Reading: Acts 6:1-7

THE PRIORITIES OF A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

Thanksgiving day was always a special time for the Jarvis family. Their sons and daughters-in-law made a point of being " back home again in Indiana," bringing seven excited grandchildren with them. The gathering of the clan was a family tradition that everybody hoped would continue uninterrupted until the return of the Lord. Dad and Mum Jarvis had retired after pastoring three churches for a total of forty three years, and they were very pleased that their two boys had followed in their footsteps. " Well, son, how goes the battle ?" Dad asked Daniel while the men cleared the table for coffee. Dan was now in his third year of ministry and wasn't having an easy time. Dan hesitated, not wanting to cast gloom over the festive occasion. " Well, Dad, the battle's going on and, believe me, its really a battle."

" The third year's the hardest because the honeymoon's over," has father commented. " The fifth year is often when things start to open up, but the tenth is the toughest. If you hang in there until number ten, thats when the church turns the corner." " The way things are going Dad, I may not last for five years. I am may end up standing on that corner all alone." " Sure you'll make it," his father exclaimed, " The Lord's on your side and you can't lose." Dan wasn't so sure it was that easy. Furthermore, he didn't have the people skills and the staying power that helped make his father such a successful shepherd of the flock. If Dan had his choice he'd rather be coaching in a Bible college or running a Christian camp. " Seriously Dad, what really builds a church ? No clichés now !" he asked. " Two resources son, the Word and prayer. According to

( 6:4 ) the apostles devoted themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. That's the example you want to follow."

The crisis the apostolic church faced and successfully weathered was the disagreement between the Hebrews and the Hellenists over the neglect of their widows in the daily distribution of food. However, the problem involved much more than feeding people, as important as that is, for it was basically a struggle between church ministry and church structure. After all, a growing church, occasionally requires new " clothes," and the early church was willing to modify its structure to keep organisation from the obstructing the progress of the ministry. But what caused this problem ? Was it just a matter of geography and prejudice, with the Hebrew speaking Jews resenting the Greek speaking Jews who came from outside the Holy Land ? Not at all.

According to the context the problem was caused by the apostles, the spiritual leaders of the church. The apostles were so busy serving tables that they were neglecting prayer and the ministry of the Word, and this created a spiritual deficiency in the body that led to division and disagreement.

In short, the apostles priorities were confused, and it showed up in their ministries. Once the deacons were appointed and began to serve the problem was solved.

You see, the busier we are, the easier it is to leave God out of our work even we though we know that Christ said, " without me ye can do nothing." ( Jn 15:5 ) And the church that ignores the Word of God and Prayer is living on substitutes or perhaps we should say dying on substitutes, no matter how alive that church appears to be. My .... here are The Priorities of a New Testament Church. " But we will .... word." ( 6:4 ) Notice what the apostles did not say. They did not say, " We will give ourselves to visitation and counselling," needful though that is. They did not say, " We will give ourselves to committee's and discussion," they did not say, " We will give ourselves to singing, to gospel concerts," inspiring though they may be, they said, " But we .... prayer and to the ministry of the Word." Why is that God's people don't put the same effort into prayer and the Word as they put into other things ?

I mean are these not God's priorities ? Prayer, Preparation, Preaching ! According to a Christianity Today, survey the average pastor spends only three minutes a day in prayer. How much better it would be to emulate Andrew Bonar who wrote in his diary, " Passed six hours today in prayer and Scripture reading, confessing sin, and seeking blessing for myself and the church." The Greek word translated " ministry," here has the same root as the word translated " deacon," in the New Testament, and this root includes " dust," suggesting the idea of raising dust in a hurry, that is being busy at work. The apostles were labourers. They all prayerfully pored over the Old Testament, working hard at understanding and communicating the truth of God's Word. Donald Grey Barnhouse said, " No man is ever going to fill the pulpit adequately unless he spends thousands of hours year after year in the study of God's Word."

" But we will .... word." My .... as you go through the Bible you'll find God's tools for ministry are the Word of God and prayer. The Word gives us enlightenment, Prayer gives us enablement. When we read the Word our faith is increased because faith comes through the Word. Then we pray, and God answers because our praying is guided by the Word of God. The Word of God and Prayer. Had Moses not this ministry ? Moses met God on the mount and interceded for Israel, then came down and taught them the Word that God had given him. ( Exod 32:31 33:5 ) Had Samuel not this ministry ? Do you recall his response when the people requested his prayers ? " God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you .... but I will teach you the good and right way." ( 1 Sam 12:23 ) Had Daniel not this ministry ? Daniel studied the Scriptures and learned God's plan for the Jewish nation, and then he turned to prayer and asked God to forgive his people and work on their behalf. ( Dan 9:3 )

The Word of God and Prayer. When we open the Bible, God speak to us, when we open our hearts in prayer, we speak to God. Now why is the ministry of the Word and Prayer so important in the local church ? Well, have a look at the Book of Acts and notice that the Word of God and Prayer are:

(1) THE SOURCE OF OUR WISDOM

In ( Acts Ch 1 ) the disciples elected a new apostle, his name was Matthias. But how did they do it ? How did they determine the will of God ? Through the Word of God and prayer. For this task of electing a successor to Judas was done in an atmosphere of prayer and in the light of God's word. " These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." ( 1:14 ) Then Peter stood up and applied the Word of God to their specific situation. He told them that what Judas had done was simply a fulfilment of prophecy ( Ps 41:9 69:25

Jn 13:18 ) Peter told them also that a replacement of Judas was necessary because this also was foreordained in Scripture ( Ps 109:8 ) You see, these early disciples were directed by the Word of God and Prayer ! This was the (1) I often wonder, are out churches being directed by the wisdom of this world, or by the wisdom of God ? Paul says, " Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."

( 1 Cor 3:18 )

Paul is talking about being wise by the standards of this present age ! My .... do you realise that the wisdom we need for leading the local church is different from that needed to run a store or business ? Just because a man is a successful business man does not mean he has the wisdom needed to direct the affairs of a church. " The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." That does not mean that the church should not have good business principles or good organisational practices. It simply means that the wisdom of this world is not sufficient for determining the will of God for a local church. Where do we get this wisdom ? Through the Word of God and Prayer ! My .... has God placed you in a position of leadership ? Are you spending time in the Word and Prayer ? If not your not going to have much to contribute, in fact you're going to be an obstacle instead of an asset, a stumbling block instead of a stepping stone for our source of wisdom is the Word of God and Prayer ! (1)

(2) THE SUCCESS OF OUR WITNESS

Do you recall that on the eve of Christ's ascension the disciples were commanded " And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

( 1:8 ) How could they accomplish this ? How could Peter an uneducated, untrained fisherman ever hope to reach the world with the gospel ? Peter was not trained in the Rabbinical schools of his day, I suppose we could say he had no formal theological training. Yet what had happened ? He preached the Word in ( Acts Ch 2 ) and three thousand were saved ! What was his secret ? The Word of God and Prayer ! For it was after the ten days prayer meeting in ( Ch 1 ) that three thousand were saved, and that number grew to five thousand in ( Ch 4 ) and it was after the prayer meeting of ( Ch 4 ) that " the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly."

Dr. Campbell Morgan says, " there were about 250,000 souls in six months."

What was the secret ? The Word of God and Prayer !

" You preached today as though you came from the throne of heaven," a church officer said to Alexander Whyte one Lord's day. Whyte quietly replied, " Maybe I did." Several members of Jonathan Edward's church spent the whole night in prayer before he preached that memorable sermon, " Sinners in the hands of an angry God." And God was so powerfully manifest in that service in His Holiness and Power that the elders threw their arms around the pillars of the church crying, " Lord save us we are slipping down to hell." Someone once asked Charles Haddon Spurgeon, what the secret of his fruitful ministry was ? He thought for a moment and then replied, " My people pray for me."

What more could a pastor want ? My .... do you pray for me ? Do you pray for me in the quiet place ?

Do you pray that I might open my mouth boldly ? Do you join with me in prayer before the gospel service ?

I tell you if we want to see God bless, we'll have to give ourselves to the Word of God and prayer ! For (1) (2)

(3) THE SECRET OF OUR WARFARE

Charles Spurgeon used to say that Satan never kicks a dead horse. My .... Satan knew this early church was on the move so he attacked it. In ( Ch 2 ) three thousand were saved, in ( Ch 4 ) that number grew to five thousand. Then what happened ? Well, Satan came as a LION and had the apostles threatened ! In ( Ch 5 ) Satan came like a SERPENT, influencing Ananias and Sapphira to infect the church with their lying and hypocrisy. Then in ( Ch 6 ) Satan came as the ACCUSER. One group of widows accused the other group of widows taking over. " We are being neglected,

they said. Do you know something ? Satan always likes to get the saints to accuse one another. But do you see what was happening here ? Having failed to overcome the church by either Persecution or Corruption, the devil now tries Distraction !

If he could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect their God-given responsibility to pray and to preach. The result ? The church would be left without any defence against false doctrine ! So what did the apostles do ? " But we will .... word." ( 6:4 ) You see, it takes the Word of God and prayer to defeat the enemy ! Do you remember when Amalek came to fight Israel ? ( Exod 17:8-11 ) Joshua went to the battlefield, but Moses went to the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. " And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed." For that uplifted hand was emblematic of prayer. ( Ps 28:2 ) But prayer alone did not win the day, for it was the Rod and the Sword. The sword on the battlefield, .... the Word of God, the intercessor up on the mountain .... prayer !

How did our Lord Jesus defeat the Wicked One ? He did it by using the Word of God and prayer. When He was in the wilderness, our Lord prayed to His Father, and then He quoted the Word of God to Satan.

He was guided and guarded by the Word of God and Prayer. No wonder Paul when he talks about the Armour of God underscores this vital combination.

" And take .... the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God .... praying always .... " ( Eph 6:17 )

My .... is your for work for God problematic and difficult ? Is Satan opposing the work and using people

( Christians ) to make things worse ? What is the

answer ? What is the solution ? The Word of God and Prayer. Indeed they are:

(4) THE SUPPLY OF OUR WORKERS

People say, " We need workers today." My .... these workers will be called through the Word of God and Prayer. For it was while Saul and Barnabas were ministering to the Lord in Antioch that " the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. ( 13:2 ) There are two questions here !

(a) WHEN WERE THEY CALLED ?

When they were ministering to the Lord ! The word

" ministered," here means more than public service, it describes priestly service for it described the priests who ministered in the Tabneracle. ( Exod 28:41 ) Such service consists of prayer, oversight of the flock, studying, teaching and preaching the Word. Here were two men who had proved themselves at Antioch, who had been a blessing to others and now the Spirit of God was " separating them .... " They were called when they were in active service ! It is interesting that Barnabas and Saul were not called to the mission field at a missionary conference. Its good to have missionary conferences, but every time whenever God's people gather together and you have the Word of God and prayer, then God can call people to serve Him. My .... are these not the kind of men that God calls to further service ? Men who are already active: gifted: committed to the Work of God ? (a)

(b) WHO WERE CALLED ?

Barnabas and Saul ! Who were they ? Well, apart from being involved in the ministry at Antioch, they were part of the leadership team ! Imagine two fifths of the leadership team at Antioch were being led out into other service. Wouldn't that be wonderful if that happened here ? What would happen to this church if God called out our best men to go to the mission field ? My .... are we willing to give our best young people ? Are we willing to give our best young couples ? Barnabas and Saul were loved, trusted, respected. They were the two best men the church at Antioch had. But God said,

" Seperate me Barnabas and Saul .... " My .... are you beginning to see the blessings God has for His church when they " give themselves continually .... Word ?"

The Word of God and Prayer are (1) (2) (3) (4) and:

(5) THE STRENGTH OF OUR WALK

Pauls closing words to the Ephesian elders are touching.

He said, " And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." ( 20:32 ) Again, we have the Word of God and Prayer. " I commend you to God

( prayer ) and to the Word of His grace. ( the Word of God ) How are we to be built up ? What will enable us to claim our inheritance in Christ ? Where can we find the ability to walk as children of the King should walk ? In the Word of God and Prayer ! My .... this is the Strength of our Walk !

William Gurnall, the Puritan preacher, used to say,

" When people do not mind what God speaks to them in His Word, God doth as little mind what they say to Him in prayer." Something happens when churches pray and when they balance prayer and the Word of God. Like two wings carrying a bird in flight or two oars propelling a boat through water, the Word of God and prayer keep us balanced and moving ahead. My .... without the Word of God and prayer our ministry is just religious activity. Here then are The Priorities of a New Testament Church. Since the church is made up of individual believers, they are to be your priorities and mine. " But we will continually gave .... Word."

Will we ? Will you ? Will I ?