The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

HOW TO WALK WITH GOD (Hebrews 11:5-6)

The Bible tells us that we are to walk humbly with thy God, and it also says that the only way to walk with God is to be in agreement with God.  Agreement about what?  Agreement about how we live a life of faith in obedience with God’s will for our lives.  Now, it takes faith to walk with God. To walk with God, the first step is the step of faith.

So where do we get this faith?  God tells us that our faith cometh by hearing, and what we hear is the Word of God. You cannot have faith without hearing from God. You cannot. You must personally hear from God. God is speaking to you personally. God is speaking to you intimately. It may be through His Spirit, it may be through the Bible, but God has spoken to you.  For example, the Scripture you read will have a specific meaning to you.  It is personal.  Now, you’ll never walk with God, you’ll never have faith, until you hear, personally, from God. 

Why did God save you? Why did Jesus Christ step out of the glory, come to this earth, bathe this world with His blood—why are you redeemed? Why are you here today? Well, you ask the average person, why did God save you? And they’ll say, “To serve Him.” Listen, if God had wanted servants, He could have gotten a lot better people than us. Angels will serve Him much more obediently than we do. Angels are perfect servants, if servants are what He wanted. God is not looking for servants. God is looking for men, women, boys, and girls who will walk with Him, who know Him intimately.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to walk with God.  How to have a life of faith that is so rich, so strong, so true, so God-centered, that you will be able to say Jesus Christ is a bright, living reality to me, and I walk with Him, and I talk with Him, and He tells me I am His own; and the voice I hear falling on my ear is His voice.

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

Amen.

THE POWER OF THE BLOOD (Hebrews 9:22)

There is within the Bible a scarlet cord that runs through the entire Bible, that highway of blood that we find from Genesis to Revelation. It is important for us to understand that Calvary was not an accident, and it was not an incident. It is not something that happened as an afterthought.  In Rev. 13:8 God tells us “the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world,” which means that before God flung this world into space, before God scooped out the seas, and heaped up the mountains, and flung out the sun, moon, and stars, before all of that, before anything was that is, God had Calvary in His heart and mind. And Christ was slain in the heart and mind of God from the foundation of the world.

As you look through the entire Bible you will see the shedding of Christ’s blood as the sacrifice for our sins in picture, illustration, and typology.  God tells the same story with Adam and Eve, Noah, and then with Abraham, and with all of the sacrifices over thousands of years required under the Mosaic Law.  Yet, God tells us that none of these sacrifices were enough to make the people who offered them redeemed.  There had to be something more, for it was man who brought sin into the world, and so it would have to be a man who sacrificed His own life and shed His own blood.  Yet, it could not be just any man, it had to be the blood of the sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.  

If you’re an unsaved person, then you need to listen very carefully to this message because God put dark Calvary with its blood-drenched slopes, and with its uplifted cross, there as a roadblock to keep you out of hell.  And if you’re a saved person, then you need to listen because when you understand what Jesus Christ did to redeem you, to buy you, Oh, how you ought to love Him all the more.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the power of the saving blood of Jesus Christ.

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

Amen.

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST-PART II (Hebrew 5:5-6; 7:1-8)

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST-PART II (Hebrews 5:5-6; 7:1-8)

Sometimes, people say that Protestant denominations like Baptists, or Methodists, or Presbyterians don’t believe in priests.  Oh, but we do! We have a great high priest, and His name is Jesus.

Now, God wants us to learn, and so God gives us His Word, the Bible. The Bible is a great book in many ways, and it has many figures, pictures, and illustrations to help us learn about God.  One such illustration of Jesus as our high priest is a man named Melchizedek, and he has a lot to do with you.  He is a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament that pictured and prophesied our Savior in the New Testament and for ever and ever.  I say, he pictures Jesus, however, he may indeed have been Jesus. Some expositors believe that Melchizedek was just another name for a pre-incarnate appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ when Jesus came to earth and appeared for a little while and then went back to heaven before His birth at Bethlehem. Now, whether or not Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus, or whether he was just an incredible, wonderful illustration and picture of the Lord Jesus, the truth is there that when we learn about Melchizedek, we’re going to learn about our High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Now, you may feel that you don’t need a high priest, but you do. A high priest is a mediator. You see, a priest is someone who can bring God to you and someone who can go to God for you. Now isn’t that what you need? Don’t you need somebody who will bring God, and make Him real to you, and mediate Him to you? And don’t you need somebody who can plead your case for you? Well, that is a priest. That is our great high priest, the Lord Jesus.

Click on the link to hear a message on how we protestants find out that we do have a priest, and He is so much better than any earthly priest.  Better than Aaron, and better than any other local priest at a church.

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

Amen.

JESUS, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 4:13-5:4)

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, that is the role that Christ is playing in our lives today.  He has completed His work of salvation, and now He is in heaven as our Great High Priest.  

In the Old Testament, one of the functions of the priest was to hear the confession of sins so that a sacrifice could be made to obtain forgiveness of that sin.  Un-confessed sin was and is a burden upon the person who sins.  However, as a believer that has made Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, in this age of grace, we know that all of our sins have already been forgiven.  We already know that we will not have to face the penalty of our sin, for Christ has already done that for us.  Yet, sin is still a burden on our spirit, and we are certainly told to confess our sins. 

We confess our sins out of obedience and a desire for cleansing.  If we do not acknowledge our sin, it becomes like a malignancy which spreads to consume our energy, our spiritual zeal, and it is always present with us draining our ambition to serve the Lord.  It robs us of the joy of being in God’s will, and for the Christian, being in God’s will is the zone, it is that special place we want to be.

Hebrews 4:16
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
KJV

This is telling us that we can come with great freedom unto the Throne of Grace.  We can speak freely to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can tell Him things we wouldn’t tell anyone else.  He already knows everything there is to know about us, so why not speak freely with Him.  Christ understands us; He knows all of our weaknesses.  And when we approach that throne of Grace it is so “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We can come with full confidence that He will hear us, and He wants to extend to us His Grace, and Mercy, when we are in a time of need.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the fact that our sin is not a secret, God sees it all, and God expects us to confess that sin.  The message today is about the One who now stands in the office of High Priest, and to whom we must confess.  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is the Supreme High Priest.

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

Amen.

THE WORD OF GOD (Hebrews 4:8-12)

God’s favorite characterization of His Book is the phrase, “The Word of God.” God’s favorite title for the Bible is the Word of God.  Did you know that nowhere in the Bible will you find that God calls this book “The Bible?”  Now, I am not saying that the Bible is not an appropriate title for this book, because it is.  It recognized the world over as God’s book.  Yet, it is not what the Bible calls itself.  Over and over and over again you can find where the Bible calls itself the Word of God. 

Now, that’s very important because when it is the Word of God, then it is what? God speaking. Now, if it is God speaking, then we have to pay attention to it. You see, God gave the same name to His own dear Son. Jesus Christ is called the same thing that the Bible is called. Jesus is called the Word of God. For example, in Revelation 19, verse 13, speaking of Jesus when he comes again:

Rev 19:13
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
KJV

Now, that’s also very important because the character of both are linked together. The Bible is called the Word of God; Jesus Christ is called the Word of God. One is the written word; the other is the living word. The Bible is the Word of the Lord, and Jesus is the Lord of the Word. And so, the living word, Jesus, honors the written word. The written word, the Bible, presents the living word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message that tells us there is no way possible that you are going to be a growing Christian if you neglect the one book that God has provided to give you energy, power, sustenance, and strength, wisdom, knowledge, and faith; and that book is, the Word of God.  If you do not spend time daily in the Word of God, then you cannot lead a victorious Christian life.  

Amen.

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

THE PERIL OF UNBELIEF (Hebrews 3:13 to 4:7)

Have you ever asked yourself what is one of the most serious sins that we as either, a lost person, or a believer, can commit against God?  As a believer, we know that our salvation is secure, we cannot lose it no matter what we do, but we can still sin.  So, what do you think would be one of the worst sins that a believer could commit? Murder, lying, stealing, adultery, worshipping idols, all very serious, but what could be more serious?

The sin of unbelief, the sin of not trusting God with your whole life, is one of the most serious sins that a believer can commit.  It is serious because your unbelief will keep God from using you to do His work, and from blessing you.  A Christian that does not trust God, is totally useless.  For the lost person, unbelief is even more tragic and dangerous.  It is the one sin that will close the door to salvation.  Unbelief leads to denial and rejection of God, which leads to judgment and an eternity in darkness without God.

The writer of Hebrews is warning believers not to make the same mistake.  Don’t doubt God.  Come enjoy the rest of obedience, the rest of enjoyment of a Christian life.  Learn what it is to have the full joy that comes with being in the Will of God.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the great failure of believers today is unbelief.  They have received the rest of salvation, but they have not trusted God to do everything He says He will do.  They still want to handle their problems all on their own.  They have not found the peace and comfort, the rest, that comes from living a life of obedience and faith.  The rest of obedience that an all powerful God can give you.  

Amen.

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

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION (Proverbs 18:21-22)

Outside of loving the Lord, I believe communication is one of the most important things in our homes.  Whether it is between you and your spouse, your children, your married kids and their spouses, or just people that you know, how you communicate is very important to that relationship.  

Now, it may be that you think you married the wrong person, but it may also be that you have not married the wrong woman at all. It may be, instead, that you never really learned how to communicate with your wife and vice versa.  I am convinced that the number one problem in marriage is communication. Now, whether you’re married or not, let me just say one of the biggest problems in life is communication, because many times, whether it is with our spouse, or our family, or our friends, many of us deliberately miscommunicate.

Prov 18:21-22
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.
KJV

The highest form of fulfillment is sharing with someone else.  Being fulfilled is not having things; it’s not doing things; it is sharing, whether that be with God or with someone else. Sharing is the highest form of communication.

Click on the link below to hear a message about what the Bible says about the power of communication.  The secret to communication with anyone that you care about is to first get right with Jesus Christ.  Accept Him, accept that He has accepted you, accept yourself, then accept others as Christ has accepted you.  The power of communication is not about power at all, it is about using communication to share your love with others, the same love that Christ has shared with you.  

Amen.

DISHARMONY IN THE HOME (Proverbs 15:13-22)

When a man and woman are married, there is to be what is called the “The Music of Marriage.” You have the husband, or the father, who is the leader of the band.  It is the father who sets tune in the home. He is the leader of the band.  Now the Music of Marriage requires that there be “Harmony in the Home,” and if there is to be harmony in the home, then husbands and wives must sing the same song, but they sing different parts. That’s what makes it harmonious, and not a mere melody, but wonderful harmony.  

Now, this harmonious Music of Marriage occurs when we play the part that God has equipped us to play. So, husbands and wives are singing different parts of the same song, but hopefully they are singing in the right rhythm, so they sing it together. But, the message today is on this subject: “Disharmony in the Home” I’m really talking about tension in the home, and what can we do to deal with it.  How can we have the harmonious music of marriage that God wants us to have?

As a young man I tried to learn to play the guitar, and I have dabbled trying to play the piano.  I was not successful in either endeavor.  I can’t seem to tap my foot to keep time and play the notes at the same time, and a metronome drives me crazy.  But, playing the guitar did teach me a few things besides having sore fingertips.  I learned that in order for the music coming from the guitar to sound harmonious, each of the strings have to be in tune.  Now, to tune those strings you have to adjust the tension on it.  If the string is not tight enough, then the music is flat and dull.  But, if the string is too tight, then the music is shrill and high-pitched. But if the string is even tighter, the string will snap.    

One of the major obstacles to the harmonious Music of Marriage is tension in the home caused by stress and strife. Stress is related to raising your voice, to raising your pulse, and raising your children. Listen, if you’ve got children, then you have stress just built in, and being in today’s home, the string can get mighty tight, and sometimes it can snap.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God intends for you to deal with the stress in your home, and how you can have that harmonious Music of Marriage that God wants for your home.  

Amen.

TO WALK GOD'S PATH (Proverbs 3:23-35)

God wants us, as believers, to be free from the bondage of the world so that we might live a life that follows God’s chosen path for us.  But, have you ever asked yourself, how do we walk that path, and what should we expect as we walk that path?  That is the focus of today’s message, what does God’s Word say about what it is like to walk God’s chosen path for each of us.  God wants you to know that it is a peaceful life.  It is peaceful in the good times, and it is peaceful in times of stress. 

God’s path requires that you give the Lord your love and loyalty, and to put Christ first in all that we do. If we do these things, then we will have God’s peace.  As a result, we know that, come what may, all will be well.  There is no greater gift this side of Heaven than to have the peace of God standing watch over our hearts. 

Phil 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
KJV

When we walk along God’s path for our lives, His wisdom tells us that we can have peace in good times and times of stress because we know the place where faith stands:

Prov 3:26
26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
KJV

Faith takes its stand in the Lord.  Never believe that this struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, and truth versus lie, is a mighty battle between equals.  It is not.  It is not even close.  God is the omnipotent, omniscient, Creator of all things.  He has but to speak and all evil is defeated.   

Click on the link below to hear a message on what we should expect when we walk God’s path for our lives. The answer is that God does not ask us to walk that path without His promises to bless us with His wisdom and power to succeed on our course. The key to finding these promises, and to accomplishing His will, is to put Christ first in all things, and to hold dearly to the wisdom that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. 

Amen.

ARE YOU IN FINANCIAL BONDAGE (Proverbs 3:7-10)

Have you ever had a time when you were sitting there working through paying your bills, and you just thought “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to never have to worry about whether there would be enough?”  What if something happened to my health, or a family member’s health?  What about losing my job, with no prospects of finding another?  What if your brother-in-law came back, again, needing to borrow more money?  I mean, he is your wife’s only brother, and it really doesn’t matter that he has never paid back the other loans you have made to him.

One of the leading causes of divorce is financial stress.  If you allow it to, worrying about having enough money to meet your needs can consume you.  Dreaming about financial freedom is a natural result of that worry.

God knows that these things are all true, problems occur, you have needs, and so the question is, what does God have to say in His word about true Financial Freedom?  Does God have a financial plan for you and your family?  Well, of course He does.  God has a plan for every aspect of your life, and your finances are part of His plan.

Well, in this section of verses God has a very important message for each of us, as believers.  God wants you to know that He has a plan for you, and His plan for you is not to be in bondage; God’s plan is for you to have liberty and freedom. God does not want His children in bondage to anything or anybody other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you’re in bondage to the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s perfect liberty, for the Bible says,

John 8:36
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
KJV

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can determine if you are out of God’s will for your life and in financial bondage.  God loves you and He does not want you to be in bondage.

Amen.