A MAN OF FAITH

Acts 6:5

Morning Meditation 9/9/2012

"And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:"

The early church was choosing deacons to serve tables. The rivers of the duties of the apostles had overflowed the banks and these men of God found themselves serving tables instead of feeding God's flock on the Word of God. We are told why the deacons were chosen and ordained. Acts 6:3-4 says, "Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."

Jesus had carefully trained the disciples in their duties. They knew they could never get the gospel out and spend their time ministering to the physical needs of the people. However, they did know that ministering to the physical needs of poor people was the responsibility of the church. So in order to fulfill the responsibility of the church and at the same time fulfill their responsibility to minister the Word to the church, they must have help. So the Apostles came up with the idea of the ordination of deacons. This office has continued until this day.

There are two ordinances in the church neither of which save. Baptism which was instituted by John the Baptist and continued by Jesus and His disciples. It is included in the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20 says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

The second ordinance was established by Jesus just hours before the crucifixion. It is The Lord's Supper. Matthew 26:26-30 says, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." Jesus gave the church something to do on a regular basis, to remember Him, and what He did to save them. The unleavened bread pictures the sinless humanity of Jesus. The grape juice was given to call to remembrance the blood He shed on the cross in order to clean them from sin.

Paul instructs the Church at Corinth on the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 says, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."

The last sentence gives the purpose of the Lord's Supper being observed in the local Church. Paul says by inspiration of God, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."

These are ordinances that should be carefully guarded by the Local Church. Now the reason we have discussed the Lord's Supper is to bring out the truth that comes to bear on the selection of men for ordination for this new office of deacons. One of the qualifications is that these men should be men of faith. As we think about a man of faith we must think of,

A MAN OF PRAYER

A man of faith will always be a man of prayer. When we think of Elijah we think of a man of faith. He is used by James as a man of faith and prayer. It is said in James 5:17, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." Prayer is in most cases an expression of faith. Faith goes to the God of creation and believes a promise of God and expresses that belief by praying for what is needed.

Let us continue with Elijah and his prayer motivated by faith. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. 1 Kings 18:25-29, "And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded."

The prophets of Baal accepted the challenge of Elijah. The description of their pleading with Baal is described above. When they had come to the end of themselves and no one paid any attention anymore, Elijah called for a prayer meeting. He first built an altar in the name of the LORD. He dug a trench around the altar. 1 Kings 18:33-35, "And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water." I can imagine that the prophets of Baal were laughing at Elijah. They knew that water doesn't burn!!!

Then Elijah prays: this prayer is recorded in 1 Kings 18:36-37, "And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again." When you compare Elijah's prayer and the prophets of Baal, you will discover that it will be impossible on the information given to tell the number of words used in their pleading with Baal. But in our King James Bible, if I have counted right, there are sixty three words. What happened as a result of the simple and short prayer of Elijah? 1 Kings 18:38-39 says, "Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God."

This is where we can clearly see that prayer is associated with faith. Elijah believed God and was willing to step out by faith on the truth of God's promise and challenge the prophets of Baal. James uses this scene to illustrate how New Testament Christians have an example here of how to pray and believe God when it comes to praying for the sick. There are also other things that could be included that are important enough for God to answer in this fashion when we pray the way Elijah prayed. I believe that the lack of answers to prayer today is that we do not pray with faith that refuses to let go.

Faith is what causes us to pray. God's Word is what faith receives and prays believingly for what is promised. So when faith is exercised, and prayer is used to ask God believingly, and the answer comes in the form of assurance so that God is honored. There is just a lot of things we do in our service to the Lord that is not sought by believing prayer. When the one praying is convinced that God is faithful who makes the promise, and the one praying waits with assurance until the answer is manifest, and when the answer becomes visible, God is honored. God wants us to prove He exists, by the dialog that goes on between us, and prayer is answered often enough that it cannot be sucessfully denied that God's power is in our lives. We need to ask ourselves, do we get our prayers answered often enough to convince anyone that we are heard where the prophets of Baal are not? Until that answer comes in a way that it is undeniable, we are not going to convince anyone that we worship the true God and they are not.

THE MAN OF FAITH IS ALSO A MAN OF GOOD WORKS

Noah is a man who lived out an illustration in the building of the Ark. We are told in Hebrews 11:7, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

Out text says, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear . . ." The point here is that Noah did not have to see to believe. Faith and sight are not on the same page. God warned him of things not seen as yet. Noah had never seen anything that was close to what was about to happen. In reading the scriptures we learn that God did not water the earth in those days with rain. They knew nothing about a thunderstorm. The environment was perfect. When God spoke to Noah about what was coming on the world, Noah believed what God said even though he had never seen anything like that before in his life. There is reason to believe that God described what was going to happen in detail. God then told him to build an ark and gave him a blue print to use in building it. The flood came on time, Noah, his family, and all the animals entered the ark, and God shut the door so that no one could get out or get in the ark. What did Noah do? He spent a big part of 120 years building an ark to escape the flood that would be coming as a judgment upon the population for their wickedness. They refused to believe the Man of God concerning their wickedness. Enoch before his translation was a prophet of judgment. They refused to listen to him. Noah was a prophet of judgment and told the people of his day of a coming flood. Can't you just imagine the laughter and the fun-making that Noah had to endure? That is until the coming judgment was seen in the approaching storm clouds.

Let's notice the place of good works in the economy of God:

1. This verse is an explanation that needed to be made after Paul states what is found in verses 8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."We are created (experience the new birth) unto good works; Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

C2B7 The word "workmanship" translates "poiema" and means, "that which has been made; this word is used of the works of God as creator.

C2B7 The sphere of this creation is "in Christ Jesus." God works a mighty miracle every time He saves a person. Being in Christ is the same idea as being in Adam. When Adam sinned, every person that was in Adam at the time was affected by his sin. When God cursed Adam, every person in Adam was going to be born a depraved human. One does not have to be trained to sin when he is born. He will do a masterful job without you saying a word to him.

C2B7 The word "workmanship" is the translation of a word from which we get our word poem or poetry. A poem rhymes. A man has rhyme restored to his life once he has been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Not only will his life make sense by the way he acts but also he can so live that the Father can say of us in Christ Jesus, "These are my beloved sons created in Christ Jesus unto good works." I don't know about you, but I have a gnawing desire to hear my Father in heaven say, "Son, I love you, and I am pleased by the way you live." If I call Him Father, I believe He calls me son!!! Someone grab these mules! I'm about to have a runaway!!! Hallalujah!!!

2. Good works ought to be preformed by the believer for the benefit of the unsaved. Titus 3:8 says, "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." The unsaved are affected in a good way by observing the good works of the saved. This will help relieve the constant saying that the church is full of hypocrites. But the fact of the matter is that we don't know who is and who isn't. And we are expressly forbidden to judge. So it is probably true that there are hypocrites in the church. And they are just a little bit better than their accusers.

May the Lord bless our hearts with His word.

In Christ

Bro. White