{"id":6949,"date":"2025-10-19T08:52:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T08:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6949"},"modified":"2025-10-19T08:52:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T08:52:34","slug":"bulletin-edition-october-2025-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6949","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cFor thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,\nwhose name is<\/em> Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place<\/em>,\nwith him also that is<\/em> of a contrite and humble spirit, to\nrevive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.\u201d<\/strong> Isaiah 57:15<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

O what a mystery that God\nshould have two dwelling-places!<\/strong> The “heaven of\nheavens” that “cannot contain him;” and the humble, broken, and\ncontrite heart! But in order that the Lord of heaven might have a place in\nwhich he could live and lodge, God gives to his people gifts and graces; for he\ncannot come and dwell in the carnal mind, in our rebellious nature, in a heart\nfull of enmity and wickedness; he therefore makes a lodging-place for himself,\na pavilion in which the King of glory dwells, the curtains of which are like\nthe curtains of Solomon. His abode is that holy, divine nature which is\ncommunicated at regeneration–“the new man, which after God is created in\nrighteousness and true holiness.” Thus Christ dwells in the heart by\nfaith; and is “in his people, the hope of glory.” And this made Paul\nsay, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but\nChrist lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the\nfaith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the object of God’s\ndealings–that the Lord God might dwell in his people; that there might be a\nunion between the Church and her covenant Head–“I in them, and they in\nme, that they might be perfect in one.” This is the unfolding of the grand\nenigma, the solution of the incomprehensible mystery, “God manifest in the\nflesh,”–that the Lord God might dwell in his people; “I will dwell\nin them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my\npeople;” and thus glorify himself by filling their hearts with his grace\nand glory, as Solomon’s temple was of old, and that they might enjoy him, and\nbe with him when time shall be no more. This is the grand key to all the Lord’s\ndealings with the soul, and all his mysterious leadings in providence–that the\nLord God might dwell in the hearts of his people here, and be eternally\nglorified in them in a brighter and a better world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 30, 1768
\nMy dear friend,
\nThis has been a sort of busy week; but seldom have I felt more unfit to teach\nothers, or more unfit to preach to my own heart. Oh, these outside services are\nwearisome things, when the Lord leaves us to feel our own hardness and\nemptiness! But I should learn to glory in my infirmities, that the power of\nChrist may rest upon me. As to myself, though cause enough to be humbled<\/em>,\nI have no cause to be cast down, since my righteousness is in heaven. And as to\nmy ministry, I ought to desire that it may appear, that the excellency of the\npower is of God, and that there is nothing in me but weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dust and ashes is my name,
\nMy all is sin and misery!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we say, so we believe\u2014and\nyet we would gladly go forth as if we were wise and good. The Lord help us to\ndiscover SELF <\/em>in all its various windings, to resist it by the\nsword of the Spirit, as we would the devil, for surely\u2014self is his great engine\nof evil. It would be a fine thing to have the united knowledge of Paul and the\neloquence of Apollos\u2014so that we might be the tip-top characters in the foolish\ndispute among professors, “Who is the best preacher?” <\/em>But\nI can tell you a finer thing, and more within our reach, because it is what the\nLord invites even the lowest of the flock to seek for; I mean, the character to\nwhich the promise is made, \u201cFor thus saith the high and lofty One that\ninhabiteth eternity, whose name is<\/em> Holy; I dwell in the high\nand holy place<\/em>, with him also that is<\/em> of a\ncontrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive\nthe heart of the contrite ones.\u201dIsaiah 57:15. Let the discourses\nof others be admired for ingenuity, learning, or pathos\u2014but may we be ambitious\nthat ours may savour of a broken and contrite spirit<\/em>; then shall we\nbe best able to commend a precious Saviour, and then we may warrantably hope\nthe Lord will not allow us to speak in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am affectionately yours in\nthe best bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s\nPeople Are a Broken People<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psa. 34:18 The LORD is<\/em>\nnigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite\nspirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A broken heart, a contrite spirit and a subdued will are rare\nthings. In this day of human rights, everyone extols the imaginary dignity of\nman, and every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Self-esteem,\nself-worth, and self-promotion are the cry of the day. All men demand what they\ncall \u201ctheir rights\u201d. All men by nature are exceedingly proud and selfish.\nPreachers today, knowing man\u2019s natural pride, have capitalised upon it. They\nhave developed a flesh pleasing theology of pride. Our forefathers exalted the\ndignity, majesty, and supremacy of the eternal God. But the smooth-tongued\nprophets of deceit in our day exalt the dignity, majesty, and supremacy of man.\nThe religious world around us is dedicated, not to the honour of God, but to\nthe honour of man. It\u2019s purpose is to-make man feel good about himself.\nTherefore we hear little about brokenness of heart, contrition of the soul, and\nthe subduing of man\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Must be\nBroken<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of this\none thing you may be sure \u2014 \u201cThe sacrifices of God are <\/em>(still) a\nbroken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise<\/em>\u201d(Psalm\n51: 17). The Lord God declares, \u201cTo this man will I look, even to him that\nis poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my Word<\/em>\u201d (Isaiah 66:2).\nGod will have broken material with which to build his kingdom. He accepts and\nuses nothing he has not broken. Until the Lord God brings us to nothingness\nbefore his presence, we will never experience his salvation. God\u2019s people, all\nof them, are a broken people. No one has experienced the grace of God in\nsalvation, until his heart is thoroughly broken before the Holy Lord God as he\nis revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever a sinner finds out who he is, who\nGod is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for sinners, \u2014 if a\nman ever really learns these things, he will be broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s\nServant Job<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When God\u2019s\nservant Job saw himself, in the presence of his three miserable friends, he\nvindicated himself, and even cursed his day. He said, \u201cWhy did I not perish\nfrom the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?<\/em>\u201d\nBut when he stood in the presence of God, he was a broken man; and he spoke as\na broken man. He saw himself, in all the hideousness of his sin; and he saw God\nin all the holiness of his majesty. Then he said, \u201cBehold I am vile! I have\nheard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Therefore\nI abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes<\/em>\u201d (Job 40:4; 42:5-6). There is\nno pride and egotism here, no haughtiness, no self-vindication. Once Job had\nseen the Lord, he was broken. He loathed himself and blamed himself. Once he\nhad seen the Lord, he honoured God and vindicated him. The truly broken heart\nwill always vindicate God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Work of\nGrace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such\nbrokenness is a work of grace. It can be produced in us only by a saving\nrevelation of Christ in our hearts. Brokenness is found only at the cross. The\nLord God declares that when he pours upon the hearts of his elect the Spirit of\ngrace, \u201cthey shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn\nfor him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him,\nas one that is in bitterness for his firstborn<\/em>\u201d (Zechariah 12:10). Have you\nbeen to the cross? Has the crucified Christ been revealed in your heart? Is\nyour heart broken before him? O Lord God, our Savior, evermore break our hearts\nbefore Thee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“<\/strong>My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy\nword.<\/strong>” Psalm 119:25<\/strong>
\n
\nAh! how many whose eye scans this page may take up and breathe David’s words.\nYou feel a deadness, a dullness, and an earthliness in spiritual enjoyments,\nand duties, and privileges, in which your whole soul should be all life, all\nfervour, all love. You are low where you ought to be elevated; you grovel where\nyou ought to soar; you cleave to the earth where you ought to be embracing the\nheavens. Your thoughts are low; your affections are low; your feelings are low;\nyour spirits are low; and you seem almost ready to question the existence of\nthe life of God in your soul.
\n
\nBut even in this sad and depressed state may there not be something cheering,\nencouraging, hopeful? There was evidently in David’s\u2013”My soul cleaves unto\nthe dust: quicken me.” This was the cheering, encouraging, hopeful feature\nin the Psalmists’s case\u2013his breathing after the requickening of the Divine life\nof his soul. Here was that which marked him a man of God. It was a living man\ncomplaining of his deadness, and breathing after more life. It was a\nheaven-born soul lamenting its earthliness, and panting after more of heaven.\nIt was a spiritual man mourning over his carnality, and praying for more\nspirituality. It is not the prayer of one conscious of the low state of His\nsoul, and yet satisfied with that state.
\n
\n
\n“I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word.”\nPerhaps no expression is more familiar to the ear, and no acknowledgment is more\nfrequently on the lips of religious professors, than this. And yet where is the\naccompanying effort to rise above it? Where is the putting on of the armour?\nWhere is the conflict? Where is the effort to emerge from the dust, to break\naway from the enthralment, and soar into a higher and purer region? Alas! many\nfrom whose lips smoothly glides the humiliating confession still embrace the\ndust, and seem to love the dust, and never stretch their pinions to rise above\nit. But let us study closely this lesson of David’s experience, that while deep\nlamentation filled his heart, and an honest confession breathed from his lips,\nthere was also a breathing, a panting of soul, after a higher and a better\nstate. He seemed to say\u2013”Lord, I am prostrate, but I long to rise; I am\nfettered, but I struggle to be free; my soul cleaves to the dust, but quicken\nme!” Similar to this was the state of the Church, so graphically depicted\nby Solomon in his Song\u2013”I sleep, but my heart wakes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

“But my God shall\nsupply all your needs, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 4:19<\/strong>
\n
\nFor all the exigencies of the Christian journey God has amply provided. The\nLord Jesus being the believer’s “way,” all nourishment for the\npilgrimage of the saints is laid up in Him. All supply of wisdom for the\nperplexing way, of strength for the wearisome way, of grace for the perilous\nway, of sympathy for the trying way, is in Jesus. In Him has the Father laid up\nthe provision for the wilderness journey. And what storehouses of\nnourishment\u2013both testifying of Jesus\u2013are the word of God and the covenant of\ngrace! How full, how rich and ample the supply! All the soul-establishing\ndoctrines, all the sanctifying precepts, and all the precious, comforting\npromises go to make up the nourishment for the wilderness journey. Sometimes\nthe Lord brings us into the very heart of the wilderness, just to prove to us\nhow easily and how readily He can provide a table for us even there. And when\nall other resources are exhausted, and all supply is cut off, and every spring\nof water is dried up, lo! He opens the eye of our faith to see what His heart\nof love has prepared.
\n
\nAre you, dear reader, sitting down to weep like Hagar, or to die like Elijah,\nin the wilderness\u2013desolate, weary, and exhausted? Oh, see what appropriate and\nample nourishment your God and Father has provided for you. The Angel of the\ncovenant touches you with the right hand of His love, and bids you rise and eat\nand drink, yes, to “drink abundantly.” In the glorious gospel are\n“all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old,” which the Lord has laid\nup for His people. “Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your\nwine with a merry heart,” for all this storehouse of nourishment, this\ntable of provision, is for you. All the love that is in God’s heart, all the\ngrace that is in the Savior’s nature, all the comfort that is in the Spirit’s\ntenderness, all the sanctifying truths, free invitations, and precious promises\nwhich cluster in the Gospel of Christ, all are yours\u2013the sacred nourishment\nprovided for the your journey to the mount of God. Listen to the voice of\nJesus, saying to you, as of old, “Come and dine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

GOD’S\nMETHOD OF GRACE    <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah\n3:3-5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We\nmust be careful not to suggest that sinners must meet certain qualifications,\npass through the same feelings, emotions, and experiences, or possess great\nknowledge before they can be saved. It is the task of gospel preachers not to\nplace obstacles in the sinner’s way, but to remove every obstacle that might\nhinder sinners fleeing to Christ for refuge. Salvation is as simple and\nprofound as this – “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE\nSAVED!” Yet, in the Scriptures we are given many pictures of salvation\nwhich reveal God’s method of grace. One of those pictures is found in Zechariah\n3:3-5. (Read the text carefully.) Here is Joshua the High Priest of Israel.\nThough he was of the priestly line, he was a sinner in need of grace. And what\nhe experienced is a picture of God’s grace. This is what happens when God saves\na sinner by his grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     1.\nYOU MUST TAKE YOUR PLACE AS A GUILTY SINNER BEFORE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (v.\n3). Take the ground God gives you. If you take your place as a sinner before\nGod, he will lift you up by his grace (I John 1:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     2.\nYOUR SIN MUST BE TAKEN AWAY (v. 4). Christ took our sins away judicially when\nhe died upon the cross (Heb. 9:27). He sends his servants to proclaim the\nfree pardon and forgiveness of sin (Isa. 40:1-2). And in the day of\ngrace,by faith in his blood, he causes the guilt of sin to be removed from\nyour conscience (Heb. 9:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     3.\nTHEN THE LORD JESUS WILL CLOTHE YOU WITH CHANGE OF RAIMENT, THE GARMENTS OF\nSALVATION (v. 4). This change of raiment is the righteousness of Christ,\nimputed to us in justification and imparted to us in regeneration. Like a\ngarment, it covers us, protects us, warms us, and adorns us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     4.\nAT LAST, THE SINNER WHOM GOD SAVES IS GIVEN THE MITRE OF ASSURED ACCEPTANCE (v.\n5). The mitre of the High Priest had a golden plate upon the front of it with\nthese words inscribed upon it – “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (Ex.\n28:36-38). The sinner, with his sins washed away and Christ’s righteousness\nimputed to him, is assured of acceptance with God by faith in Christ. With his\nspotless garments on, all who believe are as holy as God’s own Son!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\nFortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.\u201d Isaiah 57:15 O what a mystery that God should have two dwelling-places! The […]<\/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-6949","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\/6949","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=6949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6950,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6949\/revisions\/6950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}