Overview
A responsibility is a good fit when it is pleasing to God and therefore proper or fitting in his sight. Robin Magnelli builds that answer out of one Greek word that Acts 6 uses three times: it is the word behind reason in verse 2, where the twelve say it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables, behind pleased in verse 5, and behind pleasing in 1 John 3:22. The teaching walks through Gamaliel’s counsel in Acts 5, the neglected Grecian widows, and the seven men of honest report, and argues that burnout is real but that service God is involved in does not burn a person out.
Transcript
Gamaliel Tells the Council to Refrain From These Men
Let’s look at the book of Acts in chapter 5 for a few moments and consider what we can learn from our brothers and sisters in Christ who lived in yesteryear. Now remember the context is that the Christian church was initiated on the day of Pentecost in chapter 2 with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Then the apostles were teaching and preaching Jesus Christ in the temple.
They got rounded up a couple of times. In this section, they’re on their second time before the council, not heeding their threats or their commandments to not speak in the name of Jesus Christ, and the council’s angry. And so they want to slay them.
And then, one of the members, a respected authority in this religious council stands up, and essentially he says, back off, back off. Look at Acts chapter 5, we’ll start in verse 38. It’s Gamaliel.
And he’s speaking and he says, And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Daily in the Temple and in Every House
And to him they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And in verse 42 it says, And daily, in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
So daily, they’re in the temple and they’re in houses, publicly and privately, teaching and preaching on Jesus Christ. They’re telling everybody about the crucifixion and how every sin has been handled at the cross, and then the resurrection, which gives us the victory and gives us eternal life, and they wouldn’t stop.
The Grecian Widows Were Neglected in the Daily Ministration
Chapter six, verse one, it says, And in those days when the number of disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Remember, after Pentecost, everybody came to Jerusalem and then they stayed. And so it grew. And the system that they had to take care of people really wasn’t working now.
So there’s many of these developed people. And as things had shifted, then the need of some, which were the Grecian widows, was overlooked. And so there was murmuring, like sometimes leaders don’t agree or see eye to eye on everything at the moment.
It Is Not Reason: A Greek Word That Means Pleasing to God
Look at verse two, it says, Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. And the word I want to point out is the word reason. It’s a Greek word, and it means pleasing to God.
It is not pleasing to God and therefore proper or fitting in his sight that we should leave the word of God. In other words, leave preaching and teaching the word of God and serve tables. In the English Standard Version, that word reason is the word right.
It’s not right. And really the context is it’s not right before God. So the apostles are teaching and preaching how often? Daily, publicly and privately.
And as things unfolded, then daily, there was a certain group, the widows, where their need was getting overlooked. But what the apostles were doing was what God had called them to do. In other words, that’s the question, does it fit with God? Or maybe God, does this fit? Does this responsibility fit? What the apostles were doing was teaching and making known the accomplished works of Jesus Christ.
Twelve Apostles and a Multitude: Why Burnout Is Real
So what ensued? There was an environment of love, of mutual respect, of power, of inspiration as people connected and got closer in their relationship with God. And this is just 12 guys. It’s 12 guys.
There’s a multitude of people here. So from this record, they couldn’t do everything because every day they were in the temple or in houses teaching and preaching, so they couldn’t do the tables. And so what I’d like to say is burnout is real.
People can burn themselves out in service feeling like they’re obligated to take care of everything, and yet really what we’re responsible to do is what fits with God. It says in Proverbs 10:22, the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22.
So in service, in ministry service with God’s involvement, a person’s not going to burn out. They’re not going to burn out. Conversely, they’re going to be on fire for God.
They’re going to be electrified. They’re going to be bubbly and effervescent because even in the midst of a negative situation, if you see God, it makes your heart buoyant because he’s still there and it fits.
Leadership Is Not About Building a Church, It Is About Building People Up
See, it’s Christianity and leadership in Christianity. It’s not about building a church. It’s about building people up.
It’s not about making a spiritual army, so to speak. It’s about enhancing and drawing together a spiritual family where we honor and respect and magnify our Heavenly Father. And we respect and understand more and more how to practically apply the benefits and the accomplishments of our brother, Jesus Christ.
Look Ye Out Among You: God Already Had the Solution Ready
So now we’re in verse three of Acts chapter six. It says, wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. And I love this verse because he says, look out, look ye out among you, these seven guys.
In other words, the solution was already there. If God knows the end from the beginning, he’s already got it prepared. He’s got the cache.
He’s got the solution and the apostles were solution minded. They weren’t really comparing. Like when I read this in English from my Western mind, I think at times I would get tempted to think, oh, okay, so the apostles were doing the more important business and I, you know, I’m the latrine queen.
It’s good too. But even though the epistles hadn’t been written yet, they had an understanding that there were different ways of serving, that they understood that there were different functions and people can be equally important but different in their function.
Seven Men of Honest Report, Full of the Holy Ghost and Wisdom
So look at this characteristics that are noted here. Seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom or spiritual wisdom. So they had a good reputation. They needed spiritual wisdom, not worldly wisdom, doesn’t talk anything about how many college degrees they have.
It talks about spiritual wisdom. And I don’t know how you define it, but I don’t think you can have spiritual wisdom without God’s involvement. Truth doesn’t change, but the application of truth in a situation may vary.
That’s why we need God in every situation. We need his involvement. We want his involvement.
Beyond Right and Wrong: Is It Loving? Does It Bring Grace?
Sometimes the focus can be what’s right and what’s wrong, or who’s right and who’s wrong. But first, if it’s a right or wrong situation, then I have to convince somebody that they’re wrong. And then after that, I have to convey that I’m right.
But the right and wrong paradigm doesn’t always fit, because you know what, often it stifles the compassion that you can have for people. What about is it loving? What about does it bring grace? Does it bring mercy? And so the apostles in this record really didn’t answer the right or wrong question. And you need people to organize and you need people to communicate.
Walk by the Spirit Dinners: Why Organization and Communication Were Needed
And that’s what these seven guys were going to do. Several years ago, we started having dinner at our house and we invited our friends, people in our fellowship to come over. But we didn’t want to stifle God working in their lives.
So we said, OK, we’re going to have dinner on Tuesday night and they’re walk by the Spirit dinners because God talks to you like he talks to us. And so just bring whatever you’re inspired to bring. So that worked out the first week.
But by the third week, you can imagine, children of God, six desserts and hamburger meat. That’s all we had. We needed organization and communication, and that’s what was necessary at this time.
We Will Give Ourselves Continually to Prayer and to the Ministry of the Word
So verse four, it says, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Wow. That somebody would continually give themselves to prayer, to have that heart to be responsive to God, to invite his involvement.
I can’t read this verse without thinking of a story a friend of mine told me. She was called to come back and see her physician regarding the medical situation. She had had a mammogram.
A Mammogram Callback and a Prayer for a Stranger
And when ladies have mammograms, if everything’s good, you never get called back. So she got a call to come back and see the doctor. This concerned her greatly.
So she goes to the doctor and the physician’s assistant there said, honey, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not really even sure why you were called back. The lady before you, she has some grave concerns.
So my friend was inspired, compelled to pray for this woman who she never met, who had the appointment prior to her. And she prayed until she felt like that prayer was complete. And she sat in the parking lot and she sobbed.
She sobbed because she knew that the only way God could bring her to pray for this woman that she never met was to have her come and do a follow up appointment. It had nothing to do with her physical health. It had everything to do with God’s involvement and what fit.
And when she told me that, I thought, I want to have a heart like that. Me, I’d be complaining. I’d be like, what’s wrong with those people calling me back? They’re wasting my time.
The Saying Pleased the Whole Multitude: It Was a Good Fit
But if God’s involved in your life, will your time ever be wasted? So the apostles said, we’ll give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word, verse five, and the saying pleased the whole multitude. And that word pleased is the same Greek word. It means pleasing to God and therefore proper or fitting in his sight.
In other words, it was a good fit. It fit for the whole multitude. So I don’t know how you can please a whole multitude unless you had God’s involvement.
But it was pleasing. It fit in God’s sight. And if it fits in God’s sight, it’s going to fit with the people who have a heart and desire to see his involvement.
What Stephen, Philip, Prochorus and Nicanor Each Brought
And the same pleased the whole multitude. And then they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. So, you know, all of these men had a good reputation.
They had spiritual wisdom. But then it notes that Stephen was full of faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. In other words, he had a willingness to rely on the work of another man.
And that’s what he brought to the table, so to speak. And Philip, I looked up some of these names and they were pretty interesting. Philip, his name means a lover of horses.
If you ever talk to a cowboy or you talk to somebody who trains horses, you’ll learn a lot about what Philip would have been like. Because he brought the element of temperance and being steady and consistent. Horses don’t like pressure.
They don’t like sudden change. They like easy transitions. And Prochorus, his name means that he was leading in a chorus or a band.
And if you ever talk to a band leader or a teacher who teaches music, they try to get everybody involved. And that when everybody’s involved, they’re enjoying what they’re doing and building their confidence. And Nicanor, Nicanor, he’s not here.
I can pronounce his name whichever way. His name comes from Nike, so it means conquer victorious. So this guy’s solution minded.
He’s always taken the high road. Maybe he was like that PBS artist Bob Ross. You know, he’d talk about how there’s no mistakes.
There’s only happy accidents. You know, you’re around those people and they encourage you, even if you flub it up, even if you’re bumbling around, you don’t feel the condemnation and the heavy weight when you’re around a person like that. And Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch, whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
Ending a Job Interview by Recommending Someone Else
They recognized that it was a good fit. Turn to 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3. Sometimes you recognize that it’s a good fit because you didn’t plan it out. Well, some time ago, I went on a job interview and it was something right up my alley.
It was working in the community for a faith based nonprofit organization with children where you, the individual who takes that responsibility has free course to construct the program and to bring the word in for these little ones. And we talked for about two hours during this interview. And there was a synergy.
Like I got what they were saying. They got what I was saying. And I come to the end of the interview and I said, you know, is this job still open? Are you still taking interviews? And they said, well, technically, yes.
And I said, because I’m not really sure this is a good fit. And I think that you need someone, and I described a person.
And I said, I even know his name. And I’d like you to interview him. And he contacted them and he got an interview.
And my point is it didn’t fit, even though it checks all the five senses boxes. It doesn’t fit. And I don’t know about you, but that’s the first time I ever ended a job interview recommending somebody else.
Father, Is This a Good Fit? Pleasing in His Sight in 1 John 3:22
Because the question is, does it fit? Father, does this fit for me, for my life? And 1 John chapter 3, verse 22, it says, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because he, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And that word pleasing is the same word. It’s fitting in his sight.
Jesus Christ set the example of always doing the Father’s will. What do you think it does for God’s heart when someone invites him into their life? Someone petitions their Heavenly Father for wisdom, for his involvement, and they say, Father, is this a good fit? And that’s why I’d like to share tonight. Bless you.
Key Takeaways
- The word reason in Acts 6:2 is a Greek word meaning pleasing to God and therefore proper or fitting in his sight; the English Standard Version renders it right, and the context is right before God.
- The same word appears again as pleased in Acts 6:5 and as pleasing in 1 John 3:22, which is why the whole question becomes, Father, is this a good fit?
- Burnout is real: people burn themselves out feeling obligated to take care of everything, when what we are responsible to do is what fits with God.
- In ministry service with God’s involvement a person is not going to burn out; Proverbs 10:22 says the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it.
- The solution was already there before the problem was raised: look ye out among you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, chosen for spiritual wisdom rather than college degrees.
- The right and wrong paradigm does not always fit, because it stifles compassion; the apostles never answered the right or wrong question, they asked whether it was loving and whether it brought grace and mercy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it is not reason mean in Acts 6:2?
It is a Greek word that means pleasing to God and therefore proper or fitting in his sight. When the twelve say it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables, they are saying it does not fit before God for them to stop preaching and teaching. Robin Magnelli notes that the English Standard Version translates the same word as right, and that the context is it is not right before God.
What qualifications did the seven men in Acts 6:3 need?
They were to be seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom the apostles could appoint over this business. That means a good reputation and spiritual wisdom rather than worldly wisdom, and the text says nothing about how many college degrees they have. Robin Magnelli adds that you cannot have spiritual wisdom without God’s involvement, because truth does not change but the application of truth in a situation may vary.
How can you tell whether a responsibility is a good fit?
Ask whether it fits with God rather than whether it is right or wrong, because the right and wrong paradigm often stifles the compassion you can have for people. What the apostles were doing was what God had called them to do, and burnout is real when people feel obligated to take care of everything instead of doing what fits with God. The question to bring to the Father is simply, does this fit for me, for my life?
Scripture References
Acts 5; Acts 2; Acts 5:38; Acts 5:39; Acts 5:40; Acts 5:42; Acts 6:1; Acts 6:2; Proverbs 10:22; Acts 6:3; Acts 6:4; Acts 6:5; Acts 6:6; 1 John 3:22
This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
