Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - When to Say No | New Testament | Acts 6

Episode Date: April 28, 2023

Are boundaries biblical? Is it OK to say no? In today's episode, Jensen shares how the disciples in Acts 6 set boundaries in their lives. Where do you feel pressure to do it all? Where are you being spread too thin? Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Acts 6

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. My son Jude is 18 months old. And right now, I feel like I spend half of my day asking him if he needs help. A recording of my home would mostly contain sounds of me asking him, Jude, do you need mama's help? Say help and I can help you. I say this to him as he struggles to reach a shelf in the pantry. or climb up on the swing set or open his granola bar or put a lid back on a jar. And mostly, he answers, no. And his cute little stubborn voice. You see, Jude doesn't realize he's 18 months old.

And no matter how hard he tries, he isn't tall enough to reach the top shelf or strong enough to pull himself up on the swing set or coordinated enough to open the wrapping on his granola bar or put the lid back on the peanut butter jar. But he is stubborn enough to refuse all help and then emotional enough to throw a fit when he can't make it work. It is both infuriating and comical at the same time. It also can be convicting sometimes as I see myself in him. When my lists are a thousand items long and I have to be two places at once and juggle too many responsibilities instead of reaching out, asking for help, I hunker down and tell myself, I can do it, I can get it all done, be all things for

all people all the time. And it's not hard to know where that stubbornness stems from in my son or in my own heart. He learns it from me, and I learn it from everywhere else. I live in a world where we wear productivity as a badge of honor. It's a pull yourself up from your own bootstraps world out there and the strongest, smartest, most skilled and determined people find a way to make everything work out and get it all done. Rachel Hollis, an entrepreneur who seems to do it all and have it all under control, shared this piece of wisdom. You and only you are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are. It's all on you, all up to you, to become who you're supposed to become and accomplish what you think will make you happy.

It's up to you. I think what is supposed to be encouraging and uplifting honestly leaves me feeling more exhausted under the weight of the expectation that it's all up to me. But this way of thinking is so prevalent, so praised that we live by it, and I think sometimes we even let it seep into our faith. You know that guilty feeling you get

when you see the super volunteer at your church? The person who serves communion, works the welcome table, teaches Sunday school, and organizes the community outreach program, all while raising and probably homeschooling for teenagers who love Jesus. Yeah, next to that, my contributions to the church seem to be lacking, making me want to add a few more things to my to do list to assuage my guilt. And when I read scripture, I see God calling his people to do so much and be so much for a world that needs so much help. It can be overwhelming. It can leave me either feeling like a failure, guilty from my inability to do it all, or stuck on a hamster wheel, trying to keep up, overwhelmed,

worn out, and burnt out in my faith. Neither options are sustainable, but we also have to know that neither options are what God intends for his church. In Acts 6, we step, into the life of the early church. There's a problem. Some of the widows in the community are not being taken care of. The church is growing so rapidly that things are starting to slip through the cracks. Let's take a look and see what the disciples have to say about it. So the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters choose seven men from among you, who were known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them

and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Do you see what they do? There's a need in the church, and they make sure that the need is met. But they are firm in their own boundaries. They will not be the ones to fill that need. Their language struck me the first time I read these verses, they almost seem cold. It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Shouldn't the disciples be willing to serve in this way? If they love Jesus with their whole hearts, wouldn't they want to give all of their time to any ministry need? But they don't. And that doesn't mean they don't love Jesus. You see, these disciples knew that they were called to serve the church. But they also knew the areas they were gifted in,

the areas they excelled in, the places where they were most needed. And for them, at that time, it was to give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. But for seven others, they were tasked with caring for these widows. Verse five. This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Also Philip, Procuris, Nicanor, Tiemann, Parmenis, and Nicholas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid their hands on them. I love the picture that this passage paints for us, the freedom and purpose it gives to God's people. See, in 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that in whatever we do, to do it all for the glory of God,

He doesn't tell us to do everything, but that in everything we do, to do it for the glory of God. And the disciples knew that to take on more, to serve tables alongside praying for and teaching in the church, would keep them from making a measurable impact in any area of their work. Their response isn't cold. It's full of wisdom and humility. They knew they couldn't do it all. They maybe even knew that they would not be. the best or right people for the job of serving these widows. Instead, they faithfully found men whose

giftings matched the task at hand. It feels bad to say no. It feels wrong to cross good things off our to do lists, but God actually calls the people in his church to do just that. In 1st Corinthians, he speaks of his church like a body. Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body. So it is with Christ. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were in ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

See, God created his church to be diverse and yet to be unified. Diverse in its gifting, and its skill, and its areas of expertise, but united in working towards one goal. We are all called to participate in building God's kingdom here in this broken world. But it will look different for all of us, and none of us is equipped to be ever. everything for everyone. An I cannot hear, a hand cannot see. We all need one another, and we are all incapable of filling every single need we see. You and I are called to be faithful where we are today, with the gifts God has given us, in the areas where we have influence. Psalm 127 tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, it's builders labor in vain.

When I try to juggle it all, when I try to reach the top shelf of the pantry or open my granola bar all on my own, all of my efforts are in vain. I was not created to be everything for everyone or fill every need. I was created by the God of the universe with a unique set of skills and placed in a specific place to use them. God is calling me and you to be faithful to those gifts and areas of influence. there is wisdom in saying no wisdom in understanding your limitations wisdom in arresting in who God created you to be you are not in control it is not all up to you at some point those of us

buried under the despair of failure or the weight of responsibilities have to lift our eyes to our father and just say help help me discern where you have called me to serve help me to discern the areas of my life that you need me to be present and active in. Help me to have the wisdom to protect those gifts and areas so that I can be unified in the body, relying on your power to build your kingdom in the world around me. Because when members of the body do this, when we stop trying to do it all, when we rely on our king to sustain and guide us, when we trust who he created us to be, the church can grow and work and move like it was created to.

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. You see, the disciples said no, and they stepped aside to allow different parts of the body to flourish. And because of this, the word of God spread. Disciples increased. Even priests were becoming obedient to the faith. The Church of God is called to do much for the broken world. But the beauty of the church is that it is made up of many different parts, all uniquely made to lay down their lives and service for the good of the body. Remember, we are to work for the glory of God in all that we do. No part of our lives is separate, working for our own agenda, our own glory, but all for the

glory of God. But we are not called to do it all. Wherever God has you today, whatever He has gifted you in, whatever he has placed on your heart, may you serve the body of Christ faithfully today and every day as you trust and rely on your God to build His kingdom through your life. Amen. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes, and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus.

Thanks for listening.