In Acts 6, the apostles had a dilemma where they were pulled between evangelizing and doing benevolence for those in need. They quickly realized that they really weren’t able to effectively do both. So we read in Acts 6:3 the solution to their problem, “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” The question for you is this, “Would you have been selected?” Do we resemble people who are led by the Spirit?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:17, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” The fruit may not come naturally, in fact I’d suggest to you that it is impossible for Godly fruit to come naturally. You will never accidentally become righteous. It takes a conscience decision to submit to the guidance of the Spirit, and it is in the daily small decisions that really define how much the Spirit is actually leading you.
What was it about those seven men the apostles chose to take care of their problems that helped them know to pick them? Was it their reputation for knowing scripture? Was it their reputation of how faithfully they showed up for worship? Was it by their reputation of prayer?
We already know the answer to that, because I’m sure we’ve met people that simply demonstrate a reliance upon God, it’s revealed in their nature. People whose actions verify that they have an understanding of scripture; people who show that worship is essential to them; and people who’ve proven that they depend upon prayer as a vital part of making decisions. These are some examples of what Jesus was describing in Matthew 7:16-18, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” In context he’s describing how we recognize a false teacher, however the criteria is nearly identical.
Peter reveals the progress and the blessing that comes with living by the Spirit in 2 Peter 1:5-8, “[add to] your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
That’s a wonderful promise to us, that we can know how to be productive for God’s kingdom. Paul also reveals something about what it means to live according to the Spirit in Romans 8:5-9, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, [have their minds on] the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
It doesn’t take much effort to determine if we could have been in the list of qualified people to help with the widow issue in Acts 6. But regardless if you feel qualified or not, we know it’s possible to think in a way that reveals who is leading us. Just remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-8, “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”
The Spirit may compel us to reach out boldly to those who oppose the truth, or that same Spirit may compel us to give all we have to help someone in need. Those who “live by the Spirit, will also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). That journey may lead us in places we never would have imagined serving God in ways we never dreamed. One of the exciting things we get to participate in is mission work around the world. People dedicated to teaching and serving people in places where the gospel is new or an obvious minority. However, all of us have a role in that work. Mission work is all around us, and the more we submit to the leading of the Spirit God gave us at the moment we were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38) the more we will find out how God is willing to use us to accomplish the wonderful work of reaching and strengthening souls.
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