{"id":5424,"date":"2019-09-02T12:12:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T12:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5424"},"modified":"2019-09-02T12:14:23","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T12:14:23","slug":"bulletin-edition-august-2019-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5424","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition August 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE NEARNESS\nOF GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavious\nWinslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A\nGod at hand, says the Lord.”–Jer. 23:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More\nsaints than Luther have felt a personal interest in the forty-sixth\nPsalm–“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in\ntrouble;” thus drinking with him of the “river the streams whereof\nmake glad the city of God.” My soul, are you not one of them? Has not your\npraiseful exclamation often been, “You are NEAR, O Lord!” God is\neverywhere, but it is only His own children who forcibly feel, and gratefully\nacknowledge, and holily exhibit, not His omniscience only, but His especial and\npersonal presence. Look at this precious truth, my soul, in connection with two\nor three features of your varied experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is a\nGod at hand in the person of Christ. The Lord Jesus brings God very near to us.\nHe is not only the revealed One of God, but He is in His own person really and\nabsolutely God–“He who has seen Me, has seen the Father.” Could a\nmere creature, a man only, say this? Impossible, with any truth, and without\nblasphemy. Oh, how near to us has Jesus brought the Father! Come to Jesus, look\nat Jesus, listen to Jesus, and realize that in so doing you approach to, gaze\nupon, and hear the voice of, God your Father in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is\nnear in the work of Jesus. The blood brings us sinners near to God, as it\nbrings a sin-pardoning God near to us. “You that were afar off are made\nnear by the blood of Christ.” See then your true and present standing, O\nmy soul! Nothing comes between you and God but the atoning blood of Jesus. His\nblood annihilates all your sin and guilt. Robed in His imputed righteousness,\nyou are to God nearer than the highest angel in heaven–and nearer you can not\nbe–and God draws near to you and speaks–“A God at hand, says the\nLord.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is\nnear at hand when you do approach Him in prayer. Oh, comforting truth! A God at\nhand to hear the softest breath of prayer–to listen to every confession of\nsin–to every cry of need–to every utterance of sorrow–to every wail of\nwoe–to every appeal for counsel, strength, and support. Arise, O my soul! and\ngive yourself to prayer; for God is near at hand to hear and answer you. Listen\nto His word, “Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me? says\nthe Lord.” “You meet him that rejoices and works righteousness, those\nwho remember You in Your ways.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A God at\nhand is He in every time of trouble. “A very present help.” Not far\nhave you to travel for the guidance and deliverance you need. If forsaking the\nLord your God you go down into ‘Egypt’ for help, and trust in the chariots and\nhorses thereof, then will you be ashamed of your confidence. But why fly to creature\nhelp, when the Lord your God is near unto you in all that you call upon Him\nfor? Cease from man; for God in Christ is very near, and one step of believing\nprayer will bring you to His feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, live\nas in His presence! Be your life a life of communion, doing and enduring,\ntoiling and suffering, as beholding Him who is invisible. In a little while we\nshall pass from our partial and imperfect realizations of His presence when on\nearth, to enjoy His full, unclouded, and eternal presence in heaven! Then shall\nour eyes see the King in His full unveiled beauty, not as now, through a glass\ndarkly, but then face to face. And, oh transporting thought! we shall be like\nHim, for we shall see Him as He is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guard\nvigilantly and strive prayerfully against that which creates a conscious\ndistance between God and your soul. Is it the world?–come out of it. Is it the\ncreature?–relinquish it. Is it the flesh?–mortify it. Is it sin?–forsake it.\nIs it unbelief?–nail it to the cross. Oh, let nothing separate you from Christ–no\nearthly good or carnal delight cause a distance, or coldness, or shyness\nbetween God and your soul. Give Jesus your undivided heart, and let God be your\nall in all. Then shall your happy experience be–“You are NEAR, O\nLord.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing\nin God’s universe breathes or wiggles contrary to His decree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Don\nFortner)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Providence\nis God’s government of the universe. If we have a proper view of God’s\nprovidence, we will see the hand of God and the heart of God in everything, in\nall the experiences of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\nalmighty, our God and heavenly Father, is always at work, governing His world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nrecognize that God’s providence is mysterious (Romans 11:33-36). His judgments\nare a great deep. His ways are past finding out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s\nprovidence is as minute as it is mysterious. Our God has ordained the number of\nhairs on the heads of all. Not even a worthless sparrow falls to the ground\nwithout His decree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s\nprovidence is all-inclusive. God rules everything, great and small, everywhere,\nand at all times. He who created all things, rules all things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our God\nand heavenly Father controls (absolutely and totally) all rational creatures.\nHe controls all men and women everywhere, good and bad, in the good they do and\nin the evil they perform. All angels, all demons, and Satan himself are under\nthe total control of our God (Psalm 76:10; Isaiah 14:24-27). Nothing in God’s\nuniverse breathes or wiggles contrary to His decree (Isaiah 46:9-13). Satan is\nnot a rival to our God, but His vassal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a\nwise, skilled pharmacist mixes medicine, so our heavenly Father wisely mixes\nexactly the right measure of bitter things and sweet things to do us good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\njoy would intoxicate us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\nmisery would drive us to despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\nsorrow would crush us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\nsuffering would break our spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\npleasure would ruin us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\ndefeat would discourage us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\nsuccess would puff us up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\nfailure would keep us from doing anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much\ncriticism would harden us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too much praise\nwould make us prideful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our great\nGod knows exactly what we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nprovidence is wisely designed and sovereignly sent for our good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let Him\ntherefore send and do whatever He will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By His\ngrace, if we are His, we will bow to it, accept it, and give thanks for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s\nprovidence is always executed in the wisest manner possible. We are often\nunable to see and understand the reasons and causes for specific events in our\nlives, in the lives of others, or in the history of the world. We bow to His will,\nwhich is evident in His works of providence, and say, “Oh, the depth of\nthe riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His\njudgments and unfathomable His ways!” Romans 11:33<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All God’s\nworks of providence are executed in perfect holiness and righteousness. Even\nthe way He uses the evil works of men and devils, is totally free of sin on His\npart. Though He has predestined and permits deeds of wickedness, sin cannot be\nimputed to the Almighty. “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy\nin all His works.” Psalm 145:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s\nprovidence demands and deserves our unceasing praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He who is\nGod indeed, is the God of providence, the God who rules all things, and rules\nall things well. How we ought to trust Him! Ever remember, our heavenly Father\nis God all-wise, good, and omnipotent. He is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

too wise\nto err,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

too good\nto do wrong,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and too\nstrong to fail!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE\nOMNIPRESENCE OF GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John\nMacDuff, “The Night Watches”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where\nshall I go from Your Spirit? Where shall I flee from Your presence?” Psalm\n139:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nomnipresence of God! How baffling to any finite comprehension! To think that\nabove us, and around us, and within us \u2014 there is Deity \u2014 the invisible\nfootprints of an Omniscient, Omnipresent One! “His Eyes are in every\nplace!” On rolling planets \u2014 and tiny atoms; on the bright seraph \u2014 and\nthe lowly worm; roaming in searching scrutiny through the tracks of immensity \u2014\nand reading the dark and hidden page of my heart! “All things are naked\nand opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O God!\nshall this Your Omnipresence appall me? No! In my seasons of sadness and sorrow\nand loneliness \u2014 when other comforts and comforters have failed \u2014 when, it may\nbe, in the darkness and silence of some midnight hour, in vain I have sought\nrepose \u2014 how sweet to think, “My God is here! I am not alone. The\nOmniscient One, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike \u2014 is hovering\nover my sleepless pillow!” O my Unsetting Sun, it cannot be darkness or loneliness\nor sadness \u2014 where You are. There can be no night to the soul which has been\ncheered with Your glorious radiance!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Surely,\nI am with you always!” How precious, blessed Jesus, is this, Your legacy\nof parting love! Present with each of Your people until the end of time \u2014 ever\npresent, omnipresent. The true “Pillar of cloud” by day \u2014 and\n“Pillar of fire” by night, preceding and encamping by us in every\nstep of our wilderness journey. My soul! think of Him at this moment \u2014 as present\nwith every member of the family that He has redeemed with His blood! Yes, and\nas much present with every individual soul, as if He had none other to care for\n\u2014 but as if that one engrossed all His affection and love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great\nBuilder \u2014 surveying every stone and pillar of His spiritual temple;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Great\nShepherd \u2014 with His eye on every sheep of His fold;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Great\nHigh Priest \u2014 marking every tear-drop; noting every sorrow; listening to every\nprayer; knowing the peculiarities of every case: no number perplexing Him \u2014 no variety\nbewildering Him; able to attend to all, and satisfy all, and answer all \u2014\nmyriads drawing hourly from His Treasury \u2014 and yet no diminution of that\nTreasury \u2014 ever emptying, and yet ever filling, and always full!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus!\nYour perpetual and all-pervading presence turns darkness into day! I am not\nleft un-befriended to weather the storms of life \u2014 Your hand is from hour to\nhour piloting my frail vessel. The omnipresence of God \u2014 gracious antidote to\nevery earthly sorrow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\nhave set the Lord always before me!” Even now, as night is drawing its\ncurtains around me, be this my closing prayer, ‘Blessed Savior! abide with me,\nfor it is toward evening, and the day is far spent!’ Under the shadowing wings\nof Your presence and love, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for\nYou alone, O Lord, make me live in safety!” Psalm 4:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s\nmost hated attribute!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Charles\nSpurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our\nGod is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases!” Psalm 115:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The\nLORD does whatever pleases Him, throughout all heaven and earth, and on the\nseas and in their depths!” Psalm 135:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All\nthe peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with\nthe powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.” Daniel 4:35<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the\nother hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, as the great,\nstupendous \u2014 but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite\nJehovah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men will\nallow God to be everywhere except on His throne!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will\nallow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and make stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will\nallow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will\nallow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the\nlamps of Heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when\nGod ascends His throne \u2014 then His creatures then gnash their teeth! And when we\nproclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to\ndispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the\nmatter \u2014 then it is that we are hissed and execrated, and then it is that men\nturn a deaf ear to us \u2014 for God on His throne, is not the God they love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No\ndoctrine in the whole Word of God has more excited the hatred of mankind, than\nthe truth of the absolute sovereignty of God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition\nto divine sovereignty is essentially atheism \u2014 and were it not for sovereign\ngrace, none of us would ever have followed the path to Heaven. I am daily more\nand more convinced that the difference between one man and another is, not the\ndifference between his use of his will \u2014 but the difference of grace that has\nbeen bestowed upon him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Hallelujah!\nFor our Lord God Almighty reigns!” Revelation 19:6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE NEARNESS OF GOD Octavious Winslow “A God at hand, says the Lord.”–Jer. 23:23 More saints than Luther have felt a personal interest in the forty-sixth Psalm–“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble;” thus drinking with him of the “river the streams whereof make glad the city of God.” My […]<\/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-5424","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\/5424","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=5424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5425,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424\/revisions\/5425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}