MAY 19 , 2023
Editor | Dr . Shelton Smith Vol . LXXXIX , No . 10
Big Day Benefits 11
In God ’ s Hand 3
The Same Message Everywhere Every Time
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God Cares for You
A Message to Christians
WALTER B . KNIGHT
To Dr . Martin , hesitating to leave his very sick wife to fulfill a preaching engagement , the reas - suring counsel of his small son came as word from the Lord : “ Don ’ t worry , Daddy . God will take care of Mother while you ’ re gone .” So , Dr . Martin preached that night and hearts sought and found the Lord as a result .
Rejoicing , he hurried home to find Mrs . Martin ’ s condition much improved . During his absence she had written the words of the wellknown gospel song :
Be not dismayed whate ’ er betide ; God will take care of you . Beneath His wings of love abide ; God will take care of you .
It should gladden the hearts of God ’ s children to know that they are the objects of His tenderest care and unfailing mercy ; that “ like as a father pitieth his children , so the
LORD pitieth them that fear him ” ( Ps . 103:13 ).
His care includes the smallest details of life , for we are told that “ the very hairs of your head are all numbered ” ( Matt . 10:30 ).
When an aged saint asked a small boy to read the words of a motto that hung on her wall , he read , “ Thou God seest me .” Then she said , “ Laddie , folks say that God ’ s eye is on you to mark your sins and shortcomings ; but always
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The Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ
JOSEPH BROWN ( 1924 – 2005 )
Founder and Pastor , Manna Bible Baptist Church , Baltimore , Maryland
(“ Preacher Brown ,” as he was affectionately known , had a long , solid and influential ministry in Baltimore . His daily radio program , Grace Memorial Hour , was heard all across the northeastern USA . He was a dear friend for whom I preached and he preached for me on a number of occasions .)
“ Yea doubtless , and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things , and do count them but dung , that I may win Christ .”— Phil . 3:8 .
Shifting Sands and Swallowing Sinkholes
DR . KENNY MC COMAS
This subject , “ The Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ ,” has been on my heart . How thrilled I am to be able to preach it today ! Paul is writing to the church at Rome , a church which he had never visited personally ; a church that had only heard of him . In writing this epistle , he is going to put down in doctrinal thesis the centrality of what he believes .
Even though we are reading in our text , “ I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ,” it relates to the theme of justification by faith , which is found in the Book of Romans .
“ And be found in him , not having mine own righteousness , which is of the law , but that which is through the faith of Christ , the righteousness which is of God by faith .”— Vs . 9 .
The summation of these two verses , Philippians 3:8 and 9 , is seen to be the great theme of justification before a holy God , by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ . The doctrine of justification by faith in Christ is the Gospel . To take it away is to lose the heart of the Gospel and have no gospel at all .
THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST IS THE GREATEST OF ALL KNOWLEDGE
As we think about knowledge , Continued on p 6 ▶
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You may recall a very strange thing happened in Winter Park , Florida . It was in May 1981 when , without warning , some Winter Park residents awakened to discover what was solid earth when they went to sleep wasn ’ t solid anymore .
A Mrs . Owens looked out her picture window and saw a poplar tree disappearing before her very eyes . That was only the beginning . Before the sinkhole was finished sinking , it had swallowed the Owenses ’ three-bedroom home , five Porsche automobiles , the deep end of the municipal swimming pool and an entire city block .
The cavity in the earth was longer than a football field and more than eight stories deep . What was thought to be terra firma wasn ’ t solid after all .
The scientific explanation was
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that there were huge limestone caverns beneath the surface that for centuries were filled with water . When the water table lowered , the sands shifted , creating huge air pockets .
I personally stood near where the earth opened its mouth and swallowed everything that had been on the surface in Florida . It ’ s strange , indeed , to see the roofs of houses more than a hundred feet below you .
There is a similar situation existing where many unsuspecting people live spiritually and morally .
It matters not how great our gifts are personally or how many achievements we ’ ve accumulated individually . The slow , shifting sands and waning waters of life can cause us to be living on a sinkhole ’ s surface .
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Perhaps this is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the life of that man who may have had more natural gifts and higher |
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California Church Ordered to Pay $ 1.2 Million for Breaking COVID-19 Rules
A judge ruled … to have a church in California pay $ 1.2 million in fines — including interest — for defying COVID-19 rules during the pandemic by holding large religious services where attendees were not wearing masks .
Calvary Chapel in San Jose was dealt the fine , including 10 percent interest , on April 7 … for having exhibited “ egregious conduct ” in flouting the mask-wearing rules of the county between November 2020 and June 2021 .
Calvary Chapel was one among several large churches in California that ignored the state and local mask-wearing and social distancing rules at the time .…
… An attorney for Calvary Chapel told the San Jose Mercury News the church will appeal .
— gopusa . com
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