Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Four Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 June 12, 2016            Newsletter Number 570 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother Ronnie Henderson Sr., Song Leader Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                       Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com “A Church Believing And Standing On The Truth, As The Holy Spirit Has Taught It.”

Our Prayer Request: 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, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette and Her Family, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family,  Wendell Henderson, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Cindy Lane, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Vickie Adkins, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Donna Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, James and Lynn Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Brandy Sullivan, Gina, Tammy Hairston and family, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, Dewayne Sewell, The Harris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Brother Harold & Ann McSwain, 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.

A Thought From our Pastor:   Our Sins Linger With Us As A Reminder. “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” 1 Corinthians 15:9   As a Christian I know that all my sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on that cross more than two-thousand years ago it was in my place, as my substitute. I know that the blood that poured from His blessed battered and beaten body was to cleanse my sins. "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," Revelation 1:5 My sins were not washed away when I professed to believe in Jesus Christ, oh no, they were washed away at Calvary’s Cross when Jesus Christ was crucified. My believing was simply a manifestation of what took place more than two-thousand years ago. Some believe that salvation begins at the point of believing, but salvation began before the world ever was created with God The Father. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," 2 Timothy 1:9. Oh, if only those who refuse to believe in our Sovereign God would simply just believe the scriptures, instead of looking for a way out of it.   Paul was a very blessed man, and with that blessing he never considered himself anyone special. Paul reminded himself of the sins he sinned against God and never forgot them. Paul also understood salvation and the forgiveness of sins, but that was not enough to allow him to forget the transgressions against God. I think he reminding himself and talking about them allowed him to remember how blessed he truly was in the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul was a very ugly person as Saul of Tarsus. He said himself how bad he was as a lost Jew. "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee...Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Philippians 3:5 – 6. When Steven was stoned to death Saul held the coats of them that stoned him. “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. Acts 7:58” And it is these things Paul simply never forgot, even though the Lord Jesus Christ did. I think it is good for a believer in Christ to remember his sins because it reminds of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. Notice Paul immediately spoke about his gain in Christ after speaking about his past sins. “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Philippians 3:8 Folks, everything we did before salvation was dung and was a lost, but in Christ all things are for Him and His glory. Therefore, go ahead and remember your sinfulness and follow that thought with what Jesus Christ done for you. It will remind us all how truly blessed we are. It will remind us that while God never was blessed by anything we did, now we can bless Him in everything we do. "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Psalms 103:1 However, there is one word of wisdom, never beat yourself up over your past sins, the blood of Jesus has cleansed them all. You are indeed blessed. And One day we will all forget our sins, and they will not be ever remembered again.

WHY WAS JESUS SILENT:By Brother Curtis Pugh   Why when accused before Pilate, did Jesus keep silent? Could He not have mounted a defense? Could He not have answered those men who falsely accused Him? He was innocent of the charges and Pilate was seeking a way to escape sentencing Him. But the Scripture says of Jesus, “And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly,” (Matthew 27:12-14). Christ would have known precisely what words to say – what approach to take – to silence the lies of the Jews against Him. When the temple guards came to arrest Jesus in the garden He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him for John 18:4 says: “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?” He was not surprised into silence, not knowing what to say. There was another reason: a very important one. When in the garden Jesus prayed three times that the cup of suffering might pass from Him. He prayed, “...Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt,” (Matthew 26:39). Was He so fearful of physical pain that He could not face it? Was He a coward? In facing this time of suffering before going into the garden Jesus had said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour,” (John 12:27). Something happened in the garden. What was it? Luke tells us that Christ's agony in the garden was intense. He wrote, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground,” (Luke 22:44). Paul tells us exactly what happened in that garden. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 he wrote: “For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, [He] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The sins of all the sinless Good Shepherd's sheep were laid upon Him that night. The reason that Christ made no defense before Pilate was this: He had no defense. He had become sin or the sin offering and had His people's sins upon Him. By imputation the sinless One was guilty! This absence of Christ's defense was prophesied in Isaiah 53:7. There it was predicted: “He [Christ] was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” As Hebrews 9:28 says: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many...” The great question is this: did He bear your sins?

Noteworthy: Happy Birthday Sister Nita Mollette Friday June 17th   There will be a short business meeting just before the preaching at 4:00