Grace Baptist Church of Danville

February 17, 2008

 

Self-righteousness is the root of all sin and the ruin of all that men call Christianity.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of February 17-24

            Sunday                      Numbers 17-19                                Thursday                   Numbers 30-32

            Monday                     Numbers 20-22                                Friday             Numbers 33-35

            Tuesday                    Numbers 23-26                                Saturday                    Numbers 36-Deut. 1

            Wednesday  Numbers 27-29                                Sunday                      Deuteronomy 2-4

 

·      I am preaching today for Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, AL, where Bro. Tommy Robins is pastor. You are privileged to have Pastor Henry Mahan here to preach the gospel to you.

·      Bro. Larry Criss is scheduled to preach tonight for Gospel of Grace Church in Ross, OH, where Bro. Scott Price is pastor.

·      Our Quarterly Fellowship Dinner is scheduled for March 9th.

·      Missions Offering Today

 

Before the Skies He Spread AbroadDon Fortner

(Tune: #118 — When I Survey LM)

 

1.    Before the skies He spread abroad,

From everlasting was the Word;

With God He was, the Word was God,

One with the Father, sov’riegn Lord!

 

2.    Ere sin was born or Satan fell,

He was the Lamb for sinners slain,

According to His Father’s will,

That sinners might be born again.

 

3.    Chosen in Christ eternally,

One with our blessed cov’nant Head,

Accepted in our Surety,

We were and are His numbered seed!

 

“Grace for Grace” — John 1:16

In Christ we have received, from his boundless fulness, grace because of grace. — We have received redeeming grace because of electing grace, — regenerating grace because of redeeming grace, — sanctifying grace because of regenerating grace, — believing grace because of sanctifying grace, — persevering grace because of preserving grace, — grace in time because of grace in eternity, — experimental grace because of covenant grace, — pardoning grace because of promised grace, — imparted grace because of imputed grace, — everlasting grace because of everlasting grace, — the fulness of grace because of the freeness of grace, — heaps of grace upon heaps of grace (1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 3:13-14; Eph. 1:3-2-10).

 

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My Experience of Grace

Eld. Milford Hall, Sr. (1891-1971)

 

Father taught me to be honest, truthful, and sober. But, alas! I soon forgot much of his teaching after marrying and leaving his roof, and especially after the death of my wife. Very few months after her death had elapsed before I fell in with some wild boys and men, and I went to excess in drinking and carousing. I had wild blood in my veins. I thought I had found a way to drown all my troubles. I sinned against all the laws of God and man. I soon became the worst outlaw of my riotous company.

 

            I saw that something was radically wrong, but I could not tell what was the matter with me, or what to do about it. Here I stood, hopeless and helpless, on the brink of eternity!

 

A Vain Hope

 

I felt forced to believe and plead that a soul could in some way or another be saved by “good works.” I had a hope — though a faint one — that I could somehow atone for my sins by keeping the law, thus “meriting” the grace of God. I was trying to work my passage to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments. After many sad failures to act perfectly to God’s holy law, it began to dawn on me that I must look elsewhere.

 

            I saw that to be saved by the works of the law, we must be as holy as the angels, and be as pure and immaculate as Jesus. The law requires perfection. I had tried every plan upon earth that my poor mind could conceive, and had experimentally found out by many trials that my strength was just as deficient and rotten as my righteousness was filthy and imperfect. I had been about this solemn business now about six years with no success.

 

Righteousness Destroyed

 

I saw very clearly and felt keenly that everything depended solely upon His manifesting or concealing His power; but nothing depended upon me. I was now thoroughly converted from my righteous self. I could no longer wear or admire my garment of self-righteousness. I had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the poor returning prodigal need not look for mercy upon the grounds of his “good works.”

 

The Savior Revealed

 

Yea, moreover, I saw that God had in the person of His Son finished the redemptive work on the cross, and that there was nothing left for me to do as the ground of my acceptance with God.

 

            Suddenly, and very unexpectedly, one day while despairing of any hope forever, a great peace came over me; now all my sins and guilt were gone. I knew not where. Now I was free and happy because of this undeserved and unexpected clemency. I felt like a bird let out of a cage. I was born again!

 

20

            Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ, I could never lay hands on the old burden of sin again. Now I was shining in the borrowed righteousness of my Substitute and Sponsor. Now I was very, very happy and completely clad in His robe of perfect righteousness. I was born again into the spiritual world. I had on the best robe. Now I saw that God’s mercy in Christ has no motive but His own will. Now I saw that if God showed mercy for any “forseen works” mercy would then be turned into justice and would lose both its name and its nature. I saw very clearly that self-righteousness is the secret bane of Christianity and the root of all our sins.

 

 

 

Discovering Christ in Galatians

Don Fortner

 

            GO Publications (Eggleston, England) has just released our pastor’s latest commentary — Discovering Christ in Galatians (hardback, 342 pages, fully indexed). As with all our pastors books, we offer this volume at our cost from the publisher: — $25.00 plus postage $4.00. Please make checks payable to and send your order to…

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

2734 Old Stanford RD

Danville, KY 40422

 

 

 

Itinerary in the United Kingdom

 

            I plan to return to Ireland and England for meetings from March 25-April 3. Here is the itinerary for the meetings there.

 

March 25-26 8:00 PM — Ballymoney Town Hall. — Contact: Russell Smyth, 16 Beechcroft, Ballymoney, Co Antrim, BT53 6NF — Telephone: 028 276 69105 — Email: minkie7@tiscali.co.uk

 

March 28-30Egglesburn Baptist Church, Eggleston. — Contact: Pastor Peter Meney, The Cairn, Hill Top, Eggleston, Co. Durham, DL12 0AU — Telephone: 01833 650797 — Email: peter@go-newfocus.co.uk

Meeting Times: Friday — 7:30 PM — Saturday — 2:00 PM & 6:00 PM

                                    Sunday — 10:30 AM

 

April 1-2 8:00 PM — Sidholme Hotel Elysian Fields, Sidmouth, (near Honiton), Devon. — Contact: Ian Potts, Birchwood Hale Lane, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1HN — Telephone: 01404 548703 — Email: ian@ipotts.freeserve.co.uk

 

April 3 7:30 PM — Westminster Baptist Church, Horseferry Road, Victoria, SW1 2EE — Contact: John Graham, 12 Falcon House, Morden Road, SW19 3BJ

 

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Grace Bulletin

 

February 17, 2008

 

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.freegraceradio.com

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

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com