"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands ( 31 JUL- 02AUG 20) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from their sins and from Hell: “ Christ is not valued nor His grace appreciated until men have a genuine knowledge of their misery, helplessness, and lost condition because of sin. When sin is sin indeed, then grace is grace indeed, and Christ is Christ indeed. If men have a superficial sense of sin, they have a superficial faith in Christ.” -preacher Thomas Manton (1620–1677 A.D.)

"And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." -Judges 6:39, 40 [KJV] Many of the Lord's people labour under doubts and fears, questionings and suspicions as to the reality of the work of grace upon their hearts; whether their convictions were not merely convictions of natural conscience, and whether their joys have been anything else but the joys of the hypocrite. "O," they say, "what would I not give to have a divine testimony that the blessed Spirit was leading me in the right path!"   It is through these very doubts that the evidence is obtained. Doubts lead to cries and groans after a divine testimony; and in answer to these cries the heavenly witness

Paul the apostle ministered briefly in Athens, Greece ( see Acts 17:16-34) . Among his hearers were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, men renown for their intellectual and logical abilities. When they heard Paul preach, they heard a doctrine new to them and contrary to their philosophies. They derided him as a “babbler” . Desiring to discuss this doctrine with Paul, they escorted him to one of their favorite meeting places, the Areopagus, which the Romans called Mars Hill. This was the ancient judgment seat of Athens, where Socrates had been condemned 300 years earlier. Paul showed no interest in their philosophies. He did not enter into dialogue with them. Rather, Mars Hill became Paul’s pulpit. He politely acknowledged their religious fervor and ignorance of the One he preached, and then reinforced the doctrine that was contrary to their philosophies. When they mocked him and his doctrine, he departed them, leaving them to their philosophical discussions. One can imagine wha

The New Covenan t Shepherd by D.G. Miles McKee “I AM the good shepherd.” -John 10:10 [KJV] Anyone who has read the Bible will agree that the New Covenant is better than the Old. If we are to take the writer of Hebrews seriously, we must come to this conclusion. He makes this point when he says categorically that Christ Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises ( see Hebrews 8:6) . The New Covenant not only has better promises but it also has a, Better Hope (Hebrews 7:19) Better Sacrifices (Hebrews 9:23) Better Testament (Hebrews 7:22) Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) Better Substance (Hebrews 10:34) Better Resurrection (Hebrews 11:35)   The New Covenant is better. After all, which one of us wants to go back to animal sacrifices as a scheme of justification?   In the light of this, it’s hard to believe that we have some people today who insist that Jesus is a mere creation of God. He, they say, is only ‘the Son of God’ and

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in that great day, For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through Thee I am, From sin and fear, from guilt and shame. This spotless robe the same appears, When ruined nature sinks in years; No age can change its glorious hue, The robe of Christ is ever new! -by Nicolaus Van Zinzendorf, 1740 A.D.

"Howbeit when H e, the Spirit of truth, is come, H e will guide you into all truth: for H e shall not speak of H imself; but whatsoever H e shall hear, that shall H e speak: and H e will shew you things to come." -John 16:13 [KJV] There are two grand lessons to be learnt in the school of Christ, and all divine teaching is comprehended and summed up in them. One is, to learn, by the Spirit's teaching, what we are by nature; so as to see and feel the utter ruin and thorough wreck of self, and the complete beggary, weakness, and helplessness of the creature in the things of God. This is the first grand branch of divine teaching. And we have to learn this lesson day by day, "line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" [Isaiah 28:10] . Through this branch of divine teaching we have almost daily to wade, and sometimes to sink into very painful depths under a sense of our depraved nature. And the other grand branch of divine teaching is, &

"Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" -Isaiah 2:22 [KJV] With all the political advertising of the present hour, dividing the opinions of men and women between the various candidates, there is something God's people are to remember: There is no help in man! How can men help us who are ignorant of the most basic truth about men? That being, we are everyone basically evil! Not basically good as most imagine but sinners. A sinner cannot really help another sinner. Our life's breath is given to us by God one breath at a time. All true help must come from God alone. Plus, the greatest need of a sinner is a Savior from their sins. There's only One, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who has saved all His people from their sins. He's the One and His cross death is what God appointed: “ I have laid help upon One that is mighty ; I have exalted One chosen out of the people ” [ Psalm 89:19 ] . This co

To exalt the Lord Jesus, to comfort His beloved people, and to benefit our fellow-men-- should be the great object of our lives. For this purpose we were . . .   chosen by the Father,   redeemed by the blood of the Son,   and are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. To accomplish this end . . .   grace is given us,   gifts are conferred upon us,   and life is continued to us. We only live consistently --as we live for the benefit of others. No Christian should make SELF his main end; therefore the apostle says, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."   If we are influenced by the grace of God, if we study to commend ourselves to God, if we are ruled by the Word of God-- our principal object will be, to "do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Upon this, we shall keep the eye steadily fixed, toward this, we shall bend all our energies, and upon this, we shall habitu

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." -Romans 5:21 [KJV] This is the mercy for mourning saints who are sighing and groaning under a body of sin and death, that God has decreed that grace not only may reign, but that it must reign. Were it left to us, we could no more rescue ourselves from the dominion of sin than the children of Israel could deliver themselves from the house of Egyptian bondage. But they sighed and groaned by reason of the bondage, and their cry came up unto God. He had respect unto His covenant, and looked upon them and delivered them [ Exodus 2:23-25 ] . So God has determined on behalf of His people that sin shall not be their eternal ruin; that it shall not plunge them into crime after crime, until it casts them at last into the gulf of endless woe, but that grace "shall reign through righteousness unto eternal life."   But it must reign here as w

A wealthy and philanthropic individual visits Algiers and approaches a dungeon in which a wretched captive lies bound with chains and fetters, and strongly secured within walls and doors and bars. He proclaims aloud to the captive that he has brought gold sufficient for a ransom, on condition that the captive will liberate himself from his chains, burst open his prison doors and come forth. 'Alas,' exclaims the wretched man, 'your kindness does not reach my case. Unless your gold can effect my deliverance, it can be of no service to me. To offer it on such terms can do me no good.' Now man by nature is spiritually as unable to believe in Christ, as the Algerian captive is physically unable to break his chains and the prison doors; so that all this boasted sufficiency of the atonement is only an empty offer of salvation on certain terms and conditions; and such an atonement would be much too weak to meet the desperate case of a lost sinner. But how differe

"He that hath received H is testimony hath set to his seal that God is true ." -John 3:33 [KJV] We can only set to our seal that God is true in any one point of doctrine, experience, or precept when we feel an inward witness that God indeed has declared it. Thus, upon every manifestation of God's goodness to the soul, every application of Christ's blood to the conscience, and every revelation of God's distinguishing grace, it is only as we receive Christ's testimony, experience the inward approbation of it, and feel its sweetness and blessedness that we can set to our seal that God is true. This, we may be well assured, is the only way to know the power and reality of true religion, to understand the Scriptures, and enjoy a convincing testimony that God is our God, Christ our Saviour, the Holy Ghost our Teacher, heaven our eternal home, and that our soul is saved in the Lord Jesus Christ with an everlasting salvation . And with what divine certainty can

"Faith looks neither to works, nor worthiness in self, but considers what Christ is to the soul, and what the soul is in Him- righteous, perfectly and everlastingly righteous. Then joy, GREAT JOY, springs up. See the claim of faith in My God, "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridgroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). Faith does not cause the Lord to become our God, nor adopt us into His family, but it claims that peculiar and precious interest in Him, which the word of His grace reveals. The Father draws us by His Spirit, to His Son as our righteousness. The Spirit bears witness that we are righteous in His Son. Then faith makes the claim, boasts of it, and glories in it. Then Jesus has our hearts and our hopes. Our affections are placed on Him, our hopes cen

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (24-26JUL20) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from their sins and from Hell: "We must have a righteousness in which Jehovah Himself cannot find a flaw, a righteousness which Jehovah cannot mend, a righteousness which neither sin nor Satan can mar; and unless we have on a righteousness of this nature, we can never enter into the blessedness of the world to come. Where, then, are we to find it? Eternal praises to the matchless mercy of a covenant God, we have it in the blessed Person, glorious work, and spotless obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ! And, therefore, as it was essential for Him to fulfill all righteousness for His people, He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, with all His mind, and with all His strength. He

“When our God sent the flood, the whole world perished except those happy ones who were found in the ark. Even so, there is only ONE WAY of salvation for all persons living under heaven. There is only one name whereby they can be saved. Would you be saved, rich man? There is no way except that way whereby the poorest pauper is also to be saved. Would you be delivered, O man of intelligence? You must be saved in the same way as the most ignorant! There were not two arks, only one. So there are not two saviors, only one Savior! There was no other means of salvation except the ark; so "there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved," except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” -preacher Henry Mahan Note: please find enclosed link to encouraging audio Gospel messages https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Henry_Mahan

“ Christ died for the UNGODLY” [Romans 5:6] . God’s righteous grace comes to us through the law-honouring, justice-satisfying, sin-atoning Work of the Lord Jesus! Here, then, is the very essence of the Gospel: the proclamation of God’s amazing grace , the declaration of Divine bounty , altogether irrespective of human worth or merit. In the great Satisfaction of His Son, God has “ brought near HIS righteousness” [Isaiah 46:13] . - The Doctrine of Justification , ch. vii, by Arthur W. Pink

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of H im." -Ephesians 1:17 [KJV] Revelation means literally an uncovering or unveiling of a concealed or covered-up object. It is used, therefore, sometimes in the sense of manifesting, making known, or bringing to light, what had before been hidden in darkness and obscurity. This revelation is, therefore, either outward in the word, or inward in the soul, and the two strictly correspond to and are counterparts of each other. Immediately that, by the power of divine grace, a poor Gentile sinner turns to the Lord, the Spirit of revelation removes the veil off the Scriptures, and off his heart. Have we not found it so? What a sealed book was the word of God once to us! How we read or heard it without one real ray of light to illuminate the dark page; and what a thick veil was there of ignorance, unbelief, prejudice, self-righteousness, and

"Salvation is wholly of grace, not only undeserved but undesired by us until God is pleased to awaken us to a sense of our need of it. And then we find everything prepared that our wants require or our wishes conceive; yea, that He has done exceedingly beyond what we could either ask or think. Salvation is wholly of the Lord and bears those signatures of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which distinguish all His works from the puny imitations of men. It is every way worthy of Himself, a great, a free, a full, a sure salvation. It is great whether we consider the objects (miserable, hell-deserving sinners), the end (the restoration of such alienated creatures to His image and favor, to immortal life and happiness) or the means (the incarnation, humiliation, sufferings and death of His beloved Son). It is free, without exception of persons or cases, without any conditions or qualifications, but such as He, Himself, performs in them and bestows upon them." -preac

"Our fathers trusted in T hee: they trusted, and T hou didst deliver them. They cried unto T hee, and were delivered: they trusted in T hee, and were not confounded." -Psalm 22:4, 5 [KJV] O what a blessed thing it is to have in one's own bosom a secret trust in Jesus—that whilst so many are looking to something in themselves or in one another, resting their eternal salvation on works that really are but the sports of a child, the saint of God is reposing upon the Lord of life and glory! On Him he hangs his hope, and in Him he puts his trust. These the Lord will honour; nor will He ever disappoint their hope or put their confidence to shame. Whoever trusted in the Lord and was confounded? If you are enabled to trust in Him, to believe His faithful word, to discard all creature confidence and to hang the weight of your soul— and O what a weight is that!—upon a faithful, covenant- keeping God, He will never leave, fail, or forsake you. You may find it hard to trust in

CHRIST OUR REDEMPTION by D. G. Miles McKee We are not redeemed because we felt or experienced something. No indeed! We are redeemed because the Lord Christ bought and paid for us with His own blood some 2000 years ago. We are His purchased possession. He owns us. We have been bought with a price [I Corinthians 6:20 ] . In other words, we have been redeemed. Is it any wonder then that the hymn writer can declare; “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the blood of the L amb: Redeemed by H is infinite mercy, His child and forever I am.   Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am.” Romans 3:24 informs us that our redemption is “ in Christ Jesus. ” This means that Jesus didn’t come merely to pay the ransom, He came to be the ransom. He came to be our redemption. That´s why, in Ephesians 1:7 we read, “ In whom we have redemption through His blood …” We also see in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “Christ is m

"Awake, O sword, against M y shepherd, and against the man that is M y fellow, saith the L ORD of hosts." -Zechariah 13:7 [KJV] Would we see, feel, and realise the exceeding sinfulness of sin, it is not by viewing the lightnings and hearing the thunders of Sinai's fiery top, but in seeing the agony and bloody sweat, and hearing the groans and cries of the suffering Son of God, as made sin for us, in the garden and upon the cross. To look upon Him whom we have pierced will fill heart and eyes with godly sorrow for sin, and a holy mourning for and over a martyred, injured Lord. To see, by the eye of faith, as revealed to the soul by the power of God, the darling Son of God bound, scourged, buffeted, spit upon, mocked, and then, as the climax of cruel scorn and infernal cruelty, crucified between two thieves,—this believing sight, this fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, will melt the hardest heart into contrition and compunction. But when we see, by the eye of f

God’s love for us is in Christ; God’s choice of us is in Christ; God’s righteousness is fulfilled for us in Christ; God’s acceptance of us is in Christ. This is all our salvation – not our works, feelings, nor our righteousnesses. My God, when I approach Thy throne, And all Thy glory see, This is my stay and this alone, That Christ Jesus died for me. ‘ Tis not by works of righteousness Which our own hands have done, But we are saved by sovereign grace Abounding through THE SON. -copied

"O For a Closer Walk With God A calm and heavenly frame A light to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb Where is the blessedness I knew When I first saw the Lord? Where is that soul-refreshing view Of Jesus and His word? What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void The world can never fill Return, O holy Dove! return Sweet messenger of rest! I hate the sins that made Thee mourn And drove Thee from my breast The dearest idol I have known Whate'er that idol be Help me tear it from Thy throne And worship only Thee So shall my walk be close with God Calm and serene my frame So purer light shall mark the road That leads me to the Lamb." -Wm. Cowper

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of H is Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by H is life." -Romans 5:10 [KJV] What a fearful spot it is to be in—to feel and fear oneself an enemy to God! I think it is one of the most painful feelings that ever passed through my breast, to fear I was an enemy to God. For what must be the consequence, if a man live and die having God for his enemy? In that warfare he must perish. If God be his enemy, who can be his friend? Such sensations in the bosom are well-nigh akin to despair. Let a man fully feel that he is God's enemy, where can he hide his head? Hell itself seems to afford him no refuge. But he must be exercised with something of this before he can prize reconciliation . He must see himself to be an enemy of God by birth—that he was born in what our Reformers called "birth sin;" and that his carnal mind is enmity against God. O the painful sensations of the carn

When we look up and attempt to view Him sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high in all His exalted dignity and power as King of kings and Lord of lords—then we feel as if dazzled and overborne with a sight and sense of His surpassing glory. In the days of His flesh, the beloved disciple could lean on the bosom of Jesus and stand by His cross; but when in Patmos’ lonely isle He appeared in His majesty so that “His eyes were as a flame of fire,” and “His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength,” John fell at His feet as dead! Yet if He has made us willing in the day of His power, has brought us to His feet in all humility to touch the scepter of His grace and own Him Lord of all, we may, in company with His saints, “speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom” [ Psalm 145:11, 12 ] . -J. C. Philpot

First, His enemies’ King; Secondly, His saints’ King; Thirdly, His Father’s King. First, Christ is His enemies’ King, that is—He is King over His enemies. Christ is a King above all kings. What are all the mighty men, the great, the honorable men of the earth, as compared to Jesus Christ? They are but like a little bubble in the water; for if all the nations in comparison to God be but as the drop of the bucket, or the dust of the balance, as the prophet speaks in Isaiah 40:15, how little then must be the kings of the earth! Nay, beloved, Christ Jesus is not only higher than kings—but He is higher than the angels; yes, He is the head of angels, and, therefore, all the angels in heaven are commanded to worship him [ Colossians 2:12, Hebrews 1:6 ] . He is King over all kingdoms, over all nations, over all governments, over all powers, over all people [ Daniel 7:14 ] . The very heathen are given to Christ, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession [ Psalm 2:8 ] . Second

“Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah.” -Psalm 3:8 [KJV]

"The poor have the gospel preached to them." -Matthew 11:5 [KJV] What is the gospel? Is not the gospel a proclamation of pure mercy, of superabounding grace? Does it not declare the lovingkindness of God in sending His only-begotten Son to bleed and die, and, by His obedience, blood, and merit, to bring in a salvation without money and without price? Is not this the gospel? Not clogged by conditions, nor crippled by anything that the creature has to perform; but flowing freely forth as the air in the skies? The poor to whom the gospel is preached, value it; it is suitable to them; it is sweet and precious when the heart is brought down. But if I stand up in religious pride, if I rest upon my own righteousness, if I am not stripped of everything in the creature, what is the gospel to me? I have no heart to receive it; there is no place in my soul for a gospel without money and without price. But when I sink into the depth of creature poverty, when I am nothing and have

"Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shall become a plain: and H e shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it ." -Zechariah 4:7 If the literal temple had been built up without any trouble whatever; if all had gone on smooth and easy, there would not have been any shouting of "Grace, grace," when it was finished. But when it was seen how the Lord had brought a few feeble exiles from Babylon; how He had supported them amidst and carried them through all their troubles; and how He that laid the foundation had brought forth the head-stone, all that stood by could say, "Grace, grace unto it." It was these very perplexities and trials that made them join so cheerily in the shout, and made the heart and soul to leap with the lips, when they burst forth with "Grace, grace unto it." And who will shout the loudest hereafter? He that has known and felt the most of the aboundings of sin t

"In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ." -Jeremiah 23:6 "...the righteousness of God without the law is manifested... being JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." -Romans 3:21-26 "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." -Isaiah 43:25 "For He [ the Father ] hath made Him [ Christ Jesus ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." -II Corinthians 5:21 "Who is a God like unto Thee,

"Though H e were a Son, yet learned H e obedience by the things which H e suffered." -Hebrews 5:8 [KJV] Our gracious Lord had to learn obedience to the will of God by a personal experience of suffering, and especially by an implicit submission to His heavenly Father's will. And what was this will? That He should take upon Himself the huge debt which His bride had incurred by original and actual transgression; that He should offer Himself as a ransom price to discharge and put it away; that He should bear our sins in His own body on the tree, with everything which was involved in being made a curse for us; that He should by death overcome Satan, who had the power of death, and deliver them who all their life, through fear of death, were subject to bondage; and that, whatever sorrows and sufferings should lie in His path, He should bear them all, and learn, in and by them, implicit submission to the will of God. This was the will of God, for He was determined that H

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (1 7 -1 9 JUL20) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from our sins and from Hell: “ Whosoever believeth that JESUS IS THE CHRIST is born of God” -I JOHN 5:1 [KJV] All who are born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ. The title THE CHRIST signifies anointed and includes all the offices of the Son of God. To believe Him to be THE CHRIST is to believe Him to that Prophet which Moses said should come, who has declared the whole mind and will of the Father. It is to believe He is that Priest which should arise after the order of Melchizedek and make full atonement for sin and effectual intercession for transgressors. It is to believe He is King of kings and Lord of lords, whom God hath set over all things from all ages and for all time. This

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." - I TIMOTHY 2:5 [KJV] That He is God, is the very foundation of His salvation; for it is His eternal Godhead that gives virtue, efficacy, and dignity to all that as man He did and suffered for His chosen people. If He were not God, God and man in one glorious Person, what hope would there be for our guilty souls? Could His blood atone for our sins, unless Deity gave it efficacy? Could His righteousness justify our persons, unless Deity imparted merit and value to all the doings and sufferings of His humanity? Could His loving heart sympathise with and deliver us, unless "as God over all," He saw and knew all that passes within us, and had all power, as well as all compassion, to exert on our behalf? We are continually in circumstances where no man can do us the least good, and where we cannot help or deliver ourselves; we are in snares, and cannot break them; we are in tempt

Psalm 32 declares the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. This good news is unfolded for us in Romans 3 where we see how God can be just, and yet the justifier of the person who believes in Jesus. In the cross of Christ, we learn the wonderful story of how God cancels our debt of sin, and yet acts in full consistency with His own character and righteousness. Do you know the blessedness of transgression forgiven, and sins covered? Many years ago, in England, way before the times of government health care, in a fishing village there lived a fisherman man with his wife and family. One day, while out shooting, he met with a serious gun accident, which deprived him of the means of gaining a living for them. As a result, the family was thrown into abject poverty and despair. The wife in her distress went to a wealthy gentleman who lived nearby, to ask him if he could help them. He listened to her sad story, and then asked her the unexpected que