{"id":5232,"date":"2019-03-24T09:34:14","date_gmt":"2019-03-24T09:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5232"},"modified":"2019-03-24T09:34:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-24T09:34:14","slug":"bulletin-edition-march-2019-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5232","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE BOOK ON THE HAND OF GOD \u2013 Rev 5:1<\/strong><\/p>\n

In (rather, on<\/em>) the right hand of the eternal God, John saw a book, a book written within and without, bound shut, and sealed with seven seals (vv. 1- 4). This book is the book of God’s eternal decrees. It represents God’s eternal plan and purpose of grace, his purpose of predestination, which includes all things. It is to this book that our great Surety referred when he said, \u2018Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God\u2019 (Ps. 40:7-8; Heb. 10:5-10). William Hendriksen said of this book, \u2018It symbolizes God’s purpose with respect to the entire universe throughout history, and concerning all creatures in all ages and unto all eternity.\u2019 Our God is a God of purpose, eternal, unalterable purpose (Isa. 46:9-11). God’s purpose of predestination includes all things (Eph. 1:11). The object of God’s eternal purpose of predestination is the salvation of his elect (Rom. 8:28-30). Everything that comes to pass in time was purposed by God in eternity (Rom. 11:36). And the object of God in all that he does is the effectual accomplishment of the everlasting salvation of his elect. In election, God chose a people whom he would save. In predestination, he sovereignly ordained all things that come to pass to secure the salvation of his chosen. And in providence, he accomplishes in time what he purposed from eternity. As John saw it, the book of God was closed, a mystery sealed with seven seals. These seven seals do not represent an imaginary \u2018seven dispensations\u2019 of time. The writing within and on the back and the seven seals simply mean that God’s purpose is full, complete, perfect, and unalterable. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing can be taken from it. The seven seals also tell us that God’s purpose of grace is unknown, unrevealed, a secret known only to God, until Christ revealed it. He revealed it at first in the types, shadows, and prophecies of the Old Testament. Then, in these last days, he has revealed it to us more fully in the gospel. And in the last day, when the restitution of all things is made, our Lord will perfectly reveal God’s purpose in all things. The closed book indicated that God’s plan was both unrevealed and unexecuted. If the book should remain closed, God’s eternal purpose would not be realized. His plan would not be executed. The thought of God’s purpose being shut up, unrevealed, and unfulfilled, caused John great lamentation and grief. And he began to weep. If God’s book is opened, if the seals are broken, then the universe is ruled and governed in the interest of God’s elect, according to the purpose of his grace. Then God’s glorious purpose of redemption would be accomplished. But if it is not opened and fulfilled, then the purpose of God himself would be thwarted. The grace of God would be frustrated. The plan of God would go unfulfilled. God himself would lose his glory. But there is no cause to weep! (Rev5:5-7)<\/p>\n

Don Fortner, \u201cDiscovering Christ In Revelation\u201d<\/em>
\nFALSE\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 CHRISTS<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
\nnot. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
\nshew great signs and wonders\u201d Matthew24:23,24<\/p>\n

The vast majority of so-called \u2018Christian\u2019 religion in the world today
\nis actually proclaiming \u2018false Christs\u2019. It is not that they proclaim
\nand interact with the true Christ in a wrong way; their \u2018Christ\u2019 is
\nactually false, exactly as the Lord Jesus Christ warned his disciples in
\nMatthew 24. The question you should always ask of the those who try to
\npersuade you to follow their \u2018Christ\u2019 is whether he is the Christ of the
\nBible. For example, is he a Christ who offers salvation to all without
\nexception in the hope that they will exercise faith and believe him?
\nThat is a false Christ, an utterly impotent Christ when it comes to
\nsecuring the eternal salvation of even one hell-deserving sinner. The
\nChrist of scripture is the one who came to save his people from their
\nsins (Matt1:21); they are the people, the elect of God, that the Father
\ngave to Christ before the foundation of the world. He redeemed them
\nalone, a multitude which no man can number and he accomplished his
\nmission completely leaving nothing to the whim of human will.<\/p>\n

Then ask if the \u2018Christ\u2019 they point to is one who is trying his best to
\nmake this world a better place if only people will learn to cooperate
\nwith each other. If he is, then he too is a false \u2018Christ\u2019 because the
\nword of God declares clearly that God\u2019s purpose is to bring this present
\nevil world to an end in judgment for sin and to bring in his glorious
\nand unrivalled kingdom, the Kingdom of God, in which violated divine law
\nand justice has been completely satisfied in the doing and dying of the
\nSon of God as Substitute for God\u2019s elect; hence true believers are
\ncalled to pray sincerely, \u201cThy Kingdom come!\u201d.<\/p>\n

Look at their methods, their programmes, their social objectives and ask
\nwhether these reflect the truth of scripture concerning the Christ of
\nGod. The salvation he has accomplished is certain; it depends in no way
\non human gimmicks to get people to \u2018follow\u2019 it. All that God requires of
\nhis true people is faithfully to declare what he has revealed of
\nsalvation accomplished for it is \u2018by the foolishness of preaching that
\nit pleased God to save those who believe\u2019. He, in sovereign grace, gives
\neach and every one of the multitude he loved with \u2018everlasting love\u2019 a
\nnew nature and a new will to trust Christ and the salvation he has
\nfinished for them.<\/p>\n

God calls his people simply to preach the Christ of scripture as
\nfaithfully as we can to the text of the Bible as we have it and leave
\nthe quickening, the calling, the regeneration of dead sinners to God\u2019s
\nHoly Spirit.<\/p>\n

Pastor Allan Jellett<\/p>\n

THE FIRST FOUR SEALS OF REVELATION 6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most bizarre nonsense is peddled concerning the book of Revelation but this book is God telling his people that he is in complete control of all things as we see them in the age in which we live. As our Lord Jesus Christ came preaching the Kingdom of God, this book tells us that God\u2019s glorious Kingdom will prove to be unrivalled in the end. It is a kingdom whose citizens, in the wisdom and eternal purpose of God, are justified sinners whom he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (2Tim1:9). Sin must merit God\u2019s condemnation and earn its due wages which is death (Romans 6:23), eternal death, the second death, but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is the Lamb of God took the sin of his people upon himself, being made sin. Being found guilty of it he bore its punishment in his own body on the cursed tree of Calvary\u2019s cross so that his people, sinners, would be cleared of their sin debt, him having paid it in full himself on their behalf, so that his people would be made the righteousness of God in Christ, all the righteousness that God requires for citizenship of his glorious Kingdom of righteousness and peace.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s glorious kingdom stands in complete contrast to the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Satan. Satan and the hordes of this world aspire to a world-wide kingdom of peace and a false righteousness; they made their first attack in the fall of Genesis 3 when Adam, as king of God\u2019s kingdom in Eden became an ally of Satan in opposition to God. After the Flood, Nimrod tried to build the Tower of Babel to assert the kingdom of Satan in this world aspiring to heaven without the need for Christ. But God confused the language of humanity, and separate-language nation states arose which warred with each other frustrating the intention of establishing a world-wide Christless kingdom of false righteousnes and peace. Even in the attempt of the kingdoms of this world to establish a form of \u2018righteousnes and peace\u2019, economic strife arose, and all the time, death continued to take away great swathes of humanity. How do you explain this?<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t need to explain it; God\u2019s Word tells us why things are as they are. In Revelation 6 we see the first four seals of God\u2019s eternal purposes opened. Christ comes preaching God\u2019s kingdom on his white horse calling his elect by the gospel, but also causing great swathes of humanity to follow so-called \u2018christian religion\u2019; then the red horse of war goes forth bringing unspeakable strife of war between nations. When war is not frustrating Satan\u2019s intentions, the black horse of economic strife puts the brake on his aspirations to establish a world-wide utopia. And all the time, death visits each and every one of us, believer and unbeliever in varying degrees.<\/p>\n

Why does God so ordain things? To show us that his eternal purposes are certain to be achieved. The true Kingdom of God will triumph. Of Christ we read in Isaiah 42:4 that \u201cHe shall not fail\u201d. Praise God!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Allan Jellett<\/em><\/p>\n

The Free Offer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Romans 10:16, 17 \u2013 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.<\/em><\/p>\n

I would call your attention to that word \u201cobey\u201d. It shows, in the first place, how the Scriptures look upon the gospel of God concerning his Son. In our day it is rather in vogue to present the gospel as an offer of God, as a kind invitation. Such a presentation of the gospel rather pleases the flesh of sinful man. It rather flatters him. He likes to hear that God comes to him with an offer which he may accept or reject. And it rather pleases him to hear that it is up to him, that it depends on the choice of his own mind and will, whether he will accept or decline that kind invitation. But the text puts the gospel in a different light. For it speaks of disobedience. Now, surely, you cannot be disobedient to an invitation. No one thinks of accusing you of disobedience when you are offered something and you refuse the offer. An offer is not binding. It leaves you free. It cannot possibly oblige you to accept. When, therefore, the text speaks of disobedience to the gospel of God, it implies that it is more than an offer, more than a kind invitation: it is a demand<\/em>. This stands to reason; for it is the gospel of God<\/em>. And God always demands, just because he is God. And in the way of obedience to what he demands, he blesses us with life and glory. When any man, therefore, hears the sound of the gospel, this demand of God is conveyed to his consciousness. You ask: what demand? I answer: the demand to repent, to mourn over sin and sorrow after God, to turn away from unrighteousness, corruption and rebellion against the Most High, to seek righteousness, to turn back to God. That is the demand of the gospel. And to disobey the gospel is to say \u201cNo\u201d and to act it out to the end. When the sound of the gospel, the word of the preacher, reaches your ears, enters into your natural understanding, and you disobey the gospel, you deliberately, intelligently, consciously declare thatyou above all things love sin and do not want righteousness, that you so delight in iniquity that you would rather go to hell than be delivered from it. And thus the sound of the gospel serves to bring to clear manifestation the horrible character of your sin, the damnableness of your unrighteousness; and God is justified.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, however, the result of the \u201cpreaching that is heard<\/em>\u201d through the living and powerful Word of God is faith. Faith is out of the preaching that is heard. This is always the result. The apostle does not say that the preaching that is heard sometimes<\/em> produces this fruit. No, faith is always out of the hearing, that is, out of the thing that is truly heard, when God speaks through the preaching to our soul unto salvation. That can never fail.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Herman Hoeksema<\/em><\/p>\n

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

AM I HEARING THE TRUTH?<\/p>\n

When a person is looking for a church to attend and worship God, that
\nperson should never assume that he or she is hearing the truth. Our Lord
\nsaid in Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets!\u201d They are everywhere,
\ntelling every lie known to man! So how can I know whether I’m hearing
\nthe truth or a lie? We all must ask ourselves two questions: Am I
\nhearing God’s word? and Who is getting the glory in salvation? Is
\nsalvation up to me or did Christ finish it alone?<\/p>\n

THE TRUTH is: Christ did it all! (Hebrews 1:3). Christ has already
\nfinished it all! (John 19:30). And Christ gets all the glory for
\nsalvation! (1 Corinthians 1:31). If a man is not preaching THAT, he’s
\nnot preaching the word of God. And if he’s not preaching the word of
\nGod, he’s a false prophet!<\/p>\n

It’s not: THIS is what we believe… and THAT is what they believe…
\nTHE TRUTH is not dependent on what any of us believe! The only thing
\nthat matters is: What has God Almighty said in His word? THE TRUTH is
\nnot an opinion about the word… THE TRUTH is THE WORD ITSELF! “let God
\nbe true, but every man a liar!” (Romans 3:4)
\n\u2014Pastor Gabe Stalnaker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE BOOK ON THE HAND OF GOD \u2013 Rev 5:1 In (rather, on) the right hand of the eternal God, John saw a book, a book written within and without, bound shut, and sealed with seven seals (vv. 1- 4). This book is the book of God’s eternal decrees. It represents God’s eternal plan 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-5232","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\/5232","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=5232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5233,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5232\/revisions\/5233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}