The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

TO TRY AN INNOCENT MAN (John 18:12-40)

Satan inspired, false religion, has been the reason behind much of the world’s evil. It has caused men to be deceitful, greedy, and power hungry. It has caused violence, war, and the torture and deaths of millions upon millions of people throughout the history of mankind. Jesus Christ came to this earth as God incarnate in man to put an end to false religion and to give the human race the gospel of Jesus Christ. A gospel of divine love, eternal life, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. He sealed that gospel with His own blood on the cross at Calvary. Jesus did not come to start a new religion. He came to bring redemption to those who would accept God’s free gift of eternal life. The gospel of Christ is not a religion, it is a relationship with Christ. It is not ritual, it is not a building, it is not a denomination, it is a personal relationship with the Son of God as your Lord and Savior.

The Jewish religious establishment had corrupted the religion of Judaism given by God to His chosen people. They rejected the Word of God as being incomplete and wrote their own laws, and then they created endless rituals to support it. When Jesus came and spoke against this corruption, He had to be stopped. The Jewish religious establishment conspired to murder the Son of God and they did not care how much they had to lie, cheat, and bribe, in order to accomplish this goal.

Click on this link to hear a message on how the two governing bodies in Judea at that time, the Jewish religious establishment and the Roman system, determined that Jesus was guilty of a crime that warranted He be hung on a cross and crucified. They chose to try an innocent man and condemn Him to death or the sake of false religion.

Amen.

WHAT DO YOUR REACTIONS SHOW? (John 18:1 to 11)

I want to start by telling you something important, and here it is, the true test of your character is not seen in your actions but in your reactions. Have you ever gone to the doctor? And, when you were there, he was checking you out, and he put you up on the table, and took that little hammer and tapped your knee? He wanted to see if you had a particular reaction. He's trying' to find out something about you. Now, you could sit up there, and he could say, "Lift your knee," and you could raise it up and down like he said. But, he doesn't want to see what you planned to do, or that you can follow instructions. He wants to see the reaction he gets from you when he hits your knee with the hammer, because it is that reaction that is going to tell him something about you.

Now, all of us can control our actions. But, it's our reactions that really count and really show what we are. How you react, what comes out of your mouth, when somebody cuts you off as you are driving down the road, or if you stub your toe, or hit your finger when you are trying to hit a nail, says a lot about what is in your heart.

The difference between our actions and our reactions is really the difference between reputation and character. Somebody once said that reputation is what others think about you. Character is what God and your wife know about you. Sometimes there is a vast difference. But I want us to think today about reactions, and what we can learn about how we should react from how our Lord Jesus reacted to the events leading up to His crucifixion.

Jesus Christ gave himself for us on the cross to pay for our sins, and then he rose again to give himself to us that he might live his life through us. The same Jesus who reacted that way so long ago will react that way in you today, if He is inside of you. If he's not there, if He is not in you, they you are just an imitation of Jesus. But, if he is there, you can say, "The life I now live I live by the life of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Isn't that wonderful?

Click on the link below to learn how when we begin to live that way, the joy begins to come, the power begins to come, our loved ones get saved, our friends get reconciled, and God is glorified. That's what I want. That's what we want. We want our reactions to show people who we really are, a twice born person and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER FOR YOU-PART II (John 17:14-26)

This is a prayer where Jesus asks the Father to keep and strengthen the Lord’s disciples, both the men who were gathered around Him on this dark night before His crucifixion, and those who would later come to believe on Him throughout the church age.

John 17:11
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
KJV

It is amazing to understand that 2,000 years ago, Jesus, on His way to be crucified, took time to pray for you and me. It is a prayer that has transcended time and space. The Lord’s prayer has impacted every believer that has claimed Him as their Savior since the day He prayed it.

Did you know that you have this ability as well? You do. When you pray to Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, and for the things that Jesus wills for you, then your prayer can transcend time and space just as the Lord’s did. You can pray for people in other parts of the world that you don’t even know. You can pray for your great-grandchildren that have not even been born yet. This is the power of praying to an almighty God. It is a wonderful thing to know and apply in our lives.

What was the Lord praying about for you on that street so long ago? He was praying for our protection, our security, our sanctification, and that we would have the power to do all the things that He has asked us to do. He prayed that we would share the gospel message of Jesus Christ to a lost world.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the how the Lord Jesus Christ prayed that you do the things that He has sent you to do, and then, that you would come to be with Him. Heaven is incomplete for Jesus without you. Jesus wants you to be with Him. That is such a wonderful thought to apply in our heart. Jesus wants you to be with Him.

Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER FOR YOU (John 17:1-13)

Imagine this, the Son of the Almighty God, the Creator of all things, stood in a street and prayed for you.

John 17:9
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
KJV

When Jesus says, “I pray for them,” He means that He is praying for those who have believed on Him. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then Jesus is praying for you. That doesn’t mean that the Lord does not love the lost. He so loved the world that He came to die on a cross for their sin. But this prayer was about the people who would take the good news of the gospel of Christ to the world.

What did Jesus pray for?

John 17:13
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
KJV

It was for joy that Jesus endured the cross. Jesus wanted that same joy to fill the souls of his saints. His joy could not be full if their cup was not full too. So, he prayed that "they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves."

Click on the link below to hear a message on what Jesus prays for you. He prayed that you might have everlasting life and to have your cup filled with His joy.

Amen.

THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER (John 17:1-23)

Today’s message is on prayer and it comes from chapter 17 of the Gospel of John. This is a prayer of the Lord Jesus. It is a deep and profound prayer. In times like this, a time when great numbers of people are dying from a disease, a time when great persecution of God’s people is taking place, a time when there is doubt and fear about what is happening in the world, prayer is the most important thing in a Christian’s life. It is prayer that prepares us for anything. It is prayer that allows us to be prepared to face any fear, any tragedy, any persecution. The best preparation for anything is to pray.

The purpose of prayer is that God will be glorified. Prayer prepares us to do what God would have us to do. Then, when we do what God would have us to do, God will be glorified.

If you wish to learn the purpose of prayer in a Christian’s life, then I can’t think of a better way to do it than to eavesdrop on the Son of God when He prays. Imagine that, we get to hear the words of the Son of God as He prays. What a privilege that is.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how prayer can take you through any tragedy, any trial, in order that you might finish the things that God has for you to do.

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE (John 16:25-33)

We are certainly living in a difficult time. We face a deadly enemy. It is silent and invisible. It moves from one person to the next, often without the host even knowing that they are a carrier of this enemy. It appears to randomly select how it will affect each of the people it attacks. Some will have mild symptoms, while others will die within days of the enemy attacking them. Much of the fear it causes is because of the unknown qualities of this enemy. How will I catch it, who will give it to me, and what will it do to me if I catch it? This fear has caused almost a complete shutdown of our worldwide economy and way of life.

We all deal with difficult times in different ways. Some face them head on, and some try to run from them. Some will share their feelings and hardships openly, while others will keep them inside. Some will depend on family and friends for support, while others chose to face these challenges alone.

As Christians we have something that others do not. We have the power and presence of the Holy Spirit of God residing in our hearts and lives. We never have to face these challenges on our own, and we never have to fear them, for we have the almighty Spirit of God to face these difficult times with us. We are never alone. If you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Master, and then, if you have taken the next step and made the Holy Spirit, not just a resident in your heart, but the President of your life, then you have the strength, the wisdom, and the presence of the Holy God to get you through any challenge, and any trial.

But most of all, we have the knowledge that God determines when we live, and when we die. This enemy is not invisible to God. He sees it plainly. He decides when there is more for us to do to fulfill His purposes, and He decides when it is time for us to come home to be with Him. God is in control. Trust in God, and you will never be alone again.

Click on the link below to hear a message where Jesus tells us not to fear tragedies such as this virus that is attacking our very way of life. He says plainly that we are to be at peace, because He has already overcome the world.

John 16:33
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
KJV

We have nothing to fear because Jesus has already overcome the world.

Amen.

THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS (John 16:12-24)

Well, the world has certainly changed since the last time we met to study God’s Word. Instead of being in a building full of people, I am speaking to an empty room because of the coronavirus pandemic. From the looks of things, it may be this way for some time to come. As a result, I want you to know that I will continue our study of the Book of John with a new podcast posted each week. I also want you to know that God is in control. If you are worried, let God take that burden from you. If you are afraid, let God comfort you. If you are sick, let God work His will in your life. God is in control.

It shouldn’t, but it always amazes me when I see God’s timing play out in our lives. For example, prior to all of these events occurring related to the virus outbreak. Before we had even heard the word coronavirus. God has had me teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He knew this time of trial was coming. We didn’t, but He did, and He wanted to remind us of how He will be here with us. He wanted to bring to our remembrance all that He has said about how He was indeed in control and that we can depend on Him. If there is nothing else that you walk away from this message with, it is that God is in control, and that He will give you the strength you need to get through this time of trial.

Isa 40:28-31
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
KJV

This virus did not take God by surprise. He is in control. If you will wait upon the Lord, if you will let Him have control of your life, then He will renew your strength.

In chapter 16 of the Gospel of John, we have been talking about three truths that the Lord Jesus Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to teach us. They are the truths about sin, righteousness, and judgment. In today’s message, Jesus is going to tell His disciples another truth that the Holy Spirit will reveal unto them.

It is A truth about the new age of Grace, and the church of true believers, the body of Christ. It is through this body of true believers, that the Holy Spirit will bring the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the world, and bring words of life and hope to those who need to hear them during the times of tragedy that we face.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the work of the Holy Spirit as He reveals the truths of our Lord Jesus.

Amen.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT-PART II (John 16:7-11)

Last week we began a message on three important truths about the Holy Spirit and the work that He does in our lives. These are truths that you will never learn in school. These are truths that you will never figure out intellectually. These are truths that you will never, never, ever know until you lay your intellectual pride in the dust and let God the Holy Spirit speak to you. In fact, the most important truths that will impact your life for all of eternity can only be known by the Holy Spirit speaking them to you. You won’t learn them in school. You won’t learn them in seminary, and you won’t learn them in the school of hard knocks.

These truths are about sin, righteousness, and judgement.

I love this passage of Scripture. The Holy Spirit of God is come to convict the world of man's basic problem. He has come to convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Now in a court of law, first comes the crime. When the crime is proven, then the judgment. That's the order: the crime, the punishment. But with God, the order is different. There is, first of all, sin, then righteousness, and then judgment. God has put righteousness between sin and judgment. God has interposed the precious blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now if you don't believe on Jesus Christ, if you refuse, then there is no righteousness between sin and judgment. You just die and go to hell. I'm a sinner, by nature, by birth, by practice, but I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and, therefore, God has interposed His precious blood and His righteousness stands between me and judgment. I like that. Between me and hell there's a bloody cross that Jesus died on.

Listen, if you're not a believer, put your hand up there on your chest and you feel that little heartbeat. That's all there is between you and hell. That's all—just a heartbeat. But if you've given your heart to Jesus, if you've trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, if you've said, "My basic problem is I've not trusted Him, but I trust Him now." And then God says, "I'll give you a bountiful provision. I will give you righteousness, and for you there is therefore now no condemnation, and you're not belonging to that tribe that's following Satan. You're twice-born. You're heaven born and heaven bound.”

Click on the link below to hear a message on the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Amen.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (John 16:7-11)

Like most people, I spent a good deal of my youth getting an education in school. I went through elementary, Junior High, Senior High, and even college, and I learned a good deal in those schools. Not that I remember much of it, but the one thing that has stuck is how to learn. How to learn about a particular subject. How to study, and how to organize my thoughts about that knowledge in a meaningful way.

Now, to be honest, I hated studying while I was in school, and by the time I was done with college, I swore that I would never do it again. If I had to pick up a book to learn about something, I decided I could live with being ignorant. Well, you see how that worked out. I now have a job that requires me to study the federal regulations on such interesting topics as boycott laws, trade sanctions, and import and export laws. I also spend a good share of my time at home studying to teach these lessons. In other words, never tell God that you don’t want to do something that He wants you to do, because He has a way of making sure you do.

One of the other things that I learned in school was that a school cannot teach you many things about how to live in this world, especially about what is right and wrong. This is particularly true when it comes to living a victorious Christian life. There are some things that you will never learn in school. There are things that you will never figure out intellectually. There are things that you will never, never, ever know until you lay your intellectual pride in the dust and let God the Holy Spirit speak to you. In fact, the most important truths that will impact your life for all of eternity can only be known by the Holy Spirit speaking them to you. You won’t learn them in school. You won’t learn them in seminary, and you won’t learn them in the school of hard knocks. Our messages over the next couple of weeks are going to be about three of these tremendous truths.

Now, truth is so very, very important. There are those who are afraid of the truth, afraid of what that truth will mean in their lives. There are those who are willing to accept half-truths, socially adapted truths that allow them to deceive themselves into believing they are religious, or just a good person. Then, there are those who arrogantly think they know all truth. My prayer for you today is that you will have the humility to ask the Holy Spirit to speak the truth to you.

Click on the link below to hear a message on man’s basic problem, the sin of unbelief. Not believing on Jesus Christ is the great sin. That is the mother sin, the father sin, the parent sin, the sin of sins. The greatest sin is not believing. Unbelief does not come out of the head; it comes out of the heart. It is a predisposition against Almighty God. It is not trusting the God who loves you. Refuse the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are condemned because you have not believed. You have refused Him. That is the greatest sin, and with it brings the greatest penalty.

Amen.

THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS HATE (John 15:21-16:26)

There are people who deliberately choose to hate anyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ. They hate God’s people because we are different. We separate ourselves from the world. We are a people chosen out of the world. We stand for the absolute truths about right and wrong as expressed by God in His Word. We remind them of the sin in their lives that they do not want to give up. The world cannot tolerate such absolute standards of right and wrong, nor, can they tolerate a sovereign God that has the right to tell them what is right and wrong. The world hates God's people simply because they are His people. They hate God. Therefore, they hate His people.

They hate us because they do not know the one, true, almighty God. Unfortunately, the persecution of Christ and his church has come mainly from other religious people. It has been the same in almost all the ages of the Christian era. Just because people are religious, or sincere in their beliefs, or active in their faith, does not prove that they know God. Behind all Christ-rejecting religion is Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light, who is the father of lies, and a deceiver from the beginning.

They hate us because they know Satan as their master. They do not know the almighty God. They use different names for God, but they do not worship the same God that we do. They do not know God, and the persecution of God’s people comes from this ignorance.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how Jesus wanted to prepare us for the hardships to come. To teach us how we are to love others in a world of hate, and how we are to put aside our own feelings of fear, and to share the gospel message of Christ that can give eternal life to those who will accept it.

Amen.