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

And let's just go right into it. The title of this message this morning is Congratulations, Faithful Word Baptist Church, Tucson. You know, I've been coming to this church now for, you know, the last six months. I come at the last Sunday of every month. And when you have a child and you see your child growing every day, you know, you see a significant growth. But, you know, it's not maybe as drastic to you. But an aunt or an uncle or a grandma or grandpa who doesn't see their child or that child growing as quickly, when they see them periodically, they see spikes of growth. And because I'm not here every Sunday and Thursday with you guys, when I do come, I do see significant growth, whether you see that or not. And it is a true blessing to see your guys' church flourishing. And, you know, within the time I've been here, you're in a new building, there's a new wall, the church is growing. And I just want you to know that you guys are on the right path of success to be a great church. You know, FWBC Tucson's next week is your guys' first year anniversary. And we're not going to be here for that. You know, my wife and I are actually moving back to Hawaii here on September 14th. And we really are going to miss you guys a lot. And because we're not going to be here, we're here to tell you your congratulations now. You know, buckle up for that Sunday, you're going to get another sermon of congratulations. But in Hawaii, first birthdays is a big thing. Someone who has a first birthday, I think it's in other cultures as well. It's just they throw a big luau and a big party for you guys. We brought some cupcakes for you guys to have after the service. And we just want you guys to know how appreciative it's been to be a part of this church's origins of its growth period. And, you know, let's just go right into Revelation 2. Okay. We see in the book of Revelation 2, Jesus Christ talking to a bunch of specific different churches in Asia Minor at that time. He has a lot of good things, he says, and bad things. And we're known at Faithful Word Baptist Church or in the NIFB movement to be known for hard preaching, dynamic preaching, doctrinal teaching. We're known to have a lot of different types of preaching ability. But this sermon is geared towards motivation to congratulate you guys. You know, a lot of people say, you guys are just hate preachers, and you only preach on hate. And we do preach on hate. The Bible is two-thirds, a lot of negative information. But there is that one-third that is positive, and it's to encourage, to strengthen one another, to press towards the mark of the high calling, which is in Christ Jesus, to continue moving forward. And Jesus Christ is showing these churches the good things that they're doing first before he goes into the problems that he wants to point out. And if you look down at your Bible at Revelation 2, 2, we see the first word. I know thy works. Look at verse 9. It says, I know thy works. Look at verse 13. I know thy works. And look at verse 19. I know thy works. And then it goes into other positive characteristics of each church. So, ultimately, a good church in the eyes of God is the church that's doing the work of God. And you guys have been doing more work in this congregation than I've seen in congregations this size. Every time I come back and see that map over there, though it's not completely filled up like Tempe, it's already starting to grow significantly more and more. You guys are making headway already in the first year being here in Tucson. And maybe Brother Fabian knows you've been here from the beginning, right? And you've seen the significant growth in the soul-winding map and the growth of the church. I don't know, you guys hit your last attendance quite a bit ago, but maybe it'll hit it again this next Sunday. And, you know, you guys are going to continue moving forward. And we do need to understand this, that congratulatory sermons, I'm here to just let you know, I'm here to lift you up, motivate you to keep serving God. Don't lose the first love. Don't lose the first works. Continue doing those works. You know, Proverbs 22, or 27, 2, you don't need to turn there, says, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth, a stranger, and not thine own lips. I'm not a complete stranger, I know you guys, but the Bible is saying that another person praise thee. And I'm a big advocate of giving praise where praise is due. We do need to be cautious of people who are flatterers, over-the-top compliments of just like, you know, oh, you're so amazing, and they just want you to know that all the time. Like I said, we should be giving praise where praise is due. I mean, if we watch, or if you like, have kids who play sports, if they're playing basketball or football or soccer or something like that, and you see your kid make a shot, make a goal, don't you want to reward them and let them know? Good job. You know, you see the world doing that for their kids and their favorite teams. Why would we not do that for our brothers and sisters in Christ? We should give praise where praise is due. That means when he missed the shot, say, Good job. No, we don't give praise where praise isn't due. That's where flattery will come into play. You know, there's no participation reward in this church, you know. It's not like, Oh, you tried. Good job. You know, I mean, it is good that we go out. We're not always going to win someone to the Lord, but our commandment is to go, to serve one another, to have fellowship one another, to sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, and so on and so forth. So if we notice the world doing it for their favorite sports team, you know, this is the sport team of heaven that are doing great works of God. And we need to always remember to give praise where praise is due. Sometimes, you know, people may get discouraged when they're not being praised, you know. I'm not saying to expect to be praised by your brother and sister in Christ. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't expect it, but when you get it, it is a blessing. I know people who have maybe done a lot. They get a lot of soul saved. They do a lot of extra Bible read. They're doing a lot for God, and they don't get accredited. People, we like acknowledgement. We like to know that people understand what we're going through. Now, God knows at the end of the day what you're going through, and we need to find comfort in that above anything. That Jesus Christ sees our works, our efforts, and what we are doing, and that should be enough. But when a brother or sister says, hey, I noticed you got that person saved. Hey, I noticed you started a new soul-winning time. Or you did a good job leading in song, or whatever. That's actually a great thing for someone to praise you in that. Don't expect it, but when you get it, be thankful. You don't need to be this jerk. And we heard a sermon not too long ago in the Tempe Church. I don't know if you guys heard it. Pastor Anderson explained how there's bad competition. If you're doing good, you don't want to like, you know, shove the person's face in it. Like, yeah, I'm amazing. I did way better than most people. And if you don't have, if you didn't see it, go watch that sermon. You know, just be humble and accept your praise. But what am I praising you guys for? Well, number one is your quality. I believe that this church, Faithful Word Baptist Tucson, is a very quality church. And we can focus on the quality here, because as of right now, it's a little smaller. And don't let anyone discourage you for being smaller. Don't yourself be discouraged. Because the Bible teaches that God will build his church. You know, Jesus Christ tells Peter, upon this rock, I will build my church. We don't build the church. We go out and do the works. We go out and do what is commanded of us. But it is Jesus Christ who will build it as necessary. And I believe that God does more with less. What do I mean by that? Well, turn, if you would, to Judges 7. A prime example of this is found in Judges 7. We all know the famous story of Gideon in the army of 300. And let's just take a look at what the Bible says in verse 1. It says, Then Jerubbabel, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early and pitched to beside the well of Harad, so that the hosts of the Midianites were on the north side of them by the hill of Moriah in the valley. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vought themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. So let's pause there really quick. God is trying to tell Gideon that the people are too many, and we don't want them to vought themselves, right? We know that in Ephesians 2 8 9, it says, lest any man should boast. It shouldn't be that we look at ourselves and our accomplishments and say, look at how great the church is because of what I did for the church, and my soul winning time, and my extracurricular activity that I did. You know what? It is God that built, we plant in water, but God gives that increase, even within the church. And he says that I'm doing this so that Israel doesn't vaunt itself ultimately. But now look at verse 3, Now therefore go, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return into part early from Mount Gilead, and their return of the people twenty and two thousand, and there remain ten thousand. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many, bring them down into the water, and I will try them for thee there. And it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee, and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not be with thee, this shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought them down, the people into the water, and the Lord said unto Gideon, Everyone that lapeth of the water with his tongue as a dog lapeth, him shall thou set by himself. Likewise everyone that boweth down upon his knees to drink, and the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men. But all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink, and the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapeth will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand, and let all the other people go, and every man unto his own place. So like I was saying you know primary context of this story is ultimately God saying I'm doing this for his glory. He's doing this so that the people of Israel and those outside of Israel would look at this event and say oh wow look how great those three hundred guys are. More so he's saying so that they could say look how great their God is. God is the one that wins the battle. He used David what everyone sought to be a weak younger you know teenager young adult ultimately when they all looked at Goliath and they're like oh wow what a great victory but what did David said I come to you in the name of the Lord. You come at me with spear and shield but I'm coming to you in the power of the Lord. You know these people were doing the same thing so the second application that I see in this passage is the quality of these 300 people because remember earlier it says those who are afraid send them home because here's the thing we are in a spiritual battle and the battle is for the souls of men and you guys are out in the highways and hedges and in the trenches fighting the Lord's battle getting people saved people are coming up here preaching there's gonna be a huge boom and I believe in this church to continue moving forward and doing great battles for the Lord and if the church grows to two three hundred four hundred or it stays the same God gets the glory in and of it all because the quality of the people here is what it no one here is afraid and if you do have fear you ask God to get that fear out of here God never gave us the spirit of fear but of power and of strength so turn if you would to Philippians 2 so that's the first thing I want you guys to be praised for is your quality you guys are very cream of the crop I believe I've been here enough to get to know you guys to fellowship and I really know that you know you guys are some of my close friends and I really like you know soul winning with you guys it's a very fun experience for me and I see a great quality in you but what's another thing I want you guys to be known or you to know is about your unity you guys are very united you guys are very close knit and I think that's a very great skill to have in the church you know a lot of people unfortunately lose this unity aspect and a lot of the time we see in the epistles the importance of unifying together why why do we unify how how do we unify together ultimately well in Philippians 2 it explains I went to the wrong place in Philippians 2 the Bible reads in verse 2 fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded having the same love being of one accord of one mind let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves so how do we become unified we esteem other better than ourselves do unto others as you should do unto you as Jesus said this mind that is in Christ should also be in us that we should be learning to serve one another the Son of God the Savior of the world can come down and watch the feats of the disciple we cannot think that we're to bet we're better than that we're not better than our Lord we should be sufficient to be as our Lord so to say serve one another in this way let nothing be done through strife or vainglory you know I know that as this church grows you guys are gonna have do a lot more things you're gonna want to do more events or have more soul winning times and you know if you see someone doing more and becoming a great Christian you know praise him for that don't get envious don't be striving about that don't you know you should covet the best gifts but when you see a brother and sister in Christ being exalted you should be happy about that you should be content with where you are and see them and be in the same mind as them and say praise the Lord in and of it all but here's an example I want to show you about the strength of unity you want to volunteer you don't have to come come on up this pencil you you feel like you could break this pencil right go ahead break the pencil you got this oh okay round of applause strong guy now wait before you leave right that was just one pencil put those two together now try break it you're not gonna break that thing are you the concept that I'm trying to help you thank you you can sit down I just wanted everyone to see that you know where two or more gathered together there am I in the midst of you you know the Bible teaches that one Christian is only so strong and look you had to apply a lot of pressure to break the pencil right it wasn't like it was just like oh that was easy kind of took a little bit of pressure and Jesus yeah Jesus Christ said this to Peter you know upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it you know when you guys are unified together you cannot be broken nothing I mean I can't do it either so nothing will break you you guys are unified in the front of serving God so turn if you went to Ephesians 4 okay I get it we how do we become unified we get unified by becoming in the like mind well what do we think of what what is our like mind what do we think on what are the things that we put our mind to well Ephesians 4 1 & 6 tell us if you would take a look down at your Bible it says I therefore the prisoner of the Lord and beseech you that he walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness of me and meekness with longsuffering forbearing one another in love endeavoring to keep the the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace there is one body and one spirit even as you are called in one hope of your calling one Lord one faith one baptism one God and father of all who was above all and through all and in you all so what are we unified around where you know we were unify were unified around faith alone in the King James Bible we don't sit here and contemplate the other Bible versions we don't sit here and think could those manuscripts that we hear of that have came later on could they be God's Word we don't have we've made our bed on it we unified and said this is the final authority for all faith and practice the King James Version of the Bible we're unified on the Trinity the Orthodox view of the Trinity what we have always known to be true that three persons one God understanding of God says one God one father of all and one spirit so also we're unified in faith like faith alone and baptism immersion we are unified in doctrine this is how we become unified is through what we believe well how do you know it to believe you know the same anointing that is in me is in you and you not need that any man teach you but don't we have preachers and teachers and evangelists and deacons and leaders to help perfect the Saints take a look down at your Bible it says that in verse 11 it says and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come together or come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so like I said how do we get unified we get all in the same page okay what page the Bible King James Version of the Bible faith alone in that Bible got it but I want to know more we need to unify around our elders our spiritual leaders and like I was saying earlier you know brother Corbin Russell our deacon is a very great man and you guys really at times need to find yourselves praying for Corbin Russell he has been significantly you know he works a lot harder than maybe we ever know and you know with being sick and driving down here three times a week and in throwing events it's it's not easier said than done and it is a true blessing that brother Corbin Russell can take this church upon himself and we need to pray for him so that he you know him and his family are safe that he has boldness to preach the Word of God and then our our pastor pastor Stephen Anderson of our church you know we need to pray for him that his family is safe and that he you know tries not to get sick and and things like that that he continues helping us move forward because these are our spiritual leaders and they are designed as pastors and the word pastor is synonymous with like you know like a that would pastor sheep you know like a shepherd so they're trying to guide us into doing the right things we have our own understandings but they have studied the show themselves approve so because of that we need to unite around them and stand up with them when the church gets attacked when the movement gets attacked when they get attacked we need to stand up with them and let them know how we are in agreeance with them you know God forbid that you know long time ago when that whole Orlando shooting went down when Verity lost a lot of its members you know similar to what we just saw in the story of Gideon if you're fearful go we don't want to it's better to have a quality crew that is united on the front on the sodomite issue on the sons of the devil and the attacks of the world on us and on Christianity we need to stand strong on these things follow our leaders Paul says follow me as I follow Christ so let's do the same so I'm here to congratulate you on your quality I'm here to congratulate you on your unity praise the Lord amen but this is the flip side to this coin you know we need to watch out and turn if you would to 2nd Corinthians I'm sorry 1st Corinthians what do you mean watch out well a basketball game that we were talking about earlier if we see the world you know doing a lot of these extracurricular activities and they're winning games and they're doing this stuff say comes halftime and they're winning hey good shot good pass good play good game you guys are doing great so stop let up slow down no the coach always that's the point where you tell them don't let up keep moving forward need to be careful because now is the time when you're doing good that you're gonna be coming to target yeah all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution not it you might if you're doing great things and you're making shots making past making assists making plays making things happen you don't think the enemy sees that as well you don't think you have a target on your back to let you know the Bible says in 1st Corinthians 10 you would turn there verse 12 it reads wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall there hath no temptation taking you but such as his common demand but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but with the temptation also maketh a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it be careful take heed lest ye fall understand this you guys are doing great the church is making moves making strides getting people saved but you guys need to stay unified and pray one another for one another you know the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much if you guys are united on your fellowship after church on your soul winning and things like that then it won't be likely that you can be destroyed because if the gates of hell won't prevail against the church how could the church ever get destroyed because God's the one that builds us right the way Satan destroys the church is from within the church nothing can stop outside forces the world that we yeah we're conquerors above them it's from within the walls of the church inside of the hearts of people how this church can be destroyed and I'm just letting you know the Bible teaches that the our adversary the devil has as a lying seeking whom he may devour seeking for what does the lion seek for the top dog does he look for the alpha male no he's looking for that straggler on the side he's looking for the chink in the armor he's looking for the weak spot and once he finds that weak spot then he's gonna try to jump on it and I'm not gonna sit here and say we're all this mature great amazing Christians but we need to keep our hearts right and stay in the quality and in the first loves and loving one another as Christ has loved us and you know a good example of this you know in a secular understanding is the the story of Troy or the have you ever heard of the Trojan horse the horse well ultimately for those who haven't heard there was a city a long time ago you know I think it was Greece it's called Troy and the Trojan horse is the way that army destroyed Troy they made a big idol of a horse as a gift like oh we give up we throw up the white flag we don't want to fight anymore here's a reward and inside this horse was a bunch of army or was a which a bunch of people the walls of Troy were impenetrable no they could not get into the walls of that city so when they put the horse in the city with those guards in there they were able to destroy the whole entire city in one night and just like that that's how a church would be destroyed and I would say new could happen in one night but that's what these preachers and teachers are here to do they're to be vigilant and to look out for wolves that are in sheep's clothing and things like that way I can explain this in a analogy would be with a soda can I don't know if you guys have ever like seen the trick with the soda can but if you can imagine this is like a church and you know I were to represent the world or things that would ultimately come against it but no matter how much pressure I put on this can if you can't see it won't bridge the can isn't that strong as a matter of fact especially if you take the aluminum aluminum is a weaker metal but if I were to go and put even all my weight on it it would break okay but ultimately it would hold me up I knew that was gonna happen apparently if you have a can and you put a bunch of pressure on it it can endure a lot of weight the only way this can would go was ultimately if you put a chink on the side and then a whole thing would crush so that's the thing I was trying to explain but I failed in my analogy and you know that's just it Proverbs 6 turn if you would there what do we got to watch out in our hearts for okay we can only be destroyed from within wolves and sheep's clothing Judas is that'll be among us and mind you they will be among you even in a crowd like this even though it's not the biggest church there could be wolves even in here I'm not saying that there is one that's why they're in sheep's clothing they're very convincing they can convince others that they're believers in Christ Judas was convinced to be a believer in Christ but he was a devil from the beginning Jesus knew that but in Proverbs 6 where had you turn verse 16 you that are saved the way you would destroy yourself is found right here in verse 16 the Bible reads these six things that the Lord hate yea seven are an abomination unto him a proud look a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood and the heart that devises wicked imaginations feet that be swift to run to mischief a false witness that speaketh lies and he that soweth discord among the brethren if you become proud in your heart God can easily remove the candlestick out of this church you know in Revelation 2 where we had you start remember there's good attributes right off the bat I know your works and all these other things that I like about you but these are the things I don't like about you and in verse 5 it talks about I forget what the church was but he says if you do this I will remove your candlestick from you you think it's Satan that is the one destroying the church God allows Satan to destroy the church Satan only has power that God gives him if we're not faithful and we're not doing the right thing God is the one that sees that and knows what we're doing and he'll allow Satan to creep in he'll allow the wolves and sheep's clothing to creep in he'll let your hearts become you know more proud and lifted up and he says okay let's see how that works for you and feet that be swiftest and and he that so at this court among the brethren and feet that be swift to run to mischief those who are ready to go around and be title uh toddlers and busybodies and spread rumors and things like that that's how this church will be destroyed you need to love one another forgive each other's faults because look I'm come from a family of six I love my brothers and sisters but do brothers and sisters get along all the time I mean come on you know what I had a saying I had a lot growing up I love how much I hate them but I hate how much I love them because you your brothers duke it out boys will be boys but you love them you know what I mean and even within the church understand this you're not just gonna always get along and agree with everyone and everything all the time but we need to look past each other's faults and understand that I'm to love you is Christ love me and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us so we should do that the same thing and here's the last thoughts that I want to leave you on turn if you went to James but here to leave you on a bad note you guys it's it's congratulations good job you know Jesus says to the man who was given the talent and then returned more talents he said well done they'll get a faithful servant you know angels in heaven rejoice when we see someone gets a or they see someone get saved we should do the same when we see someone get saved it's like right on praise the Lord amen you know a brother and sister and Christ got a sin out of their life you know someone got married so an addict child someone is growing in their faith and that's like we should just know that congratulate there's nothing wrong with congratulating one another it should not be all the time give praise where praise is due there's no due praise don't praise him oh you you tried you did decent you know don't just give praise where praise is due but how can all this come together is by staying humble if we stay little in their own sight as Saul started out the King Saul he started out little in his own sight and then he was lifted up in pride because of that God says I repented that I made him King and then he rather gave it to a man after God's own heart David David stayed humble in and of it all he loved his enemy Saul who was trying to kill him why because his works were good and his evil you know Saul didn't obey the Lord and David didn't always obey the Lord but he had a right heart he repented when he went into gross sin you know he did a very horrible wicked thing but ultimately he had his heart right and God understands that and he was punished for what he did by the death of his child but he stayed humble and in all of his all and you guys got to understand we got to stay humble and that's how the quality will stay there the unity will stay there and we can avoid these traps of the devil but in James 4 the Bible reads in verse 5 do you think that the scriptures saith in vain the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy but he giveth more grace wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble so we need to understand that to not lift ourselves up in pride as we saw in Proverbs 6 that's the thing that will help destroy us stay low in our own sight when these good things happen when someone praises you don't be like yeah that's where I'm great yeah I got that guy saved I'm amazing you know it's like whoa okay you just kind of defeated your own it's kind of like someone who fasts and then they go tell people they fast they're like oh I'm fasting it's like you kind of just lost the whole point of fasting there you should have just said nothing and then you do fine but you know teach their own right and and the fervent prayer of a righteous man will avail month if a brother or sister in Christ if you see in here starts getting lifted up in pride I believe we should set our job to tell them what to do but to just point it out be like hey brother you did good oh yeah I know I'm great be like yeah that's pretty proud thing to say just letting you know you're doing great you know and Lord willing we will understand that as as constructive criticism I'm not perfect I know I I can be lifted up in pride I need to take heedless I can fall we can all fall all Corbin pass around it all of us we are all sinful men none of us are too good none of us are just as some stupid people preach are without sin once we're saved we don't believe in sinless perfection but the Bible continues reading and it says in verse 7 submit yourselves therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded be afflicted in morning weep let your laughter be turned to morning and your joy to heaviness humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up we need to stay humble and notice what it says cleanse your hands you sinners don't think that just because you may see a brother lifted up in pride or something that you are without sin you know we need to keep keep ourselves in check pray for one another and in doing this we will stay humble but turn if you would to Philippians 4 and we'll end here Philippians I'm sorry Philippians 3 verse 14 the Bible says I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in anything ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto him nevertheless whereunto we have already attained let us walk by the same rule let us mind the same things I don't know if you notice but in these two verses it's in mind three times let us mind of the same things I'm not going to be seeing you guys much longer and I know me and my wife are very happy every end of the month to come to this church we really like the fellowship we really like the quality we really like the unity we really like you guys all here for one another you fellowship and and and the work is moving forward and it's a great thing you know I want you to know you guys are doing a great job and if you don't mind give yourselves a round of applause you know just tell tell yourselves look think about it a year ago this church wasn't even here so now you guys have a great soul-winning fired up church to go to and you have each other to be there for you know forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of summits especially as we see the days approaching stay humble and we will continue doing great things and I just want you guys to know you guys are good in the eyes of the Lord inspire heads and have a word of prayer