January
6, 2013
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
Order of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc., are in
attachment. All articles in the bulletin
are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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Were
the whole realm of nature mine.
That
were a present far too small;
Love
so amazing, so divine,
Demands
my soul, my life, my all.
*******
GOD SPARED NOT THE OLD WORLD
2 Peter 2: 5/ Genesis 6: 1-18
What was it that led the whole human
race astray so that God destroyed the old world with a flood? It was rebellion
against the truth of God’s salvation for the riches of the world.
The Sin and Judgment of the Old World
The children of Cain multiplied in great numbers because Cain’s descendants
practiced polygamy. Apply this to the
religion of false teachers. Peter says of false teachers—they have eyes full of adultery, beguiling unstable souls,
alluring through lusts of the flesh.
Works religion increases faster in number because the harlot takes many
spouses. Those called of the Lord wait
upon the Lord Jesus our Husband to produce his children. False religion is a
harlot. (Pro 7: 12-21; Is 3: 16-23; 2 Cor 6: 14-18)
Satan and his false teachers allure by marketing their numbers, their fair
show in the flesh, and their prosperity in the groves of false religion. They deny that Christ is God the Son come in
human flesh by denying Christ’s successful finished redemption of the elect of
God and the elect of God only. The lie of universal atonement denies the whole
doctrine of God. It denies man’s total
depravity, denies God’s electing grace, and denies the Holy Spirit’s regenerating
glory, instead making salvation to be by the will of man. False teachers speak in ambiguous language to
exalt man. They may claim to preach the doctrine of particular redemption, at times
speaking of Christ dying for “his people”, but they will not simply declare that
Christ did not die for all men. Whatever
you want to call such teaching is anything but the “simplicity that is in
Christ.” The corruption in this earth
right now is due to the denial of the true and living God by men who claim to
be promoting the name of God. The flood
gates of corruption of every kind is opened by free will, works religion.
God gave the
old world space to repent. God sent Noah, a preacher of righteousness
who preached the righteousness of Christ for 120 years. But men were too religious, too wealthy and
too wise for God. “And GOD saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And
it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at
his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls
of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” (Gen 6: 5-7) “And [God] spared not the old world,…bringing in the flood upon the world
of the ungodly.” (2 Pet
2: 5)
Sinner, turn
from the daughters of Cain and rest in Christ.
There is coming another day of judgment.
God is giving you
opportunity right now to repent. But the
day is coming when God will shut the door of mercy
The Grace of God to Noah
“But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Gen 6: 8) Grace
is free! Grace is sovereign! Grace is unconditional! The world was lost, “but
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord!” The world was condemned, “but Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” The world perished, “but Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord.” By the righteousness of the promised Messiah, Noah
"became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Heb 11:7)
While the old world joined in with the sons of men, Noah
remained unaffected by them. Noah lived in the awareness of God’s
immediate presence. He walked with God
by faith, believing the Word delivered him (Gen 6: 13-14, 18; Rom 10: 17) “By
faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” (Heb 11: 7)
Do you hear
what the Holy Spirit is declaring through the apostle Peter? If God spared not the angels that sinned, he
will not spare any sinner no matter how high a position we may appear to
have. If God spared not the old world, though
they had millions with them, he will not spare the many who join themselves
with the multitudes in religion or out. “But God saved Noah”—God did it! Believe on Christ. He is our Ark. Christ is the one who has born the flood of
justice for his people. God is coming
again in judgment of fire. Ignore the
gospel and you shall perish. Get in Christ by believing on him and you shall be
saved.
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FINISHING THE RACE
Pastor Henry Mahan
Those who are so foolish as to allow ANYTHING IN THEIR LIFE to cause
them to renounce their faith in Christ and neglect their duty and privileges as
children of the living God will, like Esau, someday weep with bitter tears when
it is beyond their power to recover what is lost. Guard against apostasy
and fleshly appetites, guard against neglecting worship and daily communion
with the Lord; guard against unwholesome companions and worldly social
contacts; guard against covetousness and materialism lest you come at last, to
mourn bitterly your foolishness and wickedness.
We have entered A RACE. The
prize goes to those who FINISH (Hebrews 10:35-39). There will be
difficult times, perhaps heavy trials; and along the way there will be tempting
pastures of pleasure which appeal to the flesh. We must go on! We
may proceed rapidly or slowly; we may even stumble and fall; but, looking to
Christ, we continue. I have a responsibility TO MY Lord and to the Gospel of His
grace. Neither the smiles nor the frowns of the world will cause me to
surrender what I believe. I have a responsibility to the church, my
brothers, my family, and to those whose lives I touch. By His grace, I
must not allow anything to cause me to quit the race nor fail to see it
through.
In 55 years of pastoring and
preaching, I have seen many runners in this race. Those who finish and
are crowned with glory are those who CONTINUE FAITHFUL! They lay aside
the weights and sins which hinder; they look neither BACK to Egypt which they
have left nor AROUND at others who profess to run, but only FORWARD to Christ,
their goal. They do not always maintain the same pace, for sometimes the
track is smooth and sometimes it is rocky or muddy; but they are always moving
in the same direction. “I will be satisfied when I awake with Thy
likeness.”