Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

March 13, 2016

As Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptians of Egypt, withstood Moses by their enchantments, only to have their serpents swallowed up by Aaron’s rod, so the heretical enchantments of hell are always swallowed up by the Gospel of God.

Daily Readings for the Week of March 13-20, 2016

Sunday Joshua 21-22 Thursday Judges 8-9

Monday Joshua 23-Judges 1 Friday Judges 10-12

Tuesday Judges 2-4 Saturday Judges 13-15

Wednesday Judges 5-7 Sunday Judges 16-18

· I am scheduled to preach March 15-16 for the Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Wasilla, Alaska and March 18-20 for the Yuba-Sutter Grace Church in Marysville, CA, where Bro. Rick Warta is pastor.

· We will have a baby shower for Baby Eva Peterson this afternoon in conjunction with our Quarterly Fellowship. — No service here tonight.

Happy Birthday! Shante’ Birchum-17^th Eric Wall-17^th

Nursery Duty: Today: Gina Brice – Tuesday: Stephanie Wall

When Christ is Pleased to Smile — Don Fortner

(Tune: #405 — My Soul be on Thy Guard —SM

1. When Christ is pleased to smile

On souls oppressed and grieved,

When patience has endured the trial,

We find in Him relief.

2. The shining of His face,

Reveals His loving heart;

His smile revealed will darkness chase,

And joy and peace impart.

3. One look from our dear Lord,

Whose brow compassion wears,

Will much of heavenly bliss afford,

E’en in this vale of tears.

4. Our Savior’s smiles reflect

The glories known above. —

The highest bliss we there expect

Is feasting on His love!

5. O that our souls might live

Beneath His smiling face,

And daily from His fulness have

Renewed supplies of grace!

Rich Men Warned

James 5:1-6

The warning James here gives to rich men is a warning that needs to be and must be sounded repeatedly by every faithful gospel preacher. I would not be true to your soul if I did not give the warning and give it often.

Poor Rich Men

The rich men James speaks of are rich men, all of whom are lost, cursed of God, damned, and rushing to hell. But they were rich men in the church, scattered among the Jews, who professed to be followers of Christ. Without question, the words of warning given in these six verses of Inspiration may be applied to material wealth and read as a warning against the love of this world (1 John 2:15-17). But the language James was inspired to use in denouncing these specific rich men convinces me that he is not here condemning materially rich men. Some of God’s saints in this world are very wealthy and use their wealth for the glory of God. That has been true throughout the ages. Abraham, David, Solomon, and Joseph of Arimathea were all very wealthy men who used their wealth for the glory of God. They were both rich in grace and rich in material things, but poor in spirit.

Rich Poor Men

In this passage of Scripture James denounces and condemns self-righteousness. He denounces and, by inspiration of God the Holy Ghost, condemns every sinner who thinks he is righteous. James is talking about religious Pharisees, those who “trust in themselves that they are righteous and despise others” (Luke 18:9). The fact is, those who “trust in themselves that they are righteous” always “despise others.” They vainly imagine that they are rich in righteousness and goodness and have need of nothing, not knowing that they are poor, blind, naked, and damned (Revelation 3:17).

James here says to all who think they are righteous, “Your riches are corrupt,” putrefied! “Your garments are motheaten,” filthy rags! He says, “Your gold and silver is cankered,” rusted and corroded. Clearly this does not refer to material gold and silver. Those metals do not rust and corrode. James is talking about a self-righteous persons imaginary wealth of goodness, and declares that it will “eat your flesh as it were fire,” the unquenchable fire of hell, forever!

Weep and Howl

Well might the self-righteous man and self-righteous woman “weep and howl!” What shall their damnation be? They defraud the souls of all who are influenced by them. What multitudes there are in hell because they have been taught by their moms and dads and preachers and Sunday School teachers that salvation is something to be earned!

Self-righteous religionists, Pharisees, are always self-serving, oppressive, persecuting people, people who use religion to advantage themselves (Matthew 23:13-36), to the everlasting destruction of all whom they influence with their doctrine.

I would rather stand before God guilty of any crime than stand before him in the Day of Judgment guilty of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is man’s foolish, ignorant attempt to make himself righteous. It is the hypocritical claim of men and women that they are good, righteous, and holy. It is that great noise of religion and piety, by which people try to silence the inward torments of a guilty conscience. Self-righteousness is the religion of fools (Luke 7:41-50).

Hope for the Self-righteous

There is nothing in all the world so contemptible, so obnoxious, so hateful to our God as self-righteousness (Isaiah 65:2-5). Yet, there is nothing more natural to us! But I have said all that to say this: — There is hope, even for the proud, self-righteous fool. God knows how to make rich men poor, mighty men weak, and proud men humble. Stop trusting in yourself. Take your place in the dust with the publican before the Throne of Grace, and cry out to God for grace. — “God be merciful to me a sinner!” Cast away all your imaginary righteousness for the dung it is, and look away from yourself to Christ alone for righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

œ——————————————————

“Your King”

Isaiah 43:15

Pastor Eric Richards

My King rules over all! He’s the sovereign of the universe. But he’s my King in particular for conquering my heart. When I was lost in sin and willfully determined to go to hell, he stopped me, arrested me, and brought me to his feet. All that I wickedly wanted was to live my life, have my way, and live in sin’s pleasure, until my King said, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” (Job 38:11). Immediately, I was miserable. The pleasures of the world turned to ashes in my mouth. My soul began to thirst for something better. I said to my soul, “I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now” (Hosea 2:7). I was still trusting myself. I thought that I could fix the trouble of my soul by attending church. But my King made me to know my lewdness, exposing my nakedness. Then I thought, “Surely there’s no hope for me.” I cried for mercy but wondered, “Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail for evermore?” (Psalm 77:8). But my King had brought me to this place, preparing my heart for the most glorious revelation. He spoke (not audibly but inwardly), and I absolutely knew it was him, for as the preacher was reading his Word, he gently whispered, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Where the word of the King is, there is power. He spoke in power, flooding my heart by his sovereign grace, giving me peace and assurance in that sweet rest of faith, trusting his Word. And he continues to speak to me by his Spirit through his Word. Thank God, he’s my Redeemer, my Holy One, my King, and my dear, unchangeable Friend! Is he yours?