April 2^nd 2023

9:30 am --------------------------Circumcision: A Matter of Life or Death – Exodus 4:24-26

10:00 am ---------------------------------------------- Comfort, Truth & Peace – John 14:15-31

Wednesday: 7:00 pm -----------------------------------------------Message by John Sheesley II

The Death of a Believer

"Thou shalt come to thy grave IN A FULL AGE, like as a shock of corn COMETH IN HIS SEASON. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it FOR THY GOOD" (Job 5:26-27).

1. The death of the believer is INEVITABLE. "Thou SHALT come to thy grave." Because of sin, death has passed upon all. All men must die and be buried, believers and unbelievers.

2. The death of the believer is ACCEPTABLE. "Thou shall COME to thy grave." This reveals a willingness to die. We choose to be absent from this body and present with the Lord. Our Lord said to the unbelievers, "This night thy soul shall be REQUIRED of thee" (demanded of thee). Not so the elect! We are not forced to leave this earth and be with Christ; we willingly come to Him in death as we came to Him in faith.

3. The death of the believer is TIMELY. "Thou shalt come to thy grave IN A FULL AGE;" that is, in the fullness of the Lord's time! Our time on this earth is determined by our Lord. "Our bounds are set, the number of our days are with Thee." No believer dies before or beyond the Lord's appointed age, which is, regardless of the length of it, OUR FULL AGE.

4. The death of the believer is WITH VICTORY AND FULLNESS OF REDEMPTION. "Like a shock of corn cometh IN HIS SEASON" If corn is harvested before it is ripe, it would not be fit for use; and if it is left in the field too long, it will come to nothing. Our salvation is complete in Christ. "He hath made us sufficient and ripe for glory." So when the Lord's purpose for us (on this earth and in His church) is served, the believer is ripe and ready to be plucked from this field and taken to His table for the marriage feast.

5. The death of the believer is FOR HIS GOOD. Eliphaz says, "I have searched and studied these things and THEY ARE TRUE. I exhort you to HEAR IT and know it" (take it to heart as belonging to you) and know that all that our Lord brings to pass is for our good, who love Him and are called according to His purpose. -- Henry Mahan

“If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments” – John 14:15

Where a sincere love to Christ is in the heart, there will be obedience. If a man loves Christ indeed, that love will be such a commanding and constraining principle in him, that, no question, he will keep His words. Where there is true love to Christ, there is a value for His favor, a veneration for His authority, and an entire surrender of the whole man to his conduct and government. Where love is, duty follows of course, is easy and natural, and flows from a principle of gratitude.

-- Matthew Henry

1 John 2:15:…LOVE NOT THE WORLD!

Nothing is more dangerous to the souls of men than the love of the world. Nothing more effectually chokes out the influence of the gospel in a man's heart than the cares of this world. Nothing is more difficult to avoid than an undue attachment to this world. Therefore John sets these four words up as a beacon. They stand in blazing letters to warn us of great danger. "LOVE NOT THE WORLD:"

Beloved, this world and all that it offers is no more than a bubble that soon must burst. Your money, your farms, your houses, your influence, your families, everything here is temporary. It will all vanish away. We laugh at the small child who cries when the bubbles he is playing with burst. But, for a rational man to be so attached to a bubble is a most irrational thing.