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Episodes
Each week a new verse-by-verse Bible study podcast given in expository style. Join us and see the Bible come alive as we study the truths that God‘s Word has for us.
Episodes
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION (EPHESIANS 1:7-14)
In today’s message, we will be talking about the work that God, in all three parts, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, did to obtain our salvation, to redeem us, completely forgiven for our sins. It is a wonderful story of God’s love, and God’s grace, that He would sacrifice so much so that we might have redemption from the sins that stain our soul. It is a story of the completed work of redemption, and eternal life, that is ours if we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
It was God’s eternal counsel that the Lord Jesus should first give His life for us at Calvary, and then give His life to us.
Eph 1:7
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
KJV
God the Father, planned our salvation by grace and not works. It was His idea that God the Son, Jesus Christ, would go to the cross to die and then be risen to walk in life and victory over death. It is because Jesus came to this earth as a God incarnate in man that The Father now sees us in the Beloved. He looks at us and sees Christ. No angel among the heavenly hosts has more acceptance than we.
Paul states, “The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Notice that word “grace.” Paul uses it again and again in his letters. For, our redemption is by grace, God’s unlimited grace. Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting something we don’t deserve. Paul strikes this note over and over. Paul tells us that there is more of God’s grace to follow, an unending supply, when he talks of the “The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
We can thank God that He is rich in grace. God has revealed Himself to be a God of infinite power, a God of infallible wisdom, a God of inflexible holiness, and a God of unlimited grace! Amen, hallelujah, and praise the Lord.
Click on the play button to hear a message on the wonderful work of redemption, that God did to provide a completed salvation, if you will only accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
WHAT WE HAVE IN JESUS (EPHESIANS 1:4-14)
The verses that we are going to review today are about you. This is your life. Here, the Lord is just giving your biography: from grace to glory; from eternity past to eternity future. Now, if you’re not interested in what you have in the Lord Jesus, and you’re not interested in your own personal spiritual welfare, then what on earth would you be interested in? What on earth could you be interested in?
Did you know that God chose you, that God purposed your salvation, before He laid the foundations of the earth? Now, you want to talk about some old-time religion, well you can’t get any older than this. I mean, this was before there were any trees and mountains and birds and bees and fleas. Now, that’s before there was anything. God, way back in eternity past, chose you, and God chose me.
You know, when we were kids playing football, or basketball, we would choose teams from among the group of kids. And there is always somebody who wonders if he is going to be chosen at all. Now, isn’t it wonderful to know that God chose us so far back? You see, God is love, and what good is it to be a God of love if there’s no one to love? Love, by its very nature, cannot dwell by itself. And so, since God’s nature is love, God created people like us, and chose us, that He might love us.
Listen, God does not love us because we are valuable, we are valuable because God loves us. You are somebody because God chose you by His grace. And by His sovereign will, God chose to bestow His love upon you. I like what Charles Haddon Spurgeon had to say about it. He said this: “God certainly must have chosen me before I came into this world, or He never would have chosen me afterward.” Now, isn’t it wonderful to know that even before we got here God looked down and said, “I see who he’s going to be, and I choose him”?
Most importantly, that means I can’t take any credit for my salvation. Because, it wasn’t, primarily, that I chose God. He chose me first. I love Him because He first loved me.
Click on the play button below to hear a message on what we have in Jesus.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
THE RICHES OF A CHRISTIAN (EPHESIANS 1:3)
There was a woman by the name of Miss Bertha Smith, who served as a missionary in China between the years of 1917 and 1958. She was a warrior for Jesus, if you ever saw one. One time, she gave a talk about how we are. You know, the Bible says “our lives are hid with God in Christ,” (Colossians 3:3). And so, she had a box—a shoebox about that big—and on the outside she had the word “God” written on it. And so, she opened that shoebox up, and on the inside of that was another little box, smaller. She had written on that “Jesus,” for the Bible says, “Christ is in God, and we’re in Christ.” (John 17:23)
And so now, there’s God, and then there’s Jesus in God. And then, she opened that box, and inside of Jesus was one that said “Me.” There I am in Jesus. And I thought, “Boy, that’s glorious! How is the devil ever going to get to me if he’s got to tear up that first box and then that second box to get to me?”
But she wasn’t finished yet. She opened that one that said, “Me,” and inside that was a still smaller box, and that had “Jesus” on it again. What that means is, I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. You can’t get better than that, can you? I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. Now, how’s the devil ever going to get to me? I mean, he’s going to have to tear up that big box, and that next box, and once he gets through Christ and starts on me, he’s going to find Christ on the inside of me. That is the security of the believer.
Security is not in a place; it’s in a person. If you’re in Jesus, then you’re as secure as you’ll ever be. And if you’re not in Jesus, then you are not secure. He is the security of our riches, which includes all the needs of your spiritual soul, and your body, of the past, the present, and the future; your needs for salvation, sanctification, service, and glorification. All that you’ll ever need is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in … Christ [Jesus]”—“in Christ [Jesus].”
Click on the play button to hear a message about the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus. How to go from the rags of our self-righteousness, to the riches of God’s glory and His righteousness
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
A BOX OF BONES (Genesis 50:22-26)
Today, we close out our study of the book of Genesis. It has certainly been a good study about the power of God, and the faith of each of the people we have encountered. We have studied about the wonderful creation of all things by the mighty power of God, and the destruction of The Flood as God’s judgment of evil man. Then, we have studied about the faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Each man giving us an example of how to live a life of faith in spite of the trials and tribulations that faced them. In fact, our closing lesson is going to be another example of the faith of Joseph. The title of our lesson today is, “A Box of Bones.”
The very last words of the book of Genesis are “a coffin in Egypt.” Now, that’s a strange way for a book to end. It begins with creation, and it ends in a coffin. The devil said to Eve at the beginning of creation, “Ye shall not surely die; that you can sin with impunity.” But, the fact is the devil lied, because we have had one funeral after another. And so, the book that begins with a blaze of glory ends with a grave. The book that begins with the vastness of eternity, ends with the shortness of time. The book that begins in a garden, ends in a coffin. And the book that begins with a blaze of brightness, ends with a box of bones, the bones of Joseph.
Did you know that the bones of Joseph are mentioned not only in the book of Genesis, but in the book of Hebrews, as well? And not only in the book of Hebrews, but in the book of Exodus? And not only in the book of Exodus, but in the book of Joshua? God tells us about those bones, and then He tells us about them three more times. Now, what have we said about what we need to do when God repeats something multiple times in the Bible? We need to pay real close attention because God repeats the things that He feels are very important for us to understand.
Click on the play button to hear a message on how the faith of Joseph can be found in a box of bones.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 06, 2024
Sunday Oct 06, 2024
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.
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
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.
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
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.
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
THE FRAMEWORK OF SALVATION (Genesis 45:1-28)
There is something that I want you to know beyond the shadow of any doubt, and that is God wants you to be saved. There is an old hymn entitled “BLESSED BE THE NAME” with the words,
“I never shall forget the day,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
—CHARLES WESLEY
And I wonder how many people might be singing that song, but they are like iron fountains in the park. You see a lion statue as a fountain, and there is water spewing out of his mouth, but he never tastes a drop of it. And I am wondering if there are those of you who have that song coming out of your mouth without tasting a drop of it.
Was there a time, was there a day, when you said, “Praise God, bless God, hallelujah, I know, that I know, that I know, that I have met Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. I have a day to be remembered.” If not, do you know what my prayer is? My prayer is that this day will be the day that you will be able to sing those words and taste every drop of every word. The Lord wants you to be saved, and only Jesus can save you. The problem is sin.
Rom 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
KJV
And there’s only one thing that can be done with sin, and that is to bring that sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us and make us pure and make us clean. So, you need to pay attention to the message that God has for us in this story.
Click on the play button so that you can listen to what God has to say about how you can know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Jul 07, 2024
Sunday Jul 07, 2024
GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE (Genesis 37:1 to 39:3)
Let me start this blog by making a statement and you tell me if you believe it or not. Are you ready? God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Now, do you believe that? Well, I want to tell you, that without a doubt, God has a wonderful plan for your life. God has a divine destiny for you. And, what a shame it would be if you missed it. Today, I want you to think with me on this subject, “God’s plan for your life.”
Now, I’m not just saying that God has a plan for Abraham’s life, or Joseph’s. Certainly, God had a plan for their lives, but God also has a plan for your life. Yes, even you. God has a wonderful destiny for you, and I don’t want you to miss it. Even in your old age, God has a plan for your life. Otherwise, you would not still be here on this earth, for there would be no purpose in it, and God has a purpose in all that He does. And, I believe as we study the life of Joseph today, we are going to find some things about his life that we can certainly apply to ours as we learn how to know God’s Plan for Your Life.
Click on the play button below to hear a message on how you can discover God’s plan for you. How you can let God give you a plan and a purpose for your life. I’m not talking about something you cooked up, but be in contact with God so however God wants to speak to you, He can. And, I believe the way that God wants to speak to New Testament Christians is presentation plus transformation equals revelation, that we might know the things that God has prepared for us.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Jun 02, 2024
Sunday Jun 02, 2024
JACOB’S NEW NATURE (Genesis 32:28 to 33:20)
Jacob is now going to have to face his brother Esau. As we look at this scene, we see a difference between a believer and a non-believer. Here we have Esau, the all-American male, he was an outdoorsman, noble, probably the best athlete in the land at whatever he tried, he was generous, and likeable, yet he was a non-believer. Then, we have Jacob, who was devious, a schemer, hated by almost everyone he dealt with, yet he had a desire for the things of the Lord, and he had met with the Lord, and now he had a new nature.
Robert Laidlaw asked this question in his book “The Reason Why.” He said “I know a polished, cultivated, gentlemen, who is not a Christian, and I know a rather crude, uncultured, man who is a Christian. Do you mean to tell me that God prefers the uncultured man simply because he has accepted and acknowledged Christ as his Savior?” That was his question, and it certainly fits the way that most non-believers would look at things. People are drawn to successful people, to jovial people, and to polished people. But God is not.
Robert Laidlaw answered his question in this way “A Christian is not different in degree from a non-Christian, he is different in kind. Just as the difference between a diamond and a cabbage is not one of degree but of kind. The one is polished, the other is crude, but the one is dead while the other is alive, therefore the one has what the other has not in any degree whatsoever—life! And such is the difference God sees between a Christian and a non-Christian.”
That was the essential difference between Esau and Jacob. As a man, Esau was a far more open, honest, out-going, person than Jacob. He was a terrific person, but he was spiritually dead. Jacob was a natural-born schemer, but he had spiritual life.
It was a difference of kind, not degree.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how Jacob found out that not only was there no good in his old nature, but there was also something you may not realize; there was no strength or power in his new nature. Our new nature, given to us by God, cannot, by itself, enable us to live the Christian life. Simply being saved does not make you stop sinning. Jacob found out that it is through Jesus Christ that your help is going to come. Our strength and power come through Him.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.