{"id":5863,"date":"2020-11-09T08:26:40","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T08:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5863"},"modified":"2020-11-09T08:26:40","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T08:26:40","slug":"bulletin-edition-november-2020-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5863","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition November 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nevertheless\nI am continually with thee Psalms 73:23.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

           \nMy dear child, when you look at the sun, I wish it may lead your thoughts to\nhim who made it, and who placed it in the firmament, not only to give us light\nbut to be the brightest, noblest emblem of himself: there is but one son, and\ntheir needs not another; so there is but one Saviour; but he is complete and\nall sufficient, the Sun of righteousness, the fountain of life and comfort; his\nbeams, wherever they reach, bring healing, strength, peace, and joy to the\nsoul. Pray to him, my dear, to shine forth, and reveal himself to you. Oh, how\ndifferent is he from all that you have ever seen with your bodily eyes! He is\nthe son of the soul, and he can make you as sensible of his presence as you are\nof the sunshine at noon day; and, when once you obtain a clear sight of him, a\n1000 little things, which have hitherto engaged your attention, will in a\nmanner disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

           \nI entreat, I charge you, to ask him every day to show himself to you. Think of\nhim as being always with you; about your path by day, about your bed by night,\nnearer to you than any object you can see, though you see him not; whether you\nare sitting or walking, in company or alone. People often consider God as if he\nsaw them from a great distance: but this is wrong; for, though he be in heaven,\nthe heaven of heavens cannot contain him; he is as much with us as with the\nAngels; in him we live, and move, and have our being; as we live in the air\nwhich surrounds us, and is within us, so that it cannot be separated from us a\nmoment. And whatever thoughts you can obtain of God from the Scripture, as\ngreat, holy, wise, and good, endeavoured to apply them all to Jesus Christ, who\nonce died upon the cross, for he is the true God, and eternal life, with whom\nyou have to do; and, though he be the King of Kings, and Lord of lords, and\nrules over all, he is so condescending and compassionate, that he will hear and\nanswer the prayer of a child. Seek him, you shall find him; whatever else you\nseek, you may be disappointed, but he is never sought in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                           \nLetter from John Newton to his adopted daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wily devil!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

What a foe to one’s peace is one’s own spirit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What shall I call it? It is often an infernal spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because it bears the mark of Satan upon it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pride of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the presumption of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the hypocrisy of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the intense selfishness of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

are often hidden from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wily devil, SELF, can wear such<\/p>\n\n\n\n

masks and assume such forms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This serpent, SELF, can so creep and crawl,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can so twist and turn, and can disguise itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

under such false appearances\u2014that it is often<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hidden from ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is the greatest enemy we have to fear? We all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have our enemies. But who is our greatest enemy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He whom you carry in your own bosom\u2014your daily,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hourly, and unmovable companion, who entwines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

himself in nearly every thought of your heart\u2014who . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  sometimes puffs up with pride,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  sometimes inflames with lust,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  sometimes inflates with presumption, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  sometimes works under pretend humility and fleshly\nholiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is determined to stain the pride of human glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will never let SELF, (which is but another word for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the creature,) wear the crown of victory. It must be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

crucified, denied, and mortified<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are going to command a lame man to take the first step\u2026if\nyou are going to call upon dead sinners to live\u2026if you are going to insist that\na maniac make a right decision\u2026you had better have a Gospel that is the power\nof God unto salvation, or else you mock the souls of men. You had better be\nspeaking for the One, of the One, and with the power and blessing of the One\nWho is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him. Salvation\nis not in the ability of the preacher, nor is it contingent upon what men will\ndo, but it is sure to all of God\u2019s elect, because of Christ and what He did do.\nChrist does not taunt the lame with the bargain that if they will only take a\nstep, He will save them. He saves them, by the preaching of the Gospel, and\nthen they leap and shout and praise God. – Chris Cunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law and Grace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few\ncontrasts between law and grace. Law manifests what is in man – sin; Grace\nmanifests what is in God – love; Law demands righteousness from men; Grace\nbrings righteousness to men; Law sentences a living man to death; Grace brings\na dead man to life; Law speaks of what men must do for God: Grace tells of what\nChrist has done for men; Law gives a knowledge of sin; Grace puts away sin; Law\nbrings God out to men; Grace brings men into\nGod.                                                  \n    ~Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says, \u201cturn,\u201d and\nwe say, \u201cLord, turn us.\u201d He says, \u201cson, walk,\u201d and we say, \u201cLord, direct our\nsteps.\u201d He says, \u201cpray,\u201d and we say, \u201cLord, teach us.\u201d He says, \u201cstand,\u201d and we\ncry, \u201cLord, keep us\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

           \n                                   \n                        ~Chris\nCunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can they escape?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“He will keep the feet of His saints.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     1 Samuel 2:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord sees His poor scattered pilgrims<\/p>\n\n\n\n

traveling through a valley of tears\u2014journeying<\/p>\n\n\n\n

through a waste-howling wilderness\u2014a path<\/p>\n\n\n\n

beset with baits, traps, and snares in every<\/p>\n\n\n\n

direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can they escape?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, the Lord ‘keeps their feet’. He carries them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

through every rough place\u2014as a tender parent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

carries a little child. When about to fall\u2014He<\/p>\n\n\n\n

graciously lays His everlasting arms underneath<\/p>\n\n\n\n

them. And when tottering and stumbling, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their feet ready to slip\u2014He mercifully upholds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

them from falling altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do you think that He has not different ways<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for different feet? The God of creation has not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

made two flowers, nor two leaves upon a tree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

alike\u2014and will He cause all His people to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in precisely the same path? No. We have . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each our path,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each our troubles,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each our trials,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each peculiar traps and snares laid for our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the wisdom of the all-wise God is shown by His<\/p>\n\n\n\n

eyes being in every place\u2014marking the footsteps of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

every pilgrim\u2014suiting His remedies to meet their<\/p>\n\n\n\n

individual case and necessity\u2014appearing for them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

when nobody else could do them any good\u2014watching<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so tenderly over them, as though the eyes of His<\/p>\n\n\n\n

affection were bent on one individual\u2014and carefully<\/p>\n\n\n\n

noting the goings of each, as though all the powers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of the Godhead were concentrated on that one<\/p>\n\n\n\n

person to keep him from harm!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cure!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is from Spurgeon\u2019s sermon,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Physician and His Patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 618 Matthew 9:12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man cannot cure himself of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He may reform, he may drive the disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

inward, and prevent its coming out upon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the skin; He may so model, and guide, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

restrain himself, that the coarser forms of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sin which are condemned among men may<\/p>\n\n\n\n

not appear in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the virus, the essential poison of sin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

no man can ever extract from his own<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heart, nor can another man do it for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jehovah Rophi, the healing Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

must manifest his omnipotent power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The utmost religiousness, the most devout<\/p>\n\n\n\n

prayers, the greatest possible prudence in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

living, will not avail to remove the taint of sin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if they spring from an unrenewed heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

reconciled to God, neither, indeed, can it be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teach a horse astronomy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never try to teach a horse astronomy; and to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

teach an unconverted man spiritual truth and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

experience would be a folly of the same sort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“… people who aren’t Christians can’t understand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to them because only those who have the Spirit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can understand what the Spirit means.” 1 Cor. 2:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anointing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“But the anointing which ye have received of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Him abideth in you.” 1 John 2:27<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the powers of earth and hell are combined against<\/p>\n\n\n\n

this holy anointing, with which the children of God are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so highly favored. But if God has locked up in the bosom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of a saint one drop of this divine unction, that one drop<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is armor against . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  all the assaults of sin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  all the attacks of Satan,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  all the enmity of self, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  all the charms, pleasures, and amusements of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waves and billows of affliction may roll over the soul\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but they cannot wash away this holy drop of anointing oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satan may shoot a thousand fiery darts to inflame all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the combustible material of our carnal mind\u2014but all his<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fiery darts cannot burn up that one drop of oil which<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has laid up in the depths of a broken spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world, with all its charms and pleasures, and its<\/p>\n\n\n\n

deadly opposition to the truth of God, may stir up waves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of ungodliness against this holy anointing\u2014but all the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

powers of earth combined can never extinguish that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

one drop which God has Himself lodged in the depths<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of a believer’s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it has been with all the dear saints of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all their . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  sorrows,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  backslidings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  slips,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  falls,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  miseries, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  wretchedness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have ever\u2014all combined, drunk up the anointing that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has bestowed upon them. If sin could have done<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it\u2014we would have sinned ourselves into hell long ago;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and if the world or Satan could have destroyed it or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

us\u2014they would long ago have destroyed both. If our<\/p>\n\n\n\n

carnal mind could have done it\u2014it would have swept<\/p>\n\n\n\n

us away into floods of destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the anointing abides sure, and cannot be destroyed;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and where once lodged in the soul, it is secure against<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all the assaults of earth, sin, and hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But the anointing which you have received from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Him abides in you.” 1 John 2:27<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SIN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is from Spurgeon\u2019s sermon,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Smoke of Their Torments\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 602.  Genesis 19:27, 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the blackness of your sin by the light of hell’s fire!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hell is the true harvest of the sowing of iniquity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come, lost sinner, I charge you to look at hell–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Hell is what sin brings forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Hell is the full-grown child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  You have dandled your sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  You have kissed and fondled it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  But see what sin comes to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Hell is but sin full-grown, that is all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You played with that young lion; see how it roars and how<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it tears in pieces now that it has come to its strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you not smile at the azure scales of the serpent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See its poison; see to what its stings have brought those<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who have never looked to the brazen serpent for healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you account of sin as a peccadillo, a flaw<\/p>\n\n\n\n

scarcely to be noticed, a mere joke, a piece of fun?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But see the tree which springs from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no joke there- no fun in hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You did not know that sin was so evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you will never know how evil it is until the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sweetness of honey has passed from your mouth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the bitterness of death preys at your vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will count sin harmless until you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

are hopelessly stricken with its sting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My God, from this day forward help me to see through the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thin curtain which covers up sin, and whenever Satan tells<\/p>\n\n\n\n

me that such-and-such a thing is for my pleasure, let me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

recollect the pain of that penalty wrapped up in it. When<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he tells me that such a thing is for my profit, let me know<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that it can never profit me to gain the whole world and lose<\/p>\n\n\n\n

my own soul. Let me feel it is no sport to sin, for only a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

madman would scatter firebrands and death, and say it is sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poison fang of sin!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

We must go down into the depths of the fall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to know what our hearts are, and what they are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

capable of\u2014we must have the keen knife of God<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to cut deep gashes in our conscience and lay<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bare the evil that lies so deeply imbedded in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our carnal mind\u2014before we can enter into and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

experience the beauty and blessedness of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

salvation by grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From the sole of the foot even unto the head<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 there is no soundness in it\u2014but wounds, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 bruises, and putrefying sores\u2014they have not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 with ointment.” Isaiah 1:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Church of God fell in Adam, she fell with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a crash which broke every bone and bruised her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

flesh with wounds which are ulcerated from head to toe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her understanding, her conscience, and her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

affections were all fearfully maimed . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  her understanding was blinded;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  her conscience stupefied;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  her affections alienated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every mental faculty thus became perverted and distorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Adam fell into sin and temptation\u2014sin rushed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

into every faculty of body and soul\u2014and penetrated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

into the inmost recesses of his being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As when a man is bitten by a poisonous serpent,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the venom courses through every artery and vein,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and he dies a corrupted mass from head to foot;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so did the poison fang of sin penetrate into<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam’s inmost soul and body, and infect him<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with its venom from the sole to the crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it is only as sin’s desperate and malignant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

character is opened up by the Holy Spirit that it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is really seen, felt, grieved under, and mourned<\/p>\n\n\n\n

over as indeed a most dreadful and fearful reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The whole head is sick\u2014and the whole heart faint.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every thought, word, and action is polluted by sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every mental faculty is depraved . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the will chooses evil;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the affections cleave to earthly things;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the memory, like a broken sieve,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      retains the bad and lets fall the\ngood;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the judgment, like a bribed or drunken judge,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      pronounces heedless or wrong\ndecisions;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the conscience, like an opium eater, lies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      asleep and drugged in stupefied\nsilence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nevertheless I am continually with thee Psalms 73:23.             My dear child, when you look at the sun, I wish it may lead your thoughts to him who made it, and who placed it in the firmament, not only to give us light but to be the brightest, noblest emblem of himself: there is but […]<\/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-5863","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\/5863","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=5863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5864,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5863\/revisions\/5864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}