ZEBULON BAPTIST CHURCH
Weekly Bulletin
Sunday, June 15th, 2008

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. Psalm 68:18-20

THE REAL OFFENCE OF THE GOSPEL
"Even To Them Which Stumble At The Word" (I Peter 2:8).

The real offense is in the gospel of His grace! It is not His works but HIS WORDS that caused the division among the Jews. His works did anger them, and they tried to discredit them; for His works bore a strong witness to His deity. But the thing they hated and resented most was His claim to deity, to being THE CHRIST, to being THE REDEEMER of whom Moses wrote, and for whom Abraham looked. They said, "For good works we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou being a man, makest thyself GOD" (John 10:33). Men today have no quarrel with religion, good works, nor noble efforts in the name of God; it is THE GOSPEL of sovereign mercy through a suffering and sufficient Substitute which causes them to stumble and become offended. Who He is, what He suffered, why He suffered, and where He is now, if preached clearly, will cause the sheep to rejoice and the rest to stumble. "Unto you He is precious....unto them he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (I Peter 2:7,8). Pastor Henry Mahan

"And He . . . calleth unto Him whom He would: and THEY CAME UNTO HIM." -- Mark 3:13
Down through history there have been many powerful leaders with powerful voices. Men (and women) with the ability to move the masses; men, such as Adolph Hitler. That man, though unbelievably evil and wicked, was able to sway vast multitudes, millions, a whole nation to follow him and lay down their lives for him. But scripture says of the Lord Jesus Christ, "No man spake like this man." Scripture says, "The voice of the Lord is POWERFUL; the voice of the Lord is FULL OF MAJESTY. The voice of the Lord BREAKETH THE CEDARS . . ." (Ps.29). Yet in the end, everyone rejected Him and cried out for His death. Why? Why did they not follow Him? Why did they not lay down their lives for Him and His cause? Was He not able to woo them? . . . convince them? . . . draw them? Was His voice just not powerful enough?

"HE CALLETH UNTO HIM WHOM HE WOULD: AND THEY CAME UNTO HIM." The Lord did not come to earth to try to get anyone to follow Him. He did not come to try and get men to follow Him. He came to call His sheep. He came to seek and to save that which was lost; all that the Father giveth Me. He came to call His own sheep; those whom He had Foreknown and predestinated to be His own, He called (and still calls) by our gospel . . . AND THEY COME UNTO HIM! The Master was walking by the sea of Galilee one day, a place filled with fishing vessels and fishermen; passing by many vessels and men He came to one particular boat and called two brothers . . . "Follow me!! . . . and STRAIGHTWAY THEY LEFT THEIR NETS AND FOLLOWED HIM!" They dropped everything, all their worldly possessions, to follow a man they did not know. Then He walked a ways down the shore to another boat, with two other brothers and called out, "Follow me!! . . . and IMMEDIATELY THEY LEFT THEIR BOATS AND THEIR FATHER AND FOLLOWED HIM!! Now that is the Lord Jesus Christ of Scripture; the One Who calls whom He would, and they come! The voice of the (true) Lord is powerful.

No, the Lord was not trying to call or convince anyone of anything. Not then, not now! But He is calling whom He will. Aren't you glad! Doesn't that give you hope for others whom you have tried to convince yourself? We can't call them or convince them, but the Lord can if He is willing. And if it is His will, lo and behold . . . glory be (to God) . . . THEY WILL COME! And we will rejoice and give thanks unto Him that calleth. Pastor Paul Mahan

LORD, DON'T LEAVE US ALONE
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God (Mark 1:23-24).

When the Lord Jesus went among the people preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, the people in the synagogue were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them with authority. They did not recognize, acknowledge nor confess His person as God the Son, but they were amazed at His words. What is most remarkable the "unclean spirit," knew exactly Who He was and confessed that Jesus Christ is the, "Holy One of God." The demon spirit also confessed he was deserving of God's righteous judgment, "art thou come to destroy us." The demon spirit also cried out and said, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee."

The believer's cry before the Lord is similar, yet completely different. We, by His grace do confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour (Phi. 2:9-11), but not only acknowledging His Lordship over us, but we willingly submit to Him and love Him supremely in our heart ( Rom. 10: 9-11; 1Pet.2:7). We say with Thomas, Jesus Christ is, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

Believers also confess they are deserving of God's righteous judgment against our sin and plead for mercy (Psa. 51: 1-4; Luke 18:13-14). Our plea before the Lord is, don't leave us alone, we need thee every hour in everyway. We need Thee, to be Surety and Sacrifice for us (Heb. 7:22), Mediator representing us (1Tim. 2:5), Advocate pleading for us (1John 2:1), Captain guiding and fighting for us (Heb. 2:10), Redeemer delivering us (Heb. 2:14-17), Great High Priest interceding for us (Heb. 4:14-16), the Chief, Great, and Good Shepherd providing all things for us (Psalm 23:1-4; Phil. 4:19).

This is the Lord's unwavering and steadfast promise to His covenant people that, He never will leave us. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5). What sweet comfort this affords the believer! As one old writer put it, "The Lord Jesus Christ freely gives us all grace now and all glory hereafter" (Rom. 8:32). Pastor Tom Harding

Bible Study 10:30 A.M.
Morning Service 11:15 A.M.
Kingsport service 6:00 P.M.
Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M.

Radio (Sundays):
WXCC 96.5 & 98.1 FM (new time and staion) 8:15 A.M each week