12 * 7 = Disciple Multiplication

I believe as important as it is to discover our role in disciple making, we also have to discover our worth in disciplem. But to truly have worth, we have to be available. Worship team. Oh, what a song to lead us into this next section. Oh, God, I want to be available. God, I want to be willing because here it is. The the fields are white. They're ready. They're ready to harvest. Oh, it's it's not as if we have to find people that are hungry. They're hungry. They're there. They're out there. God has led us, Lord God, lead us to them, God, in Jesus name. Acts chapter 6 and verse one. While you're standing, I'll just read a few verses in your hearing. I'm just going to take just a few minutes and pastor's going to close us out. The Bible says in Acts 6 and1 says, "And in those days when the number of disciples was multiplied," and I think that's interesting right there. The number of the disciples was multiplied. There arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews. Got some church issues here because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration, the daily food distribution. Then I like how it says the 12 called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among ye seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But here we go. But we will give ourselves, this is the twel apostles, we will give ourselves continually continually, y'all see that? To prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the saint pleased the whole multitude and they chose Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost and Philip and Porus and Niconor and Timon uh Permanmanius and Nicholas across the light of Antioch. When they set before them the apostles and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And here we go. This is what I've come to speak about for the next about 25 minutes. Here's the result of the 12 doing what they have been anointed to do and the seven doing what they've been appointed to do. Here we go. Verse seven. And the word of God increased, and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith, and Stephen, one of the seven, Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. My title today is this. 12 * 7 equals disciple multiplication. 12 * 7. I love all throughout that there were it kept on saying multiplied, multiplied, multiplied. I used I used to talk about 12 plus seven, but that's not multiplication. 12* 7. We we get the 12 apostles with the seven. Oh my God. I just believe in Jesus name. We're going to see revival like we have never seen revival before. And I want to be willing to do whatever the Lord calls me to do. Whatever I'm appointed to do, I want to do with all my might in Jesus name. Before we seed, let's pray together. Father, I love you. I'm so thankful for this host of disciplemakers that stand before me. God, I just believe, Lord God, you're showing us what our our roles are, God. But I also want to see the worth in the role, God. I want to see the worth in every disciple maker. God, you've called us, each one of us, to do something different, to do something that's going to add value to your kingdom, and it's going to put souls on these pews, Lord God. And it's going to retain souls on the pews in Jesus' name, when we discover the worth of our ministry. In Jesus' name we pray. Before we're seated, come on, can we give him loud praise in this place? Come on, lift up your voices. Come on, lift up your voice a little bit louder than your hand clap and just praise him. Say, "Father, I LOVE YOU. I'M so grateful to be a part of your kingdom, Lord God. To be in your service, to be a part of your church. We bless your name, Jesus. Oh, we give you glory. Amen. And amen. You may be seated. I I feel like the spirit of God is wanting me to tell the church today that now is not the time for the twel apostles to hang up their prayer garments, to close their study Bibles. It's not time for the twel apostles to cancel missions trips, but I believe it's time for them to be busy doing what God has called them to do. And if they're going to do what God has called them to do, they've got to have a team of people surrounding them helping them do the things that we can do. Amen. The reason I believe that some churches stop growing is because senior leadership has felt forced to stop doing what they've been anointed to do and to administrate over things that others can administrate over. I just believe today the church we the church is a powerful instrument. It's a it's it's a powerful body of people that we are disciplemakers. We're also problem solvers and we're peacemakers. And when we start to read this this story today in Acts chapter 6, it's very interesting to me because the church is not very old. It's just a few chapters old. Uh and already oh already we've got problems. You know, uh I guess the Holy Ghost, the the wave of the Holy Ghost has passed on through and they've got the Holy Ghost, but now they've come back to real life. Come on. Don't you know there's real life going on in the church today? I wish we could just stay on a high spiritual level at all times. I wish we could spike and we never had to settle one in a in a Sunday night atmosphere, a Sunday atmosphere all the time and always feel the power all the time. But we understand that there's going to be problems within the church and and and problems are are not a reason to give up. Problems are just simply what happens and they have to be taken care of. But here's what I've come to preach about today is we have got to be a help to the 12. The seven are so important. But before I talk about the seven, let me just talk about the 12 because we can't survive. We can't be saved without the 12. There's got to be preaching going on. Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call on him who they have not heard or not believed? And how shall they believe on him who they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" We've got to keep the preachers preaching. Bottom line, we got to keep them studying. We got to keep them in the word of God. We got to keep the Bible studies going. We got to keep the small groups going. The teachers, the preachers have got to keep on preaching. But I love how they solve this problem because right away the disciples, the the apostles, they said, "Hey, we've got issues here and we're all going to have to come off the field and fix this unless we can find somebody that can help us fix this problem." I'm talking now. I don't know about here in the Chattanooga area. Maybe this is just in the Knoxville Marville area, but we we got some issues that just just stuff that you wouldn't believe. If I start telling you story, if I start telling you some of the office visits I've had lately, pastor, I just shook my head and thought to myself, who do you think you are just going to move into this church and decide that that that your kids have got to be used over everybody else's kids? I mean, I mean, just stop that. I'm just thinking to myself, but but I also got to thinking to myself, and this is what I did. I when I came to Miraville, I made it maybe just just a personal ministry of my own. I'm going to do everything I can to keep as much off my pastor as I can. I'm going to do whatever whatever I can do. I'm going to take these crazy meetings of people that I'm just sitting across the desk going, "You have got to be kidding me." So, so you re you really think that your your your widows aren't getting the same amount of rations as the widows over here just because you're Grecian and you're not Hebrew and Oh my goodness. And and people crying about this and people crying about that. And again, church, it's it's full of people. People are going to have problems. We get it. I get it. I I get it. But sometimes I just feel if church growth would take place at a greater rate, if people were taking pressure off their pastor. Of course, we don't want to be a part of the problem. Hopefully, nobody in in this room is a problem, but we can help in different ways. I uh Pastor Carpenter, when he was interviewing me, and I'm just going to give you my personal testimony. when he was interviewing me, um, he began to ask me, "Uh, now, Brother Ericson, are are you willing to to to mow the church lawn?" I said, "Yeah, absolutely. I'm a professional. Matter of fact, my last youth pastor, we had we had like 30 acres of ball fields and and and I I could get on a tractor now. I can mow. I I would mow three days of the week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday was mow days. Following week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday was mo days. I mean, they just that stuff stop wouldn't stop growing. You just had to go back out there. I mean, he said, "Can you m" I said, "I can mow." He said, "Are you willing to to pull weeds in the in the flower beds?" I said, "Pastor, yeah, absolutely. Are you willing to drive the van with the young people to go to rallies on on on the first Friday of the month?" Absolutely. Come on, pastor. Absolutely. He was going through all these questions. He said, "I'm just going to be honest with you." He said, "I've interviewed I've interviewed quite a few young people coming out of Bible college." And he said, "They would give me a list of stuff they wouldn't do." I'm thinking, I said, I said, "Pastor Carpenter," I said, "I'll do whatever it takes to take anything off your plate that makes it easier for you. I want you studying on Saturday. I don't want you mowing the lawn on Saturday. I I don't want you to worry about cleaning the church on Saturday. I'll get here. I'll make sure it gets done. You give me a list of what needs to be done. I will be the one to make it make it happen. And you know what, brother F, I was thinking about this. I thought I thought, you know what, because bottom line is when I transfer into a senior pastor leadership, I'm going to need somebody to do that for me. I'm going to need somebody to take it off. So, it's not like you're belittling yourself by doing some of these things. Oh, no. There's just a time where you see the need. That's your call. And I I will say this, we preach that we preach that message a lot. The need is the call. And I I want you to know that the need is always the thing that nobody else wants to do. And that's why it's available. That's why it's open. Holding a microphone in the in the praise team. I'm telling you, not not a lot of microphones open these days, but man, there's a lot of brooms in the broom closet are looking for somebody to pick up that broom or pick up that vacuum. Why? Why? Why is it? Because uh the need is something that people just don't want to do. The bus ministries and and all these I've heard so many great testimonies of of ministries that you all are a part of. And the reason why you're a part of me is probably because there's an open position that needed somebody to fill a position and you felt that call and you saw that need. Pastor, I'm willing to if I need to sit with somebody in the hospital so that you could be studying and you get ready for Sunday, I'll go sit with them in the hospital, pastor. Not a big deal. Not a big deal. I remember even Oh my word, I'm I'm dating myself a little bit here, but I was I was um in Pascamp, right out of Bible school, POS Camp, Mississippi. It's just a little hole in the road, but they got a great church there. And I remember going uh uh Bishop Steve Wilson, man, he's a workaholic. He was a senior pastor, bishop of the church, but he was a workaholic. When I say workaholic, I'm talking about he would give me a call on a Saturday morning, 6 a.m. He say, "Hey, Chad, I need you I need you to get out of bed. We we got a trailer. We got a trailer. Family in the church and their well, we got to dig out their well. Something's going wrong. There's a leak in the well." And I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, is this what is this what ministry is about?" I thought ministry is about preaching. ministers about getting a shovel out at 6:00 am on a Saturday and digging some some old elderly ladies. She she live in a trailer near the church and here I am, man. I'm digging trying to dig down to this well trying to figure out where the leak's going. But over time, you realize you got to do whatever it takes to make the kingdom of God work. And I I sure don't ever want to feel entitled to a pulpit or entitled to a microphone or entitled to a ministry. pastor, you just tell me what to do and I'll do whatever I need to do. That was the beauty about the seven, being a part of the seven. That was not a negative thing. And I know a lot of times we we kind of throw off and we think to ourselves, "Oh, I guarantee that Peter and Peter and John turn each other like we ain't going to serve no tables. We ain't going to wait no tables. We got to find somebody to weigh tables around here." As if they were too good to wait tables. That but that's not what this story is about. And when you start reading about what they were actually what the seven were doing, these were the deacons of the church. We're not talking about Applebees and Old Charlies. We're not talking about Ruby Tuesdays. We're we're not talking about uh waiting tables and getting tips. We're talking about people that were full of the Holy Ghost and filled with wisdom. I'm talking about people that were anointed by God to do great things. This was not a belittling. This this was not something we're talking about people that were entrepreneurs and and business owners and department heads and ministry leaders. This was what the calling was. The seven were supervisors and superintendants. They were needed within the church. Oh, I got to thinking about this. I thought, you know, so many times I've read that scripture and I thought to myself, I just want to be one of the apostles. I want to be one of the 12 until God began to speak to me and say, "Hey, the 12 can't do what the 12 do unless the seven do what the seven can do." And so I said, "God, I I want to start off God by being one of the seven because the Bible talks about the early church grew rapidly when everybody found their ministry and everybody got to doing." We just sang songs about being willing. That's not a lot of times willing. We we think of the of great ministries, we talk about being willing, but oh, being willing is to do whatever we have to do to allow the kingdom of God to function at the very highest. I know here in Chattanooga, I know, oh my God, there's so many that have to be one. And and I know a lot of times we look at the twel apostles as as being the one we Oh, but God, just make me one of the seven. I will be more than happy to be one of the seven here at this symposium today. I I guess I'm just asking, are there seven men or seven will women that are just willing to say, "I'll do whatever the pastor's wife needs me to do. I'll do whatever the pastor needs me to do. I'll be I I'll you name it. I'll take out trash. I I'll clean out the baptistry. I'll make sure there's no mold in the baptistry. I'll make sure there's not floating in the baptistry. I'll do whatever I got to do. Put something in my hand and I'll do with all my might." A lot of people are are waiting. This is This is a sad thing right here. A lot of people are waiting to be a part of senior leadership. Well, I moved in the church. I moved into the cornerstone. I'm I'm still waiting for pastor. He I keep on praying. God laid upon pastor's heart to ask me to preach on Wednesday night. Lord, laid upon the music director's heart to to offer me a microphone. I'm just going to I'm just going to wait upon the Lord. Y'all heard that, right? I'm going to wait upon the Lord. The Lord knows what my calling is. just going to sit, you know, and and and I I misqued that scripture. Isaiah 40:31 40:31 says, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." And and for so long, I I've looked at that as as being a time of just kind of I'm just going to wait. Oh, I'm going to renew my strength by sitting here. I'm to go on a sbatical. That's a that's a big thing nowadays, man. These pastors these these pastors are going on sbaticals. I'm going on a six-month sbatical. My God, get busy doing something for God. I mean, listen, when I'm dead, I can rest. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I mean, you put me in a coffin, I I have time to rest. But dear God, when I'm alive, I'm going to do everything I can. And listen, I'm not Oh, some of y'all look at me like, "Oh, he don't believe in the seventh day." I believe in the I believe in the seventh day. I promise you. I believe there's a time to rest. There's a time to rejuvenate. There's a time I get it. I get it, man. Go. I believe in vacation. I believe in vacation because it is a time and you renew yourself. Don't get me wrong. Please, when you see me on vacation, don't talk bad about me. I'm not talking about that. I'm just simply saying the scripture there, they that wait upon the Lord, is not talking about waiting as in sitting back and waiting for a pastor to call you. The Hebrew word wait in the scripture is kava. Q A V A H which simply means it's a figurative and literal meaning. The literal meaning of kava is to wait upon someone or to serve someone. So if you will read this the way it's it's the same place we get our word waiter from. They that wait it's our waiter. It's one who serves. If you read this but they that wait upon the Lord they that serve the Lord that are busy working for the Lord shall renew their strength. And here's the return. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. They that wait upon the Lord. Listen. The the seven are busy waiting. The the seven are busy. They don't need a position. They don't need a title. They don't need a name plate on a desk. They don't need a door with their name on it. They don't need a microphone. They don't need lights. They don't need they don't need to have their their name on a poster for a conference. They don't need any of that stuff. The seven simply say, "Whatever I'm needed to do, I'll do with all my might. Tell me what you need, pastor. Tell me what you need. Department head, I'll do it. Just give me marching orders. That's all we need. God, I if I write a song, it's not because I'm looking for royalties or I'm looking to get it played on the radio station. I'm just gonna write a song because I want to worship God with that song. It's not about seeing my name in lights. It's simply just God, I'll do whatever I have to do to make your kingdom successful. And we don't have a lot of details about the seven. But oh, I love how we hear about Stephen because Stephen was not one of the 12. He was one of the seven. And I love this because the the Bible never tells us that that that that Stephen even preached one message, but man, he could talk Bible. He could talk word. He could get in the Penetuk and and he could talk all about boy, he's in front of the Sanhedrin. He's in front of all these religious leaders and he's explaining to them exactly what the people of God did and where the people of God messed up. and he starts letting them know and you're one of those uh you're just like your fathers and they didn't like it. They didn't like he was doing miracles, signs and wonders. I'm I'm not talking about one of the This was not one of the apostles. This was not Peter. This was not James and John. This was Stephen and he had miracles, signs, and wonders taking place in his life. We're not throwing off on the seven. The seven are powerful people. The seven are are the majority of us here today that I'm looking out at. They're the people that are, man, God is doing great things in your life and doing great things through you. And thank God your pastor is able to do what your pastor does best. And and I'm not saying the pastor doesn't work because all pastors work. We understand that. But I'm just talking about why should the pastor why I'm just talking about me. I'm not talking about you. Why should my pastor do something that I can do? I'll handle things. I'll handle uh counseling in the office. I I'll handle handle issues. I'll get I'll get outreaches going. I'll make sure all the department heads are doing what they should be doing so pastor can walk in on a Sunday morning with his Bible under his arm with a thought from God with ministry from God ready to feed the people. He's not worried about all the things that I'm worried about. And that's okay. Got no problem with it because I'm one of the seven right now. I'm one of the seven and I love every moment of it because I feel anointed. I feel God is using my ministry. I see signs and miracles and wonders taking place all around me. And that's okay because the seven are so important to the house of God and to the church. So here we go. Acts 6 and 7, I'm almost through. Acts six and 7 says, "And the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a a great company of priests were obedient to the faith." I love that right there. I read over that so quickly. But when I come back and look at that, a great company of the priests. You know what that means? Priests had people. So I'm Well, again, we're not talking about the 12. And I'm not throwing off on the 12. I'm a pastor. I'm not throwing off on the 12. Okay? But right here, the reason why the church was multiplied, the reason why the disciples multiplied is because the seven stepped up and did the work in the househ. And now, not only is the church in revival, but priests, a great number of priests came to the faith. They were obedient to the faith. And I guarantee just like our just like our churches in Africa and in in some of these third world nations where we're winning bishops who have multiple pastors and churches under them, man. When you win one bishop, you might win two or three thousand people. I'm talking multiplication. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ADDITION. OH, NO. Addition is 1 plus 1 plus 1 plus one. I'm talking about you start saying 500 plus 2,000 plus 500. We're starting to multiply. The church is multiplying. And it all takes place because Stephen right here. Pay very close attention because Stephen is one of the seven. He's not one of the 12. Here he is. He's doing miracles, signs, and wonders. My God. A lot of times we think that that's only for bishops and pastors and missionaries and evangelists. But oh no, Mark 16:17, Mark said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe." It does not say they will follow the pastors or follow the apostles. If you're a believer, he said, "In my name shall they cast out devils. Shall they speak with new tongues? They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick." Come on, somebody. This is the believers. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Stephen, one of the seven, was doing great miracles and great wonders. And even the religious leaders around him saw the need to be saved. Now, how does this end? Well, it doesn't end well because we know that Steven is the first martyr. But you know what? Some things sometimes things have to die within us in order for us really, oh my god, for us to break enough for that anointing to come out of us. You say, "Well, this wasn't a good thing for Stephen." You know what? Steven gave his life. Stephen said, "Hey, hey." He looked up and saw Jesus and said, "Please." He said, "Don't count it upon them. They don't even know what they're doing." Because there's one man named Saul. One young man that's standing there, "My God, I feel the Holy Ghost." And he's holding the coats of those that are stoning Stephen. And Stephen is on the ground. And he sees Saul. And Stephen has enough. Oh my God. He understands enough. I must die in order for this young man. And all I believe I believe God showed him a vision of Paul in the future. A man who was going to be the greatest missionary to ever walk the face of the earth. And I just believe that Stephen when he looked up into heaven, he saw, "Oh, this got to happen. Although this ends my life and this ends my ministry, if it's not for this moment right here and right now, I don't know if there would be a church in Antioch and if there be a church in Philippi or Thessalonica or Corinth or Ephesus or Colasse or Rome. Would there have ever been those churches if Stephen would have been willing to die for the faith and give up his own life for the faith and be a MARTYR FOR THE FAITH? HE NEVER EVEN PREACHED HIS FIRST SERMON, BUT HE WAS WILLING to say, "But there's one that's going to come after me that's right here that is not going to see Christ in a person unless I'm willing to give my life." Are we willing 12* 7 I believe is going to is going to bring rapid increase in apostolic revival in the church today. But are we going to do what we've been appointed to do? That's the question. Are we going to line ourselves up and say, "God, I believe I see my role now in disciplem, but are you willing to fulfill that role? God, I want to be whatever you've called me to be." I'll say, "Yes, Lord, I agree. My desire, oh God, oh God, my desire passionately is to be what you've called me to be." I wonder before pastor comes, if we just lift our hands, if we just stand to our feet and just say, "God, here am I. send me, God. I want to be one of the seven, God. I want to be one filled with the Holy Ghost. I want to be one filled with wisdom. I want you to see me, God, as a willing vessel. And I will do whatever it takes. I don't need a title. I don't need pastor to pat me on the back or even to say my name over the microphone. I'll just do whatever I have to do, Lord God, to keep pastor preaching and to keep pastor studying and to keep pastor praying. I want to do whatever it takes for pastor to keep on going overseas and ministering to people AND DOING WHATEVER PASTOR HAS TO DO, oh God, to change this world, Lord God, around me. I just want to be what you've called me to be. Come on, pray that prayer. I just want to be, God, what you've called me to be. I'll say yes. I'll say yes, God. I'll say yes to YOU, LORD GOD, TO YOUR WILL AND to your way.