“Our desire is that the Holy Spirit, who is the Divine Revealer and Interpreter of Christ and His truth, may impart to your hearts a sober, spiritual and sanctifying receptivity of His Word \u2014 abasing self, and exalting Christ! Our intention is to unfold and illustrate the Lord Jesus Christ in the relation in which He stands to His people \u2014 to unveil His glory, beauty, and fullness \u2014 to define the close bond of union that unites to Him all His people \u2014 and to bring you into a more personal realisation of what Christ is to you, and of what you are to Christ.” (Octavius Winslow)<\/p>\n
When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel<\/p>\n
We often know the theory of the gospel,<\/p>\n
before we know the experience of the gospel.<\/p>\n
We often receive the doctrines of grace into<\/p>\n
our judgment, before we receive the grace of<\/p>\n
the doctrines into our soul.<\/p>\n
We therefore need to be . . .<\/p>\n
brought down,<\/p>\n
humbled,<\/p>\n
tried,<\/p>\n
stripped of every prop;<\/p>\n
that the gospel may be to us . . .<\/p>\n
more than a sound,<\/p>\n
more than a name,<\/p>\n
more than a theory,<\/p>\n
more than a doctrine,<\/p>\n
more than a system,<\/p>\n
more than a creed;<\/p>\n
that it may be . . .<\/p>\n
soul enjoyment,<\/p>\n
soul blessing,<\/p>\n
and soul salvation.<\/p>\n
When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel<\/p>\n
to the poor in spirit, the humbled, stripped,<\/p>\n
and tried\u2014it is a gospel of glad tidings indeed<\/p>\n
to the sinner’s broken heart. J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n
Preaching About Christ or Preaching Christ?<\/p>\n
He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify ME; for He shall receive of mine and show it unto you.”\u2013John 16:14.<\/p>\n
–<\/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’s glory IN CHRIST HIMSELF!<\/p>\n
If we want to honour Christ, glorify Christ, and preach Christ, we must not look for something outside of Christ; but we must honour Him by preaching that which is His already\u2013His 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.<\/p>\n
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, to discipline and organise the kingdom of 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!<\/p>\n
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. Henry Mahan<\/p>\n
What Is The Gospel?<\/p>\n
After all the logic, after all the reasoning, when the smoke blows away and the dust settles we are left finally with this piercing question. We know that, \u201cThe gospel is the [only] power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes …\u201d \u201cNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.\u201d So, what is the content of this gospel and what is the message contained in this name?<\/p>\n
When the apostle Paul said \u201cwe preach Christ crucified\u201d, he did not mean, we\u2019re going to affirm the historical facts surrounding a man named Jesus that died upon a Roman cross. Neither did he mean we\u2019re going to present the theological foundations and the Biblical dogma supporting the idea of a Saviour who died for sinners. Though our gospel is solidly historical, profoundly theological, and consistently Biblical, the message of our gospel is far too personal and powerful to be reduced to a mere proposition. No, we are to proclaim and believe a Jesus who is in all His attributes the anointed One of God. A Jesus who sovereignly secured the salvation of His people by satisfying all the demands of God\u2019s holy law and laying His life down as a Substitute, atoned for the elect of God once and for all.<\/p>\n
There are those who say \u201cyes, I believe that is the content of the gospel\u201d, yet they refuse to denounce the freewill Arminian gospel they were \u201csaved\u201d under. They are unwilling to say that the content of THE one and only gospel that has the power to save is NOT in the message of the popular jesus. I can only come to one conclusion. They don\u2019t really believe the gospel. Not savingly. The message you believe you were \u201csaved\u201d under is the message you believe the gospel to be. Again I ask you, \u201cWhat is the gospel?\u201d – Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n
THE GOSPEL<\/p>\n
Those who WEARY of hearing the Gospel, who LOSE INTEREST in hearing the gospel, and LOSE THEIR NEED of hearing the gospel of Christ and His redeeming love and grace, have never REALLY heard the gospel at all. If one can leave Christ, he has never truly met Him! (John 6:65-69). Pastor Maurice Montgomery<\/p>\n
For The Love Of The Gospel<\/p>\n
From the Scriptures and from my own experience, I must say that God\u2019s people delight in gospel preaching. By gospel preaching, I mean setting forth Christ in His wonderful Person, His glorious work and His eternal exaltation. (Romans 8.34; 1 Corinthians 15.3, 4) There is no sweeter message for the child of God, no more needful word than that Word of God which, when he heard it, gave him faith; that living and active Word that reveals his heart; that eternal Word of God by which he was born again and by which he continues to be nourished on the inner man; that Word which, by the gospel, was preached to him (Romans 10.17; Hebrews 4.12; 1 Peter 1.25). Give the believer the message of Christ, and do not waste his time with religious trivialities!<\/p>\n
As with all things, there is no perfection in this life on this matter. There are times \u2013 even extended periods \u2013 when a true child of God may find no joy in hearing the gospel. But he will not look for the desired joy from another source. Instead, he will cry out with David, \u201cLet me hear joy and gladness that these bones which you have broken may rejoice\u2026 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
A believer may also be distracted by the glories of fleshly religion and find some excitement in the passing fads of human religion. He is yet flesh and such religion appeals to the flesh. But you can be certain that the excitement will fade and the hunger for the gospel will return. Believers must have Christ!<\/p>\n
We may judge accurately of a man\u2019s profession by this standard: Does he love the gospel of Jesus Christ? If he does not love the preaching of Christ, it can only be he does not love the Christ that is preached.\u00a0 Joe Terrel<\/p>\n
These few comments are for you who worship with only a handful of believers or are forced, by reason of conscience or convenience, to worship alone in your own home.<\/p>\n
It has long been an encouragement to the saints that where two or three are gathered in God\u2019s name, the Lord Jesus has promised to be there in their midst. Remember those who gathered on the hillsides of Scotland during the covenanting years, or met in forests of the Soviet Union for fear of the authorities. They did not meet without the presence of their Saviour.<\/p>\n
Even where one worships alone the pledge of the Lord is, \u2018Lo, I am with you always\u2019 Matthew 28:20. Those who are housebound, or hospitalised, or even the prisoner in his cell, may be sure that invoking the name of the Lord in worship is not a vain exercise. His spiritual presence is with us to assist us in our worship, to comfort us when discouraged, to supply us with His grace, and to protect and preserve us from evil; which is a great reassurance.<\/p>\n
Yet, there is more, if more be needed. Not only has the Lord promised to be with His people, but He does not come alone. When believers go to worship they enter spiritually \u2018into the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem\u2019. There they join \u2018an innumerable company of angels\u2019. More, they are accompanied by \u2018the general assembly and church of the firstborn\u2019 which are \u2018the spirits of just men made perfect\u2019 (Hebrews 12:22-23).<\/p>\n
When God\u2019s people worship they immediately join a heavenly choir more numerous and melodious than any mega-church choral society. When they pray, eyes closed and concentrating on Christ, the empty seats next to them fill with fellow-worshippers of the Most High God. When the gospel is preached enthusiastically, warmly, and sincerely, the hearers are not the few familiar individuals dotted around the room. They are the massed church of the Firstborn, the general assembly of the Lord\u2019s redeemed.<\/p>\n
I always smile when our little congregation of a dozen souls sings Charles Wesley\u2019s rousing hymn, \u2018O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer\u2019s praise.\u2019 It may be that in this life you and I never actually get the opportunity to stand in a congregation of a thousand and sing our great Redeemer\u2019s praise. But in a finer way, each time we pray or sing the praise of our Saviour we join a throng so numerous, a crowd of witnesses so joyful and glorious that our frail human minds cannot comprehend it.<\/p>\n
If you find yourself alone next Lord\u2019s Day morning, or if your congregation amounts to but a few faithful souls, do not be discouraged. Spread throughout the land are faithful friends just like you, meeting in small congregations or at home alone, whose fellowship in the gospel is yours.<\/p>\n
As you sing, lift up your voice and remember the heavenly choirs with whom you make melody. As you close your eyes and pray, reflect that your thoughts are merging with those of a countless throng in the worship of King Jesus. As you listen to the gospel, remember you are only the most recent generation in a long line of saints for whom Christ preached is light, love and life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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