Episodes
Sunday Feb 25, 2024
THE FAITH THAT CANNOT BE TESTED, CANNOT BE TRUSTED (Genesis 22:1-18)
Sunday Feb 25, 2024
Sunday Feb 25, 2024
In today’s message, I want to talk to you about your faith. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:13 to be strong in faith. I want us to think about our faith, and I want us to look at our faith. I want us to examine our faith. I want us to test our faith, because, you see, the faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.
How do you know that your faith is real and strong? Well, would you like to fly on an airplane that had never been tested? Would you like for it to be built, but never once put to any test? Would you want to get on it and commit your life to that airplane, and it had never been tested? I don’t think so, right? Would you like for a doctor to do surgery on you who went through medical school without a test? He just got a diploma as a participation trophy?
Do you want to put your faith, and your confidence, in something that hasn’t been tested? Again, the faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.
If you were to measure faith, how would you measure it? Well, you could measure it with the dimensions of faith. You could measure it by its depth. You could measure it by its height. You could measure it by its length. Or you could measure it by its wideness. And that is exactly how we are going to measure faith today. We are going to study how God tells us in His Word how Abraham’s faith was measured. He is going to tell us how it was qualified.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how our faith is measured by the depth of its devotion, the height of its sacrifice, the length of its obedience, and the wideness of confidence.
Let me ask that the next time you pray to your Heavenly Father, pray these words, “Lord, increase my faith. And, Lord, when the test comes, when you ask of me something—to go somewhere, to give something, to sacrifice something—Lord, help me to obey. May my obedience be quick, intentional, instantaneous, impassioned, intelligent.” You don’t have to think up things to sacrifice. You just have to say, “Lord, all that I am, all that I have, belongs to you.”
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Feb 12, 2024
THE BIRTH OF ISAAC (Genesis 20:1 to 21:34)
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Today’s message is about spiritual highs and lows. If you have been a Christ follower for very long, then the mountain top experiences when you feel so close to God, are right there alongside the deep valley experiences when you feel so far from God. The Bible describes Abraham as a hero of the faith, and I certainly agree with that description. Some of the things that we have seen Abraham do in our study of the book of Genesis, and some of the things that he will yet do in this book, are truly remarkable examples of a man who is filled with the Spirit of an all-powerful God.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I never like to see my heroes stumble. I mean, the Lone Ranger never told a lie, he was never mean to people, and he always rescued the girl, and defeated the bad guys. That is just the way it works, our heroes are not supposed to do the same kind of foolish things that we do, especially twice.
So, when you have the type of expectations that I do for my heroes, chapter 20 of the book of Genesis is a chapter that you would like to just skip over. That is because Abraham does all of the things we just talked about. He lies, and he is mean to Hagar and Ishmael. Worse, he repeats the same sin that he committed when he went down into the land of Egypt and lied concerning Sarah, saying, “She is my sister.” It is the same story, all over again. But in the end, Abraham defeats the bad guy, or the sin that has been in his life, he obeys God’s commands, and he gets the only girl God has wanted for him from the beginning, which is Sarah.
Yet, this story tells the truth about all of us as Christians. No matter how great we think we are, each time we try to solve our problems using the world’s methods, using our own strength, instead of depending on God, we will fail. And there is nothing more miserable than a Christian who has failed because he did not depend on God. The lost see this person as the hypocrite they are, and they want nothing to do with that kind of shallow belief.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how our faith and trust in God is the foundation for living a victorious Christian life.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Jan 08, 2024
TO BE STRONG IN FAITH (Genesis 17: 15-17)
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Archimedes was a philosopher and physicist, and he said, “If you will give me a lever long enough, if you will give me a fulcrum with something to rest it on, and if you will give me a place to stand, I can move the earth.” He was right. For us, that lever is faith, that fulcrum is the Word of God, and that place where we stand is in His grace. With it, not only can we move the earth, but we can move heaven as well, if we learn to be strong in faith.
It is strong faith that releases the grace of God. Rom. 4:16 says, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace …” meaning that without faith, you will never know grace, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure.”
What is grace? Grace is “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” Grace is God giving us and showing us His great wonderful love. There’s nothing we can do to deserve it, or to earn it. Grace is the unmerited love and favor of God that is just given to us.
Now, how can you get in on this unmerited love and favor of God? Only by faith! If you begin to work for it, if you begin to pay for it, then it is no longer grace. It is no longer grace. If it is by grace, then by definition, it is no longer works, otherwise work is not work. And, if it is by work, then by definition of the word work, it is not by grace, otherwise grace is no more grace. This is what the Bible says. You can’t mix grace and works, so the only way that grace can be grace is through faith. That is the only way that grace can be grace.
Now, it is important to understand that unbelief holds grace prisoner. If you are an unbeliever, grace will never work in your heart and in your life. The Bible says it is by faith so that it can be by grace.
Click on the play button above to hear a message on how a strong faith is the key to unlock God’s grace in your life.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
HOW TO MEND A BROKEN FAITH-PART I (Genesis 12:1-10)
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
One of the great reoccurring lessons in the Bible is the need for the Christian believer to have faith. Not a hope-so faith, but a know-so faith based on the promises found in God’s Word. This know-so faith is absolutely required for the believer to live a victorious Christian life.
Abraham is called “the father of all them that believe” (Romans 4:11). When we think of Abraham, we think of faith, and we can learn some incredible lessons about faith as we study how he struggled to become this great man of faith. And, by the way, when I’m talking to you about faith, I’m not talking to you about something insignificant like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. I’m talking to you about something that is so important that I can hardly think of an adjective to describe the importance of faith. It is of monumental, inestimable, importance.
Once you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, how are you going to live the Christian life? By trying? No. By trusting. The Christian life is lived by faith. Four times, the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” God says it one, two, three, four times. Now, do you think He’s trying to tell us something really important? I’m telling you, the way to live the Christian life is by faith.
Click on the link below to hear a message about the school of faith, and that’s a wonderful school, but sometimes we don’t make very good grades. And I want to talk to you about “How to Mend a Broken Faith,” because there are just times that we don’t do all that good in God’s school of faith. Now, life is the classroom in the school of faith. Obviously, the Bible is the textbook in the school of faith. The faculty includes the prophets and the apostles. But the dean of the school of faith would have to be Abraham.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM (Genesis11:10 to 12:8)
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Genesis mark an important turning point in the Scriptures. Up to this point, the story has been that of the whole Adamic race. There has been neither Jew nor Gentile. All have been one in “the first Adam.”
From this point forward in the Scriptures, the human race must be seen as a great river from which God, in the call of Abraham, and the creation of the nation of Israel, draws off a small stream through which He may at last purify the great river itself. Israel is the tool through which God chose to bring a Savior to the world. It is important for us to note that neither Abraham, nor Israel, were perfect, they didn’t do anything special to deserve this. In fact, as we will see today, Abraham was far from perfect. But, when God spoke to him, Abraham responded, and that is exactly what God was looking for. It was by grace that God chose Abraham, and the nation Israel, to bring revelation and salvation to the world. It was through the faith of Abraham that the nation Israel would be called.
Click on the play button to hear a message on how our obedience to God comes after we have stopped telling God what we want to do, and listen to what He wants us to do. Let me illustrate that with a question, how much of your prayer time do you spend telling God what you want, rather than being quiet and listening to what He wants to tell you? That is a measure of how much you harken/obey God, for you cannot obey God until you know what He wants you to do. Abraham was obedient to God because he listened, and then transformed what he heard into action.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Oct 31, 2022
HAS YOUR FAITH BEEN TESTED? (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
God is going to give you some trials, some tests, to see if your faith is real. Not for Him to know anything about your faith, for He already knows all about your faith, but for you to know that your faith is real and that it can be trusted no matter what. Warren Wiersbe said that “A faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.”
Tests, and trials, and temptations come in two kinds. The devil solicits us, tempts us to do evil, to cause us to stumble. God tests us to do good in order to cause us to stand. What God wants to accomplish by testing us is to make our faith strong and pure. How will it be tested? It will be tested by fire. Then, what is the purpose of the testing? God is going to put your faith in the fire to purify it, to make it stand no matter what comes.
God is going to test your faith by asking you to do something that may surprise you—not by giving up the wrong things and the bad things, but by giving up the good things. It would be relatively easy if God asked us to give up the bad things, to give up lying, and stealing, and cheating, and pride—to show that we love Him. But that’s not what God is asking.
There are some things that we give up for the Lord. But the test of faith that God will give you is not what you are willing to give up for the Lord, but are you willing to give back to the Lord of the blessings that you have received. Are you able to give your blessings back to God? Not, are you willing to give up your sins for God? Are you willing to give your blessings back to God? The test of faith is not primarily between love and hate, but between two loves, those things we love dearly and that which we must love supremely.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how God wants you to be strong in faith. For without faith, it is impossible to please God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
A DYNAMIC LIFE OF FAITH-PART II (Hebrews 11:8-13)
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
Without faith it is impossible to please God. You will never succeed in your Christian life without believing God. Faith is the mark of a Christian. Christians were called believers before they were called Christians. It is our chief duty to believe God, and in order to believe God, then you must hear from God.
How can we hear the voice of God? The Bible tells us that God speaks to us by His Son. So, how does God do that? The Bible teaches that we have three things. We have the written Word of God. We have the mind of Christ, and we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now, the wonderful good news about having these three things to hear from God, is that it gives us such an advantage over what the Old Testament prophets had to hear from God. You see, these Old Testament characters, before they had the Bible, before they knew what we know by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they had to wait for God to break in with some open revelation, some vision, some ecstasy. We don’t have to do that.
Listen, don’t just miss this Biblical truth by nonchalance. We have the inspired, inerrant written Word of God, and we have the mind of Christ, and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, all speaking to us and sharing the will of God in our lives. You have such an advantage today in being able to know the will of God. You don’t have to guess at the will of God, you can know the will of God. You can have the confidence to say to God as you pray, “Lord, this is Your will, and I thank You for it, and I stand on it.”
How can you have this confidence? You can have it because you have the written word of God, the Holy Spirit of God, and the mind of Christ.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to have a dynamic life of faith that pleases God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
A DYNAMIC LIFE OF FAITH-PART I (Hebrews 11:8-13)
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” How would you like to have great faith? If you are a Christ follower, then I trust that you do. When you came to Jesus Christ, God enrolled you in the School of Faith. Life is the classroom, the Bible is the textbook, the prophets and the apostles are the professors, and Abraham would have to be the Dean in the School of Faith.
Our message today is on the dynamic life of faith that Abraham led. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” This means that if you want to please God, then you must have faith. If you please God, then it doesn’t matter whom you displease, and if you displease God, then it doesn’t matter whom you please. There is no way to please God without faith.
Do you want to serve God? Then, your chief duty is to believe Him. The supreme evil is unbelief. Unbelief is the source of all other sins. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden because they did not believe the Word of God that had been given to them. The Christian life, according to Hebrews 10:38, is to be lived by faith. The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.”
Now, I am telling you as clearly as I can that without faith it is impossible to please God. You will never, ever, succeed in your Christian life without believing God. Not just in God, but God’s Word collectively in the Bible, and God’s Word that He has given personally to you.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to have a dynamic life of faith that pleases God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday May 02, 2021
TO WALK GOD'S PATH (Proverbs 3:23-35)
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
God wants us, as believers, to be free from the bondage of the world so that we might live a life that follows God’s chosen path for us. But, have you ever asked yourself, how do we walk that path, and what should we expect as we walk that path? That is the focus of today’s message, what does God’s Word say about what it is like to walk God’s chosen path for each of us. God wants you to know that it is a peaceful life. It is peaceful in the good times, and it is peaceful in times of stress.
God’s path requires that you give the Lord your love and loyalty, and to put Christ first in all that we do. If we do these things, then we will have God’s peace. As a result, we know that, come what may, all will be well. There is no greater gift this side of Heaven than to have the peace of God standing watch over our hearts.
Phil 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
KJV
When we walk along God’s path for our lives, His wisdom tells us that we can have peace in good times and times of stress because we know the place where faith stands:
Prov 3:26
26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
KJV
Faith takes its stand in the Lord. Never believe that this struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, and truth versus lie, is a mighty battle between equals. It is not. It is not even close. God is the omnipotent, omniscient, Creator of all things. He has but to speak and all evil is defeated.
Click on the link below to hear a message on what we should expect when we walk God’s path for our lives. The answer is that God does not ask us to walk that path without His promises to bless us with His wisdom and power to succeed on our course. The key to finding these promises, and to accomplishing His will, is to put Christ first in all things, and to hold dearly to the wisdom that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Amen.
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
LET GOD SIT IN THE DRIVER‘S SEAT (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
There is a popular bumper sticker out there that says “God is my Copilot.” Well, if that is true in your life, then you better swap seats. God needs to in the driver’s seat of your life. We all like to be in control of our lives, but if you are to know God’s will, then you must let God be the one who chooses your way, not you. You see, finding God’s will is not something that you are to figure out in your flesh. It is not a puzzle that we need to figure out. God is not leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow. No, instead, we are called to trust in the Lord.
Someone once said, “To know the Lord Jesus is to love Him. To love Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to find God’s will for your life. And to find God’s will for your life is to be blessed.” The Word of God says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” No ifs, ands, and buts about it. If you let Almighty God choose the way, control the way, confirm the way, and clear the way, then you will know the will of God for your life.
Now, let me just give you some very practical advice and I want you to think about it. The way to know the will of God for your life is to do the will of God immediately and in all things. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Don’t wait till tomorrow morning. I mean, starting now! Number two: Obey Him in the small things; then the big ones will take care of themselves. Everything big is made of little things. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
It’s hard to steer a ship that’s not moving, that means that God can’t steer a life that is not moving towards Him. I want to repeat again, the way to know the will of God for your life is to do the will of God immediately and to do it in all things. Obey Him in the small things; then the big ones will take care of themselves.
Amen.