February 19, 2012
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse,
2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New
Jersey, 08553
Telephone:
615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM
Bible Class
Sunday 11 AM Morning
Service
Thursday 7 PM Midweek
Service
When our confidence for serving God is
from any resource of our own we have failed to grasp the reality that we have
no sufficiency but God. “Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency
is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).
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Man, no matter who he be, if left to
himself is quite incapable of holding a blessing, as was clearly demonstrated
in Eden at the beginning. The fuller our cup of joy, the steadier the hand
required to hold it. A.W. Pink
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When the feelings of nature predominate
(and they always do predominate when faith is not in vigorous exercise),
triumph or success even when recognized as a gift of God’s undeserved mercy,
will, nevertheless, be so used as to exalt ourselves. As weeds flourish under
sunshine and flowers, so when there is not watchfulness, the tendencies of our
nature germinate under mercies. Unknown
Ecclesiastes 11:4: He that observeth the
wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. 5: As thou
knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the
womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who
maketh all. 6: In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not
thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or
whether they both shall be alike good.
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PRECIOUS IN MY SIGHT
Isaiah 43:4
Just think, if all your hope is Christ Jesus,
then the judgment of God toward you was fully accomplished when Christ Jesus
laid down his life in your place on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). “Therefore he hath poured upon him the
fury of his anger, and the strength of battle (Isaiah 42:25). Having satisfied justice and redeemed you
from the curse of the law by being made a curse for you, the LORD God is well-pleased
for his righteousness sake; Christ Jesus has magnified the law and made it
honorable for you. The Holy Spirit of
God speaks into your heart, saying, “But now thus saith the LORD that created
thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. For I am the
LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3). Oh, can’t you just camp out right there! Why did God do this for such a sinner amongst
so many just like me?
Thou Hast Been Precious in My Sight
He does not say, “since there was
something precious in you.” It does not
say “since there was something honorable in you.” God does not say “since you loved me.” God
says, “since thou wast precious IN MY SIGHT.” Brethren, think of that for a
moment, God saves because in God’s sight his children are a peculiar treasure
unto him (Psalm 135:4; Malachi 3:17; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9).
Thou Hast Been Honorable
The LORD God has honored his
elect with the honor that comes from God only (John 5:41-44). It is the
honor which God has the sovereign right to bestow on whom he will (Romans 9:21). It is the honor that our Savior is not
ashamed to call us his brethren (Hebrews 2:11).
And our God is not ashamed to be called our God (Hebrews 11:16). What honor!
We are honored to have access to his throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). We are honored to be called to bear witness
of him. What honor!
And I Have Loved Thee
His elect were loved
everlastingly (Jeremiah 3:31). God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans
5:8).
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not (1 John 3:1).
Now the Word of Promise
Brethren, God has given nations
for us and shall give men and people for our lives (Isaiah 43:3, 4). We face great mountains of adversaries (John
15:19). But because Christ our Redeemer
took our place, saying, “I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow
me” (Psalm 69:2); because he bore the fire of God’s wrath on our behalf, he
says to us, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee
(Isaiah 43:2; Zechariah 4:6-10). The nations and armies are in the hand of God
at his disposal. The gold and silver is his.
The wars, the rise of one empire, the fall of another, are all for one
purpose—the good of his church. He has, is and shall defend us. He has, is and shall provide for us. We
cannot trust God too much! (Isaiah 43:5-7).
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Recently something made me think about
how the love of God makes us thankful.
When I was younger it was my parents who were usually first to call me
on my birthday. As I have gotten older I
have noticed it is usually me that calls them first on my birthday. (Maybe they are just being kind not to remind
me of my age.) But the more I am taught
that God is my Life: where my life began in eternity, the Life by whom I was
reborn in the new birth, the Life in whom I am risen and seated in glory, the
Life in whom I now am eternally alive and kept. The more I am taught of how much God has
given freely to give me life by giving his only begotten Son and by my Saviors
suffering in giving himself to die that I might have life, the more thankful I
am for life. I am thankful to my parents
who gave me life and gave of themselves to raise me. I am thankful to my brethren who are
partakers of this Life and are such a continual encouragement to me. Grace
makes us thankful for Life here and above.
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Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man…Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD…(Jeremiah
17:5,7).