October 18, 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
Join, every tongue, to sing
The mercies of the Lord
The love of Christ, our King
Let every heart record
He saved us from the wrath of God
And paid our ransom with His blood, And paid our ransom with His blood.
What wondrous grace was this!
We sinned, and Jesus died
He wrought the righteousness
And we were justified
We ran the score to lengths extreme
And all the debt was charged on Him, And all the debt was charged on Him.
A monument of grace
A sinner saved by blood
The streams of love I trace
Up to the fountain, God
And in His wondrous mercy see
Eternal thoughts of love to me, Eternal thoughts of love to me.
(Tune: “Arise, My Soul, Arise”)
*****
I am preaching in the Bible Conference at College Grove, TN today. Bob Coffey
will bring the message this morning and Fred Evans, Pastor of the Redeemer Baptist
Church in Louisville will preach tonight.
I will return this evening, Lord willing.
Birthdays
18th – Dwayne Imes 18th – Julianna Rigsby
22nd – Samuel Kincer 24th – Carla Bryan
“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether
it be right.” - Proverbs 20:11
WHAT CHRIST MARVELED AT
Twice in the New Testament Christ was said to have marveled. Something must
be truly remarkable for Christ to marvel at it. He does not marvel at the things
men marvel at. In Mark 6:6, “He marveled at their unbelief.” Unbelief
is so evil, so unreasonable, so senseless, so excuseless that Christ was amazed
by it. And in Luke 7:9, He marveled at the greatness of the Roman centurion’s
faith. He marveled at the humility of it: “I am not worthy that Thou shouldest
enter under my roof: wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto
Thee.” He marveled at the simplicity of it: “Say in a word and my
servant shall be healed.” Certainly if Christ marveled at unbelief, we
should too! And how highly we should esteem this kind of faith the centurion
had. And even more importantly, how we should believe as he did!
*****
STRIVING LAWFULLY
“And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except
he strive lawfully” (II Timothy 2:5).
If a man crossed the finish line, but has not obeyed the rules of the race,
or did not stay on the proper course, he is disqualified. No short-cuts allowed.
Few preachers pay attention to this warning. In their thirst for success in
the ministry, which they cover up by calling it “seeking to win the lost,”
they take short-cuts. They do not obey the rules of the Gospel. They cut corners
on Gospel Truth in order to make their message more likely to be received. They
by-pass certain pats of the race to speed up the process. But they will find
in the end that no one was truly saved through their ministry. Even more horrifying
will it be when they find that they themselves were not saved.
*****
We read in II John 9 of “The doctrine of Christ.” The doctrine of
Christ is one unified whole. There are different aspects of the doctrine of
Christ, but they are so interrelated and dependent upon one another that to
deny any aspect of the doctrine of Christ is to deny the whole. If one link
in the chain is broke, the chain itself is broken.
DO NOT PRETEND
It is the conscious absence of all goodness that leads us to Christ, the foundation
of all goodness; and that fountain is open to all who come in this fashion.
It is closed against all who come on any other footing. It is the want of light
and life that draws us to Christ, the source of both; and both of these are
the gift of God. He who comes as partly righteous is sent away empty. He who
comes acknowledging unrighteousness, but at the same time trying to neutralize
it or to expiate it by feelings, works, or tears, is equally rejected. But he
who comes as an unrighteous man to a righteous and gracious Savior, finds not
only ready access, but plenteous redemption. The righteous God receives unrighteous
man if that man presents himself in his own true character as a sinner, and
does not mock God by pretending to be something less or better than he is.
- Horatius Bonar
*****
SUBMIT TO CHRIST
The way to overcome pride, envy, and the spirit of carnal ambition is to submit
yourselves to God! Submit to His will and purpose regarding gifts, talents,
and possessions; to His place of service, be it lowly or great; to His will
to prosper or empty us, to honor or humiliate us. There is ONE NAME to be praised,
ONE WILL to be done, ONE LIFE to be imitated, ONE PERSON who must have the pre-eminence
– our LORD JESUS CHRIST. – Pastor Henry Mahan
*****
If ever it could come to pass
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas
Would fall a thousand times a day!
I on Thy promises depend,
That Thou will love me to the end.
- Joseph Hart