["In the Hall of the Mountain King"]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
piano plays softly
Amen. All right. Well, let's take our bulletins this morning. We'll look at some announcements
If you do not have a bulletin just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you
If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we will get one for you
The verse this week, verse 72, 7, where unto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle
I speak the truth in Christ and lie not a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity
And that's a good verse there, of course, it has the name of our church in the verse and of course
we're celebrating 13 years of ministry today. If you open up your bulletin you'll see our service time
Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. We're glad you're with us on Sunday morning, of course, on the Lord's day
for church Sunday evening service tonight at 6 p.m. We want to invite you to be back tonight
We have a special service as well tonight and the evening service is different than the morning service
different songs that are sung different sermon that's preached just one more opportunity to be in God's house with God's people
under the preaching of the word of God and of course we have our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m.
and again this Wednesday will be a special service as well. We'll talk about that here in a minute
If you look at our soul winning times our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. Soul winning is when we
go out in the community, we knock doors, we invite people to church and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested
We have additional soul winning times on Thursdays and Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m. as well
and if you'd like to go soul winning there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that this afternoon at 2 p.m.
and of course today is our family and friend day. We've got a lot of guests with us today and we're happy that you are here
If you're a first time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church or maybe it's your first time in a long time
we want to welcome you and thank you for being with us. We've got a lot of special things going on
for the entire church family today but especially for you if you are a guest we have a special gift bag for you
and if you when you leave here today if you go out our main foyer or if you go out our secondary foyer
you'll see a little table set up and on that table you'll see these little gift bags
I want to ask you to please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning
There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have but the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made
It's called Being Baptist and it's very well made, very interesting. We tell people it's educational, it's entertaining
and we want to give this to you as a gift so please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of these gift bags on your way out
and if you are a guest we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card which is inserted in your bulletin
It looks like this, it says family and friend day on the front of it and we would love to have a record of your attendance
We're not going to do anything odd with your info, we would just like to actually send you a little gift but we need your information to do that
so please take a moment to fill the card out, if you need a pen just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by
a Verity Baptist Church pen and you're welcome to keep the pen from us as a gift from us as well
and when we're done with the announcements we're going to sing a song, when we're done singing we're going to receive the offering
and as the offering plate goes by you can drop this card in the offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service
I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out but we'd love for you to please take a moment to fill out the communication card
You'll notice there if you look at the announcements that we are a family integrated church, what that means is that children and infants are always welcomed in the service
We do not separate children from their parents for any reason, we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience
All of the rooms have comfortable seating, they have monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it
So if you have a child that's being distracted during the service or if you need some privacy we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed
If you're not sure where they're at you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building
It'll show you where the restrooms are, it'll show you where the mother baby rooms are, where the daddy room is
So please make sure to take a look at that and if you notice if you need to be baptized please let us know
We'd love to baptize you, the baptistry has actually filled the waters warm, we've had everything you need to be baptized
And you can go about it a couple of ways, one way is on your communication card if you check off on the back that you'd like information about baptism
We'll follow up with you and talk to you about baptism and help you with that
If you've already spoken to somebody you know you need to be baptized and all you need to do is at the end of the service while we're singing the last song after the preaching
If you step out that door one of our staff guys will meet you there and we can get you situated for baptism for this morning, for this evening, for whenever you would like
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events of course today is family and friend day like we've been announcing it's our church's 13 year anniversary
13 years ago my wife and I started Verity Baptist Church in our living room and over the years the Lord has blessed us and we are glad that you are here to celebrate 13 years of ministry
We've got a lot of special things going on, we've got of course the anniversary mug
Every year we give out these mugs as anniversary gifts and we've got them this morning for every family in attendance
So at the end of the service, after the preaching while we're singing the last song, if you make it all the way to the end of the preaching
While we're singing the last song the staff guys, excuse me not the staff guys, the ushers are going to come through and we've got all the mugs there on the baptistery
They're going to come through and hand these out, we've got one for every family, of course it's got our logo on there, Verity Baptist Church established 2010
September 10, 2023, 13th anniversary Sunday and it's got our website and these are real nice mugs and at our church they've become kind of these collectibles
Where people will brag about how many mugs they have because based on how many years you've been here you've got a certain amount of mugs
And we're going to give these out today as a gift after the service, one for every family and then of course for the children, any children 12 years old and down
12 years old and down after the service we've got these candy suckers that the ushers will pass out as well
So we'll be passing out the mugs after the preaching, during the last song to the families, the candy suckers for the kids
And then of course we've got special music today from our BBC orchestra and choir and we have lunch after the service
We want to invite you to stick around for a free lunch after the service in our fellowship hall
So if you go out the auditorium this way, you'll go past the little foyer, you'll see a big open room with a lot of chairs and things and we'll have lunch
We've got, I don't know, four or five guys in the back grilling, I think as we speak they're already starting to get things going
And so we'll have a nice lunch after the service, want to encourage you to be here for that
If you notice there in the announcements we have our evangelist Matthew Stuckey and his family with us this week from the Philippines
And brother Stuckey used to be on staff here, I mean he's still on staff here but he used to work here in Sacramento with us for many years
And then several years ago we ordained him as an evangelist, as a missionary, he went to the Philippines, he started three successful churches there
And he's with us for this week so I want to encourage you to be back tonight at 6pm because he will be preaching, evangelist Matthew Stuckey will be preaching tonight
You're not going to want to miss it, he's a great preacher, a great man of God obviously, a great friend of ours
And he did our soul winning challenge yesterday morning, he did a great job and tonight he'll be preaching a full length sermon
So make sure you're back tonight at 6pm for that and then he'll also be preaching for us on Wednesday night September 13th at 7pm
I think he's got a special video he'd like to show from the Philippines as well on Wednesday night so make sure you're here for that
And then next week, we just want you to be aware, next week on Sunday September 17th I will be ordaining our evangelist Matthew Stuckey as a pastor
So we'll be ordaining him, he'll no longer be an evangelist, he'll be the pastor of the churches there in the Philippines
We're going to have pastor Aaron Thompson from Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver, Washington
He's going to be with us next week, I'll be preaching the morning service and doing the ordination
He'll be preaching the evening service and we're going to have a potluck after the evening service next week
So just want to be aware, be aware of all those things, we've got a lot of exciting things going on
Homeschool group is starting back up, we've got I don't know somewhere around 90 kids in our homeschool group
And their PE class begins this Thursday September 14th at 10am so make sure you're aware of that
PE begins this week, Thursday September 14th at 10am
Years and years and years ago when we first started the homeschool group, brother Stuckey was the original PE teacher
He was the original PE teacher and since then the quality of our PE teachers has drastically gone down
I'll tell you, it went from brother Stuckey to brother Oliver to brother Shaw
And you know, we had to teach brother Shaw what a ball was, I'm just kidding
But brother Stuckey was our first, the reason I bring this up is not to pick on the staff, although I like picking on the staff
Is to tell you that brother Stuckey was the original PE teacher and he's going to be a special substitute teacher this Thursday
At the PE class, alright kids, you're not going to want to miss it, especially the boys, brother Stuckey's going to be teaching the PE class
So you can be assured of a couple things, you're probably going to play soccer and you'll have someone who knows what they're doing
So that'll be good, homeschool group starts this Thursday
There's other things there for you to look at, we do have a ladies weight loss accountability group
If you'd like to be a part of that, it's for any ladies who'd like to be a part of that
They meet on Wednesdays at 6.15 just before the Wednesday evening Bible study
They meet in the Mother Bay room closest to the foyer
Of course if you're part of the cleaning crew, we'd love for you to check your name there
We appreciate your faithfulness with that
There's other things there, please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service
They're not a distraction to anybody
If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of September
Today is my sister, Miss Michelle Cruz's birthday on September 10th, so happy birthday to her
And then later this week we have Miss Kathy Maple's birthday on September 15th
Miss Patricia Courtney's birthday on September 15th
And my daughter Hannah Jimenez has a birthday on September 16th
Praise report, money matters, all of those things are there for you to look at
And I think that's it for all of the announcements
So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week as we prepare to receive the offering this morning
And we're going to sing Lord I need you as we prepare to receive the offering
This is the kind of song you have to sing on purpose and with passion
And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first
Sometimes my life seems gentle and blessings flood my way
I turn my fears away from you and soon forget to pray
But when the sky grows darker and courage turns to fear
My angels' voices rise up high and work beyond to hear
Lord I need you
When the sea of life is full of what I fear
When the angels' voices are where the trials come or cease
Keep me always on my knees Lord I need you
Lord I need you
Good, check it out on the second
Lord I need you
Remember I'm weak but you are strong
I take my soul apart from you
For, Lord, you are my song
All I know I've found is wonder
And most in all I do
My eyes turn that way
So why do they love you
Lord I need you
When the sea of life is full of what I fear
When the waves are where the trials come or cease
Keep me always on my knees
Lord I need you
Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time.
And after we receive the offering we'll have special music from our choir and orchestra this morning.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord we do love you.
We thank you for allowing us to gather together today.
Lord we pray that you bless the offering, the gift and the giver.
Lord we pray that you bless the music, the preaching, the fellowship.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Thank you.
Amen.
At this time we're going to have our choir sing for us.
Amen.
Many years of toil and strife
Are just about to be over
As he receives the gift of life
Go sound the horn
Strike up the choir
A sinner is safe
Safe from the fire
No more in darkness
He's received my son
All heaven rejoices
That's the value of one
The Holy Spirit
Has been working
To soften up our heart
All he needs is a wealthy servant
To simply do his part
And we'll do it now
As the sinner bows his head to pray
To hear the Father say
Go sound the horn
Strike up the choir
A sinner is safe
Safe from the fire
No more in darkness
He's received my son
All heaven rejoices
That's the value of one
Start construction on his mansion
There on hallelujah street
He doesn't know that what is waiting
And the Savior, he'll be
He'll be
Go sound the horn
Strike up the choir
A sinner is safe
Safe from the fire
No more in darkness
He's received my son
All heaven rejoices
That's the value of one
The value of one
Turn your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 8
1 Kings chapter 8
If you do not have a Bible, just raise your hand and an usher will bring you one
1 Kings chapter 8
This morning we'll read verses 22 through 54
1 Kings chapter 8
Just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a Bible
1 Kings chapter 8 beginning at verse 22
And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel
And spread forth his hands toward heaven
And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee
In heaven above or on earth beneath
Who keep his covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart
Who has kept thy servant David my father that thou promised him
Thou spakest also with thy mouth and has fulfilled it with thine hand
As it is this day
Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promised him
Saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel
So that thy children take heed to their way
That they walk before me as thou hast walked before me
And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified
Which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father
For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee
How much less this house that I have builded
Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication
O Lord my God, to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee today
That thine eyes may be opened toward this house night and day
Even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there
That thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place
And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel
When they shall pray toward this place
And hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place
And when thou hearest, forgive
If any man trespass against his neighbor
And an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear
And the oath come before thine altar in this house
Then hear thou in heaven and do
And judge thy servants, condemning the wicked
To bring his way upon his head
And justifying the righteous to give him according to his righteousness
When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy
Because they have sinned against thee
And shall turn again to thee
And confess thy name and pray
And make supplication unto thee in this house
Then hear thou in heaven and forgive the sin of thy people Israel
And bring them again into the land which thou gavest unto their fathers
When heaven is shut up and there is no rain
Because they have sinned against thee
If they pray toward this place
And confess thy name
And turn from their sin
When thou afflictest them
Then hear thou in heaven and forgive the sin of thy servants
And of thy people Israel
And thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk
And give rain upon thy land
That thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance
If there be in the land famine
If there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locusts
Or if there be caterpillar
If their enemy besieged them in the land of their cities
Whatsoever play, whatsoever sickness there be
What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man
Or by all thy people Israel
Which shall know every man the plague of his own heart
And spread forth his hands toward this house
Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place
And forgive and do
And give to every man according to his ways
Whose heart thou knowest
For thou even thou only
Knowest the hearts of all the children of men
That they may fear thee all the days that they live
In the land which thou gavest unto our fathers
Moreover concerning a stranger
That is not of thy people Israel
But cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake
For they shall hear of thy great name
And of thy strong hand
And of thy stretched out arm
When he shall come and pray toward this house
Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place
And do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for
That all people of the earth may know thy name
To fear thee as do thy people Israel
And that they may know that this house
Which I have builded
Is called by thy name
If thy people go to battle against their enemy
Whither so they shall send them
And shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou has chosen
And toward the house that I have built for thy name
Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication
And maintain their cause
If they sin against thee
For there is no man that sinneth not
And thou be angry with them
And deliver them to the enemy
So that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy
Far or near
Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land
Whither they were carried captives
And repent and make supplication unto thee
In the land of them that carried them captives
Saying we have sinned
And have done perversely
We have committed wickedness
If they sin to thee with all their heart
And with all their soul
In the land of their enemies
Which led them away captive
And pray unto thee toward their land
Which thou gave us unto their fathers
The city which thou has chosen
And the house which I have built for thy name
Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication
In heaven thy dwelling place
And maintain their cause
And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee
And all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee
And give them compassion before them
That they may have compassion on them
For they be thy people
And thine inheritance
Which thou brought us forth out of Egypt
From the midst of the furnace of iron
That thine eyes may be opened unto the supplication of thy servant
And unto the supplication of thy people Israel
To hearken unto them
And all that they call unto thee
For thou didst separate them
From among all the people of the earth
To be thine inheritance
As thou spakest by the hand of Moses
Thy servant
Let us bless our fathers out of Egypt
O Lord God
And it was so
That when Solomon had made an end of praying
All this prayer and supplication unto the Lord
He arose from before the altar of the Lord
From kneeling on his hands
With his hands spread up to heaven
Let's pray
Lord God Almighty
Thank you for this day
Thank you for this opportunity to come together
Please bless pastor and the message
Let it bring glory and honor to you
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray
Amen
Amen. Before we get into the sermon this morning
Let me just begin by saying thank you
To all of you who have helped make this day possible
We've got volunteers everywhere
Grilling and Usher, safety team
And folding bulletins
I can't even name all the volunteers
But we appreciate all of you
The music, the orchestra, the choir
They did a wonderful job
And that operatorial, thank you
Thank you guys
They did, my favorite song is
It is worth my soul to do that as an offering
I don't know if they did that for me
But they did a beautiful job with it
And I appreciate them
Of course today is our family and friend day
And our church is celebrating 13 years of ministry
It's our 13 year anniversary
And in this passage that we are in
1 Kings chapter number 8
We find Solomon
Who is dedicating the temple
The great temple that he has built of course
Unto the Lord
Building the temple began as a plan
From his father David
David began to acquire the materials needed
But of course it wasn't until Solomon became king
That they began to build it
In verse number 54 I'd like you to notice
The Bible says this
And it was so that when Solomon had made an end
Of praying all this prayer
So of course this is a very long chapter
But from verses 1
Pretty much to verse 54
We have this great prayer from Solomon
This prayer of dedication
And the Bible tells us that
When Solomon had made an end of praying
All this prayer
And supplication unto the Lord
He arose from before the altar of the Lord
From kneeling on his knees
And his hands spread up to heaven
And I'm not necessarily preaching on that
That picture of Solomon
On the porch of the great temple there in Jerusalem
With the entire nation of Israel
The congregation before him
Praying this dedicatory prayer
With his knees kneeling as a king
This would be something that would be very odd
But the king of Israel kneeling before
The temple of the Lord
With his hands spread up to heaven
Showing his humility before the Lord
The Bible says in verse 55
And he stood and blessed the congregation of Israel
With a loud voice saying
So now he finishes his prayer
Now he turns his direction to the children of Israel
The Bible says in verse 55
That he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel
With a loud voice saying
Blessed be the Lord
That had given rest unto his people Israel
According to all that he promised
And again I'm not preaching on this
But I want you to notice this chapter is just filled with these beautiful phrases
He says
There had not failed one word
Of all his good promise
And Solomon could say that in his day
And we could say that as well today
Praise the Lord for the King James Bible
There has not failed one word of all his good promise
Which he promised by the hand of Moses
His servant
I'd like to skip down to verse 59
Notice what he says
And let these my words wherewith I have made supplication
Before the Lord
Be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night
That he maintain the cause of his servants
And the cause of his people Israel
At all times
As the matter shall require
And in verse 60 is really the verse that I want to point you to
And I want to focus on this morning
In verse 60 we find this little statement
It says
That all the people of the earth may know
That the Lord is God
And that there is none else
And what Solomon is saying here
In this chapter is that the
Reason why he built the temple
The reason why the children of Israel
Put in the work and the energy and the effort
And began to endeavor to build this temple
He said the reason that they built the temple
Was that all the people of the earth may know
They wanted the temple to be a testimony
That would be a witness
To all
Not just the nation of Israel
But to all nations
That all the people of the earth may know
That the Lord is God
And that there is none else
Years ago
We have this little phrase that all the earth may know
As a sort of a theme
Here for our church
It's written actually in our backdrop
If you notice the backdrop behind me
Got a picture of the globe
And it says that all the earth may know
We have this here to remind us
That this is a goal of ours
This is a theme of ours
And like Solomon
We could say that we began
This church and we began
Alongside co-laboring with God
To build this church
And one of our goals was
That all the earth may know
And what's interesting is that this phrase
Is highlighted throughout the Bible
In fact even in this same passage
If you look at verse 43
You find a different version of the same statement stated
Notice it in verse 43
1 Kings 8 43
The Bible says, hear thou in heaven
Thy dwelling place and do according to all
That the stranger calleth to thee for
Notice what he says there in verse 43
That all the people of the earth may know thy name
To fear thee as do thy
People Israel, and that they may
Know that this house which I have builded
Is called by my
Name. I want you to notice that in verse 60
He says that all the people of the earth may know
In verse 43 he said
That all the people of the earth may know thy name
To fear thee
As do thy people Israel
That they may know that this house which I have builded
Is called by thy
Name
replaced there in 1 Kings chapter number 8.
That is our text for this morning.
But I'd like you to go, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter 18.
You're there in 1 Kings chapter 8.
Flip over a few chapters over to chapter 18.
And like I said, Solomon is stating
that the reason that they took, the reason that they put
the energy, the effort to build this temple,
is that all the earth may know.
And the reason that we have taken that as a theme
for our church, I would say that it is the same reason why
we started this church, why we are building this church.
Of course, Solomon was building the temple,
which in the Old Testament was the house of God.
In the New Testament, we know the Bible says,
you go to 1 Kings 18.
But 1 Timothy 3.15 says that the house of God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar
and ground of the truth.
Today, in the New Testament, the church is the house of God.
And for the same reason that Solomon
would say they built that house that all the earth may know,
we would say that we have attempted.
And endeavored to build this house, not this building,
but this house of believers that all the earth may know.
And again, this is reiterated.
This statement in one form or another, not word for word,
but in one shape or another, is found throughout the Bible.
I'd like to just by way of introduction
give you a few of those highlights.
And we saw it in 1 Kings chapter number 8.
But I'd like you to notice in 1 Kings chapter number 18.
Now in 1 Kings 18, if you're familiar with the book
of 1 Kings, you know that this is another famous passage.
And of course, in 1 Kings 18, we find the great prophet
Elijah, who is now on Mount Carmel.
And he's having the great showdown
with the prophets of Baal.
And they're trying to call upon their perspective gods.
Of course, he's calling upon the God of the Bible
to rain fire down from heaven.
And in 1 Kings 18 and verse 36, the Bible says,
and it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening
sacrifice.
And I want you to remember that we're jumping into the story.
And if you're not familiar with it,
Elijah challenges the 400 prophets of Baal
and 450 other prophets and things to this showdown.
And they say, we're going to see who is the true God.
You pray to your God.
I'll pray to God of the Bible.
We're going to make these altars.
And the God that answers by fire,
then we'll know that he is the God.
And if you know the story, you know
that the prophets of Baal, up to this point in verse 36,
they've been having this worship service.
They've been cutting themselves and singing
and dancing and chanting.
They've been doing all these things, and fire has not fell.
And Elijah is even mocking them at this point and saying,
maybe your God's asleep.
Maybe your God is busy.
Maybe he can't hear you.
Maybe he's away on a trip.
And now it's Elijah's turn.
And you know the story that Elijah
is going to pray this prayer, and then fire
will come down from heaven.
God will answer the prayer of Elijah
and show himself to be God to the children of Israel.
And of course, you know that Elijah will then kill
the false prophets of Baal.
In 1 Kings 18, in verse 36, the Bible says this,
and it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening
sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said.
He's already set up the altar.
If you know the story, he's drenched it with water.
He's done all sorts.
He rebuilt the altar, drenched it with water.
He's done all these things.
And now he's going to have a simple prayer.
He's going to say a very short prayer in which God will call
down or bring fire from heaven.
But I want you to notice the prayer that Elijah says.
The Bible says there in verse 36,
and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,
let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel,
and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all
these things at thy word.
Look at verse 37.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me that this people may
know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou
has turned their heart back again.
I want you to notice that Elijah prays this prayer.
And like Solomon, who prayed that all the people
of the earth may know, Elijah's praying this prayer
and asking God that he would answer that this people
may know that thou art the Lord God.
Keep your place there in 1 Kings, if you would.
Go to the book of Exodus towards the beginning
of the Old Testament.
You've got the book of Genesis, the first book,
and then you've got the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 10.
Keep your place in 1 Kings.
We're going to come back there.
Exodus chapter 10, if you would.
I just want to show you that this phrase,
that all the people of the earth may know,
that all the earth may know, it's found, reiterated,
changed a little bit in different places,
but the same idea, the same concept.
We see that Elijah said it when he faced off
with the prophets of Baal, that this people may know
that thou art the Lord God.
We saw that Solomon said it at the dedication
of the temple, that the people of the earth may know
that you are the Lord.
Notice in Exodus chapter 10, Exodus chapter 10,
we again have a very famous portion of scripture
where Moses is going to lead
or has led the children of Israel through the Red Sea.
Notice Exodus 10 in verse one.
And the Lord said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh,
for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants
that I might show these my signs before him
and that thou mayest tell it in the ears of thy sons
and of thy sons' sons what things I have wrought in Egypt
and my signs which I have done among them.
Notice what God says to Moses.
He says, I want you to do these things.
I want you to perform these signs.
You know the story of Moses where he goes down
and you've got the 10 plagues and you've got all those things
and notice the last part of verse two,
that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
He said, the reason that I'm gonna do these things,
the reason I'm gonna deliver you from the nation of Israel
is that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
Go to Joshua chapter four, if you would.
Joshua four, you're there in Exodus,
you go past Leviticus, past Numbers, past Deuteronomy,
into the book of Joshua.
Joshua chapter four, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Joshua chapter four.
Look at verse 23, Joshua four, 23,
and here's the passage where they're crossing
the Jordan River.
Joshua four, 23, notice what the Bible says,
for the Lord your God, this is Joshua speaking,
dried up the waters of Jordan from before you
until ye were passed over as the Lord your God did
to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us
until we were gone over.
Notice what Joshua says to the children of Israel,
verse 24, that all the people of the earth might know
the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty
that ye might fear the Lord your God forever and ever.
And I'm just highlighting for you this morning
that this is a phrase, this is a thought
that is reiterated throughout the Bible,
this idea that God desires that all the nations
of the earth would know, that God desires
that all the people of the earth would know.
Do me a favor, keep your place right there in Joshua,
just put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there.
Go back to 1 Kings, if you would, keep your place
in Joshua, go back to 1 Kings chapter number eight.
I'd like to, as quickly as I can this morning,
just give you a couple of thoughts regarding this idea
that all the earth may know, and this concept
that all the earth may know, 1 Kings chapter eight.
And the first thing I'd like to say is this,
and if you're taking notes, and I encourage you
to take notes on the back of your course of the week,
there's a place for you to write down some things.
If you'd like to write things down, you can write this down.
Here's a first thought.
Like Solomon with the temple, we build today
that all the earth may know.
We have built this church, we've built,
and of course we know that Jesus builds the church.
Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.
The book of Acts tells us that the Lord added
to the church daily such as should be saved.
But Paul also say that he saves some,
and Paul said that we co-labor with the Lord,
and we're laboring together with God.
And the reason that we decided 13 years ago
to plant this church, to start this church,
to build this church, and again,
we started in a living room with a handful of people.
And I would say, and I'm not comparing our church
to the temple of the Old Testament
in any way, shape, or form, but I would say this,
that in the same way that Solomon built his house
for the Lord in the Old Testament
that all the earth may know,
it's the same reason why we build this house of the Lord
today in the New Testament that all the earth may know.
And I want to highlight for you
that we have built a church here,
we have built a church that can be a place
that will help you witness for God.
One of the emphasis, you say,
why would you take the theme that all the earth may know?
One of the emphasis of our church
is the fulfilling of the Great Commission.
It's soul winning, the idea that we would go out
and that we would preach the word
and that we would preach the Bible,
the reason that we sent an evangelist out to the Philippines
to start three churches,
and he's got more plans for more churches to come.
The reason we would do these things, why?
Is because we have a goal that all the earth may know.
We build a church here
that it might be a witness for others.
Are you there in 1 Kings 8?
Notice what Solomon said about the temple.
We already saw that he said that they built
that all the people of the earth may know.
In verse 41, the Bible says this, this is what Solomon said.
He said, moreover, concerning a stranger
that is not of thy people Israel,
as he's been talking about the children of Israel,
they built this temple for the children of Israel,
but now he says, what about the people
that aren't part of the nation of Israel?
He says, moreover, concerning a stranger
that is not of thy people Israel,
but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake,
for they shall hear of thy great name
and of thy strong hand and of thy stretched out arm,
when he shall come and pray toward this house,
hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place,
and do according to all that the stranger
calleth to thee for, that all the people of the earth
may know thy name to fear thee, as do thy people Israel,
and that they may know that this house
which I've built it is called by thy name.
I don't want you to miss the fact that Solomon said,
look, he says in verse 43, that when the stranger
calleth to thee, when the stranger calls upon thee,
we want you to hear that prayer, why?
That all the people of the earth may know.
What is it that we do when we go out soul-winding,
when we knock doors, when we preach the gospel?
We're teaching people to call upon the name of the Lord.
We're teaching them to call upon the Lord in faith,
believing and putting their trust for salvation.
You say, why would we do that?
That all the people of the earth may know.
See, one of our goals here is that
we would fulfill the great commission.
Mark 16, 15 says, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature.
We've built a church here to be a witness.
We've built a church here to train witnesses,
to train soul-winners.
One of our goals and one of our themes
is that all the earth may know.
And if I may, I'd just like to take today
maybe a little different of a sermon.
Usually here we go verse by verse, chapter by chapter,
through books of the Bible or sermon series
and things like that.
Maybe just because it's our anniversary,
if I may give a little bit of a testimony
to the outreach of this church.
And first locally, you know, this week,
I could tell you story after story
and I'm not going to and I could tell you
lots of old stories and great stories.
I'm not gonna do that, but just this week,
just this week, this week leading up
to family and friend day, we had a soul-winning push
and we had soul-winning on Thursday night
and we had 71 soul-winners come out.
And again, soul-winning is when we go out in the community,
we knock doors, we invite people to church,
we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested.
We had 71 soul-winners out on Thursday
and 78 soul-winners I think on Friday.
We had 121 or something on Saturday morning
and just this week, I'm not telling you
three months ago or six months ago or anything like that,
just this week, my wife, she was out soul-winning,
I think she was out with Miss Ajana
and they met a guy in his early 20s
and they asked him the questions,
you know for sure if you died today,
if you're on your way to heaven,
he said yes, they asked him how do you know that,
what gives you that confidence
and he gave him very clear testimony of salvation.
I mean very clear, he said, you know,
it's by faith, it's not out of works,
I called upon Jesus to save me and asked him,
do you believe there's anything you can do
that would cause you to lose yourself?
He says absolutely not, I believe in eternal security.
Once you're saved, you're always saved.
They're like oh, this is really interesting
and then he says, you know, I used to come to your church
and he's this 20-year-old kid and he's like,
yeah, my mom used to, maybe like six or seven years ago,
we used to, we went to your church
and I was just a little kid but I got saved there
and he's reiterating this and then the next day,
my wife was out, or maybe the day before that,
my wife was out with Ms. Tan and they knocked on the door
and this older lady comes out and she was moving
but again, she gave a clear testimony of salvation,
clear testimony of salvation and they're saying,
yeah, well, you know, we realize you're moving
and she told them I'm moving to Michigan
and they said, we realize you're moving,
we'd love for you to come and visit while you're here
but maybe when you leave, you know,
you can still maybe watch online and things
and she said, no, I don't go to church
but I do watch online and they're like,
oh, okay, you watch sermons online?
They're like, no, no, I watch this church online.
Or you watch our church, yeah, Verity Baptist Church,
I watch this pastor online and again, I would just testify,
Brother Serge and I were out so many,
again, this is just this week, we knocked on the door,
lady opens the door, I said,
I work for Verity Baptist Church,
she said, oh, you talked to my husband two years ago.
You, I met him somewhere and you talked to him
and she calls her husband and he comes out
and he's like, oh, hey, how you doing?
You know, we kind of reconnect and say,
well, we'd love to see you again.
Just yesterday, my dad and I were out knocking doors,
salt-winning, knocked on the door,
Filipino man opened the door,
started inviting him to church,
something about family and friend day
and he said, yeah, I was there for Easter.
I'm just telling you that we decided 13 years ago
to start a church that all the earth may know
and that would include locally, not just globally,
that would include our Jerusalem,
not just Judea and Samaria
and the other most parts of the earth
but I want to testify to you today
that there are people all over the city
who are saved because of the fact
that a little church decided
that they wanted all the earth to know.
They began with their community,
knocking doors and preaching the gospel
but I want you to know that it's not just locally,
it's globally, all over, I mean, every week,
we get emails here from all over the world,
people telling us they're watching the sermons
and they got saved and they're learning,
they're growing, my wife and I just,
I don't know, five, just a week ago or 10 days ago,
we just got back from the UK, spent 11 days in the UK
doing an ordination and soul-winning marathon
and things of that nature and while we were there,
while I was preaching in the UK,
I mean, we had people from all over England
but we had people from Budapest and from Romania,
from Hungary and from Switzerland,
from Scotland, from Ireland, there's a guy there
from Ireland in the United Kingdom, he's from Ireland
but he was in England and he said,
yeah, I'm actually just working here
but I saw that you were preaching
so I drove all the way out on a Sunday night
or I think it was a Wednesday night for the sermon
and I'm just telling you that this church
has made an impact throughout the earth
and I praise God for that, I think it's amazing.
I remember one time I was out soul-winning.
There's, you know, these things,
you can make this stuff up, I think it's amazing.
I was out knocking doors and I knock on the door,
nobody answers and I start to leave
and as I'm walking out the door, the car pulls up
and you soul-winners, you know how awkward that is.
You're walking out the door and the car pulls up
so I'm kind of just waiting there
and the guy pulls up in his truck
and I kind of pull out the invitation,
I'm like, hi, we're coming very retro
and the guy, when he was pulling up,
he was holding his phone, he was listening to something
or watching something as he's driving
and he's pulling up and I can tell that he stops
and he's looking at his phone and he's looking at me
and I'm like, Verity Baptist Church, you know?
He rolls down his window, I'm like, hi,
we're coming from Verity Baptist Church.
He's like, I know who you are.
I said, really?
He's like, yeah, I'm watching you.
And he shoots, he puts his phone, and I'm on his phone.
He's like, somebody sent me this link,
they told me to watch this video
and I'm like, this is a sign.
By the way, he got saved and I'm just telling you
that one of the goals of this church
has been and always will be,
that all the earth may know, locally, globally.
The last 13 years, of course,
my wife and I started this church.
This is a church plant that we began
but here in the United States,
we started a church in Vancouver, Washington
that right now is averaging, I don't know,
80, 90, 100 in attendance.
The church in Vancouver itself has started
multiple churches, started a church in Boise, Idaho,
started a church in Fresno, California.
We sent out Brother Stuckey to the Philippines
and it's just taken over, you know,
that part of the world has started a church in Manila,
in Pampanga, in Bicol.
There's plans for a church in Poland
and in other places of the world
and I'm just telling you, and we're not done,
we're just getting started.
We have not yet begun to fight.
But I would say to you this morning
that like Solomon, we have chosen to build this place,
to build this temple that all the earth may know,
locally, globally, through church plants.
Many of you know and if you're a guest,
if you're a guest here this morning,
you may not know this but we want you to know this,
that in about four weeks, we will be getting the keys
to our new location.
We just purchased a four acre property
with a 400 seat auditorium.
Literally just down the street, if you go past the freeway,
if you know where the Starbucks is,
right across the street from Starbucks,
there's a beautiful church building
which will be the new home of Verity Baptist Church soon.
And I'm thankful for that.
You know, if you would have told me
that we own four acres of property
and a 400 seat auditorium and we started 13 years ago
in our living room with a handful of people,
I would have told you you're crazy.
And you say, what do you plan to do with 400 seats?
I plan to fill them.
We plan to reach people.
We plan to get people saved.
But please understand, you say,
why do you wanna fill an auditorium?
Well, we'll get to that here in a minute
but not just to have bodies and seats
but it's about life transformation.
But let me just say this, that one of the reasons
we want to reach more people
is so that we can train more people to reach more people.
So that we can train more men to go out into the ministry,
to go out into the mission field.
Because our goal is that all the earth may know.
And though I'm excited for the fact
that we're going to have maybe a 400 seat auditorium
that will allow us to sit more
than we have here this morning, I would say this.
Let's never forget that the greatness of our church
will not be measured by our seating capacity
but by our sending capacity.
By the capacity that we have to train people
and to send them out, whether it's locally in the community
or globally that all the earth may know.
It was the goal of this church.
I will say to you this morning that like Solomon,
we build that all the earth may know.
We built this church as a witness
and as a place that would bring witnessing
to this community and to Jerusalem,
not just Jerusalem but Judea and Samaria
and into the uttermost parts of the earth.
But I will also say this, we've not only built this church
that it might be a witness but we have built this church
to help your walk with God.
Why don't you notice what Solomon says there in verse 57,
1 Kings 8, 57.
He said, the Lord our God be with us.
That's just a beautiful statement right there.
As he was with our fathers,
let him not leave us nor forsake us
that he may incline our hearts unto him.
I just love all these statements.
That he may incline our hearts unto him.
You say, why would you build a church?
Why would you train a hundred soul winners
to go out every week in the community?
Why would you have a big day like this
and send mailers out and do these things
and try to get people here
and give them gifts and mugs and food afterwards?
All of that is partly because we want to see God
do a work in you that he might incline our hearts unto him.
To walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments
and his statutes and his judgments.
Which he commanded our fathers and let these my words
wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord
be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night
that he maintain the cause of thy servant
and the cause of thy people Israel
at all times as the matter shall require.
Verse 60, that all the people of the earth may know
that the Lord is God and that there is none else.
If you kept your place in Joshua,
keep your place there in 1 Kings,
but if you kept your place in Joshua, go back to Joshua.
Right before Joshua, you have the book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy chapter four.
And if you are a guest here this morning,
let me just say this to you.
Our church doesn't put on much of a show
as far as lasers and smoke machines and rock concerts.
You can find that, you just won't find that here.
But if you're looking for a church
that'll teach you the word of God,
you're looking for a church that'll teach you
line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little, there a little.
See, we have this belief that the word of God
can transform your life.
That when you understand the Bible
and you understand what the Bible says
and you understand what God expects of you
and when you begin to apply that to your life,
it'll have a transformation on your marriage.
It'll have a transformation with your child rearing.
It'll transform every aspect of your life.
We have built this place to be a place
where lives can be transformed.
And I wish I could take the time, and I won't,
because I don't want to take the time
and I don't want to give out people's personal details.
But I wish I could take the time to tell you the stories
of the transformed lives of this church,
the people that showed up here.
Not saved, but not saved was only one of their problems.
The people that have overcome addictions,
the marriages that have been restored,
the people whose lives literally have been transformed.
Not because we're special,
but because the word of God is special.
In Deuteronomy chapter four and verse five,
won't you notice what Deuteronomy says?
Deuteronomy chapter four and verse five,
Moses said, behold, I have taught you
statutes and judgments.
Moses, the leader of the children of Israel,
the book of Acts calls them the congregation
in the wilderness, the church in the wilderness.
And he's kind of speaking to them as a pastor.
He says, behold, I've taught you statutes and judgments.
Even as the Lord my God commanded me
that you should do so in the land
wherein you go to possess it, keep therefore and do them.
He's saying, look, it's not just enough to have the Bible.
You need to keep it, you need to do it,
you need to apply it, keep therefore and do them,
for this is your wisdom and your understanding
in the sight of the nations, which shall hear
all these statutes and say, surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people.
Notice verse seven, this is what Moses is saying.
Moses is saying that the other people, the other nations
should look at the nation of Israel
and the impact that the word of God
has on their lives and they should say,
for what nation is there so great
who hath God shown I unto them?
As the Lord our God is in all things
that we shall call upon him.
And what nation is there so great
that hath statutes and judgments so righteous
as all this law which I set before you this day?
This would be my prayer for Rarity Baptist Church
that people would say, who are these people?
And look, your coworkers, they may not agree with you.
And they might think you're a little odd.
And they might call you a Bible thumper.
But the goal is that there would be
such a transformation in your life
that they would say, though I don't wanna go to church,
like he goes to church and I don't wanna be as radical
as he's radical, if my marriage could be like his marriage,
if my children could be like their children,
man, your neighbors and your friends
and your coworkers and your family,
they should be able to watch you
through the trials of life, through the heartaches of life,
through the storms of life and say, they've got something.
That I don't have.
We have built this church to be a place
where lives can be transformed,
where you can be taught how to walk with God,
that all the earth may know.
That all the earth may know.
So I would say to you this morning
that like Solomon, we have built this house
that all the earth may know.
But that's not the only application
I'd like to make this morning if you'd allow me to.
I'd like you to go to 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel 17.
If you kept your place in 1 Kings, if you go backwards,
you go past the book of 2 Samuel
into the book of 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel 17.
And in 1 Samuel 17, you again find
probably one of the most famous passages of scripture.
It's the story of David and Goliath.
And David, of course, is the father of Solomon
years and years before Solomon was ever even thought of.
Now I want you to notice that in this famous story
of David and Goliath, we have this young man,
and you know the story, Goliath is a seasoned warrior,
he's a giant, he's challenging the children of Israel
to a battle and no one will do battle with him.
And here comes this lad, David.
And he says, I'll fight you.
And you know the story, Saul tries to give him his armor,
he says, I can't fight with this armor,
I've not tried this armor.
I want you to notice in 1 Samuel 17, verse 45,
the Bible says, then said David to the Philistine.
Again, we're kind of jumping in the middle of the story,
but the Philistine has been mocking David,
and he said, am I a dog?
Why are you sending this child to fight with me?
Then said David to the Philistine,
thou comest to me with a sword,
and with a spear, and with a shield.
And the idea that David is saying is this,
if it was all about swords and spears and shields,
if it was all about strength and physical ability,
then I would understand why it is
that you are mocking the fact that I'm coming to you.
But he said, what you don't understand, Goliath,
is that thou comest to me with a sword
and with a spear and with a shield,
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel,
whom thou has defiled.
This day, David says, this day,
this young lad says to this giant,
this day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hands,
and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee,
and I will give the carcasses of the hosts
of the Philistines this day,
and to the fowls of the air,
and to the wild beasts of the earth,
that they might say that David is a great warrior.
Is that what he said?
That they might say that David is an amazing skilled fighter.
Is that what he said?
No, he said that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel.
I wonder if Solomon was so impressed with this statement
to bring it up over and over in 1 Kings 8
because he heard the stories of his father
phasing off Goliath, saying that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel.
And I would say to you this morning
that we build like Solomon, that all the earth may know.
But I would also say this, that we battle.
We battle like David with Goliath,
that all the earth may know.
And when we battle, of course,
we're talking about spiritual warfare.
You don't have to turn here, but in Ephesians 6, 12,
the Bible says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
We're not talking about physical fighting,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
When we're talking about battling
in a Christian aspect,
we're talking about spiritual warfare.
And let me tell you something,
there is a thing as spiritual warfare.
There is a devil and there are demons that fight us.
And I want you to understand that we build
that all the earth may know, like Solomon,
but we battle that all the earth may know, like David.
And like David, I want to say that we fight
for the glory of God.
He said, I'm gonna fight you, Goliath.
I'm going to take off your head.
The Lord will deliver the end to mine hand.
He says that all the earth may know
there is a God in Israel.
And you know, we've had some fights.
We've had some battles.
When you preach the whole counsel of God,
you can't but help it.
Because the world hates the Bible.
Back in 2016, I was thinking about this
as a brother Stuckey being here,
brought back PTSD from those days.
He was on staff.
Back in 2016, I preached against the LGBT
and that sermon went viral.
And let me tell you something, all the earth knew.
And I mean, that sermon went mega viral.
And I remember my wife's brother,
my brother-in-law was working for the Navy back then.
And he was working in the Bahamas.
He was living in the Bahamas,
working in the Bahamas for the Navy.
And he called my wife and said,
I just saw your husband on the news.
And her sister, my wife's sister,
who lived in Tennessee at the time,
she went into work and a coworker said,
have you seen this preacher on TV?
And she didn't know it was me.
And they told her what I'd said.
And she didn't know it was me,
but she told her coworkers that I agree with that preacher.
He's right.
And she didn't know.
And later she found out it was me.
It was her brother-in-law.
And I remember Pastor Thompson,
this was before he was a pastor.
He called me and I don't know if,
I don't remember if he worked in Portland
or Vancouver up there, but he called me and said,
I just walked into the break room and I saw you on TV.
And look, we've had the LA Times here
and we've had all sorts of publicity,
if you want to call it that.
Of course they lie and they take things out of context
and all of that, but let me tell you something.
I stand with the word of God even out of context.
And I believe everything the Bible says.
And I'm not ashamed of it and I'm not embarrassed about it.
And don't let the beautiful orchestra
and the beautiful choir and the chandeliers or whatever,
don't let this fool you.
We're ghetto around here.
When it comes to the Bible,
we'll take our gloves off and we'll fight.
I'm not talking about physically,
although we got a safety team with guns too,
so don't try that either.
I'm saying spiritually, you say, why do you fight?
We fight for the glory of God.
Yes, we've built a church here that all the earth may know.
We are building to witness
and we're willing to transform lives.
And yes, it is true that 13 years ago,
a 24-year-old or 25-year-old, I don't remember how old I was.
My wife and I were 24 or 25 years old.
She would remember.
And 13 years ago, we, these 25-year-olds
started a church in their living room
and honestly, probably, I probably shouldn't have.
We didn't know what we were doing,
but we just started knocking doors.
We just started preaching the gospel to people.
We just started asking people,
do you know for sure if you died today
if you're on your way to heaven?
Can we show you how you can know for sure?
And some of those people got saved
and some of those people came to church
and some of those people got baptized
and some of those people, we began to teach them
and to disciple them and to help them grow.
Some of those people began to grow
and that's how this thing started.
We did this that all the church may go,
that all the earth may know,
but we also did it to preach the whole counsel of God.
That there would be a church somewhere in this world
that would preach the Bible unashamedly
and without compromise.
Amen.
Because let's be honest,
the average church today gives you an hour and 15 minutes
of a rock concert with the laser beams
and the smoke machines.
You get a 15-minute sermon with one verse if you're lucky.
And look, I'm just telling you, we have built a place here.
I understand that very baptism is just not for everybody.
You need to be committed to be part of this thing.
This is a big boy church.
You want a play center, we can find you a play center
where they play games.
We have built that all the earth may know
and we have battled that all the earth may know.
Let me tell you something.
The battles will continue to come
and we will continue to battle.
We will fight for the glory of God.
Let me say this as well if you don't mind.
Go to Isaiah 37 if you would.
From the center of the Bible, we're almost done.
From the center of the Bible, you have the book of Psalms.
Right after Psalms, you have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Song of Solomon, then you have Isaiah.
Isaiah's the big book towards the end of the Old Testament,
the first of the big major prophets, Isaiah 37.
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah.
We fight for the glory of God.
Let me say this, we also fight relying on God.
I want you to notice the story here.
First Samuel 37, we have King Hezekiah.
Who's in the midst of a fight.
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria,
has came against the children of Israel
and things look dire.
We have this beautiful prayer,
and again, the passage is just this beautiful prayer
where Hezekiah takes this letter from Sennacherib
and he lays it before the Lord
and he begins to pray unto God.
In Isaiah 37, 17, he says this to the Lord.
He says, incline thine ear, O Lord,
and hear, open thine eyes, O Lord,
and see and hear all the words of Sennacherib.
Which hath sent to reproach the living God.
Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria
have laid waste all the nations in all their countries.
Because Sennacherib sends Hezekiah this letter
and he says, don't try to fight us,
we've won every battle, we've beat everybody else.
You're not gonna be any different.
And here he says, of a truth, verse 18,
Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste
all the nations of the country
and have cast their gods into the fire.
For they were no gods but the work of men's hand,
wood and stone, therefore they have destroyed them.
And I want you to notice verse 20,
he says, now therefore, O Lord, our God,
save us from His hand.
Notice what he says, you say, why should He save you?
He says, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that thou art the Lord, even thou only.
And I'll tell you that in the last 13 years,
there have been times
there have been times when my wife and I,
we thought, okay, it's over now.
I mean, there have been times when we thought, we're through.
There are times, I mean, there are times
when I sat in that chair right there
and I thought to myself, this thing is just falling apart.
There's no way we're gonna survive this.
There's no way that God is gonna see us through,
but let me tell you something,
God has seen us through every time.
And it's funny, because we knock doors,
as we knock doors, people, you know, with the notoriety,
I don't consider myself famous,
but I am infamous in some ways.
And sometimes people, you know,
they'll stop me at the store and say, hey, I support you.
And sometimes people don't.
Usually they don't say that to me,
but the second I was just talking about that soul-winning,
our soul-winners will be the ones that people are like,
your pastor, I don't agree with your pastor.
You know, they've never said it to me, I don't know why.
I guess they think, you know, I'm crazy or something.
But God has seen us through.
God has seen us through every time.
And there have been times when we have said,
save us, save us, that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that thou art the Lord.
And sometimes people, you know, people say,
they'll see us out in the community and they're like,
you guys are still around.
And I'm like, yeah, we're still around, we're growing.
You know, one of the reasons I'm really looking forward
to moving into this new building,
because all these people, you know,
your church is not gonna survive,
your church is gonna shut down, your church,
hey, God has seen us through.
Not for our glory, not for my glory, not for your glory,
but that all the earth may know.
So like Solomon, we build that all the earth may know.
Like David, we fight, we battle that all the earth may know.
Like you to take your Bibles
and go to the book of Romans, if you would.
Romans chapter number one, we're almost done.
In the New Testament, you've got the book of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans.
Romans chapter number one.
And the point that I'm making is a simple point, it's this.
That we have built, we've built a house
where people are trained and sent out locally
as soul winners, globally as preachers.
We've done that that all the earth may know.
We have built a church where you come
and get fed the word of God, get taught the word of God,
and you may not like what I have to say,
but you won't leave here scratching your head
wondering what I was trying to say.
We teach the word of God without apology.
We teach the word of God without watering it down.
And if you apply it, it will transform your life.
We built a church that can help you walk with God.
You say, why?
That all the earth may know.
And we have battled for the glory of God
and relying on God that all the earth may know.
And because of the building of this church
and because of the battling of this church here
for the last 13 years,
I can truly say of Verity Baptist Church
what Paul said of the church at Rome
in Romans chapter one and verse eight.
I'd like you to notice it.
Romans 1.8 he says,
first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all.
And then he says this,
that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
And I believe that this can be applied
to Verity Baptist Church.
After 13 years of ministry,
I can say to Verity Baptist Church,
your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world
because we have built and we have battled
that all the earth may know.
I've asked brother Andrew to come to the piano
I've asked brother Andrew to come to the piano.
There's a chorus we sing around here, you know it.
It's called that all the earth may know.
And I know you don't have it in front of you.
We sang it last week,
but I'd like for us to sing it.
I thought it'd be a good way
to kind of end the sermon this morning.
It's a short chorus.
And like I said,
I know you don't have the words in front of you.
I think most of you know it.
So why don't we sing it?
And if you know it, sing it out, help me.
If you don't know it, let's learn it together.
It's a short one that all the earth may know.
Let's sing it out together.
That all the earth may know
With the gospel of Christ we must go
That all the earth may know
My prayer for this church has been
and will continue to be
that we would continue to build
and we would continue to battle
that all the earth may know.
I hope you'll have the same prayer as well.
Let's sing it again one more time.
Mind, let's just slow it down.
Let's slow it down just a tad bit.
I want you to sing it.
Sing it like a great army.
That all the earth may know good
That all the earth may know
With the gospel of Christ we must go
That all the earth may know good
Let's pray together, may we?
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you.
Lord, I thank you for this church.
Thank you for the blessing it's been to me,
to my family, and to this community.
And Father, I pray that you would help us
to continue to build.
Lord, I pray that you would help us to continue to battle
that all the earth may know.
Lord, I thank you for 13 years of ministry.
I pray you to give us many more.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.
We're gonna have Brother Matt come up
and lead us in a final song.
Just wanna remind you of a couple of things.
First of all, I want to invite all of you
to stick around for lunch after the service
in our fellowship hall.
We're gonna sing a song.
When we're done singing, we'll be dismissed.
I'll ask Brother Matt to pray a blessing on the meal,
and then you can head into the fellowship hall
and we have lunch provided for everybody today.
And we're gonna sing one more song.
While we're singing the last song,
the ushers are gonna come
and they're going to give out the gifts for this morning.
And again, we've got an anniversary mug
for all of the families in attendance today.
If you are 12 years old and under,
we've got a sucker for you for all the kids.
So make sure kids, you raise your hand
when the ushers come by, make sure they see you
so you get that.
If you're a first-time guest,
please don't forget that we have a special gift for you.
You can grab it on your way out of the building today,
and we've got a nice little gift bag
with some things in there for you.
And if you would not mind, please take a moment
to fill out that communication card
and you can turn it in to one of the ushers
or turn it in to me after the service as well.
I wanna encourage you to be back tonight,
6 p.m. for the evening service.
And that's a completely different sermon, different songs.
And our evangelist, Brother Matthew Stuckey,
is gonna be preaching.
He's a great preacher.
If you've never heard him, you're gonna wanna come back
and he'll be giving us a little testimony
about the work there in the Philippines.
He'll be preaching tonight.
So please don't miss it.
Be in your place, 6 p.m.
Be an encouragement to Evangelist Stuckey and his family,
and he'll be preaching for us tonight
and also on Wednesday night.
And if I may, I would just like to take today
and say, of course, it's our church's 13-year anniversary.
We're celebrating 13 years of ministry.
And as a pastor and a pastor's wife,
my wife and I want to say just thank you.
Thank you for allowing us to minister with you.
And many of you, I won't take the time to do it.
One of these days I'll do it,
but I won't take the time to do it.
Many of you have been with us for so long.
I mean, literally, my family, Brother Ray and Ms. Denise,
they've been with us literally since day one,
since the first day this church started.
But many of you have been with us six years, seven years,
eight years, nine years, 10 years, 11 years.
And you'll never know the encouragement
that your loyalty and your faithfulness
is to your pastor and your pastor's wife,
especially those of you, some of you have been with us,
many of you have been with us since the house,
and you had no reason to come to a living room
to listen to some 25-year-old preach.
But we appreciate you, and we love you, and all of you,
even if you've only been here two weeks,
we appreciate you being part of this journey with us.
And I often say this, if you leave here,
you may find, and you probably will find,
another pastor who's more intelligent
and more impressive and more talented.
But you'll never find another pastor
and another pastor's wife who loves you
more than we love you,
and who's willing to spend and be spent for you.
And we are loyal to you,
and we appreciate your faithfulness and loyalty to us.
We'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song.
Thank you so much for being here this morning.
Please stay for lunch,
and we hope to see you tonight, 6 p.m.
We'll have Brother Matt come
and lead us in the final song.
Turn to song 41.
Song number 41.
Sweet by and by, song number 41.
On the first.
There's a land that is February day,
and by faith we can see it apart.
For the Father needs a memory
to prepare us a dwelling I swear.
In the sweet by and by,
in the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
We shall sing on that beautiful shore.
And the rodeo sounds of the ground
and the spirit shall soar in the air.
Let us cycle the blessing of the past.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
We're singing well, sing it on the last.
To our bountiful Father, the Lamb,
we will offer tribute of praise
for the glorious gift of his hand.
And the blessings of all our days.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Amen, good singing.
Before we leave here, if anybody has questions
about salvation, church membership, or baptism,
the pastor will be at the door, he'd love to talk to you.
Let's go ahead and bow our heads and bless the food.
Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this sermon,
and that was preached to us, Lord,
help us to apply the sins of our lives.
We thank you for this church, Lord,
the impact on our lives and this community, Lord.
I just pray that you'd continue to bless our way.
Please bless the food, our bodies, and the fellowship.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen.