{"id":5722,"date":"2020-05-25T00:15:19","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T00:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5722"},"modified":"2020-05-25T00:15:19","modified_gmt":"2020-05-25T00:15:19","slug":"bulletin-edition-may-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5722","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition May 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To walk after the flesh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is therefore now\nno condemnation to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

those who are in Christ\nJesus, who walk not <\/p>\n\n\n\n

after the flesh, but after\nthe Spirit.” Rom. 8:1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh\ncarries with it the idea of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the flesh going before us\u2014as\nour leader, guide, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

example\u2014and our following\nclose in its footsteps,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so that wherever it drags or\ndraws we move after <\/p>\n\n\n\n

it, as the needle after the\nmagnet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh,\nthen, is to move <\/p>\n\n\n\n

step by step in implicit\nobedience to . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the commands of the flesh, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the lusts of the flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the inclinations of the\nflesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the desires of the\nflesh, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever shape they assume, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever garb they wear, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever name they may bear.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh is\nto be ever pursuing, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

desiring, and doing the\nthings that please the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

flesh, whatever aspect that\nflesh may wear or <\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever dress it may\nassume\u2014whether molded <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and fashioned after the\ngrosser and more flagrant <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ways of the profane world\u2014or\nthe more refined <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and deceptive religion of\nthe professing church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are the grosser and more\nmanifest sinners the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

only people who may be said\nto walk after the flesh? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does not all human religion,\nin all its varied forms and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

shapes, come under the sweep\nof this all-devouring <\/p>\n\n\n\n

sword? Yes! Every one who is\nentangled in and led by <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a fleshly religion, walks as\nmuch after the flesh as <\/p>\n\n\n\n

those who are abandoned to\nits grosser indulgences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sad it is, yet not more sad\nthan true, that false <\/p>\n\n\n\n

religion has slain its\nthousands, if open sin has <\/p>\n\n\n\n

slain its ten thousands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh,\nwhether it be in the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

grosser or more refined\nsense of the term, is <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the same in the sight of\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wretched idol, SELF!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow,\n“Christ and the Christian <\/p>\n\n\n\n

in Temptation” 1877)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of all the sins common to\nour fallen nature, God <\/p>\n\n\n\n

has the most signally marked\nthat of Idolatry, or <\/p>\n\n\n\n

False Worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man is by nature an\nidolater. His sinful mind, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

being alienated from God,\nseeks some object <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of worship other than the\ntrue and living God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘renewed’ man is not\nentirely exempt from this sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence the exhortation of the\nApostle addressed to the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

early Christians, and in\nthese last days addressed to us: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Little children, keep\nyourselves from idols.” “My dearly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

beloved, flee from\nidolatry.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, it was not the gross\nand senseless idolatry of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the heathens to which the\nApostles thus refer; from <\/p>\n\n\n\n

this many of those saints to\nwhom they wrote had <\/p>\n\n\n\n

already been delivered; but\nto other idols and other <\/p>\n\n\n\n

worship, less palpable and\ndegrading, but not less <\/p>\n\n\n\n

superstitious or offensive\nto God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worship of SELF is a\nnatural and fearful form of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

idolatry. It is an innate\nand never entirely eradicated <\/p>\n\n\n\n

principle of our nature, but\nclings to us to the very last <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of life. Alas! the holiest\nand the best of us want to be <\/p>\n\n\n\n

something, and to do\nsomething, when in reality we <\/p>\n\n\n\n

are nothing, and can do\nnothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walk in our religious\nlife, for the most part, upon <\/p>\n\n\n\n

stilts; always appearing in\nthe eyes of others taller <\/p>\n\n\n\n

than we really are! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But real greatness and true\nhumility have ever been<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in alliance with entire\nabnegation of SELF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who can stand before the\ncross and gaze upon the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creator of all worlds\nimpaled between two criminals,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Himself dying as the chief,\nand not shrink into his <\/p>\n\n\n\n

own nothingness, bewailing\nthat he should ever have <\/p>\n\n\n\n

been betrayed into the folly\nand the sin of burning <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the incense of idolatry\nbefore the wretched idol, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SELF!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware of SELF idolatry! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the most insidious, hateful,\nand degrading <\/p>\n\n\n\n

form of idolism to which the\nsoul can be subjected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then shall we know,\nif we follow on to know the Lord.” Hosea 6:3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We gather from these words\nthat there is such a thing in soul experience as “a following on to know\nthe Lord;” and indeed there is no obtaining the blessings which are laid\nup for the righteous, unless there is this following on. “To know the\nLord” is the desire of every living soul; that is, to know him by his own\ndivine manifestations, by the gracious revelation of his grace, his love, his\npresence, and his glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the expression,\n“follow on,” implies that there are many difficulties, obstacles, and\nhindrances in a man’s way, which keep him back from “knowing the\nLord.” Now the work of the Spirit in his soul is to carry him on in spite\nof all these obstacles. Nature, and all the work of nature, and all the power\nof Satan working on nature, is to draw the man back; but the work of the Spirit\non the soul is to lead him forward, to keep alive in him the fear of God, to\nstrengthen him from time to time with strength in his inner man, to give him\nthose enlargements, to drop in those hopes, to communicate that inward grace,\nand to gird up the loins of his mind, so that in spite of sense, reason, and\nnature, he is compelled to follow on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes he seems driven,\nand sometimes drawn, sometimes led, and sometimes carried, but in one way or\nanother the Spirit of God so works upon him that, though he scarcely knows how,\nhe still “follows on.” His very burdens make him groan for\ndeliverance; his very temptations cause him to cry for help; the very\ndifficulty and ruggedness of the road make him want to be carried every step;\nthe very intricacy of the path compels him to cry out for a guide; so that the\nLord the Spirit working in the midst of, and under, and through every\ndifficulty and discouragement, still bears him through, and carries him on; and\nthus brings him through every trial and trouble and temptation and obstacle,\nuntil he sets him before the Lord in glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is astonishing to me how\nour souls are kept alive. I believe a living man is a marvel to himself.\nCarried on, and yet so secretly; worked upon, and yet so mysteriously; and yet\nled on, guided, and supported through so many difficulties and obstacles, that\nhe is a miracle of mercy, and, as the Apostle says, “a spectacle unto the\nworld, and to angels, and to men;” the world wondering, the angels\nadmiring, and men standing astonished, how the quickened soul is carried on\namid all its difficulties, obstacles, trials, and temptations; and yet in spite\nof all “following on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But “following on”\nfor what? “To know the Lord,” as the sum and substance of all\nreligion, as the very marrow of vital godliness; to know Jesus, so as by faith\nto enter into his beauty and loveliness, and feel ourselves one spirit with\nhim, according to those words, “He that is joined to the Lord is one\nspirit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our only rule of faith\nand practice!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Our only rule of faith and\npractice is the Word of God. We have . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

no creed to defend,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

no denomination to maintain,\nand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

no confession to bind our\nminds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What do the Scriptures\nteach?” That is and must be our only concern. If the plain teachings of\nHoly Scripture appear to destroy or contradict our understanding of any\ndoctrine \u2014 then let us relinquish the doctrine, or acknowledge the fact that\nour minds are both depraved and minuscule \u2014 and bow to the revelation of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All Scripture is\nGod-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in\nrighteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good\nwork.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to fill your church!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Spurgeon–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe that the best,\nsurest, and most permanent way to fill<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a place of worship is to\npreach the gospel, and to preach it in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a natural, simple,\ninteresting, earnest way. The gospel itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

has a singularly fascinating\npower about it, and unless impeded<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by an unworthy delivery, or\nby some other great evil, it will win<\/p>\n\n\n\n

its own way. It certainly\ndid so at the first, and what is to hinder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it now? Like the angels, it\nflew upon its own wings; like the dew,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it tarried not for man,\nneither waited for the sons of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gospel has a secret\ncharm about it which secures a hearing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it casts its good spell over\nhuman ears, and they must hearken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is God’s own word to men;\nit is precisely what human<\/p>\n\n\n\n

necessities require; it\ncommends itself to man’s conscience, and,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sent home by the Holy\nSpirit, it wakes an echo in every heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every age, the faithful\npreaching of the good news has brought<\/p>\n\n\n\n

forth hosts of men to hear\nit, made willing in the day of God’s power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decked in the glories of\nfree and sovereign grace, wearing the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

crown-royal of the covenant,\nand the purple of atonement-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the gospel, like a queen, is\nstill glorious for beauty,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and supreme over hearts and\nminds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published in all its\nfulness, with a clear statement of its efficacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and immutability, it is\nstill the most acceptable news that ever<\/p>\n\n\n\n

reached the ears of mortals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In that day shall\nthe Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious.” Isaiah 4:2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where in heaven or on earth\ncan there be found such a lovely Object as the Son of God? “What is your\nbeloved more than another beloved?” ask the companions of the Bride. But\nshe answers, “My beloved is white and ruddy, the chief among ten\nthousand.” If, then, you have never seen any beauty in Jesus, you have\nnever seen Jesus; he has never revealed himself to you; you never had a glimpse\nof his lovely face, nor a sense of his presence, nor a word from his lips, nor\na touch from his hand. But if you have seen him by the eye of faith, and he has\nrevealed himself to you even in a small measure, you have seen a beauty in him\nbeyond all other beauties, for it is a holy beauty, a divine beauty, the beauty\nof his heavenly grace, the beauty of his uncreated and eternal glory, such as\nno earthly countenance can wear, nor man or woman, no, not Adam, in all his\nunfallen innocency, nor his fair partner Eve, with all her virtue, grace, and\ndignity, ever could show, for it is the beauty of the glorious Son of God,\nwhich he forever wears as the Son of the Father in truth and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as he is\n“beautiful,” so is he “glorious.” Oh, what a glory does\nfaith see sometimes in his eternal Deity, in his divine Sonship, in what he is\nin himself as the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of his\nPerson, and in what he is as made unto us wisdom and righteousness,\nsanctification and redemption! How glorious does he show himself to be in his\natoning blood and dying love. Even as sweating great drops of blood in\nGethsemane’s gloomy garden, and as hanging in torture and agony upon Calvary’s\ncross, faith can see a beauty in the glorious Redeemer, even in the lowest\ndepths of ignominy and shame. Was there not a glory in his meek obedience, in\nhis suffering patience, in his submission to his Father’s holy will, in his\nuncomplaining resignation to the heaviest strokes of vindictive justice, in\nbearing our sins in his own body on the tree, and thus putting away sin by the\nsacrifice of himself? But more especially does faith see him glorious as rising\nfrom the dead and going up on high, and sitting down at the right hand of the\nFather, crowned with glory and honor, and all things put under his feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And you shall be My\nwitnesses.” Acts 1:8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C.H.Spurgeon <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to learn how to\ndischarge your duty as a witness for Christ\u2014look at His example. He is always\nwitnessing\u2014by the well of Samaria, or in the Temple of Jerusalem\u2014by the lake of\nGennesaret, or on the mountain’s brow. He is witnessing night and day; His\nmighty prayers are as vocal to God\u2014as His daily services. He witnesses under\nall circumstances; Scribes and Pharisees cannot shut His mouth; even before\nPilate He witnesses a good confession. He witnesses so clearly, and\ndistinctly\u2014that there is no mistake in Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christian, make your life a clear\ntestimony. Be as the clear brook wherein you may see every stone at the\nbottom\u2014not as the muddy creek, of which you only see the surface\u2014but clear and\ntransparent, so that your heart’s love to God and man may be visible to all.\nYou need not say, “I am true!” Be true! Boast not of integrity\u2014but be\nupright. So shall your testimony be such that men cannot help seeing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never, for fear of feeble\nman, restrain your witness. Your lips have been warmed with a coal from off the\naltar; let them speak as heaven-touched lips should speak. “In the morning\nsow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand.” Watch not the\nclouds, consult not the wind\u2014in season and out of season\u2014witness for the\nSavior, and if it shall come to pass that for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s\nyou shall endure suffering in any shape, shrink not\u2014but rejoice in the honor\nthus conferred upon you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord.\nRejoice also in this\u2014that your sufferings, your losses, and persecutions shall\nmake a platform\u2014from which the more vigorously and with greater power you shall\nwitness for Christ Jesus. Study your great Exemplar, and be filled with His\nevangelistic spirit. Remember that you need much teaching, much upholding, much\ngrace, and much humility\u2014if your witnessing is to be to your Master’s glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole apparatus of\nreligion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot,\n“Reviews”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I see that you are\nvery religious in every way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acts 17:22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion, in some shape or\nother, is indispensable <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to the very existence of\ncivilized society. There is <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a natural religion–as well\nas a spiritual religion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural conscience is the\nseat of the former; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a spiritual conscience the\nseat of the latter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is of the flesh–the\nother of the Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One for time–the other for\neternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One for the world–the other\nfor the elect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One to animate and bind men\ntogether as <\/p>\n\n\n\n

component members of\nsociety–the other to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

animate and bind the\nchildren of God together <\/p>\n\n\n\n

as component members of the\nmystical body <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

True religion is what the\nworld does not want <\/p>\n\n\n\n

–nor does true religion\nwant the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two are as separate as\nChrist and Belial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some religion the world\nmust have! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as it will not have, and\ncannot have <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the true–it will and must\nhave the false. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

True religion is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

spiritual and experimental,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heavenly and divine,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the gift and work of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the birthright and privilege\nof the elect,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the peculiar possession of\nthe heirs of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This the world has not, for\nit is God’s enemy–not <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His friend–walking in the\nbroad way which leads <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to perdition–not in the\nnarrow way which leads <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to eternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worldly religion cannot\nexist without an order of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

men to teach it and practice\nits ceremonies. Hence <\/p>\n\n\n\n

come clergy, forming a\nrecognized priestly caste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as these must, to avoid\nconfusion, be governed, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

all large corporate bodies\nrequiring a controlling power, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

thence come bishops and\narchbishops, ecclesiastical <\/p>\n\n\n\n

courts, archdeacons–and the\nwhole apparatus of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

clerical government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ceremonies and\nordinances cannot be carried on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

without buildings set apart\nfor the purpose–thence <\/p>\n\n\n\n

churches and cathedrals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As prayer is a part of all\nreligious worship, and carnal <\/p>\n\n\n\n

men cannot, for lack of the\nSpirit, pray spiritually–they <\/p>\n\n\n\n

must have forms of devotion\nmade ready to their hand,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thence come prayer-books and\nliturgies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As there must be mutual\npoints of agreement to hold <\/p>\n\n\n\n

men together, there must be\nwritten formulas of doctrine <\/p>\n\n\n\n

–thence come articles,\ncreeds, and confessions of faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, as there are\nchildren to be instructed, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

this cannot be safely left\nto oral teaching, for fear of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ignorance in some and error\nin others, the very form <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of instruction must be drawn\nup in so many words–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thence come catechisms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People are puzzled sometimes\nto know why there is <\/p>\n\n\n\n

this and that thing in an\nestablished religion–why we <\/p>\n\n\n\n

have churches and clergy,\ntithes and prayer-books, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

universities and\ncatechisms–and the whole apparatus <\/p>\n\n\n\n

of religion. They do not see\nthat all these things have <\/p>\n\n\n\n

sprung, as it were, out of a\nmoral necessity, and are <\/p>\n\n\n\n

based upon the very\nconstitution of man–that this <\/p>\n\n\n\n

great and widespread tree of\na human religion has <\/p>\n\n\n\n

its deep roots in the\nnatural conscience; and that all <\/p>\n\n\n\n

these branches necessarily\nand naturally grow out of <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the broad and lofty stem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attachment, then, of\nworldly people to a worldly <\/p>\n\n\n\n

religion is no great\nmystery. It is no riddle for a Samson <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to put forth–or requiring a\nSolomon to solve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To walk after the flesh J.C.Philpot “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:1 To walk after the flesh carries with it the idea of the flesh going before us\u2014as our leader, guide, and example\u2014and our following close […]<\/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-5722","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\/5722","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=5722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5723,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5722\/revisions\/5723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}