{"id":6480,"date":"2023-10-22T10:07:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T10:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6480"},"modified":"2023-10-22T10:07:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T10:07:24","slug":"bulletin-edition-october-2023-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6480","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition October 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

True faith holds every revealed truth of the Bible\nbut opposes none. If you live by faith, Christ, the bread of heaven, will be\nthe food of thy faith. If you walk by faith, Christ, the living way, will be\nthe path of faith. If you stand fast by faith, Christ will be faith\u2019s\nfoundation; faith will stand no where, but on Christ; and Christ will always\nbear every weight that faith lays on Him. Christ will never suffer faith to\nfail, nor will faith ever suffer Christ to have a co-partner; Christ will never\nsuffer faith to be confounded; nor will faith ever suffer Christ to be\ndishonoured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Huntington<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The believer’s eternal confession!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By the grace<\/strong> of God\u2014I am what I am!”<\/em> 1\nCorinthians 15:10
\n
\nThis is the believer’s eternal confession!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace found him a rebel <\/em>against God\u2014it leaves\nhim a son <\/em>of God!
\n
\nGrace found him wandering at the gates of Hell<\/em>\u2014it leaves him at the\ngates of Heaven!
\n
\n<\/em>Grace devised <\/em>the scheme of Redemption.
\nJustice <\/em>never would; reason <\/em>never could.
\nAnd it is grace which carries out<\/em> that scheme.
\n
\nNo sinner would ever have sought God\u2014but “by grace.” The thickets of\nEden would have proved Adam’s<\/em> grave\u2014had not grace called him\nout! Saul <\/em>would have lived and died the haughty self-righteous\npersecutor\u2014had not grace laid him low! The thief on the cross<\/em> would\nhave continued breathing out his blasphemies\u2014had not grace arrested his tongue\nand tuned it for glory!
\n
\n“Out of the knottiest timber<\/em>,” says Rutherford, “God\ncan make vessels of mercy <\/em>for service in the high palace of\nglory!”
\n
\n“I came, I saw, I conquered!” may be inscribed by the Savior on\nevery monument of His grace<\/em>. “I came <\/em>to the\nsinner; I looked <\/em>upon him; and with a look of omnipotent\nlove\u2014I conquered <\/em>him!”
\n
\nBeliever, you would have been this day a wandering star<\/em>, to whom is\nreserved the blackness of darkness forever! You would have been Christless,\nhopeless, and portionless; had not grace constrained <\/em>you! And\nit is grace which, at this moment, “keeps” you.
\n
\nYou have often been a Peter<\/em>\u2014forsaking your Lord\u2014but brought back to\nHim again. Why have you not been a Demas <\/em>or a Judas? <\/em>“I\nhave prayed for you\u2014that your faith fail not!” Is not this your own\ncomment and reflection on life’s retrospect: “Yet not I\u2014but the\ngrace of God which was with me!”
\n
\n<\/em>Seek to realise your dependence <\/em>on this grace every moment.
\n
\n“More grace! more grace!” <\/em>needs to be your continual cry.
\n
\nHis infinite supply<\/em>\u2014is commensurate with your infinite need<\/em>.
\n
\nThe treasury of grace<\/em>, though always emptying\u2014is always full.
\n
\nThe key of prayer <\/em>which opens it\u2014is always at hand!
\n
\nAnd the Almighty Bestower <\/em>of the blessings of grace\u2014is always\n“waiting to be gracious.”
\n
\nThe recorded promise<\/em> can never be cancelled or reversed:\n“My grace is sufficient for you.”
\n
\nThe grace of God is the source of lesser temporal <\/em>blessings\u2014as\nwell as of higher spiritual <\/em>blessings. Grace accounts for the crumb\nof daily bread<\/em>\u2014as well as for the crown of eternal glory!<\/em>
\n
\nBut even in regard to earthly mercies, never forget the CHANNEL of grace: “through\nChrist Jesus!”<\/em> It is sweet thus to connect every blessing, even\nthe smallest and humblest token of providential bounty\u2014with Calvary’s cross\u2014to\nhave the common <\/em>blessings of life stamped with “the print\nof the nails!” It makes them doubly precious to think, “All\nthis flows from Jesus!”
\n
\n“By the grace<\/strong> of God\u2014I am what I am!”<\/em>
\nReader! seek to dwell much on this inexhaustible theme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John MacDuff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 be clothed with\nhumility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.\u201d 1 Pet.\n5:5b.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a beautiful garment is\nhumility. It is a simple garment. It\u2019s not flashy. It does not draw attention\nto itself. It has no colour or design that would appeal to fleshly eyes. It is\na plain white robe. It covers the nakedness of the flesh with dignity and\nhonour. It exalts not the glory of its wearer, but the glory of its giver. Oh,\nLord, clothe us with humility.\n                   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, save us and we will be\nsaved. Call us and we will come. Speak to us and we will listen. Feed us and we\nwill be fed. You have started the work; You must finish it. We are completely\nat Your mercy. We are the work of Your\nhands.           <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabe Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You say, \u201cMy soul is\nmine, and I will do with it what I please.\u201d<\/em> I beg your pardon. Your\nsoul is not yours nor is it in your power to dispose of it. \u201cGod is the\nFather of all spirits\u201d <\/em>(Heb 12; 9). \u201cBehold, all souls are\nmine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul\nthat sinneth, it shall die<\/em>\u201d (Eze. 18; 4). We have our souls by right of\nstewardship, not ownership. God has the ownership and the disposal. \u201cThe\nlot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord\u201d<\/em>(Prov.\n16;\n33).                                                \n           \n    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saving Faith<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saving faith is not based\nupon one\u2019s feelings but upon God\u2019s faithfulness. It embraces and rejoices in\nthe promises of God. It needs no evidence or proof, only a word from the living\nGod of the Bible; being \u201cfully persuaded that what God has promised, he is able\nalso to perform\u201d (Romans 4:21); and realising that the only difference between\nGod\u2019s faithful promise and its perfect fulfilment is just a little time…His\nappointed time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maurice Montgomery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Gets the Glory?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you wish to know if the\ngospel you are hearing preached is the gospel of God, ask yourself this\nquestion, \u201cWho gets the glory?\u201d If you wish to know whether your religious\nexperience is of the flesh or of the Lord, ask yourself the same thing, \u201cWho\ngets the glory?\u201d Also, examine all your gifts, works, and missionary efforts by\nthe same rule, \u201cWho gets the glory?\u201d God will not share His glory! That which\nis of God, from God, and for God’s glory will be blessed with His presence and\npower \u201cthat no flesh should glory in His presence. … that, according as it is\nwritten, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.\u201d (1 Corinthians 1:29,\n31). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Symbolical Confession Of Baptism  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans. 6:4-5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Notice the connecting word,\n“Therefore.” It refers to verse 3. Because baptism looks to Christ\nand his death upon the cross, this is how and why it must be performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Baptism is a burial. “We are\nburied with him by baptism.” It is a picture of death. What do you do with\na dead corpse? Sprinkle sand in its face? Pour dirt on its head? Of course not!\nYou bury it. And when a person is baptised, he is buried in water. Immersion is\nnot a mode of baptism. It is baptism. Without immersion, baptism cannot be\nperformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Baptism is unto death. It is the\nbeliever’s confession of faith in the merit, efficacy and sufficiency of\nChrist’s death for his eternal salvation. Baptism says to all\nthe world, “I trust Christ for all my salvation. Looking to him, his\nbloody death upon the cursed tree, trusting him alone, I am justified before\nGod.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In baptism we confess our\ncommitment to Christ. Rising up out of the watery grave, we confess to all\nthe world that as Christ arose from the dead by the glorious power of God\nthe Father, “even so we also should walk in newness of life.” We have\nbeen raised from spiritual death to spiritual life by the glorious power of\nGod’s almighty grace. Henceforth, we declare in baptism, we are determined, by\nthe grace of God, to walk in newness of life. We renounce our former life,\nways, hopes, and beliefs. Christ is our Life, our Way, our Hope and our Truth.\nWe are no longer our own. We belong to Christ. We will no longer live under the\nrule of sin, self and satan. We give ourselves to the rule and dominion of\nChrist our Lord, to walk with him in newness of life (I Cor. 6:19-20; II Cor.\n5:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     And the believer confesses his\nhope of resurrection glory with Christ in the ordinance of baptism (v. 5). As\nbaptism looks back to the cross in faith trusting Christ’s finished work of\nredemption, it looks forward to the second coming in hope of the resurrection,\ntrusting the power of the risen Christ to bring us safe and complete into his\nheavenly kingdom. This blessed ordinance is our symbolic confession of faith in\nChrist, redemption by his blood, regeneration by his Spirit and resurrection by\nhis power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

If you are at home in the world<\/strong>
\n
\n(J. C. Philpot<\/a>,\n“Daily Portions”)
\n
\n“<\/strong>For we are<\/em> strangers\nbefore thee, and sojourners, as were<\/em> all our fathers: our days\non the earth are<\/em> as a shadow, and there is<\/em> none\nabiding.<\/strong>” 1 Chron. 29:15<\/strong>
\n
\nIf you possess the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and,
\nJacob, you, like them, confess that you are a
\nstranger; and your confession springs out of a
\nbelieving heart and a sincere experience.
\n
\nYou feel yourself a stranger in this ungodly world.
\n
\nIt is not your element.
\n
\nIt is not your home.
\n
\nYou are in it during God’s appointed time, but
\nyou wander up and down this world . . .<\/strong>
\n  a stranger to its company,
\n  a stranger to its maxims,
\n  a stranger to its fashions,
\n  a stranger to its principles,
\n  a stranger to its motives,
\n  a stranger to its lusts,
\n  a stranger to its inclinations, and all in which
\nthis world moves as in its native element.
\n
\nGrace has separated you by God’s sovereign power,
\nthat though you are in <\/em>the world, you are not of <\/em>it.
\n
\nI can tell you plainly–if you are at home in the
\nworld<\/strong>; if the things of time and sense are your
\nelement; if you feel one with . . .
\n    the company of the world,
\n    the maxims of the world,
\n    the fashions of the world, and
\n    the principles of the world
\n–grace has not reached your heart, the faith
\nof God’s elect does not dwell in your bosom.
\n
\nThe first effect of grace is to separate.<\/strong>
\n
\nIt was so in the case of Abraham. He was called
\nby grace to leave the land of his fathers, and go
\nout into a land that God would show him. And so
\nGod’s own word to His people is now, “Come out
\nfrom among them, and be separate, says the Lord,
\nand touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
\nyou, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall
\nbe my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
\n
\nSeparation, separation, separation from the world
\nis the grand distinguishing mark of vital godliness.
\n
\nThere may be indeed separation of body <\/strong>where there
\nis no separation of heart<\/strong>. But what I mean is . . .
\n  separation of heart<\/strong>,
\n  separation of principle<\/strong>,
\n  separation of affection<\/strong>,
\n  separation of spirit<\/strong>.
\n
\nAnd if grace has touched your heart, and you are
\na partaker of the faith of God’s elect, you are a
\nstranger in the world, and will make it manifest
\nby your life and conduct that you are such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious\nthan of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto\npraise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The trial of faith is a test of its character; it is the furnace\nthat tries the ore of what kind it is- it may be brass, or iron, or clay, or\nperhaps precious gold; but the crucible will test it. There is much that passes\nfor real faith, which is no faith; there is much spurious, counterfeit metal;\nit is the trial that brings out its real character. The true character of Judas\nwas not known until his covetousness was tempted; Simon Magus was not\ndiscovered to possess a spurious faith, until he thought to purchase the gift\nof God with money; Demas did not forsake the apostle, until the world drew him\naway. But true faith stands the trial; where there is a real work of grace in\nthe heart, no tribulation, or persecution, or power of this world, will ever be\nable to expel it thence; but if all is chaff, the wind will scatter it; if all\nis but dross and tinsel, the fire will consume it. Let the humble and tried\nbeliever, then, thank God for every test that brings out the real character of\nhis faith, and proves it to be “the faith of God’s elect.” God will\ntest His own work in the gracious soul; every grace of His own Spirit he will\nat one time or another place in the crucible; but never will He remove His eye\nfrom off it; He will ‘sit as a refiner,’ and watch that not a grain of the\nprecious metal is consumed; He will be with His child in all and every affliction;\nnot for one moment will He leave him. Let gratitude rather than murmuring, joy\nrather than sorrow, attend every test which a loving and faithful Father brings\nto His own gracious work, “that the trial of your faith might be found\nunto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

True faith holds every revealed truth of the Bible but opposes none. If you live by faith, Christ, the bread of heaven, will be the food of thy faith. If you walk by faith, Christ, the living way, will be the path of faith. If you stand fast by faith, Christ will be faith\u2019s foundation; […]<\/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-6480","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\/6480","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=6480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6481,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6480\/revisions\/6481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}