JUNE 21, 2015

CALL TO WORSHIP
(Tune: “Majestic Sweetness” p. 52)

How rich the depths of love Divine,
Of bliss a boundless store;
Dear Saviour let me call Thee mine;
I could not wish for more – I could not wish for more.

On Thee alone my hope relies,
Beneath Thy cross I fall;
My Lord, my life, my sacrifice,
My Saviour and my all – My Saviour and my all.

How great Thy wisdom, power and grace,
That in redemption shine;
The heavenly hosts with joy confess,
The work is all Divine – The work is all Divine.

Before His face they cast their crowns,
Those crowns which Jesus gave;
And with ten thousand, thousand tongues,
Proclaim His power to save – Proclaim His power to save.

----------0----------

Today: Bible Classes – 10:00 a.m.; Morning Worship – 11:00 a.m.
Messages by Pastor Bill Parker

Television Broadcast: Reign of Grace Television
Sunday morning on WALB-TV @ 9 AM.

Live Streaming – 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. – Sermon Audio web site

Web Sites: Reign of Grace: www.rofgrace.com
Sermon Audio: www.Sermonaudio.com\reignofgrace

Birthdays: Mark Pannell - June 24th

“Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way” (1 Samuel 12:23).

Prayer is God's appointment, the Spirit's gift, the believer's privilege, and the scourge of Satan! Therefore, prize it and use it! God is well-pleased, and receives with pleasure, approbation, and delight all who approach His throne of grace, sensible of their needs, in the name of Christ crucified. Hence faith in Christ becomes the only way of access to God. All other avenues are stopped up! The sword of justice is brandished to keep every other way to the tree of life closed. In Christ, we may come with boldness to the throne of grace; there is no obstacle, no hindrance, in this way. The sword of justice is sheathed, the law magnified, the ransom price paid, the devil dethroned, sin expiated, wrath endured, God well-pleased, sinners redeemed, enemies reconciled that the Lord God might dwell among them! -- William Huntington

----------0----------

WALKING AFTER THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT?

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ

Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). To walk after the flesh is to seek righteousness, acceptance, salvation and eternal life by the will or works of the flesh. To walk after the Spirit is to be led by the Holy Spirit to believe Jesus Christ who brought in everlasting righteousness by His obedience unto death. The erroneous teaching of salvation by man’s will and works is reasonable to the flesh. The natural man readily embraces the belief that God rewards morality, kindness and sincerity with righteousness and eternal life. However, salvation by pure grace conditioned upon the substitutionary, sacrificial, justice-satisfying death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a truth which must be taught by the Spirit of Christ. Every person is either walking after the flesh or after the Spirit. Paul wrote of those who had “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” They were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish a righteousness of their own. Those people walked after the flesh. But all who walk after the Spirit have “submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” They have been taught by the Spirit that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (read Romans 10:1-4). —Pastor Jim Byrd

WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS ZEAL?

Many people have religious zeal, but religious zeal is useless without God’s grace and power in salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. Religious zeal is certainly no replacement for the things in which the true people of God ought to be zealous:

(1) Truth as it is revealed in God’s Word through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle wrote of unbelieving Israel, “they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitte themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:2-3). Jesus Christ is our way, our truth, and our life. We come to the Father in truth admitting our sinfulness and His grace and mercy to save us by the blood, the righteousness, of Christ – “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4).

(2) True God-given heart faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8). Salvation is a work of Jesus Christ FOR us (His obedience unto death as our Surety and Substitute), and a work of Jesus Christ IN us (the new birth by the Holy Spirit where He gives us a new heart).