Induction Robin Asgher
Text: Acts 6:4 Date: 03/03/07 Place: Cranford Baptist
I count it a great privilege to be preaching today. What I want to do is draw your attention to Acts 6:4. We need to read a bit of verse 3 to get the context. The Apostles speak and they say We will turn this responsibility over to them (to these deacons they wanted chosen) and (here's the important bit) will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Acts 6 describes something that happened in the early days of the church after Christ's ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. The story comes in the middle of a series of persecutions (that's why we read the final verses of Acts 5). Persecution is quite normal for God's people but when it dies down for a while they heave a great sigh of relief. But soon other troubles come along – if not from without then from within.
Here in the Jerusalem church it was in the form of an argument between the Grecian and Hebraic Jews. You might imagine that in the Jerusalem Church it was all peace and harmony but no. There were differences among Jews living in 1st Century Jerusalem and even though they'd become Christians sometimes those differences were a problem. It's the same today. You can't say, well these are all Asian people or British people – they're all the same. No, there are Urdu speakers and Hindi speakers and Telugu speakers, people from Pakistan and India, Gujurat and Andhra Pradesh, etc. There are English and Welsh, Cockneys and Geordies, etc. We don't know the exact difference between Grecian and Hebraic Jews. It was probably that some spoke mostly Aramaic and some mostly Greek. Perhaps the Hebraic ones were born in Judea and the Grecians came from elsewhere. There was enough of a difference anyway for those in the know to see.
Now though people from both these groups had become Christians there was still a dispute. There were several widows in the church and as caring people they had a system of looking after them. They distributed food to them. Anyway, the Grecian Jews felt their widows were being neglected and not treated as well as the Hebraic ones. So they had a big meeting about it led by the 12 Apostles, still the leaders of the Jerusalem church. They'd not been driven out by persecution yet.
The apostles say It wouldn't be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. And that's what happens. Seven men are chosen to do this work. Stephen is the most famous - a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip is also mentioned later in Acts. There were 5 others. One notices that they all had Greek names so I don't know if that meant that everyone was doing their level best to keep things fair. Probably. These men are sometimes known as the "seven deacons" as although they're not called deacons here that's the sort of role they were taking on - a diaconal one, making sure the apostles were free to concentrate on praying and preaching.
It certainly seems to have sorted out the problem and, more than that, we read in 6:7 that the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Now what we have in this chapter then is a sort of 'rule of thumb'. In every church ideally there will be at least one person set aside to concentrate on praying and preaching while others take care of everything else – looking after the collection, opening the place and locking up, etc. Otherwise the praying and the preaching is going to get left out and that's no good.
So what I want to do is to take that principle and preach on it in three different ways. I say three but it's really four as though it's true in general that a preacher should always preach to himself first, I think it's especially so in this case. As a minister myself it would be hypocritical to tell everyone else how important it is to set Robin aside for prayer and preaching and not preach the message to myself first. It's so easy to let prayer and preaching get pushed out. There are lots of other good things to do – pastoral visiting, studying, organising things for young people, various committees, etc. But number one must always be prayer and preaching. Anyway you haven't come here to hear me talk to myself so I can't linger but I want you to realise I'm trying to do this in the right order.
I want to speak then to all who have gathered together for this induction for Robin. In particular I want to speak to three people or groups of people.
1. Robin himself
I count it a great privilege to be preaching today. What I want to do is draw your attention to Acts 6:4. We need to read a bit of verse 3 to get the context. The Apostles speak and they say We will turn this responsibility over to them (to these deacons they wanted chosen) and (here's the important bit) will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Acts 6 describes something that happened in the early days of the church after Christ's ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. The story comes in the middle of a series of persecutions (that's why we read the final verses of Acts 5). Persecution is quite normal for God's people but when it dies down for a while they heave a great sigh of relief. But soon other troubles come along – if not from without then from within.
Here in the Jerusalem church it was in the form of an argument between the Grecian and Hebraic Jews. You might imagine that in the Jerusalem Church it was all peace and harmony but no. There were differences among Jews living in 1st Century Jerusalem and even though they'd become Christians sometimes those differences were a problem. It's the same today. You can't say, well these are all Asian people or British people – they're all the same. No, there are Urdu speakers and Hindi speakers and Telugu speakers, people from Pakistan and India, Gujurat and Andhra Pradesh, etc. There are English and Welsh, Cockneys and Geordies, etc. We don't know the exact difference between Grecian and Hebraic Jews. It was probably that some spoke mostly Aramaic and some mostly Greek. Perhaps the Hebraic ones were born in Judea and the Grecians came from elsewhere. There was enough of a difference anyway for those in the know to see.
Now though people from both these groups had become Christians there was still a dispute. There were several widows in the church and as caring people they had a system of looking after them. They distributed food to them. Anyway, the Grecian Jews felt their widows were being neglected and not treated as well as the Hebraic ones. So they had a big meeting about it led by the 12 Apostles, still the leaders of the Jerusalem church. They'd not been driven out by persecution yet.
The apostles say It wouldn't be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. And that's what happens. Seven men are chosen to do this work. Stephen is the most famous - a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip is also mentioned later in Acts. There were 5 others. One notices that they all had Greek names so I don't know if that meant that everyone was doing their level best to keep things fair. Probably. These men are sometimes known as the "seven deacons" as although they're not called deacons here that's the sort of role they were taking on - a diaconal one, making sure the apostles were free to concentrate on praying and preaching.
It certainly seems to have sorted out the problem and, more than that, we read in 6:7 that the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Now what we have in this chapter then is a sort of 'rule of thumb'. In every church ideally there will be at least one person set aside to concentrate on praying and preaching while others take care of everything else – looking after the collection, opening the place and locking up, etc. Otherwise the praying and the preaching is going to get left out and that's no good.
So what I want to do is to take that principle and preach on it in three different ways. I say three but it's really four as though it's true in general that a preacher should always preach to himself first, I think it's especially so in this case. As a minister myself it would be hypocritical to tell everyone else how important it is to set Robin aside for prayer and preaching and not preach the message to myself first. It's so easy to let prayer and preaching get pushed out. There are lots of other good things to do – pastoral visiting, studying, organising things for young people, various committees, etc. But number one must always be prayer and preaching. Anyway you haven't come here to hear me talk to myself so I can't linger but I want you to realise I'm trying to do this in the right order.
I want to speak then to all who have gathered together for this induction for Robin. In particular I want to speak to three people or groups of people.
1. Robin himself
2. The members or prospective members of the Cranford church and other local churches
3. Others here today, especially those of you who are from the local area
Now I basically want to say something very similar to each using the text but it will have a different application in each case as we shall see
Now I basically want to say something very similar to each using the text but it will have a different application in each case as we shall see
1. Robin
So let's start with Robin. Robin, I've already drawn my own attention to this text and now I want to draw yours to it. Notice how the Apostles, the church leaders of their day approach this problem - It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables ... Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
So there are three things here then for you
1. Negatively, don't let anything distract you from giving yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word
So there are three things here then for you
1. Negatively, don't let anything distract you from giving yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word
As you know, there are lots of other calls on your time. You don't find yourself sat there twiddling your thumbs. There's plenty to do. Now what you must be careful not to do is to let all these other things crowd out the main thing. Have you ever done this? You've been in a room and needed something and thought 'I must go upstairs and get it' then on your way you think I could do this too while I'm up there. And so you do and you come back down and lo and behold you've forgotten the very thing you went up for! Easily done.
Now in the ministry it's easy to forget the main thing, to get sidetracked. Don't do it. You must get your priorities right.
2. Positively, give your attention to prayer
2. Positively, give your attention to prayer
The apostles general concern is that they don't neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables ... But when they speak they say they will give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. They put prayer first I think for several reasons.
Firstly, because prayer underlies everything else in the ministry. Without prayer everything else is pretty a much a waste of time.
Prayer is also the easiest to forget about because it's done in private. No-one really knows how much you pray. It's a secret thing between you and God. That's why it's easy to neglect. The ministry's a bit like an iceberg. You know that 5/8 of an iceberg is under the water, unseen. Something similar can be said about the ministry - a lot of it is hidden – the studying and reading and especially the praying. Don't neglect the secret parts. A concert pianist once said that he needed to practice everyday. If he didn't practice even one day, he could tell. If he left it a few days, he said, then other people would start to notice. If he left it longer again then soon everyone would know. Something similar could be said about the minister and his prayer life.
Okay, practically, how? In theory a minister needs to pray first as a Christian then as a minister but I don't think you can divide it up like that. They run into each other. Spurgeon once said – I'm never more than 10 minutes in prayer ... And never more than 10 minutes out of it. I think that's the key. Begin and end the day in prayer, pray when you eat, pray when you read the Bible, when you prepare sermons, etc. Whatever you do, pray. Never resist the urge. That's the best advice I can give.
3. Positively, give yourself to the ministry of the Word
Okay, practically, how? In theory a minister needs to pray first as a Christian then as a minister but I don't think you can divide it up like that. They run into each other. Spurgeon once said – I'm never more than 10 minutes in prayer ... And never more than 10 minutes out of it. I think that's the key. Begin and end the day in prayer, pray when you eat, pray when you read the Bible, when you prepare sermons, etc. Whatever you do, pray. Never resist the urge. That's the best advice I can give.
3. Positively, give yourself to the ministry of the Word
This must be kept to the fore. Ministry of the Word, of course, is not just standing in this pulpit on a Sunday, it includes a whole range of things – speaking to the children and young people here or in the schools, speaking in small group meetings, talking to people on their doorsteps, etc. The important thing is that the whole week is geared towards this end – getting the Word of God out to people. Let the people hear! That's what matters. It involves hard work and a lot of preparation but it must be the thing that you focus on. 2 Tim 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.
2. Members or prospective members of the Cranford church and others
Now what I have to say will affect you all to varying degrees but the principle is the same. This is for you Muno, and for church members and to some extent all of us. Again three things
1. Negatively, do everything you can to help Robin not to be distracted from giving himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word
Now what I have to say will affect you all to varying degrees but the principle is the same. This is for you Muno, and for church members and to some extent all of us. Again three things
1. Negatively, do everything you can to help Robin not to be distracted from giving himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word
Do you know the word 'facilitator'? A facilitator is someone who does not necessarily do a thing himself but he makes sure it gets done. You need to be facilitators for Robin. Because he is full time in the work it is easy to think, Well he can do this or he can do that quite easily and so he ends up dealing with workmen, giving lifts to people or whatever and very soon you will find the work of prayer and preaching neglected. Now I'm not saying he can't do these things or must never do them. However, these things must not be allowed to so take up his time that prayer and preaching is neglected. If you borrow a video or DVD from a shop – you want to get your use out of it while you have it and get your money's worth. There's no point having it lying round. Well, God is giving you a pastor. Make good use of him. Do everything you can to help him to be a prayerful preacher.
2. Positively, do everything you can to help him to give his attention to prayer
2. Positively, do everything you can to help him to give his attention to prayer
Two things –
1. Obviously, to pray he needs time alone. Whether he prays or not is up to him but you must make sure he gets the opportunity. Perhaps there needs to be some arrangement about when you phone or don't phone.
2. He needs not only time, but he needs to know about how things are with you. Imagine someone complaining their doctor never does anything to help them with their arthritis. You talk to them and it turns out they've never been to speaks to him about the problem! Now sometimes we don't want the pastor to know about how things are with us because they're not good. It is better to try and tell him, though – so he can pray. He doesn't want a blow by blow account of your daily routine but he needs to know something about you to pray for you. So keep him informed.
3. Positively, do everything you can to help him give himself to the ministry of the Word
1. Obviously, to pray he needs time alone. Whether he prays or not is up to him but you must make sure he gets the opportunity. Perhaps there needs to be some arrangement about when you phone or don't phone.
2. He needs not only time, but he needs to know about how things are with you. Imagine someone complaining their doctor never does anything to help them with their arthritis. You talk to them and it turns out they've never been to speaks to him about the problem! Now sometimes we don't want the pastor to know about how things are with us because they're not good. It is better to try and tell him, though – so he can pray. He doesn't want a blow by blow account of your daily routine but he needs to know something about you to pray for you. So keep him informed.
3. Positively, do everything you can to help him give himself to the ministry of the Word
Remember that is the main thing he is coming to do. So you do everything you can to encourage him in it.
1. When he's speaking to you, listen to what he says. Be enthusiastic about it.
2. Whether to you or to others, pray for the preaching - that it will be clear and powerful. Pray for its success. We can't all preach but we can all pray. Let's all pray for the success of the preaching of the Word.
3. Others here today, especially those of you who are from the local area
1. Negatively, understand what is happening here today, Robin is being set aside today for nothing other than the work of prayer and the ministry of the Word
1. Negatively, understand what is happening here today, Robin is being set aside today for nothing other than the work of prayer and the ministry of the Word
Robin is not here as a community worker or a youth club organiser or something like that, although he may well be involved in such things. No, he has come here chiefly to pray and to preach – to pray for the people of Cranford and to tell them what God's Word says. That is his main work.
Don't oppose him then – he's God's man. It would be dangerous to stand in his way. Respect him and understand his work.
2. Be thankful that there is someone here who is being set aside to pray for you
2. Be thankful that there is someone here who is being set aside to pray for you
Now here is wonderful thing. One of the things that Robin is doing for you and for other people of this area is praying for you. There are others praying I'm sure but perhaps he's the only one set apart especially for that. There's no-one else. The police don't do that or the local councillors or the school teachers. No, only Robin is set part for that. Be thankful it is so. Ask him to pray for you. Tell him what you want him to pray for – Tell him to pray for a BMW for me, you say. Well, he may not pray exactly as you want but he will pray for you. He'll pray for something better than a BMW – that you might know Jesus Christ and forgiveness in him.
3. Be thankful that there is someone here who is being set aside to minister the Word of God to you
3. Be thankful that there is someone here who is being set aside to minister the Word of God to you
Robin has come to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's his message. If you turn from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ all will be well. That's what he wants you to know. Listen to him. Hear the message and be saved.
