{"id":5896,"date":"2021-01-03T10:32:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T10:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5896"},"modified":"2021-02-13T20:09:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T20:09:13","slug":"bulletin-edition-january-2020-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5896","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition January 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Untried, untrodden, and unknown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow, “The Untrodden Path” 1860)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How solemn is the reflection that with a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new cycle of time, commences a new and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

untrodden path with each traveler to Zion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New events in his history will transpire;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new scenes in the panorama of life will unfold;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new phases of character will develop;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new temptations will assail;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new duties will devolve;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new trials will be experienced;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new sorrows will be felt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new friendships will be formed;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

new mercies will be bestowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How truly may it be said of the pilgrim, journeying<\/p>\n\n\n\n

through the wilderness to his eternal home, as he<\/p>\n\n\n\n

stands upon the threshold of this untried period of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

his existence, pondering the unknown and uncertain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

future, “You have not passed this way before.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is another thought inexpressibly soothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Untried, untrodden, and unknown as that new path<\/p>\n\n\n\n

may be, it is each step mapped and arranged, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

provided for in the everlasting and unchangeable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

covenant of God. To Him who leads us, who accepts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

us in the Son of His love, who knows the end from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

beginning, it is no new, or uncertain, or hidden way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thank Him that, while He wisely and kindly veils all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the future from our reach; all that future, its minutest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

event, is as transparent and visible to Him as the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Shepherd knows the windings along which He<\/p>\n\n\n\n

skillfully, gently, and safely leads His flock. Oh! it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is a thought replete with strong consolation, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

well calculated to gird us for the coming year: the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord knows and has ordained each step of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

untrodden path upon which I am about to enter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infinite forethought, wisdom, and goodness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which have marked each line of our new path<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have also provided for its every necessity . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each exigency in the new year has been anticipated;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each need will bring its appropriate and adequate supply;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each perplexity will have its guidance;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each sorrow its comfort;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each temptation its shield;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each cloud its light;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each affliction will suggest its lesson;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each correction will impart its teaching;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  each mercy will convey its message of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The promise will be fulfilled to the letter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As your day so shall your strength be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The religionists of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

And ye shall be hated of all men for My name\u2019s sake. Luke 21:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professors of religion have always been the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

deadliest enemies of the children of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who were so opposed to the blessed Lord as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scribes and Pharisees? It was the religious teachers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and leaders who crucified the Lord of glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so in every age the religionists of the day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have been the hottest and bitterest persecutors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Nor is the case altered now. The more the children<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of God are firm in the truth, the more they enjoy its<\/p>\n\n\n\n

power, the more they live under its influence, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the more tenderly and conscientiously they walk in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

godly fear, the more will the professing generation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of the day hate them with a deadly hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us not think that we can disarm it by a godly life;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for the more that we walk in the sweet enjoyment of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heavenly truth and let our light shine before men as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

having been with Jesus, the more will this draw down<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their hatred and contempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who chose whom?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 by Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The decision is yours… Now it is all up to you… God\nhas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

done all He can to save, the rest is up to you… You must<\/p>\n\n\n\n

choose Christ for yourself…You must make the final\ndecision.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How often we have all heard statements like those from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

pulpit. I want to raise a question regarding this matter of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

eternal salvation: WHOSE CHOICE IS IT? Our Lord<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus Christ has answered the question very plainly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John 15:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine election is a very humbling, and at the same time it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is a very encouraging and blessed doctrine of Scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is humbling to know that we would never have chosen Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our needs were so many, our hearts were so hard, that we<\/p>\n\n\n\n

would never have sought the lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, it is exceedingly comforting to hear our Savior say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I have chosen you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Lord Jesus Christ loved us long before we ever loved him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He loved us even when we were dead in sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had He not loved us, we would never have loved Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had He not chosen us, we would never have chosen Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language could not be clearer. Our Savior tells us that man,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by nature, will never choose Christ. It is true, in one sense,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that every believer chooses Christ. This is the result, however,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

not the cause, of Christ’s choosing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The natural ear is so deaf that it cannot hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The natural eye is so blind that it cannot see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The natural heart is so hard that it cannot feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man sees no beauty in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He feels no need of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has no desire for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after God by almighty grace opens the blind eye,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

unstops the deaf ear, quickens the dead heart, and gives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

strength to the withered hand is the sinner made willing to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

seek Christ and given the strength of faith to embrace Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALL WHO BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IN TIME, WERE CHOSEN BY GOD IN ETERNAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOVE; AND THAT CHOICE OF THEM SECURES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THEIR FAITH AND HOLINESS IN CHRIST.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT DOES THE TERM ELECTION MEAN?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accurate statements on this doctrine are essential. No doctrine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the Bible has suffered so much damage from the erroneous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

views of its foes and the inaccurate statements of its friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Election may be defined this way: God has been pleased from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all eternity to choose certain men and women, whom He has<\/p>\n\n\n\n

determined to save by the righteousness and shed blood of\nChrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None are finally saved except those whom He has chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the Word of God calls His people “the\nelect.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the choice, or the appointment of them to eternal life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is called “the election of God.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those whom God was pleased to choose in eternity were<\/p>\n\n\n\n

redeemed by Christ at Calvary. All who were chosen and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

redeemed are (in due season) called to salvation and eternal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

life by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He convinces them of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He leads them to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He works repentance and faith in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He keeps them by His grace from falling entirely away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He brings them all safely to eternal glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, election is the first link in the chain of salvation,\nof which<\/p>\n\n\n\n

eternal glory is the end. All who are redeemed, justified,\ncalled,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

born again, and brought to faith in Christ are elect. The\nprimary and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

original cause of the saint’s being what he is, is God’s eternal\nelection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the Word of God Teach about Election?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s election of men to salvation is gracious and free,\nabsolute and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sovereign. It is an unconditional act of sovereign mercy. He did\nnot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

choose us because he foresaw that we would repent and believe on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ. Our repentance and faith is the result of God’s\nelection, not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the cause of it (John 10:16, 26; 15:16; Acts 13:48). God’s\nelection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is personal: He chose not a mass of nameless faces, but\nindividual<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sinners, calling them his sons and daughters. This election of\ngrace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is also eternal and immutable (Eph. 1:4). When the triune\nGodhead<\/p>\n\n\n\n

existed alone in glorious self-sufficiency, we were chosen in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

covenant mercy. God chose us because of His eternal love and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sovereign pleasure, simply because he would be gracious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were chosen in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behold God’s strange choice! He chose not the noble, but the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

common. He chose not the wise, but the foolish. He chose<\/p>\n\n\n\n

not the righteous, but the wicked. He chose us, “that no\nflesh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

should glory in His presence…that according as it is written,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He that glories, let him glory in the Lord: (I Cor. 1:29,31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let all who are born again confess, “By the grace of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am what I am” (I Cor. 15:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us sing of electing love:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tis not that I did choose Thee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For, Lord, that could not be;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This heart would still refuse Thee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Thou hast chosen me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart owns none before Thee;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For thy rich grace I thirst;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This knowing, if I love Thee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thou must have loved me first.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Josiah Conder)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some beloved idol?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

For it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their\nidols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah 50:38<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have we not all in our various ways,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

set up some beloved idol . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  something which engaged our affections,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  something which occupied our thoughts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  something to which we devoted all the energies of our\nminds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  something for which we were willing to labor night and\nday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be it money,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be it power,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be it esteem of men,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be it respectability,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be it worldly comfort,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be it literary knowledge,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there was a secret setting up of SELF in one or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

more of its various forms, and a bowing down<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to it as an idol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man of business makes money his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man of pleasure makes the lust of the flesh his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proud man makes his adored SELF his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pharisee makes self-righteousness his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arminian makes free-will his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Calvinist makes dry doctrine his god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in one way or other, however they may differ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the object of their idolatrous worship, agree in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

this: that they give a preference in their esteem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and affection to their peculiar idol, above the one<\/p>\n\n\n\n

true God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the idols He shall utterly abolish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Isaiah 2:18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is, then, a time to break down these<\/p>\n\n\n\n

idols which our fallen nature has set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And have not we experienced some measure of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

this breaking down, both externally and internally?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have not our idols been in a measure smashed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

before our eyes, our prospects in life cut up and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

destroyed, our airy visions of earthly happiness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and our romantic paradises dissolved into thin air,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our creature-hopes dashed, our youthful affections<\/p>\n\n\n\n

blighted, and the objects from which we had fondly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hoped to reap an enduring harvest of delight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

removed from our eyes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And likewise, as to our religion . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  our good opinion of ourselves,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  our piety and holiness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  our wisdom and our knowledge,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  our understanding and our abilities,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  our consistency and uprightness;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have they not all been broken down, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

made a heap of ruins before our eyes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See this sad sight!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“The iniquity of the holy things.” Exodus 28:38<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a veil is lifted up by these words\u2014and what a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

disclosure is made! It will be humbling and profitable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for us to pause awhile\u2014and see this sad sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iniquities of our public worship\u2014its hypocrisy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heart and forgetfulness of God\u2014what a full measure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have we there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work for the Lord\u2014its envious rivalry,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014what a mass of defilement is there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our private devotions\u2014their laxity, coldness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

neglect, sleepiness, and vanity\u2014what a mountain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of dead earth is there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we looked more carefully, we would find this iniquity in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our holy things, to be far greater than appears at first sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward Payson, writing to his brother, says, “My parish,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sluggard. And what is worse, I find that very many<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of my desires for the betterment of both, proceed either<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the wish? It may be that I may walk out and say to myself,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘In what fine order is my garden kept!’ This is pride! Or,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it may be that my neighbors may look over the fence and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

say, ‘How finely your garden flourishes!’ This is vanity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am weary of pulling them up. This is indolence!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So even our desires after holiness may be polluted by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sinful motives. Under the greenest sods, ‘worms’ hide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

themselves\u2014we need not look long to discover them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How cheering is the thought, that when the High Priest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bore the iniquity of the holy things he wore upon his brow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the words, “Holiness to the Lord” (Exod 28:36) and\neven<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so while Jesus bears our sin, He presents before His Father’s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

face not our unholiness\u2014but His own holiness! O for grace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job’s religion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“Oh that I knew where I might find Him!” Job 23:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a mere shallow pretense to vital godliness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

satisfies most ministers, most hearers, and most<\/p>\n\n\n\n

congregations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there was a reality in Job’s religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not of a flimsy, notional, superficial nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not merely a sound Calvinistic creed, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nothing more. It was not a religion of theory and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

speculation, nor a well-compacted system of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

doctrines and duties. There was something deeper,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

something more divine in Job’s religion than any<\/p>\n\n\n\n

such mere pretense, delusion, imitation, or hypocrisy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if our religion be of the right kind, there will be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

something deeper in it, something more powerful,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

spiritual, and supernatural, than notions and doctrines,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

theories and speculations, merely passing to and fro<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in our minds, however scriptural and correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be a divine reality in it, if God the Spirit be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the author of it. And there will be no trifling with the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

solemn things of God, and with our own immortal souls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Untried, untrodden, and unknown (Octavius Winslow, “The Untrodden Path” 1860) “You have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:4 How solemn is the reflection that with a new cycle of time, commences a new and untrodden path with each traveler to Zion. New events in his history will transpire; new scenes in the panorama of […]<\/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-5896","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\/5896","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=5896"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5916,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5896\/revisions\/5916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}