“‘Brothers and sisters, 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’” (Acts 6:3-4).
Many lessons can be drawn from this short chapter. For instance, we learn that “growing pains” inevitably come to a growing church (v.1). As the church grew, it faced persecution from without (Acts 4-5). Then it hypocrisy and deception from within (Acts 5:1-11). And here, the Apostles were tempted to be neglect the heart and soul of their ministry – prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1-4) – and become mired in the mundane. Jesus had invested thousands of hours training the Twelve to commune with God, walk by faith, and preach the Gospel. His goal was not to make them managers.
But the lesson I wish to point out is that of the need for the Holy Spirit for empowerment to do what seemed to be a secular task. The apostles demanded that the congregation select seven men to oversee the daily distribution of food to the believers. And what qualifications did the seven men need to possess? They had to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Now Jesus had emphasized to the Twelve the need for the Holy Spirit that they might be empowered to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). But what was so crucial about administrative duties that they needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Remember, God wants us to seek Him at all times – even for those tasks we feel confident in doing. For God has an infinite storehouse of wisdom, skill, and power that can carry us beyond our human limitations. As you read through the Bible you’ll learn about God empowering people to build, wage war, lead, write songs, as well as to proclaim God’s word and perform miracles. We can bring glory to God by excelling at our work. Therefore, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit for our daily tasks.
But as believers in Jesus, we should also be looking for opportunities to share the Gospel with others. One of the seven was Stephen. His administrative work led to many witnessing opportunities. The Holy Spirit gave Stephen power and wisdom to effectively witness for Jesus against hostile unbelievers (Acts 6:7-10).
We also need the Holy Spirit’s power to equip us for any and all unforeseen challenges that await us each day – things for which human powers are hopelessly inadequate. For Stephen martyrdom was such a challenge. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit who had faithfully empowered Stephen to testify for Jesus, also faithfully enabled him to face death for Jesus Christ (Acts 7:54-60).
REFLECTION
- Have you considered that God’s Spirit can help you in your daily tasks?
- Didn’t Jesus also promised power to witness through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)?
- Let’s pray for God’s Spirit to fill us that we might be ready for any challenge.
