\u2026 and were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Eph.2:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you a believer?\nAre you what is called a saved person, a child of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God? If so, how\ndid that come about? Why did God save you? If your<\/p>\n\n\n\n
answer is,\n\u201cbecause I believed in Jesus,\u201d then you are over-qualified to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
be a candidate\nfor the mercy of God and are therefore deceived and lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God saves sinners\nwho are \u201ceven as others\u201d and if you have distinguished<\/p>\n\n\n\n
yourself from\n\u201cothers\u201d by some kind of faith that you produced, you have<\/p>\n\n\n\n
disqualified\nyourself from receiving the unmerited, free, sovereign,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
distinguishing\ngrace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our text and its\ncontext clearly show that when God, Who is rich in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mercy, displayed\nand dispensed that mercy upon men, that He did so when<\/p>\n\n\n\n
they were just\nlike everybody else. If God saved me because I believed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in Jesus and did not\nsave \u201cothers\u201d because they did not believe in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus, then the\nscriptures are meaningless and there is no such thing as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pure grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does it mean\nto be \u201ceven as other?\u201d Read Ephesians 2. It means to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
be \u201cdead in\ntrespasses and sins,\u201d in the \u201clusts of our flesh,\u201d and to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cby nature the\nchildren of wrath.\u201d You may say, \u201cWell I was a sinner and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God saved me by\ngrace, but I \u2018improved\u2019 upon that grace, whereas others<\/p>\n\n\n\n
did not.\u201d Then\nyou are not \u201ceven as others\u201d; God has surely passed you<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by and shall\nuntil you become so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the\nPharisee\u2019s problem. Luke 18:11. The Pharisee stood and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
prayed thus with\nhimself, \u201cGod, I thank thee, that I am not as other men<\/p>\n\n\n\n
are,\nextortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.\u201d Real<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sinners, such as\nthe publican referred to here, make no such claim, but<\/p>\n\n\n\n
only cry out for\nmercy! If we have any objection to the title \u201ceven as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
others,\u201d it is\nonly that surely there is no one quite as wretched as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is your\ndefinition of grace? God saved me out of a world full of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
drowning worms\njust like me. If that\u2019s not grace, then I don\u2019t know what<\/p>\n\n\n\n
grace is. \u2014 Chris\nCunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the\ndevil’s tricks!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2Cor. 2:11\nLest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his\ndevices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Satan is\nso wily\u2014his agents so surround us\u2014their designs are so masked\u2014their language so\nplausible\u2014their manners so insinuating\u2014their appearance often so imposing\u2014their\narguments so subtle\u2014their activity so unwearied\u2014their insight into our\nweaknesses so keen\u2014their enmity against Christ and His gospel so\nimplacable\u2014their lack of all principle and all honesty so thorough\u2014that the net\nmay be drawing around us, before we have the slightest suspicion of these\ninfernal plots being directed against us! Put on the whole armor of God, that\nyou may be able to stand against all the devil’s tricks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hitherto!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Charles\nSpurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then\nSamuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name\nEbenezer, saying: “Hitherto has the Lord helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word\n“hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twenty\nyears or seventy, and yet, “hitherto the Lord has helped us!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through\npoverty and through wealth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n through\nsickness and through health,<\/p>\n\n\n\n at home\nand abroad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n on the\nland and on the sea,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in honor\nand in dishonor,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in\nperplexity and in joy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in trial\nand in triumph,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in prayer\nand in temptation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hitherto\nhas the Lord helped us!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n We delight\nto look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end\nof the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its\narches of leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the\nsame way, look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy\noverhead, and the strong pillars of loving-kindness and faithfulness which bear\nup your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must\nbe many, and they all sing of mercy received “hitherto.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the\nword hitherto also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and\nwrites “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end, there is still a\ndistance to be traversed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More\ntrials and more joys;<\/p>\n\n\n\n more\ntemptations and more triumphs;<\/p>\n\n\n\n more\nprayers and more answers;<\/p>\n\n\n\n more toils\nand more strength;<\/p>\n\n\n\n more\nfights and more victories;<\/p>\n\n\n\n and then\ncome sickness, old age, disease and death!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it over\nnow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n No! there\nis more yet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n awakening\nin Jesus’ likeness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n glorious\nthrones,<\/p>\n\n\n\n heavenly\nharps and songs,<\/p>\n\n\n\n white\nclothing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the face\nof Jesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nsociety of saints,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the glory\nof God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nfullness of eternity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\ninfinity of bliss!<\/p>\n\n\n\n O be of\ngood courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise your\n“Ebenezer,” for He who has helped you hitherto\u2014will help you all your\njourney through! When read in Heaven’s light, how glorious and marvelous a\nprospect will your “hitherto” unfold to your grateful eye!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\nburden is on his shoulder!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (adapted\nfrom Octavius Winslow’s, “The Believers Triumph”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus,\namid the honours and splendours to which God<\/p>\n\n\n\n has highly\nexalted him, still remembers his brethren<\/p>\n\n\n\n in bonds,\nand makes intercession for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is an\nindividual, an anticipative, and a present intercession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nembraces all the personal needs of each believer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it\nprecedes each temptation and each trial, and at<\/p>\n\n\n\n the moment\nthat the sympathy and the prayers of<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nSaviour are the most called for, and are felt to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n the most\nsoothing, it bears the saint and his sorrow<\/p>\n\n\n\n on its\nbosom before the throne!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just at a\ncrisis of his history, at a juncture, perhaps,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the most\ncritical in his life; and when the heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n oppressed\nwith its emotions, cannot breathe a prayer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus is\nremembering him, sympathising with him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and\ninterceding for him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, who\ncan fully describe the blessings that flow<\/p>\n\n\n\n through\nthe intercession of the Son of God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nsympathy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nforethought,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nconcern,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the minute\ninterest in all our concerns,<\/p>\n\n\n\n are\nblessings beyond description!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tried,\ntempted believer! Jesus makes intercession for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your case\nis not unknown to him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\nsorrow is not hidden from him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your name\nis on his heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\nburden is on his shoulder!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Therefore\nHe is able to save completely those<\/p>\n\n\n\n who come\nto God through Him, because He<\/p>\n\n\n\n always\nlives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:25<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must be\ntaught of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four things\nare absolutely necessary to be experimentally known and felt before we can\narrive at any saving or sanctifying knowledge of the truth\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Divine\nlight in the understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\nSpiritual faith in the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Godly\nfear in the conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.\nHeavenly love in the affections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without\nlight we cannot see. Without faith we cannot believe. Without godly fear we\ncannot reverentially adore. Without love we cannot embrace Him who is the way,\nthe truth, and the life. We must be taught of God and receive the kingdom of\nheaven as a little child\u2014or we shall never enter therein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Keys\nof Hell and Death!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spurgeon,\n“Christ With the Keys of Death and Hell”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rev. 1:18\nI am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;\nand have the keys of hell and of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hell and\ndeath, terrible powers as they are, are<\/p>\n\n\n\n not left\nto riot without government. Jesus holds<\/p>\n\n\n\n the keys\nof these dreadful regions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Death is a\nland of darkness, yet a sovereign eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n surveys\nit, and a master hand holds its key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hell also\nis a horrible region, where powers of evil<\/p>\n\n\n\n and of\nterror hold their high court and dread assembly;<\/p>\n\n\n\n but hell\ntrembles at the presence of the Lord, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n there is a\nthrone higher than the throne of evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us\nrejoice that nothing in heaven, or earth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n or in\nplaces under the earth, is left to itself to<\/p>\n\n\n\n engender\nanarchy. Everywhere, serene above<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nfloods, the Lord sits as King forever and ever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n No\nprovince of the universe<\/p>\n\n\n\n is free\nfrom the divine rule!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things do\nnot come by chance. Nowhere do chance<\/p>\n\n\n\n and chaos\nreign, nowhere is evil really and permanently<\/p>\n\n\n\n enthroned.\nRest assured that the Lord has prepared his<\/p>\n\n\n\n throne in\nthe heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ has\nthe keys of hell and death!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is the\nLord over those dark regions, and rules them<\/p>\n\n\n\n by his\nsovereignty. Christ is Lord over hell and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nactually rules and manages in all the issues of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n grave, and\noverrules all the councils of hell, restraining<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nmischievous devices of Satan, or turning them to<\/p>\n\n\n\n subserve\nhis own designs of good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Lord\nJesus Christ still is supreme! His<\/p>\n\n\n\n kingdom,\nwillingly or unwillingly, extends over<\/p>\n\n\n\n all\nexistences in whatever regions they may be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\nrules over the damned spirits!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this\nlife they would not have him to rule over<\/p>\n\n\n\n them, but\nin the life to come they must submit<\/p>\n\n\n\n whether\nthey will or not. In that seething caldron<\/p>\n\n\n\n of hell,\nevery wave of fire is guided by the will<\/p>\n\n\n\n of Christ,\nand the mark of his sovereignty is on<\/p>\n\n\n\n every iron\nchain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus the\nungodly will be compelled to feel his rule with<\/p>\n\n\n\n terror,\nfor although the ferocity of their natures will<\/p>\n\n\n\n remain,\nyet the boastfulness of their pride shall be<\/p>\n\n\n\n taken from\nthem. Though they would still revolt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n they shall\nfind themselves hopelessly fettered, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n powerless\nto accomplish their designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though\nthey would sincerely continue stouthearted<\/p>\n\n\n\n as\nPharaoh, and cry, “Who is the Lord, that we should<\/p>\n\n\n\n obey his\nvoice?” They shall wring their hands in anguish<\/p>\n\n\n\n and bite\ntheir tongues in despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the\ngreat terrors of the lost in hell will be this,<\/p>\n\n\n\n that he\nwho came to save was rejected by them,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and now\nonly reveals himself to them as mighty to<\/p>\n\n\n\n destroy.\nHe who held out the silver scepter when they<\/p>\n\n\n\n would not\ntouch it, shall forever break them with a<\/p>\n\n\n\n rod of\niron for their willful impenitence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Kiss\nthe Son, lest he be angry, and you be destroyed<\/p>\n\n\n\n in your\nway, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Beware\nyou that forget him, lest he tear<\/p>\n\n\n\n you in\npieces and there be none to deliver.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE LORD\nFAITHFUL, AND HIS WORD TRUE TO THE LAST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius\nWinslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Now\nI am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and\nsoul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has\nfailed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Joshua\n23:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is\nno testimony to the faithfulness of God in His Word so convincing and touching\nas that of the dying believer. If ever a man is sincere, it is then. If ever\nthe veil is laid aside and the soul appears real and undisguised, be it a saint\nor a sinner, it is at that solemn moment. No motive now exists for the false,\nand no cloud can conceal the true; the coin that has passed current with many\nfor genuine is now found to be counterfeit, and that which many regarded as\ncounterfeit–even the possessor himself–proves to be genuine! Nature now\nappears to be but nature; and grace, vindicating its true character, proves itself\ngrace. The specious hope dies, and the true hope gathers life; the false faith\nsinks, and the real rises; and the timid believer, who went doubting and\ntrembling all the way to Jordan’s brink, plunges boldly into the river, and\npasses over to the other side, with the paean of triumph breathing sweetly from\nhis lips, “O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your\nvictory?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such is\nthe picture which the position of Joshua now presents to our view. He is\nstanding upon the sunny slope, and before the soles of his feet smite the cold\nwaters, he casts a back glance upon all the way the Lord his God had brought\nhim; and in words the most emphatic and impressive, testifies to the divine\nfaithfulness and unchanging love of his covenant God in making good all His\ngreat and precious promises He had so graciously given, “Not one thing has\nfailed of all the good things which the Lord, your God, spoke unto you; all are\ncome to pass.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such is\nthe divine assurance with which we conclude our daily thoughts. What more\nprecious truth, blended with sweeter melody, could linger upon the ear as we\nclose the volume than this–God’s faithfulness in the fulfillment of His Word?\nLet us look at this truth as confirmed by the experience, first, of the living,\nand then of the dying believer, for both are God’s witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is\nthe life of the child of God but a continuous experience of the truth of His\nWord, and the veracity of His promises? You have, perhaps, been placed in\ntrying circumstances; resources have lessened and demands have increased; your\nfaith has been sharply tried; your spirits depressed; the sky has lowered and\nthe waters have risen; but lo! the Spirit, the Comforter, has guided you to\nsome precious promise which has just met your case. It has touched your heart,\nmoistened your eye, uplifted the pressure, and your whole soul has been, as it\nwere, absorbed in God. And now the harp that hung sad and mute upon the willow\nis taken down, and thrills with a new song of praise and thanksgiving to the\nfaithfulness of God in the fulfillment of His Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, my\nsoul, you can testify to the truth that every sweet invitation and precious\npromise and loving word of Jesus, upon which He causes your soul to rest in its\ngrief and desolation, has come to pass–not one word has failed. This is a\nclear proof of God’s veracity in the making good His every word of promise. Has\nHe not promised to provide for you? then trust Him. Has He not pledged Himself\nto guide you? then commit your way to Him. Has He not undertaken to save you?\nthen believe His Word and pray–“Say unto my soul, I am your\nsalvation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the\nliving witness to the faithfulness of the Lord in His Word will become the\ndying one. When heart and flesh are failing–when the solemn curtain of\neternity is rising–when the eye is darkening, and the pulse is sinking, and\nearth is receding, and eternity is nearing, and, heaven is opening, oh, then,\nlike Joshua, you shall testify to the unchanging love and faithful word and\nprecious comforts and secure supports of your covenant God and redeeming\nSavior, as He gently leads you down the valley, radiant with His presence,\nresounding with your song–up the delectable mountains, home to your Father’s\nHouse–“Forever with the Lord!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2026 and were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Eph.2:3 Are you a believer? Are you what is called a saved person, a child of God? If so, how did that come about? Why did God save you? If your answer is, \u201cbecause I believed in Jesus,\u201d then you are over-qualified to be […]<\/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-5783","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\/5783","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=5783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5784,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5783\/revisions\/5784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nRom. 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that\nis risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh\nintercession for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJohn 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:\nand I will raise him up at the last day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n