Preaching is more than a\nreligious ceremony or some facts to be debated, accepted, or rejected. True\npreaching is God speaking through a man and carries with it a call \u2013 a command\nfrom the living God to be received and obeyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If our hope lies in us, or in\nwhat we do, it is a delusion. If our hope lies in this church it is a lie. If\nour hope stands with one foot on the work of Christ and the other foot on our\nown merits, it will fail us. Hope in Christ is the only hope which can be\nacceptable to God. Our only hope of Heaven will be through Christ alone. Here\nour hope begins, and here our hope ends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Milton Howard <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Place Called Calvary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke 23:33<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen they were come to the place\u2026<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Not just any place\nwould do. They must come to this specific place, \u201cthe place which is called\nCalvary<\/em>.\u201d It was at this place, Golgotha, the place of the skull, that the\nGod-man must suffer and die. When our Lord set His face to go up to Jerusalem,\nHe knew what He was doing. He knew where He was going. He knew what would\nhappen there. But to Calvary he must go! He said, \u201cWhat shall I say? Father,\nsave me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify\nthy name<\/em>.\u201d Satan tried to take His life in the wilderness. The Jews tried\non many occasions to kill Him. The devil tried to destroy Him again in the\ngarden of Gethsemane. But His hour had not yet come. He had not yet come to \u201cthe\nplace,<\/em>\u201d \u201cthe place which is called Calvary<\/em>.\u201d But now His hour had\ncome. Now \u201cthey came to the place<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His Own Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jews thought they had dragged Him as a helpless victim to\nthe place of His execution. But in reality, the Lord of Glory had led them as a\nsovereign King to the place of His great conquest. God the eternal Son had\npurposed from all eternity to come to this place. It was the object, desire,\nand purpose of His heart to come to this place before the world began. It could\ntruthfully be said that the great purpose for which God created this world was\nthat, in the fulness of time, the Lord of Glory might come to this place. Our\ngreat Redeemer, from old eternity, fixed his eye on \u201cthe place which is\ncalled Calvary<\/em>.\u201d He had sworn to redeem us; and he would not rest until,\nfrom the tree fixed on Calvary\u2019s hill, He had cried, \u201cIt is finished<\/em>.\u201d\nAnd so Luke records these words, \u201cand when they were come to the place<\/em>.\u201d\nIt came to pass exactly as our Lord had purposed. He must come to \u201cthe place\nwhich is called Calvary<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steady March<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In my mind\u2019s eye, I see King Jesus marching with steady pace\nfrom old eternity, through the ages of time, to the place where he would make\nfor Himself an everlasting and glorious name. (Read Isaiah 50:5-7.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was on his way to Calvary\nwhen He stopped outside the gates of Eden and promised our fallen\nparents, Adam and Eve, that He would come to undo the ruins of the fall as our\nRedeemer (Genesis 3:15). \u2014 He was on his way to Calvary when He paused to make\na covenant of pure grace with Noah. \u2014 He was on his way to Calvary when He\nstretched out His arm to deliver Israel by the price of blood and the power of\ngrace from cruel Egyptian bondage. \u2014 He was on his way to Calvary when He led\nIsrael through the wilderness, a pillar of smoke by day and fire by night. \u2014 He\nwas on his way to Calvary when He caused David to write prophetically of him, \u201cMy\nGod, my God, why hast thou forsaken me<\/em>?\u201d \u2014 He was on his way to Calvary\nwhen Isaiah got a vision of Him and penned these words: \u201cHe was wounded for\nour transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our\npeace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are heale<\/em>d.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behold, God\u2019s own Son as He comes\ninto this world, out of the womb of the virgin! Even then He declares the\npurpose for which he came (Hebrews 10:5-14). He was on his way to Calvary when\nHe stopped by the pool of Bethesda to heal a certain poor, cripple man. \u2014 He\nwas on his way to Calvary when He sat on Jacob\u2019s well, down in Samaria, to give\neternal life to a poor harlot. \u2014 He was on his way to Calvary when He paused to\nmeet with Moses and Elijah on the mount of Transfiguration. \u2014 He was on his way\nto Calvary when He stopped by the Jericho road to give sight to a poor, blind\nbeggar named Bartimaeus. \u2014 He stopped on that same road, leading up out of\nJericho, to save a wretched publican named Zacchaeus. \u2014 King Jesus was on His\nway to Calvary when He rode into Jerusalem on an ass\u2019s colt, on His great\ninauguration day. Even then, His people took palm branches and shouted in\nanticipation of His victory, \u201cHosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that\ncometh in the name of the Lord<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Complete Salvation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well do I recall my first visit to Calvary. I came as a guilty,\nheavy-laden sinner, burdened down with the oppressive load of my sin and guilt.\nBut there I beheld the Son of God dying in my place; and the burden of my sin\nrolled away. I went home that day singing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercy there was great and grace was free;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pardon there was multiplied to me;<\/p>\n\n\n\n There my burdened soul found liberty \u2014 At Calvary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nStanding here by grace alone, I have all God\u2019s salvation. I stand before God in\nChrist, through His blood poured out for me at Calvary, fully forgiven,\ncompletely justified, perfectly accepted, entirely righteous, forever\nreconciled, wholly sanctified, securely preserved, holy, unblameable, and\nunreproveable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWill you come by faith to the Christ of Calvary? You have no other hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Come just like you are. Come in submission. Come, trusting\nChrist alone. He is able and willing to save all who come to Him. God help you\nto come now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy\nGod, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark 15:34<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\nare three things which I see in these words of lamentation, which fell from the\nlips of the Son of God, when he was made to be sin for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHAT\nAN INFINITELY EVIL THING SIN IS! <\/strong>Sin is such a horrid thing that the\nholy Lord God cannot tolerate it, even when it was found upon his darling Son.\nWhenever God sees sin, he will punish it without mercy. When the angels fell,\nGod cast them out of heaven and holds them in chains of darkness until\nthe day of judgment (II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). When Adam sinned, he was\ncursed of God and driven from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 3). When God\nlooked upon the wickedness of Noah\u2019s generation, he destroyed the whole world\nin the flood of his wrath (Gen. 6). Upon the twin cities of\nperverseness, Sodom and Gomorrah, God poured out fire and\nbrimstone (Gen. 19). And when God saw sin upon his darling Son, his\nonly-begotten, well-beloved Son, he forsook him! Be warned – <\/em>If\nGod finds sin on you, he will destroy you forever in hell, without mercy! Flee\nto Christ, who alone can cleanse you of all sin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n HOW\nTHOROUGH AND COMPLETE WAS CHRIST\u2019S OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER AS OUR SURETY! <\/strong>We\ncould never obey God perfectly. We could never fulfil the demands of the law or\nthe gospel. But Christ met and satisfied perfectly all the demands of God for\nhis elect. This cry, \u201cMy God, my God,\u201d <\/em>was made at the zenith\nof our Lord\u2019s obedience. Christ was obedient even unto death<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>Our\nsalvation was accomplished both by his doing and by his dying. His doing is\nimputed to us for righteousness (Rom. 5:19). His dying made atonement for\nour sins (Rom. 5:11). Even when he was forsaken of God, our Surety\nremained obedient. This cry is an expression of Christ\u2019s perfect\nfaith in God.<\/em><\/strong>As a man he believed God and showed us what\nit is to believe him. \u201cFaith is believing the Word of God, not\nbecause we see it to be true, or feel it to be true, but because God said it\u201d\n(M\u2019Cheyne). We are often unbelieving. But our Surety never doubted God, even\nwhen he was forsaken of God! And this cry is an expression of\nexemplary love and devotion.<\/em><\/strong>Here is love and devotion\nunrivalled! Hanging upon the cursed tree, without one drop of mercy, one smile\nfrom heaven, or one comfort for his soul, Christ loved the very God who forsook\nhim!<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE\nINFINITE DEPTH OF HELL OUR SAVIOUR ENDURED! <\/strong>What is hell if it is not\nbeing abandoned totally by God? Why was Christ forsaken? Because there was\nno other way for us to be accepted. Justice had to be satisfied. When the\nSon of God was made to be sin for us, when our sins were imputed to him, God\nforsook him and poured out upon him all the fullness of his wrath (Lam. 1:12).\nGod gave him everything our sins deserve. And now, the holy\nLord God, accepts all who trust his Son, imputes to us his perfect\nrighteousness, and rewards us with eternal glory for Christ\u2019s sake, giving us\nall that he deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n What, O Christian, has\nGod done for you?<\/strong> “But this man, after\nhe had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of\nGod.”<\/em><\/strong> Hebrews 10:12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a fundamental article of\nour most holy faith, that the man Christ Jesus is now at God’s right hand, a\nvery man, not a shadowy, ethereal substance. “There is one God, and one\nMediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” God looks at him as\nsuch with eyes of intense delight, with ever new approbation and love; and\nviews him as the representative of all that are savingly interested in him; he\nbeing the Head, the Church the members; he the Bridegroom, the Church the\nbride; he the great High Priest, and the Church the house of God. As living for\nher at the right hand of the Father, he is ever presenting on her behalf the\nvalidity of his intercession. The fact, the reality that he is there, is the\nChurch’s joy, as it is all her hope and all her boast. “Because I live,\nyou shall live also.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n To him, then, do we direct our\nprayers; on his glorious Person we fix our believing eyes; upon his blood we\nhang our hope; under his righteousness we ever desire to shelter; to feel his\npresence, taste his grace, experience his love, and know his power, is what our\nsoul, under divine teaching, is ever longing for. See, then, the grounds of\nholy boldness for a poor sinner to enter into the holiest. Blood has been shed,\nwhich blood has the validity of Godhead stamped upon it. A new and living way\nhas been consecrated, in which a living soul may walk. A great High Priest is\nset over the house of God, who is ever presenting the merits of his\nintercession. Thus, those who feel their need of him, who cannot live, and dare\nnot die without him, whose eyes are upon him and hearts towards him, are\nencouraged to enter with all holy boldness into the holiest, that they may have\ncommunion with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What time I am\nafraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word; in God I have put\nmy trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” Ps 56:3,4<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Natural feelings have deep\nroot, and will continue to spring up in the most enlightened hearts. When David\nlooked around he saw encompassing enemies. Saul threatened in the rear\u2014the\nPhilistines encamped in front. Thus when he looked to MAN timidities were prone\nto rise. Tremblings allowed that he knew fear, but happy confidence was not\nextinct. Many waters cannot drown love; many troubles cannot slay faith. Out of\nthe lowest depths he looked above, and saw bright light. His heart responded, I\nam afraid, but I will trust. God was his confidence. God’s word was the strong\nfoundation on which his heart was fixed. Realising his oneness with his God, he\nfelt that all God’s promises were his unfailing heritage. His word was a\nsafeguard which shielded his breast; it was the helmet which guarded his head;\nit was the sword before which no foe could stand; it was the light which\ndispelled all darkness; it was the song which drowned the clattering of\nadvancing foes. Blessed is the man who can similarly cry, In God I will praise\nHis word. But what praise can do justice to its exceeding excellence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Law<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Unto you that\nfear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his\nwings.” \u2013Malachi 4:2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as the sun rises in the\neast and gradually mounts up into the meridian sky, dispersing with every ray\nlight, warmth, and gladness; so this blessed Lord Jesus, as the Sun of\nrighteousness, is ever dispersing the beams of his grace and the rays of his\nfavour; and whenever those beams come, and those rays fall, there is light and\nlife, and everything to make the soul holy and happy. Now a man would act very\nfoolishly if, wishing to have light in his room when the sun was shining at\nnoonday, he should shut all the shutters, and strike a match to give him a\nlittle light for a few moments. Let us not then be so foolish as to look for\nhappiness or comfort in our own performances when the glorious Sun of\nrighteousness is at the right hand of God, and shining thence upon believing\nhearts. But when the veil is over the heart, it is like shutters in a\nroom–there is no light to show who, what, or where Jesus is. And then need we\nwonder that men strike a light and make a fire, that they may “walk in the\nsparks of their own kindling?” But what is God’s word against all such?\n“This shall you have of my hand, you shall lie down in sorrow”\n(Isaiah 50:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Preaching is more than a religious ceremony or some facts to be debated, accepted, or rejected. True preaching is God speaking through a man and carries with it a call \u2013 a command from the living God to be received and obeyed. Henry Mahan If our hope lies in us, or in what we do, […]<\/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-6857","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\/6857","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=6857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6858,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857\/revisions\/6858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n(John MacDuff, “Looking unto Jesus!” 1856)
\n
\n“Consider how great things <\/em>He hath done for you!” 1\nSamuel 12:24
\n
\nWhat, O Christian, has God done for you?<\/strong>
\n
\nHe has blotted out your sins from the book of His remembrance.
\n
\nHe has regenerated you, and made you a new creature in Christ Jesus.
\n
\nHe has destroyed the enmity of your carnal mind, and shed abroad His love in\nyour heart, by the Holy Spirit whom He has given you.
\n
\nHe has delivered you from the tyranny of Satan, and translated you from the\nkingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
\n
\nHe has, in a word, reconciled <\/em>you to Himself, justified <\/em>you\nfreely by His grace, adopted <\/em>you into His family, and given\nyou a name and place in His house, better than that of sons or of daughters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n