CALL TO WORSHIP

(Tune: How Firm A Foundation)

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,

The joy of my heart & the boast of my ton­gue;

Thy grace, so free, from the 1st to the last,

Has won my affections and bound my soul fast.

Thy mercy in Jesus has saved me from hell;

Its glories to sing & its wonders to tell;

Twas Christ my Redeemer who hung on the tree,

That opened the fountain of mercy for me.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,

And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;

All praise to Thy Spirit; His calling Di­vine,

Makes wisdom & pardon & righteousness mine.

Secure in Christ Jesus, no power can shake;

The foundation is laid, & it never can break;

With God justified, our salvation to bless,

In the Lord Jesus Christ our Righteous­ness.

Today’s Speaker: Brother Randy Wages will conduct the 11:00 am service today. Pray for him as he delivers God’s word.

Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast on WFXL Fox 31, Channel 4. The program will air every Sunday morning at 11 AM.

Radio Broadcast: Sunday morning at 9:30am on 98.7 FM –WISK.

Web Sites: Visit our web sites at: Reign of Grace: www.rofgrace.com

Sermon Audio: www.Sermonaudio.com\reignofgrace

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reignofgrace

Birthdays: Winston Pannell – Mar. 12^th – Leon Drake – Mar. 14^th

Time Change: Just a reminder to remember to Spring Forward the time this Saturday evening.

God Rejoices in the Ordered Lives of His Children

“…he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire,…” 2 Samuel 23:5b

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. ⁴¹Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, Jeremiah 32:40-41

“… all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28b

By God-given faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the preached Gospel of God’s grace, believers come to know the covenant God of the Bible and the certain assurance of salvation through the shed blood of the covenant whereby the justice-satisfying righteousness of God is established for them. His substitutionary accomplishment on their behalf is the very title to eternal salvation for all for whom Christ’s redeeming blood was shed.

Faith believes God’s Word. So in view of the scripture above, by faith true believers can rejoice in knowing that their all wise, all powerful, covenant God has ordered “all things,” every circumstance of their lives for their eternal good, knowing He will never turn away from doing them good. It is His delight! Believers, think on that. This means that when we’re burdened down with the most difficult of circumstances, God is rejoicing in them. And having purposed them by His infinite wisdom, He rejoices in His knowledge of what we likely can’t discern – how even the most stressful, trying circumstances that we would never choose for ourselves are in fact for our eternal good and benefit. Knowing this, I pray that by faith, God would keep us ever mindful that this is so, even through all the trials and troubled times that we endure. May we rest by faith in His declared truth that He, who has ordered all things, is rejoicing in knowing they are for our good.

--- Randy Wages

REASONS OR EXCUSES?

All people have trouble. In the life of each person comes trouble, trials, afflictions and difficulty. How we respond to these things reveals who we are. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 107:6, “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” He is speaking here of the Lord’s true people. Those men and women of faith who have been born of His Spirit, received the promises of the gospel of Christ and believe them. They are not immune to such trouble but when trouble comes to them, “THEN” they cry unto the Lord! What provides an excuse for the false professor provides a reason for the believer. When troubles come to the false professor, troubles in circumstances, family and body, they find in these things an excuse not to obey God, call on God or worship God. They excuse themselves from these things on the ground of all their trouble. Not so with the child of God! Every believer knows that these things come from their heavenly Father. They see in them all the more reason to cry out to Him, seek to obey Him and worship Him. They find comfort in His Word. “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” (Psalm 119:50) They call upon God in their trouble. “Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.” (Psalm 102:2) When difficult days come, they find in them many reasons for seeking to hear the good news of God’s gospel and the fellowship of His believing people. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) The faith we profess to have will be tried and tested. Only true faith can stand these tests. “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:6,7) Do your troubles make you “cry unto the Lord” or just cry? Are they reasons to seek Him or excuses to forsake Him? Are they reasons to worship the God of all grace or excuses to worry? Are they reasons to seek the fellowship of His saints or excuses to seek comfort from the world?