July 7^th 2024

10:00 am ---- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- - Message by Brother John Sheesley II

Wednesday: 7:00 pm

The Preaching That Honors Christ is the Preaching of Christ Himself

He [the Holy Spirit] shall glorify ME; for he shall receive of mine and show it unto you. John 16:14 The Holy Spirit does not reach after something novel, new, or spectacular in order to glorify Christ or to preach Christ to men. He does not need tongues, fleshly emotion, bodily healings, and creature fame and importance in order to bring glory to Christ and call out his sheep. He finds Christ’s glory in Christ himself! If we want to honor Christ, glorify Christ, and preach Christ, we must not look for something outside of Christ; but we must honor him by preaching that which is his already—his deity, his person, his manhood, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his intercession, and his return! Strange as it may seem, there is today very little preaching of Christ himself. Men preach about those who knew him, who served him, and who wrote of him. They preach his church, his doctrines, and his commandments. They preach series of messages on those who used to preach Christ, on the conduct and conversation of those who profess to know Christ, and on the duties and responsibilities of believers in Christ, but very few messages on the person and work of Christ himself. They read papers and conduct discussions on ways to organize the kingdom of Christ, and how to honor Christ; and they seldom get around to doing that which God has ordained and commissioned us to do and that is to preach Christ! Jesus Christ is most glorified, his sheep most edified, his will and purpose accomplished, and his church perfected in faith, hope, and love when we preach Christ himself. The work of the Spirit of God is to reveal to us the beauties of Jesus Christ, and they are all found in Christ himself.

-- Henry Mahan

We Find All We Need in Christ

We do not find rest, hope, nor comfort in our faith but in Christ. If you will give careful thought to that statement, it will be of great help to you. Faith is not a foundation, a refuge, nor a source of help. Faith is the means; a look, an empty hand. It is Christ who is our refuge and who protects from every storm. He is our rock on which we build. He is our source for every mercy and our only plea. My faith may be weak or weaker, but He cannot fail. If all my debts have been paid by my surety, I don’t have to be ashamed to come before God. The praise and credit goes not to my boldness and faith but to my gracious benefactor! I am not debt-free because I believe (though I do, and that faith united me to Him) but because He set me free and paid my debt. Christ is our confidence and our assurance. The moment I seek a reason for hope in anything I do, even in the blessed grace of faith, I forfeit any possibility of peace. “Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust” (Ps. 40:4). “When Isaiah saw His glory, he spake of Him” (Jn. 12:41). When any man truly sees the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, then Christ becomes the message and the object of faith. – H.T.M.

The Person and Work of Christ

In His Person Christ stands supreme and unique, for in Him the fullness of the Godhead dwells. He is the beloved Son. He is the image of the invisible God. In virtue of His divine nature He is above and beyond every angelic power. But this superiority is seen also in His work. He is the One through whom the creation came into being. He is its sustainer and He is the very purpose of its existence (Colossians 1:15-17). His relationship, not only to the world, but also to the angelic powers, is that of Creator to creature. Then again, in the work of redemption He has not left anything for either man or angel to accomplish, for His work is complete. He has satisfied the demands of the broken law and He has also won a complete victory over all the powers of evil. Thus His people do not need to try and keep the law as a means of justification, for He has met the law’s demands (Col.2:14). Nor do they need to try and fight against the cosmic powers, for He has already vanquished these (Col.2:15).