{"id":6008,"date":"2021-04-06T02:25:45","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T02:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6008"},"modified":"2021-04-06T02:25:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T02:25:45","slug":"bulletin-edition-april-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6008","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I will make darkness light\nbefore them, and crooked things straight.” Isaiah 42:16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

What is the mind of man–of any man–of your mind, my mind,\nunder affliction? Let him be tried with pain of body, poverty of circumstances,\nsickness in his family, guilt of conscience, hard bondage in his own soul,\nwithout any beam of divine light upon his path, and what is he? A murmuring,\nrebellious wretch, without a grain of resignation, without a particle of\ncontentment or submission to the will of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let the glory of the Lord be revealed; let him have a view\nby faith of a suffering Jesus; let some ray of light shine upon his path; let\nthere be some breaking in of the exceeding weight of glory that is to be\nmanifested at Christ’s appearing; where are all his crooked things now? All\nmade straight. But how? By his crooked will–crooked because it did not lie\nlevel with the Lord’s–being made to harmonize with the promise and precept,\nthe footsteps and example of the blessed Jesus. The crook is not taken out of\nthe lot, but straightened in the lot; the cross is not removed from the\nshoulder, but strength–that strength which is “made perfect in\nweakness”–is given to bear it. So it was with Christ himself in the\ngarden and on the cross; so it is with the believing followers of the crucified\nOne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“THERE WAS A MAN SENT FROM GOD”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 1:6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Of this you may be sure – When God intends to bless his people\nand bestow his grace upon them, he will send a man as his messenger to them.\nThe man whom God sends has a message from God, which he must deliver. The Lord\nwill supply his messenger with all the gifts and graces necessary for his work,\nand his gifts will make room for him. If a man is sent of God, the Holy Spirit\nof God upon that man will make him effectual and irrepressible in his work. He\ncannot and will not be stopped until his work is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nBut of this you may also be sure – Such a man will not be popular among the\nLord’s enemies. If God is using a man, Satan will oppose him. He will have an\nabundance of enemies who watch him, looking for an excuse to slander him. Any\nflaw of character, any slight mistake, any weakness they will exalt and\nmagnify, in an attempt to make God’s servant appear as some hideous monster.\nHis words will be misinterpreted, his actions will be misunderstood, and his\nmotives will be misrepresented. And those self-righteous men who oppose him\nwill do so in the name of the Lord, with pretentious piety and humility. John\nthe Baptist, our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, and all their successors\nhave been the objects of scorn among religious people. But the man sent from\nGod will remain firm, faithfully executing his work, even unto death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man-made ministers!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Spurgeon’s, “The Two Effects of the Gospel”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry has been very often degraded into a ‘trade’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are ‘selected by man’, they are crammed with literature;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

they are educated up to a certain point; they are turned out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ready dressed; and persons call them ‘ministers’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish them all God-speed, every one of them; for as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

good Joseph Irons used to say, “God be with many of them,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if it be only to make them hold their tongues.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man-made ministers are of no use in this world,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the sooner we get rid of them the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Through the tender mercies of our God; whereby the\ndayspring from on high has visited us.” Luke 1:78<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

By “day-spring” is meant the day-dawn, the herald of\nthe rising sun, the change from darkness to light, the first approach of morn,\nin a word, the spring of the day. But what is this “day-spring”\nspiritually? It is the intimation of the rising of the Sun of righteousness. It\nis not the same thing as the Sun of righteousness; but it is the herald of his\napproach; the beams which the rising sun casts upon the benighted world,\nannouncing the coming of Jesus, “the King in his beauty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This expression was singularly applicable in the mouth of\nZacharias. The Lord of life and glory had not then appeared; he was still in\nthe womb of the Virgin Mary. But his forerunner, John, had appeared as the\nprecursor, the herald of his approach, and was sent to announce that the Sun of\nrighteousness was about to arise. “There was a man sent from God, whose\nname was John. He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all\nmen through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear\nwitness of that Light” (John 1:6-8). All nations at that time lay in\ndarkness. “Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the\npeople.” But when the Lord of life and glory was about to appear upon\nearth, when he had already taken the body which was prepared for him, the very\nflesh and blood of the children, which he was to offer as a propitiation for\nsin, “the dayspring from on high” had begun to dawn. God’s mercy, in\nthe face of his dear Son, was just visiting the benighted world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is another, an experimental meaning, connected with\nthese words. “The day-spring from on high” is not to be confined to\nthe approach of the Son of God in the flesh; but it may be extended to signify\nthe appearance of the Son of God in the heart. I cannot be benefited by the\nappearing of Jesus in the flesh eighteen hundred years ago, unless he comes and\ndwells in my soul. “The day-spring from on high” which visited the\nbenighted Jewish church will not profit us except that same day-spring visits\nour benighted heart. “The day-spring from on high” is the\nmanifestation of God’s mercy in the face of the Savior. And when this\n“day-spring from on high” visits the soul, it is the first\nintimation, the dawning rays of the Sun of righteousness in the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a successful ministry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust\nmust prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The desperate need of the hour is faithful men in the pulpits of\nour churches. We have an over-abundance of preachers. We do not need any more\nslick, polished, well-educated professionals in “the ministry”. But\nwe do, most desperately, need some faithful men \u2014 pastors after God’s own\nheart, who feed His people with knowledge and understanding. Thank God, we have\na few!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this day of big business religion, when churches are measured\nnot by their orthodoxy, but by the opinions of men; when a preacher’s success\nis measured not by his faithfulness, but by the number of names added to the\nchurch roll \u2014 it might be wise to consider what a successful ministry is\naccording to the measure of Holy Scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Word of God, those preachers and churches are\nsuccessful who are faithful to the work to which God has called them. Never in\nthe Old Testament or in the New was a prophet, apostle, or preacher measured by\nthe opinions of men. God’s servants never courted the favor of men, and were\nnever favored by the majority of the people. The church of God has always been\nout of step with society. The servants of God have always been looked upon as\npeculiar, bigoted dogmatists, intolerant and incapable of compromise. But they\nwere faithful \u2014 faithful to God, faithful to His truth, and faithful to the\nsouls of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not be so foolish as to measure God’s work by man’s\nyardstick. Do not measure the success or failure of preachers and churches by\nmen, by numbers, or by popular opinion. The only measure of success for\nchurches and preachers is faithfulness. Those who faithfully seek and promote\nthe glory of God, who faithfully proclaim the truth of God, and who faithfully\nserve the eternal interests of immortal souls are successful. Those who are not\nare failures. The one will stand the fire of judgment. The other will not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest blessing God can ever bestow upon any people in\nthis world is to establish in their midst a faithful Gospel church with a\nfaithful Gospel preacher as his messenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tychicus . . . is a dear brother, a faithful minister and\nfellow servant in the Lord.” Colossians 4:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More scarce and precious than a bar of gold!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(adapted from Octavius Winslow’s, “The Redeemer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Revelation of the Father’s Glory” October, 1844)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Amos 8:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already has this famine of the true word of God commenced!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How few, forming their ministry upon the apostolic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

model, can affirm with Paul, “My speech and my<\/p>\n\n\n\n

preaching are not with enticing words of man’s wisdom,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How few, disdaining artificial embellishment, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

scorning the applause of men won by a vain show<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of intellect and eloquence, preach that simple truth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of which Jesus is the Author, the Substance, the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glory, the Power, and the End; purely, boldly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

faithfully, affectionately, uncompromisingly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How few who honestly and heartily desire to lift up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their Lord and Master; themselves lost behind the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

glory of His person and the splendors of His cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How sadly, how painfully, is the Lord Jesus Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

kept in the background! How is His glory obscured,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His beauty veiled, His honor withheld!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The time will come, when a faithful minister<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 of the Gospel will be more scarce and precious<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 than a bar of gold!”  John Owen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Amos 8:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Preaching peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).”\nActs 10:36.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LET us turn our attention to the subject-matter of our Lord’s\naddress to the weary. What does He speak to them? Some would reply, the law.\nNo; but the law of God never spoke a word of comfort to the weary. It was not\ndesigned for such. Its very nature forbids it. It can anathematize, alarm, and\nwound; but not a solitary word of consolation and soothing can it address to a\nsoul weary and heavy-laden with sorrow and with guilt. But it is the glorious\ngospel of the blessed God that the Lord Jesus speaks to His weary ones. It was\ndesigned and framed especially for them. Its very nature fits it for such.\nEvery word is an echo of the love of God’s heart. Every sentence is fraught\nwith grace, mercy, and truth. The word which Jesus speaks is just the word the\nweary want. It unfolds a free pardon, complete acceptance, perfect\nreconciliation with God, and all-sufficient grace to perfect this work in\nholiness. It bids me as a sinner approach just as I am; my poverty, my\nvileness, my guilt, my utter destitution forming no just hindrances to my\nsalvation, because His atoning work has made it a righteous thing in God to\njustify the guilty, and a gracious act in Jesus to save the lost. Yes, He\ncondescends to assure me in that word of a free-grace gospel, which He speaks\nwith a tongue so eloquent, that I honor Him in accepting His proffered boon,\nand that I glorify Him by trusting my soul into His Almighty hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord Jesus speaks at the present time to the weary. We need\nconstantly to bear in mind the immutability of our Lord; that “Jesus\nChrist is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” That all that He\never has been\u2014and oh! what has He not been!\u2014He is at this moment. What\ncountless numbers are now bathing their souls in the bliss of heaven, whose\ntears were once dried, whose fears were once quelled, whose burden was once\nremoved, by those precious words spoken in season\u2014”Come unto me, all you\nthat labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”! Oh could they,\nbending now from their thrones, but speak to us, they would testify what\nsubstance, what reality, what sweetness, what power, and what charm they once\nfound in them; and they would bid every weary spirit, every weeping penitent,\nevery tried saint, believe and press the promise to their heart. But a dearer,\na lovelier, and a better than they bids you receive it. Jesus Himself speaks to\nyou: “Come unto me\u2014and I will give you rest.” All that He was in\ntheir happy experience, He will be in yours. The grace that made them what they\nonce were, and what they now are, is sufficient for you. Go, and lay your\nweariness on Christ. Ask not, “Will He bear my burden.” He bears\nevery burden brought to Him. Not one poor weary, heavy-laden sinner does He\nturn away. You are perhaps a mourning penitent\u2014He will receive you. You are\nperhaps a vile outcast\u2014He will welcome you. He says He will, and He cannot deny\nHimself; it is impossible that He should lie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.” Isaiah 42:16 J.C.Philpot What is the mind of man–of any man–of your mind, my mind, under affliction? Let him be tried with pain of body, poverty of circumstances, sickness in his family, guilt of conscience, hard bondage in his own soul, without any beam […]<\/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-6008","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\/6008","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=6008"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6009,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6008\/revisions\/6009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}