January
20, 2019
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
7 Birch Street
Pennington, NJ, 08538
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
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NURSERY
We have a nursery equipped with a digital flat screen television
broadcasting all services live, for children four and under.
All articles by the pastor unless
otherwise noted.
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The
videos are now listed as individual sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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SUNDAY’S READING IN PROVERBS
Proverbs
12: 21: There shall no evil happen to the just: but
the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
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The very reason God saves his child is to
bring that child to give God all the glory and praise for saving him, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”
(1 Pet 2: 9).
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WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE IN ELECTION?
We find God’s purpose in choosing some to
salvation and passing by others in Romans
9: 11: (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or
evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works,
but of him that calleth;). God
chooses whom he will, not based on any good or evil in us. He did so to declare that salvation is not of
our works but of God that calleth, “For
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom 9: 15-16).
By sovereign grace, God chose a multitude
in Christ, blessed us with all blessings, thus preparing us for glory before
the foundation of the world. He calls us
to life and faith in Christ "that he
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had
afore prepared unto glory.” (Ro 9:23). It
makes believers thank God and give him all praise and honor for saving us
according to his sovereign grace! And
that is God’s purpose, that God might receive all the glory!
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The sacrifice of praise is most seen when God
is thanked for taking, as well as giving. “Then Job
arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground,
and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD” (Job 1:20-21). Pastor John Chapman
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I CREATE THE FRUIT OF THE LIPS
Isaiah
57: 19: I create the fruit of
the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is
near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. 20:
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose
waters cast up mire and dirt. 21: There is no peace, saith my
God, to the wicked.
The wicked described here is the reprobate
justly hardened by God. He has no one to
blame but himself. Yet, by our first
birth, every elect child of God are “the wicked”, too. Our condition is the same as those in Noah’s
day, “every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6: 5; Mt 15: 18-20; Ja 3: 6, 8;
Ro 3:13) Every believer was once nothing but a lost, wicked sinner. So we see by our text that it is the LORD
alone who creates peace on our lips. How
so?
The
New Creation
Christ makes God’s elect a new creation by justifying
his people from all our sin on the cross and by putting in us a new
spirit. Salvation is not by justifying
us alone but also by creating in us a new spirit in which is no guile (Ps
32:2). This new creation is not made by merely
remodeling our old sinful nature. Nothing
is done to our sinful nature. God makes us
an entirely new creation, “For in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature. [creation]” (Gal 6: 15). Out of this newly created heart comes the
fruit of the lips (Isa 65:18).
The
Effectual Command
Christ creates fruit on our lips by speaking
in effectual power into our hearts, “Peace,
peace to him that is far off,
and to him that is near, saith
the LORD.” The result accomplished
is “and I will heal him.” Not only does Christ receive glory for
justifying us on the cross, he also gets the glory because he comes and preaches
peace to us through his minister preaching the gospel (Eph 2: 12-18; Col 1: 20). Christ declares effectually in our hearts the
redemption that he accomplished for us on the cross when he reconciled us unto God
by magnifying and honoring God’s law. By
Christ speaking effectually, we are born of the incorruptible seed, the Word of
God, which is preached unto us (1 Pet 1: 23, 25).
The
Fruit on our Lips
What is this fruit on our lips? For the first time in our lives (and for the
rest of our lives) we give God all the praise and glory. God said, “Even everyone that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory,
I have formed him; yea, I have made him…This people have I formed for myself;
they shall shew forth my praise” (Is 43: 7, 21). Christ says to us, “Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all
iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips” (Ho
14:2). Brethren, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice
of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb 13:15).
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Our Trouble Filled Days “Man
that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble” – Job 14:1
We received recently
some news of yet another brother and sister going through great troubles.
God warns us and promises of them. This
is a world full of sin, in trouble with God, full of troubles, and we are in
it. Though not in trouble with God, His
people are not immune from trouble. Contrary
to what false prophets say, God’s people are sent various troubles by their
Heavenly Father which are for their good and His glory. The Lord sends these troubles upon His people
for their good; to make them look to Him, think on Him, think on eternity (our
long home), testify of Him, wean us from this dying world, and to help our
brethren who are going through the same troubles. We glorify God more
while going through troubles (if we witness a good testimony) than when in
times of peace and prosperity. Brother Scott Richardson use to say;
‘a child of God has three kinds of trouble; troubles he is in,
troubles he is coming out of, and troubles he is going into.’
Do
not think that you have worse troubles or more troubles than your brethren, for
the Lord sends the same kinds of troubles to His people but to a different
degree, according to His wisdom and their need. When this new life is begun in
a child of God, his troubles with God are over (accomplished by Christ), but
his troubles in this world are just begun.
All
saints endure all kinds of troubles; troubles with sin, sorrow, heartache,
pain, sicknesses, loneliness, abandonment, darkness, depression, despair,
worry, doubts, fears, anxiety; spiritual troubles, heart troubles, soul
troubles, physical troubles . . . troubles at home, in the world, and even in
the church. But God says, “the same afflictions are ACCOMPLISHED in
your brethren thoughout the world.” The Lord sends them
to accomplish something. They accomplish the complete transformation of a
son of Adam into a son of God. It is the transformation of a man that is
earthy, sensual, and bound to this world, into a child of God, made meet (fit)
for Glory . . . by the turning away our eyes from things seen to things
unseen; by setting our affection on things above; by giving us a new heart,
that hates the cause of these troubles… SIN! . . . a heart that desires
nothing of this world’s perishing things but rather desirous of ‘one
thing’; that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever, beholding the
beauty of the Lord and enquiring into His temple.
It
is impossible to prepare for great troubles, though we are told to expect
them. We don’t want them, don’t like to think about them, but they will
come. But know this; with the trouble, no matter what it is, comes the
grace to endure it. Our God has promised not to send more than we
are able to bear and with that trouble a way to escape or endure
it. The Way? Christ Himself. By looking to Him, calling on
Him, trusting Him, and walking with Him. Like the three Hebrews in the
furnace, He walked with them, and walks with us, through the furnace of
affliction and trouble. The furnace of fiery trials is good for us. It
removes the dross, the refuse, the dung we get on us from being on the
dungheap. So while no trouble or affliction is enjoyable, yet the Lord
tells to us to expect them. And when they come, call on Me in the day of
trouble and I will deliver thee. And some day, one day soon, He
will come and deliver us out of all these troubles. Pastor
Paul Mahan