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

December 10, 2017          

 Newsletter Number 648

Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother James Thomas, 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.”

Please Join Us As We 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, 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 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, Gina, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, The Harris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Sister Ann McSwain, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, David Leman, Danny Hammond,  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:

Not One Single Righteous Person.

 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Romans 3:10

If you sit and listen to people talk, they love to tell you how good they are. They love to tell you how smart they are and how much smarter than they are than other people. But when you hear God talk, He tells us how filthy and unrighteous we are. God said in verse 9 “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;” and He was talking to both Jews and Gentiles, which is every living soul on the earth. God, yes, the God of creation, the God of all knowledge has just told us that we are sinners and as sinners we are totally depraved in every possible way. Now to those whom reject this truth need to study their bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to give them understanding. Not only are we totally depraved and totally sinful, we are also dead to God, and there is no light in us. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20 If there is no light then there is no life and if there is no life then we can do nothing righteous. Many people on this earth will spend their entire adult life attempting to satisfy God in some way, but their labor is totally useless. It is not until one understands that without the Holy Spirit moving in them, quickening then dead spirits, inserting light, life, and faith, then they will never be righteous. Lost people have no knowledge of God or righteousness. Without knowledge there is no understanding of God. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:11. Therefore God has concluded that without knowledge and understanding of God and our sinfulness, prevents us from ever truly seek God. Therefore, God has concluded that they have gone out of their way seeking their own righteousness, and the end result is their entire effort is totally unprofitable. “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:12 The final conclusion is their entire life will be nothing short of total misery, because sin and remaining in the lost state is miserable. “Destruction and misery are in their ways:” Romans 3:16 A person cannot have peace in this life unless they know Jesus Christ and have believed on Him as their Saviour. Because peace with God only comes through His Beloved Son Jesus Christ. “And the way of peace have they not known:” Romans 3:17 These folks will never truly fear God in their lost state, and one cannot be saved and not fear God. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:18 The very thought that one can simply at will repent and become righteous, or the thought that somehow a person can simply change themselves by making a decision or choice is very flawed. God said, that’s right God said that NONE will seek Him because NONE have knowledge and understanding to do so. People who simply want to be religious, and have chosen Christianity as their religion, are not Christians. One is not a Christian until they have been quickened by the Holy Spirit and have believed on Jesus Christ as THEIR Saviour. To think otherwise is self-deception, because God has just described people’s inability to change what and who they are. God went on to say, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” Romans 3:22 That faith is the righteousness of God, that is faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Not a little bit Saviour, not much Saviour, but total Saviour. Outside of Christ is simply darkness, and ignorance of God, sin, and the Saviour of mankind.

GOD DOES WHAT HE PLEASES:

By Curtis Pugh

The Bible teaches that God created man. Some people think that God created something greater than Himself. Man is so powerful, they say, that God cannot do what He pleases: God cannot control what He created. This they call free will. No right thinking person denies that man has a will, but to say that man's will is stronger than God's will is contrary to the Bible and to logic. Yet that is exactly man's idea. They say that God cannot save a man unless that man is willing to let God save him. They say: “let God” meaning that God cannot do what He pleases: He cannot save whom He wants to save.

The Bible teaches Divine sovereignty. God is all powerful. He is not controlled by anything outside of Himself. He is all powerful. He is all sufficient, lacking nothing. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”

This text says there is “none else:” no other god like the true God.  “...The former things of old” prove this. The tower of Babel, the flood, – in short, all the judgments of God upon sinful men prove that God is in control. The phrase “declaring the end from the beginning” has to do with not only the end time judgments, but also the people whom He chose from the beginning. Paul tells us “...he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him...” (Ephesians 1:4). God's choice of those who shall be “holy and without blame” is a part of God's “counsel” and His “pleasure” or will. It pleased Him to choose some to salvation.

Man hates the thought of a sovereign God – the God of the Bible – the God who chooses – the God who does as He pleases. Man refuses to admit that God is in control of all things. This because “...the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,” (Romans 8:7). Lost men, then, must be viewed as rebels against God. They love a god of their own manufacture, but hate the God of the Bible who says “I will do all my pleasure.” Man is on dangerous ground! James wrote, “...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God...” (James 4:6-7). God is well able to resist the proud man. He has demonstrated throughout history His ability to successfully deal with His enemies. Of such men God says “...they willingly are ignorant of...” God's past acts (2 Peter 3:5). Such willingly ignorant rebels hate God and object to His sovereignty rather than submit themselves to Him.

Church Notices:

There will be a short business meeting today at 4:00.

Romans 2:1-2 “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things…But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.”