{"id":6494,"date":"2023-11-28T09:53:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T09:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6494"},"modified":"2023-11-28T09:53:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T09:53:24","slug":"bulletin-edition-november-2023-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6494","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition November 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n  \n  \n  \n The monster!<\/strong>
\n <\/em><\/strong>
\n Spurgeon, “THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOR”
\n <\/em>
\n SIN is a madness, disqualifying the mind for sober judgment;
\n a blindness, rendering the soul incapable of appreciating
\n moral beauty; it is in fact such a perversion of all the
\n faculties, that under its terrible influence men will ‘call
\n evil good and good evil, and they put darkness for light and
\n light for darkness, and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter’
\n (Isa. 5:20).
\n
\n To us in our fallen condition demons often appear more favorable
\n than angels, we mistake the gates of hell for the door of bliss,
\n and prefer the garnished lies of Satan to the eternal truths of
\n the Most High.
\n
\n Revenge, lust, ambition, pride, and self-will,
\n are too often exalted as the gods of man’s idolatry.
\n While holiness, peace, contentment, and humility,
\n are viewed as unworthy of a serious thought.
\n
\n O sin, what have you done! or rather, what have you undone!
\n You have not been content to rob humanity of its crown,
\n to drive it from its happy kingdom, to mar its royal garments,
\n and spoil its treasure; but you have done more than this!
\n It was not enough to degrade and dishonor; you have even wounded
\n your victim; you have blinded his eyes, sealed up his ears,
\n intoxicated his judgment, and gagged his conscience; yes,
\n the poison of your venom has poured death into the fountain!
\n Your hostility has pierced the heart of mankind, and thereby you
\n have filled his veins with corruption, and his bones with depravity.
\n
\n Yes, O <\/strong>monster<\/strong>,\n you have become a murderer,
\n for you have made us dead in trespasses and sins!<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n The back door to hell?<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>
\n Spurgeon,”A SERMON FROM A RUSH”
\n <\/em>
\n Better not to have known the way of righteousness
\n than, having known it, to be turned back again.
\n The worst of men are those traitors who leave
\n the army of truth to side with the foe.
\n
\n I believe in the doctrine of the final perseverance of
\n every true child of God; but there are in all our churches
\n certain spurious pretenders who will not hold on their
\n way, who will blaze and sparkle for a season, and then
\n they will go out in darkness. They are “wandering stars,
\n for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
\n
\n Better far make no pretension of having come to Christ,
\n and of having been born again, unless through divine
\n grace you shall hold fast to the end.
\n
\n Remember the back door to hell! Remember the\n back door to hell!<\/strong>
\n
\n There is a public entrance for the open sinner; but there
\n is a back door for the merely professed saint. There is
\n a back door for the hoary-headed professor, who has lived
\n many years in apparent sincerity, but who has been a liar
\n before God. There is a back door for the preacher who can
\n talk fast and loudly, but who does not in his own heart
\n know the truth he is preaching. There is a back door to hell
\n for church members, who are amiable and excellent in many
\n respects, but who have not really looked unto the Lord
\n Jesus Christ and found true salvation in him.
\n
\n God grant that this may wake some, who otherwise
\n would sleep themselves into perdition!
\n
\n “O my God! my God! Am I, after all, mistaken? Have I
\n played the hypocrite, and must I take the mask off now?
\n Have I covered over the cancer? Have I worn a golden
\n cloth over my leprous forehead, and must it be torn away?
\n and must I stand, the mock of devils and the laughter of
\n all worlds? What! have I drunk of your cup, have I eaten
\n with you in the streets, and must I hear you say,
\n I never knew you, depart from me you worker of
\n iniquity? Oh! must it be?”\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

The Omnipresence of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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


\n“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or wither shall I flee\nfrom Thy presence?” Psalm 139:7
\nThe omnipresence of God!<\/em> How baffling to any\nfinite comprehension! To think that above <\/em>us, and around <\/em>us,\nand within <\/em>us\u2014there is Deity\u2014the invisible footprints of an\nOmniscient, Omnipresent One!
\n
\n“His Eyes are in every place!” On rolling planets\u2014and\ntiny atoms; on the bright seraph\u2014and the lowly worm; roaming in searching\nscrutiny through the tracks of immensity\u2014and reading the dark and hidden page\nof my heart! “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with\nwhom we have to do!”
\n
\nO God! shall this Your Omnipresence appall me? No! In my seasons\nof sadness and sorrow and loneliness\u2014when other comforts and comforters have\nfailed\u2014when, it may be, in the darkness and silence of some midnight hour, in\nvain I have sought repose\u2014how sweet to think, “My God is here! I\nam not alone. The Omniscient One, to whom the darkness and the light are both\nalike\u2014is hovering over my sleepless pillow!”<\/em> O my Unsetting Sun,\nit cannot be darkness or loneliness or sadness\u2014where You are. There can be\nno night <\/em>to the soul which has been cheered with Your glorious\nradiance!
\n
\n“Surely, I am with you always!” <\/em>How\nprecious, blessed Jesus, is this, Your legacy of parting love! Present with\neach of Your people until the end of time\u2014ever present, omnipresent. The true\n“Pillar of cloud” by day\u2014and “Pillar of fire” by night,\npreceding and encamping by us in every step of our wilderness journey. My soul!\nthink of Him at this moment\u2014as present with every member of the family that He\nhas redeemed with His blood! Yes, and as much present with every individual\nsoul, as if He had none other to care for\u2014but as if that one<\/em> engrossed\nall His affection and love!
\n
\nThe Great Builder\u2014<\/em>surveying every stone and pillar\nof His spiritual temple;
\nthe Great Shepherd<\/em>\u2014with His eye on every sheep of\nHis fold;
\nthe Great High Priest<\/em>\u2014marking every tear-drop;\nnoting every sorrow; listening to every prayer; knowing the peculiarities of\nevery case: no number perplexing Him\u2014no variety bewildering Him; able to attend <\/em>to\nall, and satisfy <\/em>all, and answer<\/em> all\u2014myriads\ndrawing hourly from His Treasury<\/em>\u2014and yet no diminution of that\nTreasury\u2014ever emptying, and yet ever filling, and always full!
\n
\nJesus! Your perpetual and all-pervading presence turns darkness\ninto day! I am not left un-befriended to weather the storms of life<\/em>\u2014Your\nhand is from hour to hour piloting<\/em> my frail vessel.
\n
\nThe omnipresence of God\u2014gracious antidote to every earthly\nsorrow!<\/em>
\n
\n“I have set the Lord always before me!” Even now, as\nnight is drawing its curtains around me, be this my closing prayer:\n“Blessed Savior! abide with me, for it is toward evening, and the day is\nfar spent! Under the shadowing wings of Your presence and love, I will both lay\nme down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in\nsafety!” Psalm 4:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n What a contrast!<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>
\n (J. C. Philpot<\/a>,\n “The Heavenly Sheepfold” 1854)
\n
\n <\/strong>“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall\n be saved<\/strong>.” Mark 13:13
\n
\n Saved!<\/strong>
\n
\n <\/strong>Saved from what?<\/strong>
\n
\n Saved from hell!
\n
\n Saved from an eternity of endless misery and horror!
\n
\n Saved from the worm which never dies!
\n
\n Saved from the fire which is never quenched!
\n
\n Saved from the sulphurous flames!
\n
\n Saved from the companionship of devils and damned spirits!
\n
\n Saved saved from ever-rolling ages of ceaseless misery and\n horror!
\n
\n Have you not thought sometimes about eternity?
\n <\/strong>What must an eternity of misery must be<\/strong>\u2014when
\n you can scarcely bear the pain of toothache half an
\n hour! O! to be in torment forever! How it racks the
\n soul to think <\/strong>of it! What tongue, then, can\n express
\n the mercy and blessedness of being saved . . .
\n   from hell,
\n   from the billows of the sulphurous lake,
\n   from infinite despair!
\n
\n When a soul strikes upon the ‘rock of perdition’,
\n it is at once swallowed up in a dreadful eternity!
\n
\n Not only are believers saved from <\/strong>all this\n infinite
\n and unending misery\u2014but they are saved into<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>unspeakable happiness and glory! They are . . .
\n   saved into heaven,
\n   saved into eternal communion with the infinite God,
\n   saved into the eternal enjoyment of His blessed\n presence,
\n   saved into the perfect enjoyment of that perfect and
\n everlasting love in those regions of endless bliss where
\n tears are wiped from off all faces!
\n
\n What a contrast!<\/strong>
\n
\n Heaven \u2014 hell!
\n
\n Eternal misery \u2014 eternal bliss!
\n
\n Ages of boundless joy \u2014 ages of infinite despair!
\n
\n But salvation includes not only what we may call
\n <\/strong>future <\/strong>salvation\u2014but present <\/strong>salvation.\n Thus,
\n there is a being saved in the present . . .<\/strong>
\n   from the guilt, filth, love, power, and practice of\n sin,
\n   from the curse and bondage of the Law,
\n   from the spirit and love of the world,
\n   from inward condemnation,
\n   from the entanglements of Satan,
\n   from worldly anxieties and cares,
\n   from following after idols,
\n   from carelessness,
\n   from coldness,
\n   from carnality,
\n   from every evil way,
\n   from every delusive path.\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Supernatural light<\/strong>
\n
\n(Joseph Philpot, “The Heir of Heaven Walking in
\nDarkness, and the Heir of Hell Walking in Light<\/a>“)
\n
\n“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath\nshined in our hearts, to give<\/em> the light of the knowledge of\nthe glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”\n2 Cor. 4:6
\n
\nUntil, then, this supernatural\nlight<\/strong> of God
\nenters into the soul, a man has no saving
\nknowledge of Jehovah. He may . . .
\n  say his prayers,
\n  read his Bible,
\n  attend preaching,
\n  observe ordinances,
\n  bestow all his goods to feed the poor,
\n  or give his body to be burned;
\nbut he is as ignorant of God as<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>the cattle that graze in the fields!<\/strong>
\n
\nHe may call himself a Christian, and be
\nthought such by others, talk much about
\nJesus Christ, hold a sound creed, maintain
\na consistent profession, pray at a prayer
\nmeeting with fluency and apparent feeling,
\nstand up in a pulpit and contend earnestly
\nfor the doctrines of grace, excel hundreds
\nof God’s children in zeal, knowledge and
\nconversation.
\n
\nAnd yet, if this ray of supernatural\nlight<\/strong> has
\nnever shone into his soul, he is only twofold
\nmore the child of hell than those who make
\nno profession!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A FOWL EXAMPLE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBehold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they\nreap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not\nmuch better than they?\u201d \u2013 Matthew 6:26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The birds have never used their songs to complain of their lot\nin life. They wake up each morning and live on what their Creator has provided\nfor them, and do so without worry or complaints, and with a beautiful melody.\nHow much more ought we to trust our Lord who died to save us? Maybe we ought to\ndo a little more bird watching and imitate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Pastor\nJohn Chapman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice or Mercy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All men approach God in one of two ways. One pleads His mercy.\nThe other demands justice. The poor and needy, the weak and wounded, the fallen\nand fearful, will come pleading for mercy. Their hands will be open and empty.\nThe self-righteous, the proud, the strong, will demand justice based on\nsomething they bring in their hand. Those pleading mercy will know that the\nonly thing that satisfies the justice of God is the sacrifice Christ made on\nCalvary\u2019s cross. They will pray with David; \u201cHave mercy upon me, O God,\naccording to thy lovingkindness: according to the multitude of thy tender\nmercies\u2026\u201d Those demanding justice will try to obligate God with something they\nhave done. Their voices will be heard to say; but Lord, have we not done many\nwonderful works in they name? Justice demands reward based on works. Mercy\nlooks in faith to Christ for grace. \u201cNow to him that worketh is the reward not\nreckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on\nHim that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.\u201d Rom.\n4:4-5.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

When Is a Man Truly Saved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026when it pleased God\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Galatians 1:15-16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone asked, \u201cWhen is a man truly saved?\u201d Well, my friend, to\nbe saved is more than to believe in one God, the demons believe that! It is\nmore than just trembling under the preaching of the Word, Felix did that! It is\nnot only to hold an office in the church, Judas did that! It is not submitting\nto the ordinance of baptism, Simon Magus did that! It is not only to weep over\nsin, Esau did that! It is not just respecting the preacher, Herod did that! It\nis not to keep company with outstanding believers, Demas did that. To be saved\nis to know God and Jesus Christ Whom He hath sent. It is to be a new creature\nin Christ Jesus, regenerated and converted by the power of God. It is to\nbelieve on Christ with the heart and confess Christ with the mouth. It is a miracle\nand deliverance accomplished through the preaching of the gospel and the work\nof God\u2019s Spirit.                  \n                     \n                     \n   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry Mahan <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The monster! Spurgeon, “THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOR” SIN is a madness, disqualifying the mind for sober judgment; a blindness, rendering the soul incapable of appreciating moral beauty; it is in fact such a perversion of all the faculties, that under its terrible influence men will ‘call evil good and good evil, […]<\/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-6494","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\/6494","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=6494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6495,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6494\/revisions\/6495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}