Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

September 18, 2022

Weekly Schedule of Services

Proverbs 19:5: A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

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How vain are all things here below

How false, and yet how fair!

Each pleasure has its poison too,

And every sweet a snare.

The brightest things below the sky

Give but a flattering light:

We should suspect some danger nigh,

When we possess delight.

Our dearest joys, and dearest friends,

The partners of our blood,

How they divide our wavering minds,

And leave but half for God!

The fondness of a creature’s love,

How strong it strikes the sense!

Thither the warm affections move,

Nor can we call them thence.

Dear Savior, let thy beauties be,

My soul’s eternal food;

And grace command my heart away

From all created good.

–Isaac Watts

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When David was on the run he had many troubles on his mind.  No doubt David surely remembered his sins against the Lord and considered his troubles were of God’s hand for his chastening.  Add to that, his enemies had used everything David had ever done to slander him and turn the children of Israel against him and many in Israel had, indeed, turned.  Furthermore, David had no place to rest in the wilderness; he was hungry; he had no idea what the next hour held for him, much less the next day or where his next meal would come from; his heart was breaking, his body aching, he was tired and worn out.  Yet, with all these troubles weighing on him, this was the heart of his petition to God, “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.” Psalm 35:3. 

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I trust I am converted but conversion is a thing to take place every day—not regeneration, mark you! that is once for all—but conversion. Why, I need to be converted from lying too late in bed in the morning, and converted from idleness all the day long.  There is something or other we need to be converted from, some wrong thing that we need to be saved from; and until we get within the gates of pearl we shall still have need to cry for salvation from some evil that harasses us. Salvation by blood we have got; salvation by the might and power of the Holy Ghost, who is to make us overcome our dire iniquity and innate depravity, we still need. Do we feel that we need it? Believer, dost thou feel that thou needest it? Beware of getting spiritually rich in thyself. Nothing is so near akin to soul-poverty as this. Beware of thinking that thou art increased in goods. Thou art nigh to bankruptcy when thou thus makest account of thy possessions. I counsel thee, therefore, still to bow thy knee and cry unto the great Savior, “Lord, save me, or I perish!” That prayer should never be in advance of the most advanced Christian.

–George Whitfield

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Believer, if God has granted you repentance concerning some sin so that you have confessed your sins to God, received mercy, forgiveness and the Spirit has purged your conscious and restored the joy of salvation in your heart then do not dwell on your sin. Leave it behind you and dwell on Christ for whose sake God forgave you and press on toward him.

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When our Lord was upon earth, and conversed with His disciples, their eyes and hearts were fixed upon Him. In danger, He was their defender; their guide, when in perplexity; and to Him they looked for the solution of all their doubts and the supply of all their wants. He is, now, withdrawn from our eyes, but faith sets Him, still, before us for the same purposes and, according to its degree, with the same effects, as if we actually saw Him. His spiritual presence, apprehended by faith, is a restraint from evil, an encouragement to every service, and affords a present refuge and help in every time of trouble.

–John Newton

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Sinners must come to God through faith in Christ from the first hour to until the last, why?

1.      Faith in Christ exalts and glorifies God alone—“Abraham being strong in faith, gave glory to God” (Rom 4:20).  Believing on God’s only begotten Son, with whom God is pleased and delighted is the highest glory and praise we can give to God the Father.

2.      Faith in Christ denies self.  True faith looks out of self to Christ, renounces all self-righteousness, confesses self to be the sinner, entirely trusts Christ alone to be our All in all and lives upon Christ until faith is needed no more.

3. Faith in Christ brings to God the only righteousness God is pleased with, the righteousness of God’s own Son, whose blood put away the sin of God’s elect and made us the righteousness of God in him.

     Queen Esther went to the king venturing her life with nothing to make her think he would receive her, even knowing there was a law that forbid it.  She said, “I will go in unto the king: which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Es 4:16).  Yet, the king received her and granted her petition. 

     We have the word of Christ’s precious promises. “By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.”  “Him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out.”  (Jn 6:37; 3:16).  Believe and go to Christ now!