February
16, 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
Order
of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc., are in attachment. All articles in the bulletin are by the
pastor unless otherwise noted.
*******
HE SHALL SEE
HIS SEED
Isaiah 53:
10:…he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days…
After Christ
accomplished redemption for his people, God the Father saw Christ his Seed and
was satisfied. He prolonged Christ’s
days, raising him from the grave, giving the Lord Jesus a name above every
name, giving Christ to be Head over all things to the church, that Christ might
fill all in all. (Php 2: 9-11; Eph 1: 20-23)
Likewise, when
Christ arose he saw all his seed raised in him and secured each one for the
prolonging of our days. (Eph 2: 6-7) Therefore, Christ shall see all his
redeemed born the first time then born-again and brought in; Christ shall see
them all educated and brought up; Christ shall see them all supported and
brought through; and Christ shall see them all perfected and brought home.
*******
To deny the absolute efficacy of Christ’s
sin-atoning blood is to deny His very deity. If Jesus Christ died to redeem
some whom He fails to save by His grace, He is not God. Don Fortner
*******
Isaiah 53: 11:…by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
*******
How do
I know Christ bore my sins? By the same
authority which tells me I have sins to be borne: God’s Word. Scott Richardson
*******
Two men were talking.
The first man said, “A man should repent and believe the Lord the day
before he dies.” The other answered,
“That is impossible, no man knows the day he will die? It might be
tomorrow.” The first man said, “Then
today is the day to repent and believe on him.”
*******
NOW IS THE
TIME!
2 Corinthians 6: 2: (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in
the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.)
These words
[the first half of the verse] are a citation from Isaiah 49:8 and are spoken by
the Father to Christ, declaring he had heard him, as he always did…It was
"the accepted year of the Lord"; the sufferings, sacrifice,
satisfaction, and righteousness of his Son were well pleasing to him; because
his purposes, promises, and covenant transactions had their accomplishment, his
perfections were glorified, and his people saved. And it was a time of
acceptance, or an acceptable time to men, since it was the day of their
salvation, and therefore must be exceedingly agreeable to all such who see
their need of it, know the worth of it, and are sensible that there is no other
way of salvation than by him.
These are the
words of the apostle, [the last half of the verse] applying the former to the
present Gospel dispensation; which he introduces with prefixing a
"behold" to each sentence, in order to raise both attention to, and
admiration at what is delivered:…now is the day of salvation: now is salvation
preached, as being done, already obtained by Christ for sinners, the chief of
sinners; it is now brought home to their souls by the ministration of the
Gospel under the influence of the Spirit of God; now sinners are convinced of
their need of it, and that it cannot be had elsewhere; now they are made to
submit to Christ, to be saved by him, and him alone, are encouraged to believe
in him, and are by him actually possessed of it. "Now" is, and not
yesterday was, the day of salvation;…it will be always “now” till all the elect
of God are gathered in.
There is no
withstanding the "now" of grace when it comes with the power of the
Holy Ghost. John Gill
*******
WISE OR FOOLISH?
Matthew 25:
1: Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2: And five of them were
wise, and five were foolish. 3: They that were foolish took their lamps, and
took no oil with them: 4: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their
lamps.
The Lord used a
common custom to illustrate the urgency of seeking Christ in this day of grace.
The bridegroom represents the Lord Jesus. The wise virgins represent believers
filled with the Holy Spirit watching for Christ. The unwise represent those
with an external form only.
They all had lamps.
Externally, we all have some things in common. We are all sinners.
Therefore our flesh is like a lamp with no oil, worthless. Even, all who profess Christ (truly and vainly) have
commonalities. They all slept. Sadly, believers slumber taken up with the cares
of this world and our flesh, even as others.
The difference is only by God’s grace. (1 Cor 4: 7) Only those with oil
in their lamps are wise. Oil
represents the Holy Spirit, Christ formed in the heart, the oil of joy given
freely by the power of God’s grace. (Is 61: 3)
The unwise
remind us it is vain to be concerned with the outward but neglect the inward.
(Mt 23: 25-27; Rom 10: 1-4) A sinner can learn the five points in the letter,
the same as we can learn the ten commandments in the letter. But to have new
ears to hear the law declare us guilty and shut our fleshly mouth, to have a
new heart to believe Christ and to confess Christ, this takes the power of God.
(Rom 2: 28-29; Rom 10: 10) Only the Holy
Spirit, in the inward man created of God, can persuade a sinner to cease from
our vain works, look out of self and rest in Christ our Righteousness and Sanctification.
(Heb 9: 14)
When the
bridegroom returned the unwise had their lamps but no light because they had no
oil. And it was too late! The wise had oil therefore they had light; they were
ready; and they were received of the bridegroom.
Are we wise or
foolish? If today you do not believe Christ then with all urgency be wise and
seek Christ now while he may be found! (Is 55: 1-13) When Christ returns it
will be too late! And if today by God’s grace you believe Christ, be ever
mindful of one thing. We have “this treasure in earthen vessels”; the
“excellency of the power” is of God, not of us. (2 Cor 4: 7; Php 3: 3; Mt 12:
35) We must stay at Christ’s feet.
May Christ
make us like Israel the night they were delivered from Egypt, may we partake of
Christ our Passover with urgency, ready to depart, with “our loins girded, our
shoes on our feet, and our staff in our hand.” (Pr 4: 28; Col 3: 1-4; Ex 12:
11) The Savior says, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.”