{"id":6090,"date":"2021-07-12T03:36:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T03:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6090"},"modified":"2021-07-12T03:36:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T03:36:41","slug":"6090","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6090","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition July 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The desires of the righteous!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John MacDuff, “Brief Thoughts for the Followers of\nJesus” 1855)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit\nagainst the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you cannot do\nthe things that you wish.” Galatians 5:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How true is this! How exactly does it accord with the experience\nof the believer! “As in water, face answers to face,” so in God’s\nWord, we have the inmost feelings of His people clearly reflected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O, what would the Christian do \u2014 if he could! He would serve God\nperfectly. He would have his way directed to keep all His statutes. He would\nhave all his faculties and feelings in complete subjection to the Divine Will.\nHe would live, not to himself \u2014 but to Him who died for him and rose again. He\nwould consecrate every moment to His service, and employ every breath in His\npraise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a word, he would rise to the seraphic sanctity of the\nParadise above, and present to God those offerings which would be unmixed with\nany earthly dross; which would be uncontaminated and untinctured by any of the\nfrailties of his fallen nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could the Christian do as he would \u2014 there is not a glorified\nspirit before the Heavenly throne, who would excel or outstrip him! He would\nlove as they do \u2014 serve as they do \u2014 admire and adore as they do. But here,\nalas! his infirmities are a constant clog about him \u2014 and hence his longings\nfor that better world, where his desires and his doings will be one and the\nsame!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we want a striking emblem of the child of God, as he is\nsituated at present? We have it in that majestic bird, the eagle; not as it\nroams at large in the enjoyment of its native freedom \u2014 but when, as a poor\ncaptive, it is fastened down with a chain! It is an interesting object, under\nany circumstances, to gaze upon; but especially so, when its former soarings\nare contrasted with its present fettered state. The fire of its eye clearly\nindicates its longings for those lofty regions, far beyond the clouds, where it\nfelt so much at home, and where its wings were often bathed in the burning\nsplendoUrs of the sun’s meridian rays. But no sooner is the attempt made to\nmount aloft; no sooner does it begin to ruffle its plumes, and spread its\nwings, in order to prepare for the flight \u2014 than the touch of the chain is\ninstantly felt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just so with the believer. At times how soaring are his\naspirations! How would he rise, as on eagles’ wings, above earth’s turmoils on\nthe one hand, and his manifold imperfections on the other! But, alas! how the\nchains of time and sense fetter his soul, and fasten it down to this earth!\nThen his cry is, “My soul cleaves unto the dust! Quicken me according to\nYour Word!” “O that I had wings like a dove, for then I would fly\naway and be at rest! I would hasten my escape from the stormy wind and\ntempest!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person is known \u2014 by his doings. But, in addition to this\nexternal and practical proof, a man’s desires may be regarded as a strong index\nof his character. “As he thinks in his heart \u2014 so is he.” There is\nundoubtedly sin \u2014 in the desire of sin; the actual commission of the outward\nact not being requisite to render us guilty in the sight of God. And there is\nundoubtedly grace \u2014 even in the desire of grace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What then are the desires of my soul? Am I of the number of\nthose who are walking according to the course of this world, and who are\ngratifying the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature? Or are\nmy desires God-ward and Heaven-ward?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me remember, for my encouragement, that the Lord will\nfulfill the desire of those who fear Him. Let me seek Him then; let me trust in\nHim, and wait patiently for Him. “Delight yourself in the Lord \u2014 and He\nshall give you the desires of your heart!” “The desire of the\nrighteous will be granted!” Proverbs 10:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What will you see in the Shulamite? As it were the company\nof two armies.” Song of Solomon 6:13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Are you not often a mystery to yourself? Warm one moment, cold\nthe next; abasing yourself one hour, exalting yourself the following; loving\nthe world, full of it, steeped up to your lips in it today; crying, groaning,\nand sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love of God tomorrow; brought down\nto nothingness, covered with shame and confusion, on your knees before you\nleave your room; filled with pride and self-importance before you have got down\nstairs; despising the world, and willing to give it all up for one taste of the\nlove of Jesus when in solitude; trying to grasp it with both hands when in\nbusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a mystery are you! Touched by love, and stung with enmity;\npossessing a little wisdom, and a great deal of folly; earthly-minded, and yet\nhaving the affections in heaven; pressing forward, and lagging behind; full of\nsloth, and yet taking the kingdom with violence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel but cannot\nadequately describe, leads us into the mystery of the two natures, that\n“company of two armies,” perpetually struggling and striving against\neach other in the same bosom. So that one man cannot more differ from another\nthan the same man differs from himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do not nature, sense, and reason contradict this? Do not the\nwise and prudent deny this? “There must be a progressive advance,”\nthey say, “in holiness; there must be a gradual amendment of our nature\nuntil at length all sin is rooted out, and we become as perfect as\nChrist.” But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this–that our carnal\nmind undergoes no alteration, but maintains a perpetual war with grace–and\nthus, the deeper we sink in self-abasement under a sense of our vileness, the\nhigher we rise in a knowledge of Christ; and the blacker we are in our own\nview, the more lovely does Jesus appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot, “No Condemnation” 1862)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is therefore now no condemnation to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh carries with it the idea of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the flesh going before us\u2014as our leader, guide, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

example\u2014and our following close in its footsteps,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so that wherever it drags or draws, we move after<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it, as the needle after the magnet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh, then, is to move<\/p>\n\n\n\n

step by step in implicit obedience to . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the commands of the flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the lusts of the flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  the inclinations of the flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  and the desires of the flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever shape they assume,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever garb they wear,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever name they may bear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh is to be ever pursuing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

desiring, and doing the things that please the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

flesh, whatever aspect that flesh may wear or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

whatever dress it may assume\u2014whether moulded<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and fashioned after the grosser and more flagrant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ways of the profane world\u2014or the more refined<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and deceptive religion of the professing church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are the grosser and more manifest sinners the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

only people who may be said to walk after the flesh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does not all human religion, in all its varied forms and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

shapes, come under the sweep of this all-devouring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sword? Yes! Every one who is entangled in and led by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a fleshly religion, walks as much after the flesh as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

those who are abandoned to its grosser indulgences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sad it is, yet not more sad than true, that false<\/p>\n\n\n\n

religion has slain its thousands, if open sin has<\/p>\n\n\n\n

slain its ten thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To walk after the flesh, whether it be in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

grosser or more refined sense of the term, is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the same in the sight of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a believer would do \u2014 if he could<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit\nagainst the flesh. These are contrary the one to the other \u2014 so that you cannot\ndo the things that you would!” Galatians 5:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a humbling but an accurate account of a Christian’s\nattainments in the present life, and is equally applicable to the strongest and\nto the weakest. The weakest need not say less \u2014 the strongest will hardly\nventure to say more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord has given His people a desire aiming at great things \u2014\nbut they cannot do as they would. Their best desires are weak and ineffectual,\nnot absolutely so \u2014 but in comparison with the noble mark at which they aim. So\nthat while they have great cause to be thankful for the desire He has given\nthem, and for the degree in which it is answered \u2014 they have equal reason to be\nashamed and abased under a sense of their continual defects and the evil\nmixtures which taint and debase their best endeavors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be easy to make out a long list of particulars, which a\nbeliever would do if he could \u2014 but in which, from first to last, he finds a\nmortifying inability. Permit me to mention a few, which I need not transcribe\nfrom books, for they are always present to my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would willingly enjoy God in prayer. He knows that prayer is\nhis duty; but he considers it likewise as his greatest honor and privilege. In\nthis light he can recommend it to others, and can tell them of the wonderful\ncondescension of the great God, who humbles Himself and opens His gracious ear\nto the supplications of sinful worms upon earth! The believer can bid others to\nexpect a pleasure in waiting upon the Lord, different in kind and greater in\ndegree than all that the world can afford. By prayer he can say: “You have\nliberty to cast all your cares upon Him who cares for you. By one hour’s\nintimate access to the throne of grace \u2014 you may acquire more true spiritual\nknowledge and comfort, than by a week’s converse with the best of men, or the\nmost studious perusal of many books.” And in this light he would consider\nit and improve it for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, alas; how seldom can he do as he would! How often does he\nfind this privilege to be a mere task, which he would be glad of a just excuse\nto omit! and the chief pleasure he derives from the performance \u2014 is to think\nthat his task is finished! He has been drawing near to God with his lips \u2014\nwhile his heart was far from Him. Surely this is not doing as he would, when\n(to borrow the expression of an old woman here,) he is dragged before God like\na slave, and comes away like a thief!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though we aim at this good \u2014 evil is present with us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alas! how vain is man in his best estate! How much weakness and\ninconsistency, even in those whose hearts are right with the Lord! What reason\nhave we to confess that we are unworthy, unprofitable servants!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It were easy to enlarge in this way \u2014 would paper and time\npermit. But, blessed be God, we are not under the law \u2014 but under grace! And\neven these distressing effects of the remnants of indwelling sin are overruled\nfor good. By these experiences \u2014 the believer is weaned more from SELF, and\ntaught more highly to prize and more absolutely to rely on Him, who is our\nWisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption! The more vile we are in\nour own eyes \u2014 the more precious He will be to us! A deep repeated sense of the\nevil of our hearts \u2014 is necessary to preclude all boasting, and to make us\nwilling to give the whole glory of our salvation where it is due!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, a sense of these evils will (when hardly anything else\ncan do it) reconcile us to the thoughts of DEATH! Yes, they make us desirous to\ndepart \u2014 that we may sin no more; since we find depravity so deep-rooted in our\nnature, that, like the leprous house, the whole fabric must be taken down\nbefore we can be freed from its defilement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, and not until then \u2014 we shall be able to do the thing that\nwe would! When we see Jesus \u2014 we shall be transformed into His image, and be\ndone with sin and sorrow forever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept\nyour word.” Psalm 119:67<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

THERE is infinite wisdom in the Lord’s restorings. This\nperfection of Jesus is clearly revealed here: in the way He adopts to restore,\nwe see it. That He should make, as He frequently does, our very afflictions the\nmeans of restoration to our souls, unfolds the profound depth of His wisdom.\nThis was David’s prayer\u2014”Quicken me according to Your judgments:” and\nthis was his testimony\u2014”Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have\nI kept Your word.” The season of trial is not infrequently the sanctified\nseason of revival. Who that has passed through the furnace has not found it so?\nThen the declension of the soul has been discovered\u2014then the hidden cause of\nthat declension has been brought to light\u2014then the spirit has bowed in\ncontrition before the Lord\u2014then grace has been stirred up in the heart, a new\nsweetness has been given to prayer, a new impulse to faith, a new radiance to\nhope, and from the flame the gold and the silver have emerged, purified from\ntheir tin and dross. But for the production of effects like these, why the many\npeculiar and heavy afflictions that we sometimes see overtaking the child of\nGod? Do not think that our Heavenly Father takes pleasure in chastening us; do\nnot think that it delights Him to behold the writhings, the throes, and the\nanguish of a wounded spirit; do not think that He loves to see our tears, and\nhear our sighs and our groans, under the pressure of keen and crushing trial.\nNo: He is a tender, loving Father; so tender and so loving that not one stroke,\nnor one cross, nor one trial more does He lay upon us than is absolutely\nneedful for our good\u2014not a single ingredient does He put in our bitter cup,\nthat is not essential to the perfection of the remedy. It is for our profit\nthat He chastens, not for His pleasure; and that often to rouse us from our\nspiritual sleep, to recover us from our deep declension, and to impart new\nvigor, healthiness, and growth to His own life in the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam and Christ – 1 Corinthians 15:22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two men represent the whole race before God. The first man,\nAdam, represented all men in a covenant of works. What Adam did, we all did in\nAdam. While he stood, we stood. When he fell, we fell. \u2014 \u201cIn Adam all died.\u201d\nAll who were in Adam died in Adam. The second Man, Christ, the God-man,\nrepresented all of God\u2019s elect in a covenant of grace. What he did, all of\nGod\u2019s elect did in him. When he lived in righteousness, we lived. When he died\nunder penalty of the law, we died. When he arose, we arose. \u201cIn Christ shall\nall be made alive.\u201d All who are in Christ must forever live.    \n                     \n          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Fortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The desires of the righteous! (John MacDuff, “Brief Thoughts for the Followers of Jesus” 1855) “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you cannot do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:17 How true is this! How exactly does it […]<\/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-6090","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\/6090","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=6090"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6092,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6090\/revisions\/6092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}