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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

August 17, 2014

 

“If we had God’s power, we would change everything. If we had God’s wisdom, we’d change nothing!”                             —Pastor Scott Richardson

 

Daily Readings for the Week of August 17-24, 2014

Sunday                Lamentations 1-2                            Thursday       Ezekiel 9-12

            Monday                      Lamentations 3-5                            Friday             Ezekiel 13-15

            Tuesday                    Ezekiel 1-4                                        Saturday                    Ezekiel 16

            Wednesday  Ezekiel 5-8                                        Sunday                      Ezekiel 17-19

 

Nursery Duty this Week

Today: Jayalita McCormack (AM)  — Stephanie Wall (PM)  — Tuesday: Shelby Fortner

 

“Hold Thou Me Up” Don Fortner

(Tune: #342 — Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone — CM)

 

 

1.    Oppressed with guilt, beset with snares,

To You, dear Lord, I call;

On You, I cast my woes and cares. —

Oh, do not let me fall!

 

2.    I seek Your grace and trust Your pow’r,

While earth is my abode;

Uphold me in each trying hour,

In Zion’s narrow road.

 

3.    How many who once seemed so safe,

Have given up their race!

Hold Thou me up, I shall be safe!

Uphold me by Your grace!

 

4.    Though bitter sorrows fill my cup,

And loads of guilt oppress,

I’m safe if Jesus holds me up,

And joyful if He bless.

 

5.    Hold Thou me up,” shall be my cry,

While I have life and breath;

And, oh, may Jesus Christ be nigh,

To hold me up in death.

 

“By Himself Purged Our Sins”

Hebrews 1:3

Pastor Henry Mahan

 

The Lord Jesus, of himself, by himself alone and by the sacrifice of himself, made atonement for the sins of his people.  He took our sins upon himself, bore them and died under the penalty of them, thereby abolishing them completely (Col. 1:19 - 22; Isaiah 5:4 - 6).

 

 

“The Manifold Wisdom of God”

Displayed in the Choice of Christ to be Our Redeemer

Ephesians 3:10

 

The manifold wisdom of God” is shown forth in devising and accomplishing the redemption and salvation of sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ. Here God the Holy Ghost declares that this wisdom, the infinite, multifaceted wisdom of the Triune Jehovah is made known to angels in heaven and men on earth by the everlasting salvation of God’s elect, his church, by Christ. It is made known both by the Gospel we preach and by the accomplishment of our complete deliverance from sin, and death, and hell into “the glorious liberty of the sons of God” by our dear Savior.

 

Mystery Revealed

In this third chapter of Ephesians the Apostle Paul is talking about the glorious Gospel revelation of redemption by Christ, the salvation of sinners by Christ. This glorious work of redemption and grace now revealed and brought to light by the Gospel was hidden in ages past (vv. 3-9). It was hidden from eternity in the secret counsels of God. It was hidden, that is to say, it was not fully revealed, in the Old Testament, under the types and shadows of the law (v. 5; 1 Peter 1:10-11). It is hidden from all men by nature, by reason of their spiritual blindness. In particular the mystery of the Gospel was hidden from the Gentile world.

      But now, since the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ, the mystery of redemption has been made known to all men, Jews and Gentiles, by the preaching of the Gospel. And by the church, that is, by the salvation of the church and by the ministry of the church in proclaiming the Gospel, God shows both sinners on earth and the holy angels of heaven his manifold wisdom displayed in the redemption of sinners by Christ.

 

Manifold Wisdom

God’s reason for revealing his secret counsels concerning the work of redemption by the Gospel, according to this passage of Holy Scripture, is that he might make known his own great wisdom. Paul calls it “the manifold wisdom of God,” because of the many facets of Divine wisdom revealed in the redemption of sinners by Christ. God’s wisdom is infinite.

 

Christ Chosen

God’s eternal purpose of grace to redeem sinners by Christ displays great, infinite wisdom. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of God’s own choosing. Therefore, the Lord God called him, “Mine Elect” (Isaiah 42:1). When God set his eye upon his Son, choosing him to save his elect, he said, with regard to all his elect, — “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom (an atonement)” (Job 33:24). — “I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people” (Psalm 89:19). We rejoice in the love, mercy, and grace of God. But it was the wisdom of God which found a way for a holy God to embrace fallen, sinful men and women in love, mercy, and grace. How we ought to admire the wisdom of God in providing such a Redeemer as our great Savior is!

“The Manifold Wisdom of God”

Displayed in the Covenant of Grace

Ephesians 3:10

 

God’s choice of his Son to be our Redeemer displays his great, infinite wisdom; and that wisdom is manifest in the everlasting covenant agreements of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

      I do not pretend to understand the deep, hidden mysteries of the covenant of grace, or of the proposals, and agreements, and oaths of the triune Godhead. I know that God does not need to plan, devise, or work out anything in his great mind. He knows everything. But I do know that a covenant was made (Jeremiah 31:31-34), that God the Father made proposals to his Son for the accomplishment of our redemption (Psalm 2:8; John 10:16-18), which our Savior voluntarily accepted (Isaiah 50:5-7), and that these transactions of grace between God the Father and God the Son were sworn to by the Triune Jehovah, and secured the salvation of an elect multitude before the world was made (Hebrews 6:17-19; 8:10-12).

      In the covenant of grace, as it is revealed to us in the Scriptures (Ephesians 1:3-14), God the Father proposed the conditions upon which redemption could be accomplished. God the Son pledged himself to satisfy all the demands and conditions required by the holy character of God. And God the Holy Ghost promised to effectually apply all the blessings of grace, earned by Christ’s obedience, to the elect.

      Remember, these are things that took place before the world began, when no one and nothing existed but the eternal God (Ephesians 3:11; 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9). It was in those great, eternal counsels of grace that the Lord God set his heart upon his dear Son and chose him to be the Person who would perform the great work of redemption (Romans 3:25;1 Peter 1:20), “wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Ephesians 1:8).

 

Whose Sins?

Tobias Crisp

“You know that text in Isaiah 53:6, — “He hath laid on him the iniquities of us all; and you know that place in 2 Corinthians 5:21 — He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now I ask this question: — Whose are the sins that believers commit? When Christ became their sin, are they not his? And if they are his, are they any longer theirs, that did commit them? 2 Corinthians 5:19 shows plainly, that the Lord reckons them no longer theirs, when he hath made them once to be Christ’s. — “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” [That is] as much as to say, I will never reckon them thine anymore; I will never impute them to thee; all that I look for in respect of thy sins, I look for at the hands of Christ. — For he was made sin for us, saith the text.

The Grace Bulletin

 

August 17, 2014

 

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 7:45 A.M.

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

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

 

Television Broadcasts in Harrodsburg

Channel 6 - Sunday Afternoon 3:00 P.M.

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

 

Web Pages

http://www.DonFortner.com

http://www.FreegraceRadio.com

http://www.Grace-eBooks.com

 

 

 

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