{"id":2649,"date":"2013-10-26T11:03:03","date_gmt":"2013-10-26T11:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2013-10-26T11:03:03","modified_gmt":"2013-10-26T11:03:03","slug":"bulletin-edition-186-october-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2649","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition #186 OCTOBER 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates<\/strong> with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.”<\/p>\n

Our attention is still fixed on the fertility<\/em> of the garden. It is portrayed as abounding in all plants and shrubs which can delight the eye, or gratify the sense. They are multitudinous in number, and odoriferous in fragrance. Imagination takes wing and flies back to the garden of Eden, in which God made every plant pleasant to the eye, and good for food.<\/p>\n

This garden<\/em> is chosen to represent the Church<\/em>. The plants are very many. At any given time or place, believers may seem to be a little flock. But when all are collected, they shall be found to be a great multitude, which no man can number, of every nation and people and kindred and tongue. May we have happy place among them!<\/p>\n

In this garden every tree and shrub is planted by the heavenly Father’s hand. Doubtless in the world there are many counterfeits; but a searching day shall discover their unreality, and they shall be rooted up. There is a solemn warning, “Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away.”<\/p>\n

But every plant in this garden is a branch broken from the olive-tree, wild by nature, and is grafted into the good olive-tree, and partakes of the riches of the heavenly root. They are chosen out of the wild desert of the world. They are renewed by the Spirit’s invigorating power. They bear fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. They are the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.<\/p>\n

Mark the fragrance<\/em> which flows from them, and the luscious fruits<\/em>, which hang in clusters from their boughs. These are the graces, of which the Holy Spirit is the author. Pre-eminently FAITH is conspicuous. This is the eye which sees Christ Jesus–the ear which hears His inviting call–the feet which run after Him–the hand that grasps Him, and strongly holds the title-deeds of pardon, righteousness and heaven. In this garden this flowering ornament emits transcendent fragrance.<\/p>\n

In close contact HOPE blooms. It looks forward and discerns the coming glory of the heavenly inheritance. It traverses the spacious fields of promise, and deduces from each promise, most luscious flavor. Rich is the perfume of this heaven-set plant.<\/p>\n

LOVE, also, sweetly blossoms. It is the counterpart of “the plant of renown.” It is profuse in exhibiting the features which shall pervade the heavenly home. It is not obscure among the odoriferous plants of this garden.<\/p>\n

Countless are the shrubs, which surround these most conspicuous plants. There is MEEKNESS with its lowly head–HUMILITY casting fragrance in the sequestered shade–PATIENCE, which endures, without withering, the adverse blasts, which threaten its destruction. There are JOY and PEACE showing their beauteous heads, and their refreshing forms. Indeed no grace is absent, which can contribute to enrich this paradise of God.<\/p>\n

4:15. “You are a garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains.”<\/p>\n

Enumeration has now reached its close. The view has been concentrated on the collected treasure of beauty and perfume. It is however added, the Church is “a garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains.” We know that Lebanon supplied the rivulets which spread fertility through the chosen land. Thus from the Church the waters flow, which diffuse beauty and plenty through this fallen world. This truth is expressed in the words of Jesus, “He who believes in Me, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. This He spoke of the Spirit.” May our bodies always be the temples of the Holy Spirit!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Law.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

He Shall Glorify Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify ME; for He shall receive of mine, and show it unto you.\u201d – John 16:14<\/p>\n

The Holy Spirit does not reach after something novel, new, or spectacular in order to glorify Christ or to preach Christ to men. He does not need tongues, fleshly emotion, bodily healings, and creature fame and importance in order to bring glory to Christ and call out His sheep. He finds Christ\u2019s glory IN CHRIST HIMSELF! If we want to honor Christ, glorify Christ, and preach Christ, we must not look for something outside of Christ; but we must honor Him by preaching that which is His already \u2013 His deity, His person, His man-hood, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, His return! Strange as it may seem, there is today very little preaching OF CHRIST HIMSELF. Men preach about those who knew Him, who served Him, and who wrote of Him. They preach about His church, His doctrines, and His commandments. They preach series of messages on those who used to preach Christ, on the conduct and conversation of those who profess to know Christ, and on the duties and responsibilities of believers in Christ, but very few messages ON THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST HIMSELF. They read papers and conduct discussions on ways and means to serve Christ, and how to honor Christ; and they seldom get around to doing that which God has ordained and commissioned us to do AND THAT IS TO PREACH CHRIST! Jesus Christ is most glorified, His sheep most edified, His will and purpose accomplished, and His church perfected in faith, hope, and love WHEN WE PREACH CHRIST HIMSELF. The work of the Spirit of God is to reveal to us the beauties of Jesus Christ, AND THEY ARE ALL FOUND IN CHRIST HIMSELF.<\/p>\n

Henry Mahan<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not an Offer <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anytime a preacher presents the grace of God as an offer on God\u2019s part to anybody who is willing to receive it, he has not preached grace as the Bible does. The Bible does not say, \u201cBut God, who is rich in mercy for His great love where with He loved us, even when we were dead in sins has offered us His grace\u201d\u2026..it says God hath \u201cquickened us together with Christ, by grace are ye saved.\u201d Grace is not offered; grace is given! And when grace is given, it always saves and is always received! We do not have a choice as to whether or not we will accept God\u2019s offer of grace. Grace saves! Grace is not something we use to aid in our salvation – Grace saves us!<\/p>\n

Todd Nibert<\/p>\n

Calvary’s stupendous scene!<\/strong> (Henry Law<\/a>, “Family Prayers”)<\/p>\n

“It is finished!”<\/em> John 19:30<\/p>\n

Holy Father,
\nThe heavens, the earth, and all that are therein, proclaim Your wondrous goodness. But Your love shines forth in surpassing luster\u2014at Calvary’s stupendous scene! At the cross we see Your heavenly grace removing the tremendous load of our iniquities from us\u2014and heaping them all on Your beloved Son! <\/em>We see Him standing as a transgressor in our place. We see Him, who knew no sin\u2014made sin for us. We see Him, the all-holy One\u2014accounted as a curse! We see Your justice leading the spotless Lamb<\/em> to the slaughter\u2014and rigorously demanding the full payment for all our sin-debt!<\/p>\n

The avenging sword enters into His very heart!<\/em><\/p>\n

The stream of sin-atoning blood flows!<\/p>\n

Full recompense is meted out!<\/p>\n

Divine Justice can ask no more.<\/p>\n

Charges against us are all obliterated.<\/p>\n

The debt-book is cancelled. If our sins are searched for, they cannot now be found!<\/p>\n

The spotless Lamb<\/em> is devoted to all anguish\u2014that we may be inheritors of all joy.<\/p>\n

He is cast off from You\u2014that we may be brought near to You.<\/p>\n

He is treated as Your enemy\u2014that we may be welcomed as Your friends.<\/p>\n

He is deserted by You\u2014that we may be received to Your everlasting favor.<\/p>\n

He is surrendered to hell’s worst\u2014that we may attain heaven’s best.<\/p>\n

He is stripped\u2014that we may be clothed.<\/p>\n

He is wounded\u2014that we may be healed.<\/p>\n

He thirsts\u2014that we may drink of the water of life.<\/p>\n

He is in darkness\u2014that we may rejoice in the glories of eternal day.<\/p>\n

He weeps\u2014that all tears may be forever wiped from our eyes.<\/p>\n

He groans\u2014that we may sing an endless song.<\/p>\n

He endures all pain\u2014that we may rejoice in unfading health.<\/p>\n

He wears a crown of thorns\u2014that we may receive a crown of glory.<\/p>\n

He bows His head in death\u2014that we may lift up our head in heaven.<\/p>\n

He bears earth’s reproach\u2014that we may receive heaven’s welcome.<\/p>\n

He is tormented\u2014that we may be comforted.<\/p>\n

He is made all shame\u2014that we may inherit all glory.<\/p>\n

His eyes are dark in death\u2014that our eyes may gaze on unclouded brightness.<\/p>\n

He dies\u2014that we may escape the second death, and live forevermore.<\/p>\n

O gracious Father, thus You spare not Your only begotten Son\u2014that You may spare us! All our sins are cast behind Your back\u2014all are buried in the ocean of reconciling blood!<\/em><\/p>\n

We can only fall low and cry, “We adore You for the gift of Your Son as our substitute; for the death of Your Son as our ransom!”<\/p>\n

Blessed Jesus, we have been standing beneath Your cross. The sight constrains us to the deepest humility. Our vile iniquity\u2014is the cause of Your shame! We cannot fathom the sins which plunged You into such depths of unutterable woe! We cannot estimate the burden of wrath which thus crushed You. We cannot deny that the sins which stain us are evils of infinite malignity<\/em>, since nothing but Your blood could wash away their guilty stains! As transgressors, we abhor ourselves before You.<\/p>\n

While we humbly gaze<\/em>\u2014may we anxiously ponder, “Why, blessed Jesus\u2014why did You thus die?” May His precious answer sound through every part of our hearts and souls,
\n“I die\u2014that you may not die.
\nI lay down My life\u2014to purchase your life.
\nI present Myself as a sin-offering to\u2014expiate all your sins.
\nMy blood thus streams\u2014to wash out all your guilt.
\nThe fountain is thus opened in My side\u2014to cleanse you from all impurity. I thus endure your curse. I thus pay your debt. I thus rescue you from all condemnation. I thus satisfy divine justice for you!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.” Our attention is still fixed on the fertility of the garden. It is portrayed as abounding in all plants and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2650,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions\/2650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}