Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com
|
Grace Baptist Church of Danville December 18, 2016
He who is the Christ fully accomplished all that he came here to accomplish. When he had finished all that he came here to do, Òwith his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemptionÓ for GodÕs elect.
Daily Readings for the Week of December 18-25, 2016 Sunday Hebrews 11-12 Thursday 2 Peter 1-3 Monday Hebrews 13-James 2 Friday 1 John 1-5 Tuesday James 3-1 Peter 1 Saturday 2 John-Jude Wednesday 1 Peter 2-5 Sunday Revelation 1-3
á We will have just one service here next Sunday. We will meet for our morning worship service at 10:30. We will have our regular mid-week worship service Tuesday night. — MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Happy Birthday! Celeste Peterson-19th Evelyn Wang-21st Martie Hellar-25th Nursery Duty This Week ShanteÕ Birchum (AM) — Ruth Wall (PM) Tuesday: Elizabeth Peterson
Come, Let Us Go to Bethlehem – Don Fortner (Tune: #95 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks — CM) 1. Come, let us go to Bethlehem; Let Wise men come, and see, Our God incarnate, great I AM, — O wondrous mystery!
2. Like sinnersÕ hearts, the crowded inn Provided Him no place, A stableÕs manger – bed for Him, Who comes to bring us grace!
3. Come, now, redeemed ones of the Lord, Your songs and praises bring; LetÕs celebrate, with one accord, The birth of Christ our King!
4. If angels, innocent, here sang His praise with all their powers, Much more, let ransomed sinners sing, — Redemption full is ours!
ÒThe Word was Made FleshÓ Pastor Henry Mahan My friends, if you will carefully consider it, this is the most extraordinary fact ever declared in human language. God became a man and Òtook upon him the likeness of sinful flesh.Ó The Ancient of Days became an infant of days. The Son of the Most-High God became a man of sorrows. He made the world; but as a man, Òhe had no place to lay his head.Ó He who made the rivers asked a woman to give him a drink of water. He who cast out devils was tempted of the devil, and the author of life died and lay in a tomb.
ÒJesus is the ChristÓ
ÒMine ears hast thou opened.Ó (Psalm 40:6)
With these words, David shows us that the Messiah, the Christ, must be a man who is JehovahÕs voluntary servant (Exodus 21:1-6). The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world and performed his work as the voluntary Servant of his Father (Isaiah 42:1-4; 50:5-7; Hebrews 10:5-7; John 10:16-18; Luke 12:50).
JehovahÕs Equal He who is JehovahÕs voluntary servant is JehovahÕs equal. All angels, men, creatures, devils, and events must serve God, because he is the Creator of all things. All rational beings are morally obligated to serve God, because we live upon his bounty. But Christ came to serve the Father voluntarily. He owed nothing and had nothing to gain, for he is himself Jehovah. That Man who is the Christ is himself God. He is Òover all, God blessed foreverÓ (Psalm 45:6-7; Romans 10:5).
Specific Mission JehovahÕs Servant came into the world with a specific mission to accomplish (Matthew 1:21). Throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, Messiah was promised, looked for, and trusted as that One who would come to restore his fallen people to the everlasting favor of God by putting away their sins (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18).
No Failure Either Jesus of Nazareth has effectually redeemed and saved all GodÕs elect, or he is not the Christ. The Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion is a false Christ. We know he is, because MessiahÕs eternal glory and exaltation is dependent and conditioned upon the success of his redemptive, saving work (Psalm 2:7-8; 65:4; 110:3). The Prophet Isaiah declared, ÒHe shall not failÓ (Isaiah 42:4). And our blessed Savior said the same of himself (John 6:37-40 10:16-18). And God the Holy Spirit assures us that he did not fail (Hebrews 10:10-14). When Isaiah wrote his prophecy, he was looking into the future and said, ÒHe shall not fail!Ó Now we look back to the past and say, ÒHe has not failed!Ó (John 17:2; 19:30). He has not failed to fulfil all the Old Testament Scriptures. He has not failed to bring in perfect, everlasting righteousness. He has not failed to redeem his people!
Particular Redemption Any redemption other than particular, effectual redemption presents Christ as a failure to be pitied. To say that Christ suffered to redeem and save some who are finally lost in hell is to declare that, as both Noel Smith and Jerry Falwell put it, ÒHell is a colossal trophy and monument to the failures of the Triune God to save the multitudes who are there.Ó But that cannot be. Our Lord Jesus Christ has not failed to bear our sins, and bear them away! The Christ of God has not failed to satisfy the infinite wrath and justice of God for our sins! Our mighty Savior has not failed to crush the SerpentÕs head!
A Tribute to a Faithful Man Missionary Cody Groover 1959-2016
When I first met Bro. Cody Groover he was just a teenager. I remember well when the Lord was pleased to save him, and when the Lord called him to the work to which he devoted his life, leaving a good job, selling his goods, and moving his wife and young children to Merida, Mexico. When I got word this morning (November 17, 2016) that the Lord had suddenly called him home, I was shocked, and immediately thought, Òa great man is fallen this day in IsraelÓ (2 Samuel 3:38); and he will be missed. And I thought of my friend as Paul did of his friend, Tychicus. — Bro. Cody Groover was truly Òa beloved brother, and a faithful minister, and fellowservant in the LordÓ (Colossians 4:7).
Beloved Brother Cody is, to me and to many around the world, Òa beloved brother.Ó It has been more than forty years since the Lord made Cody, his parents, and his brother and sisters a part of my life. What a blessed part of my life they have been! Laboring together, laughing together, and weeping together, we rejoiced in one anotherÕs joys and bore one anotherÕs burdens. I was often in his home and with his family, and he was often in my home and with my family. In all those years, a cross word never passed between us, or even sense of discomfort or regret.
Faithful Minister Bro. Groover was Òa faithful ministerÓ to GodÕs elect, and Òa faithful minister of the Lord.Ó He was ChristÕs servant, and servant to his people. He was used of God to minister to pastors and churches in Mexico, primarily in the Yucatan and in Chiapas. Raised in Merida, the son of Missionary Walter Groover and his wife, Betty, Cody and his family returned to serve with his parents 22 years ago. Since then, the Lord has used him to raise up new gospel churches. He also took on the responsibilities of overseeing The PreachersÕ School in Merida. On my annual visits with the Groovers and the churches in the Yucatan, I always spent a day at The PreachersÕ School. Every visit with men in the school, some I have known for forty years and others just beginning to preach, gave me great joy. The preachers have been well taught, have a clear understanding of Holy Scripture, and demonstrate great love and esteem for Bros. Walter and Cody Groover, expressing great gratitude to our God for sending them to Mexico to bring the gospel of GodÕs free and sovereign grace in Christ to them.
Fellowservant in the Lord Bro. Cody Groover was truly a Òfellowservant in the Lord.Ó He was both greatly humbled by and great rejoiced in the work the Lord God trusted to his hands. In all the years I knew him, since his first conversion, Cody Groover was a man of exemplary faithfulness and commitment. His doctrine has not altered in all those years so much as a hairÕs breadth, but has only become stronger and clearer; and his commitment to the cause of Christ and his joy in the work the Lord trusted to his hands only increased year by year. He was truly Òa beloved brother, and a faithful minister, and a fellowservant in the Lord.Ó As I said, he will be greatly missed.
The Grace Bulletin
December 18, 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
|