June 1, 2014
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
Be sure to check the order of service, announcements,
nursery schedule, etc., in the attachment.
All articles in the bulletin are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
So that the preaching of the glory of Christ is the full
focus of our attention, for those attending with children 4 and under, we have a nursery equipped with a
digital flat screen television broadcasting all services, with faithful ladies
to care for the little ones.
*******
Melinda
and I thank you very much for the dishwasher.
*******
“Providence
reads best backwards”—Thomas Boston
*******
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each have a distinct view of
Christ: Matthew speaks of him as King, Mark as Servant, Luke as Man, and John
as God.
*******
If the congregation had the preachers
view point they might be convinced that Satan is very much at work during every
service, using our slumbering eyes, our bladders, our little children, flies and
many other means to turn the attention of as many as possible away from Christ
in the gospel being preached. That is why
we have beds, bathrooms, nurseries, and fly swatters.
*******
LAWFUL CAPTIVES DELIVERED
Isaiah 49: 24: Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful
captive delivered? 25: But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty
shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I
will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
26: And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall
be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know
that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of
Jacob.
The mighty and terrible is Satan, with the powers of evil and all falsehood.
The prey are those God shall save by his grace, his elect.
Had Satan seized Adam by mere
power, we would be his unlawful captives.
But by Adam’s transgression against God, all mankind became Satan’s
lawful captives.
The chains of the lawful captives are as strong as the sanctions of the
law we have violated. How strong is the
law of God? Christ said, “verily I say
unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Mt 5: 18) The LORD told Moses, “I
will by no means clear the guilty.” (Ex
34: 7; Rom 6: 23) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Eze 18: 4) Therefore, every sinner shall die—either in a
Substitute or in their sins. The holy
justice of God demands it.
Now, here is the question for you personally, are you a sinner? Whether you
know it or not, admit it or not, you are a sinner? (Rom 3:23) You who are unconverted are dead
in trespasses and in sins, under the curse of God, hanging over the pit of hell
by a thread, in the grip of the prince of darkness, his lawful captive because
you have broken the law of God. There is
nothing you can do to free yourself: a guilty criminal cannot justify himself;
you cannot walk an aisle to freedom; you cannot be baptized into freedom, you
cannot work yourself to freedom; you have to die! It is the very holy law of
God which fastens our shackles tight. The justice of death must be carried out
upon the convicted. How then can God be just and yet set the captive free in
mercy? How can you die and yet live? This
becomes the question of all questions, "Shall the lawful captive be
delivered?"
Bless God, the answer is yes! “Thus
saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the
prey of the terrible shall be delivered.”
By whom?—“for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I
will save thy children.” THE LORD God, Christ the Redeemer, pledged himself to
deliver the elect of God in the everlasting covenant of grace when he struck
hands to become our Surety. How does Christ accomplish this
deliverance of his people? In a three-fold way.
Deliverance by Redemption. First,
Christ delivers by redeeming his people through his death. (Heb 2:14-15) On the
cross, the world was judged, Satan’s head was crushed, and all God’s elect were
redeemed. (Jn 12:31-33) Christ bore the sins of his people, the penalty of
justice and all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Yet, Christ remained faithful. By laying down his life Christ spoiled
principalities and powers, and him that had the power of death, the devil. He took
away Satan’s ammunition—our sin—when our scape goat carried our sins away into
that land not inhabited. Our High Priest entered into the presence of God with
his own blood. Now God is eternally satisfied with his people; now the serpent's
power is broken; now his usurped dominion over the nations of the world is
overthrown. (Rev 12:9; Jer 31: 10-11)
Deliverance by Regeneration. Secondly,
our deliverance is accomplished by regeneration. Until quickened by the Holy
Spirit, Christ’s redeemed are yet under “the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Eph 2: 2) But
Christ enters through the preaching of the gospel by his Holy Spirit, binds the
strongman and takes his redeemed child from Satan. (Luke 11: 21-22) When Christ
finished his work in the demoniac of Gadara, he was “sitting at the feet of
Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.” So it is for every believer by our all-victorious
Head, Christ Jesus: we are seated at the feet of Christ, clothed in his
righteousness, and have the mind of Christ.
Deliverance by Resurrection.
Finally, we shall be delivered forever by resurrection. Christ is the Resurrection.
(Jn 11: 25) The last enemy to be destroyed is death, “So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up
in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The
sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:
54-57)
In that day, the Lord assures you
and I, believer, “all flesh shall know that I the LORD am THY Saviour and THY Redeemer,
THE Mighty One, of Jacob.”
*******
Men and women who think highly of themselves pray, “God, be just to me
and give to me what I deserve.”
We who know ourselves to be what we truly are pray, “God, be merciful to
me and withhold from me what I deserve – Your everlasting wrath. And be
gracious to me and give to me what I do not deserve – Jesus Christ as my All In
All.” Daniel E. Parks