The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE - PART II (John 10:27-29)

God has a gift for you in this series of messages. God wants you to know that you can be saved. He wants you to know that you can be certain of your salvation. But, most of all, God wants you to know that you are eternally secure. That once you are saved, you can never, ever, lose your salvation. That is what the Bible says, and God wants to give this certainty to you, so that you can concentrate on loving Him, praising Him, and working for Him.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God has promised you eternal security. If you believe what God says in His Word, then there can be no doubt that you have eternal security. God will complete what He has begun. Even before you got saved, the Holy Spirit began a work in you, and He will not quit that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

TO BE BORN BLIND (John 8:54 to 9:7)

Most of us who have the ability to see, take that ability for granted. It is like walking, or hearing, or even breathing, it is something you consciously do every day. But you don’t think about doing it, or what it would be like to not be able to see, until something happens that puts our eyesight in jeopardy. Those who were able to see for a period of their lives, and then lost their sight, feel the loss of that sight every day, but they have their memories of what things looked like. Someone who is born blind, and has never been able to see at all, has no such memories. The colors of a sunset, the faces of loved ones, and the stars in the sky are things they must imagine from the descriptions others give them. Yet, they have no reference to compare it to, they have only the words that they hear. How do you describe the colors of a sunset to someone who has never seen any color at all?

Yet, what would happen if someone came up to that blind person and said, I can give you sight, I can let you see what you have been missing? Would that person who could not see, choose to see, or would they be so used to living the way they had been, that they would choose not to see? Would they embrace the light, or would they choose to stay in the darkness? You say, “But of course they would choose to see the light, why would they choose to stay in the darkness?” Well, that is indeed the question, isn’t it?

John 3:19-21
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
KJV

Click on the link below to hear a message about two different kinds of people who were born blind. One man who was born physically blind, and another group of people who were born spiritually blind. One chose the light, the other chose the darkness.

Amen.

WHO IS JESUS? GOD. (John 5:31-47)

Over the last several weeks, I have posted messages based on the truths found in the fifth chapter of the gospel of John. This chapter is one of the most powerful declarations that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and as the Son, He is equal to the Father in all things. If you do not believe this is true, then you do not truly believe in the deity of Christ, and you cannot be a child of God. Neither the Father nor the Son was created. Neither the Father nor the Son existed without the other. The Father is not anymore God than the Son, and the Son is not any less God than the Father.

On this podcast site, I have received a great deal of negative comments to my assertion that Jesus the Son is equal to God the Father. Many of them placing human limitations on the three parts of the Trinity. They ask is the son equal to the father in a human relationship, or is a servant equal to the master of a household? When we put human limitations and characteristics on God, then we deny the sovereignty and divine nature of God. It is an age-old attempt to deify man to the same level as God.

The ultimate secret of the universe is God, one God, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of three are equally God. All three make up the One true God. To not believe this is true is to not truly believe in the Holy Trinity. There are not three Gods, there is one God. Therefore, each of the three parts of God, are equal as God, and are identified and worshiped as God. To not believe this is true, is to not believe the words of Jesus Christ that are found in this fifth chapter of the gospel of John.

God the Father directly testified that Jesus was His beloved Son.

Matt 3:16-17
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
KJV

When Jesus claimed to be Son of God, and that God was His Father, the Jews fully understood that He was claiming to be equal to God.

John 5:17-18
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
KJV

The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus was equal to God,

Phil 2:5-6
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
KJV

This is how the Bible reveals who Jesus Christ is. He is God.

Click the link below to hear a message on the how the Word of God describes who Jesus is.

Amen.

THE FATHER AND SON ARE EQUAL (John 5:24-30)

One of the foundation blocks of our faith is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That He is equal to God the Father in all respects. Satan, and men of all ages, have tried to deny who Jesus was and is, but Jesus Christ Himself tells us who He is in these verses. He is the Son of God, and therefore, He is God. The ultimate secret of the universe is God, one God, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of three are equally God. All three make up the One true God. This is how God is revealed in the Bible.

Click on the link below to hear a message on who Jesus says that He is. Forget what other religions say that He is. He is more than a good man. He is more than a prophet. He is more than a teacher and miracle worker. He is God.

In this lesson Jesus will tell us that:
-He is equal with the Father as God. All the work of creation that is attributed to God, is attributed to Jesus.
-All that He does as the Son is done with the authority of the Father.
-He is equal with God in knowing all things.
-He is equal with the Father in absolute power over the dead.
-He has been given the authority and role to be the sole judge of all creation.
-The Lord has absolute power of life and death. He has the sole power and the authority to condemn people to eternal death, and He has the sole power and authority to grant everlasting life.
-He has power and authority over the coming resurrections of the dead from the grave.
-He has the power to give the life of God to people, spiritually dead, who likewise hear his voice, believe on Him, and then pass from death unto life.
-God the Father and God the Son enjoy the same kind of life, a life that has always existed. The Son of God has life in himself and, along with
it, the power to impart life or death.
-His judgment is identical with the judgment of God.

Knowing who Jesus Christ is, that He is God, is the first step in knowing how to have eternal life in heaven. If you reject Jesus Christ as God, then you cannot be a child of God, and you cannot have everlasting life in Him.

Amen.

JESUS IS GOD (John 5:16-24)

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is truly God? That Jesus Christ is equal to God the Father in all respects? If not, then I challenge you to open your mind as you listen to this message. In this fifth chapter of John, Jesus Christ, Himself, is going to declare that He is indeed God. That God is one God but composed of three distinct Persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the second person of the three-part godhead. He is God the Son, the Creator of all things, the all powerful, all knowing, King above all kings, Lord above all lords, true, living, eternal God. That is who Jesus Christ is, God.

The fifth chapter of the Gospel of John is an incredibly important foundational block in our salvation. It answers the question of who Jesus Christ is. If you are to be reborn as a child of God. If you are to have your sins forgiven, if you are to be redeemed, regenerated, and saved to eternal life, then you must believe that Jesus Christ is God. That He came as a man, but He was fully God and fully man. He was God incarnate in man.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the deity of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 1:1-5)

John tells us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world when he says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Jesus is the Light of the world, that is why He came to this earth as a Man, to be the Light of the World. The world was in darkness when He came, and it is even darker today because mankind rejected that Light. We are in a desperate condition, but, thank God there is Light. God’s light floods our hearts. Jesus, who turned a chaos into a cosmos at the creation of the heavens and the earth, turned the chaos of our lives into something wonderful when He made us a new creation.

John 8:12
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
KJV

We have life everlasting only because of the light of Jesus Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message on who Jesus Christ is and the impact that He can have in your life.

Amen.

GOSPEL OF JOHN INTRODUCTION (John 1:1-2)

The reason that John wrote this book is, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John wanted you to know that Jesus was the Christ. John wanted you to know that the Man, who had no origin, no beginning, is the Son who comes out of eternity.

John wrote this book because so much was still unsaid. Based on the simplicity of the language that John uses, it is generally assumed that the Gospel of John is easy to understand. Often you hear the statement describing John as the simple Gospel. It is written using mostly one and two syllable words. Yet, the simplicity of the language has deceived many. On their face, the words seem easy to understand, but the truth is, we are dealing with the most profound Gospel of the four. This gospel is intended to help the believer to become stronger in their knowledge of what the Lord Jesus has done for them.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the Introduction to the Gospel of John as we start a new series of messages on this wonderful gospel.

Amen.

ARMAGEDDON (Revelation 19:12-21)

The Battle of Armageddon is described in the Book of Revelation. It describes a climatic moment in the history of the world. In this battle, our Lord Jesus deals with the forces of evil that have taken over the world. Jesus Christ will deal with Satan, the demons that fell with Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. But most of all, He will deal with the people of the world who have utterly, angrily, and with full knowledge of what they were doing, rejected God as the one they will worship and obey. In one moment, at one place, Jesus Christ will bring the full wrath and vengeance of God on the evil of this world.

Don’t believe the depiction of this battle that you see in the movies and in secular books. When Jesus comes in power and great glory at the Battle of Armageddon, how is the battle going to be won? Not by guns or weapons, but by the sword that goes out of His mouth. It will be won by the power that is found in the Lord’s voice. The armies who are riding with the Lord are not in battle fatigues carrying arms, they are dressed in white linen, and then the Lord speaks. I think it will be just two simple words that the Lord shouts, “Drop dead.” The One who spoke them into existence will speak them into oblivion.

If there is a lesson for us to be learned from this it is, don't ever be at war with God. I am telling you that the time is coming soon and very soon when 777 will take care of 666, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and Christ. The saints have prayed through the ages, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Make no mistake about, God’s will, will be done.

Are you at peace with God or are you at war with God? Jesus made peace through the blood of His cross.

Col 1:19-22
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
KJV

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on the final battle, where Jesus Christ comes in power and glory to set right all of the evil injustices of the world. You can be at war with God and suffer the wrath of God, or you can sign a peace treaty with the Prince of Peace. You can be at peace with the Lord, if you will just say yes to Calvary.

Amen.

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST (Revelation 19:11-16)

We need to be looking for the imminent return of our Lord. The suddenness of His coming, shapes much of how we are to live our lives as Christians. It gives us a sense of urgency to reach people for Christ. We are not looking for something to occur. We are looking for Someone to come, and that Someone is our Lord Jesus Christ, and He can come at any moment. Jesus tells us that for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. If you believe He can’t come today because some event has to occur first, then you better buckle up because this is a day when He might come.

Two things are critical that we need to know and understand. First, Jesus Christ is coming suddenly at any moment. Second, the church is not waiting for the tribulation. We are not waiting on any thing. We are not waiting around fearing the coming of the wrath of God. Instead, we are looking for Jesus.

1 Thess 5:9
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
KJV

The Bible teaches that God will chastise His church, but He does not pour His wrath out on the church. What does that mean to you and me today?

First, We need to learn of His coming. You cannot afford to be ignorant of these things. You need to teach others these things. The world needs to learn. Jesus said over and over, "Be ready, be ready, be ready, be ready, for I am coming again."

Second, We should look for His coming. We are not waiting on some prophecy to be fulfilled. If I thought that we were going through the great tribulation, if I thought the mark of the beast and all of these things had to take place first, I wouldn't be looking for the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of looking up, as the Lord tells us to do, I would be looking around. I would not be waiting for someone to come; I would be waiting for something to happen. But we are to live every day as if Jesus were to come at that very moment.

Third, We are to long for His coming. The last prayer in the Bible is this, Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus. We should long for the coming of our dear Savior. What a day that will be when I will see Jesus. We need to long for his coming.

Fourth, We need to live for His coming. The Bible says we are to occupy. Jesus said, Occupy till I come. And when he does come, I want to be found faithfully serving Him, and I hope that you do to.

God's people ought to be praying, Even so, come, Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB (Revelation 19:1-8)

How many of you remember your wedding day? I truly do remember that day. My wife was absolutely stunning, she was so pretty. I knew I was marrying way above my pay grade, and I still am. We are coming up on our 40th wedding anniversary in a couple of months, and I still claim to be the lucky one in this relationship. But that was quite a day, for two 20-year-old kids who had no idea what God had in store for them. We just knew we loved each other.

I remember how hard my wife worked to prepare herself for that day, and how hard she worked to make that event special. She made everything what every wedding is supposed to be, beautiful and full of joy. It was truly a day that I will always remember and cherish.

Today, we are going to be talking about another wedding, The Marriage of the Lamb. In chapter 19 of The Book of Revelation we are going to see that this marriage takes place at the end of the Tribulation period. It comes between the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus to establish His Millennial reign. The church comes to the most climatic time in all of its history. It is time for The Marriage of the Lamb to His chosen bride.

Click on the link below and hear a message on the day that the Lord Jesus Christ makes everything right. It will be a day of great music as all of heaven sings the Hallelujah chorus praising the Lord because Jesus Christ has come to reign.

Amen, and Hallelujah.