Bible Challenge Acts 6: "So the word of God spread" * In this chapter of the New Testament the number of believers continues to grow, but Stephen is falsely accused. Read Acts 6 online or look it up in your Bible. Going Deeper Before you start your daily reading, say a prayer asking God to guide your thinking as you read, and then read the Bible with the aim of learning something new. After the reading, consider how it may affect your life and relationship with your heavenly Father and allow your increased knowledge of the Scriptures to shape your character and strengthen your trust in God. Discussion notes on Acts 6 • Is it strangely reassuring that even the very early church had practical and administrative problems which needed addressing (v1)? • Again, we see (v7) how quickly the Jews were accepting the gospel and even priests were believing. • How do you interpret the final verse? Was it a permanent physical feature or a temporary one as Stephen is witnessing faithfully, or something else? More on Acts 6 When the number of those being saved increased greatly, it was wonderful news; but the workload of the ministry became too heavy. The apostles were zealous in their preaching of the gospel. Progress in the ministry was taking place. Yet many were being neglected, such as the widows. This caused discontent. The apostles needed to take action; and so they wisely chose others – deacons – to carry out the administration. This enabled them to carry on preaching and teaching. People were still being saved. There were special requirements for these newly appointed deacons. The main emphasis was that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and were both wise and faithful. These stipulations were important in light of those who needed extra love and care. They needed to have patience, and be both faithful and honest in all they did. The deacons had to have a good reputation, ready to pray for people at any time. This delegation of work was essential for the apostles; for the work of evangelism and social service was, and still is, important for increasing the numbers of those being saved. The key to success in ministry is that the Holy Spirit be free to work through the lives of believers. He needs to be allowed to take control of people’s lives, in order that God’s work be done. When we are humble before God, allowing God’s Holy Spirit to work in our lives, there will be staggering results. We need to be obedient to whatever God asks of us, so the Holy Spirit can work through us. For when this happens, people will be saved, and the Church will grow. The Holy Spirit is the key to success in our ministry. As Christians today, we need to be humble and ask God to give us the Holy Spirit, so that we can work harder or the salvation of others.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 05:19:45 +0000