{"id":6952,"date":"2025-10-28T01:19:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T01:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6952"},"modified":"2025-10-28T01:19:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T01:19:22","slug":"bulletin-edition-october-2025-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6952","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My Beloved!<\/strong>
\n(From Octavius Winslow’s, “None Like Christ”)<\/em>
\n
\n“What is thy beloved<\/strong> more than another beloved?”
\nSong of Solomon 5:9
\n
\nMy Beloved<\/strong> bore my sins, and opened in his heart
\na fountain in which I am washed whiter than snow.
\n
\nMy Beloved<\/strong>….
\nsustains my burdens,
\ncounsels my perplexities,
\nheals my wounds,
\ndries my tears,
\nsupplies my needs,
\nbears with my infirmities,
\nupholds my steps, and
\ncheers my pathway to the tomb.
\n
\nMy Beloved<\/strong> will be with me in the valley of the shadow
\nof death, and with his presence I shall fear no evil.
\n
\nMy Beloved<\/strong> has gone to prepare a place for me in
\nthe many mansioned house of my Father, and will
\ncome again and receive me to himself, that were
\nhe is, I may be also.
\n
\nMy Beloved <\/strong>will walk with me the gold paved streets
\nof the new Jerusalem, and will lead me to fountains
\nof living waters, and will wipe every tear from my eyes.
\n
\nI find no love so soothing as his, no friendship
\nso true, so gentle as his. Jesus is my all in all.
\nThis is my Beloved<\/strong>, and this is my friend!
\n
\nYes, My Beloved<\/strong> is altogether lovely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply Preach HIM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The message of the\nGospel is a very narrow message that encompasses the breadth or the span of God\nhimself. It is narrow in the sense that Christ is its only object. There is\nnothing that I can preach from the Scriptures that will not find its beginning\nand end all redounding to the glory and honour of Christ. Any message that\nfocuses on anything but Him misses the Gospel.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marvin Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 NEEDING THE PRESENCE\nOF THE LORD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prayer nearly every time I\nstep into the pulpit is the prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:15: \u201cIf thy presence\ngo not with me, carry us not up hence.\u201d  That should be the believer\u2019s\nprayer about everything that we do because we are not sufficient to handle\nanything on our own.  Before we go into the worship service, our prayer\nshould be, \u201cIf thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.\u201d\n Before we go to work in the morning, our prayer should be, \u201cIf thy\npresence go not with me, carry us not up hence.\u201d  Before we come home in\nthe evening, our prayer should be, \u201cIf thy presence go not with me, carry us\nnot up hence.\u201d  Before we spend time with loved ones, before we make any\ndecision, before we go anywhere or do anything, our prayer should be, \u201cIf thy\npresence go not with me, carry us not up hence.\u201d  Sooner or later we will\nlearn that we can do without many things we hold dear in this life, but we\ncannot do without the presence of the Lord with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Tate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What man needs<\/strong>
\n
\n(Horatius Bonar)
\n
\nIt is not ‘opinions’ which man needs\u2014it is TRUTH!
\n
\nIt is not ‘theology’ which man needs\u2014it is GOD!
\n
\nIt is not ‘religion’ which man needs\u2014it is CHRIST!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cSay ye to the\nrighteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fruit of their doings.\u201d\nIsaiah 3:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spiritual things, all\nyour temptation, all your darkness, all your<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wanderings God will\noverrule. It shall be well with you. There shall never<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be a night, but that morning\nshall come; there shall never be a day of trouble,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but a day of prosperity\nshall follow; there shall never be an emptying, but<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there shall be a filling;\nthere shall never be a bringing down, but that He will<\/p>\n\n\n\n

raise you up again. Let it\nbe either darkness or light, sorrow or grief, night or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

day, life or death, time or\neternity, \u201cIt shall be well with the righteous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Pastor Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Message of Hope<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hearing of the gospel is\nvital to a man\u2019s salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith, the gift of God,\ncomes through the hearing of this glorious good<\/p>\n\n\n\n

news of God\u2019s purpose to\nredeem those that He has eternally loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting under a consistent\nmessage that points men to the person of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Jesus Christ, tells of\nHis obedience to the law of God, and sets Him forth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as the only mediator between\nGod and men, IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SALVATION.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This message which the\nSpirit of God blesses to the salvation of sinners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is the food throughout the\nlife of a redeemed man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A child of God never goes\nany farther than the message of hope he heard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the moment that sinner\nis brought to see something of his need of a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

substitute until he lies\ndying on the bed of death, his desire shall be the hearing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of the Christ that\nsovereignly became his sacrificial lamb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marvin Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one, precious, all\nabsorbing theme!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Octavius Winslow, \u201cThe\nPrecious Things of God\u201d)<\/em>  
\n
\nThe Word of God must ever be\ntranscendently precious to the believer. The Bible is, from its commencement to\nits close, a record of the Lord Jesus. Around Him the divine and glorious Word\ncentres; all its wondrous types, prophecies and facts gather.
\n  His Promise and Foreshadowing,
\n  His holy Incarnation, Nativity and Baptism,
\n  His Obedience and Passion,
\n  His Death, Burial and Resurrection,
\n  His Ascension to Heaven,
\n  His Second coming to judge the world\u2014
\nare the grand and touching,
\nthe sublime and tender,
\nthe priceless and precious
\ntruths interwoven with the whole texture of the Bible, to which the Two\nWitnesses of Revelation, the Old and the New Testaments bear their harmonious\nand solemn testimony.
\n
\nBeloved, let this be the one and chief object in your\nstudy of the Bible\u2014the knowledge of Jesus!
\n
\nThe Bible is not a history, a book of science or a poem\u2014it is a record of\nChrist. Study it to know more of Him\u2014His nature, His love, His work. With the\nmagnanimous Paul, “count all things but loss for the excellency of the\nknowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord.”
\nThen will God’s Word become increasingly precious to your soul, and its truths\nunfold.
\n
\nIn every page you will:
\n  trace the history<\/em> of Jesus,
\n  see the glory<\/em> of Jesus,
\n  admire the work<\/em> of Jesus,
\n  learn the love<\/em> of Jesus, and
\n  hear the voice<\/em> of Jesus!
\n
\nThe whole volume will be redolent of His name, and luminous with His beauty!
\n
\nOh, what is the Bible to us apart from its revelation of a Saviour!
\n
\nIs there not great danger . . .
\n  of studying it merely intellectually and scientifically,
\n  of revelling among its literary beauties and its grandeur
\n\u2014blind to its true value, and without any desire to know . . .
\nthat precious Saviour<\/em> who died for sinners,
\nthat Divine<\/em> Redeemer<\/em> who purchased the ransom of\nHis Church with His own blood;
\nthat Friend<\/em> who loves us;
\nthat Brother<\/em> who sympathises with us,
\nthat enthroned High Priest<\/em> who intercedes for us within the\nveil?
\n
\nDo we study the “Word of Christ” spiritually and honestly\u2014as those\nwhose souls hunger and thirst for this, the bread and water of life?
\n
\nDo we search it diligently and earnestly as for hidden treasure\u2014treasure beyond\nall price?<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nCan we say with David, “O how love I Your law! It is my meditation all the\nday!”
\n
\nDo we:
\n  read it with a child-like mind,
\n  receive it with a believing heart,
\n  bow to its teaching with reverence of soul, and
\n  receive its decisions in all questions of faith and practice as decisive\nand ultimate?
\nIn a word, do we search the Scriptures humbly,\nprayerfully, depending upon the guidance of the Spirit\u2014to find Jesus in them?
\n
\nOf these Scriptures He is . . .
\n  the Alpha and the Omega,
\n  the substance,
\n  the sweetness,
\n  the glory,
\n  the one, precious, all absorbing theme!<\/strong>
\n
\nYes, Lord! Your word is precious to our souls, because it reveals to us Your\nglory, and tells us of Your love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Pride<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Pride is a\ngroundless thing. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no reason\nto be proud. Pride should be unnatural to us, for we have nothing to be proud\nof. Our CREATION ought to humble us, for we are frail creatures who are here\ntoday and gone tomorrow. Our IGNORANCE should be sufficient to lay us low. We\nspend a lifetime trying to learn a few things in part; then, in old age, we\ncan\u2019t remember where we left our glasses. Our SINS should lay us in the dust,\nfor it would be embarrassing for the most trusted friend to view our hearts.\nOur BLESSINGS ought to humble us; for the more we have, the more we are in debt\nto God who makes us to differ. A great debtor has no cause for pride. Certainly\na believer has no cause for pride, for our SALVATION is all by grace!\nMephibosheth accurately summed up our confession, \u201cWhat is thy servant, that\nthou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?\u201d Let us pray to be delivered\nfrom pride, for it is such a subtle enemy that only the Lord can deliver us; but\nwe MUST be delivered, for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the\nhumble.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 ~Henry Mahan\n(1926-2019) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul’s hobby-horse! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1 Corinthians 2:2), “I\nresolved to know nothing while I was with you, except Jesus Christ and\nHim crucified<\/em>.”
\n
\nThe world is full of distractions, and even within the church, countless voices\nclamour for attention. But Paul, that faithful minister of the gospel,\nhad one great theme<\/em> that eclipsed all others: Jesus Christ and\nHim crucified! This was not a passing interest or occasional emphasis–it was\nhis constant, unwavering focus. If Paul had a “hobby-horse,” it was\nChrist crucified. He rode<\/em> it in every letter, proclaimed<\/em> it\nin every sermon, and treasured<\/em> it at all times.
\n
\nPaul had deep theological knowledge, an unmatched intellect, and a rich grasp\nof Old Testament Scriptures. Yet when he came to Corinth–a city dazzled by\neloquence and puffed up with human wisdom–he deliberately laid aside every\nother topic. He determined<\/em>, he resolved<\/em>, to make the\ncross of Christ his singular subject. Why?<\/strong> Because the cross\nreveals both the vileness of human sin, and the marvelous grace of God in\nsalvation. The cross . . .
\n  manifests the sinfulness of man<\/em>,
\n  exalts the glory of God,
\n  and unveils the only way of redemption.
\n
\nTo preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” is to proclaim the eternal\nplan of God, the willing sacrifice of the Son, and the effectual\npower of the Spirit in saving those for whom Jesus died. It is to\ndeclare that totally depraved and spiritually dead sinners, can be reconciled\nto the holy and righteous God, only through the substitutionary death of the\nLord Jesus. No philosophy or moral reform can accomplish this. Only the blood\nof the Lamb can cleanse and justify ungodly sinners.
\n
\nIn a world of theological fads and spiritual\nshallowness<\/em>,<\/em> we need more men like Paul–men who will\nrefuse to drift from the centrality of the cross. The cross must not be\nreduced to a mere entry point of the Christian life. It is . . 
\n  the very heart of the gospel,
\n  the foundation of all doctrine,
\n  and the fuel for sanctification.
\n
\nAs believers, we never outgrow our need to hear again and again, of our Savior\nwho loved us and gave Himself for us!
\n
\nLet Paul’s holy obsession be ours. Let Christ crucified be our boast,\nour theme, our delight, and our message! May we, too, resolve to know nothing\nexcept Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
\n
\n“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through\nwhich the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians\n6:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       \n                     \n           C.H.Spurgeon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Wilt Thou not revive\nus again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?” Psalm 85:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Octavius Winslow
\n
\nA fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit forms the great secret of all personal\nrevival. This a declining soul needs more than all beside. Possessing this in a\nlarge degree, he possesses every spiritual blessing; it includes and is the\npledge of every other. Our dear Lord sought to impress this, His last consoling\ndoctrine, upon the drooping minds of His disciples: His bodily presence in\ntheir midst, He taught them, was to be compared with the spiritual and\npermanent dwelling of the Spirit among them. The descent of the Holy Spirit was\nto bring all things that He had taught them to their remembrance; it was to\nperfect them in their knowledge of the supreme glory of His person, the\ninfinite perfection of His work, the nature and spirituality of His kingdom,\nand its ultimate and certain triumph, in the earth. The descent of the Spirit,\ntoo, was to mature them in personal holiness, and more eminently fit them for\ntheir arduous and successful labor in His cause, by deepening their\nspirituality, enriching them with more grace, and enlarging them with more\nlove; and fully did the baptism of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost,\naccomplish all this: the apostles emerged from His influence, like men who had\npassed through a state of re-conversion; and this is the state, dear reader,\nyou must pass through, would you experience a revival of God’s word in your\nsoul\u2014you must be re-converted, and that through a fresh baptism of the Holy\nSpirit. Nothing short of this will quicken your dying graces, and melt your\nfrozen love, and restore your backsliding heart. You must be baptized afresh\nwith the Spirit; that Spirit whom you have so often and so deeply wounded,\ngrieved, slighted, and quenched, must enter you anew, and seal, and sanctify,\nand re-convert you. Oh, arise, and pray and agonize for the outpouring of the\nSpirit upon your soul; give up your lifeless religion, your form without the\npower, your prayer without communion, your confessions without brokenness, your\nzeal without love. And oh, what numerous and precious promises cluster in God’s\nword, all inviting you to seek this blessing! “He shall come down as rain\nupon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth.” “Come, let us\nreturn unto the Lord; for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and\nHe will bind us up. After two days will He revive us; in the third day He will\nraise us up, and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow\non to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall\ncome unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”\nSeek, then, above and beyond all other blessings, the renewed baptism of the\nHoly Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit;” seek it earnestly\u2014seek\nunder the deep conviction of your absolute need of it\u2014seek it\nperseveringly\u2014seek it believingly: God has promised, “I will pour out my\nSpirit upon you;” and asking it in the name of Jesus you shall receive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Beloved! (From Octavius Winslow’s, “None Like Christ”) “What is thy beloved more than another beloved?” Song of Solomon 5:9 My Beloved bore my sins, and opened in his heart a fountain in which I am washed whiter than snow. My Beloved…. sustains my burdens, counsels my perplexities, heals my wounds, dries my tears, supplies my needs, bears […]<\/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-6952","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\/6952","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=6952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6953,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6952\/revisions\/6953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}