GROW BY LEARNING : January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Justified By The Obedience of Jesus Christ

Justification by Faith

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Teacher 01 31 2016

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."—Romans 5:1.

I. A FEW PRELIMINARY DISCOVERIES WHICH A MAN MAKES BEFORE HE GETS PEACE WITH GOD

what it is to be justified by faith.

The first discovery that a man is led by the Spirit of God to make before he is justified is, that it is important to be justified in the sight of God.

The next thing is this. A man, when the Spirit of God is bringing him to Christ, discovers that his past life has been marred badly, by serious offences against the law of God. Before the Spirit of God comes into our soul, Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5;28; Genesis 6:5; Luke 19:10

Then there comes another discovery, namely, that consequently it is utterly impossible for us to hope that we ever can be just before God, on the footing of our own doing. Galatians 3:10;

A man, having found out all this, suddenly discovers that, inasmuch as he is not just before God, and cannot be, he is at the present moment under condemnation.

II. SHOW THE GOSPEL LEARNING WHICH IS TAUGHT TO US BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

The GospeI I may give you in a few sentences, namely, these: that, inasmuch as through man's sin, the way of obedience is for ever closed, so that we—none of us—can ever pass by it to a true righteousness, God has now determined to deal with men in a way of mercy, to forgive them all their offences, to bestow upon them his love, to receive them graciously, and to love them freely.

I trust we have learned that; that there is a plan of salvation by grace, and by grace alone; and it is a great thing to know that where grace is, there are no works.

And this is God's plan, namely, that, inasmuch as we cannot be saed by our own obedience, we should be saved by Christ's obedience. Hebrews 10:7; John 14:31; John 12:49; Matthew 21:4;

Jesus, the Son of God, has appeared in the flesh, has lived a life of obedience to God's law, and in consequence of that obedience, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,

and our Saviour's life and death make up a complete keeping and honoring of that law which we have broken and dishonored,

and God's plan is this: "I cannot bless you for your own sakes, but I will bless you for his sake; and now, looking at you through him, I can bless you though you deserve it not; I can pass by your undeserving;

I can blot out your sins like a cloud, and cast your iniquities into the depths of the sea through what he has done; you have no merits, but he has boundless merits; you are full of sin and must be punished, but he has been punished instead of you,

and now I can deal with you." This is the language of God, put into human words,I can deal with you upon terms of mercy through the merits of my dear Son."

This is the way in which the gospel comes to you, then. If you believe in Jesus, that is to say, if you trust him, all the merits of Jesus are your merits, are imputed to you: all the sufferings of Jesus are your sufferings.

Everyone of his merits is imputed to you. You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you—he in your stead, you in his stead.

Substitution! that is the word! Christ the Substitute for sinners: Christ standing for men, and bearing the thunderbolts of the divine opposition to all sin, he "being made sin for us who knew no sin." Man standing in Christ's place, and receiving the sunlight of divine favour, instead of Christ.

Grace alone, Jesus alone, Faith alone.

And this, I say, is through trusting, or believing. God's way of your getting connection with Christ is through your reliance upon him. "Therefore, being justified"—how? Not by works; that is not the link, but—"being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Christ offers to God the substitution: through faith we accept it: and from that moment God accepts us.

Jesus learned obedience experientially so we would have an "older brother" (Jesus is called the "firstborn among many brethren"), a high priest who can fully be sympathetic and empathetic with our situation. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

When we come to Christ for help, we know that He will be sympathetic to our needs. "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Christ’s Complete Obedience Climaxed in His Death

Going to the cross showed obedience. "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8).

Christ’s Obedience Brings Eternal Benefits

His prayer to the Father and the Father’s response clearly show that Christ’s own death was the only way to save lost men and women. He said, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but thine be done" (Luke 22:42).

Christ’s Obedience Sets the Goal for Us

In the Disciples’ Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13), Jesus tells us to desire to do the Father’s will. "Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, . . . thy will be done" (Matthew 6:9–10 %}). It is not enough just to recognize the authority of Scripture as the voice of God. God wants us to honor that authority by our own obedience. In fact, Jesus makes obedience to the Father a condition of our relationship with Him: "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50

So my Lord Jesus Christ illustrates by His own life and walk the path I am to choose. My life is to be completely in line with the Word of God and thus the will of God. If even the stars and elements that He created obey His voice, should not I obey Him as well?

Friday, January 29, 2016

Everette T. Whisnant Pastor

Everette Thomas Whisnant

Fayetteville Street Baptist Church was founded in 1937 as an outgrowth of an evangelistic meeting held in Asheboro by Rev. George Cooper. A tabernacle was erected on Ward Street by a group of believers, and an evangelistic club was organized, with Colvin West as president, to secure preachers to minister to this somewhat small congregation.

In 1942, with a church membership of 106, Rev. Everette Whisnant was called as the first pastor, and the church was called as the first pastor, and the church was given the name Ward Street Baptist Church. (my notes: That is what Dad always did call the church by the name of the street the church was on)

In 1946, Rev. Ed Madaris became pastor. It was under his ministry that the church moved to its current location at 901 N. Fayetteville Street. In 1954, the first phase of the present building was constructed and the church was renamed to Fayetteville Street Baptist Church. The first parsonage was built on Presnell Street during Rev. Madaris’s ministry.

In the fall of 1960, Rev. Eddie Morrison was called as pastor. During his ministry, they built the present auditorium. On Easter Sunday morning in 1964, the first service was held in the new auditorium.

In January of 1965, Rev. Kenneth Peters began his ministry. During this time, Michael McManus of Piedmont Bible College was called as the first Youth Director of FSBC.

In 1970, Rev. Harold Bowe of Piedmont Bible College was called to pastor. During his first year of ministry, a bus ministry was started under the direction of Rev. Donald Ketcham. A nursery and daycare center was opened, along with the first kindergarten classes. This laid the foundation for Fayetteville Street Christian School. At this time a new parsonage was built on Springwood Street. In 1972, a mission was started on Bowman Road near Randleman with Richard Whiteheart as the pastor. Rev. Darrell Sauls succeeded Brother Whiteheart in 1978, and on Sunday, May 4, 1980, the mission was organized as Calvary Baptist Church, which continues on to this day.

Rev. Nat Thompson was called in 1974 to come as Minister of Music, and later was called as pastor to succeed Rev. Bowe in 1976. He stayed with the church until 1981.

In the fall of 1981, Dr. John Gamble began filling in as interim pastor, and became the pastor in June of 1982, serving until December of 1989.

In January of 1990, Rev. Adrian Pugh began his ministry at FSBC as pastor. During this time, many improvements to include stained glass windows, carpeting, refinishing the pews, and repaving the parking lot, were made to the church and surrounding areas. Rev. Pugh resigned/retired on June 30, 2006.

On January 1, 2007, Dr. Bruce W. Dickerson began his ministry as senior pastor. Pastor Dickerson is assisted by David Weaver who serves as the church’s full-time Youth Pastor. Under their leadership, the church has begun to experience a growth spurt including many young couples with their children and teens. Several large projects have recently been accomplished and mission support has been greatly increased. Please accept our invitation to visit one of our upcoming services and see firsthand the wonderful things that are being accomplished at FSBC to the glory of God.

http://www.visitfsbc.org/

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Union Mills 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

We believe Biblical

In Common With Conservative Christians and the Historic Protestant Creeds, We Believe—

That God is the Sovereign Creator, upholder, and ruler of the universe, and that He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

That the Godhead, the Trinity, comprises God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That the Scriptures are the inspired revelation of God to men; and that the Bible is the sole rule of faith and practice.

That Jesus Christ is very God, and that He has existed with the Father from all eternity.

That the Holy Spirit is a personal being, sharing the attributes of deity with the Father and the Son.

That Christ, the Word of God, became incarnate through the miraculous conception and the virgin birth; and that He lived an absolutely sinless life here on earth.

That the vicarious, atoning death of Jesus Christ, once for all, is all-sufficient for the redemption of a lost race.

That Jesus Christ arose literally and bodily from the grave.

That He ascended literally and bodily into heaven.

That He now serves as our advocate in priestly ministry and mediation before the Father.

That He will return in a premillennial, personal, imminent second advent.

That man was created sinless, but by his subsequent fall entered a state of alienation and depravity.

That salvation through Christ is by grace alone, through faith in His blood.

That entrance upon the new life in Christ is by regeneration, or the new birth.

That man is justified by faith.

That man is sanctified by the indwelling Christ through the Holy Spirit.

That man will be glorified at the resurrection or translation of the saints, when the Lord returns.

That there will be a judgment of all men.

That the gospel is to be preached as a witness to all the world

Judgement Seat of CVhrist

2 Corinthians 5:10

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5:10

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Preacher/Teacher/Expositor

FOR WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST: tous gar pantas hemas phanerothenai (APN) dei (3SPAI) emprosthen tou bematos tou Christou: (Genesis 18:25; 1Samuel 2:3,10; Psalms 7:6, 7, 8; 9:7,8; 50:3, 4, 5, 6; 96:10, 11, 12, 13; 98:9; Eccl 11:9; 12:14; Ezekiel 18:30; Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Romans 14:10, 11, 12; 1Peter 4:5; Jude 1:14,15; Revelation 20:11, 12, 14, 15, 15)

The certainty of the Bema Seat of Christ occurring at a specific point in time in eternity in the life of each individual believer, should serve as a strong motivator, causing us to forget what lies behind and like the runner determined to win the race and receive the coveted prize, to press on toward the goal, lunging toward the finish line, laying aside every encumbrance, coming out from the world, not even touching what is unclean, abstaining from even things with the "form" of evil , living in holy conduct and godliness, and all the more as we see the day drawing near.

WHEN DOES THE BEMA JUDGMENT TAKE PLACE?

The question of when the Bema Judgment take place is difficult to answer with any degree of "dogmatism". The majority of evangelical scholars favor this event taking place after the Rapture but before the return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom. The highly respected scholar Dwight Pentecost has the following explanation on the timing of of bema...

The time of the bema of Christ. The event herein described takes place immediately following the translation of the church out of this earth's sphere. There are several considerations that support this.

(1) In the first place, according to Lk 14:14, reward is associated with the resurrection. Since, according to 1Th 4:13-17, the resurrection is an integral part of the translation, reward must be a part of that program.

(2) When the Lord returns to the earth with His bride to reign, the bride is seen to be already rewarded. This is observed in Rev 19:7, where it must be observed that the "righteousness of the saints" is plural and cannot refer to the imparted righteousness of Christ, which is the believer's portion, but the righteousnesses which have survived examination and have become the basis of reward.

(3) In 1Cor 4:5; 2Ti 4:8; and Rev 22:12 the reward is associated with "that day," that is, the day in which He comes for His own. Thus it must be observed that the rewarding of the church must take place between the rapture and the revelation of Christ to the earth.' (From Things to Come, 1958)

One other Scripture that points to the Bema occurring during the Tribulation period is Revelation 11:18where John writes...

And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged (this is the Great White Throne Judgment and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great (this could refer to the Judgment Seat of Christ), and to destroy those who destroy the earth.

If one reads the Revelation literally (which results in a chronological order for the successive unfolding of the seven sealed scroll, the seven trumpets and the seven bowl judgments), Revelation 11:18 seems to coincide with the events of the middle to the seven year period known as the Tribulation.

To reiterate, most conservative evangelical scholars (especially pre-trib, pre-millennial) believe that this judgment will take place after the church is raptured and before the Second Coming of Christ at which time He inaugurates His 1000 year reign on earth from His throne in Jerusalem. For example Master's Seminary (John MacArthur) takes this view regarding the timing of the Bema Seat in their "Statement of Faith"...

The Rapture of the Church - We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1Th 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from this earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1Th 4:15-5:11) and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1Co 3:11, 12, 13, 14, 15; 2Co 5:10).

The Tribulation Period - We teach that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1Th 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2Th 2:7-12; Re 16:1ff), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth (Mt 24:27-31; 25:31 46; 2Th 2:7-12). At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged (Da 12:2-3; Re 20:4-6). This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Mt 24:15-31; 25:31-46).

The Judgment of the Lost - We teach that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ (Re 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Re 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Mt 25:41; Re 20:10) whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (Jn 5:22, 27), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne judgment (Re 20:11ff). We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (Jn 5:28,29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Re 20:11-15_{). (}_{TMS - TMS Statement of Faith - Eschatology}₎

Judgement Seat Of Christ Outline

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5:10

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Preacher/Teacher/Expositor

One other Scripture that points to the Bema occurring during the Tribulation period is Revelation 11:18 (see commentary notes) where John writes...

If one reads the Revelation literally (which results in a chronological order for the successive unfolding of the seven sealed scrolls, the seven trumpets and the seven bowl judgments), Revelation 11:18 seems to coincide with the events of the middle to the seven year period known as the Tribulation.

The Judgment of the Lost - We teach that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ (Re 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Re 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Mt 25:41; Re 20:10) whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (Jn 5:22, 27), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne judgment (Re 20:11ff-note). We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (Jn 5:28,29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Re 20:11-15). (TMS - TMS Statement of Faith -

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Jefferson High School Charles e Whisnant

1965 Jefferson High School Yearbook via Classmates.com

Friday, January 22, 2016

How You Can Know If You Are Saved

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Spiritual Gifts Study

Now let me just introduce our thinking from another angle.

There can be no genuinely effective service, genuinely reciprocated service that is service in which we are blessed, unless we have first offered ourselves as a living sacrifice.

Now what this tells us is that the offering of living sacrifice kind of attitude to God, where I give up all that I am for His service, is not mystical, it is not falsely pious, it is not simple, but it is tremendously practical.

It is greatly practical because the intention of offering myself to God is so that I may become immediately useful to Him, that's the point. And so we look at it then from both sides, offering yourself to God is not something so mystical it's unrelated to ministry.

In fact, let me say it as simply as I can, if you tell me you've given yourself wholly to God and I see no effective ministry, then I don't believe what you tell me.

On the other hand, if you tell me you're serving the Lord but I see no total commitment to Him, I don't believe that either.

It's an either/or proposition.

Service to God has meaning and joint blessedness only when it is the outflow of total commitment. And total commitment is only total commitment when it produces effective service.

The two go together.

There are a lot of people who would want to make themselves, along with everybody else, believe that they have made a whole life commitment to Christ but when you look at their life you don't see any fleshing out of that commitment, you don't see any ministry, any meaningful ministry, any God-blessed ministry. You don't see them driven with a passion to serve, but rather they appear to be driven with a passion to indulge their own needs and desires.

On the other hand, you find people who are very, very busy, but when you get behind the scenes you find them very uncommitted to the realities of spiritual dedication.

A man who said, "Please meet with me and please pray with me." He said, "I've driven my wife away because I taught her by example how to be a Sunday saint and live any way you wanted all week long. And then when things started to fall apart in our marriage and I tried to call us to prayer and Bible reading, she thought it was another one of my facades." He said, "I have outwardly lived as a Christian, been active in the church, and the rest of the time lived a lie."

Well, that's not acceptable to God. That's not the kind of service He's looking for. There can be results from....there can be results from a carnal life. It's true.

There can be results when you're serving God quote/unquote without really being committed to Him, when you're doing it because you like to see yourself doing it, or you feel good doing it, or others think well of you when you do it, or there's even a desire in your heart to do it. There can be results.

And the reason is this, because the truth is so much more powerful than your limitations.

But the results are not going to mount up to you in terms of blessedness.

In other words, you can be used by God even in the midst of your non-commitment if you speak the truth because the truth is so much more powerful than your ability to limit it, but you will not receive the benefit. You will not be blessed.

And furthermore, you will short-circuit what could be done...what could be done. I mean, the message is so powerful, God can get it through a clogged vessel but think how much more wonderful if the vessel was clean...was clean.

I know there have been times in my life when I have taught the Word of God and maybe it's been a prideful motive, and the Word of God has accomplished great things,

but not what it would accomplish...and I've learned this...

when my life is as it ought to be and my motives are right.

Now would you notice that nobody is left out of this. Verse 3, "I say through the grace given to me to everyone...to everyone." And then you notice in verse 4, "As we have many members in one body and all members have not the same function, so we being many are one body in Christ and everyone members one of another."

And again he doesn't let anybody out. Every one of us who has come to Jesus Christ is called to make a supreme dedication to Him, as we saw in detail last week, out of which is to flow a life of service...unique to us.

If we say we're dedicated but there's not that life of service, our dedication is questionable. If we function on the outside but the dedication is on the inside, our service is very limited and accrues no blessing to us.

Now we're talking to everybody here, me and you and everybody else.

I would like to think that we will never be able again to successfully patronize ourselves with the idea that we are totally committed to God but there's not any meaningful service going on.

And I know that's true of our church and let me tell you something, folks, it's probably not the case of you who are faithful. But I know there are people in this church who believe they're committed to the Lord but if you look at their life and try to see where that actually comes out into service, it just isn't there

And if we do nothing else but eliminate that illusion that you can be committed to Christ with no basic ministry, with no basic service, with no passion for using the gift God's given you, then we've done service to all of us.

People say, "Well, I realize that I'm really dedicated to the Lord but right for now I'm busy with my job, I'm busy working, I'm busy shopping, I'm busy hobbying, I'm busy recreating, I'm busy vacationing, I'm...I'm busy resting...or whatever."

And there is a time for all of that. But dedication works out in service, that's what Paul is saying. The person who is doing that kind of self-deception, I hope, doesn't survive this passage.

Now let me just go back to this thought that we saw in verses 1 and 2 for one more kind of initial concept.

You will never know your gift. People always say, "Well, how can you know your gift?" I get asked that question a lot. How do you know your gift? You will never know your gift and you will never really know its potential until you have lived out Romans 1 and 2.

Because if you're not at the point of total dedication, whatever you're doing in terms of function and whatever you're doing in terms of service is not revealing to you the full definition or potention of your gift. You understand that? Because you're not operating at the level of total commitment.

Here is what I am trying to day here: it's sort of like the human brain

Spiritual Gifts Study Part Twoi

SPIRITUAL GIFTS STUDY PART TWO

They estimate that maximally people are using the maximum amount of their brain are functioning at about eleven percent of their brain capacity.

That means there's another 89 percent that isn't even being used.

And so when we say, well, we understand the limitations of the human mind or when we give certain tests to people and assume that that therefore gives us the final word on how much capacity they have, we're really far from being right.

The human mind has tremendous capacity beyond what we attain. And a lot of that has to do with our approach to life .

But in a spiritual dimension the same thing is true. You have many Christians who are trying to define their gift while only having about an 11 percent performance capacity to translate, to figure out what it is. And if the truth were known, if they ever came to Romans 12:1 and 2 and lived out that life, they would probably totally redefine their gift because they would begin to see it in its fullness.

And I think a lot of folks have trouble trying to figure out what their gift and ministry is because they've never gone through Romans 12:1 and 2, right? So they're struggling with a very limited amount of data to deal with. So we start by the dedication of self. And if you weren't here last week, you need to get that tape and think that one through.

the greatest saints in the church's history,

I mean, you go to the bookstore and you buy their biographies. And I buy their biographies and I read them and I pour over them. And I've done it since I was a kid. And I read the stories of these great men of God, great saints who changed the course of the world, who impacted the history of the church, who won, you know, cities and nations and continents for Christ and who build great institutions and great churches and schools and wrote great books. And you read about them and you remember them and you honor them and you assume that they're in another category, that they're way out there somewhere.

And the truth of the matter is, the difference is they learned the meaning and the value of Romans 12:1 and 2. They learned to live that way.

Now having begun there, let's enter in to verse 3. We said we want to commit ourselves and that's the key to being effective in our service. Our usefulness now depends on three things.

proper attitude,

proper relationship,

proper service.

We have to have the right attitude,

the right communication between God and you or relationships,

and the right service to be best or greatest possible useful to God.

Now what is the proper attitude?

What is the attitude in the heart of one who is totally given over to God?

It's an attitude of humility.. This is introduced in verse 3. "For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly as according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

For, he says, and the "for" there is a transition, only the dedication spoken of in verses 1 and 2 can lead to this proper attitude.

In other words, he's really moving through to service. The whole issue here is if you have, verse 6, the gift of prophecy then prophesy. If you have the gift of ministry, then minister...the gift of teaching, then teach...the gift of exhortation, then exhort...the gift of giving, do it with liberality.

Whatever it is, if you have it, do it. All he's trying to do is work his way up to service. Service begins with dedication for dedication is behind humility. The right attitude is the result of a self-surrender. If I've given everything I am to God, then I'm nothing left. That's the attitude of humility. It flows out of selfless abandonment to the will of God.

Now to make his point he warns against the wrong attitude. I say through the grace given unto me, I love that statement, the grace given unto him.

What kind of grace is he talking about?

Well, he's not talking about saving grace, although he did receive that. That was experienced by all believers. All of us has received in Christ saving grace, no question about that. That's not what he has in mind.

It is the grace specifically that called him to be an Apostle. It is the grace of God that ordained him to a position of authority, the position of an Apostle.

He had received from God the call to preach. He had received from God the Apostleship as Christ Himself had come to him and confronted him and called him into the ministry. He repeats this over and over again. So he was an Apostle by grace. And that's what he's saying. I'm saying this to you through grace given to me.

Now why didn't he say I'm saying this to you as an Apostle of Jesus Christ? The answer is, in a verse on humility you don't pull rank. That's the point.

So what he says is, look, I want to pull rank but I want you to know that my rank has nothing to do with me, it has to do with God's...what?...God's grace.

What is that to say? That's to say this is authoritative. I'm saying to you, I'm saying it as an Apostle by grace but I'm saying it as an Apostle with authority...here it comes...not to every one of you...rather, we need to look at that phrase...to every one that is among you, nobody gets off the hook, all professed Christians at Rome in the church and all professed Christians anywhere...I'm saying to all of you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly. Now that is an absolutely marvelous statement...marvelous statement. It's an unforgettable statement.

There is a Greek verb "to think," it's the verb phroneo.

He uses a form of it four times in that one statement...four times the root of the verb he uses is phroneo. Another way to translate it would be this, I say through the grace given unto me, and this will bring out the four uses of the word,

to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think with sober thinking.

Four times.

Or, not to be high-minded, above that which he ought to be minded, but to be so minded as to be sober minded.

Or to say it another way, not to over estimate one's self beyond a true estimate but to estimate one's self with a proper estimate.

Now that's a fairly clear, I hope. But what does it mean to think soberly?.

It means to be in one's right mind. You see, conceit is treated as a form of insanity.

If you don't think about yourself the way you ought to think, you're insane, you're out of your mind.

if you're living an illusion about who you really are and what your capability really is and what your gifts are, if you're living out an illusion, you're insane. You need to think soberly. You need to be in your right mind.

So, we are warned not to over-estimate, to think proudly. And this is the sin of exaggeration.

He says, I'm telling you, don't think more highly than you ought to think.

Don't over-estimate your value.

Don't over-estimate your gifts.

Don't think you're the world's next leading evangelist if you're not.

Don't over-estimate yourself.

There's a very ugly sin contained in overstated self-esteem.

And the Bible says the Lord hates a proud heart.

And Peter writing in 1 Peter, really talking to people who were in leadership, says be clothed with humility for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God, He'll exalt you in His own time.

So, it is basic to the text that he says don't have an exaggerated opinion of your abilities.

Don't have an exaggerated opinion of your gifts, but rather than thinking more highly, think soberly,

the word for wise, think wisely, think sanely, think rightly, be in your right mind, don't think too high...now watch this one...but don't think...what?...too low, think right.

Don't go around saying, "O, I am a worm." And when somebody says, "Man, you can really minister." "O, it was...it's nothing, it's absolutely nothing...O, I'm nothing, I am abased." That is a mild form of bragging. You want somebody to say, "O, you're wonderful...you're wonderful," and inside you're saying...keep it up, I love it, I love it, see. Don't think too high, but think high, not just too high, be in your right mind. Recognize your limits. Keep a proper measure of your gifts.

We're not trying to advocate some kind of silly false humility. But it is pretty silly to think you're something when you're nothing. Galatians 6:3 says, "If a man thinks himself to be something when he's nothing, he deceives himself."

So, you know, one of the things you want to learn in your area of spiritual gifts is this, don't have an exaggerated opinion of what you can do of your gifts. Think realistically, wisely.

There's no room for exaggerated self-esteem, whether it comes in boastfulness...I'm one of the greatest...you know, and you can found your own Bible college with your own name and all of that.

Don't have an exaggerated opinion of yourself. On the other hand, don't come along with all that false modesty that says I'm nothing, I'm a worm. And you really want people to build you up. Both of those are unacceptable.

Spiritual Gifts Outline FIrst Corinthians 12

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

CHARLES E. WHISNANT, APRIL 21, 2010

ICORINTHIANS 12

INTRODUCTION

1A THE BODY PRINICPLE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1B THE MANIFESTATION OF THE BODY

Jesus Christ in His incarnation, revealed Himself in a human body. Through that body, all the attributes of deity were made manifest and God became visible in human history. Christ is Body 1 and the corporate assembly of believers is Body 2.

Christ wants to leave Himself in the world. He wants us to be Christ’s in the world. Christ wants to reproduce in us His very essence, His very life, his very personality, His very character.

2B THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY
Each person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ is a vital member of this Body.

Ephesians 2:21-22, Ephesians 4:7,8, 11.

1C MATURING
Ephesians 4:12: Gifted men are for the maturing of the Saints for the work of the ministry.
2C MASTERING

Ephesians 4:12-13

2A THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1B THEY ARE ESSENTIAL
1 Corinthians 12:1, Ephesians 4:12

2B THEY ARE COUNTERFEITED

1C FLESHLY COUNTERFEITS

2C SATANIC COUNTERFEITS

3B THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SOURCE All spiritual gifts are supernaturally empowered, energized, and given by the Holy Spirit. They are beyond the natural. It is not like singing, playing an instrument, or clever with a certain art. They are supernatural enablements. They are "spiritual". They are controlled by the Holy Spirit.
4B THEY WILL ALWAYS UNITE

They will always unite the body, never divide it.

5B THEY ARE NOT A SIGN OF SPIRITUALITY

Some are carnal, but they did have spiritual gifts I Corinthians 3:1
6B THEY ARE NOT FOR THE POSSESSOR, BUT FOR THE GOOD OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BODY
1 Corinthians 12:5 gifts are called "services." Something I do for you.
12:7 they are called "manifestations" Something that is made public, and given to every man to profit for the good of those gathered together.
7B THEY HAVE THE PROMISE OF DIVINE ENERGY
I Corinthians 12:4, 5, 6. I Peter 4:10-11
8B THEY COME IN VARIETIES
1C A UNIQUE POSITION
y No two Christians are alike. Each has a unique place and position in the Body
2C A UNIQUE COMPOSITION
1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:7. Yes. One gift, but that gift is a composite of all the various kinds of enablements. 1D THE ILLUSTRATIONS
I Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6
2D THE INCREASES
When God puts you in the Body, He gives you what you need to minister based on your personality. 3B THE IRRESPONSIBILITY
We really are to minister in all areas. Some have greater responsibilities than others. 9B YOUCAN HAVE A GIFT AND NOT BE USING IT
1 Timothy 1:6
10B THERE ARE SEVERAL TERMS TO DESCRIBE THESE DIVINE ENABLEMENTS
They are called energizing, services, manifestations, grace gifts and spiritual gifts.
11B THE LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE
We say there are 7 or 8 major gifts but there are many other kinds of gifts.
12B ALL GIFTS ARE TO BUILD THE BODY
Ephesians 4:12 and 1 Corinthians 12:7
13B SOME GIFTS ARE ALSO SIGN GIFTS
14B THE GIFTS ARE DISTINCT FROM THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

Union Mills Confectionery, West Portsmouth Ohio, Bakery

The staff making the final cakes look nice

When you walk into the Bakery you might smell the good bread, or you might also hear the music from K Love radio.

What About This Matter of Salvation

Study on Regeneration and Conversion

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Luke Again Shows Jesus Was God In The Flesh

JESUS RAISES A WIDOW'S SON

Luke's View Jesus As God in the flesh

LUKE 7:11-17 #81 and 82

Charles e. Whisnant, Teacher, Expositor and sometime Pastor

Why is it important that we know that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh?In John 1:18 we read "No man has seen God at any time."

What man has seen is the only begotten God. that is God the Son, which is He who is in the bosom of the Father. True so one has seen God at any time. But the best view ever is the view of God brought to us by the only begotten Son of God, the One who is literally intimate with God, in the bosom of God, That is the One who is the same essence as God, He has declared Him or explained Him.

Jesus "exegesis" God, i.e. Jesus explains God. Jesus unfolds God. Jesus reveals God. So when we look at Jesus, you're seeing God. So that is what Jesus Himself said , "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." John 14:9

So the best, clearest view of God that any man has ever had, will ever have is in Jesus Christ, here on earth or in Heaven. Jesus Christ has made known God to the world. Jesus has exegete God. He is, in fact, God in human flesh.

And it happened, that he went into a city

Point One: Divine Purpose vs. 11

God never acts without a fixed goal and a fixed purpose. God never acts whimsically. There are no unexpected coincidences. There are no unplanned-for problems, contingencies. There are not plan Bs. Everything within the plan of God is fixed, settled, unchanging and brought to pass.

He is sovereign. He has perfect intentions for everything He thinks, everything He says and every act. His mission is clear, His objective is clear, His strategy is clear, His plan, His purpose will come to pass. God has a sovereign-bent for sure. (He was pre Calvinist before John Calvin)

Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 55:11, Isaiah 49:9-11

Every thought God has, every word God says, every act God does operates perfectly on divinely established purpose. And that is the way it is with Jesus. John 4:4; Luke 9:51; Luke 13:33

and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

The Sovereign Knowledge of Jesus Christ: God knows the beginning and the end. Jesus Christ Himself as well, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. So here is Jesus with intentionality, moving in a direction toward an obscure little town that would never be known to us biblically if it weren't for this one incident.

Secondly, divine purpose then divine providence. vs 12

Well, that's divine providence. That's a great word. "Providence" refers to God's superintending control over all human actions and events to effect His predetermined purpose. Proverbs 16:9; Proverbs 16:33 and Amos 3:6

Perfect timing:

Luke 7 12, "Now as He approached the gate of the city..."

And so, perfect timing; He approaches the gate of the city. Nobody knows why He's going there, yet He does. It's all planned. "And behold a dead man was being carried out." Exact split second, providential timing; all the control factors belong to God. The man dies at the right moment

behold, or by chance dead man was being carried out

Well it's a startling thing. "Behold," is the word in verse 12, "Whoa," from a human viewpoint, this is a surprising event. From the viewpoint of Jesus, this is exactly on schedule. From the human side, it's a startling coincidence. There is no such thing as a coincidence in God's perspective. The Lord is just gracefully, purposefully taking a step at a time, arriving at exactly the moment when that procession comes out of town. Biblical history is filled with that kind of scheduling.

And by chance] Indeed by the providence of God overruling the matter, as it doth in things that to us are merely casual and contingent.

to happen; and so we may render the words, by divine Providence.

Luke 7:12c , a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

"Luckily, Jesus showed up." No. Luckily doesn't work. So we...we read here that He approaches and out comes this funeral procession and this is a shock. Out comes this wailing, noisy crowd and this dead man was being carried out, it says in verse 12. The funeral was over. People were carrying the corpse that had been sprinkled on the outside, dusted with some powder and some herbs and things like that and then wrapped and laid on a flat bier, b-i-e-r, stretcher.

And then, Third divine purpose and divine providence blends into divine compassion. vs. 13

13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."

The Lord saw her (ιδων αυτην ο κυριος — idōn autēn ho kurios). The Lord of Life confronts death (Plummer) and Luke may use Κυριος — Kurios here purposely.

Had compassion (εσπλαγχτη — esplagchthē). First aorist (ingressive) passive indicative of σπλαγχνιζομαι — splagchnizomai Often love and pity are mentioned as the motives for Christ‘s miracles (Matthew 14:14; Matthew 15:32, etc.). It is confined to the Synoptics in the N.T. and about Christ save in the parables by Christ. Judges 10:16; Psalms 103:8-14; Lamentations 3:22, Matthew 9:36; Mark 1:21; Mark 8:2. He Judges 10:16; Psalms 86:5,15; 103:13; Isaiah 63:9; Jeremiah 31:20; Lamentations 3:32,33; Mark 8:2; John 11:33-35; Hebrews 2:17; 4:15

Weep not (μη κλαιε — mē klaie). Present imperative in a prohibition. Cease weeping.

And you see something in Jesus that is true of God, verse 13, "When Jesus the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her." That's just amazing. The verb is splagchnizomai. It's a funny word. It has to do with feeling something in your gut, you know, you feel emotion and it churns your stomach. It makes your heart beat rapidly. It makes your heart stop sometimes, if you feel something strongly enough, some kind of fear. Weep not Luke 8:52; Jeremiah 31:15,16; John 20:13,15; 1 Corinthians 7:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13

#4 call it divine Authority vs. 14-15

14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise

Touched the bier . or bed.. Thus, Jesus defied the ceremonial defilement forbidding such a thing; because the dead could not defile him, but conversely he raised the dead! Number 19:11-22, Hebrews 7:26

To this Christ came near and touched: not that by his touching of that, the dead should be raised; but this he did as a signal, that the bearers should stop. The Jews^{F4 say, one of the charges that Jacob gave to his sons before his death, was, to:}

"take care (says he) that no uncircumcised person, במטתי יגע, touch my bed, or "bier", lest the Shekinah remove from me; but, according to this order, do unto me, carry me, three on the north, three on the south, three on the east, and three on the west, &c.'

There's another element of the divine authority

Luke 7:14 and the bearers came to a halt.

There was a divine authority about Him. It says, "The bearers came to a halt." They just stopped.

Jesus was, no doubt, known to many in Nain, and it is no wonder that those who bore the bier stood still when he touched it. Though we cannot say that he had raised the dead prior to this, we can say that he had healed every kind of disease known among the people, and therefore his act would beget a reasonable expectancy that he might do something even here.

What was it about His person that just stopped everything? You just didn't do this. This is just outrageous behavior, outrageous. Tell a woman not to cry, touch a casket, if you will, stop a procession, you just don't do that.

And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!"

"He said, 'Young man, I say to you, Arise.'" Now that... That also would be the words of a fool, or a sick joke if He was not God. He said...He didn't have to do anything, Psalms 33:6, 9, John 1:3, John 5:25-29

d by the way, would you notice here nobody asks Him to do this?

There wasn't any request. It wasn't like the centurion who sent somebody to ask Him to heal his slave. Furthermore, nobody seems to have any faith here. The centurion had faith. It wasn't the centurion's faith that caused Jesus to be able to heal his slave. Mark that: Will you? Very important point: Faith never, never is to be considered necessary for divine power to work. This is the lie of many faith healers is that the reason people don't get healed is that they don't have enough faith. God is not impotent and your faith omnipotent. Jesus heals here.

Oh, verse 15, "The dead man sat up." and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

That will break up a funeral. Wow! And He did that at every funeral He attended.

Luke 7:16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people."

Well that takes us to the response, and this is where we bring it to its end. Verse 16: "Fear gripped them all." Sure, holy terror, phobos from which we get phobia.

Why were they afraid? Why did they have this holy terror, this trauma?

Luke 7:17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

"And this report," what report? The report that God was visiting them, and that a man had been raised from the dead through the power of Jesus,

GROW BY LEARNING