Landscaping at the Charles and Charity Whisnant Place 2014

First Peter 1:22 Video Obedience

Part one

Part two

Part threee
Part four

Landscaping 05 2014

Preaching: Getting People to take the Message Home

Preaching should be as whetting the appetite for the Word of God. Getting your people in the Word is really the key to Christian growth. The culture is full of distractions, and our culture is adept at using the distractions that surround us to keep us from desiring and ingesting God's Word. Its not just hearing us preach it is taking what we preach home.
I believe one of our aims in preaching is to motivate our hearers to desire the “pure spiritual milk” that is God’s Word. In that sense then, preaching is the confluence of three important dimensions.

• First, our preaching must lift up Scripture as God’s authoritative declaration to us.
• Second, our preaching must flow out of a passionate, insightful, and personal experience we as preachers have had in our study of the Word.
• Third, our preaching must deliver practical application, model good scriptural reading and interpretation, as well as motivate our hearers to personally engage and apply God’s Word in their lives.

Here are a few suggestions to us as preachers for whetting the appetites of our hearers.

1. Shine a light on your study insights. Though it goes without saying, we must make time weekly for intense study and application of Scripture. Not only does this build the foundation for the content of our preaching, but we should also offer commentary when appropriate in our preaching as to how we came across biblical insights and application. We might also want to use social media (Twitter, Facebook, and blogging) as a means to shed light on our study habits for the benefit of our congregation.
2. Preach in series that encourages your congregation to read and study along with your series. We should preach in series regularly that help our congregation understand Scripture and books of the Bible as a whole. We should suggest with our series ways to read, study, meditate, and memorize in the passages we are going to preach. It might also be helpful to recommend books and commentaries along with each series and make them available as resources to our hearers.
3. Show and share how the practical application of Scripture is developing you as a preacher of God’s Word. Finally, if we want to whet our hearers’ appetites for God’s Word, we must assure them that the interpretation and application of Scripture can be accessed and accomplished by the Christian who is not a professional preacher. We can do this by regularly illustrating how Scripture is molding and shaping us. We can also be intentional about offering clear insights in our sermons as to how our hearers could read, study, meditate on, and apply Scripture.

The bottom line is that our congregation’s desire for and growth in the Word of God will seldom if ever exceed the example of its pastor. And if we want hearers who desire the spiritual milk of God’s Word, it is our job to deliver the Word in such a way as to make its intake desirable and effective. So let’s try in our preaching to make them hungry for God’s Word.
cf. Chris Hefner

Everette Whisnant, Ministers Class Wake Forest 1923

From the Wake Forest U website.

Everette Whisnant 1922 Freshmen at Wake Forest

The Work of Salvation leads to Love of One Another First Peter One

Part one

Part two

Part three

LUKE 5:12-16
"The Messiah's Midas Touch!"  (no original title of mine)
Joy In The Day of Cleansing
Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Teacher
May 11 2014
    

How much do you know about the Lepers in the bible? (Q&A)
.    1. What leper of Bethany entertained Jesus in his home?
2. What king of Judah was a leper until the day of his death?
3. What captain of the armies of Syria was a leper?
4. What prophetess became a snow-white leper for a short time?
5. Who put his hand into his bosom and, drawing it out, found it leprous?
6. Who became a leper after he lied to the prophet Elisha?
7. Who told Moses to send lepers away from the Israelite camp?
8. What is the greatest number of lepers Jesus healed at any one time?

       Leprosy – The Hebrews had no cure for leprosy other than Divine intervention. In modern times, there are very effective medicines available, & leprosy patients are usually not isolated. Now called Hansen’s Disease
    Though, in spite of modern medical advances, an estimated 10 million people around the world have leprosy!

Luke writes about this and many other miracles, as do the other gospel writers,

because miracles are essential to the scriptural record to identify Jesus as God.

He does what man can't do. He does what doctors can't do. In fact, the miracle record of Jesus is essential to the Christian faith because these are the proofs of His supernatural divine nature. If He is not supernatural, tear up your New Testament. The Christian faith becomes inexplicable on any legitimate grounds, it's fantasy or it's outright deception. But because the miracles did happen, they are true, He is God, and He is our Redeemer.

Let's meet this man in verse 12. Somewhere in the Galilee, no precise time or place, and by the way, Matthew 8 and Mark 1 also record this same healing and they also do not tell us when or where. But somewhere in some town, "Behold, there was a man full of leprosy."

Verse 12, "When he came...or when he saw Jesus,"
actually Matthew tells us he came to Jesus and saw Him. He was looking for Him. Now this was a serious breach of appropriate behavior for him, but he was desperate. That's the first point I want to make, he came with desperation. I mean, what could he lose? So he was stoned to death, that would be a relief. What could he lose? He had no more shame. He did what was unthinkable. He did what was shameless. He did what was fearless. He did what was dangerous. He did what was bold. But after all, he was desperate. He was full of leprosy.He was past his fear, he was past his shame. He was past his embarrassment. He was past his reservations.

Josephus says that lepers were to be treated as dead men. And the rabbis said that next to touching a dead body, getting near a leper was the rankest form of defilement.

 In Palestine in Jesus' time lepers were barred from the city of Jerusalem and any other walled city. And if a leper ever came into a synagogue, in a town or a village, he had to go to a small isolated room called a maketza[??]. He couldn't come near other people.

This man came to Jesus. He was desperate. He was also reverent. It says,
 "He saw Jesus and fell on his face."

Matthew says, "Worshiping," proskuneo, that's a word used in the New Testament for worshiping God. I don't know whether he believed Jesus was God. It doesn't tell us that. The body language here is the language of worship.

The word that Matthew uses is the word of worship used in the New Testament to refer to worshiping God. He does call Him "Lord," it could mean "Sir," but it seems that attached to the worship here it could be more than that and perhaps he had been convinced that this man was from God.

 But he came with reverence. He fell on his face. He knew he was unclean, he knew he was filthy, he knew he was wretched. He knew he was miserable. He knew he was ugly. He knew he was disfigured and deformed. Prostrated himself acknowledging Jesus as you would a king or God.

Thirdly, he came with urgency. Falling on his face he implored Him, it says, that's the word for begged. He begged. Again this is irresistible to the heart of a compassionate Jesus, as we will see. This man is pleading for his life. He has endured this shame, this alienation, this isolation, this suffering, this disfigurement to its maximum point. Who know how many years? He's got nowhere else to turn. He is crying out. He is pleading. He is begging.

Fourthly, he came with humility. He says, "Lord, if You are willing..." I like that. He didn't have any doubt about His ability, that was becoming legendary. But he was not in a position to demand anything either, that wasn't his heart. He was aware of his wretchedness, perhaps of his sin. He may well have attached his wretchedness to his sin. And he doesn't come with any rights. He doesn't come making any claims on Jesus' healing power. He wouldn't have belonged to the "name it and claim it" group.

There's no presumption in this man. This man...this man has a beatitude attitude, he's hungry and he's thirsty for something he doesn't have. But he's meek and he's broken and he's poor in spirit. He understands his bankruptcy. He knows Jesus doesn't have to heal him. He doesn't have any rights. He has profound needs but he has no rights. That's his humility.

And fifthly, he came not only with desperation, reverence, urgency and humility, but he came with faith because he said, "If You're willing you can make me clean." You can do it. No doubt You have the power. He had faith in the power of the healer.

 This man is a graphic illustration of how a sinner comes to Christ. (yet not the point of the text.
He comes desperate, the end of his rope, if you will. All shame is gone. All fear is gone. There is a desperate boldness. Nowhere else to turn. No hope anywhere. The worst that can happen is maybe welcomed. If you don't heal me, I'll die. That would be better than this. This is the sinner's extremity. This is the sinner's desperation. This is the sinner pounding his breast in Luke 18.

He comes reverently, the sinner does. He comes reverently, falling on his face with no rights and desperate needs. When I talk to people about coming to Christ, I simply tell them, "You need to ask the Lord to be merciful and save you. That's up to Him." I can't tell you that you can say a few words, pray a little formula and you're going to be saved. All I can tell you is if you understand the gospel, in your heart you believe it, you cry out to Him to save You. He is the sovereign and you bow humbly as that man who beat his breast wouldn't lift up his eyes but fell prostrate. That's how you come.
And the sinner comes with faith. This is a beatitude attitude. This is what it means to be poor in spirit. This is what it means to be meek. This is what it means to hunger and thirst after righteousness. This man is a classic analogy to the penitent sinner

Are Church Building Biblical?

Church buildings for a place of worship has been around since the days of Christ and even in the days of Moses as well. 

A building for a group of people to worship is necessary and scriptural.

The requirement by command and example for Christians to assemble for the purpose of worship (Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:25), implies (and thus authorizes) a place of some sort at which to meet.


For a weekly place to worship with a large group of people to worship in one places does require a building

I remember when Dad started a church we started in our home.  Then the group became larger than our house could hold, so there was a building built to whole the group of people that was coming.  And the building was called Williamsroad Baptist Church.,.  

We worship in our house for a year and moved over to a building to whole more people.
Some of the best meetings I was in as a child was in a huge tent that Dad preached in for years.
Places where people worship on a regular basis would be better to be in a building

.Leaders have started a congregation in rented school buildings and many other types of buildings that had been used for other business.  Of course that is not an issue.

By father in law was telling be about a church, or a group of people that are meeting on a beech outside, just chairs, without a preacher and no rules. 

I have been doing some research on this matter of when did the uses of buildings become a part of worship,.

I will address that research later.

The building does not make the worship I realize, but to have a building where you can have worship and Sunday School classes, and activities  are important.

But here is the issue: why are those people meeting at a beech in FL?  Simple reason so they say, to make it easy for people to come and fellowship together.  

Leaders today and in the last 25 years have tried to get a place that they came have church in places that would not be offensive to the lost person.  Simply to have a place to address the lost person is not scriptural

Now of course there have been leaders that have totally build buildings for their own glory that has always been.

Romans 12 Key to Serving the Lord

Last Sunday we began the twelfth chapter of Romans:  We gave the reason why chapter 1 to 1l were necessary and then we gave reasons why chapters 12=16 are necessary


There there is justification there will be sanctification in our lives.  But so often it seems there is so little sanctification been practice in the lives of many Christians.  So many  people seem to be living at the low end of the Christians life, so little victory over sin, the flesh and the world!  Many it seems live in a defeated  state of mind, and life. 

Romans 12 is going to help us learn what we need to do to have a victory over sin, the flesh, the world and have a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

After 200 sermons on Romans chapters 1 to 11, a lot has been said, and I hope a lot has been learned about the work of God.  We have covered so much about the doctrine of salvation, justification and adoption and election and many other doctrines, teachings of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

Now its time to apply what we have learned.  Its time now to give back what we have learned, we now need to render to God the service that is due to  God and bring Him glory.   "the giving of oneself totally to the Lord.

And  with that said  I will say in my own experience, that is not easy.  But I must say that is absolutely necessary if we are ever to know the fullness of the blessings of God and be able to render to God the service that is due to Him and bring Him glory.

Most Christians never really come to that place fully.

They flirt with the world, they flirt with the flesh. They flirt with their own personal indulgences and desires. They become victims of the philosophy and psychology of the world around them. They buy into the world's bag. They entertain themselves with the world's mode of entertainment. They think along the lines the world thinks. And so they never really come to the place of total commitment that is discussed in these two verses and therefore they forfeit the fullness of the blessing that God would have for them.

So we are going to talk this next several months that Paul is telling us how we should give ourselves to the service of the Lord.

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Teacher Rivers of Joy Baptist Church, Minford, Ohio 2014

Churches Reaching the 70% of People who do not go to Church

Has I was listening to the newest man who has started a new place where people can come and feel warm, and safe, and where the people are not perfect, broken and need help, I wondered if this is something new that we have not had in Scioto Country in the last 100 years?

He said what has been the norm is no l0nger working so we need to get weird. 

So he is saying that all the churches we have here in Scioto country have not been doing the right things to get people into church.

They tell me that 70% of the people in Scioto County do not go to church, and that would be around 60,000 people.

This man  (whom I am not going to call a preacher, nor am I going to call this place a church)  said that they are starting a new place to reach the 70% who do not come to church.

I ask my self,  have not the churches been doing that in the last 100 years?  50 years?  25 years?  We have many good churches here. We have a number of good Baptist churches doing a good work for Christ here, and a number of other churches that believe the Word, preach salvation and work hard at reaching people. 

I listen to another pastor who said that every country in the United States, which I believe is 3000, have not had an increase in people going to church in years.

People are not going to church!  And yet most churches strive to see their church grow.    So is this because the churches are not doing the Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way?  No!  More than likely they are doing just that.

But every once in a while a person comes to town and believes he has the answer in getting people to come to church. And they are going to show us how it is done?  

Peter 1:20 For He was foreknown (RPP) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared (APP) in these last times for the sake of you (NASB: Lockman)

Jesus Gives Hope 1 Luke

Charles e Whisnant, Preaching/Teaching

                  

April 27 2014  back to 1965

My Dad was an evangelist and preacher and pastor for 44 years before he died in 1966 at the age of 62 years old.  I had my first experience of teaching back in December 1964 when my Dad asked me to teach the Teenagers and College Career class, and since that time I have loved teaching the Bible.  Teaching and learning the Bible has been a passionate passion that I have had for a long time. 

Preaching, to me, has been about the message. I have focused on the content of the message.  I have been more concerned about what I say than how I say it.  I might say how I deliver the message has been of less concern than being sure that what I say is correct.

The one area of preaching that I am sure of is the content of the message. I want to make sure to the best of my ability that I know the meaning of the text that I am going to teach.  I make sure that I have made every effort of learning all that I can about the portion of scripture that is to be taught.  

What I seem to struggle with the most is the presentation of the message.  I can’t seem to have the full confidence that I have presented the message as well as I could.  How I speak, how I stand, etc. 

Some preachers spend a lot of time in their presenting the sermon and I know that is important, how you look and dress and act while you preach is important. 

Well, now for almost 50 years I am still in this mode of thinking, and maybe in a few years I will know how to present the sermon.  But as for the content I am rather confident that what I say is what I want the people to hear and believe and do, because I fully believe what I say is from the text of the Word of God.