{"id":6606,"date":"2024-04-21T11:17:39","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T11:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6606"},"modified":"2024-04-21T11:17:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T11:17:39","slug":"bulletin-edition-april-2024-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6606","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition April 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When all of the redeemed\nof the Lord are assembled in glory with their great Redeemer, perfected and\nglorified forever, the only visible evidence of the consequences of sin will be\nseen on the Redeemer Himself.  The wounds inflicted upon Him when He\ndelivered Himself to be crucified as the Substitute for sinners to\nsuffer, \u201cThe Just One for the unjust,\u201d<\/em> that He might bring\nthem to God. What an eternal reminder that it is, \u201cBy His stripes they\nare healed!\u201d  <\/em>What amazing love and grace!  What an amazing\nRedeemer \u2013 God!          \n                       \n        ~Maurice Montgomery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion Without Love<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeloved, let us love, for love is of God. In God alone love has\nits true abode. Beloved, let us love, for those who love are truly His sons\nborn from above. Beloved, let us love, for love is rest, and he who loveth not\nremains unblessed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion without love is like a body without life; it is offensive\nand needs to be buried from sight. Religion without love is like a contaminated\nwell which should bear the sign, \u201cDo not drink.\u201d Religion without love is a\nhouse built on sand, a branch which bears no fruit, a cloak of hypocrisy\ncovering an unregenerate heart, and a form of godliness which denies the power!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry  Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can any man perish more justly\nthan they who refuse to be saved?      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Calvin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some years\u2019 experience, the Christian comes to know, better\nthan he did at first, how much the gospel suits him. He finds that its\nsimplicity suits his bewilderment; its grace suits his sinfulness; its power is\nsuitable to his weakness; its comfort to his despondence; and the more he\ngrows, the more he loves the gospel of the grace of God.      \n                     \n               <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 C.H. Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If our dependence were upon Jesus in a measure, and our own works\nin some degree, our foundation would be partly on the rock and partly on the\nsand, and the whole structure would fall. O to know the full meaning of the\nwords, “Salvation is of the Lord.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CH Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Accepted in the Beloved”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one with Him in covenant before all worlds, He owns and\nacknowledges me as His own gift to the Son. This is clearly set forth in that\nglorious hymn of dear old John Kent a hymn which I would sing every moment of\nthe day but for the weakness of the flesh:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Twas with an everlasting love<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That God His own elect embrac’d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before He made the worlds above,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or earth on her huge columns plac’d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long ere the sun’s refulgent ray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primeval shades of darkness drove,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They on His sacred bosom lay,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lov’d with an everlasting love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in the glass of His decrees,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ and His bride appear’d as one;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her sin, by imputation, His,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she in spotless splendour shone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sin there! No wrath there! No condemnation there! No misery\nthere! No. Christ and His bride in the embraces of everlasting love. Look at\nthat picture of the Lamb and His redeemed company on Mount Zion given in Rev.\n14:1-5: “These are they which were not defiled with women.” The\nwords, “defiled with women,” denote spiritual adultery. “For\nthey are virgins.” Who are virgins? Listen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There David shines without a stain;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uriah’s blood can ne’er be known;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For like a millstone in the main<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are all his black transgressions thrown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Rahab, the harlot, loved by Thee,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shall never sink to Tophet’s flame;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus suffered on the tree,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Book of Life contained her name.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh! Look at that glorious, uninterrupted, unintercepted union\nexisting between Christ and His members, the Redeemer and the redeemed. In time\nthey appear on this wretched earth, and in the midst of the ruins of the\nAdam-fall they are found in their sin, filthy and corrupt. Yes, they are found,\nsaved, cleansed, clothed, and crowned by a precious Christ, and brought by Him\nup to the very heights of glory, where they ever stand in His adorable person,\nand are seen as though they had never sinned. And, blessed be the name of our\ncovenant God and Father, from eternity they stood uninterruptedly in the Son of\nHis love; they stand, and ever will stand, before Him without spot, wrinkle, or\nany such thing. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He\ngoeth.” Does He go into the furnace? Does He enter the flood-gates of\nsorrow and suffering? They follow Him. Is He led up of the Spirit into the\nwilderness to be tempted of the devil? They follow Him. It matters not where He\ngoes as the Forerunner of the whole election of grace, all the elect must\nfollow Him; “and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt\nthem,” for nothing can hurt or destroy in all this holy mountain, this\nMount Zion which God eternally loves. “These were redeemed from among men,\nbeing the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found\nno guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” GOD LOOKS,\nAND IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY HE SEES ALL THOSE WHO ARE ONE WITH CHRIST AS HE SEES\nCHRIST, “PERFECT IN CHRIST JESUS. COMPLETE IN HIM. (Col. 2:10) ACCEPTED IN\nTHE BELOVED.” (Eph. 1:6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Bradbury<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUR LORD\u2019S PRAYER FOR US<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI pray for them: I pray not for\nthe world, but for them which thou has given me;  for they are\nThine\u201d <\/em>\u2013 John 17:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prayer of the believer\u2019s High Priest is like all His redeeming\nwork, effectual, particular and satisfying to God.  The intercession of\nthe Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of His people is always according to the\nperfect will of God (John 4:34).  Therefore, everything that He prays for\nshall be accomplished (Isa.46:9-12).  Here are at least six things that He\nprays for every believer.  This ought to encourage us greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/strong> He prays for our preservation<\/strong>: \u201cHoly Father,\nkeep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be\none, as we are<\/em>\u201d (v.11).  There is absolutely no possibility that one\nof His elect will ever perish (John 6:37-39; John 10:27-30).  His covenant\n(2 Sam.23:5), His word (Jas.1:18) and His atonement (Heb.9:12, 26) are certain\nguarantees to our complete and everlasting salvation (1 Pet 1:5). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2)<\/strong> He prays for our jubilation<\/strong>; \u201cAnd now come I\nto thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy\nfulfilled in themselves<\/em>\u201d (v.13).  Every believer has abundant reasons\nto always rejoice in the Lord (Phil.3:3).  But mainly it is in this, the\nLord Jesus Christ Himself.  He is made unto us all that we need to stand\nbefore God accepted (Eph.1:6; 1 Cor.1:30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3)<\/strong> He prays for our emancipation<\/strong>: \u201cI pray\nnot that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest\nkeep them from the evil\u201d<\/em> (v.15).  Our Lord has set the believer\nfree from the bondage of sin, the curse of the law, the grasp of the devil and\nthe power of death (Gal.5:1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4)<\/strong> He prays for our sanctification<\/strong>: \u201cSanctify\nthem through thy truth: thy word is truth.  And for their sakes I sanctify\nmyself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth\u201d<\/em> (v.17,\n19).  Our Lord has set Himself apart in the covenant of grace to be the\nbeliever\u2019s sanctification, through His sacrifices (Eph.5:25-27;\nHeb.10:14). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5)<\/strong> He prays for our unification<\/strong>: \u201cThat they\nall may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may\nbe one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me\u201d (v.21). \nNo question that our sin has separated us from God (Isa.59:2).  Howev<\/em>er,\nbecause of the substitutionary work the Lord did for His elect, we shall be\nreconciled unto God forever (2 Cor.5:17-21). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6)<\/strong> He prays for our glorification<\/strong>: \u201cFather,\nI will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that\nthey may behold my glory\u201d<\/em> (v.24). Every time a believer is taken home\nthis prayer is answered (Ps.116; Rom.8:28-30; Rev.5:9-12). Tom Harding<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will have a much lower\nopinion of yourself!<\/strong>
\n
\n(John Newton<\/a>)
\n
\nDepend upon it\u2014if you walk closely with God for forty years, at the end of that\ntime you will have a much lower opinion of yourself <\/strong>than you\nhave now!
\n
\nYou will understand something of . . .
\n  Abraham’s feeling when he says, “I am dust and ashes!”<\/em>
\n  Jacob’s feeling when he says, “I am unworthy of the least\nof all Your mercies!”<\/em>
\n  Job’s feeling when he says, “Behold! I am vile!”<\/em>
\n  Paul’s feeling when he says, “I am the chief of\nsinners!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“LOVE…REJOICETH\nIN THE TRUTH”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Corinthians 13:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            As\nbelievers, we are bound to love our neighbours and even our enemies. But the\nspecial bond of brotherly love which we hold for our fellow-believers is the\ntruth. The truth of the gospel is the foundation of reciprocal Christian love.\nWe do not love each other because we are temperamentally compatible, or because\nwe are naturally drawn to each other, but because of the truth we hold in\ncommon. So long as the truth endures, in us and with us, so shall our\nlove endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\ndesire greater unity in the church at large. We want all true believers to be\none in heart and purpose. But unity can be purchased at too high a price. We\ncannot deny that truth which is essential to the gospel for the sake of unity.\nWe can never increase brotherly love by diminishing the truth of the gospel. In\nseeking unity with other believers, we cannot compromise the very truth on\nwhich alone true love and unity depend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

On whom do you trust?
\n
\n<\/strong>(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“On whom dost thou trust?<\/strong>” Isaiah 36:5
\n
\nReader, this is an important question. Listen to the Christian’s answer, and\nsee if it is yours.
\n
\n“On whom do you trust?”
\n
\n“I trust,” says the Christian, “in the triune God of\nScripture!”
\n
\nI trust the Father<\/strong>, believing that He has chosen <\/em>me\nfrom before the foundation of the world. I trust Him to provide <\/em>for\nme in His providence, to teach<\/em> me, to guide<\/em> me,\nto correct<\/em> me if need be, and to bring me home to His own\nhouse where the many mansions are!
\n
\nI trust the Son<\/strong>. The man<\/em> Christ Jesus\u2014is also the\ntrue God<\/em>. I trust in Him as my Redeemer<\/em>\u2014to take away\nall my sins by His atoning sacrifice, and to adorn me with His perfect\nrighteousness. I trust Him to be my Intercessor<\/em>, to present my\nprayers and desires before His Father’s throne. I trust Him to be my Advocate<\/em> at\nthe last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust Him . . .
\n  for what He is,
\n  for what He has done, and
\n  for what He has promised yet to do!
\n
\nI trust the Holy Spirit<\/strong>. He has begun to save me from my inbred\nsins; I trust Him to finally drive them all out. I trust Him . . .
\n  to curb my debased temperament,
\n  to subdue my stubborn will,
\n  to enlighten my darkened understanding,
\n  to check my evil passions,
\n  to comfort my despondency,
\n  to help my spiritual weakness,
\n  to provide my spiritual nourishment,
\n  to reign in me as my loving King,
\n  to sanctify me wholly, and then
\n  to take me up to dwell forever in glory!
\n
\nOh, blessed trust! To trust Him . . .
\n   whose power <\/em>will never be exhausted,
\n   whose love <\/em>will never wane,
\n   whose kindness <\/em>will never change,
\n   whose faithfulness <\/em>will never fail,
\n   whose wisdom <\/em>will never be confounded, and
\n   whose perfect goodness <\/em>can never know a\ndiminution!
\n
\nHappy are you, reader, if this trust is yours! So trusting, you shall enjoy\nsweet peace now, and glory hereafter! The foundation of your trust shall never\nbe removed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A golden master-key!<\/strong>
\n 
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of\nThyatira, which worshipped God, heard us:<\/em> whose heart the Lord\nopened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of\nPaul.” Acts 16:14<\/strong>
\n
\nGod’s saving grace will not be baffled.
\n 
\nHe frequently begins with the silver key<\/strong> of a mother’s tearful\nprayers and a father’s tender counsels.
\n 
\nIn turn, He uses the church-keys<\/strong> of His ordinances and His\nministers, and these are often found to move the bolt.
\n 
\nBut if they fail, He thrusts in the iron key<\/strong> of trouble and\naffliction which has been known to succeed after all others have failed.
\n 
\nHe has, however, a golden master-key<\/strong>, which excels all others. It\nis the operation of His own most gracious Spirit, by which entrance is effected\ninto hearts which seemed shut up forever.
\n 
\nWonderful is the patience and long-suffering of the Lord, or He would long\nsince have left hardened and careless sinners to themselves. He is importunate,\nwhether we are so or not. We take pains to resist His heavenly grace, but He\nabides faithful to His own name of love.
\n 
\nO Lord, we bless You that You have opened our hearts, and we ask You now that\nYou have entered, to abide in our souls forever, as a king in his own palace!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When all of the redeemed of the Lord are assembled in glory with their great Redeemer, perfected and glorified forever, the only visible evidence of the consequences of sin will be seen on the Redeemer Himself.  The wounds inflicted upon Him when He delivered Himself to be crucified as the Substitute for sinners to suffer, \u201cThe […]<\/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-6606","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\/6606","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=6606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6607,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6606\/revisions\/6607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}