The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

This Biblical truth is important to all believers because it gives us assurance that when God says something in His word about the future of the world, the future of the heavens, the future of the lost, and especially the future of believers, we can trust that it is true. That what God says, God will do. This allows us to stop worrying about the future and focus on the task that God has for us to accomplish to move His purposes and plans along.

We are to be looking for and hasting the day of God, which is that day when Christ completes all that He is to do and delivers the kingdom to the Father so that God can be all in all. We are to be working on witnessing and bringing lost souls to Christ, that is our purpose and that is our reason for being here. Not all of us are evangelists, but all of us have a role to play, and a story to tell about how real God is in our lives, and what He has done for us.

We cannot be bashful about praising our Lord, for people want to hear that God is real and working in this world. This is the missing element in so many people’s lives. Man was created to worship God, and when they do not, they have a hole in their lives. They know something is missing and so they try to fill it with all kinds of things, and yet there is still a hole. It is our testimony that can help them find the Lord Jesus Christ to fill that hole.

Click on the link below to learn how one way that God fulfills His promise to Abraham that all of the families of the earth will be blessed by the children of Israel. God chooses 144,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, He seals them, and they become His servants to spread the gospel message of Christ during a time of Great Tribulation. There is no promise too hard for God. Amen.

Our lesson today begins in chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation, and what we will see in this chapter is that the world is on a collision course with judgment by God. That may not be a socially acceptable message, and some of the more sensitive of our society are probably running for their safe spaces right about now, but it is certainly true.

So, when I say that the world is on a collision course with judgment by God, what does that mean? Many people think that judgment only involves the active stance a judge takes when he delivers a sentence to the guilty person. But a judge can also take a passive stance, letting the chips fall where they may and allowing the consequences of one’s behavior to serve as the judgement. This passive stance is how God will judge the world in these next few chapters. There will come a time for God to take the active stance of condemning those who have rejected Him. But first, God will simply let the world have its own way.

Think about it. How hard has the world been trying to deny the existence of God? How hard have they rebelled against God’s morality, and divine truths about right and wrong? How hard have they persecuted Christ’s followers trying to eradicate them from the face of the earth? How hard have they tried to deny that Christ is the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, and that He died on the cross for the sins of the world? That He was buried and rose, bodily, from the grave, and then ascended into heaven, promising that one day He would return to reign in power forever an ever? How hard have they tried to prove that none of these things are true?

One of God’s methods of judging the world during the Tribulation Period will be to simply let the world have its way. Ironically, when the world gets what it wants, it will not want what it gets. Jesus describes the Tribulation Period as containing such horrible events beyond anything that has happened in the entire history of mankind.

So why would a loving God allow such horrible things to happen?

Click on the link below to learn that the answer to that question is to bring God’s chosen people, the Israelites, back to Him, and to restore them to their position in His Kingdom. The Tribulation Period is about the Jews, not the church.

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.  

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a message just for the few, or the select.  It is a message for the world.  It is a message of God’s grace, God’s love, God’s truth, God’s sacrifice, and ultimately God’s judgment.  

As Christians, we are the ambassadors for Christ on this earth.  Our home is in heaven and our eternal destiny is secure resting safely in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We do not have to be good to get into heaven, for we are already citizens in heaven.  Christ has paid the price for our sins, and our faith in Him has made us the adopted sons and daughters of the almighty God.  I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I will be greeted and welcomed by my Lord Jesus in heaven when I leave this life.  

We are sojourners on the earth, with a message of the good news of God’s grace to declare.  Part of that message is how we embrace and accept our fellow believers in Christ.  This is what our lessons have been about over the last several weeks, for we are to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that will build them up, and that will be for their lasting benefit.  

In areas where we have the flexibility to accommodate a weaker brother’s beliefs in debatable issues, we are to accommodate them.  Our guide is to never be a stumbling block, but to always be a stepping stone in our brother’s spiritual growth.  In all things we are to love our God with all of our heart, mind, spirit, and soul, and then we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  

This is the witness that we are to have to the outside world, one of compassion and love for one another.  As a body of believers, we are to have unity in essential beliefs, and we are to have liberty in non-essential beliefs.  

Yet, there is also a time when we are to stand up for what is God’s truth.  There can be no compromise in the areas of vital truth.

This is what our lesson is about today, how the believer is to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the world. 

Over the last couple of weeks of our study, Paul has declared that it is certainly within the power of God to not only temporarily remove Israel from the place of religious privilege as a result of their rejection of Him, but it is also within the power of God to restore a believing Israel to that place once again.  The almighty Creator of all things, has the power to do as He has promised.  

Not only is it within the power of God to restore Israel, Paul also tells us that it is within the purpose of God to restore Israel.

Paul has left no question that God will fulfill His promises to Israel.  God will restore Israel, for it is God’s purpose to restore Israel.  God planned these events from the foundations of time, and nothing that man has done, or can do, will change God’s plan and purpose.  God chose Israel to be His channel of truth and righteousness to the world, and that is what they will be when He restores them.  

What is God’s purpose in restoring Israel?  It is to show His power and His glory to a world that has rejected Him.  He is telling the world that there is but one true God, and that He alone is deserving of our worship.    

God has declared in His Word that He will restore Israel to it place of religious privilege.  In this week’s podcast we discuss when God says this event will occur.  It is not a specific date, for no man knows this date, but the Bible tells us that it will occur when the Fullness of the Gentiles is complete.  

Listen to this podcast to learn about the difference between what the Bible calls the Times of the Gentiles and the Fullness of the Gentiles.  When God has finished using the Gentiles to spread His message of eternal life, He will turn again to the Jews.  He will judge them, and then He will bless them.

In last week’s lesson, we discussed God’s judicial blinding, or hardening, of the nation of Israel for their rejection of Christ as the Messiah and their subsequent rejection of the gospel message.  Paul described for us the place of special religious privilege the Jews had been granted by God as the channel of God’s message of salvation for the world.  But their rejection of God’s plan and His Son, Jesus, as the Promised Messiah caused God to remove them, temporarily, from this place of religious privilege.  Since the day of Pentecost, it has been the church, that body of true believers, who have now occupied the position of being God’s channel of the gospel message to the world.  

So, Paul has given the Gentiles a warning that they should not be proud of the fall of the Jews and their own rise to a position of religious privilege, for this is but a temporary state of affairs, as well.  Without a doubt, God’s plan for dealing with Israel includes their restoration to the position of being the channel of salvation for the world.  

In this podcast Paul uses the illustration of the olive tree to explain to the believing Gentiles what God is doing by dealing with Israel during this period, the relative positions of the Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan, and the power and purpose of God to restore Israel to its place of spiritual privilege.

Our lesson today is about how Paul describes the way God is dealing with Israel today.  They are a nation that God has temporarily set aside from their place of special religious privilege for their rejection of Jesus Christ as the Promised Messiah.  For this rejection of God’s plan and purposes, the Jews are now divided into two groups.  The unbelieving blinded majority, and the believing minority.  

The unbelieving Jew who makes up the blinded majority rejects Jesus Christ as the Promised Messiah that their own Scriptures proclaim Him to be.  They reject God’s gift of salvation through the cross and depend on their religion for the righteousness they seek.  Paul describes this search as something that they have not obtained, for the righteousness of God can only be obtained in one way, and that is through the faith in Christ. 

The believing minority have found favor in the sight of God and have been added to the body of true believers called the church.  

Listen to this podcast to learn how God is dealing with Israel today.  

  

When presented with the simplicity of the gospel message, that salvation, eternal life in heaven, and God’s acceptance, are the gifts of God, freely given to anyone who will make Jesus Christ their Lord and Master, why do people dogmatically, stubbornly, and unreasonably, refuse to believe?

The answer is different for each person, but many simply prefer their lives as they are.  They are happy with their life.  They find fulfillment in their work, in their social life, or in their hobbies.  They are not in need of anything, certainly not a Savior, and they ask what do I need to be saved from?  Eternal life is a sketchy, made up thing, so why do I need to worry about it?  Is heaven or hell even real?

Others might say that they simply don’t want to give up the way they live their lives.  Religion is a bunch of “No’s”, don’t do this, don’t do that, essentially don’t do anything that is fun.  I can’t believe in anything that says I can’t be happy.

Still others would say that they don’t like the idea of owing something to a Creator.  For if a Creator does exist, and that Creator made them, then that Creator has the sovereign right to establish the absolute truths about right and wrong.  He decides what is a sin, and what is righteous behavior, and the social morals of today are not valid.  If this is true, then God has the right to decide the path to eternal life, and nothing made up by man will get the job done.  It’s God’s way or an eternity in hell.  

A large number would probably say that they have their own faith, their own idea on eternal life, and this is just too simple to be true.  Nobody does anything for free.  You have to earn your way into heaven.  Jesus was just a prophet, so who is He to be my Savior?

Jesus was absolutely right when He said:

John 3:19-20

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

KJV

This podcast describes the unrelenting disbelief of the Jews in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the consequences they face as a result of that disbelief.  But this message has just as much application to anyone today who has heard the gospel message of Jesus Christ and they simply refuse to believe it.  The Bible declares that eternal life can only come to those who accept God’s free gift of salvation by believing that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, and that He died on cross for all our sins, and that He was bodily resurrected by God.  God’s way says that the only path to heaven is through making Jesus Christ your Lord and Master.  

The question is, will you believe God or not?

Many religions teach that the type of righteousness needed to go to heaven and have eternal life can be only be obtained through obeying a set of laws or following some type of religious ceremony.  In the book of Romans Paul points out that in order to be saved by the law a person must live according to all the precepts of the law without violating a single one. Should a person be able to do this, he would have earned his title to heaven.  

However, there must come a time for everyone where they realize they are unable to live an absolutely perfect life in thought, words, and deeds.  Nobody can do this.  So Paul points out the obvious, it is not the law that you must appeal to for righteousness, it is the Lord.  It is not Moses, it is Christ.  

The righteousness which is of faith provided through God's grace, says that if any man tries to attain righteousness in any other way, he is in effect, saying in his heart, “I am not satisfied with what God has done, I will try to provide the incarnation, or the coming of Christ, by human effort, and I will provide the resurrection by human effort.”  Yet, this is not only impossible for man to do, it is not necessary for each of us to do again what God has already done.

Only the power of God could accomplish the incarnation and the resurrection.  Therefore, salvation is God’s work.  Man cannot produce it, or earn it by effort.  It is given freely by grace through faith in Christ. The gospel message requires no impossible task of the sinner to complete such as bringing Christ down from heaven or bringing Him up from the abyss.  The word of faith includes the whole message of the gospel with the good news that Jesus Christ has already come down from heaven.  It also says that Christ has already ascended from the region of the dead.

The gospel message says that these two miracles only have to be believed in the heart.  Therefore, the Scripture, which is the word of faith, is very accessible to man.  You don’t have to search for it, it is nigh unto thee.  

The gospel message of Christ says that the righteousness that comes by faith is right in front of you.  It says "Man, it is so close to you, it is right there in your heart, and it is on the tip of your tongue!"  Righteousness by faith is the gospel message that we preach!  And that gospel message tells us that not only is the word of faith accessible, so is the Savior as well.   

The gospel message says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  It really is that simple.  Christ is waiting for you to call.  He has done all of the work required for your salvation, for you to have eternal life, all you have to do in believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was crucified, and that He was raised from the dead.  Make Jesus your Lord and Master today.