February 23, 2014

Kept By The Power Of God

The Lord's sheep have consolation;
Given so great salvation.
O, what sweet comfort for our souls!
He's the Lord who makes us whole.
The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior,
Keeps us by His mighty pow'r.
Who can separate from His love,
Those elected, His beloved?

Commit the keeping of your soul
To the Lord who's in control.
He'll not lose any of His sheep.
He has promised them to keep.
Like the shepherds who kept their watch
In the night o'er their own flock,
The One who keeps us does not sleep;
Always watching o'er His sheep.

For His chosen He keeps mercy,
Forgiving iniquity.
He by no means clears the guilty.
He bore their sins on the tree;
Suffered all the wrath due their sin;
Justified by God in Him.
By the name of God Almighty
They are kept eternally.

By Gary Spreacker

Tune: ‘Come Thou Fount‘, #17
Gratitude for God's Grace

Many preachers and people claim to believe salvation all of God's Grace but they will tell you they don't "harp on it". How does someone "harp" on the doctrine of Grace? To a man who does not believe that salvation is by grace alone, preaching it one time would be "harping on it". To a man who knows that all that he is, has, or ever will be is by the grace of God, preaching it every service would not be too much! "0 to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be."

Scripture teaches salvation by grace through faith, not by works. Salvation by faith alone is the exact equivalent of salvation by grace. But nowhere does scripture teach salvation by a faith that does not work, in fact they denounce such faith as dead and utterly worthless (James 2:26). Salvation by grace presents the purest motive for godly living while all other religions tell men to do good in order that they might be saved. The bible teaches that saved sinners do good because they are saved. Every other religion says "Do and live". True Christianity alone says "live and do". The Christian is motivated in his actions by love to God and GRATITUDE to God and the ultimate aim of his life is not his own good, not even his own highest good, but the glory of God his Savior.

Salvation by grace is nothing else than salvation by God and God does all the saving. Even when believers work out their own salvation with fear and trembling as they most certainly must, they do so only because God first worked in them and continues working in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13). Thus God is entitled to all the credit and glory for man's salvation. This has a direct and important bearing on the life of him who is saved.

If God had done, let us say fifty percent of the saving and he himself had done the other fifty- percent, he might reasonably devote half of what he is and has done to God and half to himself. If God had done ninety percent of the saving and he himself had done ten percent then he should in fairness devote to God ninety per-cent of what he is and has and reserve the remaining ten percent for himself. But the fact is that God has done the entire work of saving him, and therefore it behooves him to say:

“Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life my all.”

- Pastor

Forever Secure

Jeremiah 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with
them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

We live in a world today that promotes security for every man and woman. Men desire to have job security, and to be financially secure. Most homes have security systems and most banks have security guards. The most exclusive neighborhoods have security gates. But is there really security in any of these things? Not in the type of security that I am talking about.

Are you spiritually secure? Do you have assurance that you are a child of God? Well, let me say this at the very beginning. You CANNOT look within yourselves and trust in something that you have done to find this eternal security. You must look to Christ and Christ alone. In Jeremiah 32:40 we are given a sure assurance of eternal security. God Almighty says, I WILL, not I MIGHT! God has made an everlasting covenant with His people.

The second word used in this verse is the word that shows our eternal security is the word, EVERLASTING. God'scovenant to do us good is everlasting and never changing. His covenant brings about certain promises mentioned in this verse of promise. I WILL NOT TURN AWAY FROM THEM! Christ said in Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

The next thing that comforts a believer's heart is that
Christ will never turn away from us TO DO US GOOD. (Rom.
8:28) God puts His fear in our hearts. That word "fear" simply
means a reverential respect, a love.