The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

REVELATION OF PROPHECY (Genesis 49:8 to 50:21)

REVELATION OF PROPHECY (Genesis 49:8 to 50:21)

This message is dramatic because it tells what will happen to the twelve sons of Jacob when they become tribes.  This is also our final opportunity to see another evidence of faith in the life of Jacob. He was speaking to his sons who were to become the twelve tribes in the nation of Israel and would be dwelling in the land of Canaan.  Jacob says, “that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” The phrase “the last days” is an important Biblical expression.  It occurs fourteen times in the Old Testament, and it was always taken by the Rabbis to mean Messianic.  

What is important for us to understand as members of The Church, the body of believers, is that the last days of the nation Israel will be different from the last days of The Church. There is a very sharp dispensational distinction which needs to be made between the two.  

Here, Jacob is talking about the last days of the nation Israel and what is going to happen to the twelve tribes, which will develop from his sons, and will form the nation, Israel.  These prophecies, and those given by Moses in Deuteronomy 33, are directed to the tribes of Israel.

Many people talk about the fact that certain prophecies concerning the nation Israel have been fulfilled, and that is true. But we can narrow it down further by dividing Israel into twelve parts and recognizing that God has had something to say concerning each of the twelve. Not only have His prophecies concerning the nation been partially fulfilled, but His prophecies concerning each tribe have been partially fulfilled, and that makes it remarkable indeed. 

Click on the play button to hear the second part of a message about Jacob becoming the man of faith spoken of in the book of Hebrews as he shares God’s promises, blessing, and rewards to his sons. 

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

Amen.

PROMISES, BLESSINGS, AND REWARDS (Genesis 47:27 to 49:7)

PROMISES, BLESSINGS, AND REWARDS (Genesis 47:27 to 49:7)

The messages over the next two weeks will talk about the blessings that Jacob gave to his sons just before he died.  This section of verses includes the promises of Joseph to Jacob, and the promises of God to each of the sons of Jacob, in the same manner that we saw Abraham and Isaac give blessings to their sons.  

As we watch Jacob give out his blessings, the scene becomes a picture of a judgment seat, where actions are judged and rewards are given, or not given out.  In fact, it looks very much like the Judgment Seat of Christ.  All of these sons are a part of the chosen family, so their place in that family is secure.  They did not earn this place, but they were given this position by the grace of God. However, what is judged are the actions and the character of each son to determine the rewards and place in the Kingdom that they, and their descendants, will receive.  

Click on the play button to hear a message about Jacob becoming the man of faith spoken of in the book of Hebrews as he shares God’s promises, blessing, and rewards to his sons. 

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

Amen.

REVELATION OF GRACE (Genesis 44:1 to 45:8)

REVELATION OF GRACE (Genesis 44:1 to 45:8)

One of the key promises of God that is found in the Bible is that for a multitude of sins, there are a multitude of mercies.  

Psalms 51:1
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
KJV

God states, “according to thy lovingkindness.”  This means that God will never stop loving us because of the sin in our lives.  Our sin hurts God, because it is against God that we sin, but that does not cause God to stop loving us.  Did you know that God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us.  Know also that God does not love us because we are good.

Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
KJV

This is important for us to know because we need to have this confidence that no matter what we have done, God loves us.  This tells us that there is nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less.  He simply loves you.

A man put the following ad in the Lost and Found section of the paper: “Lost Dog.  Crippled in front paw, blind in left eye, mange on back and neck, tail missing.  Recently neutered.  Answers to the name Lucky.”  And he was a lucky dog.  I’ll tell you why, in spite of all the stuff that was wrong with him, somebody loved him enough to want him.  You know we are better than a lucky dog, we are blessed dogs.  

Click on the play button to hear a message on how God loves us out of sheer grace.  I want you to have this confidence:  God loves you with an everlasting love.  No matter what you have done, no matter what is wrong with you, God loves you.  That is the sheer grace of God.  

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

Amen.

WHAT WAS ONCE HIDDEN, BECOMES KNOWN (Genesis 41:53 to 42:28)

WHAT WAS ONCE HIDDEN, BECOMES KNOWN (Genesis 41:53 to 42:28)

Have you ever had a sin that you buried in your past and never dealt with God about it?  No matter how hard you tried to forget it, did it just keep coming up from your subconscious mind to your conscious mind?  During the day when I have lots of other things to keep my mind focused on, I do okay, I can forget about them for a while.  But, whenever I get someplace away from all of the hustle and bustle of the day, like when I am in bed trying to go to sleep, that is when all those things that I have kept buried all day long come out as things I need to worry about.  

Now, as a believer, the devil will try to accuse you of sins that have already been forgiven.  He does it just to make you feel guilty.  Yet, the Bible tells us it is wrong to feel guilty about something you have already been forgiven for, and have had that sin cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  But there is a difference between the accusations of the devil and the convictions of the Holy Spirit of God.  

Conviction is the Holy Spirit saying, “This and this and this you have done,” and like a good doctor, He’ll put his finger right on the sore spot, and He will push.  He will call it by name and want you to confess it and be cleansed.  And once it is cleansed, it is so wonderful.  You will know the conviction of the Holy Spirit because He will be specific in His convictions of your heart.  

Did you know that if you are child of God and you sin, spiritually you’re going to feel dirty?  And if you don’t feel dirty when you sin, then you need to ask yourself if you’ve ever been saved.  If you have ever truly asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and made Him you Lord and Savior.  No pig has ever said, “Woe is me, I’m dirty.”  For a pig has no concept of being dirty because that is his element.  The child of God realizes that he is dirty when he sins, because he knows what it is to be clean.  If you are a child of God, and you’ve sinned, then you have felt that.  I want to say this again, just so there is no mistake, if you can sin and don’t feel dirty and grimy, spiritually, you need to ask yourself: “Have I ever been saved? Do I really know the Lord”

Click on the play button below to hear a message on the consequences of sin in the life of a believer.

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

Amen.

GOD TEACHES JACOB TO DEPEND ON HIM (Genesis 31:19 to 32:18)

GOD TEACHES JACOB TO DEPEND ON HIM (Genesis 31:19 to 32:18)

In our message today we will talk about God teaching Jacob that he must depend on God to lead him and solve the problems that Jacob will face.  Jacob’s whole life had been about conniving and deceiving others to solve his problems.  But that is not where God needs Jacob to be in his spiritual relationship with God.  Jacob must be dependent on God.  

Jacob was a man who was clever, who thought that he could get by with sin, but God didn’t let him get by with it because God has made it very clear that whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Jacob had refused submission to God at home; so he was forced to submit to his uncle. Jacob came to receive a wife in dignity, but he was made a servant because God respects the rights of the firstborn. Jacob had deceived his father; so he was deceived by his father–in–law. He revealed a mercenary spirit that displayed itself in the way he got the birthright, allowing his mother to cover his hands with the skins of goats. Later on, we will see that his own sons will deceive him in very much the same way. 

Jacob deceived his father about being the favorite son, and he will be deceived about his favorite son, Joseph.  In all of this, we see that God’s truth is that whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. 

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God wants us to depend on Him rather than on our own efforts.  Many of us take our burdens to the Lord in prayer. We just spread them out before Him. Then, when we get through praying, we get right up and put each little burden right back on our back and start out again with them.  What does this say about the trust we have in the Lord?  It says that we don’t really believe Him.  We don’t really trust Him as we should.

Jacob will struggle with this almost until the day he dies.  I pray that the study of Jacob will bring this truth home to your heart, and it will make a difference in how you trust God.  It is not easy, as Jacob illustrates, but the reward of a life that is fully trusted to God, is a life that is a testimony to the lost souls of this world.  A testimony to the power of God to transform, a finite life here on earth, to an everlasting life with Him.

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

Amen.

THE BATTLE WITHIN PART II (Genesis 25:1-27)

There is a battle that rages within every believer.  It is a battle between doing the will of God in our lives, and following the desires of the world.  It is a daily battle, and it is one that we will have until the day we join Christ in heaven.  Paul describes this battle that raged within his own heart.

Rom 7:18-20
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
KJV

The carnal nature is the one that we are born with, and its focus is on the desires of the world.  The new nature is the one that we receive once we are reborn in Christ, and its focus is on doing the will of God in our lives.  It is a battle that is only fought within the heart of a believer, for a lost person only has one nature, his carnal, or fleshly nature.  He has no choice but to serve Satan as his master, so there is no need for a battle.  It is when we become saved that we must then choose between our two natures, and it is then that the battle for supremacy within our heart rages.  

Every believer has three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The world is that value system that’s out there. We call that the external foe. The flesh is that old Adamic nature. We call that the internal foe. The devil and he is the infernal foe.  These are the three enemies that are warring against us. 

Every one of us, when we come to the place where we want to be fruitful for God, after the Lord intercedes for us as He does, and it looks like we’re about to be fruitful, suddenly we find within us a battle going on. There is a struggle. It is an inner, spiritual, battle.  It is important to note that it is those, whose lives are the most fruitful for God, who are the most aware of the struggle between the two natures within themselves.  

However, this is something that all believers will experience when they choose to turn away from the world and begin their journey of spiritual growth.  As long as we are content to live carnal, worldly, lives, we have no problem, but once we are determined to meet the conditions that lead to spiritual fruitfulness, the battle begins.  

Click on the link below to hear a message about how we can have victory over the old, fleshly, carnal, nature through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  

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

Amen.

GOD'S JUDGEMENT OF PERVASIVE SIN (Genesis 19:1-29)

There are those who believe that you can become a child of God and continue on in sin. God says that is impossible.  You cannot do that. Paul asks the question, 

Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
KJV

The idea that you can be a Christian and go on living in sin, or support and condone the sin of those around you, is a tremendous mistake.  Don’t tell me that the book of Genesis describes a primitive view of God, and that we have a better, more enlightened one today. Don’t argue that, after all, Jesus received sinners.  That is absolutely true, He certainly did, but when He got through with them, He had changed them.  The harlot who came to Him was no longer in that business. When she came to God, she changed.  A tax collector named Matthew came to Jesus, and he gave up that which was crooked when he came to the Lord. If you have come to Christ, you will be changed. 

Many people try to explain that we are living in a new day and that we need to wake up. That is true, we are living in a new day, but it just happens to be the same old sin.  Today, it is the same for us as Christians.  The world has a lot of attractions.  Many people want to have one foot in the world and the other living in God’s will.  But it doesn’t work that way.  In order to become saved, we are commanded to repent of our sins.  The word repent is an expression that always has been given to God’s people as a challenge to turn around, to stop what they are doing.  The word repent can be defined as walking down the road in one direction, stopping, and turning back to go in the opposite direction, never looking or going back the way you were going. This word is much more than just saying you are sorry, it is agreeing with God that what you did was wrong and committing not to do it again.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God will bring judgement on pervasive sin. As Christians, our love cannot be of the things of this world.  Our home is no longer here on this earth.  We are pilgrims on this earth.  We are here for one purpose only, to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ.  

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

Amen.

TO PRAY AS AN INTERCESSOR (Genesis 18:1-21)

Have you ever asked the question, how does a mature, obedient Christian react to the truth that a terrible judgment is about to happen to a world of sinful men?  The Bible gives us examples of such reactions.  Jonah was happy when he heard about the Ninevites.  Have you ever felt that way?  Have you ever said, “Boy it is about time God did something about so and so.”  On the other hand, Jesus was moved to tears when He looked ahead and saw the destruction of Jerusalem.  

In today’s message, I want to talk about the great Biblical truth that we can pray an intercessory prayer for those who face the judgment of God.  I want to talk about our critically important role of praying intercessory prayer for our loved ones and the world around us. 

Do we know today of any such upcoming judgments? Yes, we do.  God has promised a day of Tribulation, when judgment will come to this earth in such proportions that if He did not come to stop it, all of mankind would be destroyed.  But, right now, we live in a day of grace.  A day in which man can choose to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior.  What are we doing to be concerned about those we know are lost?  Are we concerned enough about those around us that will be left behind to suffer, and likely die, in this period of Great Tribulation, to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ?  Are we delighted as Jonah was when God said that He was going to destroy the Ninevites, or are we moved to compassion as Jesus was at the destruction of Jerusalem?

When we think about intercessory prayer, we have to think about who it is that can pray such a prayer.  Who can be an intercessor between God and man?  They must truly be important people in the eyes of the Lord.  So, we have to ask the question who are These most important people on earth?  Are they politicians, star athletes, movie actors, the billionaires of the world, or other famous people that we read about in the news every day?  No, there are some people who are much more important than any of those so-called important people.  And many of them are unrecognized, unnoticed, unappreciated, and unpraised. They are Christians, not mere Christians, they are Christians who have learned the ministry of intercession. The most important people on earth are those who know how to pray intercessory prayer, not just any kind of prayer, but intercessory prayer.

Click on the link below to learn how you can be the friend of God and pray an intercessory prayer for those that you love, and for the world around you.  How you can be one of the most important people on the earth.

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

Amen.

HOW TO MEND A BROKEN FAITH-PART I (Genesis 12:1-10)

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.

THE RISE AND FALL OF BABYLON (Genesis 11:1-9)

In today’s message we are going to learn something about that mighty city called Babylon, which symbolically, and cryptically, and prophetically, stands for the consummation and the distillation of all evil.  And pay attention, because “The Rise and Fall of Babylon” is not something that just happened in the dark, musty past, or something that’s going to happen way off yonder in the future. It deals with realities that we are facing every day. And we’re going to find out something about the person and work of the devil as we study here in Genesis chapters 10 and 11.  We are going to learn about this wicked city of Babylon, which was both the cradle and the grave of all false religion, and the devil’s kingdom.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how Babylon is destined to fall. Just as this ancient tower of Babel crumpled so long ago, we find that the final full-blown Babylon is coming down; it is crashing down. And I want to tell you something: You may not have ever realized this, but the first time that the word “alleluia” is used in all the New Testament is after Babylon falls. You won’t find the word “alleluia” used any other time. But it is after Babylon falls that the “Alleluia Chorus” begins. 

Rev 19:1-3
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
KJV

Rev 19:6
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
KJV

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

Amen.