The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

DO YOU BELIEVE GOD? (James 2:21-24)

Do you believe God?

Not do you believe in God, but do you believe God?  

Do you believe what God says in His Word, the Bible?  

Do you believe God the Father when He said of Jesus Christ, this is my Son in whom I am well pleased?  

Do you believe God when He says that your salvation is by His grace alone, and not by works, lest any man should boast?

Abraham was a man that believed God.  What this means is that Abraham said amen to God. God had said, “I will do this for you,” and Abraham says to God, “I believe You. Amen. I believe it.”  And that was counted to him for righteousness.   Abraham did not work to earn his salvation, it was his faith that was counted for righteousness.  But it was not just faith in anything.

It is important to note what Abraham believed, for God to count it for righteousness.  It was when he believed the promise of THE SEED.  That is when God counted it to him for righteousness.  

Ultimately it is the same for all ages.  It is the faith in Jesus Christ that our salvation rests.  He is The Seed.  

It is not mere faith that saves, but it is the object of your faith that saves.

It is not mere faith that saves, but it is your faith in Christ that saves.  

Abraham just believed God. He just accepted what God said about the promised Seed, and he believed God. That is the way each of us get saved.  That is how we receive God’s gift of eternal life.

You must believe that God has done something for you, that Christ died for you and rose again. 

It is then, that God will declare you righteous by simply accepting Christ.

Listen to this podcast to learn that it is not good works that will allow you to stand imputed with righteousness before God, but it is when you believe God.  

A TEST OF YOUR FAITH (James 2:14-20)

What is the test of your love?

   

Valentine’s Day has just passed and most of us demonstrated our love for that special someone in our life by buying a gift, candy, flowers, or a special meal of some kind.  This custom is so ingrained in our society that to fail to do something leads to being called a callous, worthless, uncaring, bum, by your recently past, not-so-special anymore, loved one in your life. There are those that see this as an actual test of their spouse’s love.

It is not enough that you say that you love them, for the word love is an often used word that can have various levels of intensity.  

It is not enough that you believe that you love them, for how many times have you really believed that you loved someone, just to find out that it was more of a physical attraction, instead of real love?

There must be more, there must be a demonstration of that love, or your spouse will consider your love dead, or missing, or simply a mental assent to the concept of love, but it must not really reach down into your heart.  

In other words, love without works is dead.  You can tell your wife that you love her, and then she will probably look at you and tell you how nice that is, but that she shows you her love by her works.  

Therefore, the test of your love for your spouse is your works.  

It doesn’t mean that you do not love her if you do not have works.  You can be married without works, but if you truly love your wife, or your husband, there will be works that are the natural result of that love.  They will come from the emotional, heartfelt, desire, to do things for your spouse that will demonstrate your love for them.  Those works will be the fruit of your love.  

You will do things for your spouse all of the time, not just on Valentine’s Day, not just because you want to pass a test, or a judgment to come, but because to love someone in the manner that God has intended for a man and a women to love each other, means that what they want and need is much more important than your own wants and needs.  

Now, if you can understand this concept, then you will be able to understand one of the most widely misinterpreted, and misunderstood, sections of the Bible as we study it today.  Listen to this podcast and learn what the Book of James says about a test of your faith, and how a faith without works is dead.  

HOW TO ASK GOD FOR WISDOM (James 1:6-11)

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the circumstances that you found yourself in that you feel totally inadequate to handle things?

Too many choices, most of them bad ones, and how do you know which choices are good and which are bad?

James tells us “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5 HSCB).   

So where do we find God’s wisdom?  A large share of it is in God’s Word.  The Bible contains God’s answers to our questions about almost every aspect of life.  But we also gain wisdom from God through our prayers during times of trials.  

God’s purpose for the trials of a believer is to enlighten them, helping them to grow spiritually.  God truly wants to give you the wisdom to make the right choice.  He wants you to grow in your faith.

Listen to this podcast to learn that if you want to ask God for His wisdom, you must ask it of Him in faith, with nothing wavering, with no doubt, and fully trusting in God.  

TO HAVE MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH (Mark 9:14-29)

Have you ever wanted the kind of faith where you could look at a mountain and say "Mountain, I want you to move over there," and the mountain would move? Now before you say that is impossible, understand that Jesus tells us as believers that If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Jesus says nothing shall be impossible for us, not even moving mountains.  So, what does it take to have mountain moving faith? Must you have a mountain of faith? Must you believe really hard in something or someone? Must you follow the TV evangelist who cries out "I believe, I believe, now if you will send me your money I can make you believe too?" Listen to this podcast to learn that God does not ask you to have mountain sized faith, or to believe extra hard in any thing or any one.  God just wants you to have mustard seed sized faith in the things that He wants done, for you to be obedient to those things, and then let Him do the rest.  If you can do this, then nothing shall be impossible to you, not even moving the mountain that God tells you to move.

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU? (Mark 8:27-38)

Who is Jesus to you? This is a question that each of us must answer, even if choosing not to answer the question is your response.  From an academic perspective, the world has debated who Jesus is for two thousand years.  Is He an important religious figure?  Is He a prophet, or a teacher? But the question of Who is Jesus to you is about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Listen to this podcast to learn how your decision to accept or reject a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, is the single most important question you will answer in your life.  It is more important than choosing a spouse, to have kids or to not have them, or even the career choice that you make. This single decision will determine how you will live beyond the grave.  It will determine how you will spend eternity.

ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT THE RIGHT THINGS? (Mark 8:10-26)

How much of your time is spent worrying about things you cannot control? What is it that worrying is keeping you from doing? What are the top 10 things you worry about? Your job, finances, food, shelter, loneliness, or your health? What would it take to get you to stop worrying about these things? SomeOne you could trust to handle those problems for you. Listen to this podcast to understand how knowing Jesus makes a difference in what you worry about, how much time you spend worrying, and how much time you spend accomplishing the things that God wants you to do. Learn how Jesus is that SomeOne you can have faith in. Learn how to worry about the right things.

WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART? (Mark 7:14-30)

Every day the headlines declare the latest act of violence and evil that has occurred in our nation.    Every day we seek answers as to why these events are occurring more often than we remember in our past. Our politicians and the news media blame the tools of the violence while they ignore the source of the evil that drives these events. They choose to issue gun control and God control laws to handle the problem. These laws do nothing to solve the problem because it is the evil within the person's heart that drives the ability of man to commit these acts. Man's heart has a tremendous capacity for love, charity, and compassion for others. Man's heart also contains apathy, indifference, intolerance, and arrogance. Jesus tells us that there are also thirteen things within every man's heart that makes man the most vicious creation on the planet earth. Our country believes that a man must have freedom to do that which he desires. But for that freedom to be successful it must be constrained by man's absolute belief in the morals of right and wrong established by the living God. Instead of allowing our belief in the morals of God to constrain the evil that lies with the heart of man, our politicians have chosen to issue laws confining God's morals to the four walls of the church. They have mandated the abolishment of God's teachings from our schools. They have abolished the name of Jesus from our government buildings. They have banned God's commandments from our courtrooms. They have done this in the name of a new, socially, enlightened, morality. They have called good what God calls evil. In doing so, they have removed the constraints on the evil that lies within the heart of man. Instead of a new morality, we now have a lack of any morality, and they stand surprised at the violence that is the result. Listen to this podcast to learn that it is what comes from the heart of man that defiles our nation's soul, our people's spirit, and fills our headlines.

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (Mark 6:45-52)

Do you have someone to watch over you as you go through the problems of life? Do you have a resource with enough power to call upon when you are in your darkest moments? Most of us go through life being controlled by the things that are going on around us. When things are going good, we are happy. When things are hard, we endure on our own. But that is not the way Jesus wants you to go through life. Listen to this podcast to learn how you can have a direct link to the One with the power to put all of your problems beneath your feet. You can walk victoriously over the problems and challenges of your darkest moments. Learn how Jesus wants to be the SomeOne who watches over you.

FAITH IN SOMETHING OR SOMEONE (Mark 4:33-41)

What do you place your faith in to get you through the trials of life? Your friends, your family, or your own abilities? What do you place your faith in to deal with the inevitability of death and what happens after death? Is it science, medicine, or religion? Science can tell you why you are going to die, but death will still ultimately come. Medicine can make you feel better before you die, it can even extend your life, but death will still ultimately come. Religion, with its works, and its rules, can make you feel like you are doing something about death and what comes after, but death will still ultimately come. Listen to this podcast to hear what the Word God says that we are to place our faith in. Rejoice as the Bible tells us the something and the Someone that has the power to control death and what comes after.

ARE YOU CONFIDENT? (2 Cor. 5:6-8)

It is one thing to say that I believe in God, and I believe what God's Word says about death, life, Heaven, and Hell.  It is another thing to say that I am so confident of what God says is true that I have no fear of death.  In fact, I am ready, or as Paul says, I am groaning, to be absent from this earthly body and present with my Lord and Savior Jesus.   In this lesson Paul describes what it means to walk by faith, and not by sight.  This is not a hope so faith, nor does it depend on how hard you believe.   True Biblical faith is a faith built on substance and evidence.  Substance for the scientific mind, and evidence for the legal mind.  Listen and learn what it truly means to walk through the shadow of death and to have no fear.