Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com

 

 

 

 

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

November 20, 2016

 

Either God made Christ sin for his elect, as the Book of God plainly asserts (2 Corinthians 5:21), or he just pretended to make him sin and punished his Son in a mockery of justice and truth. Either God makes every redeemed sinner the righteousness of God in Christ, as God the Holy Ghost declares, or he merely pretends that they are righteous and rewards them with heavenly glory in a mockery of justice and truth.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of November 20-27, 2016

Sunday                Romans 1-2                               Thursday Romans 12-15

      Monday                Romans 3-5                               Friday                   Romans 16-1 Cor. 3

      Tuesday              Romans 6-8                               Saturday              1 Corinthians 4-7

      Wednesday        Romans 9-11                                   Sunday                      1 Corinthians 8-10

 

Happy Birthday!   Cody Henson-25th

 

Nursery Duty this Week

Debbie Bartley (AM) — Stephanie Wilkerson (PM) — Tuesday: Celeste Peterson

 

Believer, See Your Conquering Lord Don Fortner

(Tune: #497 — When I Can Read My Title Clear —CM)

 

1.    Believer, see your conquÕring Lord,

With His triumphant train,

Clothed with a vesture, dipped in blood,

Outpoured when He was slain!

 

2.    Exalted on His Great White Throne,

His blood-stained garment shows —

He gave His life, for you atoned,

And conquered all your foes!

 

3.    His royal robe of crimson hue,

His head adorned with crowns,

He rules the universe for you,

And God no longer frowns!

 

4.    The blood that stained His garments thus,

And washed our sins away,

Obtained eternal life for us,

And heavenÕs endless day!

 

5.    His vesture marks the conquest won,

And victÕry yet to come.

The Christ of God, our King, we own,

And bow before His throne.

 

 

ÒChrist was taken up into heaven, not to enjoy blessed rest at a distance from us, but to govern the world for the salvation of all believers.Ó — John Calvin

 

 

 

ÒHe AscendedÓ

Ephesians 4:8

 

Our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into glory. When Paul says that Òhe ascended up on high,Ó he speaks both of the place to which he ascended in his human nature, the highest heaven, and particularly that state to which he was advanced, for then he was highly exalted in the eternal glory.

      Our blessed Redeemer, having risen from the dead, is gone into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. — What does this mean?

 

Victorious King

It means that Jesus Christ is a victorious King. God has crowned him with glory and honor above his fellows. Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. And he shall reign, with incontestable sovereignty, until all his enemies are put under his feet (Philippians 2:9-11).

 

Gates Open

The ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ is the opening of the gates of heaven for poor sinners. We are told, ÒHe gave gifts unto men.Ó Having received power over all flesh, our Lord now gives the gifts of heaven to the sons of men (John 17:2). He received gifts as the God-man Mediator. And he gives the gift of life to men.

      David mentions a sweet and blessed fact that Paul was not inspired to mention in our text. In Psalm 68 the Holy Ghost inspired David to tell us that our Lord Jesus Òreceived gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also.Ó Here is the greatness of his grace! Our glorious King persuades his enemies to lay down their arms and be at peace with him.

 

Justice Satisfied

The ascension of Christ is a declaration of JehovahÕs satisfaction with our Savior. The Triune God has accepted his righteousness for us. The Triune Jehovah has accepted his atonement for us. The Lord our God has accepted his Christ for us, and accepted us in him!

      The ascension of Christ means that he is beyond the reach of the enemy, and we are too. We are more than conquerors through him! The ascension and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is the guarantee of the salvation and glory of all who trust him.

 

All Well

The ascension of Christ to the throne of universal monarchy means all is well. He who rules the universe is God our Savior! He who laid down his life in our place at Calvary holds the reins of the universe in his hands. He performs all things for those for whom he died.

            The Lord Jesus says to you and me, in the midst of all our doubts and troubles, in the midst of all our times of darkness and unbelief, — ÒBehold my hands.Ó In his nail-pierced hands he holds the reins of absolute sovereignty, ruling heaven, earth, and hell for us. That means all is well!

 

 

ÒHe also Descended FirstÓ

Ephesians 4:9-10

 

Before the Lord Jesus Christ could ascend up into heaven, he first had to descend from heaven to accomplish the will of God, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to make an end of transgression, to obtain eternal redemption for his elect, to save his people from their sins. That is what the Spirit of God tells us in Ephesians 4:9-10.

 

DavidÕs Prophecy

David wrote about the fact that before the Messiah could ascend on high, he must first undergo deep humiliation, for his ascension is a proof of his humiliation and of his accomplishments as our God-man Mediator. Here is another of the many proofs of our LordÕs deity. He who is God the Son was the Son of Man long before he became a man, long before his humiliation (John 3:13).

      The Son of God, the Lord of Glory, descended into the lower parts of the earth in the incarnation. — ÒMy substance was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earthÓ (Psalm 139:15). He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, and was buried in the earth. Our Lord Jesus humbled himself first, then he was exalted. First he descended, then he ascended. The same must be true of us. — ÒHe that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.

 

All Things Fulfilled

The ascension of Christ as our Mediator, Substitute, Representative, and Savior is the fulfilling of all things. When our Lord Jesus, by the merit of his blood, entered into heaven and took possession of all things as our Forerunner, he filled all the types and shadows of the Old Testament, and all the prophecies of Holy Scripture.

      Our ascended Sovereign fills all his offices (Prophet, Priest, King) for us. He fills his church with his power. He fills his people with his presence. He fills the world with his goodness. He fills heaven with his glory, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And he fills us with his grace.

 

The Benefits

I want you to see that the ascension of Christ is indescribably beneficial to GodÕs elect. In verse 7 we are told that every believer receives the fulness of grace from the ascended Christ. Everything that our souls need is freely given to us by Òthe measure of the gift of Christ.Ó He gives us pardon, righteousness, and peace. He gives us joy and sanctification. He gives us his Spirit. He gives us himself. All this and indescribably more he gives to us freely by the measure of his own infinite capacity as our Savior. — ÒFor in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and powerÓ (Colossians 2:9-10). All grace, all salvation, all that God requires of man, all that God gives to man, all that Christ himself is, and all that he possesses as the God-man our Savior is ours in him!

 

 

 

 

The Grace Bulletin

 

November 20, 2016

 

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Telephone (859) 576-3400 — 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

 

Web Pages

http://www.DonFortner.com

http://www.FreegraceRadio.com

http://www.Grace-eBooks.com

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pastor FortnerÕs

 

Audio Sermons

Video Sermons

Books

Itinerary