GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE December 13, 2009
Grace experienced makes people gracious.
As You have Prospered Us - Don Fortner (Tune: Blest Be The Tie - SM)
1. As You have prospered us, With bountiful supply, We bring our gifts with hearts of praise, Our God to magnify.
2. Without legal constraint, Without a grudging thought, With cheerful, willing hearts, our gifts, Father, to You are brought.
3. As tokens of our love, Receive our gifts we pray, Through Jesus Christ whose precious blood Has washed our sins away.
4. Lord Jesus, multiply These meager gifts for good, As You the loaves and fishes broke, Use our gifts for much good.
The Worst Place to Drown
(Genesis 7:23)
I cannot think of a worse place to drown than beside the boat. Even so, I cannot think of a worse way to perish than under the sound of the gospel. Only those in Christ will remain alive when the flood of God's wrath comes for the last time. - "And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." - Pastor John Chapman
Gospel Giving - "The LORD'S Offering"
"And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments." (Exodus 35:21)
When they were permitted to erect the Tabernacle, their God given picture of Christ and the salvation he would accomplish by his obedience unto death, the children of Israel gladly brought their gifts with willing hearts, acknowledging that the gifts they brought were gifts of God's providing and gifts that belonged to him. The gifts all came from people with willing hearts, happy to give; from people who knew that what they brought to the Lord was not theirs, but his.
The gifts varied greatly: Gold and Oil, Silver and Spices, Precious Stones and Wool, Brass and Goats' Hair, Wool and Linen, Dyes for Blue and Purple and Scarlet, and Onyx Stones. The poor gave what they had to give. The rich gave what they had to give. And the gifts of the poor were just as meaningful and just as useful as the gifts of the rich.
The Word of God supplies us with an abundance of instruction about this matter of giving. All of 1 Corinthians 9 and 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9 are taken up with this subject. Yet, there are no commands given to the people of God, anywhere in the New Testament, about how much we are to give, when we are give, or where we are to give. Tithing and all systems like it are totally foreign to the New Testament. Giving, like all other acts of worship, is an act of faith and grace. It must be free and voluntary, or it is unacceptable. However, there are some plain, simple guidelines laid down in the Scriptures for us to follow. Here are ten things revealed in the New Testament about giving.
1. Our giving should be planned (2 Cor. 9:7). 2. Our giving must be free, voluntary, unconstrained (2 Cor. 9:7). 3. Our giving must be motivated by love and gratitude towards Christ (2 Cor. 8:7-9). 4. Our giving must arise from a willing heart (2 Cor. 8:12). 5. Every believer should give to the work of the gospel according to his personal ability (1 Cor. 16:2). 6. Every believer should give a portion of his goods for the cause of Christ (1 Cor. 16:2). 7. Our gifts for the gospel should be liberal and sacrificial (2 Cor. 9:5-6; Mark 12:41-44). 8. We are to give as unto the Lord (Matt. 6:1-5). 9. This kind of giving is well-pleasing to God (2 Cor. 9:7; Phil. 4:18; Heb. 13:16). 10. If we are willing to give, God will supply us with the ability to give (2 Cor. 9:10: Luke 6:38; Phil. 4:19).
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift."
(2 Corinthians 9:15)
"Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given." - The appearance of God in human flesh was the embodiment of the Gospel. Surely nothing but good could result from the miraculous birth of the God-man. Well did the angels sing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Whenever we think about the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, all who know him are compelled to employ the apostle's language in our praise: - "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!" For your Son, O Lord, we cannot give thanks enough. Words cannot be formed which would express the gratitude of our hearts.
Jesus Christ is the gift of God. We had no claim upon him. We felt no need of him. We did not desire him. But, freely, out of his abundant love and grace, God gave us his Son. - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." God the Father gave us his Son in the covenant of grace. He gave us his Son in his condescending incarnation. God gave his Son at Mount Calvary. And God gave us his Son in the new birth. In giving us salvation and eternal life, God gave us Christ and all that he is, all that he has done and all that he possesses. Christ is our salvation, our life and our all. And all who have him have him by the free gift of God.
As the gift of God, Jesus Christ is unspeakable. Who can describe the glorious Godhead and perfect humanity of our blessed Lord Jesus? The complex union of the God-man is a mystery beyond human understanding. We can only say, "Great is the mystery, of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh." Is there a man who can adequately explain the vicarious life of Christ, our Representative, as he accomplished righteousness for us, or his vicarious death as our Substitute, by which he obtained eternal redemption for us? No. We can only say, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
Yet, the Lord Jesus Christ is a gift of whom we must and shall speak very much. We speak of him to God in prayer and praise. Our prayers are truest and our praise is best when Christ is the center, when much is said of his person and work, his greatness and glory, and our complete indebtedness to him for everything. We speak much of him in his house, much of him in our conversations with men, and much of him in our own houses. Blessed is that house in which Christ's name is the name most often mentioned with honor and love! We shall speak of him to men while we live. And we shall speak of him eternally among the hosts of heaven. There everyone says to him and of him, - "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing...Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever" (Rev. 5:12-13).
GRACE BULLETIN
December 13, 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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