{"id":5899,"date":"2021-01-10T22:13:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T22:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5899"},"modified":"2021-02-13T20:09:45","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T20:09:45","slug":"bulletin-edition-january-2020-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=5899","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition January 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“At that time Jesus answered\nand said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast\nhid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto\nbabes.” Matthew 11:25<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Whatever religious knowledge, whatever carnal wisdom, or\nwhatever worldly prudence a man may be possessed of, if he is devoid of the\nlife of God in his soul, he is destitute of the workings of godly fear, he has\nno solemn awe or reverence for Jehovah, he has never seen his sins in the light\nof God’s countenance, he has never trembled at “the wrath to come,”\nhe has never prostrated himself with a reverential spirit before the eyes of a\nheart-searching Jehovah, who sees into the secret recesses of his bosom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But all his knowledge, and all his wisdom, and all his prudence\nleave him just where they found him–unconverted carnal, sensual, worldly,\n“dead in trespasses and sins.” All his wisdom never reached beyond\nthe surface; it never broke up the crust of unbelief, so as to enter through\nthat seared crust into the conscience, and produce living effects in it, as\nmade tender by the touch of God’s finger. But his knowledge, his wisdom, his\nprudence are all floating in his mere judgment, and never descend into the\ndepths of his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God hides then the workings of spiritual fear from those who are\n“wise and prudent.” He does not condescend to manifest himself to\nthem; he does not show them light in his light; he does not reveal himself to\ntheir consciences; he does not come with power into their hearts; he does not\ntake the veil of unbelief and blindness from their carnal minds, and show them\nhimself; he takes them not where he took Moses, into the cleft of the rock,\n“where his glory passed by;” he deals not with them as he dealt with\nIsaiah, when he manifested to him the glory of the Lord in the temple; he\ndiscovers himself not to them as he did to Job, when “he abhorred himself\nin dust and ashes.” All their knowledge of God, therefore, is an external,\nintellectual knowledge, a mere exercise of the faculties of the mind, without\nany spiritual teaching, or any special revelation of the presence, power,\nglory, and majesty of God to their consciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the babe, the living babe in Zion has “the fear of the\nLord,” in his soul, “as the beginning of wisdom.” And therefore,\nhaving this fountain of life within, he has it springing up in spiritual\nexercises. As the Apostle speaks, he “serves God acceptably with reverence\nand godly fear;” he dare not rush with presumption into his holy presence.\nWhen he comes into his sanctuary a solemn dread from time to time falls upon\nhis spirit. He has the feelings of Isaiah when he cried–“I am a man of\nunclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts;” the\nfeelings of Jacob when he was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this\nplace!” the feelings of Moses, when he stood by the burning bush, and put\nhis shoes from off his feet, for the spot whereon he stood was holy ground; the\nfeelings of the high priest in the temple, on that mysterious day of atonement,\nwhen he entered alone, “not without blood,” into the sanctuary, the\nholy of holies, and beheld the Shechinah, the Divine presence as a cloud\nresting on the mercy-seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The babe, then, has these exercises of godly fear, which carnal,\nunhumbled, worldly-wise professors know nothing of. And though the babe, at\ntimes, seems to have no religion which he can really call spiritual or which\nsatisfies himself, yet he has that tenderness, awe, and reverence which the\ncarnal professor, however high in doctrine, however soaring in vain confidence,\nis utterly unacquainted with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gospel crucible!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John MacDuff, “Ripples in the Twilight” 1885)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish\nfoolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.\u201d 1\nCorinthians 1:18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will never cease to be one of the marvels of Christianity,\nthat her antidotes are the same in every climate, every age, and every bosom.\nJust as the chemist can infallibly pronounce on the action of the various\nelements he throws into his crucible \u2014 so in the Gospel crucible, cast the\nhuman heart in its every form and type, that of . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the degraded African,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the superstitious Hindu,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the ferocious Arab,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the reprobate European \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Gospel of Christ, by a heavenly alchemy, melts that heart!\nIt dissolves . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the pride of reason,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the power of superstition,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the curse and misery of vice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the only universal balm!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was tried . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  on ignorant fishermen of Galilee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  on poor wayside beggars of Judea,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  on hardened Roman soldiers and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  on crouching slaves of sin and Satan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was tried on the great persecutor of the church \u2014 and by him\non the disciples of Plato on Mars Hill. It was tried amid the tears of Bethany\n\u2014 and amid the courtly splendor and uncongenial influences of Caesar’s\nhousehold. And in not one of all these varied cases, has it failed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The king clothed in ermine,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the pauper clothed in rags,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the statesman in his senate-house,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the merchant at his desk,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the artisan in his workshop,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the cottager at her wheel \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all feel the power of the same Gospel, all own the beauteous\nsimplicity of the same healing words, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ \u2014\nand you shall be saved!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morality without Christ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cVerily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he\ncannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You moral and upright people without Christ\u2014you are as surely\nlost as the despicable reprobate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You chaste and respectable people without Christ\u2014you will be as\nsurely damned as the vile prostitute who walks the streets at midnight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExcept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish!” Luke 13:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey that be whole need not a physician but they that are\nsick.” Matthew 9:12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A physician is useless without a case; and the harder the case,\nthe wiser and better physician we need. Thus a guilty conscience is a case for\natoning blood, a wounded spirit for healing balm, a filthy garment for a\njustifying robe, a drowning wretch for an Almighty hand, a criminal on the\ngallows for a full pardon, an incurable disease for a heavenly physician, and a\nsinner sinking into hell for a Saviour stooping down from heaven. A man with a\nreal case must have a real salvation. He is no longer to be cheated, deluded,\nand tricked with pretenses, as a nervous patient is sometimes cured with fake\npills; but he must have a real remedy as having a real disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ in the Bible, Christ sitting as an unknown Saviour in the\nheavens, Christ afar off, unmanifested and unrevealed, is no Christ to him.\n“Near, near; let him come near; in my heart, in my soul, revealed in me,\nmanifested unto me, formed within me–this, this is the Christ I need. O for\none drop of his atoning blood, one smile of his blessed countenance, one\ntestimony of his love, one gleam of his justifying righteousness!” And\nthus when this divine Redeemer appears in his garments stained with blood, the\nsinking soul hails his approach, the fowls of the mountains take flight, the\nbeasts of the earth slink off to their dens, the dreary stump pushes forth its\nshoots, and the voice sounds forth from the inmost depths of the soul,\n“This is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the\nLord, we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his\nsalvation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others, where are they?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow “Evening Thoughts”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 and I will have compassion on whom I will have<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 compassion.” Romans 9:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the Sovereign! How like Himself He speaks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He carries forward His gracious purposes of infinite<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wisdom and love\u2014chooses or rejects\u2014reveals or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

withholds, “working all things after the counsel of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His own will,” and “giving no account,” either to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

angels or to men, “of any of His matters.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the reader a child of God? Who and what made<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you to differ? You have been taken out of your family,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

your kindred, your friends, your companions. From this<\/p>\n\n\n\n

circle you alone have been selected, called, and made<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a child of grace, an heir of glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others, where are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still dead in trespasses and sin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others, where are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in the world, and to the world;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lovers of pleasure,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lovers of self,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lovers of sin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hating God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The others, where are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bursting through every restraint, and bending<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their footsteps down to the doom of the lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others, where are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone, many of them, into eternity; past<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the confines of mercy, “in hell lifting up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their eyes, being in torments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sinner saved by grace;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a sinner chosen and called;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

pardoned and justified;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

washed and clothed;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

adopted and sanctified;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

brought to the foot of the cross;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

constrained to welcome Jesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to take up His cross, and to follow Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh the electing love of God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh the distinguishing grace of Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh the sovereign operation of the Eternal Spirit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bow down to the sovereignty of His will\u2014silently<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wonder, and adore Him who says, “Be still, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

know that I am God.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh precious truth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It stains the pride of human merit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It lays the axe at the root of self!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It empties and humbles and abases!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It ascribes all the praise, honour, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

glory of salvation, to the Triune God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 and I will have compassion on whom I will have<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 compassion.” Romans 9:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market-Driven Christianity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men?\nfor if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”\nGalatians 1:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion in America is big business. Scads of money, powerful\npersonalities, huge egos, and positions of prominence, influence, and\nrecognition are at stake in the business of religion, just as they are in any\nother business. There was a time when the concern of churches and preachers in\nthis country was the glory of God and the truth of God. Today, like any\nbusiness, the concern is for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christianity today is market-driven. The goal of all marketing\nis to make both the buyer and the seller satisfied. Consequently, market-driven\nchurches, in utter abandonment of God’s glory and God’s truth, in their\ninsatiable quest for success and recognition\u2014do whatever it takes to win\ncustomers and keep them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be warned! False doctrine and worldliness always go hand in\nhand. Worldliness usually leads the way. The early modernists did not aim at\ndestroying biblical Christianity. They simply tried to make Christianity\npalatable to an unbelieving world. It cannot be done. When Christianity becomes\nacceptable to unregenerate people\u2014it has ceased to be Christianity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who\nare perishing!” 1 Corinthians 1:18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but\nthe simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Noah, warned of God, prepared an ark to the saving of his\nhousehold. Lot, admonished by the angels, fled out of Sodom. So there is a\nfleeing from the wrath to come. How careless, how secure, and unconcerned are\nwe until quickened with spiritual life! Solomon speaks of those who sleep on\nthe top of a mast, where one jerk of the wave, or one turn of the sleeper may\nprecipitate him into the foaming ocean. God’s anger is gathering against a\nwicked world. Who will escape this fearful storm of eternal, unmitigated wrath?\nThose who flee to Jesus. Who flee to Jesus? Those only who feel their need of\nhim. How are they made to feel their need of him? By the flashes of God’s\nanger. Whence issue these flashes? Out of the thunder-cloud of God’s holy\nlaw–the revelation which he has made of his anger against transgressors. How\nnecessary then to feel the application of the law to the conscience, to\nexperience what Job calls, “the terrors of God,” that Jesus Christ,\nwho is a “covert from the tempest,” may be seen and fled unto! It is\nlike the warning given in Egypt of the grievous hail–“He that feared the\nword of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle\nflee into the houses–and he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his\nservants and his cattle in the field” (Exodus 9:20, 21). Faith credits\nwhat unbelief derides. As is their nature and operation, so is their end. Faith\nends in salvation; unbelief in perdition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is God unjust?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“As it is written: ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I\nhated.’ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.\nFor He saith to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will\nhave compassion on whom I will have compassion.\u2019So then it is not of him that\nwilleth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheath mercy.\u201d Romans 9:13-16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though God is absolutely sovereign, having mercy on whom He will\nhave mercy and hardening whom He will \u2014 He is strictly just, both in bestowing\nHis saving mercy upon His elect, and in the everlasting damnation of the\nreprobate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Therefore He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and\nwhom He will He hardeneth.” Romans 9:18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Matthew 11:25 J.C.Philpot Whatever religious knowledge, whatever carnal wisdom, or whatever worldly prudence a man may be possessed of, if he […]<\/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-5899","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\/5899","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=5899"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5917,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5899\/revisions\/5917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}