{"id":6198,"date":"2022-05-24T09:04:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T09:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6198"},"modified":"2022-05-24T09:04:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T09:04:01","slug":"bulletin-edition-may-2022-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6198","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition May 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Upon a life I did not\nlive, upon a death I did not die; another\u2019<\/strong>s life, another\u2019<\/strong>s\ndeath, I stake my whole eternity.     \n    ~<\/em><\/strong>Horatius Bonar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Saviour’s heart<\/strong>
\n
\n(John MacDuff, “The Throne of Grace<\/a>“)
\n
\n“For we do not have a high priest who is unable
\n to sympathise <\/strong>with our weaknesses.” Heb. 4:15
\n
\nJesus is able to sympathize with all the sorrows
\nand infirmities to which His people are exposed.
\nSuch is our great High Priest\u2014divine in His ability,
\nhuman in His sympathy<\/strong>. Amid earth’s painful
\ntrials and temptations\u2014amid its changes and
\nvicissitudes\u2014amid dangers and duties, it is
\nsuch a High Priest that we stand in need of.
\n
\nOh, precious thought! that we have a Friend above
\nwho can sympathise <\/strong>as no other can\u2014that we have
\nan Intercessor who can plead more powerfully than
\nwe are even able to conceive\u2014and whose eye of love
\nis on each one of His followers\u2014to support, sustain,
\nand comfort, amid daily trials, vicissitudes, and conflicts.
\n
\nLet us then, because we have such a High Priest above\u2014the
\nall-powerful, all-helpful, all-loving, all-tender Saviour\u2014One
\nwho can and does feel for us\u2014One who knows all our cares,
\nand troubles, and trials\u2014One who has Himself deeply suffered,
\nand is therefore able to sympathise with us in all our sorrows,
\n“let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
\nwe may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
\n
\nCome, then, you poor, you disconsolate,
\ncome, you tried and afflicted,
\ncome, you wounded,
\ncome, you needy,
\ncome, and welcome, to the throne of grace!
\n
\nReader! whatever be . . .
\n  your need,
\n  your weakness,
\n  your trial,
\n  your infirmity,
\ndo not brood over it\u2014but bring it to the throne of grace!
\nThe longer you bear about with you the burden under
\nwhich you groan, the more hopeless and wretched
\nyou will become. But if you take it to the foot of the
\nCross, you will assuredly obtain relief.
\n
\nSurely, it is a comforting thought, that you are bringing
\nyour wishes, and cares, and anxieties to One who knows
\nhow to pity and support\u2014who longs to show mercy, and
\nto impart “grace to help in every time of need.”
\n
\nYour Saviour’s heart<\/strong> is . . .
\n  a human heart,
\n  a tender heart,
\n  a sinless heart,
\n  a heart, once the home of sorrow,
\n  once an aching, bleeding, mournful heart.
\n
\nAnd He is still unchanged! He loves . . .
\n  to chase grief from the troubled spirit,
\n  to bind up the broken heart,
\n  to stanch the bleeding wound,
\n  to dry the weeping eye,
\n  “to comfort all who mourn.”
\n
\nYes, Christian, if you would disclose your sorrow to One
\nwho sorrowed as none ever sorrowed\u2014if you would weep
\nupon the bosom of One, who wept as none ever wept\u2014if
\nyou would bare your wound to One, who was wounded as
\nnone ever was wounded\u2014then, in your affliction, turn from
\nall creature sympathy and support, to your “merciful and
\nfaithful High Priest.”
\n
\nYour temptations from Satan,
\nyour persecutions from man,
\nyour struggles with an evil heart,
\nyour tribulations and dangers, and fears,
\nall are known to Him\u2014and He feels for you.
\nTender, to Him, are you, as the apple of His eye.
\n
\nYour happiness,
\nyour peace,
\nyour necessities,
\nyour discouragements,
\nare all subjects of His deepest interest,
\nand of His incessant care.
\n
\nHis faithfulness never falters.
\n
\nHis love never changes.
\n
\nHis tenderness never lessens.
\n
\nHis patience never wearies.
\n
\nHis grace never decays.
\n
\n“I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me, and
\n delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can the Ethiopian change his skin?<\/strong>
\n
\n(Joseph Philpot<\/a>, “Daily Words for\nZion’s Wayfarers”)
\n
\n“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
\n leopard its spots?<\/strong> then you also do good
\n that are accustomed to do evil.”
\n    Jeremiah 13:23
\n
\nBefore the soul can know anything about salvation<\/strong>,
\nit must learn deeply and experimentally the nature of
\nsin, and of itself, as stained and polluted by sin.
\n
\nThe soul is proud<\/strong>, and needs to be humbled.
\n
\nThe soul is careless<\/strong>, and needs to be awakened.
\n
\nThe soul is alive<\/strong>, and needs to be killed.
\n
\nThe soul is full<\/strong>, and requires to be emptied.
\n
\nThe soul is whole<\/strong>, and needs to be wounded.
\n
\nThe soul is clothed<\/strong>, and requires to be stripped.
\n
\nThe soul is, by nature . . .<\/strong>
\n  self righteous and self seeking,
\n  buried deep in worldliness and carnality,
\n  utterly blind and ignorant,
\n  filled with . . .
\n      presumption,
\n      arrogance,
\n      conceit,
\n      and enmity.
\n
\nIt hates all that is heavenly and spiritual.
\n
\nSin, in all its various forms, is its natural element.
\n
\nTo make man the direct opposite of what he originally is . . .<\/strong>
\n  to make him love God, instead of hating Him;
\n  to make him fear God, instead of mocking Him;
\n  to make him obey God, instead of rebelling against Him;
\n  to make him to tremble at His dreadful majesty,
\n    instead of defiantly charging against Him;
\nto do this mighty work, and to effect this wonderful
\nchange, requires the implantation of a new nature by
\nthe immediate hand of God Himself!
\n
\n“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
\n leopard its spots?<\/strong> then you also do good
\n that are accustomed to do evil.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jeremiah 13:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utter beggary and complete bankruptcy<\/strong>
\n(Joseph Philpot)
\n
\n“O visit me with Thy salvation.” Psalm 106:4
\n
\nSalvation only suits the condemned, the lost.
\nA man must be lost; utterly lost; before he
\ncan prize God’s salvation.
\n
\nAnd how is he lost?<\/strong>  By . . .<\/strong>
\n  losing all his religion,
\n  losing all his righteousness,
\n  losing all his strength,
\n  losing all his confidence,
\n  losing all his hopes,
\n  losing all that is of the flesh;
\nlosing it by its being taken from him,
\nand stripped away by the hand of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sweet grace<\/strong>
\n
\n(J. C. Philpot, “Pilgrims’ Hunger and Pilgrims’ Food<\/a>“)
\n
\n“Remember all the way the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in\nthe
\n wilderness for forty years, to humble thee<\/strong>.” Deut. 8:2
\n
\nWe learn humility by a deep discovery of
\nwhat we are<\/strong>; by an opening up of . . .
\n  the corruption,
\n  the weakness,
\n  the wickedness,
\nof our fallen nature.
\n
\nThe Lord’s way of teaching His people humility is
\nby placing them first in one trying spot, and then
\nin another; by allowing . . .
\n  some temptation <\/strong>to arise;
\n  some stumbling block<\/strong> to be in their path;
\n  some besetting sin<\/strong> to work upon their corrupt\naffections;
\n  some idol <\/strong>to be embraced by their idolatrous heart;
\n  something to take place to draw out the sin<\/strong> which is
\nin their heart; and thus make it manifest to their sight.
\n
\nAs a general rule, we learn humility<\/strong>, not by hearing
\nministers tell us what wicked creatures we are; nor
\nby merely looking into our bosoms and seeing a whole
\nswarm of evils working there; but from being compelled
\nby painful necessity to believe that we are vile, through
\ncircumstances and events time after time bringing to
\nlight those hidden evils in our heart<\/strong>, which we once
\nthought ourselves pretty free from.
\n
\nWe learn humility, not merely by a discovery of what
\nwe <\/strong>are, but also by a discovery of what Jesus <\/strong>is.
\n
\nWe need a glimpse . . .<\/strong>
\n  of Jesus,
\n  of His love,
\n  of His grace,
\n  of His blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When these two feelings meet together
\nin our bosom . . .
\n  our shame, and the Lord’s goodness;
\n  our guilt, and His forgiveness;
\n  our wickedness, and His superabounding mercy;
\nthey break us, humble us, and lay us, dissolved in tears
\nof godly sorrow and contrition, at the footstool of mercy!
\n
\nAnd thus we learn humility, that sweet grace<\/strong>, that
\nblessed fruit of the Spirit in real, vital, soul-experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gospel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gospel is not a\nplan to be followed, or a program to be practiced.  It is not a precept or\na principle to be understood. The gospel is a person<\/strong>. The second\nperson of the triune Godhead, who bore the sins of God\u2019s elect and by the\nsacrifice of Himself put them away once and for all. He was raised from the\ndead, ascended into glory, and is right now seated at the right hand of the\nmajesty on high. He is the sovereign Savior of sinners. He is the Substitute\nand Surety for His people. His name is Jesus, for He has saved His people from\ntheir sins. He is Faithful and True to all His promise. What \u201cgood news\u201d\n(gospel) it is for the soul of a sinner to know they have an advocate with the\nFather, Jesus Christ the righteous One. He himself is the sum and substance of\nthe gospel.            \n  ~Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \n‘Love beareth all things.’<\/em> It bears its own burdens of\neveryday life. It bears the burdens of other believers, and so fulfills the law\nof Christ. It patiently bears the reproaches from the world. Love bears it all\n– ‘All things.’<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \n‘Love believeth all things,’<\/em> that God has said in his written\nword. All the promises, prophecies, and even the threatens and warnings. If God\nhas said it, love believes it –‘All things.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \n‘Love hopeth all things.’<\/em> God has purposed amazing things\nfor his redeemed people. That they will be with Christ, and like Christ and all\nthat that entails etc., and love lives in the hope of it all –‘All things.’<\/em>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \n‘Love endureth all things.’<\/em> Love will never give up. It will\nnever let go, or go back. Love will keep believing and cleaving till the\nend. Love endures everything – ‘All things.’<\/em> Thank God for\nlove.     \n                                                        \n       ~Bruce Crabtree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 HEALING FOR ALL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this is\nthe place of repose”\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He healed all their sick.” Matthew 12:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last words which fell upon the ears of Israel before coming to\nElim, and while they were yet encamped at Marah, were these\u2014”JEHOVAH\nROPHI,” “I am the Lord which heals you.” Christ is this Great\nPhysician\u2014the Universal Healer\u2014the Curer of every species and every case of\nspiritual paralysis. The appeal of the weeping prophet\u2014”Is there no balm\nin Gilead, is there no physician there?”\u2014is silenced in the presence of\nthe Divine Restorer. Amid endless diversities of country, climate, language,\nmanners, civilization\u2014in the polished age, the uncivilized age, the philosophic\nage, the war age, the utilitarian age, the human heart is found the\nsame\u2014and the One Physician, the one medicine, “Christ\ncrucified,” is able to heal all diseases. <\/em>“He is the power\nof God unto salvation to every one who believes.” To every\none! <\/em>We may follow the sun in his fiery course as he circles the\nglobe, and in vain shall we search for the spot on which he shines, where this\nGospel may not be freely proclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let none stand in doubt, owing to any peculiarity of circumstance,\nas to their warrant to appropriate the purchased blessings of Redemption. There\nis but one condition which, using another figure, the Divine Healer Himself\nemploys, as He invites His Pilgrim people to the true ‘Wells of Elim’\u2014”If\nany man thirst, <\/em>let him come to Me and drink.” No other\ncondition is there, in partaking of the living springs. The quality of water is\nnot affected by the nature of the vessel which contains it; the water is the\nsame, whether it be taken in a golden goblet or an earthen jar\u2014by the king\nholding it in his jeweled cup, or the beggar that has no cup but the palm of\nhis hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is it with the water in the wells of Salvation. Around these,\nthe rich and poor, naturally and spiritually, meet together; and whether it be\nwith vessels of great, or vessels of small quantity\u2014”vessels of cups”\nor “vessels of flagons”\u2014the invitation is the same, “Whoever\nwill, let him take the water of life freely.” “Whoever comes to\nMe” (irrespective of all sins, shortcomings, moral disabilities) “I\nwill never drive away.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at that scene in the early Church; Peter and John healing the\nimpotent man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. It was an acted parable of\nthe healing influence of the Gospel and the Gospel’s Author. That helpless\ncripple, at the all-powerful name of “JESUS OF NAZARETH,” cast aside\nhis crutches, rose from his couch of miserable helplessness, with strength in\nhis powerless limbs, and praise on his long-sealed lips. And next day, when the\ntwo apostles were summoned before the high priest, with the rulers, and elders,\nand scribes, and asked, “By what power, or by what name, have you done\nthis?” Peter nobly replied (and it is a reply applicable to every\ndiseased, helpless, sin-stricken sinner, who has risen from his couch of misery\nand entered the Temple of grace, walking, and leaping, and praising God),\n“If we are being asked to account today for an act of kindness shown to a\ncripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people\nof Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, <\/em>whom\nyou crucified, by whom God raised from the dead, that his man stands before you\nhealed” (Acts 4:9, 10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That all-powerful name and that all-powerful theme has lost none of\nits efficacy. May its music gladden us through life! As we move from encampment\nto encampment in the pilgrim journey, may “peace through the blood of His\ncross” be the gracious words which fall on our ears as we strike the tent\nand prepare to follow the unknown way. May they be the last to cheer us when\nour footsteps are on the brink of Jordan! Let us listen, in closing, to words\nfrom one of the “Hymns of the Fatherland”\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Weep not, Jesus hears thee,
\nHears your moanings broken,
\nHears when you right wearily
\nAll your grief have spoken.
\nRaise your cry,
\nHe is nigh,
\nEverything on earth be shaken,
\nYou will never be forsaken.
\n“Weep not, Jesus hears thee;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shall come and surely save;
\nAnd each sorrow you shall see
\nLie buried in your grave.
\nSin shall die,
\nGrief shall fly.
\nYou have wept your latest tears
\nWhen the Lord of life appears.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will\ngive you rest.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John MacDuff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another\u2019s life, another\u2019s death, I stake my whole eternity.          ~Horatius Bonar Your Saviour’s heart (John MacDuff, “The Throne of Grace“) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable  to sympathise with our weaknesses.” Heb. 4:15 Jesus is able […]<\/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-6198","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\/6198","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=6198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6199,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198\/revisions\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}