then in order for us to have the full impact of it in our lives We need to have an understanding of it

Not just the knowledge of it because I might know that the Bible has John 3 16 in it

I might know what John 3 16 says, but I don't know what John 3 16 is saying then

I don't have understanding and Then wisdom is the application of that truth that we understand

And our deacons in our churches need to be men Who not only are willing to accumulate all this truth

Not only do they have the ability to assimilate all this truth but they have the willingness to apply this truth to their lives and I and I do believe that we have

Men such as these sitting before us today And so I want to urge you.

I want to urge you to encourage these men as Deacons as servant leaders

Stand behind them as they stand behind the pastor to accomplish the work of the ministry and Then and only then

Can the Word of God multiply greatly and a great company

Become obedient to the faith brother David My notes.

I've got your notes You take my notes I'll trade you

You didn't want to hear the sermon twice. It was very good, but Amen, that was excellent

He took What is it 45 pages of my deacon study and put it into five minutes?

That's very good Something I could never do that's why we had brother

Myron here today No, that was a blessing and I believe everyone in their hearts would say amen to that message to To how he did summarize the role of the proper role of a deacon

If every church in America to hear that message that he just preached and apply that message

It would clean up a lot of mess, wouldn't it? it would make the church so much stronger, but only if the candidates were as strong as ours and God has blessed us

I know many many churches who have deacons who do not fit these qualifications and They have problems that can't be solved because they don't have the right problem solvers in the church and so praise be to God that he has brought these men to us today as a gift to this church and May he keep them strong through the days to come

But this time I'd like to ask our two Deacons and their wives to come to the front

And stand right down here. I would like to present these certificates first and then