 Amen. All right. Well, I'd like to begin, of course, by first of all saying congratulations to the Verde Baptist Church Fresno family for one year of ministry. And then, of course, I want to specifically say congratulations to Brother Jared and Miss Heidi and the Pazarski family for the great work that they've done here over the last year. And we appreciate them and thank you. Thank you very much for the gift. We weren't expecting that, but it's very kind of you, very generous of you. And I want to say, of course, thank you to everybody who came out today. It was a great crowd. And thank you to all of you who came from Sacramento. We appreciate you being here. And some of you came from different places, Southern California and other places. And I appreciate you being here for this special day. If you look down at Ephesians chapter number four, and I'd like you to look down at verse number 11, the Bible says this, Ephesians chapter four and verse number 11. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. And in verse 12, the Bible says this, for the perfecting of the saints. And I'd like you to notice the next few words. It says, for the work of the ministry. For the work of the ministry. For the edifying of the body of Christ. When I think of the last year of Verity Baptist Church here in Fresno, and I'm sure brother Jared and Miss Heidi would agree with this. I think of the work of the ministry. When I think of starting a church, I think of the word work. And I'm not saying that in a negative way. I know in our society today the word work is a four letter word, but work is not a bad thing. And work isn't negative if you like to work. And I will tell you this, the ministry is work. The Bible says the work of the ministry. My wife and I, over the last couple of weeks, we've been a little nostalgic. I don't know if that's the right word, but of course gearing up and getting ready for the one year anniversary here in Fresno. But in the next couple of weeks, we'll actually be celebrating 10 years of ministry in Sacramento. And over the last 10 years, the Lord has privileged us and allowed us to be a part and to be in charge of several church plans. In fact, we've started, my wife and I, with the help of course of many godly people, have started six churches in the last 10 years. And of course, 10 years ago, we started Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento. And several years ago, we started Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver, Washington. And we started Shield of Faith Baptist Church in Boise, Idaho. And we started Verity Baptist Church in Manila, Philippines. We started here with Brother Jared and Miss Heidi Verity Baptist Church in Fresno. And we started Verity Baptist Church in Pampanga. So we've been, we were acquainted with what it means to start a church. What it means to go into a location where there is no church. I mean, if you consider the fact that one year ago, this did not exist. Yesterday, Verity Baptist Church in Fresno hosted a soul winning marathon flawlessly with workers and organization and soul winners and all of that. And this did not exist one year ago today. So we were acquainted with what it means to go into an area where there is no church and to begin to put the work into starting a church. And when I think of church planning, I think of the word work, the work of the ministry. It's work to start these churches. And this morning, what I want to do is preach to you on the subject of the working church. And because the Lord has allowed us to start so many churches and many of these churches have been started as satellites, which means that we've kept them for a couple of years and after two years we make them independent Baptist churches. And the idea is that as long as Brother Jared doesn't, you know, have a breakdown and just mess it all up in the last three minutes before the two year anniversary, you know, we'll ordain him and send him off to start a church to be the pastor of this church. And because we've had so many churches that we've had satellites over the years, I've preached many one year anniversary sermons. I haven't preached a lot of three year anniversary sermons or four year anniversary sermons because by then they're independent and then their own church. But I've preached a lot of one year anniversary sermons and every time I come to this, I think, what do we need to preach? What can I talk about? What truth can we highlight for the one year anniversary? And today I want to speak on the subject of the working church. And I want to begin by giving you a definition of a church. Now, are there any Ephesians chapter 4? If you would go with me to the book of 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 3. If you find all the T books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. And find 1 Timothy chapter 3. And do me a favor when you get there, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it later on in the sermon. So I'd like you to be able to find it quickly. 1 Timothy chapter 3. And while you turn there, I'll give you a definition for a church. This is the definition we use at our church when I speak to our church people about what a church is, what we believe a church is. And there's many definitions that people use, but this is the one that we've came up with. We believe that a church is a local assembly of believers who have banded together under the leadership of a pastor for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. If you say what is it that you started here one year ago today, it was we were starting a church which we wanted to be, which we have endeavored for it to be a local assembly of believers who have banded together under the leadership of a pastor for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. And when we talk about the work of a church or the working church, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about fulfilling, we're talking about believers coming together under spiritual leadership to fulfill the Great Commission. I want to give you some thoughts and regards to this. And if you're taking notes, I'd encourage you to write some of these things down. Point number one this morning, I'd like you to consider, first of all, the work of the church. The work of the church. And what I mean by that is this, I believe many churches today are not working. And I think part of the reason is because I think many churches today unfortunately do not even really understand what the work of a church is. What it is that a church has been given to do. And I want you to understand when we started very about this church, we did here in Fresno and Sacramento and every church we've ever started, we did not start this church with the intention of it being a social club. Now we realize that part of discipleship is fellowshiping and socializing. And we hope that people do socialize and fellowship, but that was not our intention. That is a byproduct or that is a part of it, but that's not the reason we started the church. I'll say this, we did not start this church as a fan club for the new IFB. Now I realize that many of you listen to pastors from churches that are our friends and that we fellowship with and there's nothing in the world wrong with that, in fact we encourage that and we love that. But this church was not meant to be a fan club and I'm glad it's not. It's not meant to be a social club and I'm glad it's not. It's really meant, it's gathered, its purpose is to gather believers together for the work of the ministry. To get the work of God done on this earth. So what is the work of a church? What is it that a church is supposed to do? Well first of all, I want you to notice that a church is to uphold truth. You're there in 1st Timothy 3, look down at verse number 15. 1st Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, the Bible says this, but if I tell you long, this is the apostle Paul of course speaking to Timothy. This is Paul training Timothy who is a young pastor training him for the ministry. He says, but if I tell you long that I may know how the audits to behave myself, notice these words, in the house of God, in the house of God. And of course in the New Testament this is the church of the living God. He says, in the house of God, which is the church of the living God? Do you understand that you are sitting in the house of God today? Not because of this building, not because of this location, but because we are with the family of God. We are with the people of God and we are preaching the word of God and we've got the Holy Spirit of God and we are in the house of God which is the church of the living God and I want you to notice these words. He says, the pillar and ground of the truth. Here the apostle Paul actually gives us one of the purposes or one of the works of the church. He says, look the church is to be the pillar and the ground of the truth. Now when he says the ground there, of course he's talking about the ground. He's talking about the foundation where you would place a pillar. What is a pillar? A pillar is defined as a tall vertical structure of stone, wood or metal, used as a support for a building or as an ornament or monument. And of course during the time today you'll see buildings with pillars and they're only really there for ornament to make something look nice. But during the time of the apostle Paul they would build these buildings and the pillars were literally there to hold up the building. They were there to support the building and Paul takes that analogy and he says the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. What does that mean? It means that the church is to uphold the truth. The church is to be the ground, the foundation that we put a pillar on in order to uphold. You say, what are we upholding? Are we upholding a roof? Are we upholding a ceiling? Are we upholding the top of a building? He says, no. The purpose of a church is to uphold the truth, is to hold up the truth. Go with me to the book of John if you would, John chapter number 17. You're there in 1 Timothy. Keep your place there. We're going to come back to it. Go to John chapter 17, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John chapter 17. And do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or your finger there in John chapter 17 as well because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it as well. What is the truth? Well, the Bible says this. Jesus said this. Sanctify them through thy truth. Then he said this. The word is truth. The word of God is truth. So the Bible says that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. And then the Bible tells us that the word of God is the truth. So what does that mean? That means that the church is to uphold the word of God. Why? Because the word of God is the truth. See, our job is to take the truth, which is the word of God, and to uphold it. Keep your place right there. And John, go back to 1 Timothy. But do me a favor, go to 2 Timothy chapter number 4. If you consider the fact that Paul says, hey, the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. Jesus said, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Then that would make sense why Paul would say in 2 Timothy chapter 4, again, speaking to Timothy about the work of the ministry. Here's what he says. 2 Timothy chapter 4, look at verse 2. He says preach the word. Now, why would Paul say that? Paul says that because the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. And because the word of God is truth. So Paul says, look, your job as a church, Verity Baptist Church friends, no, Verity Baptist Church Sacramento, whatever Baptist church you happen to be from, what is the job? What is the work of the church? What is something that the church is supposed to do? It's supposed to uphold the truth. How do we do that by preaching the word? Preach the word. Now, you say, well, doesn't every church preach the word? Well, Paul kind of deals with that because he says this. He says, preach the word. Then he says, be instant. He says, be instant. He says, be ready. He said, be instant means you have it now, right? It's like instant coffee. You don't have to wait for it. It's instant, right? He says, be instant. He said, I want you to be ready. He says, in season, out of season. Now, why would he say that? He says that because of the fact that there are times when the word of God is popular and there are times when the word of God is not. And by the way, I would submit to you this morning that we are living at a time when the word of God is not popular. He says, be instant in season, out of season. He says, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all-long suffering in doctrine. Why would he say this? Notice verse 3. He says, for the time will come. And I would say to you, the time is here when they will not endure astound doctrine. Please understand something. You say, what's the work of the ministry? What's the work of every Baptist church? What's the work of a church? What is a church supposed to do? Please understand this. The work of the local New Testament church is to uphold, is to be the pillar and ground of the truth. And I would submit to you this morning that we are really the last man standing when it comes to the truth. I mean, I don't know where you could go in society today to get the truth. I'm talking about the truth of the word of God. I'm talking about the truth that comes from God. You can't get it from government. You're not going to get it from the public school system. You're not going to get it from public education systems. You're not going to get it from most churches. Most churches today have decided that they're not going to be instant, that they're not going to preach the word in season out of season. They're only going to preach the word in season. They're only going to preach what's popular. They're only going to preach what's acceptable. They're going to preach every day, all day, about Love thy neighbor, about the prodigal son and about the good Samaritan, and all those things are good things. But you know what? There's parts of the Bible that aren't popular. But they're still true. Genesis 19 is true. Romans chapter 1 is true. And he says, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. He says, they're going to look for teachers that are going to make them feel good. They're not going to look for teachers, like he said in verse 2, that are going to reprove them and rebuke them and exhort them. They're just going to look for preachers that are going to make them feel good. That's why Joel Osteen is so popular today. That's why preachers that refuse to preach the Word of God are so popular. He says, they're going to, after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. And notice verse 4, And they shall turn away. They're not going to want to hear. Notice their ears from, notice the truth. They're going to turn away their ears from the truth, but yet our job is to be the pillar and ground of the truth and shall be turned unto fable. So please understand, you say, What is the work of Verity Baptist Church? What is the purpose of a church? The purpose of a church, the work of a church, is number one to uphold the truth. Whether that's popular or not. Whether people like it or not. Look, we need to get up and preach things that are true from the Word of God, whether people like it or not. And I would submit to you this morning that there are lots of things the Bible teaches that people don't want to hear. You know the Bible teaches that you shouldn't drink alcohol? Yeah, that's not popular today. You're not going to hear that preach in the average church today. You say, well, why would you preach that at Verity Baptist Church? Because we're going to uphold the truth. You know the Bible teaches against divorce? Yeah. You'll never hear that today from the average pulpit in America. But this is what the Bible teaches, so we're going to preach it. You know the Bible teaches against fornication, against young people, having a physical relationship, going to bed together before they're married? That is a biblical truth that the Bible teaches. You're not going to hear it today. You're not going to hear preach against the sodomites, homosexuality, that the Bible says that they are worthy of death. You're not going to hear Leviticus 19 preach. You're not going to hear Genesis 19 and Judges 19, Leviticus 18. You're not going to hear these passages preached today because they are not popular. But please understand, our job is to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Amen. And our goal really, and I'll just tell you right now we've never hit this, our goal is to start as many churches in this country and specifically in this state as possible that will uphold the truth. I mean, I don't know what the impact is and we may have to get the heaven to realize what the impact is. I know for a fact our church in Sacramento has made an impact and we know we're not famous but we're infamous and we don't have a lot of fans but we have a lot of enemies and we've made an impact and this church is making an impact and the six churches that I've talked about and those aren't the only six churches, those are the six churches we've started. There are other churches like ours that have started churches. Here's what I'm telling you. Could you imagine the day? Could you imagine the impact that would happen in the state of California if this church started another church and we started another church? I mean, imagine what would happen if one day there were 10 churches like ours up and down this coast. 20 churches like ours up and down this coast. 30 churches like ours up and down this coast. I mean, I'm only 34 years old. If the Lord allows me to minister until I'm 70 years old, you're going to be stuck with me for a long time. And you're going to hear a lot of one-year anniversary sermons, Lord willing. And we're going to start churches and we're going to plant churches and you say, why are you going to do it? We're going to do it for the work of the church, for the work of the ministry. You say, what is that? It's to uphold the truth. It's to make sure that the truth of God's word, because today you can't find the truth anywhere. We are the last man standing when it comes to the truth. We're the last man standing when it comes to preaching the Word of God and to preaching it in season, out of season, reproving, rebuking, exhorting with all on suffering. Because the time has come. So what is the work of the church? Well, the work of the church is number one to uphold the truth. But I'd like you to notice, secondly, when it comes to the work of the church, go with me to the book of 2 Corinthians, if you would. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. You're there in the book of John. If you kept your place in John, you have John, Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. John, Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. I want you to notice something and this is something we talk about a lot. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 19, the Bible says this to wit that God was in Christ. Notice these words. Reconciling the world unto Himself. God was in Christ. The Bible says, in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. God came to this earth in flesh, robed in flesh. He was in Christ. Why did He come? Jesus said to seek and to save that which was lost. Reconciling the world unto Himself. Not imputing their trespasses unto them and have committed, notice these words, and have committed unto us the word of reconciliation. He's given us, He's entrusted us, He's given us a responsibility of the word of reconciliation. What is the word of reconciliation? Well, it's what Christ was doing on this earth. He was reconciling the world unto Himself. Reconciling the world unto God and He's given us the ministry of reconciliation to find unbelievers and reconcile them unto God. Notice verse 20. He says, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. That's what he means. When we talk about being ambassadors for Christ, it means that we are representatives of Christ. We are here as representatives. In the same way that an ambassador is a representative of a nation or a kingdom or a president or a king. We are ambassadors of Christ. Notice, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in, I love these words. In fact, if you don't mind underlining your Bible, you should underline these words. In Christ's stead, be reconciled to God. Do you know when you go out soul-winning, you are an ambassador for Christ, and you are there in Christ's stead? I mean, literally, when you and I knock that door, and we shouldn't say this, and please don't say this because this is weird, okay? And sometimes people say weird things out soul-winning. But when you and I knock that door, we could say, when somebody opens this door, it'd say, hi, I'm an ambassador of Jesus Christ, and I'm actually here in Christ's stead. Christ sent me in his place to be an ambassador and a representative, and I'm not telling you to say that at the door. Please don't say that. In fact, if you say that, we're probably going to ask you to stop saying that. But what I'm saying is, that's the truth. By the way, I'll say this. If you realize that you are an ambassador for Christ when you're out soul-winning, it'll probably change the way you do soul-winning. You'll probably stop having such a bad attitude when you're out soul-winning. If you realize, I'm here in Christ's stead. You might actually start dressing differently when you're out soul-winning. You might start actually smiling when you're out soul-winning. You might actually start carrying a Bible when you're out soul-winning. If you realize, I'm not here on my own and for myself, I'm here in Christ's stead. I'm an ambassador for Christ. Notice verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you. Notice the words, by us. When we are beseeching people to get saved, it is as though God is doing it by us and through us we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. Now, go up into the book of Genesis. If you would, Genesis chapter number 28 in the Old Testament, first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 28. And let me give you the second work of the church. What is the work of the church? Well, first of all, the work of the church is to uphold the truth. It is the pillar and ground of the truth. But secondly, I would say this. The work of the church is this. If we, as believers, are ambassadors, then that would make the church the embassy. And really, a church is an embassy for the kingdom of God. Just like embassies and different nations will have an embassy for the United States of America on a foreign nation, on a foreign land. And what is the purpose of the embassy? It is to represent that nation, the United States of America, in England, in wherever that country may be. In the same way, this church, this church in every Baptist, Biblical, scriptural, bona fide church is an embassy for the kingdom of God. Now, if you remember, we saw in 2 Timothy, excuse me, 1 Timothy, Paul said the church of the living God. He said the house, he said that thou mayest know how the artist to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. He said the house of God is the church of the living God. Now, we understand that's New Testament. In the Old Testament, there was a house of God, and I don't have time to preach that or explain that, but you have the house of God in the Old Testament, which was, at one time, the tabernacle, and then it was the temple. And today, as New Testament believers, we are the temple. Our body is the temple. So now, the gathering of believers is the house of God. But I want you to know, as one of the first times, in fact, the first time in the Bible, this idea of the house of God was referenced is in Genesis 28. And I want you to notice verse number 11. Genesis 28, verse number 11. This is, of course, Jacob. And I want you to notice what the Bible says. He has this experience. Genesis 28, verse 11. The Bible says this. And he, Jacob, lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night. This, of course, remember Jacob. He's running away from home. And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set. And he took the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and laid down in the place to sleep. So he picked some stones up and uses them as a pillow. Not a very comfy pillow, I don't think, but that's what he used. Look at verse 12. And he dreamed and behold a ladder. And this, of course, is a famous passage known as Jacob's ladder. He dreamed and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. So Jacob, he finds a certain place. He lays down to sleep. And he has a dream. And he dreams, he has this vision that there is a ladder from where he is that reaches up to heaven. And the angels of God are ascending and descending. There is this bridge. There is this opening that connects heaven and earth where he is at. And, of course, God gives him here the Abrahamic covenant. And it comes down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. And we understand those things. Look down to verse number 16. The Bible says this, And Jacob awake out of his sleep and he said, Notice what he said. He said, Surely the Lord is in this place. And I knew it not. Then he says this. And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place? Notice what he says. He says, This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven. He said, I'm not sure where I'm at, but this has to be the house of God. This has to be the gate of heaven because this is where God is working from heaven. He says there's this ladder that goes up and down in the angels of God. And God is working through this place. Notice verse 22. He says, And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house. And of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee. And what we learn is this principle that where Jacob had set this stone, that was the house of God. And the house of God. Why was it the house of God? Because that's where God was working. Because Jacob said, He had a vision and he saw a ladder where God was sending angels up and down, ascending and descending. And Jacob said, I didn't realize it, but this is actually where God is. This is where God is working. He says this is the house of God. And then eventually when most of them would come along, most of them would build a tabernacle and they would call that the house of God. Why would they call it the house of God? Because that's where God worked. And you had the holy of holies. You had the Ark of the Covenant that represented the presence of God. And eventually the tabernacle would be turned into a temple and they would call that the house of God. Why? Because the holy of holies, because of the Ark of the Covenant, because of the presence of God was there. And then in the New Testament, your body and my body would become the temple of the Holy Ghost. And God would reside in us through the person of the Holy Spirit. And we would join together and God would call that the house of God. And you say, well, Pastor, what is it that you're trying to explain to us? I'm trying to explain to you this. God does His work today through the house of God. He's always done His work through the house of God. The house of God is an embassy for the kingdom of God. I would tell you this morning, you may not know it, but the Lord is here. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. Surely God is working in this place. I believe that there is a spiritually speaking. There is a gate from this place, from this location. You say this location next to the Chinese restaurant and the Japanese restaurant. It's not about this location. It's about you. When you and I decided to gather together here, God sent and placed an embassy in Fresno, California for His kingdom called Verity Baptist Church. The work of God, please understand this, the work of God is done through the house of God. God does His work on this earth through the local New Testament church. God does not work through Bible colleges. Jesus never said, I'm the head of a Bible college. By the way, Jesus never said, I'm the head of a YouTube channel. Now I'm not against YouTube channels and we have YouTube channels and as long as they are done under the ministry of a local New Testament church, there's nothing wrong with that. But Jesus never said, I'm the head of a YouTube channel. Jesus never said, I'm the head of a Bible college. Jesus never said, I'm the head of a para-church organization. Jesus said, I am the head of the church and the work of God on this earth is done through the church. He said, well, in this one year anniversary, why are you preaching about this? Because I want you to understand, what did we start here one year ago? We started a church. Why? For the work of the ministry. Well, what's the work? The work is to uphold the truth and the work is to be an embassy for Jesus Christ, for the kingdom of Christ. We are here to represent and do the work of God. God does His work through the local New Testament church and God, by the way, only does His work through the local New Testament church. You say, oh, well, I watch sermons online and I don't go to church but I watch sermons online. Well, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings but please understand something. You're not involved in the work of God. God does His work through His house. God does His work through the local New Testament church. Why do we start local New Testament churches? Because of the fact that the work of God is done on this earth. The embassy of God is in the local New Testament church. And what we're trying to do is open as many embassies as possible. Set up as many gates as possible between heaven and earth on this earth in Sacramento and in Fresno. And one day in San Jose. And one day in Oakland. And one day in Reading. And one day in Reno. And one day wherever the Lord allows us to do it. Why? Because the work of God, the work of God is to uphold the truth and the work of God is to represent God on this earth as ambassadors. So I said, number one, I'd like you to consider the work of God but secondly, this morning I'd like you to consider the working of the church. Now, we already saw in Ephesians this phrase, the work of the ministry. Go be the book of Hebrews, if you would. If you get your place in 1 Timothy. Excuse me. If you get your place in 1 Timothy or 2 Timothy, you go past Titus if I leave you into the book of Hebrews. I hope it's clear, the work of God. So what is this church trying to accomplish? I hope you're listening in the last 10 minutes. We're upholding the truth, whether it's popular or not, and we're representing Jesus Christ on this earth. You can call it whatever you want. You can define it. I've defined it for our church this way. Our goal, our purpose at Verity Baptist Church is to reach people and teach people. We are reaching people with the gospel. That's the embassy ambassador part of our job and we are teaching people the word of God. That is the upholding of the truth of God. Everything we do at Verity Baptist Church falls under these two categories, reaching people or teaching people. We're either reaching people with the gospel or we're teaching people we've already reached with the gospel but that is the work of the church. But I'd like you to notice, secondly, not only do we understand the work of the church but we must understand the working of a church. Because I don't know if you know this but work requires labor. I'm sure you know that. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 10, notice what the Bible says. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 10, the Bible says, for God is not unrighteous to forget your, I want you to notice these three words, work and labor. He says, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. And by the way, I will say this. That is what the ministry is. It is a work and labor of love. In fact, I was just reading a book recently. It was a secular book about leadership. They were talking about the fact that when you find your passion, and again this is a secular terminology, it's just a secular book about business. They were talking about the fact that when you find your passion, it's actually something that you would do even just for free. You just do it just because you love to do it. But eventually in this book about business and how to start a secular, not church related or spiritual, just starting businesses, and I like to read business books and there's a lot of things that we can apply to our church life. They were talking about eventually if you find a passion, something you're willing to do for free and you do it long enough and well enough, eventually people actually start paying you to do it. And excuse me, and I hope this is not inappropriate for me to say, but I thought about the ministry. Brother Jared hasn't received one cent, one paycheck from Verity Baptist Church. He works a full-time job preaching Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, leading soul, winning two times a week, having the fellowship and the activities and all those things. You say what is it? It is a work and labor of love. Miss Heidi is doing a work and a labor of love. The first three and a half, four years of Verity Baptist Church and Sacramento, I worked a full-time job while doing everything that we did at church and running a church and growing a church and having buildings and all those things. You say what was it? It was the work and the labor of love. The truth is that, and hopefully this doesn't get out too much to our church family, the truth is that I do what I'm doing, I do it if they paid me or not. In fact, I did it when they paid me. When they didn't pay me. Now don't tell them that, okay? Because they might say, they might say, well, if you do it for free, then maybe we should just get it for free. And I would say this, you get what you pay for too, so be careful with that. But he says for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which he have showed toward his name and that you have ministered to the saints and do ministry. He said, look, you have showed your work and labor of love. He says which he have showed toward his name in that you have ministered to the saints. You know when we minister to the saints, we don't do it for the saints, we do it for Jesus. When we minister to others, we do it in Christ's stead. But I want you to notice these words, work and labor, work and labor. And you might think, well, that's kind of redundant. Aren't work and labor the same thing? And they're very closely tied together and in some ways they definitely could mean the same thing. But I want you to notice the Bible sometimes makes this distinction between work and labor. Work and labor. Go to the book of Revelation if you would, Revelation chapter 14. And I want you to consider this idea the difference between work and labor. Revelation chapter 14. Look at verse 13. Revelation chapter 14 and verse 13, the Bible says this. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Right, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. And of course this is end times prophecy. Notice what the Bible says. Yea, saith the spirit that they may rest. Notice what the Bible says. That they may rest from their labors and then he says this. And their works do follow them. He says that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. And of course it's talking about the fact that these people died in the Lord and they can rest from working from their labor. But then the Bible says their works do follow them. And in the Bible there's this idea that there is a difference between labor and work. And again, I don't think it's something we should argue about or split hairs over because the words can be used synonymously. But when God puts them side by side he says work and labor. Or he says they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. I believe that God is trying to show us something that there is a difference between these two words. And I think he's trying to emphasize something. I'd like to share this with you. You say what is the difference between work and labor? And again, because we're coming up on our 10 year anniversary, my wife and I have been reminiscing a little bit about the last 10 years and we've been talking about things that happened and when we started the church in 2010 and things that took place in 2011 and things that took place in 2012 and things that took place in 2013. We've been thinking about the different buildings we were in and at different buildings even just on the way down to Fresno we were talking about yeah, in this building is when Brother Graham came and in this building is when Brother Joel and Miss Courtney came and in this building is when and in the house is when Brother Ron and Miss Denise you know and I'm going to forget some I shouldn't start mentioning names but Brother Daryl you know they came while we were in the house and we're just kind of talking about these things and one thing that we've done at Verity Baptist Church we've been in four buildings one we got kicked out of kind of not kicked out of but you know they didn't want us there anymore not because we didn't pay our bills we always pay our bills but we've had four buildings and three of the four four buildings we have to remodel the first building the second building and when we got the buildings they were not ready to meet in so there was a time and a season when we had to go in and clean them up and really the building we're in right now really from top to bottom I mean from from the carpet all the way up to the ceiling tiles everything was redone and fresh paint and walls came down and things got opened up and a lot of labor went into it and you said what's the difference between work and labor well if you were to come to our building when we first got it and saw the mess that it was it had been vacant for ten years and it needed to be cleaned up and a lot of work and you would have seen it a month later when we were done what you would be witnessing in fact if you went to Verity Baptist Church Sacramento you would walk into what I think is a very beautiful building beautifully decorated and you know we've done the best we can with what we have and you would walk in and you would say wow and I could show you a picture of what it used to look like and you'd see the difference and what you would be looking at what you would be attesting to is the work this is the work look at the work that we did it used to look like this this wall wasn't here and this carpet was a different color and the ceiling tiles were all old and we replaced all the same tiles we had to put new rails in and we did all this and we cleaned it up you would look at the work but what you would not see is the labor see the labor was the one month when literally you know dozens of men from our church came in Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday hours upon hours every day just volunteering their time to come and help clean up and help demolish and help build up see what you would see at the end is the work but then there's labor that goes along with it and see the truth is this when we have events like this when we have events like the one year anniversary or the 10 year anniversary of a church we all watch and we testify and we're amazed at the work that God has done look at the work that God has done look at what God has done here for the last year look at what God has done in Sacramento for the last 10 years and really it could be applied to anything applied to a family husband and wife get to the place where they've raised their children their children are married and maybe Lord willing serving the Lord and all their kids are grown adults and they're married and they're serving the Lord and you might look at those parents and say man great done the work that gets done that everybody wants everybody wants to raise children that serve God everybody wants to pass their church that's reaching people that has a a soul winning army that's going on everybody wants to have a big conference with all sorts of preachers coming in and people coming from all over the country everyone wants to see the work but please understand to get the work there's a lot of labor that goes into it so you say we got a beautiful building but there's a lot of labor that was done in order to do the building please understand this the work of the church must be done but please understand it requires labor it requires men and women getting up and standing up and saying we are here to work we are here to labor we'll put the hours in we'll work we'll knock doors we'll clean buildings we'll do what needs to be done so that the work of God can be done see we all want the work of God to be done we all want God's work look at God's work what God has done you know in Sacramento over the last 10 years but please understand this over the last 10 years there's a lot of labor that went into that work a lot of toil a lot of long hours I'm not talking about just me and my wife I'm talking about our church family has labored we've labored together you say what are we doing here please understand this we want to do the work of a church to uphold the truth to be an embassy to be a light in a dark world but please understand our church friends now it will require labor and Lord willing 10 years from now Lord willing one year from now I'll ordain brother Jared and say stop calling me of course not and Lord willing he'll invite me out to preach every once in a while and we'll come and kind of but you know at that point when we cut the umbilical cord and we'll move on to start some other church somewhere else and you guys we'll keep on without us and hopefully we'll come back to a 10 year anniversary one day and say wow look at what the Lord has done but never forget that there was years and years and years and years of labor oh what a beautiful building yeah but there's a whole month's worth of labor see he says they rust from their labors and their works to follow one day I believe that I and my wife and all of you will stand in the presence of Christ and God will reward us based on our works I was very clear about that he will reward us based on the works that we did he'll look at what we produced and say here are your works and I'm going to reward you based on those works but please please get this you can't get the works without the labor it's labor you want to go into ministry it's labor please don't look at the red hot preaching God will say oh that's what I want I want ministry that is one hour in one week one sermon you get to preach once a year to 400 people and then there is 52 weeks of labor of meeting with people of counseling with people of visiting people of hospital visits of phone calls of labor and here's what I'm telling you you want the work I hope you do but it requires labor see we must not only understand the work of the church but uphold the truth to be an embassy but we must understand the working of a church and the working of the church requires labor go to Proverbs chapter 14 if you would if you open up your Bible just right in the center more than likely fall in the book of songs right after songs you have the book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 14 work requires labor work requires labor pastor I want to get married and have a wife or have a husband and our marriage is going to honor the Lord and we're going to you know be married and till death do us part and we're going to come out of our ministry you're out of our marriage happy and in love with each other and I hope you do that and I hope you accomplish that and I hope you get that work done but realize that work that work requires labor a lot of labor that goes into a good marriage a lot of labor that goes into being a good husband a lot of labor that goes into being a good wife you can't say oh well I want to have a great marriage and I want to have kids and raise them for the glory of God but I'm just going to go hang out with my buddies every week with my wife and not spend any time with my kids hey you got to put the labor in if you want to work I want to be able to pastor a church one day and we're going to reach people hey I hope you do we want you to go into ministry and if you need somewhere to go you just let me know and I'll find you somewhere to serve one day you get married and of course meet all those qualifications but the point is this there's a work but labor goes into it there's an end but a lot of labor goes into it work requires labor but I would say this secondly work results in inconvenience Proverbs 14 are you there? Look at verse 4 Bible says this where no oxen are the crib is clean if you have a baby you know that's true this verse could say where no babies are the crib is clean we don't use cribs but it works where no oxen are the crib is clean notice but much increase is by the strength of the oxen this is of course to saying it's a physical earthly saying that has a spiritual truth and here's what the proverb is teaching it's saying if you don't have an ox if you don't have an ox then there's not a lot of labor that goes into cleaning the crib because cribs stay clean you know the stall where you put the oxen they stay pretty clean if you don't put an ox in it if you don't have an ox in the crib you never have to go get a shovel and pick up what comes out of the ox if you don't have an ox in the crib you never have to go and feed the ox and make sure it's fed see you say my goal is to have a nice crib no problem just don't put an ox in it you say well yeah but the thing is but much increases by the strength of the ox see the farmer would say well I need the ox I need the ox to work the field I need the ox to get the harvest I need the labor of the ox to get the work of the harvest that I require you say okay well you need an ox well then just realize you're gonna have to clean up the crib I need an ox okay well realize that you're gonna have to pick up after the ox there's gonna be things that come out of the ox and you're gonna have to grab a shovel and shovel it up I need the ox okay well realize you're gonna have to feed the ox you're gonna have to care for the ox here's what he's saying he's saying look you want to get something done please understand people say one day Verity Baptist Church is amazing and Verity Baptist Church is amazing and I'm not saying that because I'm a part of it or my wife's a part of it the Lord has done a great work and many of you have been a part of it and I'm thankful for that but people sometimes look at our church and they say man you guys have 90 soul winners almost 100 soul winners out every week knocking doors I mean a soul winning army a soul winning machine but let me tell you something a lot of labor goes into getting 100 soul winners motivated and mobilized to go soul winning someone has to figure out where they're gonna go somebody has to get the maps ready somebody has to print the map somebody has to get the ball waters ready because they're 109 degrees outside and we don't want people passing out somebody has to preach a soul winning challenge in the morning and somebody has to leave the song at the soul winning meeting and somebody has to train the soul winners and write a soul winning seminar and write the soul winning curriculum and here's what I'm telling you hey you say that's a lot of work where no oxen are the crib is clean but if you want an ox just realize it's going to be inconvenience I want to have a church that's full with people we're gonna reach people and I hope this church one day is just packed with people but please understand when this church is packed with people someone's gonna have to clean the building I don't want to have to clean the building more than don't get an ox where no oxen are the crib is clean the Bible says I want to have children but I want my house to always be you know guests ready well don't have children by the way let me just give you a tip please don't just show up at somebody's house who has like six kids okay sometimes you have these people they're like they have no kids or they have no kids in their house for like 20 years and they're like oh we just showed up on another we have six kids you think our house is just gonna be ready for you to come in and fight we got six kids with little ones and my wife does a wonderful job of keeping up after the house but there's only so much you can do with little ones I want to clean the house but don't have kids I want to be I want to have a church where there's no problems where nobody ever argues or fights and there's no strife okay you can have that just have no people I mean the thing about ministry the thing about ministry is this that people bring problems I mean I hope it's okay for me to say that and I hope you understand my heart I'm not saying that in a negative way but you know the more people you have the more problems you have you say okay well then I just won't have any people that's another problem you either have the problem or not having people or you have the problem of having too many people but the point is this where no oxen are the crib is clean but if you need the ox if you want to work the ox if you want to get the increase that the ox provides see when we started very about the Jesus Sacramento what we started what we got is we brought a big old ox into Sacramento to begin to plow the ground to begin to have a harvest of soil we've got an ox of a machine called Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento that's just working that field in Sacramento then we went and got another ox and we put it in Vancouver, Washington and it started plowing the field there and it started having a harvest there and it started having an increase then we went and got another ox and we put it in Boise, Idaho and it started plowing the field there and it started working there and they started upholding the truth there and they started preaching the gospel there then we got another ox and shipped it out to Manila, Philippines and it started working there then we got another ox and we put it here in Fresno, California and we began to work the field 228 salvations why? because there's an ox that's working but understanding this with the ox comes inconvenience because where no oxen are the crib is clean and you say okay pastor so what do we do because if we have the ox and the crib is dirty and if we don't have the ox the crib is clean but then we have another problem because we don't have an ox so what do we do? let me give you my pastoral advice what we decided to do at Very Baptist Church we're going to keep the ox and we're going to clean the crib we're going to keep the ox we're going to keep the preaching and the soul winning going and then we're going to do whatever we need to do to get that machine rolling and if it means organizing if it means reorganizing if it means starting ministries if it means setting up cleaning crews if it means whatever it means we're going to keep the ox we're going to clean the crib and we're going to do the work of the ministry and we're going to realize that the work requires labor the work requires work because work requires labor and work requires inconvenience go to Matthew chapter 9 if you would in the New Testament I've got to finish this up Matthew chapter 9 we're talking about the working church we began by talking about the work of the church what is it to uphold the truth to be at embassy and then we talked about the working of the church what is it work requires labor one year later you can look at the work that has been done but there's been one year of labor and labor requires inconvenience we're no ox no other crib is clean it's true but if you need an ox then you better just decide we're going to keep the ox and we're going to clean the crib I'd like you to notice thirdly this warning the workers of the church first of all and you know this verse but please understand this I want you to notice that the laborers are few Matthew 9 look at verse 36 but when he this is Jesus saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad his sheep having no shepherd then say if he unto his disciples notice what it says the harvest no but Jesus said the harvest truly is plenteous please understand this the problem is not with the harvest sometimes churches sometimes pastors look I'm a pastor I know pastors I are one sometimes we like to you know blame our failures on the harvest well you know it'd be easier I live in California so I can't reach people in California as most liberals stay in the union I could say that but the truth is this we can get people saved in Sacramento you can get people saved in Fresno you can get people saved in LA and by the way you can get people saved and you can get people in church and you can get them baptized and you can teach them the Bible and they'll become fundamental Baptists and they'll change their lives and man will start being the husbands that God has called them to be and they'll start leading their wives and wives and husbands will start raising their children the way that God called them to and they'll get involved look you can do the problem is not the harvest there's nothing wrong with the harvest there's enough people in Fresno there's enough people in Sacramento there's enough people up and down in the state for us to reach people and do the work of the ministry Jesus said the harvest truly is plenty there's nothing wrong with the harvest you say well why is the work not getting done here's why but the laborers are few if the work's not getting done it's not the harvest's fault it's the laborers fault the harvest truly is plenty but the laborers are few so Jesus says this he says pray ye therefore and this has been my prayer for the last 10 years at Mary Baptist Church pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he was sent forth laborers into his harvest I remember maybe a year a year or so honestly it's probably three months it's probably six months into our ministry it felt like three years but I remember being several weeks into our ministry and being kind of discouraged because nobody was really going soul-winning you know and of course my wife and I were soul-winning and people that were already soul-winners but as far as like new converts that were coming into church we were probably six months old eight months old I mean really fresh and we started with just a handful of people I mean we started in a living room it wasn't a start-up like the start-ups that we're seeing today with the structure and all those things and I remember being really just kind of discouraged I remember talking to Pastor Anderson on the phone and saying like you know when will I just hope that one day somebody will just come soul-winning from our church I remember him encouraging me and saying just keep preaching on soul-winning and they'll eventually come you know but Jesus said pray there for the Lord of the Harvest that he was sent forth labors and I remember praying Lord will you send us would you send us labors and God eventually did and we started having people come out soul-winning we started having two or three we started having a group of five soul-winners and when we got five soul-winners I said Lord you know you had 12 could you send us 12 and eventually we had 12 soul-winners out every week and after that I said well Lord you know eventually you had 70 so can we get to 70 you know and it took years but eventually we got to 70 and right now we have about 90 and now I'm saying well Lord you know in the upper room there was 120 so you know and when you get to when we get to 120 I'm just going to keep praying pray you there for the Lord of the Harvest that he was sent forth labors to the Harvest because look the problem is not with the Harvest the Harvest truly is plentious but the labors are few the workers of the church are needed because the labors are few but I want you to notice what kind of labors are needed go to Romans chapter 16 if you want to hear Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans we're going to go to Romans 1 Corinthians and John and we'll finish up all right Romans 1 Corinthians, John Romans chapter 16 what kind of labors are needed what kind of labors are needed Romans 16, look at verse 1 Paul says this I commend unto you Phoebe our sister and the apostle Paul all throughout his epistles would be constantly name dropping giving thanks to people that had came along and helped him in the ministry he says I commend unto you Phoebe our sister he says this which is a servant of the church I love that a servant of the church which is that in Korea go to 1 Corinthians 16 1 Corinthians 16 in our church in Sacramento we have a lot of great families a lot of great families a lot of hard working people I mean they work hard they're generous they're just out you know like brother Jared I think to myself I don't know how I got here you know I know I didn't get myself there somebody told a story one time but they're walking by a fence and they saw a turtle on the offense post just up there and he said you know something I can tell you about that turtle is I don't know how he got there but he didn't get there on his own and sometimes that's what I feel like in the ministry you know I don't know how we got here but I know we didn't get here on our own we've had help we've had people come alongside us and help us and partner with us and be co-laborers and be fellow prisoners and be fellow workers in the ministry 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 15 the Bible says this I beseech you brethren you know the house of Stephanus that it is the first fruits of I.K.I first words meaning some of the first people they'd reach some of you here at Verity Baptist Church Fresno the first fruits of Verity Baptist Church Fresno and he says he says you know the house of Stephanus that it is the first fruits of I.K.I he says and that they have notice these words addicted themselves to the ministry addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints you know we have enough people addicted to alcohol we have enough people addicted to prescription drugs we have enough people addicted to marijuana we have enough people addicted to heroin you say what do we need we need people some people get addicted to the ministry of the saints he says that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints notice verse 16 that you submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that notice help with with us and here's our word labor you say what do we need we need labors I mean really we are starting churches we are church planters we are starting churches wife for the work of the ministry for what's the work of the church to uphold the truth and to be an embassy to send ambassadors into a community that represent the Lord Jesus Christ to reach people and teach people to fulfill the gospel a local assembly of believers that abandoned themselves together under the leadership of a pastor for the purpose of fulfilling the great commission that's what we're doing that's the work but the working please understand the work requires labor labor requires inconvenience so what do we need we need labors nothing wrong with the harvests what's wrong the reason the work is not getting done is because of labors what does the very Baptist church Fresno need needs labors what does the very Baptist church Sacramento need needs labors what does every Baptist church in this world every scriptural church in this world we need labors we need people that will say hey you know what I'm all in and look you have that and over the last year brother Jared and Miss Heidi have done a good job at developing that and you've got a church that's working and working together striving together for the faith of the gospel and we appreciate that but you know what now you say we got an ox okay well let's get the ox bigger let's do more let's accomplish more let's reach more people let's do something big for God so how do we do that we do that with labors we need labors what do we need we need people who like Paul said who will say Christ who is my life we need people that will say church is not just something I do on Sunday church is my life I'm a servant of the church I'm addicted to the ministry it's the work of God I'm a worker of God I'm in this thing to win it to be involved to be engaged the bible says what's over the hand find it to do do it with all I might go to John chapter 9 if you would we'll finish up John chapter 9 so I want to commend Verity Baptist Church friend this morning for the work you've done and I want to acknowledge that there's a lot of labor that went into that work that none of us if we haven't been here we have not seen but I want to also challenge you to realize that the work is not done we have not even begun to fight we have not even begun to work there's more that needs to be accomplished there's more that needs to be done Jesus said this notice the obligation of work John chapter 9 verse 4 he says I must work the works of him that sent me what to God we'd have churches filled with men and women that would say I must work the works of him that sent me you say why because there's not only an obligation to work but there's an opportunity to work and the opportunity is running out on his day the night cometh when no man can work and here's the truth time's running out like I said I'm a young man I think I'm a young man don't look at all my white hairs that's not due to my age that's due to the stress of the people in ministry you know I'm not that old but I'm coming up on 10 years of ministry and I'm kind of looking back on the last 10 years and thinking and thinking the Lord for what the Lord has done but also realizing that there's much more that could have been done and it's not God's fault it's my fault I don't want to waste the next 10 years and you say yeah you're only 34 but you know decades somebody said this the Christian life is measured in decades decades you don't get many of those you've been pastoring for 10 years you know I don't want to talk about how long I've been pastoring for 10 years I want to be able to talk about how many decades I've been pastoring for one day for three decades been pastoring for four decades and the truth is this time is running out Jesus said I must do the works of him that sent me why while it is day the night cometh when no man can work and what we're going to do we must do now and look the time is urgent especially those of you with children if you're going to raise your children right if you're going to teach your children right if you're going to disciple your children if you're going to have Bible time with your children you do it now you know your time is running out I'm going to have a good marriage one day no you need to have a good marriage now I'm going to be a soul one or one day no you need to be a soul one or now I'm going to show up to Sunday night church some day or show up to Wednesday night church some day no you need to do it now one day I'm going to quit my job and I'm going to get a job it's going to allow me to get involved in church no you need to get a job it's going to allow you to get involved in church now while it is day because the night cometh when no man can work So why did we start this church? Not as a social club. Not as a fan club. This is the working church. This is a working church accomplishing the work of the ministry.