September 4^th 2022

9:30 am --------------------Christ: Son of Man, Lord of Life, Shepherd of Sheep – Ezekiel 1/16/ 34

10:00 am -----------------------------------------Living Water & The Thirst For Christ – John 7:38-39

Wednesday: 7:00 pm ----------------------------------Growth In Grace & Knowledge – 2 Peter 3:18

“ If you hope for happiness in the world, hope for it in God, and not the world” – David Brainerd – Missionary, died at 29 yo

Faith Which is of GOD –By William Mason, 1773

AITH manifests itself to be of God, and proves that the believer is beloved of God, and born of God by receiving and setting its seal to the TRUTH of God, respecting the sinner’s own state. If you are a believer, you have just the same views of yourself, as the word of God sets forth to you. You are sensible, that in yourself, you are a poor, wretched, miserable, blind, naked sinner—that you have the sentence of death in yourself—that you have neither hope nor help, in and from yourself for salvation—you know and feel from day to day, that in your flesh dwells no good thing—that sin abounds in you—that your nature is totally corrupt and abominable, and your heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked—that when you would do good, evil is present with you: that of yourself, you are not sufficient to think a good thought—that in all you aim to do to please God, you come short of his glory, and of your duty—that after you have done all, you see yourself an unprofitable servant in all—are ever dissatisfied with yourself for all—and are out of conceit with all your works and doings. For, you see all your own righteousness, to be nothing better than filthy rags. Therefore, you can have no trust in yourself—you dare place no confidence in the flesh—you will have no dependence on your own works. For, faith has brought the truths of God into your heart. You have not only the notion of them in your head, but you find the inward sense and experience of them in your very soul. Thus, you are cast into the humbling mould of God’s truth, by the grace of faith. While proud, self-righteous hearts, are strangers to the humbling grace of faith, and see not the constant need they have of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, you daily see the necessity of this, and you, as a beloved child of God, are exhorted to this.

Note: If you are a believer, you have just the same views of Christ, as the Word of God sets forth concerning Him. God sets forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinner’s only righteousness, the sinner’sonly sin bearer, the sinner’s only mediator and intercessor, the sinner’s only High Priest, yea, the sinner’s all in all. And so, if you are a believer, then you see your need of Christ alone to make you righteous before God, and Christ alone to atone for your sins. You believe, and therefore have the faith which is of God.-ed

Repentance Toward God, And Faith Toward Our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21) -- By Thomas Manton, 1620-1677

These are the two things that sum up the work of salvation in a believer. Repentance and faith. “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Both are by grace, both are the gift and work of God in salvation.

Repentance. John preached “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The Lord Himself preached, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What is repentance? Repentance is a godly sorrow over sin; the sin that I am, the sins I commit, and my self-righteousness. And repentance is confession of that sin toward God. “Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight” (Ps.51:4). Sin is against God, against His Law, against His goodness. Although it affects others, it is God we have sinned against. And so it is God we confess to, not man, for man cannot forgive nor forget those sins. It is God alone Who can pardon and remove the sin and its guilt. And there is no peace as long as there is guilt. How? How can one receive pardon of sin and freedom from guilt?

Faith. “Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is the sinner’s substitute, Who Himself bore ours sins in His own body on the tree. Jesus Christ is the sinner’s Scapegoat, upon Whose Head we confess our sins, and by faith see Him take them on Himself, take them away, remove them far from us, never to be remembered again. By looking to Him and Him only we find peace. Peace by His Word, which says, “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom.5:1). By simply confessing our sins to God, and looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace! Peace of mind, heart, conscience and life. By casting ourselves at His blessed feet, like the guilty woman, we will hear Him say, “Woman, where are thine accusers? Doth no man accuse thee? . . . Neither do I condemn thee.” With a Word, He spoke peace to a guilty sinner. And then she heard Him say, “Go and sin no more.” As it is written, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy” (Prov.28:13).