“To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden\nmanna.”
\n\u2013Revelation 2:17
\nHow often God’s word is to you a sealed book; how often you hear from
\nthe pulpit the most encouraging preaching, yet get no encouragement from
\nit; how often you hear Christ held forth in his Person, blood and
\nrighteousness, and go away as you came, without any sensible relief.
\nWhat is the reason? Because you are overcome. Unbelief, bondage,
\ndarkness of mind, insensibility rest upon your spirit, and all these
\nkeep you from feeding upon the manna.
\nBut sometimes a gracious word comes over all these hills and mountains
\nof unbelief, bondage, doubt and fear, and as this word drops into your
\nheart, you begin to shout victory over all your foes and fears. Then the
\nword of God begins to open itself up in its sweetness and blessedness.
\nThe Lord of the house brings out the hidden manna, and the word of God
\nis made sweet and precious to the soul.
\nSometimes you read the word of God as a dry and barren task to satisfy
\nconscience. When is that? When you are shut up in unbelief and bondage.
\nBut at other times the word of God is read with pleasure, and it is to
\nyou the joy and rejoicing of your heart. This is when you can believe
\nit; and thus faith turns the word of God into manna. But if you are
\nbarren, then the word of God is barren; if dead, the word is dead; if
\ncold and lifeless, the word is so too. But when the scene changes, when
\nthe clouds are dispersed, then you see light in God’s light. Then it is
\na blessed Bible, a precious book, full of sweet promises and encouraging
\ninvitations. It is in this way the manna is given to the overcomer. J C
\nPhilpot
\n
\n
\nGOD\u2019S FAITHFULNESS
\n
\nThroughout my days my path\u2019s been marked
\nBy God, my Father\u2019s, loving heart.
\nHe\u2019s ordered every step with care.
\nI\u2019ve met His goodness everywhere.
\nWhen I was lost and knew Him not,
\nPrevenient grace marked every spot;
\nAnd angels came for God\u2019s elect,
\nThough in rebellion, to protect.
\n
\nThen in the time and at the place
\nWhich God had purposed by His grace,
\nThe Spirit came and made me live.
\nGod caused His chosen to believe.
\nThrough all my days, since first I saw
\nThat Jesus Christ is all in all,
\nMy Savior has in faithfulness
\nSustained and kept me by His grace.
\n
\nWhen fallen, He restores my soul,
\nForgives my sin, and still upholds
\nHis erring child with love and grace,
\nAnd proves His cov\u2019nant faithfulness.
\nWhen sick, my Savior makes my bed
\nAnd soothes my aching, fainting head.
\nAnd when I leave this world of woe,
\nTo God, my faithful God, I\u2019ll go!
\n
\nNo more to sin, no more to sigh.
\nThe tears you see will soon be dry.
\nWhen I have dropped this robe of flesh,
\nI\u2019ll leave behind all signs of death!
\nImmortal life awaits my soul!
\nWhen I\u2019m with Christ, I shall be whole!
\nConformed to Him who died for me
\nWith Him, at last, I shall be free!
\nDon Fortner
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nFive Things About Manna
\nExodus 16: 1-31
\nThere are five things pictured in the heavenly manna as it is given in
\nfigure of Christ the true bread of God. These are things which every
\nbeliever shall come to know in the sweet experience of grace.
\nFirst: He will come to see that this true manna was provided by God
\nalone. It did not rise up out of the cursed ground or evolve on the herb
\nbearing grass; it was divinity given. “He gave them bread from heaven to
\neat.” (John 6: 31) “He commanded the clouds from above, and opened\nthe
\ndoors of heaven and rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them the
\ncorn of heaven.” (Psalms 75: 23-24
\nSecond: This manna must be discovered. All those who did not look did
\nnot discover the manna. The manna fell where God said it would. The
\nmanna fell in the assemble of God. The manna was easy to find. Most men
\ndo not find Christ because they do not look where the manna is revealed.
\nThird: The manna must be gathered. Manna on the ground did no good to
\nanyone. Simply hearing about the manna satisfied no mans hunger. It must
\nbe gathered. Who gathered this manna? Hungry souls sought it out and
\ngathered it in.
\nFourth: The manna must be processed. Israel did not just scoop it up by
\nhandfuls and eat it like jelly beans; it was ground in the mills or
\nbeaten in a mortar and then baked into bread. (Matthew 11: 8) The gospel
\nof Jesus Christ is processed by the inward working of the Spirit. (I
\nCorinthians 2: 10-14) It must be heard, considered, understood, and
\nbelieved.
\nFifth: The manna must be eaten. Manna in a basket will not give life. It
\nmust be chewed and swallowed. It must be taken within where God, the
\nHoly Spirit, makes it one with us and creates faith and life and hope.
\nChrist is our manna! May God be pleased to guide us where he can be
\nfound, reveal him to our hearts, cause us to gather to ourselves the
\nfull measure God has given, help us to process what we have gathered,
\nand eat to the full what God has given. Amen — Darvin Pruitt
\n
\n
\nJoseph Hart
\nThe Death and Excellency of Christ. Isa. 13. 12
\n1 The things on earth which men esteem,
\nAnd of their richness boast,
\nIn value less or greater seem,
\nProportioned to their cost.
\n
\n2 [The diamond, that\u2019s for thousands sold,
\nOur admiration draws;
\nFor dust men seldom part with gold,
\nOr barter pearls for straws.]
\n
\n3 Then what inestimable worth
\nMust in those crowns appear,
\nFor which the Lord came down to earth,
\nAnd bought for us, so dear!
\n
\n4 The Father dearly loves the Son,
\nAnd rates his merits high;
\nFor no mean cause he sent him down
\nTo suffer, grieve, and die.
\n
\n5 The blessings from his death that flow,
\nSo little we esteem,
\nOnly because we slightly know,
\nAnd meanly value him.
\n
\n6 [\u2019Twas our Creator for us bled,
\nThe Lord of life and power;
\nWhom angels worship, devils dread \u2013
\nGod blest for evermore.]
\n
\n7 O could we but with clearer eyes
\nHis excellencies trace,
\nCould we his person learn to prize,
\nWe more should prize his grace.
\n
\n
\n
\n\u201cWhen Adam by transgression fell,
\n
\nAnd conscious, fled his Maker\u2019s face,
\n
\nLinked in clandestine league with hell,
\n
\nHe ruined all his future race.
\n
\nThe seeds of evil once brought in,
\n
\nIncreased and filled the world with sin.
\n
\n
\n
\nBut lo! The Second Adam came,
\n
\nThe serpent\u2019s subtle head to bruise;
\n
\nHe cancels his malicious claim,
\n
\nAnd disappoints his devilish views;
\n
\nRansoms poor sinners with His blood,
\n
\nAnd brings the sinner back to God.
\n
\n
\n
\n[To understand these things aright,
\n
\nThis grand distinction should be known:
\n
\nThough all are sinners in God\u2019s sight,
\n
\nThere are but few so in their own.
\n
\nTo such as these our Lord was sent;
\n
\nThey\u2019re only sinners who repent.]
\n
\n
\n
\n[What comfort can a Savior bring
\n
\nTo those who never felt their woe?
\n
\nA sinner is a sacred thing;
\n
\nThe Holy Ghost hath made him so.
\n
\nNew life from Him we must receive,
\n
\nBefore for sin we rightly grieve.]
\n
\n
\n
\nThis faithful saying let us own,
\n
\nWell worthy \u2018tis to be believed,
\n
\nThat Christ into the world came down,
\n
\nThat sinners might by Him be saved.
\n
\nSinners are high in His esteem,
\n
\nAnd sinners highly value Him.\u201d \u2014Joseph Hart
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nDEALING OUR BREAD TO THE HUNGRY
\nBy only the constraint of Christ\u2019s love for us believers deal our bread
\nto the hungry by telling others how Christ broke our yoke by bearing our
\nsins on the cross. We bring the poor to our house\u2014Christ\u2019s church\u2014to
\nhear the good news of our Redeemer. The gospel is the means God has
\nchosen to reveal that Christ is the covering for the nakedness of his
\npeople. (1 Cor 1: 21) Beholding what great things Christ has done for us
\nin his great mercy and grace, we rejoice to show mercy rather than deal
\nharshly with others. When others deal harshly with us, Christ makes his
\nchild remember how mercifully and kind Christ deals with us constantly.
\nHe says, \u201cBe ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
\nanother, even as God for Christ\u2019s sake hath forgiven you.\u201d (Eph 4: 32);
\n\u201cForbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a
\nquarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.\u201d (Col 3: 13)
\n
\n
\n
\nAlso, believers take the physical burdens off others anyway we can. We
\nliterally give them bread and a coat and whatever they need. Christ does
\nit for us every day. He says to every believer, \u201cAnd seek not ye what ye
\nshall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind\u2026your
\nFather knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the
\nkingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not,
\nlittle flock; for it is your Father\u2019s good pleasure to give you the
\nkingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which
\nwax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief
\napproacheth, neither moth corrupteth.\u201d (Lu 12: 29-33)
\n
\n
\n
\nTo rest in Christ from all our works, to use everything he has given us
\nto promote his gospel, to sacrificially seek the good of his people, all
\nthe while trusting that Christ has and shall provide everything we need
\nhere and hereafter, this is living by faith, motivated only by Christ\u2019s
\nlove.
\nClay Curtis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna.” \u2013Revelation 2:17 How often God’s word is to you a sealed book; how often you hear from the pulpit the most encouraging preaching, yet get no encouragement from it; how often you hear Christ held forth in his Person, blood and righteousness, […]<\/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-5276","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\/5276","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=5276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5277,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5276\/revisions\/5277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}