Graceway Bible Society

GRACEWAY BIBLE SOCIETY
*** THE SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL ***

We try to post a new message each week.

SATURDAY, August 28, 2004

"And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"
Genesis 4:9.

Dear Fellow-Keepers Of Our Brethren,

"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." John 17:11,12.

Brethren, when we open our Bibles to the seventeenth chapter of John, the veil of the Holiest of all is drawn aside and we behold the wonder of the Son communing with the Father. Spiritually speaking, we must remove our shoes and bow our faces to the earth, for we are on holy ground. Pause for a moment or two and be still before our Lord.

This LORD'S DAY we will allow our eyes to concentrate on one great aspect of the Lord Jesus' ministry as He bears His heart unto His Father. Open your ears and hear what the Spirit has to say unto His church. We shall focus our attention to the following declaration made by our Great Shepherd; "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost." How my heart rejoices in the keeping power of the Lord Jesus Christ! All the forces of the evil one could not cause the Chief Shepherd to lose His mighty grip on His redeemed. Recount but a few of the attempts of Satan to destroy the disciples who followed the Shepherd. Remember the spiritual pride of the disciples after they had cast out demons and worked miracles? Pride goes before a fall. See how many times the eyes of the disciples were turned aside from looking at the Saviour, such as Peter's beholding the waves and sinking, or on the mount of transfiguration when they wanted to build three tabernacles. And who can forget Peter's shameful rebuke of our Lord as Christ described His sacrificial death? Remember what Jesus said to Peter, mere days before His passion? "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Luke 22:31,32.

You should take some extra time to consider the many instances recorded in the Gospels, as well as in Acts, where the disciples were attacked by the devil with the evil intent of destroying them. Brethren, our mighty Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, has truly kept His sheep. Let us be completely honest: WE NEED TO BE KEPT! The grace of God has redeemed your wretched soul, BUT YOU NEED TO BE KEPT! The Holy Ghost has regenerated you, BUT YOU NEED TO BE KEPT! You have been cleansed from all sin, BUT YOU NEED TO BE KEPT! Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ you have been made alive from the dead, BUT YOU NEED TO BE KEPT! You have seen the mighty power of God displayed in your behalf, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO BE KEPT! Brethren, the same HAND that rescued you from hell MUST KEEP YOU!

Brethren, have you ever been kept from sin? I know you have. It is well to recount those times when our Lord delivered us from turning again to our own vomit. 2 Peter 2:22. Our Lord Jesus gives us the key, as to how this is accomplished, in His prayer. In John 17:11 He addresses His Father as "HOLY FATHER". It is the holiness of God that "keeps" us from sin. Every time we are tempted to enter into any form of sin, the power of our "HOLY FATHER" is ready to manifest itself by KEEPING us from that sin. Hallelujah!

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen." Jude 24,25. May this be so this glorious LORD'S DAY. Amen!

I am yours in living union
with the Lord Jesus Christ,

Jerry H. Matson, Ephesians 1:6

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THE FOLLOWING IS BY THE REV. JERRY MATSON,
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE THE GRACEWAY BIBLE SOCIETY

Brother Jerry Matson is the founder and pastor of the Harbour Light Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia as well as the founder and general director of Fundamental Missions, Inc., (with a very active mission to seamen in Norfolk, Virginia) which has missionaries in four foreign countries as well as in the U.S.

"The greatest privilege we have on the face of this earth is to PREACH CHRIST"

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SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2004

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him
from the dead." Acts 17:30-31.

Dear Resurrection-Assured Brethren,

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works." Revelation 20:12-13.

"THERE'S A GREAT DAY COMING!", a ".day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ." Romans 2:16. Every evil deed which has ever been
commited by Christ-rejecting sinners is recorded in the register of doom
and that register shall be fully read at the final judgment. Take a few
moments to consider that scene, THE JUDGMENT DAY! The indictments will be
certified and the summons will be issued for every lost sinner who ever
lived, from the day of creation until the sounding of the last trumpet.
The bailiff of the HIGH COURT OF THE LIVING GOD, shall unerringly round up
every named offender of God's Holy Law, and present them before HIS
majestic bar of final judgment. In that day the good will need no
concealment and the evil will find none, for "God shall judge the secrets
of men". Those hypocrites, who pretended to have a part with the redeemed,
but secretly relished the forbidden fruit, shall be exposed for what they
are. Those sins which were committed behind closed doors and drawn
curtains will now be open scandal for all to behold. Oh, the shame of
secret sin!

Can you imagine the terror of those who rebelled against God, as they stand
in their shackles before that GREAT WHITE THRONE and every being that ever
lived is commanded by the bailiff of the HIGH COURT to "Rise and stand in
awe! Behold, The Righteous Judge Of All The Earth Cometh To His Throne!"
Genesis 18:25, 2 Timothy 4:8. Terror will so grip their entire being that
they will long to be able to flee from the face of the ALMIGHTY. "And I
saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth
and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."
Revelation 20:11. There has been a day for sinning and now there has come
THE DAY FOR PUNISHING. The day of mercy is over.

Brethren, the message for this glorious LORD'S DAY, is "God. now commandeth
all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the
which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath
ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath
raised him from the dead." Brethren, we have the most serious messsage
that man can deliver and yet, far too often, when we "warn the wicked from
his wicked way (Ezekiel 3:18)", the lost "when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked". Acts 17:32. Let us faithfully sow
the SEED and faithfully water the SEED, and trust our gracious LORD to
bring forth the increase. "ARE YOU READY? ARE YOU READY? ARE YOU READY
FOR THE JUDGMENT DAY?" Amen.

I am yours in living union
with the Lord Jesus Christ,

Jerry H. Matson
Ephesians 1:6

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"WE PREACH CHRIST, CRUCIFIED, RISEN AND COMING AGAIN!"

"O LORD, work in the hearts of Thy preachers this LORD'S DAY to stand without apology and declare the whole counsel of God. Amen! AMEN!!!

Brethren, we must preach the Gospel as God has so plainly given it to us. . "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel".

Christ's return will be to the delight of His people as well as to the dismay of the ungodly!

We have an urgent message from the KING, that is, "Behold, he cometh with clouds"! The vast majority of people on the face of this earth fall into the category of those who will wail at His coming. We must "spare not", but warn the wicked that unless they repent of their wickedness they must face the righteous JUDGE at His coming to this earth. In Revelation 1:3, God tells us that "the time is at hand".

preach from a heart filled with the Words of God.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8.
"Without FAITH it is impossible to please God."

We are not only to embrace sound doctrine, we are to live sound doctrine.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16.

"God was manifest in the flesh" = the incarnation

sinners must repent of their sins and flee to Christ!

"But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine." Titus 2:1

"deny ungodliness and worldly lusts". "Ungodliness" Worldly music and worldly dress are found where the preachers have ceased to teach with authority the Bible's message of separation. PREACH WITH ALL AUTHORITY

"But thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57.
"Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel."! 1 Corinthians 9:16.

God bless you as you stand in the truth.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST the only way to heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous Judge.

"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou has heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 1:13.

"God was manifest in the flesh." (I Timothy 3:16) This clearly shows the Deity of Christ, while the modern versions here assert only His humanity, by changing "God" to "who."

Brethren, the fact of the matter is that the King James Bible is the only English Bible in popular use today that is based on the Received Text. The corruptions of the Bible that are popular this day are based on corrupt Greek texts. And this is why I firmly stand on the Received Text, and do so without apology. I trust my ever-gracious LORD to richly bless you, especially as you "preach the Word" this LORD'S DAY. Jerry H. Matson

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