November 8, 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, thy blood and righteousness
My beauties art my glorious dress
Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in that great day
For who ought to my charge shall lay
While through Thy blood absolved I am
From sin’s tremendous curse and shame.

This spotless robe the same appears
When ruined nature sinks in years
No age can change its glorious hue
The robe of Christ is ever new.

When from the dust of death I rise
To join the ransomed in the skies
E’en then shall this be all my plea
That Christ has lived and died for me.

Oh let the dead now hear Thy voice
Now bid Thy people to rejoice
Our beauty this, our glorious dress
JESUS, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(Tune: “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness” p. 217)

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Birthdays

8th – Daniel Holthaus 9th – Ryan Vincent 11th – Norma Johnson 11th – Peggy Mohr 11th – Elizabeth Vincent
11th – Patsy White 14th – Terry Squires

“Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.” - Proverbs 4:6

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY, AND MERCY
God is absolutely sovereign. He controls and is the first cause behind everything (Isaiah 45:7). It is equally true that men are completely responsible for their actions. When we sin we cannot blame God as the first cause behind our sin. When we sin, we are doing what we want to do. How to bring these two truth together, I do not know. They are paradoxical. A paradox is something that appears contradictory, but is true nonetheless. While we may not be able to explain how God is absolutely sovereign and men are completely responsible for their actions, we believe them both, and understand them both. To reject either is to understand neither.
If I reject God’s absolute sovereignty, I never really ask for mercy. I think salvation is in my hands. If I reject my own responsibility for my sin, then my sin is not really my fault. I am a victim of God’s sovereignty. But if I see that my sin is all my fault, I have no one to blame but myself. And if I see that I am in the hands of a sovereign God, who can save me or pass me by….only then will I cry for mercy. He never has and never will reject that one who sues for mercy!

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A LAW WE ARE STILL UNDER
“…With the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). Here is a law, or a principal that we are always under. Just like there are laws of physics that are always in force, this is a spiritual law that is always in force. God will measure out your blessings in the cup you bring! In the preceding verse He said, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.” But it is equally true that if you judge people, God will also judge you. “Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.” However, if you do condemn someone, viewing yourself as morally superior, don’t forget: “What goes around, comes around.” “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” But the Lord also said, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Then He said, “Give, and it shall be given to you,” and He actually goes into detail about this “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom.” If you give generously, you will receive much more than you give. But, if you are slack and negligent in giving, this is the reason behind the wretchedness in your life. God will measure out the blessings you have in the basket you bring. This is a spiritual law. It is in effect right now!
A TRUE BELIEVER
The believer is a mystery to others and to himself also. He is sanctified, yet feels himself to be the chief of sinners. He loves God’s law, yet he wrestles with an inward desire to have his own way. He has great sorrow and heaviness of heart over others, yet he rejoices in the Lord always. His spirit longs to be with Christ, yet his flesh clings to the earth. He knows that he is secure in Christ, yet he examines his faith continually. – Pastor Henry Mahan


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ELECTION
God has prepared a salvation for His elect, chosen by Him not because of any goodness in them, but because he will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and will have compassion on whom He will have compassion. Is this not a salvation that will suit thee, O poor sinner? If God had chosen them out of any merit, or if that choice depended on anything which men did or could do, thou wert a damned soul, for thou hast no goodness, and thou canst do nothing. If God’s election comes to those who are without merit, without hope, without strength, here is hope for thee. – C. H. Spurgeon

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A MUST HAVE
Those who have never heard that glorious Gospel of the free grace of God in Christ Jesus the Redeemer, need to hear that Gospel more than anything else in the world; but they, sad to say, do not feel that need. However, those who have heard and believed that Gospel MUST hear it! The hungry man MUST eat, the thirsty man MUST drink, and the sinner-man MUST feast upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness! He knows and feels his desperate need.
– Pastor Maurice Montgomery

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Every time I go out to preach, I have two determinations. I am determined that it is every man’s responsibility to give himself entirely to Christ, and I am determined that if no one else does, I will give myself to the Lord. – Jonathan Edwards