The Crossing Church 2026-06-28: Favor - The Church With Favor

Acts chapter six sets the measure of a favored church in a different place than nickels and noses. Favor is not just God putting His face toward one person, His presence with one life, and His hand on one situation. Favor upon a church looks like the word of God increasing, multiplying, spreading through a whole region, and finally prevailing mightily in a city. The church is not just nice programs for nice people doing nice things. God has deposited the Holy Spirit in His people and entrusted the eternal gospel to them.

Acts 6 shows growth as the first problem. Growth is a good problem, but it is still a problem, because more people means more complexity. The apostles saw by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that twelve men could not do everything if the word was going to keep increasing. The structure had to grow like the skeletal system of a child, or the body could not grow right. Revival fire needs a fireplace, and God does not send what a church refuses to prepare for.

Acts 12 shows persecution as the next problem. Herod violently laid hands on the church, killed James, and chained Peter between guards. But earnest prayer was made to God by the church, and heaven moved. An angel struck Peter awake, chains fell off, gates opened, and Peter walked out. Herod’s lofty words died with him when God struck him down, but the eternal word of God kept going. Kings and kingdoms pass away, but God’s word outlasts Rome, the Goths, Muslim rulers, Spanish kings, Napoleon, and every power that thinks it can rule the world.

Acts 13 shows Antioch shifting from being a church in a city to being a church for a region. The Holy Spirit said to set apart Barnabas and Saul, and the church laid hands on them and sent them out. A healthy local church becomes a launching pad. The kingdom grows when teachers, worship leaders, pastors, moms and dads in the faith, and small group leaders help multiply the word in people who will carry it farther.

Acts 19 shows the word prevailing in Ephesus. The word was winning, conquering, and proving stronger than witchcraft, sorcery, counterfeit power, and demonic darkness. God started with twelve, filled them with the Holy Spirit, did extraordinary miracles, and turned a dark city into a leading light. Chattanooga is also a mission field, not just a hometown. As people go, the gospel goes, because the word of God must multiply until the King takes His place.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Favor spreads the Word [04:29] Favor on a church is not mainly seen in how many people can fit in a room. Favor is seen when the gospel moves beyond the room into a city, a region, and the nations. A church can gather crowds and still fail to steward the treasure God deposited within it. The true question is whether the word of God is increasing through that body. [04:29]
• 2. Revival needs a fireplace [13:35] The fire of God is not opposed to structure, because fire needs a place to burn without being wasted. Acts 6 shows the apostles changing the structure so the growth would not stop with them. A church that asks for revival must also become wise enough to carry what revival brings. Holy Spirit fire and Spirit-given order belong together. [13:35]
• 3. Prayer outlives Herod’s chains [18:14] Herod could kill James and imprison Peter, but Herod could not chain the word of God. Earnest prayer made by the church became the place where heaven answered prison, guards, chains, and gates. God did not merely comfort the church under pressure, He broke open the enemy’s plan. Persecution did not stop the word, it became the backdrop for multiplication. [18:14]
• 4. Antioch became a launching pad [29:03] Antioch did not treat health as an end in itself. The Holy Spirit turned a strong local church into a sending church, and the word spread through a whole region. Healthy churches raise sons and daughters who can be released, not just retained. The kingdom advances when maturity becomes multiplication. [29:03]
• 5. The Word prevails over darkness [34:15] Ephesus was full of witchcraft, sorcery, and counterfeit power, but the word of the Lord prevailed mightily there. The gospel did not merely add church attenders, it changed the atmosphere of a city. Demonic power may imitate signs, but it cannot withstand the rule of Christ’s word. What happened in Ephesus can happen again wherever God’s people see their own town as a mission field.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:41] - The Same Spirit Feels Like Home
• [03:00] - The Word of God Multiplies
• [04:29] - Favor Upon a Church
• [07:49] - Acts 6 and Devotion to the Word
• [10:10] - Growth Creates a Structure Problem
• [13:35] - Revival Fire Needs a Fireplace
• [16:15] - The Word Increases and Multiplies
• [18:14] - Earnest Prayer Breaks Chains
• [21:00] - Herod Falls, the Word Continues
• [27:33] - The Word Spreads Through a Region
• [29:03] - Antioch as a Sending Church
• [34:15] - The Word Prevails Mightily
• [37:15] - Chattanooga as a Mission Field
• [40:15] - A Bible Given by Prophetic Witness

Bible Reading

Acts 6:1-7
“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” [07:49]

Acts 12:1-24
“About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Dress yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’ When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’ But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, ‘It is his angel!’ But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, ‘Tell these things to James and to the brothers.’ Then he departed and went to another place. Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a man!’ Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied.” [18:14]

Acts 13:1-3
“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” [29:03]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 6, what specific problem came with the church’s growth, and what changes did the apostles make so they could stay devoted to prayer and the ministry of the word? [10:10]
2. In Acts 12, what details show how impossible Peter’s situation was, and what was the church doing while he was in prison? [18:14]
3. What happened to Herod in Acts 12, and what contrast is made at the end of the chapter between Herod’s fate and the fate of God’s word? [21:00]
4. In Acts 13, what was the church at Antioch doing when the Holy Spirit spoke, and what did they do with Barnabas and Saul after that? [29:03]

Interpretation questions

1. Acts 6 connects wise structure with the increase of the word. Why might a church’s health be measured not only by growth in attendance, but by whether the word of God keeps spreading through the people? [04:29]
2. The seven in Acts 6 were chosen to handle a practical need, yet they had to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. What does that suggest about how God views practical service in the life of the church? [13:35]
3. Acts 12 ends with Herod falling and the word of God increasing and multiplying. What does that reveal about the limits of political power, persecution, and human pride when they stand against God’s purposes? [21:00]
4. Antioch became more than a healthy church in one city; it became a sending church for a wider region. What does that show about the difference between gathering people well and releasing people well? [27:33]

Application questions

1. Favor on a church is seen in the spread of God’s word, not just in “nickels and noses.” When you think about your own life, where do you usually measure fruitfulness by visible success instead of by whether God’s word is increasing in you and through you? [04:29]
2. Revival fire needs a fireplace. What part of your life right now needs better order, support, or consistency so that what God is doing in you does not leak away? [13:35]
3. Growth creates complexity. When life gets busier or fuller, what usually gets neglected first in you: prayer, Scripture, serving others, rest, or something else? What might need to change so that the most important things stay central? [10:10]
4. Earnest prayer was made to God by the church while Peter was in prison. What situation in your life feels chained up right now, and what would it look like to move from worry or talk into earnest prayer? [18:14]
5. Herod could not chain the word of God. Where do fear, pressure, or discouragement make you act as if the opposition is stronger than God’s word? How can the group help one another stand firm there? [21:00]
6. A healthy church becomes a launching pad. Has God used someone to prepare, strengthen, or send you into a place of service? Is there someone you may need to encourage, disciple, or release instead of trying to keep close for your own comfort? [29:03]
7. Ephesus shows the word of the Lord prevailing over darkness, and every town is a mission field. What would it look like for you to see your neighborhood, workplace, school, or family as a place where Christ wants His word to prevail? [34:15]