{"id":6430,"date":"2023-04-16T11:11:02","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T11:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6430"},"modified":"2023-04-16T11:11:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T11:11:02","slug":"bulletin-edition-april-2023-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6430","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition April 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Houses built\n     on the&nbsp;<strong><em>sands of self-righteousness, works, and law&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>will\n     soon develop many faults. They are usually out-of-plumb or\n     unbalanced.&nbsp;&nbsp;They lean one way or the other: big on prophecy and\n     little on grace\u2014heavy on healing and silent on substitution\u2014strong on\n     sanctification and weak on justification! They develop cracks in their\n     structure which make the dwellers uncomfortable in storms and cold\n     weather. No false profession can provide peace or \u201crest&#8221; during\n     trials. They need constant repair. These houses, having no foundation,\n     always require a specialist to come in often and revive, rebuild,\n     rededicate, and repair them. But unfortunately the owner is not too much\n     disturbed by the condition of his sand house, for there are so many on the\n     block just like his that he assumes that this terrible state is normal. He\n     has never&nbsp;lived in a solid, scriptural house built on the rock Christ\n     Jesus, so he doesn&#8217;t know the difference.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Scott Richardson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>* The preaching of the gospel of Christ is the soul-saving\nordinance. It is not through the eye but through the ear that salvation comes\nto men. &#8220;Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.&#8221; In\nevery age God has raised up men to faithfully proclaim his gospel of grace.\nElijah ascends, but his mantle falls on Elisha. Paul dies not until Timothy is\ntrained and on the field. The true preacher of his gospel has a claim on your\nattention. If God has sent him, men should and must hear him. He who preaches\nChrist crucified has life flowing from his lips. He who hears will find life\nflowing in his heart and soul. &#8221;God hath chosen by the foolishness of\npreaching to save them that believe.&#8221; (Rom.10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<strong><em>Scott Richardson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td>\n  <strong>All the heresies&#8230;.<\/strong><strong><em><br>\n  <\/em><\/strong><em><br>\n  from Spurgeon&#8217;s sermon, &#8220;Self-Sufficiency Slain&#8221;<\/em><br>\n  <br>\n  It is a remarkable fact that&nbsp;<strong>all\n  the heresies<\/strong>&nbsp;which have<br>\n  arisen in the Christian Church&nbsp;<strong>have had a decided tendency<br>\n  to &#8216;dishonor God and to flatter man&#8217;.<\/strong><br>\n  <br>\n  They have always had for their covert, if not for their open aim,<br>\n  the exaltation of human nature, and the casting down of<br>\n  the sovereignty of divine grace.<br>\n  <br>\n  Robbing God of the glory which is due unto his name,<br>\n  these false prophets would shed a counterfeit lustre<br>\n  upon the head of the rebellious and depraved creature.<br>\n  <br>\n  On the other hand, the doctrines of the gospel, commonly known<br>\n  as the doctrines of grace, are distinguished for this peculiarity<br>\n  above every other, namely, that they sink the creature very low,<br>\n  and present the Lord Jehovah before us as sitting upon a throne,<br>\n  high and lifted up.<br>\n  <br>\n  So true is this, that the most uneducated Christian may,<br>\n  even if he is incapable of refuting an erroneous discourse,<br>\n  always be able to discover its untruthfulness,<br>\n  if it glorifies man at the expense of God.<br>\n  <br>\n  The merest babe in grace may carry this test with him:<br>\n  in the midst of the diversities of opinion with which he is surrounded,<br>\n  he may always judge, and judge infallibly too, of the truth or<br>\n  falsehood of a doctrine by testing it thus&#8211;<br>\n  &#8220;Does it glorify God?&#8221; If it is so, it is true.<br>\n  &#8220;Does it exalt man?&#8221; Then it must be false.<br>\n  <br>\n  Does it lay man very low, and speak of him in terms which tend to<br>\n  make him feel his degradation? Then doubtless it is full of truth.<br>\n  <br>\n  And does it put the crown upon the head of God, and not upon<br>\n  the head of man&#8217;s free-will, or free-agency, or good works?<br>\n  Then assuredly it is a doctrine according to godliness,<br>\n  for it is the very truth of the Lord our God.\n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why is it there is so much\nerror in the Church of God?<\/strong><br>\n(From Winslow&#8217;s, &#8220;Learning of Jesus&#8221;)<br>\n<br>\nThe only authoritative Teacher in the Church of<br>\nGod, the only true Prophet, is the Lord Jesus Christ.<br>\n<br>\nWhy is it there is so much darkness and crudeness<br>\nin the books we read, and in the sermons we hear?<br>\n<br>\nWhy is it that we see so much ignorance and<br>\nobscurity in setting forth the truth of God?<br>\n<br>\n&nbsp; Why is it there is so much<br>\n&nbsp; error in the Church of God?<br>\n<br>\nIt is because men will not sit at the feet of<br>\nJesus and learn of Him. Men would rather learn<br>\nof their fellow men than of the &#8216;God man&#8217;.<br>\n<br>\nThey prefer human writings to the Divine.<br>\n<br>\nThey prefer the school of man, to the school of God.<br>\n<br>\nAnd this is one reason why there is so much<br>\nfalse doctrine, the teaching that causes to err,<br>\nboth from the pulpit and from the press.<br>\n<br>\nWe may be carried away by great learning, brilliant<br>\ngenius, and apparently profound piety; but if we<br>\nplace ourselves at the feet of Jesus as a lowly<br>\ndisciple, and there receive our views of truth, we<br>\nshall then understand those profound mysteries<br>\nof God&#8217;s revealed Word, which are hidden from<br>\nthe worldly wise and prudent, but revealed to<br>\nthose who become learners of Christ.<br>\n<br>\n&#8220;Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:<br>\nand you shall find rest unto your souls.&#8221; Matthew 11:29<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Their religion is hollow,\nunsubstantial, and unreal<\/strong><br>\n(Winslow, &#8220;Christ&#8217;s Intercession for Tried Faith&#8221;)<br>\n<br>\nThe most beautiful ritual,<br>\nthe most accurate creed,<br>\nthe most costly religion,<br>\nthe most splendid profession,<br>\nwithout Christ in the heart,<br>\nis but as fuel preparing for the<br>\nfinal and eternal conflagration.<br>\n<br>\nWhat, my reader, if your religion<br>\nshould prove to be nothing but chaff?<br>\nDoes the bare probability startle you?<br>\n<br>\nAh! there are multitudes whom it might well<br>\nstartle; for multitudes are thus deceived.<br>\n<br>\nNot a grain of saving grace is found in their souls.<br>\n<br>\nThere is&#8230;.<br>\n&nbsp; no vitality in their faith,<br>\n&nbsp; no solidity in their profession,<br>\n&nbsp; no substance in their religion.<br>\n<br>\nBefore every wind of false doctrine they bend, and<br>\nby each blast of temptation they are carried away.<br>\n<br>\nThe stubble of the field, and the chaff of the<br>\nthreshing floor (fit emblems of their profession),<br>\nare not more unsubstantial and fleeting than it.<br>\n<br>\nAll is woeful deception!<br>\n<br>\nThey have substituted&#8230;.<br>\n&nbsp; a form of godliness for its power;<br>\n&nbsp; union to the church for union to Christ;<br>\n&nbsp; the baptism of water for the regeneration of the Spirit;<br>\n&nbsp; gospel ordinances for sanctifying grace;<br>\n&nbsp; works of benevolence for faith in the Lord Jesus.<br>\n<br>\nAnd thus their religion is hollow, unsubstantial, and<br>\nunreal; possessing a &#8220;name to live, they are dead.&#8221;<br>\n<br>\nAnd what will be the end of such?<br>\n<br>\nDeparting into eternity in this state of soul deception;<br>\nbuilding their hope of heaven upon this false foundation;<br>\nin their sad experience must be realised the awful<br>\ndescription which the evangelist gives of the judgment<br>\npower of Christ; &#8220;whose fan is in his hand, and he will<br>\nthoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his<br>\nbarn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable\nfire.&#8221;<br>\n<br>\nThus will perish&#8230;.<br>\n&nbsp; all human religions,<br>\n&nbsp; all false hopes,<br>\n&nbsp; all hollow professions,<br>\n&nbsp; all soul destroying doctrines;<br>\nthe &#8216;wood, the hay, the stubble,&#8217; of a<br>\nform of godliness, destitute of the power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\n<strong>The god of modern religion<\/strong><br>\n(The following is by Don Fortner)<br>\n<br>\n\u201cWhatsoever the Lord pleased, that He did in heaven and in\nearth, and in the seas and all deep\nplaces.&#8221;&nbsp; Psalm 135:6<br>\n<br>\nThe very foundation of our confidence<br>\nand faith in our God is his sovereignty.<br>\n<br>\nWere he not sovereign, absolutely, universally<br>\nsovereign, we could not trust him implicitly,<br>\nbelieve his promises, or depend upon him to<br>\nfulfil his Word.<br>\n<br>\nOnly an absolute sovereign can be trusted absolutely.<br>\nWe can and should trust our God implicitly because<br>\nhe is sovereign.<br>\n<br>\nNothing is more delightful to the hearts of God\u2019s children than the fact of his great and glorious sovereignty.<br>\n<br>\nUnder the most adverse circumstances, in the most<br>\nsevere troubles, and when enduring the most heavy<br>\ntrials, we rejoice to know that our God has sovereignly ordained our afflictions, that he sovereignly overrules them, and that he sovereignly sanctifies them to our good and his own glory.<br>\n<br>\nThe God of the Bible is utterly unknown in this religious generation. A God who is not sovereign is as much a contradiction as a God who is not holy, eternal, and immutable. A God who is not sovereign is no God at all.<br>\n<br>\nIf the god you worship is not totally sovereign, you are a pagan, and your religion is idolatry. You would be just as well off worshipping a statue of Mary, a totem pole, a spider, or the devil himself as to worship a god who lacks total sovereignty over all things.<br>\n<br>\nThe god of this generation no more resembles the<br>\nsovereign Lord of heaven and earth than a flickering<br>\ncandle resembles the noon-day sun.<br>\n<br>\nThe god of modern religion is nothing but an idol,<br>\nthe invention of men, a figment of man&#8217;s imagination.<br>\n<br>\nPagans in the dark ages used to carve their gods out<br>\nof wood and stone and overlay them with silver and gold.<br>\nToday, in these much darker days, pagans inside the church carve their god out of their own depraved imaginations.<br>\nIn reality, the religionists of our day are atheists, for there is no possible alternative between a God who is absolutely sovereign and no God at all.<br>\n<br>\nA god whose will can be resisted,<br>\n&nbsp;whose purpose can be frustrated,<br>\n&nbsp;whose power can be thwarted,<br>\n&nbsp;whose grace can be nullified,<br>\n&nbsp;whose work can be overturned,<br>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; has no title to Deity.<br>\nSuch a god is not a fit object of worship.<br>\nSuch a puny, pigmy god merits nothing but contempt.<br>\n<br>\nWhen I say that God is sovereign, I<br>\nam simply declaring that God is God.<br>\n<br>\nHe is the most High, Lord of heaven<br>\nand earth, overall, blessed forever.<br>\nHe is subject to none.<br>\nHe is influenced by none.<br>\n<br>\nGod is absolutely independent of, and sovereign over, all his\ncreatures.<br>\n<br>\nHe does as he pleases,<br>\nonly as he pleases,<br>\nand always as he pleases.<br>\n<br>\nNone can thwart him.<br>\nNone can resist him.<br>\nNone can change him.<br>\nNone can stop him.<br>\nNone can hinder him.<br>\n<br>\nHe declares, \u201cMy counsel shall stand, and I will do all My\npleasure.&#8221; Isaiah 46:10<br>\n<br>\n&#8220;All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing.<br>\nHe doeth according to His will inn the armies of heaven and\namong the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him,\nWhat doest Thou?\u201d Daniel 4:35<br>\n<br>\nDivine sovereignty means that God sits upon the<br>\nthrone of universal dominion, directing all things,<br>\nruling all things, and &#8220;working all things after the<br>\ncounsel of his own will&#8221;&nbsp; (Ephes. 1:11).<br>\n<br>\nGod\u2019s sovereignty is irrefutably revealed in<br>\nthe eternal predestination of all things.<br>\nGod chose certain men and women in eternity to<br>\nbe the objects of his saving grace and predestinated<br>\nthose elect ones to be conformed to the image of his<br>\ndear Son (Rom. 8:28-29). Before the world began God<br>\nsovereignly determined that he would save some, who<br>\nthey would be, and when he would save them. Having<br>\ndetermined these things, our great God infallibly secured<br>\nhis eternal purpose of grace by sovereign predestination.<br>\n<br>\nEternal election marked the house into which God\u2019s<br>\nsaving grace must come. Eternal predestination marked<br>\nthe path upon which grace must come. And sovereign<br>\nprovidence led grace down the path to the house at<br>\nthe appointed time of love.<br>\n<br>\nGod&#8217;s indisputable sovereignty is conspicuously revealed<br>\nin the salvation of sinners by his almighty grace (Rom. 9:8-24).<br>\nGod chose to save some, but not all. He gave Christ to die for<br>\nsome, but not all. He sends his gospel to some, but not all.<br>\nHe gives his Spirit to some, but not all. He causes some to<br>\nhear his voice, but not all.<br>\nHe planned it.<br>\nHe purchased it.<br>\nHe performs it.<br>\nHe preserves it.<br>\nHe perfects it.<br>\nHe shall have all the praise for it.<br>\n<br>\n&#8220;Our God is in heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath\npleased.&#8221; Psalm 115:3<br>\n<br>\nLet us, therefore&#8211;<br>\nbelieve him confidently,<br>\nwalk with him in peace,<br>\nsubmit to him cheerfully,<br>\nserve him faithfully,<br>\nand honor him supremely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wrought with divine power!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gracegems.org\/Philpot\/sermons.htm\">J.C. Philpot<\/a>, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gracegems.org\/Philpot\/veil_taken_away.htm\">The Veil Taken Away<\/a>&#8221;\n1844)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8221; For our gospel came to you not in word only, but also in&nbsp;<em>power<\/em>,\nand in the&nbsp;<em>Holy Ghost<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;in much assurance.&#8221;<br>\n1 Thessalonians 1:5<br>\n<br>\nMost men&#8217;s religion is nothing else but &#8216;a round of forms&#8217; . . .<br>\n&nbsp; some have their &#8216;doings&#8217;,<br>\n&nbsp; some have their &#8216;doctrines&#8217;,<br>\n&nbsp; and others have their &#8216;duties&#8217;.<br>\n<br>\nAnd when the one has performed his&nbsp;<em>doings<\/em>, the other\nlearned his&nbsp;<em>doctrines<\/em>, and the third discharged his&nbsp;<em>duties<\/em>\u2014why,\nhe is as good a Christian, he thinks, as anybody. While all the time, the poor\ndeceived creature is thoroughly ignorant of the kingdom of God, which stands\nnot in simply in word, but in power.<br>\n<br>\nBut as the veil of ignorance is taken off the heart, we begin to\nsee and feel that there is a power in vital godliness, a reality in the\nteachings of the Spirit\u2014that religion is not to be put on and put off as a man\nputs on and off his Sunday clothes.<br>\n<br>\nWhere vital godliness is&nbsp;<strong>wrought\nwith divine power<\/strong>&nbsp;in a man&#8217;s heart, and preached by the\nHoly Spirit into his conscience it . . .<br>\n&nbsp; mingles, daily and often hourly with his thoughts;<br>\n&nbsp; entwines itself with his feelings; and<br>\n&nbsp; becomes the very food and drink of his soul.<br>\n<br>\nNow when a man comes to this spot: to see and feel what a\nreality there is in the things of God made manifest in the conscience by the\npower of the Holy Spirit\u2014it effectually takes him out of dead churches, cuts\nhim off from false ministers, winnows the chaff from the wheat, and brings him\ninto close communion with the broken-hearted family of God.<br>\n<br>\n&#8220;For our gospel came to you not in word only, but also\nin&nbsp;<em>power<\/em>, and in the&nbsp;<em>Holy Ghost<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;in much\nassurance.&#8221; 1 Thessalonians 1:5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Houses built on the&nbsp;sands of self-righteousness, works, and law&nbsp;will soon develop many faults. They are usually out-of-plumb or unbalanced.&nbsp;&nbsp;They lean one way or the other: big on prophecy and little on grace\u2014heavy on healing and silent on substitution\u2014strong on sanctification and weak on justification! They develop cracks in their structure which make the dwellers uncomfortable [&hellip;]<\/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-6430","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\/6430","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=6430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6431,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6430\/revisions\/6431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}