{"id":6104,"date":"2021-10-31T09:10:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T09:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6104"},"modified":"2021-10-31T09:10:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T09:10:44","slug":"bulletin-edition-october-2021-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6104","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition October 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To believe that Jesus is the Christ is to\nbelieve that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the woman\u2019s promised Seed, the\nincarnate God, and that by his obedience unto death he actually accomplished\nall that the Old Testament Scriptures prophesied he would accomplish, He saved\nhis people from their sins!  Pastor<\/em> Don Fortner<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Self Made Man<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank\nthee, that I am not as other men are<\/em>,\u201d  Luke 18:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No person is less likely to\nbe saved than the very religious professor. He wears an armour of presumption.\nYou cannot tell him anything of grace and mercy, his head is helmeted with much\nreligious knowledge and tradition. You cannot touch his heart for he wears the\nbreastplate of self-righteousness. He gives assent to every fundamental truth,\nyet believes nothing. He attends to every religious holiday, service and moral\nlaw, yet knows nothing of heart repentance and faith. No other suit of armour\nis one half so effective for warding off the strokes of truth as that which is\nforged in the arsenal of religion. I have more hope for the drunkard and the\nharlot than for the gospel-hardened religionist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                           Pastor\nScott Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The elect have obtained it, and the rest were\nblinded.” \u2013Romans 11:7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Those who are blinded by the god of this world, have no\nknowledge of what power and feeling and savor and dew are; they see not these\nthings, they are blind to their reality, they are dead to their importance; but\nthe living family of God, who are brought by his blessed Spirit into some\napprehension of eternal realities, have eyes to see what power is, and hearts\ntoo, to desire to feel its manifestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, it is the very seeing what reality and power are which makes\nthem desire to experience the savor of eternal things in their conscience; and\nbecause they do not feel them as they wish, it makes them often fear that they\nare blind altogether (Isaiah 59:10). But the very inquiry, the very anxious\ncry, the very groaning desire, the very fervent supplication to the Lord that\nhe would not let them live and die without a testimony from himself, that he\nwould lift up the light of his countenance and grant them the life of his favor–these\nvery cries are a proof of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were you blind, you would not see these things; were you deaf,\nyou would not spiritually hear these things; were you dead, you would not feel\nthese things. And, therefore, that which you seem to take as an evidence\nagainst you, is, in reality, an evidence for you; and the very sensations of\ntrepidation, anxious inquiry, godly fear, and the crying out before the Lord\nthat he would search and try you and really make your heart right in his\nsight–these very things are the symptoms of spiritual life, the evidences of a\nwork of grace upon the heart, and are the spiritual breathings of the quickened\nsoul, the Lord himself having communicated these feelings unto it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was once blind, but now I see<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Dear Sir,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question, “What is the discriminating characteristic\nnature of a work of grace upon the soul?” has been upon my mind; if I am\nable to give you satisfaction concerning it, I shall think my time well\nemployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason why men in a natural state are utterly ignorant of\nspiritual truths is, that they are wholly destitute of a faculty suited to\ntheir perception. A remarkable instance we have in the absurd construction\nwhich Nicodemus put upon what our Lord had spoken to him concerning the new\nbirth. And in the supernatural communication of this spiritual faculty, by the\nagency of the Holy Spirit, I apprehend the inimitable and abiding criterion,\nwhich is the subject of our inquiry, does primarily consist. Those passages of\nScripture wherein the Gospel truth is compared to light, lead to a familiar\nillustration of my meaning. Men by nature are stark blind with respect to this\nlight; by grace, the eyes of the understanding are opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among a number of blind men, some may be more ingenious and of\nbetter capacity than others. They may be better qualified for such studies and\nemployment’s which do not require eye-sight than many who can see, and may\nattain to considerable skill in them; but with respect to the true nature of\nlight and colors, they are all exactly upon a level. A man born blind, if\ningenious and inquisitive, may learn to talk about the light, the sun, or the\nrainbow, in terms borrowed from those who have seen them; but it is impossible\nthat he can have a just idea of either; and whatever hearsay knowledge he may\nhave acquired, he can hardly talk much upon these subjects without betraying\nhis real ignorance. The case of one blind person has been often quoted. He\nbelieved, that, after much inquiry and reflection, he had at last found out what\nscarlet was; and being asked to explain himself, “I think,” says he,\n“scarlet is something like the sound of a trumpet.” This man had\nabout the same knowledge of natural light as Nicodemus had of spiritual. Nor\ncan all the learning or study in the world, enable any person to form a\nsuitable judgment of divine truth, until the eyes of his mind are opened, and\nthen he will perceive it at once. Indeed, this comparison is well suited to\nshow the entire difference between nature and grace, and to explain the ground\nof that enmity and scorn which fills the hearts of blinded sinners, against\nthose who profess to have been enlightened by the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if we could suppose it possible, that there was a whole\nnation of blind men, and one or two people should go among them, and profess\nthat they could see, while they could not offer them such a proof of their\nassertion as they were capable of receiving, nor even explain, to their\nsatisfaction, what they meant by sight; what may we imagine would be the consequence?\nI think there is little doubt but these innovators would experience much the\nsame treatment as the believers of Jesus often meet with from a blind world.\nThe blind people would certainly hate and despise them for presuming to pretend\nto what they had not. They would try to dispute them out of their senses, and\nbring many arguments to prove that there could be no such thing as either light\nor sight. They would say, as many say now, ‘How is it, if these things are so,\nthat we should know nothing of them?’ Yes, I think it probable they would rise\nagainst them, as deceivers and enthusiasts, and disturbers of the public peace,\nand say, “Away with such fellows from the earth; it is not fit that they\nshould live!” But if we should suppose further, that during the heat of\nthe contest some of these blind men should have their eyes suddenly opened, the\ndispute as to them would be at an end in a minute; they would confess their\nformer ignorance and obstinacy, confirm the testimony of those whom they had\nbefore despised, and of course share in the same treatment from their blind\nbrethren, perhaps be treated still worse, as apostates from the opinion of the\npublic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this illustration is justly applicable to our subject, it may\nlead us to several observations, or inferences, which have a tendency to\nconfirm what we are elsewhere expressly taught by the word of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first place, it shows, that regeneration, or that great\nchange without which a man cannot see the kingdom of God, is the effect of\nAlmighty power. Neither education, endeavors, nor arguments, can open the eyes\nof the blind. It is God alone, who at first caused light to shine out of\ndarkness, who can shine into our hearts, “to give us the light of the\nknowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” People may\nattain some natural ideas of spiritual truths by reading books, or hearing\nsermons, and may thereby become wise in their own conceits; they may learn to\nimitate the language of an experienced Christian; but they know not what they\nsay, nor whereof they affirm, and are as distant from the true meaning of the\nterms, as a blind man who pronounces the words blue or red, is from the ideas\nwhich those words raise in the mind of a person who can distinguish colors by\nhis sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And from hence we may infer the sovereignty, as well as the\nefficacy of grace; since it is evident, not only that the objective light, the\nword of God, is not afforded universally to all men; but that those who enjoy\nthe same outward means have not all the same perceptions. There are many who\nstumble in the noon-day, not for lack of light, but for lack of eyes; and those\nwho now see, were once blind even as others, and had neither power nor will to\nenlighten their own minds. It is a mercy, however, when people are so far\nsensible of their own blindness, as to be willing to wait for the manifestation\nof the Lord’s power, in the ordinances of his own appointment. He came into the\nworld, and he sends forth His Gospel, that those who see not may see; and when\nthere is a desire raised in the heart for spiritual sight, it shall in his due\ntime be answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From hence likewise we may observe the proper use and value of\nthe preaching of the Gospel, which is the great instrument by which the Holy\nSpirit opens the blind eyes. Like the rod of Moses, it owes all its efficacy to\nthe appointment and promise of God. Ministers cannot be too earnest in the\ndischarge of their office; it behooves them to use all diligence to find out\nacceptable words, and to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Yet when they have\ndone all, they have done nothing, unless their word is accompanied to the heart\nby the power and demonstration of the Spirit. Without this blessing, an apostle\nmight labor in vain: but it shall be in a measure afforded to all who preach\nthe truth in love, in simplicity, and in all humble dependence upon him who\nalone can give success. This in a great measure puts all faithful ministers on\na level, notwithstanding any seeming disparity in gifts and abilities. Those\nwho have a lively and pathetic talent, may engage the ear, and raise the\nnatural passions of their hearers; but they cannot reach the heart. The\nblessing may be rather expected to attend the humble, than the voluble speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farther: we may remark, that there is a difference in kind\nbetween the highest attainments of nature, and the effects of grace in the\nlowest degree. Many are convinced, who are not truly enlightened; are afraid of\nthe consequences of sin, though they never saw its evil; have a seeming desire\nof salvation, which is not founded upon a truly spiritual discovery of their\nown wretchedness, and the excellency of Jesus. These may, for a season, hear\nthe word with joy, and walk in the way of professors; but we need not be\nsurprised if they do not hold out\u2014for they have no root. Though many such fall,\nthe foundation of God still stands sure. We may confidently affirm, upon the\nwarrant of Scripture, that those who, having for a while escaped the pollutions\nof the world, are again habitually entangled in them; or who, having been\ndistressed upon the account of sin, can find relief in a self-righteous course,\nand stop short of Christ, “who is end of the law for righteousness to\neveryone that believes”\u2014we may affirm, that these, whatever profession\nthey may have made, were never capable of perceiving the beauty and glory of\nthe Gospel salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, though, where the eyes are divinely\nenlightened, the soul’s first views of itself and of the Gospel may be confused\nand indistinct, like him who saw men as it were trees walking; yet this light\nis like the dawn, which, though weak and faint at its first appearance, shines\nmore and more unto the perfect day. It is the work of God; and his work is\nperfect in kind, though progressive in the manner. He will not despise or\nforsake the day of small things. When he thus begins, he will make an end; and\nsuch people, however feeble, poor, and worthless, in their own apprehensions,\nif they have obtained a glimpse of the Redeemer’s glory, as he is made unto\nwisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption\u2014so that his name is\nprecious, and the desire of their hearts is towards him\u2014have good reason to\nhope and believe, as the wife of Manoah did in a similar case, that if the Lord\nhad been pleased to kill them, he would not have showed them such things as\nthese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once more: The spiritual sight and faculty is that which may be\nprincipally considered as permanent in a believer. He has no stock of grace, or\ncomfort, or strength, in himself. He needs continual supplies; and if the Lord\nwithdraws from him, he is as weak and unskillful after he has been long engaged\nin the Christian warfare, as he was when he first entered upon it. The eye is\nof little present use in the dark; for it cannot see without light. But the\nreturn of light is no advantage to a blind man. A believer may be much in the\ndark; but his spiritual sight remains. Though the exercise of grace may be low,\nhe knows himself, he knows the Lord, he knows the way of access to a throne of\ngrace. His frames and feelings may alter; but he has received such a knowledge\nof the person and offices, the power and grace, of Jesus the Savior, as cannot\nbe taken from him; and he could withstand even an angel that should preach\nanother gospel, because he has seen the Lord. The length of this paper\nconstrains me to break off. May the Lord increase his light in your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“O send out your light and your truth\u2014let them lead me; let\nthem bring me unto your holy hill, and to your tabernacles.” \u2013Psalm 43:3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

A spiritually living man cannot, in his right mind, bear the\nidea of standing still, that is to say, standing still so as to have no\nspiritual work going on within; and still less can he bear the idea of going\nbackward. He wants to go forward. He is often dissatisfied with his state; he\nfeels how little he knows; he is well aware of the shallowness of his attainments\nin the divine life, as well as of the ignorance and the blindness that are in\nhim; and therefore, labouring under the feeling of his own shortcomings for the\npast, his helplessness for the present, and his ignorance for the future, he\nwants to go forward wholly and solely in the strength of the Lord, to be led,\nguided, directed, kept, not by the wisdom and power of the creature, but by the\nsupernatural entrance of light and truth into his soul. The mercy-seat is\ncontinually covered with clouds; God hides himself, and he cannot behold him;\nthe truth seems obscured so that he cannot realize it. He often cannot find his\nway to Christ; he cannot perceive the path of life, nor whether his feet are in\nthat path. He sees so few marks of grace in his soul, and feels so powerfully\nthe workings of sin and corruption; he finds so few things for him and so many\nthings against him, that he often staggers, and is perplexed in his mind, and\nseems almost to come to a feeling in his heart, that he is destitute of the\ngrace of God altogether, that the secret of the Lord is not with him, but that\nhe is a hypocrite in Zion, who has never had even the beginning of wisdom\ncommunicated to his soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd He said, Therefore\nsaid I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of\nMy Father. From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more\nwith Him.\u201d <\/em>John 6:65-66<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The carnal man will make a\nshow of coming to Christ if he can have all the glory for coming. But let that\nman hear that he\u2019s helpless to come except it were given unto him of the Father\nand, according to God\u2019s word, he\u2019ll continue his charade no more.\n       Coming, by faith, to Christ is by the\ngrace of God. When the Lord is pleased to call one of His own unto Himself,\nHe\u2019ll place that sinner under the sound of the Gospel, that message which is\nthe power of God unto salvation, and He\u2019ll quicken that sinner, making him\nwilling in the day of His power to do exactly that which God eternally\npurposed\u2026to come, by faith, to Christ, Jn.\n6:37.          <\/em><\/strong>Marvin\nStalnaker<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To believe that Jesus is the Christ is to believe that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the woman\u2019s promised Seed, the incarnate God, and that by his obedience unto death he actually accomplished all that the Old Testament Scriptures prophesied he would accomplish, He saved his people from their sins!  Pastor Don Fortner A Self Made […]<\/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-6104","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\/6104","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=6104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6105,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6104\/revisions\/6105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}