{"id":6217,"date":"2022-07-15T07:05:07","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T07:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6217"},"modified":"2022-07-15T07:05:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T07:05:07","slug":"bulletin-edition-july-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6217","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition July 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Liberty in Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world offers man one of two messages to relieve him of his\nfear, guilt and shame. The first message says; \u201cit\u2019s not your fault. You are a\nvictim.\u201d This message resonates with the sons of Adam whose father devised this\nplan from the beginning. Peace, peace, when there is no peace The second\nmessage says; \u201cyou are to blame, but you can fix it.\u201d This message resonates\nwith the sons of Adam who are always trying to cover their nakedness with the\nfig leaves they have sewed together. Both of these messages (blame and works)\nleave men in their sins and separated from God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news of the gospel of God\u2019s free grace in the glorious\nperson and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ leaves men without excuse. It\nplaces the full responsibility of sin on the sinner.  With no place to go,\nthey flee to their only Hiding Place. By God\u2019s grace they look in faith to the\nLord Jesus Christ who bore all their guilt and shame on Calvary\u2019s cross. They\nknow, \u201cthere is forgiveness with Thee, that thou mayest be feared.\u201d Ps. 130:4.\n\u201cWhat shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against\nus?  Who shall lay anything to the charge of God\u2019s elect? It is God that\njustifieth.\u201d Rom.8:31,33. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which\nare in Christ Jesus. Who walk not after the flesh (blame and works) but after\nthe spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Cor. 3:17\n             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith is not believing\nthat God will do what I want Him to do, or what I think I need Him to do. Faith\nis believing that God will do what He said he would do. Faith in Christ is an\nabandonment of our own thoughts and ways, and a complete, unreserved trusting\nof Him as our Righteousness, Sin-offering and Sovereign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Cunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come and eat!<\/strong>
\n
\n(Horatius Bonar<\/a>, “The Bread of\nImmortality”)
\n
\n“I am the bread of life.” John 6:48
\n
\n“I am the living bread<\/strong>.” John 6:51
\n
\nAll food is for the sustaining of life.
\n
\nJesus announces Himself <\/em>as the bread which will sustain
\nthe life of the soul. Not merely some doctrine<\/em>–but Himself<\/em>.
\nHe is the bread; not merely bread–but the<\/em>bread–the\none
\ntrue bread; without whom the soul cannot grow, nor its life
\nbe sustained. For only by this life-sustaining bread<\/strong>, can
\nsuch sickly souls be nourished. As such, Jesus is necessary
\nto the soul as its food–its bread.
\n
\nOutside of Him, there is no nourishment, no sustenance.
\nHe feeds–He alone. He feeds us on Himself! <\/strong>All else is
\nhusks, or mere air and vapor. Jesus, in His glorious person,
\nis our food<\/strong>–the true bread and sustenance of the soul;
\nthe hidden manna.
\n
\nJesus applies various names to it:
\n  “bread from heaven”
\n  “true bread”
\n  “the bread of God”
\n  “bread of life”
\n  “living bread.”
\nAll these are names indicative of its excellence, its power,
\nits suitableness. It is the very bread we need; no other
\nwould do. Jesus is the soul’s eternal food<\/strong>. This
\nstorehouse is inexhaustible–and ever accessible!
\n
\nCome as you are, poor prodigal, starving on husks–come
\nand eat! <\/strong>Eat, O friends!Eat, and live! Eat, and be\nstrong!
\nEat, and be in soul health!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you hungry?
\n<\/strong>
\nfrom Spurgeon’s sermon, “BREAD FOR THE HUNGRY”<\/em>
\n
\nWe should come to hear the Word, like baby birds in the nest–
\nwhen the mother-bird comes with the worm, they are all
\nstretching their necks to see which one shall get the food,
\nfor they are all hungry and want it.
\n
\nAnd so should hearers be ready to get hold of the Word,
\nnot wanting that we should force it down their throats, but
\nwaiting there, opening their mouths wide that they may be filled,
\nreceiving the Word in the love of it, taking in the Word as the
\nthirsty earth drinks in the rain of heaven.
\n
\nHungry souls love the Word.
\n<\/strong>
\nPerhaps the ‘speaker’ may not always put it as they may like to
\nhear it, but as long as it is God’s Word, it is enough for them.
\n
\nThey are like people who are sitting at the reading of a will–
\nthe lawyer may have a squeaking voice, perhaps, or he
\nmispronounces the words, but what does that matter?
\nThey are listening to see what is left to them.
\n
\nSo is it with God’s people. It is not the preacher,
\nbut the ‘preacher’s God’ that these hungry ones look to.
\n
\nWhy, if you were very poor, and some benevolent neighbor
\nshould send you a loaf of bread by a man who had a club foot,
\nyou would not look at the foot, you would look at the bread.
\n
\nAnd so is it with the hearers of the Word– they know if they
\nwait until they get a perfect preacher, they will get no preacher
\nat all, but they are willing to take the man, imperfections and all,
\nprovided he brings the Master’s bread.
\n
\nAnd though he be but a lad, and can bring but a few barley
\nloaves and fishes, yet since the Master multiplies the provision,
\nthere is enough for all, and they feed to the full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest,\nwhere thou makest thy flock to rest at noon\u2014for why should I be as one that\nturneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest\namong women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids\nbeside the shepherds’ tents.” \u2013Song of Solomon 1:7-8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

If you say that you want food and rest, to know Christ for\nyourself and to enjoy his presence and love, the Lord gives you two directions\nto attain to the enjoyment of these two blessings\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. to tread in the footsteps of the flock, to walk in the way in\nwhich the saints of old have walked, in the path of tribulation and faith;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. if you are favoured in any way to live within reach of the\nshepherds’ tents, and have the privilege of hearing the gospel preached in its\npurity and power, to bring your young goats in your arms beside the tent, and\nto put them down to feed on the juicy herbage. And be assured that if you come\nto the shepherds’ tents with a prayerful spirit and a hungry soul, begging of\nGod to open your heart to receive the word with power, and to crown it with his\nblessing, sooner or later you will find food and rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these things go together. If you want food you will go where\nit is to be obtained; if you want rest you will go where it is to be obtained.\nYou will get neither in the world. But as you get food and rest beside the\nshepherds’ tents you will find that it is really and truly Jesus himself who\nfeeds, and Jesus himself who makes you lie down and rest. The shepherds are but\nservants. Christ is the Bridegroom, and he alone has the Bride. The shepherds’\njoy is to bring the sheep to Christ that they may find food and rest in him; and\nas your heart receives the joyful sound, and you feel the power of God’s truth\nin your soul, there will be a doing what Christ bids as well as enjoying what\nChrist reveals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nToys and playthings of the religious babyhouse
\n
\n“I<\/strong> will feed My flock.<\/strong>” Ezekiel 34:15
\nJ.C.Philpot
\nThe only real food of the soul must be of God’s
\nown appointing, preparing, and communicating.
\n
\nYou can never deceive a hungry child. You may
\ngive it a plaything to still its cries. It may serve
\nfor a few minutes; but the pains of hunger are
\nnot to be removed by a doll. A toy horse will not
\nallay the cravings after the mother’s breast.
\n
\nSo with babes in grace. A hungry soul
\ncannot feed upon playthings.
\n
\nAltars,
\nrobes,
\nceremonies,
\ncandlesticks,
\nbowings,
\nmutterings,
\npainted windows,
\nintoning priests, and
\nsinging men and women;
\nthese dolls and wooden horses; these<\/strong> toys
\nand playthings of the religious babyhouse<\/strong>,
\ncannot feed the soul that, like David, cries out
\nafter the living God. (Psalm 42:23)
\n
\nChrist, the bread of life, the manna that
\ncame down from heaven, is the only food
\nof the believing soul. (John 6:51)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weaned from feeding on husks\nand ashes<\/strong>
\nJ.C.Philpot
\n“I will satisfy her poor <\/strong>with bread<\/strong>.”\nPsalm 132:15
\n
\nThe Lord has given a special promise to Zion’s
\npoor\u2014”I will satisfy her poor with bread<\/strong>.”
\n
\nNothing else?  Bread?  Is that all?<\/strong>
\n
\nYes! That is all God has promised\u2014bread,
\nthe staff of life.
\n
\nBut what does He mean by “bread”?
\n
\nThe Lord Himself explains what bread is. He says,
\n“I am the Bread of life.<\/strong> He who comes to Me will
\nnever go hungry, and he who believes in Me will
\nnever be thirsty. I am the living Bread<\/strong> who came
\ndown from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
\nhe will live forever.” John 6:35,51
\n
\nThe bread, then, that God gives to Zion’s poor is
\nHis own dear Son\u2014fed upon by living faith, under
\nthe special operations of the Holy Spirit in the heart.
\n
\n“I will satisfy her poor<\/strong> with bread.” Psalm 132:15
\n
\nBut must not we have an appetite <\/strong>before we can
\nfeed upon bread<\/strong>? The rich<\/strong> man who feasts continually
\nupon juicy meat and savory sauces, would not live upon
\nbread. To come down to live on such simple food as bread
\n\u2014why, one must be really hungry to be satisfied with that.
\n
\nSo it is spiritually. A man fed upon ‘mere notions’ and a
\nnumber of ‘speculative doctrines’ cannot descend to the
\nsimplicity of the gospel. To feed upon a crucified Christ,
\na bleeding Jesus!<\/strong>\u2014he is not sufficiently brought down to
\nthe starving point, to relish such spiritual food as this!
\n
\nBefore, then, he can feed upon this Bread of life he must
\nbe made spiritually poor. <\/strong>And when he is brought to be
\nnothing but a mass of wretchedness, filth, guilt, and misery
\n\u2014when he feels his soul sinking under the wrath of God,
\nand has scarcely a hope to buoy up his poor tottering heart
\n\u2014when he finds the world embittered to him, and he has no
\none object from which he can reap any abiding consolation
\n\u2014then the Lord is pleased to open up in his conscience,
\nand bring the sweet savor of the love of His dear Son
\ninto his heart\u2014and he begins to taste gospel bread.
\n
\nBeing weaned from feeding on husks and ashes<\/strong>, and
\nsick “of the vines of Sodom and the fields of Gomorrah,”
\nand being brought to relish simple gospel food, he begins
\nto taste a sweetness in ‘Christ crucified’ which he never
\ncould know\u2014until he was made experimentally poor.
\n
\nThe Lord has promised to satisfy such.
\n
\n“I will satisfy her poor <\/strong>with bread<\/strong>.”\nPsalm 132:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Enter Into\nRest”          <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hebrews 4:3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The inspired writer declares that\n“we which have believed do enter into rest.” Believers\nenter into a blessed fourfold rest by faith in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     WE REST OUR SOULS UPON THE EFFICACY\nOF CHRIST’S BLOOD ATONEMENT (Rom. 8:1, 34; Gal. 3:13; Eph.\n1:7). The shed blood of Christ, the sinner’s Substitute,gives us rest\nfrom the guilt of sin and the fear of God’s wrath. Nothing can be in two places\nat one time. If God has laid my sin upon Christ, it can never be laid upon\nme.Justice will not allow the same crime to be twice punished. If the Lord God\npunished my sins to the full satisfaction of his justice in Christ, my\nSubstitute, he cannot impute sin to me and punish me for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     WE REST ALSO UPON THE INFINITE,\nUNFAILING SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S SAVING GRACE (II Cor.12:9; John 10:27-23;\nPhil. 1:6). The grace of God by which we have been saved is sufficient to\novercome our inbred sins and corruptions, sufficient to preserve us in the\nmidst of many and great temptations, sufficient to sustain us in trials,\nsufficient to restore us though we fall seven times a day, and sufficient to\nkeep us unto the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     WE REST OUR LIVES UPON THE GOODNESS\nOF GOD’S UNIVERSAL PROVIDENCE (Isa. 45:7; Rom. 8:28; II Cor. 5:18). We\nfind rest, not by arranging the affairs of our lives, but by leaving the\narrangement of our affairs to our heavenly Father who is too wise to err, too\nstrong to fail, too good to do wrong, and too gracious to hurt his children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     WE REST UPON THE INFALLIBILITY OF\nGOD’S WORD AND THE PROMISES OF IT (Isa. 40:8). Because the Bible is the Word of\nGod, it is infallible. Because it is infallible, its promises are all sure.\nThree things are promised in the Book of God to every believer which give us\nrest as we apprehend them by faith: (1) The Non-Imputation of Sin (Rom. 4:8),\n(2) The Resurrection of the Body (I Thess. 4:13-18), and (3) The Glory of\nEternal Bliss in Heaven (John 14:1-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO MUST ENTER\nINTO THE REST OF GOD’S EVERLASTING SALVATION IN CHRIST (Heb. 4:6). All who were\nchosen to it must possess it. All for whom it was purchased must enter into it.\nAll who have been called to it by God must obtain it. That means that all who\ntrust Christ must enter into his rest. You cannot trust him and perish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Liberty in Christ The world offers man one of two messages to relieve him of his fear, guilt and shame. The first message says; \u201cit\u2019s not your fault. You are a victim.\u201d This message resonates with the sons of Adam whose father devised this plan from the beginning. Peace, peace, when there is no peace […]<\/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-6217","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\/6217","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=6217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6218,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6217\/revisions\/6218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}