The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

A BOX OF BONES (Genesis 50:22-26)

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.

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.

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 KINGDOM REVEALED (Genesis 46:26 to 47:26)

THE KINGDOM REVEALED (Genesis 46:26 to 47:26)

Our lessons over the last several weeks have used the story of Joseph and his brothers to present the picture of Christ and His relationship with the people of Israel.  

We have seen that with the rejection of Joseph by his brothers, It has described the Jews rejection of Jesus as their Messiah.  

Then, with the suffering and persecution of Joseph and his ultimate placement at the right hand of the throne of Pharaoh, It has described the suffering of Jesus, His resurrection, and His placement at the right hand of God,  

We have also seen that the very same Joseph that the brothers had sold into the slow death of slavery now stood before them in all glory and power. This illustrates the very same Jesus, that the Jews had the Gentiles crucify, will stand before them in all glory and power.  

With the brothers’ confession of their sin against Joseph, This has described the Jewish people’s confession of their sin when Christ returns to set up His Kingdom. 

Through the grace of forgiveness that Joseph bestowed on His brothers when they recognized him as their brother, It has described the grace of forgiveness that will be bestowed on the Jews when they see Christ and instantly recognize Him as Lord and Master. 

And in today’s lesson, as we describe the kingdom that Joseph establishes, and the role that the Hebrews will play in that kingdom, it will describe the Kingdom and rule of Jesus that will be established when Christ returns and the role of the Jews in that Kingdom.  

This whole dramatic and beautiful story of Joseph is a story about the grace of God.  It is a story about Jesus.  It is also a synopsis of the rest of the Bible as it also tells of the relationship that we as believers have with our Lord and Master as joint heirs in the promises of the Jewish people.  

Click on the play button to hear a message on God’s grace, and God’s purposes being fulfilled.  It is a story of illustration of the things to come as Christ comes again to rule for ever and ever.

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.

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.

CONVICTION (Genesis 42:29 to 43:34)

CONVICTION (Genesis 42:29 to 43:34)

The story of Joseph and his brothers is a picture of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  For the lost soul does not fully know God, or His Son, and most of all they do not know what Jesus did for them.  Lying between them are the terrible sins that they have committed.  How can anyone ever bridge that gap?  They do not know that Jesus has already provided them with a finished salvation, that it is there if they will accept it.  God knows that the lost soul is not ready for the full revelation of grace that He wants to make to them.  God allows the Holy Spirit to perform the work of conviction to bring them to a point of decision, just as He is with these brothers.  

Sometimes you may feel that when you sin that God is just going to toss you away.  Absolutely not, God won’t toss you off, but He will just squeeze all the tighter.  And this pressure affects how you look at life, it affects your emotions, it affects your psyche, and it affects your health.  One of the consequences of sin is that it depresses your heart, and there is no joy, no gladness.  Sin is often fun while you are doing it, but it is what comes afterward that depresses us.

Don’t mistake happiness for joy.  There is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness depends on what happens; that’s why we call it happiness.  When something good happens, you’re happy; when something bad happens, you’re unhappy.  You are not supposed to be happy all of the time.  To be happy all of the time would be like having ice cream for every meal.

Jesus was a man of sorrows; Jesus wept.  He was not happy all of the time, but He was full of joy.  When Jesus was facing Calvary, He was full of Joy.  The joy of the Lord is constant, and the joy of the Lord is your strength.  Happiness is like a thermometer; it registers conditions.  Joy is like a thermostat; it controls conditions. When happiness and joy are together it is a really wonderful time.  When happiness is gone, joy becomes all the more important.  And sometimes God gives you joy, not to take away the pain, but to help you bear it.  And in the midst of excruciating pain, there can be supernatural joy.  

Click on the play button to hear a message about how God convicts us of our sin so that we can have God's joy in our lives. 

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'S PLAN UNFOLDS (Genesis 41:1-53)

GOD’S PLAN UNFOLDS (Genesis 41:1-53)

I just love it when a good plan unfolds and it goes just like it was supposed to happen from the very beginning.  Now, that doesn’t happen very often for me, but it always happens when God plans something.

Last week, we left Joseph in prison, forgotten by his family, forgotten by Potiphar, and forgotten by the butler who had promised to tell Pharaoh about his plight.  Almost every person that Joseph had come to depend on had forgotten him.  But Joseph’s faith was not in man, it was in God.  While everyone else may have forgotten Joseph, God had not.  God had a plan and a purpose for Joseph’s life, and He was making it come true.  

This is the reason that God gives us the story of Joseph.  As believers, we know that God has promised to be with us every step of our lives.  Through hardships and trials, as well as the good times of our lives, God is with us.  Our strength does not come from men, or the world.  Our strength lives within us.  God has placed His Holy Spirit in our hearts to be our strength, and it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that God gives us the power to endure any trial that is placed before us.  

Click on the play button to hear a tremendous message about the power of God’s working in the lives of those who love Him.  Joseph faced tremendous trials in his life, yet God was there with him each step of the way.  Yet this only happened because Joseph fully and completely surrendered his life to the will of God.  God would have handled it anyway without Joseph, but just look at the blessings that Joseph would have missed in his life if he had not been obedient to the call of God in his life.  

Just imagine the blessings that you have missed in your life, simply because you have not been obedient to the call of God in your life.  God used an obedient Joseph to perform great works in His name.  What works can God use you for, if you will be obedient?

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

Amen.