Grace Baptist Tabernacle

5/24/19

For over a year now we’ve been going through the gospel of John during our Wednesday evening Bible study. As I studied through this wonderful book, one verse caught my eye and it captured my imagination and thrilled my soul. Joh 20:30 says “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” The gospel of John records seven miracles that Jesus performed. The other gospels also tell us about even more miracles that Jesus performed. But John says that Jesus did many other signs that aren’t recorded. And to back that up Joh 21:25 says “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” There are many miracles and wonders that Jesus performed that we do are not told about. Think about that. What more did Jesus do? Did he make something out of nothing in front of his disciples? Where there more instances of Jesus raising the dead? What other infirmities did he heal? What other lives did He change? What other sermons did He preach? What other lessons did He teach? We do not know, but what a thought to think about and even speculate about what other mighty works Jesus might have done while He walked on this earth.

But with all that being said, John says, in chapter 20 and verse 31 that everything that he’s recorded about Jesus for us in his gospel is enough to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. God’s Word is enough. In the gospel of John and in the entirety of the Bible, you’ve been given enough to believe in Jesus as your personal Savior and to walk by faith day by day. But John 20:30 is just a reminder to us about how great our Lord really is. And I will add that He is still performing miracles and doing the unimaginable and indescribable today. The greatest miracle of all is that Jesus saved me and changed me. I was there when He did it. And perhaps He’s done the same for you. If you’ve never believed in the gospel and put your faith in Jesus, then you should do that today (2 Corinthians 6:2) and He will give you a new life; eternal life. And if you’re saved, He’s proven Himself to you, so you should trust Him and live for Him each and every day.

He is Lord and Savior. But He just wants you to believe in Him and then live each day by faith in Him! And what you’ll see Him do in you and for you may not be recorded in the pages of the Bible for all the world to see, but you’ll know that He is the Christ the Son of God.

(See John 3:16, Romans 10:9-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, Hebrews 11:6, Romans 1:17)

Around this time of year, in February, we like to think about love. But love didn’t start at Valentine’s Day. Love originated with God. 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. No matter where you are at in life, and no matter who loves you and who doesn’t love you, one thing is true: God loves you.

Think about God’s love in 3 ways and it should encourage you today.

First of all, God’s love is unconditional. That means that it is a love without any limitations or conditions. This can be seen from the fact that God loved us when we didn’t love Him. The Bible says in 1 John 4:9 that “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Romans 5:6-8 says “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He didn’t wait for us to be good but He loved us in our sins.

And after salvation 1 John 1:9 says that even when we sin if we confess it to Jesus He will always forgive us and continue loving us. That is unconditional love. His love is not like our human love. He doesn’t change or waver in His love for us no matter what.

But secondly his love is a sacrificial love. John 15:13 tells us “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus died for us! His love involved self-sacrifice. Again Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

1John 2:2 tells us that “…he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world. The word propitiation means that he was the atoning sacrifice for the sin of all men. He gave His life for you. That is how much that He loves you. And we know that He rose again on the third day so that by His life we shall be saved. He didn’t have to die for us but because He loved us He did and He is the ultimate sacrifice and the only sacrifice that can truly forgive all sin and save all men.

His love is an unconditional love, it is a sacrificial love but thirdly His love is an eternal love.

Romans 8:35 asks the questions “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” And then Romans 8:38-39 answers the question and says “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In Jeremiah 31:3 God says “…Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love…” He will always love you. Nothing can separate you from His love. His love is eternal. He loved us in eternity past, he loves us today, and He will love us for all eternity. The only way you can truly experience this love of God is to turn from your sin and self and turn to Jesus in faith.

Then Joh 3:16 can truly be applied to your life. 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.

His love Gives to those that put their faith in Him, eternal life. His love will keep you on this earth and it will take you all the way to heaven for all eternity.

Think about His love. Think about His goodness. Think about His grace that’s brought us through. For as high as the heavens above so great is the measure of our Father’s love. Great is the measure of our Father’s love.

It always amazes me when I hear people who call themselves Christians minimize or put down the importance of being a part of the local church. Or by their unfaithfulness to be found in church every Sunday shrug off the importance of the local church. Church attendance is essential in the lives of God’s Children.  The Bible teaches that the Christian needs to attend church so that we can worship God corporately as a church body, so that we can fellowship in the Lord with one another and so that we can be taught the Word of God and grow spiritually.

The pattern for church attendance is set by the early church. Acts 2:42 says “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Again, in Acts 2:46 the Bible says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”

Heb 10:25 says “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.” For the Christian, church attendance isn’t a suggestion, but God tells us don’t forsake it!

Yes, if you are saved you are a part of the invisible or universal church. It is true that the church is not a building, but the church is made up of individual people that are in Christ. Yet the Bible clearly tells us to physically meet together as a local church, in a building or any meeting place for that matter. Whether that be in a home, a hotel, a store front, a gym, or an auditorium, you ought to be faithful to the house of God.

Again, the Bible emphasizes the importance of the local church in the lives of believers. God is talking to local churches in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation. The local church is crucial. If you still have any doubts about it read Ephesians 4:11-13 where Paul is writing to a local church and giving them further instruction on the operation and importance of the local church.

With that being said, there are no perfect churches, and no perfect pastors or church members, but the head of the church, the cornerstone of the church, Jesus Christ, is perfect and if we want to live in obedience to Him we must be faithful to the house of God. If you do not attend church faithfully, find a Bible believing, gospel preaching, Christ centered, local church and assemble together with the people of God! The Lord will bless your obedience and your faithfulness, and you will grow stronger in Christ!

It is hard to believe that I have been the pastor at Grace Baptist Tabernacle for an entire year now. It is amazing how quickly time has gone by. But one thing I know for certain is that God is good. God has been good to Grace Baptist Tabernacle. He has blessed us in so many ways. We have seen him add several to the church over the past year and we’ve seen him save several people as well.

 This past year has reminded me that the Lord is still in the saving business. But this past year has also been a reminder to me that without Him we can do nothing. I am fully aware that I cannot preach without the help of the Lord. We cannot sing without Him. We cannot teach without Him. We cannot give without Him. We cannot serve without Him. We cannot live without Him. We need Him! 

 As my wife and I enter into our second year at Grace, we would like to thank the church for all of the kindness shown and gifts given at the pastoral anniversary on August 6th. But we would also like to remind the church that when there is a victory, the devil will fight back. And we know that there will be battles this year because Satan doesn’t want to see the Lord use our church to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and he wants to make every person that is saved miserable. So with that being said, we are mindful that we need the Lord in every area of our personal lives and in every area of our ministry lives. We need him to stand and to withstand in this evil day. May the prayer for each member of GBT be “I Need Thee Every Hour.” Because if we take our eyes off Him, we will fall flat on our face in the next 365 days.

John 15:5

My name is Jeff Carter. I am the pastor of Grace Baptist Tabernacle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. My wife’s name is Danielle Carter. We are excited to be called of God to serve the wonderful people at Grace Baptist Tabernacle.

I grew up in the home of a Baptist evangelist and was fortunate to have parents that loved the Lord and desired to raise me according to the teachings of the Bible. However, a godly upbringing is not what saved me. I had to place my faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He came to this earth, lived a sinless life, died for my sins and the sins of the world, and rose again on the third day offering to me and all who come to Him eternal life. I made the decision to receive God’s gift of salvation when I was 17 years of age.

My wife has a similar testimony. She grew up in the home of a pastor with godly parents that raised her in a biblical manner. But she also had to place her faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ for salvation, which she did at the age of 7.

As the pastor of Grace Baptist Tabernacle I want the central focus of my ministry to be Jesus Christ and His Word. Only Jesus can save a person and only Jesus change a person. This is the message that you will hear when I preach.

Everything that we do at Grace will be centered around the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a church we want to exalt the Savior, edify the saints, and evangelize the lost. We also want to make it all about Jesus.

I hope our ministry echoes the words of Paul in 1Corinthians 2:1-2 where he said “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

I will periodically update this blog and use it as a time of testimony, encouragement, and challenge. If you are in the Chattanooga area we would love to see you at Grace Baptist Tabernacle so that you can grow with us in the Lord and so that we can fellowship with one another in the Lord. You will find Grace to be a church that loves Jesus and loves people. Look forward to seeing you there.

His Servant,

Pastor Jeff