Everyone wants to be a success.

Nobody wants to be a loser.

Have you ever seen big football players sit on the bench a cry their eyes out because their team was losing the football game?

WHY?

The world remembers a winner and forgets a loser.

Through life we can look back and see that some of us have won victories and we need to thank God for them.
Some of us can look back on the lost battles that we had and we need to thank God for another chance.

The dictionary says to succeed is "to attain the desired object or end"

The Christian has the right objective when he wants to be prosperous and successful and happy.

But this isn't just for himself ---- he wants it all for the glory of God.

I believe God wants us to be successful.

Today as you sit there, what lies ahead of is unknown.

With Joshua we can say "We have not passed this way heretofore" Josh. 3:4

I believe that God wants His people to be happy in the heart and prosperous in the best things of life.

God promises both of these things to us IF WE FOLLOW HIM.

The whole secret lies in putting God first in your life.

In Matthew chapter 6 we hear Jesus talking about the food we need,& the clothes we need.  All the needed things of life..

Then we hear Him say, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."

I believe this is the formula for prosperity and happiness.

 I believe you can have a prosperous and happy life if you give God FIRST PLACE!

Not only on Sundays but 365 days a year.

                     Not only in Church but at home, work and every walk of life.

It's not only for our personal lives that God wants it to be great.

                         I believe that God wants His Church to be a Great Church.
 

What does it take to have a great church?

 What is a Great Church?

A Great Church is a church that has:

I believe there is a key to have a great church.

I believe that there is one essential ingredient if our local church is going to prosper and have Abundant Great: Power, Grace, Fear, Victory in Persecution, Joy and numbers.

Let's look real quick and the best example that we can look at and that's the first church, or the place where they were first called Christians.                That's no other church than the church at Antioch.
 

1. One thing today that we look at in terms of a church prospering is the number of people that attend at that church.

2. When the numbers are large we consider that church to be a prospering church.

3. When the numbers are small we consider that church to need a revival.

4. Antioch was a church that we would consider to be a prospering church for it's membership was around 100,000 people.

5.  Let me prove that to you by the scriptures.
 

1. Acts 2:41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls"

2. Acts 2:47 "Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"

Now I'm sure there could have been a lot of people daily but to not be accused of exaggerating we'll say no more than 1 person got saved a joined the church each day.              So, we'll add 365 to our number on the church roll.
 

3.  Acts 4:4 "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand"

Here they counted just the men.  I'm sure that MAYBE there might have been women and children also saved but here they just count the men.

That brings our membership at Antioch to a grand total now of 8365 people.

4. Now we come to an interesting scripture.
Acts 5:14 "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women."

Now, in the bible when it is mentioned that there was a multitude we find 4000 to 5000 people there.   So, not to be accused of exaggerating we'll take the lesser number of 4000 people.  Also we have to notice that's there is a ‘s' at the end of the word multitude so that means that there was more than just a multitude.

BUT so not to be accused of exaggerating we'll just say 2 multitudes.

So when we times multiply by 2 we get:  8000

    That now brings our church roll to the grand number of  16,365 people.
 

5.  Now we come to Acts 6:1  "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration"

Notice 2 things if you will:

 1.  "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied....."

Now we see a dramatic change.   The number on the roll is multiplied.

We could safely assume that the number of multiplication was high but not to be accused
of exaggerating we'll only multiply it by two.
                                        That would bring our number to 32,730 people.

 2.   Just a foot note here.   We see the origin of a Deacon Board.
 First of all in verse 1 it says, "......there arose a murmuring......"

 So, in verse 3 we read, "Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of
 honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
 business"

6.  Then we come to our last verse of scripture.
Acts 6:7 "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly;....."

Now we've already multiplied, but here they add a very interesting word, the word ‘greatly'.
I believe that that means more than what we previously did.

We could take this word and assume that it means a large number but so not to be accused of exaggerating, since we multiplied by two earlier we'll just add one more to that and multiply that by three
                            and we come up with the number of  98,190 people.

I believe we can very safely round that number off to 100,000.

NOW, what is the key to having a great church?

 I believe that there are three words that answers that question.

What was Antioch's success.
I believe it all goes back to Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."

Let me close with just one question.

If you want to be in one accord with your brother, it all has to start with being in one accord with the Master.