In evil long I took\ndelight, unawed by shame or fear<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Till a new object struck my\nsight, and stopped my wild career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I saw One hanging on a\ntree, in agony and blood<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who fixed His languid eyes\non me, as near His cross I stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sure, never to my latest\nbreath, can I forget that look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seemed to charge me with\nHis death,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though not a word He spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My conscience felt and\nowned the guilt, and plunged me in despair<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I saw my sins His blood had\nspilt<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And helped to nail Him\nthere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A second look He gave which\nsaid, \u201cI freely all forgive\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis blood is for thy\nransom paid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I die that thou mayst\nlive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus while His death my sin\ndisplays in all its blackest hue,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such is the mystery of\ngrace,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seals my pardon too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Believing On the Lord Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is what I am hearing.\nAccept Jesus as your personal Saviour, but nowhere in the New Testament do we\nfind any apostle, prophet, or preacher ever telling a sinner to accept Jesus as\nhis personal Savior. What we hear them saying is believe on the Lord Jesus\nChrist. The command to sinners was bow and subject to the Lordship of Christ.\nThat is, lay down your weapons, surrender, worship, and adore Him. You come to\nHim in your true character as a beggar, a lost undone sinner or you don’t come\nat all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pastor\nScott Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n EXAMINE YOURSELVES <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExamine yourselves,\nwhether ye be in the faith\u201d <\/em>II Cor.13:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually when we think of\nexamining ourselves we think of examining our lives. How are we dealing with\nbesetting sins? Are we reading the Bible to our spiritual profit? \nAre we spending time in prayer and communion with the Lord? What does our\ndaily lives say about our love to Christ? Can others see that we are\nChristians? What did Paul say? Examine yourselves whether you be in\nthe faith. If we gain assurance by how well we are performing, it is a false,\nworks-based assurance. If we conclude we must not be saved by our\nfailures in these things we are once again making salvation dependent upon our\nperformance. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you\nbelieve that when He said, \u201cIt is finished\u201d <\/em>the salvation of\nall the elect was accomplished? Are you relying on who He is and what He\ndid as all you have for acceptance with God? Then you are \u201cin the\nfaith\u201d and a true child of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \nPastor Todd Nibert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Without Me You Can Do Nothing <\/strong>John 15:5 I am the vine, ye\nare the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth\nmuch fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 1. Without Christ we would not\nexist. Col.1:16 2. Without Christ we would not know God. Matthew 11:27 3.\nWithout Christ we would have no wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and\nredemption. 1Cor. 1:30 4. Without Christ we would have no Mediator. 1Tim.2:5 5.\nWithout Christ we would have no acceptance. Eph. 1:6 6. Without Christ we would\nhave no hope. 1Timothy 1:1 7. Without Christ we would bring forth no fruit.\nJohn 15:5 8. Without Christ we would be lost. Thank God for Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Chapman <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fruit of the Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Galatians chapter 5 the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is set\nin contrast to the works (plural) of the flesh. The flesh manifest itself in\nmany ways. The Spirit on the other hand, always has one fruit, LOVE. Love for\nChrist. Love for His word. Love for His law. Love for His people. Love for\none\u2019s enemies. On this, hangs all the law and the prophets. Matt.22:40. You may\nbe thinking, does not Galatians 5 speak of joy, peace, long-suffering,\ngentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance? Yes, and these are the\nmanifestations of love. Someone is wondering, but there are people I don\u2019t like,\nand there are certainly people I don\u2019t trust. That is having good discernment,\nnot a lack of love. The love that comes from the Spirit of God harbours\nno ill will toward anyone. It\u2019s hope and desire for all men is that the Lord\nwould bless them with all true spiritual blessings. Nothing would thrill a\nbeliever\u2019s soul more than for their worst enemy to be brought to faith in\nChrist. The Spirit gives faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love. I\nCor. 13:13. Finally, be careful not to inspect your fruit too closely. You will\nfind it is not ripe yet. Lord, give us thy Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that\nare sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”\nMark 2:17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Spirit glorifies Christ by revealing what Christ is to an\nemptied, lowly, penitent soul. And this He does by unfolding the great truth of\nthe Bible- that Jesus died for sinners. Not for the righteous, not for the\nworthy, but for sinners, as sinners; for the unrighteous, for the unworthy, for\nthe guilty, for the lost. Precious moment, when the Eternal Spirit, the great\nGlorifier of Jesus, brings this truth with power to the heart! “I had\nbelieved,” exclaims the transported soul, “that Jesus died only for\nthose who were worthy of so rich a sacrifice, of such immense love. I thought\nto bring some price of merit in my hands, some self-preparation, some previous\nfitness, something to render my case worthy of His notice, and to propitiate\nHis kind regard. But now I see His salvation is for the vile, the poor, the\npenniless. I read that ‘when we were without strength, Christ died for the\nungodly,’ that ‘while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,’ that\n‘when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,’ that\n‘it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came\ninto the world to save sinners,’ that it is ‘without money and without\nprice,’ that it is ‘by grace we are saved,’ and that it is ‘of faith, that it\nmight be by grace.'” This good news, these joyful tidings, this glorious\nmessage of free mercy for the vilest of the vile, believed, received, welcomed,\nin a moment the clouds all vanish, the fogs all disappear, the face of God\nbeams in mild and softened luster, and, amid light and joy, gladness and\npraise, the jubilee of the soul is ushered in. Oh, what glory now encircles the\nRedeemer! That soul venturing upon Him with but the faith of reliance,\ntraveling to Him in all weakness, and in the face of all opposition, brings\nmore glory to His name than all the hallelujahs of the heavenly minstrelsy ever\nbrought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GOD with us!<\/strong> Gospel Distinctives by Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that the things we believe and preach, place us in direct\nconflict with the religious world around us. That really shouldn’t surprise us.\nWhen our Lord Jesus told the religious leaders of his day the things I am about\nto tell you, they started grabbing rocks to stone him to death. So we must\nnever be surprised when lost religionists get upset with us for preaching the\ngospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are four things which place us in direct conflict with the\nentire religious world–<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. What we believe and preach about GOD<\/strong> himself is the primary, basic\ndifference between us and those who do not believe the gospel. We believe,\naccording to the plain statements of Holy Scripture that the one true and\nliving God, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nis the ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN of the universe (Ps. 115:3; 135:6). That simply means\nthat God is God. He does, he always does, exactly what he will everywhere, with\neveryone and everything! God always has his way. God always does all his\npleasure. None can stay his hand. None can resist his will. In heaven, earth,\nand hell GOD RULES!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This great, sovereign God is absolutely, perfectly, immaculately\nHOLY. Everything he does is holy. Everything he requires is holy. He is so\nperfectly, absolutely, inviolably holy that he cannot and will not accept\nanything or anyone who is not perfectly holy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our great, sovereign, holy Lord God is immutably JUST. God our\nSaviour declares himself to be both “a just God and a Saviour.” His\njustice is unbending and unbendable. He will not forgive sin, except upon the\ngrounds of strict justice. The just God must and shall punish all sin. He\ncannot forgive sin until full satisfaction for sin has been made. And this\ngloriously just God cannot charge any sin upon any sinner for whom atonement\nhas been made. Justice, once satisfied, demands the release of all for whom satisfaction\nhas been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. That which we believe about MAN<\/strong> also\nseparates us from the entire religious world around us. We believe, according\nto the plain statements of Holy Scripture, that all men and women are sinners,\nborn in spiritual death, corrupt at heart, inclined toward every evil,\nincapable of doing good, and totally incapable of changing their condition. In\na word, fallen man is “dead in trespasses and sins,” lost, justly\ncondemned, under the wrath of God, doomed, damned, wilfully ignorant of all\nthings spiritual; without Christ, and without hope, apart from God’s sovereign\nmercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Everything we believe about theLORD JESUS CHRIST<\/strong> <\/strong>sets\nus apart from the religious world in which we live. Unlike most religious\npeople, we actually believe the Bible. We believe all that the Bible reveals\nabout the Son of God. We really do believe that Jesus Christ is God, God in\nhuman flesh. 4. Believing what the Bible teaches about SALVATION<\/strong> also separates us from\nthe lost religionists of this world, who foolishly imagine that God’s salvation\ndepends in some way, or to some degree, at some point upon the will, work, or\nworth of man. It does not! “Salvation is of the LORD!” Salvation is\naccomplished, in its entirety, by the free, sovereign, irresistible grace and\npower of God Almighty, through the person and work of his dear Son, our Lord\nJesus Christ, and the omnipotent operations of his Holy Spirit, who alone can\nraise sinners from death to life, reveal Christ in them, and give them the gift\nof faith in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every aspect of God’s salvation is by GRACE alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘chosen’ of God? We were chosen unto salvation by the\nelection of grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘redeemed’ by the blood of Christ? We were redeemed\nbecause God the Father gave us to God the Son in the covenant of grace before\nthe world began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘called’, ‘born again’? We are born again by the Spirit\nof God, who called us from death to life in Christ by the power of his\nomnipotent grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘justified’? We are justified by grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘sanctified’? We are sanctified by grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ‘kept’? We are kept by the power of God’s grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no place between the pit of hell and the gates of\npearl, where salvation depends on us. It is written in the Book of God in bold,\ncapital letters– “BY GRACE YOU ARE SAVED!” That is the message\nwritten upon every page of the Bible. Any religion, any doctrine, any preacher,\nany religious teacher, anything or anyone who contradicts that message\ncontradicts the Word of God. Salvation is by the grace of God, entirely by the\ngrace of God. Human works, human effort, and the will of man has absolutely\nnothing to do with it. “Salvation is of the LORD!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that men object to these things. I know preachers\neverywhere deny them. I know that proud men are offended by them. But I am not\nrunning for political office. I am here to proclaim the truth to eternity bound\nsinners for the glory of God. That which we have heard and learned of the\nFather, we must declare. I must be true to God, true to the Scriptures, and\ntrue to your souls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In evil long I took delight, unawed by shame or fear Till a new object struck my sight, and stopped my wild career. I saw One hanging on a tree, in agony and blood Who fixed His languid eyes on me, as near His cross I stood. Sure, never to my latest breath, can I […]<\/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-6203","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\/6203","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=6203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6204,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6203\/revisions\/6204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n(Octavius Winslow, “Emmanuel; or God with Us”)
\n
\nBehold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall\ncall his name Emmanuel, which means, ‘GOD with us.\u2019 Matthew 1:23
\n
\nGod, in the infinite counsels of His own mind,
\nresolved upon the salvation of His eternally
\nchosen and loved people.
\n
\nHe saw that there was no eye to pity them,
\nand no arm to save them. He resolved upon
\nour salvation, embarked in it, accomplished it;
\nand eternity, as it rolls upon its axis, will
\nmagnify His name, and show forth His praise.
\n
\nO beloved! what an assuring and comforting
\ntruth is this: GOD with us! Now we feel……
\n equal to every service,
\n prepared for every trial,
\n armed for every assault.
\n
\nDeity is our shield!
\nDeity is our arm!
\nDeity is our Father and our Friend!
\nDeity has died for us!
\nDeity has atoned for us!
\nDeity has saved us!
\nAnd Deity will bring us safely to the realms of bliss!
\n
\nCome, then, and lean upon His omnipotent arm!
\n
\nYou have no need which from His infinite supplies
\ncannot be met; no stone of difficulty in your pilgrimage
\nwhich His might cannot remove; no burden which His
\narm of power cannot bear, no perplexity which His
\nwisdom cannot guide. In a word, you have no condition
\nto which Christ, our ever present God, is not equal.
\n
\nIn faith and humility make practical use of your Saviour’s
\ndivinity; and when all that is merely ‘human’ has failed,
\nbroken like a rope of sand, dissolved like a passing vapour;
\nor has pierced your too fondly leaning hand like a
\nshattered reed; then take hold of this precious truth,
\nand say, “My Saviour God is with me in all the boundless
\nresources of His Godhead, why then should I fear?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n-That he is the eternal Surety.
\n-That he brought in everlasting righteousness for his elect by his obedience to\nGod as our Representative.
\n-That he fully satisfied the justice of God for the sins of his people, which\nwere imputed to him, when he died as our Substitute at Calvary.
\n-We believe that all for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died must and shall be\nsaved, because he cannot fail. He is an almighty, effectual Redeemer, an\nomnipotent Saviour, an unfailing Advocate, and an all-prevailing High Priest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n