Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 9-17-2017
Bible TextIsaiah 55:10-11
Date09-Sep-2017
Article Type Bulletin
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: God's Successful Word (32 kbps)  /  [go to notes]
Audio CD Quality Listen: God's Successful Word (128 kbps)  /  [go to notes]
 

September 17, 2017

SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

 

MEETING LOCATION

251 Green Lane

Ewing, NJ, 08368

Clay Curtis, pastor

Telephone: 615-513-4464

 

MAILING ADDRESS:

7 Birch Street

Pennington, NJ, 08538

 

Schedule of Services

Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class

Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service

Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service

 

Services Broadcast Live @ www.FreeGraceMedia.com/live

 

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NURSERY

We have a nursery equipped with a digital flat screen television broadcasting all services live, for children four and under.  

All articles by the pastor unless otherwise noted.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: watch videos of our full services—click here.

 

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SUNDAY’S READING IN PROVERBS

Proverbs 10: 5: He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

 

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THE TRUE EXCELLENCY

 

And I, brethren, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

 

Excellency of speech” is preeminent, superior speech.  Enticing words of man’s wisdom” persuades by the impressionable preacher turning the sinner from Christ to man-made doctrine.  The faithful apostle understood that it is not by flowered prose or man’s highest wisdom that sinners are brought to the feet of Christ. Fact is God never quickened one sinner by the crafted words of a preacher.  God quickens sinners by the preaching of Christ crucified from his holy word.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that THE EXCELLENCY of THE POWER may be OF GOD and NOT OF US.” “Of his own will BEGAT HE us WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (2 Corinthians 4:7; James 1: 18)

 

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Not a drop of rain or flake of snow is wasted. It matters not if man sees it or not. A single droplet of rain fallen in the desert accomplishes God’s purpose as much as a torrential downpour in a rainforest. Every drop has a mission and with every drop it is mission accomplished. So it is with God’s word. “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Is 55: 10-11)

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When I was thirteen years old I planted my first garden.  I tilled the ground, planted the seed then waited.  The rains came and I waited. But I grew impatient. I was so excited, one day I dug around to try to see what was happening with the seed underground. Where I tampered with the seed, not one seed produced any fruit. But with those I left alone, in time, the little green leaf peeked itself out. When we sow the seed of God’s word we must not interfere. There is an unseen work only God can work beneath the surface. God alone can and must give the increase. We have to wait on God.

 

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THE LORD SMELLED A SWEET SAVOUR

“And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8: 21-22)

 

Christ loved his people and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God and in Christ our Righteousness the LORD smelled a sweet savour.  And according to his eternal council, the LORD said in his heart that he would not cause the heavens to pass away, nor cause the elements to melt with a fervent heat, nor cause the earth also and the works that are therein to be burned up and all things be dissolved until every last child which God purchased with his own blood is called to repentance. (2 Pet 3: 8-10)  The word of Christ’s power by which he upholds all things is “It is finished!”  For this one reason alone, if every man on this earth united together all at the same time in an attempt to destroy the climate they would be altogether unsuccessful!  For the sake of Christ’s sweet savour, and Christ’s sweet savour alone, God promises “while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” 

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CHRIST IS THE WATER OF LIFE

 

We are born dry, barren earth, dead in trespasses and in sins in our father Adam. Like the dry ground without rain, we are useless without Christ. A farmer can plow and work the dry ground yet it remains dry dust. But when the rain falls that same dry ground becomes full of life.  Israel had early and latter rains each year. One was at seedtime to make the seed germinate to life, the other to prepare it for harvest.  God says of Christ the Lord “he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Hos 6: 3)  The Lord promises his people, “The LORD shall…satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Is 58: 11) Sinner, are you thirsty for this Water of Life? “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will GIVE unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life FREELY.” (Rev 21: 6)

 

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GOD’S SUCCESSFUL WORD

Isaiah 55: 10: For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

 

God made the rain and snow to illustrate his word.  It is not an afterthought that God uses creation to illustrate the truth. Everything was created “by [Christ] and for [Christ] and he is before all things, and by him all things consist…that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Col 1: 16-18) If we have not preached Christ from creation we have preached creation in vain. 

 

    The rain and snow come down from God above. This illustrates how God’s word comes down from God above. (Ps 104:13; Job 37:6)  Christ the Word came down from above. He is God in human flesh, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. (Jn 1: 1, 14) Likewise, it is God above who sends his gospel to his child. (Deut 32: 2)

 

    Furthermore, as the rain and snow always accomplish God’s purpose so does God’s word. The Word came down and is now returned to God but not before accomplishing the purpose for which God sent him. He finished the transgression, made an end of sins, made reconciliation for iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness, fulfilled all scripture, is anointed the most Holy and has anointed the Holiest giving his people welcome access into God’s presence. (Dan 9: 24; Jn 17: 4; 19: 30; Heb 10: 19-22) Likewise, the word preached in truth always accomplishes God’s purpose, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.” (2 Cor 2: 15) “the LORD shall satisfy thy soul in drought…and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Is 58: 11) Christ quickens and Christ grows us through the gospel “as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Hos 6: 3-4)

 

    Finally, as the snow and rain gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, God accomplishes his purpose, giving us bread to live on and seed to sow. Believer, live upon Christ the Bread and we shall never hunger. And as we sow seed from the harvest for a future harvest so God causes his church to sow the word and calls out his lost sheep. “He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” (Ecc 11: 4-6) Free will preachers are like rain-dancers. But as we depend upon God to give snow and rain and bring forth seed, we depend upon God to give life and fruit in our hearers, as well as ourselves.  (Job 38: 22-29, 37-38) “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor 9: 8-11) So preach Christ the Word!