Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

November 13, 2022

Weekly Schedule of Services

 Proverbs 19:14: House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

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John 17:4: Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

There was a time, dear Lord, when the multitudes sought for thee to make thee a king; so convinced were they, for the moment, who thou wert; and then thou didst hide thyself from them. But now thine enemies come to make thee king with a crown of thorns, and to nail thy sacred body to the cross, thou didst hasten to meet them. Well might the prophet say, thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people.      

–Robert Hawker

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John 18:11: Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

What a lesson Christ here teaches us. The Serpent was about to bruise His heel; the Gentiles were about to mock and scourge Him; the Jews cry, Away with Him. But the Savior looks beyond all secondary causes direct to Him of whom and through whom and to whom were all things (Ro 11:36). Peter’s eyes were upon the human adversaries; but no, He saith to Peter, there is a higher Hand in it. Moreover, He did not say, “which the Judge of all the earth giveth me,” but “my Father” — the One who dearly loveth Me! How this would sweeten our bitter cups if we would but receive them from the Father’s hand! It is not until we see His hand in all things that the heart is made to rest in perfect peace.    

–A.W. Pink

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I AM

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  -  Exodus 3:14

To His elect people God is everything all the time. He has always been God and He will always be God. Yet, there is nothing more comforting and assuring to the saved sinner than to know that God is the ever-present “I AM.” He declares Himself to be “I AM” leaving what follows to be unwritten since He is the believer’s everything. Jesus Christ is God and concerning His elect God says:

·         They are weak, “I AM” their strength.

·         They are poor, “I AM” their riches.

·         They are in trouble, “I AM” their help and comfort.

·         They are sick, “I AM” their healing and their health.

·         They are in darkness, “I AM” the Light of the world.

·         They are lost sheep, “I AM” the Door and the Good Shepherd.

·         They are unrighteous, “I AM” their righteousness.

·         They are unholy, “I AM” their holiness.

·         They are ungodly, “I AM” their God.

·         They are nothing, “I AM” their everything.

·         They are hungry, “I AM” the Bread of Life.

·         They are in darkness, “I AM” the Light of the world.

·         They are unprofitable branches, “I AM” the True Vine.

·         They are dead, “I AM” the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, the Life.

As a preacher of the Gospel, the message I am to preach is clear and plain. “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I AM the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 18:2) Dear sinner, if you are in Christ, God is all these things to you.

–David Eddmenson

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AW Pink points out the contrasts between Adam in the garden of Eden and Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. “In Eden, all was delightful; in Gethsemane, all was terrible.  In Eden, Adam and Eve parleyed with Satan; in Gethsemane, the last Adam sought the face of His Father.  In Eden, Adam sinned; in Gethsemane, the Savior suffered.  In Eden, Adam fell; in Gethsemane, the Redeemer conquered.  The conflict in Eden took place by day; the conflict in Gethsemane was waged at night.  In the one Adam fell before Satan; in the other, the soldiers fell before Christ. In Eden the race was lost; in Gethsemane Christ announced, “Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (Jn 18:9).  In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eve’s hand; in Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from His Father’s hand.  In Eden, Adam hid himself; in Gethsemane, Christ boldly showed Himself.  In Eden, God sought Adam; in Gethsemane, the last Adam sought God!  From Eden Adam was “driven”; from Gethsemane Christ was “led.”  In Eden the “sword” was drawn (Gen 3:24); in Gethsemane the “sword” was sheathed (Jn 18:11).

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Paul declared that within those born of the Spirit there is a new man which is created in Christ’s image and renewed in knowledge. The Spirit of God has made us “put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of HIM that created him” (Col 3:10). In our new man, “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Col 3:9-11).  Our old way was to judge a man after the flesh by his race; now in the new man there is neither Greek nor Jew.  Our old way was to judge if a man was the Israel of God by whether he was under the law or not; now in the new man we know there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision.  Our old way was to judge a man by whether he was educated or uneducated, bond or free; now in the new man there is neither Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. Well, if these fleshly distinctions are not what makes the difference then what does?  God making us a new creation from within.  Now, in the new man “Christ is All and in all.” “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh…therefore if any be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 5:16-17).