January 6, 2008
Sunday 10:00am WLEX TV Channel 18

Where two or three together meet
In faith and fear at Jesus’ feet
His promise is that He’ll be there
‘Tis to His saints a cherished hour.

Oh Lion of Judah! Lamb of God!
Eternal Son! Incarnate Word!
We come before Thee in this hour
To worship Thee in praise and prayer.

As we, dear Lord, Thy word attend
Show us that grace that purged our sin
Lord, cause Thy face on us to shine
Remind us Lord that we are Thine.

Oh Lord we praise Thee for Thy grace
That brought us here to seek Thy face
And till our earthly race is won
Oh Lamb of God, to Thee, we come.

(Tune: “Just As I Am” p. 249)


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We welcome Brother Henry Mahan and his wife, Doris who are with us today. He will bring the message this morning.


Birthdays
6th – Nathaniel Sligh 7th – Henry Lynn 8th – Nancy Benton
8th – Rachel Harries 8th – Thom Schuyler 9th – Emily Bryan
9th – Renee Culver 10th – Cali Warta 12th – Aaron Sligh



“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” - Proverbs 16:9

I AM HOLY
David said in Psalm 86:2, “Preserve my soul; for I am holy.” Was David being self-righteous or presumptuous when He made this statement? No. This was a matter of fact! Every believer is holy! Every believer is a saint, which means a holy one: a sanctified one. We were chosen to be holy in eternal election (Eph. 1:4); declared to be holy through the redeeming work of Christ (Heb. 10:10); and made holy by the sanctification of the Spirit (II Thes. 2:13).
How? How can a sinner be a saint? Here are six reasons the believer is sanctified. None of these can be separated. Where you have one you have them all. (1) We are sanctified by union with Christ. “Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.” Because I am united to Him, if He is holy, I am! (2) We are sanctified by the will of God “by the which will we are sanctified” (Heb. 10:10). If God wills my sanctification, I am sanctified. (3) We are sanctified by the blood of Christ (Heb. 13:22). “Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.” By His blood He actually removed our sin, so that we are holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight. (4) We are sanctified by the Spirit of God. “Ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Cor. 6:11). We are given a holy nature in the new birth. (5) We are sanctified by the Truth. “Sanctify them through Thy Truth. Thy Word is Truth.” Paul said in II Thes. 2:13, that we were chosen to salvation “through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth.” There is no sanctifying work of the Spirit apart form belief of the Truth. (6) We are sanctified by faith. “Them which are sanctified by faith which is in me.” (Acts 26:18). Faith in Christ sanctifies!
We strive to be holy because we are holy! “Preserve my soul, for I am holy.”

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Had half the time spent in councils and controversies been given to praising the Lord, the church would have been far sounder and stronger than she is at this day. – C. H. Spurgeon

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An old preacher once said, “If you wish to be disappointed, look at others; if you wish to be disheartened, look at yourself; if you wish to be encouraged, look to Jesus Christ.”



“If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?”
- Psalm 130:3
Our Lord does not mark our iniquity. He does not keep a record of our sins as a reminder for the Day of Judgment, nor does He take note of them that He may exact from us a penalty now. No, the Lord does not mark our iniquities. But oh! How our iniquities marked the Lord! There was never a stain upon Him but that which our sin put there. There was never a stripe of judgment on Him but what was laid there for our sins. And it is by these very marks that our Lord is known, for when Thomas’ doubts demanded proof that this man was really “this same Jesus,” the Lord showed him the marks created by the nails and spear – marks made in Him by our sin. In the heavenly chorus of Revelation 5, Christ is described as the Lamb “looking as if it had been slain.” There, in the appearance of the Lord, was the marks our sin laid upon Him.
These marks both humble and encourage us. Forever they shall testify that we were sinners in need of Redemption. There can be no self-righteous pride in the presence of Him who bears the marks of our sin. Shall a man boast of self-good while staring at those wounds? Can we look for a deserved crown bestowed by the hand scarred with the punishment of our sin? I think not.
Yet those awful marks of our sin also testify a most wonderful truth to our hearts: those wicked sins are paid for. Even as we are humbled at the sight of the marks, we are emboldened by them to come to the One Who bears those marks and find complete forgiveness for the sins that made those marks. Because our sins marked the Lord, the Lord shall never mark our sins! - Pastor Joe Terrell


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“We have not an high Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
- Hebrews 4:15-16