Full of the Holy Spirit to:
Acts 6 puts fullness of the Holy Spirit in perspective.
This was not casting out demons or preaching powerful evangelistic messages.
This was not raising the dead or calling fire down from heaven.
This was not spot-light,high-light reel ministry.
Yet the qualifications were clear: "seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom."
What do we need the Holy Spirit for?
We need the Holy Spirit to handle challenges in administrating the ministry of the church. There is no lack of need for better, more effective operation in almost any church. We usually look for skill, but God's Word says look for the fullness of the Spirit.
We need to be full of the Holy Spirit so that we can SERVE people. This was food service. This was ordinary behind the scenes work to be carried out so the Apostles could do the important stuff of testifying to what Jesus said and did. A person full of the Spirit recognizes that being up front may not be their calling but it doesn't make them any less part of the process by which souls are saved.
We need the Holy Spirit to make sure the least among us is not neglected. In the 1st Century, widows were completely helpless. Consider Jesus' mother was a widow and He looked after her from the agony of the cross. Widows did not have insurance policies to cash in. There was not social security surivivor benefit. They were in the good graces of community which usually left them high and dry. James tells us true and faultless religion looks after orphans and widows in their time of need. The Holy Spirit fills us so that we take notice of the "least of these my brothers" in Jesus' words. Some people use the Holy Spirit to look important. I think that offends Him. He's been sent so that Jesus' vision for His body could be lived out. A vision He modeled for us, caring for those the world ignores.
Finally, we need the Holy Spirit to grow in whatever ministry we are given. Steven and Philip were handed this ministry. They didn't choose it, it chose them. Yet both become powerful evangelists who do share the Gospel and see dramatic results. In Acts 7 Steven is history's first martyr for Christ. in Acts 8 Philip goes to Samaria, preaches the Gospel and sees great miracles wrought at his hands. He also leads the first Gentile to Christ - an Ethiopian Eunuch in charge of the Queens treasure. Wow!
Look at the results: Acts 6:7 (ESV) And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
This is a strange way to describe the results. The Word of God... grew? But think of what Jesus said about the word, it is a seed cast on several soils but ONLY grows on fertile soil. The soil in those days became fertile because seven men did what was asked, served others, and made the church work efficiently at caring for the least of among them. What a picture for today's church on developing fertile soil and changing our communities.
The fulness of the Holy Spirit empowers us to serve the least among us as effectively as possible, sometimes in menial tasks. And as we serve we get to see where it takes us. We may be surprised at the result, but God never is.
PRAYER:
Father, I ask for the Holy Spirit. And in asking for Him I want to be like Him, to see people as He does, and to serve people as He wants. Help me to notice those my flesh tends to ignore. And help me to be faithful in whatever ministry You give me. Amen.
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