In respect to God, the death of Christ was justice and mercy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In respect to this world, the death of Christ was murder and cruelty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In respect to Himself, the death of Christ was obedience and humility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In respect to His elect, the death of Christ was wisdom, righteousness, sanctification<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and redemption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Flavel <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afflictions and trials give birth to SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING. We can weep with those who weep only if we have wept alone. We can more readily forgive the fallen from their fallen position if we have fallen and have experienced forgiveness. It is difficult to criticise a fellow cell-mate and impossible to cry \u201cunclean\u201d of a fellow leper. Yes, Afflictions and trials are good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I hate every false way. \u201c <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Psalm 119:128)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only way a sinner comes to hating every false way is that the Truth has been revealed to him supernaturally. As it is to learn a counterfeit one must first place it along side of the true! Learn truth and all counterfeits are recognised and hated automatically! So it is that every false gospel is learned and therefore hated! You\u2019ll never come to TRUTH studying each false way! Discernment is being taught of God! And that by the revelation of God! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply Preach Him<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The message of the Gospel is a very narrow message that encompasses the breadth or the span of God himself. It is narrow in the sense that Christ is its only object. There is nothing that I can preach from the Scriptures that will not find its beginning and end all redounding to the glory and honour of Christ. Any message that focuses on anything but Him misses the Gospel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ~Marvin Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n Precious!<\/strong> He became sick on Saturday\u2014and died on Monday!<\/strong> THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE PROMISES<\/strong> John Newton’s Letters<\/p>\n\n\n\n Difficulties and snares<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n April 15, 1776. It is written, “Fear not, I am with you.” It is written again, “Blessed is the man who fears always.” There is a perfect harmony in those seemingly different texts. May the wisdom which comes from above, teach you and I to keep them both united in our view. If the Lord is with us\u2014we have no cause of fear. His eye <\/em>is upon us, his arm <\/em>is over us, his ear <\/em>is open to our prayer; his grace sufficient, his promise unchangeable. Under his protection, though the path of duty should lie through fire and water\u2014we may cheerfully and confidently pursue it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, our hearts are so deceitful, fallible, and frail; our spiritual enemies so subtle, watchful, and powerful; and they derive so many advantages from the occasions of every day, in which we are unavoidably and unexpectedly concerned; there is so much combustible materials within us, and so many temptations arising from without, capable of setting all in a flame; that we cannot be too jealous of ourselves and our circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we can say, in the Psalmist’s spirit, “Hold me up” <\/em>we may warrantably draw his conclusion, “and I shall be safe!”<\/em> (Psalm 119:117) But the moment we lean to our own strength and wisdom\u2014we are in imminent danger of falling. The enemy who wars against our souls, is a consummate master in his subtle devices, prolific in stratagems, and equally skilful in carrying on his assaults by sap or by storm. He studies us, if I may so say, all round, to discover our weak sides. He is a very proteus <\/em>for changing his appearances, and can appear as a sly serpent, a roaring lion, or an angel of light\u2014as best suits his purpose. It is a great mercy to be in some measure acquainted with his devices, and aware of them. Those who wait humbly upon the Lord, and consult carefully at his word and throne of grace, are made wiser than their enemy\u2014and enabled to escape and withstand his wiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know you will not expect me to apologise for putting you in mind of these things, though you know them. I have a double warrant; the love I bear you, and the Lord’s command, Heb. 3:13. Use the like freedom with me; I need it, and hope to be thankful for it, and accept it as one of the best proofs of friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May the Lord bless and keep you. Pray for us, and believe me to be sincerely yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A shield and deliverer!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow 1863) My grace is sufficient for thee!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (J.C.Philpot, “Strength Made Perfect in Weakness\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “My grace is sufficient for thee<\/strong>, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 In respect to God, the death of Christ was justice and mercy. In respect to this world, the death of Christ was murder and cruelty. In respect to Himself, the death of Christ was obedience and humility. In respect to His elect, the death of Christ was wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. John Flavel Afflictions […]<\/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-7173","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\/7173","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=7173"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7174,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7173\/revisions\/7174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Every individual believer is precious<\/strong> in the sight of the Lord.
A shepherd would not lose one sheep,
nor a jeweller one diamond,
nor a mother one child,
nor a man one limb of his body.
Neither will the Lord lose one of his redeemed people.
However little we may be, if we are the Lord’s, we
may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus.
-Spurgeon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
(John Newton)
Dear friend,
Two people who were well the day you left us, have since died. One of them has already been buried\u2014he was a poor ungodly creature, suddenly cut off in the prime of life! The other man was young, jovial, jesting and thoughtless. He became sick on Saturday\u2014and died on Monday!<\/strong>
Oh, my friend, what do we <\/em>owe to the grace of God\u2014that we <\/em>were not cut off in the days of our ignorance\u2014as so many others have been!
Blessed be God for Jesus Christ\u2014He is exalted to “save to the uttermost!”<\/em> That word ‘uttermost’ <\/em>has an extensive meaning\u2014it includes a conquest over all difficulties, and a supply of all that is necessary! How totally, and how often, would I have been lost\u2014had not Jesus engaged to save me to the uttermost! And many a time I would have given up all hope\u2014but for that text, “He is able to save to the uttermost!”<\/em> “To the uttermost” reaches to all possible circumstances. He can . . .
enlighten <\/em>the most ignorant,
soften <\/em>the most obdurate,
support <\/em>the most tempted,
comfort <\/em>the most distressed,
pardon <\/em>the most guilty!
Oh, may His precious name be engraved upon our hearts, and sound sweeter than music to our ears\u2014for He has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and will save us to the uttermost\u2014in defiance of . . .
all our sins,
all our fears and
all our enemies!<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat flowers of mercy!<\/strong>
<\/strong>Spurgeon, “David’s Holy Wonder
at the Lord’s Great Goodness”
<\/em>
What flowers of mercy <\/strong>have
bloomed in our pathway!<\/strong>
Let us thank God for the mercies we do
not see- the innumerable dangers from
which we are preserved; the great needs
which are supplied before we know them
to be needs; the needs which the Lord
our God is pleased to keep from us so
that we never know them.
>From childhood up to youth, and on to
manhood, what flowers of mercy have
bloomed in our pathway! Superlative
love has marked out our lot.
What tender hands have led us!
What mighty arms have upheld us!
What a watchful eye has been fixed upon us!
“How precious also are your thoughts unto me,
O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should
count them, they are more in number than the sand.”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>
<\/em>By Spurgeon<\/em>
The promises of God<\/strong> are to the believer an ‘inexhaustible
mine of wealth’. Happy is it for him if he knows how to
search out their secret veins and enrich himself with
their hidden treasures.
They are an ‘armoury’, containing all manner of offensive and
defensive weapons. Blessed is he who has learned to enter
into the sacred arsenal, to put on the breastplate and the
helmet, and to lay his hand to the spear and to the sword.
They are a ‘pharmacy’, in which the believer will find all
manner of restoratives and blessed elixirs; nor lacks there
an ointment for every wound, a cordial for every faintness,
a remedy for every disease. Blessed is he who is well skilled
in heavenly pharmacy and knows how to lay hold on the
healing virtues of the promises of God.
The promises are to the Christian a ‘storehouse of food’.
They are as the granaries which Joseph built in Egypt, or as
the golden pot wherein the manna was preserved. Blessed is
he who can take the five barley loaves and fishes of promise,
and break them till his five thousand necessities shall all
be supplied, and he is able to gather up baskets full of
fragments.
Yes, they are the ‘jewel room’ in which the Christian’s crown
treasures are preserved. The regalia are his, secretly to
admire today, which he shall openly wear in Paradise
hereafter. He is already privileged as a king with the silver
key that unlocks the strong room; he may even now grasp
the sceptre, wear the crown, and put upon his shoulders the
imperial mantle.
O, how unutterably rich are the promises of our faithful,
covenant-keeping God! If we had the tongue of the mightiest
of orators, and if that tongue could be touched with a live
coal from off the altar, yet still it could not utter a tenth
of the praises of the exceeding great and precious promises of
God. Nay, they who have entered into rest, whose tongues
are attuned to the lofty and rapturous eloquence of cherubim
and seraphim, even they can never tell the height and depth,
the length and breadth of the unsearchable riches of Christ
which are stored up in the treasure house of God–
the promises of the covenant of His grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My dear Sir,
I often rejoice on your behalf. Your call out of the world was a singular, comfortable instance of the power of grace. And when I consider the difficulties and snares<\/strong> of your situation, and that you have been kept in the middle path, preserved from undue compliances on the one hand, and unnecessary singularities on the other, I cannot doubt but the Lord has hitherto helped and guided you. Indeed you have need of his guidance. At your young years, and with your expectations in life, your health firm, and your natural spirits lively\u2014you are exposed to many snares. Yet if the Lord keeps you sensible of your danger, and dependent upon him, you will walk safely. Your security, success, and comfort, depend upon him; and in the way of means of grace\u2014chiefly upon your being preserved in a humble sense of your own weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” Matthew 28:20
Christ is ever with His people, as a shield and deliverer<\/strong>. Our estimation of this truth will be proportioned to our intelligent apprehension of the number and potency of our enemies<\/em>, and the costliness and preciousness of the treasure <\/em>thus divinely protected.
There are assaults <\/strong>from which Christ alone can shield us!
Innumerable and invisible,
sleepless and restless,
working with an almost almighty power,
everywhere with an almost omnipresent existence,
ever plotting our ruin\u2014
are the spiritual enemies of our soul, and the sworn foes of our faith!
The world <\/em>and its fascinations,
Satan <\/em>and his devices,
the flesh <\/em>and its tendencies,
error <\/em>and its disguises\u2014
are all confederate against the child of God, opposing his every advance in holiness!
But Christ is our ever-present shield, near at the moment of assault, and skilful to deflect and disarm it! “Fear not Abram, I am your shield!” are words addressed to all who have like precious faith with him.
Oh yes! the Lord encompasses you. Encircled by danger, you are also encircled by the ever-present protection of Jesus!
“<\/strong>Fear thou not; for I am<\/em> with thee:<\/strong>
<\/strong>be not dismayed; for I am<\/em> thy God:<\/strong>
<\/strong>I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;<\/strong>
<\/strong>yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.<\/strong>“<\/strong>
<\/strong>Isaiah 41:10<\/strong>
With what unslumbering vigilance,
with what divine power,
with what changeless love\u2014
does the Lord Jesus shield the work of grace in the soul of His people!
Who keeps that spark <\/em>alive, in the midst of the ocean?
Who guards this vineyard <\/em>night and day, lest any hurt it?
Who preserves . . .
faith <\/em>from faltering,
love <\/em>from chilling,
hope <\/em>from dying?
Who . . .
strengthens <\/em>the work of grace when it is feeble,
raises <\/em>it when it droops,
restores <\/em>it when it relapses,
keeps <\/em>it in the cold of winter and the drought of summer;
and, when the frosts and winds of autumn would nip and scatter its foliage\u2014clothes <\/em>it with the freshness and bloom of spring?
Oh, it is Jesus, encircling with His all-protecting shield, the work of grace which His death has accomplished, and which His Spirit wrought!
Trembling believer! The work of grace in your heart shall never die! The kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in your soul\u2014is indestructible! “They shall never perish!” is the declaration of the Shepherd who bought you with His blood! You are watched over by Christ, and kept by the power of God.
“<\/strong>The Lord is<\/em> my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;<\/strong>
<\/strong>my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;<\/strong>
<\/strong>my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and<\/em> my high tower.<\/strong>“<\/strong>
<\/strong>Psalm 18:2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not your strength<\/em>,
not your wisdom<\/em>,
not your prayers<\/em>,
not your experience<\/em>;
but “My grace”<\/em>\u2014My free, My matchless grace:
independent of all works and efforts,
independent of everything in the creature,
flowing wholly and solely, fully and freely, out of the bosom of Jesus to . . .
the needy,
the guilty,
the destitute,
the undone.
You who are tried in worldly circumstances, who have to endure the hard lot of poverty<\/strong>\u2014”My grace is sufficient for thee.”
You who are tempted<\/strong>, day by day, to say or do that which conscience testifies against\u2014”My grace is sufficient for thee.”
You who are harassed with family troubles <\/strong>and afflictions, and are often drawn aside into peevishness and fretfulness\u2014”My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Our weakness<\/strong>, helplessness<\/strong>, and inability <\/strong>are the very things which draw forth the power, the strength, and the grace of Jesus!
Believer, your case is never beyond the reach of the words\u2014”My grace is sufficient for thee!”
The free, the matchless, sovereign grace of God, is sufficient for all His people\u2014in whatever state, or stage, or trouble, or difficulty they may be in!
“My grace is sufficient for thee<\/strong>, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"