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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

February 25, 2018

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The Lord never calls for his people to stay in Babylon, try to preserve Babylon, reform Babylon, or teach Babylon. His call is always, “Come out of her” (Isaiah 48:20; 52:11; Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6, 45; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Revelation 18:4).

Daily Readings for the Week of February 25-March 4, 2018

Sunday Deuteronomy 5-7 Thursday Deuteronomy 19-21

Monday Deuteronomy 8-11 Friday Deuteronomy 22-24

Tuesday Deuteronomy 12-14 Saturday Deuteronomy 25-27

Wednesday Deuteronomy 15-18 Sunday Deuteronomy 28-29

· It is an honor to have Bro. Mike Walker, pastor of Millsite Baptist Church in Cottageville, WV, and his wife, Sandy, with us today. Our pastor is preaching today for Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, AL, where Bro. Larry Criss is pastor.

Happy Birthday! Amy Richards-3^rd Stephanie Wilkerson-4^th

Church Cleaning in March: Evelyn Wang, Donna Daniel, Shirley Bain

Nursery Duty This Week

Nicole Abell (AM) — Debbie Bartley (PM) Tuesday: Diane Campbell

Touch the Preacher’s Tongue — Don Fortner

(Tune: #164 — Breathe on Me Breath of God —SM)

1. We thank You, blessed Lord,

For every means of grace,

And for the preaching of the Word

Within this sacred place.

2. But gospel means alone,

Can never satisfy;

Oh, send the Holy Spirit down,

With blessings from on high!

3. The Comforter we need,

His grace our souls require,

To feast on Christ our living Bread

And fainting hearts inspire.

4. Oh, touch the preacher’s tongue,

As with a living coal;

Speak pardon to Your ransomed ones,

And bless each heav’n-born soul.

Complaining

How much complaining would cease about the Cook if men and women were really hungry. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). — Pastor John Chapman

“I am Alpha and Omega.”

Revelation 1:8

Four times in the book of Revelation our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to John and identified himself with these words — “I am Alpha and Omega” (1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). There is no hidden mystery in these words. They are simply the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our language, the words would be, “I am A and Z”. That is, “I am the beginning and the ending, the first and the last.” And as John Gill points out, “These letters, ‘Alpha and Omega,’ being the first and the last of the alphabet, may stand for the whole.” So, that the meaning is — “I am the beginning of all things and the end of all things, and everything between the beginning and the end.”

Our Eternal God

With these words, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending...the first and the last,” our Savior identifies himself as Jehovah our eternal, immutable, saving, covenant keeping God. Indeed, this is what he says by way of explanation: I am “the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” That is one of the ways by which the Lord God identifies himself as the only true God (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:10-12).

The Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is God over all, was God from eternity, and is to come as God to judge the world. He is now the Savior of all who come to God by him, was the Savior of all his saints in the Old Testament, being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and is to come as the Savior of God’s elect, without sin unto salvation.

As these words “Alpha and Omega” speak of the eternality of Christ as God, who is, who was, and who ever shall be, they also describe our Savior’s immutability. He is always the same, unchanging and unchangeable. What he is, he always was and shall forever be. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. His person, his love, his virtue, and his purpose are all immutable.

When the Lord Jesus says, “I am Alpha and Omega” he asserts his own glorious preeminence as the Christ of God. As it has pleased the Father to give his Son preeminence in all things (Colossians 1:18), it is so. Christ is the Beginning of all things, the Substance of all things, and the End of all things.

Our Everlasting Safety

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” I’m so thankful that he who ever walks in the midst of the churches and holds the stars of his churches in his right hand, added those last two words for our comfort — “The Almighty!” Our Savior is himself God, “the Almighty!” He is the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of all things, and Ruler of all things. The One whose blood and righteousness we trust, to whose dominion we gladly submit, into whose hands we have committed our souls, is himself God, the Almighty. We have nothing to fear. Our Savior is God. We are safe in his hands (John 10:27-30).

“Alpha and Omega”

Revelation 22:13

The word “Alpha” suggests that Christ is the best. He is better than all who come before him. And if you put them all together, Christ stands head and shoulders above them all as the best.

Alpha

“Alpha” refers to the one who is at the head, the leader, the best. And our Lord Jesus Christ says of himself, “I am Alpha.” Is he a Son? He is the firstborn Son, the only begotten Son, the only eternal Son, the only perfectly obedient Son. All other sons are made sons by this Son. — Is he a Prophet? All the other prophets stand behind him, by a great, infinite distance, and point to him, bearing witness of him. — Is he a Priest? All the other priests of the Aaronic and Levitical orders were only types of him. Their only purpose was to represent him until he came. He is the fulfillment of them all. He is the great High Priest of our profession. Christ is our Melchizedek! — Is he a King? Yes, he is King like no other. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. —Is he a Shepherd? Then he is the good Shepherd, the chief Shepherd, the great Shepherd. — Is he an Angel? Then he is Michael the Archangel, the Angel of the Covenant, the Angel of God who is God.

It matters not what title our Lord takes to himself, or what character he assumes, he is in all respects Alpha, A-1. He infinitely surpasses all that may be compared to him, as the sun excels the stars. When the sun rises, all stars fade in its light. And when Christ appears, all others fade away into insignificance. He who is best is preeminent, and well deserves the praise and glory of all. Christ is Alpha. Let no flesh glory in his presence. All who know him glory only in him and give glory only to him (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Omega

We rejoice to declare that Christ is “Alpha,” the first and the best. But he is also “Omega,” the lowest and the last in his voluntary condescension and humiliation. He made himself “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven!”

How shall I describe the depths of our Lord’s humiliation. He who is God stooped to become a man! He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). In order to save us, Christ became one of us! He became what we are that he might make us what he is. He stooped to become a man. He stooped again to become the lowest of men. He stooped again to become the servant of men. He stooped again to be made sin for men! He stooped again to die as a man for men!

Behold the depths of his humiliation! When he was made sin for us, he who is God was forsaken by God, as the just object of God’s furious, infinite wrath! He cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” Then he answered his own cry. — “Thou art holy!” And a holy God cannot look upon sin. “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, (if) he delighted in him” (Psalm 22:1-8).

Our Lord Jesus, the Christ, is the Omega, the Last, the least in the kingdom of heaven! He stooped to death, death under the infinite wrath and inflexible justice of God, for us! Remember, the Son of God did all of this to satisfy the justice of God for us, and to put away our sins, that we might live by him. Because he is God, Christ is Alpha. Because he is our Substitute, Christ became Omega!

The Grace Bulletin

February 25, 2018

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