You've probably heard it said, there is no perfect church. If you find it, don't join it or you'll ruin it. You know, obviously there are some churches that are better than others. But the point of that saying is that a perfect church simply doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. Because every church consists of sinners that are saved by grace. But still, as imperfect as the church is, the Lord intended his church, I believe, to be the safest and the dearest place on earth. And yet, since the church is not the building, it's not the brick and mortars, the church is the people. It's us. This requires that the church be spiritually healthy for us to be the safest and the dearest place on earth. The spiritual health of any local church, regardless, regardless of its size, whether it's a large church or a small church. The spiritual health of any local church depends on the spiritual health of its people. Because the church is not the building, it's the people. Therefore, this morning as we come to The end of 2024, we stand on the threshold of the new year 2025 this week. As I was praying and asking the Lord to just put on my heart what he wanted me to say this morning, I believe it's a good time to look at what I call a profile of a spiritually healthy church. This is gonna be my New Year's message. And as I share my heart, I want us all to honestly evaluate, to honestly evaluate, ask the Spirit of God to open our eyes, to show us ourselves and our church, and to see how we compare to God's standards, to God's standards of a spiritually healthy church. This morning, I want us to look at nine characteristics of a spiritually healthy church according to the word of God. I only have time to just briefly touch on each of these, but these are things that I see in God's word that are very important in revealing where we are with him. First of all, the first characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its members are believers. Its members are believers. Speaking to the church in Rome, Paul said in Romans chapter eight, verse nine, however, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. Although local churches can have unbelievers in them who profess to be Christians, and some churches have far more unbelievers than others do in them. The first thing to be a spiritually healthy church is that the members must be true believers in Jesus Christ. Those who have repented of their sins, those who have put saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a result of doing that, the Holy Spirit himself comes to indwell us at that moment of salvation. You see, only believers possess the Spirit of God. Unbelievers do not. And if we don't have the Spirit of God, as Paul said in Romans 8, 9, he does not belong to him. He's not a believer. And only believers possess the Spirit of God. And because of that, it's the Spirit's presence and power in the believer's life that enables us to not only understand God's Word, but also to live it out in obedience. And that's what God calls us to do, all of us, to live out the Word of God in obedience to Him. And as that is happening, the Spirit of God is transforming our life. He is changing us. Ask yourself this question. Have I repented of my sins and believed in Jesus alone as my personal Savior? Is my life changed by the Spirit's indwelling presence and power? The second characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its goal is Christlikeness. Its goal is Christlikeness. Paul said in Philippians chapter one, verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20, he states, Or do you not know that your body is the sanctuary or the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. Also in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9, Paul says, therefore, we also have as our ambition, our purpose, our goal, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. From these passages, we see that Paul's foremost desire, the goal of his life was to glorify God by being more like Jesus and living his life to please Him. That is what impassioned the Apostle Paul. That's why he existed. God's ultimate purpose is to glorify himself because he alone is worthy of glory. Isaiah chapter 42 and verse eight, God says, I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another nor my praise to graven images. And since the glory of God is most fully revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God stepped out of heaven to become the God-man, God himself in human flesh. He came to glorify the Father by perfectly fulfilling his will. And that was to go to the cross, to die in our place as our substitute. And in God's redemptive plan, God is glorified by calling out a people to himself and conforming them then into the very likeness of Christ. You see, This was the focus of Paul's ministry. To the church in Galatia, Paul said in Galatians 4, verse 19, my children with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you. Paul labored in ministry, teaching and preaching and coming alongside and serving, helping believers so that Christ would be formed in them. The church in Ephesus, he said this to them in Ephesians 4, verse 13, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. And then in verse 15, he goes on to say, but speaking the truth in love, truth in love together We are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, that is, Christ. Then one of my favorites to the church in Colossae, he said in Colossians 1, verses 28 and 29, him, Christ, we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that, here's the reason, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, I also labor, striving according to his working, which he works in me in power. Paul's ministry was one of strenuous labor, working, independence on God. to see Christ formed in believers. God's agenda in every believer's life is to glorify himself by continually working in us to make us more and more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, his son. I've said many times, if God's agenda was to make our life comfortable, He's doing a pretty lousy job in most of our lives, but that is not his agenda. It's Christ-like character that he's about, and he is always working to bring that about. We need to ask ourself, is my foremost desire and goal in life, my foremost desire and goal above everything else? to glorify God by becoming more like Jesus and to please Him in all that I do. If that alone was something that we grabbed ahold of and that governed our life, our lives would be radically different in how we respond to the various situations that God brings into our life. is my foremost desire and goal in life to glorify God by becoming more like Jesus and to please Him in all that I do. The third characteristic of a spiritual healthy church is its love for God. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 22, Verses 37 through 38, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The word love here is the Greek word agape. which is the highest form of love. There's different words for love in the Greek. Agape is the highest form. It's the love that God himself is. The selfless, sacrificial, other-centered love that is manifested perfectly among each member of the Godhead. Therefore, the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. The book of Mark, he adds, with all your strength. These words demand a wholehearted and passionate love with all of our entire being. The Lord wants us to love Him supremely, to put Him first in our life, to love Him above everyone and everything else. That's what He is calling us to. Ask yourself, do I wholeheartedly and passionately love the Lord first and foremost in my life? Or have I put someone or something else there? Or has my love for Him grown cold and indifferent? The fourth characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its love for others. Not only is its love for God, but also its love for others. Jesus went on to say, In Matthew chapter 22, verses 39 through 40, and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets. With the same commitment that we already have towards ourself. He's not telling us here to love yourself more. And you can't love others if you don't love yourself. He's saying with the same commitment you already have towards yourself. We are to love our neighbor. The word neighbor here refers to our fellow man. In other words, to everyone. Notice how Jesus inseparably connects together loving God and loving others. He puts the two together. Since on these two commandments in Matthew 22, 37 through 40 hang the whole law and the prophets, the law and the prophets is referring to the entire Old Testament scriptures. And again, that's all they had when Jesus was saying this. It wasn't until after his death, burial, and resurrection that, again, the New Testament through the apostles and their associates was given to us. But what Jesus is saying here is that the whole intent of the Word of God is to make us better lovers of God and lovers of others. You know, John says the same thing in 1 John 4, verses 20 and 21. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. Again, we see loving God and loving others is inseparably connected. To say I love God and I'm not loving, not true. but I'm not loving other people. It is revealing where I really am in my relationship with the Lord. According to God, loving Him and loving others cannot be separated. Therefore, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter how much biblical knowledge we possess, how eloquent we speak, how notable our spiritual gifts, how immersed in ministry we are, or how great our sacrifices in God's eyes, as we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses one through three, without love, without love, in God's eyes, we're nothing. We have missed the mark. That's because love is to be preeminent in our lives, because God has made love, loving him and loving others together, preeminent. I think the late Francis Schaeffer said it best, and I quote, love is the mark of true spirituality, end quote. We can have all kinds of biblical knowledge, but if we are not living out that truth in a life of love, then we violated the very truth that we're clinging to. Love itself and truth are both connected. Truth without love, is really mean and cruel. Love without truth is just sentimentalism. It's not true biblical love. Even love in 1 Corinthians 13, love rejoices in the truth. The two are together. Jesus made love the distinguishing mark of true believers in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35. He says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, how? Even as I have loved you. That you also love one another that way. By this kind of love, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Therefore, Christ-like love for others, which is selfless. Remember, biblical love, Christ-like love is selfless. It's sacrificial. It's other-centered. It puts their interest above my own. This Christ-like love is the primary indicator of our true heart relationship with Jesus. As far as where we are with him, in that moment. In other words, we reveal our present relationship with Jesus in our relationships with others. I like to say it this way, our true heart relationship with Jesus in the moment is most clearly seen by how well we are offering love, Christ-like love, to others. You know, it's so easy to think we're doing good. I'm doing good with the Lord because I'm having regular devotions, or I'm faithfully attending church, or I'm serving in ministry. I'm witnessing to others. And yet be very unloving in how we relate to people. But since love is the first fruit of the Spirit, as we see in Galatians 5, verse 22, when He is controlling our life, we're manifesting that fruit. And the first of that is love. Many scholars see that love is the main one that incorporates all the other fruits within it. But since love is the fruit of the Spirit, when He is controlling us, if we're not loving others well in that moment, then in reality, we are not good with Jesus at that time, regardless of all these good things we might be doing. We need to ask ourselves, is Christ-like love preeminent in my life? Is Christ-like love preeminent in my life? Am I representing Christ by loving others well? The fifth characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is God's Word is central. God's Word is central. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17, all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that, here's the reason, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. To love God is to love His Word. For it is not only God's primary way for us to get to know Him in a personal way, because He has revealed Himself to us in His Word. So loving Him includes loving His Word. But not only do we know Him, from his word also. It is his primary means of grace to grow us toward Christ-like maturity as we obediently live out what God is telling us to do in his word in dependence on him. Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will what? Keep my commandments. We will be obedient to what it is he tells us to do. That is showing us our love for him. Therefore, to be spiritually healthy in our lives and in the church, the word of God must be central in everything that we do. We need to ask ourselves this question before we make any decisions. What does God say about this in his word? Before we make any decisions, do our minds go to what does God say? What does the Bible say about this particular thing? Obviously, since we cannot live out what we do not know, we must daily spend time in God's word. You can't live what we don't know. So we've gotta discipline ourselves to stay in the Word, to get to know the Word of God. Matthew 4, 4 says, but he, Jesus, answered and said, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God is in the Word of God. He has revealed Himself to us. And so we need to read it. We need to study it. 1 Peter 2, verse 2 states, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. Later in Hebrews, it talks about the meat of the Word. But you're never going to get to the meat of the Word unless you understand the milk of the Word. Never forget that the Word of God, the Word of God, what we hold in our hands today, that which the world rejects, is inspired, it is God-breathed, it's inerrant, it's without error. It's authoritative in that it is the final judge of every aspect of life and ministry. And it is sufficient. in precept or principle to address every issue that we may face in life. That is the word of God. It is the source and the standard for absolute truth and morality. And therefore, we must know it and share it with others. No wonder Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, verse 2, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and teaching. People need to know what God says, not what we think. And the only way that's gonna happen is we've got to know the word of God. Ask yourself, is the Word of God central in my life? Do I hunger and thirst for God's Word? And am I obeying what God tells me? The sixth characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its priority is prayer. Its priority is prayer. Paul said in Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Three times, three different words are used that refer to prayer in that one verse. We're not to be anxious. about what is happening in our world, in our life, because God wants us to trust Him. That's why with thanksgiving, when you look at the context of the passage, it's talking to how God is sovereign over everything and how He is near us, He is with us. And therefore, we're coming to Him praying and giving all of our requests to Him, thanking Him that He's in charge, He's in control, He knows what we're going through, He is with us, He will give us what we need. And when we do that, verse seven says, in the peace of God, which surpasses comprehension, we should be biting our fingernails, our stomach and knots, not able to sleep at night. Instead, We have the peace of God which surpasses comprehension because it will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. As believers, we're called to pray in private devotions, to pray in all-day communion with Christ, to pray without ceasing. We're to pray corporately. Simply defined, prayer is dependence on God. It's acknowledging, Lord, I need you. I'm desperately dependent on you. Help in this situation. Only you can do what is needed to be done. That's exactly what Jesus said in John 15, 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. Here it is, for apart from me, you can do nothing. That's why prayerlessness is a problem with self-sufficiency, pride. I can do this on my own. I don't need him. Nothing of any eternal significance is ever accomplished apart from prayer. Prayer is a vital part of the means that God uses to accomplish His will in our lives, in the lives of others that we're praying for, as well as in the world. Therefore, the Lord wants us to continually express our dependence on Him by simply talking to Him verbally or in our hearts about everything. to pray about everything. And he promises to always hear and to answer our prayers, but only according to his will. According to his will. We gotta remember who God is. He just spoke and everything that exists came into being. He is the all-powerful creator God. He is omniscient, He knows everything. He knows every possible option that could take place. He is the all-wise God. He knows what is best. And therefore, He answers according to His will, what He knows is best, which means that we must surrender our will, our wants, our desires to Him. Ask yourself, is prayer a priority in my life? Am I surrendering my will to God's will? The seventh characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its worship is wholehearted. Jesus said in John 4, verses 23 and 24, but an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Christ-exalting worship is first personal, and encompasses our entire lifestyle. But it also is expressed in our corporate worship together as we've done today. That engages all of our heart, our soul, our mind, our strength. Therefore, to worship God in spirit means we express our love for him with our entire being. wholeheartedly, which includes our emotions. We engage our heart. The heart is the most comprehensive biblical term for the mission control center, if you will, of our lives. Our heart includes our mind, our will, our emotions, our conscience. Also, we're to worship God in truth, which means that whatever we do, Whatever we sing to Him must be consistent with and regulated by the truth of the Word of God. Therefore, the corporate worship of singing praise to God, fellowship with one another, praying, giving, hearing the Word of God read and preached must be a regular occurrence in all of our lives. God has called us to worship Him. He is seeking worshipers. His people are the true worshipers. And God wants us to do that regularly. Hebrews 10, 24, and 25 says, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and to good deeds, not forsaking or assembling together, as is the habit of some. but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day. The day here is the coming of Christ. As you see the day drawn near and Christ coming, we don't know when it's gonna happen. We don't know when Christ is coming back, but it's closer today than it was yesterday. The day of Christ's coming is drawing near. Ask yourself, do I worship the Lord and show my love for Him and His church wholeheartedly? The eighth characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its commitment to serve. Its commitment to serve. Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 10 and 11, as each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks as one speaking the oracles of God, whoever serves as one serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be what? Glorified, because that's what He's about. God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen. At the moment of salvation, the moment we placed our faith in Christ, God gave every believer spiritual gifts to use in his church for the common good. Spiritual gifts are not for our benefit. They're for the benefit of others in the body. Therefore, every believer is to be a minister. God calls every believer to be a minister. exercising their gifts and serving others as good stewards. Whether God gave us speaking gifts or serving gifts, all of us are to follow the example that Christ gave to us in Mark chapter 10 and verse 45, where he said, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. and to give his life a ransom for many. God's design for his church is that we would be interdependent upon one another, and that for us to grow spiritually, we need each other and the benefit of each other's God-given gifts. God didn't give all the gifts to one person. Only Jesus had all of the gifts. He's given as He determined, 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 tells us. As God determined, He has given every single one of us who are believers a special gift or gift mix. that we are to use in the body to minister to each other. He has designed us to be interdependent for us to grow. And we grow spiritually. This takes place when all of us are faithfully exercising our spiritual gifts. There is no one who has put their faith in Christ who does not have a spiritual gift. Are we using it? Obviously, life happens. Different things take place. I like to say we change lanes. We're all running the race. Many times we end up changing lanes because of age, because of health concerns, but are we still using what God gave to us. We read in Ephesians chapter four, verse 16, from whom the whole body being joined and held together by what every joint supplies. Again, he's talking about the various members of the body. According to the proper measured working of each individual part, as all of that's happening, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself. in love. We are interdependent upon one another to become all that God wants us to be. Ask yourself, am I faithfully doing my part in Christ's church? Am I using my spiritual gifts, my talents, my resources to serve others? And then the ninth characteristic of a spiritually healthy church is its commitment to disciple. Its commitment to disciple. Jesus commanded in Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. This is Jesus' great commission. We've seen his great commandment. This is his great commission that reveals his purpose or his mission for his church. The reason that we exist. And notice the central command is to make disciples of all the nations, which involves two things. Two things. First of all, evangelizing unbelievers, both locally and internationally. by sharing the gospel with them. And second, helping believers grow towards Christ-like maturity by using our spiritual gifts and the word of God to build them up, which we just looked at in the previous characteristic. The Great Commission begins with evangelism. You can't build up and disciple an unbeliever. They've got to be a believer before that can happen. And so the Great Commission begins with evangelism. The greatest news ever given is that Jesus, God himself in human flesh, was crucified to pay in full the penalty for our sin that we deserved, and rose again on the third day so that we might have eternal life through faith in Him. That's the greatest news, the greatest news the world has ever heard. He is the only Savior of the world. There is no other. There is no other way to heaven. Jesus said in John 14, six, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me. There are all kinds of religions. There's multiple cults in the world. They all have a message they're presenting. But the inerrancy of the word of God says that is all false teaching. There is only one way, and Jesus, is the way, he is the truth, he is the life. The only way to the Father is through him. In Romans 6, 23 states, for the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Ask yourself, am I sharing the good news of the gospel of Christ? with those in my sphere of influence who desperately need a Savior to rescue them from the coming wrath of God. I love our church family. And I see us as spiritually healthy in many areas. And so as we all evaluate the spiritual health of ourselves and our church by these nine characteristics in the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, they put His finger on different areas of all of our lives. Things that we need to repent of, to pray about, and with God's grace to work on in the coming new year. Are we open to that? Are we asking the Spirit of God to show us where we are? Because as we do, not only will we become more spiritually healthy and like Jesus in our own personal lives, but also as a result, as a result. Because the church is not the building, it's the people. And as we become more spiritually healthy ourselves, we become more like Jesus Christ. As a result, our church will become more spiritually healthy as well. To the glory of God. And that's what He is all about.