Bearing Fruit In Every Good Work

Read Acts 6:1-10

The church faced a problem. All of the widows were Jews but those who had adopted Greek language and culture were not receiving food help whereas those who had retained Hebrew language and culture were.

The Twelve – the disciples who had been closest to Jesus – were quite decisive in their response. “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” A bit later, they said, “we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word”. Does that indicate that the Apostles thought that distributing food was beneath them? Not at all. It was simply a recognition of different ministries and different giftings. They knew what God had called them to. It would have been wrong for them to neglect that to do something else but that something else did need to be done. Caring for the widows was an important part of the ministry of the church. So, what was the solution?

They delegated ministry. The church was in its infancy. They were still working out how a church should operate. How did they know what to do with this new problem that had emerged? Maybe they drew on their experience within the Jewish synagogue. Maybe they thought back to what Jesus had told them. Maybe the Holy Spirit inspired them. Last week, when we looked at Colossians 1, we saw the phrase “through all the wisdom and understanding that the Holy Spirit gives”.

Even if they were drawing from Jewish culture or Jesus’ teaching, it was the Holy Spirit who gave them insight into those things. Wisdom is a God-thing – a Holy Spirit-thing.

They were also very clear about the qualities required in the people who would have this new ministry: “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom”. Why would they say that? Why would that be important? We are talking only about meals on wheels. Why was it emphasised that they choose people full of the Spirit and wisdom?

This passage does not use the word “deacons” but it is sometimes seen as the rationale for delegating certain practical tasks to people we now call deacons or managers. But I think there is a temptation to think like this: This man is a builder. Let’s make him a deacon. Should the bigger concern be that they are people full of the Spirit and wisdom? Do we look for godly people for these sorts of roles?

Why was it important in Acts 6?

1.     Maybe because they would be the face of the church. They would be representing Jesus. Only wise and godly people can do that.

2.     Maybe because their ministry required the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Maybe even distributing food and interacting with people requires spiritual wisdom and discernment.

3.     Look at what is said about Stephen in particular.

a.      V.5: They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.

b.     V.8: Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.

                                                    i. This meals on wheels ministry opened the doors to all sort of other opportunities to serve people and to reveal the power of God. Distributing food doesn’t sound very miraculous but it was accompanied by great wonders and signs. That requires people full of the Spirit and wisdom.

c.      Opposition arose from the Jews. They did not like what Stephen was doing and began to argue with them. But notice v.10: “They could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave Stephen as he spoke”.

At every point, there was God-stuff happening. The Holy Spirit is God – God with us now. We could organise a food distribution ministry that has nothing of God in it. We could organise it purely on a physical level. It does not require God. But in Acts 6, they were not interested in an organised programme. They wanted it to be God-filled. And for that to happen, the people had to be God-filled.

Colossians 1 contains a prayer that talks about living lives worthy of Jesus and pleasing to Him. One aspect of those lives is “bearing fruit in every good work” (Col 1:10).

Wouldn’t it be amazing if everything we did bore fruit – if everything we did made a difference, had an impact for the Kingdom of God? Wouldn’t it be amazing if God was using us all of the time – if God was working in power through us so that people were choosing to follow Jesu, were growing in their faith, were being set free and finding hope and relationships were being restored?

The chapter that talks most about bearing fruit is, of course, John 15.

John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Without Jesus we can do nothing. Actually, we can do lots. We can be very busy, but without Jesus there will be no fruit – lots of activity but no results – wearing ourselves out with nothing to show for it.

The other side of it is that Jesus said that if we remain in Him and He remains in us, we will bear fruit. That is a promise: we will bear fruit. The first condition is that we remain in Him: we live our lives constantly aware of Jesus, seeking to honour Him in all we do. The second condition is that He remains in us. Jesus in us is the Holy Spirit in us. I am sure that is why the Apostles required people who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. They wanted there to be fruit from that food-delivery ministry.

There is fruit of the Spirit that relates to the Holy Spirit working in us, making us more like Jesus: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But when we think of the power of God working through us and impacting other people’s lives, then we need to focus on the gifts of the Spirit.

In general terms, what are the gifts of the Spirit? Abilities God gives through which He works supernaturally. And the thing is that the Bible says that God gives spiritual gifts to every Christian. In other words, God wants to work supernaturally through every Christian. Even if our ministry is only something apparently practical like delivering food, God wants to elevate it so that He can do supernatural things. Stephen was chosen to deliver food but Stephen, full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.

As you know there are several lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament.

Romans 12:6-8

Prophecy

Serving

Teaching

Encouraging

Giving

Leadership

Mercy

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Prophecy

Wisdom

Knowledge

Faith

Healing

Miraculous powers

Discernment of spirits

Tongues

Interpretation of tongues

Ephesians 4:11-12

Prophets

Teachers

Apostles

Evangelists

Pastors/Shepherds

1 Peter 4:10-11

Serving

“Speaking”

Otherwise generally about gifts of the Spirit

The lists are different. I don’t think they are exhaustive. God can give any ability He likes. Samson had a spiritual gift of physical strength. The point is that spiritual gifts are gifts through which God acts supernaturally. They are abilities we do not naturally have but are a gift from God.

As I say, every Christian has some God-given spiritual gift, or gifts.

Romans 12:6-8

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. Each of us. Notice that the emphasis here is “whatever gift God has given you, use it”.

1 Corinthians 12:7

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Then Paul lists various gifts and says again, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines”.

Spiritual gifts are given “for the common good”. They are ways to serve others. There can be a temptation to want spiritual gifts because it would be exciting or because I will look good, but no, they are for the benefit of other people.

It is all very well knowing about spiritual gifts but it is another thing using them, isn’t it? Again, as we have talked about, this is where we can fear looking stupid or making a mess of things. It means letting God do things through us without us being ultimately in control. Do we trust God enough for that?

Whenever we have had baptisms, I have been in the habit of encouraging people to seek God and listen for His voice. Is there a Bible passage or a message (if you like, a prophecy) that God is asking us to share with the person being baptised. That is a bit scary. Can I hear God’s voice? If I think God is saying something, how do I know it isn’t just me making it up? Will I be bold enough to say what I think God is saying? What if other people think it is stupid?

Stepping into the supernatural takes faith. If I think God is speaking, can I trust Him? It also takes a supportive environment. In churches we should encourage people to find and use their spiritual gifts. Recognising that that is scary, we need to be very ready to support and encourage. And, even if someone gets it wrong – especially when someone gets it wrong –they need encouragement, not criticism. As a church we want to see God at work through each other – we want to see the supernatural – and so we have to encourage and teach and minister to each other and give opportunities for people to practise.

The alternative is that we miss out on what God wants to do. In that baptism situation, God might want to speak profoundly into the person’s life to encourage or strengthen or give direction but, if we give in to our fears, that person misses out on what God wanted to do.

The one thing that distinguishes churches from other community organisations is the presence of God. Unfortunately, in many churches there are stories about what their committees are doing but no stories about what God is doing. God can be present in even an apparently practical task like delivering food. God wants to be present and active. The Holy Spirit is God with us. Let’s be open to what He wants to do. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself through us.

1 Corinthians 14:1

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

Eagerly desire spiritual gifts. Come before God and pray and be available. And let’s encourage and help one another.

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