The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

JESUS, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH (John 1:14-17)

If I were to ask you to name the one quality about God that you cherish the most, what would it be?

God’s love? Surely, this is the one quality about God that you cherish the most. God loved us enough to send His Son that we might live through Him.

God’s mercy? It is God’s mercy that causes Him to help us when we are at our most despicable in the eyes of God. It was God’s mercy that was shown to Saul of Tarsus.

God’s holiness? I had to think about this one for a moment. However, if God was not absolutely holy, then He would not be God. If God was not holy, we would not have a God that could do all things.

God’s wrath? For God’s love to be real, His wrath must also be real. This is certainly a quality about God that I want to avoid. Although, I have to admit there are some truly evil people out there in the world that I know will someday face the terrible wrath of God, which gives me a sense of balance in the world. This is a quality of God that I have come to trust and have faith in.

God’s glory? God’s true glory is beyond our ability to even conceive of. Yet, we were given a glimpse of this glory in the person of Jesus Christ, who stepped out of heaven, and for a brief time made Himself a little lower than the angels, just so that we might have our sins forgiven. Is this the quality of God that you cherish the most?

God’s grace? Imagine a God that could save us even though we rejected Him and nailed Him to a cross. God’s grace is the quality about God that I cherish the most, because it is through the grace of God that I can have eternal life with Him.

Amen.

THE SALUTATION OF REVELATION (Revelation 1:4-8)

THE SALUTATION OF REVELATION

In the day of text messaging, Skype, Instagram, Snapchat, emoji’s, and Twitter, the art of writing a salutation to a letter is not even a concept that is used. The word salutation is defined as a greeting at the beginning of a letter, or even at a meeting of two, or more, people. In today’s text world, it would be something like saying "Hey, 😊." However, prior to the advent of email, when letters and snail mail, ruled the day, the words at the beginning such as Dear Mr. Jennings, or To whom it may concern, were used as salutations. Often it extended into the first sentence or two and it let people know who the letter was written to and why they were getting it.

In the day of the New Testament writers, the salutation was important for establishing who the letter was being written to, who it was being written by, as well as the authority for the words of the letter. The New Testament books were often written as letters that were carried from church to church, read by the messenger to the congregation, and then sent on to the next church. Establishing the authority of writer, be it the apostle Paul, or Peter, or John, or any of the other writers was incredibly important to the people hearing the letter read to them.

As appropriate for a book that describes the Almighty God’s plan for the consummation of the ages, the salutation of the Book of Revelation is important for us to read, and it sets the stage for all that comes after it.

Here is the message that we have before us today. Jesus is coming again, and it may happen at any moment. And when it does, you will be caught unaware. You may be living the successful life of this world. You may not even know about the sufferings of the Lord Jesus when He came the first time as the Savior of the world. You may even use His name in vain. This is your hour, but one of these days, the hour of the Lord will come.

1 Tim 6:15
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
KJV

John declares the victory from the beginning of the book. It is no mystery. You don’t have to skip ahead and read the last chapter to find out how things are going to work out. He says, Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Click on this link to hear a podcast describe the salutation of the Book of Revelation written by the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE (2 Peter 3:13-18)

In this final lesson of our study of the book of 2 Peter, Peter will complete his exhortation to believers. He has told us what authentic Christianity is. He has warned us about apostates, and their false doctrines, who want to distract, disrupt, and destroy, the efforts of true believers to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ. He has reminded us of the promises of the Second Coming of our Lord and the new heavens and the new earth that will be our home in the day of God. And then he has said that knowing these things to be true, we are to be found blameless and without spot, as we work diligently to accomplish the tasks that the Lord has given us. The corrupt and tragic events of today’s world are not what our eyes should be focused on, but on the coming of our Lord.

In the nineteenth century, there was a world famous tightrope walker by the name of Charles Blondin. He would stretch his tightropes across great structures and natural wonders. One was Niagara Falls. When the press was interviewing him, they asked him how he could do this, how did he keep from falling or getting distracted. His response was, “When you see my tightrope set up someplace, look at the platform at the other end. Above that platform is a great big silver star. I keep my eyes focused on that star and I do not look away.”

This is the lesson that Peter has for us as we close out this wonderful epistle, keep your eyes focused on the coming of our Lord. In fact, look beyond that day to the day when Jesus Christ will create a new heaven and a new earth that we will spend eternity with Him on and in. Focus on that day and do not look away to the things that are happening all around you.

Listen to this podcast as we discuss how the world is full of darkness. Yet, it is the light of Jesus Christ that should occupy your mind and heart. Join us next week as we begin a study of the book of Revelation. We are in the last days, and it is important we understand what the Bible says so can be ready and encouraged by Who is coming.

THE BENEFITS OF A CHRISTIAN (2 Peter 1:1-2)

We live in a world full of apostasy.  False teachings abound.  Satan is seeking to destroy the church from within.  The Christian life is more than just a birth.  It is a growth, and it is a development.  The key to a victorious Christian life in the midst of apostasy is found in the last verse of the book of 2 Peter. 

2 Peter 3:18

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

KJV

You will not be able to live for God unless you have a knowledge of the Word of God.  Yet, we need to have more than simple knowledge about Christ, the kind of knowledge we find in a library book.  Rather, we are to have a super knowledge of Jesus.  To have this kind of knowledge of Christ is to know Him better than your closest loved one.  To know Him, is to know life eternal.  First comes salvation by the grace of God, then as we begin to know Jesus, we gain peace in Jesus.  

In our lesson today, we find that in just the first two verses of this book we are told of some truly marvelous benefits of being a Christian.  We have a like precious faith, made precious by the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is through our faith in Christ that we have obtained all the righteousness of God.  Our sins have been wiped clean, and we have a standing before God as completely righteous.  Then, by the grace of God we obtained our salvation, and being justified by God’s grace we can have the peace of God because we have a super-natural knowledge of God.  We have a personal relationship with the Creator of all things, the almighty God.  But not just any personal relationship, we know Christ better than we know our own spouse because the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts.  He constantly speaks to us of the things that Christ tells Him to share with us, and He speaks to us when we are all alone.  

Amazing, huh?  Listen to this new series of podcasts to see the rest of what God has in store for us in this little book.

GOD'S GLORY AND GOD'S GRACE (1 Peter 5:10-14)

God’s glory.  God’s true glory is beyond our ability to even conceive of.  Yet, we were given a glimpse of this glory in the person of Jesus Christ, who stepped out of heaven, and for a brief time made Himself a little lower than the angels, just so that we might have our sins forgiven.  Is this the quality of God that you cherish the most?

John 1:14

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

KJV

Heb 2:9

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

KJV

God’s grace.

Eph 2:4-8

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

KJV

For me it is God’s grace that I cherish the most, for it is by God’s grace that I am saved.  It is by God’s grace that I can live the victorious Christian life against all evil.  It is by God’s grace that I have anything that I have, for I deserve nothing but judgment, but it is God’s grace that allows me to call the almighty God, Abba, Father. 

It is by God’s grace that believers can live a victorious Christian life no matter what the circumstances, terror, or adversary, that we face.  Peter describes our Lord as the God of all grace.  In other words, God has absolutely total control and ownership of this amazing resource.  He has a limitless supply available at all times.  Now this is a concept about God’s grace you may not have thought of before, God has total control and ownership of this quality.  There is none other with this quality.  

God's grace provides strength enough for every situation.  Grace for living and grace for dying, grace to deal with the penalty of sin and grace to overcome the power of sin, grace to face persecution and grace to forgive the persecutor, grace to see us through and grace to get us home. 

God's grace guarantees us a share in God's eternal glory.  God's grace is sufficient to translate that into a living reality in our lives. Satan cannot win.  God's grace cannot fail, and it is ours because of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Let Satan roar and prowl all he wants.  Neither Satan, nor ten thousand Nero’s, nor the prospect of a horrible death, nor anything else can stop God's grace in Christ from getting us home.

Rom 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

KJV

This is the power of God’s grace.  It is supremely sufficient for all of our needs, and it is the quality about God that I cherish the most.   

Listen to this podcast as we learn about God’s grace and God’s glory.

OUR RESPONSE TO GOD'S GRACE (1 Peter 2:9b-10)

Today is Mother’s Day.  It is a special day for everyone, because no matter who you are, you had a Mother.  You may not know who your Mother was.  You may not have had a very good Mother, but if you are like most people, your Mother is very special to you.  Your Mom was there when you fell.  She was there when you cried out in fear of the darkness.  She was there when you hit a home run, or when you struck out for the third time that day, and she was there when you walked across the stage as a graduate.  She loved you no matter what.  She loved you when you didn’t call her, when you didn’t come by to see her, and even when you forgot her on Mother’s Day.  She just loved you.  How do you respond to that kind of love, to that kind of grace?

Do you tell other people how great she was?  Do you tell your children what a great mom you had?  Do you do your best to make her proud of you, of what you have become?  Not everyone’s Mom is still with us.  In fact, in a class with people of our age, some of our mom’s passed away some time ago.  I firmly believe that my Mother is looking down from heaven on me and my sister and brother, and she is checking up on us to make sure we are doing what she taught us to do.  My guess is that she has a conversation with Jesus every once in a while telling Him what she thinks of us.  

How do you respond to that kind of love and grace?

Our lesson today is about several things, we are going to finish up our discussion on our position before God, about the mercy and grace that God has shown us, but we are also going to talk about how we are to respond to our God who has loved us so much, and has shared His grace upon us.

How do you respond to that kind of love and grace?  Pretty amazing isn’t it?  Listen to this podcast to learn how to respond to God’s grace.  

REDEMPTION THROUGH GRACE (1 Peter 1:2c-d)

So when we are facing times of terrible persecution, or difficult trials, when things are so bad that they are out of our ability to control, what are you most grateful for?

Certainly, I am grateful for a loving God who cares for me, watches over me, and provides for me.  I am grateful for the power of the Holy Spirit living within me.  I am grateful for the promises of God that we find in His word, such as, that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

So this verse is interesting because it doesn’t promise that all things work together for the good of all men, it puts a qualifier on this promise.  What is that qualifier?

You have to be someone who loves God, and someone who is called according to His purpose.  This means that if you want to claim the promise of this verse, that no matter what you are going through, that it will work out for your good, then you must meet the requirements of this promise.  And in order to meet those requirements you must be saved, a born again child of God.  

So, the first thing that you need to have in order to face persecution, trials, or difficult times in your life, is the certain knowledge that you have been redeemed by God, and that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master.  This is the basic minimum for this promise to be true.   

The next most important thing that I believe we need is the grace of God.  When I am facing a difficult time, the one thing that I cherish most from God is His grace.  It is His grace that allows me to be forgiven.  It is His grace that allows me to be justified freely before God.  It is His grace that allows the blood of Christ to wash my sins away, in spite of the sin in my life.  That is God’s grace.  

This leads us to the third thing that we must have to face persecution.  The result of knowing that we are saved, and that God’s grace has been bestowed on us, is the peace of God in our hearts.  When we have God’s peace in our heart, we have comfort in the knowledge of God’s provision for us.  

So salvation, grace, and peace, are what I consider the three most important things that I must know, claim, and be sure of, when I have hard times.  Everything else that God is going to do for me flows from these three Biblical truths.  The presence and power of the Holy Spirit resides in my heart because of the redemption and grace that God has given me, and it is because I am redeemed, and that I am the recipient of God’s grace, that God’s peace is there, as well.   

Listen to this podcast to learn what it means to be redeemed by God, and to have God’s grace and peace, to give us comfort during times of persecution. 

HOW SECURE IS THE BELIEVER? (Romans 8:31-39)

What is the security of your faith based on?

Is it how much good you will do versus how much bad you will do?  If this is what your faith is secured by, then you have already failed, for no man can be good enough to meet the perfect and righteous demands of God.  

Is it how faithful you are to your church or religion?  If this is what your faith is secured by, then your faith is in your religion and not God.  A faith based on anything but God will fail because God will accept man on one basis only, faith based on the completed work of Jesus Christ which provides for our salvation.   

Is it based on your performance of certain religious rituals?  If this is what your faith is secured by, then your faith is based on the works of man, and nothing that man can do is sufficient to meet the demands of God.  

For the true believer in Jesus Christ, our faith is based on the power, the complete sovereignty, and the grace of God.

Paul says:

Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

KJV

The closing verses of this magnificent chapter of comfort for the believer explores all of the possible ways that man can think of to try and mess up our salvation and separate us from the love of God.  In our lesson today, Paul refutes each one of them and states that they are blocked by the grace of God.

Once you have made Jesus Christ your Lord, then nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you from the love of God.  Your faith secure because your faith is in God.  

GOD'S GIFT AND GOD'S GRACE (Romans 5:16-21)

Each day that I live I am grateful for the gift of God and the grace of God.  It is by the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, that I can have eternal life in Heaven, and it is the grace of God that makes it all possible.

Nothing can stand in the way of God’s grace.  It is absolutely sovereign.  Eternal life through Jesus Christ is assured.  God’s abundant grace will reign through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, for all who believe on Him, unto everlasting life.  That is our security as a believer.  It was God’s gift and God’s grace that allowed us to have salvation, and nothing can stand in the way of God’s grace.  Absolutely nothing.  We are secure in God’s grace.  

This whole concept of sin and death, and of God’s gift and grace, is so amazing that it is hard to believe.  Yet, it is also so simple and direct that it truly brings out the divine nature of God, His omniscience and omnipotence, and most of all His love for each of us.  His desire that none should perish but that all should have everlasting life is one of the great promises of the Bible.  I know that God loves me because the Bible has told me so.

On this week of thanksgiving, I praise God that:

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

KJV

HOW CAN WE BE RIGHTEOUS? (Romans 3:24-26)

For the believer who has Christ as his Savior, words like justified, freely, grace, redemption, propitiation, faith, and blood all have very specific meanings to their faith.  Yet how many Christians can define these words in a way that allows others to understand how God’s plan of salvation has changed their lives?  

For example, as you relate God’s plan of salvation to someone you know, can you tell them how it meets their need of being seen as righteous before God because of the redemptive price that was paid by Jesus on the cross.  How it grants them redemption?  How it serves as propitiation, and how the means of this salvation is our faith in Christ?  How the redemptive price for this salvation was so high, that it cost the shed blood of the Son of God?

The wonderful good news about God’s plan of salvation is that a holy and perfectly righteous God devised a plan of salvation that reaches down into the depths of sin and darkness that man has fallen to, and yet does not compromise God’s own inherent holiness, justice, and righteousness.  Listen to this podcast to learn what these words mean to your salvation, and to the salvation of those who want eternal life with Jesus in heaven.