September 18, 2011
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 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7 PM Midweek Service
WHERE IS GOD MY MAKER?
"But none saith, Where is God my maker?" Job 35:10
All of the wickedness in this world can be traced back to our forgetfulness of God. No one cares or acknowledges that God is his maker. To acknowledge this is to admit that we owe Him something. We act as though we made God, so He owes something to us, and we cannot understand why He does not give it.
There is one common fault in our nature, and it is described by the Apostle Paul in: "There is no fear (reverence) of God before their eyes.” Until divine grace comes in and changes our nature, we will not fear God. Above all the things of this world, we ought to think of God, but, we think of everything but God. There is no place in your hearts for God. We forget our God who made us. So, we are spiritual beggars. We have nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, because we have denied the Only One who can help us.
He is our Maker. We do not have a choice in which God we will serve. There is only one God. We do not have a choice in which Christ we will believe. There is only one Christ and His name is Jesus of Nazareth. We do not have a choice in how we will save our soul. We do not have a choice in how we will come to God. There is only one way. Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." We do not have a choice in how we will worship God. Those who worship God must "worship Him in truth and in Spirit."
The prophet Malachi asked, "Will a man rob God?" He sure will. We rob God of His HONOR by not bowing to Him. We rob God of the OBEDIENCE which is due Him as our Maker. We rob God of the GRATITUDE we owe Him for all He has done. It is a strange and sad thing that God is so near to us and so necessary to us, and we have not sought Him.
This God is the God who made us. "...my Maker." It is in "Him that we live, and move, and have our being." Without Him we could not move our little finger. Without Him we would have no reasoning power whatsoever. Without Him we could not think at all. What a curse it is that since we can move, we do not move toward Him. What a curse it is that since we can reason, we do not reason the things of God. What a curse it is to us that since we can think, we do not think of Him. We live as though we had nothing "to do" with our Creator. We live as though if we had a need, we could supply it with a little hard work, but, God only accepts what Christ has done for us.
WHERE IS GOD MY MAKER? He is on the Throne of Glory where He has always been. He has not moved. He is on the Mercy Seat which can only be approached by that High Priest with the blood of the atoning sacrifice. You want comfort? You must come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do not forget God, for, it is before Him that we must stand in that great day of judgment. - Pastor Milton Howard
AMAZING GRACE!
Philemon 1-25
Onesimus was a servant in the house Philemon but Onesimus betrayed Philemon, robbing him and running away to Rome. There the Spirit of God gave this runaway servant spiritual life, faith, repentance, through Paul’s preaching. But Onesimus had wronged Philemon and needed his master’s forgiveness. So the apostle Paul is writing this letter to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus to make reconciliation between Onesimus and his master. In it we see an illustration of God’s grace which saves effectually and brings forth fruit in every believer.
Electing Grace--Though he did not know it at first, Onesimus belonged to God by God’s divine choice so God called Onesismus to faith in Christ (2 Th 2: 13.) The prayer of each saint here, for you who are yet running away from God, is that you may indeed be a chosen vessel of God’s grace.
Predestinating Grace--Had God not sovereignly interrupted Onesimus, he would have remained a slave of the flesh and continued on his course of rebellion and went to hell. But God predestinated Onesimus before time began (Ep 1: 5-6.) Therefore, God worked all things together to bring him to hear the gospel of his Redeemer through Paul (Ro 8:28-30.) This is the peace of every believer for our perishing sons and daughters. If you are God’s, God has already determined the precise hour when he will bring you to behold Christ Jesus in whom is all salvation. Oh, that this might be the day! (Jn 6: 45; Ga 4: 6)
Covenant Grace--In verse 18 we see an example of Christ who became Surety of his people in the covenant grace. The Lord Jesus said to the Father of all the wrong his people would do and owe to God--“put that on mine account.” He paid all his people owed by his death on the cursed cross (Is 53: 5-6.) Christ ever lives to make intercession for us (v17.)
Everything that we see in Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus in their desire for reconciliation between these two brethren is the fruit of God’s grace given freely through Christ through the Spirit of God. May God create in us a right spirit—that we might say on behalf of our offending brethren—“put that on mine account.”
Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there when Onesimus came back to Philemon’s house. Knowing what great things God had done for Onesimus, I picture Philemon receiving him like the prodigal son (Lk 15: 20-24.) How amazing is the effectual, never failing, God of all grace! (Ep 4:32; Jn 13: 34-35.)