Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Five Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 March 26, 2017            Newsletter Number 612 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother Ronnie Henderson Sr., Song Leader Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                                          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com “A Church Seeking To Please God In Prayer, Song, Preaching, And Worship.”

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, Tyrell Loyd, Bonnie, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Adcock, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Lee & Mary Mollette, Wendell Henderson, 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, 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, Donna Jones, Brandy Sullivan, Gina, Tammy Hairston and family, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, The Harris Family, The Morris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Sister Ann McSwain, Brother Archie and Barbra Griffin, Brandy’s Mother, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, David Henderson,  Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From our Pastor: Are You Following The Lord Daily?“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23 Before you answer that question, give it some thought. I know that most Christians believe that they are properly serving the Lord and following Him to their best ability, but are you truly doing enough. There are a lot of Christians who fail the Lord more than they think, and therefore are not picking up their cross and following Him. Also let us notice the word daily, do you do it daily. The word daily actually means - for the day, or throughout the day, “or "day by day". With this thought in mind, I ask again, how is your walk with the Lord? I wished that believers in Jesus Christ would put this at the top of their thoughts for just one single day and see what thoughts they have collected at the end of the day. Keep a record, or notes throughout the entire day from the time you get up until the time you go to bed. During that day list (honestly) things done for self, things done for others, and things done for the Lord. I believe if we were completely honest, the Lord would have the least in its section. Just because you do something for others does not mean it belongs in the “for the Lord” section. I believe the hardest thing for us to do is to deny ourselves. We are naturally tuned in selfishness because of the fall of Adam. Sin itself is selfishness. If we call ourselves “Christians” then we must compare the definition of the word to ourselves and see if the definition fits our life. The word Christian means – a follower of Christ – and it is often we find people who attend church sometimes, people who just consider themselves Christian, or people who think they are followers of the Lord, calling themselves Christians. I must ask the question here, according to the definition, when one is saved, are those believers in Christ or are they Christians. Maybe these two thoughts need to be more examined in our thinking. Maybe a believer in Jesus Christ should be a “believer” and one who follows the Lord a Christian. (This is just a thought folks, I am not trying to change doctrine.) But maybe we do use the word “Christian” to loosely. Let me ask this question, if a person that is saved and fails to follow Jesus Christ, are they a believer or a Christian? Now, if you are a “Christian” how good of a Christian are you? Jesus said “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself” This self-denial means throughout your day, while you are keeping these three sections, what you did for self, others, and the Lord, check the self-side and see if you denied self-enough for the Lord. Let us see if we denied ourselves enough to say we were “good Christians”. Folks, we indeed use the word Christian to loosely, I believe a follower of Christ is more than a believer in Christ, but also a follower of Christ, putting Jesus first in everything in our day. Before you do anything in life, ask how does it work with my service to Jesus. If a job or a promotion includes affecting your church service or you service to the Lord, it is not worth the promotion. If something will keep you out of church, then it is not worth it. If you are not serving the Lord the most every day you are not doing enough for the Lord. Here is the hardest part for us, every moment of everyday of your life belongs Lord for His benefit. We have no self-time, only Jesus-following time. I know some of you all will ask, how is your daily walk, but my daily walk is not your daily walk. Please understand, you must answer for yourself and no one else. God said “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another...For every man shall bear his own burden.” Galatians 6:4-5 If you use my life to judge or gauge your own life you will fail, but if you use the life of Jesus to measure your own life then you will succeed in being a good Christian. Let me close with this passage, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:11-14

JIMMY WOULDN'T GET SAVEDBy Elder Curtis Pugh    Years ago a boy and his cousin, both about eight or nine years old, were playing outside during a family get-together. Jimmy (we will call him) cousin to the son of my friends, came running in the house crying with a bloody nose. He was soon followed by the son, Billy, who had punched his cousin in the nose. When asked by the parents why he had hit his cousin his reply was, “Jimmy wouldn't get saved!”    The boy had been sitting under the preaching of false teaching. He had accepted the false idea that lost sinners can come in a saving way to Christ by their own ability. In spite of the plain words of the Lord Jesus most people think they have the ability to come to Christ and be saved. However, Jesus said: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me,” (John 6:44-45).    The average preacher and religious teacher today denies and contradicts the words of Jesus. He blasphemes God by saying just the opposite of what the Bible teaches. Men and women are proud and in their pride think they can (have the ability) to do this or that or the other religious thing and that God will save them because they did whatever they thought they needed to do.    But Jesus said “no man can come.” “Can” means to have the ability. Jesus said no man has the ability. In order for a sinner to come to Christ in a saving way, God must first enable him or her to hear and learn “of the Father.” The Father must “draw.” The Father must teach the individual.    Jesus clearly stated that those whom God teaches – those whom He enables to hear and learn – come to Christ. God does not try to teach some folk and fail in His instruction. God is not a failure! No man or woman is stronger than He.  “...He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”  (Daniel 4:35).    Hate God because He is sovereign if you will, but the true child of God has taken his place as a hopeless and helpless sinner before Him seeing his need of Christ. Resist His power all you will, but your resistance is fruitless for God says, “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God,” (Romans 14:11). You will either bow your knees to God and be saved now or you will bow your knees when it is too late: when you stand before Him to be sentenced to the lake of fire for eternity.

Church Notices: Thank you to Brother Justin Bookout for attending to the church services last Sunday.