Grace Baptist Church of Danville January 9, 2011 _____________________________________
"Peace rules the day when Christ rules the soul." -- William Romaine _____________________________________
We are honored to have Pastor Mike Walker and his wife, Sandy with us. Bro. Walker is pastor of Covenant of Grace Baptist Church in N. Wilkesboro, NC. He will bring the messages here today. Our pastor is preaching for Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, AL, where Bro. Tommy Robbins is pastor.
Come, O Holy Spirit, Come -- Don Fortner (Tune: #393 -- Take My Life and Let It Be -- 77.77)
1. Come, O Holy Spirit, come, And conduct Your people home; Teacher, Comforter, and Guide, Evermore with us abide.
2. We are in a desert land, Foes appear on every hand; For Your promised aid we pray, -- Grace sufficient to our day.
3. Lead us through this vale of tears; Save us from the tempter's snares; Make our precious Savior known, And conduct us to His throne.
4. Conquer every inbred sin; Strengthen us with grace within; Every thought, and step direct.-- Prove that we are God's elect.
5. Carry on Your work of grace, Till we see our Father's face; Sprinkle us with Jesus' blood, And we'll praise You as our God. ____________________________________
Distinguishing Grace Genesis 6:8
What sad consequences there are to sin! That horrible, heart-hatred of God, which resides in the hearts of Adam's sons and daughters, works havoc in the earth and will bring us all down to hell in the end, unless God steps in and to save. The only hope there is for fallen, depraved, helpless sinners is the omnipotent intervention of God's irresistible grace.
Blessed be his name, God does intervene to save! He does not have to save. No mortal will ever seek salvation from him until first he is sought of him. But God has, in indescribable, infinite mercy, chosen to save a people for his own name's sake. And save them, he will.
Cain and Abel
Beginning with its opening chapters and throughout the pages of Inspiration, the Book of God is filled with pictures of our heavenly Father's free, sovereign, saving grace. Adam had two sons: Cain and Abel. God passed by Cain and chose Abel. Abel is the one to whom God revealed himself in Christ, evident by the fact that Abel brought God a blood sacrifice, which God provided, and thereby found acceptance with the holy Lord God. The only way sinful man can approach the holy Lord God is through the merits of Christ, the sin-atoning Substitute, who is both God and the substitutionary Sacrifice God has provided.
The only difference there is between the fallen sons of Adam is the difference God makes (1 Corinthians 4:7). The only thing that made Abel to differ from Cain was the fact that God chose Abel. God revealed himself to Abel. God called Abel.
Enoch
We see the distinction of grace in Enoch, too. "Enoch walked with God," when few men did. He pleased God. And he escaped death because God took him. How did he walk with God? He walked with God the only way any sinner can walk with God -- by faith in Christ. How did he please God? He pleased God the only way any sinner can please God -- by faith in Christ. Walk with God by faith in Christ, and you, too, shall escape death (John 11:26; Revelation 20:6).
Noah
"Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." The whole world was lost. The whole world was corrupt. The whole of Adam's race was degenerate and walked in wickedness, provoking the wrath of God. But God, in great pity, mercy, and compassion, showed Himself gracious to one man. "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." God spared Noah. God saved Noah. Through him, God preserved his family, preserved our race, and thus preserved His elect for all generations to come!
"Grace! Tis a charming sound! Harmonious to the ear. Heaven with the echo shall resound And all the earth shall hear!" _____________________________________
"I Will Remember My Covenant." Genesis 9:15
How wondrously our God displays Himself in grace. From among a race of rebels who deserve His wrath, He has chosen to save a people for the praise of the glory of His grace! He chose to save His own, loved by Him with an everlasting love in Christ. And from the very beginning, He has shown us the blessed good news of the gospel (grace to sinners through a Substitute) in type, picture, and prophecy.
The Ark
When God was about to destroy the whole human race (except for eight chosen souls), He provided an ark for the saving of His chosen. What a blessed picture of Christ our Savior and of our salvation in Him! It was an ark of God's providing. God called Noah and his family into the ark, an ark built specifically for him. God shut them in! Then God poured out the fury of His wrath upon all the earth. All the wrath of the Almighty fell upon the ark. Yet, not one drop of the water of God's terror fell upon Noah, his wife, his sons, or their wives. The ark absorbed it all.
That is what Christ, the Ark of our salvation, did for us. The holy Lord God prepared Him and sent Him specifically for the saving of His people (Matthew 1:21, Hebrews 10:10-14). He put us in Christ in electing grace before the world began (Ephesians 1:3-6). At Calvary the holy Lord God poured out all the fury of His wrath and justice upon all His chosen, to the full satisfaction of his justice, when he sacrificed his darling Son for us. But Christ bore all the hell of God's wrath alone. Not so much as an angry look falls upon us, His redeemed.
The Rainbow
When Noah came out of the ark, God put a rainbow in the clouds of the sky and promised never to destroy the earth by water again. God told Noah the bow would be a token of His covenant, and promised to remember His "everlasting covenant." As it was God's covenant with Noah that preserved the world from another flood, so it is God's everlasting covenant (the bow encircling his throne -- Revelation 4) that preserves the world for the salvation of his elect, because He is not willing that any chosen sinner for whom Christ died perish (2 Peter 3:9).
God's Promise
How we ought to rejoice in covenant love! Let us ever give thanks to our great God for His purpose of grace, His performance of grace, and His perseverance in grace toward His covenant people! Here is our comfort, encouragement, joy, and confidence in this world. God says, "I will remember my covenant." Noah's drunkenness would not make him forget his covenant. Ham's exposure of his father's sin would not alter God's purpose of grace toward that man who "found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Nimrod's mighty rebellion and man's proud attempt to build a fortress to protect himself from God's wrath at Babel changed nothing. So it is to this day, God remembers His covenant and saves His own for the glory of His own great name. _____________________________________
THE GRACE BULLETIN January 9, 2011
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
Older
Top
