The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

WE HAVE AN EXPECTANT HOPE (1 Peter 1:3a)

What do you worry about most when you face a difficult hardship?

Being physically harmed?  Ridiculed?  The loss of a job and the financial problems that follow?  The loss of your health?  The loss of a loved one?  Loneliness? Your own death?

The word hope is commonly defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.  We say things like “I hope we have something good to eat tonight,” or “I hope my boss is in a good mood today.”  Hope is always looking forward and it is important to have hope, or a positive outlook on life, to hope that better things are coming our way.  To not have any hope during difficult times can make recovering that much more difficult or even impossible.  

The amount of hope a person has is often based on those people around them who can help them, to provide comfort, and assistance.  When you are alone, without help, it is hard to find hope.  Our hope is also based on the certainty, or uncertainty, of the future we see for ourselves.  When good things are coming in our lives it is easy to have hope.  It gets much more difficult when we see nothing but dark clouds or hardship in front of us.  This is the way the world generally thinks of the world hope.  It is a wishful desire for better things to come.

How does the meaning of the word hope change when you become a believer in Jesus Christ?  Instead of simply having a wish or desire for a certain thing to happen, the word hope means certainty for a believer in Jesus Christ.  A believer never has to worry about who will be around to provide support, for they have the certainty of the Holy Spirit living within their heart to provide strength, wisdom, power, and comfort.  This is not just a feeling, but an absolute certainty of His presence and power in their lives.  

The believer also knows with total certainty that there is eternal life in heaven that follows this temporary life on earth.  Imagine the hope that comes from knowing without a doubt that you will have endless thousands upon thousands of years of living without old age, hunger, persecution, disease, or death.  A believer knows that heaven is real and, therefore, hell is real, but this is not a concern to the believer, for they have absolute certainty that living in heaven with Jesus Christ is their next destination.   

A born again, child of God, a true believer in Jesus Christ, who has Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master, looks at difficult times with an expectant hope.  The word expectant means that they are eager for the future to come, and they are excited about what is coming.  They can be expectant because they have absolute certainty in the promises that God has provided for them.  

They can easily ask themselves, how can I fail to overcome the problems of this world with the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ in my heart.  How can death harm me, if I know what is going to happen next?  Death is nothing more than a weigh station to eternity. 

In his final words to Timothy, Paul expressed this expectant hope eloquently.

2 Tim 4:6-8

6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

KJV

There was no doubt in Paul’s mind what laid beyond the grave.  He was absolutely certain of his eternity with Jesus.  He knew that Jesus would be waiting for him, ready to say, welcome home thou good and faithful servant.  This is the expectant hope of the believer.  Listen to this podcast to learn how you can have an expectant hope.

REDEMPTION THROUGH GRACE (1 Peter 1:2c-d)

So when we are facing times of terrible persecution, or difficult trials, when things are so bad that they are out of our ability to control, what are you most grateful for?

Certainly, I am grateful for a loving God who cares for me, watches over me, and provides for me.  I am grateful for the power of the Holy Spirit living within me.  I am grateful for the promises of God that we find in His word, such as, that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

So this verse is interesting because it doesn’t promise that all things work together for the good of all men, it puts a qualifier on this promise.  What is that qualifier?

You have to be someone who loves God, and someone who is called according to His purpose.  This means that if you want to claim the promise of this verse, that no matter what you are going through, that it will work out for your good, then you must meet the requirements of this promise.  And in order to meet those requirements you must be saved, a born again child of God.  

So, the first thing that you need to have in order to face persecution, trials, or difficult times in your life, is the certain knowledge that you have been redeemed by God, and that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master.  This is the basic minimum for this promise to be true.   

The next most important thing that I believe we need is the grace of God.  When I am facing a difficult time, the one thing that I cherish most from God is His grace.  It is His grace that allows me to be forgiven.  It is His grace that allows me to be justified freely before God.  It is His grace that allows the blood of Christ to wash my sins away, in spite of the sin in my life.  That is God’s grace.  

This leads us to the third thing that we must have to face persecution.  The result of knowing that we are saved, and that God’s grace has been bestowed on us, is the peace of God in our hearts.  When we have God’s peace in our heart, we have comfort in the knowledge of God’s provision for us.  

So salvation, grace, and peace, are what I consider the three most important things that I must know, claim, and be sure of, when I have hard times.  Everything else that God is going to do for me flows from these three Biblical truths.  The presence and power of the Holy Spirit resides in my heart because of the redemption and grace that God has given me, and it is because I am redeemed, and that I am the recipient of God’s grace, that God’s peace is there, as well.   

Listen to this podcast to learn what it means to be redeemed by God, and to have God’s grace and peace, to give us comfort during times of persecution. 

HOW FAR WOULD JESUS GO? (Romans 15:1-7)

Over the last two chapters of our study, Paul has certainly made it clear that part of lovingly exercising our religious liberty to do the debatable things, the things not clearly defined as wrong in the Bible, is knowing when not to do something, or knowing when it might cause harm to someone else.  

I believe Paul would sum up his argument in this chapter by saying the spirit of charity, or the spirit of love, outweighs all of our other concerns.  If we truly love our neighbors as ourselves, then we will not do anything that will harm them.  Just as we would not do anything to harm ourselves.  

Paul has told us that in the area of essential beliefs, or the things clearly defined in the Bible, we are to have unity.  How do we have that unity?  By moving closer to Christ.

In the area of non-essential beliefs, or the debatable issues, we are to have liberty.  How do we express and enjoy that liberty?  By moving closer to Christ.

In all things we are to have charity towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.  How are we to show this charity?  By loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and spirit.  How do we show God that we love Him this much?  By moving closer to Christ.  

If we do the first commandment, the second commandment will take care of itself.  

If we do the second commandment, then we will be our brother’s keeper, and we will do, or not do, what it takes to help build our brother and sister in Christ, spiritually.  

So this is the spirit of charity, or love, that we are to have towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.  But Paul has not finished yet.  I think he knew that if he left it here, depending only on our love for our neighbor, we would respond as we have.  So, he has an even higher ground to map out for us.  It is a great thing to treat a weaker brother in the spirit of charity, or love.  It is a far greater thing to treat them in the spirit of Christ. 

In this lesson, Paul will basically ask the question of how far would Christ go in building up a fellow brother or sister in Christ, and then he will tell us that is how far we should go.  

TO BE A CHILD OF GOD (Romans 8:15-22)

When I think of the dreams of a child that lives in an orphanage, I think of the loneliness they must feel because they are alone in this world without parents to care for them.  They don’t understand why they don’t have parents.  They just know that they are different from other kids.  They see other children with their families and they want to be like them.  They want what they have.  They want a close personal relationship with their parents.  They want to be able to call someone Daddy, or Father.   They want to feel secure in the arms of a father who will protect them and love them.  They want to feel confident as they face the world because they have parents who will support them.

These same feelings exist within many people who are not a born again, regenerated, adopted child of God.  They look at a true Christian and they notice a difference in them.  They don’t know what it is, but they see the Christian handle the problems and trials in their lives in a more confident way.  So the non-believer will ask the Christian how they can face trouble with more confidence, and their reply is that it’s because they are a member of the family of God.  They have a close personal relationship with God.  They have the authority to call our heavenly Father, Abba, Father.  The word Abba is an Aramaic word that is the equivalent of the English word Daddy, or Papa.  It speaks of the close emotional relationship that a believer has with God.  They know that God loves them and will provide for them.  They feel secure in the arms of the almighty God.  This is their confidence.  This is how they face adversity in their lives.  

If you are looking for a close personal relationship with God, then listen to this podcast to learn what it means to be a true child of God.

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.

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.

OUR GRATITUDE (1 Cor. 1:4-10)

During this time of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?  Is it your family, your husband, your wife, your job?   For the believer, we are most grateful for our salvation granted to us by a gracious God.  For we know that there was nothing in our actions that warranted that salvation, there was only the amazing grace of God.  Listen to this podcast and learn how Paul expressed his gratitude to God, and as you listen you will find the things that you can be truly grateful for.

DEALING WITH ADVERSITY (2 Cor. 12:5-10)

Are you dealing with true hardship in your life?

 

Have you lost your job?  Are you dealing with a terminal disease?  Is addiction controlling your life?  Are you facing divorce, or loneliness?

 

There is only one true answer to these problems, and that is Jesus Christ.  A life surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Master.  There is no other answer that will bring comfort and strength.  Jesus does not promise to make the problems go away, but He does promise believers that He will comfort them and strengthen them as they go through the hardships of life. 

 

Listen to this podcast and rejoice as you learn how the believer is to deal with adversity.

TO BELIEVE IN THE THINGS UNSEEN (2 Cor. 4:13-18)

It is human nature to trust only those things that we can see, feel or touch.  In this verse-by-verse study of 2 Cor. 4:13-18, Paul is going to challenge the believer on where their focus is.  Is it on the current circumstances they find themselves in, or is it on the eternal promises of God's Word?  Does their comfort come from the unseen Jesus, or the physical trappings of religion?  Rejoice and listen as Paul describe how our strength lies in the eternal things that are unseen versus the temporary things that seen.

THE SIGNFICANCE OF GOD'S COMFORT (2 Cor. 1:6-20)

In this lesson Paul provides us a description of the significance of God's comfort.  Paul understands God's comfort because he has experienced it in his own life.  Paul describes the depths of despair that God rescued him from.   The significance of God's comfort is that He is with us always.  He is unchanging, and He is trustworthy to be with us as believers through all of the trials that God allows into our lives.  Paul concludes his discussion on God's comfort in this verse-by-verse study of 2 Cor. 1:6-20.