{"id":6436,"date":"2023-05-08T02:56:11","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T02:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6436"},"modified":"2023-05-08T02:56:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T02:56:11","slug":"bulletin-edition-may-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6436","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition May 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SICKNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 11:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Lord’s friend,\nLazarus, was very sick. When his sisters saw their brother in grave danger,\nthey sent this message to the Lord Jesus, “He whom thou lovest is\nsick.” Martha and Mary knew that Lazarus’ sickness was not an indication\nof the Lord’s anger or displeasure. And they knew that the Lord Jesus could, if\nhe would, heal Lazarus of his ailment. So they simply sent a word to Christ to\ninform him of their hearts’ trouble: “He whom thou lovest is sick.”\nIn that brief sentence they implied their faith in and submission to the Lord\nJesus. You can almost read between the letters and see the comfort of their\nhearts. These two dear women were hurting. Their brother was dying! But they\nfound comfort in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much sickness we have\nseen! It hurts to see loved ones and friends suffer and die, even when we are\nconfident of their saving interest in Christ. But, in the midst of pain, there\nis comfort and strength for God’s people in Christ. Our Lord himself has been\nthere (Matt.8:17). Our Saviour will never call upon us to walk any path he has\nnot walked before us.Whatever we suffer in this world, our Lord suffered that\nand more to redeem us. We have a sympathising High Priest in heaven (Heb.\n4:15-16). Because Christ lived as a man upon the earth, he is touched with that\nwhich touches our hearts, moved by that which moves us, and feels that which we\nfeel. How it helps to know that a friend understands what we feel in our\nhearts. And when that Friend is God our Saviour, that is help indeed! The Lord\nassures us of his presence to help in the time of trouble (Isa. 43:1-4). He\nwill hold you, when you have nothing to hold. He will strengthen you, when all\nstrength is gone. He will help you when you are helpless. Our tender Lord will,\nhimself, be a nurse to help us (Psa. 41:3). He will turn you upon the bed of\nlanguishing and make you comfortable in the midst of great sorrow, pain, and\ntrouble. And the sickness of God’s saints is never unto death (John 11:4). It\nmay bring about the dissolving of this tabernacle of clay. But when this body\nis dissolved, then we begin to live; for to be absent from the body is to be\npresent with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “You will not come to me that ye might have\nlife.” When our Lord says that they will not come, who dares to say they\nwill? But you say- they could if they would, but I am not talking about that,\nthe question is: “WILL THEY?” “NO”\u2014they never will by\nnature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott\nRichardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today’s gospel is so\n“slick” that men swallow it without realising it, lose it without\nregretting it, and go to hell without remorse!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott\nRichardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit <\/em>was\nat the feast (of Pentecost) but did not speak of himself, his office, His gifts\nor his power. He glorified Christ. He pricked the hearts of sinners convicting\nof sin and revealing the sovereign Saviour. The people <\/em>were\nat the feast but they were not entertained by noted celebrities, choirs,\nelaborate programs, and wooed to make decisions for God. They heard a word of\ncondemnation; they had rejected and crucified God’s Christ. They heard a word\nof conviction; this same Jesus was raised from the dead, for no power can-hold\nHim. Not death\u2014for he is Life, not darkness\u2014for he is light, not sin\u2014for he is\nrighteousness, not men\u2014for he is God. They heard the word of promise; HE\nis exalted and made both Lord and Christ, with the power to save and the power\nto damn. It may be that God will visit our generation with revival but it\nwill NOT come through the preaching of a defeated, weak, powerless door mat and\nreformer. It will come when preachers again sound forth clearly the gospel of\nGod’s glory, power, and sovereignty. CHRIST IS LORD\u2014bow down sinner to the\nclaims of KING JESUS.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott\nRichardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See that your tongue does not\nlay claim to MORE than your heart has received, be SURE that your lips and your\nlife are completely agreed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott\nRichardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Maketh Thee to\nDiffer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is no\ndifference between men in that –\u201cAll have sinned and come short of the glory\nof God\u201d<\/em>– there is also a vast difference between men.  Some are raised\nin privilege and have opportunities others could never dream of.  Some are\nraised in homes where parents care.  Others are raised in homes with\npeople who do not care to be parents.  Some are born more gifted and\nintelligent than others.  Who made that difference?  God did! \nIf I am saved by the grace of God, there is a vast difference between me and\nthe man who is not saved.  I have a new nature, given in the new birth that\nthe unsaved man does not have.  Because of that, the differences are\nmyriad.  But who made that difference?  God did!  God the Father\nelected me, God the Son redeemed me, and God the Holy Spirit gave me spiritual\nlife from the dead.  While this completely excludes any reason for pride\non my part, it gives me every reason to thank the Lord for His infinite grace\ntoward me!    ~Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

True spiritual life!<\/strong>
\nThe following is adapted from
\nBonar’s “The Night of Weeping”
\n
\nSome, by their continual contact with
\nthe outward things of religion, hinder
\ntheir inward growth and damage
\ntheir spiritual life.
\n
\nThere are many Christians who are always
\nsteadily at ‘church work’ and apparently with
\nfervour too. Yet too little communion with God
\nshows that they are not really growing spiritually.
\nThey work so much more than they pray, that they
\nsoon become like vessels without oil.
\n
\nThe true spiritual life is different from all this.
\n
\nIt is a thing of intensity and depth. It ever
\ncarries about with it the air of calm and restful
\ndignity, of inward power and greatness. It is
\nfervent, but not feverish; energetic, but not
\nexcited; speedy in its doings, but not hasty;
\nprudent, but not timid or selfish; resolute and
\nfearless, but not rash; unobtrusive and at times
\nit may be silent, yet making all around to feel
\nits influence; full of joy and peace, yet without
\nparade or noise; overflowing in tenderness and
\nlove, yet at the same time, faithful and true.
\nThis is true spiritual life!
\n
\n(Are you so busy doing ‘church work’, that your
\n personal relationship with Jesus is suffering?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He who believes shall be saved,\nbe his sins ever so many<\/strong>
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n” He who believeth <\/em>on the Son hath\neverlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;\nbut the wrath of God abideth on him!” John 3:36
\n
\nHe who believes shall be saved, be his sins ever so many<\/strong>.
\nHe who does not believe shall be damned, be his sins ever so\nfew.
\n 
\nThere is no sin which can damn <\/em>the one who\nsincerely believes.
\nThere is absolutely nothing which can save <\/em>the\none who does not believe.
\n
\n“The only<\/em> way to be saved is by faith in\nChrist. Apart from faith in Him\u2014no one, anywhere, at any time, in any culture,\nat any period in history, at any age, is saved.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your burden<\/strong>
\n
\n(Octavius Winslow<\/a>,\n“Daily Need Divinely Supplied”)
\n
\n“Cast thy\nburden<\/strong> upon the Lord, and He shall
\n sustain thee.” Psalm 55:22
\n
\nWonderful words! Their sense is magical\u2014their
\nsound is music\u2014their very utterance is repose!
\n
\nIt is one of those flowers culled from the Lord’s
\ngarden\u2014penciled with beauty <\/strong>and laden with
\nperfume<\/strong>, which defies all human art to heighten
\nthe loveliness of the one, or to increase the
\nsweetness of the other.
\n
\nAnd yet, as most flowers are more fragrant when
\ncrushed<\/strong>, and as the grape yields its sweetest
\njuice when pressed<\/strong>\u2014a simple exposition of these
\nprecious words, however gentle the pressure, may
\nprove a spiritual fragrance and refreshment to some
\nburdened child of God.
\n
\nO my soul, what is thy\nburden<\/strong>? Remember the
\ninvitation is a personal one, and therefore includes
\nevery care and need, sin and sorrow, that you have.
\n“Castthy\nburden<\/strong> on the Lord, and He shall sustain
\nthee<\/strong>.”
\n
\nWhatever thy\nburden<\/strong>, cast it in the prayer of faith
\non the Lord. Peculiar and heavy though it may be,
\nHis strength <\/strong>and grace <\/strong>and love <\/strong>will\nsustain you.
\n
\nEncircled by His almighty arm,
\nupheld by His promises,
\nstrengthened by His grace,
\nsoothed by His sympathy,
\ncomforted by His Spirit,
\nyou shall not sink, for it is written, “Cast thy<\/strong>
\nburden<\/strong> upon the Lord, and He\nshall  sustain thee.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reader, is this vile viper\nlurking in your heart?<\/strong>
\n
\n(Henry Law<\/a>, “The Gospel in Numbers<\/a>“)
\n
\n“The LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people\nprovoke Me? and how long will it be ere they believe<\/strong> Me, for\nall the signs I have shewed among them?” Numbers 14:11
\n
\n“They could not enter in because of unbelief<\/strong>.”\nHebrews 3:19
\n
\nReader, survey the Israelites in the wilderness\u2014will they ever\nreach the promised land?
\n
\nAlas! two, and two only, steadfastly adhere. The multitude distrust<\/em> the\nLord. They wilfully provoke Him. Therefore just indignation dooms them to\nexclusion from the promised land. Their corpses strew the desert. One by one\nthey dot the sand with graves. They fall, a solemn proof, that outward\nprivileges alone do not save<\/em>. Unbelief nullified their many means of grace.\nIt poisoned their cup of blessing!
\n
\nAh, unbelief!<\/strong> It is the sin of sins\u2014the misery\nof miseries\u2014the hopeless malady\u2014the death of souls\u2014the bar which shuts out\nChrist.
\n
\n<\/em>Oh! drag it to the cross, and slay it there!<\/em>
\n
\nImplore the Spirit, by His mighty sword, to hew it into\nshreds! If it survives, you die!<\/em>
\n
\nCan he be healed, who scorns the only cure?
\n
\nCan he reach home, who leaves the only homeward path?
\n
\nCan he be cleansed, who flees the only cleansing stream?
\n
\nCan he escape from the fast-sinking wreck, who spurns the\nlife-boat?
\n
\nWho can reach God, who puts aside the only Mediator?
\n
\nWho can be saved, who tramples down the only Saviour?
\n
\nUnbelief rejects the Gospel, and so perishes. It turns God’s\ntruth into a lie, and it goes hence to learn its folly, where faith never\ncomes.
\n
\n“He who believeth <\/em>on the Son hath\neverlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;\nbut the wrath of God abideth on him!” John 3:36<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know your sorrows!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John MacDuff<\/a>,\n“The Faithful Promiser”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to\nyou.”
\n    John 14:18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed Jesus! How Your presence . . .
\n  sanctifies trial<\/em>,
\n  takes loneliness from the chamber of sickness<\/em>,
\n  and the sting from the chamber of death!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bright and Morning Star! precious at all times,
\nYou are never so precious as in “the dark and
\ncloudy day!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bitterness of sorrow is well worth enduring,
\nto have Your promised consolations. How well
\nqualified, Man of Sorrows, to be my Comforter!
\nHow well fitted to dry my tears, You who shed
\nso many Yourself! What are . . .
\n  my tears<\/em>,
\n  my sorrows<\/em>,
\n  my crosses<\/em>,
\n  my losses<\/em>,
\ncompared with Yours, who shed first Your tears<\/strong>,
\nand then Your blood<\/strong> for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mine are all deserved<\/strong>, and infinitely more than
\ndeserved. How different, O Spotless Lamb of God,
\nare those pangs which rent Your guiltless bosom!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How sweet those comforts You have promised to the
\ncomfortless, when I think of them as flowing from . . .
\n  an Almighty Fellow Sufferer;
\n  a Brother born for adversity;
\n  the Friend that sticks closer than any brother;
\none who can say, with all the refined sympathies of a
\nholy exalted human nature, “I\nknow your sorrows!<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My soul! calm your griefs! There is not a sorrow
\nyou can experience, but Jesus, in the treasury of<\/em>
\n<\/em>grace<\/em>, has an exact corresponding solace: “In the
\nmultitude of the sorrows I have in my heart, Your
\ncomforts delight my soul!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Brethren, farewell.”<\/em> 2\nCorinthians 13:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fare well, spiritually understood, is to have everything that\nGod can make us happy in. All God’s people will eventually fare well. They all\nstand complete in Christ–nothing can touch their eternal safety; for they are\nall complete in him, “without spot, or blemish, or any such thing.”\nIn this point of view, they must all in the end and for ever fare well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when we come to the matter of experience, we often find that\nthose very times when God’s people think they are faring ill,<\/em> may\nbe the seasons when they are really faring well; <\/em>and again, at\nother times, when they think they are faring well, <\/em>then they\nare really faring ill. <\/em>For instance, when their souls are\nbowed down with trouble, it often seems to them that they are faring\nill. <\/em>God’s hand appears to be gone out against them–he has hidden his\nface from them; they can find no access to a throne of grace; they have no\nsweet testimonies from the Lord that the path in which he is leading them is\none of his choosing, and that all things will end well with them. This they\nthink is indeed faring ill, and yet perhaps they never fare better than when\nunder these circumstances of trouble, sorrow, and affliction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These things wean them from the world. If their heart and\naffections were going out after idols, they instrumentally bring them back. If\nthey were hewing out broken cisterns, they dash them all to pieces. If they\nwere setting up, and bowing down to idols in the chambers of imagery,\naffliction and trouble smite them to pieces before their eyes, take away their\ngods, and leave them no refuge but the Lord God of hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can only look back, you will see that your greatest\nsweets have often sprung out of your greatest bitters, and the greatest\nblessings have flowed from the greatest miseries, and what at the time you\nthought your greatest sorrows–you will find that the brightest light has\nsprung up in the blackest darkness, and that the Lord never made himself so\nprecious as at the time when you were sunk lowest, so as to be without human\nhelp, wisdom, or strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that when a child of God thinks he is faring very\nill, <\/em>because burdened with sorrows, temptations, and afflictions, he\nis never faring so well. The darkest clouds in due time will break, the most\npuzzling enigmas will sooner or later be unriddled by the blessed Spirit\ninterpreting them, and the darkest providences cleared up; and we shall see\nthat God is in them all, leading and guiding us “by the right way, that\nthey might go to a city of habitation” (Psalm 107:7).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SICKNESS John 11:3 Our Lord’s friend, Lazarus, was very sick. When his sisters saw their brother in grave danger, they sent this message to the Lord Jesus, “He whom thou lovest is sick.” Martha and Mary knew that Lazarus’ sickness was not an indication of the Lord’s anger or displeasure. And they knew that the […]<\/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-6436","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\/6436","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=6436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6437,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6436\/revisions\/6437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}