Blessed Assurance<\/p>\n
John 6:37<\/p>\n
There is something very comforting to the believer when he sees the<\/p>\n
“wills”, “shalls”, and “musts” within the scripture. Those words speak<\/p>\n
of certainty. When it comes to the God of the Bible, we behold there One<\/p>\n
who is sovereign — One Who does as He wills and One who owes no<\/p>\n
explanation of His actions to anyone. The God of scripture is not one<\/p>\n
that can be bargained with, but is One to be bowed to. His Word always<\/p>\n
goes forth and accomplishes the purpose for which it has been sent<\/p>\n
(Isaiah 55:11). One such scripture plainly sets forth the certainty of<\/p>\n
salvation for God’s people is John 6:37. Listen to the unwavering words<\/p>\n
of our Lord: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him<\/p>\n
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Within this one scripture<\/p>\n
three undeniable and unchangeable facts are established by the Holy<\/p>\n
Spirit, and in these facts the eye of faith most assuredly beholds God’s<\/p>\n
glory: 1) God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son, 2) the<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus Christ will most assuredly possess that gift, and 3) that<\/p>\n
gift is eternally secure.<\/p>\n
1. God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son. “All that the<\/p>\n
Father giveth me” — Here the Lord Jesus speaks of a definite number and<\/p>\n
group of people that has been given by eternal election unto the Son.<\/p>\n
Those given by the Father were chosen in Christ from the foundation of<\/p>\n
the world unto eternal life. It was for these elect sinners that our<\/p>\n
Lord prayed in John 17. Hear the words of the interceding Master as His<\/p>\n
heart is revealed in prayer to His Father: “I have manifested thy name<\/p>\n
to the men which thou gavest me out of the world” (vs. 6). “I pray for<\/p>\n
them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me;<\/p>\n
for they are thine” (vs. 9). The apostle Paul wrote to the church at<\/p>\n
Thessalonica: “But we are bound to give thanks unto God for you,<\/p>\n
brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen<\/p>\n
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the<\/p>\n
truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). Men may talk of their desires or their<\/p>\n
intentions, but how marvelous it is that the Holy Ghost would reveal<\/p>\n
God’s choice. Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus clearly states that<\/p>\n
God has “chosen us in Him (that is, Christ Jesus) that we should be holy<\/p>\n
and without blame before Him (the Father) in love (Eph. 1:4). That the<\/p>\n
Father has given a blessed gift to the Son is to the praise of the glory<\/p>\n
of His grace. With this truth established, let us now consider the next<\/p>\n
unchangeable fact of John 6:3:<\/p>\n
2. The Lord Jesus Christ will possess that gift. One may ask, “what is<\/p>\n
the sign that a man has been chosen of God unto salvation?” Again, the<\/p>\n
scripture is plain and emphatic when it comes to the salvation of God’s<\/p>\n
elect. “All that the Father giveth me shall come (by faith) to me.” Can<\/p>\n
there be anything more certain than these words? Does the Lord leave<\/p>\n
anything to chance? NO! Based on the authority of the word of God, those<\/p>\n
that the Father has given to the Son shall come to the Son for<\/p>\n
salvation. These elect behold by faith that God is pleased with them<\/p>\n
only on the merit of being found in Christ. The blood that Christ shed<\/p>\n
at Calvary to cover the guilt of all the elect is the only atonement<\/p>\n
that will be accepted by a Holy God. God’s elect shall in time perceive<\/p>\n
the beauty of Christ as their Substitute, their Redeemer, their<\/p>\n
Representative, and their Savior. They shall come to Him for life and<\/p>\n
mercy as needy spiritual beggars. They come because they are made<\/p>\n
willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3). They long to drink of<\/p>\n
Christ because they are thirsty for the Water of Life (John 7:37). They<\/p>\n
come to eat of His flesh (John 6:53) because they see Him to be the<\/p>\n
Bread from heaven. The eternal purpose of the Almighty God cannot be<\/p>\n
frustrated. The sovereign will of the Most High God shall be<\/p>\n
accomplished. This then brings us to the last great truth of John 6:37:<\/p>\n
3. That gift is eternally secure. The Lord Jesus said “him that cometh<\/p>\n
to me” shall not be cast out! Here is eternal security for everyone that<\/p>\n
truly comes to Christ. This is the foundation that stands secure. This<\/p>\n
is blessed assurance for those spiritual beggars that come by faith to<\/p>\n
the Savior. Never cast out — O how wonderful that sounds to one who<\/p>\n
recognizes his tendency to wander from God. Every time a saint sees<\/p>\n
something of his inability to keep himself faithful (which is<\/p>\n
constantly), he is reminded of the faithfulness of God Who never leaves<\/p>\n
nor forsakes His own. The words “I will in no wise cast out” are an<\/p>\n
anthem of hope to every one that truly needs the Savior.<\/p>\n
God’s word stands sure. When it comes to the salvation of God’s people,<\/p>\n
one can rest on these truths: God has given (and chosen) to His Son a<\/p>\n
people that He has eternally loved. Those that the Father has given to<\/p>\n
Christ shall by Spirit-given faith surely come unto salvation. All that<\/p>\n
come to Christ by faith unto salvation shall surely be preserved by<\/p>\n
Christ, for He will in no wise cast them out. For these blessed truths,<\/p>\n
we praise and give thanks to our matchless Lord.<\/p>\n
Marvin Stalnaker<\/p>\n
The Union Of Christ And His People<\/p>\n
It often happens, in the Psalms, that you can scarcely tell whether it<\/p>\n
is David, or the Lord Jesus, or both of them, to whom the writer is<\/p>\n
referring. Oftentimes you lose sight of David altogether, and are quiet<\/p>\n
certain that he is not there; while, at other times, the words seem equally<\/p>\n
suited either to David as the type, or to Jesus as the antitype. I think<\/p>\n
that this fact is very instructive to us. It is as the Holy Ghost intended,<\/p>\n
even in those ancient times, to let God’s saints know that there is a<\/p>\n
mysterious union between Christ and His people, so that almost all things<\/p>\n
which may be said concerning Him may be said, also, concerning those who are<\/p>\n
in Him. They are so completely one, they are so intimately united in bonds<\/p>\n
of mystic, vital, conjugal, eternal union, that it would not be possible<\/p>\n
always to keep the sayings concerning them apart. — Charles Spurgeon<\/p>\n
The Angel of His Presence Saved Them<\/p>\n
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence<\/p>\n
saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare<\/p>\n
them, and carried them all the days of old. (Isa. 63:9).<\/p>\n
Who is the angel of God\u2019s presence spoken of here in this verse quoted?<\/p>\n
It is none other than the same person who speaks in verse 1 of this same<\/p>\n
chapter; \u201cI that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.\u201d It is none<\/p>\n
other than our blessed God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. This<\/p>\n
angel is not a created angel but rather the Mediator and messenger of<\/p>\n
the everlasting covenant of grace (Mal. 3:1).<\/p>\n
Who else could it be said, \u201cin all their affliction he was afflicted?\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Christ was afflicted for our transgression, \u201cSurely he hath<\/p>\n
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him<\/p>\n
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted (Isa. 53:4).<\/p>\n
Who else but the Lord Jesus Christ could it be said, \u201cin his love and<\/p>\n
pity he redeemed them?\u201d None but Christ! \u201cHerein is love, not that we<\/p>\n
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation<\/p>\n
for our sins\u201d (1John 4:10). We are indeed redeemed with His precious<\/p>\n
blood (1 Peter 1:18; Heb. 9:12).<\/p>\n
The Lord Jesus Christ has always appeared before God as our Intercessor<\/p>\n
(Heb. 7:25). He is the Surety and sacrifice of the everlasting gospel<\/p>\n
(Heb. 7:22; 13:20). He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the<\/p>\n
world (Rev. 13:8). The very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ before the<\/p>\n
throne of God as our Representative, Substitute and Mediator is the<\/p>\n
guarantee of our salvation (Eph. 2:4-6: Rom. 8:34).<\/p>\n
The Lord Jesus Christ having accomplished our righteousness and<\/p>\n
redemption is now entered in and now occupies the throne of glory for us<\/p>\n
as our Forerunner; that, \u201cwe might have a strong consolation, who have<\/p>\n
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we<\/p>\n
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which<\/p>\n
entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us<\/p>\n
entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of<\/p>\n
Melchisedec.\u201d (Heb. 6:19-20). – Tom Harding<\/p>\n
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD<\/p>\n
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I may be the weakest of the<\/p>\n
sheep, but I shall not want. I may be the dumbest, I may wander and<\/p>\n
stray, I may grow old and feeble; but I shall not want. I may not have<\/p>\n
all that I desire or wish, but I shall not want. I will endure trial,<\/p>\n
sickness and sorrow, I will walk through this valley of death, and I<\/p>\n
will one day stand before God’s throne, but I shall not want. My<\/p>\n
Shepherd is able to save to the uttermost, to do all that He promised,<\/p>\n
to keep that which I have committed to Him, and to present me faultless<\/p>\n
before His throne, I shall not want.<\/p>\n
I shall not want for rest, for He maketh me to lie down in green<\/p>\n
pastures and leads me by the still waters. I shall not want for<\/p>\n
redemption, for He restoreth my soul. I shall not want for holiness, for<\/p>\n
He leads me in paths of righteousness. I shall not want for comfort, for<\/p>\n
He is with me. I shall not want for provisions, for He prepares my<\/p>\n
table. I shall not want for anything in this life nor in the life to<\/p>\n
come; for His goodness and mercy follow me, and I shall dwell in the<\/p>\n
house of the Lord forever!<\/p>\n
Pastor Henry Mahan<\/p>\n
HAVE YOU SEEN THE LORD?<\/p>\n
By Pastor Frank Tate<\/p>\n
No sinner can be saved until he sees the Lord by faith. Many people<\/p>\n
claim to be saved, but I question whether or not they have truly seen<\/p>\n
Christ in faith. If you wonder whether or not you have seen the Lord,<\/p>\n
let me give you two evidences of everyone who has seen the Lord and<\/p>\n
believes on Christ.<\/p>\n
First, everyone who has seen the Lord shuts their mouth before the Lord.<\/p>\n
When Job finally saw the Lord, he shut his mouth and quit speaking (Job<\/p>\n
40:4). To shut your mouth before the Lord means that you quit talking<\/p>\n
about what you have done to justify yourself. You shut your mouth<\/p>\n
because you see your own guilt of sin and you are ashamed of everything<\/p>\n
you are and everything you have done.<\/p>\n
Second, everyone who has seen the Lord opens their mouth before men and<\/p>\n
publicly confesses Christ. (Romans 10:9). When the apostle Paul saw the<\/p>\n
Lord, he quit talking about all of his deeds because he counted them all<\/p>\n
nothing but dung (Philippians 3:8), and he began to boldly tell everyone<\/p>\n
who would listen that salvation from sin is in Christ alone. If you have<\/p>\n
seen the Lord you will quit talking about the things you have done to<\/p>\n
make yourself righteous and you will start to talk about Christ your<\/p>\n
righteousness.<\/p>\n
Have you seen the Lord?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blessed Assurance John 6:37 There is something very comforting to the believer when he sees the “wills”, “shalls”, and “musts” within the scripture. Those words speak of certainty. When it comes to the God of the Bible, we behold there One who is sovereign — One Who does as He wills and One who owes […]<\/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-4274","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\/4274","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=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4275,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions\/4275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}