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Sovereign Grace
Missionary Baptist Church 1217 Dillon Dr. (Wake Village) Texarkana, Texas 75501 January 2, 2005 Elder Randy Johnson, Pastor Bro. Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: sgmbcpastor@countrybaptist.org Web Site: www.countrybaptist.org/sgmbc |
| Please Pray For:
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| A Thought For The
Week: "THE PROMISES" If God promises something, then faith must fight a long and bitter fight, for reason or the flesh judges that God's promises are impossible. Therefore faith must battle against reason and its doubts. The Devil, too, approaches us with promises, and indeed such as seem very plausible. It certainly requires at times a keen mind rightly to distinguish between God's true and the Devil's false promises. The promises of the Devil are seemingly very pleasant and acceptable. Faith is something that is busy, powerful and creative, though properly speaking, it is essentially an enduring than a doing. It changes the mind and heart. While reason holds to what is present, faith apprehends the things that are not seen. Contrary to reason, faith regards the invisible things as already materialized. This explains why faith, unlike hearing is not found in many, for only few believe, while the great majority cling to the things that are present and can be felt and handled rather than to the Word. This, then, is the mark of the true divine promises, that they are contrary to reason so that it refuses to believe them. The promises of the Devil, on the contrary, are in full agreement with reason and are readily and uncritically accepted. God's promises which are true and faithful, lead to the cross, and by the cross to His eternal blessing. Therefore reason is offended at them in two ways. It regards as nothing what is invisible and far away in the future, and it detests the cross as a calamity that is everlasting and without end. That is the reason why despite the riches of the divine promises, few believe them. These are such whose hearts are led by the Holy Spirit so that, as Abraham, they defy all foes and cling to the Word of God who calls them. Before Abraham came to Canaan he was blessed in many ways, but in the land of promise, he, despite his strong faith was forced to go into another country to escape the fury of the famine. God does this purposely to try the faith of His saints. However after a short time, He restores to them not only earthly prosperity, as Abraham became very wealthy, but He also gives them a greater faith and a deeper experience of His divine grace and mercy. For this reason Paul says in Romans 5:3 that though God's saints sigh under their cross, yet they glory in their tribulations when they discover how wonderfully God directs their life. God thus proves Himself the Protector of all that put their trust in
Him. He tries their faith by chastisements, but never forsakes them.
Finally, He gloriously delivers them and at the same time benefits
others with them. |
| News for the week: ...A federal judge's ruling last week confirms that it is not
unconstitutional for the President of the United States to allow
American troops to deploy under United Nations command -- including
wearing U.N. uniform accessories. That was Judge Paul Friedman's finding
in the latest court case of former U.S. Army soldier Michael New.
WorldNet Daily quotes Judge Friedman as writing that it would be beyond
the competence of the court to evaluate whether the president cedes too
much authority if he places troops under foreign command. In the New
case, back in the 1990s the former Army specialist was court martialed
and given a bad-conduct discharge after he refused to wear the United
Nations Blue Beret and shoulder patch to serve in a Macedonian
peacekeeping mission. Later appeals of the court martial decision
failed, as did the current case in federal court. In the recent attempt,
New's attorney argued that the United States Constitution and law
governing U.S. participation in the U.N. were both violated when the
soldier was sent out under command of a foreign army without
authorization from Congress. The judge disagreed and also said New
should have pursued other avenues besides direct disobedience of an
order to challenge its legality. According to a New York Sun
report, New's father says yet another appeal is likely. [Ed Thomas] |
| To Eat of the Fruit by C. H. Spurgeon "They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." --Joshua 5:12 A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year's text should not still be true. "We who have believed do enter into rest." The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us "glory begun below." In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in His love, and we have perfect peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege to bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels' food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year! |
| Happy Birthday:
Donna Johnson January 2nd Sarah Henderson January 3rd Ronnie Henderson January 4th Juanita Bookout January 7th |
| Oh, what is all the
grandeur, wealth, and honor of this fleeting world, compared with the
glory that awaits the believer in Jesus? Kings and queens pass away, and
leave their crowns; but the Christian goes to his, and wears it through
eternity, ever bright, ever pure! (adapted from Mary Winslow's, "Life in Jesus") |