March 18, 2018
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
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 11: 4: Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness
delivereth from death.
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AWAKE, ARISE, CHRIST SHALL GIVE THEE LIGHT
“But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Eph 5:
13-14)
In order to be reproved from every
false way we need light. That light is
Christ himself given us through the preaching of the light of the gospel.
Christ said, “I am the light of
the world.” (Jn 9: 4-5) And it is through the light of his gospel that God
gives his people light—“the god of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine
unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure
in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of
us.” (2Co 4:5-7)
This is how Christ brings his people to believe on him. As we hear the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ preached the Spirit of God reproves us effectually,
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that
sleepest. Arise from the dead.” When he gives this command he irresistibly
awakens us, we arise and “Christ shall
give thee light.”
Then
how the children of Light rejoice! What particular grace! Christ does not do
this for all, only for his redeemed! “Arise,
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For,
behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but
the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” (Isa
60:1-2)
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The Lord Jesus
Christ does not show blind men how to see. He gives them new eyes and they see
Him! The Lord Jesus Christ does not tell deaf men how to hear. He gives them
new ears and they hear Him! The Lord Jesus Christ does not beg lame men to
walk. He gives them new legs and they leap as a hart, and follow Him! All who
are in Christ receive a new mind of repentance toward Him, a new will that bows
to Him, a new heart that believes and loves Him. Yes, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature! Pastor Gabe
Stalnaker
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WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT
“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk
as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is
acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove. For it is a shame even to speak of those things
which are done of them in secret.” (Eph 5: 8-11)
When Christ gives us light he teaches
us we were darkness—not that we were only
in darkness, though we were, but we were
the darkness. But by the free grace of God, now we are light in Christ our Lord, not that we are only in the light,
though we are, but we are light in the
Lord. Oh, what a price Christ had to
pay in order to make us light in him! Therefore, we are constrained by the love
of our Redeemer to obey his command to walk as his children—children of Light.
The fruit of the Light (says
the oldest manuscripts) produced in his people is unlike the unfruitful works of darkness produced by
our old man of sin. His fruit produces our walk in all goodness as we labor in our occupations that we might have
to give to the needy rather than stealing and being covetous (Eph 4:28). The
Light causes us to walk in all righteousness
by being kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving brethren as God for
Christ’s sake has forgiven us, making us followers of God as dear children, walking
in love as Christ loved us instead of being full of bitterness and malice (Eph
4: 31-5: 3). The Spirit makes us walk in
all truth as we speak that which is edifying, ministering the gospel of
grace to our hearers rather than lies (Eph 4:25, 29).
Christ teaches us to test what is acceptable unto him by bringing
everything to his word. Whatsoever is
acceptable unto our Lord we are to walk in but whatsoever the Lord’s word says
are unfruitful works of darkness, we
are to avoid. That includes the workers themselves “for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them
in secret.” But not only are we to
have no fellowship with them, we are even
to reprove them.
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SUBMIT EXPERIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD
If I insist I was saved contrary to
God’s word based on my experience then I make the word of God submit to my
experience rather than submitting my experience to the word of God. I judge God’s sayings as untrue. In fact, I
judge God himself by imputing unfaithfulness to him. Nevertheless, such claims will not change the
faithfulness of God to save in the way he says in his word. “For
what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God
without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it
is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Ro 3:3-4)
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“Pray Without Ceasing” 1 Thess. 5:17
It is a miracle of God’s grace that any of us can pray. We must be born
from above before there is a heart spiritually alive to pray (Acts 9:11). The
Holy Spirit, because of our infirmities, must continually help us for we know
not what to pray (Rom. 8:26). And the Lord Jesus, as the elect’s Intercessor,
the Father’s obedient Servant and the only One in whom the Father is well
pleased, must offer out of His hand of power the prayers of all saints before
the throne in the merit of His glorious righteousness before God for their
acceptance in heaven (Rev. 8:3-4). When we pray, may we ever be reminded of our
Lord’s word, “I am the Vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Pastor
Marvin Stalnaker
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ARISE,
MY LOVE, COME AWAY!
Do you have a good hope? Death will
be terrifying for you if you are trusting your eternal acceptance with God upon
anything you have done. But those resting in Christ will close their eyes and be
awakened by their Savior saying, “Rise
up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain
is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of
birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land; The fig
tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a
good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” (Song of Solomon (2:
10-13)
This life has much joy in it. God has given many things to enjoy and we
should. But overall sin has made this life like a long cold winter. Satan’s
temptations blow hard as arctic winds. Persecution comes as frigid blasts.
Afflictions are icy-sharp. At times a nor’easter blows in from the coast and sits
upon us. Dark clouds hide our Beloved. The blizzard blankets us till all is
still, silent, lifeless. We become grey, barren trees of winter.
Our inner man becomes weak and hungry like the little animal in its den. But then
comes the Voice of our Beloved saying, “Rise
up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain
is over and gone.” Our Beloved takes
us by the heart and ushers us back into communion with him where, “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of
the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in
our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the
tender grape give a good smell.” The springtime of Life returns to our
souls!
But
one day soon, my brethren, our Beloved shall usher us into his eternal garden
where there will be eternal spring. Oh to awake completely whole! Oh to behold
he who loved us and gave himself for us!
Oh to be made like him and dwell with him! Then the winter will be over for good! Then we will be with Christ forever with absolutely
no more sin and no more storms to interrupt our communion!