September 16, 2007

“Blasphemy is any thought or word about God that fails to render to him anything less than full glory.”                               — Pastor Henry Mahan

·      Bro. Ron Wood is preaching for Redeemer Baptist Church in Louisville, KY this morning, where Bro. Dan Parks is pastor.

·      I am preaching this morning for Grace Baptist Church in Taylor, AR and tonight for the Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Wichita Falls, TX. Bros. Darvin Pruitt and Ron Wood will preach the gospel to you today. Bro. Larry Criss will bring the message Tuesday night.

·      We will have our Quarterly Fellowship on September 30.

·      Missionary Offering Today

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Regina Henson-20^th Ron Wood-23^rd

NURSERY DUTY THIS WEEK

Today: Cindy Schwartz (AM) Regina Henson (PM) Tuesday: Celeste Peterson

O Holy Spirit, Hear Our Prayer — Don Fortner

(Tune: When I Survey #118 — LM)

1.    Come, Holy Spirit, hear our prayer:

Descend in grace, with saving power;

Convict, awaken and give faith

To helpless sinners born in death.

2.    No other power can bring down

From God the Father and the Son

The blessings of eternal grace,

Forgiveness, peace and righteousness.

3.    O, Holy Spirit, shed Your light

Into our hearts, dispel our night;

Reveal Christ Jesus, our dear Lord

As God’s servant proclaims His Word.

4.    Invade our hearts and work within;

Subdue our vile, indwelling sin;

More of our Savior let us know;

Make us in faith and grace to grow.

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God’s People Are a Broken People

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

A broken heart, a contrite spirit and a subdued will are rare things. In this day of human rights, everyone extols the imaginary dignity of man, and every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Self-esteem, self-worth, and self-promotion are the cry of the day. All men demand what they call “their rights”. All men by nature are exceedingly proud and selfish. Preachers today, knowing man’s natural pride, have capitalized upon it. They have developed a flesh pleasing theology of pride. Our forefathers exalted the dignity, majesty, and supremacy of the eternal God. But the smooth-tongued prophets of deceit in our day exalt the dignity, majesty, and supremacy of man. The religious world around us is dedicated, not to the honor of God, but to the honor of man. It’s purpose is to-make man feel good about himself. Therefore we hear little about brokenness of heart, contrition of the soul, and the subduing of man’s will.

Must be Broken

Of this one thing you may be sure — “The sacrifices of God are (still) a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise”(Psalm 51: 17). The Lord God declares, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my Word” (Isaiah 66:2). God will have broken material with which to build his kingdom. He accepts and uses nothing he has not broken. Until the Lord God brings us to nothingness before his presence, we will never experience his salvation. God’s people, all of them, are a broken people. No one has experienced the grace of God in salvation, until his heart is thoroughly broken before the Holy Lord God as he is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever a sinner finds out who he is, who God is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for sinners, — if a man ever really learns these things, he will be broken.

God’s Servant Job

When God’s servant Job saw himself, in the presence of his three miserable friends, he vindicated himself, and even cursed his day. He said, “Why did I not perish from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” But when he stood in the presence of God, he was a broken man; and he spoke as a broken man. He saw himself, in all the hideousness of his sin; and he saw God in all the holiness of his majesty. Then he said, “Behold I am vile! I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 40:4; 42:5-6). There is no pride and egotism here, no haughtiness, no self-vindication. Once Job had seen the Lord, he was broken. He loathed himself and blamed himself. Once he had seen the Lord, he honored God and vindicated him. The truly broken heart will always vindicate God.

A Work of Grace

Such brokenness is a work of grace. It can be produced in us only by a saving revelation of Christ in our hearts. Brokenness is found only at the cross. The Lord God declares that when he pours upon the hearts of his elect the Spirit of grace, “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10). Have you been to the cross? Has the crucified Christ been revealed in your heart? Is your heart broken before him? O Lord God, our Savior, evermore break our hearts before Thee!

8

“It shall be forever!”

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

            When God saves a sinner, “It shall be forever!” If salvation is the work of God and the work of God alone, as it most surely is, then it is an everlasting, eternal salvation. It can never be lost or destroyed.

Union with Christ

Salvation is a real union with Jesus Christ. — “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30). We who believe are members of that mystical, spiritual body, the church, of which Christ is the Head. Eternal life is a life of real oneness with the Son of God. He says, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” Can you imagine Christ with a maimed body? Perish the thought! His body must be perfect and complete. And if so much as one member of his body is lost, his body cannot be complete. We are so really and truly one with Christ that not so much as one member of his body can perish, unless he also perishes. So long as our Head is safe, his members are all safe.

Accomplished by Grace

Our salvation must be eternally secure, because it is both accomplished and preserved by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not in anyway to be attributed to man. We were dead in sin; but the Holy Spirit graciously regenerated us, giving us life and faith in Christ. And he preserves us in life by his omnipotent grace. We know that every true believer’s salvation is safe and secure in Christ, because the work of grace which God has begun he will carry on to perfection. The apostle Paul assures us of this: — “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). It will never be said of our God that he began a work which he was not able to complete.

Failure Impossible

Every man considers it his shame to undertake a work he is compelled to give up before completion, because he lacked the ability, the skill, the wisdom, the power, or the dedication necessary to get the job done. Such shame men must often endure, but not God our Savior! It is not possible for him to be confronted with such shame. He can never know failure. He began with us in eternal election. Though we fell in our father Adam, his purpose did not change. According to his wise and holy will, in the fulness of time, he redeemed us by the substitutionary sacrifice of his own dear Son. And though we went astray from him as soon as we were born and spent our lives in rebellion, yet he stood by his purpose of grace. He graciously preserved us until the time appointed when he would save us. Then, at the appointed time, in the time of his love, he gave us life and faith in Christ. Since that day, our sins have been many. Our faithfulness at best has been feeble. Our service has been insignificant. But he who called us has been faithful. He has kept us by the power of his grace. He has never failed us yet, and he never shall! He will not give up that work to which he has been faithful for so long. Our God will perform that which he has begun, until he brings us safe into eternal glory. He is willing to complete his work in us. He is wise enough to complete his work in us. And he is powerful enough to complete his work in us. Many ask, “Can a saved man ever be lost? I reply, “Not until God ceases to be God!” — If God has saved me, and if he has saved you, by his matchless grace – “IT SHALL BE FOREVER!”

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Grace Bulletin

September 16, 2007

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 in 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

Don Fortner

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com