Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church

"Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Six Years”

1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501

January 07, 2018          

 Newsletter Number 652

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, 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, 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:

Churches Are Warned.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2:5 

We live in an age where people and even Christians are laidback with their doctrine. We live in an age where, so many churches are laidback in their doctrine. This is unacceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom is the Head of the Churches. Jesus speaks here of removing the candlestick and if He does then they are no longer a church. “…will remove thy candlestick out of his place…” As members we must remember that the churches belong to Jesus Christ and not to us. He builds them and sustains them, not us. It is Him that supports them in every way, and without Him, no matter what else, a church will fail and not be a true church. Paul wrote ...For in him we live, and move, and have our being..." Acts 17:28, personally and in Churches we are sustained. Pastors are also the Lords, He set them into place and sustains them just as He does everything else. With all this being said, Christians and churches are not allowed to do as they please in any area. Churches and their membership must be warned that Jesus Christ is the head of the churches and He is the very One who sets the candlesticks in them, and He has every right to pull them out. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist…And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:17-18 The word “consist” means - to set together or to constitute – meaning He “maintains in continuous stability and productiveness” of the churches being and the believers being. Therefore, it tells us that if a church fails to maintain doctrinal truth they will fail as a church because Jesus Christ will remove their candlestick making them a non-scriptural church. Consider it to be like unto expulsion, the Lord, the Head of the churches will personally exclude a church from the bride until “except thou repent.” Rev. 2:5 If the churches and their pastors fail to realize this, then in glory they will. We must all realize that Christ Jesus has a job and we have a job, we cannot do the Lord’s job in building and sustaining the churches. Our job as churches and pastors is to maintain the truth in doctrine, money, and in getting the gospel to a lost and dying world. So many have lost their sense of what we are to do, they have broken from their responsibility and have attempted to do the Lord’s job. They have tried to serve mammon and God, but we cannot serve two masters, saith the Lord because one will cause us to hate the other. Attendance and money are the two main reasons churches leave the truth to serve untruth. We must realize we live in the day of apostasy and both attendance and money are going to suffer. I believe we are living in the last days and because of this times will get harder and persecution will get much worse in the years to come. Now is the time for the churches to come together and not allow petty disagreements to separate us. I believe if time last it will get so hard for churches and truth to stand that only the most spiritual will survive. Let’s face it folks, the church age is coming quickly to an end. This is our warning, we either stand as a church, walk as a church, and worship as a church, or get excluded as a church by Jesus Christ her head. Growth and prosperity is not for the churches of truth in this day, not in the day of apostasy. All we will accomplish by pushing these things is failure. We may grow and be prosperous in this world, but not in the Lord, spiritual, and in truth. The Lord warned the church at Ephesus to “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” or else He will remove the candlestick, that church does not exist today. Churches only fail when the Lord Jesus Christ no longer sustains them, or they have reached their predestinated end. May God bless us all as we strive to maintain our work and worth fulness to our Head Jesus Christ.  

Zeal Without Knowledge:

By Brother Curtis Pugh

   Often zeal is a good thing. Zeal or enthusiasm for good things is to be commended. Being a “deadhead” on the job or as a parent or in service for the Lord makes life a burden. In the matter of our relationship with Him Christ said: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent,” (Revelation 3:19). Not only do lost sinners need to repent, Christians also are guilty of sins daily. Walking with God is a matter of daily repentance.

   But zeal or enthusiasm is a bad thing when it is coupled with ignorance. Two very young boys wanted to please their father. While he was at work they busied themselves in the garage with house paint, coating the family car a new color. They had zeal for a thing, but in their ignorance their enthusiasm caused them to do something harmful and costly. In religious matters zeal, coupled with ignorance, does much harm. We are well aware that there are religious zealots in this world who in their zeal beat their wives, mutilate their daughters and murder those who do not convert. The thief also may be zealous when he comes to steal and to destroy.  

   In Paul's day the Jews had great enthusiasm for the Old Testament Law. They had so much zeal for the Law that they missed Christ. Paul wrote of them: “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,” (Romans 10:2-4). Paul said that the righteousness which makes one acceptable to God is in Christ. He is the end of the Law for righteousness. Christ taught that the Old Testament Law-system was done away with when John the Baptist began to preach. He said, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man  [individual people] presseth into it,” (Luke 16:16).

   And yet a great many people, some of them claiming to be following Christ, are busy trying to establish their own righteousness by their attempt at keeping the Law. (Usually they pick and choose what parts of the Old Testament Law they want to keep.) But no man ever kept the Law. It was decided by the apostles and elders long ago that converts to Christ should not have the Law imposed upon them. Peter said regarding the Gentile converts and the Law, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they,” (Acts 15:10-11). “...By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified,” (Galatians 2:16). Be zealous, but according to truth!

Church News:

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