Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha.
Page 492, Dwelling in Beulah Land, page 492.
Page 492, Dwelling in Beulah Land.
Let's all sing it out together on the first.
Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling.
Then I know the sins of earth be set on every hand.
Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling.
None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.
I'm living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky.
Praise God, I'm drinking at the fountain.
That never shall run dry.
Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply.
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land on the second.
Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating.
Sons of men in battle long the enemy will stand.
Safe am I within the castle of God's word retreating.
Nothing that can reach me to Beulah Land.
I'm living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky.
Praise God, I'm drinking at the fountain.
That never shall run dry.
Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply.
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
Let the stormy breezes blow.
Their cry cannot alarm me.
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God's hand.
Here the sun is always shining.
Here there's not can harm me.
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.
I'm living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky.
Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain.
That never shall run dry.
Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply.
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
Sing it out on the last.
Viewing here the works of God I sink in contemplation.
Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned.
Dwelling in the Spirit here, I learn of full salvation.
Gladly will I tarry in Beulah Land.
I'm living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky.
Praise God, I'm drinking at the mountain.
That never shall run dry.
Oh yes, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply.
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
Man, thanks for coming out tonight. Good seeing.
Brother Justin, you want to open up with a word of prayer?
Man, page 118 is our second song.
There is power in the blood, page 118.
Sing it out with me on the first.
Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Would you, all evil, a victory win?
There's wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the precious blood of the Lamb on the second.
Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide.
There's wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the precious blood of the Lamb on the third.
Would you be wider, much wider than snow?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow.
There's wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the precious blood of the Lamb.
Sing it out loud on the last.
Would you do service for Jesus your King?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Would you live daily his praises to sing?
There's wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder working, power in the precious blood of the Lamb.
Let's take our bulletins and go through them real quickly.
If you need a bulletin, would you raise up your hand?
One of the ushers should bring you a bulletin.
On our front cover, we have a verse of the week.
It says, Behold, I will do a new thing.
Now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers of the desert.
Isaiah chapter 43 verse 19.
I can see my typo right there.
That's great.
I didn't see it on the computer screen, my bad.
Anyway, our service times are 1030 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Sunday evening is 3 30 p.m.
and Thursday Bible study is at 6 30 p.m.
Of course, again, this is a special service for our grand reopening
and our kickoff for our third anniversary.
And so Sturt Foundation Baptist Church has been around for three years now
and five years almost as a church plant started by Pastor Roger Jimenez
which, of course, none of this would be possible without his leadership and his vision.
So we appreciate Pastor Jimenez, of course.
Our soul winning times are listed below.
We do have a soul winning marathon tomorrow which I'll get into here in just a minute.
But those are our regular soul winning times there and the captains.
And then we have regional soul winning times in the various areas below there.
Our praise report, you can see the salvations for the month and the year to date.
Baptisms and attendance.
And by the way, if you need to be baptized, we have the water warm tonight.
So if anybody needs to be baptized, I'd be happy to do that.
Just speak with you for a second after the service.
If you're wanting to do that, we have towels.
We have everything you need.
We have swim dresses for the ladies.
And so just go to one of the ushers, one of the guys with the pins that say usher on the jackets.
They'd be happy to help you.
And if you're a lady, my wife can help you or one of the other ladies could help you change.
To get baptized.
So anyway, tonight we have a special preacher preaching for us tonight.
Pastor Bruce Mejia.
First Works Baptist Church.
And now L.A.
I don't know.
It used to be called El Monte.
But where are you at now?
Anaheim.
OK.
So we're not devoting the address just yet.
So there's reasons for that.
So somewhere in Anaheim.
Yeah.
So we're very happy to have Pastor Bruce Mejia here.
He's a great friend of mine.
His wife is here with him and his newborn baby.
And so we're very thankful to have them.
So make sure you get around and say hi to them at some point tonight.
And so, like I said, it's our third year anniversary.
And tomorrow we're going to have a soul winning marathon.
So we're going to be meeting here at the new building and that'll be at nine thirty a.m.
And we'll have bagels and fruit.
So we've got bagels from some bagel place down the street here and fruit coming.
So and then we're going to go out solely at ten thirty.
And at twelve thirty, you'll come back here for lunch.
One p.m. to two p.m. is lunch.
I'm having Papa John's brought in for lunch.
So just show up here and you'll be fed.
And then we'll have a second session from two to four p.m.
And then we'll be done.
And so I wanted to make just a quick ask a quick question.
So can I get some captains for soul winning tomorrow for anybody that's going to volunteer?
OK. Sean Brandon, I need one more brother, brother, other Sean.
And I might need a four. So, brother Blake.
So, OK, now the other question is, can you guys make a map for this area for your group tonight?
Because I didn't make any maps. All right.
We've literally been working on this building since Monday.
We haven't we haven't even hit a stop yet.
So I think we were here till everybody was here till like ten thirty.
I think some people were here later. But nine o'clock was, I think, the earliest time that I left any time this week.
So anyway, so you can make maps. You can make maps.
Can I get it? Can I get a one? All right. There's a map.
All right. So whatever group you're normally the captain of, then just make maps.
But so the maps need to be in this area right here.
So right over there is a good a good mapping area.
This whole area is the best sewing area in the whole town.
So if you need any help or if you don't know how to make a map, I can help you make one.
I just have a lot of other stuff to do.
So but anyway, if you need help, just reach out to me.
But I'll need maps for tomorrow morning.
And then let's see, August 1st, which is Sunday, will be three years or three year service for Sunday.
And I'll be preaching at ten thirty a.m.
And we have Pastor Joe Jones from Shield of Faith Baptist Church will be joining us.
He's flying in in the morning. He's going to attend our morning service and then he's going to preach for us at three thirty p.m.
So looking forward to having Pastor Jones.
And so and again, I want to thank every person in this building that's helped make this happen.
I think everybody has pretty much made something happen here.
So I can't name every every name, but I do appreciate each and every single one of you.
And there's been a lot of hard work that's been put in here and a lot of moms that have been just with their children while their husbands were burning the candle both ends.
I really just appreciate everybody.
And I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work.
It's a great building, right? Great sign out front.
You can see it from outer space with the lights started to work.
Not everything is exactly went as planned, but we did the best we could.
And it turned out right. It's going to be a great building of ours for a long time.
So very thankful for that. Thankful to the Lord.
He's blessed this church tremendously. And we're going to the sky's the limit.
So so and then we're a family integrated church.
I mean, the children and infants are welcome during the church services, of course.
And we do have a mother baby room area right there.
So one of the mishaps that happened is the signs for the mother baby room, dad baby room disappeared.
I don't know what happened to them. They probably got tossed in the garbage on accident.
But that right there, that room right there where CJ's at, that's the mother baby room.
OK. And then there's a little gated area back there.
That's the crawler room.
So no, no walking children are allowed back there. Just crawlers.
OK, so it's kind of a bad name to call somebody a crawler.
But OK, infants. OK, sucklings.
All right. So there's a little sign in there.
So, yeah. And then the dad baby room is right there.
So I'm pointing right out with the people right there.
That's so, you know, they can see out, but you can't see it.
But anyway, so the dad baby room is right there. It has a monitor in there.
This room here, I don't know if the monitor end up making it in there,
but there's speakers throughout the whole building.
So you can hear the preaching and the service in all the rooms.
And so we're trying to work all the bugs out of the electrical equipment, things like that.
And we'll get it dialed in, but nothing's ever going to be perfect.
There's no perfect church. Amen.
Right. So but we did the best we could.
And so we we do got some bugs to work out, but we're working on all that stuff.
So anyway, so no dads are allowed in the mom baby room and vice versa.
You already know that. Let's see.
Please reserve the back rows for families with children, young children, rockers.
The rockers that are in here are not for single new IFB punks.
They're for nursing mothers and pregnant ladies.
OK, so those are not just for you to have the most comfort you can in the house of the Lord.
All right. Therefore, specific people. OK, so and then let's see.
No food in this area. This is brand new carpet.
If I catch you with food, you're going to be thrust through with a dart.
That'll be the end of you.
So if you come near the mount right here, you'll be thrust through with a dart.
All right. So I don't want to see kids gator rolling across this.
If you if you catch your kids doing it, just grab them and take them away because the darts coming.
All right. So we just don't want kids playing up in this area because it's all stretched out and stuff.
So if they do the gator rolls, you know, it's it's over.
And then Pastor Thompson's going to blow a gasket. All right.
So, yeah, just and there's just no unattended children supposed to be.
That's not supposed to happen anyway. So make sure you're watching your children.
There's a lot of new areas and kids like to explore the upstairs area.
Notice that there's a sign right there. It says no children are to walk up those stairs.
Now, I just want to say this. I don't want to make a giant sign that everybody has to read every time.
So just it's just a general rule. But those those stairs are concrete.
You know, we don't want two and three year olds climbing up those stairs and falling down them.
OK, so you may take your children up there in between services.
You know, we have big days on Sundays where there's a lot of people that just stay for lunch and things like that.
You can take your children up there, but don't leave your children up there.
No children are allowed up upstairs in the break room for any reason by themselves, period.
So hopefully that rule gets followed.
And there's six restrooms in this building. OK. Yeah.
New IFB record. And there's there's two of those bathrooms have multiple stalls.
OK. But the men's restroom upstairs is out of order for this for the urinal part of it.
OK. Don't use that bathroom. You can see why when you go up there.
And then, of course, on a big day, big events, all the bathrooms are able to be used.
But if you're just upstairs on a normal day, there's one restroom in the middle.
That's the one that we prefer people to use. We don't have to clean six bathrooms after every single service.
So there's three on the bottom floor right around the corner.
There's two handicapped single stalls. And then there's a sign over there.
You can see the other restroom. It's to the left. All right. Those are all single stalls.
So let me just tell you this. Make sure you lock the door when you go in there.
Now, if you're a kid, then don't lock the door and not be able to get yourself out.
OK. Who has the keys to the bathroom over there?
Anybody? You have them? She says she might.
OK. Well, somebody took them just like the signs.
Just like. OK. Anyway, I'm droning on. But we need those keys back.
So otherwise, we're going to have to kick the door down. It's a brand new door.
We don't want to do that. Right. So, yeah, just make sure you're helping your kids.
If they can lock doors, like I know there's certain kids or toddlers that can do a lot of things that other normal toddlers can't do.
So locking door yourself in the door would not be one of those things you'd want them to do.
All right. So we need those keys. Anyhow, there's three exits here.
There's one out back. There's one in the mother baby room and one right here.
This is the main entrance that we're going to use. I'm going all over this because I don't want people to say, oh, no, Pastor Thompson.
So that back door back there, there's a gate you have to go through.
So that that is just like that area is not a place where we want people just hanging out.
OK, so there's no reason to go out that door unless it was like an emergency or something or you have permission to go through there.
Same thing with there. That'd be like an emergency situation. We only want people coming in and out of that front door.
That way the building's secure and everybody's safe. OK, so let's see what else we got.
Please silence your cell phones at this time. If you wouldn't mind doing that, we'd appreciate it.
And escorts to vehicles are available by the ushers still upon request.
It's not as dangerous of an area, but, you know, there's some some homeless camps around here and stuff like that.
So if you want someone to escort you to your vehicle, just tap one of the ushers on the shoulder and ask them to please walk you to your car.
And you can see the places where you can donate online and text. Give we got all that stuff.
The ties we've received so far. Am I forgetting anything? Yes.
Every 75 feet, there's a fire extinguisher. And so they're clearly marked and they're in the means of egress.
And so if you need a fire extinguisher, you know, and you don't know how to use one,
we'll have to do a fire extinguisher training here shortly. Use the PASS technique.
All right. Pull the pin. Aim at the base of the fire. Use a sweeping motion. Squeeze the trigger. OK.
PASS technique. Got it? I taught that for a long time.
So that's how I remember it. PASS. All right. So anything anything else that I'm forgetting?
Anybody knows? All right. All right. Well, let's sing another song.
Oh, wait. Hey, if you're a first time visitor, we have a gift for each first time visitor in this bag.
There's plenty of bags over there on your way out. There's a little table that you can grab one of these.
And it's a token of just our appreciation for you being a first time visitor.
And we'd appreciate we appreciate you coming.
And we're very thankful for all the people that traveled far, far and away to come here.
We really appreciate it. And with that being said, let's sing another song and then we'll receive the offer.
Turn to page one hundred twenty nine and your blue hymnals. He is mine.
Page one hundred twenty nine. Page one to nine.
He is mine. Singing out with me on the first.
Long before the fall of man, God designed a master plan.
He exchanged the sinner for the sinless one.
Jesus left his throne on high, came to earth to bleed and die.
He said, Father, now my will, but I be done.
He is my.
I am blessed beyond all measure.
He is my.
I have part in full and free through the blood he shed for me.
Say forever I shall be.
He is mine on the last through God's mercy and his grace.
He's prepared for us a place.
Words cannot describe the matches.
Beauty there.
We will praise a perfect lamb.
King of kings, a great I am.
He has made the joys of heaven ours to share.
He is my.
I am blessed beyond all measure.
He is my.
I have part in full and free through the blood he shed for me.
Say forever I shall be.
He is mine.
Great singing this evening.
At this time, we'll have our offering.
Dear Jesus, thank you for this day.
Thank you for this wonderful new building, Lord.
I pray that you would just allow us to grow into it, Lord.
Please bless this offering, Lord.
Please bless the gift and the giver.
Thank you for this evening.
Thank you, Lord.
All right, go ahead and open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16.
Matthew chapter 16, if you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring you one.
Matthew 16.
Matthew 16, the Bible reads, the Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempting, desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, when it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red.
And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering.
Oh, you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but can you not discern the signs of the times?
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
And he left them and departed.
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
Then Jesus said unto them, take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, it is because we have taken no bread.
Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves because ye have brought no bread?
Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets ye took up?
Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets ye took up?
How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, but that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
Then understood they how that he bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?
And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias and others Jeremiahs or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day.
Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offense unto me, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Brother Justin, will you pray for us?
Five years total with the congregation, but three years for a sure foundation, right? Is that correct?
And so happy anniversary to you guys. It's great to see you guys steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
And I love the building. One thing about new IFP churches is that they can meet anywhere.
I mean, it's like banks and, you know, like, it doesn't really matter, you know?
Because really the substance is in the preaching, the substance is in the people, you know?
And so we just make it work. And the reality is that Baptists throughout history have basically been that way.
It's not just new IFP. I've known old IFP churches that just made things happen in whatever building or structure that they met in.
It doesn't matter if it was a school or whatever it may have been, you know, they just make it work, amen?
And so that's great. Well, I'm thankful to be here. Thank you, Pastor Thompson, for the invitation, for the hospitality, for your friendship.
I consider your pastor to be a good friend of mine. We always keep in contact.
I'm always praying for him. We're praying for your church. And let's go ahead and get started.
Matthew chapter 16. In verse 16, the Bible reads here,
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And the title of my sermon this evening is what this church is made of.
What this church, Shur Foundation Baptist Church, is made of.
That's what I want to talk about this evening as we celebrate your third year anniversary.
Now, when it comes to this matter of a church, we understand that a church is not a building, right?
You know, we know that it's not a physical building with rooms and walls and different things of that nature.
But make no mistake about it, you know, the ministry necessitates a building.
You know, in order for you to do the ministry, in order for you to carry out that which God has called us to do,
we need a physical building because of the fact that it centralizes what we do as a church, right?
You know, it helps us to centralize what we hear preaching.
It helps us to centralize where we get trained for soul winning,
where we get sent out as missionaries, evangelists, where we ordain pastors and deacons.
Hey, it's a place where we practice church discipline.
So obviously we need an area where we can meet together and carry out those ordinances that God has set forth within the church.
And so, yeah, a building is necessary.
We need a building to meet in in order to have this matter of church.
And so, but we understand that the church by definition is a called out assembly of baptized believers.
That's what we have here at Shur Foundation Baptist Church.
But here's the thing. The reality is that not every not every church that calls itself a church is a church.
There's plenty of churches out there. There's plenty of congregations and assemblies out there that claim to be churches.
They have church on their church sign, but they're not really a church. Right.
There's plenty of examples that we can give. Why?
Because, you know, there's certain elements and factors, you know, building material, so to speak,
that is needed to legitimize it as a church.
And there are plenty of assemblies out there that have revoked their privilege to be labeled the church.
You know, the Bible says in Revelation Chapter two, verse five,
Remember, therefore, from whence thou are fallen and repent and do the first works,
or else I will come into thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
So God is threatening the church at Ephesus and saying, hey, if you don't start soul winning,
if you don't start preaching the gospel, I'm going to revoke your church license.
I'm going to remove your candlestick, and you can keep church on the sign if you want to,
but in God's eyes, you're no longer a church.
So just because it says church or Baptist or Christian doesn't necessarily make it that way.
There's certain things, requirements, stipulations that come with that to make it a legitimate church.
A lot of these churches out there, they're just the congregation of the dead.
The Bible says in Proverbs 21 16,
The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
And some of these churches are dead in more ways than one.
They're dead because of the fact that, you know, they're not even saved.
Or they're dead because maybe they are saved, but they're not preaching the truth.
They're not winning souls to Christ. They're just kind of like dead.
It's just a church full of corpses, spiritual corpses that are not doing anything for God.
They're just kind of going through the motions.
You know, the passage is kind of, you know, trying to get job security or whatever it may be.
And they're not really doing anything for the Lord.
That's the congregation of the dead.
Revelation 3 1 says unto the angel of the church and Sardis write,
These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou liveth.
You know, there's plenty of churches out there with the name Baptist.
Lancaster Baptist Church.
North Valley Baptist Church, right?
They have a name that they're living because you automatically assume,
Oh, it's a Baptist. It must be alive.
Oh, it's a church. It must be alive.
But here it says you have a name that you're living, but you're actually dead.
Okay?
Be watchful. Strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die.
For I have not found thy works perfect before God.
And it's important that we as churches, you know, we've got to make sure that we maintain good works, right?
Because here's the thing. The Christian life is a balancing type of an act where,
you know, one thing is strengthened, but then the other is not.
You know, the other one is dying.
One ministry is being strengthened, but then another one is kind of atrophying.
We need to make sure that we revive it.
And so we need to constantly strengthen the things which remain,
not just as individual Christians, but even as churches as well.
And tonight I want to talk about what makes this church a church.
I want to go through a list of materials that makes this congregation
what it is. Now, hold your place there in Matthew chapter 16,
and go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 3, if you would.
You're in Matthew 16. Put a little piece of paper there, a little pen or whatever you have.
Hold your place there. We're going to come back to that.
What is this church made of? You're in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
First and foremost, a church is made of the right type of foundation, first and foremost.
You've got to have the right foundation if you're going to build a church, right?
Now, I'm going to read to you from Matthew chapter 7, it says in verse 24,
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon the sand?
No, upon the rock, right?
And he says, The rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house, and it fell not white, because it was founded upon a rock.
And let me just explain to you, we obviously understand this, but that rock is Jesus.
And so what it's telling us this is that any time you build a ministry,
any time you build a church, any time you reach people for Christ,
you start doing the work of the ministry, you've got to make sure you have the right foundation,
and that foundation needs to be Jesus Christ.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, look at verse number 10,
For we are laborers together with God, ye are God's husbandry,
I want you to notice this, ye are God's building.
We're going to come back to that in just a bit.
He says, Ye are God's building.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder,
I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereupon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ, the Bible says.
You see, if you're going to do anything of significance,
you've got to make sure that you have Jesus Christ as the bedrock of that church.
He needs to be the preeminent one, he needs to be the one that basically dictates what goes on in the church.
But when we talk about him being the foundation, what are we referring to?
The right gospel? Having the right type of salvation?
Because look folks, aren't there churches out there that claim to be Baptists,
that claim to be independent fundamental Baptists, but yet they preach a false gospel?
They preach this garbage repent of your sins doctrine out there, they claim to be KJV only,
they claim to believe in the word of God, but at the end of the day when you corner them,
and talk to them about salvation, they say well yeah it's by faith alone,
but you also have to return from your sins as well.
I've heard that this week alone, hundreds of times.
Where people are telling me, hey brother I agree with you, I understand it's faith alone,
of course it's Jesus that saves, of course it's Jesus the one who saves us,
but we have to turn from our sin as well, it's what the Bible says.
Show me in the Bible where it says we have to turn from our sins.
Oh simple, repent and believe.
How many of you have ever heard that before?
Repent and believe, and they give you a slew of verses that only says repent,
it doesn't say of sins, it just says repent, and then right there.
And I say I'm sorry, where does it say of sins there?
It's right there.
It's right where?
Right there.
Folks it's ridiculous.
But you know what, there's many churches out there that hold to that doctrine,
and guess what, they have a faulty foundation.
Oh but they evangelize. Folks, who?
Who are they getting saved? Because only saved people can get people saved.
Right? Amen?
Only saved individuals can get people saved.
We don't believe this doctrine, I know your pastor doesn't believe this stupid doctrine out there,
that says well you know, it's the word of God that saves, well yeah duh.
But you know, even if it's an unsaved person, an unsaved person can get someone saved,
Folks, everything brings forth after its own kind.
Everything brings forth after its own kind.
And you would never tell me that the Calvinists out there, if they're using the KJV,
and they believe in a repent of your sins gospel,
if they're going out there using the Bible, that they're getting people saved?
Even if they quote the right verses, that they're getting people saved, you're out of your mind.
Why are you making such a big deal about this? Because the foundation is important.
In order for us to build anything of significance, anything of value,
anything of eternal value, the right foundation needs to be laid,
and it's important that we strive to hold the right doctrines in regards to the gospel.
The Bible says in Jude 3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation,
it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith,
which was once delivered unto the saints.
You know why a lot of churches out there are kind of mixed up on doctrine when it comes to salvation?
Because they don't earnestly contend for the faith.
And folks, if you're not constantly fighting to keep the right doctrine,
you're going to get into some bad doctrine eventually.
And you know, the pastor may not believe false doctrine or false gospel,
but because he's not emphasizing the right gospel, he's not emphasizing the right doctrine,
the generation to come will believe a false gospel.
That's how it always works.
That's why the Bible tells us we need to earnestly contend for the faith.
Make a big stink when there's pastors out there teaching a repent of your sins gospel,
another gospel which is not another.
Jesus Christ is the foundation. We need to make sure we have salvation right.
We need to make sure we use the right terminology.
We need to make sure we use the right Bible. Amen?
Now go to 1 Peter chapter 2, if you would, 1 Peter chapter 2.
We saw that in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, it says,
Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now we would say, yeah, well, there's plenty of people out there that are laying a false foundation.
What is Paul saying? Well, it's a foundation, but it's not a foundation.
It's their foundation.
It's another foundation, just like there's another gospel, but there's not really another gospel.
It's a faulty foundation made of sand.
It's not going to do any good.
God doesn't recognize it. It's faulty.
In order to build this church, what is this church made of?
It's made of the right foundation. We're not talking about physically.
We're talking about the fact that we know the right gospel.
We know the right way of salvation.
Every single person in this room as far as we know
has believed on Jesus Christ for salvation, believes in eternal security.
Doesn't believe they have to turn from their sins in order to be saved.
Doesn't believe there's nonsense that you have to be baptized in order to be saved.
Doesn't believe there's nonsense that you have to keep the commandments of God in order to be saved.
Folks, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
For by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight.
Hey, let me emphasize this. No flesh.
Isn't that what the Bible says?
But yet you have the Hebrew roots movement out there.
So no, you've got to keep the commandments of God.
Oh, I'm sorry. It says no flesh.
That includes you.
No flesh shall be justified.
What's the law for then?
It says that no flesh shall be justified in his sight.
For by the law is the what?
Knowledge of sin.
It's to show you how short you fall from God's standard of perfection.
Whosoever keepeth the whole law yet offended at one point is guilty of all.
We need to make sure that we emphasize and we build upon the right foundation which is Jesus Christ.
Sure foundation, sure foundation, right?
The foundation that sure foundation is emphasizing is Jesus Christ.
But Jesus Christ is not only the foundation, he is also the standard by which we build and how we build.
Look what it says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 6.
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone,
elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
A corner stone is that first stone that you lay which is basically the reference for all the other stones that are going to be laid thereafter.
It determines the position of all other stones.
And the Bible tells us in John 13 15, for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you.
1 John 2 5 says, but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.
Hereby know we, that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
So in order for us to build the right type of church, we need to make sure that we are basically following Jesus' example.
Right? I mean that seems pretty obvious. You know we got to walk like Jesus walked.
We need to preach like Jesus preached. Preach about the things that Jesus preached about.
Teach the doctrines that Jesus taught. Right?
You just don't see that today sometimes.
There's people who are independent fundamental Baptists who get mad at us for preaching from John 8 44.
For ye are of your father the devil, the lust of your father will ye do.
He's a murderer from the beginning and a bow down to the truth, for the truth is not in him.
And we're preaching against the Jews and they're like, oh man that's not like Jesus.
What do you mean? John 8 44 is from Jesus.
He said that. That's not me. He said that. He's the one who said that.
You know, we need to be loving like Jesus. Jesus wouldn't say those things.
Well I mean have you read Revelation 2 and 3?
Where he says that, he says, and by the way I agree with him 100%.
He says that they are of the synagogue of Satan.
They would say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan.
That's what the Bible says. You say, why are you preaching against the Jews?
Well because he's the cornerstone that has set forth the reference point of how we should preach and do ministry.
Well Jesus preached against the Jews. I want to be like Jesus.
We need to get those bracelets. What would Jesus do?
I'll show you what Jesus would do.
You know it's funny they always say, what would Jesus do?
But they never bring up the fact that he was flipping over tables and whipping people.
That's what he did. Well not that part though.
You know we want to talk about the other stuff.
I like the flipping over of tables.
Yeah but that's like an isolated incident. No it wasn't.
He did it more than once. And he put it in the Bible.
And he knew that we thought it would be really cool.
Right? He's given us an example. He's the cornerstone.
And so when we're building a church, building a ministry, we look at the cornerstone.
How is it laid? Where is the position? How is it formed?
Okay that's what we need to do.
We don't try to conform. Doesn't the Bible say I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is a reasonable service.
And be not what? Conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Bible says we're to be conformed to Jesus Christ. What does that mean?
Your stone should be just like Jesus' stone.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ, you know obviously he represents graciousness and mercy,
but he also represents judgment.
And what do they do in the Old Testament to punish those who are worthy of death?
They got stoned. Right?
I'm just saying.
They didn't use a stick. They didn't use a rod. They used a stone.
Because of the fact that it signifies that it's God's judgment on that person.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2 21, For even here unto, look what it says in 1 Peter chapter 2,
For even here unto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps. The Bible says.
What is the Bible telling us? Hey, he's left us a cornerstone of how to suffer.
How to be persecuted.
You know people get mad at your pastor, they get mad at me, they get mad at our pastor friends.
Oh you guys are always getting persecuted, like you guys must be doing something wrong and stuff.
Well actually it says here that Jesus left us an example of how to suffer.
Yeah but I don't think that would happen to Jesus.
Well actually we fall short of Jesus' persecution because he was actually crucified.
So, you know, there you go.
Yeah but people like call you in.
I get literally every week in my mailbox at the old church building.
You know where they threw the glitter bomb?
Postcards from sodomites saying, your life doesn't matter.
Your life doesn't matter.
And you're a devil and you're evil pastor Bruce Mejia and you're Satan and all these things.
And I look at that and I'm like, man I'm fulfilling prophecy here.
Because if they called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call him of his household?
If they call the cornerstone the devil, what are they going to call the stones that come thereafter?
So look, I have a problem with you if they haven't called you a devil.
What's wrong with you?
Right?
Because the master of the house, they were calling him the devil and Beelzebub.
Well, you know, if we're walking the way Jesus walked, if we're doing ministry the way Jesus does ministry,
if we're preaching like the way Jesus preached, if we're preaching the doctrines that Jesus preached,
guess what? They're going to call us the same thing.
Why? Because he left us an example.
That cornerstone that was laid gave us an example of how we're supposed to be transformed and conformed to the image of his son.
To be like him.
The right type of persecution, the right type of trials and tribulation.
You know, Jesus said, the Bible, Jesus said this, these things have I spoken unto you,
that in me you might have peace in the world and you should have tribulation,
but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.
You should never have this attitude that just because you're going through trials or tribulation,
you're going through a difficult time, that that means you're just, you know,
oh man, life is just not good. I'm going through a tough time, life is just not good.
That's part of being a Christian. Even if it's not persecution,
even if you're just going through a hard time in your marriage,
a hard time with your children, a hard time with work or with your health,
that's part of suffering. That's the affliction that comes upon a Christian.
That's just part of life. If you suffer no affliction, then there's something wrong.
A brother is born for adversity, the Bible says.
And if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
So we need to make sure that when adversity comes into our life and suffering comes into our life
and trials and tribulation, we need to remember the cornerstone,
which is Jesus Christ, you know, who suffered contradictions of sinners,
who plowed through and endured hardships because he gave us that example that we should follow it.
Go back to Matthew 16 if you would, Matthew chapter 16.
So this church is built upon the right type of foundation.
And look, you guys have been persecuted. You guys have had the dogs outside barking
and your pastor's been threatened. I mean, that's part of just another day in the office for a new IFB pastor.
When all the new IFB pastors get together, we just talk about the stuff they've been persecuting us about.
The old IFB, they go golfing and stuff. They're just like...
They talk about their billing programs and like, you know, how much money they're making and stealing and all that.
You know, the new IFB, you know, we talked about the Red Hot Preaching Conference,
the persecutions that we suffered, you know.
We talked about the things that we've gone through, the people that hate our guts,
the people that turn their backs on us. That's what we chat about.
That's the fellowship of his suffering, amen.
So why do you... you guys are weird. You guys talk about that stuff?
Yeah, because it gets us kind of, you know, riled up, you know.
It's like, right on. That's cool, man.
Why? Because we have the right foundation.
A church is made of the right foundation.
Number two, a church is made with the right stones.
With the right stones.
Now, you're in Matthew 16. Look at verse 16. This is where we started.
He says in verse 16,
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Now, we know that Catholics would try to use this as a proof text to say that,
you know, Peter was the first pope.
How many of you have heard that stupid doctrine before?
It's nonsensical, right?
You say, why is it nonsensical?
Well, first and foremost, you don't even see the word pope in the Bible.
And if this was Peter's ordination to become a pope,
when in the Bible do you ever see anybody referring to him as a pope?
Never, right?
It's like when they say, oh, you know, the Lord's Prayer.
That's the prayer.
You know, you got to do the Lord's Prayer.
Well, there's plenty of examples in the Bible in the New Testament
of people praying.
How many times have we seen the Lord's Prayer being used?
Never.
So it's like, you shouldn't read the Bible, Catholics,
because it's flawed, okay?
Obviously, we understand he's not the pope
because Peter was saved and he's not a pedophile
and, you know, he doesn't wear dresses and all these things.
Let me share this story with you because it's so funny
because I just remember this.
When we went back to our old building,
we were like getting our stuff out because we found a building,
you know, and we were like moving our things
and it was at night.
It was in Oman and people were driving by,
cussing us out and all these things
and this old Mexican guy, he just walks out of nowhere
like, he's just like an angel, you know?
He just walks out and he's like,
he looks at me and he's like, you're moving?
In Spanish.
I'm like, yeah, we have to.
I mean, we can't meet here because they won't let us meet here.
The building got blown up and he looks at me and he's like,
Fags did this.
And I was like, yeah, and he's like,
and they're all going to go to hell.
I was like, yeah, and he's like,
and the Pope's a fag too.
And he's like, he would walk away every time he'd say this.
He's like, the Pope's a fag.
And he'd like walk away and I'm like,
this is a blessing, you know?
And then he was ministering grace to the hero, you know?
And then he came back, the final one was the funniest one,
he's like, and I'm like,
Obama's a fag too.
And he just like walked away and that was it.
And my spirit was like refreshed, you know?
But they'll try to use this portion of scripture
to teach that Peter was the first Pope, okay?
But that's obviously nonsensical, it's not true.
You should call no man father,
according to the Bible, because Pope means father.
So that would be a complete contradiction of the scriptures.
But I believe, and your pastor and I agree,
that when Jesus says, thou art Peter and upon this rock
I will build my church,
he's actually talking to Peter as being the rock, okay?
When he says, thou art Peter and upon this rock,
this rock, he's not referring to himself,
he's referring to Peter.
Peter's name, by the way, means what?
Stone.
Yeah, it's a rock, it's a stone.
He says, Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone.
Now why did he tell Peter this?
You know, was there something special about Peter?
Did he just have all kinds of talents
or did he just, you know, he's gonna,
he's the one who's gonna found the Catholic organization
or something like that?
No, he sent into response of Peter's profession,
because in verse 16, Simon Peter answered and says,
thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.
What does that mean?
He's basically saying, upon believers
is how I'm gonna build this church.
How is the church made up of?
Believers.
People who believe on Jesus Christ for salvation,
just like Peter.
He said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God,
and Jesus' response was, thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church.
Upon believers, people who are saved.
Why?
Because the church is made up of saved people.
You know, nothing wrong with having unsaved people
come in and then getting saved, right?
We want that to happen.
We'll have visitors come to our church frequently
and before they even leave the doors,
there's always someone asking them about salvation
and a lot of times they get saved, they get baptized,
they get integrated into the church.
That's what we want, amen?
But let's just be honest.
A church is for Christians.
Church is for saved people.
Church is for believers.
You know, this place is for
born again, baptized believers.
And if you haven't been baptized,
you should get baptized tonight.
So what he's telling them is this,
is you're Peter because I've named you Cephas,
which is a stone, and upon this rock,
I will build my church.
He's saying these are the kind of people
that I'm gonna have in church, okay?
Believers.
Go to Ephesians chapter, or excuse me,
go to 1 Peter again, chapter two.
Go back to 1 Peter chapter two.
God builds the church, this church, using believers.
Now, Peter was not only a believer,
but he was also one of the 12 apostles, right?
He was a catalyst for the New Testament church.
He was a catalyst.
He put in a lot of work, and in fact,
the Bible says in Ephesians two,
you're in 1 Peter, it says in verse 19 of Ephesians two,
Now therefore ye are no more strangers
and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints under the household of God,
and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone,
in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom ye also are builded together
for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
Now let's look at more proof of this.
In chapter two, verse number four says this,
To whom coming as unto a living stone,
disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious,
ye also, as what?
Lively stones are built up a what?
Spiritual house and holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
So what do we see here?
We see that the New Testament,
God's chosen people,
are made up of believers.
Now in the Old Testament, it was the Jews,
it was Israel, they were the chosen people of God,
and in fact, Old Testament Israel
can be likened unto stones as well.
But remember this, what did Jesus say
in Matthew 24 and verse number two,
he said this,
Jesus said unto them,
Say ye not all these things,
say ye not all these things,
verily I say unto you,
there shall not be left here
one stone upon another
shall not be thrown down.
And I believe this is actually
when the Old Testament basically ended
at the destruction of the temple
which represents the Old Testament,
which was made up of what?
Jews, Israelites.
And he says one stone
shall not be left upon another,
he said, okay.
Now this actually brings new meaning
to Matthew chapter three.
Think about this, you know,
what did John the Baptist say?
He said this, God is able of these what?
He was like, he was just pointing to some stones.
But what is he really saying?
God is able of the stones
that he just got finished talking to,
the Roman soldier,
the people who were coming to him
to get baptized, the people who were saved,
he says God is able of these stones
to raise up children unto Abraham,
and what does the Bible tell us
in Galatians 3, 29?
If ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed
and heirs according to the promise.
So that's more proof to show us
that the New Testament churches
are the ones, believers,
people who are saved,
people who have believed on Jesus Christ.
And in fact, it makes perfect sense
because Jesus Christ was the chief cornerstone
that the builders disallowed,
they rejected him.
And is it any surprise
that we as believers are also rejected as well?
Yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
Go to Ecclesiastes chapter three if you would.
Ecclesiastes chapter three,
so this church is made up of,
I'm looking at a crowd full of stones,
lively stones,
that are being used of God
to build this church.
And that's what we need.
We don't need sandcastles.
Blocks that are made up of sand.
Why? Because eventually they just fall apart
and it's not real, they believe in vain.
And I'm sure many churches,
I'm sure this church has experienced times
where people, they play the part,
but they're not even saved.
They play the part, they believe in vain,
we don't believe they lose their salvation,
we just believe they're never safe to begin with.
They talk the talk, they walk the walk for a season,
maybe because they have some sort of nefarious agenda,
some sort of selfish, greedy agenda behind them,
there's some infiltrator,
and then what happens is they leave
and you realize, oh man, that person's not even saved.
I thought that person was a stone.
No, they're made of sand
and they're made of, they just fall apart.
Which leads me into my next point.
Stones need to be cast out to maintain a proper structure.
They need to be cast out, right?
That's why we practice church discipline.
Now look at Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse one.
Here's some interesting verses here.
Look what it says in verse number one to everything.
There is a season and a time to every purpose
under the heaven, and I'm not gonna sing this song
so don't think I'm gonna sing this special, okay?
A time to be born, a time to die,
a time to plant, a time to pluck up
that which is planted, a time to kill,
a time to heal, a time to break down,
a time to build up, a time to weep,
and a time to laugh, a time to mourn,
and a time to dance.
Look what it says in verse five.
A time to cast away stones
and a time to gather stones together.
Now that verse has always perplexed me
when I would read it.
It's like, what is that talking about?
I don't really know what that's referring to,
but then I discovered what that means.
Go to Leviticus chapter 14.
What sermon would be complete
without referencing the book of Leviticus, amen?
I mean, what anniversary would be
a true anniversary without going to the book of Leviticus?
Thank you.
Look at Leviticus 14, verse 33.
We're gonna read a lot of verses here,
but it's gonna shed some light
on what we saw in Ecclesiastes chapter three
in regards to casting away stones.
Look what it says in verse 33 of Leviticus 14.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
saying, When ye be coming to the land of Canaan,
which I give to you for a possession,
and I put the plague of leprosy
in a house of the land of your possession,
and he that owneth the house
shall come and tell the priest,
saying, It seemeth to me
there is as it were a plague in the house.
And the priest said,
The priest shall command that they empty the house
before the priests go into it to see the plague,
that all that is in the house
be not made unclean,
and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house.
So this is the process they have to go through
whenever they saw a plague of leprosy inside the house.
This is the ordinance that God has set forth
in order to get rid of the plague there.
It says in verse 37,
And he shall look on the plague,
and behold, if the plague be in the walls
of the house with hollow strakes,
greenish or reddish,
or lower than the wall,
then the priest shall go out of the house
to the door of the house,
and shut up the house seven days.
And the priest shall come again
the seventh day, and shall look,
and behold, if the plague be spread
in the walls of the house,
then the priest shall command
that they take away the stones
in which the plague is,
and they shall cast them
into an unclean place
without the city.
So it's pretty basic.
You gotta assess the damage,
and if it's a fretting leprosy
where it's just not going away,
then what you do is you take the stone
of that house,
you don't try to reform it,
what do you do?
You cast it out.
And the Bible says you cast it out
onto an unclean place.
I mean, it seems pretty logical, right?
You don't say,
well, let's just work with them a little bit.
Let's work with this leprosy.
Let's just work with them.
Let's just disciple them for a little bit.
I know they're railing against the pastor.
I know they're committing fornication.
I know they're involved in drunkenness,
and I know they're idolaters,
but we're just gonna go ahead
and work with them.
Obviously, he's saying to cast it out.
Why? Because that stone,
if it has leprosy, will spread,
and then the entire house
will become a plague of leprosy.
So he says this is the solution.
And you cast it out
onto an unclean place.
So when the Bible says
there's a time to cast away stones,
that's what it's referring to.
When you're building a house
and you're making it of stones,
you know, not everything's perfect,
just like not every church is perfect.
Sometimes you're gonna have some plague
and some leprosy,
which is a picture of what?
Sin in the church
because of an individual
and if it's a fretting leprosy
where they don't want to repent of that sin,
what do you have to do?
You gotta cast out the stone.
Well, how are you gonna build a church like that?
Well, first of all, who cares
how big a church gets?
It's not your responsibility
to figure out how many people
you're gonna have in church.
Our responsibility is to take care
of what God says to take care of,
and if he says, hey,
remove the fretting leprosy,
and put it into an unclean place,
then that's what you need to do.
Why? Because there's a time
to cast away stones.
Right?
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
or chapter 5, excuse me,
1 Corinthians chapter 5.
There's a time to cast away stones.
How do you build a church?
You build it using the right stones.
But the stones need to be cast out
in order to maintain proper structure.
To just, well, you know,
we're not gonna cast anybody out,
we're not gonna exercise church discipline,
we're not gonna deal with any issues
because, you know,
we don't wanna offend anybody.
We don't wanna offend people,
and people get offended,
and all these things.
Oh, sure, then just let them fornicate,
and, you know, just create bastards
in the church.
Right?
Oh, did I just cast, I'm sorry.
Create bastards in the church.
Right?
You know, fornicating,
committing adultery,
committing drunkenness,
railing against the pastor,
railing against the leadership.
Oh, but we just gotta work with them.
No, you have to cast out
the stone that has the leprosy,
because what's gonna happen is this,
it's gonna spread throughout the church.
Look at 1 Corinthians 5, 6.
Your glory is not good.
Paul.
Why are you, come on, man.
I know he's committing fornication
so much as it's not named among the Gentiles,
but, you know, we gotta give him a chance.
Your glory is not good,
knowing not that a little leaven leavened
at the whole lump,
disciple the old leaven
that he may be a new lump.
Is that what it says?
Purge out the old leaven.
Purge out therefore the old leaven
that he may be a new lump
as ye are unleavened for even Christ
our Passover sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast
not with old leaven, verse 8,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Let's skip to verse 12.
For what have I to do to judge them
also that are without?
Do ye not judge them that are within,
but them that are without?
God judgeth, look what it says,
Therefore put away from among yourselves
that wicked person.
You shouldn't call them wicked.
That wicked person.
That's what the Bible says.
That they should be unto thee
as a heathen and as a publican.
Man, you're treating that guy
like he's unsaved, yeah.
He's as a heathen and as a publican.
A heathen is not saved.
God told you to do that.
So you're to treat that person
as though they're not saved.
Do you think that person's not saved?
I don't know, but I'm gonna treat him
like he's not saved,
because that's what the Bible tells me to do.
Why would you do something like that?
Why would you do something?
That's why.
And we don't want that person's leprosy
and their sin and their railing
and their drunkenness
and their fornication to spread
in the church, because a little leaven
leavened at the whole lump.
And we want to make sure
that the building stays intact, folks.
We want to make sure
that the stones are clean,
that they're formidable,
that they're pleasing unto the Lord.
And in order to do that,
it just happens.
Sometimes you go through a season
where you gotta cast people out of the church.
And look, folks, when your pastor
gets up and casts someone out of the church
and maybe they're like your best friend
or something like that,
you stay behind your pastor on that.
Oh, but my wife was such great friends
with their wife,
and my kids played with their kids.
You stand by your pastor.
And don't criticize your pastor.
You know, everyone wants to be
a quarterback on Monday, right?
Everyone thinks that they know
how to be a pastor.
They know how to do Pastor Thompson's job
better than he can,
yet he's the one who's qualified
standing behind the pulpit,
preaching the word of God,
and you're there.
Amen?
He's the one who another pastor
saw fit to ordain because he's qualified.
And you know what?
That comes with the level of discernment.
A pastor has a level of discernment
that sometimes congregants don't have.
A pastor is a shepherd of this flock,
and he's meant to protect the flock.
So sometimes he sees things that you don't.
So instead of criticizing his judgments
or his decision,
I think you dealt with that harshly.
That's wicked.
You know, when someone does that,
you know what I do?
Oh man, is that a little bit of leprosy right there?
Oh, I think it spread a little bit.
That's what I see.
When someone comes and they're like,
oh, you know, I don't think
you should have done it that way.
Why are you calling out this person?
You know what I see?
Oh, that's a little bit of leprosy right there.
You got leprosy?
And typically when that happens,
they're like, they clean themselves up really quick.
Like, oh no, I made a mistake.
Yeah.
Let the pastor do his job.
You know, his job is to assess the damage,
to figure out where the leprosy is at
and to cast out the stone when it's needed.
And don't think that pastor's out here,
oh, you guys are just trigger happy.
You guys just want to throw people
out of the church on a dime
and you guys just want to do this.
No, we love people.
We want the church to grow.
We want people to get right with God.
We want people that when they have leprosy
that they repent of it,
that it doesn't become a fretting leprosy
to get right with God.
We want the people who have been cast out
to come back in and repent
and say, hey, I'm sorry for what I did.
I'm not involved in that anymore.
I want to get back into church
and it's like, amen, brother.
Let's do it.
That's what we want.
But here's the thing is that
a church is made up of stones, proper stones.
If not, it's going to compromise
the structure of the building,
spiritually speaking.
Okay, so there's a time to cast away stones.
Go to Deuteronomy 27.
Deuteronomy 27.
Not only that, but a church is built
upon whole stones.
Whole stones.
Deuteronomy 27, verse number five says,
And there shall thou build an altar,
verse five, unto the Lord thy God
and altar of stones.
Thou shall not lift up any iron tool upon them.
So when you build the altar,
it's the same.
Don't engrave it.
Don't change it.
Don't try to modify it.
It needs to be whole.
Don't chip away at it.
Don't take away from it.
Don't remove 25% of it, 50% of it.
Keep it whole.
In fact, it says in verse six,
Thou shall build the altar of the Lord thy God
of whole stones,
and thou shall offer burnt offerings thereon
unto the Lord thy God.
Now, what does this signify?
He wants us, as Joshua and Caleb,
wholly to follow the Lord.
Right?
In other words, don't compartmentalize God.
Don't say, well, you know,
I like this church a little bit.
You know, it's cool.
Go to Sony every once in a while.
Be all in.
Give it your all.
Yeah, but you know, I kind of like
having one foot in the church
and one foot in the world,
and I kind of, you know,
like to dwindle sin a little bit
Holy follow the Lord.
Don't take a graving tool and say,
all right, well, I'm going to chip away
this part right here.
This will be for the Lord, for sure.
I'll give, you know, the Lord Sunday mornings.
But Sunday nights, I mean,
that's movie night or something, you know.
That's barbecue evening or something,
you know.
No, whole stones.
God wants the entire stone
to be set forth on the altar.
He doesn't want a half hazard service.
Right?
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4.15,
meditate upon these things,
give thyself partially to them.
No, it says, give thyself holy to them,
that thy profiting may appear to all.
1 Corinthians 10.31,
whether therefore you eat or drink
or some things that you do,
no whatsoever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
1 Thessalonians 5.23,
and the very God of peace
shall sanctify you partially.
No holy.
And I pray, God,
that your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved,
blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It sounds to me that God wants 100%.
Right?
Well, how do I determine if I'm giving 100%?
Well, this is how you determine
if you're giving 100%.
Are you here 100%?
Are you backing up your pastor 100%?
By the way, it's not perfection.
We all make mistakes.
There's consistency in our Christian life
where we know we're giving 100%.
I'm reading my Bible.
I'm loving my wife.
Christ loved the church.
Yeah, I might have yelled at her this morning,
but tonight I'm going to work on that.
I'm in church Sunday morning.
I'm in church Sunday night.
I'm in church on Wednesday.
I'm going soloing.
Hey, if the pastor is in need
of some sort of help at the church,
I'm there.
Why? Because I want to wholly follow the Lord.
Here's my stone.
You can have this part.
But this part, I got to do other stuff with that.
And this half right here,
that's for family.
Folks, whole thing.
Take up your cross and follow me.
That's what the Bible says.
Because really, when you say that to Pastor Thompson,
you're really saying it unto the Lord,
not because he's the Lord,
but because of the fact that we serve the Lord
by serving others.
Right?
We don't want to compartmentalize God.
God wants whole stones.
He doesn't want you to take a graving tool
and chip away at your stone
and say, well, these parts are for my life.
No, God wants it all.
Okay?
Here's my last point.
Go back to Leviticus, chapter 14, if you would.
Let's end on a good note, amen?
They're all good notes.
Because, you know, sometimes you think,
casting stones and casting away stones,
how you guys going to build a church casting away stones?
That's what these lame churches think, right?
How are you going to build a church like that,
Pastor Thompson?
If you're always getting rid of people,
you got to reach people.
Yeah, that's what we do.
So here's the equation,
because what does Ecclesiastes say?
There's a time to cast away stones,
and a time to what?
Gather stones.
The guy who was getting rid of the stone
that had the plague of leprosy,
he just let a hole in the wall,
just like, nah.
Yeah, there was a stone there,
but just a new addition to the house, I guess.
Put a window right there or something, you know?
What is he going to do?
He's going to look for a new stone.
Don't be obtuse.
You know, people are like,
what are you going to do now?
Reach more people?
Next question.
You're casting all these people.
What are you going to do now?
Go sowing and reach more people?
Invite people to church?
We're not at a deficit for people in this world, folks.
There's a lot of people in this world.
There's a lot of people in Washington.
There's a ton of people in California.
There's a ton of people in Washington.
There's a ton of people in the United States.
There's people everywhere.
And when there's a time to cast away stones,
what do you do?
Well, there's a time to gather stones too.
You gather the stones,
you encourage people to invite their family and friends
and their co-workers.
What are you doing?
You're gathering stones.
And in fact, what it says in Leviticus 14 verse 39,
verse 40 says,
Then the priest shall command that they take away
the stones in which the plague is,
and they shall cast them into an unclean place
without the city,
and he shall cause the house to be scraped
within round about,
and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off
without the city into an unclean place,
and they shall take other stones
and put them in the place of those stones,
and he shall take other mortar
and shall plaster the house, the Bible says.
So what does it say?
Just take other stones.
How is the church built?
By continuously reaching new people.
Getting new people in church.
And let me just encourage each and every one of you,
you should invite some unsafe person
to this church one day.
Invite your co-workers.
Yeah, I don't know if they can take this church.
You'd be surprised.
I mean, I know you're not ashamed of this church, right?
You're not ashamed of this church, right?
Hey, I tell the people in my church,
or like, you know, whenever we have like a big day,
we have a lot of visitors.
You know, and I say,
I kind of slip up and say something a little controversial,
you know?
I tell them, I said,
I look at those new people that I've never met before,
and I always say,
you knew what you were getting into.
You know this church.
You knew where we were bombed,
so you already knew where you were getting into.
I tell them that.
I'm like, no visitor that comes to our church is,
what's the first words, Baptist?
No, you know what you're getting into.
If you're sitting right there,
you know what kind of church this is,
you know who I am,
so don't be surprised when I drop the F bomb
every once in a while.
I'm sorry, okay?
So encourage your people.
Reach new people.
Hey, teenagers, reach your friends.
We just had a guy in our church.
This guy, his name is Jacob in our church.
He's new to our church.
He's been coming for the last couple of months,
and the guy's on fire,
and he reached his family,
his mom and his dad and his aunts and uncles,
and they're all coming to our church,
and then he reached his little brother,
and he got them saved, and he got baptized.
They all got baptized, saved and baptized,
and then last night,
his brother, who he got saved,
brought his friend,
and his friend came,
and one of our guys came to give him the gospel,
and he said, Jacob already got me saved,
and he was like, all right,
it's time for you to get baptized,
and he was like, all right, let's do it.
It's great.
So look, how do we build a church?
By inviting other people,
and don't get discouraged if you think,
well, you know, there's not many people
coming from soul winning.
How many people?
There you go.
Soul winning is so you can preach the gospel
and get people saved.
Well, how are we gonna build a church?
By you inviting people to church.
By you going,
everyone has one of these.
You have contacts.
Go through those contacts and see,
who can I invite to church this coming week?
Yeah, but you know,
I just don't know if they're gonna like
this kind of church,
and it's pretty hardcore.
You'd be surprised,
because some people come to a church like this,
church like mine,
and they're here, and they're just like,
you know what, I like this church
because I've been to churches,
and they're just kind of like weak,
and they kind of like,
they don't really preach the Bible,
but it seems like you really preach the Bible here.
Like, I actually learned something,
and they actually like it.
Drop a couple F bombs here and there.
They'll get used to it,
and they'll give F bombs themselves to you.
Sooner or later, okay?
And I'm talking about the,
not the F bomb that the world uses,
I'm talking about our F bomb.
The one that's probably gonna give
Pastor Thompson a strike for this sermon,
because I used it a couple times.
Gather new stones.
What is this church made of?
It's made of the right foundation.
It's made of the right type of stones.
It's made correctly when you cast out
the stones that are filled with leprosy,
and it continuously is built
when you continue to gather more stones,
and build a strong, sure foundation of the church.
Amen?
We thank you so much for your word,
and thank you for this church.
Thank you for a strong church that's here
in Washington, Lord.
I pray, God, that you'd be with Pastor Thompson.
Fill him with your power and your spirit.
Fill the congregation with your power
and your spirit, Lord, and inspire them
to reach out to their lukewarm Christian friends,
or friends who are unsaved, family members,
and encourage them to come.
You just never know what might happen
when they come to this church.
I pray, God, that you continue to build
this church and continue to add lively stones
to this congregation and fortify them,
help them to be steadfast and unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord.
We love you. We thank you.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
No matter what obsession, pain, or deep depression,
I'm standing on the solid rock.
I'm standing on the rock of ages safe
from all the storm that rages rich,
but not from Satan's wages.
I'm standing on the solid rock.
Let's get out on the second.
Even though he's gone now, I don't feel alone now.
With comfort came the spirit of the Lord.
Now with his word to guide me,
from temptations hide me,
I'm standing on the solid rock.
I'm standing on the rock of ages safe
from all the storm that rages rich,
but not from Satan's wages.
I'm standing on the solid rock.
Seen on the last.
Now I'm pressing onward.
Each step leads me homeward.
I'm trusting in my Savior day by day.
And close is our relation.
Firm is its foundation.
So on this solid rock I'll stay.
I'm standing on the rock of ages safe
from all the storm that rages rich,
but not from Satan's wages.
I'm standing on the solid rock.
Man, good singing.
Thank you, Pastor Mejia, for preaching for us.
And thank you for coming out tonight.
Brother Evan, would you end us with a word of prayer?
Amen.
Man, you're dismissed.