Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 8-5-2018
Bible TextIsaiah 38:1
Date05-Aug-2018
Article Type Bulletin
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
 

UPCOMING

·        Friday and Saturday, August 10-11, Pastor Darvin Pruitt and I are scheduled to preach at Grace Baptist Church of the Ozarks in Nixa, Missouri for the ordination of Pastor Eric Lutter.

·        Wednesday, August 29, I am scheduled to preach for Katy Baptist Church in Fairmont, WV where Brother Marvin Stalnaker is pastor. 

·        Friday–Sunday, August 31–September 2, I am scheduled to preach in the conference at Grace Baptist Church of Danville, KY where Brother Don Fortner is pastor.  Brother Kevin Thacker is scheduled to preach here Thursday, August 30th.  Brother Bob Coffee from Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, TN is scheduled to preach here Sunday, September 2.

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SUNDAY’S READING IN PROVERBS

Proverbs 11:28: He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

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To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?” (Isaiah 1:11).

Our Lord asked the people of Judah and Jerusalem this question by the prophet Isaiah.  It’s a question that reveals what’s in our hearts by nature.  Religious people look to their service to God as a sign that they are children of God.  They take pride in their church membership, the strength of the heritage of that church and the education of the man they call their Pastor or even Priest.  They trust in their confessions, their attendance, their participation, their bible reading, their prayers and their witness to others about Jesus. These are among the many sacrifices they make for God, and if they are being honest, they put a lot of confidence in their sacrifices.  Without doubt, most are very sincere, but our Lord called them “your sacrifices” (Isaiah 1:11).  He did not own them as his own, which they were bringing to him.

     Our God has a single eye to one sacrifice.  His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one sacrifice his people rest in. For the Father said “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). All our service, hope and life springs forth from the sacrifice Christ made of himself to the Father, as his people’s substitute. Christ is the Lamb of God without spot or blemish.  Our Lord and Savior alone “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).  Orderly public worship is important, but do not put your trust and confidence in that.  Religious people put confidence in the outward form and even sneer and mock others as a sign of their own faithfulness.  But for many, it is carnal and fleshly religion and nothing more.  Look to Christ alone for your righteousness.  Concerning Christ we are told “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true” (John 3:33). God the Father delights in his Son.  Coming to the Father in Christ, the Lamb of God, we shall never be ashamed.  For the Father will always receive and delight in that sacrifice.                                                                                                      Pastor Eric Lutter

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JOSHUA LEFT NOTHING UNDONE

“As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:15).

Joshua was the successor to Moses.  He was the man the Lord raised up to bring the children of Israel across the River of Jordan and into the land of Canaan to defeat the enemies of God in the land and to give it to Israel for an inheritance (Joshua 1:6; 11:23).  The word of the Lord declares the success that Joshua was given.  Of all that Moses commanded Joshua to accomplish, he left nothing undone, nothing unfilled and nothing unfinished. He indeed was a very successful leader of the Lord’s people.

     We know that Joshua is a personal type of the greater Joshua the Lord Jesus Christ.  How much more can we declare that of all He has undertaken for us with complete success; He too left nothing undone of all that the Father commanded Him to do.  All that the Father gave our Saviour to do He fully accomplished without fail. The scriptures declare of Him that He cannot fail, failure was never an option. “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his  law” (Isaiah 42:4).

    All the Father’s redemptive will and all His eternal purpose in salvation was finished by Christ (John 4:34; John 17:4).  All the promises of God were completed in the coming of the Lord Jesus (Gal. 4:4) and in His atoning death for His people (Gal. 3:13). He said upon the Calvary tree, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

     I am sure the children of Israel were thankful unto the Lord for sending them Joshua, the faithful servant of the Lord.  But how much are we thankful for the greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ; He has loved us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3); He has saved and justified us with His own blood (Rom. 5:6-8; Heb. 9:11-2), He has given to us His perfect righteousness before God and an eternal inheritance (Rom. 4:6-8; Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 5:21).  Let us always rejoice in the Lord and bless His holy name. “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (Psalm 103:1).                                  Pastor Tom Harding

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Physical sickness is an instrument by which God makes his saints more healthy. By weakness he makes us strong. By need he teaches us to pray. By great sorrow he opens the door for great comfort.                                                                            

Pastor Don Fortner

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SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER FOR THOU SHALT DIE

Isaiah 38:1: In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

In December of 2014, I was flying back from preaching in Mexico.  At Houston airport, I called my dad.  I was calling to talk like so many times before.  This time, he told me he had colon cancer.  The news told hold of me so strongly that I did not even notice my plane board and fly away.  If I was that shaken by his news, how alarming it must have been for my dad.  We have brethren, family and friends who have received this news.  My grandfather, who was a believer, said his hands began to tremble uncontrollably when the doctor told him the cancer would take his life within a few months.  You simply do not know how shocking this kind of news is until you receive it. Imagine the report coming to you, “Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”

     Sinner, this is true of you right now, “Thou shalt die, and not live.” Now is the time to heed this word.   It does not matter how old or how young you may be.   While in college my best friend was only twenty years old when he was told he had cancer.  We had plans for that weekend.  Instead, my friend was in surgery.  For the next six months, I watched a strong young man become too frail to lift his head, much less get out of bed.  This news comes to the young, as well as the aged.  Our house is a dying house.  Sin causes us to begin dying the moment we are born. We live in a house of dust and unto dust it shall return.

     Yet, those who believe on Christ can rejoice that “if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor 5:1) Oh, sinner do not delay!  Set your house in order now.  For it is certain concerning our flesh, thou shalt die and not live.

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AFTER THIS LIFE IS ETERNITY

This life is not the end.  We all will spend eternity somewhere glorifying God: either glorifying his grace for saving us or glorifying his justice for justly for condemning us. Some of you are already making plans for where you will spend your spring and summer break next year. Others have spent their lives preparing for how and where they will spend our retirement years. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (Ja 4:14) Yet, we all know we shalt die. But who is making plans for where they will spend eternity?