{"id":6444,"date":"2023-06-07T10:11:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T10:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6444"},"modified":"2023-06-07T10:11:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T10:11:54","slug":"bulletin-edition-june-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6444","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition June 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“My\nGrace Is Sufficient For Thee”  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Corinthians 12:9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     This promise was made by the Lord\nto one of his servants in a time of great need. But it is a promise made to\nevery believer, for all the promises of God are in Christ and sure to all who\ntrust him (II Cor. 1:20). The thing promised is grace, all-sufficient\ngrace, to meet our every need. To whom is this promise made?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. THE BELIEVING SINNER – Salvation is by grace alone. No matter\nhow numerous your sins, no matter how great your iniquity, no matter how vile\nyour heart, the grace of God in Christ is sufficient to save you! Be of good\ncourage. Trust Christ. And be not afraid. God’s grace is greater than your sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. THE YOUNG CONVERT – Are you a young pilgrim, just delivered\nfrom Egypt? You have a long and difficult pilgrimage before you. But there\nis no cause for fear. He who called you is faithful. He will give you Water\nfrom the Rock and Bread from Heaven as you need. His grace is sufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. THE FAITHFUL SERVANT – The more you seek to do for Christ,\nthe more you need his grace. And the more you need grace, the more God gives\ngrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. THE TEMPTED BELIEVER – Satan tempts you with every form of\nsubtlety, seeking to take your heart away from Christ and destroy your soul.\nBut God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted above measure and will\nwith the temptation make a way to escape. His grace is sufficient for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. THE SUFFERING SAINT – All God’s saints must through much\ntribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven. We must go through the furnace of\naffliction and the waters of adversity. But his grace is sufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. THE FALLEN BELIEVER – Perhaps you have fallen into sin like\nPeter, or into indifference like the Laodiceans, or into rebellion like Jonah,\nand you wonder, “Will God yet forgive me?” Indeed, he will. His grace\nis sufficient for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. THE AGED SAINT – You may be old and grey, but God will not\nforsake you. He will never leave you. And his presence with you means that his\ngrace is sufficient for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. THE DYING SAINT – It will be easy for you to die in the\ncompany of your risen Saviour. When the dew of death is on your brow,\nlook still to Christ alone and hear his word of promise – “My grace\nis sufficient for thee!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

All-sufficient grace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“God is able to make all grace<\/strong> abound\ntoward you;
\n that ye, always having all sufficiency <\/strong>in all\nthings<\/strong>,
\n<\/strong> <\/strong>may abound <\/em>to every good work.” 2\nCorinthians 9:8
\nAll-sufficiency in all things! <\/em>Believer!\nSurely you are “thoroughly equipped for every good work!”
\n
\nGrace is no scanty thing, doled out in pittances.
\nIt is a glorious treasury<\/em>, which the key of\nprayer<\/em> can always unlock\u2014but can never empty!
\nIt is a fountain<\/em>\u2014full, flowing, ever flowing, over\nflowing!
\n
\nMark these three ALL’S <\/em>in this precious\npromise. It is a three-fold link in a golden chain<\/em>, let down from\nthe throne of grace, by the God of grace. “All grace!”\n“all-sufficiency!” in “all things!” and these to\n“abound.”
\n
\nOh! precious thought! My need cannot impoverish that inexhaustible\ntreasury of grace! <\/em>Myriads are hourly hanging on it, drawing from\nit\u2014and yet there is no diminution. Out of that fullness we, too, may all\nreceive, “grace upon grace!”
\n
\nMy soul, do you not love to dwell on that all-abounding\ngrace!<\/em> Your own insufficiency<\/em> in everything, met with\na divine “all-sufficiency<\/em> in all things!”
\nGrace in all circumstances and situations.
\nGrace in all vicissitudes and changes.
\nGrace in all the varied phases of the Christian’s being.
\nGrace in sunshine\u2014and in storm.
\nGrace in health\u2014and in sickness.
\nGrace in life\u2014and in death.
\nGrace for the old believer\u2014and the young believer.
\nGrace for the tried <\/em>believer, and the weak <\/em>believer,\nand the tempted <\/em>believer.
\nGrace for <\/em>duty\u2014and grace in <\/em>duty.
\nGrace to carry the joyous <\/em>cup with a steady\nhand\u2014and grace to drink the bitter <\/em>cup with an unmurmuring\nspirit!
\nGrace to have prosperity sanctified\u2014and grace to say through\ntears, “May Your will be done!”<\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n“God is able to make all grace<\/strong> abound\ntoward you;
\n that ye, always having all sufficiency <\/strong>in all\nthings<\/strong>,
\n may abound <\/em>to every good work.” 2\nCorinthians 9:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My grace is sufficient for you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J.C. Philpot<\/a>,\n“Strength Made Perfect in Weakness”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My grace is sufficient\nfor thee<\/strong>, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  2\nCorinthians 12:9
\n
\nNot your strength<\/em>,
\nnot your wisdom<\/em>,
\nnot your prayers<\/em>,
\nnot your experience<\/em>;
\nbut “My grace”<\/em>\u2014My free, My matchless\ngrace:
\n  independent of all works and efforts,
\n  independent of everything in the creature,
\n  flowing wholly and solely, fully and freely, out of the\nbosom of Jesus to . . .
\n    the needy,
\n    the guilty,
\n    the destitute,
\n    the undone.
\n
\nYou who are tried in worldly circumstances, who have to endure\nthe hard lot of poverty<\/strong>\u2014”My grace is sufficient for you.”
\n
\nYou who are tempted<\/strong>, day by day, to say or do that\nwhich conscience testifies against\u2014”My grace is sufficient for you.”
\n
\nYou who are harassed with family troubles <\/strong>and\nafflictions, and are often drawn aside into peevishness and fretfulness\u2014”My\ngrace is sufficient for you.”
\n
\nOur weakness<\/strong>, helplessness<\/strong>, and inability <\/strong>are\nthe very things which draw forth the power, the strength, and the grace of\nJesus!
\n
\nBeliever, your case is never beyond the reach of the\nwords\u2014”My grace is sufficient for you!”
\n
\nThe free, the matchless, sovereign grace of God, is sufficient\nfor all His people\u2014in whatever state, or stage, or trouble, or difficulty they\nmay be in!
\n
\n“My grace is sufficient\nfor thee<\/strong>, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians\n12:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s grace is illustrated and\nmagnified in the poverty and trials of believers!<\/strong>
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“But He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for\nMy strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather\nglory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I\ntake pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in persecutions, in distresses for\nChrist\u2019s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians\n12:9-10
\n
\nIf none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we would not\nknow the consolations of divine grace<\/em> half so well.
\n
\nWhen we find the wanderer <\/em>who does not have a\nplace to lay his head, who yet can say, “Still I will trust in the\nLord”; when we see the pauper <\/em>starving on bread and\nwater, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow<\/em> overwhelmed\nin affliction, and yet relying on Christ\u2014oh what honour it reflects on the\nGospel.
\n
\nGod’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and\ntrials of believers!<\/strong>
\n
\nSaints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all\nthings work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real\nblessing shall ultimately spring. They know that their God will either work a\ndeliverance for them speedily\u2014or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as\nlong as He is pleased to keep them in it. This perseverance of the saints\nproves the power of divine grace.
\n
\nHe who would glorify God, must reckon upon meeting with many\ntrials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord, unless his conflicts are\nmany. If then yours is a much-tried path, rejoice in it because you will better\nshow forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream\nof it\u2014hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be\ntrusted to the end.
\n
\n“No chastisement for the present seemeth to be joyous, but\ngrievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable unto them which are\nexercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nasked the Lord<\/strong> that I might grow,
\nIn faith and love and every grace,
\nMight more of His salvation know,
\nAnd seek more earnestly His face.
\n
\nIt was He who taught me thus to pray,
\nAnd He I trust has answered prayer.
\nBut it has been in such a way,
\nAs almost drove me to despair.
\n
\nI hoped that in some favored hour,
\nAt once He’d answer my request.
\nAnd by His love’s constraining power,
\nSubdue my sins and give me rest.
\n
\nInstead of this, He made me feel,
\nThe hidden evils of my heart.
\nAnd let the angry powers of hell,
\nAssault my soul in every part.
\n
\nYes, more with His own hand, He seemed,
\nIntent to aggravate my woe.
\nCrossed all the fair designs I schemed,
\nBlasted my gourds, and laid me low.
\n
\n“Lord, why is this?” I trembling cried.
\nWill You pursue Your worm to death?”
\n“This is the way” the Lord replied,
\n“I answer prayer for grace and strength.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These inward trials I\nemploy,
\nFrom self, and pride, to set you free;
\nAnd break your schemes of earthly joy,
\nThat you may find thy all in Me.”
\n\u2014<\/em>John\nNewton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best tests of growth\nin grace<\/strong>
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18
\n
\n“Grow in grace”\u2014not in one<\/em> grace\nonly, but in all<\/em> the Christian graces.
\n
\nGrow in the starting place of grace, faith<\/strong>. Believe\nthe promises more firmly than you have before. Let faith increase in fullness,\nconstancy and simplicity.
\n
\nGrow also in love<\/strong>. Ask that your love may become\nextended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word and\ndeed.
\n
\nGrow likewise in humility<\/strong>. Seek to lie very low, and\nknow more of your own nothingness.
\n
\nAs you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow\nupward\u2014having nearer approaches to God in prayer <\/strong>and more\nintimate fellowship with Jesus<\/strong>.
\n
\nTo know Him is “life eternal”\u2014and to advance in the\nknowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. Whoever has sipped this wine will\nthirst for more; for although Christ satisfies\u2014yet it is such a satisfaction\nthat the appetite is not only satisfied, but invigorated.
\n
\nIf you know the love of Jesus\u2014then will you pant after deeper\ndraughts of His love.
\nIf you do not desire to know Him better\u2014then you do not love Him\nat all, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer!”<\/em>
\n
\nSeek to know more of Him . . .
\n  in His divine and human natures,
\n  in His sin-atoning work,
\n  in His excruciating death for you,
\n  in His present glorious intercession,
\n  and in His future royal coming in glory!
\n
\nRemain by the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds!<\/em>
\n
\nAn increase of love for Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension\nof His love for us\u2014is one of\nthe best tests of growth in grace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school of Heaven!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow<\/a>, “Evening\nThoughts”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we
\n are glad.They that sow in tears shall<\/em> <\/em>reap in joy<\/em>.” \nPsalm 126:3, 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can praise God for trials!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can thank God for sorrows!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These have been to us, though a painful<\/em> \u2014 yet
\na much needed <\/em>and a most blessed <\/em>school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘wilderness’ has been a heavenly place on earth . . .
\n  the lessons which we have been taught,
\n  the truths which we have learned,
\n  the preciousness of Jesus which we have experienced,
\n  the love of God which we have felt,
\n  the sweetness in prayer which we have tasted,
\n  and the fitness for labor which we have derived,
\nall, all testify, as with one voice \u2014 to the unutterably
\nprecious blessings that flow through the channel of
\nsacred and sanctified sorrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear reader, as painful and sad as may be the path
\nyou now are treading \u2014 fear not; the outcome will
\nbe most glorious. The seed <\/em>you are sowing in\ntears,
\nshall yield you a golden harvest <\/em>of joy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adversity is the\nschool of Heaven!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in Heaven . . . .
\n  where no sorrow <\/em>chafes,
\n  where no tears <\/em>flow,
\n  where no blight <\/em>withers,
\n  where no disappointment <\/em>sickens, and
\n  where no sad change <\/em>chills, wounds, and\nslays,
\nthe sweetest praises will be awakened by the
\nrecollection of the sanctified sorrows<\/em> of\nearth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your poor, silly sheep<\/strong>
\n
\n(Octavius Winslow<\/a>, “Daily Need\nDivinely Supplied” 1870)
\n
\n“The Lord is my Shepherd . . . He restoreth <\/em>my\nsoul.”  Psalm 23:1, 3.
\n
\nIt is not the least important duty of the Shepherd to go in\nquest of the stray ones<\/em> of the flock; the fickle\nsheep <\/em>wandering from the fold.
\n
\nThe spiritual history <\/em>of the believer is a\nhistory . . .
\n  of declension<\/em> \u2014 and revival,
\n  of departure<\/em> \u2014 and return,
\n  of his backsliding<\/em> \u2014 and of the\nSaviour’s restoring.
\n
\nThe regenerate soul is bent upon backsliding from the Lord. The\nsun does not more naturally decline, than does the believing heart wander from\nGod.
\n
\n“O Lord, how many and hidden are my soul’s\ndepartures<\/em> from You, You only know! How often my love<\/em> chills,\nmy faith<\/em> droops, my zeal<\/em> flags, and I grow\nweary, and am ready to halt in Your service. Mine is a sinful, roving heart,\nas fickle <\/em>to You as the changing wind; as false <\/em>to\nmy vows as a broken bow. But You, O Lord, are my Shepherd<\/em>, and\nYou restore<\/em> my soul. Pitying my infirmity, knowing my\nwanderings, and tracking all my steps \u2014 You recover, heal, and pardon Your poor, silly sheep<\/strong>, prone to leave Your\nwounded, sheltering side in quest of that which can be found in Yourself\nalone.”
\n
\nOh, the love of Jesus in . . .
\n  curbing our waywardness,
\n  checking our wanderings,
\n  arresting, healing, and restoring our souls.
\n
\nHe never forsakes His people, though they forsake Him times\nwithout number. How can He turn His back upon one bought with His\nsufferings, groans, and tears?<\/em> How can He forsake the work of grace\nwrought in the soul by His Spirit? He may withdraw Himself for a time, gently\nto awaken us from our slothfulness and slumber \u2014 yet He returns again, and our\nlips gratefully sing, “He restores my soul.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee!” Hebrews\n13:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
\nWandering from the fold of God;
\nHe, to rescue me from danger,
\nInterposed His precious blood!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O to grace how great a debtor,
\nDaily I’m constrained to be!
\nLet Thy goodness, like a fetter,
\nBind my wandering heart to Thee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Prone to leave the God I love<\/strong>;
\nHere’s my heart, O take and seal it,
\nSeal it for Thy courts above!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O that day when freed from sinning,
\nI shall see Thy lovely face;
\nClothed then in blood-washed linen
\nHow I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My Grace Is Sufficient For Thee”   2 Corinthians 12:9      This promise was made by the Lord to one of his servants in a time of great need. But it is a promise made to every believer, for all the promises of God are in Christ and sure to all who trust him (II Cor. 1:20). 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-6444","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\/6444","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=6444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6445,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6444\/revisions\/6445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}