ZEBULON BAPTIST CHURCH
Weekly Bulletin
Sunday, June 14, 2009

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south... Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:1-3, 8

HAVE MERCY ON ME
"And many charged him that he should hold his peace; but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me" (Mark 10:48). Once the Holy Spirit has caused the sin weary soul to cry aloud to Christ, they will continue to do so all the days of their lives. You can not shut them up, for they have been graced to see in the most secret and private of ways just how much and how absolutely, "I must have Jesus or I will perish." Many religionists have told me, ‘hold your peace' you can now stand on your good works, or you have already called upon Him you are older and wiser now or even that to continue to call upon Him shows the weakness of you character and he's your crutch. NO! I need him now, the rest of this day and tomorrow. I must have that balm in Gilead, I must smell the Rose of Sharon, and I want to experience the adorable Lily of the valley and most certainly desire to commune with my Elder brother! Don't try to shut this sinner up, don't tell me to quit calling upon that name that I love to speak, hear and worship! Hold my peace, why He IS MY PEACE, and by the grace of God I will continue to call upon His name as loudly and often as I have breath to do so: "Lord and Son of David, have MERCY upon ME!" Pastor Drew Dietz

THE CASE MAY BE BAD BUT NOT HOPELESS
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed (2Cor. 4:8-9).

"We are troubled" and oppressed in every way. We are never free from one trial or another. We are in the world and expect tribulations (John 16:1-4, 33; 15:19, 20), yet we are "not distressed." We have the peace of God, the manifestations of his love and care, a freedom to the throne and sufficient for every trial (2 Cor. 12:9). "We are perplexed;" the word signifies doubting and uncertainty. We are often uncertain and in doubt about what will happen to us; and sometimes we know not what to do, which way to take, nor how our needs shall he supplied, but we are "not in despair." We do not despair of the leadership, help, presence and support of our Lord. We are "persecuted" of men, cursed, threatened and despised because we profess Christ and preach Christ crucified, risen and exalted. But we are "not forsaken" of our Lord, who owns us and causes us always to triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14). Neither are we forsaken by those who love Christ, for they support us in prayer and provisions. We are "cast down" like an earthen vessel is sometimes cast out or thrown to the earth, seemingly forgotten and deserted. But we are "not destroyed." We live by the mighty power of God and are immortal until his work in us, through us and by us is done. Whatever the condition of God's children in this world, they have a "but not" to comfort them. Their case may be bad, but not hopeless; for He is their hope! Pastor Henry Mahan

THE CHURCH OF GOD
The church of God has many critics, but no rivals. This is the Family of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Temple of the Holy One, the place where Christ manifests forth His glory, spreads His table, and meets with His people. Blessed beyond description are those people who are privileged to be a part of this family! Truly, as Paul puts it, this is "a habitation of God through the Spirit!" Pastor Don Fortner

WHAT EVERY BELIEVER SEES BY FAITH
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man (everyone) (Heb. 2:9).

"But we see Jesus." How do we see Him? Not by dreams and visions or by the visualization of movies or pictures. Every believer sees the Lord Jesus Christ as Abraham did, by faith, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). We see Him as He is declared throughout the pages of Holy Scripture, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). True God-given faith believes the record of Holy Scripture (1Thes. 2:13). Someone said, "faith is the eye of the spirit, which views and enjoys what the Word of God presents to its vision."

As Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:5). This verse gives to us some key points as to how we see the Lord Jesus Christ.

1). We see Him as God our Saviour, incarnate, personified in human flesh, "Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." We see Him leaving glory and coming to this sin cursed earth "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10; Phil. 2:7-9). We see Him as the God-man Mediator working our perfect righteousness by His obedience to the law of God (Heb. 2:15; Rom. 4:6).

2). We see the Lord Jesus Christ as the only substitionary sacrifice for sin, "that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (everyone for whom He represents). The context of the following verses describes those for whom the Lord Jesus experienced death to put away their sin. The everyone is a description of His elect, known as His: "sons," "sanctified," "brethren," "the church," "children," "seed of Abraham," "the people." Christ died for their sin, not to make their salvation possible but rather to make it certain and eternally secure (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 9:12; 10:14).

3). We see the Lord Jesus Christ as totally successful and absolutely victorious, "crowned with glory and honour." The Lord is described in verse 2:10 as the, Captain of their salvation. Christ is the Champion and Author of our complete salvation (Heb. 12:2). We see Him delivered for our offences and raised because He has completed justification for His covenant people (Rom. 4:25; Phil 2:9-11; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 12:2). His resurrection and enthronement is both proof and pledge and ground and guarantee of all for Whom He stood as Surety (Heb. 7:22), Mediator (1Tim. 1:9), Representative (Rom. 5:19) will be glorified in Him. Pastor Tom Harding