October 23, 2005

 

The best day of every believer’s life in this world is his last.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of October 23-30

                Sunday            Luke 15-16                              Thursday                Luke 23

                Monday          Luke 17-18                              Friday             Luke 24

                Tuesday          Luke 19-20                              Saturday          John 1-2

                Wednesday     Luke 21-22                              Sunday            John 3-4

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Rickey Dale Birchum-29th

 

NURSERY DUTY THIS WEEK

Today: Pam Wood (AM) Shelby Fortner (PM)     Tuesday: Laura Peterson

 

Sinners Who on Jesus Rest William Gadsby

(Tune: #56 — I am His and He is Mine — 77.77D)

 

1.        Sinners who on Jesus rest,
Must eternally be blest;
All Jehovah's love can give,
They from Jesus shall receive.
Loved of God, to Jesus given,
In the purposes of heaven;
They are bought with blood divine,
And they must in glory shine.
 
2.        They are Jesus' flesh and bone,
Nor from him shall e'er be torn;
Can a part be sent to hell,
And the whole in Zion dwell?
No! we bless the Lord on high,
Not a single joint can die;
Every member lives in him;
He's the life of every limb.
 
3.        They are Christ's by ties divine;
Here his brightest glories shine;
All creation must give place
To the subjects of his grace.
Matchless Jesus! may we be
Wholly taken up with thee!
And, in every deep distress,
Lean upon thy truth and grace.

 

“You may know you are elect, as surely by the work of grace in you, as if you had stood by God’s elbow when he wrote your name in the book of life.”

William Gurnall

 

22

“They shall never perish.”

John 10:28

 

The fact that our standing before God is not based upon what we deserve is stated clearly in Holy Scripture. In Romans 5:8-10 we read, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

 

Paul’s Argument

 

Paul’s argument is this: Since God saved us and gave us spiritual life in Christ by his sovereign grace “when we were enemies,” he will surely keep us in salvation by that same sovereign grace. He who has done the greater will surely do the lesser. In Hebrews Paul assures us that it is impossible for one of God’s elect to be lost, because Christ is both “the Author and the Finisher of our faith.” The whole of our salvation is divinely purposed and divinely guided. Our salvation is not according to our merits in its commencement, in its continuance, or in its consummation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

 

Divine Immutability

 

The sovereign love and unmerited grace of God is the cause of our salvation. Since his love and grace is unchangeable, the effect of it must be unchangeable. That is to say, God constantly communicates his love and grace to every believer. Once his love is revealed and his grace bestowed upon the heart, he never takes it away: “for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” God was not moved to bestow his grace upon us by anything which he saw meritorious or attractive in us. And the absence of everything good in us will not cause God to withdraw the grace he has bestowed. When he first bestowed grace upon us, the Lord God knew that we were totally depraved and sinful. He knew that we were full of evil and void of good. And though, since our conversion, we have all been guilty of ingratitude, unfaithfulness, and sin of every kind, these things do not provoke the Lord our God to change his mind and withdraw his sustaining grace. He knew what we would be before he saved us. He chastens us because of our sin, like the loving Father he is; but he never withdraws his love. If he had not intended, from the beginning, to bear with our sin in longsuffering and patience and to forgive our sin for Christ’s sake, he would never have saved us and called us in the first place.

 

The cause of our salvation is entirely in God. His electing love, redeeming grace and power were given to us by an act of his sovereign goodness, without any consideration of what we were or might become. There was nothing in us to attract his grace. And there is nothing in any true believer’s heart or conduct which can ever cause the Lord our God to alter his purpose of grace and withdraw his love from us.

 

23

The Believer’s Two Natures

 

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4.16

 

The believer is of two natures, identified as the old/new man or, as here, the outward/inward man. This new nature is the beginning of the resurrection in the believer, and the first fruits of God’s new creation. It must be more than a rearrangement of the old nature, as free-willism would have us believe; and it must be more than the mere addition of new principles in the old mind. All that belongs to the old/outward nature must and will die, but “he that believeth in [Christ], though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in [Christ] shall never die.” So this new nature must be something entirely and radically new: something not at all of this cursed and dying creation. That man, or nature, that is born of God will never die even though his body or outward nature dies and decays.

 

The new man is a brand new work of God, yet it needs to be renewed or refreshed every day. Every one of God’s creations needs His continual care and support, and it is no different for the new nature of the believer. The old man is dying, for he receives no such care and support from God, but has, instead, been cursed. Death is that nature’s unavoidable end. But not so the new nature: throughout our earthly lives and into eternity, God will constantly refresh us, so that we never grow weary of believing, loving, glorifying and enjoying him forever.                                                                                                      Pastor Joe Terrell

 

Lord, Make us See Our Need

 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.” Isaiah 40:6-7.

 

Unless the Lord is pleased to teach us and reveal to us what we are by nature (Eph.2: 1-3), we will never see our need for Christ and the gospel of his free grace (Rom. 3:24). We will never understand our need of Jesus Christ and his great salvation, unless the Holy Spirit is pleased to move upon our hearts (John 6:44-45). Only when he reveals unto us our sinful condition, will we seek his salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord (1 Tim. 1:12). Only when he speaks to us about our righteousness as being filthy rags, will we seek his righteousness that is performed and provided freely by his grace (1 Cor. 1:30). Only when God reveals to us our total ruin, will we seek redemption through the spotless blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). Only when God is pleased to show us how unworthy we are, will we seek him who is worthy (Rev. 5:12). Lord, make us to know and see what our need is, so by thy Spirit and grace we can seek thy mercy where it can be found, in Christ the Lord (Phil 3:9; 4:19).    Pastor Tom Harding

 

24

Grace Bulletin

 

October 23, 2005

 

GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE

2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Telephone (859) 236-8235 - E-Mail don@donfortner.com

 

Donald S. Fortner, Pastor

 

SCHEDULE OF REGULAR SERVICES

 

Sunday

10:00 A.M. Bible Classes

10:30 A.M. Morning Worship Service

6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service

Tuesday

7:30 P.M. Mid-Week Worship Service

 

 

Television Broadcasts

 

Danville

Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.

Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.

Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.

 

Web Pages

http://www.donfortner.com

http://www.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm

http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp