February 9, 2020
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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Proverbs 14: 18: The simple
inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
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TRUE
GROWTH
When religious folks talk about growing as
believers they usually mean they stopped committing certain outward acts of sin
and started performing religious deeds. They
speak with pride in what they have accomplished. Is that the spiritual growth of the Bible? When God grows his child it is a work of God
alone through the gospel of Christ crucified.
It is very gradual. God makes his
child “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”
(2 Pet 3: 18). It is growing in the knowledge of why Christ had to live and
die under the law. Christ gave the law
righteousness for his people. Then Christ
laid down his life in place of his people, satisfying the justice of God which demanded
our death. It was the only way God could
show mercy to ruined sinners and be just.
The more we behold the light and glory of Christ the more sinful we see
ourselves. It is like someone standing
in a condemned house as the morning slowly dawns. Gradually they see more and more that the old
house is totally dilapidated. We see sin
in our outward acts but in our best deeds, too.
We see sin in our thoughts but we see the sin that we are, too. We see more and more that Christ is All and we
are nothing but sin. This growth does
not cause pride but humility. Someone
pointed out that it is like the progression we hear from the apostle Paul. First he wrote, “I am the least of the
apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God.” (1Co 15:9) Then “Unto
me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Eph 3: 8) In old age, “This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1Ti 1:15)
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GOSPEL FISHING
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net"
- Matt. 13:47 "I will make you fishers of men" - Matt. 4:19. Fishing in the old days was done primarily by
net. Men would cast a large net in an area thought to be populated with fish;
the net would then encircle and capture them. Modern fishing uses many devices
such as rod & reel, hooks, lines, bait and artificial lures. There is much
cunning, trickery and guile involved in modern fishing techniques with bait
being the most important thing. Artificial lures (man-made bait) are most often
used to allure the fish into being caught. If the fish don't bite one type of
lure you then try another and another and another. Modern religion is just like
modern fishing, using every type of allurement in order to entice men into the
Kingdom. Every day someone comes up with something new; some new scheme,
gimmick and enticement trying to find something that folks will swallow;
something, anything to get men interested in God. Music, entertainment,
programs; fun and games are widely used as enticements. The enticements
(perusable words) of man's wisdom, worth and power with God, are the greatest
allurements and many swallow hook, line and sinker. But true preaching, which
is the power of God unto salvation, does not use enticements at all. True preaching
is as a net.
The old way, yea, the only
way...God's way, is for a man to stand before a group of people (fish) and
declare God's Word. "Thus saith the Lord" is the power of God.
Nothing added, nothing taken away. No gimmicks, tricks or soul-winning tactics,
but simply preaching the Truth, God's Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. God uses His Word as a net to apprehend His elect. The Gospel lays
hold upon all the elect and they become the Lord's captives. Saul of Tarsus didn't
just 'see the light' but it is written, "suddenly, there shone round
about him a light from Heaven" (Acts 9:3). That light is Christ.
Christ apprehended Saul! And the Lord does the same to all of His elect. His
Holy Spirit overshadows and lays hold of every one of His sheep through the
preaching of the gospel. No allurements are needed when the power of God is
exerted. We simply cast the net of God's Word and the Spirit of God brings men
to Christ.
Why don't
some men use this net but rather use man-made allurements? Because they
themselves were never apprehended by the net. Had they experienced the power of
God they would know and use it. Had they truly been apprehended by the gospel
of Christ, they would know what apprehends men. -
Pastor Paul Mahan
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GOD’S DEVIL ON
GOD’S CHAIN
Take note that right after Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended
upon him, right after the heavenly voice was heard confirming Jesus as the Son
of God, then it was that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness alone to be
tempted to sin by the devil. Just as God prompted Satan to focus his demonic attention
on Job, so he put his Son in the way of Satan's temptation in order to demonstrate
by his sinless response to it that he was a fitting and qualified Saviour of
his people. Never forget that Satan is
God's devil to accomplish God's purposes in demonstrating salvation
accomplished. Though utterly evil as he is, Satan is only ever able to do that
which God permits for his purposes of grace. Pastor Allan Jellet
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A GLORIOUS PARADOX
Believers on the one hand are nothing but sin, and on
the other hand they have no sin. This is one of the great mysteries of the
gospel that keeps God’s people humble, yet hopeful. It causes them to cast all
their care on the One that cares for them. It leads them to have no confidence
in the flesh, yet to come boldly before the throne of grace. It is the reason
they can mourn and rejoice at the same time. It shows them their inability to
satisfy any part of God’s law, and it frees them from the condemnation of the
law. It causes them to bow in humble worship as mercy beggars, yet they hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. They are nothing
yet have everything. They are hell deserving, yet heaven bound. They are in
abject poverty, and they are infinitely and eternally rich. To the natural man,
these things are a contradiction. To the child of God... they are his life. Pastor Greg Elmquist