Birthdays: Ashlyn Jones – Aug. 14th| Dennis Vanzandt – Aug. 17th Charlotte Pannell – Aug. 19th | Kathryn Cox – Aug. 19th | Jane Sparks – Aug. 19th| Mariel Moore – Aug. 20th
Hymns for service: Standing On the Promises – p. 175 More About Jesus – p. 326
The Christian life is life lived by God-given faith “looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). It is life lived, not in our own power and goodness, but in and by the power and goodness of Christ who is our only righteousness before God – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal. 2:20-21). It is life lived in a warfare as by the grace and power of God we war against the flesh and rest in Christ as our only assurance of victory (Rom. 7:24—8:1). It is life lived in God’s preserving grace as He will not let us fall away to damnation, and this is our motivation to live as disciples of Christ, persevering in Him, and following Him in His Word – “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Php. 2:12-13). – Pastor Bill Parker
The author of “Amazing Grace” wrote the following in a letter to a friend who had been sick a long time – “I trust you will find the name and grace of Jesus more and more precious to you – His promises more sweet, and your hope in them more abiding; your sense of your own weakness and unworthiness daily increasing; your persuasion of His all-sufficiency to guide, support and comfort you more confirmed. You owe your growth in these respects, in a great measure, to His blessing upon those afflictions which He has prepared for you and sanctified to you. May you praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that is to come.
—Your humble servant, John Newton, April 13, 1776
THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE
God is absolutely sovereign, and He works “ALL THINGS after the counsel of His own will”(Eph. 1:11; cf. Isa. 45:9-10; Dan. 4:34-35; Rom. 8:28-29). No intentions or actions of man can change God’s mind or alter His sovereign will. This is a mind-boggling truth (even for believers), but if we believe God’s Word, we must agree that it is true. But because fallen man cannot fully comprehend this God and cannot control Him, he uses the faulty reasoning of a fatalist and says, “If this is true, it does not matter what we think, say, or do.” When God commands us to “Seek the Lord,” unbelievers say, “Why? It will not change God’s mind or will.” When Christ commands us to believe in HIM and be saved¸ the natural man reasons, “Why? If God is sovereign, He will save me NO MATTER WHAT.” The problem with such reasoning is that it fails to recognize the world in which WE live. God’s says, “The secret things [not revealed in His Word] belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed [disclosed commandments] belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). The wise man wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14). God alone knows the secret counsels of His own will. We know only what God tells us. Sinners who use God’s sovereignty as an excuse not to seek Him in His Word as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation by God’s grace and mercy in HIM are aspiring to be like God. They are trying to live above their station, to live in a world in which they have no place. The world in which we live is the world of God’s revealed commandments in light of our need of His grace of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. When it comes to salvation and eternal life, God tells us in the Gospel that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only hope for sinners to be saved, forgiven, justified, and to live forever with Him. What is a sinner to do then? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Cast yourself on the mercy of God, and submit to His righteousness for justification. Call on the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved! -- Pastor Bill Parker
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