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Marks Of The True Believer

”No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” | Matthew 6: 24

The orders of the two masters are diametrically opposed.

The one commands you to walk by faith, the other by sight; the one to be humble, the other to be proud; the one to set your affection on things above, the other to set it on the things on the earth; the one to look at things unseen and eternal, the other to look at the things seen and temporal; the one to have your conversation in Heaven, the other to cleave to the dust; the one to be careful for nothing, the other to be full of anxiety; the one to be content with such things as ye have, the other to enlarge your desires as hell; the one to be ready to distribute, the other to withhold for self; the one to look on things of others, the other to look out for one’s own things; the one to seek happiness in the Creator, the other to seek happiness in the creature.

Is it not plain that there is no serving two such masters?

“If ye love the one, ye must hate the other; if ye cleave to the one, you must despise the other.” You cannot serve God and mammon!

To serve mammon, to lay up treasures on earth, is to make present, sensible, worldly things, the great subjects of our thoughts, the great object of our affection.

To serve God, to lay up treasures in Heaven, is just to make the things divine and heavenly the great subjects of our thoughts, and the great objects of our affection.

The two things are obviously incompatible.

Scripture says the covetous man is an idolater.

The friendship of the world is enmity with God; and, whosoever will be a friend of the world, must be an enemy of God.

~ William Jay

Click here to listen to the message “Marks Of The True Believer”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Central Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 20 March, 2022 | Previous post date: n/a | Rocky Mount, Virginia

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Rest In Christ

”After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” | John 19: 28-30

“It Is Finished”

Every time I consider this passage, my mind focuses first on the word “IT.”

All that God required concerning the redemption of God’s sheep… all that the law demanded for justice and judgment against His people… every type and shadow of Christ in the Old Testament is included in “IT.”

And though this frail creature fails to grasp the fullness of “IT”, all was completed!

Everything God eternally willed, purposed, decreed, and ordained was FINISHED by Christ’s one sacrifice for sin. And the marvel of this blessed truth is summed up with the word “IS.”

That which He has done, He has done forever!

What a declaration of peace for a needy sinner from the mouth of the glorious Lamb of God.

~ Pastor Marvin Stalnaker

Click here to listen to the message “Rest In Christ”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 8 December, 2019 | Previous post date: n/a

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The Only Reason For Salvation

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” | 1 John 2: 12

There is only one reason revealed in Holy Scripture that any sinner would be pardoned from all sin.

That one reason is Christ alone. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4: 32)

Christ Jesus was manifested to take away our sin and in Him is no sin. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3: 5)

The only reason for grace is Christ. “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” (John 1: 16)

The only reason for mercy is Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3: 5)

The only reason for salvation is Christ. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4: 12)

The only reason for sanctification is Christ. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1: 30)

His name’s sake includes all these things and much more. “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” (Romans 5: 20)

“But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43: 1-7)

Salvation is not because of our merit, nor our baptism, nor our works, nor our prayers, nor our repentance, nor our faith; but for the sake of Christ, his blood, sacrifice and satisfaction; and it reaches to all our sins, original and actual, secret and open, past, present, and future.

“Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” (Isaiah 44: 21-23)

The only reason for our salvation is not found in us, but rather in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

~ Pastor Tom Harding

Click here to listen to the message “Called, Chosen and Faithful”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 24 May, 2020 | Previous post date: 11 April, 2021

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If God The Holy Spirit Calls All…

”Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” | Psalm 110: 3

How often have your heard a preacher say, “God has done all he can to save you, and now it is up to you”?

Think about that for a minute.

If God has done all he can to save all men, if God the Holy Spirit is gracious alike to all, if he calls all alike, if his power is exercised upon all alike for the saving of their souls, and some yet perish in unbelief under the wrath of God and are forever lost, what does the power, grace, will, and call of God the Holy Spirit have to do with anyone’s salvation?

Absolutely nothing!

If the Spirit of God strives to regenerate and save all men alike, if he seeks to bring every man and woman in the world to life and faith in Christ, and some are not saved, then it must be concluded that he has no power to give life to anyone, that he has no grace to regenerate anyone, that he has no ability to save anyone. In a word, it must be concluded that the eternal God is a frustrated, dismal failure, incapable of accomplishing anything!

To say that God loves all people alike, that he wills the salvation of all, that Christ died to redeem and save all, that the Holy Spirit strives to save all is to declare, “Salvation is not of the Lord at all, but rather it is the response and work of man that saves!” It is to declare, as multitudes do, “God has done all that he can do, but salvation is altogether up to you!” Such thoughts are utterly blasphemous!

Caused to Approach

It is written, “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple” (Psalm 65: 4) Regeneration, the new birth, eternal life is the gift and work of God the Holy Spirit, the operation of his omnipotent grace. (John 3: 5-8)

Every chosen, redeemed sinner is, at God’s appointed “time of love,” graciously born of the Spirit, made willing in the day of Christ’s saving power, and caused to approach him in faith. It is not the sinner’s willingness to come to Christ, or his coming to Christ in faith that causes him to be born of God.

Can a spiritually dead sinner rally his will and alter it, muster faith in himself and bring himself to Christ?

What nonsense!

By the new birth and the revelation of Christ in the heaven born soul, the sinner is given a new nature and a new will, a new heart with new inclinations, and is sweetly, irresistibly, effectually caused to come to Christ in faith.

More than Religious Knowledge

The new birth is more than a change of mind. It is more than the mere acquirement of religious knowledge. Anyone who is familiar with the Word of God knows that all men and women have some awareness of God, of sin, of life, of death, of judgment, and of eternity. (Romans 1: 18-20; Romans 2: 14-15)

Man is by nature a very religious creature. (John 5: 39-40) And unsaved religious people often recognize and believe some true facts about God and Christ and salvation. (John 3: 2) But the quickening, regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit is much, much more than embracing facts about God and salvation. As John Owen wrote…

“Of all the poison which at this day is diffused in the minds of men, corrupting them from the mystery of the gospel, there is no part that is more pernicious than this one perverse imagination, that to ‘believe in Christ’ is nothing at all but to believe the doctrine of the gospel!’”

In the new birth Christ is revealed in the chosen sinner. (Galatians 1: 15-16) God the Holy Spirit gives impotent, dead sinners eternal life. (John 3: 5-8; Ephesians 2: 1-5) And the life he imparts is Christ himself. (Colossians 1: 27; 2 Peter 1: 4) Revealing Christ in the heart, he convicts and convinces sinners of sin, righteousness, and judgment, (John 16: 8-15; 1 Corinthians 2: 7-10; Zechariah 10: 12) and effectually draws sinners to Christ and makes them willing to come. (John 6: 44-45; Psalm 110: 3)

~ Pastor Don Fortner

Click here to listen to the message “A Great Savior For Great Sinners”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

FreeGraceRadio.com Bulletin Article date: 9 June, 2007 | Previous post date: n/a | Danville, Kentuky

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What Do I Do Now?

”And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” | Genesis 17: 1

What do I do when I am under severe trial, enduring pain of body and mind, and am full of fear?

What do I do when dying seems to be easier than living with the circumstances the Lord has given me?

The answer for the believer is simple: do the same things you do when the Lord blesses you: worship publicly, pray, and read God’s Word. What do I do when I don’t understand what God is doing or how He could possibly bring good out of my painful situation? Go to the house of the Lord in the public worship service just like you do when the Lord blesses you. “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” (Psalm 73: 16-17)

What do I do when I am so full of fear?

Trust the Lord just like you do when the Lord blesses you. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” (Psalm 56: 3)

What do I do when I feel hopeless and helpless?

Look to Christ just like you do when the Lord blesses you. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” (Psalm 121: 1)

What do I do when I don’t think I have the strength to endure for one more minute?

Trust the Lord to be your strength. “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.” (Ezekiel 34: 16)

No matter what our circumstances may be at the moment, let us say with David, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34: 1)

~ Pastor Frank Tate

Click here to listen to the message “Walking Before God”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 14 November, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a

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Praise With My Whole Heart

”It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:” | Psalm 92: 1

We have so much to be thankful for.

It is a good thing to (as often as we can) just stop and remind ourselves of how many wonderful things our gracious God has given us to be thankful for.

How could we ever say thank you enough for the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that He abundantly shed on us to put away all of our sin?

How could we ever say thank you enough for the mercy that begins brand new every morning?

Every plate of food that we eat, every drop of water that we drink, every breath of air that we breathe, all of it has been generously given to us by the Lord our God. He protects us, He cares for us, He leads us and guides us only in His good and right way. He will keep us until our journey through this life ends, and then He will bring us home to an eternal inheritance in glory where we will forever be with Him!

Every time a chosen child of God is reminded of the abundance of mercy and grace that has been shown to him (in that moment of remembrance) all of the murmuring and complaining goes away. All of the fear and doubt goes away. All of the self-pity and wallowing in misery goes away.

Yes, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord”!

~ Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

Click here to listen to the message “Praise With My Whole Heart”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 8 December, 2019 | Previous post date: n/a

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Repentance, The Missing Note

”Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” | Luke 24: 45-48

Preaching repentance is not something apart from the Gospel, the cry of repentance is in the gospel message.

It is that cry in the Gospel that makes the Gospel become good news.

The grace of repentance as it effectually works in the heart causes a man to take sides with God against himself and confess that he and his sin is an obnoxious thing to a thrice Holy God. He is made to see that in his nature and practice he is a heinous thing and must repent or perish, turn or burn.

I am sincerely afraid that great multitudes of professing Christians are no more than that, “Professing Christians”. I am fearful that they have done no more than accepted someone’s proposition and merely agreed with a “simple plan of salvation,” that at best can only produce a false hope. In such cases the heart hasn’t been smitten with conviction of sin, and neither has there been a development of “godly sorrow,” creating remorse and confession of the heinousness of sin before a Holy God.

The modern concept of “soul winning” has produced an easy-believe type of religion that has only populated the churches with a mass number of poor misguided souls that are “twofold more the child of Hell” than before.

The earnest prayer of this pastor is that God will be pleased to pour out upon this religious, but lost world the spirit of grace and supplication. And that those who parade themselves on the “Broadway to destruction,” blindly convinced that they are in the straight and narrow may be brought into the dust of repentance.

As an old minister of long ago said, “There is no going to the fair haven of glory without sailing through the narrow strait of repentance.”

~ Terry Worthan

Click here to listen to the message “Cleanse Your Hands And Purify Your Hearts”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Central Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 13 March, 2022 | Previous post date: n/a | Rocky Mount, Virginia

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The Difference In: No Faith; Weak Faith; And Strong Faith.

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” | Luke 17: 5

When a person has no faith at all, he looks to his own flesh for all of his confidence before God.

He believes that God will be satisfied with him by what he sees in himself – his actions, his words, and his thoughts.

When a person has weak faith, he looks to himself for a little bit of confidence before God.

He knows that he will never be able to satisfy God outside of the blood of Christ, but something in him still thinks that he must produce good actions, good words, and good thoughts along with Christ’s blood before God will accept him.

When a person is strong in faith, he does not look to himself at all.

He knows that he can have absolutely no confidence in his flesh. When it comes to God accepting him, all of his hope is in Christ’s actions, Christ’s words, and Christ’s thoughts.

He firmly believes that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief!” And “He is made unto (me) wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”

Christ is all I need!

In summary…

No faith – has all confidence in the flesh.

Weak faith – has a little confidence in the flesh.

Strong faith – has NO confidence in the flesh at all!

~ Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

Click here to listen to the message “Lord Keep Us!”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 24 May, 2020 | Previous post date: 9 April, 2021

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In Spirit and Truth

”God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him, Must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth,” | John 4: 24

Here are two principles of worship without which all worship of God is vain.

God must be worshipped in spirit – a heart worship – as opposed to mere forms and ceremonies, going through the motions with body and lip service, etc.

If the heart does not pray it, the prayer is not accepted. IF the heart does not sing it, the song is not accepted. If the heart does not believe it, it is vain to profess it.

Those who worship God, must worship in spirit. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10: 10)

Those who worship God in spirit must also worship Him in truth.

God has revealed Himself in His Word of truth as who HE is; how HE saves; by whom HE saves; the way in which any one must approach unto Him to worship.

All worship that is contrary to truth is vain worship.

All who worship God must worship Him in truth.

Someone has said, “How astonishing is the fact, that man dares to introduce his miserable inventions to deform the scriptural simplicity of divine; as if God who makes all things perfect, had, in this most important institution, forgotten to direct the use of altars – magnificent vestment – pomp and ceremonies. When will man, with child-like simplicity, follow gospel rules?”

~ Pastor Bruce Crabtree

Click here to listen to the message “What is it that really matters”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

FreeGraceRadio.com Bulletin Article date: 15 June, 2007 | Previous post date: n/a | Danville, Kentuky

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To Die Is Gain

”For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” | Philippians 1: 21

Believers are not at risk of losing anything in death.

What they lose is this cursed flesh that has been nothing to them but a plague from the day they were born.

What they lose is an old nature that has warred against their spiritual minds from the day they were born of God.

What they lose is all the soap bubble dreams of a cursed world that promises everything and gives nothing but heartache and disappointment.

In death they lose corruption and put on incorruption.

In death they lose mortality and gain immortality.

For the believer death is gain because death is swallowed up in victory.

Death to the believer is gain because he will leave this sinful world and immediately be ushered into the presence of his beloved Savior.

~ Pastor Darvin Pruitt

Click here to listen to the message “Passing From Death Unto Life”

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 14 November, 2021 | Previous post date: n/a