The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

VICTORY THROUGH PRAYER (Acts 12:1-11)

Today, I want to talk to you about prayer, not just “now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep” kind of prayer, but victorious prayer. As you read the Book of Acts, there is the shout of victory, the ring of victory, and the shout of triumph on every page in the Book of Acts. These people learned how to pray, and they saturated their lives with prayer. And, God gave the victory.

Compare that with the average Christian today. Compare that with the average church today. We are failing in our battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And, the reason that we fail, is that, primarily and fundamentally, we do not know how to pray.  

Now, this next statement that I am going to make is one of the most important Bible truths that every Christian needs to understand all the way down into their heart of hearts.  And without a doubt, it is most staggering thought that you could ever have in your life.  When I really stop to consider the impact of this truth on my life, I cannot describe in words the weight of that thought as it settles on me.  I am going to tell you what it is, and when I tell you what it is, you are going to say, “Well, everybody knows that.” And so do I, but yet, I cannot tell you how important this truth is. Are you ready for it? 

Here it is: “God answers prayer.”  Ask yourself “Is that really true?  That the One who made the universe, the God of all eternities, will hear me, and I can have influence in His court? Me—He will hear me! I can pray, and He will hear me and answer me.”  

God said, 

Jer 33:3
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
KJV

What a thought!  That we can have the privilege to pray to Almighty God! Now, if that is true—and it is true—then we had better learn how to pray.  We can have an audience with the King of kings.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can have victory through prayer.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

TO PRAY EXPECTANTLY (Acts 12:1-15)

Prayer is to be a central part of our Christian life.  The Bible tells us to pray unceasingly, for prayer is the vital breath of the Christian.  God communicates with us through our prayer life. We also bring our needs before God during our prayer life.  And the main theme of our lesson today will be how we pray expectantly for God to provide answers to our prayers.  

If you want God to give you the things you pray for, the very first thing you must do is to find out what the will of God is for the matter that you are praying about.  

“The prayer that is answered is the prayer that begins in heaven.”  

This means figure out what God wants for your life, pray for it, and then receive it.  To even think that God is going to give you things that are not in His will for your life, is naive at best, and arrogant at worst.  If you as a parent will not give your children things you know are not good for them, then why would you think that your Heavenly Father would do so.  The prayers that we bring before the Almighty, Sovereign, God of the universe, must come from a surrendered heart.  This is not a heart that commits to God for a couple of days a week.  This is a heart that has fully, and totally, surrendered its will to the will of God. It is this surrender, this faith in the desire of God to give us all things that are for our good, the faith that God will do as He has promised in His word, that allows us to pray expectantly that God will answer our prayers.  

There is not a failure in your life except that which is really a prayer failure.  

There is not a sin in your life that proper prayer would not have avoided. 

There is not a need in your life that could not be met if you learned to pray with power, praise, and with an earnest expectation.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to pray expectantly.  If you do not have power in your prayer life, then come to the Lord today and say “Lord, teach me to pray.”  God will answer that prayer.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

A GODLY CHURCH MEMBER (Acts 4:36-37)

A GODLY CHURCH MEMBER (Acts 4:36-37)

In today’s lesson, I want to talk about what it means to be a godly church member.  If you could just model and mold a church member, the church member of your dreams, what would he or she be like? Well, I believe they would be like the man that we are going to read about today, a man named Barnabas.

I love to be encouraged. I need encouragement. I am so grateful for people who encourage me. And I’ll tell you something else, I don’t like to be around discouraging people. Now, sometimes we have to. It comes with the territory. The fleas come with the dog.  But, here was a man named Barnabas who could lift your spirits.

Did you know the Bible calls God the God of all encouragement?  That means that God has cornered the market on encouragement. He is the God of all encouragement.  An interesting fact is that the word “encouragement” or “consolation”, as they are used in the Bible are translated from the Greek word parakletos, which is the same word that is used for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. He is called the Paraclete, which comes from the Greek word parakletos. It’s the same word. 

And so, here is a man who is doing for other people what the Holy Spirit does for the child of God, who comes inside us, alongside us, to encourage us, to give us comfort, to give us hope, to give us health, to get us on our way. And I’ve come to live long enough to see that there is not a person in this world that does not need encouragement.  

Now, if God is the God of all encouragement, then the devil is the minister of discouragement. Discouragement comes from the devil. Let me tell you, discouragement is a major cause of failure.

Every church, wherever you are, needs some Barnabas's. How did Barnabas get to be Barnabas to begin with? How was he such a good man to begin with? Well, the Bible says very clearly and very plainly that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and faith. He was a good man. Why was he a good man? He was a good man because he was full of the Holy Ghost. Why was he full of the Holy Ghost? Because he was a man full of faith. And that is what we are going to talk about today.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can be a godly church member.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

HOW TO PUT POWER IN YOUR PRAYER (Acts 4:23-33)

HOW TO PUT POWER IN YOUR PRAYER (Acts 4:23-33)

The progressives in our country have recently been disparaging prayer as weak and powerless to stop tragedies from happening.  For example, a recent incident occurred at a Catholic school while the children were praying in a sanctuary.  The progressive’s argument was what use was prayer, for it did not protect those innocent children.  It became a talking point for several members of congress castigating those who asked for prayer for the families that lost a child, and for our nation that is being consumed by evil.  

It is hard to believe that we, as a nation, have come to this point, but when you consider that these people do not believe that God exists, then it is logical that they do not believe in the power of prayer.  They miss the point that prayer is not a talisman to protect us, it is a direct communication with the Almighty God to provide strength to get through the tragedies, and evil, of this world.  Prayer is our fellowship with God who loves us, and whom we love.

More than ever, I am totally convinced that the need of the hour is power in prayer.  Not merely to pray, but to pray with power—to pray so as to get your prayers answered.  You see, prayer is not getting God to agree with you.  Prayer is getting you to agree with God about what He is going to do.  God is absolutely sovereign.  We do not change God’s mind about things that He has foreknown from the foundation of time.

Many of you know that my brother died a couple of weeks ago, and it was not because we did not pray with enough faith to heal him.  There were literally hundreds of people praying for him to be healed.  He died because it was God’s will that my brother would come home to be with Him.  And that was my prayer, that God’s will would be done in my brother’s life.  God, as our Creator, decides in His sovereign will, what will happen in this world, and nobody is going to name it, and claim it, to occur differently.  

I firmly believe that in order to get our prayers answered, we need to first find out what God’s will is, and then pray for that to occur.  Do I believe that we should pray for God to heal those who are sick?  Absolutely.  Do I believe that God heals people today?  Absolutely.  But when we pray for God’s will to be done, then we can rejoice and praise God just as loudly when He heals someone, as when He chooses to bring someone home.  And I did exactly that, I praised God’s name when God chose to take my brother home.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how prayer is a means of bringing the power of heaven into our lives.  

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

TAKE A WALK WITH GOD (Ephesians 5:1-17)

TAKE A WALK WITH GOD (EPHESIANS 5:1-17)

Is that something that you want in your life, to walk with God, step-by-step every day?  That is what Paul is writing about in these verses.

Paul says that we are to “walk worthy.”  Worthy of the work that the Lord has given us the spiritual gifts to accomplish. 

Paul tells us not to walk as an unbeliever does, “in the vanity of their mind.”  The word “vanity” as it used here means the emptiness and futility, of human life without God.

Paul says that we are to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us,” we are to “walk as children of light,” and we are to “walk circumspectly.”  We are to walk worthy, in love, in light, and circumspectly.  Simple, but hard words to accomplish in our lives apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.

Man has learned to fly through the air in his airplanes like a bird. He has learned to swim through the sea in his submarines like a fish. But he has yet learned how to walk on earth like a man, like God wanted him to walk. The Christian life, being saved, is described in the Bible, and characterized, and illustrated, as a walk. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ died for us, and He gave us an example that we should “walk … as he walked.” (1 John 2:6) And the Bible also says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” (Colossians 2:6)

Why does the Bible describe the Christian life as a walk? Because it is lived one step at a time. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, and so we walk one step at a time by faith. Step-by-step-by-step we serve the Lord, walking in sunlight. We are to walk one step at a time with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The thing that is going to impress the lost people of this city is not the preaching in our churches.  It is going to be the way you walk this Monday morning.  It is your walk that will make the difference. You see, talk is cheap. We are not talking about talk; we are talking about walk. We are to walk as Jesus walks. And when there is a church full of people—who are holy in character, holy in conversation, and holy in conduct, the city is going to look around and say, “Jesus Christ is real.” 

May I submit to you that the greatest argument for Christianity, and the greatest argument against Christianity, is the life of a Christian. The thing that will put the lie to what I am saying quicker than anything else is for me not to walk as Jesus Christ walked. The thing that will put the yea and amen, and the truth and the seal of God, upon what I am saying more than anything else is for you to walk in holiness. 

Click on the play button to hear a message on how to take a walk with God.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE GOD MAKES (Ephesians 4:17-27)

WHAT A DIFFERENCE GOD MAKES (EPHESIANS 4:17-27)

The Bible teaches us that the behavior of a true Christ follower is to be radically different from that of the person who does not know Christ as their Lord and Savior.  That difference is God.  That difference is the light, the strength, the presence, the comfort, and the wisdom, among many other things, that God provides to His children, to those who call Jesus Christ, Lord of their lives.  

In our message today, Paul reminds us of the blindness of lost people.  He reminds us that no follower of Christ should let such earthly minded, secular, and lost, people influence what they believe, or how they behave.  People who are outside of Christ simply cannot think straight on moral and spiritual issues. They may articulate the issues, but they leave out the spiritual dimensions because they are blind to them. Therefore, they cannot come to any true conclusions

Man was created to be inhabited by God. God intended for the human spirit to be inhabited by the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit was to enlighten the intellect, elevate the emotions, and energize the will.  As a result, the life of man would express, in human terms, the life of God. The fall ruined all that. Sin entered and the Holy Spirit left. Without the life of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the natural man is spiritually dead, “alienated from the life of God.”

The genius of the gospel is that when we accept Christ as Savior, we are cleansed by His blood and regenerated by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the human spirit, making it possible for the saved person to have fellowship with God.  They can now cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and begin to live the kind of life that God intended man to live—a life governed by the Spirit of God. 

The understanding of unsaved people is darkened because they are cut off from the life of God.  Their spirit is empty, and darkened, because the Holy Spirit does not live within their spirit.  As a result, they are ignorant of the things of God.  This is the cause of their deep-seated, inner blindness. It is a vicious circle. The darkness is self-perpetuating. The lost move from darkness to darkness in darkness.

Click on the play button to hear a message on the dramatic, radical, difference God can make in your life.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

TO KNOW ABOUT GOD BY HIS NAME (Ephesians 4:6)

TO KNOW ABOUT GOD BY HIS NAME (EPHESIANS 4:6)

Today, I want to spend the entire message talking about God.  I just happen to believe that God is the biggest subject that we can talk about, at any time, as we study the Word of God.  And the amazing thing to consider is that there is so much in the Bible about God, that to talk about God for 45 minutes today would be like trying to bail out an ocean with a teacup.  We will only scratch the surface.  

But there are some things that we can know about God, and we can know God without knowing everything about God.  You also don’t have to know all that the Heavenly Father does when He administrates the universe in order to know God. And so, we can find out some things about God by objective observation, but we can really only know the heart of God, the goodness of God, by revelation. And how do we know the goodness of God? And what kind of a revelation has God given of Himself?

Certainly, the Bible is the most complete way that God has revealed Himself to us.  But, did you know that one of the greatest revelations that God has given of Himself are the names of God. The Bible says, in (Psalm 9:10) “And they that know thy name shall put their trust in thee …”  This tells us that to know the names of God is a great thing.  So, today, I’m going to give you the names of God. Now, not all of the names of God, but I have selected some of them.  

Click on the play button to hear a message on how God reveals Himself to us by His names. He is the God of strength, “Elohim.” He is the God of sovereignty, “Jehovah.” He is the God of superiority, “Adonai.” He is the God of sufficiency, “El Shaddai.” He is the God of supremacy, “El Elyon.” He is the God of stability, “El Olam.” He is the God of sympathy, “El Roi.” All of these names are wrapped up in one sweet name, Jesus.

There is one God and Father who is above all—that is the greatness of God. And through all—that is the goodness of God. And in us all—that is the grace of God. And it is all summed up in one person—and that’s Jesus. Now, you’ll never know the Father, until you receive the Son. 

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

FAITH WITH LEGS ON IT (Ephesians 4:1-6)

FAITH WITH LEGS ON IT (EPHESIANS 4:1-6)

The Bible says that we are called to a vocation, and that vocation is “a worthy walk.’ We are called to walk worthy. That is, our faith is to have legs on it. It is not enough just to simply be seated with the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenlies. That is our faith, but we are called to have a faith with legs on it, or what the Holy Spirit calls “a worthy walk.”

The Christian life begins with resting. The very first thing that you need to do in order to be saved is to quit trying and start trusting.  To quit your struggling.  To quit trying to be good by doing.  Christianity is not spelled “d-o.”; it is spelled “d-o-n-e.”  The work of salvation is already finished.  When God created the world, God worked for six days, and God rested on the seventh day.  Not because He was tired, but because His work was completed.  But man was created on the sixth day, and man’s first day was a day of rest. God worked and then rested, God completed His work, that man might rest and then work. 

Man starts by resting, and then he works. God works and then rests, that man might rest and then work.  When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, He bowed His head and He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). And you and I, by faith, enter into the finished work of Calvary. I don’t try to be saved by living a good life, keeping the Ten Commandments, getting baptized, going to church, and all of those things. They are all good, and they all have their place.  But, those things are works, and works cannot save. The only thing that saves us is when we by faith appropriate the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, first of all, the Christian life begins with sitting, resting in the completed work of Salvation of our Lord Jesus.  But then, after we have come to the faith rest, then, there is the practical outworking, where we start to walk. We are not told to leap. We are not told to run. We are not told to drift. But we are called to walk.

Click on the play button to hear a message on how a Christian is to live a life of faith, facing our day-to-day problems and trials, by walking one step at a time.  Walking with our eyes on Christ one step at a time.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

HOW TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY (Ephesians 2:1-10)

HOW TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY (EPHESIANS 2:1-10)

Today’s message includes one of the most recited pair of verses in the Bible, for it is the foundation God’s promise of salvation by grace and not of works.  

Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
KJV

And when you add the rest of verses 1-10, it is also a guidebook for the believer “How to Share Your Testimony.”  We should never ever underestimate the power of a Christian testimony. We are called to be witnesses and not lawyers. A witness is somebody who tells what he’s seen and heard. A lawyer is somebody who argues a case. We are witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Without a doubt, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments.

Now, you don’t have to be a theologian to be able to give your testimony. Remember the man who was born blind, and Jesus healed him, and then the Pharisees jumped on his case? Oh, they were angry because this man had been healed, and they got him and backed him into a corner, and they started to ask him all kinds of theological questions. The man just said, “Well, I’m sorry. I can’t answer all of those questions, but, one thing I know: once I was blind and now I see” (John 9:25). There is nothing theological about that fact, yet it is a great testimony to the power of the Lord Jesus.  “Once I was blind and now I see.” And a Christian with a testimony is never at the mercy of an infidel with an argument. Remember that.

Now, it’s important that we learn to share our testimony. Our testimony is the convincing thing when we witness and share the Lord Jesus Christ.  And so today, I want to give you an outline for sharing your testimony; and you can fill in the personal part, but I’m just going to give you the outline.  And listen, if you are saved, right here is your spiritual biography and your future history.

Click on the play button to hear a message on our past guilt, our present grace, and our future glory.  I want you to learn some wonderful things about what has happened to you, what is happening to you, and what will happen to you. 

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED (Ephesians 1:13-14)

SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED (EPHESIANS 1:13-14)

When Paul talks about a seal, he is talking about a legal seal, and a seal means finality.  It means the transaction is done.  A seal also means security; it means the transaction is safe. And then a seal also means identity; it shows to whom the transaction has been delivered. I want you to think about the fact that Christians have the sealing of the Holy Spirit of God.

Paul says that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, when we’re born again, one of the ways that we know that we are saved, one of the proofs, one of the authenticating pieces of evidence, that we are genuine, bone fide, legally belonging to Jesus Christ, is that God places His seal upon us. Now, the seal that God places upon us is the Holy Spirit of God, because every believer, when he is saved, receives the Holy Spirit of God. 

The Bible is very clear when it says that if you have not received the Holy Spirit, then you have not received Jesus. The only way that you can receive Christ is to receive God’s Holy Spirit. He lives in you; He abides in you. And when He comes into you, it is the same thing to you that a seal is to a legal document. “Ye were sealed”—the Bible says—“with that holy Spirit of promise.” And a seal means finality; it means the transaction is done.  

Now, Paul is telling us that Jesus has purchased you, and there is finality. And when you receive the Holy Spirit of God, that means that the price has been paid in full. There’s nothing else you can do, and nothing else that you need to do.  For, without Jesus, nothing can be done, and with Jesus nothing else needs to be done. 

Click on the play button below to hear a message on the six reasons why I believe the Bible teaches us that we are eternally secure in our salvation.  

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.