The State of the Church Address
Introduction
- I do this because God works through vision.
- Jesus gave his vision to His _____________.
- Acts 1:8
- Matthew 28:18
- Matthew 24:14
- Mark 16:15
- John 21:21
- Paul operated in vision, and he wasn’t ashamed to declare it.
- Romans 1:11
- Romans 15:24
- Acts 16:9
- Romans 15:20
- Jesus gave his vision to His _____________.
- B. Vision is our _____________ our goal. _____________ is the action we take on our way to fulfilling our hope. Hebrews 11:1
- We must make the vision clear and declare it. Habakkuk 2:2
A Look at our Text
- Understanding what was happening in the Jerusalem church as a result of the outpouring of the Spirit; the Church grew dramatically. Acts 2:41; 2:47; 4:4; 4:32; 5:12–16; 5:42; 6:7
- What was result of _____________ martyrdom?
- A great persecution of the church in Jerusalem occurred and the church was scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.
- Philip went to Samaria and multitudes were _____________ healed and filled with the Spirit.
- Philip was sent by _____________ to minister to an _____________ who was the treasurer for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, and he gets saved and brings the gospel to another nation.
- Saul, the persecutor of Christians, meets the _____________ and becomes a radical Christian.
- Acts 11:19–21 continues to tell of the result of Stephen’s death; Churches in Phoenicia, Cypress and Antioch were established with Antioch having multitudes being saved.
- Acts 13:1–3 – _____________ directs Barnabas and Saul, the Apostle Paul, to start churches in Cypress and Phoenicia.
God is Speaking to Us
- God desires His church to _____________
- The local church is the _____________ expression of God’s kingdom at work in a given place.
- The church is His body at work to accomplish His will to make _____________ to _____________ for His people, and to _____________ His people into their God-given purpose.
- The local church is the _____________ expression of God’s kingdom at work in a given place.
- We must stay filled with the _____________ relying on His power, not our own.
- We must _____________ His voice.
- Don’t lose your _____________ for souls to be saved, even being willing to leave your comfort zone and take steps of faith into the unknown.
- Be open to changing church _____________ and embrace new _____________ as God directs.
- Keep in mind we are _____________ together with God.
The Word of the Lord for 2026 and the Vision for this Season
- You will notice that God turned a tragedy, the death of Stephen, into a spark to ignite the church in Jerusalem to accomplish His mandate.
- At every juncture, God was _____________ His church to fulfill what He called them to do.
- God spoke to me – _____________
Conclusion