NOT FAR BUT NOT IN
\nMark 12: 34: And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said
\nunto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.
\n
\nThe charge Christ has given his pastors is \u201cComfort ye, comfort ye my
\npeople, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto
\nher, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:
\nfor she hath received of the LORD\u2019S hand double for all her sins.\u201d (Isa
\n40:1-2) But we are not to comfort anyone who does not yet believe on the
\nLord Jesus Christ. The worst thing in the world would be to go to hell
\ncalling God our Father when we have not bowed the knee to Christ! The
\nperson to whom Christ spoke these words was very near. But Christ told
\nhim the truth. He did not say, \u201cThou art in the kingdom of God\u201d but
\n\u201cThou art not far from the kingdom of God.\u201d
\nPerhaps, some here are not far from the kingdom of God. But not far is
\nnot in. May God comfort us in the assurance of faith when we truly
\nbelieve on Christ. But if there be any who are not truly resting in
\nChrist, may God make them see their need of truly believing on Christ.
\nIt is not enough to meet Christ standing as near as the threshold of
\nfaith. We must enter Christ the Door through faith in him. We must
\nbelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby enter the kingdom of God.
\nClay Curtis.
\n
\n
\n\u201cJesus Christ our Saviour\u201d (Titus 3:6)
\nWe gather today in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior believing his
\npromise that he is in our midst. What a privilege and blessing it is to
\ngather with others who trust and love Jesus Christ our Saviour. False
\nreligion teaches men to trust in an experience or in certain doctrines
\nand creeds. The Scriptures teach that salvation, eternal life, the
\nforgiveness of sins is not in a creed or doctrine. We acknowledge that
\ngood sound doctrine is very important because it always points to Jesus
\nChrist our Saviour. God\u2019s salvation for sinners is in a Person. \u201cHe that
\nhath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life\u201d1
\nJohn 5:12.
\nHe is the one and only mediator between God and men. His blood is the
\nonly remedy that puts away sin, His righteousness is the only
\nrighteousness that justifies, and his death is the only means that
\nreconciles to God. I\u2019m thankful for the privilege to join today with all
\nof you who know the Lord Jesus Christ and for us to worship Jesus Christ
\nour Savior, who conquered death for us. Pastor David Pledger
\n
\nACCORDING TO THE FREE-WILL SCHEME, the Lord intends good, but He must
\nwait like a lackey on His own creature to know what his intention is;
\nGod willeth good, and would do it, but He cannot because He has an
\nunwilling man who will not have God\u2019s good thing carried into effect.
\nWhat do ye, sirs, but drag the Eternal from His throne and lift up into
\nit that fallen creature, man; for man, according to that theory, nods
\nand his nod is destiny. You must have a destiny somewhere; it must
\neither be as God wills or as man wills. If it be as God wills, then
\nJehovah sits sovereign upon His throne of glory, and all hosts obey Him,
\nand the world is safe; if not God, then you put man there to say, \u201cI
\nwill\u201d or \u201cI will not; if I will it, I will enter heaven; if I will it, I
\nwill despise the grace of God; if I will it, I will conquer the Holy
\nSpirit, for I am stronger than God, stronger than omnipotence; if I will
\nit, I will make the blood of Christ of no effect, for I am mightier than
\nthe blood, mightier than the blood of the Son of God himself; though God
\nmake His purpose, yet will I laugh at His purpose; it shall be my
\npurpose that shall make His purpose stand or fall.\u201d Why, sirs, if this
\nis not atheism, it is idolatry; it is putting man where God should be;
\nand I shrink with solemn awe and horror from that doctrine which makes
\nthe grandest of God\u2019s works \u2013 the salvation of man \u2013 to be dependent
\nupon the will of His creature whether it shall be accomplished or not.
\nGlory I can and must in my text in its fullest sense. \u201cIT IS NOT OF HIM
\nTHAT WILLETH, NOR OF HIM THAT RUNNETH, BUT OF GOD THAT SHOWETH MERCY\u201d
\n(Romans 9:16). C. H. Spurgeon
\nLuke writes concerning the Bereans \u201cThese were more noble than those in
\nThessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
\nand searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
\nTherefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were
\nGreeks, and of men, not a few. (Ac 17:11-12) They received the word with
\na ready mind then searched the scriptures daily. It says, \u201cTherefore,
\nmany of them believed.\u201d So search the scriptures daily to see if these
\nthings I preach are so. It may be that God will give you faith to
\nbelieve as he did the Bereans.
\nClay Curtis.
\n
\n
\n
\nNot in Vain
\nThe false gospel says that not everyone Christ died for will be raised
\nto everlasting life. They say Christ died and was risen for everybody.
\nBut\u2026most of the people He died for will not be raised to everlasting
\nlife. To which the Lord says; \u201cIf there be no resurrection from the dead
\nthen Christ is not risen: and if Christ be not risen then our preaching
\nis in vain, and your faith is also in vain\u201d. I Cor. 15:13-14. You cannot
\nhave the resurrection of Christ without the assurance that everyone for
\nwhom He died will also be raised from death to life. If what they say is
\ntrue, then Christ died in vain (without cause), our faith is in vain,
\nand we are still in our sins. No, everyone Christ died for, died in Him,
\nand were risen in Him. There is nothing vain about the death, burial and
\nresurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He accomplished exactly what He
\ncame to do; save His people from their sins and give to them eternal
\nlife. ~Greg
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nJesus Christ and Him Crucified
\n\u201cFor I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ,
\nand him crucified.\u201d (1 Cor. 2:2)
\n
\nThere is only one message to preach and to hear because there is only
\none message in all of the scripture – \u201cJesus Christ, and Him crucified.\u201d
\nEvery page, every story, every commandment, every word speaks of \u201cJesus
\nChrist, and Him crucified.\u201d What is the only remedy for sin? \u201cJesus
\nChrist, and Him crucified.\u201d What is the only hope of standing before the
\nthrone of God justified and accepted? \u201cJesus Christ, and Him crucified.\u201d
\nWhat is the only message of comfort and rest? \u201cJesus Christ, and Him
\ncrucified.\u201d What message breaks a hard heart? And what message binds the
\nbroken heart again? \u201cJesus Christ, and Him crucified.\u201d What message
\ninstructs, and motivates the heart of a sinner to obedience? \u201cJesus
\nChrist, and Him crucified.\u201d What message produces true love, unity, and
\nforgiveness among brethren? \u201cJesus Christ, and Him crucified.\u201d Just
\npreach \u201cJesus Christ, and Him crucified\u201d and husbands will love their
\nwives \u201cas Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it\u201d (Eph. 5:25);
\nwives will submit to the leadership and direction of their \u201cloving\u201d
\nhusbands; and children will \u201cobey (their) parents in the Lord\u201d, as
\nChrist submitted and obeyed to the loving will of His Father. Everything
\nthat a child of God needs for growth in grace, and growth into the image
\nof his Lord is produced through the preaching of \u201cJesus Christ, and Him
\ncrucified.\u201d Christ is ALL! All we preach, all we hear, all we believe,
\nall we have! By God\u2019s grace, all of His people say with Paul: \u201cWe are
\ndetermined to know nothing among us, save Jesus Christ, and Him
\ncrucified.\u201d ~ Gabe Stalnaker
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nChrist Our Rule
\n
\nGalatians 6:16 \u201cAnd as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on
\nthem.\u201d
\nAnd what is this rule we walk by? The Law? No. It is this, \u201cGod forbid
\nthat I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d
\n(Galatians 6:14). Truly, this is the believer\u2019s rule of life. This is
\nour standard of measurement. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is our
\nrule for understanding the Scriptures. All Scripture points to Him. This
\nis the rule of our faith. He is the object of our faith. This is the
\nrule of our assurance. Any assurance derived anywhere but simply
\nglorying in the cross is a false assurance. This is the rule of our
\nmotives. Any motive other than His glory is a wrong motive. This is the
\nrule of our doctrine. All of our doctrine finds Christ crucified as its
\nsum and substance. This is our rule of motivation. His love to us
\n\u201cconstraineth us\u201d. He is our rule in everything. He is that \u201cone pearl
\n
\nTodd Nibert
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nChrist and Him Crucified
\nFor I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and
\nhim crucified (I Corinthians 2:2)
\nThe apostle Paul declared to a heathen world, and a church being led
\nastray by foolish pride and worldly wisdom, that he preached Christ and
\nHim crucified. The gospel is a person. He was a person in eternity, as
\nthe Son of God, the second person of the Godhead. He was appointed as a
\nmediator and surety of an everlasting covenant and as such stood as a
\nperson. In every Old Testament prophecy He is set forth as a person.
\nWhen He appeared on this earth in Bethlehem\u2019s manger he was a person. He
\nlived as a servant under the law of God and was tempted in all points
\nlike as we are, yet without sin as a person. His suffering was real. He
\nhung on a cross and died a real death. He was raised the third day as a
\nperson who ate and drank. He had scars to prove himself to be the
\nresurrected Christ. The disciples watched as He ascended into glory as
\nour Great High Priest where He sits at the right hand of God.
\n
\nFaith lays hold of the person who loved them and gave himself for him.
\nFaith rests in Him as it is persuaded of the greatness of His person.
\nSalvation is not a system or a plan or an offer: It is the person of the
\nLord Jesus Christ. \u201cLook unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the
\nearth; for I am God and there is none else.\u201d (Isaiah 45: 22)
\n
\nDarvin Pruitt
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nBecause I am Crucified With Christ
\nJoe Terrell
\n\u201cFor I am crucified with Christ\u2026\u201d Galatians 2.20
\nTheologically, Paul is setting forth an argument for the believer\u2019s
\nfreedom from the law: he is no longer under the law, for by the very
\nministry of the law condemning and punishing the Lord Jesus as He bore
\ntheir sin, the believer is set free from the law. The law simply cannot
\nhold two men liable for the same sin. If the Law holds Christ
\nresponsible for my sin, then it must let me go. Thus, Paul says in
\nanother place (Acts 13.39) “And by him all that believe are justified
\nfrom all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of\nMoses.”
\n
\nBut what God did for us through Christ on Calvary He does in us through
\nHis Spirit. When the Spirit comes to convince one of God\u2019s elect of
\n\u201csin, and righteousness and judgment\u201d, He crucifies that man in his
\nheart. Such an act by the Holy Spirit convinces a man of his sinfulness,
\nfor a cross is an instrument of punishment for crimes against the law.
\nFurthermore, the inward crucifixion of the Holy Spirit convinces a man
\nof God\u2019s just judgment, for the cross signifies, not mere punishment,
\nbut Divine curse, as it is written, \u201cCursed is everyone who is hanged on
\na tree.\u201d
\n
\nBut this would leave a man yet in his sins, suffering forever the pangs
\nof a guilty conscience aggravated by the wrath of God. The Spirit goes
\none step further, for the child of God is not merely crucified in his
\nheart, he is crucified with Christ. By this method, the Spirit convinces
\nhim of righteousness, even the righteousness of Christ. A crucified man
\nis incapable of doing anything \u2013 he is nailed to a cross. As insane as
\nthis appears to the mind of the flesh, that thief\u2019s only hope lay in
\nanother crucified man. Only an act of God can make a man see that. When
\nwe are crucified by the Spirit, we lose all hope in ourselves and cast
\nour lot with another crucified man, the Lord Jesus.
\n
\nOnly a man crucified by the Spirit of God can look at the crucified
\nChrist and see a King coming into His kingdom. O blessed crucifixion!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NOT FAR BUT NOT IN Mark 12: 34: And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. The charge Christ has given his pastors is \u201cComfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, […]<\/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-5318","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\/5318","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=5318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5319,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5318\/revisions\/5319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}