In Acts, the church kept preaching the gospel and teaching God’s Word—come what may—and as they did, the word increased and multiplied in the form of growing, maturing believers. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 12:24
TITLE: A Sure Strategy
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Our greatest weapon for our glorious mission is words - the very words of God given to us in the Holy Word of God.

POINTS:
I. The Word of God Increases and Multiplies Because It is Preached
II. The Word of God Increases and Multiplies Because It is Profitable
III. The Word of God Increases and Multiplies Because It Protects

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”…if you are a Christian, your life, your marriage, your family, your job, your money, your dreams, your purpose, is entirely wrapped up in God’s mission to build His church for His glory. So, what a powerful encouragement from the Spirit these eight words are, that remind us the imperishable Word of God in the hands of the Spirit and the hearts of God’s people, will accomplish God’s purposes.”

“…the difference between heaven and hell is not believing God exists and He is powerful (demons believe that in James 2), it’s personally believing His Son Jesus, the Eternal Living Word, alone can save. And this saving message is found in one place—Bible.”

“God is a holy and just God. We are born sinful. Therefore, we are deservedly under the wrath of God and are absolutely unable to do anything about it. But in the mercy and wisdom of God, Jesus made himself our propitiation, that is, he willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice on a cross that turns God’s wrath away from all who have faith in him so they now know only God’s unfailing love, grace, and pleasure—That’s the gospel—What Scripture itself calls ‘of first importance!’”

“In Acts, the church kept preaching the gospel—come what may—and as they did, the word increased and multiplied in the form of sinners saved.”

“God’s Word not only leads us to salvation, but it also equips us and makes us fruitful as individual believers and collectively as the church.”

“Most [worldly stories, messages, and philosophies] have no real bearing on our lives, and the fact we can’t even remember most of them is evidence that they are, for the most part, USELESS INFORMATION.”

“In other words, pastor Timothy, whatever happens to and in the church, above all things, Preach the Word! Preach Christ! Teach truth! Fulfill your ministry and PROTECT your church by preaching the Word of God—no matter what!”

QUOTES:
Scott Hubbard - “At every stage of the kingdom’s advance from Jesus to his apostles to the church—the lie of the garden dies by the truth of the gospel. Teaching wins back the world… So, in the church’s global mission against the gates of hell, words are our greatest weapons”

Jerry Bridges - “The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history, it is the only essential message in all of history”

James Montgomery Boice - “We need to be taught, and it [God’s Word] teaches us—about God, ourselves, and the way of salvation. We need to be rebuked, and it rebukes us—about our sin and unrighteousness. We need to be corrected, and it corrects us—showing us the way we should go, the way of blessing. We need to be trained in righteousness, and it trains us—through daily application of its teachings”

Derek Thomas - “But the Word of God increased and multiplies.” So identified were these people with what they did—spending time in God’s Word—that Luke equates the growth of the church with the growth of the Word. It is not friendship, or buildings, or discipleship groups first and foremost, but the centrality of the Word. This is church growth, New Testament style! They had no demographic research, no statistical analysis of the most likely elements of society to respond to the gospel, no evangelism training, no extensive campaigns of any kind; and yet, under the blessing of God, and in the midst of persecution that had seen the execution of one of their most prized leaders, they grew!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
God is Revealed in Nature - Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-2, Acts 14:17
Salvation is Found in the Word - 2 Timothy 3:14-15
Gospel Passages in Scripture - Isaiah 53:4-6, Romans 3:21-26, Romans 4:4-5, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13-14, Ephesians 2:1-10, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 1:19-20, Colossians 2:13-14, Titus 3:4-7, Hebrews 2:14-17, 1 Peter 2:22-25
The Word Equips Us - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Power of God’s Word - Isaiah 55:11
The Power for Growth - Hebrews 4:12
Preaching the Word - 1 Timothy 4:11,13, 1 Timothy 6:2, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:1-2
The Word Protects - Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:1-10, The Book of Psalms

APPLICATION:
-We all have areas we are not growing spiritually. The first question shouldn’t be—Why isn’t God growing me? The first question should be—Am I allowing God’s Word to inform and have authority in this area of my life?

In our mission to advance God’s kingdom, words are our greatest weapons -
1. Jesus, the Living Word, is the life-giving heart of the written Word—When you read the Bible, look for him on every page.
2. The Word will be fruitless in you if the Spirit is not with you. Before you approach the Word, ask for the Spirit’s fresh filling for your spiritual understanding.
3. Preaching is God’s preferred weapon—Hold high, not the preacher, but the preached Word in your church.
4. When you share Jesus, show them Jesus—with your Bible