September 6, 2009
Sundays 11:00 am Channel 36 WTVQ
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
Jesus, the Lord, my Saviour is
My Shepherd and my God
My light, my life, my joy, my bliss
I in His grace rejoice.

What’er I need in Jesus dwells
And there it dwells for me
Tis Christ my earthen vessel fills
With treasure rich and free.

Mercy and truth and righteousness
And peace most richly meet
In Jesus Christ, the King of grace
In whom I stand complete

Worthy the Lamb, shall be my song
For He for me was slain
And with me all the heav’nly throng
Shall join and say “Amen!”

(Tune: “O For A Thousand Tongues” p. 46)

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Dave Eddmenson, Pastor of the Sovereign Grace Church in New Caney, Texas will bring the message this evening.

Birthdays
8th – Jimmie Ray Bailey 8th – Earnest Tucker
8th – Kyle Virgin 9th – Todd Nibert



“There is he that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
- Proverbs 11:24-25

When God justifies a sinner, that does not mean He has a legal standing of righteousness before God but is still unrighteous in his person before God. It was said of Abel that “he was righteous” (Hebrews 11:4).
How can that be understood in light of the fact that we are still sinners? We are righteous by virtue of union with Christ. “As He is, so are we in the world” (I John 4:17). We a re righteous by imputation. “God imputeth righteousness without works” (Romans 4:6). We are righteous by divine gift. “The gift of righteousness” (Romans 5:17). We are righteous by nature. “Partakers of the divine nature” (I Peter 1:4). Because of that “He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous” (I John 2:29). It is only a righteous nature that can do righteousness. We are righteous by faith. “To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). That does not mean that faith is my righteousness before God. Christ is! Faith believes that. What is the evidence of union with Christ? Faith. What is the evidence that righteousness has been imputed to me? < /SPAN>Faith. What is the evidence that righteousness has been given? Faith. What is the evidence of a righteous nature? Faith. Bless the Lord, everybody He saves are truly righteous men and women, made so by the righteousness of Christ!


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SOBER LIVING
A part of the teaching of the grace of God in Titus 2:12 is “to live soberly.” Of course we should not be drunken, but sober living is much more than that. We are not to become intoxicated and brought under the control of anything that is contrary to the Gospel of Christ. It is certainly possible to have our values and priorities influenced by the world and the natural inclinations of our flesh, much like a drunken man is influenced by alcohol. But the teaching of grace is “to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” If that is not our life, we have become intoxicated by this world.
Oh, if we have become drunken in this sense, it is only a trip to the cross that will sober us up.


LOOK UNTO ME
“Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, and tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.” (Ezekiel 16:17,18). In verses 8 and 9 of this chapter, the prophet speaks of the time of love, when the Lord gives life to one of His chosen, washing them clean in the blood of Christ, and clothing them with fine linen of Christ’s righteousness. But no sooner than this had taken place, do we read of this sinner saved by grace taking the very things which had cleansed and clothed him and making idols out of them, and committing whoredom with them.
It is very true that there is no salvation for a sinner apart from his sins being washed away, and being made holy by a righteousness imputed and imparted to him…but we do not worship this blood, we do not worship this righteousness…we worship the one whose blood was shed, and whose righteousness is given – the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not look upon, hope upon, or find satisfaction in how clean you are becoming, how holy your life is, how well you know Scripture, how strong your faith has become, how solid your prayer life is, how well you understand the Gospel and all the doctrines associated with it…looking to any of these is looking away from Christ. Our salvation begins with a look to Christ in faith, and will continue only by looking to Christ in faith, and nowhere else…”Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:22)
- Brian DuFour

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We are not desirous of honor, esteem and applause from men, for “we are what we are by the grace of God.” God can take away what we have as easily as He gave it. We do not despise and provoke one another with our piety; nor do we want to appear to be wiser, richer in grace, nor more gifted than others; for we are less than the least of the saints. Nor do we envy the gifts, abilities or grace of another. God will enlighten us, equip us, and bless us as He sees fit to use us.
- Pastor Henry Mahan