Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 February 02, 2014            Newsletter Number 450 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                    Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty Years”

You Were Asked To Pray For: All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Johnnie Stephens, Alecia Stephens, and children, Junior Baldridge, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, BuckieThompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette, LarryMollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, Robert Riggs, Wendell Henderson, Judy Dunn, Martha Gray, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Bro. & Sister Bob Keller, Mary Ramsey, Donna Johnson, Fay Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy and Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Sister Nita Bookout, Teresa Bookout, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Dale Trahan, Ricky and Margaret McCoy, Brother David O’Neal, Diane Thomas, Gina Peel, James and Lynn Tomlin, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Robert, Megan Whitaker, Manual Seymour, Sr., Brother Jerry and Sister Jean Dodson, Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan and the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, and Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

From Our Pastor: True Believing"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." 1 John 4:15 The scriptures are very clear that salvation comes through Christ Jesus and Him only. Works of any sort will always fall short because no merit man does is good enough to satisfy God the Holy and Righteous. God will only accept perfection and man falls well short in anything they try to do except through Christ. God reminds us through John here that confessing the Son (Jesus Christ) is proof that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. However, it is not as simple as some have made it out to be, for the Holy Spirit to dwell in you means He must have come in to start with. It is evident that the Holy Spirit does not enter every heart because not everyone is saved, and some will never be saved. Some would have us to understand that salvation is a choice or decision on our part but the scriptures prove much different. Paul in the book of Romans says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14 Paul leaves no room for error here; he leaves no room to accept or to deny the Holy Spirit. Let us use this thought here, if the Holy Spirit enters a person's heart and that person decided they did not want to accept Christ and be saved then they have just denied God's will for them to be saved, and beloved that is imposable. God never fails, whatever He wants that He gets. Paul said, "as many are led...they are the sons of God" Salvation is not as simple as believing it entails the work of God and not just one part but the entire Godhead. This is why Paul told young Titus "God is our Saviour" three times. First, the Father had before the world gave to the Son a remnant and made a contract with the Son that His death as the Son of man was required and the Father accepted this payment. Second, the Son died to pay for sin as a payment in full. Third, the Holy Spirit enters a person's heart, walks them to Christ, leads them to believe, and remains in their heart the rest of their life on this earth. This brings us back to Romans 8:14 "as many as are led...are" There is no room for maybe or for rejection because there is no choice on man's end.With all this being said we must conclude as Paul did in  Ephesians 1:4 - 5 " According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5.) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,". Making salvation as Jonah shouted in Jonah 2:9  "...that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." This is the blessing here that the Spirit of God never leaves, once He enters a person's heart and saves them then He never leaves. God dwells in you, and for the rest of your days. Therefore, while some days may seem that you are alone please remember that you are not, God is in your heart. John reminds us that "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." 1 John 4:12 that if God dwells in us we should love one another because God is love. This is evidence that God is there in our hearts. Our works will be to bless God and not as a merit for salvation. As James told us, we will show our faith, our heart, the Holy Spirit in us by our works. Faith in Christ is nothing without the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. However, where the Holy Spirit dwells there is faith in Christ, love for God and the brethren, and works that blesses God and not us.

For Our Weekly  Meditation: Words in Season (Part 4)"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4 Ah, Christian, here is ground for your confidence in God. You have his promise that he will be with you in your old age, to support you under its infirmities, and therefore you are cheerful and tranquil. Listen to the testimony of an aged pilgrim: "What a comfort it is, as we get old and feeble, and friends drop off one after another, to remember that our God does not change! He says to us, 'I am he;' the same that I ever was; 'I am he;' the Lord who preserved and guided you from your infancy; 'I am he:' all that I have promised to be to you, all that you can possibly need. 'And even to gray hairs will I carry you.' What tender and expressive language! How can we help trusting in such a mighty and loving Friend? Whether we look at the present or the future, there is no room for fear. Those who can walk have his rod and staff to help and comfort them; and those who cannot walk find that his ever lasting arms are beneath them, and that they are borne safely onwards. We are like children, who, when they are weak and tired, are carried in a father's arms, and lifted over difficulty and danger." Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed!  For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;  I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,  Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove  My sov'reign eternal, unchangeable love;  And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,  Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne. By: Anonymous Editor's added note: this will be an ongoing series for several weeks. This is aimed at our senior members and non-members. Many have failing health and I thought this might be a blessing to them. But let s all remember we are all getting older with the passing of each and day.

Quote For The Week: Repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients: Sight of sin; Sorrow for sin; Confession of sin; Shame for sin; Hatred for sin; and Turning from sin. If any ingredient is left out, it loses its virtue. By Thomas Watson