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

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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 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. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. At this time we're going to have our choir sing for us. Amen. 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 And we'll do it now And we'll do it now And we'll do it now And we'll do it now 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 All heaven rejoices 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 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 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. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.