Month: December 2012
This Week at Rivers of Joy Baptist Church 12-19-2012
NOTES FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S SERMON FROM ISAIAH 7:1-9
Ungodly men are often punished by others as bad as themselves.
Being in great distress and confusion, the Jews gave up all for lost. They had made God their enemy, and knew not how to make him their friend.
The prophet must teach them to despise their enemies, in faith and dependence on God.
Ahaz, in fear, called them two powerful princes. No, says the prophet, they are but tails of smoking firebrands, burnt out already. The two kingdoms of Syria and Israel were nearly expiring.
While God has work for the firebrands of the earth, they consume all before them; but when their work is fulfilled, they will be extinguished in smoke.
That which Ahaz thought most formidable, is made the ground of their defeat; because they have taken evil counsel against thee; which is an offence to God. God scorns the scorners, and gives his word that the attempt should not succeed.
Man purposes, but God disposes. It was folly for those to be trying to ruin their neighbours, who were themselves near to ruin. Isaiah must urge the Jews to rely on the assurances given them. Faith is absolutely necessary to quiet and compose the mind in trials.
We know God’s Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom:
Daniel 7:14 … his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
We know God’s government is an everlasting government:
Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
We know God’s love for His children is an everlasting love:
Psalm 103:17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
We know God’s covenant with all who are in Christ Jesus is an everlasting covenant:
Ezekiel 37:26: I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
In addition to all that . . .
We know all authorities and governments and kingdoms are subject to the King of kings, and we know each and every one of them is in place and remains in place only according to the sovereign will of God:
Romans 13:1b For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Daniel 4:17b the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.
The Most High rules!
All rulers and all kings sit under and bow to the sovereign Ruler and King of the universe. No exceptions.
Christians are the apple of God’s eye. We are kept by our Savior and we remain under the shadow of the wing of the King of kings.
And yet, in spite of our knowing all those things, how often do we panic and NOT keep calm? How often do we become paralyzed and NOT carry on?
Don’t we have every reason to KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON in all circumstances?
Is the God who sent His only begotten Son to die for us while we were yet sinners not continuing to carry us at all times and through all circumstances?
Isaiah 46:3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
Is there any time our God is not carrying His children?
Is there any time our God is not ruling and not King?
Is there any time that our God is not sovereign?
Is there any ruler over whom our God is not sovereign?
Is there any kingdom over which our God is not sovereign?
Is there anything at all that can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus?
The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent (Colossians 1:15-18).
Looking Back
March 2010 this little fellow was coming to ROJBC and still is coming.
Hard to believe but this was in 2009 Jimmy and Lois Grant
Jimmy Chares and Richard here in 2009 
Yes Bro. Bill is still coming to here in the 2009 
Yes BobTemple here in 2009 was here this December 2012 too. 
Yep this couple here in October 2009 are still coming.
Charles e Whisnant Study and Office
THE LIBRARY OFFICE as of December 2012
These books I have had sense the days in FBC in Altoona, Kansas. 1980-1996. (Left side of the room)
In 2003 I was able to get on the Internet for the first time, and I spent the next three years studying on monergism.com. Reformed Theological Website. I studied 50 major doctrines during this time. I then downloaded 50 3-ring binders of articles on these 50 doctrinal subjects. Also viewed hundreds of websites of churches. In all there must me 200 3 ring binders of material from this period of time.
The binders on the back wall are from days in FBC in Altoona, Kansas. And on the top of the book shelf are the binders for the sermons preached in FBC. (above view)
The front wall in the library room are the 3-ring binders that have the sermons from Romans, Philippians, Creation, The Bible You Hold In Your Hand and other sermons preached here at Rivers of Joy Baptist Church in 2008 to present 2012
Very blessed to have these two rooms for my work.
Below is the office I use for counsel and study
Rivers of Joy Baptist Church 12-12-12
Preaching is?
Many styles of preaching here at Rivers of Joy Baptist Church, but one style we required that its the Word of God that is preached.
In the Power of His Spirit
One of the deadliest traps a preacher can face is to believe that somehow the power of his preaching resides in his “special way” of preaching. That special way can be his personality, his style, his method of preparation, his emotional force, his mastery of the languages or history or theology, or his ability to illustrate with a story or a joke. All preachers have tendencies and idiosyncratic elements that feel “right” to them, habits that suggest we’re “really preaching” when those things are present or that we’re “off our game” when they’re not. We find ourselves tempted to trust those idiosyncracies as the source of power.
But where does true power come from in preaching? The scripture gives us a couple answers, all associated.
Power comes from the message of the gospel itself
Romans 1:16–”For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
1 Corinthians 1:18–”For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:23-24–”we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
“Powerful preachers” are men who proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any time the gospel is rightly announced in our preaching, we can confidently expect God’s power to go forth. Power inheres in the message not the man.
Moreover, power comes through the message even when the man is weak. The apostle’s experience and writing confirm this when he says: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:1, 3). No eloquence. No great wisdom. Weak. Afraid. Trembling. Paul doesn’t sound like a beast, does he? He doesn’t sound like some lion of a man. We might even think his attitude is unbecoming gospel preaching. Who would dare bring “the testimony about God” in such a condition? Only someone who knows the power is in the message itself. Only someone who thinks, If I can only proclaim the words then the power of the message will more than compensate for the puniness of the messenger.
That man whose confidence is wholly in the gospel’s power will proclaim the gospel no matter how he feels. And that gospel will have power! In fact, the gospel will have so much power the pitiful preacher can boast in his weaknesses! (2 Cor. 12:7-10)
Power comes from the Spirit of God
But there is a double power in preaching. There is the power of the gospel itself, and there is the power of God the Holy Spirit who makes the gospel effective.
1 Cor. 2:4-5–”My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
1 Thes. 1:4-5–”For you know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”
In true preaching, the Spirit of God takes the message of God and turns it into the life of God in the people of God. God not only speaks in preaching, He also unleashes His power. Omnipotence launches from human lips. The Holy Spirit takes the words of men about God’s Son and He works faith, deep conviction, and joy in the hearer.
The result is that our hearer’s faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. The preacher’s wisdom or eloquence makes a flimsy shelf upon which to rest the weight of men’s souls. What happens when the preacher is no longer “wise,” no longer funny or clever, no longer insightful or profound, no longer overwhelming in emotion? If the people’s faith has been resting on that man, then their faith will collapse and shatter like delicate glass baubles.
Preacher, we don’t want the people resting their hopes on our wisdom! Not for a minute! As John Henry Jowett puts it: “We never reach the innermost room in any man’s soul by the expediences of the showman or the buffoon.” Never. Not once. Not by our wisdom.
But the good news is that our hearers’ faith can rest on an unbending, never-falling, never-sagging shelf–the shelf of God’s power through His Spirit. In true preaching, God the Holy Spirit does all the work in men’s hearts. We don’t need the counterfeits of manipulation and bullying. With perfect precision, the Spirit of God will do exactly what needs to be done in every human heart, taking the very same sentence we utter and giving an infinitely diverse remedy to the various people before us. Isn’t this part of the wonder of preaching? God uses our feeble words to effect change–different changes from the same words–in the many hearts before us. And how many times have people referred to “something we said in the sermon” that was “just what they needed” when we can’t even recall saying it? The Spirit preaches a better more powerful sermon than the preacher ever does! What a glorious mystery is this power of God’s Spirit in the act of preaching!
Rivers of Joy Baptist Adult Bible Class
Isaiah 6: 2-8 Adoring God Worship and Conversion
Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said:
“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“ Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”
Isaiah 6:2-3
A time of adoring will not lead to a barren life. But cause us to “fly” engage in active of the Lord. Take our eyes off the world and placed on our Lord, you go to the closet and the sanctuary and you will spring forth in devotion, and active service.
Devotion comes out of adoration. A sense of deep awe, which comes from a sense of God’s transcendent excellence.
The essence of true worship: Being drawn closer to God: The object of worship: is not to please God, totally, but coming into His presence, we may be ransformed into His image, as we learn of his ways and work.
These angels: were offering up praise, being conscious of no audience. But were entirely absorbed in adoring together, in exchanging with each other their divine thoughts and emotions. But in so doing, in the intense enthusiasm it overflow upon spectators.
- Expression of humility.
- Self-discipline of their own purpose
- Swift in execute the errands of Jehovah.
The Essence of True Worship: Being drawn closer to God.
Wings:
Speaks of power, active, obedience. One who is not idle, but standing, alert, watching, waiting for commandments, eager to work. While at other times devoted, reverent of Him.
Seraphim:
“The flaming, or burning one.
- Flashing with splendor
- Full of swift energy
- Glowing with love
- Blazing with enthusiasm
- Joyous, buoyant, easy, unhindered motion
= RESULTS OF STANDING CLOSE TO THE LORD.
+ The experience of God’s grace, pardon, forgiveness, redemption is cause for our service to Him
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
Holiness of God entitles Him to supreme love, confidence and worship
All that God does is HOLY. Completeness. Separate.
The whole earth is full of His glory
- Angels see the working of God’s glory, grace, mercy, love, to mankind on earth.
And the whole temple shook because the power of God is on display.
Then he said I, Woe Is Me! 5-8
- Every man’s course is shaped by the view that he forms of the supreme ruler. If he has no view, he has no principles, and he is living either in anarchy or in slavery to some other mind.
- The turning point of the consciousness: = conversion. New insights changes the soul, gives an impulse that never loses its force. “Mind eyes have seen the King.”
- Stage One: Unenlightened.
- Stage Two: He receive light.
- Stage Three: He sees the exists of God everywhere.
THE VISION OF GOD PRODUCES:
- Sense of personal sin
- Quickens the sense of social sin.
- Brings to bear upon the life a purifying power
- Gives life a purpose and a mission.
The need of being filled with a vision of God
- Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. When man reaches the end of their own resources, it is God’s opportunity.
Isaiah saw God (in the spiritual sense)
- You see His holiness.
- You see your sinfulness.
- You put your faith in His grace.
- You see cleansing, purity.
- You seek then to serve Him and mankind.
What Isaiah
- Saw: The Lord sitting on a throne
- Felt: He had sinned.
- Heard: God say “I need somebody to preach.”
- Said: Here am I.
THERE COMES A MOMENT I BELIEVE that there is this sudden conversion, as by a flash, a light, in the moment of hearing a sermon, reading a verse in the Bible that had a immediate effect and alarms your soul, and brings your mind to His mind the vastness and majesty of the true Sovereign.
THE LIVE COAL FROM THE ALTER: The applying the heat from the altar
- Purged his lips.
- Cleansed his iniquity.
- Fitted him for the work in which he was called.
Why is there a need for cleansing? The uncleanness of your nature needs it.
SALVATION:
- When you are brought to the point in your life, that you see the awfulness of sin, in that it is offense to God’s holiness and you seek purity, that is at the point you can be saved. Perfect salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Attributes of God Manuscript
The notes for my lesson on the Attributes of God are posted here. I use Microsoft Word and Office 2007, so I hope you will be able to open up the document .
The Journey: From Nazareth to Bethlehem Notes
GOD IS WORKING HIS PLAN AND PURPOSE IN THE WORLD
THE JOURNEY OF JOSEPH AND MARY TO BETHLEHEM
Luke 2:1-7 Part One
Charles e. Whisnant
December 02 2012
Did Rome “just happen” to be the world power at the time of Jesus’ birth? Was it “just coincidence” that Caesar called for a census of the Roman world forcing Joseph and Mary to leave Nazareth and travel 80+ miles to Bethlehem just prior to Jesus’ birth? Was it “just random” that the Bethlehem innkeeper didn’t have room in his inn but still made room for Joseph and Mary to stay in his stable? Were all these events and people just coincidences or were they just the way God planned and purposed the birth of his son, Jesus? Is the world and history just random or is God at work in the events of history and the lives of people bringing about what He wants? What do you think?
The Events Leading Up to the Birth of Jesus
1A The History of Christmas and its Traditions:
- 1. Time of Christmas
- 2. Mistletoe
- 3. First Christmas Crib
- 4. History of St Nicholas
- 5. Caroling
- 6. Stockings
- 7. Greeting cards
2A INTRODUCTION TO THE MESSAGE TODAY
3A JOURNEY IN GETTING JOSEPH AND MARY TO BETHLEHEM BY THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
4A Luke gives three settings for the coming of the Message
1A A World Setting.
2A A National Setting with Israel
3A A Personal Setting
And all three of these are very important in identifying the nature of Messiah, in identifying the fulfillment of prophecy and identifying His role in the world.
The whole story of the birth of Christ is in verse 7, the first part, “She gave birth.”
Let’s look at the world setting. Luke 2:1-3
“Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth:”
Verse 1 says, “Now it came about in those days.”
1B Herod is still alive though he died soon after the birth of Jesus.
2B These were the days not only of Roman occupation but also that dreaded Roman taxation.
3A “in those days…in those days, a decree went out.” This edict that came out of Rome went out from the reigning Caesar of the day, Caesar Augustus. Who was this man?
1B He brought in the amazing Pax Romana
2B This Roman Peace literally made soft borders everywhere.
3B Then he built massive Roman roads and affected transportation systems in all directions for the extent of this great power of Rome in the world.
4B But this man, Caesar Augustus, was a remarkable man. He literally created the world that facilitated the spread of the gospel. Not only did he do that in general but in specific he made an edict that caused Joseph and Mary to have to go by a certain date to Bethlehem where they would have their baby and fulfill prophecy.
5B Let’s look at his edict. He made an edict, and this was the edict.
6A His name was Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. He was known to have governed Syria, A.D. 6 to 9…A.D. 6 to 9.
Why else would Joseph and Mary go down to Bethlehem in the dead of winter, (maybe in the winter) sometime in the late part of the year anyway, when it could be cold, when it could be rainy, when it could be snowy, why would she, nine months pregnant, be bumping on a mule or walking 85 or 90 miles from the north down…really upward to Bethlehem because it’s ascent in terms of terrain?
This was the world setting.
This was how God was controlling the world events crucial to the birth of Christ. It set everything in motion for what for that little couple must have been a miserable trip physically, distressing her to go far from home, far from her mother, far from her family, far from everybody who knew her and loved her and cared about her to have a baby on the road, as it were, in an obscure place. And remember, she was thirteen, or fourteen and her husband was fifteen. But it was essential and they must have gone because they didn’t have a choice.
There are no accidental occurrences, folks, in the realm of the Holy Spirit.
Rivers Of Joy Baptist Church 