“Take heed unto\nyourselves!” Acts 20:28<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was Paul’s public\nwarning to the elders of <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the church at Ephesus. It\nwas Paul’s private <\/p>\n\n\n\n
warning to his friend and\ndisciple, his beloved<\/p>\n\n\n\n
son, Timothy. And do not all\nwho write or speak <\/p>\n\n\n\n
in the name of the Lord need\nthe same warning? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Familiarity with sacred\nthings has a natural <\/p>\n\n\n\n
tendency to harden the\nconscience, where <\/p>\n\n\n\n
grace does not soften and\nmake it tender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men may preach and pray\nuntil both become a <\/p>\n\n\n\n
mere mechanical habit; and\nthey may talk about <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ and His sufferings\nuntil they feel as little <\/p>\n\n\n\n
touched by them as a ‘tragic\nactor’ on the stage,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of the sorrows which he\nimpersonates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, then, may the Holy\nSpirit sound this note of <\/p>\n\n\n\n
warning, as with trumpet\nvoice, in the ears of the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
servants of Christ.\n“Take heed unto yourselves!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because he first loved us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n by Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We love him because he\nfirst loved us.” -1 John 4:19<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no light in the\nplanet but that which proceeds from<\/p>\n\n\n\n the sun; and there is no\ntrue love to Jesus in the heart but<\/p>\n\n\n\n that which comes from the\nLord Jesus himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From this overflowing\nfountain of the infinite love of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n all our love to God must\nspring. This must ever be a great<\/p>\n\n\n\n and certain truth, that we\nlove him for no other reason than<\/p>\n\n\n\n because he first loved us.\nOur love to him is “the fair<\/p>\n\n\n\n offspring” of his love\nto us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cold admiration, when\nstudying the works of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n anyone may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the warmth of love can\nonly be kindled in<\/p>\n\n\n\n the heart by God’s Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How great the wonder that\nsuch as we should ever have<\/p>\n\n\n\n been brought to love Jesus\nat all! How marvelous that<\/p>\n\n\n\n when we had rebelled against\nhim, he should, by a display<\/p>\n\n\n\n of such amazing love, seek\nto draw us back. No! never<\/p>\n\n\n\n should we have had a grain\nof love towards God unless it<\/p>\n\n\n\n had been sown in us by the\nsweet seed of his love to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our love, then, has for its\nparent the love of God shed<\/p>\n\n\n\n abroad in the heart: but\nafter it is thus divinely born, it must<\/p>\n\n\n\n “be divinely\nnourished”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Love is an exotic– it is\nnot a plant which will flourish<\/p>\n\n\n\n naturally in human soil, it\nmust be watered from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love to Jesus is a flower of\na delicate nature, and if it<\/p>\n\n\n\n received no nourishment but\nthat which could be drawn<\/p>\n\n\n\n from the rock of our hearts\nit would soon wither.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As love comes from heaven,\nso it must feed on heavenly<\/p>\n\n\n\n bread. It cannot exist in\nthe wilderness unless it be fed by<\/p>\n\n\n\n manna from on high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love must feed on love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The very soul and life of\nour love to God is his love to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I love you, Lord, but\nwith no love of mine,<\/p>\n\n\n\n For I have none to give;<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love you, Lord; but all\nthe love is yours,<\/p>\n\n\n\n For by your love I live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am as nothing, and rejoice\nto be<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emptied, and lost, and\nswallowed up in you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Christ has our love…<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Christ has our love he\nhas our all; and Christ never has what<\/p>\n\n\n\n he deserves from us, until\nhe has our love. True love withholds<\/p>\n\n\n\n nothing from Christ, when it\nis sincerely set upon him. If we<\/p>\n\n\n\n actually love him, he will\nhave our time, and he will have our<\/p>\n\n\n\n service. He will have the\nuse of all our resources, and gifts, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n graces. Indeed, then he\nshall have our possessions, and our<\/p>\n\n\n\n very lives, whenever he\ncalls for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same way, when God\nloves any of us, he will withhold<\/p>\n\n\n\n nothing from us that is\ntruly good for us. He does not hold<\/p>\n\n\n\n back his own only begotten\nSon, Rom.8:32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Christ loves us, he\ngives us everything we need– his<\/p>\n\n\n\n merits to justify us, his\nSpirit to sanctify us, his grace to adorn<\/p>\n\n\n\n us and his glory to crown\nus. Therefore, when any of us love<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ sincerely, we lay\neverything down at his feet, and give<\/p>\n\n\n\n up all to be at his command\nand service. “…they did not love<\/p>\n\n\n\n their lives so much as to\nshrink from death.” Rev. 12:11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Remember therefore\nfrom where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works.” Revelation\n2:5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavious Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let the backsliding believer\nbe brought to this first step. “Remember from where you are\nfallen”\u2014revert to your past history, your former spiritual state\u2014remember\nyour first sorrow for sin, the first joy of its pardon\u2014remember the spring-tide\nof your first love\u2014how precious Jesus was, how glorious was His person, how\nsweet was His cross, how fragrant was His name, how rich was His grace\u2014remember\nhow dear to you was the throne of grace, how frequently you resorted to it,\nregarding it of all spots on earth the most blessed\u2014remember how, under the\nanointings of adopting love, you walked with God as with a Father\u2014how filial,\nhow close, how holy was your communion with Him\u2014remember the seasons of\nrefreshing in the sanctuary, in the social meeting, in the closet; how your\nsoul did seem to dwell on the sunny sides of glory, and you longed for the\nwings of a dove that you might fly to your Lord; remember how, publicly and\nbefore many witnesses, you put off sin and put on Christ, and; turning your\nback upon the world, took your place among the followers of the Lamb\u2014remember\nhow holy, and circumspect, and spotless your walk, how tender was your\nconscience, how guileless was your spirit, how humble and lovely your whole\ndeportment. But what and where are you now? Oh, remember from where you are\nfallen! Think from what a high profession, from what an elevated walk, from\nwhat holy employments, from what hallowed joys, from what sweet delights, and\nfrom what pleasant ways have you declined! <\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the exhortation given\nto the backsliding church at Ephesus, there is yet another instruction equally\napplicable to the case of all wanderers from the Lord: “Repent, and do the\nfirst works.” How can a departing soul return without repentance? by what\nother avenue can the prodigal reach his Father’s heart? Repentance implies the\nexistence and conviction of sin. Ah! is it no sin, beloved reader, to have\nturned your back upon God? is it no sin to have lost your first love, to have\nbackslidden from Jesus, to have transferred your affections from Him to the\nworld, or to the creature, or to yourself? is it no sin to go no more with the\nShepherd, and to follow no more the footsteps of the flock, and to feed no more\nin the green pastures, or repose by the side of the still waters? Oh yes! it is\na sin of peculiar magnitude; it is a sin against God in the character of a\nloving Father, against Jesus in the character of a tender Redeemer, against the\nHoly Spirit in the character of a faithful Indweller and a Sanctifier; it is a\nsin against the most precious experience of His grace, against the most melting\nexhibitions of His love, and against the most tender proofs of His covenant\nfaithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repent, then, of this your\nsin. Think how you have wounded Jesus afresh, and repent; think how you have\nrequited your Father’s love, and repent; think how you have grieved the Spirit,\nand repent. Humble yourself in dust and ashes before the cross, and through\nthat cross look up again to your forgiving God and Father. The sweet promise\nis, “They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for\nHim as one mourns for his only son.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Accepted in the\nBeloved.” Ephesians 1:6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are ever looking for\nsomething in SELF to make ourselves acceptable to God, and are often sadly cast\ndown and discouraged when we cannot find that holiness, that obedience, that\ncalm submission to the will of God, that serenity of soul, that spirituality\nand heavenly-mindedness which we believe to be acceptable in his sight. Our\ncrooked tempers, fretful peevish minds, rebellious thoughts, coldness,\nbarrenness and death, our alienation from good, and headlong proneness to evil,\nwith the daily feeling that we get no better but rather worse, make us think\nthat God views us just as we view ourselves. And this brings on great darkness\nof mind and bondage of spirit, until we seem to lose sight of our acceptance in\nChrist, and get into the miserable dregs of SELF, almost ready to quarrel with\nGod because we are so vile, and only get worse as we get older. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now the more we get into\nthese dregs of SELF, and the more we keep looking at the dreadful scenes of\nwreck and ruin which our heart presents to daily view, the farther do we get\nfrom the grace of the gospel, and the more do we lose sight of the only ground\nof our acceptance with God. It is “in the Beloved” alone, that we are\naccepted, and not for any good words, or good works, good thoughts, good\nhearts, or good intentions of our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And a saving knowledge of\nour acceptance “in the Beloved,” independent of everything in us\neither good or bad, is a firm foundation for our faith and hope, and will keep\nus from sinking altogether into despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So fathomless, boundless,\nand inexhaustible!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (From Octavius Winslow’s,\n“Christ, the Wonderful”) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ is wonderful in His\nlove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Love was the first and\neternal link in the golden <\/p>\n\n\n\n chain lowered from the\nhighest throne in heaven <\/p>\n\n\n\n down to the lowest depth of\nearth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That Christ should love us was\nthe beginning of <\/p>\n\n\n\n wonders. When we endeavor to\ncomprehend that <\/p>\n\n\n\n love, measure it, fathom it,\nscale it; we learn that <\/p>\n\n\n\n it has heights we cannot\nreach, depths we cannot <\/p>\n\n\n\n sound, lengths and breadths\nwe cannot measure! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Such love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n such divine love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n such infinite love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n such everlasting love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n such redeeming, dying love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n is an Ocean whose eternal\nwaves waft into our <\/p>\n\n\n\n fallen world every wonder of\nGod and of heaven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That Jesus should love such\nbeings as us; that <\/p>\n\n\n\n He should love us while we\nwere yet sinners; <\/p>\n\n\n\n that He should set his heart\nupon us, choose us, <\/p>\n\n\n\n die for us, call us, and\nfinally bring us to glory, <\/p>\n\n\n\n knowing what we were, and\nwhat we should prove, <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, this is wondrous love\nindeed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plunge into this fathomless,\nboundless ocean of love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n O you sin burdened one! It\nwill cover all your sins, <\/p>\n\n\n\n it will efface all your\nguilt; it will flood over all your <\/p>\n\n\n\n unworthiness; and, floating\nupon its golden waves, <\/p>\n\n\n\n it will gently waft you to\nthe shore of eternal blessedness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How often have you wondered\nwhy Christ should set <\/p>\n\n\n\n His heart upon such a one as\nyou! And is it not a <\/p>\n\n\n\n wonder that, amid all your\nfickleness, backslidings, <\/p>\n\n\n\n cold, base returns, this\nlove of God towards you has <\/p>\n\n\n\n not chilled or changed? <\/p>\n\n\n\n But do not rest, do not be\nsatisfied with your present <\/p>\n\n\n\n limited experience of\nChrist’s wonderful love. It is so <\/p>\n\n\n\n marvelously great. This\nOcean of love is so fathomless, <\/p>\n\n\n\n boundless, and\ninexhaustible, you may plunge, with <\/p>\n\n\n\n all your infirmities, sin,\nand sorrow, into its fullness, <\/p>\n\n\n\n exclaiming, “O the\ndepth!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The well is\ndeep,” drink abundantly, O beloved!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Take heed unto yourselves!” Acts 20:28 This was Paul’s public warning to the elders of the church at Ephesus. It was Paul’s private warning to his friend and disciple, his beloved son, Timothy. And do not all who write or speak in the name of the Lord need the same warning? Familiarity with sacred things […]<\/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-5538","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\/5538","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=5538"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5539,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5538\/revisions\/5539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}