 Amen. Well, it's great to be back here in Fresno. It's going to see everyone again. And of course, the Pizarra excuse are doing a great job. And it's great to hear that this morning we had what 53 in attendance. So that is a great number. And I'm excited for the future of this church. And so thank you for having me. It is a privilege for me to be here. So thank you. And so we're there in Genesis chapter number 28. And in Genesis 28, if you're familiar with the story, as you know at this time, Jacob is fleeing from his brother Esau. And Isaac sends Jacob to Padana Ram to do what? To find a wife in his native land. And as he's traveling to Padana Ram, he comes to a certain place and he goes to sleep and he has a vision. And tonight I want to focus on this vision that Jacob has. If you look at with me in verse number 10, Genesis 28 verse number 10, the Bible says in Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Heron. And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set. And he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and laid down in that place to sleep. And notice verse 12 says, and he dreamed and behold a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it reached the heaven. And behold the angels have got ascending and descending on us. So get the picture here. Jacob is traveling and he gets tired. And so he decides to pick a spot to lay down and go to sleep. And in the sleep, God gives him a vision. He gives him a dream. And in the stream, he sees this ladder. And this ladder set upon the earth, it reaches the heaven. And up and down this ladder, what do we see? We see angels going up and down. And at the top of it, he sees the Lord. And look at verse number 13, it says, and behold, notice the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest to thee will I give it and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as a dust of the earth and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And in verse 15, it says, and behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places wither thou goest. And will bring thee again into this land for I will not leave thee until I have done that, which I have spoken to thee. So in this stream, we see that God gives Jacob a good promise, right? He says, hey, I'm going to protect you. I'm going to give you this land, the promise that he gave to your fathers. I'm going to give it unto you. And once he wakes up out of this stream, I want you to notice the reaction that Jacob has to this stream. In verse 16, it says, notice, and Jacob awaked out of his sleep. And he said, surely the Lord is in this place. And I knew it not. And notice it says in verse 17, and he was afraid and said, how dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house of God. And this is the gate of heaven. And tonight my sermon comes from verse 17 where it says, how dreadful is this place? How dreadful is this place? See, when Jacob woke out of his dream, you know, he realized, he realized where he was, was the house of God. And notice the attitude, the reaction, the feeling, the sentiment that this man had when he realized that where he was, was just a random place. Now where he was, that he was in the house of God. In verse 17, notice what it says. It says, and he was what? And he was afraid. Notice he was fearful. The reaction, the sentiment, the feeling that he had to the house of God was one of fear. You know, I believe that Jacob, at this time, he had a godly fear. The fear that he had was right. Why? Because, you know, you and I, we should fear God. Now the Bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And the Bible commands us to not fear men. You know, Jesus said, Jesus told people, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to destroy the soul. He said, but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body and health. See, it is wrong for us to fear man. It is wrong for us to fear what man can do to us. But when it comes to having the right fear, we should always fear the Lord. Here it plays serenely in Genesis 28, if you would have saw him in 86, saw him in chapter 86 in verse 11. So I believe that Jacob here, he had a right attitude. He had the right response when he realized that where he was, was the house of God. You're going to saw him in 86. But in Ecclesiastes 12, 13, the Bible says, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. See, all throughout the Bible were commanded to do what? To fear the Lord. And this reaction, the feeling, the attitude, the fearfulness that he had at this time, I believe was a proper attitude. I believe it was a right feeling. Why? Because we should fear the Lord. Look at verse number 11, the Bible says, Teach me thy way, O Lord, I will walk in thy truth. Notice, unite my heart to do what? To fear thy name. The Bible says that we should have a heart that is united with fear when it comes to God and when it comes to the things of God. And here in this story, we see that Jacob reacts to realizing that where he was, was none other but the house of God. And it was a feeling of fear. You know, I looked up that word fear and fear can do many things to a person. You know, fear, I looked it up that when you're afraid, your heart starts pounding a little bit more. The blood starts flowing in you a little bit more. But you know, one of the effects of fear is that you have mental focus. All of a sudden, your mind is a lot sharper when you're afraid. You know, imagine being in a dangerous situation and you're fearful. You know, one of the reactions is that your mind is going to sharpen up. Your mind is going to get quicker. Your mind is going to be sharper and you're going to be more aware of your surroundings. And so we see that Jacob, he's more aware. He's alert. He realized, hey, this is just any place. No, this is the house of God. Go back to Genesis 28. But not only did he fear, but notice what else Jacob said about the place where he was, about the title of tonight's sermon. Genesis 28, verse 17, again says, And he was afraid and said, notice, how dreadful is this place? How dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house of God. And this is the gate of heaven. You see, when it comes to the house of God, you should realize that this is a dreadful place. Now, I know when I say that and people who may not understand what we're talking about, they're going to think we hate it. You know, when you go out solo and you don't tell people, when they ask you, hey, what's your church like? You don't tell them what's it's dreadful. You know, it's a dreadful place. You know, people won't show up. But you know, Jacob had the right attitude. You know, one of the definitions of the word dread is to hold something in respect with all. To have reverence. To have a deep, respectful feeling with all, united with fear. And what is the house of God? The house of God is a dreadful place, meaning what? Meaning the house of God is a place that you ought to have in respect, in reverence. Respect, united with all. It shouldn't be a place that you think it's nothing where it's just a place you sleep. No, it's a place where you have a feeling of dread, meaning you hold it in deep respect. A fear united with all with respect is the house of God. And this is the attitude that we should have as Christians when it comes to the house of God. Go for you to Hebrews chapter number 12, Hebrews 12. Here are places, of course, in Genesis 28. We're going to be going back there. Go to Hebrews 12. You say, what should I think about when it comes to the house of God? You should think, hey, how dreadful is this place? You know, when I say that, I'm not saying it's a horrible place, because it's a great place. What I mean is that you should have it in your mind as a place of deep reverence, a place of fear united with respect, respectful awe towards the house of God. Hebrews 12 verse number 28, the Bible says, Wherefore we receive a kingdom which cannot be moved. It says, let us have grace whereby we may serve God. Notice, acceptably with reverence and godly fear. See, there's an acceptable way that we ought to serve God. How is that acceptable way? In Hebrews 12, 28, it says we should have it with reverence. Notice, and godly fear. What is it? That's dread. That's having dread toward the house of God. We should have reverence, respect, coupled with godly fear. Why? Because in verse 29, the Bible says, for our God is a consuming fire. See, our God, he wants us to fear him. And you know, what kind of father? Think about a father and son relationship. What kind of father are you going to be, Dad? If you're a son or you're a child, never just never fears you. They have no fear of discipline. There's just only positive. There's nothing to be afraid of. They're going to do whatever they want. But it is right. It is godly to have the proper fear when it comes to things of God. And in the house of God, you should think of it as a dreadful place. Meaning you should have deep reverence, deep respect tinged with fear when it comes to the house of God. You know, in the Old Testament, when God was building the tabernacle, he told his people, you shall keep my sadness and reverence my sanctuary. You know, today we live in a day where the world, they don't reverence the house of God. Where the world, they have no fear, they have no respect for the things of God and for the house of God. You say, how do you know that? You look at most churches today and what do you see? You see a rock concert. You see a band up there playing their rock music, bringing the world's lights in, bringing the smoke in and just jamming out like it's a rock concert. You know, now we see like rap artists just putting on a rap concert for people and calling that the house of God. You know, there's just no reverence. God is not pleased with those things. These people, they don't fear God. And we as Christians, we ought to be different. You know, we should have a deep respect for the things of God. And tonight in this story, I want to give you three reasons why you should have dread for the house of God. Why you should have deep reverence, deep fear united with respect towards the house of God. I'll go back to Genesis 28. Genesis 28, and as I said today, the world, they have no fear for the house of God. They have no respect for the house of God. The world, they think they can do whatever they want, but as long as they throw the name of Jesus out there, then God's going to be pleased. You know, that's not right in the eyes of God. You know, that is wrong, but we as Christians, we ought to be different. And so here we see three things why you should have dread or deep respect or reverence towards the house of God. And one of the reasons, point number one, is you should consider the position. You say, what do you mean, consider the position? We'll look for verse number 11. Genesis 28 verse number 11, it says, And he, this of course is Jacob, and he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and laid down in that place to sleep. Verse 12. And he dreamed and behold a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it reached the heaven and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. So get the picture, here we have Jacob doing what? On the floor, just lying down. And in this vision he has, he's on the floor, he sees this ladder, the angels of God going up and down. And notice verse 13, and behold, notice who is above this ladder. It says, notice the Lord stood above it. You see, what do I mean when you ought to consider the position? You ought to consider the fact that the head of this church is God. That at the top of this church is the Lord Himself. Go if you would to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. So number one, you should reverence the house of God. Why? Because you know what? The head of this church is Jesus Christ. The head of this church is God Himself. You're going to Colossians 1, but in Ephesians 5, 23, the Bible says, for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body. The Bible says that the way that the husband is to lead a wife is the same way that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Colossians 1, look at verse number 18, Colossians 1, 18. The Bible says, and he, speaking of God, it says, and he is the head of the body. What's his body? It says the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things, notice he might have the preeminence. You see, the head of this church is not Pastor Jimenez. It's not Brother Jared. It's not me. It's not any one man. The head of this church is Jesus Christ. You see, why do we do the things that we do? We do it because the boss tells us to do those things. And you may not think about these things, but the way we pattern our church here is patterned based on what the Bible says. You see, why do we sing hymns? We sing hymns because we see the Lord Jesus Christ Himself singing hymns with His disciples. Why do we meet upon the first day of the week? Because that is the pattern that we see in Scripture where they met upon the first day of the week. Why do we take up an offering? Because we see the pattern in the Bible that we take up an offering. You know, why do we read the Scripture before the preaching? Because that's the pattern that we see. Why do we have a man preach the Bible and not a woman? Because that's the pattern in the Bible. And when you think about these churches out there who they claim to be Christians, but if you think about a church like Joel Osteen, you know, that man does not have Jesus Christ over his church. A man who says, I'm not going to say hell to my people. It's like, are you more loving than God? When Jesus Christ spoke about hell, he wanted people to be afraid of hell. He said it's better for you to cut off your own hand than to go to hell, for you to pluck out your own eye to go to hell. But we have Joel Osteen saying, hey, I'm not going to use that word. You know, why? Because Jesus Christ is not the head of his church. That is not God's place. You know, think about someone like Joyce Meyer. You know, did God tell Joyce Meyer to preach? When the Bible says, I suffer not a woman to teach. You know, that is not God's institution. That is not, they could call it what they want, but you know, Jesus Christ is not the head of that church. Why? Because they're putting themselves above the word of God. You see, why do we do what we do in this church? Why? Because you know what? The head of this church is Jesus Christ. The head of this house is the word of God. And this is where we pattern everything that we do. We pattern it, why? Because there is an authority. And that authority is Jesus Christ. And of course, we see, we know that God has given us pastors and teachers. You know, we know that there's an authority inside of the church. You know, Pastor Jimenez leads this church as the pastor. And he's ordained brother Jared to be here to lead it as a satellite. But you know, Jesus Christ is the one that is above Pastor Jimenez. And everything that Pastor Jimenez does is according to this book. And if he goes contrary to this book, then he's wrong, but you know what? This is what he's subject to. He is subject to the word of God. You see, why should I have reverence or deep respect for the house of God? You ought to consider the position, the fact that Jesus Christ is the head of this local church. But not only that, but go if you go to 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy chapter number three. And so if Jesus Christ is the head of this church, you ought to realize that you should act accordingly. 1 Timothy 3, look at verse number 15. 1 Timothy 3, 15, the Bible says, But if I tarry long, notice that thou mayest know, notice how thou oughtest to do what? To behave thyself where in the house of God. Notice, which is the church of the living God. Notice what it says. It says it is the house of God. And because it is, it says how thou oughtest to behave thyself. See, there's a way you should behave in the house of God. You know, I was thinking of an illustration of this. You know, I have a home and I thought of an illustration. And in my home, let's see, for example, let's say I invited Brother Frank over to my house for dinner. And I said, Frank, you're coming over Friday night. It's your birthday on the 28th, right? You're coming over at 6 p.m. My wife prepares this big course meal. You know, I said, Frank, show up at 6 p.m. And then at 7 o'clock, Frank shows up. He opens the door. He doesn't ring the doorbell. He walks in in his PJs. You know, he opens the fridge. He makes himself at home. He starts eating whatever he wants. Neglects the food that's there. He sits in my seat at the head of the table. You know, wouldn't you think, what are you doing, Brother Frank? Wouldn't you think, hey, that's kind of disrespectful. You're just showing up there doing what you want as if it's your house. And you know what? You know what? I might say, I might say, hey, Frank, get out of here. You know, like, get out. You know, that's wrong. You know? But here's the thing. In the same way, this house doesn't belong to you. This house doesn't belong to me. This house doesn't belong to Brother Jared or Pastor Jimenez. This house belongs to God. And in the same way, you know, this morning Pastor preached on how to get kicked out of church. The other thing is that church is a privilege. Church is not a right. You know, don't just assume I could do whatever I want, act however I want. And I'm just allowed to do whatever. No, it is a privilege to be in church. And we ought to realize that it is not your house, not my house, but it's the house of God. And the same way, when you invite people over, you expect them to be kind, to be polite, to be respectful. We should expect the same thing when it comes to the house of God. That it's not just our home for us to show up like it's Walmart at two in the morning, right? We just, we be respectful, right? And everything that's done is done according to what God wants us to do. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter number five. Ecclesiastes five. You see, why should I have reverence or deep respect for the house of God? We ought to consider that the head of this household is God. The head of this church, the head of this house is the Lord Himself. Ecclesiastes five. Look at verse number one. Ecclesiastes five, one, the Bible says, notice, keep thy foot. Notice, when thou goest to the house of God, what does it mean when it says keep thy foot? It means, hey, watch your step. And realize that you're not walking into your friend's house, you're not walking into your own house. When you're coming to the house of God, it says, keep thy foot. Meaning, realize that you're entering into the house of God. And obviously, we're not referring to the physical building. You know, this physical building is not the house of God, but when we come together as a church and the church service begins, we ought to realize that it is the house of God. It says, keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God. Notice, and be more ready to do what? To hear and then to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. So you ought to realize that when you come to church that there is an authority. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. And when we come to this church, realize that it is the house of God. And that should cause us to have some reverence, to have some respect. You know, when you invite people over to your house, you expect them to come dress nicely, right? That's why I believe when you come to church, you should dress your best. Why? Because we're coming to the house of God. And God wants us to give him our best. So when we come to church, hey, come dress nicely. You know, when you come to church, pay attention. When you come to church, sing the hymns. When you come to church, apply the sermons to your life. Why? Because you know what? God wants us to act in a certain way, to behave in a certain way. Why? Because this church is the house of God. Go back if you went to Genesis 28. So number one, we see why should we have reverence, deep respect, fear with awe towards the house of God? Why should we dread this place? Well, number one, because of the position. But not only that, but number two, but also because of the presence. And I didn't say presence as in Christmas gifts. I meant presence as in, you're present, right? You're here because of the presence. And I want you to notice in Genesis 28, how Jacob treated the house of God before he knew God was there. Look at verse number 11. It says, and he lighted upon notice a certain place. And I like how the Bible keeps highlighting how it's a certain place, notice. And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set. And he took of the stone as notice of that place and put them for his pillows and laid down again in that place to sleep. Over and over, we see it's a certain place. It says that place, that place. But notice what he does before he knew that God was there. He took some stones and he made some pillows. What was he doing? He was getting comfortable. And it says that he laid down to go to sleep. He was getting real cozy in the house of God. You know, oftentimes when we think about the house of God, we have to realize that God's presence is here. And oftentimes when we forget that God's presence is here, we begin to get like Jacob a little too comfortable. Like Jacob, we maybe begin to doze off a little bit. You know, one thing when I think about, I think about kids. You know, kids, they don't really fully understand the house of God fully. They don't really understand. They don't think about the fact, hey, the Lord is in this place. They don't think about the fact that, hey, God's here. And so we need to show them that when it comes time for church, that we're respectful. We need to show them when it comes time to listen to the preaching, we're paying attention. When it comes time to sing in the hymns, we're singing the hymns. And oftentimes, you know, we as adults, we think we know these things, but sometimes because time goes on, we get a little comfortable. And we get to get a little too comfortable. Maybe we kick up our feet a little bit and we think we know it all or we think I've heard this all, but we have to realize that God's presence is here and so we should get too comfortable. And you know, you see people who, they never apply the sermons into life. Who all they do during the sermon is that they're on their phone watching the game. During the sermons, all they do is just chit-chat away. They're wasting their time. Why? Because they're real comfortable and they don't think about the fact that God is there. But notice what happens when Jacob realized that God was there in the verse number 16. The Bible says in Jacob, awake out of his sleep. And he said, notice, surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. You say, why should I have deep respect, deep reverence for the house of God? Because you know what, surely the Lord is in this place. See, I believe that the Lord is in Verity Baptist Church Fresno. You know, the Lord is here and that should cause us to not go to sleep. That should cause us to stay awake, to be on our toes, to get a little afraid, to get our blood going, to get our minds a little more focused to what's going on around us. He said, surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. And Jacob, notice in verse 18, it rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. Notice, now that which was once his pillow, that which he once thought was nothing, now he says, you know what, this is a holy place. And this is what we should do. You know, when new people walk in, they don't understand fully, you know, the house of God and the fact that God's here. But you know, when they see us being respectful, when they see us listening, doing our best, bringing forth our best, singing the hymns, applying the sermons, making those changes, when they see us taking it serious, they're going to learn, hey, you know what, this isn't just any place. They're going to think, surely the Lord is in this place. So you ought to realize that when it comes to the house of God, church begins, you ought to pay attention. Why? Because the Lord is here. The Lord is in this place. Go to Psalm 89, if you would, Psalm 89. Psalm 89. And in Matthew 18, you're going to Psalm 89, but in Matthew 18, you know, Jesus said, for two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. See, I believe that Jesus Christ is in the midst of us right now, that he is here. Surely the Lord is in this place. And people who don't believe that, you know what they do? They just, they don't care. And you know what, it shows when people don't care. It shows when people don't believe it. It shows in the attitude. It shows in the way they treat the house of God. It shows in the way that they act during the church time. It shows that they don't care. You ought to realize that God is here and God wants you to apply the sermons to pay attention, that God has something for you. Psalm 89, look, verse number seven, the Bible says, God is greatly to be feared where in the assembly of the saints, in verse seven. Notice, and to be had what, in reverence of all them that are about him. Again, we see that God's greatly to be feared where in the assembly of the saints. That means when we come to church time, we ought to have a proper fear of the Lord. And when we don't apply the sermons, it just shows we don't fear God. When we just talk throughout the sermons, when we want our phones watching the game during the services, it just shows we're missing a little bit of the fear of the Lord. You know what? The Lord is in this place. And don't be like Jacob, that you just take that which God has given you and you use it to fall asleep and think you're okay. No, why? Because God is in this place. Go to Proverbs one, if you would. Proverbs chapter one. And it shows when people come to church and they never apply the sermons, it shows that there is no fear of the Lord. You go to Proverbs chapter number one, look at verse number 29. Proverbs 129, the Bible says, notice for that they hated knowledge. Proverbs 129, for that they hated knowledge. I want you to notice the people who hate knowledge, what they do. It says, and did not choose, notice the fear of the Lord. You know, people come to church and they hear teaching over and over, preaching over and over, knowledge, instruction, but they refuse to do anything with it. You know, that shows God. It shows that there is no fear of the Lord. Because if you had a proper fear of God, then it would cause you to be a little more attentive. It would make your blood go a little bit faster. It'll make your mind a little bit sharper. It'll make you afraid enough to make you want to change your life. But oftentimes, even as adults, we get to the place where we get a little bit too complacent when it comes to the house of God. So realize that, hey, when it comes time to church, God wants you to apply this sermon to your life. When it comes time to church, realize that God wants you to understand that his presence is here. Why? Because we're two or three are gathered together in my name, they're in my midst of them. See, I believe that. I believe that God is here. And because he's here, he wants you to pay attention. He wants you to apply. And don't treat it like a thing of nothing. When you're falling asleep and never paying attention, that just shows you don't fear the Lord. You say, why should I have deep respect? Why should I dread this church? Because why? Because the presence of the Lord is here. Go back to Genesis chapter 28, if you would, Genesis 28. So number one, this evening, why should you dread the house of God? Because of the position. Because this house is not your house. It's not my house. This house belongs to none other, but Jesus Christ. But number two, not only that, because of the presence, because surely the Lord is in this place. But some of us, we can say like Jacob and I knew it not, right? But you know what? God wants us to realize that God is here and we ought to apply the things in which we have heard in the church. But number three, we should dread the house of God because of the purpose, because of the purpose. I want you to notice what this dream shows, Jacob in verse number 12. It says, and he dreamed and noticed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth. And the top of it reached the heaven. And behold, the angels of God noticed ascending and descending on it. You know, when you get that picture, you think of the angels busy back and forth. Notice they're ascending, they're descending, going up and down, back and forth. What are they doing? Well, they're busy. They're working. And what is the purpose of the house of God? The house of God is how God works on the earth. Here we see Jacob, he sees the ladder and he sees the Lord at the top. And notice it's connected to the earth. And what is that connection that ladder is in the house of God? Why? Because the way God works in this world on this earth is through the house of God. I mean, if you read the Old Testament, all you read about mostly is the tabernacle. I mean, the house of God is supposed to be the center of the life of God's people. And you see God building the tabernacle, giving them everything for the tabernacle, specific instructions. Their whole life was supposed to be around the house of God. And somehow we think it's different in the New Testament today. But the same way today, God works on this earth through the local New Testament church. You see, how does God work on this earth? He works through the house of God. Go to Matthew 28, if you would, Matthew 28. You don't realize that what this church is doing, this church is doing a great work for God. This church is allowing God to do his work in this area. You see, how does God work? God works through the house of God. It is God's institution. It is the way he works on this earth. Matthew 28 and verse number 18, this is, of course, is before the Lord, it sends up to heaven. He says, and Jesus came in verse 18, and it's begun to them saying, notice all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. When you think about Jesus Christ, you know, the God of the universe, he said, all power is given unto me. And notice what he does in the next two verses. And he says, go ye therefore and do it. It says, and teach all nations. What does that mean? That means we're supposed to go out and teach people the gospel, teach people the way of salvation. You think about it, he said, all power is given unto me. And because all power is given unto him, what does he want us to do? He wants us to go out and preach the gospel. You see, how is that done? It's only done through the church. It says, how shall they hear except they be said? And if you're not part of a church, you're not going soul-winning. You know, there's no such thing as somebody who's faithful soul-winner, going out there every week and they don't go to church. You know, they don't exist. You know, if people are going soul-winning, it's because there's a local church that's sending them out there to go out. Why? Because how shall they preach except they be sent? See, they must be sent to go out. And so because all power is given unto him, what does he want the local church to do, the house of God, to teach all nations? Not only that, it says, notice, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Not only is it teach all nations, but it's baptizing. How's that done? Well, it's done through the house of God. It's done through the local church. It's done through going out there and bringing people in here to get baptized after they get saved. Not only that, because all power is given unto him. Notice what he says in verse 20. It says, teaching them to observe, notice all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you all way, even unto the end of the world. Not only is it soul-winning, not only is it baptizing, but it's going out and making disciples. And how is that done? How do we teach them to observe all things, whatsoever crisis commanded us? It's by bringing them into church and having them hear the preaching. Why? Because if a man doesn't get up and say, hey, you need to read nine chapters a day in January, they're not going to do it. If a man doesn't get up here and rip on alcohol, they're not going to quit drinking. If they don't get up here and rip on whatever sin that they're doing, they're not going to stop. And the way we make disciples is by bringing them to church and allowing the Word of God to change their lives. And so because all power is given unto Jesus Christ, you know what he did? He commissioned the local church for the Great Commission to go out and get people saved, get them baptized and get them in here to learn the Word of God and the will of God. And that's what he says at the end of verse 20. It says, hello, notice, I am with you, all the way, even to the end of the world. See, God is with us. See, God is with this church. God is with this house. God is building his house. God is doing great things in this house. You say it's just the building. There's only 40, 50 of us, but you know what? God is doing great works through the house of God. Why? Because all the work that God does on this earth is through the local church. Go to Ephesians 4. Go to Ephesians 4. And so we see the God's method for evangelizing the world is through the house of God. But not only that, but we see that your growth as a Christian is connected to the house of God. I don't believe any saved person can fully grow until a God wants him to be without the house of God, without being plugged into church. And this is one of the purposes of the house of God. He said, why should I dread the house of God? You should have deep respect and awe and fear and dread because you know what? God gave you the church to help you grow. And without the church, you're not going to grow until God wants you to be. Ephesians 4, verse number 11, it says, And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists. Notice, and some pastors and teachers. You see, what has God given you? He's given you pastors and teachers. Notice, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. The reason you have church is to make you a perfect saint. For the perfecting of the saints. That doesn't mean sinless. That means complete. Meaning you cannot become a perfect, complete Christian without the house of God. It's just not going to happen. Verse 13, notice, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, notice unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we henceforth notice, be no more children. See, a child, a babe in Christ without the house of God will never become what God wants him to be. It's just not going to happen. And so God has given you the local church so that you can grow, so that you can be complete, so that you can be mature, so that we henceforth, verse 14, that we henceforth be no more children, toss two and fro, and carried about with everyone of doctrine by the sight of men and cunning craughtness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, notice may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, verse 16, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth according to the effectual working and the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. So the truth is, if you're in this body of Christ, it is because God has placed you here. God has specifically placed you here so that you can become what God wants you to be. And you ought to not take that for granted. You don't realize that every time you come here when you sing the hymns, that when you listen to preaching, that is your chance to grow. And look, every sermon you should look for ways to apply every single sermon in your life. And look, growth, good growth, strong growth does not happen overnight. It is a consistent life. It is little by little. Here a little, there a little. Precept upon precept, you're not going to grow overnight. It's going to take a consistent life till when? Till we all come into the fullness of the knowledge of Christ, until we be like Christ, which is never going to happen on this earth. So it's a lifetime. So when it comes to the house of God, don't take it for granted. Realize that God has given you this church to help you grow, and without it, it's not going to happen. Go to Ephesians 3 if you would. So not only do we see the purpose of the church, not only is it to evangelize the world, not only is it here to help you grow, but you know what? Church is also connected to your blessings on this earth. Church is connected to your blessings on this earth. Ephesians 3, look at verse number 20. Ephesians 3, verse 20, the Bible says, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. You know, many of us, we love this verse. Many of us, we quote this verse. You know, I love this verse. To think about now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. And isn't it true that God is able, whatever prayer you have in your life, whatever you want in your life, it is true that God is able to give you exceeding abundantly above all that you can even ask or think. God can do all those things, but notice that the sentence goes on in verse 21. It says, unto him be glory where? In the church, by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end, amen. You know that great verse that promises you that God can bless you, that God can answer your prayer above all that you can even ask or think. That verse is connected to the house of God. It says, unto him be glory where? In the church. You say, can't God bless me outside of the church? You know what? God can't bless you. But how much more can God bless you when you're working in his church, when you're glorifying him in his church? And yet I realize the fact that Jesus Christ, you know, he died for the church. He builds a church. He loves the church. He sanctifies the church. He did everything for the church and God wants you to be faithful to local church, to have a certain respect, to have a certain reverence, to have a certain dread towards the house of God. And when we see the story of Jacob, I believe that Jacob had the proper attitude when it came to the house of God. See, Jacob, when he realized he was playing games, he realized this place is a special place. And we as Christians, we got to treat it as such. Go back if you go to Genesis 28, Genesis chapter number 28. So why should we dread this place? How dreadful is Verity Baptist Church? Well, we should dread it because of the position, because of the fact that Jesus Christ is the authority of this church. We should have dread because of the presence, the fact that Jesus Christ, where two or three are gathered, there am I in the midst of them. And we should dread because of the purpose, because the way God works on this earth is through the local church. That's how evangelism works. That's how your growth as a Christian works. That's how your blessings are connected to the church. Look at verse number 16, Genesis 28, verse 16. The Bible says, And Jacob awaked out of his sleep. And he said, Surely the Lord is in this place. And I knew it not. And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house of God. And this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel. But the name of that city was called Loves at the First, verse 20. Notice it says, And Jacob vowed a vow saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on so that I come again to my Father's house in peace then shall the Lord be my God. Now wasn't God with Jacob in his life? He said, If God will be with me and truth is God was with Jacob. Jacob said, And will keep me in this way that I go and did not God protect Jacob and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on. And the truth is God has given you blessings. God has given you raiment. He's given you food. He's given you a great church. All of you have a house that you go to and the Bible says, Let us be content with food and raiment. God has given you enough things in life to be content. Everything you have comes for God. And notice what he says in verse 22. It says, And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house and of all that thou shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. You see, Jacob out of valley, you know what? Everything I have comes for God. So I'm going to acknowledge the fact that everything I have comes from God and I'm going to give one tenth to the house of God. And in your life and in my life, you should give your life should be centered around the house of God. Because if you think about the Old Testament, the Old Testament, everything was centered around the house of God around the tabernacle. And as Christians, our lives should be centered around this dreadful place, the house of God. And what Jacob once treated as a place where he just slept. At one point, Jacob thought it was just a place where he could just go to sleep and lay down, get comfortable. When he realized where he was, when he realized who was there, when he realized the purpose, he realized that you know what? This is a special place. And in your life and in my life, you ought to realize that this place, this house of God is a special place. Surely the Lord is in this place and you ought to have a certain dread and show the world that you know what? As Christians, as Bible-believing Christians, we're not like the world where we think we can do whatever we want. No, we have reverence to God and for his house. And so, use this sermon to apply it and realize that you know what? God wants to build you. He wants to change you. He wants to bless you. But it's on you and what you do with the house of God. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you for tonight. I thank you for your word. And I just thank you for everyone that's here, your God. I just pray that you bless us all, Lord. I thank you for your house, Lord, that you build, that you that you gave us, that you died for, Lord. And I just pray that you don't that we don't take it for granted to God. And I thank you for everyone that's here God and just keep us safe as you go our ways. God, we love you. And I just say in prayer, amen.