(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Let me begin by saying thank you very much for being here. There's a great, great crowd tonight, and I really appreciate you coming out. And of course, I want to thank Pastor Thompson and Ms. Sherry. And they are great friends of myself and my wife, and I really enjoy whenever I can spend time with him. And basically, he's the only person I ever really spend time with. He has taken over my entire preaching schedule, basically. I was just up there in Canada with them. I'm here now. I'm going to be in Hawaii. I'm going to be in Orlando with him. I'm going to be in Vancouver in July, so it's great, you know. I ordained one guy, and then he takes over my whole schedule. It's really good. No, I enjoy it. They're good friends of ours, and we love it. I want to encourage you, if you haven't heard, we have a conference in Sacramento. If I can just quickly give a little commercial. Red Hot Preaching Conference. Pastor Thompson will be preaching, and a lot of great guys. Pastor Anderson, Pastor Perry, Pastor McMurtry, Brother Bruce Mejia. It's July 18th through the 21st. We'd love for you to come down to Sacramento for the conference. And also, if you haven't, just today, or not today, yesterday, we released a trailer for our brand new documentary that we are working on. It's called Being Baptist, and I'd encourage you to check it out. It's on our YouTube channel, but I just want to let you know about those things. We're going to be showing it at the conference, and then if you can't make it to the conference, we'll be releasing it on our channel in August. So hopefully you'll just kind of be watching for those things and keeping an eye out for that. I want to encourage you to come back on Sunday. Pastor Thompson will be preaching, and it's good to be in church on a Friday night, but it's even better to be in church on the Lord's Day. And on Sunday, and honor the Lord on the day that He's asked us to. So I want to encourage you to be back in church for that. You're there in Ephesians chapter, I feel like I'm supposed to do something with this. Can I just move it? Is that alright? I feel like if it's there, I'm just going to, I'm going to keep thinking I'm supposed to talk to it or something. You're there in Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians 5 is often referred to as or known as a chapter that deals with marriage, and it does. And it gives us advice in regards to marriage, and it does. And if you're married, I would encourage you to really learn Ephesians chapter 5, and learn what it teaches in regards to husbands and wives and things of that nature. But I'd like you to look down at verse number 32, Ephesians 5, 32. And notice what the Bible says. It says here, This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. And I want you to notice that this great passage that is often referred to in regards to marriage, and when we preach on the family, when we preach on marriage, we'll go to Ephesians 5 a lot. But the Bible here tells us, and the Bible often will serve as its own commentary. You don't need a commentary when the Bible tells you what it means and what it says and why God gave it to us. And here God is telling us that this great passage of Scripture, this portion of Scripture that has to do with husbands and wives, He says it's really concerning Christ and the church. He said I'm really teaching you about Christ and the church, and He says the Christ and the church is actually an example of the husband and wife, which is why we can learn and apply those things. But this passage gives us insight into the relationship that Jesus has with His church. I want you to notice just a couple of things here by way of introduction. Look at verse 25. Notice the relationship between Christ and His church. First of all, Jesus loves the church. Ephesians 5, 25 says this, Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. I want you to notice secondly that Jesus died for the church. Again there, verse 25, and gave Himself for it. He gave Himself for the church. He gave Himself, He died so that there could be a church, that there could be a local assembly of believers that would gather together. Not only that, but in verse 23 we see that Jesus is the head of the church. Notice what it says, For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. Now keep your place there in Ephesians, we're going to come back to it. But go with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 16, it's the first book in the New Testament. It should be fairly easy to find. Matthew 16, and I'd like you to look at verse number 18. So here in Ephesians 5, we see that Jesus loves the church, Jesus died for the church, Jesus is the head of the church. But not only that, in Matthew 16 we see that Jesus builds the church. Matthew 16 and verse 18 says this, And I say also unto thee, this is Jesus speaking, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock. Now he's not referring to Peter as the rock. The Catholics will teach tonight that that rock is Peter. But all throughout the Bible the rock is Christ. The rock is God, the rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is referring to the fact that Peter just gave a statement saying, to Jesus, he said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus is saying yes, that was revealed to you by flesh and blood. That was revealed to you from God. And Jesus is telling Peter, upon that truth, that I am the Christ, that I am the Son of God, upon that rock, he says, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I want you to notice that Jesus not only loves the church, he died for the church, he's the head of the church, he builds the church. And if you consider the relationship that Jesus has with his church, and if you consider the fact that Paul would take that relationship and use it as an example to illustrate to us how to have good marriages, you have to walk away from that realizing that the local church is important to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an important institution that he came to die for, to establish. He died for it, he heads it up, he builds it. And what I'd like to do tonight, I would like to speak to you on the subject of the local church, but specifically on the subject of how to choose the right church. Because what I've noticed as I travel to different locations with Pastor Thompson, and go to different areas and preach in different places, I've noticed that people have a lot of questions about local churches, and I'll often hear that churches like this one, Shur Foundation Baptist Church and Spokane, Washington are rare. They're few and far between, and it's hard to find a church like this. And people often ask, you know, how do you choose the right church? How do you choose the church to go to? And what I'd like to do tonight is I'd like to give you some criteria in regards to choosing the right church. Because a lot of you, and I praise the Lord for it, I'm thankful, a lot of you have traveled here, but maybe you are not going to a good church, maybe you are trying to decide what church you should be going to, you're trying to decide what church you should pick in your area. And I want to help answer that question for you. So I want to give you eight thoughts tonight in regards to how to choose the right church. And if you are able to take notes, I'd love for you to write these down. I noticed on the back of your bulletin there's a place for you to write down some notes, so maybe you can jot these down. Now I want to begin by telling you, and I'm going to spread these into two categories. The first category is what I call the deal breakers. Now, these are my personal deal breakers. This is what I would advise someone. At the very least, the church you go to has to have this criteria or these categories. Now, go back to Ephesians, if you wouldn't mind, Ephesians chapter 2. And I will tell you this, this isn't just theory for me, this is the criteria that I used to pick a church when my wife and I were searching for a church before I was a pastor, when I was in the United States Air Force and we just got stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Macaville. We looked at, we had a list of like four or five churches that we were considering going to, and this is the criteria that we used. So I want to let you know, this is my opinion, these are my thoughts, you know, your deal breaker list may be a little different than this one, but maybe you don't have a deal breaker list, maybe you're not sure, you know, is there a deal breaker for our church? Are there churches that I shouldn't go to? Are there churches that I should not be a part of because of these things? I would encourage you to consider these three characteristics as the deal breaker when it comes to church. And here's what I mean by a deal breaker, I mean that if they don't meet these three categories, then this is not a church for you, this is not a church for believers, this is not a church that honors the Lord Jesus Christ, what are they? Well number one, when choosing a church, you should consider their belief on salvation. When choosing a church, of course the first thing you ought to consider is what do they believe about salvation? What do they believe about the Gospel? What do they believe about what it takes for someone to go to heaven when they die? Now I'm not going to sit here and give you a Gospel presentation, we could do that if you need that, alright, and I can do that, somebody can do that tonight, but let me just tell you this, when it comes to the Gospel, there are basically three attacks that we have to guard against when it comes to the Gospel. The first one is the attack of works. As Bible-believing Christians, we must believe that salvation is not of works. You're there in Ephesians, look at chapter 2 and verse 8. I know you know the verses, but let's look at them together. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 say this, For by grace, now the word grace means free, if you have a payment on your house, you have a mortgage payment or a rent payment, you probably have a due date, but you probably have a grace period, rent's due on the first, they give you till the fifth to pay it, they call that a grace period, why? It's free time, that's what the word grace means. God says, for by grace, he says by the fact that I'm going to give you something you did not earn, you do not deserve, are ye saved, let's talk about being saved from hell, through faith. The word faith means to believe, to trust, notice, and that, the word that there is referring back to being saved. Now the Calvinists want to tell you that it refers to the faith, but look, English is my second language, and I can tell you that the word that there is not referring to the faith, okay? So it's always interesting to me how these Calvinists, they try to act like they're these brainiacs and they're intellectuals, but yet they can't look at a verse and figure it out. When it says, and that, the subject is referring back to as being saved. He says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves. He says if you're going to be saved, it's not of yourself, it's not something you produce. Here's why, it is the gift of God. The word gift means you're getting it for free. Verse 9, not of works lest any man should boast, and we understand that. Salvation is a gift, it's free, it's not of works. You don't earn it, you don't work for it, you don't pay for it, it is a gift of God. Now look, other than, most evangelical Christians are going to agree with that statement. Salvation is by grace, alright? Now, believing that it's not of works, and sometimes we think we don't have to say these things, but look, that'll pull you out of the Protestant church. That'll pull you out of the Lutheran church, that'll pull you out of the Presbyterian church, that'll dead sure pull you out of a Catholic church. I mean the churches that are teaching that you have to live a good life, that you have to do certain things in order to go to Heaven, it's going to pull you out of those churches, because it's not of works. But I want you to understand that there are other ways that people will try to sneak in works into salvation. Let me give you some examples, go back to Matthew 21. So when it comes to, I'm choosing a church, Pastor Jimenez, and I'm looking at their doctrinal statement, or I'm talking to the pastor, I'm asking him some questions about salvation, what should I be looking for? Well, first of all, make sure that they believe that salvation is not of works. But secondly, make sure that they do not believe that someone has to repent of their sins in order to be saved. You say, well what's the problem with repenting of your sins to be saved? Here's the problem with that, it's adding works to salvation. Because the word repent means to turn. It means to turn or to return, it means to change, and when we're talking about repenting from sin, we're talking about turning away from sin. The Bible defines that as works. Now you're there in Matthew 21, you stay there, but let me read to you from Jonah chapter 3 and verse 10. Jonah 3 says this, And God saw their works. Now look, we just read a verse that told us that salvation is not of works. Okay, Romans 4 verses 4 and 5 say, Now to him that worketh not, It says, but not to him that worketh. His reward is not reckoned of grace, but of death. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. The Bible says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, okay, so all throughout the Bible we're told it's not of works, salvation is not of works. Well here in Jonah 3, 10, the Bible says God saw their works. What did he see? That they turned from their evil way. So when someone turns from their evil way, God defines that as works. So when someone says, Well I got to repent of my sins in order to be saved. Here's what they're telling you, and they're not using that terminology, but what they're telling you is, I believe in works of salvation. I believe that someone has to turn away from their works. God would look down at that and call that works. The Bible says God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. Now people will say, Well don't you believe in repentance? I mean doesn't the Bible say the word repentance? You know whenever people say that to me, I think to myself, Yeah, I've never read the Bible, I mean what do you mean? Of course, you know, of course we believe in the word repentance. You know, and this is what these people do. They'll point at a bunch of verses that say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Say see, Jesus preached repentance, and John preached repentance, and they all preached repentance, and I'll say, Yeah, you know what, I see what you're saying, but where does it say of your sins? What did Jesus say? Repent of your sins. Because they want to point to all these verses that say, Repent, repent, repent, but what is he telling you to repent? Well let me show you some verses that make it clear what he's talking about. Matthew 21, verse 32, notice what the Bible says. Notice what Jesus said. Matthew 21, 32, For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye, notice what he says, believed him not. Because whenever we're referring to salvation, that is the key. Do you believe? Do you have faith? Have you trusted? He said John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not. But the publicans and the harlots believed him, and ye, when ye had seen it, when ye had seen what? That they believed. Notice he says, Repented not afterward. He said, look, you failed to repent. You said, well what would have happened if they would have repented? Notice, Ye repented not afterward, that ye might quit drinking. Is that what it says? Ye repented not afterward, that ye might quit smoking. Is that what it says? Ye repented not afterward, that ye might quit being lazy. That ye might, look, whatever. Whatever sin you want out, is that what it says? He says, ye repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. Why? Because why did these people die and go to hell? Because they did not believe. That's why. And he says, look, you should have turned from that. You should have changed from that. You should have gone from belief to, from unbelief to belief. Go to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. You're there in Matthew. You're going to go past Mark, Luke, John, Acts. While you go there, I'll read to you Mark 1-15. Mark 1-15 says this, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. So when it comes to repentance for salvation, we're going from no belief to belief. Or from the wrong belief to the right belief. Look, someone who's an atheist, who doesn't believe in God, obviously has to repent from not believing in God, to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. Do you understand that? Someone who's a Muslim has to go from believing in Allah, who's a false God, to believing in the true God of the Bible. There is repentance in salvation, only in the sense that you go from unbelief to belief, or from a false or wrong belief, to the right belief. Now people say, Well, John preached repentance. John had the baptism of repentance. But again, what does that mean? Well, notice the Bible is its own commentary, Acts 19-4. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance. Okay, what does that mean? Saying unto the people, so here's what John was saying to the people, that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. So what was it that John was teaching, was preaching, when he was preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Here's what he was telling the people, that they should believe on him, which should come after him. By the way, that's a great verse for our dispensational friends. Our dispensational friends want to say, Well, in the Old Testament, nobody was looking to Jesus. Nobody was preaching to look to Jesus. Oh really? Because John was. He was telling people that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. So look, when we're talking about salvation, here's what you need to remember, not of works, but also no repentance of sins. Now look, we're all for repentance after salvation. Repent of your sins once you've been saved. Glorify the Lord. Live right. But in order to be saved, there is no works needed. There is no action needed. There is nothing. There's no effort that you have to put in. What's the third major attack on salvation? Well, you're there in Acts, just go back to the book of John, John chapter 10, and while you go there, let me read for you this. Titus 1, 2 says this, In hope of eternal life. Here's the third major attack on salvation, and it is the idea that you can lose your salvation. The Bible says, In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. John 10, 28, the Bible says this, Jesus said, And I give unto them eternal life. Notice what he says. And I give unto them eternal life. That's where we get this idea of the eternal security of the believer. Once you're saved, you're always saved. You will never lose it. You cannot lose it. Here's why. I give unto them eternal life, notice, and they shall never perish. Look, the Bible says that once God gives you eternal life, once you believe on him, he that believeth on him hath everlasting life. You have it. You possess it. God says, Once I give it to you, here's what that means. You'll never perish. You'll never lose it. You'll never die and go to hell. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. So look, when you are talking about choosing a church, you need to consider what they teach about salvation. And when you're considering that, here's what you need to look for. Not of works, not repentance, and cannot lose your salvation. Not of works, not repentance, and cannot lose your salvation. Look, if they teach that you have to repent of your sins to be saved, they are teaching a false gospel. If they teach that you can lose your salvation, they are teaching a false gospel. But let me give you a third characteristic to consider in regards to choosing a church. Now, you're there in John, go to 1 Corinthians, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. We're talking about things to consider when choosing a church. Number one, consider their belief on salvation. But number two, consider their position on the Scriptures. You say, well, what do we mean by that? We're talking about what do they believe about the Word of God? Not only must you consider what do they believe about salvation, but what do they believe about the Word of God? And look, let me just say it flat out to you, they need to be preaching out of the King James Bible. Amen. We're talking about an English church in the United States of America, or anywhere where English is spoken. They need to be preaching out of the King James Bible. And if you're here tonight, you said, I've never heard that before, I don't know what you mean by that. What do you mean? Make sure you grab one of these bags. All right? We got a documentary in here that'll explain to you what the, what, explain to you our position on that and what the Bible says about that. But let me just quickly give you one example or a couple of examples just to help you out with that. You're there in 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse number 18. Now if you've got a King James Bible, 1 Corinthians 1 18 says this, For the preaching of the cross, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Now isn't that a great verse? The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, the world looks at it like foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Why? Because the gospel is the power of God. But if you've got an English Standard Version tonight, which is one of the most popular Bible versions in America today, you know what that verse says in the English Standard Version? It says, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. You say, I don't have an English Standard Bible. Okay, well if you've got a new American Standard Bible, it says, To us who are being saved, it is the power of God. You say, I would never use one of those. Okay, how about a new King James? I got a new King James because it's like the King James, right? They just got rid of the vows. Well, here's the problem. Here's what it says in 1 Corinthians 1 18, To us who are being saved. Now look, these two things right here, these two things are not the same. And to us which are saved, versus to us who are being saved. Those are two different thoughts. Look, you're either saved or you're not. You've either been born again or you haven't. You've either called upon Christ for salvation. You've either gone from death unto life or you haven't. Salvation is not a process. It happens in a moment when you believe and you call upon Christ to save you. You're saved! It's not to us who are being saved. You say, well, why would a Bible say that, this idea of being saved? Here's why. Because they want you to think it's a process. They want you to think that it's steps that you take. It's sacraments that you take. It's things that you do. They want this to be preached at a charismatic church that tells you that you believe. That's step one. You repent of your sins. That's step two. You get baptized at step three. If you believe that, then yeah, you're being saved. But if you believe that salvation happens in a moment, then you are saved. And to us which are saved. Let me give you another example. Go to John chapter 3. John chapter 3. And I'm not preaching on the King James Bible issue tonight. I just want to give you a couple examples just to prove the point. John chapter 3 and verse 36 in your King James Bible, it says this, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. That's what the Word of God says. Here's what the English Standard Version says. It says, Whosoever believeth in the Son has eternal life, and whosoever does not obey, whosoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God reigns on him. Now look, the King James says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. Doesn't that make sense? Look, if you believe you're saved, if you don't believe, you're not saved. This one says, If you believe you're saved, but if you don't obey, you're not saved. Why would it say that? Because they want you to think that obeying is part of salvation. New American Standard Version says the same thing. He who believes on the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life. Look, it's a big deal what Bible is being used at the church that you go to. It's not just this, well, they got rid of the thes and the thows. Look, if it was just they got rid of thes and the thows, that wouldn't be worth the fight. Although I think we need the thes and the thows, and I'll defend the thes and the thows, but it's not just the thes and the thows. They're messing with your Bible. They are messing with doctrinal statements. Like Pastor Thompson was saying, Acts 8 has had verses removed when it talks about believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Why? Because there is an attack on the Word of God. And look, if you're going to go to a church, don't go to a church that is preaching out of a corrupt text. The Bible says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. So we're talking about choosing a church. You say, what are the deal breakers? I mean, this would keep me from going there. This would keep me from fellowshipping there. This would keep me from being a part of that church. Well, number one, if they're not right on salvation, you have no business going there. You say, oh, well, they're right on salvation. They just say you got to repent of your sins to be saved. Then they're not right on salvation. Ah, they're right on salvation. They're just a little weak on eternal security. Then they're not right on salvation. They've added works to salvation. You say, oh, well, they're right on salvation, but, you know, they use the New King James. I doubt they're right on salvation. You probably just haven't asked the right questions. It matters what Bible they use. Make sure it's a King James. Number three, when it comes to choosing a church, you have to consider their belief on salvation. You have to consider their position on the Scriptures. Number three, you must consider their program for soul winning. Go to Mark 16. You're there in John. Just go back, past Luke to Mark 16. Mark 16, verse 15. Mark 16, verse 15 says this, and he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Go to Matthew 28. Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. Look at verse number 19. Jesus said, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you all the way even unto the end of the world. Amen. Go to Acts chapter number 1. Acts chapter number 1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts chapter number 1. I know we're flipping through a lot of passages tonight. I hope that's alright. I think that's why you showed up to church on a Friday night. Acts chapter 1, verse 8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Let me explain something to you. The reason that God left you here on planet earth, the reason that God did not kill you the moment you got saved and sent you to heaven after your salvation, the reason you're here, the reason I'm here, the reason we're here is for one purpose, to preach all nations, baptizing them, teaching them to observe all things, to preach the gospel to every creature, to be witnesses in both Jerusalem and Judea and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And people say to me, oh well, I found a good church and they're right on salvation and they're right on the King James Bible, but they don't go soul winning. And I think to myself, well what's the point then? Then look, you're just hanging out with your friends. You might as well go join a boiling league. I mean I don't know. The purpose of the church, the reason Jesus left us here was to preach the gospel. So I'm just telling you, and this is just my opinion, if I was going to choose a church, I'd choose a church that was right on the gospel, that was right on the scriptures, and that was right on soul winning. And when I say soul winning, I mean they're out there preaching the gospel, I don't mean they're out there holding signs on a street corner. I don't mean they're out there hanging a door hanger on doors. Paul said this, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. You say, well Pastor Jimenez, what should I be looking for in a church? You ought to be looking for a church that's going to get you out of soul winning. That's going to help you, that's going to motivate and mobilize you to go to churches and I see maps on the back, a map on the back of the wall. You say that's not a nice decoration, a map. You know, I go to churches, they have these nice decorations. I go to churches, I love the churches that have just an ugly map on the back of the wall. You say that's not much of a decoration. You know what that decoration tells you a lot? That there is a purpose for their existence. There is something they are attempting to accomplish. So look, these are just the deal breakers. The deal breakers. Look, all the IFB churches will meet this criteria. I think you could find, I think you could live anywhere in the United States of America and find a church that you may have to drive, but you can live anywhere in the United States of America and find a church that's right on salvation, right on scriptures, right on soul winning. And look, I'm just trying to help you out. You say, Pastor Jimenez, I go to Sure Foundation Baptist Church, but maybe you have friends that you're looking for in a church. What are the deal breakers? Here are the deal breakers. Salvation, scriptures, soul winning. Salvation, scriptures, soul winning. Are they right on salvation? Are they right on the scriptures? Are they right on soul winning? Now I'd like you to go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. If you can find the T-books in the New Testament, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. I wanted to begin by giving you the three deal breakers. Salvation, scriptures, soul winning. Let me give you additional characteristics. Now these characteristics are not deal breakers, at least not for me. And here's what I mean. If you can find a church that's right on salvation, that's right on the scriptures, and that's right on soul winning, but maybe they're not as good on these other things, that's okay. These aren't deal breakers, but let me just help you understand when you've walked into a church that is the cream of the crop. Because here's the truth. Not all churches are created equal. There are better churches than others. There are churches that are better than others. You say, well how can I know what's a good church? Look, well it's not even a church worth attending if it's not the three. Salvation, scriptures, soul winning. And look, here's what I mean about soul winning. I don't mean they have to have a program like this church has or like Verity has, but look, as long as you can go soul winning, do you understand that there are some churches that they're hostile towards soul winners? It's not that no one shows up except the pastor, it's that the pastor's like trying to make you feel guilty from the pulpit because you want to go soul winning. That's not a church for you. That's not a church for you to go to. But here's a fourth characteristic. You ought to consider their type of sermons. What are the sermons that are being preached at the church? What are the sermons that are being preached at this church? Now look, some churches are better than others. You say, how do I know? How do I know if this is a good church? Well, consider the sermons. And here's the thing, when it comes to preaching, there's two characteristics that make good preaching. Number one, the preaching should be biblical. Look, I don't care how dynamic it is. Well, let me say this. I do care how dynamic it is. But before I care about how dynamic it is, I care about how biblical it is. It's not enough to be dynamic. T.D. Jakes is dynamic. You understand that? Charismatics are dynamic, all right? It has to be biblical. Second Timothy chapter four, look at verse two. Second Timothy chapter four, verse two. Preach the word. This is what Paul told Timothy. Preach the Bible. Preach the word. Sermons ought to be biblical. You say, do you really have to say that? Sermons should be biblical? Have you been to most churches? Have you seen most churches? I mean, most churches today, you get like two verses, you get three points in a poem, and you're done. Fifteen minutes, you're done. Twenty minutes, you're done. Preach the word. Be innocent in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering, don't miss this, and doctrine. See, when you preach the word, you ought to get doctrine. They will not endure what? Sound doctrine. But after their own lust, shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, verse four, and they shall turn away their ears from what? The truth. And shall be turned into fables. Look, when you say, how do I know when I'm at a cream of the crop church? Here's how you know. When you walk in, and the word is being preached, doctrine is being taught, suddenly, it ought to be bold. It ought to be in your face. It ought to be something, look, notice what he says, verse two, preach the word, be innocent in season, out of season, but here's what that'll look like. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. The word reprove means to reprimand or to point out wrong. If you go to a church, and you're never being told you're wrong about something, that's not a great church. Look, the whole point of preaching is to show you where you're wrong. It's to reprimand you and say, hey, that's wrong. That's not what you want. You don't want to go there. You don't want to do that. So look, good preaching, good biblical preaching is going to reprove you from time to time. It's going to reprimand you. It's going to tell you you're wrong. Now, here's the problem with reproving people is that sometimes the reproving doesn't work. So then you have to go to the next step, which is rebuke. What does that mean? It means to express sharp or stern disapproval. It's the same thing, you're just doing it meaner, you're doing it louder, you're doing it uglier. I think every sermon ought to have a sum of all of this. I try to end all my sermons with an exhort. Encourage to take action, to give urgent advice, encouraging people to do something to say, hey, here's why you're wrong, here's why you're a loser about it, and here's what you should do, right? You reprove and you rebuke and you exhort. Why? Because biblical preaching, it should be biblical and it should be bold. It should be in your face. And look, let me tell you something. When you preach the truth, look, Paul said this, he said, am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Look, when you walk out of church, when you walk out of Sure Foundation Baptist Church and you're all offended and mad and upset because he called you out, because he said something, and people always think like, oh, he must know. It's like he doesn't know. And if he knows, he doesn't care. He's just preaching the Bible. Am I become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Listen to me, if you're ever sitting in church and you're just offended, you're just mad, you're just angry, you know what you ought to do? Instead of getting mad and quitting church and sending some email, you ought to get on your knees and thank God that there is a preacher that loves you enough to tell you the truth. Because look, if we were just trying to build mega churches all over America, you think we're going to get up and tell people the truth about alcohol, the truth about fornication, the truth about drugs. If we just wanted to build mega churches, man, it'd be sweetness and light. It would just be God loves you. It's all right that your marriage is falling apart. It's all right that you're addicted to drugs. It's all right that you're just living in fornication. We wouldn't be telling people the truth, but look, our goal is to preach the Word. Our goal is to preach the Word of God. It's to be biblical and to be bold. So look, when you walk into church and you see an ugly map on the wall and you see an ugly preacher up there screaming and yelling and rebuking and exhorting, you might just be in the cream of a crop church. You ought to consider the type of sermons that are being preached. You ought to consider, is this type of preaching going to help me? Is this type of preaching going to get in my face, going to make me deal with some issues, with some problems, with some areas in my life that God is trying to deal with? Number five, you ought to consider the organizational structure. You ought to consider the organizational structure. Go back to Ephesians. Ephesians 1. Now look, I'm not talking about a flow chart here, okay? There's two things you need to consider when it comes to the structure of a church. Number one, is it an autonomous church? Is it independent? Ephesians 1 and verse 20, we already saw it, but look at it from Ephesians 1.20. Which he wrought in Christ, I want you to notice the context here is the Lord Jesus Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, notice verse 22, and hath put all things under his feet. Under whose feet? Christ. Which he wrought in Christ. That's the context. Verse 22, and hath put all things under his feet and gave him, gave who? Gave Christ to be the head over all things, notice, to the church. The Bible says that Christ is to be the head of the church. Notice verse 23, which is the body, the fullness of him, that filleth all in all. You're there in Ephesians, we saw it, but look at it together. Ephesians 5, 23, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ is or should be the head of the church. What does that mean? That means that every local church should have the Lord Jesus Christ as its head. So look, we don't believe in denominational structures. Say, what's the problem with the denominational structure? Here's the problem, the head is not Christ. I mean, look at a denominational structure like the Roman Catholic Church. Look at the local churches. They've got their local pedophile pastors, right? But those pedophile pastors aren't just doing the pedophilia that they want. They've got pedophile pastors over them. They've got priests, bishops and archbishops over them and that whole system goes all the way up to the pope of the pedophiles. I mean, to papa himself, right? I mean, you've got the pope at the head. Look, the Roman Catholic Church does not have Jesus at his head. It has the pope as its head. The Mormons have the false prophet as their head. The Jehovah's Witnesses have a president as their head. Whenever you bring churches under a denominational structure, the head is no longer Christ. If there is anybody telling the pastor what to do, you're no longer in an autonomous church. Calvary Chapel is a denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention is a denomination. These different types of churches, they're not autonomous. Look, independent churches are the only churches that are following the biblical mandate, why? Because there's nobody over them telling them what to do. Nobody's telling Pastor Thompson what to do. People like to act like, oh, you get ordained by this new IP movement, you get sent out by this new IP movement, and they're going to control you. You think I'm controlling him? Look at him! Nobody's telling him what to do. No, you know what? Here's the truth. Local independent churches, the pastor, nobody's telling them what to do. Now, look, that doesn't mean that the pastors just does whatever they want, because remember, Christ is the head of the church. How in the world is Christ the head of the church? Here's how. Jesus is the Word. I mean, the Bible says, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made, but that was made. The Bible says that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. Revelation 19 says that when Jesus comes back, that He'll have written on His thigh, the Word of God. He is the Word. He is this Word. And look, at an independent Baptist church, what does it mean to be a Baptist? It means you're a biblicist. It means the Bible is the authority in all matters of faith and practice. It means that, wait, I had a pastor used to tell us, when the Bible is your boss, you're a Baptist. Say, how do I know if I'm a Baptist? Is the Bible your boss? Is the Bible in charge? Is the Bible your final authority? And you say, oh well, Pastor Thompson's the head of this church. No, the Word of God is the head of this church. But pastors, we have to submit ourselves to the authority of the Word of God. We don't just get up here and say whatever we want. We don't get to get up here and just say, just preach our own Gospel, do what we want, drink this Kool-Aid, give us money. That's a cult. You say, oh, you guys are in a cult. How are we in a cult when the Bible is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice? You know who's in a cult? Is the Roman Catholic Church. Because the words of the Pope are on par with the Word of God. Church tradition is on par with the Word of God. A church that has a prophet that can usurp the authority of the Word of God, that's a cult. As Baptists, we as pastors must submit ourselves to the authority of the Word of God. So we don't just get up here and just preach whatever we want, we have to preach what the Bible says, which is why we preach so much Bible. Because we have to prove everything we believe from the Word of God. We don't get up here and say, do it because I said it. We get up here and say, thus saith the Lord God. This is what the Bible says. So look, you must find a church that is independent. You must find a church that has the right organizational structure. But let me say this, go to Hebrews chapter 13. If you kept your place there in 2 Timothy, you've got Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 13. It should be an organizational structure. It should be an autonomous church. But let me say this, it should be a pastor led church. Amen. You want to go to a church with a pastor who's got some hair on his legs, who's got a backbone, who's actually running the show. Because you know what? There are many churches today that are autonomous, independent, but the pastor's not leading. You've got some board of elders leading. You've got some board of deacons leading. You've got some board of overzealous women leading. The Bible says that the pastor should be leading. Are you there in Hebrews? Look at chapter 13 verse 17. Hebrews 13, 17. Obey them that have the rule over you. Now this is not talking about in every area of your life. This is talking about within the church. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account and fill it with joy for that is unprofitable for you. Here the Bible is telling us that you ought to obey them that have the rule over you. What does that mean? It means that the elder, the pastor, has the rule, has the control in the church and as church members, you ought to obey him and submit yourselves. Look at verse 7, same chapter. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God. The pastor, the deacons, the evangelists, the spiritual leaders. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. Go to 1 Peter chapter 5. Are you there in Hebrews? You're going to go past James into the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 5. Look at verse number 1. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 1 says this, The elders which are among you I exhort. An elder is a pastor, a spiritual leader. He says, who also am an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Notice what he's telling the elders. Verse 2, feed the flock of God which is among you. What is that? That's bold and biblical preaching. They're supposed to feed the flock. They're supposed to feed them the word of God. Feed the flock of God which is among you but notice what they're also supposed to do. They're supposed to take the oversight thereof. They're supposed to lead. They're supposed to rule. They're supposed to take the oversight. They're supposed to be the overseer. Now notice, not by constraint but willingly. Not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage but being in samples to the flock. So look, we're not saying that pastors are to be lords over God's heritage. And they have to control every area of your life. Look, we don't want to control every area of your life. We don't care. I mean we care about you but we don't care about the car you drive. I've known churches where the people, they can't buy a car without calling the pastor asking permission. That's ridiculous. That's a cult. That is being a lord over God's heritage. Now look, you want some advice? Ask your pastor for advice. When it comes to your family, your life, what happens in your home, that's between you and God. But we're talking about the church, the organization, the services, the soul winning, the events that happen here. The Bible says that the pastor is supposed to lead. And you know what? You should support your pastor in that. You should be looking for a church that has a man that is leading. You say, well can't that get out of control? Can't they take advantage of that? Because you will never find, you will never find in the Bible where God ordains a group to lead. Because today people want to get away from this pastor-led model and they'll say, oh we have a group of elders that leads our church. Oh really? Show me that in the Bible. Because it looks to me like when God was looking for a man, he chose one. His name was Abraham. God was looking for a man to lead his people out of Egypt. He chose one. His name was Moses. He led his people into the Promised Land. He chose one. His name was Joshua. All throughout the book of Judges, he needs man to rise up and lead and he chooses man after man after man. Why? Because God chooses man. And you know what? God's looking for man and God's looking for man that will stand up and say, I'm willing to be used. And look, when you've got a man of God who's filled with the Spirit, who wants to serve, who wants to be a soul winner, who wants to lead a soul winning group, you ought to get scared. Don't get scared by it. Don't get upset by it. You know what? This is the spiritual authority that God has put in my life. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves. So you ought to consider the structure of the church. Let me give you a sixth one. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. If you kept your place in Ephesians, you're just right before Ephesians, you've got Galatians, 2 Corinthians. You ought to consider their stand on separation. You ought to consider their stand on separation. Do they teach the doctrine of separation? And look, this is a doctrine that is going by the wayside. The idea of separation. This is really what we're known for in the new IFB, if you want to call us that, or whatever. You know, people say, oh, you guys, I love the preaching against the homos. I love the preaching against birth control and abortion. I love the preaching against alcohol. I love the preaching against rock and roll music. I love the preaching, you know, against all these worldly things. You know what they're really saying is they love the fact that we are teaching the doctrine of separation. Separation is important. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17 says, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. God wants you to come out from among them and be ye separate. And I always want to remind people when we're talking about the doctrine of separation, because we want to emphasize and focus on the part of being separated from the world. And we ought to be separated from the world. But you ought to remember that the doctrine of separation is this, separated from the world unto God. It's not just separated from the world. That's not enough. If you get separated from the world you'll end up an Amish. You'll end up a Mormon. You'll end up living on some compound in Guyana. You'll end up in some cult. Why? Because it's not enough to be separated. It's not enough to just get away from the world. No, He says, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. Why? Notice, and I will receive you. See, God says, when you separate from the world, then I can receive a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. You ought to consider their stand on separation. You say, Why? Here's why. Because only a church that is teaching you to live a separated life, only that church will help you to get close to God. You can find churches, and they're not preaching separation, and they might even be teaching the right gospel and have saved people in the pew, but if you're saved, but you're just living in the world, if you're saved, but you're just living like the world, you can't get close to God. God says, I will receive you. God says, I will fellowship with you. The Bible says, Draw nigh to God, and He'll draw nigh to you. The Bible, you say, I want to get close to God, then get separated from the world. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Consider their position on the scriptures. Consider their program for soul winning. That's the deal breakers right there, those three. How about the cream of the crop? Consider their type of sermons. Consider their organizational structure. Consider their stand on separation. Here's number seven. Consider their opportunities for service. You know that a good church is the church of Jesus, chapter four and verse 11. And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors, and teachers. We're talking about the positions of spiritual leadership. Why did God give you a pastor? Why did He give you teachers? This church has a pastor, and has many teachers that come in throughout every week to preach the word of God. He's given you teachers for the perfecting of the saints. The word perfect, or perfecting, in your King James Bible, it means to make whole or make complete. It means to make mature, to grow to the full extent. He says He gave you an evangelist, and a pastor, and a teacher for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry. You say why? Because the ministry is work. Look, the ministry is work. It's work. You say, ah, I don't know if the ministry is work. Okay, well show up for soul winning tomorrow, all day long. See if you're not tired afterwards. Why? It's work. Preaching is work. Organizing these events, organizing these churches, getting these things rolling. It's church, it's work, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry. Notice, for the edifying, talking about the building, the growing of the body of Christ. He edify you. Why? Because when you serve, you grow. You will grow when you serve others. You say, why is, why is it, why is that the case? Here's why. Because you are the most like Christ when you are serving. I mean, didn't Jesus say, didn't Jesus say that I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister? Look, He came to serve. He came, He girded Himself, and He served others, and when we serve, we are like Christ. And you will grow the most in your Christian life when you get connected in serving. And look, there are all sorts of opportunities to serve in a local church. Now, they might not all be the opportunities you want. But look, there's always something to clean. There's always something to set up for. There's always some event to tear down for. There's always, there's always bulletins to be folded. There's always invitations to be counted out. Look, there's all sorts of things that can be done. And look, you've got to get involved in the service of the work of God. And look, don't just find a church that needs work. Get involved. People want to be part of a growing, thriving church. It's growing. There's lots going on. But then they find that growing, thriving, involved church, and then jump in and get to work. Get involved in the work of the ministry. Let me give you number 8. Go to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. You've got to consider how they facilitate socialization. Consider how they facilitate socialization. Acts chapter 2, verse 41. Then they've got to be involved in the work of the people that gladly received this word. These are people that got saved, were baptized, and the same day they were added unto them, added unto the church, there in Jerusalem, about 3,000 souls. Verse 42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. That's the bold biblical preaching. But notice, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. Do you know that fellowship, that really important aspect of your spiritual life? You've got to consider, when you're looking for a church, you've got to consider a church and how they facilitate fellowship. I use that terminology with our church back home. We facilitate fellowship. Why do you say that? Because I can't force people to fellowship. I can't force people to be friends. I can't force you to stop fellowship with me. I can try to teach you. I can try to help you. I can tell people a man that has friends must show himself friendly. I can do all those things. But here's all I can really do is facilitate fellowship, is create opportunities for you to develop friendships. All we can do is say, hey, show up to Dick's tonight and let's have some fellowship at a great level. But look, it'll be good for you to show up. Show up. It'll be good for you to go. You've got to consider, does this church have activities for me? And by the way, if they have activities for you, they'll probably have an area for you to serve in. Because these things go hand in hand. But look, you've got to get involved in the fellowship. And here's what I mean by getting down on you. I'm not getting down on you. I'm not talking about that. But when you can control it, you've got to show up early for church. Show up early. Shake hands with people. Get to know somebody. Talk to people. You've got to stay later. Don't be the family that sneaks out during the last song. You used to sneak out during the invitation at your old church. We said, I'll get out during the last song. No. Stick around in fellowship. You know, be friendly. Go to activities. Go to the restaurants. Go to the different things and just get involved. You say, why? Because it's good for you. That's why. Because you need to stick in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship. Go to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. It's important for you to develop friends. It's important for you to develop fellowship. 1 Corinthians 12. And here's what people will say. And look, this is an important aspect of being in church. You ought to be in church for the socialization. Do you know that socialization is a big deal for human beings? You know that God created you for community? God met that need. God met that need through the local New Testament church. You know what? You know what unregenerate man does who doesn't want to be part of God's plan of socialization through local New Testament churches? You know what they do? They develop websites like Facebook. They develop websites like Twitter and YouTube. And I'm not saying those websites are big, but I'm telling you this. You say, why is social media so big? Here's why. Because God created you to socialize. That's why. And before that, and even now, it's little leagues and bowling leagues and car clubs and why do worldly people want to get involved? You know, it's like they don't realize that they need a church. That God created them to live their lives surrounded by other people and they don't want the church so they try to do it somewhere else in another way. But you know what? God created the place for you. It's called the local church. He wants you to develop friends. And this is what people say. This is what Christians will say. Well, I just do church on YouTube. We put our preaching, Verity Baptist Church puts their preaching on YouTube. I'm not against the stream. I even sing along. I doubt it. I even donate on the website while they're taking the offering. I doubt it, but okay. But here's what you don't get. Here's what you don't get on YouTube. Here's what you don't get on Facebook Live and I'm not preaching against you if it's Facebook Live. It's Friday night, okay? It's okay. This is guilt-free listening on YouTube's preaching, okay? Here's what you don't get on YouTube. I'm sorry, I keep saying second reading. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 25. Notice what it says. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 25. That there should be no schism. That's division in the body. That's the church. But that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. Or one member be honored, all the members suffer with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. You know what you don't get on YouTube? You know what you don't get on Facebook? You know what you don't get on the live stream? You don't get that when you're hurting and you're suffering, you've got brethren that love you, that care for you, that rally around you. Your 12 zillion Facebook friends don't visit you at the hospital. They say, hey I missed you in church last week, you doing all right? They're not rejoicing with you when your kids get married, when you get that promotion, when you start that business and they're not weeping with you and mourning with you when your child gets sick or when your spouse dies. But God created an institution called the local New Testament church that is meant to rally around you through the church. The truth is this, that there are highs and lows in our lives and God said that He wants when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. And you just don't get that on the live stream. So you've got to consider, how does this church facilitate socialization? Go to Hebrews chapter 10. We're going to finish right here, Hebrews chapter 10. We're talking about how do you consider, how do you choose a church? Well you've got your three deal breakers. Consider their belief on salvation. And here's what you're looking for. Not of works, not repentance of your sins, and you cannot lose your salvation. You need those. You've got to consider their position on the scriptures. King James Bible, the only King James people tell you, well I don't think it's perfect but that's the only one we use. That's not good enough. I'm not only King James, I'm King James only. It's not that, well it's not perfect but it's the only one I use. It's the only one we've got. It's it. You've got to consider their program for soul winning because if they don't let you go soul winning then what's the point? But then you've got to consider, is it biblical? Consider their organizational structure. Is it autonomous? Is it pastor led? Consider their position on separation. Are they helping you be separated from the world unto God? You have to consider the opportunities for service and socialization. Why? Because these will help you get connected and these will help you grow. And just in case you haven't got my hint, you say where can I find a church? You say ah this church is like, it's like it's a long commute for me pastor. It's worth the drive. You say well I'm considering commuting to this church. Do it. I'm considering moving to this church. Do it. I'm considering. You say why? Because look, Jesus gave himself for the church. He established the church. He builds the church. He loves the church. He sacrificed for it. He gave you a beautiful gift called the local New Testament church. Here's unfortunately what some people do with it. Hebrews 10 verse 25. Notice what it says. Hebrews 10 25. Not forsaking. This is a command. Not forsaking the assembling. The word assembling there is referring to a church. A church is an assembly. It is a congregation of believers. Not forsaking the assembling but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Here we are commanded not to forsake the congregation. What does that mean? Well it means a couple of things. First of all, it means you should never quit on the church. Ah, pastor made me mad. I'm going to quit. No, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. I'm mad at sister so and so. I'm mad at brother so and so. I'm mad at another state but there's no good church. Don't do it. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. But you know what? It also means that you ought to be faithful to the church services. Because notice what he says. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. The word manner there means custom or habit. Some people have a custom or a habit of skipping out on church. Ah, I don't know if I'm going to you know, I got off of work on Wednesday, I don't think I'm going to make it. Don't forsake the assembly. Be in it. Be faithful. Get involved. Be part of the soul winning. Be part of the events. Why? Because this is God's will for your life. And here's the point and here's all I'm trying to say is you cannot live for God. You cannot live for God and not be involved in the local New Testament church. Because there is no plan. There is no plan outside of the local New Testament church. You say what is the plan of God in this world? It is the local New Testament church. It is the vessel that he uses to reach people with the gospel and it is the vessel that he uses to connect believers together to help them grow, to help them get discipled, to help them get connected that they might continue to reach people with the gospel. It's it. There's no plan. So get involved. Get involved. And here's the thing. I'm not saying it has to be this one, but it needs to be one. You need it. Because Christ came to this earth to establish the local New Testament church. I hope you'll get involved. Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for these great truths. And Lord thank you for giving us a local New Testament church. Many of them. Hundreds of them. All throughout the country and all throughout the world. And Lord we pray and I pray that you would help us to be thankful. Help us to be thankful for the church that you've given us. Not to look at it and despise it. But to realize wow, I've got a great treasure here. Not just great preaching, but great fellowship, great friendship, great opportunities to serve and to grow. Lord I pray that you would help all of us to get involved in your plan for this world, the local New Testament church. And Lord I pray specifically for this church. Shura Foundation Baptist Church in Spokane, Washington. Lord I pray that you would add to this church, that you would build this church, that you would invest into this local community, the believers that they need to do the work that they need to do. Lord I pray for a special blessing upon this place, upon this church, upon this body. I pray a hedge of protection around them. Lord I pray that you would use this local assembly in a great way in this community. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.