Have you ever heard the phrase “seeing is believing?” Sometimes we say this phrase, or we highlight the reality that in order to believe something, you have to be able to see it with your own eyes. And we have this idea that in order to believe something, or to really appreciate it, you have to be able to see it for yourself. A picture alone won’t really do it justice. Think of something like the Grand Canyon. How many have ever been there? I haven’t, but these are the types of places you say “oh you have to see it to believe it.” Or if you’ve ever been to the Black Hills, seen the buffalo roam, or places like Devil’s Tower, just incredible places, you might say you have to see it to really appreciate how wonderful and glorious it actually it. ‌

I remember such an experience in my life. I was a missions major in Bible college and I had to do a summer internship. I spent 2 months in the summer of 2007 in the mountains of Riobamba, Ecuador. We were 10k ft above sea level, and Riobamba pretty close to Mt. Chimborazo, among some of the highest elevations in South America at 20k feet. It was about a 2 hr drive to the base, but you could look out the window and see then entire mountain when it wasn’t cloudy. Such a beautiful sight! In fact the missionaries had a little window in their shower area, which was in an upper level of the house, and you could look outside while you were taking your shower in the morning and see out over all the houses and they had a clear view of Mt. Chimborazo—imagine that every morning! And we drove to the base, which started at 14k feet and hiked up to 17k feet, the rest of the trip I’m told would have taken 8 hours, and you only do it at night due to to the cloudiness, and it’s a very dangerous ascent, lives have been lost trying to climb the mountain. But it was marvelous and beautiful to see. The type of thing where a picture doesn’t do it justice. You have to see it in order to believe how wonderful it truly is—seeing is believing. ‌‌

But as we come to our passage today, we see that while seeing is believing might work in our physical world, seeing is believing does not really hold up to spiritual things. In fact, it is possible to see or know first hand spiritual facts, or have spiritual knowledge or experiences, and still reject them when it comes to believing. This is especially true when it comes to the message of Jesus—seeing does not always equal believing. And in our text this morning we’re going to learn about the message of Jesus and this message coming into to the world and how there were many people who saw him, who saw the things that he did and heard his teaching yet they still rejected him. When it comes to Jesus, seeing is not always believing. And our passage points us to the reality that there is a difference between seeing and believing. And not all those who see will end up believing. So as we begin to look at our text, the big idea I want you to remember is this:‌‌

Big Idea: when it comes to the message of Jesus, seeing is not always believing

Join us for our Sunday school series on church revitalization, as we talk through the 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.

Do you have trust issues? Anyone here have trust issues? Sometimes people have trust issues. They just find it difficult to trust somebody. Anybody like that here today?

Sometimes, it is possible to have spiritual trust issues. Whether you have trust issues with those around or not, at times it can be hard for us to trust God. Maybe we like do do things on our own and in our own way. Perhaps we just find it hard to commit our lives to someone we can’t visibly see or audibly hear. Or maybe we just like to do things on our own so we struggle to place our lives into the hands of another. Whatever the case, sometimes trusting God can be a struggle.

This especially comes into play around Christmas time. At Christmas time we come face to face with the reality that God came to earth in the form of a baby, lived a human life, and died and rose again all so that we can trust him. ‌So we really are faced with the question of what will you do with Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? Perhaps the most important question you will ever answer in your life is the question of what are you going to do with Jesus. There is much confusion today when it comes to Jesus Christ. Who was He? A man? The Son of God? A good teacher? A prophet? Did He even exist? The most important question you can answer in your life is what will you do with Jesus. Many have denied the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh, and deemed it a myth or misunderstanding. But the Bible teaches that Jesus actually did come in the flesh and He is God. That’s what we celebrate here at Christmas time. We celebrate that truth that Jesus Christ came to earth, was born of a virgin, and was actually God in the flesh.

But what are you going to do with that information? What are you going to do what the Bible says about Him? Will you trust Him? Or will you decide to live life in your own way? What will you do with Jesus. ‌‌Over the next few weeks we’re going to focus on Jesus. From the book of John in the Bible we’re going to examine what Scripture says about who He was, and I want you to walk away with the question in your mind—what will I do with Jesus. It doesn’t matter where you are in your spiritual life. You could be here just to check out this “church thing” and see what we do. You could be here because you’re a true believer in Jesus and want to celebrate with other believers. This morning I want you to encounter Jesus, and I want you to walk away wondering “what am I going to do now.” So with that question in mind today, I want to give you the big idea from our text this morning:‌‌

Big Idea: Even if you have trust issues, you can trust Jesus!‌

Tune in to our Sunday school series on the topic of church revitalization. This week we talk about pathway towards revitalization and start a discussion on a spiritual pathway.

Structure is important. If buildings or other things are build on the right structure, they will turn out well. But if they are not, they could collapse or not last.

Many of you know I spend a few short years in the construction industry. We were a general contractors so I got to see a lot of different trades and I was on some pretty important buildings from very early on until the end. One building I was on for a year and a half was a convention center with a 14 story Marriott hotel on top. I came on site when they were preparing to pour the concrete for the 5th floor—that’s all the higher the building was. And I stayed until the building opened. It was quite the experience. But one thing I learned is that structure is important. Everything needed to be built to spec. I remember watching them pour the concrete for the floors. They had to get all the rebar right and tie it exactly how the blueprint demanded. Then they had these special cables called post motioning cables that ran through the concrete and held it all together. And there were certain specs and guidelines so that the structure was right—having the right structure made it work. ‌‌

It’s the same way in the church. Having the right structure can make or break a ministry. Having a ministry structure that is based on Scripture and in the Bible is vitally important. Too often churches have the wrong structure. They have things we don’t find in the Bible. Or maybe they have the right structure—the right categories, but they misunderstand those categories or positions in the church. Whatever the case, the Bible needs to be our guide when it comes to the organizational structure and leadership structure within the church. ‌

So as we come to our text today in Acts chapter 6, we are going to look at the office of deacon in the Bible, and how to understand deacon roles. Every year at the end of the year we have deacon elections for the upcoming year. And it is important that we understand the role of deacon—what a deacon is, what a deacon isn’t. So that we can know how God wants us to choose those men who serve us in this way. So today I’d like to look at the first passage that addresses deacons in Scripture, Acts 6. Here we see the first deacons, or some have called them proto-deacons. And I’d like us to consider the role and function of deacons as we prepare for nominations and elections coming up at the end of the year. This essentially is what I talk with our deacons about, this is a part of the training and instruction I give them on what I expect of them, but this will also shape our understanding of what God expects as well. ‌‌

Big Idea: Churches need the right underlying structure in order to thrive. Because God has a specific structure for the church, we need to make sure our structure of deacon ministry is based on God’s expectations!

Have you ever made a compromise? I’m sure you have—there are lots of things that we make compromises over or make compromises for. The word compromise has Latin roots, and a direct translation from the Latin is that a compromise is a consent to arbitration or to promise together. Basically, a compromise is finding something that both parties can agree on. There are many ways that we do this. ‌‌

Sometimes, a compromise is settling a dispute by mutual concession. “You agree to one thing and I’ll agree to another.” “I’ll do my best to not get upset at you if you’ll do your best to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube. ‌Sometimes a compromise is to accept standards that are lower than you desire. A company might says “we are not prepared to compromise on our employees safety!” ‌Another form of compromise is to ruin one’s reputation through foolish or reckless behavior. “Martha Stewart became compromise through insider trading.” ‌‌We have this idea or term of compromise, and we all deal with compromises all the time. When you bought your house, you likely negotiated on a price—that’s a compromise. When you got your family out of bed this morning maybe you made some compromises—“time to get up! Please, 5 more minutes!” We live in a world of acceptable compromises. ‌‌

But when it comes to the church, things get a little bit different. Because though we may compromise in everyday life, Jesus does not compromise with the church. Thinking of a compromise in which both sides give concession, Jesus does not negotiate with His church when it comes to godliness and our responsibility to live out the truths of God’s Word! ‌And as we come to our text today, Paul makes it very clear that Jesus does not compromise with His church! God holds His people to a high standard! This standard is obedience and submission to God and His Word. So as we return to our text today, I have one big idea for you today: ‌‌

Big Idea: We don’t want to be a compromised church!‌

Listen to our Sunday School series on revitalization as we talk about place and purpose in revitalization.

Chesley Sullenberger III was born in Denison, Texas in 1951. As a child, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers and eventually became interested in flying after seeing military jets at an air force base near where he lived . . .

But you wouldn’t know Sullenberger from those achievements. Upon discharge Sullenberger flew for US Airways from 1980-2010. You might recognize him from his nickname Sully, or from his connection with Flight 1549. . .

Despite the fact that the plane he was flying had lost all power and was left to fall out of the sky, he did not panic. He did not lose his ability to reason. A plane with 155 people was falling out of the sky, and he made a plan. He was able to hold himself together make a plan that would save the lives of everyone on board and make him a hero for his bravery and quick decision making. ‌‌

And as we come to our text today, I think Paul challenges Timothy to make some of the very same choices Sully had to make. Things were getting tough in the church at Ephesus. As we will see from our text, people were leaving the faith, they were rejecting truth, and they were turning toward other things. Just like Sully’s plane was falling out of the sky, Timothy’s church was collapsing from the inside out. And God recognizes this and he gives a message to Timothy—no matter what is going on around him, he needs to keep a cool head and maintain the right focus. And Paul gives Timothy some priorities for ministry. When things seem to not be going well, he needs to remember certain truths about ministry, and he needs to develop a Biblically driven philosophy of ministry. And our big idea last week as well as this week is this: ‌‌

Big Idea: Ministries that last are firmly planted on Biblical principles

Listen to our Sunday School series on revitalization as we talk about evaluating perspectives and people in helping churches move forward.