WLEX TV Channel 18
It is requested that all children under the age of five stay in our nursery
so there will be no distractions during the preaching of the Gospel.
HYMN OF THE DAY
The birds without barn or storehouse are fed
From them let us learn to trust for our bread
His saints, what is needful, shall not be denied
So long as it’s written, “The Lord will provide.”
We all may, like ships, by tempest be tossed
On perilous seas, but will not be lost
Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide
Yet Scripture engages, “The Lord will provide.”
No strength of our own, nor goodness we claim
Our trust is all thrown on Jesus’ dear name
In this our strong tower for safety we hide
The Lord is our power, “The Lord will provide.”
When life sinks apace, and death is in view
The Word of His grace shall see us safe through
No fearing nor doubting with Christ on our side
We hope to die shouting, “The Lord will provide.”
(Tune: “O Worship the King” p.1)
*****
There will be NO WEDNESDAY SERVICE THIS WEEK. They will begin covering the
pews on Tuesday and it will take several days to complete. If all goes as
planned, we will be back in the auditorium next Sunday.
Birthdays
2nd – Amy Tudor 3rd – Jeff Sullivan 4th – Laura Benton
4th – Steve Sligh 6th – Chris Rozeboom
6th – Lauren Burton 8th – Daniel Holthaus
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools
shall be destroyed.” - Proverb 13:20
*****
DULL OF HEARING
“Dull of hearing,” was the way the writer to the Hebrews described
their condition (Hebrews 5:11). They had become dull in hearing, implying
that there was a time when they were not dull of hearing. This dullness caused
them to not be able to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14). When
we are dull of hearing there is not an emotional connection between what we
hear and how we feel. The glory of the Gospel of Christ is obscured, our appetite
for its wonders are dulled, and we know nothing of the joy and peace of believing.
This is the first step toward apostasy! How did they come to this deplorable
state? By not being grounded in the elementary truths of the Gospel (Hebrews
5:12).
Are you dull of hearing? Go back to the A.B.C.’s of the Gospel of Christ.
The first principals of the oracles of God. Be grounded in the three R’s….Ruined
by the fall, Redeemed by the blood, Regenerated by the Holy Spirit. By God’s
grace, you will go from “dull of hearing” to “swift to hear.”
“Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.”
*****
WHAT IS A SINNER?
What is a sinner? I need to know because those are the people that Christ
came to save (I Timothy 1:15). What does the Bible mean by the word? A sinner
is somebody who, all they do is sin. Every imagination of the thoughts of
their heart is only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). A sinner is somebody who
cannot not sin (Romans 8:7). A sinner is somebody who cannot stand in judgment
of anybody (Romans 2:1). A sinner is somebody who has no claims on God. If
God saved everybody but him, he could not charge God with injustice. If that
description fits you, you are the person Christ Jesus came into the world
to save! “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly.” Feeling somewhat disheartened by my sin and my
sins, I was made to remember that all my sin and all my sins; past, present,
and future have been blotted out. God really does not remember any of them!
Christ so completely bore them away that they really are not there. I remembered…..I
really am forgiven! The burden I felt was taken away at that thought!
*****
Believer, did you know that you will be no more holy in heaven then you are
right now? There are not degrees of holiness. The holy nature given to you
in the new birth that you have right now is the same nature that you will
have in heaven. What will be the difference in heaven? You will no longer
have the sinful nature that you were born with. This gives us some idea of
the power of the old nature to bring us down. But thank God, it will be put
aside…and in our experience we shall see ourselves perfectly conformed
to this image of Christ.
*****
What then is the new birth? It is not the removal of anything from the sinner
nor the changing of anything physical or fleshly in the sinner; instead, it
is the communication of SOMETHING NEW to the sinner. The new birth is the
impartation of a NEW NATURE. When we were born the first time, we received
from our parents their nature; so when we are born again, we receive from
God His nature. The Spirit of God begets within us a spiritual nature (Gal.
5:17; II Peter 1:4). That which is born of man is human; that which is born
of God is divine and spiritual. Nicodemus was startled. He was amazed at the
Saviour’s words. Yet he ought not to have been. Man by birth and nature
is blind and opposed to the things of God. No amount of religious training
can change this evil nature. His chief need is a NEW NATURE, or to be BORN
AGAIN. It is a must! A man must have a spiritual nature before he can understand,
enter, or enjoy the kingdom of God.
- Pastor Henry Mahan
*****
The pardon which God gives us is not a smothering-up of our sins, nor a blinding
of justice. God is as just in His pardons as in His punishments. It shall
be seen at the last, when believers enter into their glory, that they rise
there by law, just as surely as the lost sink down to hell by law: that is
to say that the Lord Jesus hath rendered to the law such recompense by His
perfect obedience, and His matchless atonement, that it shall be just on God’s
part to save His elect as to condemn the unbelieving world. – C. H.
Spurgeon