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Acts 6-7: The Early Church and the Role of Deacons
September 2, 2025 · 16 min
Discover how the early church organized to preserve unity and meet the needs of its members.
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Stephen's Faith and the Call to Serve 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to stand on the word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Question for you. What will bring Jesus to his feet? Well, we're gonna take a look at that this morning as we look at a, another0:22 inspiring passage of scripture from the book of Acts. We're gonna look at chapter 6 and 7, verse 55 of chapter 7. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and0:34 Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is the only account in scripture where Jesus is described as standing at the right hand of God versus sitting at the right hand of God.0:45 So what is it that brings Jesus to his feet? We're gonna take a look at that this morning. Alright. Today's in today's passage, we read about the church's first formal0:57 institution of, institutional organization. Alright? It's beginning to take shape. It's driven by a need to preserve unity that was being fractured over the issue of caring for the widows.1:09 Now the early church was primarily composed of Jews. Right? You had the Hebrew speaking Jews from Judea and Samaria, and then you had the Greek speaking Jews from the provinces,1:21 around the, the known world at the time. So the Greek speaking Jews were often treated as second class, citizens, and so their widows appeared to be maybe they were, but they appear to be1:33 neglected in the charity and care of the early church, and so complaints arose. The apostles realized that they could not neglect their mission, which was to1:45 pray and to preach, so they needed to solve the problem. And so we have the creation of the position of deacon, which the word deacon actually means to serve. Alright. Verse1:56 1 of chapter 6. Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the2:08 12 summoned the multitude of the disciples said, it is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you 7 men of good reputation,2:20 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, over the church business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the2:32 ministry of the word. Now notice the qualities that they were looking for in these servants. Number 1, good reputation, meaning men of integrity, full of the Holy Spirit. That2:44 means they were also men of prayer and the word because you're not gonna be filled with the spirit unless you're abiding in Christ and in the word and praying. And then third, they were full of wisdom.2:55 Now that means that they had a fear or a reverence for God. In Proverbs 9 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy 1 is3:07 understanding. Alright. Verse 5. And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, Nicanor,3:19 Timon, Parmenas, Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch. Verse 6, whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid hands on3:31 them. Now these, as I said, these were the first deacons in the church. They were to serve the physical needs so that the apostles who were who were focused on the spiritual needs of the church could3:43 focus on prayer and the word of God in that order. Alright? Now this is this is of note. Okay? It's noteworthy. Pastors and teachers should prioritize prayer3:55 and the word, and I believe it's in that order. That's why we need other servants in the church to help with, you know, whether it's hospital visitation, overseeing the4:07 nursery. There's all all these different things that need to be done, and they are important, but the pastor cannot neglect prayer and the word. And and I know in many4:18 churches, pastors are called upon to come to birthday parties and this and that, and that's fine if they can do that, but it should never be to the neglect of4:30 prayer or the word. You want your pastor praying. You want your pastor in the word so that when they preach and when they teach, they are filled with the Holy4:41 Spirit. Verse 8. And Stephen, full of faith, grace, and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is4:53 called the synagogue of the freedmen, the the Cyrenians and the Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia disputing with Stephen, and they were not able to resist the5:05 wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. And they stirred up the people, the elders, the scribes, and they5:17 came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. Now, by the way, this is just another example of the cancel culture. We've we've seen this already here in the New Testament in the book of Acts. We're5:29 seeing it today. They could not debate him, and they could not refute the truth which he spoke. So what they what they have to do? They had to silence him. Again,5:40 we see the very same thing happening today. Verse 15, and all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him saw his face as the face of an angel. Right. So5:52 where did Stephen gain his power and grace? Right? The Holy Spirit. They could not resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.6:05 Now pay close attention to this next verse. Just because he was a deacon, a servant, did not mean he didn't teach and preach. Look at verse 2. And he6:17 said, brethren and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran. Now, almost the entireStephen's Sermon and the Cost of Truth 6:30 entirety of chapter 7 is Stephen's sermon on the history of the Jewish people and how they rejected God's way revealed at Mount Sinai and how they rejected the way revealed in Jesus, so6:42 they crucified him. Now a couple of observations here in Stephen's sermon. Look how important the history of the nation is in shaping6:54 who they would become. You know, we we must know our past and our purpose, which will influence our present, thereby shaping our future. Over and over,7:06 we see the history lessons given by the spiritual leaders. We saw it all through the Old Testament. We're seeing it here in the New Testament. We need to know our spiritual and our political7:17 history. We must teach that to our children, and, alright, here's a message I was taking up for the pulpits earlier in the pastors. The pastors also need to teach and preach to the7:29 people of God our history, our spiritual history, and our political history, lest we forget who we are and who God has created us to be and called us to be. Then look at Moses's7:41 life. I I I love this about Moses, and and, of course, Moses factors in greatly to the nation of Israel. His life is neatly divided into 3 parts. Number 1, 40 years in Egypt being educated7:53 by man, 40 years in the wilderness being shaped by God, and 40 years in leadership being used by God. Moses' most significant,8:05 third phase of his life was when most are enjoying the golf course. They're on in retirement. You know, what is God preparing you for? I I I I'm gonna tell8:17 you. I don't believe in retirement. I I do believe in, you know, retreading, you know, maybe taking a different approach or being free from the daily, obligations of having to8:29 make an income to provide for the family, the kids, or groom. But I I just don't think we should sit around and, and not be serving in the kingdom of God. He's8:40 he's what he has given us through life, these experiences, and as we've matured as we should if we're in the word of God, we have so much to give and to impart. And8:52 so, anyway, we see that in the life of Moses. I mean, here the guy was still going at a hundred and 20 years old. Alright. Back to Stephen, where the the closing to his message that he gives9:04 and his altar call didn't go over very well. Verse 54 of chapter 7. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Now recall what Jesus said over in9:16 John chapter 15. We just read this recently. John 15 20. Remember the word that I said to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they9:27 will keep yours also. But all these things, they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have9:39 no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my father also. Alright. Back to Acts chapter 7 verse 55. But he, being full of9:51 the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, look. I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.10:03 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with 1 accord. Notice notice they stopped their ears. They put their hands over their ears. They did not want to hear the truth.10:16 The truth was offensive to them. The truth was convicting. That's why people don't want the truth. That's why people don't want the Bible, and that's why we cannot neglect it. Verse10:28 58, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him, and witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God saying, Lord Jesus,10:40 receive my spirit. Remember what Jesus said on the cross? Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Now here's the answer10:53 to our question. Why was Jesus, who everywhere else in the New Testament is described as being seated at the right hand of the father, having done the work of redemption at the cross,11:04 sending into heaven, he was sitting he's sitting at the right hand of the father interceding for us. But why here is he standing? Well, when a faithful servant empowered by the spirit11:17 was stoned for preaching the truth of God, lifting up Jesus to the glory of the father, Jesus was on his feet standing at the right hand of theStephen's Martyrdom and Jesus Standing 11:28 father. Now I am, I am not suggesting that we are all called to be martyrs. In fact, I do not believe I've been called to be a martyr. I'm11:40 I'm I'm a I'm a I believe in Ephesians 6. I believe in putting on the full armor of God and standing our ground firmly. And I I I do not11:52 I I know there have been martyrs. I just I but, here's my point. I do not believe we've all been called to be martyrs, but I do believe we had been called to live like martyrs.12:05 What do I mean? Remember Jesus' call to his disciples. Right? And by the way, when I say when we talk about being martyrs, we're we're not victims. We are not victims. Stephen was not a12:16 victim. Jesus was not a victim. They Jesus gave up the ghost. Jesus released his spirit. Jesus this was God's plan. Alright? But I do believe that we are to12:28 we are called to live like martyrs. Jesus has called his disciples in Luke chapter 9 verse 21. Then he said to them all, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.12:40 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Paul said it this way. He said to live is Christ, to die is gain. You know, by living like12:52 a martyr, giving up our lives, laying down our lives in advance, who can touch us? Who can touch us? And and you cannot stop the march of the gospel. You know,13:04 a quote I've used before because it's so good comes from William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter made famous, in the movie Braveheart. Now he it was attributed to him. Him. I don't know if he actually13:16 said it. I've not been able to find it in history. He said something like it. It was it was this. Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. Let me say it again. Every13:28 man dies, but not every man truly lives. Now if you didn't say it, I'm gonna take it because it's filled with truth. We all die. We all are going to die unless the Lord returns13:40 in our lifetime. We're all going to die, but so few really live because they're afraid to die. Stephen showed us we should13:51 prepare we should live prepared to die, and then we'll there's no way we'll ever be more alive than we've come to that point to14:03 lay down our lives for Christ, being willing to take up our cross daily and follow him. Father, we thank you for this amazing passage of scripture.14:15 The first martyr, Stephen, who, lord, was not a victim, but father upon his testimony, lord, the gospel spread as we'll see, lord, how you used his faithfulness14:27 in his death, lord, faithfully proclaiming truth. Lord, I pray that we would each consider the cost of discipleship to deny14:39 ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow you. And I pray, Lord, emboldened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit that we could do that. Not in our own strength, it's14:51 not possible, but in the strength of this of the Holy Spirit, it is. We pray this in in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on15:03 the word.15:07 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:19 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Stephen's Faith and the Call to Serve6:22 Stephen's Sermon and the Cost of Truth11:23 Stephen's Martyrdom and Jesus Standing
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