June 16, 2019
SOVEREIGN GRACE
BAPTIST CHURCH
MEETING LOCATION
251 Green Lane
Ewing, NJ, 08368
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone:
615-513-4464
Clay@FreeGraceMedia.com
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
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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.
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR
YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed as individual
sermons, as well as full services—click here.
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REMEMBER
·
The Bible
class for our young people is scheduled for the third Friday, June 21, at 7:00
pm.
·
Sunday, July
7, Jeff Moyer, Joyce Moyer and Greg Cooper are scheduled to confess Christ in
believer’s baptism.
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Proverbs 13: 12: Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when
the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
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ONLY BELIEVERS CALL
ON THE LORD
Romans 10: 14: How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
Have you ever called
on the name of the Lord? If you answer no then the Spirit of God tells you why
right here. You have not believed in the
Lord. A sinner only calls on the
name of the Lord for salvation when he believes the Lord’s word that he is a
sinner who cannot save himself or even contribute to his salvation. He believes the Lord’s word that the Lord Jesus
Christ alone is able to save. Consider
the leper—"It came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man
full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Lu 5:12). The leper did not come boasting, “Lord, I
believe I WILL let you make me clean.” The
leper believed himself to be full of leprosy with no ability to make himself
clean. But he believed the Lord Jesus could. So he called on the Lord. “And he put
forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately
the leprosy departed from him” (Lu 5:13).
Sinner, do you believe the Lord that you are a sinner with
no ability and that Christ alone can make you whole? Only believers call on the Lord. And all believers do!
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THE FIRST CAUSE
Romans 10: 13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.
Will-worshippers use this
verse to make the vain boast that salvation is by the sinner’s will. They portray the Lord as a weary beggar
who has done all he can but now needs the sinner’s help. They exalt sinners by begging them to do
the Lord a favor by calling on the Lord so he can save them. But if we read the next few questions we find
that the first cause is not the sinner but the Lord—"For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in
whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they
have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach, except they be sent?” Let’s begin with this last question and follow the order
until we come to the sinner.
The time comes which God ordained before
the world was made for Christ to call one of his lost sheep. The Savior has already redeemed this chosen
child of God long ago on the cross. His
Substitute has already purged his sins and brought in everlasting righteousness
for him. Now, the Redeemer will reveal
himself to his vessel of mercy. So first,
Christ sends his preacher to declare this good news to his redeemed for “how
shall they preach, except they be sent?”
Then Christ’s sovereignly rules everything in their lives to make his
preacher and his lost sheep cross paths for “how shall they hear without a
preacher?” Next, Christ gives his
preacher the words to preach so that this sinner hears Christ exalted in all
his redemptive glory for “how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard?” As the sinner hears that Christ accomplished the redemption of
each of God’s elect, Christ sends the Holy Spirit who gives this sinner spiritual
life and faith for “how shall they call on him whom they have not believed?” Then the sinner calls on the name of the Lord
and Christ gives him peace in knowing that he is complete in Christ for “whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
That sinner will tell you that, indeed, whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
But that sinner will also tell you that the one who gets all the praise
for making him willing to call on the name of the Lord is the Lord himself. Are
you that sinner?
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THE OUTCOME
Romans 10: 15:…as it
is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!
With these words Christ
foretold the outcome that he would produce in the heart of each of his saints
by calling us through the means of preaching (Is 52: 6-8)
In that day when Christ sends his preacher
and calls his lost sheep through the preaching of the gospel, Christ said, “My
people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he
that doth speak: behold, it is I.” From
that day forward, the sinner Christ saves through this means loves the Lord Jesus,
the Lord’s preacher and the Lord’s people because he beholds how they sacrificed
to send him the gospel through which Christ saved him. He esteems assembling with his brethren under the
preaching of the gospel to be so priceless that he cannot forsake it. Through this means Christ has fitly framed
(cemented) him together inseparably with Christ and his brethren. He values the preaching of Christ so highly
that when faced with the shortcomings of his brethren, he forebears and
forgives. He endeavors to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace because he needs to hear Christ preached
above all else. Having experienced that
the preaching of the gospel of Christ is truly the power of God unto salvation,
he grows to be a generous, cheerfull giver because he knows the need of sending
the gospel to other lost sheep. Christ said
this would be the outcome that he would produce through this means when he said
his people would say with hearty agreement, “How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publish peace;
that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto
Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
This is the difference God makes between
those who must have the preaching of the gospel and those who can leave
it! He who imagines he taught himself simply
does not value the preaching of the gospel, does not value Christ’s preacher nor
his people, therefore, he cannot commit himself to a local church to be used of
Christ to love his brethren by supporting the preaching of Christ crucified. But that sinner saved through this means esteems
assembling with his brethren under the preaching of Christ to be more necessary
than his temporal bread; he must have Christ; he must have the preaching of
Christ; therefore, he considers it his richest blessing and greatest privilege
to be used of his Head to provide the gospel for brethren he loves! The
wisdom of God in using his people to send his preacher with his gospel to save
his lost sheep grows more amazing to his people each day! Lord Jesus, may you use this means to add
another lost sheep to your church today and ever keep this esteem in our
hearts!