{"id":6389,"date":"2023-01-09T05:55:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T05:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6389"},"modified":"2023-02-17T21:08:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T21:08:02","slug":"bulletin-edition-january-2022-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6389","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition January 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Upon  a  review  of  the\n last  year,  I  desire  to  confess  that\n my<\/p>\n\n\n\n

unfaithfulness has been exceedingly great, my sins still\ngreater,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s  mercies  greater  than  both. \nMy  shortcomings  and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

misdoings, my unbelief and want of love would sink me into the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lowest hell, was not Jesus my righteousness and my redeemer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Augustus M. Toplady (1740-1778)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Beware! lest you fall into\n the fire!<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>
\n Spurgeon, “NOTHING BUT LEAVES”
\n
\n \u201cHe found nothing but leaves.\u201d \u2014 Mark 11:13.
\n
\n Thousands go to Church or chapel, and they think
\n that the mere going into the place, and sitting a
\n certain time, and coming out again, is an acceptable
\n act to God.
\n
\n Mere formality, you see, is mistaken for spiritual
\n worship! They offer him their ignorant will-worship
\n either in obedience to custom, or in the superstition
\n of ignorance. What the ritual is, or why it is, they
\n do not inquire, but go through a performance as
\n certain parrots say their prayers.
\n
\n They know nothing about the inward and spiritual grace.
\n
\n They have a name to live and are dead.
\n
\n Their religion is a mere show–
\n a signboard without an inn;
\n a well-set table without food;
\n a pretty pageant where nothing is gold, but everything gilt;
\n nothing real, but all pasteboard, paint, plaster, and\n pretense.
\n
\n Multitudes live and die satisfied with the outward trappings
\n of religion, and are utter strangers to internal vital\n godliness.
\n
\n There is nothing to be done with such trees which bring
\n forth only leaves, but in due time to use the axe upon
\n them, and to cast them into the fire: and this must be
\n your doom, fruitless professor.
\n
\n As sure as you live under the sound of the gospel, and
\n yet are not converted by it, so surely will you be cast
\n into outer darkness. Jesus Christ will certainly send
\n his angels to gather the dead branches together, and
\n you among them, to cast them into the fire.
\n
\n Beware! beware! you fruitless tree!
\n You shall not stand for ever!
\n Mercy waters you with her tears now; God\u2019s
\n patience digs about you still; still the husbandman
\n comes, seeking fruit upon you year after year.
\n
\n Beware! the edge of the axe is sharp, and the
\n arm which wields it is nothing less than almighty.
\n Beware! lest you fall into the fire!<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n Awake! Awake!<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>
\n <\/em>-Spurgeon, from his sermon, ” Awake! Awake!”<\/em>
\n <\/em>
\n The mass of mankind are ignorant of spiritual things–
\n of the divine person of the adorable Redeemer they have
\n no idea; of the sweet enjoyments of a life of piety they can
\n not even make a guess; toward the high enthusiasms and
\n the inward raptures of the Christian, they cannot mount.
\n
\n Talk to them of divine doctrines, and they are to them a
\n riddle. Tell them of sublime experiences, and they seem to
\n them to be enthusiastic fancies. They know nothing of the
\n joys that are to come.
\n
\n Alas! for them, they are oblivious of the evils which shall
\n happen to them, if they go on in their iniquity.
\n But, blind-folded by the ignorance of this world,
\n they march on through the paths of lust to that sure and
\n dreadful end– the everlasting ruin of their souls.
\n
\n They are standing on the brink of hell, but they tremble
\n not. The anger of God is burning against them, but they
\n fear not. The sword of Jehovah is unsheathed, but terror
\n does not seize upon them.
\n
\n They proceed with the merry dance;
\n they drink the bowl of intoxicating pleasure;
\n they revel and they riot;
\n still do they sing the lascivious song.
\n
\n Yes, they do more than this–
\n in their vain dreams they do defy the Most High.
\n Whereas, if they were once awakened to the
\n consciousness of their state, the marrow of their bones
\n would melt, and their heart would dissolve like wax in the
\n midst of their bowels.
\n
\n They are spiritually asleep, indifferent and unconscious.\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

THE GOD OF LIGHT (excerpt)<\/strong>
\n
\n“God is light.” <\/strong>1\nJohn 1:5
\n
\n“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to\nbehold the sun.” In what believing heart will not these words awaken a\nquick and grateful response? The renewed man is the only being who knows what\ntrue light is, because he only, really knows Jesus. All others are like miners\ndwelling from their birth beneath the surface of the earth, having never seen\nthe sun, through whose eternal gloom not one vivifying ray has ever pierced.\n“Darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people.” When man\nsinned, God went out of the temple, luminous and glorious with His presence,\nand the sun of the soul set in guilt, darkness, and death. Henceforth the\nnatural man walks in darkness, not knowing where he goes, until the time of\nelecting love and sovereign grace draws on, when He who at creation’s dawn\nsaid, “Let there be light, and light was,” causes the light of life\nto shine, and the soul is immediately “translated out of darkness into His\nmarvelous light,” henceforth and forever to be a child of the light and of\nthe day. “You were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord walk\nas children of light.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n You owe the whole to\n sovereign grace!<\/strong>
\n
\n (Henry Law, “<\/em>Deuteronomy<\/em><\/a>” 1858)<\/em>
\n
\n Believer! Only the grace of God<\/strong> makes
\n you to differ from the world around you!
\n
\n You once were dead in trespasses and sins.
\n
\n You moved as a living carcass with a lifeless soul.
\n
\n Your every step was hellward.
\n
\n Your every moment hurried you towards endless woe.
\n
\n Your life was . . .
\n    ignorance,
\n    rebellion,
\n    slavery,
\n    disgrace.
\n
\n But now the darkness is dispersed, and true light
\n shines. You see the cross! <\/strong>You stand in a new
\n world of spiritual delight. You are a new creation of  
\n   thought,
\n   affection,
\n   hope,
\n   desire.
\n
\n You live for God; to God; with God; in God.
\n
\n But whence the change?<\/strong>
\n
\n Did it result your own resolve?
\n
\n Did rolling years beget this wisdom?
\n
\n Oh, no!
\n
\n You owe the whole to sovereign grace!<\/strong>
\n
\n God, of His own free will, looked down with favor
\n on your ruined soul. His grace gave you, as a jewel,
\n to His Son; and gave His Son to be your uttermost
\n salvation!
\n
\n You owe the whole to sovereign grace!<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Darkness of ignorance, dungeons\nof falsehood,<\/strong>
\nand chains of superstition!
\n<\/strong>The following is from Spurgeon\u2019s sermon,
\n    “WHAT GOD CANNOT DO!”
\n
\nTruth once reigned supreme upon our globe, and
\nthen earth was Paradise. Man knew no sorrow
\nwhile he was ignorant of falsehood.
\n
\nThe Father of Lies invaded the garden of bliss,
\nand with one foul lie he blighted Eden into a
\nwilderness, and made man a traitor to his God.
\nCunningly he handled the glittering falsehood
\nand made it dazzle in the woman’s eyes- \u201cGod
\nknows that in the day you eat thereof, then your
\neyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods,
\nknowing good and evil.\u201d
\n
\nProud ambition rode upon that lie as a conqueror
\nin his chariot, and the city of Mansoul opened its
\ngates to welcome the fascinating enemy.
\n
\nAs it was a lie which first subjugated the world to Satan’s
\ninfluences, so it is by lies that he secures his throne.
\n
\nAmong the heathen his kingdom is quiet and secure,
\nbecause the minds of the people are deluded with a
\nfalse mythology. The domains of Mohammed and the
\nPope are equally the kingdom of Satan, and his reign
\nis undisturbed, for human merit, priestly efficacy,
\nand a thousand other deceptions buttress his throne.
\n
\nThe darkness of ignorance, the dungeons of falsehood,
\nand the chains of superstition, are the main reliance of that
\nmonster who oppresses all the nations with his infernal tyranny!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idol ‘self’ must fall<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em>(From Winslow’s, “A Full Christ for Empty Sinners”)<\/em>
\n
\nThe soul of man in its natural condition is
\ndevoid of all holiness, of all righteousness,
\nof all spiritual goodness, strength, and love.
\n
\nThe soul of man is full to overflowing with
\nself righteousness, with rebellion against God,
\nwith the love of sin, and the reigning power
\nof all iniquity. It is brimmed and overflowing
\nwith all the elements of destruction, which,
\nif left to work their own results, will infallibly
\nplunge the soul into the chambers of eternal
\ndarkness and despair.
\n
\nThe idol ‘self’ must fall<\/strong>,\nyour own righteousness
\nmust be renounced, there must be the deep
\nspiritual conviction of the plague of your own
\nheart; you must feel that you are under the
\ncondemnation of the law, and that you have
\nnot one claim to God’s mercy, nor one plea
\nspringing from yourself whereby He should
\naccept and save you.
\n
\nIt is only a heart deeply, spiritually conscious
\nof its poverty, lowliness, and uncleanness, and
\nemptied and humbled thereby in the dust, that
\nopens its doors to receive and welcome Him
\nwho came “not to call the righteous, but sinners
\nto repentance.”
\n
\nOh, if your heart is lowly, empty and penitent,
\nJesus will make His gracious advent into it,
\nand dwell there forever!
\n
\nIt is the power of God alone that empties a man,
\nthat makes him clearly to see the imperfection
\nof his own righteousness, his ignorance of truth,
\nof God, and of Christ.
\n
\nIt is the work of the Holy and Eternal Spirit to show
\nto the poor sinner that all his righteousness is as
\nfilthy rags, that he has no spiritual strength, and
\nnot one pulse of love to God throbbing in his bosom.
\n
\nOh, it is a power as great, as mighty, and as Divine
\nas that which spoke this universe into being, which
\nsaid, “Let there be light, and there was light,” which
\nalone can empty your soul of all its darkness, its
\nrebellion, its ignorance, its love and homage of self,
\nand bring you to the cross of Christ, to the feet
\nof Jesus as a poor, empty beggar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E<\/em>xodus 3:14<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we\nsee God\u2019s revelation of himself to Moses. Here the Lord God our Saviour reveals\nhimself in his great redemptive character. \u2014 \u201cAnd God said unto Moses, I AM\nTHAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM\nhath sent me unto you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nThose words by which God reveals himself here \u2014 \u201cI AM THAT I AM,<\/em>\u201d\ncontain all three tenses of the verb of being, all three tenses of the words\n\u201cto be.\u201d They might be translated, \u201cI was, I am, and I shall always continue to\nbe.\u201d God\u2019s name represents his character. When we call upon the name of the\nLord, we worship him as he really is. When we pray in Christ\u2019s name, we pray\nupon the basis of all that he is and all that he has done. When we gather to\nworship in his name, we gather to worship trusting him in all his character as\nour God and Saviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nWhen the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of the Lord, here declares \u201cI AM\nTHAT I AM,<\/em>\u201d he is revealing himself as God, the only eternal,\nself-existent, self-sufficient, unchanging, immutable, constant, faithful One.\nHe is saying, \u201cI am now what I have always been and what I shall forever be. \u2014\n\u2018I am the Lord, I change not.<\/em>\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nRemember, the One speaking to Moses is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ\nthe Lord, the unchangeable Jehovah, \u201cthe same yesterday, and today, and\nforever,<\/em>\u201d the only wise and eternal God (Hebrews 13:8; John 8:58;\nRevelation 1:8, 17-18). Our Lord Jesus Christ made this claim no less than\nfourteen times in John\u2019s gospel. Fourteen times he publicly took to himself\nthis title which belongs to none but God \u2014 \u201cI AM<\/em>\u201d (John 6:20; 8:24, 28,\n58; 13:19; 14:6; 18:5). He said \u201cI AM\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe\nBread of Life\u201d <\/em>(6:35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe\nLight of the World\u201d<\/em> (8:12; 9:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7       \u201cThe\nDoor\u201d<\/em> (10:7, 9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe Good\nShepherd\u201d <\/em>(10:11, 14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe\nResurrection and the Life\u201d<\/em> (11:25).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe Way,\nthe Truth, and the Life.\u201d <\/em>(14:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cThe\nVine\u201d<\/em> (15:1, 5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      \u201cI am\nHe<\/em>\u201d (John 4:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nThis name \u2014 \u201cI AM\u201d <\/em>\u2014 is our Savior\u2019s declaration that he is\nGod come to save. He makes himself known to chosen sinners as that One of whom\nthe Scriptures speak (John 4:22-26). I make no attempt to prove that he is. He\ncannot be known by human reason, or made known by the words of man\u2019s wisdom.\nOur business is simply to proclaim him as he has revealed himself in all his\nglorious character. The \u201cI AM<\/em>\u201d of the burning bush is the God-man\nMediator, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, \u201cthe same, yesterday, and\ntoday, and forever<\/em>.\u201d From everlasting to everlasting he is God. We declare,\nwith Paul, \u201cBy the grace of God I am what I am.<\/em>\u201d But he simply declares,\n\u201cI AM THAT I AM!<\/em>\u201d Well may he challenge all the earth, saying, \u201cTo\nwhom will ye liken me?<\/em>\u201d (Isaiah 46:3-5, 9-10; 45:5, 7, 11, 20-25;\n40:25-31). \u2014 \u201cAnd it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our\nGod; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD;\nwe have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation<\/em>\u201d\n(Isaiah 25:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Upon  a  review  of  the  last  year,  I  desire  to  confess  that  my unfaithfulness has been exceedingly great, my sins still greater, God\u2019s  mercies  greater  than  both.  My  shortcomings  and misdoings, my unbelief and want of love would sink me into the lowest hell, was not Jesus my righteousness and my redeemer. – Augustus M. […]<\/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-6389","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\/6389","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=6389"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6409,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6389\/revisions\/6409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}