GROW BY LEARNING : October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Funamentals of expository Preching by Dr. John MacArthurm Dr. Steven Lawson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQJrKFfEc9Q

Monday, October 24, 2016

Trials Will Produce True Faith

How you can know if you are a truely born again christian living the christian life: how trials test us and help us know we have eternal salvation: James 1:2, 12.
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials; knowing this, that the testing of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and its flower falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endures trials: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him."

G.K. Chesterton said, "I believe in getting into hot water. I think it keeps you clean."

And there is, to be sure, the need in our lives for a testing to see if, in fact, we are genuine; and sometimes there is no better test than hot water, or the water of sorrows and trials. How one handles trouble is an indication of their faith, and trouble coming into your life and my life will speak to the reality of our faith, or the lack of it.

Therefore, in the purpose of James, which is to give us tests of living faith,

the first thing he wants to talk about is the test of trials, for trials will reveal whether your faith is living faith or dead faith, whether it’s genuine faith or imitation faith, whether it is saving faith or non-saving faith.

It’s a very natural starting point, for the simple reason that everybody who lives in the world lives through trials. In fact, we are fallen creatures, we are sinful creatures, we live in the midst of a fallen and sinful society, and as a result of that we experience constant trouble.

In fact, it just seems like it never goes very far away, if it goes away at all. Job put it this way; in Job 5: 7, he said, "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." It’s as if to say man’s fallen nature is a fire that spits up sparks. The natural consequence of the fire of man’s fallenness is trouble. In fact, in Job 14:1, he said, "Man that is born of a woman" – and that includes all of us, obviously – "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble."

In Psalm 22:11, David said, "Be not far from me" – crying out to God – "Be not far from me, for trouble is near me."

In Isaiah 8:22,-23 God speaks through Isaiah of His judgment in the world that left men, quote: "To look unto the earth and find only trouble." And no doubt you can remember, if you’ve read that wonderful insight into human wisdom that we know as the book of Ecclesiastes, these familiar words in chapter 2, "Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me, for all is vanity and vexation of spirit." And then verse 23, "For all his days are sorrows and his travail grief; yea, his heart takes not rest in the night." Trouble, trouble, trouble, vanity – day and night, life seems but trouble, and trouble alone.

Even for Christians, even for those of us who are the children of God, there’s a constant kind of facing of trouble, a constant facing of trial in a very troubled world. And even when we sort of get our own little world under control, somebody invades it and messes it up, inevitably, and you will know that if you’ve had a group of kids over to your house lately. No matter how you protect your insulated little world, they have a way of doing damage to it. And they are but a small illustration of how life is. We do everything we can to protect ourselves, to get the perfect peace and comfort, but inevitably, trouble comes either from outside or from inside.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Charles and Charity Whisnant October 2016

Charles and Charity Whisnant October 2016

Three Sweet Grandskids of Charles and Charity Whisnant

1 Peter 4:11 Whoever * speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever * serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NASB: Lockman

Greek: ei tiHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5100"s lalei, (3SPAI) os logia theou; ei tiHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5100"s diakonei, (3SPAI) os ex ischuos ed choregei (3SPAI) o theos; hina en pasin doxazetai o theos dia Iesou ChHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5547"ristouHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5547", o estin (3SPAI) e doxa kai to kratos eis tous aionas ton aionon; amen.
Amplified: Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes aabundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).
NLT: Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen. . If anyone ministers, let him minister as out of the strength which God supplies, in order that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, in whom there is the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Young's Literal: if any one doth speak -- 'as oracles of God;' if any one doth minister -- 'as of the ability which God doth supply;' that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power -- to the ages of the ages. Amen.

WHOEVER SPEAKS, LET HIM SPEAK, AS IT WERE, THE UTTERANCES OF GOD: ei tis lalei (3SPAI), os logia theou: (Isa 8:20; Jer 23:22; Ep 4:29; Col 4:6; Jas 1:19, 26; 3:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) (oracles: Acts 7:38; Ro 3:2; Heb 5:12)

SPEAKING OR SERVING BOTH
DEPENDENT ON GOD'S ENABLEMENT

Whoever speaks - Literally "if anyone speaks" which is a first class condition and assumes that this is a fact, a fulfilled condition.

Speak (2980) (laleo) is the Greek verb meaning to make a sound and then to utter words.

Vincent says that laleo is "used of speaking, in contrast with or as a breaking of silence, voluntary or imposed. Thus the dumb man, after he was healed, spake (Mt 9:33 "And after the demon was cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled, saying (lego), "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel.") and Zacharias, when his tongue was loosed, began to speak (Lk 1:64 "And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God") The use of the word laleo ...contemplates the fact rather than the substance of speech. Hence it is used of God (He 1:1 - the point being, not what God said, but the fact that he spake to men. On the contrary, lego refers to the matter of speech. The verb originally means to pick out, and hence to use words selected as appropriate expressions of thought, and to put such words together in orderly discourse. (Vincent, M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament).

Peter is implying that there are two general categories of gifts: speaking gifts and serving gifts. Such distinctions are clear in the lists in Ro 12:6, 7, 8; 1Co 12:7, 8, 9, 10, 11,28, 29, 30. This division relates to the distinction God’s leaders made between ministry roles (Acts 6:2, 3,4). These two general ministry functions often overlap.

Utterances (3051) (logion from lógios = an orator) in classical Greek was used of oracular utterances of heathen deities, but as used in Scripture refers to divine utterances or revelations.

MacArthur - Logion (oracles) is a diminutive of logos ( which is most commonly translated word. Logion generally referred to important sayings or messages, especially supernatural utterances...In many pagan religions of that day, mediums and seers gave occultic predictions of the future and other messages from the spirit world through supernatural "oracles." By observing the movements of fish in a tank, the formation of snakes in a pit, or listening to the calls of certain birds, fortune-tellers would purport to predict such things as business success or failure, military victory or defeat, and a happy or tragic marriage. Such a connotation could not have been further from Paul’s use of logion in this passage. ₍_{MacArthur, J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press)}

Logion is a striking synonym for the Holy Scriptures (in the NT the term "Scripture" or "Scriptures" usually was a reference to the OT) and is used only four times in the NT, stressing the fact that the Scriptures actually constituted the very utterances of God. These were given to and through the Jews and are preserved for us now in the Old Testament.

_{Acts 7:38}_{This (Moses) is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles (the Mosaic Law) to pass on to you}_{Romans 3:2} )_{First of all, that they (the Jews) were entrusted with the oracles of God. (refers to the Old Testament).}_{Hebrews 5:12} _{For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (in context considering that the epistle was addressed primarily to Jews, oracles of God most likely refers to the Old Testament),}_{1 Peter 4:11}_{the utterances of God (utterances of God through Christian teachers)}

Peter's point in this use of logion is that even if a man is gifted to preach or teach, he must be sure that the words he speaks (the logion) are, as if were, the very words God would have him say on that particular occasion. Obviously the closer one sticks to the pure milk of the Word, the better. The more one is in prayer and communion with God prior to speaking or teaching, the more likely will his message be as if it were the utterances of God.

Ray Pritchard (_{1 Peter 4:7-11 Day Before the End of the World}_{) writes that...}

Speaking includes anyone who teaches the Word of God whether publicly or privately, whether to a group or one-on-one. Whether from a pulpit or in a small group or to a Sunday School class. Peter says, if you speak, make sure you speak the very words of God. The primary temptation of any teacher is to render his opinion instead of God’s word. So we ought to ask a few questions:

§ What have you done with the gifts God has given you?
§ Who have you helped along the way?
§ Is your church better and stronger because you are here?
§ Are you wasting God’s gift or are you using it for his glory?

In Word War II, a little French town had a statue of Jesus in their town square. When the bombing came, the statue was damaged and pieces were broken off. They stored the pieces, and after the war, they began to rebuild the statue. It had cracks now, but they appreciated it even more. But to their dismay, the only pieces they couldn’t find were the hands of Jesus. That troubled them because the hands had the nail prints and that was significant to them. They thought they would have to take the statue down, until one person placed a gold plaque at the bottom of the statue that read, "He has no hands but ours."

He has no hands but ours.
He has no eyes but ours.
He has no lips but ours.
He has no feet but ours.

Spurgeon puts it plainly - Reckon that every sermon is a wasted sermon which is not Christ's Word. Believe that all theology is rotten rubbish which is not the Word of the Lord. Do not be satisfied with going to a place of worship and hearing an eloquent discourse, unless the sum and substance of it is the Word of the Lord. My brothers and sisters, whether you teach children or their parents, do not think you have done any good unless you have taught the Word of the Lord. For saving purposes we must have the Lord's Word, and nothing else.

The study of "The Called" of God's Elect

Romans 8:28.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

In our doctrinal study, we have talked about foreknowledge. We’ve talked about predestination, or the doctrine of election. We’ve talked a little about justification. And we will talk about glorification.

But the one word that I want you to focus on with me tonight is the word "called." Called. In verse 28, "Those who are called." In verse 30, "Whom He predestined these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified."

Now, one of the most simple words in the English language is the word "call."

We all understand that word. We use it in a daily manner. It’s one of the more common words in our vocabulary.

We call our kids to come to dinner in the hope that they will respond.

Or we call our husband to come to dinner and hope he will respond.

We call our friends on the phone and hope that they will spurn the answer machine option and pick up the phone.

It gets a little more important when a church calls a pastor hoping he will accept the offer to come and shepherd them.

And when you are called by your boss, the call becomes equally compelling. I remember as a kid being called to the principal’s office.

I remember in college receiving what was called a "call slip" to come immediately to the dean’s office.

Some of you have received a summons from a court. A summons is a call you really shouldn’t ignore because if you are summoned to court, you probably ought to show up or you may even get a visit from law officers.

Maybe a little stronger than just a summons is a subpoena. A subpoena is a summons commanding the person designated to appear under a penalty for failure to do so.

And so really there are all kinds of calls. There are those sort of minimalist calls that you sort of meekly offer to somebody to get them to the table, or those phone calls you hope somebody might answer, all the way through to the far more serious call from your boss, or call from a church, or from a principal’s office or a summons from a court or a subpoena with a threat for non response. So there are increasingly more compelling kinds of calls.

But in all those cases, you can still choose to ignore them. You can resist any of those calls and go on your way and do what you want.

But Scripture reveals a truth about a call, a summons that cannot be ignored and it cannot be resisted. It is the unyielding summons from God.

It is a subpoena to appear before Him in His court for the purpose of being declared righteous, being declared just, having all your sins forgiven, and being set free from any judgment or any condemnation.

This is the call that you read about in Romans 8.

It is a call that justifies.

It is a call that comes according to the divine purpose.

It is a call that comes to those who are predestined, those who are elect, those who are chosen.

It is a call that leads through justification to eternal glory.

Theologians have called this

call an effective call,

an efficacious call,

a determinative call,

a decisive call,

a conclusive call,

an operative call and

an irresistible call. It is the call to salvation.

It is the divine summons.

It is the divine subpoena, not for judgment and not for punishment, but so that you can be declared righteous, free from condemnation, forgiven.

It is the call to salvation.

The question is: Can it be denied? Can it be resisted? Is there such a thing as non-compliance?

Well verse 30 says, "Whom He predestined, these He called." So this call is limited to those who are the elect. We’re not talking here about a general call, just a broad-sweeping gospel call, the kind of general call that the apostle Paul talks about quoting the Old Testament prophet, nor are we talking about the Matthew 22 words, "Many are called, but few are chosen." We’re not talking about what we could call the general call of the gospel, the general outward invitation of the gospel. We’re talking about something that comes only to the predestined and results in justification. And that is why it is called an efficacious call, or an effectual call.

Now, I want you to look at the word "called" here.

It’s part of a group of words that come out of a root kaleō… kaleō. Kaleō means "to call into one’s presence," or "to summon."

It is used, for example, in Matthew 2:7, where it says, "Herod called the magi into his court and they came."

The word can be used in less serious circumstances, but it is the word that is used in the Scripture to speak of a summons. In fact, it is so descriptive that we as believers actually are "the called."

We are the called, the church is the ekklēsia, not from kaleō, but from ekkaleō. Kaleō to be summoned. Ekkaleō a stronger word, a stronger summons, to be called out and the church then becomes the noun form of that verb, "the called out ones." So, if you ask what is a church? It is the assembly of those called, summoned.

Now, this becomes very clear throughout the Scripture, not just Romans 8. So I want to do a little Bible study with you.

" Romans 1:1,5, 6" - a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God." He’s a good one to look at for this kind of call because when the call of God came on the life of the apostle Paul, it was a sovereign, divine, gracious, and irresistible summons. He was slammed in to the dirt on the road to Damascus with nothing to do but respond. He is called as an apostle.

Down in verse 6 he’s talking about the "obedience of faith." In verse 5, obeying the gospel, "among whom you also are the called. You are the called ones of Jesus Christ to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called saints - " called holy ones. You are the called, the holy ones, the ones called out.