As I continue to look at the “Acts of Acts” in this sermon series, it seems like each chapter has the apostles, or early Christians, involved in an act that we have a tendency to try to avoid.  Yet it was these very acts of God in their lives that transformed a fledgling group disciples in disarray into a mighty force that turned the known world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We live in a time where we need such a transformation in the church and in the lives of the individuals who follow Jesus.

As we reach Acts 6 in our sermon series, we find a need and an example of the Act of SERVE!  Let’s look at some lessons we can learn from the example of the early church.

• Shortage:  Sometimes we are not serving because we don’t know where to serve or what is needed.  The Act of SERVE often begins when we listen to people and allow God to show us a genuine shortage or need.  While complaining is not a godly characteristic — God says to do everything without grumbling or complaining — open listening to the complaints of others can often reveal a real shortage that is just waiting for someone to serve.  It was the complaints of the Grecian Jews that made the apostles aware of a shortage in the needs of widows being met.  When God calls you to grow in the Act of SERVE, spend time with God looking for a shortage that He may be equipping you to meet.
• Enlist:  Sometimes we fail to serve because we don’t notice the need, other times it is because we notice the shortage and it seems too big and impossible for us to do on our own.  This is where the next principle comes in — the Act of SERVE often calls us to enlist others to meet a need that is beyond what God has equipped us to do on our own.  When we enlist others it gives them an opportunity to serve with us and it allows us to train together for future needs God may call us to meet.  In Acts 6, the shortage was made known and the apostles recognized a need to enlist others to meet the need as it was necessary for them to stay focused on the work God had given them in prayer and ministry of the Word!  Learning to enlist others to meet a need that is larger than you can do on your own or would take you away from work God has already called you to do, is a vital quality to help you grow in the Act of SERVE.
• Results: This is the fun part of growing in the Act of SERVE — the results!  When we begin to regularly notice areas of shortage and are able to enlist others in meeting real needs, God gives the results.  God calls us to serve one another out of obedience to Him and in reflecting the nature of Jesus.  Jesus-style love is like faith — it requires action to be alive.  Jesus says that the results of this type of love among Christians is that the world would know we are His.  Verse 7 of Acts six begins with the word “so”.  It is a transition that indicates because the shortage was identified and people were enlisted to meet it, the word of God spread and the number of disciples increased rapidly!    When we are growing in the Act of Serve, we commit to being faithful and trust God to provide the results.
• Vision:  Sometimes we are not serving because we need an eye exam and corrective lenses that help us to see people and situations as Jesus sees them!  Our vision becomes cloudy and cynical as the world tries to convince us that the only needs that exist are self-created and therefore not our problem.  The Act of SERVE requires that we have the vision to see the service we do as vital and important enough that the quality of our character is at the core of the requirements for the task.  At first glance, it would seem that the need presented in Acts 6 is so basic and mundane that the qualifications for someone to meet that need would be pretty basic — we might go looking for people who had experience in the food-service industry — yet the problem is addressed with true vision when the primary qualifications for those who would serve is that they are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  When we spend time asking God to help us see people and situations as He sees them and when we view the spiritual qualities of our life as the most important qualification that we have, we are well on our way to growing in the Act of SERVE.
• Envy:  If only I could leave chapter six without discussing this final point.  Yet there it is, unmistakable envy rearing its ugly head directed at one living out the Act of SERVE.  It still happens.  People serve God with reckless abandonment and as they serve others in His name God brings about the amazing result of drawing people to Himself.  There seems to be a part of us that is so much about us that we can’t stand to see others reap the results of faithfully serving God — at least not if their results look better than our results.  We must be very careful that we allow absolutely no room for envy to take root and express itself in our life.  It is one of those thoughts that we must take captive and make obedient to the word and will of God.  It is also something we must be warned of — when we grow in the Act of SERVE, others will envy the results that are provided by God.  Knowing it is coming will not keep it at bay but it should help us to rest in our relationship with God and break the power that envy has over us.  When the religious leaders saw the results of God working through Stephen’s Act of SERVE, envy settled in and grew to great hatred and animosity expressed toward Stephen.  When you set out to grow in the Act of SERVE, you must be on guard against envy by being prepared and allowing God to give you the confidence to stand firm in your relationship with Him.

So, how are you doing in living out and growing in the Act of SERVE?  Do you spend time with God noticing the Shortages, Enlisting the help of others, trusting God for the Results, seeing everything with the Vision of Christ, and guarding yourself against Envy from within and without?  I pray that the act of SERVE expressed through your life will boldly show the world that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior!