1. Praise the blessed Name of Jesus, Prophet, Priest and reigning King; Bow before the mighty Sovereign, Unto Him our praises bring. Hallelujah, He’s our Savior, Let our thanks to Him ascend; Trust Him only for salvation, Jesus Christ the sinner’s Friend.
2. Praise the blessed Name of Jesus, Who upon Mount Calvary; Shed His blood to save His people, Died to set the captives free. Let the ransomed sing His praises, Till we see Him face to face; Then throughout the endless ages, Praise Him for His love and grace.
Today’s Speaker: Brother Jim Casey will conduct the 11:00 am service today. Pray for him as he delivers God’s word.
Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast every Sunday morning on WALB-TV @ 9 AM.
Radio Broadcast: Sunday morning at 10:30 am on Mix 107.7 FM
Birthdays: Susan Wages – June 17th; Jennifer Vanzandt – June 20th
ONE GOD, ONE MEDIATOR, ONE MAN
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
Paul’s words to Timothy go out to all the world as an essential part of the Gospel. They are a declaration made to the “politically correct” and “all-inclusive” generation of which we are apart. It comes to modern man who demands open-mindedness, tolerance, religious diversity and all the other such notions that characterize the hour in which we live. They come without apology to men and women who are generally “Polly parrots” parroting all the ideas, phrases and philosophies of their contemporaries. They come without compromise, with demands and well as declaration and with a just spirit of intolerance from God who will allow no rival. They come from God who announces, “I am God and there is none beside me.” There is ONE GOD! Singular! Likewise it must follow, that being one God, He must be described the say way and that description must be furnished by He Himself! This is the purpose of His giving His Word, it is to declare and reveal Him. If this be the case, then why are there so many different descriptions which necessarily require that there be many different gods! Here is the answer: Men are not getting their descriptions of God from Him! They may take the Bible and pick and choose a verse here and a verse there in order to set before men a god of their own design. He turns out to be a god of all love and no justice, a god of all grace and no judgment and a god of all mercy and no wrath. But the living God declares Himself to be “ a just God and a Savior.” Not a just God and not a Savior and neither a Savior and not just. He must be and act consistently with all His attributes and in doing so He must be the ONE God that He is! He will not become a God to each one differently in order to please them or be what they want. He is one God and He is the “one with whom we have to do!” As one God, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the same in every age and must be worshipped as the unchanging One. Being this “one God,” Paul ads, “and there is ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” One way to God, one way to please God, one way to know God, one way to come before God, one Advocate, Mediator, Savior, Representative, and one salvation! “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” All this being true, I want to make sure I know this ONE God! If He has seen need to declare this fact, there must be many counterfeits, many impostors. I want to “know HIM” whom to know is life eternal. I count all but loss that I may know Him. I want to know the one true and living God who says of Himself, “I the Lord am a jealous God.” Jealous with a holy jealousy which can tolerate no other as the object of His creature’s worship and as the Author of His creature’s salvation!
--- Gary Shepard
HIDDEN AND REVEALED
"At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." Mt 11:25
God hides then the workings of spiritual fear from those who are "wise and prudent." He does not condescend to manifest himself to them; he does not show them light in his light; he does not reveal himself to their consciences; he does not come with power into their hearts; he does not take the veil of unbelief and blindness from their carnal minds, and show them himself; he takes them not where he took Moses, into the cleft of the rock, "where his glory passed by;" he deals not with them as he dealt with Isaiah, when he manifested to him the glory of the Lord in the temple; he discovers himself not to them as he did to Job, when "he abhorred himself in dust and ashes." All their knowledge of God, therefore, is an external, intellectual knowledge, a mere exercise of the faculties of the mind, without any spiritual teaching, or any special revelation of the presence, power, glory, and majesty of God to their consciences. But the babe, the living babe in Zion has "the fear of the Lord," in his soul, "as the beginning of wisdom." And therefore, having this fountain of life within, he has it springing up in spiritual exercises. As the Apostle speaks, he "serves God acceptably with reverence and godly fear;" he dare not rush with presumption into his holy presence. When he comes into his sanctuary a solemn dread from time to time falls upon his spirit. He has the feelings of Isaiah when he cried—"I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts;" the feelings of Jacob when he was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place!" the feelings of Moses, when he stood by the burning bush, and put his shoes from off his feet, for the spot whereon he stood was holy ground; the feelings of the high priest in the temple, on that mysterious day of atonement, when he entered alone, "not without blood," into the sanctuary, the holy of holies, and beheld the Shechinah, the Divine presence as a cloud resting on the mercy-seat. The babe, then, has these exercises of godly fear, which carnal, unhumbled, worldly-wise professors know nothing of. And though the babe, at times, seems to have no religion which he can really call spiritual or which satisfies himself, yet he has that tenderness, awe, and reverence which the carnal professor, however high in doctrine, however soaring in vain confidence, is utterly unacquainted with.
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