August 26, 2007

 

“Grace ceases to be grace unless it is totally and absolutely irrespective of anything and everything, whether good or bad, in the objects of it.”

                                                                                                            Augustus Toplady.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of August 26-September 2

            Sunday                      Ezekiel 22-23                                                           Thursday                   Ezekiel 33-34

            Monday                     Ezekiel 24-26                                                           Friday             Ezekiel 35-37

            Tuesday                    Ezekiel 27-29                                                           Saturday                    Ezekiel 38-39

            Wednesday  Ezekiel 30-32                                                           Sunday                      Ezekiel 40-41

 

·      I am preaching today with Bro. Lance Hellar to the Grace Bible Church in San Leandro, CA, where Bro. Jesse Gistand is pastor. Bros. Larry Criss and Ron Wood will bring the messages to you today.

·      We will have a work night here Thursday, beginning at 6:00 P.M.

·      Our conference begins Friday night at 7:00 PM. May God the Holy Spirit make his Word run swiftly in our midst for the glory of Christ. There will be no service here this Tuesday evening.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Casey Henson-27th Mark Henson-30th Norma Rankin-1st Robin Hellar-2nd

 

But for God’s Free and Sovereign Grace—Don Fortner

(Tune: Am I A Soldier of the Cross? #414 86.86)

 

1.    But for God’s free and sov’reign grace

That stopped me in my way,

      A rebel lost, in madness, I

Would be unto this day.

 

2.    I never would have sought the Lord

Had He not sought me out.

      I would have run headlong to hell.

Of that I have no doubt.

 

3.    In awe, amazed, I see God’s hand

Of grace that intervened

      And snatched me as a burning brand,

Though I blasphemed His name!

 

4.    A miracle of grace I am!

Grace gave me life and faith

      In Christ, the Lord, my Savior, and —

Grace keeps me ever safe!

 

5.    Now, for the glory of His grace,

(Be this my life’s employ!),

To live for my Redeemer’s praise

And serve His cause with joy.

 

25

The Preeminence of Christ Our Great Consolation

 

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

 

In Colossians 1:15-20 we are given a picture of our Savior, drawn by the pen of the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What a glorious picture it is! Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Friend, our great King holding all things in his almighty hand. He who loved us and gave himself for us has got the whole world, the whole universe in his hand! He who died upon the cross knows the most distant star by name. He not only knows it, he fuels its light by his constant command. Still better, he who holds the universe in his hands guides it and controls it with such absolute, sovereign power that he makes it serve the interests of his people (Romans 8:28). Nothing can more effectually comfort and challenge the believer’s heart than the knowledge of Christ’s preeminence. The fact of Christ’s preeminence assures us of four things.

 

            1. The Lord Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Savior. As in our day, there were many in Paul’s day, especially at Colosse, who taught that Christ is not enough. They taught that Christ alone was insufficient, inadequate, and incapable by his own merit and grace to save sinners. To dispel this heresy, Paul simply declares that Christ is preeminently all-sufficient as our Savior (Colossians 1:9-13).

 

            2. Our blessed Redeemer is an all-sufficient Savior; and he is a sovereign Savior. He who died at Calvary rules all things absolutely. Nothing can ever separate him from the people he loves. No harm shall ever befall those who are loved of him who rules all things. No evil shall happen to the just (Proverbs 12:21). We shall never perish! To the fearful, trembling, anxious, fretful believer, Colossians 1 says, “Let not your heart be troubled. Christ is preeminent.”

 

            3. Our all-glorious, ever-gracious Christ is a rich and bountiful Savior. He has all things; and he freely gives all things to all his people. Yet, his riches are never diminished. To you who worry about your daily needs, to you who fret about the lean years that may lie ahead, to you who fear you will have no pension in your old age, the Holy Spirit says, “Be content with such things as you have. Christ is preeminent.”

 

            4. This great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a Savior worthy of our hearts’ trust and devotion. You can safely trust this great God, our Savior, in all things and give him the devotion of your heart. He is preeminent in all things and over all things. He who owns the universe does not need me. If he accepts me into his kingdom, if he receives any love, honor, service, gift, or praise from me, it can only be because of his love and goodness to me. He to whom God the Father has given preeminence should have the place of preeminence in our hearts.

 

26

The Preeminence of Christ

The Father’s Love for and Honor of His Son as Our Mediator

 

“He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Col. 1:18)

 

It is the purpose of the triune God “that in all things Christ might have the preeminence.” God has determined to give Christ the glory of and preeminence in all things as the reward of his obedience to the Father’s will as our Mediator and Substitute. Christ’s preeminence is set before us in Holy Scripture as the display of the Father’s love for and honor of his Son (John 3:35-36; 5:20-24).

            The Lord Jesus Christ is everything to his Father. The Father loves the Son, delights in the Son, honors the Son, exalts the Son and magnifies the Son. Therefore he has determined that in all things his Son shall have the preeminence. Christ is to his Father what Benjamin was to Jacob, the Son of his love. The Father’s love for the Son is evident for all to behold in the honor he has put upon him in giving him the preeminence in all things and over all things.

In his essential Deity as the second Person of the holy Trinity the Father gives nothing to the Son, because the Son is in every way one with and equal to the Father. But in his mediatorial character and office, as the Surety and Representative of his people, the Father has made the Son preeminent and has given him the preeminence in all things.

Christ our Mediator is preeminent in the affection of the Father’s heart (Prov. 8:30-31). Nothing is so dear to the Father’s heart as his only-begotten, well-beloved Son. The Father values, prizes, and cherishes the Son. He prefers his Son to all and chooses his Son above all. The Father loves his Son. If we could pry into the very heart of God, we would see nothing but his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is preeminence! The Father says of Christ, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17). God the Father is pleased with and delights in his Son. He delights in the righteousness of his Son, the sacrifice of his Son, the intercession of his Son, and his people in his Son, and for the sake of his Son.

As Christ is the preeminent object of the Father’s love, so, too, he is the preeminent object of the Father’s trust. God the Father has entrusted everything to the Son. He has put everything into the hands of his Son. The Father trusted the Son with his people (Ephesians 1:12), with all his creation (Psalms 2:7-8; John 17:2), and with his very glory (1 Corinthians 15:28).

God the Father has made Christ preeminent over all things by giving him the place of highest honor, majesty, and dominion. The Father has placed everything and everyone under the rule of his dear Son, as the reward of his obedience and death as our Substitute (Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3-9; 10:11-14).

And God the Father will give his darling Son everything he asks of him. He shall see of the travail of his soul with satisfaction. That is to say, all for whom he died, all whose salvation he seeks, all his people shall be saved. That is the joy set before him from eternity, for which he endured the cross, despising the shame.

            This matter of Christ’s preeminence is much, much more than words of adulation, pretty phrases, and religious sentiment. The crown he wears is not a figure-head’s crown, but the crown of an absolute Monarch. Indeed, our Savior is the only absolute Monarch who ever existed. And he is a worthy Monarch. God himself has given his dear Son the preeminence by devoting himself, his heart, his creation, yes, his very Being to the glory and honor of his Son. May he give us grace to do the same!

 

27

Grace Bulletin

 

August 26, 2007

 

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

 

Tuesday

7:30 P.M. Mid-Week Worship Service

 

 

Television Broadcasts in Danville

 

Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.

Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.

Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.

 

Web Pages

http://www.donfortner.com

http://www.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm

http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com