Church Anniversary 2011

God willing, the 160th Anniversary of Crosslanes Chapel will be marked by a Service at 6pm on Saturday 28th May, at the church.

The preacher will be the Rev. William Macleod, minister of Knightswood (Glasgow) Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).

Refreshments will follow the service.

Rev. Macleod will also preach on the Sabbath (29th May) at 11am and 6pm.

The Proclaimer, Spring 2011

Magazine of Crosslanes Chapel

News of the Fellowship
Bible Distribution from Crosslanes Chapel
TBS Wessex
Haggai: Be strong, work, and the Lord be with you
Book Reviews: The Authorized Version, A wonderful and unfinished history and The Diary of Kenneth Macrae
Metrical Psalm 13
CH Spurgeon: "I will never leave thee"

Sermon: CH Spurgeon

“I will never leave thee." Hebrews 13:5.

No promise is of private interpretation. Whatever God has said to any one saint, He has said to all. When He opens a well for one, it is that all may drink. When He openeth a granary-door to give out food, there may be some one starving man who is the occasion of its being opened, but all hungry saints may come and feed too. Whether He gave the word to Abraham or to Moses, matters not, O believer; He has given it to thee as one of the covenanted seed. There is not a high blessing too lofty for thee, nor a wide mercy too extensive for thee. Lift up now thine eyes to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, for all this is thine. Climb to Pisgah's top, and view the utmost limit of the divine promise, for the land is all thine own. There is not a brook of living water of which thou mayst not drink. If the land floweth with milk and honey, eat the honey and drink the milk, for both are thine. Be thou bold to believe, for He hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."In this promise, God gives to His people everything. "I will never leave thee." Then no attribute of God can cease to be engaged for us. Is He mighty? He will show Himself strong on the behalf of them that trust Him. Is He love? Then with lovingkindness will He have mercy upon us. Whatever attributes may compose the character of Deity, every one of them to its fullest extent shall be engaged on our side. To put everything in one, there is nothing you can want, there is nothing you can ask for, there is nothing you can need in time or in eternity, there is nothing living, nothing dying, there is nothing in this world, nothing in the next world, there is nothing now, nothing at the resurrection-morning, nothing in heaven which is not contained in this text—"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Metrical Psalm 13

Notes by Rev John Brown Haddington

Here we have the Psalmist sowing in tears, but reaping in joy. Observe, (1.) His extreme distress, occasioned by God's apparent unkindness, and by inward anguish of soul, and the insolence of enemies, ver. 1-2. (2.) His fervent supplications that God would consider his case, strengthen his faith, direct his goings, and comfort his heart, ver. 3-4. (3.) Sudden deliverance, flowing from
a fixed trust in God, and inducing to a triumphant joy in him, ver 5-6. Think, my soul, how divine withdrawments, sensibly perceived, sting a renewed heart! How changeable the saints' spiritual frames are, while they continue in this world. Weeping endures for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And behold, how quickly the prayers of faith are answered, and its expectations fulfilled!

1 How long wilt thou forget me, Lord?
shall it for ever be?
O how long shall it be that thou
wilt hide thy face from me?

2 How long take counsel in my soul,
still sad in heart, shall I?
How long exalted over me
shall be mine enemy?

3 O Lord my God, consider well,
and answer to me make:
Mine eyes enlighten, lest the sleep
of death me overtake:

4 Lest that mine enemy should say,
Against him I prevail'd;
And those that trouble me rejoice,
when I am mov'd and fail'd.

5 But I have all my confidence
thy mercy set upon;
My heart within me shall rejoice
in thy salvation.

6 I will unto the Lord my God
sing praises cheerfully,
Because he hath his bounty shown
to me abundantly.

Be strong, work, and the Lord be with you

Taken from a sermon preached by our Minister at the beginning of the year

Haggai 2 : 4
“Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:”

David in his old age, after preparing an abundance for the building of the temple, charged his son Solomon, recorded for us in 1 Chronicles 22 : 16, to,“Arise therefore, and be doing.” After which he encourage his son with a wonderful promise, “and the LORD be with thee.”

Dear brethren, for God's glory, for benefit of the Church, and then for the good of our own souls, let us arise, and be found serving the Him. In so doing, let us be comforted by these words of promise, and encouragement, “and the LORD be with thee.”

After the captivity, the Lord's Messenger, Haggai, here in this chapter, brought a further message from the Lord, to Zerubbabel, the chief governor, Joshua the high priest, and then to the common people. “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:” . They were to continue on with the work!

Now they had many enemies, recorded for us in Ezra chapter 4, who greatly opposed them, and through their words were effectual in discouraging them and in hindering the work. Finally, because of a certain kings letter, Ezra 4 : 24, the work came to a halt. However despite this, we see they were rebuked for their slothfulness; being more concerned about the their own houses than God's house. Haggai 1 : 4.

The messages had the desired effect. The Lord having stirred up their hearts, the work resumed. In verse 14 of chapter 1 we read, “And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,”

Later, recorded here in this 2nd chapter, Haggai brings another message from the Lord in order to encourage them in the work.

Discouragements continued to settle in many a heart, as was the case when the foundation was laid, it is not like Solomon's! In verse 3 we read, “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?” Many were greatly discouraged. However, now comes a word of encouragement, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:” Dear brethren, let us, in these days wherein there is much opposition, frequent battles, and a great volume of hard work ahead of us, be encouraged in the Lord God and go on in His service.

As we come to these words consider;1stly the exhortation to be Be strong, 2ndly, Work, and 3rdly The encouragement; the Lord be with you.

1stly Be strong.

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land

Many were discouraged; it was not like Solomon temple, the work was hard, and further, many opposed them. My dear brethren, there are times when Ministers, Missionaries, Sabbath School leaders, youth leaders, and all who seek to serve the Lord become discouraged. William Carey was seven years in waiting and faced many setbacks, what discouragements he must have known in those early years. Discouragements can so easily set in. Certain causes may be: 1stly, The feeling of ones own weakness, unworthiness and sin. 2ndly, Difficult and awkward people. 3rdly, Enemies. Remember the enemies of Nehemiah and the Jews who scoffed at the work. In Nehemiah 4 : 2 - 3 “And he (Sanballat) spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now
Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.” There will be no shortage of people to pour scorn upon us, for we have many who oppose and speak out against us. Where a good work is being done, it is sure to be attacked. And then, consider our great foe, the Devil.

4thly The lack of perceived progress.
How discouraging it can be to a Minister, or Ministers when people look at a small congregation, or congregations, and then immediately boast of the large Church they are in, and the numerous additions that are taking place. Fruitless seasons can be a cause of great discouragement. Turn with me for a moment to that fruitless night those disciples had known out on the lake.
Luke 5 : 5 “Master, we have toiled all the night.” Much hard toil yet nothing! Discouragement can set in, one can feel so weak and at such a time Satan can whisper, is it worth it? The Lord says to us “be strong,”

Dear brethren, we need to be strong, for we have work to do! Oh look to the Lord and pray for it! How we need that strength which comes from the Lord. In Psalm 121 : 2 “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Look to the Lord and rest in Him by way of faith.

In Psalm 46 : 1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Matthew Henry wrote “God is our strength to bear us up under our burdens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings. He will by his grace put strength into us.” Dear brethren, He will come to our aid, He will strengthen, for He is gracious and faithful to His promise. Have we not proved this is so. In Psalm 28 : 7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” In Philipians 4: 19. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Now the Lord speaks in order to strengthen. We at certain times, when the Holy Spirit takes and effectually applies, find strength in the Word, and as a result we are strengthened. How precious are those choice times which we have been privileged to know. Strength in a time of weakness, and strength to go on.

“Be strong” is the word of the Lord to us, oh then let us seek the Lord. In Psalm 105 : 4, “Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” Go and fetch strength from your never failing covenant God. Spurgeon wrote “we all need strength, let us look to the strong One for it.”

To be continued.

TBS Wessex Auxiliary

On the 8th of January 2011 an inaugural meeting was held at Derry Hill, near Calne, in the county of Wiltshire for the newly established Wessex Auxiliary. Back in February of the previous year a group of men were invited to a meeting in Salisbury to discuss the possibility of re-stabilising an Auxiliary in the West of England. After much prayer and consideration five willing men were approved by the General committee of the Society and the Wessex Auxiliary was formed in October 2010, with an inaugural meeting planned for early on in the new year.

Returning to the 8th of January, nearly 100 people made their way to Derry Hill. Mr G Buss chaired the meeting, and gave an informative account of the work and a small address to the children there present. Mr David Broom spoke further of the work of the Society and its present situation. After the singing of the second praise the Rev Malcolm Watts preached from 2 Timothy 3 :15 “ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. In his concluding remarks he set forth his great desire, which so many of us share, that through the distribution of the Bible many would come to hear of Jesus Christ and further believe in Him as their personal Saviour.

God's presence was known and His word was blessed. After the meeting refreshments were served and a time of fellowship was enjoyed.

To encourage the Children a bag full of TBS material, including colouring books, and book marks was made freely available, along with, and much to the delight of the Children, an item of food to take home. How good it was, as is always the case, to see children in the service.

We look back on the inaugural meeting with much thankfulness to God and give Him the praise which He so deserves. We pray looking forward in the will the Lord to the great work that is set before us, praying that God would continue to richly bless the work, and that through the distribution of His word many would come to faith in Christ.

Free Bible Distribution

Last year, 2010, it was our joy and privilege to distribute, on the doors, in the open air and through other means 73 AV Bibles to those interested.

Back in April, 25 were delivered to Parkhurst prison on the Isle of Wight. Since our visit, the Prison Chaplain has requested that, when he is in need of more Bibles, he will be in touch, being thankful for our support in this way to the prisoners. Since the end of the summer in Ringwood, down where we hold the Open Air services, we have at regular intervals, besides on those occasions when we hold an Open air services, set up a table for the free distribution of Bibles, Luke's Gospels, and other material. This has proved to be a valuable means of distributing God's Word to needy souls in our immediate area. In all, 34 Bibles have been received. On one memorable occasion, whilst Pastor was preaching the Gospel, in the space of ten minutes 7 people came and took a copy of God's word. We pray that those who have received God's Word might think upon and be led to Christ.

So far this year we have have distributed 43 Bibles, many of them in our local town of Ringwood, for which we give God the praise.

News of the fellowship

Rev. Richard Brooks was our preacher for our Autumn Meeting. We were greatly blessed through his ministry, and our Meeting was well attended.

Door to door visiting continues in the Fordingbidge area, the second time round. Gospel leaflet distribution, has been completed in Verwood, and has now begun in St. Ives and Ashley Heath.

Last Autumn a desire was expressed that outreach should commence in a number of villages and hamlets in the northern part of the New Forest, where there is now no evangelical witness. After much prayer, and careful consideration, back in November all the homes in the village of Bramshaw received literature. At the beginning of this year the village of Brook also received likewise. We pray that over the coming months and years that every home in this part of the Forest might be reached with the Gospel.

Youth meetings are continuing with a steady flow of children from the Church and from the surrounding area. we are especially pleased to see children attending our Sabbath School and the evening Service.

On the 2nd of December 2010 a memorial Service was held at Crosslanes for the life of Mrs Ann Sharman. Mr and Mrs Sharman were married in the Chapel some 57 years ago. Despite the heavy fall of snow that had fallen in the night, and the untreated roads making driving dangerous, around sixty villagers came out. Our minister preached from Proverbs 18 : 24, presenting Christ as "the friend who sticketh closer than a brother" to all those who put their trust in in Him, and repent of their sins. Our prayers and thoughts are with Mr Gordon Sharman as he mourns the loss of his dear wife. We pray also for all who gathered in the Chapel who were strangers to grace, that they might yet know that peace which is in and through Christ.

Our Annual Lucheon was held on January 13th. in our Church hall. Once again this was well attended,and much enjoyed by all who came.

We give thanks to God, along with our Pastor and Sharon, for the the safe arrival of Samuel Stephen Lewis on January 24th.

The 13th. March was the occasion of our Pastor`s 10th. Anniversary, for which we give praise to God. We were greatly blessed through the ministry of Rev. Malcolm Watts from Emmanuel Church, Salisbury.