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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

August 20, 2017

All true doctrine rests entirely upon the Word of God, upon the plain statements of Holy Scripture, not upon history, religious creeds, or tradition, and not upon human inferences, logic, or reason of any kind.

Daily Readings for the Week of August 20-27, 2017

Sunday Ezekiel 5-8 Thursday Ezekiel 17-19

Monday Ezekiel 9-12 Friday Ezekiel 20-21

Tuesday Ezekiel 13-15 Saturday Ezekiel 22-23

Wednesday Ezekiel 16 Sunday Ezekiel 24-26

Happy Birthday! Andrew Torson-27^th Casey Henson-27^th

We have an Advocate — Don Fortner

(Tune: #33 — Stand Up and Bless the Lord — SM)

1. In heaven’s holy court,

Where justice reigns and shines,

Truth makes a constant, strict report,

Of all our sins and crimes.

2. There Christ our Advocate,

Forever intercedes,

Takes up our cause, secures our state,

And His own merit pleads.

3. This is our joy and cheer: —

Before our Father’s eyes,

Jesus, our Advocate draws near,

And pleads His sacrifice!

4. Our guilt before us stood,

Like mountains to oppose;

But that blest ocean, Jesus’ blood,

All mountains overflows!

5. The law its sentence reads,

And we confess our sin;

His precious blood our Savior pleads;

And God declares us clean!

The Third Day — On the third day God raised the earth from chaos and caused it to bud with life (Genesis 1:9-13). On the third day Abraham offered Isaac on Mt. Moriah and the Lord Jesus revealed himself as the sinner’s Substitute, Jehovah-jireh, the Savior who is Jehovah and the Savior provided by Jehovah (Genesis 22:4). The Lord told Moses to make the people ready “against the third day,” because he would come to them the third day (Exodus 19:12-16). On the third day the flesh of the sacrifice was burned before the Lord (Leviticus 7:17). And our Lord Jesus Christ was raised on the third day. Throughout Scripture, the third day was the day of deliverance and victory, the day of resurrection and life.

“Take heed how ye hear.”

Luke 8:18

The Scriptures give us much instruction about this business of hearing the Gospel, and how we are to hear it, because much instruction is needed. James wrote, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Whenever we come into the house of God, it should be with an intense desire to hear the Word of God. Thomas Manton, said, “If we were as swift to hear as we are ready to speak there would be less wrath and more profit in our meetings.”

Usually, I find that when people do not profit from the ministry of the Word, it is because they practice exactly the opposite of what James commands. They are slow to hear, swift to speak, and swift to anger. There are many who seem to attend church for no other reason than to find some point of disagreement. They can hardly wait for the preacher to finish talking, so that they can begin and point out his errors. Such people are a continual source of strife and division. They do not worship; and they do everything they can to keep others from worshipping. Let us guard against this tendency of proud, self-willed flesh. May God make us swift to hear and slow to speak.

“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore, let thy words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)

In the 8^th chapter of Luke’s gospel narrative the Lord Jesus Christ gave us a word of instruction about hearing the gospel. He said, “Take heed how ye hear.” Knowing that a great multitude of people were gathered together to hear him out of every city, and knowing that most of them would be hearers only, and not doers of the Word, our Lord spoke to them by a parable. He used the similitude of a farmer who went out to sow his seed (Luke 8:4-15).

You know the parable. In the parable, the Savior plainly tells us that few there are, in any group of hearers, who receive any saving benefit from the preaching of the Gospel. Three things are evident in the parable of the sower.

1. The preaching of the gospel is sowing of the Seed of Life, the Word of God. — Christ the Living Word of God comes to men only by the written Word of God, by the instrumentality of gospel preaching.

2. Only those whose hearts are made good by the regenerating power and grace of God the Holy Ghost receive the Word to the saving of their souls.

3. Once we have received the good seed of the gospel into our hearts, we must take care that nothing chokes it out and destroys its influence.

Then, the Son of God gave this solemn warning to all who hear the gospel preached to them by his ambassadors. — “Take heed, therefore, how ye hear.”

If we would profit from the ordinance of God, if we would profit spiritually and eternally from the preaching of the gospel, we must take heed how we hear it.

“Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.”

Hebrews 10:25

Seize every opportunity God gives to hear the gospel. Take care that nothing chokes out the influence of the gospel in your life. But make certain that in hearing, you hear the gospel. I can’t tell you how often I hear from men and women around the world who write to me or call me, asking questions about the things of God, who tell me that the reason they have called me, or the reason they have written to me, is that their pastor does not preach the gospel. I still find that astonishing. If a preacher does not preach the gospel, don’t listen to that preacher. If the church you attend does not believe the gospel, find another church!

Don’t ever delude yourself into thinking that religion is good. Only gospel religion is good. All other religion is deadly and damning. It is not going to church that profits our souls. It is not the hearing of sermons that profits us. It is not religious chatter that benefits us. It is the preaching of the gospel, the declaration of our great God, his greatness, his goodness, his glory, and his wondrous works in the Lord Jesus Christ that profits our souls.

It is from this place, the house of God, the assembly of God’s saints, that God commands his blessing upon his people (Psalm 133:3). No wonder David sang as he did).

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.” (Psalm 122:1-9)

“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalms 84:10)

When David was banished from Jerusalem, the place of public worship, he envied even the sparrows who made their nests in the house of God. His heart longed not for the throne, the riches, or the power that had been taken from him, but for the assembly of God's saints in public worship. When the blessed privilege of public worship was taken from him for a short time, nothing was more important or precious to God's child (Psalm 84:1-4).

All who are born of God love the assembly of God's saints in public worship and love the ministry of the gospel. There are no exceptions.

The Grace Bulletin

August 20, 2017

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