Staying on Course – Monday’s Reflection on Sunday’s Sermon

Edit (10/26/11): listen to this sermon online

You can’t set a course just by looking at the waves.  This was one of the points from the sermon yesterday at Orchard Community Church as we looked at Acts 6:1-7.  At first glance this passage seems to be about just some organizational issue in the early church, but it is really so much more.  The early church was faced with an important issue – certain people were not being cared for.  There were two potential problems that could have happened in this situation.  The early church could have dismissed the issue as being no big deal which would have been disastrous because it would have destroyed the unity of the church.  The other potential problem is that they could have become “all about” that particular issue.  All of the focus and resources of the church could have been diverted to deal with that particular need.

Instead, the apostles say that they must keep their focus on God’s Word and on prayer.  In other words, as the primary leaders in the church they must stay focused on the main mission because this is what sets the course for the church.  The particular need that came up was important, but it could not be substituted for the overall mission.  So often in our lives and in our churches we start chasing the biggest and most immediate “wave” that is coming at us.  We change our course in order to deal with the immediate issue.  Then, when that wave disappears we see another wave and immediately set a new heading.  We chase one wave after another and end up going in circles.  We lose sight of our overall mission of living out and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ because we are too busy focusing on one wave after another.

Our course must be set by something outside of our changing situations.  This is true in the church and in our individual lives.  The apostles understood this and they made a decision to keep their focus on the Word of God because they were unwilling to lose sight of the overall mission for the sake of an immediate need.  The highest priority in the early church (which should also be our highest priority today!) was to make sure that their course was set by the Word of God.  Only by the primary leaders keeping their focus on the Word of God could the changing situations be dealt with in the best possible ways.

This narrow focus by the primary leaders doesn’t limit other people’s involvement or ignore important needs.  Just the opposite!  The apostles choice raises up a new level of leadership in the church to deal with situations that come up according to the overall direction that is set by God’s Word.  The church didn’t choose just anyone and they didn’t just choose people who had skills that were useful for the current situation.  They chose people who demonstrated the work of God in their lives because the situations aren’t just practical (or secular) issues – they are always spiritual.  When the overall mission of our churches and our lives is set by the Word of God, then every situation becomes an opportunity to carry out that mission in how we respond to situations.  We see the people who were chosen to lead in this particular situation go on to do great things for the kingdom of God.  This is because every service opportunity in the church should also be a discipleship opportunity.  Burn out among secondary leaders in the church or burn out in our individual lives is usually a sign that we are chasing after waves because the course is not being set by God’s Word.

What about you?  Do you ever feel like you are just chasing one wave after another?  How do you keep a focus on God’s Word in your life?  How should we do this in our churches?

Here are the daily devotions that were listed on the back of the sermon notes.  If you are looking for a way to make God’s Word a priority in your daily life, this might be a good way to start!

Monday:  Read Acts 6:1-7.  Why was it important for the apostles to keep their focus on the “ministry of the word of God”?  Do you make God’s Word a priority in your life?  Why or why not?

Tuesday:  Read Acts 6:1-7 again.  Why was it important for the men who were chosen to be “full of the spirit and wisdom” in order to take care of this need in the early church?  How does this challenge you today?

Wednesday:   Read Hebrews 12:1-3.  What does it mean to “fix your eyes on Jesus” and how do you (or should you) do this in your day to day life?  How do we do this as a church?

Thursday:  Read Ephesians 4:11-16.  What is it that keeps us from being tossed about by every wave (circumstance or idea) that comes our way?

Friday:  Read Acts 6:8 – 7:60 (this is the text we will be studying at OCC this Sunday).  Think about what stands out to you and what questions you may have.

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