July 19, 2009
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
Of Princeton, New Jersey

Matthew 5: 13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

MEETING LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd floor
150 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ, 08553

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Sunday 10 AM Bible Class
11 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7:00 PM Mid-week Service

WEB ADDRESSES AND MAILING ADDRESS
www.sovereign-grace.us/
www.sermonaudio.com/sgbcpnj
www.freegraceradio.com

7 Birch Street
Pennington, New Jersey, 08534
Phone: 615-513-4464
Email: clay@sovereign-grace.us

Matthew 5: 10: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12: Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Why Was Christ Persecuted?
Whatever pretence persecutors have, it is Christ and his righteousness that they hate and the reason for their persecution. Christ Jesus the Lord was reviled, persecuted and had all manner of evil spoken against him falsely for no other reason than being the righteous God (Ro 8: 7; Psalm 69: 9.)

Why Are Believers Persecuted?
The believer has been made the righteousness of God in Christ. In Christ, through the Spirit of Christ, the believer has been created a new in righteousness and true holiness. Why would one so loved of the Father, so loved by the Son, and so created of the Holy Spirit be persecuted? For the same reason every witness who came before was persecuted-for Christ the Righteous' sake (Acts 7: 52 Ro 8: 36.)

Cause for Persecution
Matthew 5: 3: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The believer confesses before God and men the utter sin he is in the flesh. Those who think they possess some basic good in themselves or some strength or are deserving of God's favor consider themselves rich and in need of nothing, especially from God. These two spirits are totally opposite and contrary to the other. They shall never have any union. The unbelieving shall always persecute the righteous for Christ's sake.

Matthew 5: 4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. The believer mourns his sin and finds all his comfort only in Christ Jesus the Lord. The unbeliever considers sin to be merely in his members and not what he is. The believer's testimony is an aggravation and the unbeliever would sooner silence it than hear it.

Matthew 5: 5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. The believer has been made meek toward God and men. In the inner man, his desire is to no more speak so exceedingly proud, to force his hand, to attempt to have his own way by his own strength, or to make excuses for his rebellion. He knows that all things are his in Christ Jesus. The tenor of his disposition is gentleness toward those who oppose themselves. The persecutor is consumed with nothing else but to have his way. To the unregenerate meekness is merely an outward show produced by self: when the preacher is around, when he is in the church house, when he is having a fit of guilt or attempting to appeal to others. But in the home, in the work place and in private his heart is full of upbraiding, of persecution, and of evil false speaking.

Matthew 5: 6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. The believer has been given a hunger and a thirst after the LORD our Righteousness and that which rightly honors him. Those who persecute have the insatiable appetite for sin, self, and all that is contrary to Christ and his righteousness-the bottom line is "number one". This inordinate affection is the cause of the revilers upbraiding.

Matthew 5: 7: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. The believer has tasted the Lord's grace and rejoices to show mercy because he knows he depends upon God to keep him in mercy. Those who persecute want mercy shown to them when it is convenient but when the truth crosses their way, they become harsh judges in order to have the way they crave.

Matthew 5: 8: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. The believer is pure in heart by the work of the Spirit. He sees God in Christ, in his word, in providence and expects to see Christ face to face. Therefore that which most honors Christ is his chief desire. Even in his most mundane decisions in life the pure heart desires to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The persecutor has a heart which is confused and divisive, a heart full of guile and hypocrisy, because it is the heart of Adam. He wants to appear righteous before men but his heart is set only on personal gain. The defiled will overturn the pure in heart to have his way.

Matthew 5: 9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. The believer has been made a peacemaker because God has given him faith to trust Christ the Peacemaker. The persecutor seeks to obtain peace by the sword and/or when there is no war he thinks he has peace. Yet, in the unregenerate heart there is no peace, not with God, not with men, and especially not with those who proclaim Christ the Peacemaker.

Matthew Henry said, "It is not the suffering, but the cause, that makes the martyr."

Four Reasons the Persecuted are Happy
1. If the world counts you worthy to suffer shame for the sake that God has made you to count all your worthiness in Christ alone, you have great reason to rejoice (Acts 5: 41.)

2. Those persecuted for Christ's sake are happy because Christ gives the grace to suffer and our consolation abounds by Christ (Php 1: 29; 2 Cor 1: 5; Dan 3: 25.)

3. The end of verse 10 and verse 3 are the same. Persecution and poorness of spirit are reasons of rejoicing because through persecution Christ makes us to know our weakness so that we trust the sufficiency of God's grace alone (2 Cor 12: 9, 10.)

4. The Spirit of God bears witness with the Son of God that the reward the prophets received was the reward for which they looked-Christ Jesus in the kingdom of heaven (Heb 11). So the Lord assures those who endure persecution for his sake that the same reward is yours in heaven. This is the joy set before us, even as the glory of God and the Lord's people were the joy set before him (Heb 12: 1-2.)

REMINDER
We will have no mid-week service Thursday, July 23. Remember our guests as they travel to the meeting and especially those who are preparing to bring us the Word of the gospel.

SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
Of Princeton, New Jersey
WELCOMES YOU TO OUR SUMMER MEETING
July 24-27, 2009.
The guest speakers will be Pastor Don Fortner from Grace Baptist Church in Danville, KY and Pastor Marvin Stalnaker from Katy Baptist Church in Fairmont, WV. The host pastor is Clay Curtis.

Location
Pennington Fire Co Banquet Hall, 2 Broemel Place, Pennington, NJ, 08534 (Across from the post office. Please park in the lot behind the Firehouse.)

Times for Services
Friday, 7:00pm Clay Curtis, Don Fortner
Saturday, 10:00am Don Fortner, Marvin Stalnaker
Sunday, 10: 00am Clay Curtis, Marvin Stalnaker
Refreshments and light snacks will be served after the service on Friday night. Lunch will be served after the services on Saturday and Sunday.

Nearby Hotels
Courtyard by Marriott, (609) 771-8100, 360 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ, 08628
Comfort Inn, Tel, (609)-866-3700, 3270 US Route 1 North, Lawrenceville, NJ, US, 08648

For more information contact
clay@sovereign-grace.us
(615) 513-4464

SERMONS
Parable of the Sower
The Persecuted
Times and Bounds Appointed

ARTICLES FROM OTHERS
Arise and Go Unto Nineveh
Despicable Ingratitude
Sitting Under God's Gourd
The Natural Man and the Spiritual Man
Why Are Things the Way They Are?
THE God
What Must I Do To Be Saved?

SPECIAL MEETINGS
For info on special meetings around the country click here