The Fundamental Solution to Problems: Spiritual Restoration (Acts 6:1–15)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” May God’s unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated blessings be upon everyone today. The title of today’s message is, “The Fundamental Solution to Problems: Spiritual Restoration.” The content of today’s scripture is how the Early Church interpreted and solved their problems. The reason we study and learn in school is so we can learn how to solve problems, but the conclusion of all of history is that humans face their limitations, just like all of the great nations of history as well as the great historical leaders. Even historical leaders like Genghis Khan or Napoleon conquered a lot of land, but they ended their time on earth in a pitiful way. Even cultural leaders like Tolstoy and Hemmingway ended up ending their life in suicide. What this means is that humans cannot overcome the unsolvable problem. Today, as we live in the superpower nation of America, we must ask why mental illnesses are increasing, why addictions and shootings continue to increase. America has such advanced education and many other things, but why do we continue to surrender? All of the most famous universities of the world are gathered in America, but the conclusion is that, even with all of that knowledge, we cannot correctly diagnose or solve the problems of the age.
1. Problems in the Early Church
The members of the Early Church faced a similar problem, but they came to the correct diagnosis and solution.
1) The number of disciples increased (Acts 6:1)
(1) A need arose for a ministry of caring for the needy (Acts 6:1).
The problem of the Early Church is that, as their numbers began to grow, they had to make sure that everyone could make a living and survive, so there had to be some level of social work.
(2) The needs of the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews increased (Acts 6:1).
The people who were doing this service were the Hellenic Jews. What the “Hellenic Jews” means is, not the Jews who were living in Israel, but the Jews who had gone to different Gentile nations and were now moving back. I think that, because these people had experience living in Gentile nations, they were really good workers. As a result, they had to do more and more work, and they began to complain. In the beginning, they were serving the church out of the gladness of their hearts, but once the work became too much, it became a burden.
(3) The Hellenistic Jews began to complain against the Hebraic (Hebrew-speaking) Jews (Acts 6:1).
Then, they also began to resent the Hebrew Jews because they were inside of the church but they weren’t working as much. Most people might look at this and think that this is a problem of being overburdened by work, but the Bible tells us something different. The physical reality is sure, and most companies or organizations would just replace the workers, or they would hire someone with more skills, or they would get rid of that role entirely. These are the works that the people of the world do. Because the people of the world cannot correctly diagnose the source of the problem, their solution manuals are also incorrect.
2) Division in the Church
(1) Between the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews and the Hebraic (Hebrew-speaking) Jews.
(2) The outward cause of the division was the unequal and excessive workload.
(3) They became focused on practical tasks instead of the ministry of God’s Word (Amos 8:11).
In Amos 8:11, it says, “Not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord,” meaning this problem is not actually because of too much work. People immigrated to America, and the real problem is not that our children are overloaded, or that we are overburdened or overworked. The fundamental problem is in our spiritual state. In other words, it means that we’re concentrating on the physical work without the Word of God. Human beings are created in the image of God, so we cannot live without the strength of God. That is the spiritual strength; we cannot receive it unless we rely on God. But America has such a great system that allows us to rely on things other than God. When you get older, you can rely on the social security system, and people in society can also rely on governmental systems. And, if we rely on the American education system, there’s a lot of physical benefits. As a result of all of this, we lose hold of one thing. We keep on forgetting the Word of God and try to rely on the social systems as well as our own abilities. As time passes this way, our mental state collapses, but people don’t know that their mental state has collapsed; they just continue to complain, and one day, you’re met with depression.
3) The Apostles’ Diagnosis
Human beings aren’t originally created to live with depression. Human beings aren’t created to live with panic attacks. Human beings are not created to fight, compete, and kill one another to get to the top. Human beings are living without God, and because we are losing hold of the fundamental way we were created, it’s causing every other problem.
(1) They pointed out that the Word of God had been neglected (Acts 6:2).
So the apostles actually diagnosed the problems correctly. They said, “It was not right for us to neglect the Word of God and the ministry for the physical things,” so now we must re-concentrate on the Word of God and prayer. So, there are many problems going on with the believers, but in reality, there is only one problem; it means we are facing our limitations now.
(2) They devoted themselves to the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).
Then, what exactly is the gospel? The gospel means, my ego died on the cross with Christ. It’s not that I have to die, but it’s that I’ve already died on the cross with Christ and He lives within me as my Master and Lord, that’s Romans 6:4. What is a religious life? It means I’m trying to assert my ego, I keep on trying to develop and reinforce myself. In other words, I’m only developing my greed more. So, I pray so diligently, I serve the church so diligently, but that’s religion.
What is the gospel? I died on the cross with Christ and now I live by His life and spirit, that is the gospel. What is the religion of the world and the meditation the elites of the world are practicing? Meditation, especially Buddhist meditation, is trying to kill your ego. I met with Buddhist monks and asked them how they pray, and most of them mentioned methods or ways to get rid of their own thoughts. If we just stay still, then we are lost in our thoughts, then we focus our thinking on our breath. They concentrate on breathing in and out through their nose in a quiet location, then what will happen? For that moment, their greed, their worries and anxieties would stop, and when they get a taste of that, they fall deeper and deeper into that practice. It is a meditation that kills them; what other meditation is there? They take whatever thoughts they’ve received and they just let it be. They say they don’t judge whether their thoughts are good or bad, they just accept the thoughts as they come in. Our typical reaction is that we will judge our thoughts, whether good or bad, and if somebody says something, we would react, whether it makes us feel good or bad, but these people tried to not react at all. They just let it flow in and out. What is all of this? They’re all researching different methods to kill their ego.
(3) They devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 6:4).
What about modern day Christians? They actually started praying to reinforce their ego; they pray in order to accomplish their own goals, and they pray to God to serve their own thoughts. Then, the result is bound to be complaints and conflicts. The apostles knew this and realized that the problems are being caused by a lack of the gospel, so they began to concentrate on it first themselves, and then they told the members of the church to raise up workers.
2. Workers Who Build Up the Church
1) Qualifications of the Workers
Who are these workers? “Seven men from among you who are well-known to be full of the spirit and wisdom,” you need to work well in the church and in the world, but that’s not enough. If people being good at their job is the standard, there is no reason for Jesus to die on the cross and to resurrect. So, yes, you do have to do your job well, and you do have to study well, and you do have to run your business well, but that’s not enough. Because humans are spiritual, we need to have the mystery that saves us spiritually; that is the gospel. It is the death of my ego and myself. There is no “I like this” or “I don’t like this,” anymore; now I live by the life of the Lord Who lives in me. Even right now, as we worship, when you hold onto the Word God is giving you and pray, then your spirit will come to life. For students, if you are studying while enjoying the prayer that enjoys life, then your studies will change. The prayer that enjoys life must go with my life, but the apostles diagnosed that this was not taking place.
(1) Full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3)
So they told them to choose people full of the Holy Spirit. What exactly does being filled with the Holy Spirit mean? If you go into the ocean and the water comes up to your waist, then you can move your body freely. If the water comes up to your chest level, you can still move your upper body freely, that means you are still alive, but if you are completely submerged in the water, then you are moved by the power of the waves. When the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me completely controls me, then I will live, not by my thoughts, but the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
(2) Full of wisdom (Acts 6:3)
That person, filled with the Holy Spirit. If someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, it results in being filled with wisdom; that is not the wisdom from the world, it is the wisdom given by God. So, yes, we must study diligently in the world, but that’s not enough. This world is controlled by Satan, the devil, so we can only survive if we have the power and the wisdom from God. We must have this strength to overcome ourselves, that strength is going into the gospel. And, my thoughts being completely seized by the gospel and by the Holy Spirit, then I will live my life of following the stream of God’s Holy Spirit. These are the people who are recognized by other people.
(3) Well respected and of good reputation (Acts 6:3)
Why do my relationships continue to break down? It is because “I” am alive. We’re focused on my benefits, my advantage, the people that I like, so the opposite result happens. That’s what you need to do in the world, there needs to be the politics of the majority and the minority, that’s what the physical things do. But the people of God should not live like that, the members of the church themselves raised up the seven people who were filled with the Spirit of God, filled with wisdom, and recognized by people. And they listed these seven people, and two of the names we recognize are Stephen and Philip. These are laypeople in the church but they were also doing ministry inside of the church and out in the field. Anywhere there’s a gathering of people, there will always be problems. In your family, in your company, even if you go to a deserted island all by yourself, you will have problems. You may think that if you live all alone, you won’t have problems, right? That person has made a diagnosis, “My problems are a result of these people or my circumstances,” so they try to live away from people where they won’t be bothered by others, but that is a false diagnosis. The problem begins with my inner thoughts, the problem begins from my thoughts that lack God. Romans 8:4-5 says that the thoughts of the flesh are death. But the thoughts of the Spirit, in other words, the thoughts of the Word, are life and peace, so your circumstances are not the problem, your inner state is the problem. In the world, we call people who have this strength the “elite” or “heroes,” but because they don’t have the strength that comes from God, they face their limitations.
2) Appointing the Workers
(1) Seven workers were appointed (Acts 6:3).
(2) Men who were full of faith and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5).
(3) Stephen, Philip, and the others (Acts 6:5).
When they raised up these seven workers in the church, the complaints stopped. You must diagnose the problems in your life correctly. That person is not the problem, the real problem is my inner state. The problem will not be solved by separating myself from that person, but I must solve that problem inside of “me.” The only way is to go into the gospel, and this gospel is unique. If the church loses hold of this gospel, then it changes into the world; It’s just yet another religious organization gathered. If there is just one church or one believer that has the accurate correct gospel, in this region, in this company, then that whole field will be saved. So, it’s not about how many people come to the church, but it’s about how many people have the accurate gospel, and the fruits of the gospel continue to increase. But religions that do not have this accurate gospel will break down. It might look like this is a problem, but actually God is just moving to a different stage, and from that point on, the Word of God becomes strengthened and fulfilled.
When we face a problem, we wonder, “How do we solve it?” No, we ask, ‘what is the gospel?” Through that problem, we are able to discover God’s plan of blessing. No matter what situation you’re in, the Lord is with you. No matter what mistakes you’ve made, the Lord knows and there’s a plan of blessings there. If there are any of you who are still suffering from scars or the trauma of your past, may you realize this is a blessing for you to realize the gospel. There is a very unique disease in the American nation. There’s a unique mental illness known as PTSD, where after going to war, many people will have this mental illness. That’s something that people who have witnessed war will experience. 90% of soldiers who have gone to war are afflicted by this mental illness, and these things will actually continue to increase. The physical diagnosis is that this person has PTSD because they witnessed fellow soldiers dying on the battlefield. It is also true that in Eph. 4:26-27, evil spirits enter in through trauma like that. The problem is, we’re not giving them the solution. That PTSD becomes a platform of blessings to hold onto the gospel. The gospel is the solution to all problems, why? Because Christ lives within me.
3) After the Workers Were Appointed
(1) The Word of God continued to spread (Acts 6:7).
(2) The number of disciples increased greatly (Acts 6:7).
(3) A great many priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).
When this Word is raised up inside of the people and the people are saved by the Word, the disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a larger number of priests became obedient to the faith. There’s a few reasons why these priests used to oppose Christ, because if they accept Christ, all of their roles in the temple would go away, that means the priests would lose their living. Because the role and the livelihood of the priest is to make sacrifices in the Temple for the Israelites, but now that these Christians are saving they don’t need the Temple anymore, the priests were opposing Christ. They might not have been saying this out loud, but they were thinking, “This is going to affect my salary,” rather than standing in the line of truth, they were prioritizing their own livelihood. In that kind of state, don’t you think it would be hard to live life? Don’t you think the reason why people compete out in the world is so they can make more a living, more of a salary? People who are a little less competitive might think, “I’m okay with this level of living,” but the fact that these priests were becoming obedient to Christ, is no ordinary thing.
Before the problems began in the Early Church in Acts 6, the church was moving centered on the apostles. But they discovered God’s plan here; the problems they were facing weren’t really a problem, but an opportunity for blessing.
Today’s pastors concentrate fully on the Word of God and prayer, and inside of the church, we are not centered on those who are “good workers,” we are centered on those filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The reason why God raised up the church to begin with is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. In this scripture, because the numbers were decreasing, they lost hold of that mission temporarily, being focused on physical needs. There is a reason why our Lord Jesus Christ has called you and me. In Mark 3:13-15, it says, “So that I can be with you,” and “To send you out to preach,” and “To give you the authority to cast out demons.” These three things must be in our lives. If these three goals are not in our lives, then we will run endlessly for our own ego and establishment. That’s the result of Genesis 6. The result is, we cannot do anything without God. We are different from even angels, we are precious beings created in God’s image to be with God. Why does our heart keep on pushing us to end our own life? Yes, it’s true, those thoughts enter us, but it is because I don’t know who I am. I am a child of God. God called Abraham as a source of all blessings. Through you ,all peoples on earth will be blessed. Whoever curses you, I will curse. Whoever blesses you, I will bless. We have such an amazing identity, but the devil twists this; the devil makes us lose hold of our identity through physical problems. We think our environment or circumstance is the problem, and yes, that might be a problem, but the bigger problem is my spiritual inner state.
When the Kingdom of Christ reigns inside of me, that is where Peace comes from. That’s not talking about the satisfaction I get when I accomplish something, I’m talking about the peace that comes from the Kingdom of Christ. That is the only thing that can cast out all of the anxiety inside of us, and it can lessen the cancer cells. Are there any people in your family who are diagnosed with cancer? Yes, we must receive the doctors’ help, but all they can do is try to get rid of the cancer cells or cut them out. We must change our inner state. We already have a spiritual state that is bound to receive spiritual viruses, in other words, our spiritual state is corrupted to be centered on myself. The result is in Matthew 11:28, we have no choice but to bear our own heavy burdens. We must change our spiritual state so that we entrust this to the Lord and receive His strength. As we do this, we get our treatments and take our medications; then, healing will take place. Why do you think God allowed you to have cancer? Does He not have the power to block it? No, He wants you to restore the gospel through this problem. God wants you to change your inner state into a blessing. God can do anything. I hope that this blessing will begin for you today.
3. Workers Who Bring Life to the Mission Field
1) Stephen
(1) Full of grace and power (Acts 6:8)
So, this person Stephen was not only serving in the church, but he was also ministering to the field. In Acts 6:8, it says, “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power.”
(2) Performed great wonders and signs among the people (Acts 6:8)
How is it that a normal layperson can do ministry in their field? If we are filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, then that work takes place naturally. John 14:26 says the Holy Spirit teaches you and reminds you of the words of Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit also teaches us the work of the future. Don’t you think that wisdom just means knowing the future? Today, in the age of AI, it’s no longer about studying diligently. The more time passes, the more advanced and it will become 1000s of times more advanced than the human brain. Nowadays, if you have a lot of knowledge, you will be employed at a higher salary. So, that’s why people try to hire Ivy League graduates, but now the age is different. The AI can gather all the knowledge that humans could never dream of gathering, so now the one who is truly important is the one who is moving the AI.
(3) Overcame opposition through wisdom and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:9–10)
The Lord is giving us the answer now, already knowing the age. If you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, then you will be filled with God’s wisdom. Because God created all of the universe, He has this knowledge, and God says, “I will be with you,” so receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, then He will give you wisdom that nobody else can understand, but there are these forces that are blocking this gospel.
2) Forces That Opposed the Gospel
(1) They persuaded people to give false testimony (Acts 6:11).
Who are the forces that are blocking the gospel? In today’s scripture, it was the Jewish people and the priests, because it is threatening to break down their own religion. Satan was blocking the gospel through the Jewish organization at church, so these people began to bribe other people to persecute and accuse the apostles of blasphemy.
(2) They stirred up the people by accusing Stephen of blaspheming Moses and God (Acts 6:11–12).
What was the content of that? They say, “Oh, Stephen spoke against the laws of Moses, and he blasphemed against the Temple of God.” Yes, that’s true, but they were actually wrong. Moses’ law says you shall not murder, but Jesus says, even if you hate someone in your heart, then you’ve murdered. Moses’ law says you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus is saying, even if you have a lustful thought in your heart, you’ve already committed adultery. Now, you don’t have to follow the rituals of the sacrifices, and you no longer have to keep the feasts. So now they are saying he is blaspheming the Law.
(3) They set up false witnesses regarding the Law and the Temple (Acts 6:13–14).
Jesus Christ said, “I can break down this Temple and rebuild it in 3 days.” Then, because the Jewish people did not understand the gospel, they thought they were being attacked. The Temple represents Jesus Christ, the gate of the lamb, Jesus Christ, the burnt sacrifice, the water basin, Jesus Christ. The bread? That’s the Word of God, Jesus. The incense and the candles? That was also the light of Christ. The incense and the sensors? That was also Jesus Christ. The Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies represents Jesus Christ. So, the Temple was representing Jesus Christ as a shadow before He was born on earth. But now that Jesus Christ has actually come to earth, they are saying we no longer need the shadow so many people are opposing, saying this is blasphemy. So, they are saying, by the Jewish law, we must kill these people.
How does this world operate? There is a reality, there’s the fact, but there’s the truth behind the fact. Most people will just look at the facts and determine whether they are right or wrong, in their opinion, so Stephens’ opponents were using the laws of the Jews to try to kill Stephen, that is the fact. But in reality, the truth is that they were doing that so they could preserve their own salary. However, even behind the truth, there is a fundamental spiritual background, which is that the devil was making this happen. So, if we don’t know these different layers, we’ll see the facts on the TV broadcast, but there is also a truth behind the facts. It’s that there is another truth behind the scenes, so they twist the facts and present it a certain way. The truth is I have to succeed, so I will use these facts to kill that person. In reality, the spiritual fact is that they were seized by the devil to kill others. If you don’t have the eyes to see these different lawyers, it’s hard to live in American society, because most of the people follow just the visible facts. And the people who are controlling everything from the background are laughing, but in reality, even those people are enslaved by Satan even further. So, how must we see? You must see the facts accurately, and you must see the truth behind the facts accurately. But at the end, you must ask, “What is God’s plan?” But many of you are deceived by the problems you see.
3) Stephen
(1) His face was like the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).
Why do you keep getting afflicted and falling into the problem? It is a fact that it is happening, but inside, you have your greed. You’re only saying this is a problem because things are not going the way you want them to, but even behind that truth, there is a spiritual state that has nothing to do with God. We must not concentrate on solving the physical problems, we must concentrate on solving the fundamental spiritual state. Right now, Satan is facing death, but when the Sanhedrin saw his face, his face was like the face of an angel, so it’s not as if he’s forcing his face to look like an angel.
(2) He enjoyed the life of Christ (Galatians 2:20).
Right now, he is standing in front of the Sanhedrin with all of this evidence, trying to kill him, but this state is irrelevant to all of that. In his heart, he has the peace of being with God and that peace is reflected in his face. America is a good nation, because at least people pretend to smile on the outside, and there’s nobody who’s offended by a smile. In Japan, many people will just bow and greet you naturally, but internally, they are different.
(3) He lived under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
What is the standard for a Christian? It’s not about our environment, it’s about my inner state. The physical Christians will blame their environment. They ask God, “God, solve this situation,” but what does the correct type of Christian do? Inside of the situation, I am with the Lord and look for His plan. In other words, I’m looking to be filled with the gospel. That was David in the Old Testament, he was walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and his prayer topic was not to make it go away. Religious people will say, “Make the death go away,” but David was different, he enjoyed the gospel correctly. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. You must restore and enjoy and testify of the gospel. If you are within that stream, then God will give you all of your needs.
Conclusion
1. The root cause of problems is our spiritual condition.
In conclusion, the source of our problems is in our inner, spiritual state.
2. Restore the gospel and be filled with the Holy Spirit through prayer.
The only way to change ourselves is to go into the gospel; that means, going into the filling of the Holy Spirit.
3. Become witnesses who bring life to the church and the mission field.
Then, I will stand in the seat of the witness that saves my church and my field. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that we will remain within the stream of these blessings throughout this week.
Message Prayer
We are going to pray together now. I hope you will listen to today’s sermon and diagnose yourself. If you come to the correct diagnosis, then you will come to the correct solution. Then, you can tell the people around you. Let us pray together, holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for giving us the correct diagnosis and solution to the many problems we face in our life. Yes, we need the knowledge of the world and the help of doctors, but we believe that our fundamental spiritual state can only be changed through the gospel and the Holy Spirit. In this land of America where the gospel is being lost, we pray You will use us as the church that proclaims the accurate gospel.
We have returned Your materials as offering. Everywhere it is used, we pray that lives will be saved. We also believe You will give us the temple prepared for world evangelization. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray You will allow the two newcomers to become citizens of the Kingdom of God who will be able to save other people with the filing of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, and power. We pray You will give them the power to be entrusted with the mission of the light of God’s Kingdom. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Please continue to pray for the purchase of our church building.
2. LA Youth Retreat: July 9–11 Registration: June 7–28 Fee: $280
3. LA Children’s Retreat: July 2–4 Registration Fee: $170
4. WRC Registration: First registration deadline: June 30
5. Venmo account for church worship offering: @Antiochmissionchurch
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all of the people of God, who desire to correctly diagnose any circumstance or problem and be able to give the answer to the world with the filling of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, be with them now and forevermore always, amen.
Let’s be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom!