December
22, 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.
GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISE
Genesis 21: 1: And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD
did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2: For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son
in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Salvation is according to the word
of God’s promise. Everything God does in time in the salvation of each of God’s
elect is according to God’s everlasting covenant of grace. The promise of God is sure because God
himself fulfills every word himself.
God gave Sarah a child because God promised he would—as God had said. Sara represents the
everlasting covenant of grace. (Galatians 4: 22-24) God made this promise long
before then brought it to pass through Sarah. Likewise before God made time the
three persons in the Godhead made a covenant promise with himself to save an
elect people by Christ Jesus.
God
the Father chose his Son, chose an elect people in his Son, and promised to
give Christ Jesus all preeminence as the GodMan for glorifying God and saving
his people from our sins on the cross. (Is 42: 1; Eph 1: 3-4; Col 1: 18-19; Rom
3: 25-26) God the Son promised to become
a man like unto his brethren, to magnify and honor the law of God, saving all
God’s elect by making us the righteousness of God in him. (Heb 2: 14-18; Is 42:
21; 2 Cor 5: 21) God the Holy Spirit
promised to overshadow the virgin forming Christ in her womb, to rest upon Christ
as he walked this earth, to regenerate each elect child, to convince us of our
sin, of Christ’s righteousness, of judgment accomplished. (Lu 1: 35; Mt 3: 16;
Jn 3: 5; 16: 7-11)
Since
Sarah is a type of the everlasting covenant we could replace her name and read
verse 1 this way, “And the LORD visited [through the everlasting covenant] as
he had said, and the LORD did [according to the everlasting covenant] as he had
spoken.” Everything that has and is
coming to pass in time, the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, every sinner called to
faith in Christ, every believer kept so that none shall be lost, is God
fulfilling his everlasting covenant of grace—as God had said. God fulfills his covenant promise because “He doeth
according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the
earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan 4:
35); God fulfills his covenant promise because “Whatsoever the LORD pleased,
that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (Ps
135: 6); God fulfills his covenant promise “according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph 1: 11) By doing so
the glory of God is manifest, all the work of salvation is of the Lord and all
who believe glory only in the Lord.
Believe God. “God is not a
man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?” (Nu 23: 19)
*******
ON PURPOSE FOR A
PURPOSE
Genesis 21: 2: For Sarah conceived, and bare
Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3: And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah
bare to him, Isaac.
Isaac
is a type of Christ. (Gal 3:16) That is not by accident but according to the purpose
of God. Here are some ways Isaac is a type of Christ:
·
Both births were announced years before. (Gen
21: 1-3; Gen 3: 15)
·
Both births occurred at the set time. (Gen
21: 2; Gal 4: 4)
·
Both were named before their birth. Of Isaac
read Genesis 17:19; Of Christ, “And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins.” (Mt 1: 21)
·
Both births were a miracle of God. (Gen 21: 7; Lu 1: 35)
·
From both God promised seed would be born. Of Isaac, “for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called.” (Gen 21: 12; Rom 9: 6-9) Christ is the Seed born through Isaac. Also,
we are told that the promise made to Abraham was also made to Christ concerning
the regeneration of all Christ’s redeemed (Gal 3: 16) and that the very reason Christ
was made a curse for his people was so this blessing would come upon all Christ’s
seed among all nations, that each shall be called to life, “Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: THAT the blessing of
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; THAT we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Gal 3: 13-14)
·
Both were offered of their Father as a
sacrifice. Of Isaac, “And he said, Take
now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of.” (Gen 22: 2)
Of Christ, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him.” (1 Jn 4: 9)
·
Both bore the wood on which they were offered. Of Isaac, “And Abraham took the wood of the
burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son.” (Gen 22: 6) Of Christ, “And he
bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is
called in the Hebrew Golgotha.” (Jn 19: 17)
·
Both freely submitted. (Gen 22: 9; Jn 10:
17-18)
·
With both God provided himself a lamb. With Isaac, God provided himself a lamb to take
Isaac’s place. (Gen 22: 8) Christ is God providing himself to be the Lamb who
took the place of, and put away the sins of, his people. (Jn 1: 36; Heb 1: 3)
The purpose
of God in making Isaac a type of Christ is to show us that God does all things
according to the word of his promise on purpose for the purpose of glorifying
himself in the person of his only begotten Son—“as he had said, as he has spoken.”
*******
ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN SELF
The Holy Spirit says through the apostle
Paul, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Php 2: 3) If we criticize
a brother then we are esteeming self as better than them. That is sure to promote strife and vain glory.
If we must be critical then rather than rather than doing so of our brethren,
let us be critical of how we treat others.
Rather than exalting self, let us exalt the other as better than
ourselves. Strife and vain glory cannot exist when we esteem others better than
ourselves.
*******
One reason it is impossible for a natural man
to believe that God has done the things he reads in the Bible is because
everything God does is impossible with man.