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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

January 28, 2018

All Services Live Streamed At www.youtube.com/channel/UCH7gGTVCyD0R6vtEsw9sTCQ

 

In the world and in the church, those who are most critical are always those who are most useless. Those who are quick to tear down, rarely do anything to build.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of January 28-February 4, 2018

Sunday                Exodus 30-32                                               Thursday      Leviticus 1-4

      Monday                Exodus 33-34                                               Friday       Leviticus 5-7

      Tuesday              Exodus 35-37                                               Saturday              Leviticus 8-11

      Wednesday        Exodus 38-40                                               Sunday                Leviticus 12-13

 

á      It is an honor to have Bro. Marvin Stalnaker, pastor of Katy Baptist Church in Fairmont, WV, with us today. Our pastor is preaching today for Rescue Baptist Church, Rescue, CA, where Bro. Gene Harmon is pastor.

á      Bro. Todd Nibert, pastor of Todds Road Grace Church in Lexington, KY will preach here Tuesday night.

 

Happy Birthday! Teresa Coleman-29th   Merle Hart-1st    Mitch Wilkerson-3rd

Happy Anniversary: Sammy & Ruth Wall-3rd

Church Cleaning in February: Don & Shelby Fortner

Nursery Duty This Week

Nicole Abell (AM) — Stephanie Wilkerson (PM) Tuesday: Ruth Wall

 

Our Warfare Don Fortner

(Tune: #52 — Majestic Sweetness  —CM)

1.    A rise, my soul, against your foes

(The victory is won!) —

Christ Jesus, our great Captain, shows,

The warfare is His own.

2.    Jehovah-jireh all provides,

For those He calls to fight;

His army in His grace confides,

And conquers in His might.

3.    My soul shall never go to war,

At my own charge and cost,

IÕll from my CaptainÕs fulness draw,

And then I canÕt be lost.

4.    Though hellish fiends and foes assail,

And in-bred traitors move;

In Christ I shall, at last, prevail,

And more than conqueror prove.

 

GodÕs saints in this world are persistently troubled with inward sin and lusts obscene. We are constantly in a struggle, a conflict between what God has imparted to us by grace and what Adam has left in us by nature. If worldlings hear us speak of it, though they be ever so religious, it sounds strange in their carnal ears. The believerÕs life is a riddle none can comprehend, except one who experiences it.

 

 

ÒThat Which I Do, I Allow Not.Ó

Romans 7:15

 

We may not have any great struggle with outward crimes of wickedness, but do not imagine that the sins of the flesh are only outward acts of indecency. Most people act and talk about sin as though it is measured by deeds of drunkenness, adultery, murder, and profanity. PaulÕs struggle was a matter of immeasurable inward evil. — ÒThat which I do, I allow not!Ó And PaulÕs struggle is a struggle with which every heaven-born soul readily identifies. It is a struggle we all experience. We do evil without thought, without consent, and even without knowing what we are doing!

 

Allow Not

That which we do, we allow not. Those very things which we most loathe and despise in the actions of others, we are constantly guilty of doing. And the believer loathes and despises these things in himself more than in anyone else.

      So far as I know, none of us are guilty of idol worship; but we have plenty of idolatry. None of us are guilty of drunkenness; but we are intoxicated with materialism. It may be that none of us are guilty of outward adultery; but we are so full of lusts that we cannot describe them. None of us are thieves; but we are all thieves, full of covetousness. None of us are notorious liars; but we are all full of deceit, pretense, and hypocrisy. None of us are profane swearers; but we are all impatient and prone to fits of temper. None of us are legally guilty of murder; but we are all easily stirred to anger, malice, wrath, and revenge.

 

Blessed Warfare

I know these things are in you and in me. I know it both by bitter experience and by the Word of God. This is the complex nature of every regenerate soul. If there is a warfare in your soul, if you hate the sin that is in you, that warfare is a blessed warfare! Many men hate the results of sin, the penalty of sin, and the legal guilt of sin. But only one who has seen and knows the living God hates sin itself, because it is sin.

      The ungodly know nothing of this warfare. Where there is warfare in the heart because of sin, God is present, grace is present, Christ is present.

      This struggle between the flesh and the spirit is a real and a bitter struggle. It is a lifelong warfare. But it is a blessed warfare. It is an evidence of grace. It makes the believer kind, sympathetic, and patient with his brethren. — Wounded soldiers are not blamed, but helped.

 

Our Captivity

As long as we are in this world, the flesh brings us into captivity. It is true, in Christ we are free. Thank God for that! We are free from the penalty of sin, and free from the dominion of sin, free from the law, and free from condemnation. ÒBut I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my membersÓ (Romans 7:23). There is a very real sense in which sin holds every believer in captivity.

 

 

ÒBringing Me into CaptivityÓ

Romans 7:23

 

What does Paul mean when he speaks of sin Òbringing me into captivity?Ó Many of you know, by painful and long experience, exactly what he means.

      We would love God with all our hearts, but sin brings us into captivity and we love him so very little. We would Òpray without ceasing,Ó but sin brings us into captivity and we find it often impossible to utter a word of true prayer. We would hear God speak to us by his Word, but sin brings us into captivity and the Word of God is so often to us only a dead letter. We would be content, but sin brings us into captivity and we grumble at GodÕs providence. We would be weaned from this world, but sin brings us into captivity and we find ourselves loving the world. We would be bold in holding up the banner of Christ before his enemies, but sin brings us into captivity and makes us timid cowards. We would be a blessing to all under our influence, but sin brings us into captivity and we are a terrible hindrance to them! We would be holy and live entirely without sin, but sin brings us into captivity and defiles even our desires after holiness.

 

Look to Christ

But there is, even in this warfare, that which God makes good for our souls (Romans 8:28). Our constant warfare with the flesh causes us to look to Christ alone for all things (Romans 7:14, 24, 25)!

      It is by GodÕs grace that we are like we are in this warfare. He could at this moment make us entirely free from sin. But he has left us in this condition, so that we might always look to Christ alone for everything. The best, most proper, safest, and most fitting place for us is the place of penitent sinners at the foot of the cross, looking to Christ alone.

      Oh, my God, let me never take the PhariseeÕs place. Give me the place and the heart of the Publican (1 Corinthians 1:30-31; 1 John 2:1-2).

 

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked come to Thee for dress,

Helpless look to Thee for grace!

 

      These are the things I want us to learn. May God the Holy Spirit engrave them upon each of our hearts. Every believer is a person with two opposing natures. The flesh and the spirit are constantly at war. As long as we are in this world, the flesh brings us into captivity. Our constant warfare causes us to look to Christ for all things.

 

Free Soon

But, blessed be his name forever, Christ Jesus shall make us free soon (Romans 7:24-25; 1 John 3:1-2). — Free from the presence of sin! — Free from the consequences of sin! — Free from the being of sin!

 

Grace Baptist

Church of Danville

 

2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Telephone (859) 576-3400 — Email Don@DonFortner.com

 

Web Pages

http://www.donfortner.com

http://www.freegraceradio.com

http://www.grace-ebooks.com

 

 

Schedule of Regular Services

 

                        Sunday                      10:00 A.M.     Bible Classes

                                                            10:30 A.M.     Morning Worship Services

                                                              6:30 P.M.                 Evening Worship Service

                        Tuesday          7:30 P.M.                 Mid-Week Worship Service

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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