It\nquenches the thirst of the soul<\/strong>–the thirst
\nof parching produced by an evil conscience and a sense
\nof wrath. It removes the wrath and the sense of wrath,
\nby showing us that wrath transferred to the Substitute.
\n
\nIt relieves the conscience when first we come into
\ncontact with it; and it keeps it relieved from day
\nto day, as we drink it by faith.
\n
\nIt is ‘the true drink.’
\n
\nIt calms!
\n
\nIt revives!
\n
\nIt refreshes!
\n
\nIt soothes!
\n
\nIt is like cold water to the thirsty lips under a
\nscorching sun. Nothing but the blood can allay
\nthis thirst; nothing else can be . . .
\n drink for the soul,
\n drink for the intellect,
\n drink for the conscience,
\n drink for the heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n“Come <\/em>unto Me.” Matthew 11:28<\/p>\n\n\n\nC.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cry of the Christian Religion is the gentle word,\n“Come.” The Jewish LAW <\/em>harshly said, “Go<\/em>,\ntake heed unto your steps as to the path in which you shall walk. Break the\ncommandments, and you shall perish; keep them, and you shall live.”\nThe LAW <\/em>was a dispensation of terror, which drove <\/em>men\nbefore it as with a scourge; the GOSPEL draws <\/em>with bands of\nlove. Jesus is the good Shepherd going before His sheep, bidding them follow\nHim, and ever leading them onwards with the sweet word, “Come.”\nThe LAW repels<\/em>\u2014the GOSPEL attracts<\/em>. The law shows the\ndistance which there is between God and man; the gospel bridges that awful\nchasm, and brings the sinner across it. From the first moment of your spiritual\nlife, until you are ushered into glory\u2014the language of Christ to you will be,\n“Come, come unto Me!”<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs a mother puts out her finger to her little child and woos it\nto walk by saying, “Come,” even so does Jesus. He will always be\nahead of you, bidding you follow Him as the soldier follows his captain. He\nwill always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall\nhear His animating voice calling you after Him all through life<\/em>. In\nthe solemn hour of death<\/em>, His sweet words with which He shall usher\nyou into the heavenly world shall be, “Come, you who are blessed of my\nFather.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nNay, further, this is not only Christ’s cry to you\u2014but, if you\nbe a believer, this is your cry to Christ, “Come! Come!” You will be\nlonging for His second advent; you will be saying, “Come quickly\u2014even so\ncome Lord Jesus.” You will be panting for nearer and closer communion with\nHim. As His voice to you is “Come,” your response to Him will be,\n“Come, Lord, and abide with me! Come, and occupy alone the throne of my\nheart! Reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to Your\nservice!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Any\nMan” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 7:35<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nowhere in Holy Scripture do we\nread that Christ is the Saviour of every man. To say that he is is to say that\nthe Son of God is a failure as a Saviour, for there are many who are not saved.\nBut the Bible does declare that Christ is the Saviour of any man. Grace is\noffered to any man. The door of life is opened to any man. The gospel promises\nsalvation to any man. And any man who trusts Christ not only may, but assuredly\nwill be saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“He Leadeth\nMe Beside The Still Waters” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nPsalm 23:2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What a gentle word –\n“leadeth”! Gently, thoughtfully, tenderly, but effectually, the Lord\nJesus leads his sheep, like Jacob of old, to the soft, deep, quiet, still\nwaters, as they are able to bear it (Gen. 33:14). He leads me not to the noisy\nwaters of strife, the babbling waters of emotionalism, or the cold waters of\nintellectualism, but to the still waters of his Word. The EVERLASTING LOVE of\nGod is like a river, the streams whereof make glad the hearts of his people.\nCHRIST himself is a pure river of the water of life, from which all his sheep\ndrink freely and constantly. The Lord, our Shepherd leads us into the\npleasant waters of HEAVENLY COMMUNION with the eternal God. Even in heaven’s\nglory, he will lead us by the fountains of living waters, for our everlasting\nconsolation and joy (Rev. 7:15-17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poor<\/strong>,<\/strong> naked<\/strong>,<\/strong> penniless<\/strong>,<\/strong> worthless?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n(Octavius Winslow, “Morning Thoughts”)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cVerily, verily, I say unto you, a time is coming and
\n now is when the dead shall hear<\/strong> the voice
\n of the Son of God and those that hear will live.”
\n John 5:25<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere is the special<\/strong>, direct<\/strong>, and effectual<\/strong> call<\/strong> of
\nthe Spirit, in the elect of God, without which all
\nother calling is in vain. The Spirit effectually
\nworks in the soul with an inward, supernatural,<\/strong>
\nsecret power<\/strong>. There is an energy put forth with
\nthe call, which . . .
\n awakens the conscience<\/strong>,
\n breaks the heart<\/strong>,
\n convinces the judgment<\/strong>,
\n opens the eye of the soul<\/strong>, and
\n pours a new and an alarming sound
\n upon the hitherto deaf ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMark the blessed effects<\/strong> . . .
\n the scales fell from the eyes<\/strong>,
\n the veil is torn from the mind<\/strong>,
\n the deep fountains of evil in the heart<\/strong> are\nbroken up.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe sinner sees himself as . . .
\n lost and undone
\n without pardon,
\n without a righteousness,
\n without acceptance,
\n without a God,
\n without a Savior,
\n without a hope!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awful condition!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n“What shall I do to be saved?” is his cry! “I am
\na wretch undone! I look within<\/strong> me, all is dark
\nand vile; I look around<\/strong> me, everything seems
\nbut the image of my woe; I look above<\/strong> me, I
\nsee only an angry God. Whichever way I look,<\/strong>
\nis hell! <\/strong>And were God now to send me\nthere,
\njust and right would He be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut, blessed be God, no poor soul that ever
\nuttered such language, prompted by such
\nfeelings, ever died in despair! That faithful
\nSpirit who begins the good work, effectually
\ncarries it on, and completes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presently He leads him to the cross<\/strong> of Jesus
\nand unveils to his glimmering eye of faith a . . .
\n suffering,<\/strong>
\n wounded,<\/strong>
\n bleeding,<\/strong>
\n dying Saviour;<\/strong>
\nand yet a Saviour with outstretched arms!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThat Saviour speaks; oh, did ever music sound
\nso melodious? “All this I do for you . . .
\n this cross<\/strong> for you,
\n these sufferings<\/strong> for you,
\n this blood<\/strong> for you,
\n these stretched out arms<\/strong> for you.
\nCome unto Me, all you that labor and are
\nheavy laden, and I will give you rest. Look
\nunto Me, and be saved!
\nAre you lost? <\/strong>I can save you!
\nAre you guilty?<\/strong> I can cleanse you!
\nAre you poor? <\/strong>I can enrich you!
\nAre you sunk <\/strong>low? I can raise you!
\nAre you naked?<\/strong> I can clothe you!
\nHave you nothing<\/strong> to bring with you?
\n No price?<\/strong>
\n No money?<\/strong>
\n No goodness?<\/strong>
\n No merit?<\/strong>
\nI can and will take you to Me, just as you are . . .
\n poor<\/strong>,
\n naked<\/strong>,
\n penniless<\/strong>,
\n worthless<\/strong>;
\nfor such I came to seek,
\nfor such I came to die.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n“Lord, I believe,” exclaims the poor convinced soul!
\nYou are just the Savior that I need. I needed one
\nthat could and would save me . . .
\n with all my vileness<\/strong>,
\n with all my rags<\/strong>,
\n with all my poverty<\/strong>.
\nI needed one that would . . .
\n save me fully<\/strong>,
\n save me freely<\/strong>,
\nsave me as an act of mere unmerited, undeserved<\/strong>
\ngrace! <\/strong>I have found Him whom my soul loves! and
\nwill be His through time, and His through eternity!”<\/p>\n\n\n\nThus effectually<\/strong> does the blessed Spirit call<\/strong> a\nsinner,
\nby His especial, invincible, and supernatural power<\/strong>,
\nout of darkness into marvelous light!<\/p>\n\n\n\n“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has
\n now come when the dead will hear the voice of
\n the Son of God and those who hear will live.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n The cry of weary, care\n worn humanity<\/strong>
\n
\n (John MacDuff<\/a>,\n “Hospice of the Pilgrim” 1891)
\n
\n “Oh, where can rest be found?”<\/strong>
\n
\n This isthe\n cry of weary, care worn humanity<\/strong>.
\n
\n This is the cry embracing every nation and every
\n climate, from the yearnings of heathendom to the
\n longings and aspirations of the present hour.
\n
\n From the tumultuous sea of the world’s unrest,
\n this cry has gone up like a dirge of baffled souls,
\n “Oh, where can rest be found?”<\/strong>
\n
\n “Come unto me,” is the address of many
\n siren voices, titillating tones of questionable
\n or forbidden pleasure, leading only to . . .
\n unrest,
\n disquiet,
\n heart weariness,
\n life failure;
\n tinted soap bubbles with a momentary<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>iridescence, then collapsing.<\/strong>
\n
\n The existence of many is a pursuit after spurious
\n and counterfeit rest, misnamed happiness; an
\n aimless, vapid life of pleasure; engrossed with
\n objects which bring with them no sense of
\n satisfaction; a dull, weary round on the world’s
\n monotonous treadmill.
\n
\n Some strive to find rest through the gateway
\n of ethical systems and philosophic tenets.
\n
\n Others, through the gateway of human merit.
\n
\n Others through . . .
\n ceremonial observances,
\n fasts and vigils,
\n penances and pilgrimages,
\n rites and ceremonies,
\n creeds and dogmas.
\n
\n These, and such as these, are
\n alike spurious and unavailing.
\n
\n “Oh, where can rest be found?”<\/strong>
\n
\n “Come to Me, all of you who are weary
\n and carry heavy burdens, and I will give<\/strong>
\n <\/strong> you rest<\/strong>.” \n Matthew 11:28\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Because of Who God is, and His precious Gospel, we can pray for those we love, knowing that He is able to bind up the brokenhearted, open the eyes of the blind, and that He delighteth to show mercy. We pray for those who are sad, to Him Who keeps the tears of His loved […]<\/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-6325","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\/6325","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=6325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6326,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6325\/revisions\/6326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |