How Do You Evaluate a Church?

Introduction

So let me ask you a question. How do you evaluate a local church? Many of you have come here in the last two or three years, and I’m sure we’re considering other congregations when you decided whether or not you were going to place your membership here. So what was it that caused you to cast your lot with us? Some people may look at the facilities as they determine whether or not they want to worship somewhere. We know absolutely that was not the case with any of you because we don’t have facilities, so especially if you were use the restroom. So but as of today, we’ve got world class restrooms. So but other people look at, you know, what and we’ve heard this from some people, what is the drop off in attendance from Sunday night to Wednesday night?

I commend all of you that are here tonight for realizing there’s no better place you could be and for being dedicated enough to come on a Sunday night. So and we’ve heard from people that have said they have seen at Decor Prairie less of a drop off on Sundays and Wednesdays than at other congregations. So maybe that was part of your evaluation. Maybe you were looking for families that had children your ages, or maybe you were single and you wanted to, you know, worship somewhere where there were other single people. So, in other words, others that look like you. maybe a vibrant worship service. You know, maybe you’re looking for a congregation where the singing was amazing, and the singing here is amazing. or the preaching is amazing, and you know, you heard Tony preaching, you still decided to come.

So funny. So anyway, that may be one of the reasons. then or the Bible classes that we have to offer. Hopefully at the top of your list was whether the congregation you chose to worship with was biblically sound. Are we following what the word teaches? And we’ve heard that from a number of people as well. So, you know, everybody seems to have different reasons for why they how they evaluate a local church. But once you find a church to worship with, do you continually evaluate the what’s being taught and what goes on in that congregation? we hear from a few of you occasionally that get giving us feedback, but we and we’ve tried to make it clear that we’ve got an open door policy.

1. Jesus Evaluates Churches Differently Than We Do

Anytime you want to talk to any of us or all of us about anything related to the work here, we invite you to do that. I can tell you that this is on our mind continually. Tim and Robert and I are continually evaluating how are we doing and measuring up to the model that is shown to us in the first century. and all of you should be doing the same thing. I mean, we appreciate the trust and confidence you put in us to you know guide you down the path that hopefully leads to heaven, but you all need to be doing the same thing. So that’s pretty much what this what this is about. So no matter how you evaluate a local church, one thing for is for sure, Jesus evaluates churches differently than we do.

And we can read that in the first and the first couple chapters of Revelation. What we may think of as spiritually acceptable and worthy in God’s eyes, Jesus may not. For example, the church in Sardis had the reputation of being alive, but Jesus said, You are dead. Would you think that we are alive here? Would you categorize us as a congregation that’s alive? I would. But so did the so did the leaders of the church in Sardis, and they were wrong. the church of Laodicea promoted themselves as a church that had it all. but Jesus said they didn’t even know that they were spiritually destitute. I personally I would never care characterize us as having it all. That says there’s no room for growth, there’s no room for maturity.

That’s kind of got an arrogance to it, and maybe that was part of their reason for being spiritually destitute. But I don’t know if you think that way. If you’ve got come here and you say, Oh, this is a church that’s got it all, but I think that’s dangerous type of thinking, and you know, we may not think that way, but subconsciously, you know, once we’re here longer and longer, we may just have a tendency to coast because things seem to be going okay. and then there’s the compromising church. So I’m going to read in Revelation chapter two, starting in verse 12 about the church in Pergamos. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos, right, these things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword, I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.

And you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Annapas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you because you have that there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. So here we have a church who held fast to the name of Jesus and did not deny them, even when there were some among them that were getting killed because of their faith.

So on the surface, this would seem to be a great church, right? But one that had been tried by persecution and had persevered. But they had a problem. Their problem was they compromised false doctrine, which is what he’s talking about in verses 14 and 15. So this is not a matter of compromising matters of conscience as we read about in Romans the 14th chapter. This is doctrine that they were accepting that was false. Which shows that false doctrine is a is a matter of repentance when it comes to Jesus. So one doctrine is not as good as another even if Jesus is in the middle of it as he was in this case. So the church there at Pergamos seems to be going along to get along or agreeing to disagree.

Sometimes you’ve heard that term well let’s have to agree to disagree. Well that’s fine if it’s a matter of conscience it’s not fine if it’s a matter of doctrine and which is what the problem was here. So they tolerated or compromised a doctrine that would cost people their souls. And this same principle is true throughout the Bible is true in the garden in Genesis the third chapter it was true in the early church in Acts the 16th chapter we can we read about some that were teaching that circumcision was required for salvation that’s a that was a false doctrine that had to be addressed. Timothy was charged to keep some from teaching other doctrine and the elders are charged to stand against false doctrine as one of their qualifications in Titus the first chapter.

So it’s one thing to have those among the church who are coming out of false doctrine and are being taught and are learning. It’s a totally different thing to have those among the church who hold to a doctrine that is contrary to the words of Jesus. So on the other hand, the church in Smyrna was poor and battered, but Jesus said, I see your works and I’ll give you a crown. So back to the opening point. Our evaluation of local churches is often wrong and could be eternally wrong. Of course, each one of us will stand before the judgment seat by ourselves, but where we determine to work in worship can either hinder that or help that eventual judgment day. So we have to what we have to do is take off the fleshly filters, these kind of things, and evaluate the decapary church or any church in as a disciple of Jesus would, in other words, as Jesus himself would.

You know, how closely does our behavior mirror that of the first century? Would you say that we are rich in works, like the church in Smyrna? one of the things I took away from the gospel meeting we had with Chris Emerson was his back to Jerusalem sermon, where he said we need to continually be going back to the first century and looking at how we measure up to the example that we were given of what a church should be. and so one thing we know for sure is the early believers were transformed by their contact with the gospel. They made shocking changes to their lifestyle, to how they used their money, to how they valued their possessions because Jesus was their Lord.

Their lifestyle is just described as one of constant devotion on a daily basis, and their newfound priorities transformed their lives. And they became true disciples of Jesus. Now I realize that was a unique time. You know, people had come from all over the world, heard the first gospel sermon, then they stuck around so they could become rooted and grounded in the truth. But I think sometimes we use that as a crutch for why our behavior doesn’t measure up. I’ve heard numerous times, well, that was a different time. And it was, admittedly, but that should not be an excuse for us not to do what we need to be doing and not transforming our lives. You know, we’ve been we’ve been reading Romans the twelfth chapter as part of the daily Bible reading program, like every other Saturday.

We’re studying Romans in Bible class, we’re looking at Romans 12 on Wednesday nights, and that the first two verses of Romans 12 are some of my favorite verses in the Bible that talk about us transforming our lives. So maybe most of you that came here were already believers, and maybe your lives didn’t need to be transformed to the level that those people were in Acts the second chapter, but maybe they needed to be transformed to some degree. and it’s not too late to do that. It’s never too late to transform your life. So and whether we acknowledge it or not, if we aren’t being transformed to his image, as was mentioned earlier today, we’re being transformed to the world’s image. because we’re bombarded every single day.

2. Devoted to the Words of Jesus

Let me read a quote to you from William Inge. It is quite natural and inevitable that if we spend sixteen hours daily of our waking lives and thinking about the affairs of the world in five minutes and thinking about God in our souls, this world will seem two hundred times more real to us than God. So, let’s look at what characterized the first century church and see how we measure up. How should we evaluate a local church? So, one of the things we know, their primary aspect of the first century church was they were devoted to the words of Jesus. The primary passion of our church needs to be the same as the early church, that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They met every day, they stayed up late into the night, they begged the teachers to stay longer because they wanted to know more about Jesus.

So would you say that the Decapary Church is devoted to the Apostles’ teaching? I would. I think we are. But that’s something we need to continually evaluate, right? And but how about you as an individual? Is the Bible your favorite book? Do you have enough time in between watching TV programs and playing computer games to read the Bible every week? Do you come with your Bible lesson done every time? I mean, seriously, what does it take to do a Bible lesson 30 minutes? I would say if the answer to any of those are no, I would question whether you’re truly devoted to the apostles’ teaching.

They trembled before it, they tore their clothes, and they changed their lives. Let me just read a few verses from Nehemiah, the eighth chapter. Now, all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate, and they told Ezra, the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women, and all who would hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the water gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

Then if you drop down to verse 5, and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, Amen, while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. And then if you look down at verse 9, and Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who had taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God, do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those from whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow for the Lord for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So look at how they reacted when they found the word of the Lord again and had it read to them. and yet today we have the complete revelation, how much more hungry should we be for the word, how much more devoted to it should we be. I mean, most of us have multiple Bibles in our house. Yeah. So our I would I would position that our hunger should be even greater. You know, we’re really fortunate to have a preacher here.

I made a joke earlier, but we’re really fortunate to have a preacher here who makes the word come alive, and who do I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place where it’s where it’s so evident that the preacher is excited about the Bible. And that comes I mean Tony gets worked up here. and you know, we know that jo stories and jokes delight crowds, but it’s really the but the true disciples of Jesus whose hearts are those whose hearts are set aflame by scripture, who demand a care careful examination of the text and can’t wait to do it all over again, which is why you’re all here tonight. so the lack of such a hunger is a sign of a dying body, no matter how many people attend or how many activities are off offered.

3. Devoted to the People of Jesus

Secondly, the people of the early church were devoted to the people of Jesus. Acts 242 says the church is a devotion to the fellowship. Churches today, many churches have become destinations of people looking for entertainment and you know pleasant programs, being able to be saved by just saying the sinner’s prayer, and then there’s no accountability after that. And you know, I’m saved, I can go live my life however I want to. The true disciples of Jesus knew nothing about this focus on self. Their life had a new focus. It was not to self, it was to others. It was to the saints. And Jesus loved the church more than his own life, and he calls us to do the same thing in John thirteen and verse thirty four.

The church is more is to be more like our family gathered around a c a table with common interests and mutual support. Listen to Ephesians four sixteen, for which many of us know. From whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. I believe we have that at Decker Prairie, but we need to continue to work at it more and more, make it more inclusive. So if you’re a relatively new person here, and you just sit back and wait for other people to come to you, and everybody else that’s relatively new sits back and waits for people to come to them.

A lot of people are going to feel left out. You need to take the initiative yourself. You need to go introduce yourself to somebody you’ve never met. I guarantee there’s people on this side that don’t know people on that side. So you need to do that. You also should be having people in your homes. We’ve moved a lot in our lifetime. We’ve worshipped at a number of congregations, and we found the easiest way to get ingrained and ingratiated with the congregation was to have people to our house. So I would I would recommend that. the church we read in a in the of an Acts showed their love by sacrificially helping those in need. They tended to genuinely care for believers who were different and sometimes even difficult.

Acts the sixth chapter, verse one. Now, in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Jews by the Hell by Against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Sometimes difficult. Acts 15, verse 1, and certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go to Jerusalem. Sometimes difficult. It’s not always a fireside gathering with everybody singing kumbaia. They had disagreements that they had to sort out. But it was a dynamic fellowship and that showed the world the grace of the gospel in action.

And I’ve seen that here many times. Another way we show our love for the people of God is we hang around together. The people of our congregation or people that are Christians are our best friends. And we hang around after services. I’ve never seen a church where routinely there are people here an hour after services. It’s almost you know like you have to kick them out. and I realize that’s not possible for everybody. Some people sometimes you have time constraints. But there has to be some time that you set aside to get to know your brothers and sisters better. the problem today is if we aren’t careful and aware of it, our lifestyle can become consumed with self. We don’t have the time, the energy, the money, or the devotion left to e or the power left to even think of fellowship, much less be devoted to it like they were.

4. Devoted to Worship

So to be disciples of Jesus, we must prioritize our lives so we can use our time and possessions to serve the family of the Lord. If we’re really devoted, and I’m preaching to the choir here, I realize, but if we’re really devoted, we’ll be here every time the doors are open. We’ll drop whatever we’re doing to help a brother or sister in need. I’ve seen that many times as well. So Christ’s church is guided by a central concern. How can we learn more about Jesus and be more committed to his people? They’re also devoted to worship. One of the clearest ways to measure the health of a church is their enthusiasm for and participation in vibrant worship to God. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread into prayer in Acts 2.42.

I believe that’s talking about worship. And they worship God daily. They did it publicly in the temple and privately in their homes. After all, praising God was their devotion. The words of Jesus filled their hearts and worship came spilling out of their mouths. They couldn’t help it. When believers lose their passion for worship, it’s a sign of spiritual weakness. Some people sometimes wonder why we take attendance and why we mark absent people that don’t come, and then why the elders call them when they haven’t come for a while. It’s because that’s the first sign of spiritual weakness. I’ve seen it over and over. People just quit attending or attend less and less.

And so we need to continue to work on that. But disciples of Jesus never see worship as a responsibility to fulfill. It’s a joyful opportunity to reflect on Jesus, be conformed to his character, and give him thanks. That’s why in Revelation 4 and 5 it talks about worship surrounding the throne. It’s heavenly. So those who are devoted to are not devoted to it are earthly. I believe we have that here at Decker Prairie, but we need to continue to work at it. We’re called to participate in worship, not be entertained. That means you sing, even if you’re a terrible singer. And I believe that means you say an audible Amen after a prayer is issued. I would love to hear everybody say Amen out loud.

If you’re leading a prayer and you get done and it’s crickets, you wonder if anybody’s heard. So that’s not an edict from the elders. That’s just my own personal preference. I’m telling you, I’d love it if people would all say Amen at the end of a prayer. But if we find it a drudgery to show up once a week, we need to reassess our priorities. If we aren’t planning our Saturday night so we’re getting adequate rest and we’re rested for Sunday, we need to reassess our priorities.

5. A Church the Lord Can Use to Save Souls

And lastly, when a church is filled with the words of Jesus, sacrificially loving his family, and joyfully worshiping his name, that is a church that the Lord can use to save souls. In the first century, he successfully rooted out their selfishness to be an instrument of salvation to others. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2 47. We want to be that church here at Decker Prairie. We want to be the church that God can rely upon to save souls. Saving people from hell was too important in the first century to turn it over to paid professionals. The gospel was spread by liter literally thousands of people sharing the message of salvation with all who would listen. That needs to be our lifestyle.

Listen to 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 8. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. So their preoccupation was not with self but with salvation. That is our aim with the neighborhood Bible study. We want to help each one of us get better at inviting people to read the Bible together or to come to services. And I know it’s gotten a little bogged down. I apologize for that. I’ve had a few distractions. But we’re at the point where actually the invitation cards, and someone corrected me when I erroneously said business card publicly, because they’re not business cards, but they’re the size of business cards.

Conclusion

The invitation cards are there’s some of them out on the foyer, table in the foyer, and we’ve got many more. I just put one of the boxes out there just so you can see what’s written on both sides. You can use those to invite people. We’ve got six different tracts that are have been printed up for you to hand out. We’ll be putting those out there. Now we really only have to do is organize the homes and pick a date to start. So we’ll be getting to that in the next couple of weeks. So, in conclusion, let me just I would ask each of you to examine your life and let us all endeavor to be devoted to the words of Jesus, the people of Jesus, to the worship of Jesus, and to sharing Jesus.

We need to do all we can to make sure that we do not end up like the churches at Sardis or Laodicea or Pergamus. They thought they were acceptable, but Jesus said otherwise. Tim Robert and I are continually assessing our adherence to the standard set by our Lord and his apostles, and you need to do the same. So, do you need to transform your life? Why not do that tonight? Maybe you’re maybe you’re a believer and you haven’t been as dedicated as you want should be, and you want to let people here know that so we can pray for you. Or maybe you have been studying, you know what’s required to be saved, and you’re at the point where you want to submit yourself to the Lord in baptism.

Either way, we can help you if you come to the front as we stand and say.