1 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,280 It's always a challenge because we go, you know, verse by verse, 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,480 chapter by chapter through the word and it doesn't always land 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,120 perfectly on these special days. And so it's all I always wonder, 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,120 you know, how can I honor you? And also a stay true to where 5 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:22,680 we're at in the word. So today I want to do a little 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:24,960 bit of both. And so I think that there's some 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,480 encouragement in the word to just say on behalf of our church 8 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,200 to all of the moms. And, and really I've just been 9 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,480 saying it to everyone because as I just prayed, we all got here 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,200 through moms. So we all have people in our 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,240 lives that have brought us into the world that are our moms that 12 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:42,720 we. And for the moms that are 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,600 holding newborns, the expecting mothers, the, the moms who have 14 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,040 their kids grown and out of the house, the moms who have become 15 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:50,880 grandmothers. And then the just women of our 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,920 church who have that spiritual gift of, of being a motherly 17 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,800 disciple, or we just say thank you to you. 18 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,440 And I am on behalf of my son, just going to share a card that 19 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,720 I saw him give to his mom today. So if I could just share that 20 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,160 this is his Mother's Day report card. 21 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:14,520 And I just there's this I'll draw your attention down to good 22 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,120 listener. I loved that he gave her two out 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,120 of three there. So moms, your kids are watching 24 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,200 she he did great in every category. 25 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:30,040 And I, I share that card with you this morning because I want 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,680 to give you something that is better than a card to all the 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,840 moms here. I want to give you the license 28 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,480 and the grace to be less than perfect mothers. 29 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,800 I, I, I want to share a quote with you that was on my heart 30 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,120 for that topic. It comes from a pastor named 31 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,160 Colin Smith. And he says inside every virtue 32 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,360 there is a hidden temptation. And when God gives you a vision 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,360 to be a godly mother, you will soon find that you face this 34 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:05,400 hidden danger that you might be crushed by the sheer weight of 35 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,000 your own wonderful vision of what it means to be a perfect 36 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,920 mother. No doubt we live in the 37 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:19,520 generation of A A, a time where the moms among us have probably 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,360 read more books or listened to more podcasts, gone to more 39 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,280 classes or Bible studies, part of more community efforts to 40 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,760 support you on what it means to be an excellent mom. 41 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,520 And that is a beautiful thing. I think that we live in a 42 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,680 generation where we have beautiful examples of godly 43 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,160 mothers that are doing a great job. 44 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:47,360 But the hidden danger in all of the excellent vision of 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,720 motherhood, the hidden danger is that you actually become buried 46 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,680 under the weight of perfection. And I share that with you 47 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,200 because we are going through a series called The Power of the 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:04,080 Church. And as sure as mothers today can 49 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,120 live under the weight of perfection because of all of the 50 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,360 amazing resources that can turn into burdens, no doubt we live 51 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,080 in a very similar time for the church. 52 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,640 We live in a church age that has never had more resources about 53 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,600 what it means to do church well and have good theology and have 54 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:26,320 a vision for the structure and the governance and the mission 55 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:30,560 and the vision and the website and the band and the sermons and 56 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:33,680 all of the things that that we can look at in the world around 57 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:35,920 us and say, wow, what a beautiful picture of what it 58 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,480 means to be a church. And in the blessing there is the 59 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,160 burden of perfection. And when we go through this 60 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,680 series, week by week, we're going through the very first 61 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,360 history of the church and we're looking for the the things that 62 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,320 actually stand out in our study of the first church. 63 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,880 That's that we see as to why the first church was so full of 64 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,640 power that they went from a small group of people who were 65 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,280 living in fear for what had just happened to their hopeful 66 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:11,680 Messiah to changing the known world. 2000 years later, we 67 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,920 stand gathering on on a Sunday, worshipping the same king that 68 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,440 that that they worshipped as their savior. 69 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,520 And as we go through this series, we'll probably have to 70 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,120 point out at times what the power isn't. 71 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,200 I think that's going to be one of the benefits of looking at 72 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,080 the first church, to see all the beautiful ways we can be 73 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,960 inspired for a timeless version of church that worked in the 1st 74 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,320 century and will work in the 21st century. 75 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,680 And we'll also point out what the power wasn't and the power 76 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,200 that we'll see today was not the power of perfection. 77 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,720 When you study the book of Acts, sometimes the temptation is to 78 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,320 say if we could just get back to Acts when the church was just 79 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,040 alive and growing and multiplying and spreading, then 80 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,680 we ourselves would experience the power of the church. 81 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,080 And the temptation is that is to think that they were growing and 82 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,640 multiplying and they became unstoppable to the Roman world 83 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,680 because they had the perfect institutional church. 84 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,800 And we're only 6 chapters in. But if you've been with us thus 85 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,040 far, you know that that is not the history of the First Church. 86 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,560 The history of the First Church is an imperfect bunch of people 87 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,160 in lots of imperfect circumstances living an 88 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,360 imperfect community enduring because of the grace and the 89 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,800 power of the perfect God. And so with that in mind, we're 90 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,400 going to look at the imperfect church and find all these ways 91 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,240 to be encouraged for our imperfections. 92 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,920 And along the way, I want to encourage the mothers you have 93 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,960 license. And whatever your Mother's Day 94 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,160 report card looks like today, I want you to leave here with the 95 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,880 license to be an imperfect mom that knows the power of God's 96 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,680 grace. So turn with me now to Acts 97 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:02,640 chapter 6, a great story in the history of the church. 98 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:07,080 We're still in Jerusalem. We have yet to spread beyond the 99 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,160 the the initial movement of these first believers from 100 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:16,800 Pentecost and already just six chapters in, we will have the 101 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,320 imperfection of the first church giving us some valuable lessons 102 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,160 about the grace of God. So read with me. 103 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,920 We'll go verse by verse through the the the 1st 7 chapter or 7 104 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,840 verses starting in verse one. It says now in those days when 105 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:35,560 the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose A 106 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,080 complaint. We have our very first complaint 107 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,560 of the church and I don't know how it came in. 108 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,080 I tend to think it was a comment card. 109 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,440 Doubt it was e-mail, but it was something and and and notice 110 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,160 what it says. It says when the number of the 111 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,880 disciples was multiplying. And so this is a great moment 112 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,200 for us to review where we've come from. 113 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:02,920 Remember this movement started Acts chapter one with just a 100 114 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,200 people in the upper room waiting for the power of the Holy Spirit 115 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:11,800 as the Holy Spirit fell on the first church on Pentecost. 100 116 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:17,000 people through an explosion of the Holy Spirit using the 117 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:22,280 evangelism of Peter grows to 3000 plus and now through 118 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:28,240 chapter 4-5 and six, we're up to at least 5000 people that are a 119 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,040 part of this initial movement of God. 120 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:37,320 Incredible Holy Spirit empowered church explosion and now Luke 121 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,520 has stopped counting. He now just says they're 122 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,920 multiplying. It's gone beyond addition and 123 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,760 through the multiplication, a very important lesson comes to 124 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,240 know about church and to know about your life and what's true 125 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:52,880 the church will be true of your families. 126 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,800 That with multiplication comes more of everything. 127 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,960 You get more people, you get more joy. 128 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:04,280 You get more evangelism. You get more of the diversion of 129 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,640 spiritual gifts and all of the beautiful characters that God 130 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,840 brings into the church. And you get more mouths to feed. 131 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,640 You get more opportunity for the systems to be stress tested 132 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:21,600 about, I don't know, six months ago, my son started waking up. 133 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,000 He's six years old. He started waking up in the 134 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,120 middle of night. He'd crawl into my bed and say, 135 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,240 my legs, what's wrong with my legs? 136 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,360 They hurt so bad. And the first time it happened, 137 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,600 Danielle and I thought, what happened? 138 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,960 You know, he was jumping around. He was jumping out of trees. 139 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,960 He was wrestling with kids. Maybe he's got a problem with 140 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,799 his legs. And sometimes you don't know why 141 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:46,080 it happens. But here's the the lesson 142 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,800 learned from that moment and the lesson happening in real time. 143 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,080 The church. Tommy was going through what's 144 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,400 called growing pains. And growing pains are painful, 145 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,520 but they're good. And don't be alarmed when the 146 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:04,200 growing pains come. The first Church is growing so 147 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,560 rapidly that they can't keep up with all of the great 148 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:11,560 opportunities that now come with people coming. 149 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,760 And growing pains are just part of life and they're not bad 150 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,240 things. And, and once again, we can just 151 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,000 highlight the moms here, you guys, that the mothers among us 152 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:26,160 know growing pains for to bring life into the world requires a 153 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,480 woman to go through literal stretching pains. 154 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,160 Some of you are probably in that right now. 155 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,760 I saw a woman who's expecting and I said, man, time's flying 156 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:36,720 by this year. She said, not fast enough. 157 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,160 I'm ready. And you know, and then one kid 158 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,360 comes, you got to go through the growing pains of now having a 159 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,240 little family unit. Then the second kid comes and 160 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,680 you're like, where are we going to put all these kids? 161 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,280 And you got more mouths to feed and you got more kids to haul 162 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,680 around and you got space is an issue and it's a good problem to 163 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:58,400 have. So if your mom going through the 164 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,120 growing pains, know that you're growing and if you're a church 165 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,080 that's in the midst of challenges that come from 166 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,800 people, know that this is God's way of giving us the people of 167 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,160 God growing pains. We like to see people get saved. 168 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,840 We like when people come in that are saved but not quite 169 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,040 Christian culture yet. So they don't know where your 170 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:24,240 favorite seat is and they might sit where you like to sit. 171 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:25,720 That's OK. That's a growing pain. 172 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:29,920 It's a good problem to have. And so the problem happening in 173 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:32,840 the very first complaint of the first church was a growing pain. 174 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,760 And here's what it was second-half of the verse. 175 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:39,680 It says there arose A complaint against the Hebrews by the 176 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:43,800 Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the daily 177 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,520 distribution. So in the, in the very first 178 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,360 church, not unlike most parts of the world, you have culture 179 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,880 colliding. We have the Hebrew believers who 180 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,320 we could say are the hometown believers. 181 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,200 These are the Jerusalem Israelites. 182 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,400 They're they're the hometown. They're going to speak Hebrew or 183 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,280 Aramaic. They're going to read the Hebrew 184 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:07,880 Bible. They're going to have all of the 185 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,520 Hebrew customs and feasts dialed in. 186 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,720 And then we have the Hellenistic believers who are probably still 187 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,880 leftover from that great Pentecost moment where everyone 188 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,760 was in Jerusalem. And many of the, the people that 189 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,360 that came from the scattering of believers have come and they've, 190 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:29,600 they've, they've given their life to Christ and they've 191 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,400 stayed. And some of them are widows, 192 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:37,360 which means they don't have anyone supporting them. 193 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,840 There is no government support system. 194 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,880 There is no safety net for people in need. 195 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:48,880 There is the church and the church is growing so fast that 196 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,360 they've now got cracks in the system that people are falling 197 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,720 through, namely the Hellenistic Jews who are, you know that 198 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,040 they're they're from the out of town. 199 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,480 They're the outsiders coming in and in in the widow care where 200 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,320 widows have come to get the food and to get the social care. 201 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,200 They're not getting enough of the handout. 202 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,360 And so we're about to get not only the first complaint. 203 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,120 This is the gospel good news of the book of Acts is that the 204 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,720 book of Acts does not give us a history of how we get all of the 205 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,840 division of the church. It doesn't give us a history of 206 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,040 of how the church splinters. It gives us a picture of a very 207 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,600 imperfect church that endures by the grace of God to get perfect 208 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,000 solutions. And so my Mother's Day shout out 209 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,880 once again is, is a little teaching antidote that comes 210 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,280 from my wife whenever there's a problem in our house. 211 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,960 And I'll share it with you because it's the wisdom of a 212 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,960 mother. She always tells our children 213 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,320 wherever there is a problem, there's a solution. 214 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,800 And kids need to hear that because kids think in their 215 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,680 limited view of how the world operates, that when they, you 216 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,920 know, can't find their backpack, the backpack's going to be gone 217 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,960 forever. That when they come up against 218 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,120 a, a problem with, you know, their hunger pains and the 219 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,280 things that they just see as world ending problems, a mother 220 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:13,320 has to speak into their life and say there's a solution for that. 221 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,360 And in the same way, sometimes the children of God look at the 222 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,480 imperfections of the church and they think it's all going to 223 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,160 collapse. It's not going to work. 224 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,000 And, and, and, and the word is going to come and encourage us 225 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,320 this morning that that where God starts something, he has the 226 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,480 power to finish it. Where there are problems in 227 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,840 God's church from the 1st century on through the 21st 228 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,200 century, wherever there is a problem, the gates of hell will 229 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,560 not prevail against the church. Wherever there is a problem, 230 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,440 there is a God-given solution. We're the people of hope and 231 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:57,560 inside of the church we got lots of problems and God has lots of 232 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,440 solutions. And this is what the 233 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,480 encouragement of the word for us this morning will be. 234 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,560 We start now in verse 2 of what the solution isn't. 235 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,520 The complaint rises to leadership, which is all we can 236 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:12,320 hope for of the complaints of the church. 237 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,960 What we hope for is that the complaints don't turn into 238 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,960 murmuring or splintering or people just being annoyed and 239 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,240 bothered and just, you know, swallowing it in a way that just 240 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,640 makes them bitter. We want the the complaints to be 241 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,040 dealt with. And in verse 2, it says then the 242 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:31,160 12 meaning the the 12 disciples now apostles of the first 243 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,720 church, the leadership board of the church has gotten word that 244 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,760 there's a problem going on. And it says they summoned the 245 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:44,440 multitude of the disciples and said it is not desirable that we 246 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,440 should leave the word of God and serve tables. 247 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,000 So not only do we have our first complaint, we're about to get 248 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,520 our first solution. We have our first church family 249 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:54,520 meeting. They get all of the disciples 250 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,640 together. They and they, they say first 251 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,600 and foremost what the solution is not going to be. 252 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:06,320 The solution for the apostles is not to abandon the faithful 253 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,960 study, teaching, preaching and guidance of the word of God. 254 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:17,160 And I don't love the translation of our church's preferred 255 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,400 version of the Bible, which is New King James Version. 256 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,280 It says it's not desirable. The ESV says it isn't good. 257 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,760 The word desirable almost makes it seem like the the disciples 258 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,720 have now found their corner of the the the the the ministry 259 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,440 life that is so desirable to be in the word and they're now 260 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,840 above serving. And that's not what they're 261 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,680 communicating. These are the same men that not 262 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:46,360 long ago the night of Jesus betrayal had their feet washed 263 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,280 by him. They understand that part of 264 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:55,040 serving is is or part of leading is to serve and and leaders, 265 00:15:55,040 --> 00:16:00,120 good leaders serve, but the faithful preaching of God's 266 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:06,400 word, the leader who realizes that to serve at the neglect of 267 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,280 the word is not good. And that is one of the 268 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:15,040 encouragements that we can take as a philosophy of how we should 269 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:19,840 navigate the overwhelmed seasons of life within the church, 270 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,680 within your family. Remember the the quote that I 271 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,680 just read to you. Inside every virtue is a hidden 272 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:33,400 temptation. Is it virtuous to serve widows? 273 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,840 Yes. James calls it pure and 274 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,520 undefiled religion. It's it's good and it is 275 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,520 virtuous to serve them. Is there a temptation to elevate 276 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,600 the service of widows above the preaching of the word for the 277 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,280 apostles? No doubt people would not blame 278 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,480 the apostles if they got down into the the distribution of the 279 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,760 food and just started serving, and it would look good on paper. 280 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,160 But fundamentally, the reason that we see the power of the 281 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,440 church enduring for 2000 years is because the church's mission 282 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,400 is very clear. The church is the light to the 283 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,480 darkness of the world proclaiming the word of God. 284 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:16,079 The church is not a social program. 285 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:21,160 The church cannot fundamentally be to care for the needs of the 286 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,760 poor and the sick and the widows without having the primary 287 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:29,840 foundation be the power of where the love of God is rooted in the 288 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,360 church. And this is what is often called 289 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:39,480 mission drift, where good intending believers lose the 290 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:44,400 focus of the actual primary goal of what it means to be the light 291 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,280 of the world that we represent God's heart through God's word 292 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,480 to people who need it. And they, you know, easy one to 293 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:57,640 look at is the YMCAI mean how many people don't even know that 294 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,320 it got the word Christian in there. 295 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,600 It started as such a faithful desire to disciple people and it 296 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,400 turned into a very nice gym. I don't want to offend anyone 297 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,000 that has a good gym membership and a family pass to the Y 298 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,000 Fantastic gym has zero to do with discipleship. 299 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,040 Why? Because they made a good thing 300 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:19,680 the primary thing and and here's the encouragement for what is 301 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,880 true of the church, It's true of the family. 302 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,120 There is a pressure, I think, in the burden of perfection. 303 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:34,360 There is a great lie that is told to parents that the most 304 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:38,600 loving thing you can do for your family is to do everything and 305 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:43,320 to have some sort of vision for your family where your children 306 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,640 will have everything that they've ever dreamed of having. 307 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,760 They will be involved in every sport and every activity, and 308 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,640 summers will be nothing but vacations and fun times. 309 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,440 And you will do everything you can to give your children 310 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,000 everything. Inside every virtue is a 311 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,080 temptation because there's something in your heart that is 312 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,120 good. It is good to live in such a way 313 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:11,960 that our kids feel loved and cared for, But an entertained 314 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,440 kid and a kid who has is good at sports and a kid who has, you 315 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,920 know, every vacation you can imagine that does not have the 316 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:27,200 foundation of the word in their life is not on the right track. 317 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:35,080 So the solution to having the growing pains of a season where 318 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,920 it just feels like the whole thing is is about to collapse is 319 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:43,040 to come back to the foundation, to come back to the foundation 320 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,400 of the Word of God. And I will say that if you want 321 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,680 to find a through line for why the church has continued over 322 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:54,200 the last 2000 years, it is that faithful people have stayed 323 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,440 faithful to the Word of God and to prayer and trusted that as 324 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,880 you seek first the Kingdom of God, He will take care of 325 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,160 everything else. And that is my encouragement. 326 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,560 To the burden of perfection that lays on the shoulders of every 327 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,240 mother in this place. If you seek first the Kingdom of 328 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,800 God for your children. If you seek first their heart to 329 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,680 know God, to love God even at the cost of all of the 330 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:22,200 extracurricular, God will make sure that he takes care of 331 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,080 everything else. And so now we come to the 332 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:26,080 solution. Verse 3. 333 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,200 Therefore, brethren, as he speak, as they speak to the 334 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,720 multitude, seek out from among you 7 men of good reputation, 335 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,560 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over 336 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,040 this business. But we will give ourselves 337 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,760 continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. 338 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,680 And I'll just say it again. I've already spent a moment of 339 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,040 our time in the Word emphasizing this point, but it comes up 340 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:57,640 twice in the Word as we go through the book of Acts study 341 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,960 and look for the power of the church here is 1 to highlight 342 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,640 their solution to the multitude of disciples that needs to solve 343 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:11,080 an imperfection is the formula for a thriving and faithful 344 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,000 church. If if you're here not only as a 345 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,160 you know, as a gift to your mother, but maybe you're here 346 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,640 church shopping. Let me just it might not be this 347 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,120 church you land on. Let me tell you what to put on 348 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:25,800 the the list that you're looking for to commit to a church that's 349 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,840 going to be faithful and good to join what they just said. 350 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,440 There are two things. One, the leader said we are 351 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,840 going to stay faithful to the word and to prayer. 352 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,600 If you're looking for a good church, find a church that is 353 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:42,240 faithful to the word of God in prayer. 354 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:47,720 Find a church that has leaders that are faithful to the 355 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,200 preaching of the word of God and faithful to the administration 356 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,400 of prayer for the church, which means don't worry about the 357 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,600 stuff that I think sometimes is why we're in the series called 358 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,680 Power of the Church that is confused as the power of the 359 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,520 church. Who cares about leaders? 360 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,560 They're charismatic, doesn't matter. 361 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,880 Charismatic leaders. They, they, they've got some 362 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,480 return on the, on the gift of charisma and they've got a lot 363 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,480 of things that can push you in the wrong direction. 364 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,120 Because if you find a charismatic leader and that's 365 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:16,200 all they have, you're going to find somebody who disappoints 366 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,800 you, who cares about leaders that are funny and leaders that 367 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,640 have the best strategy for the CEO church. 368 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,840 Look for the leaders who are committed to the word of God in 369 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:32,400 prayer. And then it says, find 7 men, 370 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,640 find these servants who are qualified by three things. 371 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,440 So you find leaders that are committed to the word in prayer 372 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,760 and you find servants of the church. 373 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:48,560 They're committed and qualified with a good reputation, meaning 374 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:54,160 the way that you see them in the church, high moral character. 375 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,560 They have a commitment to do what is right both in the church 376 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,320 and out. They are people that are known 377 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,880 wherever they go as as faithful high moral people. 378 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,640 That's one qualification. 2 is they're full of the Holy Spirit. 379 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:13,000 Now this qualification is, you know, worth a little bit of our 380 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,880 thought this morning because as we saw in Pentecost that the 381 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:18,760 Holy Spirit is poured out on the church. 382 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,520 Every believer has the Holy Spirit. 383 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:26,000 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 384 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:29,320 The same Spirit that rose Christ from the grave is in you, making 385 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,000 you who were once dead and sins alive in Christ. 386 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,680 To be a believer, a born again believer, means that the power 387 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,240 of the Holy Spirit has made you come alive and regenerated your 388 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,840 heart. But it's a qualification because 389 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,320 it says they're full of the Holy Spirit. 390 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,320 And I think what we can assert from that is that these are 391 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,840 people who are displaying an abundance of the fruit of the 392 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,400 Holy Spirit. As you read Galatians and you 393 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:59,200 get the list, the Holy Spirit full of love, they're full of 394 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,440 joy, full of peace, full of long-suffering, full of 395 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,200 kindness. And when you have a leader that 396 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,720 has that qualification as a servant, you're going to have a 397 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,520 church experience that is blessed with men that are not 398 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,600 just, you know, yes, I have the right theology and yes, I have 399 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,880 the, the, you know, the regenerate experience. 400 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,960 But people who are abundant in what the Holy Spirit will do as 401 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,200 you walk with it. And then it says wisdom. 402 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,320 And my favorite definition of wisdom is being able to navigate 403 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,040 the challenges of life in a God honoring way. 404 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:38,480 So you find leaders that are committed to the Word in prayer 405 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,480 and you find servants that are qualified in this. 406 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,640 And you found a pretty good church. 407 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,280 The governance may vary, the music may vary, the style may 408 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,080 vary, but if you're committed to the Word and the servants have 409 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:53,080 these qualities, you found a good church and you found an 410 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,880 imperfect church 'cause they all are. 411 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,240 And so here's the word for encouragement again, as we look 412 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,000 for these moments now, to offer the grace to be less than 413 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,720 perfect. What I find striking about this 414 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,800 list, to have high moral character, to be abundant in the 415 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,840 fruit of the Spirit, and to walk in wisdom, especially in our 416 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,160 culture. These are not the things that 417 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,080 you're going to find on an actual report card for school 418 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:27,200 people who are walking in these qualifications who are known in 419 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,160 their community as being reputable for these things. 420 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:32,600 They didn't learn them in college. 421 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,000 You probably didn't get them off YouTube. 422 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:39,960 I think the best way that you can develop these not the only 423 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,160 way, but the best way to develop these qualifications and young 424 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,920 men and women for the future generation of the church is 425 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:52,000 right inside the home. And as I, as I consider this, I 426 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,280 just once again, we've already said Happy Mother's Day, but let 427 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:59,080 me honor you. Never underestimate the 428 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:03,240 influence of a mother to produce disciples of Jesus. 429 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,960 Never underestimate the influence of a mother to produce 430 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:13,400 character and Holy Spirit, fruit and wisdom in the lives of young 431 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,840 people. I think it's God's design that 432 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,120 he has made mothers so nurturing and so gentling because these 433 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,600 attributes come into a heart through nourishment. 434 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:27,280 And I will just say as my mother sits right over here, my, as I 435 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,360 consider my qualifications, and I hope you have considered my 436 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,480 qualifications as well as you're sitting under me talking about 437 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,320 the word of God, I consider my mother. 438 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,720 My mom is the person who, as I look at my very first childhood 439 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,720 Bible, it said, you know, the person who gave it to you, Mom. 440 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,120 My mom helped me memorize Scripture through singing to me 441 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,320 when I was arguing with my sister, she'd sing Ephesians to 442 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:57,320 me about getting along. My mother is the person who 443 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,640 taught me how to pray out loud and and the person who taught me 444 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,520 the power of intercessory prayer. 445 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:06,880 Because my mother prayed for me and the qualifications on this 446 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,400 list. Of course God and his 447 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,800 sovereignty can insert them into a heart in all of his amazing 448 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,240 ways. But today we remember that so 449 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:23,120 many people that are now serving this generation of God's church 450 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,880 that has power are serving because of the nourishment of 451 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,760 the love of the mother. So we say thank you and I say 452 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,120 keep going. We, we, I, I look to the future 453 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:36,440 and the horizon of the church. And I think I'm just, let's just 454 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,720 pray for the mothers who have access to these young hearts and 455 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,120 these young mom or these young minds now. 456 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:46,040 And it says as they as they raise up and they give this 457 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:50,160 command, it says in verse 5 and the saying, please, the whole 458 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,360 multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man 459 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:55,840 full of faith and the Holy Spirit. 460 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,280 Hold on to that name. We're going to look at him next 461 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,600 week. And Philip and Procris, Nicanor, 462 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:10,920 Timon, Parmenus, Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch as a side 463 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:12,360 and just give you some discipleship. 464 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,480 When reading biblical names, go fast. 465 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:16,600 You guys don't know if that's right. 466 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,920 I don't either. They're all Greek names. 467 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,440 The the wisdom it says choose from among yourself. 468 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,440 There was a problem within the Hellenistic the Greek community 469 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,120 of this Jerusalem church and they chose 7 Greek servants. 470 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,800 The wisdom of the first church was that so often within the 471 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,080 problem lies the solution and they chose 7 servants that spoke 472 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,000 Greek and that could care for these people and know their 473 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,440 culture. And they appointed them to be 474 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,760 the servants to make sure the imperfection of the church did 475 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,080 not stay imperfect. That a growing pain turned into 476 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,240 growth. That is the power of the church. 477 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,680 That God has grace to make imperfections something that we 478 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:04,680 grow from and the same please the whole multitude. 479 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,160 This is a great verse to underline in your Bibles that 480 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,200 where there are problems and where there are church gathering 481 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,880 meetings and where there are decisions made to try to move 482 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,400 forward to take the imperfections and turn them to 483 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,400 growth. It is OK to celebrate what God 484 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:26,560 is doing and I just appreciate that that is true. 485 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,960 Now that I know that you know, in, in, in my time and as as 486 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:35,040 being part of a leadership of a church, the church will always 487 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:36,680 have problems. I remember when I first started 488 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,520 out, I, I'd get to the the list of the problems and we'd come to 489 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,120 solutions and I think finally my work is done. 490 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,760 Now we can just get back to the word and the worship and the 491 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:47,360 church will always have problems. 492 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,280 The church will always be imperfect and so will your 493 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,280 families. So will the lives of your 494 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,320 children. So will the interactions that 495 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,840 you have with the, the, the kids that you're raising. 496 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:03,720 There will be all sorts of imperfections. 497 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:07,680 And I just remind you once again where there are challenges. 498 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,640 If you're in a season of feeling overwhelmed, if you get to this, 499 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,120 this message and you just feel like, man, I just hope I can 500 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:15,400 make it to church 'cause I just have the burden of life on me. 501 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,680 God is faithful to bring solutions that work into your 502 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,600 life. And so it says in verse 6, They 503 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,160 set before the apostles, and when they preyed on him, and 504 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,840 when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 505 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:36,400 And in a sense, these seven men are now commissioned to do the 506 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,840 work of serving tables. I, I, I appreciate this, this 507 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,960 little line in verse 6, that this was not the apostles being 508 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,520 so busy in the word that they, they, they tried to get through 509 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,040 this as quick as they could. They called an entire church 510 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,400 meeting. They saw seven people raised up 511 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,680 and then they prayed and they commissioned them to the work of 512 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,600 serving to the work of just caring for needs. 513 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:07,200 In this instance, it's the work of distributing food to widows. 514 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:14,320 There is no elite work in the ministry scale of the church. 515 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,760 The the the pulpit is foundational, but it doesn't 516 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,400 mean it's better. There is not, you know, the the 517 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,880 inner circle of those who know how to play an instrument and 518 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,880 they're going to really get prayed for because it's so 519 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:26,880 important. And then, you know, the the door 520 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,880 greeters can just kind of take care of the what what is ever 521 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:31,120 leftover in the service of the church. 522 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:37,280 They prayed for service. There is ordinary people doing 523 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,720 ordinary work that becomes holy. That is the power of the First 524 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,520 Church. And I once again can't help but 525 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:49,720 think of the the moms among us. You do invisible work so often. 526 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,080 I think one of the reasons I probably take Mother's Day more 527 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,320 seriously than Father's Day, although they're both equally 528 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:00,880 important, is because mothers do such behind the scenes work. 529 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,200 I mean, literally your commissioning as a mother is to 530 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,040 wake up in the middle of the night as your first project when 531 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,680 everyone else is sleeping, doing your hardest work. 532 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,600 And just know that in the community, the Kingdom that you 533 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,800 belong to, your work is holy. To serve and to care for, 534 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,960 especially to care for the needs of people that no one sees. 535 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,080 You know, I stand up here, everybody sees me. 536 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:33,040 You guys go and you serve in ways that care for one soul, a 537 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,600 couple of kids that could change the world because of your 538 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:37,760 nourishment. And so for that reason, I just 539 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,640 want to pray for you at the end of this that God would make you 540 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,080 see that you're commissioned to do holy work as well. 541 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,640 And then verse 7 it says then the word of God spread and the 542 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:54,000 number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem 543 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,880 and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith will 544 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,080 end here. The rest of the chapter we'll 545 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,720 look at next week as we examine the witness of Stephen. 546 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:11,360 But notice how it ends. Look at the the the very short 547 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,280 journey that we took that was probably very stressful at times 548 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:18,120 for the church. It started with a complaint to 549 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,600 to raise the alarm on a real problem, real people having real 550 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,240 hurt, real neglect, real imperfections of the church. 551 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,360 The leadership had to make a church wide meeting. 552 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,280 If you've ever been to one, sometimes they're not very fun. 553 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,720 They made a real decision and in the end of it, in all of the 554 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:42,920 imperfections and the challenge and the the likely tension, it 555 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:48,000 says the word of God kept spreading in the very first 556 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,840 complaint and challenge and tension of just the the 557 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,240 internals of the church. The mission was unfazed. 558 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:01,040 The word of God kept spreading, disciples kept multiplying and, 559 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,760 and Luke puts this in just to give us extra encouragement. 560 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:09,679 He says even a great number of priests were obedient to the 561 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:12,960 faith. These are people that were the 562 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:19,000 hardest to reach, the closest to the old way of doing things, the 563 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,080 old covenant. Even the priests were coming. 564 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:27,679 And so here's the great reminder for us in 21st century chaos of 565 00:34:27,679 --> 00:34:35,480 the American Church. Salvation comes from the Lord as 566 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:41,040 the Church endures and grows and multiplies and baptizes new 567 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,480 believers and goes through a new generation of disciple and 568 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,520 people. It is all because of the grace 569 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,560 of God. The Church, in all of its 570 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:56,400 imperfections, had a perfect Savior that in spite of its 571 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:01,360 faults and failures and tensions, figured out a way to 572 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:06,080 keep the mission moving. And this will be my final 573 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,840 Mother's Day encouragement. I share this with dads as well. 574 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:17,120 Salvation comes from the Lord. No child was ever saved because 575 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:22,560 of a perfect mother, and no child was ever lost because of 576 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,640 imperfect parenting. The best we can do is trust that 577 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:33,600 in all of our imperfections, God gives us grace to keep the 578 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,360 mission moving. So we stand here. 579 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,760 The mission of the church is unfazed and all of our 580 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:40,240 imperfections of the modern world. 581 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,920 And God will continue to use the faithful preaching of His word 582 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,160 and the commitment to prayer and people who are qualified by the 583 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,840 Holy Spirit and wisdom to serve His Church. 584 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:54,400 And it is going to endure. And the same is true for every 585 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,320 family that is represented in this place. 586 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:01,440 Your families are imperfect. The moms and dads are imperfect. 587 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:07,560 Hey kids, you're imperfect too, but God has grace to keep it all 588 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:10,000 moving forward to His glory and to our joy. 589 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,560 Thanks for joining us today. If you would like to watch the 590 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,120 full service, check out the link in the description. 591 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,400 For next steps and to learn more, visit calvaryboise.com.