{"id":6289,"date":"2022-10-24T10:15:47","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T10:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6289"},"modified":"2022-11-17T09:42:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T09:42:38","slug":"bulletin-edition-october-2022-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6289","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition November 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n The most delightful doctrine!
\n <\/strong>
\n <\/em>by Spurgeon<\/em>
\n <\/em>
\n I am sure there is no more delightful doctrine<\/strong> to\n a
\n Christian, than that of CHRIST’S ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY!
\n
\n I am glad there is no such thing as ‘chance’,
\n that nothing is left to itself,
\n but that Christ everywhere has sway.
\n
\n If I thought that there was a devil in hell that Christ did\n not
\n govern, I should be afraid that devil would destroy me.
\n
\n If I thought there was a circumstance on earth, which Christ\n did
\n not over-rule, I should fear that circumstance would ruin me.
\n
\n Nay, if there were an angel in heaven that was not one
\n of Jehovah’s subjects, I should tremble even at him.
\n
\n But since Christ is King of kings, and I am his poor brother,
\n one whom he loves, I give all my cares to him, for he cares
\n for me; and leaning on his breast, my soul has full repose,
\n confidence, and security.\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n The\n secret of Spurgeon’s preaching…
\n <\/strong>
\n “I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross.”
\n
\n Jesus is The Truth.
\n We believe in Him– not merely in His words.
\n
\n He is the Doctor and the Doctrine,
\n the Revealer and the Revelation,
\n the Illuminator and the Light of Men.
\n
\n He is exalted in every word of truth,
\n because he is its sum and substance.
\n
\n He sits above the gospel, like a prince on his own throne.
\n Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from his\n lips
\n and embodied in his person. Sermons are valuable in proportion
\n as they speak of him and point to him.
\n
\n A Christless gospel is no gospel at all and a Christless
\n discourse is the cause of merriment to devils.
\n –Spurgeon<\/em>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Self Promoting Preachers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe that\nspeaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that\nsent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.\u201d (John 7:18)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multitudes there are, like\nDiotrephes, who fill the pulpits of churches in every age. Craving the honour\nof men and loving to have pre-eminence, they exalt and promote themselves. Such\nmen are crafty, self-serving users of men. Our Lord Jesus was not such a\npreacher; and those who serve Him are not such. \u2014 \u201cWe preach not ourselves,\nbut Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus\u2019 sake<\/em>\u201d (2\nCorinthians 4:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That man who is called of\nGod to preach the Gospel is deeply sensible of his Saviour\u2019s majesty and his\nown infirmity. He sees in himself nothing but sin, unworthiness and insufficiency.\nHe knows that he is less than nothing (1 Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8). When\nhe expresses such thoughts about himself, he does not do so in a pretentious\nshow of humility, but with an overwhelming sense of awe that the Lord God would\nbe pleased to use such a person as he knows himself to be for the furtherance\nof the Gospel, the glory of Christ and the everlasting salvation of His elect\n(1 Corinthians 1:26-29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But that man who knows that he is\nnot motivated by Christ, that he is not led by the Spirit of God, that he has\nno regard for the glory of God, tries to cover his defects by exalting his\nname. Like the Scribes and Pharisees of old, he seeks the praise of men.\nTherefore, he arranges his message to suit the minds of those to whom he\npreaches, making whatever adjustments in doctrine they might require, so that\nhe can maintain their favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Such self-serving, self-promoting\nmen do whatever they can, with great subtlety, to tear down the reputations of\nothers, that they might direct attention to themselves. They are quick to\ncriticise and quick to slander. They are cheats, deceivers and self-serving\nliars. No one should be surprised to find them walking in craftiness and\nhandling the Word of God deceitfully (1 Corinthians 4:2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s servants are not\nsuch men. They do not exalt themselves and promote themselves. To suggest or\nimply in anyway that a man is a self-exalting, self-promoting man is to imply\nthat he is a false prophet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s servants exalt the\nTriune God, uplifting the crucified Christ, crying, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God!<\/em>\u201d\nFaithful preachers exalt and promote the Gospel of Christ, preaching it\ntirelessly. They do whatever they can, using every means at their disposal, to\npromote the church and kingdom of God. And faithful men, the servants of God,\nseize every opportunity to promote the ministries of other faithful men,\nespecially the ministries of those who labor in isolated places and are less\nknown than others, just as Paul praised and promoted Epaphroditus (Philippians\n2:25; 4:18, 23), Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16; 4:19) and Epaphras (Colossians\n1:7; 4:12; Philemon 1:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lose\nyourself in the impenetrable tracts of His Glory!<\/strong>
\n
\n(John MacDuff<\/a>, “The Night Watches”)
\n
\n“Before the mountains were brought forth,
\nor ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
\neven from everlasting to everlasting, thou art<\/em> God\u201d Psalm\n90:2
\n
\nO my soul! Seek to fill yourself with thoughts of the\nAlmighty. Lose yourself in the impenetrable tracts of His Glory!<\/strong>
\n
\n“Can you by searching find out God?”<\/em>
\n<\/em>Can the insect <\/em>fathom the ocean?
\nCan the worm <\/em>scale the skies?
\nCan the finite <\/em>comprehend the Infinite?
\nCan the mortal <\/em>grasp Immortality?
\nWe can do no more than stand on the brink <\/em>of\nthe shoreless sea, and cry, “Oh the depth!”<\/em>
\n
\n“From <\/em>everlasting to everlasting,\nYou are God!”<\/em>
\n<\/em>S<\/em>hrouded in the great and amazing mystery of eternity,
\nbefore one star revolved in its sphere,
\nbefore one angel moved his wing \u2014 God was!<\/em>
\nHis own infinite presence filling all space<\/em>.\nAll time<\/em>, to Him, is but as the heaving of a breath \u2014 the beat of a\npulse \u2014 the twinkling of an eye! He was as infinitely glorious when He\ninhabited the solitudes of immensity alone \u2014 as He is now with the songs of\nangel and archangel sounding in His ear!
\n
\nThis is the Being to whom I can look up with sweetest\nconfidence, and call “My Father!”<\/em>
\n
\n<\/em>This is the Infinite One, whom “the Heaven of Heavens\ncannot contain,” whom I call “My God!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For\nthis God is<\/em> our God for ever and ever:
\nhe will be our guide even<\/em> unto death.”\nPsalm 48:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n All\n of Grace<\/strong>
\n <\/em>by Don Fortner<\/em>
\n
\n <\/em>The glory, bliss, and perfection of heaven, whatever
\n it is and all that it includes, is but the consummation
\n of salvation; and it is, in its totality, the gift and work
\n of God\u2019s free and sovereign grace in Christ.
\n
\n In heaven’s glory we shall forever adore and praise
\n our great God for the wondrous mystery of his grace,
\n by which we are saved.
\n
\n Everything in the great work of salvation sets forth
\n the splendor of the grace of the Most High God.
\n What do we see in election, predestination, redemption,
\n regeneration, and preservation, but his grace?
\n
\n The whole work of salvation displays God\u2019s rich, free,
\n almighty, irresistible, sovereign, saving grace in Christ!
\n
\n In, salvation as well as in creation, all things are of
\n God, all things are by God, and all things are for God.
\n Unto him alone all praise must be forever!\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Who shall have the glory\u2014the worm or Jesus?<\/strong>
\n
\n(Letters of William Romaine<\/a>,\n1714-1795)
\n
\nI received your letter, and think you overlook our ever adorable\nJesus, in setting any value upon a poor, dirty worm such as myself.
\n
\nIf His grace raised this poor, dirty worm from a dunghill and\nset it upon a throne with His princes, who shall have the\nglory\u2014the worm or Jesus?<\/strong> Shall any of His due praise be given\nto the worm? God forbid!
\n
\n<\/strong>As vile and base as I am\u2014yet He lets me approach Him and\nconverse with Him freely.
\n
\nHe condescends to admit me into fellowship with Him; and He\nopens His treasures and says, “All these are yours. I bought them for you\nwith the price of My blood, but I give them to you as a free gift!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Grace\n denial?<\/strong>\n Winslow,\n “The Glory of the Redeemer in His People”<\/em>
\n
\n Be cautious of grace denial<\/strong>.
\n
\n You will need much holy wisdom here, lest
\n you overlook the work of the Spirit within you.
\n
\n You have thought, it may be, of the
\n glory that Christ receives from….
\n brilliant genius,
\n and profound talent,
\n and splendid gifts,
\n and glowing zeal,
\n and costly sacrifices,
\n and even extensive usefulness.
\n
\n But have you ever thought of the glory, the far
\n greater, richer glory, that flows to Him from….
\n the contrite spirit,
\n the broken heart,
\n the lowly mind,
\n the humble walk;
\n the tear of godly repentance that falls
\n when seen by no human eye;
\n the sigh of godly sorrow that is breathed
\n when heard by no human ear;
\n the sin abhorrence;
\n the self loathing;
\n the deep sense of vileness, and poverty, and
\n infirmity that takes you to Jesus with the prayer:
\n “Lord, here I am; I have brought to You….
\n my rebellious will,
\n my wandering heart,
\n my worldly affections,
\n my peculiar infirmity,
\n my besetting and constantly overpowering sin.
\n Receive me graciously, put forth the mighty power
\n of Your grace in my soul, and subdue all, and rule
\n all, and subjugate all to Yourself! Will it not be for
\n Your glory, the glory of Your great name…..
\n if this strong corruption were subdued by Your grace;
\n if this powerful sin were nailed to Your cross;
\n if this temper so volatile,
\n if this heart so impure,
\n if these affections so truant,
\n if this mind so dark,
\n if these desires so earthly,
\n if these pursuits so carnal,
\n if these aims so selfish,
\n were all entirely renewed by Your Spirit, sanctified by
\n Your grace, and made each to reflect Your image? Yes,
\n Lord, it would be for Your glory, through time and
\n through eternity.”\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

WILLING<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThy people shall be\nwilling in the day of Thy power\u201d (Ps. 110:3). That is not the case before the\nday of His power.  An evil nature makes us unwilling in all that pertains\nto the Gospel.  The day of His power causes those who were not willing to\nbe willing!  The day of His power causes those who were not voluntary to\nbe volunteers!  The day of His power causes them to love what they once\nhated and to hate what they once loved!  Those who are made willing find\nit a joy to deny self, take up their cross, and follow Christ.  Their will\nis for their will to be completely subject to God\u2019s will.  Their will is\nto be saved by the God of all grace in the way that He saves. This willingness\nis caused by the saving grace of God.  \u201cIt is God that worketh in you both\nto will and to do His good pleasure\u201d (Phil. 2:13).  The Lord said to the\ntwelve, \u201cWill ye also go away?\u201d Not one of them was willing to do that! \nWhile we reject \u201cfree will\u201d, we know grace makes us willing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Satan\u2019s Advantage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for if I forgave\nany thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgive I it in the person of\nChrist; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of\nhis devices.\u201d (II Cor. 2:11)  If I harbor an unforgiving spirit, Satan has\nthe advantage over me.  An unforgiving spirit skews every other part of my\nlife.  I hurt myself in so many ways, and I am under Satan\u2019s\ninfluence.  By grace, the only way to fight this is to forgive!  And\nthe only way to forgive is to see how Christ has forgiven you!    \n                     \n                     \n    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

~Todd Nibert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most delightful doctrine! by Spurgeon I am sure there is no more delightful doctrine to a Christian, than that of CHRIST’S ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY! I am glad there is no such thing as ‘chance’, that nothing is left to itself, but that Christ everywhere has sway. If I thought that there was a devil in hell […]<\/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-6289","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\/6289","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=6289"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6327,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289\/revisions\/6327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}