Grace Baptist Church of Danville
December 12, 2010
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Those who actually do good works never imagine they have done any (Matthew 25:37-39). — Those who talk about their good works have none (Matthew 25:44).
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“Do Ye Now Believe?” — Don Fortner
(Tune: #342 — Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone? — CM)
1. “Do you believe” the Lord inquires,
“Do ye believe in me?”
Dear Lord, my inmost soul desires,
To trust Your mercy free.
2. Life, death, and glory, heaven and hell,
On this one thing depend: —
No hope is found since Adam fell,
But in the sinner’s Friend.
3. The precious Savior will receive
And save the chosen race;
It is by Him that we believe,
By His own Spirit’s grace!
4. Lord, I would now believe and claim
Your fulness as my own;
For all who trust Your precious name,
Shall reach Your glorious throne!
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What a Change!
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)
The prophet Isaiah here describes the effects and results of the amazing operations of God’s grace upon the hearts and lives of chosen, redeemed sinners in Christ. He here describes the peace and tranquility of Christ’s kingdom in this world. Grace produces peace. Grace makes sinners peaceable. Where the Prince of Peace reigns there is peace.
The church and kingdom of God is a peaceable kingdom. — Christ who is our peace has slain the enmity that once existed between his people in this world and he makes us one (Ephesians 2:13-16; Colossians 3:10-11).
The wolf no longer threatens the lamb; and the lamb no longer fears the wolf. “Behold,” said the saints of Saul, “he prayeth!” — Those who are in the ark, Christ Jesus, like the creatures that went into the ark with Noah, live together in peace. They lie down together in the church of God. A little child is made their pastor and leads them. They feed upon the green pastures of gospel truth. The sucking child, the newborn babe of God’s kingdom shall not be harmed by the old serpent. The weaned child, weaned from his own righteousness, shall not be harmed by the den of iniquity: self-righteous, will-worship, works religion. And God’s church in this world is as safe and secure as it is pleasant and peaceable. — “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” (Romans 8:35-39).
What a change grace has made in our lives! We were, and are, all of us by nature, wild and dangerous brute beasts. Grace has changed us into peaceful, helpful, pleasant children of God.
The means by which this great change is accomplished is the knowledge of the Lord (v. 9; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6). By the preaching of the gospel, God the Holy Spirit causes the light of the glory of God, beaming forth in the face of the crucified Christ, to shine into the dark hearts of poor, lost sinners, creating life and faith in the objects of his grace. Thus, that salvation, which he gave to his elect in Christ before the world began, is brought to light by the gospel (2 Timothy 1:9-10).
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Christ’s Triumph by the Gospel
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Isaiah assures us of the advance of the gospel in this world and, ultimately, of Christ’s triumph over the world by the gospel. It is the revelation of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ by the gospel that conquers the hearts of men. And it shall be by the revelation of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel that antichrist shall at last be slain.
Though there is today a great famine in the world, a famine for the Word of God (Amos 8:12), (though gospel preachers and gospel churches are few and far between), if I read the Book of God right, even in the midst of Babylon’s apparent rule, our God rules still, and in the latter day glory of this gospel age, God’s glory in Christ shall be made known in every corner of the earth!
The glory of God revealed in the salvation of his elect by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus shall fill the earth as the waters fill the sea! Gospel churches shall be found in every place. Gospel preachers shall be heard in every street. And Christ shall be known and worshipped in every corner. — “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14) shall cover the earth (Revelation 11:11).
Even now Isaiah’s and Habakkuk’s prophecies are beginning to be fulfilled. By means of our internet web page (www.FreeGraceRadio.com), before the sun sets tomorrow night, the messages you hear here today will be heard in the four corners of the earth! Yes, Babylon shall fall! Yes, the gospel shall be triumphant! The Scriptures plainly assert this glorious fact (Revelation 11:11; 14:6-8). Antichrist shall be slain by the Sword of our Savior’s mouth (Revelation 19:11-21); and the Sword of our mighty Captain’s mouth is the Word of God, the gospel of the glory of God.
May God give us grace to publish the glory! — To preach the gospel! — To make known in all the earth the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord!
Then, when the Lord Jesus comes in his glory, there shall come the restitution of all things to the glory of God; and all the Earth shall know that God has glorified himself in the salvation of our souls!
Between now and then, nothing shall destroy or even hurt God’s Holy Mountain, Zion, but only assist her (Revelation 12:16). Then, “in the dispensation of the fulness of times the Triune Jehovah shall gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:10-11).
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THE GRACE BULLETIN
December 12, 2010
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
Tuesday
7:30 P.M. Mid-Week Worship Service
Television Broadcasts in Danville
Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.
Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.
Television Broadcasts in Harrodsburg
Channel 6 - Sunday Afternoon 3:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Web Pages
http://www.DonFortner.com
http://www.FreegraceRadio.com
http://www.Grace-eBooks.com |
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