Pastor's Points Acts 6

The church is God's instrument to reach the world, build up the saints and worship the Lord. Paul calls the church 1 Tim 3:15... God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
The church is important! Therefore, the enemy will try to do anything he can to disrupt the work of the church. In Chapter 6 of the book of Acts we see a problem arise. Certain widows were not being taken care of properly. This was an important issue because it involved a schism between the Hebraic and Greek Jewish groups. This could have been extremely harmful to the early church.
One of the tricks of the enemy is to cause division. If he can get Christians fighting each other they won't be fighting against him and his kingdom.
The disciples got together and decided it was time to expand the base of leadership. They looked for men full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. (v. 3) They would "serve the tables" enabling the apostles to dedicate themselves "to prayer and the ministry of the word." (v.4)
The devil tried to cause a split, the Spirit of the Lord led them to increase the leadership team. This proposal pleased the whole group (v. 5) and the church of Jesus Christ continued to grow.

Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Point - The enemy works the same way today. He tries to bring division and discontent to the church. We must seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and make sure we keep the Kingdom of God the first priority.
Point- The priority of the minister of the Gospel is prayer and the ministry of the Word of God. The pastor must never get sidetracked by other issues and neglect his main calling.

Dear Lord,
Help us to keep the main thing, the main thing!

Pastor's Points Acts 5

Chapter 5 is the familiar story of Ananais and Sapphira. You have probably heard the story. There are two thoughts I want to bring out about the story.
First, the end of chapter 4 talks about a man who sold property and gave to the needy. His name was Joseph but they changed his name to Barnabas. He did not give to receive recognition but the people were touched and gave him a nickname, Barnabas (son of encouragement). It is in this context Ananais and Sapphira were selling their land. The inference is that they wanted to be recognized too, they wanted a nickname. So they sold their land but kept some for themselves. This was not the problem. They lied about it. Peter condemns them for lying to the Holy Spirit. Both of them died that same day in church.
Point Don't give to be noticed or to get a nickname. Give because it is the right thing to do.

Second, after Sapphira died in the same way as her husband the Bible says,

Acts 5:11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

I would guess so. It is not everyday that you go to church and two people are carried out dead by the ushers. Fear was a natural reaction. It was also a neccesary reaction.

Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

Point, where is the fear of the Lord today? People do things in public that should not be mentioned in private. Have they no fear for of the Lord?

Do I fear the Lord with the reverance He deserves and requires?