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Amen. All right, we're there in Nehemiah chapter number two, and before we get into the sermon, I'd like to just kind of develop the context of this story. If you notice there in Nehemiah chapter two in verse one, we see that Nehemiah is one of the servants of the Lord who's in captivity. He's actually in captivity to a very well-known king in history, King Artaxerxes. If you look at verse one, the Bible says this, and it came to pass in the month Nisan in the 20th year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king, and Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king, which means that he was a very trusted servant. His job was to basically taste the food and the drink of the king before the king ate it to make sure that his food wasn't poisoned, and the idea there was that if Nehemiah drank of the cup and he fell over dead, then the king wouldn't drink of it because people were trying to kill the king, and of course that sounds a little odd, but in order to be in that position, you had to be a very trusted man, and you were also very close to the king, and we see that here with Nehemiah. It says there at the end of verse one, now I, this is Nehemiah speaking, had not been before times sad in his, referring to King Artaxerxes presence. Notice verse two, Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, and said unto the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my father's sepulcher, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? If you're familiar with chapter one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah had someone come to him from Jerusalem and bring him a report of the city, that the city had the walls broken down, that the city was in disarray, and Nehemiah's heart was broken over this news. Notice verse four, Then the king said unto me, For what does thou make request? I want you to notice Nehemiah's request. He says, So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would ascend me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulcher, that I may build in. And the reason that I chose this text this morning, as we launch this church here in Fresno, is because in Nehemiah chapter two, we have a story of a man who went to a city, he actually went back home to Jerusalem, but he had not, he was from there, but he had not been raised there, he had not lived his life there, his career was not there. And this man, Nehemiah, is going back to Jerusalem, and he's asking the king to send him there, that he may build it, that he may do a work there to help the people. And I felt like this was an appropriate text this morning, because you know, here, those of us in Sacramento Verity Baptist Church, we are thankful to be able to start this church, to be able to play a part and a role in the beginning of this church. But you know, we're losing a great family, brother Jared and Miss Heidi and brother Garrett and the kids, you know, they're a great family, they've been a huge blessing to us. But you know, we're sending them here to do a great work for God. And we're sending them here that they might do something great for God. And here we see a story of a man going to a town in order to do a great work. And that's really the story of Verity Baptist Church Fresno. We've got a man and his wife and his family coming here to do a great work. I want you to notice just by way of context in the introduction before we get into the sermon, we saw Nehemiah's request, but then notice what Nehemiah receives. The first thing he receives is the king's permission. We see that in verses five and six. The Bible says, And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servants have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king sent unto me, the queen also sitting by him, for how long shalt thy journey be? And when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. So we see that he gets the king's permission. In verses seven and eight, we see that he gets the king's provision. Notice verse seven. Moreover, I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah. And a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon him. In verse nine, we see that he gets the king's protection. The Bible says this, Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and I gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. And I was reading all that, kind of giving you the context to get you to this verse in verse number 10. When Nehemiah gets to the city, the Bible says this, When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was, notice these words, come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. We see Nehemiah coming to the city. He's coming with a purpose. He's coming for a reason. He's coming to do something. And what I'd like to do this morning, I'd like to just kind of walk through this text with you and give you some lessons from this story because they are applicable to what we are trying to accomplish here in Fresno. Why is it that Verity Baptist Church is here? Why is it that we've sent the man? Why is it that we've sent our provisions and our resources and we've invested time and energy into this location? Well, it's the same reason that Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. And if you're taking notes this morning, maybe you can write some of these things down on the back of your bullets. There's a place for you to write down some things. The first point is this. I'd like you to notice Nehemiah's objective. Now the word objective means a goal. It means something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish, a purpose, a goal, or a target. And if you're, maybe you're here this morning, you're saying, what is the point of this? You know, maybe you're from Fresno, you live in Fresno and you say there's churches everywhere. As I've been here just the last couple of days driving around, I've seen all sorts of churches, old churches, very historic type churches all over the city. And you might think, well, what's the point of another church? What's the point? What's your objective? What is it that you're trying to accomplish? Well, I want you to notice our objective is the same objective as that of Nehemiah. And we are here to help people. We are here because people need help. And I love that phrase at the end of verse 10, when it says there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. And if you're asking yourself, why is it that Verity Baptist Church is here? Why is it that brother Jared is here? There is a man here to seek the welfare of the city, to seek the welfare of the people. I'm not talking about the welfare program, all right? I'm talking about trying to help the people of this city. Now keep your place there in Nehemiah chapter two, that's our text for this morning. But go with me to the book of John, John chapter number 10. Yesterday, we spent the day out soul winning and I got to go out with brother Chris and my wife went out with Miss Sarah. And when we were out, it kind of, something that I noticed was that we had several people say to, you know, between the Sunday, between the morning soul winning session and the afternoon session, we had several people say this to us when we were out soul winning. It was people that weren't even necessarily interested in hearing our gospel presentation. But this is what several people said to us. They said, we're glad you're here. They said, keep up the good work. And this is what several people said, this neighborhood needs what you're doing. This neighborhood needs someone to be out there preaching that. And it was interesting because they weren't even really interested in hearing the gospel, but they knew that what we were doing, they knew the fact that we were there. They knew the fact that we had the word of God with us and we were trying to preach the gospel to people. They said, this neighborhood needs this place. And you say, well, why is that? Well, notice in John chapter 10 and verse 10, notice what Jesus said about the enemy. John 10, 10, Jesus said this, the thief, and he's referring to Satan and he's referring to the demonic forces because we are in a spiritual warfare. He says, the thief cometh not. I love how the King James Bible phrases these things. He says, cometh not. And what he's saying is this, the thief doesn't come. The thief will not come. He says, but for, he says, but for except these things. The only reason that the devil, that Satan, that satanic forces are interested in Fresno, California is for the same reason they're interested in any city or any town or any community or any individual. He says, the thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. He says, look, Satan wants nothing more than to destroy people's lives. This is why Peter would tell us that he said, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And then look, if when you look around and Fresno is no different than any other city in the state of California, when you look around and you look at people, you look at the bondage they're in, you look at the problems they're in, you look at the issues they have, you have to realize, look, we are a church primarily. You say, why are we here? To help people, for the welfare of the people. Here's why. We believe that when you read the Bible, when you study the Bible, when you apply the Bible, when you actually begin to live, not only gets saved, look, that's our main goal and our first goal is to get people saved, but we believe that if you actually begin to live the Bible, it'll help your life. It'll help you. Say, why are we here? To seek the welfare, to seek the welfare of the people. Keep your place there in John. We're going to come back to the gospels. Go back to Nehemiah chapter two, notice verse five. You say, why are we here? We're here to help people, but I'd like you to know secondly, we're here to build a church. Nehemiah 2 5 says this, and I said unto the king, if it pleased the king and if thy servants have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah and the city of my father's step-worker, here's what he said, that I may build it. Now, Nehemiah was talking about physically building a wall around a city. He says the city is in disarray. The city can't even get, here's what he was saying. He was saying that we can't even talk about the economy. We can't even talk about the issues within the city. We can't even talk about the crime. We can't talk about the alcohol abuse. We can't talk about the drug use. We can't talk about all those things because the city is not even protected. The first thing we need to do is build a wall around the city so that there'll be some security. Build a wall around the city so that there'll be some protection. Build a wall around the city so that people could get to the place where we can start talking about helping them with their family, helping them with their marriage, helping them with their child ring. And here's the thing, we're not building a physical wall here in Fresno, but spiritually the place that will bring security and protection to any community is the local New Testament church. You say, why are we here? To build a spiritual wall where people could come into, where they can come out from the world and say, Ben, here is a place that is safe, that is going to help me, that is going to bless me, that is going to help me get protected, help me get salvation, help me get my life in order to say, why are we here? We're here to help people and we're here to build. Notice Matthew chapter 16. Matthew 16, if you kept your place in John, just go back to Matthew 16. Notice what Jesus said, Matthew 16, 18, the Bible says this, and I say unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock, notice what Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. You say, Pastor Mendez, are we here to build the church or is Jesus going to build the church? The answer is yes. You say, who builds the church? Well, Jesus builds the church, but he builds the church through us. See, you say, well, is it Jesus? Well, it's all Jesus, but we are co-labors together with God. We are co-labors together with Christ. We labor together with him and he will build this church through us. You say, what's our objective? Well, we see Nehemiah's objective was to help and to build, was to help and to build. You say, what are we trying to do here in Fresno? We're trying to help and we're trying to build. But I want you to notice secondly, not only do we see Nehemiah's objective, but we also see, if you can get back to Nehemiah chapter two, we see Nehemiah's observation. It's interesting because Nehemiah spent time. Brother Jared mentioned this. We did not just decide last week that we're going to plant a church in Fresno and just kind of put this thing together last minute. There's been time and energy. There's been preparation. There's been prayer. There's been planning. There's been lots that goes into today, into not just today, but into what this church will begin to do here in this community from today forward. And I want you to notice that Nehemiah took some time to plan. He took some time to observe. Notice Nehemiah did not put his head in the sand, but he took time to open his eyes that he might see the truth. Notice verse 11. Notice what the Bible says. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. And I arose in the night. I and some few men with me. Neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem. Neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night. Notice Nehemiah gets to Jerusalem. The first thing he does, his objective is clear. He's there to build. He's there to help. The enemies say that there's a man here for the welfare of the children of Israel. But when he gets there, the first thing he does is he begins to observe. He goes on this little trip at night, just a few people with him, not a big crowd. And he goes out. He says, I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem. Neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. Notice verse 13. Now I went out by night, by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port. Notice what he says. And viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down. And the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went out, then I went unto the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool. But there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whether I went or what I did. Neither had I yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. I want you to notice that Nehemiah took some time. Nehemiah took some time to look, to observe, and to be truthful about what he observed. Listen to me. I love California. I love the state of California. I'm a Californian. I have actually given my life to try to do my best to reach this state with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Somebody asked me, why Fresno? Why choose Fresno? One of the reasons we chose Fresno strategically was because there's a church in Sacramento in the northern part of the state. There's a church in El Monte, California in the southern part of the state. And Fresno was just kind of a big city right in the middle of the state. You say, what are you trying to do? Divide and conquer? You know, what are we trying to accomplish? My goal and my plan, and God willing, is to put churches, independent, fundamental, Baptist, King James, bold, biblical, preaching, in your face, soul winning churches up and down this coast, up and down this state, up and down the major cities of this town. But look, with that, we can't just put our head in the sand and not observe the fact that we live in a wicked state. The city is broken down. The state is broken down. The cities are destroyed and the walls are consumed. The city is consumed with fire. And look, California, look at our governor. California, look at the laws that are passed here. Look at the culture of this state. Look at the place. And I'm not down on California. I love California. And as a Californian, I'm here to tell you, Nehemiah was from Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a son of the children of Israel. Nehemiah came in and he looked around and he didn't just say, oh, well, look, it's great. It's wonderful. He looked around and he realized there are some major problems here. There are some issues that need to be addressed. There are some things that need to be corrected. So notice he observed with truth, but then he spoke the truth. Look at verse 17. Then said I unto them. So remember, he took a day to look around. He took a day to observe the land, to observe the landscape, to see where the people were and how the people were doing. And then in verse 17, he opened his mouth. Then the Bible says, then said I unto them. You see the distress that we are in. How Jerusalem lies waste and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach. Sometimes, and here's what you need to understand. And this is the point that I want to make. You're there in Nehemiah. Go to the book of Jeremiah just real quickly. Jeremiah, if you're in Nehemiah, you're going to go past Esther, past Job, past Psalms, past Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah. If you find those big prophetic books at the end, you've got Isaiah, then you've got the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 38. I want you to notice something. Because, you know, I stand up here and I say, hey, we are here for the welfare of the people. We're here to help people. We're here to try to help people in their lives. But, you know, we have been branded, our church and churches like ours have been branded as hateful churches. We've been branded as people that are not trying to help because our message is not positive. And they'll say, well, no, no, the church down the street, the big fun center that never tells us that we're doing anything wrong. They're trying to help and you're negative. But I want you to notice that the Bible tells us that Nehemiah was there for the welfare of the people. Jeremiah, if you're there in Jeremiah 38, was a prophet that was also trying to help the people. But I want you to notice what the people thought about Jeremiah when they heard his message. Because Jeremiah's message was not positive. Jeremiah did not walk into Jerusalem and say, hey, everything's great, guys. Give me a high five. Keep up the good work. Jeremiah walked in with a negative message saying the judgment of God is upon you. God is destroying the city. You need to take your punishment. You need to go to Babylon. You need to get right with God and maybe God will restore us someday. He came in with a negative message. Notice what the people said about Jeremiah. Jeremiah 38, verse 4. The Bible says this. Therefore the prince has said unto the king, we beseech thee. They're talking about Jeremiah. Let this man be put to death. For thus he weakened at the hands of the men of war that remain in the city and the hands of the people in speaking such words unto them. For this man seeketh not, notice what they said, for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people but the hurt. And here's the truth. Jeremiah was trying to help the people, but when they heard his message, they said, no, this guy's not seeking the welfare. He's seeking the hurt. You say, why? Because sometimes when you preach the truth and you tell the truth, it's a negative message. And people will look at that message and say, oh, you must be a bad person. You're not encouraging us. You're not trying to help us. See, here's what I want you to understand. You say, well, Pastor Jimenez, you said Verity Baptist Church is here to help. Yes, we're here to help, but we're not going to mince words that alcohol is destroying lives in Fresno, that drugs are destroying lives in Fresno, that gangbanging is destroying lives in Fresno, that there are issues in the city that need to be addressed, that need to... And you say, how are we going to solve them? With the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look, we are here to say the church down the street is a false church. The Catholic church, the Armenian church, the churches in the city are dropping the ball. You say, oh, you're just negative. No, we're just telling you the truth. We're just telling you the fact that we've showed up, we've observed it, and there is... The churches in this area, you know what they're found? They're found wanting. They're found wanting. You say, why would you come all the way from Sacramento to start a church in Fresno, California? Because there has to be a church that takes it upon themselves to knock every door in this city. And you say, oh, well, there's good churches in the city. Well, show me the one that's knocking every door. Show me the one that's just aggressively... I'm not saying everybody in the city is not saved. I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying this. Somebody needs to decide that they're here to help and they're here to build. Somebody needs to speak the truth. People say, oh, you guys are so negative. Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? That's what Paul said. Book of Proverbs says, faithful are the wounds of a friend. And we see that Nehemiah not only had an objective, but he had an observation. He observed, he did not mince words. He realized that there were major problems in the city. He realized that there were major issues in the city and he was not there just to be part of the group and part of the... He wasn't there just to go along and get along. He was there because there was something needed and he was going to change it. So we see his objective. We see his observation, but I want you to notice thirdly, we see his opportunity. Pastor Ben, did you just come here to just bash on Fresno? Our crime rate is high here in Fresno and there's issues in the city. Here's what I want you to understand. Where some people see obstacles, others see opportunities. Notice what Nehemiah looks at the city and he sees the problems with the city, but he sees a great opportunity. Notice verse 17, then said I unto them, ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lights waves and the gates that are ever burned with fire. And then he says this, come, let us build up the walls of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach. Say, Pastor, what do you want to say? What do you want to say? Somebody told me as I was walking in, they said, I think the church might be near a prison. You know, I saw a guy with a little brown bag walking down the street, looked like he just got released from prison or something. He said, what do you want to say to that guy? Here's what I want to say. Hey, let us rise up and build that we be not a reproach. You say, well, what do you want to say to the single mom out there? That's got, you know, multiple different children from multiple different dads and her life is just kind of a mess right now. You know what I want to say to that single mom? I want to say, let us rise up and build that we be no more a reproach. You say, well, you guys are just negative. No, we're just telling you the truth because we want to help you. We're telling you the truth. We're here to help. We're here to build, but we're not going to put our head in the sand and ignore the fact that sin has ruined this city. And it's not just the city. It's every city. Sin and Satan has destroyed this town and we're here to help and we're here to build. We're here. See, Nehemiah saw this great opportunity. Notice verse 18, the Bible says, and I told them of the hand of my God, which was good upon me as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. I want you to notice in verse 17, Nehemiah says, let us build up the walls of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach. In verse 17, he's talking to the people. He says, ye see the distress that we are in. He says, you see the problems of the city. And I'm here to tell you that we can work together. Let us build up the walls of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. That's verse 17. Verse 18 is now the people responding to Jeremiah. And they said, let us rise up and build. You say, Pastor Mendez, we're here at this launch. You guys made videos and you tried to get people to come out here. You say, why did you do that? Here's why we did that. We wanted to get a group out here so that we could look them in the eye and say, will you help us rise up and build in Fresno? Now, look, we brought people from Sacramento. Look, our church, and by the way, let me just say this. Those of you that came from Sacramento, thank you. And not just for being here, but it's your faithfulness in Sacramento that allows these churches. This is now the fifth church that we have planted. If you count the church in Sacramento, which we planted with my wife and I started in our living room, but we started a church in Vancouver, Washington. We started church in Manila, Philippines. We started a church in Boise, Idaho. We started this church here in Fresno. And it can't be done without the group. I'm just, I'm obviously glory to God, but it's because of the group that God has blessed us with in Sacramento. We've got a group that is generous. They're generous with their time and with their abilities and with their resources. And they've done a great job and I appreciate that. But you know what? Let me say this, this morning, the last count that I got, there's 139 people here this morning. Praise the Lord for that. 71 of them are from Sacramento. Thank you for coming to support this work. Obviously, you're not going to be here every week. You know what that means? That means there's 68 of you that aren't from Verity Baptist Church Sacramento. That means that 68 of you showed up that aren't from our church. And that doesn't mean you're necessarily from Fresno, but you're here. And what we'd like to say to you is this, will you help us rise up and build? Will you get connected? Will you partner with us? Will you say, hey, I want to get behind this vision. I want to get behind this objective. I want to get behind this opportunity to be able to do something great. And you say, well, how can I start? Here's how you start. Show up tonight, 5 p.m. You're going to hear a very good sermon about how to get connected, how to get plugged in, how to help be profitable. You say why? Because there is a great opportunity. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. 1 Corinthians 16 in the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. Do me a favor. When you get to 1 Corinthians 16, put a ribbon or a bookmark or your bulletin there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. 1 Corinthians 16. See, Nehemiah, he had an objective and he made some observations, but he realized that there was a great opportunity. 1 Corinthians 16, I love how the Apostle Paul says this. He says, for a great door and effectual is open unto me. And you know, I'd like to say to you this morning in Fresno, California, a great door and effectual is open here. There's great potential. There is a great opportunity. You say for what? To be the biggest church in Fresno? Not necessarily. To be some big mega church is going to be impressive. You know, that's never been our goal. Our churches have grown and the Lord has blessed our churches, but our goal has never been to be the biggest church in the world. Our goal has never been to be Joel Osteen, but our goal is to reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I think there's a great door of opportunity here where this church could be the church that knocks every door in the city, that reaches people with the gospel, that produces not only salvations, but then follows up, but then gets them baptized, then gets them connected in church, then teaches them how to be a good mom and how to be a good dad and how to be a good husband and how to be a good wife and how to be a good child, how to be a good teenager, teaches them to work hard, teaches them to get their finances in order and their families in order and transforms their lives because that's why we're here, to build. And there's a great door and effectual, Paul said, that's opened unto me. Keep your finger there. We're going to come right back to it. First Corinthians 16, go to Revelation chapter three. Notice what Jesus said in Revelation chapter three and verse seven. He's speaking to the church in Philadelphia. He's talking to a local church and he says to them in Revelation three, seven and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right? These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that at the key of David. Notice Revelation three, seven. Don't miss this. Last part of verse seven. He that openness and no man shut it and shut it and no man open it. I know thy works. Behold. Notice what he says. I've set before thee an open door and no man can shut it, but thou is a little strength and has kept my word and have not denied my name. See, there's a great opportunity. Jesus says to the church, I have set before thee an open door. You know what I believe here in Fresno? That there is a great door. An effectual opportunity is opened up, but before you get too excited about the opportunity, realize that there's always opposition. Keep your place there. Go back to Nehemiah chapter two. Notice we saw Nehemiah's objective. We saw his observation. We saw his opportunity, but I'd like you to notice lastly this morning, we see now Nehemiah's opposition. See, when you show up to try to help people with the Bible, there's gonna be some people who are gonna fight you. Whenever there's a great opportunity, there's also great opposition. Nehemiah 2 19, notice what the Bible says. But when Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Gisham, the Arabian, heard it, notice what they did. They laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, what is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king? Notice the opposition, the enemy, they're always trying to get you to doubt yourself. They laughed who? They didn't laugh at God, they laughed us to scorn and despise who? They didn't despise God, they despised us. You know what the enemy's always trying to get you to do? They're trying to get you to get your eyes on yourself and to doubt yourself and to look at yourself and say, what do you think you're going to do? Notice verse 10, Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 10. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, notice, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. And I believe Satan is grieved exceedingly this morning. There has come a man to seek the welfare of Fresno. I believe there's some reprobates and some enemies of God and even some saved people who just are messed up and their understanding of what they should be accomplishing that are grieved this morning, that Verdi Baptist Church would start a church here in Fresno, California. Go back to 1 Corinthians 16, look at verse 9 again. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me. We like that, the opportunity, but notice the second part, and there are many adversaries. See, there is always opposition to opportunity. There is always someone who's going to battle you on the other end of the opportunities that God has given you. And what is it that they do? What is it that they attempt to do? Well, we saw it there with Nehemiah. They laughed us to scorn. They despised us. They tried to tell us that we are not able, that we are not able to accomplish anything for God. And look, here's the honest truth. There are people who are not happy that we are here. I think it was Brother Frank who was telling me that there's a local old IFP pastor here in Fresno. And look, I don't know him. He's not my enemy. I mean, I'm assuming he's saved. As long as he's saved, he's not my enemy. Apparently, I'm his enemy, I guess. But there's this old IFP pastor here in Fresno. He has a radio show here in town. And he announced on his radio show that there was a group called the New Independent Fundamental Baptists coming to town. They're starting a church here in Fresno. And his message was clear. Stay away from them. You know, it reminds me of Acts 17 and 6 when the early church there, the enemies of the early church said, these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. You know, this guy basically gets on the radio. He said, these that have turned Sacramento upside down are come hither also. And he's telling them, you know, just stay away. And I'm thinking to myself, why would you tell, why would you, when there's a church here who's preaching the King James Bible, who's preaching the right gospel, the right salvation, we're motivating people to go out and reach people with the gospel. Why would you tell people to stay away? You know, you say, oh, well, they're just, they're just afraid. They're just afraid that you're going to steal their people. They're just afraid that you're going to steal the thunder. You know, they should be afraid. They've had their chance. They've been here for years and they've done nothing. They've been here for years and they haven't accomplished much. So yes, the big boys are in town. We're here to take over. We're here to do the work you failed to do. And if that bothers you, then, then why don't you show us how to do it? Why don't you get motivated to go soul winning, get mobilized to soul winning. Show us off. We'd love it. Because here's the thing, we're not going to get bothered that you knock the doors we planned to knock on. In fact, we'll cheer you on. We'd be gone for the help. We'd be glad to see you do it. But there are those, and you know what they'll say? They'll say, look at those people. Look at what the media says about them. And it's like, you're really, you're citing the media? Look at what, look, look at them. And here's the truth. Here's the truth. And they're right. Go back to Revelation. They're right. Because you say, what does the enemy do? The enemy will laugh you to scorn and despise you. And they'll say, look at brother Jared. He didn't even go to Bible college. Yeah. Yeah. You know, he actually worked for a living. Look at that church. And here's the, here's the truth. Here's the thing. Honestly, look at us. We're not much. We're not there. There's not much about us, but you say, well, doesn't that discourage you? No, because it's not about us. I mean, look at what Jesus said. Revelation three, I know thy works. Revelation three verse eight. I know thy works. Behold, I've set before thee an open door. No man can shut it. And then he says this about the people for thou has a little strength. You say pastor Jimenez, you, you pastor a church with 200 people in it in Sacramento, and you're going to think you're going to go up and down this state, starting churches. You know, you have little strength and I'll be honest. And here's the truth. You're right. You, you don't have, you don't have much going for you. You don't have a lot of resources. You don't have a lot of things going on. You know what we do have going for us is God. And when God opens a door, no man can shut it. And see, here's what the enemy tries to do. The enemy tries to get you to put your eyes on yourself. The enemy tries to get you to look at yourself and to, and to doubt yourself. And here's the truth. If you spend time and listen, I'm talking to those of you here in Fresno. If you spend time over the next several weeks, you know, cause this big group is going to go. And eventually it's just going to be you and a handful of people here from Fresno trying to accomplish something great for God. And you might look around on a Thursday night and say, man, we're not much. And here's the thing. If it's, if it's 20 of you, you could say that. But if it's 200 of you, you could still say that. We're not much. You know what? Take some strength in knowing this, that our confidence, when the opposition attempts to get us to look at ourselves and doubt ourselves, our answer and our response must be confidence, not in ourselves, but in our God. Notice Nehemiah 2 20. They, they laughed him to scorn. They despised them as they attempted to rise up and build. But notice the beauty of Nehemiah's response to Nehemiah 2 20. Then answered I them and said unto them, the God of heaven, He will prosper us. See, it's not about us. Nehemiah says it's not about me. It's not about my talent. It's not about my ability. It's not about the skills I have or the resources I have. I'm just a lowly servant that was sitting here. The only reason I got here is because of the King's provision, the King's protection, the King's permission, because I prayed to God and God moved the hands of the King. He said, but you know what? The God of heaven, He will prosper us. Then he says this, therefore, you know what therefore means? It means for this reason. For what reason? For the fact that God prospers us, therefore we, His servants will arise and build. He said, why are you doing what you're doing? Because God, because of God before us, who can be against us? Notice verse 8, Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 8. And a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the King's forest, and he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the place which are appertained to the house and for the wall of the city and for the houses that I shall enter into. And the King, notice what the Bible says, and the King granted me according, notice what Nehemiah, Nehemiah is always giving glory to God, according to the good hand of my God upon me. You say, Pastor Jimenez, this is a beautiful building. How did you guys get it? God did it. Oh, you guys have a nice setup here. You know, everything, and I'm not taken away from the work that brother Jared's done and the work that we've done. Brother Oliver's done a lot of work to try to get these things going and running, but you know, at the other hand, at the end of the day, it's been the good hand of our God upon us that has helped us, that has blessed us. Let me show you one last passage. Go to 1 Samuel 17. If you go backwards from Nehemiah, you'll go past Ezra, 2 and 1 Chronicles, 2 and 1 Kings, 2 and 1 Samuel. I really want to nail in this point and this idea that the enemy is going to try to get you to put your eyes on yourself because I know how church planning goes. Look, I know how ministry goes. In September, we'll be celebrating nine years of ministry at Verity Baptist Church. I'm not saying that's as long as other people, but it's long enough. And I realize that, you know, ministries, they go up and down. Attendances go up and down. Offerings go up and down. So winning goes up and down. And if you get your eyes on yourself and if you get your eyes on people, look, if you get your eyes on people, you will. It's not if, it's when. There is a time when you will be discouraged because people will let you down. And I'm not saying, oh, people will let you down. I'm saying people, all of us. You get your eyes on Pastor Jimenez, you'll be let down. You get your eyes on Brother Jared, you'll be let down. We'll let you down. We'll fail from time to time. You'll fail from time to time. And this is why the enemy, they want us to get our eyes on ourselves that we might be discouraged. Let me give you another example of this. A very famous example, of course, of David. Remember when David goes to fight Goliath? Here you've got a young man who's never fought professionally in his life as a soldier. And you've got a giant who's a professional soldier. You think that Goliath wouldn't say anything to David. He'd just walk up to him and just squash him. You know what I mean? But notice this is how the enemy works. He still tries to get in his head. First Samuel 17 verse 43. Then the Philistine said unto David, because David comes out. And instead of just walking up and saying, okay, really? This is your challenge? Okay. Dead. He feels a need to get in his head. And it's not just David. It's everyone behind David. He wants them to get their eyes on themselves. Notice what he says, verse 43. And the Philistine said unto David, am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? A stave is a staff or a stick. You know, they bring David out and he said, am I a dog? You bring this little kid with a stick out to fight me? And the Philistine cursed David by his God. What was it that Goliath was trying to do? He was trying to get David to sit there and think to himself, man, you know what? He's right. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. Maybe I was just being a little, let the Holy Spirit get a hold of me too much. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should go back. Maybe this was not what I should do. But I want you to notice David's great response. Why is it that David was able to fight this great battle? I mean, one of the greatest battles in the Bible, one of the greatest stories in the Bible, David slain Goliath. What got David there? One thing. The fact that his eyes were not upon himself. And it's evident. It's evident by his response. Notice what he says, verse 44. And the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give thy flesh into the fowls of the air, into the beasts of the field. Then said David, notice his response to the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defiled. He says, see, you're trying to make it about you and me. You're trying to make it about your weapons and my weapons. You're trying to make it about who's got the bigger sword and who's got the bigger shield. You're coming to me with your fleshly and your carnal ways of thinking. But I'm coming to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whom thou has defiled. Notice verse 46, this day, notice what David says, this day, not me, David says, this day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. And I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day and to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth. Notice what he says, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Say, why would you bring your little ragtag group of soul winners here across the street from the only Chinese restaurant in Fresno? You know why? You say, you guys are a joke. You guys are the laughing stock of the independent fundamental Baptist movement. You know why? So that when the city is reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all the world may know that there's a God, that all the earth may know that there's a God that Meredith Baptist Church serves in Fresno. There's a God that we serve in Sacramento, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know, notice verse 47, and all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear. And the Lord does not save with big buildings and big budgets. He doesn't save with big resources. He doesn't save with big ministry for the battle is the Lord. And He will give you into our hands. Here's all I'm telling you. Here's all I'm telling you. Verity Baptist Church Fresno will fail if you get your eyes on yourself. But if you get the proper objective that we are here to build and we are here to help, that we are here for the welfare of the people. If you just open your eyes truthfully and observe the people and you realize that this city is broken down, I'm not talking about the buildings, I'm talking about the people. And you speak the truth and you preach the truth. And people will say you're negative. People will say, well, I thought you were here to help. Why are you telling us everything we're doing wrong? And you speak the truth because it is our job to speak the truth. Why? Because the Bible says, and they shall know the truth and the truth shall make them free. The only thing that will make people free in this world is the truth. Sometimes you preach the truth and people say you're their enemy. And he and I did not get discouraged by the observation. He saw a great opportunity. But with that opportunity comes oppositions. So keep your eyes on the Lord. Keep your eyes on God. Because the beautiful thing is that I don't have to be talented and I don't have to be strong. I don't have to be tall. Praise God. I don't have to be impressive. I just need God on my side. You just need God on your side. The battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands. That's why we're here. Why didn't he and I show up to Jerusalem? To help and to build. Why are we here? To help and to build a church that will reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for this great story in the Bible that encourages us. And Lord I do thank you for this church officially starting today. And Lord I pray you'd bless it. I pray you'd help it. Lord I realize that there's going to be some battles that will come. There's going to be opposition. There's going to be people who try to discourage us. Try to attack us. Try to laugh us to scorn. Lord I pray that you would help it to be a theme of this church. To keep your eyes on Jesus. To keep your eyes on the Lord. Because the battle is the Lord's. And we're not doing it for our own accolades and our own fame. We're doing it that all the earth may know. There's a God that Verity Baptist Church serves. We love you Father. We thank you for this great turnout today. Thank you for the Buzardski family coming here to plant this church. Lord we pray that you would help it. You bless it. That you strengthen it. And Lord we thank you for all the blessings that will come as a result of this church. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.