t                   oPastor John and wife Kathy  
 

 
 

Preaching God's Sovereign, Electing Grace   

RESCUE BAPTIST CHURCH


   WELCOME TO RESCUE BAPTIST CHURCH 

Sunday Morning, May 20, 2018

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SCHEDULED MEETINGS

     Sunday Morning Bible Study      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   10:00 AM

     Sunday Morning Worship           . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   11:00 AM

     Sunday Evening Worship            . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     6:30 PM

     Friday Night Bible  Study           . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .    7:30 PM

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OPENING HYMN 

  “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”                                 Page 97

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SCRIPTURE READING

    Psalm 84

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OFFERTORY

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WORSHIP HYMN

  “I Am His, and He Is Mine”                                             Page 490

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SPECIAL MUSIC

  To be announced.

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Message Title

     “The Good Tree and the Corrupt Tree

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CLOSING HYMN

  “His Name Is Wonderful”                                                Page 101

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‘Worthy is the Lamb!’

--Revelation 5:12--

  “If there is one thing that I want to impress upon the hearts of men and women, it is that Christ alone is worthy of honor, worship, praise, love, trust and glory.  I read it in God’s book, I hear it in the preaching of the gospel and I have experienced it in my soul: ‘Worthy is the Lamb!’  The apostle Paul said, ‘This man was counted worthy of more glory.’  The angels are not worthy, but Christ is.  No man is worthy, but Christ is.  The church is not worthy, but Christ is.  The preacher is not worthy, but Christ is.  In heaven, all the saints and angels unite in this glorious eternal song: ‘Worthy is the Lamb!’

    Christ is worthy of all honor, because he is the divine Creator (Revelation 4:11).  In heaven everyone delights to worship Jesus Christ as God.  And if ever a man gets to glory, he will have to worship Jesus Christ upon the earth as God the eternal Son, the Creator of all things.  He created the world in the beginning by infinite power.  He creates men anew by sovereign power.  And he creates all the events of providence according to his own wise decree.  In the end, all things will prove to be for his pleasure, his honor and his glory (Proverbs 16:4).

    Christ is worthy of all worship, because he is our merciful Redeemer (Revelation 5:9 - 10).   God counted him worthy to be the Substitute, Surety and Redeemer of his people, committing the salvation of our souls into his hands as ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’.   His righteousness is worthy to clothe us.  His sufferings are worthy to make us clean.  His power is worthy to preserve us.  His love is worthy to win our hearts.  Christ proved himself worthy.  As the Lion of Judah he prevailed with God.  As the Lamb of God, he redeemed us to God, making us a generation of priests and kings.  And now, with our hearts, we say Christ is worthy!  He is worthy of our faith, obedience, love and worship!

    Christ is worthy of eternal praise, because he is God’s exalted King (Revelation 5:11-14).  As God’s exalted King every creature of God, in heaven, in the earth, and under the earth will say, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!’

Pastor Don Fortner

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“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”

--Isaiah 40:1--

  “A true minister of Jesus Christ not only preaches His Gospel with a sincere concern for His lost sheep; not only preaches His Gospel for the edification of His enlightened saints; but also preaches the Lord’s Gospel to COMFORT HIS PEOPLE!  The self-righteous, unregenerate religionist CANNOT be comforted by the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  God’s truths grate against the already frayed ends of his spiritual nerves of enmity against God.  Instead of bringing comfort to the ungodly, the Gospel of God’s Sovereign Grace infuriates them.  But when our Sovereign Lord gives one of His lost sheep the gift of faith to receive Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth!  Knowing that our Great, Majestic God chose a particular people in Christ before this world was created, and that He included us in that number who would be saved by His amazing grace, brings great comfort to the hearts of HIS PEOPLEKnowing that Jesus Christ our Creator became a man to redeem HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE from all their sins, and that He, by Himself, took care of the sin-debt in full for us, brings great comfort to our believing hearts.  Knowing that the ministry of God the Holy Spirit is to take the things of Christ and reveal them to GOD’S CHOSEN, BLOOD-BOUGHT PEOPLE brings great comfort to those who have received eternal life when we were dead in trespasses and sins.  Those whose minds have been enlightened by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord not only delight in the pure, unadulterated Gospel of God‘s sovereign grace , we are comforted by that same Gospel.  We will not align ourselves with those who do not believe the truth!  Rather, we will seek the fellowship of those who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.                                                                            

                                                                                                       Pastor

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  “Eternal life is to know the living God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.  It is to have the LIFE of Christ, the PRESENCE of Christ, the SPIRIT and MIND of Christ, and the very GLORY of Christ begotten, created, and formed in us.  CHRIST IN YOU is the hope of glory.  Until the miracle of grace is performed, our religion is but a form of godliness.”

Pastor Henry Mahan

 

Our sincere condolences to Pauline Merry, and members of her family, over the recent death of Pauline’s grandson.

***** Cleaning duty this week:  Michael and Lindsey Smith *****

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SUGGESTED BIBLE READINGS FOR THIS WEEK

Monday                          Wednesday                      Friday

Psalm 54                         Luke 19                            Matthew 10

Psalm 55                         Luke 20                            Matthew 11

Psalm 56                         Luke 21                            Matthew 12

Psalm 57                         Luke 22                            Matthew 13

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  “In Heaven, believers will be able to do perfectly that which Paul determined to do on this earth.  Know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Pastor Chris Cunningham

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THE WILL OF MAN

“He delivered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25).

  “And what was their will?   ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’  That is man’s will in a nutshell.  That teaching that says God wants to save all men, Christ died for all men, and the Holy Spirit is calling all men, but man’s salvation is ultimately dependent upon his own will, is a lie!  Those who preach such a message do not preach the Gospel.  And those who believe such a message do not believe the Gospel. When men were left to their will, unrestrained by God, they murdered the Son of God!

    To give man’s will such an exalted place in salvation is to deny the sovereignty of God, deny what the Bible teaches concerning the sinfulness of man, and deny that salvation is all of God’s grace.  Don’t think that the belief that man’s will has the ultimate say in salvation is merely a less enlightened view of the Gospel.  It is another gospel!  It makes man’s will the saviour, and not Christ!”

Pastor Todd Nibert

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CHRIST OUR REWARD

“To him that worketh is the reward NOT reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Romans 4;4). 

  “To the laborer in religion, what he merits or earns can never be called a gift, a favor, or mercy; it is an obligation owed to him.  If work is involved at all in our salvation (regardless of the degree of work), it is a debt and NOT GRACE AT ALL.  It is not that the believer does no good works, but that he does not work in order to obtain life and salvation.  We work because we love Christ Jesus, not in order to be justified.”

Pastor Henry Mahan

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“It Is Finished”, (John 19:30)    

  “Years ago, someone asked me how long it took me to finish a painting.  My answer was this, ‘You never finish a painting…you just come to a stopping point.’  Concerning all efforts on man’s part, nothing can truly be said to be finished.  There is always something found, even with our most careful efforts that can be done to improve our labor.     

    But concerning the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary…His death to satisfy the justice of God for an everlastingly loved people…His death to put away the guilt of His bride by the shedding of His blood for her…HE said… ‘It is finished.’  By His declaration, we know that the debt and guilt of our sins has truly been paid and put away in His precious blood.  According to His word, the sins of God’s chosen people shall never be brought up before God or punished again…This we know because the Father accepted His sacrifice on behalf of His sheep and proved His acceptance by raising Him from the dead.”

Pastor Marvin Stalnaker

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  “God is as He has been and shall always be as He is.  He cannot be better than He is; He cannot be wiser, or more powerful than He is.  If God changes one iota He could not be God to begin with.”

 Pastor Donnie Bell

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Without Truth

  “Without truth there is no regeneration; for it is by ‘the word of truth’ that we are begotten and born again (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23). Without truth there is no justification; for we are justified by faith, which faith consists in crediting God's truth, and so, gives peace with God (Rom. 4:20-24; 5:1). Without the truth there is no sanctification; for the Lord himself says, ‘Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.’   And without the truth there is no salvation; for ‘God has chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’ (2 Thess. 2:13). And as the truth is the instrumental cause of all these blessings, the divinely appointed means whereby they become manifested mercies, so truth enters into and is received by all the graces of the Spirit as they come forth into living exercise.  Thus, without the truth, there is no faith; for the work of faith is to believe the truth.  What is all the difference between faith and delusion?  That faith believes God's truth, and delusion credits Satan's lies. ‘And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness’ (2 Thess. 2:11 - 12).”

--J. C. Philpot

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WHAT IS YOUR HOPE?

  “Lay the foundation of your hope in Jesus Christ.  Begin with Christ and end with Christ.  As Christ Jesus becomes more to you, self will grow less and less.  If your faith puffs you up – it is not the faith of Christ.  God will help us when we are weak.  He will bless us as long as we confess our dependence upon His blessing. He will fill us when we are empty.  He will feed us when we are hungry.  He will be our all when we are nothing.  He will forgive us when we are guilty.  But the moment we begin to boast in ourselves and feel sufficient, we will be left to learn, in no uncertain terms, that we are naked, poor, blind, and miserable. Terrible will be the day when proud rebels discover, too late, the dust and ashes of human merit.”

Pastor Henry Mahan

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  “That the eternal Son of God should lay aside the robes of His ineffable glory and take upon Him the form of a servant, that the Ruler of heaven and earth should be ‘made under the law’ (Galatians 4:4), that the Creator of the universe should tabernacle in this world and ‘have not where to lay His head’ (Matthew 8:20) is something which no finite mind can comprehend; but where carnal reason fails us, God-given faith believes and worships.”                                                            

--A. W. Pink