February 15, 2015

Sunday Worship

Radio WXCC 96.5 fm (internet wxccfm.com) 8:30 A.M.

Radio 98.1 fm; SuddenLink TV (channel 9) 10:30 A.M.

Bible Study 10:30 A.M.

Morning Service 11:15 A.M.

Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M.

And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Daniel 4:34-35

“BORN OF GOD”

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13).

But who receives him thus? Not all, by any means! Is this believing on Christ left to chance? Is the success of his covenant and redemptive work left to the fallen will of the creature? Far from it! This verse explains to us why men receive and believe Christ – they are born of God, ‘not of blood.’ That is to say, salvation is not a matter of heredity nor parental bloodlines nor family associations. It is ‘not of the will of the flesh.’ The will of the natural man is against God. He has no will toward God until he is born of God (John 5:40; Rom. 3:10-11). It is ‘not of the will of man.’ The new birth is not brought about by the efforts of friends, nor the persuasive powers of the preacher and the soul winners, ‘but of God.’ The new birth is divine work! It is accomplished by the will of God, by the Holy Spirit's applying the word in living power to the heart (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Acts 13:48). Pastor Henry T. Mahan

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22).

How often we seem not to have any real religion, or enjoy any solid comfort! How often are our evidences obscured and beclouded, and our minds covered with deep darkness! How often does the Lord hide himself, so that we cannot behold him, nor get near to him; and how often the ground on which we thought we stood is cut from under our feet, and we have no firm standing!

What a painful path is this to walk in, but how profitable! When we are reduced to poverty and beggary, we learn to value Christ's glorious riches; the worse opinion we have of our own heart, and the more deceitful and desperately wicked that we find it, the more we put our trust in his faithfulness; and the more black we are in our own esteem, the more beautiful and comely does he appear in our eyes.

As we sink, Jesus rises; as we become feeble, he puts forth his strength; as we come into danger, he brings deliverance; as we get into temptation, he breaks the snare; and as we are shut up in darkness and obscurity, he causes the light of his countenance to shine. Now it is by being led in this way, and walking in these paths, that we come rightly to know who Jesus is, and to see and feel how suitable and precious such a Saviour is to our undone souls. We are needy, he has in himself all riches; we are hungry, he is the bread of life; we are thirsty, he says, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink;" we are naked, and he has clothing to bestow; we are fools, and he has wisdom to grant; we are lost, and he speaks, "Look unto me, and be ye saved." Thus, so far from our misery shutting us out from God's mercy, it is the only requisite for it; so far from our guilt excluding his pardon, it is the only thing needful for it; so far from our helplessness ruining our souls, it is the needful preparation for the manifestation of his power in our weakness; we cannot heal our own wounds and sores; that is the very reason why he should stretch forth his arm. It is because there is no salvation in ourselves, or in any other creature, that he says, "Look unto me, for I am God, and there is none else." J.C. Philpot - 1802-1869

WHAT PERSUASION ARE YOU?

Often people ask this question to find out about our religious background and heritage. As if to say that it doesn’t really matter what persuasion we are or what we believe, just as long as we are sincere and make some sort of confession. Those to whom the Lord has been pleased to reveal the gospel, are fully convinced and totally persuaded of what God in His grace has been pleased to teach them from the scripture. Believers are no longer tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, they are committed and addicted to the truth (Eph. 4:14). Have you been fully persuaded by God the Holy Spirit? It is not presumption to believe all the precious promises of God (2 Peter 1:3). It would be presumption to believe that God is going to save wretched sinners, if He did not tell us in His Word that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (Matt 9:13). Let me give two examples of believers who were fully persuaded.

Abraham did not presume to believe that God was going to give Him a son; no, he acted upon the promise of God that he would have a son. Read the record, "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform" (Rom. 4:19-21).

The apostle Paul was another believer who was fully persuaded. Read the record, "Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim 1:12).