August 18, 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.
*******
To say that a man or a woman’s
election is based upon whether they believe or not is just another way of
saying that salvation is by man’s free will decision. The elect of God will
believe because they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
And those that believe not, never were one of His sheep. David
Eddmenson, pastor, Sovereign Grace Church, New Caney, TX
*******
THEY THAT BE WITH US ARE MORE
2 Kings 6: 13-17
The king of Syria sent his troops with orders to bring Elisha back dead
or alive despite the fact Elisha was used of God to heal Benhadad’s general,
Naaman, of leprosy. (v13) The Syrian king
wanted Elisha dead because Elisha was confederate with the King of Israel. So
the Syrian king sent a great host by night which surrounded the city where
Elisha was. (v14)
See in this great host all our enemies camped around us continually. When through God’s preacher, God heals one of
his elect, though believers thank God, those under the power of the prince of
the air are enraged because believers are confederate with Christ. Like the
king of Syria vented his anger toward Elisha, their enmity toward Christ is
vented toward Christ’s ministers and the flock of God. (Ecc 8:11) Whether intentional or not, the unregenerate camp attempts to
do the same thing as the Pharisee’s toward Christ. They seek to find something
with which to accuse us so as to justify themselves before men for their rejection
of us and our gospel. (Jn 3: 19-20; 1 Jn 1: 6) But notice, the place where
this occurred is “Dothan.” (v13) It means "two wells" or “double
feast.” Everything the enemy intends toward us, God turns into a double feast
for his child, a double blessing from the wells of salvation (1 Chr 16: 21-22)
The
Dangers of Natural Sight
“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,
behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his
servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?” (v15) Believers are
like this young man. He was a true servant of God who arose early, cheerfully
ready to do whatever needed to be done in the service of God. But believers have two kinds of sight. We
have the natural eye which sees only natural things. This eye feeds the old man
of our flesh. Then we have spiritual sight whereby we see Christ by faith. This
sight feeds our new man.
Brethren,
we behold in this young man the danger of calculating with the natural
eye. It made him became fearful and he failed
to see the plenteous provision God had made. When we set our sights on the difficulties
in the way, on those who oppose us, then we see the danger but not the
deliverance in Christ. Remember, the difficulties are just opportunities for
God to show us his greatness. The true
enemy is not those we see with the natural eye; the true enemy is our own
unbelief.
The Value
of Spiritual Sight
Elisha “answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them.”
(v16) True God-sustained faith enables
the believer to comfort our fearful brethren with the gospel. Elisha saw the same thing the young man
saw. But Elisha also saw what the young
man did not see, “the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11: 1) So he was able to
comfort his brother with the reality of things: “they that be with us are
more than they that be with them.” (v16) How desperately brethren need
brethren! For every brother taken with “fear” God has provided us a brother
whom God has just strengthened to remind us “Fear not.” (Ps 46: 1-3)
Brethren,
the realization God gives through faith to conquer our fears is, “Ye are of
God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world.” (1 Jn 4: 4)
Our enemies are God’s enemies. God knows they are there. But they are there to teach us to look beyond
the enemies and obstacles to Christ our Sovereign Savior. This is his church. He
assembled it to bring glory to his holy name.
(Eph 1: 23; 2: 19-22; 4: 10; 5: 23) As God has provided us all
righteousness in the finished work of Christ Jesus, as God has fitted us together from the four corners of this globe,
so shall Christ our Head make every provision for our security right here in
this little corner of the world.
Lift
up the eyes above all events below and look around, believer. “Ye are come unto
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn,
which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to
the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”
(Heb 12: 22-24)
Spiritual
Sight is the Gift of God
“And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he
may see.” (v17) Elisha prayed thus
because he knew he had no power to give the young man sight and he knew the
young man could not do it for himself. So
Elisha asked God to open his eyes because he knew only God can do so.
Sinner, you are not aware of
your own blindness. It is not merely that man cannot come to Christ, but
he will not come to Christ that he may have life; it is not merely that
he cannot see the truth, but that he loves darkness rather than light, and does
not want to see. Your blindness is blindness of heart, of will, of conscience, of
understanding and of all things spiritual.
It takes the divine will of God to overcome the wicked will of man. “Except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3: 3)
God
Opens the Eyes
“And
the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain
was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (v17) God
shall open the eyes of every one of his blood-bought children to behold Christ
our Savior because God is greater than every enemy and obstacle
in our way He put the enemies there that he might
remove them so that we see that God can do all things that we might believe.
Everything we see with the natural eye shall be like a paper sack in a
raging fire, all shall melt away. But Christ says, “Because I live, ye shall
live also.” Believer, commit yourself to the keeping hand which was pierced
with nails for you. Poverty! What poverty! Enemies! What enemies! Obstacles! What
obstacles! (Php 4: 13; Isa 55:12)