{"id":6183,"date":"2022-03-28T12:33:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T12:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6183"},"modified":"2022-03-28T12:33:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T12:33:49","slug":"bulletin-edition-march-2022-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6183","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition March 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cTo know God is to worship Him\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin Luther (therefore where there is false \u2018worship\u2019 there is\nno true knowledge of God) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gospel of Christ is either of infinite importance or of no\nimportance. The one thing it cannot be is of moderate importance.  \u201cLove\nso amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“How am I to worship God?”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(by Horatius Bonar)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man asks, “How am I to worship God?” and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he has answered it also in his own way. In the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

gorgeous temple, in the pillared cathedral, with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

incense, and vestments, and forms, and ceremonies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and processions, and postures, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these performances are the ‘will worship’ of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

self righteousness, not the obedient service of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

men worshiping God in ways of His own choosing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man cannot teach man how to worship God. When<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he tries it he utterly fails. He distorts worship; he<\/p>\n\n\n\n

misrepresents God, and he indulges his own sensuous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or self righteous tastes. His “dim religious light” is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but a reflection of his own gloomy spirit, and an<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ignorant misrepresentation of Him “who is light.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s answer to man’s question is given in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord’s words, “those who worship Him must worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Him in spirit and in truth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vestments may or may not be lovely; that matters not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music may or may not be beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knees may or may not be bent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hands may or may not be clasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The place of worship may or may not be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a cathedral, or a consecrated building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are immaterial things; mere<\/p>\n\n\n\n

adjuncts of religion, not its essence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true worship is that of the inner man; and all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

these other exterior things are of little importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it is with love, so it is with worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heart is everything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God can do without the bended knee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but not without the broken heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HEARTLESS WORSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

‘Soul’ worship is the soul of worship, and if you take away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the soul from the worship, you have killed the worship–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it becomes dead and barren henceforth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are ‘professors’ in this world who are perfectly content\nif<\/p>\n\n\n\n

they have gone through the ‘mechanical part of public devotion’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they have occupied their seats, joined in the hymns and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

prayers, and listened to the preaching, they go away quite<\/p>\n\n\n\n

content and easy. They would not like to be absent from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

solemn assembly, and their conscience would prick them if they<\/p>\n\n\n\n

neglected the outward ordinances, but having gone through<\/p>\n\n\n\n

them, and complied with the accustomed ‘form’, they are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

perfectly content with themselves, and think they have done that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which is lawful and right, lovely and excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, it is never so with the true child of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If his soul is awakened from the torpor of death, and his<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sensibilities quickened into the vigour of life, he will feel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that unless in the song he has really ‘praised’ God in strains<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of gratitude with emotions of thankfulness, he has rather<\/p>\n\n\n\n

mocked his heavenly Father than acceptably adored him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He knows that ‘prayer’, if it is not the soul that speaks with\nGod,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is but the carcass of prayer, destitute alike of the sweet\nsavour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which can find acceptance with God, and of the sweet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

satisfaction that can bring refreshment to one’s own breast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he ‘hears the word preached’, he longs to feel it penetrate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

his heart, even as the rain soaks into the soil. And if he\ncannot so<\/p>\n\n\n\n

receive the truth of the gospel when it breaks on his ear as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

engrafted word that saves his soul, and so feed upon it as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bread of life which nourishes his soul, he goes away sad at\nheart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

deploring that, while others were feasting at the banquet, he\nwas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there without appetite, and had not the pleasure or the profit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which they derived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beloved, in our public services we ought to account nothing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

truly and rightly done which is not done with the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soul is there, in the full exercise of its powers and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

passions, I believe God is gracious to pity and forgive a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thousand mistakes in outward fashion and skill of execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it is ‘heartless’ worship it is unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God cannot receive it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we have not thrown our heart into it, depend upon it-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God will never take it to his heart and be pleased with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only that prayer which comes from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our heart can get to God’s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we pray only from the lips, or from the throat, and not<\/p>\n\n\n\n

low down from the very affections of our nature, we shall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

never reach the affections of our Father who is in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every kind of religious exercise, the ‘soul’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is the standard of the whole compass of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wretched idol, SELF!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow, “Christ and the Christian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 in Temptation” 1877)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of all the sins common to our fallen nature, God<\/p>\n\n\n\n

has the most signally marked that of Idolatry, or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

False Worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man is by nature an idolater. His sinful mind,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

being alienated from God, seeks some object<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of worship other than the true and living God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘renewed’ man is not entirely exempt from this sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence the exhortation of the Apostle addressed to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

early Christians, and in these last days addressed to us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”\n“My dearly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

beloved, flee from idolatry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, it was not the gross and senseless idolatry of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the heathens to which the Apostles thus refer; from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

this many of those saints to whom they wrote had<\/p>\n\n\n\n

already been delivered; but to other idols and other<\/p>\n\n\n\n

worship, less palpable and degrading, but not less<\/p>\n\n\n\n

superstitious or offensive to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worship of SELF is a natural and fearful form of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

idolatry. It is an innate and never entirely eradicated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

principle of our nature, but clings to us to the very last<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of life. Alas! the holiest and the best of us want to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

something, and to do something, when in reality we<\/p>\n\n\n\n

are nothing, and can do nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walk in our religious life, for the most part, upon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

stilts; always appearing in the eyes of others taller<\/p>\n\n\n\n

than we really are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But real greatness and true humility have ever been<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in alliance with entire abnegation of SELF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who can stand before the cross and gaze upon the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creator of all worlds impaled between two criminals,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Himself dying as the chief, and not shrink into his<\/p>\n\n\n\n

own nothingness, bewailing that he should ever have<\/p>\n\n\n\n

been betrayed into the folly and the sin of burning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the incense of idolatry before the wretched idol,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SELF!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware of SELF idolatry!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the most insidious, hateful, and degrading<\/p>\n\n\n\n

form of idolatry to which the soul can be subjected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idol we worship!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“People will be lovers of SELF” 2 Timothy 3:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The passions of discontent, pride, and envy–exert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

themselves in each of us. We are fallen into a state<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of gross idolatry–and SELF is the idol we worship!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle of SELF is deep-rooted in every heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and is the spring of every action–until grace infuses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a new principle, and SELF, like Dagon, falls before<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Lord Almighty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heart worship<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in whose HEART are Your ways.” -Psalm 84:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“None find joy in worship but those<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who throw their hearts into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither prayer, nor praise, nor the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hearing of the word will be profitable to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

those who have left their hearts behind them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will\nI lead them.” \u2013Jeremiah 31:9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Until God is pleased to pour out upon us the spirit of grace and\nof supplications, we cannot worship him aright; for God is a Spirit, and those\nwho worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth; nor can we without\nthis spirit offer up that spiritual sacrifice which is acceptable to him\nthrough Jesus Christ. When this spirit has been once given and kindled in a\nbeliever’s breast, it never dies out. It is like the fire upon the bronze\naltar, which was first given by the Lord himself from heaven, and concerning\nwhich God gave this command\u2014”The fire shall ever be burning upon the\naltar; it shall never go out” (Lev. 6:13). This fire might sink low; it\nmight be covered with the ashes of sacrifice, but it never was allowed to go\nout for lack of supply of fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So at times it may seem to you as if there were scarcely any\nspirit of prayer alive in your bosom; and you may feel as destitute of a spirit\nof grace and of supplications as if you had never known its lively movements\nand actings. But you will find it drawn out from time to time by circumstances.\nYou will be placed under peculiar trials, under which you will find no relief\nbut at a throne of grace; or God will in tender mercy breathe again upon your\nsoul with his own gracious Spirit, and by his quickening breath will revive, I\nwill not say kindle, for it is not gone out, that holy fire which seemed to be\nburied under the ashes of corruption, that inward spirit of prayer which he\ngave you at regeneration, and which will never cease until it issue in\neverlasting praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give Him your whole self!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Spurgeon, “The Wise Men, the Star, and the Saviour”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, oh, when you think of Jesus Christ, whose origins are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from of old, from ancient times, the eternal Son of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father, and then see Him coming here to be a man formed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the womb of a woman, and know and understand why<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He came and what He did when he came, then you will<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fall down and worship Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We worship Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our faith sees Him go from the manger to the cross,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and from the cross right up to the throne,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and there where God the Father dwells,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

amidst the unendurable glory of the divine presence stands<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the man– the very man who slept at Bethlehem in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

manger; there He reigns as Lord of lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our souls worship Him again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, after you have worshipped Christ in your soul,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and seen Him with the eye of faith, give Him yourself,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

give Him your heart, give Him all that you are and own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, you will not be able to keep from doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He who really loves the Saviour in his heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cannot help devoting to Him his life, his strength, his all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any man loves Christ, he will soon be finding ways and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

means of proving his love by his sacrifices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go home, Mary, and get the alabaster box,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and pour the ointment on His head, and if any say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why this waste?” you will have a good answer–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you have had many sins forgiven by Him, and therefore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you love Him greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have gold, then give it;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if you have frankincense, then give it;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if you have myrrh, then give it to Jesus;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if you don’t have any of these things,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

give Him your love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all of your love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and that will be gold and spices all in one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give Him your tongue, speak of Him;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

give Him your hands, work for Him;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

give Him your whole self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know you will, for He loved you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and gave Himself for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod is Spirit\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 4:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his indescribable solitariness, God is Spirit, eternal and\nincomprehensible. Our Lord Jesus Christ declares, \u201cGod is a Spirit: and they\nthat worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth\u201d (John 4:24). The\nBible often ascribes to God terms such as \u201cthe hand of the Lord,\u201d \u201cthe mouth of\nthe Lord,\u201d \u201cthe eyes of the Lord,\u201d \u201cthe arm of the Lord,\u201d and \u201cthe ears of the\nLord.\u201d But these terms are mere accommodations of language to help our puny\nbrains understand the works of God. They are anthropomorphic terms, human\nterms, used to describe the works of the Lord God. But they do not, in any way,\nrepresent the nature and being of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idolatry Forbidden<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you read the Bible you cannot fail to notice that never once\nwere men given any kind of physical, visible, tangible representation of God\u2019s\nBeing. Even under the types and shadows of the Old Testament age of ceremonial\nworship nothing was given as a representation of God\u2019s Being. All the types and\nshadows of the law represented his work of redemption through Christ. But\nnothing represented God himself. Why? Because God is Spirit. He is the\ninfinite, incomprehensible, invisible, omnipresent Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because God is Spirit, he expressly forbids every form of\nidolatry (Exodus 20:3-6). The law of God forbids the acceptance of any other\ngod, the worship of God through any image or icon, the representation of God by\nanything visible, and the use of religious images, symbols, or pictures. That\nincludes pictures representing our Saviour, crosses, crucifixes, imaginary\nrepresentations of angels or angelic forms, and religious relics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spiritual Worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All true worship and service rendered to God must be spiritual,\nheart worship. It is not sufficient to come before God on bended knee, with\nprostrate body, or with words of praise. We must worship God with our spiritual\nnature, our souls, our hearts, our minds, and our wills, in and by his Holy\nSpirit (John 4:23-24; Philippians 3:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall\nworship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to\nworship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in\nspirit and in truth.\u201d (John 4:23-24)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit,\nand rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.\u201d (Philippians\n3:3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must worship God alone. We must worship God spiritually. We\nmust worship God sincerely. We must worship God in truth, in accordance with\nrevealed truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Fortner  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deep things of God <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. C. Philpot, “The Things Which God has<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepared for Those Who Love Him” 1858)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 things of God.” 1 Cor. 2:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit of God in a man’s bosom searches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the deep things of God, so as to lead him into<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a spiritual and experimental knowledge of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What depths do we sometimes see in a single<\/p>\n\n\n\n

text of Scripture as opened to the understanding,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or applied to the heart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a depth in the blood of Christ\u2014how it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“cleanses from all sin,”\u2014even millions of millions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of the foulest sins of the foulest sinners!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a depth in His bleeding, dying love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that could stoop so low to lift us so high!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a depth in His pity and compassion to extend<\/p>\n\n\n\n

itself to such guilty, vile transgressors as we are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What depth in His rich, free, and sovereign grace,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that it should super-abound over all our aggravated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iniquities, enormities, and vile abominations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What depth in His sufferings\u2014that He should have<\/p>\n\n\n\n

voluntarily put Himself under such a load of guilt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

such outbreakings of the wrath of God\u2014as He felt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in His holy soul when He stood in our place to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

redeem poor sinners from the bottomless pit\u2014that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

those who deserved hell, should be lifted up into<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the enjoyment of heaven!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTo know God is to worship Him\u201d Martin Luther (therefore where there is false \u2018worship\u2019 there is no true knowledge of God)  The Gospel of Christ is either of infinite importance or of no importance. The one thing it cannot be is of moderate importance.  \u201cLove so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, […]<\/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-6183","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\/6183","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=6183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6184,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6183\/revisions\/6184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}