Day 5
Read: Acts 5-6
Introduction: The other day I was at Target looking for a photo album (by the way, they are almost nonexistent these days), and like normal, I walked in circles trying to find them to no avail. I submitted to defeat and finally asked an employee at Target for the location of the photo albums. As he walked me to the location where they were, we talked about life, and he mentioned that he once used to be part of a church and believed in Jesus but had since walked away from the faith and is currently agnostic. Out of curiosity, I asked him what drove him away from the faith. His response was simple and pointed, “the people.” He explained, “I found that people in the church were still consumed with themselves just like everyone else. They are just striving to take care of their own skin and take any power possible.” Wrapped in the DNA of the church is the title “servant.” Unfortunately, we look at church as a place to be served rather than serving others. When that is the case, this employee at Target is spot on. Serving another was at the core of the early church and there is evidence of that in Acts 6.
Acts 6:1-7
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” …And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Think about it: The church in Jerusalem discovered a need that was brought to light by some within the church; there were some Greek widows that needed caretaking and the church had not yet provided them with the help they needed. They chose seven people from the church who were “full of the Spirit and wisdom” to serve these specific women. They understood the role of the church, within the church. They saw that they were meant to serve one another. Jesus even tells his disciples in Matthew 20:28, “Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” If God came to serve, how much more should we serve? The employee at Target hit it right on the head, to be in the church was never about being served but about serving others.
Take away: Saved people serve people.