{"id":6084,"date":"2021-06-28T22:21:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T22:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6084"},"modified":"2021-06-28T22:21:28","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T22:21:28","slug":"bulletin-edition-june-2021-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6084","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition June 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have we nothing to give Christ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot, “REVIEWS”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have we nothing to give Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our sins,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our sorrows,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our burdens,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our trials, and above all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the salvation and sanctification of our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what has He to give us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What? Why, everything worth having, everything<\/p>\n\n\n\n

worth a moment’s anxious thought, everything for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

time and eternity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The holiest of Christians have to acknowledge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 that they are but poor, empty sinners at best;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 hanging upon a rich, almighty Saviour, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 saved alone by His free and sovereign grace.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The more vile we are in our own eyes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Letters of John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more vile we are in our own eyes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the more precious Christ will be to us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is utterly impossible!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow, 1852)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been the distinctive aim, and the sincere desire of my\nministry \u2014 to make known and to endear the Saviour to your hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how worthy is He . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  of your most exalted conceptions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  of your most implicit confidence,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  of your most self-denying service,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  of your most fervent love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When He could give you no more \u2014 and the fathomless depths of\nHis love, and the boundless resources of His grace, would not be satisfied by\ngiving you less \u2014 He gave you Himself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robed in your nature,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

oppressed with your sorrows,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

laden with your curse,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wounded for your transgressions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and slain for your sins \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He gave His entire self for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His redeeming work now finished \u2014 He is perpetually engaged in\nmeting out blessings to His people, from the exhaustless treasures of His love!\nHe constantly woos your affection \u2014 invites your grief \u2014 and bids you to come\nwith your daily trials to His sympathy, and with your hourly guilt to His\nblood. You cannot in your drafts upon Christ’s fullness, be too covetous; nor\nin your expectations of supply, be too extravagant! You may fail, as, alas! the\nmost of us do, in making too little of Christ \u2014 but you cannot fail, in making too\nmuch of Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The compass-needle!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Charles Spurgeon, “Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden”\n1883)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The compass-needle may be shaken and agitated, but it\nnever rests until it turns toward the pole!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus our heart’s affections, when once magnetised by  the\nlove of Christ, find no rest unless we turn to Him. The cares and labours of\nthe day may carry our thoughts to other objects, even as a finger may turn the\ncompass-needle to the east or west. But no sooner is the pressure removed, than\nour thoughts fly to the Well-beloved, just as the needle moves to its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are unable to rest anywhere but in Jesus. The new birth has\ndisqualified us for contentment with the world \u2014 and hence we have no choice\nbut to find our all in Christ. Blessed necessity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are driven to Jesus, by an unrest which finds no remedy\nelsewhere!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are drawn to Jesus, by an impulse which we have no desire to\nresist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We mourn that we are subject to many deflections and\ndisturbances; but you know, O Lord, that our inmost soul seeks after Yourself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psa. 42:1 \u00b6 As\nthe hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psa. 42:2 My soul\nthirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“O God, Thou art my God, early I seek You. My soul\nthirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where\nno water is!” Psalm 63:1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is utterly impossible to know Christ, and not become inspired\nwith a desire . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  to love Him supremely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  to serve Him devotedly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  to resemble Him closely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  to glorify Him faithfully here,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  and to enjoy Him fully hereafter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hard, proud, hollow religion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(from Horatius Bonar’s, “FOLLOW THE LAMB”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy with God is the very essence of religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The understanding of doctrine is one thing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and intimacy with God is another.  They<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ought always to go together; but they<\/p>\n\n\n\n

are often seen asunder; and, when there<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is the former without the latter, there is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a hard, proud, hollow religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware of mere opinions and speculations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They become idols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They nourish pride of intellect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They furnish no food to the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They make you sapless and heartless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy with God is the very essence of religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BASIS OF ALL TRUE PIETY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

from Spurgeon’s sermon, “LOVE’S LOGIC”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heaven itself, although it be a fertile land, flowing with milk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and honey, can produce no fairer flower than the ‘Rose of\nSharon’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heaven’s highest joys mount no higher than the head of Jesus;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

its sweetest bliss is found in his name alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we would know heaven, let us know Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we would be heavenly, let us love Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh that we were perpetually in his company, that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our hearts might ever be satisfied with his love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let the young believer seek after a clear view of the person of\nJesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and then let him implore the kindling fire of the Holy Spirit to\nlight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

up his whole soul with fervent affection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOVE TO JESUS IS THE BASIS OF ALL TRUE PIETY, and the intensity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of this love will ever be the measure of our zeal for his glory.\nLet us<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love him with all our hearts, and then diligent labor and\nconsistent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

living will be sure to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A gracious influence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot, “Jesus, the Great High Priest”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The love of Jesus has a gracious influence on the life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

conduct, and conversation of a true believer. The tree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is known by its fruit; and those branches alone which<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bring forth fruit unto God, are in manifest union with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the only true Vine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love to Jesus is the constraining principle of all holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

obedience. “If you love Me, keep my commandments,”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

was His dying injunction to His disciples. As, then, His<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bleeding love is experimentally known, there will be . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  a conformity to His image,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  an obedience to His will,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  a walking in His footsteps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love flowing from a sight of the cross!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winslow, “The Disciple Washing Christ’s Feet”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke 7:37 And,\nbehold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus<\/em>\nsat at meat in the Pharisee\u2019s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke 7:38 And\nstood at his feet behind him<\/em> weeping, and began to wash his feet with\ntears, and did wipe them<\/em> with the hairs of her head, and kissed his\nfeet, and anointed them<\/em> with the ointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She washed Christ’s feet with the tears of grateful<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love. Jesus had pardoned all her sins, had absolved<\/p>\n\n\n\n

her from their guilt, and had released her from their<\/p>\n\n\n\n

power. How natural was the feeling of gratitude,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

how appropriate this service of love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most genuine contrition for sin flows from a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sense of its forgiveness. Nothing breaks the heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so thoroughly as the experience of God’s pardoning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love, love flowing from a sight of the cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more vile we are in our own eyes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Letters of John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more vile we are in our own eyes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the more precious Christ will be to us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do our hearts grow so cold?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Winslow, “Love at the Foot of the Cross”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beloved, why do our hearts grow so<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cold in their affections towards Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The influence of the world will chill it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The encroachments of temporal engagements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

upon the study of God’s Word and the devout<\/p>\n\n\n\n

transactions of the closet, will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The society of cold, worldly professors will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfitting levity of spirit will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trifling with sin will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carnal pursuits will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An idolatrous love of the creature will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fretting against the Lord, murmuring at His<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dealings, rebellion against His authority and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

chastenings, will chill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alas! how much there is to produce deep and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sad declension in the love of our hearts to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord. How easily its warm, flowing current<\/p>\n\n\n\n

chills and congeals!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh that our hearts should so soon grow cold<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in their affections towards Him whose love to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

us is ever so warm, who ransomed us from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hell with His own heart’s blood!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let shame and confusion of face cover us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let deep humiliation, tender, holy contrition,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

prostrate us beneath the cross, that we should<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for one moment gaze coldly upon so divine and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

gracious, so lovely and precious a Redeemer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How may I pass through life with the least inconvenience?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I am redeemed from eternal misery by the death of Jesus; and\nif He is now preparing a glorious mansion for me near Himself, that I may drink\nof the rivers of pleasure at His right hand for evermore–then the question is\nnot (at least ought not to be), “How may I pass through life with the\nleast inconvenience?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather it should be: “How may my little span of life be\nmade most subservient to the praise and glory of Him who loved me, and gave\nHimself for me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For\nyou know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you\nwere redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your\nforefathers–but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or\ndefect!” 1 Peter 1:17-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to\nme?” Psalm 116:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True love to Christ!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Spurgeon-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord Jesus possesses all kinds of lovelinesses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

compacted into one perfect loveliness! all perfections<\/p>\n\n\n\n

blended to make one perfection! every sweet concocted<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and distilled to make one perfect sweetness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how one longs for but a moment’s sight of Christ in glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One might be content to have only a dry crust, and to lie in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

an underground dungeon for the rest of one’s life, if one might<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but gaze on his blessed face for once, and hear him say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I have loved you with an everlasting love.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who truly love the Saviour wish to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

know all that can be known about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True love likes to become familiar with the object of its<\/p>\n\n\n\n

affection; its heart is set upon that object, it studies it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and can never know it too well or too closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True love to Christ thinks of him from morning till night;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it is glad to be released from other thoughts that it may<\/p>\n\n\n\n

follow only its one darling pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True love to Christ seeks to get to him, to live with him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to live upon him, and thus to know him so intimately<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that things which were unobserved and passed over at<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the first, stand out in clear light to the increased<\/p>\n\n\n\n

joy and delight of the contemplative mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have but a ‘spark’ of love for Jesus in your heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus has a ‘furnace’ of love for you in his heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have we not leaned upon a thousand things?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot, “Daily Words for Zion’s Wayfarers”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 him if he leans on it!” Isaiah 36:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have we not leaned upon a thousand things?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what have they proved? Splintered reeds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that have run into our hands, and pierced us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our own strength and resolutions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the world and the church,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sinners and saints,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

friends and enemies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have they not all proved, more or less, splintered reeds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more we have leaned upon them, like a man<\/p>\n\n\n\n

leaning upon a sword, the more have they pierced<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our souls!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord Himself has to wean us . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  from the world,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  from friends,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  from enemies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  from self,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in order to bring us to lean upon Himself. And<\/p>\n\n\n\n

every prop He will sooner or later remove–that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

we may lean wholly and solely upon His Person,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love, death, and righteousness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ must be all!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“Christ is all!” Colossians 3:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of\nour faith!” Hebrews 12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot keep our eye too exclusively or too intently fixed on\nJesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All salvation is in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All salvation proceeds from Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All salvation leads to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for the assurance and comfort of our salvation, we are to\nrepose believingly and entirely on Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ the beginning \u2014 Christ the centre \u2014 and Christ the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh sweet truth \u2014 to you who are sensible of your spiritual\npoverty, vileness, and insufficiency, and of the ten thousand flaws and\nfailures of which, perhaps, no one is cognisant but God and your own soul! Oh,\nto turn and rest in Christ \u2014 a full Christ \u2014 a loving Christ \u2014 a tender Christ,\nwhose heart’s love never chills, from whose eye darts no reproof, from whose\nlips breathes no sentence of condemnation! Christ must be all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there no silent lesson here for us?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Horatius Bonar, “Bethany and Its Feast”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of  Simon the Leper, there came a\nwoman came unto Him having an alabaster jar of very precious ointment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and poured it on His head as He sat at meat.\u201d Matthew 26:6-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverence, homage, love\u2014are all embodied in this act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She grudges no cost for Him whom she so reverently<\/p>\n\n\n\n

loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She hath wrought a good work upon Me” Matthew 26:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is Mary whom Jesus marks and commends. Her fervent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love, pouring itself out in one single act of devotion, gets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the highest notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there no silent lesson here for us? It is not labor,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nor suffering, which get the highest commendation from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus. It is love\u2014pure, warm, ungrudging, loyal love! It<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is this which gets the Master’s “Well done.” He can do<\/p>\n\n\n\n

without the others\u2014but not without this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grand secret!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“This is real love. It is not that we loved God \u2014 but that\nHe loved us and sent His Son as a  sacrifice to take away our sins.”\n1 John 4:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deal much and closely with a crucified Saviour! This is the\ngrand secret of a constant ascending of the affections to God. If you find it\ndifficult to comprehend the love of God towards you \u2014 then read it in the cross\nof His dear Son!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dwell upon this amazing fact,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

drink into this precious truth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

muse upon it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ponder it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

search into it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

pray over it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

until your heart is melted down, and broken, and overwhelmed\nwith God’s wondrous love to you, in the gift of Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how will this rekindle the flame that is ready to die in\nyour bosom! How it will draw you up in a holy and unreserved surrender of body,\nsoul, and spirit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deal much with Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever you detect . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  a waning of love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  a reluctance to take up the daily cross,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  a shrinking from the precept<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2014 go immediately to Calvary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go simply and directly to Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your heart warmed with ardent love by contemplating Him upon\nthe cross \u2014 and soon will the frosts that gather round it melt away, and the\ncongealed current shall begin to flow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Who loved me \u2014 and gave Himself for me!” Galatians\n2:20<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have we nothing to give Christ? (J. C. Philpot, “REVIEWS”) Have we nothing to give Christ? Yes! Our sins, our sorrows, our burdens, our trials, and above all the salvation and sanctification of our souls. And what has He to give us? What? Why, everything worth having, everything worth a moment’s anxious thought, everything for […]<\/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-6084","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\/6084","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=6084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6085,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6084\/revisions\/6085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}