No sinner can or will turn to God until he has been turned by God. None can or will call upon the name of the Lord until they have been called, effectually and irresistibly called, by the Lord. None can or will come to Christ for grace until Christ has come to him in grace.
Jehovah will Provide — Don Fortner (Tune: #11 — When all Thy Mercies, O my God — CM)
1. No more, my soul, let unbelief, Your joy and peace devour: Jehovah-jireh sends relief Sufficient for each hour.
2. With dangers thick, though dark my way, With foes on ev’ry side, Still all is well, for day by day Jehovah will provide!
3. Though I am weak, I must confess, And often fail when tried, My Savior all-sufficient grace Has promised to provide!
4. Jehovah-jireh, ever wise, My Refuge, here I hide: — My cause He will take up, and rise His mercy to provide!
5. He saw me ruined, lost and dead, And did Himself provide A Lamb to suffer in my stead: — Jehovah crucified!
6. All grace in Christ God has decreed, And endless bliss beside, For all the ransomed chosen seed; And that He will provide!
Repentance and Remission
“And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)
The cross of Christ is all our hope, all our peace, all our salvation. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the cancellation of all our debt, the restoration of all our loss, the redemption of all God’s elect. The Lord Jesus died as our sin-atoning Substitute “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.”
Our Savior did not say that he died so that we could tell sinners to repent. Rather, he tells us that he died that we might proclaim repentance. There is a difference. When God commands all men everywhere to repent, he commands them to turn to him. But when our Savior, by virtue of his death on the cross, commands us to preach repentance, that is to proclaim the turning of sinners to him by virtue of his sin-atoning sacrifice, we proclaim liberty to the captives (Isaiah 61:1-3; Zechariah 9:11-12).
The word “repentance” basically means “reversal.” And the gospel we preach proclaims a complete reversal, a reversal accomplished by the doing and dying of the Son of God as our Substitute, and a reversal commanded. The repentance accomplished for us, the repentance we proclaim in the gospel is a reversal of all things for us by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The repentance commanded is a reversal of our thoughts, minds and attitudes about how sins are remitted.
This proclamation of reversal is the blessed proclamation of the remission of sins. Everything has been reversed for us, because he has put away (remitted) our sins! His prisoners are sent forth out of their prison, because he has remitted their sins. “And ye,” you who have been turned to him by hearing him declare that he has put away your sins, “are witnesses of these things” (v. 48). Every redeemed sinner is in his place Christ’s missionary, his witness. We are witnesses of his accomplishments, of his forgiveness and of his grace.
Our Savior commanded his disciples to preach the gospel everywhere, to all men, among all nations; and he said, “beginning at Jerusalem.” Robert Hawker wrote…
“Those Jerusalem-sinners, whose hearts were to be called by sovereign grace on the then approaching day of Pentecost, were there; many of whom had joined the Scribes and Elders in his crucifixion, and were now triumphing in having shed his blood. Yet, to this Jerusalem, this slaughter-house of his Prophets, and himself also, Jesus will have the first proclamation of mercy in his death made! Oh! the riches of his grace! Oh! the boundless love of Christ, which passeth knowledge!”
None are beyond the reach of grace. None are beyond the reach of omnipotent mercy. It is the glory of our Great Physician, that he heals incurable cases. The things that are impossible to men are possible with Christ.
“Give Him No Rest” Isaiah 62:7
In the opening verse of this chapter, the Lord God declares that he will not rest until every chosen, ransomed sinner has been saved by his grace. In verse seven, the Holy Spirit commands us to “give him no rest,” until his church and kingdom is complete, until all his elect have been saved. What an astounding command! Learn what it means.
1. God commands us to exercise importunity with him. He would have us to be as passionate, zealous and consecrated to the salvation of his people as he is. 2. Importunity prevails with God (Luke 11:1-13; 18:5-7). All true, fervent prayer is effectual. 3. Importunity on our part is a sure sign of coming action on God’s part. When God intends to do something among us, with us, or for us, he causes us to cry unto him for it. — “As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 4. Indifference on our part is a sign of uselessness at best and coming judgment at worst.
“The Lord is His Shepherd, too”
Pastor Jesse Gistand
To utter the magnificent opening words of Psalm 23 with conviction requires some experiential knowledge of His love, grace, protection and shepherding care, for you.
My conviction on this point was forged by the demonstrative care, of our great God and Savior in the life of one of His servants and my friend. As a sheep looking anxiously on the needs and desperate care of another sheep, at the hand of our great Shepherd, I have learned once again of the faithfulness of his Words: — “ He cares for you.”
And my soul, was somehow just as delighted in the care of another sheep, in the making, leading, restoring, preparing, comforting and anointing to the eternal redemption of His sheep, by our Great Shepherd, just as if, He had done it for me.
“Strange,” you say? But I recall many a verse that underscores the unity of the fold in this way: — “Rejoice with them that rejoice.” “Weep with them that weep.” — “ Bear ye one another’s burdens.” — “ For ye are all one,” etc!
What a tremendous discovery of this mysterious union with HIM and his. — “ Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is already born of GOD: and everyone that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him.” What mercy and goodness!
GRACE BULLETIN
January 11, 2009
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
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