January 11, 2015
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
Sermons on Video @ www.youtube.com
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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.
Check the announcements.
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All articles in the bulletin are by the
pastor unless otherwise noted.
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ACCESS
Ephesians 2: 18: For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto
the Father.
Brethren, try to grasp the truth of this amazing statement. We have
open, welcome access to God.
When God created Adam upright in the garden man had access. But when
Adam sinned we lost communion with God. That is how it would have remained were
it not for God. Sinful man wants no
access to the true and living God. Dead
sinners want to escape hell and go to heaven. But sinners do not want the God
of heaven. Thankfully, God elected a people unto salvation whom God would give
access back into his presence.
Yet, God could not simply give his elect access. Justice had to be poured out—we all had to
die. Also, we had to be born-again, recreated in the righteousness and true
holiness of Christ by the incorruptible Seed of the gospel. We had to be given
repentance from self and faith in Christ.
In order for God to receive all the glory in giving us this access all
three persons in the Godhead perform the work. God the Father chose us, God the
Son redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit quickened us. Notice all three persons
receive the glory for giving us this access, “For through [CHRIST] we both have
access by one SPIRIT unto the FATHER.” The reason we have access forever is to
give God the glory forever!
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NO FRUIT FOREVER
Matthew 21: 18: Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he
hungered. 19: And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee
henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
The morning
Christ returned into Jerusalem “he hungered.” (Mt 21: 18-21) Our Savior is God but
he is also Man touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He found no fruit
on the fig tree, only leaves, so he dried it up saying, “Let no fruit grow on thee
henceforward forever.” But there was
much more to this. The Lord Jesus was foreshadowing what he was about to do to
Israel who rejected him in favor of their own works.
The Lord Jesus hungered
to find fruit among the children of Israel but found none. So our Savior dried up natural Israel
forever. This was foretold by Isaiah in a prophecy where the Lord destroyed his
vineyard because they bore no fruit (Is 5: 1-7) Christ gave the chief priests
and elders a parable similar to Isaiah’s prophecy. (Mt 21: 33-46) They were the
miserable husbandmen. Christ is both the Son who was slain by the husbandmen
and the Lord of the vineyard “who shall miserably destroy those wicked men.”
The other husbandmen to whom he let out his vineyard, who shall render him fruit
in their season, are God’s elect among the Gentiles.
Here is the
lesson. Christ is the end of the law and the prophets. “In the volume of the
book it is written of me,” Christ said. All who believe on him do so by his
grace alone. But all who reject Christ shall
be dried up to wither away in just reprobation.
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In these hard economic times, we often hear the phrase,
“I can’t afford….” followed generally by some material desire of sought after
pleasure. The truth is if I can’t afford it I most likely don’t need it! Two
vital things the believer actually can’t afford are: I can’t afford to neglect
the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ; and I can’t afford to neglect my brothers
and sisters in Christ. May the Lord enable us to be given over to those desires
and pleasures. “Having food and raiment let us therewith be content.” Bob Coffey
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1 John 2: 9: He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother,
is in darkness even until now. 10: He that loveth his brother abideth in the
light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11: But he that hateth
his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he
goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
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JUDGEMENT OF MEN, JUDGMENT OF CHRIST
Matthew
26: 3: Then assembled
together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto
the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4: And consulted that they
might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. 5: But they said, not on the feast
day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
God’s law
stated that in matters too hard to be judge between men, the men were to be brought
to the judgment seat at Jerusalem. The priests were to judge and pass sentence.
If the man would not obey his sentence, he was to be executed so that “thou
shalt put away the evil from Israel.” His execution was to be carried out in
the most public way possible so that “all the people shall hear, and fear, and
do no more presumptuously.” (Deut 17: 8-13)
The priests who
assembled with Caiaphas, the high priest, were supposed to be that judgment
seat at Jerusalem. But they were secretly passing sentence to execute Christ
who knew no sin. Also, they were determined not to do it publicly “lest there
be an uproar among the people.” That sums up our law-keeping and our vain
judgment. No sinner ever fulfilled the law of God. But Christ did!
The matter of settling
the judgment of his people was a matter too difficult for man. Therefore, on
behalf of all his guilty people, Christ brought himself to Jerusalem. Though
men could find no sin in him, Christ willingly made him sin for us. Then Christ
willingly sentenced himself, giving himself to die on the cross. Thus, Christ
fulfilled the whole law, settled the judgment of his people, and put away the
evil from his spiritual Israel. Christ
accomplished his death in the most public way possible. Therefore, the effect Christ
shall work within all his elect will be the exact fulfillment of the law
promised by God, “all the people shall hear, and fear and do no more
presumptuously.” This is brought to pass when the Spirit makes us behold Christ
on the cross and turns us from ourselves to faith in Christ who established the
law on our behalf.