Atos 6
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 6
MacArthur - The apostles’pledge to devote themselves to their ministry set the pattern for all to follow. The ministry demands total commitment, everything a man has to give. There is no substitute for hard work and discipline. A young man once said to the gifted expository preacher of God’s Word Donald Grey Barnhouse, “I’d give the world to be able to teach the Bible like you.” Looking him straight in the eye Dr. Barnhouse replied, “Good, because that’s exactly what it will cost you.” (NT Commentary - Acts) I recall some 20 years ago when I went to my pastor and told him I would be willing to rent a place (even a place on the lake) for him to go away each week and be alone with God in prayer and His Word. Would you like to know his answer? "I'm too busy to get away!" Well, a few years later he got ensnared by immorality and the replacement pastor was also too busy to spend time with God in prayer and the Word. Would you like to know the result of his neglecting to preach and teach the pure milk of the Word? The church soon had a very painful split and he ended up leaving the original church, taking away more than half of the members. And then in his new church, he ended up being asked by the elders to leave! While there may have been "extenuating" circumstances (as they say), I have not one iota of doubt that these tragic debacles were related to a paucity in preaching the pure Word. Dear pastor, if you are not focused on the prayer and the Word, I plead with you for the sake of the glory of God and the Body of Christ, to rearrange your priorities. I am reminded of the church at Ephesus who even had Paul as a teacher for two years, but within a generation heard the following words of warning, including three "staccato-like" commands, from the Lord of the Church But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember (present imperative) from where you have fallen, and repent (aorist imperative) and do (aorist imperative) the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent. (Rev 2:4-5+) Ray Pritchard - More than once John Emmans, who served as pastor here at Calvary from 1952-1958, has told me this story. When he first came to this church (back then it was called Madison Street Bible Church) as a young man, the elders (led by the revered R. E. Nicholas), gave him a sign to put on his door which read, “Do not disturb. In study and in prayer.” They told him to focus on spiritual ministry, and they would watch after the needs of the congregation. I think that’s right in the spirit of Acts 6. Adrian Rogers - I've learned, a long time ago, that the very best thing I could do for my people...is be prepared to preach. And if I'm not that, there's not a lot of other things that ultimately matter. Some wise man said that a preacher who's always available isn't worth much when he is available. I agree with that—that a man has to be alone with God in the Word of God, studying and pouring out his heart to God in prayer for his people, and getting a word from God for his people. I know that there are ministers, who have all kinds of programs, and their people are doing all of these things, but they're not being free. I heard a silly story about a man who went into a pet store and bought a parakeet. They had two parakeets. The man said, "I've got one for a hundred dollars and one for twenty-five dollars." He said, "They look alike to me. What's the difference?" He said, "Well, the hundred-dollar parakeet can sing and talk real well. The twenty-five dollar parakeet doesn't sing that much, but he'll talk a little." The man said, "I'll take the twenty-five dollar parakeet. I want to save some money." After a week, he went back to the pet store and said, "He hasn't said a word." The man said, "Well, did he peck for the little bell?" He said, "Well, you didn't say anything about a little bell." "Oh," he says, "he has to peck a little bell before he talks." He said, "Well, do you have any?" He said, "I've got one for five dollars, so he bought a little bell and put it in there." A week later, he came back, and he said, "He still hasn't said a word." "Oh," he said, "well, did he run up and down the little ladder?" He said, "Well, you didn't say anything about a little ladder!" "Oh," he said, "he's gotta have a little ladder." And he said, "Well how much is the little ladder?" He said, "I've got one for ten dollars." So, he bought a little ladder. Then, he came back the third week, and he said, "Hey, that bird still hasn't said a word." "Ah," he said, "did he look in the little mirror?" The man said, "What little mirror?" He said, "You've got to have a little mirror; I've got one here for fifteen dollars." He sold him a little mirror. He came back the next week, and he said, "Listen, that bird has not uttered a peep!" "Oh," he said, "did he swing on the little swing?" He said, "How much is the swing?" He said, "I've got a swing for you for thirty dollars." And, he bought the little swing. Then, he came back the last week and said, "Let me tell you about that bird." He said, "That bird pecked the bell, then he ran up and down the ladder, then that little bird looked in the mirror, then he got in the swing and went back and forth, and then he shuddered, shivered, fell over backward, stuck his little feet in the air, and looked over at me and said, "Don't they sell any birdseed in that store that you go to?" I heard that, and I thought about so many churches. The pastor has the people pecking bells, running up and down ladders, and swinging on swings. I want to tell you something, friend: activity is no substitute for the Word of God, amen? I mean, you have to feed people. Now, there were people over here, talking about physical food and the widows being neglected, but the apostles said, "We're going to give ourselves continually to the ministry of the Word of God. We're going to be serving square meals from the pulpit. We're going to be preaching the Word of God, for the Bible says: 'desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.'" And, I'll tell you that this church, or any church, will be strong to the degree that it maximizes and emphasizes the ministry of the Word of God—not only from the pulpit, but in our classrooms and in our homes. We need to do that. A minister observing a poor man by the roadside breaking stones with a hammer, and kneeling to get at his work the better, said to him, "Ah, John, I wish I could break the stony hearts of my hearers as easily as you are breaking these stones!" The man replied, "Perhaps, master, you don't work on your knees?" Prayer and Power - A friend who knew Mr. Spurgeon many years ago, and who heard him preach on many occasions, says that he once heard him preach in one of our large towns in the afternoon and evening on a certain day; and that at the close of the afternoon service Mr. Spurgeon spoke of the consciousness that the service had not been what it should have been. His friend (then a student) admitted that he thought the preacher had not been himself in the preaching. Mr. Spurgeon, with a remark to the effect that it would never do to repeat the failure in the evening, went out into the woods to pray. Indeed, he spent the whole interval between the afternoon and evening services in prayer. The latter meeting was one of great power, and different in all respects from that of the afternoon. Many preachers of to-day might imitate Mr. Spurgeon's example with great advantage to themselves and their congregations. Prayer and Preaching alternate or simultaneous, are the right and left side of a living ministry. The preaching work may be laboriously and conscientiously performed without comfort or success if the other side be from any cause paralysed. I watched once the operations of a brick-maker in a field of clay. There was great agility in his movements. He wrought by piece, and the more he turned out the higher was his pay. His body moved like a machine. His task for a time was simply to raise a quantity of clay from a lower to a higher level by means of a spade, lie threw up one spadeful, and then he dipped his tool in a pail of water that stood by. After every spadeful of clay there was a dip in the water. The operation of dipping occupied as much time as raising. My first thought was, if he should dispense with these apparently useless baptisms, he might perform almost double the amount of work. My second thought was wiser: on reflection, I saw that if he should continue to work without these alternate washings, the clay would have stuck to the spade, and progress would have been altogether arrested. I said to myself, Go thou and do likewise. Prayer is the baptism which makes progress quick. (W. Arnot, D. D.) F B
Atos 6
MacArthur notes that "Not all Pharisees were scribes, but the scribes were primarily Pharisees, who were interpreters and teachers of the law of Moses and the traditional rabbinic writings."