A Church That Glorifies God - Part 2 Series

A Church that Glorifies God - 2

A Church that Glorifies God…

Recognizes God’s Blessings – Acts 5:12-16

Relies on God’s Direction – Acts 5:17-32

Rejoices in Suffering for God’s Name – Acts 5:33-42

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Negatives

This past week we had a few tough situations.

Last week we had our lowest attended weekend in over a year

We are working through issues regarding building and how we are going to continue to do the ministry we want during that time.

We had all this snow that made travel and parking a problem.

Sometimes it seems as if everything is a problem.

Do you ever feel that way?

Do you ever feel like life and ministry is nothing but problem after problem?

I am sure many of you have felt this way before.

Part of the problem is However is not the problems, but what we choose to focus on.

Satan wants you to focus on the problems, the negatives, so he works to get your attention on those things.

But I will tell you that keeping a focus on the things that seem to be problems is not glorifying to the Lord.

And the reason it is not is because while there are always going to be negatives, there are also always things that are going great.

Positives

Even though we had our lowest attendance in over a year last week, we just came off a record attendance month and it was only because of the blizzard that it was low.

We are working on thinking through how we are going to continue to do the ministry we desire during this building problem precisely because God is at work and more people are being ministered to through our ministries. I have no doubt that God will work things out so we can continue to do the ministry that is vital to our church.

There are a lot of positive things going on that God is doing.

Transition

In the early church, they faced things just like we do – positive things and negative things.

We are continuing in our study through Acts called the Church unleashed today

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And we have seen through the book of Acts the church experiencing these trials and blessings.

Last week we saw that even in the midst of positives and negatives, that being a church that glorifies God was not dependent on our circumstances but on our faithfulness to the commission along with a growing

Trust in His Sovereignty

Walking in unity and

Living with integrity

Those things are not always easy, but as we grow in our knowledge of the Lord and His control and our relationship with him, we truly can glorify Him as a people and a church.

Transition to this week

Well, those are not the only things that we need to do to be a church that glorifies God.

Today as we go on in Acts 5 (Acts 5:12)

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we are going to see several more practical aspects of living as the church that will help us be a people and a church that Glorifies God.

So let’s jump right into our text today and see what else the Lord can teach us through the example of the early church.

Beginning in Acts 5:12, we read

Acts 5:12-16

12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

Let’s pause here and pray.

Ok, I love how this section of Scripture focuses on the Blessings of God rather than the things that could have been discouraging.

A church that Glorifies God

Focuses on God’s Blessings

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Here they are talking about how

the Apostles were performing miracles

People were being healed

The believers in Christ were highly regarded

The Lord was adding more and more people to the church daily.

They could have also focused on

their leaders were getting arrested

No one is coming to their services (No one dared join them…)

Two of their members were caught lying to God and were struck dead!

And I don’t doubt that there were some who were focused on that.

But overall, as we read here, it seems that they were largely focused on God’s Blessings.