The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

DYING GRACE (Genesis 47:28-29)

DYING GRACE (Genesis 47:28-29)

God gives us “living grace,” and “saving grace,” and God gives us “special grace.”  So, the God who saves us, and the God who keeps us, and the God who gives us rewards in heaven, is the God who will give to us “dying grace.”

The Bible is clear that there is coming a day that I am going to die, and there is a day that each one of you will die.  It is a fact that we all must die, with the one exception: should the Lord Jesus Christ come first, then we will not die, and we’ll not go to heaven by route of the graveyard, but we’ll go another way.

But before we talk about dying grace, I need to ask you this question, Have you been born again? Listen, if you haven’t been saved, then you’re not ready to die. You are also not ready to live, unless you’ve been saved. Now, you cannot have dying grace unless you’ve experienced saving grace.  That is the first thing that you need to get done.

Now, Jacob had twelve sons, and they were mean as snakes—rascals, and rebellious. They were hard to deal with. But he kept on. He prayed for those boys. He lived before those boys. He witnessed to those boys. He admonished those boys. And he brought those boys to a faith in his God. And he left behind him a spiritual blessing for his children. And I want to tell you, that’s a good way to die, isn’t it? To leave a family behind you that, because you were their daddy, because you were their mother, they know God in a better way.

I know that with my own children, I prayed to God and said, “God, I want to be a good father. I want to live so that my children will know the Lord. I want them to believe in their father’s God.”  You know, I’d rather die than betray my God before my children. And my children know that their father hasn’t been perfect, but my children know that their father loves God. They know that. And they know that their mother loves God. And I’m so glad that one of these days when I lie down to die, not only will I have a forgiving Lord with me, and I trust a fruitful life behind me, but I will have a family legacy after me. I want to leave something besides things to my children. I want to leave some spiritual vitality to my children.  

Click on the play button to hear a message on what it means to have dying grace.

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

Amen.

THE REVELATION OF GOD'S WILL (Genesis 45:9 to 46:7)

THE REVELATION OF GOD’S WILL (Genesis 45:9 to 46:7)

Does God have a purpose in the events of this world? Does God have a purpose for your life?  If the answer to those two questions is “Yes”, and it is, then the better question is do you know the purpose of God for your life?  If not, how do you go about discerning the purpose, or the will, of God in your life?  This is what our lesson is about today.  I want to speak to you about The Revelation of God’s Will.

Your great desire ought to be to know His will.  Your great delight will be to do His will.  Your great danger is to refuse His will.  Nothing is right for you, if it is not God’s will.

It may sound simplistic, but the will of God for you is Jesus, just Jesus.  Jesus is the head of the church, and the church is the body.  What is the will of my body? My head.  What is the will of the church of the body of believers? Jesus, the head of the church.  The will of God for your life is Jesus.  He is your Lord.  Know Him, know the will of God.

Here are three principles about the will of God.

First, The will of God is for your welfare.  It is not something you have to do; it is something you get to do.  

Second, The will of God will never take you where the power of God and the grace of God cannot enable and keep you.

Third, You are free to choose.  God will never force His will upon you.  You are free to choose His will.  You are not free not to choose.  When you say, “Well, I just won’t choose.” You just made a choice.  You are free to choose, you are not free not to choose—and pay attention, you are not free to choose the consequences of your choice.  You make a choice to follow God’s will or not, and that choice chooses the consequences for you.  

So, what should we do to know the will of God? Ask the same questions that Jacob did.

Lord, who are you?  Do you know that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you know Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? Do you have an intimate relationship with Him?  Is your mind conformed to the mind of Christ?

Lord, what do you want me to do? Are you willing to do whatever God will enable you to do?  Are you surrendered to God?

Click on the play button to hear a message on how to know the will of God for your life.

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

Amen.

JACOB'S LADDER PART II (Genesis 28:10-22)

Here in this story about Jacob’ dream about a ladder to heaven, we see God’s provision of salvation, we see a picture of the sinner, a picture of the Savior, and a picture of salvation.  

Jacob pictures the unconverted man.  He is the picture of a sinner.  Incidentally, I believe this is where Jacob got saved. I believe that up until this time Jacob had known about God, but he had not known God. His father was a godly man; his grandfather was a godly man, but Jacob was not a godly man. He was religious, but he was lost. Jacob pictures every unsaved sinner surrounded in darkness, surrounded by desert, and sentenced to death.  Jacob is sentenced with death, a poor, lonely old boy, without God, without hope, out there in the wilderness.

In this dream Jacob saw a ladder. The bottom of it was on the earth, and that ladder went up all the way to glory, and God the Father was at the top of that ladder.  Jacob saw angels coming down, and he saw angels going up. That ladder is a picture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the One upon which the angels ascend and descend. He is the link between heaven and earth. Jesus Christ is the One who connects heaven and earth. He is that ladder that reaches into glory. There is the reach of the ladder: it goes all the way to heaven. There is the reliability of the ladder: God is over it. There are the resources of the ladder: God’s promises, God’s protection, and God’s presence, are all wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, we see this ladder as a picture of salvation.  Before this night, Jacob was separated from God.  Jacob was in a place of separation, and then he saw the ladder, the staircase to heaven! He understood some spiritual truth. He understood that God had made a way for him, and that the blessings of God were to be mediated to him. And he’s now aware of God for the first time in his life.  That howling desert, that wilderness, that hard place, has now become for him the very house of God. And what a blessing, what a transformation, it was in his own heart and in his own life! 

Click on this link to hear a message on how Jacob’s dream is a picture of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 

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

Amen.

JACOB'S LADDER-PART I (Genesis 28:1 to 13)

Sometimes people tell me it’s hard to be a Christian. That is just so ridiculous.  Listen, all you have to do is think about old, unsaved, Jacob down there sleeping on stones, with a rock for a pillow, and tell me it’s hard to be a Christian.  The truth is, it is hard not to be a Christian. The Bible says, 

Prov 13:15
15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
KJV

What could be harder than a stone for a pillow? “The way of [the transgressor] is hard.”  It is not hard to be a Christian. Jesus said, 

Matt 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
KJV

Now, what did that last sentence say?  “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Jesus is telling us that to be a Christian, a Christ follower, is easy.

I have been teaching the Bible for a long time. Two things I’ve never heard. 

Number one: I’ve never heard any Christian—true Christian, a born-again Christian—say, “I’m sorry that I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.” I never have heard that.

Number two:  Something else that I have never heard: I have never heard any person without the Lord Jesus Christ say, “I want to tell you how much the dear, sweet, old devil means to me.” 

Here is the easy truth, I would be a Christian even if there were no heaven, and if there were no hell.  Now, without a doubt, there are both, but if I had a thousand lives, I’d give every one of them to Jesus Christ.  To know Christ in this life, that is easy. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard.

Here is an old familiar quote, “Nature forms us; sin deforms us; education informs us; penitentiaries try to reform us; but only Jesus can transform us.”  And if you’d like to be transformed, then you can be transformed. You can be made brand new through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the wonderful saving gospel of our dear Savior. 

Click on the link below to hear a message on how the story of Jacob’s Ladder shows us a picture of the sinner, a picture of the Savior, and a picture of salvation.

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

Amen.

ABRAHAM CHOOSES (Genesis 12:9 to 13_8)

One of the great Biblical themes that is taught over and over in Scripture is the effect of the choices that we, as Christians, make between choosing to follow the will of God in our lives and the things of this world.  The fact that the believer even has a choice to follow the will of God is an often misunderstood blessing of our salvation. 

You see, the lost person has no such choice to make.  He is a slave to Satan, and he must follow the will of his master.  His only choice is between heaven and hell.  Between making Christ his Lord and Savior, or keeping Satan as his master.  Once the decision is made to accept Christ’s offer of salvation, the person is freed from the bonds of slavery to Satan and sin.  They now have a daily choice between serving God or serving Satan.  They have the blessing of being able to daily choose God’s will for their lives, instead of Satan’s will.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the effect that Abraham’s choices had on his life, and that of his family.  We will get to see the negative and the positive.  God withholding His blessing from Abram, and God outpouring His blessings on a faithful servant.

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

Amen.

THE CALL OF ABRAHAM (Genesis11:10 to 12:8)

Chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Genesis mark an important turning point in the Scriptures.  Up to this point, the story has been that of the whole Adamic race.  There has been neither Jew nor Gentile.  All have been one in “the first Adam.”  

From this point forward in the Scriptures, the human race must be seen as a great river from which God, in the call of Abraham, and the creation of the nation of Israel, draws off a small stream through which He may at last purify the great river itself.  Israel is the tool through which God chose to bring a Savior to the world.  It is important for us to note that neither Abraham, nor Israel, were perfect, they didn’t do anything special to deserve this.  In fact, as we will see today, Abraham was far from perfect.  But, when God spoke to him, Abraham responded, and that is exactly what God was looking for.  It was by grace that God chose Abraham, and the nation Israel, to bring revelation and salvation to the world.  It was through the faith of Abraham that the nation Israel would be called.

Click on the play button to hear a message on how our obedience to God comes after we have stopped telling God what we want to do, and listen to what He wants us to do.  Let me illustrate that with a question, how much of your prayer time do you spend telling God what you want, rather than being quiet and listening to what He wants to tell you?  That is a measure of how much you harken/obey God, for you cannot obey God until you know what He wants you to do.  Abraham was obedient to God because he listened, and then transformed what he heard into action.

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

Amen.

GOD’S PLAN FOR REDEMPTION (Genesis 3:7-24)

GOD’S PLAN FOR REDEMPTION (Genesis 3:7-24)

The question that I really ask when I study about the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is, why didn’t God just smack Satan and stop all of pain and misery that he has caused?  I would just love to have seen God just look at Satan and just say “Be Gone.”  Well, first off, man would sin anyway, even without Satan.  Satan just helps things along.  Man will have this proven to him during the millennial reign of Christ when Satan is bound for a thousand years.  

It took one man to undo the damage done by another man.  Jesus, the second Adam, came to regain what the first Adam lost.  

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
KJV

Jesus came as he did (born of a virgin) to be what he was—holy.  If He had been the son of Adam with Adam’s nature, he would have been a sinner because in Adam all have sinned and died.  He would also have been a slave, for the son of a slave is himself a slave.  Jesus was what He was (holy) to do what He did—redeem us.  He came as a sinless man, paying the full price for our transgression.  He satisfied God’s righteous and holy law and nullified all of satan’s rights to Adam’s domain.  Then, Jesus did what He did (redeem us) that we might have forgiveness, cleansing, a new nature, and Kingdom Authority.  He is the head of a brand-new race.  

Jesus was born of a virgin that we might be born again. Jesus became the Son of Man that we might become the sons and daughters of God. Jesus died in agony that we might live in victory.  

Click on the play button above to hear how God’s plan for redemption of the ruined human race was formed before the foundation of time.  It is written, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17).

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

Amen.

THE MEANING OF LIGHT AND DAY (Genesis 1:1-5)

THE MEANING OF LIGHT AND DAY (Genesis 1:1-5)

Today’s message is on the meaning of the words “light” and “day” as they are used in the Bible’s account of creation.  Two very simple words, that we use all of the time, but so many people have a hard time understanding when it comes to what God says about the creation of all things.  

In the book of Genesis, God said “let there be light.”  The word “light” stands for and performs so many different functions and things in the Scriptures.  The concept of light is described throughout the Bible, and it is first used here in Genesis.  Light truly is a unique creation.  The Holy Spirit chose light as a metaphor for God throughout the Scripture.  Like God, light is mysterious but glorious.

Light by its nature, just like our Lord, is constant.  The speed and the nature of light never change.  The speed of the light that leaves our sun millions of miles away is traveling at the exact same speed as when it reaches us as we stand outside and let it fall on us to warm and comfort us.  The light of our Lord is the same.  It is the same today as it was on creation day, and as it will be when He comes for us to take us home.  Satan and his kingdom must bow before God and the majesty of His light.  When God’s light comes, Satan’s darkness must go.  

It also means that there is only one way to get rid of Satan’s darkness, and that is the light of the Word of God.  We have victory in Jesus because no force on the earth, or below the earth, can stand against the mighty majesty of His light.  When our lives are filled with sin, it is the light of the Word of God that will give you victory over that sin in your life.  In fact, it is the only light that will give you victory over Satan and sin.  You cannot live the Christian life without the power and light of the Holy Spirit in your heart.

Click on the play button at the top of the post to hear a message on the meaning of the words “light” and “day” as they are used in the creation story found in the first few verses of the Bible.

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

Amen.

GOD PROVIDED A SUBSTITUTE (Hebrews 11:17-19)

I want you to take God’s Word and hold your Bible in your hand.  Now, I want to tell you there is no book like the Bible. None whatsoever. The book that you hold in your hand is one book, and yet it is sixty-six books. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. There are twenty-seven in the New Testament. They were written over a period of about 1,500 years by at least forty different authors in three different languages, people from all backgrounds and walks of life. But when you bring them together, they don’t make sixty-six books; they make one book, one book that is bound together. 

This book has one hero, His name is Jesus. It has one villain, he is the devil. It has one theme, it is salvation. It has one purpose, the glory of God. And so, if you read any verse in the Bible, standing somewhere in the shadows, you’re going to find the Lord Jesus, and that’s what we’re going to see today as we continue to look in the life of the man named Abraham.  We are going to look back in history, centuries before Jesus Christ was born upon this earth, and we’re going to find a wonderful depiction of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, God gave illustrations, types, prophecies, figures of that which is to come in the New Testament.  It is one of the great confirmations of the inspiration of the Scripture, when you see way back here centuries before Jesus Christ was even born that God gives figures and types and prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, not only is it a confirmation of the inspiration of the Scriptures, but, correspondingly, it is a confirmation of the deity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as we see Him pictured there, tucked away in the Old Testament.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on if God was willing to give Jesus up freely for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things? He is the God who provides.

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

Amen.

A DYNAMIC LIFE OF FAITH-PART I (Hebrews 11:8-13)

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” How would you like to have great faith?  If you are a Christ follower, then I trust that you do.  When you came to Jesus Christ, God enrolled you in the School of Faith. Life is the classroom, the Bible is the textbook, the prophets and the apostles are the professors, and Abraham would have to be the Dean in the School of Faith.

Our message today is on the dynamic life of faith that Abraham led.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  This means that if you want to please God, then you must have faith.  If you please God, then it doesn’t matter whom you displease, and if you displease God, then it doesn’t matter whom you please.  There is no way to please God without faith.

Do you want to serve God?  Then, your chief duty is to believe Him. The supreme evil is unbelief. Unbelief is the source of all other sins.  Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden because they did not believe the Word of God that had been given to them. The Christian life, according to Hebrews 10:38, is to be lived by faith. The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” 

Now, I am telling you as clearly as I can that without faith it is impossible to please God. You will never, ever, succeed in your Christian life without believing God.  Not just in God, but God’s Word collectively in the Bible, and God’s Word that He has given personally to you.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to have a dynamic life of faith that pleases God.

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

Amen.