Affliction is a wonderful revealer. It teaches us things we could not know by any other means, and opens windows through which we see, as we never saw before, the mercy, grace, and love of our God.
• I am preaching this morning for GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH in Taylor, AR, where Bro. Darvin Pruitt is pastor. Tonight and tomorrow night, I am scheduled to preach for the GRACE FELLOWSHIP in Wichita Falls, TX. Bro. Darvin will preach here in my absence this week. • We will have our QUARTERLY FELLOWSHIP next Sunday. After we have lunch together, we will have a time of fellowship in honor of Darvin and Kathy Pruitt, as we send them off to serve our Redeemer with God’s saints in Taylor. • I am scheduled to preach November 14th and 15th for SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST Church in Mercer County, where Bro. Bill Eldridge is pastor.
The Lord, Jehovah, Still Maintains — Don Fortner (Tune: #46 — O for a Thousand Tongues — CM)
1. The Lord, Jehovah, still maintains His holy, sov’reign throne; In heaven, earth, and hell He reigns, and makes His wonders known.
2. Sov’reign, eternal, His decrees firm as the mountains stand; Our God performs whate’er He please, and none can stay His hand.
3. All things our God rules and controls His purpose to fulfill, Even the destiny of souls, according to His will.
4. Jacob by grace most free He saved, and gives no reason why; But Esau’s heart he left depraved. — Who can His will defy?
5. What if the sov’reign Potter takes part of a lump of clay, And for Himself a vessel makes, and casts the rest away?
6. Who can resist the Potter’s will, or say, “What doest Thou?” Jehovah is Jehovah still, and to Him all shall bow!
7. My soul, rejoice, believe, adore the Lord in all His ways. His sov’reign throne I’ll bow before and trust Him for His grace.
“Honor the Lord with thy Substance”
Proverbs 3:9
To honor the Lord with your substance is to use that which God has given you in his providence for his glory, the benefit of his people, and the cause of his kingdom in this world. Particularly, it is to give a portion of your substance to God again.
The Lord does not tell us how much to give. Under the law a tithe of all was required; but we are not under the law. Therefore, legal precepts have no authority over us. And, certainly, those who know the grace of God in Christ Jesus are not so niggardly as to think they honor God by allotting only a tithe of their income for gifts!
God’s people are not miserly tithers, but generous, cheerful givers. They give as much of their substance as prudence will allow, in proportion as the Lord has prospered them. And they give in faith, for they give of “the firstfruits of all (their) increase.” Week by week, they allot a portion of their income to be given for the honor of God first. Some can give much more than others, because their needs are less and their income more. But all who honor God in their hearts, honor God in their substance.
And though we never give for the purpose of gaining more (God’s saints are not mercenaries!), none who honor God with their substance will ever be impoverished by doing so. Solomon says, “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (v. 10). And he who is greater than Solomon said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal shall it be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
Because the Philippians, from their great poverty, gave so generously to one of God’s own, the Apostle Paul assured them that God would supply all their need “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:14-19). Because they had honored God with their substance, Paul assured them that God would honor them by supplying all that they needed, both to live in this world and to continue honoring God with their substance.
Let every believer give generously of his substance, “as God has prospered him,” for the honor of the Lord our God. As we do, every need will be supplied for every work and every ministry the Lord would have performed in every generation. Every pastor, every missionary, every laborer in God’s vineyard in every part of the world will have all that is needed to do the work trusted to his hands.
“Give Me Neither Poverty Nor Riches”
Proverbs 30:8
Agur was an exceedingly wise man. He prayed to God, saying, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” He knew that poverty would be a strong temptation to theft. And he knew that riches would be an equally strong temptation to forget God. Therefore he wisely prayed, “Feed me with food convenient for me.”
He wanted God to graciously and wisely limit his provision to his reasonable, daily need. Agur knew what very few people in this world ever learn. He knew “the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22).
How I rejoice when I see God’s children prosper in this world! I have watched many young couples scrape and struggle for years to make ends meet. In their poverty they have been very faithful and very generous to the cause of Christ, doing without many comforts to attend the ministry of the Word and give to the cause of Christ.
After a while they begin to prosper, not much, but a little, and my heart rejoices for them. I thank God for his goodness to them. But my joy and thanksgiving is always tempered with a sober, earnest prayer. I pray, “Lord, don’t give them more than they can handle. With their increased substance, give them increased grace.”
I am always fearful when I see men and women prosper too much! Why? Because I have seen many whose prosperity has caused them to forget God. It seems that the more of this world’s goods a person has, the more he wants. Man has an insatiable appetite for money, property, and power. Once he has a taste of any, he seems incapable of satisfaction.
Therefore he will sacrifice the worship of Christ, the glory of Christ, and the cause of Christ upon the altar of his own lusts for gain. I warn you once more, as earnestly as I possibly can, to beware of “the deceitfulness of riches!” Do not allow the treasures of this world to rob you of your immortal soul. Unless God by his grace prevents it, they surely will.
“Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”
GRACE BULLETIN
November 2, 2008
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE 2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438 Telephone (859) 236-8235 - E-Mail don@donfortner.com
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor
Schedule of Regular Services
Sunday 10:00 A.M. Bible Classes 10:30 A.M. Morning Worship Service 6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service
Older
Top
