Luke 22:27b \u201cbut I am among you as he that serveth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wonder how many of us are so caught up\nin what we must do to serve and honour the Lord in our lives that we forget\nthat He is among His people as One Who serves \u201cserveth\u201d – continually serves.\nWho needs to be served? Those who are in need. It is not our giving which\nattracts the attention of our Saviour but our needs. He is able to succour them\nthat are tempted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 2:16 For verily he\ntook not on him the nature of<\/em> angels; but he took on him<\/em> the seed\nof Abraham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heb. 2:17 Wherefore in all\nthings it behoved him to be made like unto his<\/em> brethren, that he might\nbe a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining<\/em> to God, to\nmake reconciliation for the sins of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heb. 2:18 For in that he\nhimself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are\ntempted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To succour is to \u201crun to the cry of\u201d –\nsheep are needy animals. Thank God for the Good, Great, Chief Shepherd who\ncomes to the cries of His lambs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Psa. 40:17 But I am<\/em>\npoor and needy<\/strong>; yet<\/em> the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art<\/em> my\nhelp and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a time<\/strong> when\nI lived in the strong old Spurgeon, from his\nsermon, “Christ Crucified”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, how changed a man he is\nnow!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow) Effectual Calling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John\nKent, 1766-1843<\/p>\n\n\n\n Powerful, supernatural,\nirresistible, The omnipotent grace of\nGod<\/strong> THEY SHALL BE MY\nPEOPLE<\/strong> We often know the theory<\/strong> of\nthe gospel, It matters what a man believes\nabout Christ: who He is, what He<\/p>\n\n\n\n has done, and where He is now is\nabsolutely necessary to a man\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n hope. If Christ is not God, then He\nis less than God: anything less than<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is not holy. Anything that is\nnot holy, God is not pleased with,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and anything that God is not\npleased with is under His condemnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Christ has not satisfied\ncompletely my case before God Almighty<\/p>\n\n\n\n (placing me in perfect standing\nwith a God who is so holy that He<\/p>\n\n\n\n would turn His back on His very Son\nbecause my guilt was laid to His<\/p>\n\n\n\n account), then I am helplessly\nlost. If He is not at this very moment<\/p>\n\n\n\n interceding for me, pleading His\nown accomplishment in my behalf,<\/p>\n\n\n\n then I have no peace with God. If\nthe Son of Man has made you free,<\/p>\n\n\n\n you are free \u2014 free from the wrath\nof divine justice, free from the law<\/p>\n\n\n\n of God that did reveal my sinful\nstate, and free from the strivings of<\/p>\n\n\n\n bondage by yokes placed on me that\nno one has ever been able to bear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free, oh the glorious sound of One\nWho has freed me, washed me,<\/p>\n\n\n\n clothed me, feeds me, and keeps me\nbecause He has always loved me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is the God I serve, and His\nlove constrains me and gives me a<\/p>\n\n\n\n longing to do more than I am\nwilling or capable of doing and all for<\/p>\n\n\n\n His glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Marvin Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can a believer doubt when he\nknows that he is represented before<\/p>\n\n\n\n the throne of God by an advocate,\neven \u2015 Jesus Christ the Righteous? It is<\/p>\n\n\n\n the privilege of the very feeblest\nbeliever to know that he was represented by<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ on the cross, that all his\nsins were confessed, borne, judged, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n atoned for. This is a divine\nreality; and when laid hold of by faith, it must<\/p>\n\n\n\n give peace; but nothing short of it\ncan ever give peace. There may be<\/p>\n\n\n\n earnest, anxious, and most sincere\ndesires after God; there may be pious and<\/p>\n\n\n\n devout attendance upon all the\nlaws, offices, and forms of religion; but there<\/p>\n\n\n\n is no possible way in which to get\nthe sense of sin entirely removed from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n conscience but by seeing it judged\nin the person of Jesus Christ as a sin<\/p>\n\n\n\n offering on the cursed cross. If it\nwere judged there once for all, it is now to<\/p>\n\n\n\n be regarded by the believer as a\ndivinely, and therefore, eternally settled<\/p>\n\n\n\n question; and it was so judged, as\nproven by the resurrection of the Surety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noah went into the ark BEFORE ONE\nDROP OF WATER FELL!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he had waited until the rain\ncommenced, he would have been joined by<\/p>\n\n\n\n thousands of false converts. True\nfaith believes the promises of God and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n warnings of God BEFORE they come to\npass. A refuge built or entered<\/p>\n\n\n\n during the storm is usually\nforsaken when the sun shines. Be wary of those<\/p>\n\n\n\n who seek the Lord when their flesh\nis pained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Mahan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luke 22:27b \u201cbut I am among you as he that serveth.\u201d I wonder how many of us are so caught up in what we must do to serve and honour the Lord in our lives that we forget that He is among His people as One Who serves \u201cserveth\u201d – continually serves. Who needs to […]<\/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-6866","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\/6866","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=6866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6867,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions\/6867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\ncastle of my sins, and rested in my works.
\nThere came a trumpeter to the door, and bade me open it.
\nI with anger chide him from the porch, and said he never
\nshould enter.
\n
\nThen there came a goodly personage, with loving
\ncountenance; his hands were marked with scars, where
\nnails were driven, and his feet had nail-prints too.
\n
\nHe lifted up his cross, using it as a hammer–
\nat the first blow the gate of my prejudice shook;
\nat the second it trembled more;
\nat the third down it fell,
\nand in he came.
\n
\nAnd he said, “Arise, and stand upon your feet,
\nfor I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
\n
\n“His free grace alone, from the first to the last,
\nHas won my affection, and held my soul fast.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature<\/strong>; old\nthings are passed away; behold, all things are become new!” 2 Corinthians\n5:17
\n
\nOriginally shaped in iniquity, and conceived in sin–the love of sin and the\nhatred of holiness are born with us.
\n
\nBut when by the Holy Spirit we are born again, this original and natural love\nof sin and hatred of holiness are reversed! A new and heavenly principle is\nimplanted which leads the regenerate man to hate sin and love holiness.
\n
\nNow, it is in this divine principle that the love of holiness in the believer\nis implanted–and a power in antagonism to sin is implanted in his heart.
\n
\nWhat a reverse now transpires!
\n
\nThe regenerate now love what they once hated–and hate what they once loved!
\n
\nWe lovedsin, livedin sin, in some of its many forms . . .
\n intellectual sin,
\n gross sin,
\n refined sin,
\n open sin,
\n secret sin,
\n the lust of the flesh,
\n the lust of the eye,
\n the pride of life,
\n the power of mammon,
\n the fascination of the world,
\n the idolatry of the creature,
\n the love of SELF!
\n
\nSome, or all these forms of sin maintained the supremacy, and held their\nunbroken, undisputed rule.
\n
\nOh, how changed a man is he now!<\/strong>
\n
\nThe sins which he once committed,
\nthe objects which he once loved,
\nthe tastes which he once cultivated,
\nthe sensualities in which he once indulged,
\nhave lost their power . . .
\n to fascinate,
\n to please,
\n to enthrall.
\n
\n“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature<\/strong>; old\nthings are passed away; behold, all things are become new!” 2 Corinthians\n5:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThere is a period known to God
\nWhen all His sheep, redeemed by blood,
\nShall leave the hateful ways of sin,
\nTurn to the fold, and enter in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAt peace with Hell, with God at war,
\nIn sin’s dark maze, they wander far,
\nIndulge their lust, and still go on,
\nAs far from God, as sheep can run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nBut see how God’s indulgent care
\nAttends their wanderings, here and there;
\nStill tracking them, wherever they stray,
\nWith piercing thorns, to hedge their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWhen wisdom calls, they stop their ear,
\nAnd headlong seek, their mad career;
\nJudgments and mercies, can never sway,
\nTheir roving feet, to wisdom’s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nGlory to God, they never shall rove,
\nBeyond the limits of His love;
\nFenced with Jehovah’s shalls and wills,
\nFirm as the everlasting hills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe appointed time, rolls on apace,
\nTo call effectually, by His grace;
\nTo change the heart, renew the will,
\nAnd turn the feet, to Zion’s hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws<\/strong> him.
\n And I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“We know that God causes all things to work together for good:
\n to those who love God,
\n to those who are called <\/strong>according to\nHis purpose.
\nFor those whom He foreknew, He also\npredestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be\nthe firstborn among many brethren;
\nand these whom He predestined, He also called;
\nand these whom He called<\/strong>, He also\njustified;
\nand these whom He justified, He also glorified.
\nRomans 8:28-30<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nmighty, overwhelming, constraining!
\n<\/strong>
\n(The following is by Spurgeon)<\/em>
\n
\nWe declare on scriptural authority that the human will
\nis so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, so
\ninclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined
\nto everything that is good, that without the powerful,
\nsupernatural, irresistible<\/strong> influence of the Holy Spirit,
\nno one will ever be constrained toward Christ.
\n
\nA man is not saved against his will, but he is made
\nwilling by the operation of the Holy Spirit. A mighty
\ngrace which he does not wish to resist enters into the
\nman, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and
\nhe is saved.
\n
\nIf I did not believe that there was might going forth
\nwith the word of Jesus which makes men willing, and
\nwhich turns them from the error of their ways by the
\nmighty, overwhelming, constraining<\/strong> force of divine
\ninfluence, I should cease to glory in the cross of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(MacDuff)<\/em>
\n
\nThe omnipotent grace of God<\/strong> can change
\nand transform the worst and most hopeless;
\nquicken those who are dead; and animate
\nthe grovelling spirit with . . .
\n new motives,
\n new principles,
\n new tastes,
\n new feelings,
\n new aspirations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nby Don Fortner<\/em>
\n
\n“And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord:
\nand they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
\nfor they shall return unto me with their whole heart.\u201d
\n— Jeremiah 24:7
\n
\nThere are some men and women in this world whom
\nGod has chosen to salvation from eternity, who must
\nand shall be saved (John 15:16; 2 Thess. 2:13).
\nThere is a multitude, scattered among the fallen sons of
\nAdam, in every age, in every nation who must be saved.
\nThe number of God\u2019s elect is so great that no man can
\ncalculate it, though it always appears as only a remnant
\nat any given time.
\n
\nThe number is unalterably fixed by God.
\nAll the elect must be saved.
\nNothing can prevent their salvation.
\n
\nThe Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement for the sins of
\nGod\u2019s elect and redeemed them from the curse of the law by
\nhis own precious blood (Gal. 3:13). Contrary to popular
\nopinion, Christ did not die for all men. He refused to even
\npray for all men (John 17:9, 20). All his work was and is for
\nhis elect alone. To say otherwise is to declare that his work,
\nhis atonement, his intercession, all his work as the sinner’s
\nSubstitute was and is futile, meaningless, and vain.
\nThe death of Christ was for his particular, chosen, elect people
\n(Isa. 53:8; John 10:11) for the satisfaction of justice on their behalf.
\n
\nAll God\u2019s elect, having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, shall
\nbe called from death to life by the irresistible power and almighty
\ngrace of God the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:13-14; Psa. 65:4; 110:3).
\nRepentance toward God, faith in Christ, and eternal life are the
\nresults of the Spirit’s call. Theses are things effectually wrought
\nin God\u2019s elect (not offered to them) by his almighty grace.
\nThere is specific day appointed by God in which each of
\nhis elect will be called to life and faith in Christ by the gospel
\n(Psa. 110:3; Ezek. 16:68). God will see to it that the sinner whom
\nhe has chosen will be in the place he has ordained, with his heart
\nthoroughly prepared to receive the gospel, at the appointed time.
\nAnd he will send his Word to that sinner in the irresistible power
\nand grace of the Holy Spirit. In that day, God says, regarding
\nevery chosen, redeemed sinner, \u201cThey shall be my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWhen the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel
\n
\nJ.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nbefore we know the experience<\/strong> of the gospel.
\n
\nWe often receive the doctrines of grace into
\nour judgment<\/strong>, before we receive the grace of
\nthe doctrines into our soul<\/strong>.
\n
\nWe therefore need to be . . .<\/strong>
\n brought down,
\n humbled,
\n tried,
\n stripped of every prop;
\nthat the gospel may be to us . . .<\/strong>
\n more than a sound,
\n more than a name,
\n more than a theory,
\n more than a doctrine,
\n more than a system,
\n more than a creed;
\nthat it may be . . .<\/strong>
\n soul enjoyment,
\n soul blessing,
\n and soul salvation.
\n
\nWhen the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel<\/strong>
\nto the poor in spirit, the humbled, stripped,
\nand tried–it is a gospel of glad tidings indeed
\nto the sinner’s broken heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n