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What's happening?

1. The church, the body of Christ, the number of believers, is growing
2. The church is diversifying
3. Growth and diversity quickly lead to conflict
a. Satan will use every trick in the book to disrupt what God is doing

What did they do?

1. They identify their priorities
a. Prayer and the ministry of the Word

2. They address the problem
a. Charge the church to choose 7 wise, Spirit-filled men

3. The church chose 7 men

4. The Apostles commission them
a. Affirmation, support and authority

What happened?

1. The word of God spread
2. The number of disciples increased rapidly
3. A large number of priests put their trust in Jesus

What about us?

We are Growing

We are Diversifying

1. We will face challenges and even conflict in the church
a. Expect them
b. Don’t take good church health for granted
c. Satan will attack and attempt to distract from inside the church as well as from outside

2. We must handle these challenges with great wisdom
a. Find solutions rather than ignoring or playing the ‘blame-game’
b. Make leaders aware of issues
c. Leadership and church must work together – sharing the load

3. We must protect biblical priorities
a. Don’t allow distractions to take us off course
b. Keep the main thing the main thing
i. Enabling people to become fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ
ii. Worship, Connect, Reach

4. We should expect good results
a. Unity in the body of Christ
b. Spread of the word of God
c. More and more people putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ

Growing pains, if handled wisely, will lead to a church unified and multiplied – and God glorified!

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