Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleWeekly Bulletin 10-7-2018
Bible TextIsaiah 57:1-2
Date06-Oct-2018
Article Type Bulletin
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
 

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

 
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. 
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE WEBSITE: The videos are now listed as individual sermons, as well as full servicesclick here.


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Proverbs 12: 6: The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
 
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GOD DOES NOT SEE INIQUITY IN HIS PEOPLE
“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel” (Numbers 23:21)
     Every son of Adam is nothing but sin.  If we are honest, all we see in ourselves is sin.  Then why does God, who sees everything exactly as it is, say that He doesn’t see iniquity in His people?  Because HE TOOK THE SIN OF HIS PEOPLE AWAY IN CHRIST.  Christ was made sin for His people in such reality that there is no sin left in them – Christ took it all away.  The sacrifice of Christ for the sin of His people put their sin away so completely, in such current reality, that there is no iniquity left in them.  The Father does not behold iniquity in His people because there is no sin to see – Christ has taken it all away and removed it by the blood of His sacrifice.  Pastor Frank Tate
 
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“The God of Consolation”
Romans 15:5
As he is “the God of patience,” the Lord our God is “the God of consolation!” All true, real, solid comfort comes from him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, his dear Son, is “the consolation of Israel.” He is our Comfort. 
   God the Holy Spirit is “the Comforter” sent down from heaven to comfort chosen, redeemed sinners.  He comforts by the gospel in his gracious work of saving conviction (John16:7-11).  He comforts believing sinners by the doctrines and promises of his Word, giving strong consolation to the heirs of promise, by the ordinances of divine worship which are the breasts of consolation to his children.  And he comforts his people by faithful gospel preachers, the church’s “Barnabases,” her sons of consolation (Acts 4:36) 
   O Spirit of God, grant us “to be like minded one toward another.” Paul’s prayer here is that “the God of patience and consolation” might make us patient, longsuffering, and forgiving, and a source of comfort to one another, according to his own example in Christ (Ephesians 4:30 - 5:2). 
   When I have forgiven every wrong against me, have borne every hard word or thought, and have overlooked every weakness and comforted every fallen friend, I still have not endured one atom of what Christ bore for me and from me (Matthew 18:21-22). 
   This is how we “may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6). God is glorified when, believing on his dear Son, we are united in his Son and seek to be of help and comfort to one another by our patience and forbearance with one another, and by our forgiveness of one another. 
                                                                                                      Pastor Don Fortner
 
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Judge Not – Matthew 7:1
 
     Those who do not know the scriptures wrongly interpret this passage as they do nearly all that is written.  We cannot take one verse alone, but scripture must be compared with scripture.  In Leviticus 19:15, the Lord said, “In righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.”  In John 7:24, the Lord said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”  Wickedness and ungodly behavior must be judged and condemned by those who love truth and righteousness.  Sin must be called sin and exposed for the evil that it is.  This is what false prophets and their followers refuse to do, because their own deeds are evil, saying, “Judge Not!”,  to keep from offending anyone and losing members and money.  So you see, the Lord most certainly did not mean that we should never make judgments.  He was speaking to His disciples (and to all believers), telling us not to look down on someone as their superior, condemning and passing sentence as if we were their judge, for if we do not show mercy, we will not find mercy, and if we pass unbending judgment or censure upon someone, with the same judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.   Let me illustrate…     
     Years ago a passenger was traveling on a sailing vessel which had a harsh and cruel captain.  One of the sailors was about to be whipped unmercifully by the captain, and the passenger asked him to show mercy. The captain replied: “I never show mercy!”  The passenger then replied: “You better hope then that you are without sin, for if you ever need mercy from God, you will find none!”
      The Lord led the apostle Paul to expound this subject more clearly, when he said concerning our brethren: “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth” (Rom.14:4).   God is the absolute and final Judge of His people, not us.  He alone looks on the heart and has perfect knowledge.  While judgments are to be made, let them always be righteous, without partiality, bias or prejudice, and always according to truth.  And let our judgments never be without mercy.  May we always consider ourselves, the beam in our own eyes, our gross sins and terrible shortcomings, before we censure our brother for his sins. 
                                                                                       Pastor Paul Mahan
  
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Believer, if a killer murdered your father would you welcome him to live in your father’s house? Our Everlasting Father submitted to death because he bore our sin.  He made us his holy habitation (Eph 2: 19-22).  Shall we welcome the murderer into his house? If Righteousness has made us his servants then his fruit makes us look only to him for righteousness, while hating sin and yielding our members as servants to righteousness unto holiness!  (Rom 6: 6-23)  
 
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LAY IT TO HEART AND CONSIDER
  
Isaiah 57: 1: The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 2: He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
  
Those chosen, redeemed and sanctified by God are “the righteous and merciful.” (Is 57: 1) They are made righteous by Christ’s blood (Is 45:24; 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 6: 11-18); they are made merciful by experiencing God’s mercy in the free forgiveness of their sins.  (Ps 37: 21) Yet, when God takes his saints away, none lay it to heart, none consider.  But if God has made us wise we will. 
  
Lay it to heart and consider that when the righteous are taken their influence is removed from this world.  David said, “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.” (Ps 12: 1-2) Lay it to heart and consider that if the righteous and merciful die then the unrighteous and unmerciful shall certainly die, too! God says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Ecc 7: 2) Lay it to heart and consider that when God has called the last one that Christ redeemed then judgment shall come upon the whole world. (2 Pet 3: 9, 15) Each time a new believer confesses faith in Christ, we should consider that this may be the last one! 
 
Most of all, lay it to heart and consider that in this life, those who reject Christ do not have peace with God, only “a certain fearful looking forward to judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the advesaries.” (Heb 10:7) Without the righteousness of Christ, physical death will only be the beginning of an everlasting, living death under the wrath of God.  Yet, those who trust all into Christ’s hands, even now in this life thave peace with God through the blood of Christ (Rom 5:1).  They rest in their beds at night in peace and walk by day in uprightness before God robed in the perfection of Christ.  So physical death will only be a welcome blessing to them.  They are taken away from the evil to come and shall not see judgment because Christ bore their judgment on the cross.  Death merely ushers them into eternal peace with the Prince of peace.  Their bodies even rest in the grave till the day Christ raises them anew in glorified perfection.  Lay this to heart and consider!  
  
Those who meet God with no righteousness of their own, only the righteousness of Christ, enter a new heaven and new earth where there is no sin, no strife, no sorrow, no sickness, and no death, only righteousness forever with God!  Consider what it will be like united with Christ perfectly with the whole church of God singing his praises triumphantly, knowing Christ even as we are known, with only a heart to love one another perfectly!  If we knew what believers experience when they die, we would wonder why we ever wept at the death of God’s saints!  May God make us lay it to heart, consider and cast all our care on Christ today!