{"id":6374,"date":"2022-12-12T06:05:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T06:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6374"},"modified":"2022-12-12T06:05:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T06:05:58","slug":"bulletin-edition-december-2022-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6374","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition December 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

True pilgrims!<\/strong>
\n(from “Solitude Sweetened” by Octavius Winslow)
\n
\nFellow pilgrims, the heavenly way we travel
\nis more or less a lonely way.  We have, at
\nmost, but few companions. It is a “little flock,”
\nand only here and there we meet a traveler, who,
\nlike ourselves, is journeying towards heaven.
\n
\nBecause the way is narrow, difficult, and
\nhumiliating to the flesh, there are only a few,
\nunder the drawings of the Spirit, who find it.
\n
\nIf true religion consisted in a ‘mere profession’
\nthen there are many on the way to heaven.
\n
\nIf the marks of discipleship were merely an
\northodox creed, excited feelings, or denominational
\nzeal, then there are many who ‘find the way.’
\n
\nBut true pilgrims are
\n  those with broken hearts;
\n  those who are poor in spirit;
\n  those who mourn for sin;
\n  those who know the music of the Shepherd’s voice;
\n  those who follow the Lamb;
\n  those who delight in the throne of grace; and
\n  those who love the place of the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through\nall, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:6.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All who? -the one Church of God. One covenant God and Father\nunites the one family in heaven and in earth. They are one in His choice, one\nin His purpose, one in His covenant, one in His heart. The same will chose\nthem- the same affection loved them- the same decree predestinated them: they\nare one in Him. Blessed truth! “One God and Father.” Behold them\nclustering together around the mercy-seat: they come from various parts of the\nworld, they speak different languages, they express opposite feelings, they\nunfold needs and sorrows; yet listen! they all address Him as “Our\nFather.” Every heart bows in love to Him, every heart is fixed in faith\nupon Him, and every tongue breathes the lofty, and endearing, and holy name of\n“Abba, Father.” There, in the glowing light amid which the throne of\nmercy, stands, all sectarian feeling dies, all denominational distinction is\nlost, and Christians of every name meet, and embrace, and love as brethren.\nHoly thought! One God loves all, and protects all; one Father pities all,\nsupplies all, bears with all, and, with an impartial affection, binds all\ntogether and alike in His heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preachers\nNeeded and Sent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans\n10:13-17<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order\nto hear the gospel, someone must preach the gospel to you. \u2014 \u201cHow shall\nthey hear without a preacher?\u201d <\/em>God will not reveal the gospel to men\nby supernatural agencies. Someone must make the truth known to men. They cannot\nlearn without being taught. So, let us carry the Word of grace to perishing\nmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preachers\nNeeded<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preachers\nare needed. I have, for many years, regularly travelled many miles to preach to\nchurches that have no pastor. Many who speak of being called to preach the\ngospel are aware of the need, but are not willing to go to unappealing places.\nHow sad! I pity such men. God\u2019s servants go wherever the Lord God is pleased to\nsend them, without consideration for their own welfare and desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nLet us heed our Lord\u2019s command and pray incessantly that the Lord of the\nharvest will send forth laborers into the field to gather in his harvest by the\npreaching of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nIf you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are his witness, and you should be\nhis preacher. You may never stand in a pulpit, but you should be a preacher of\nthe gospel. You do not have to have any great learning or unusual gifts to\npreach the gospel. If you know the gospel, you can tell it to others. You can\ntell sinners what Christ did at Calvary. And you can tell people what God has\ndone for you by his grace. Usually, it is not a lack of ability that keeps us\nfrom witnessing to men; it is a lack of concern for their souls, and a lack of\nlove for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nWhen you have told a sinner the story of the cross, you have fulfilled your\nresponsibility to him. This is a debt we owe to all men. Make it your business\nevery day to tell some perishing, eternity bound sinner the way of life. It is\na shameful pity that any man should live and die without hearing the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preachers\nSent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order\nto preach the gospel, a man must be sent of God. \u2014 \u201cHow shall they\npreach except they be sent?\u201d <\/em>No man can truly preach the gospel in the\npower of God the Holy Ghost except he be sent of God. Here are four things that\nare true of every gospel preacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.    He has a message to\ndeliver. He is an ambassador with a message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.    He must deliver the message\nGod has given him. There is an impulse within. He carries with him the burden\nof the Lord. It is like fire in his bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.    He will deliver his message\nwith the authority and power of heaven\u2019s eternal throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.    He will return to his\nMaster to give a report of his labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will you pray for your pastor, and for every man called and sent\nof God to preach the gospel, that every time they stand before eternity bound\nsinners to open the Book of God they may be at that hour sent of God? Every\ntime you are privileged to hear a man preach the gospel, pray that God will\ngraciously send him with a message to you. If he does, the gospel will come to\nyou, not in word only, but \u201cin power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much\nassurance.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our\nFellowship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I John 1:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare few words in the vocabulary of a believer\u2011 more precious, than these two.\nOur fellowship is that sweet communion of brethren dwelling together in unity.\nOur fellowship is the joyful agreement of the church family. Our fellowship is\nthe oneness of heart which God’s saints enjoy by the power of Christ. It is\nthat unity of the Spirit which is the bond of peace. It is that love which is\nthe bond of perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\nthankful we ought to be for our fellowship here, as\na church of Christ, There are few places where such fellowship\ncan be found. Yet, we must ever remember that, our fellowship with each other\narises from, and is dependent upon, our fellowship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\nis the blessed accomplishment of God’s grace -That fellowship with God, which\nour race lost by the fall and sin of Adam, has been restored through the\nmediation of Christ. With his blood, Christ washed away our sins, reconciling\nGod to us in all the fulness of his holy being. By his Spirit, Christ has\nreconciled us to God, purging our consciences from all guilt, through the\ngracious application of the blood to our hearts. Now, we who were once enemies,\naliens, and strangers to God are reconciled, accepted, and fellow-citizens in\nChrist! Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus\nChrist.” As believers, we have all things in common with God Almighty in\nChrist Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Treasure In\nEarthen\nVessels                  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Corinthians 4:7<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The\ntreasure God\u2019s servants carry through the world is the gospel of his grace, by\nwhich he communicates to chosen sinners all the blessings of grace and\nsalvation in Christ (Eph. 1:3-14). But the preachers who carry this treasure\nare only \u201cearthen vessels,\u201d <\/em>clay pots, worthless and\nmeaningless in themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The\npreacher is, in himself, nothing. <\/strong>He is a sinner saved by grace, no\nmore. He is a vessel in which the treasure is carried. In all my life, I never\nheard of a woman who had received a diamond ring admiring or idolizing the\npretty box in which it was carried. Unlike the box that carries the diamond,\nGod\u2019s servants are \u201cearthen vessels,\u201d <\/em>just clay pots,\nunadorned, ugly, and far too earthen to be of any value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It\ndoes not matter whether the preacher has a string of degrees or no degrees, an\nenergetic and oratorical style, or no style – He is just an earthen vessel. The\nonly thing of significance is \u201cthe treasure,\u201d <\/em>the gospel of\nour Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The\ntreasure we carry by which God is pleased to save his elect is the gospel of\nour Lord Jesus Christ. <\/strong>The gospel is identified in many, many ways in\nHoly Scripture (Matt. 4:23; Mk. 1:1; Acts 20:24; Rom. 1:1, 9; 10:15; Eph.\n1:13). But be sure you understand this – That which God uses to save his elect\nis not the false gospel of Arminian, freewill, works religion (Gal. 1:6-9), but\nthe gospel of his free, sovereign, saving grace in Christ (Rom. 1:15-17). God\ndoes not use religious lies to bring men to know him who is the Truth. It is\nnot the lie of works, but the truth of grace that makes sinners free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That\nwhich is primary and essential in the gospel and that which must be primary in\nour preaching is the sin-atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ <\/strong>(1\nCor. 15:3). The gospel has not been preached until men have been made to\nhear \u201cHow that Christ died for our sins according to the\nscriptures,\u201d <\/em>not just that he died, but HOW he died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Here\nare four words that define \u201cHow that Christ died for our sins according\nto the scriptures.\u201d <\/em>SOVEREIGNTY – <\/strong>Christ died by an act of\nhis own sovereign will, according to the purpose of the sovereign Lord God, for\nthe people he was sent of God to save (John 10:14-18; Acts 2:23; Heb.\n10:5-10). SUBSTITUTION – <\/strong>Our Lord Jesus Christ died as the\nSubstitute for God\u2019s elect. He laid down his life for his sheep, not the goats\n(John 10:11, 14). It is utter folly to imagine that he would die for people for\nwhom he refused even to pray (John 17:9, 20). Is it not? Christ died for his\npeople (Isa. 53:8), not those who are not his people. SATISFACTION\n– <\/strong>Being both God and Man in one glorious Person, our Savior was able,\nby his one great sacrifice, to satisfy the justice of God\u2019s holy law and\njustice (Rom. 3:24-26). His was a sacrifice of infinite merit! SUCCESS\n– <\/strong>All that Christ wanted to accomplish as the result of his death at\nCalvary shall be accomplished by the efficacy of his grace (Isa. 53:10-11). It\nis written, \u201cHe shall not fail!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

True conversion means turning not only from sin\u2014but also from\ndepending on self-made righteousness. This is the reason that self-righteous\npeople are so angry with gospel preachers, because the gospel does not spare\nthose who will not submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Whitefield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

True pilgrims! (from “Solitude Sweetened” by Octavius Winslow) Fellow pilgrims, the heavenly way we travel is more or less a lonely way.  We have, at most, but few companions. It is a “little flock,” and only here and there we meet a traveler, who, like ourselves, is journeying towards heaven. Because the way is narrow, […]<\/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-6374","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\/6374","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=6374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6375,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6374\/revisions\/6375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}