The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST-PART II (Hebrew 5:5-6; 7:1-8)

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST-PART II (Hebrews 5:5-6; 7:1-8)

Sometimes, people say that Protestant denominations like Baptists, or Methodists, or Presbyterians don’t believe in priests.  Oh, but we do! We have a great high priest, and His name is Jesus.

Now, God wants us to learn, and so God gives us His Word, the Bible. The Bible is a great book in many ways, and it has many figures, pictures, and illustrations to help us learn about God.  One such illustration of Jesus as our high priest is a man named Melchizedek, and he has a lot to do with you.  He is a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament that pictured and prophesied our Savior in the New Testament and for ever and ever.  I say, he pictures Jesus, however, he may indeed have been Jesus. Some expositors believe that Melchizedek was just another name for a pre-incarnate appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ when Jesus came to earth and appeared for a little while and then went back to heaven before His birth at Bethlehem. Now, whether or not Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus, or whether he was just an incredible, wonderful illustration and picture of the Lord Jesus, the truth is there that when we learn about Melchizedek, we’re going to learn about our High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Now, you may feel that you don’t need a high priest, but you do. A high priest is a mediator. You see, a priest is someone who can bring God to you and someone who can go to God for you. Now isn’t that what you need? Don’t you need somebody who will bring God, and make Him real to you, and mediate Him to you? And don’t you need somebody who can plead your case for you? Well, that is a priest. That is our great high priest, the Lord Jesus.

Click on the link to hear a message on how we protestants find out that we do have a priest, and He is so much better than any earthly priest.  Better than Aaron, and better than any other local priest at a church.

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

Amen.

JESUS, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 4:13-5:4)

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, that is the role that Christ is playing in our lives today.  He has completed His work of salvation, and now He is in heaven as our Great High Priest.  

In the Old Testament, one of the functions of the priest was to hear the confession of sins so that a sacrifice could be made to obtain forgiveness of that sin.  Un-confessed sin was and is a burden upon the person who sins.  However, as a believer that has made Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, in this age of grace, we know that all of our sins have already been forgiven.  We already know that we will not have to face the penalty of our sin, for Christ has already done that for us.  Yet, sin is still a burden on our spirit, and we are certainly told to confess our sins. 

We confess our sins out of obedience and a desire for cleansing.  If we do not acknowledge our sin, it becomes like a malignancy which spreads to consume our energy, our spiritual zeal, and it is always present with us draining our ambition to serve the Lord.  It robs us of the joy of being in God’s will, and for the Christian, being in God’s will is the zone, it is that special place we want to be.

Hebrews 4:16
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
KJV

This is telling us that we can come with great freedom unto the Throne of Grace.  We can speak freely to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can tell Him things we wouldn’t tell anyone else.  He already knows everything there is to know about us, so why not speak freely with Him.  Christ understands us; He knows all of our weaknesses.  And when we approach that throne of Grace it is so “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We can come with full confidence that He will hear us, and He wants to extend to us His Grace, and Mercy, when we are in a time of need.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the fact that our sin is not a secret, God sees it all, and God expects us to confess that sin.  The message today is about the One who now stands in the office of High Priest, and to whom we must confess.  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is the Supreme High Priest.

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

Amen.

THE MARVELOUS TRUTH OF HIS COMING (Hebrews 2:9-18)

We have been talking about the purpose and the reasons behind Jesus coming to earth as a Man. Why He would care so much about us that He would even do such a thing, and the wonderful blessings that His coming means for us now and throughout eternity.  Just think, if you choose Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you will spend eternity with the Son of the Living God, the Almighty Creator of all things, in a place in Heaven that He has especially prepared for you. 

So, why would Jesus do this?  Because Christ alone could redeem man, and He could do it only by dying on the Cross.  It was the only way.  Jesus was and is man.  Jesus was and is God, Jehovah, and the second person of the Godhead.  Jesus stood as the Perfect and Ideal Man before God.  This meant that as the Ideal and Perfect Man, whatever Christ did would stand for, and apply to man, or in other words, it would cover for man. 

•When Christ died, His death would free man from ever having to die in judgment for our sins.
•When He arose, His resurrection would assure man that he, too, would arise and live eternally.
•When He was exalted into Heaven, His exaltation would make it possible for man to be exalted into heaven and to rule and reign over the universe with Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how Christ made it possible for man to be restored to his destined glory and dominion.  Christ has made it possible for man to live eternally with God, and to fulfill his purpose for God.

Amen.

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

WHAT IS MAN THAT GOD WOULD CARE? (Hebrews 2:5-9)

The only way we can truly understand what man is, is to understand what the Bible says about man.  It is from the Word of God that we learn the truth of how God views man.  How God answers the question, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou [didst visit] him?”  From a biblical perspective, the key question that we need to consider is why do all the worlds of space exist?  What is their purpose?  Has God any pleasure in dead matter? Is He not the God of the living? Can inanimate matter praise Him, the Lord of all life?  No, they cannot, and so there is man.  

When God made man, God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living, eternal, soul.  It is your soul that makes you of infinite worth.  Your soul will be in existence when the sun, and the moon, and the stars have turned to cinders. Your soul will go on endless, timeless, dateless, measureless, for God breathed into you the breath of life.  Man was created in the image of God, and you could no more cease to exist than God Himself could cease to exist.  

God is mindful of you. He sees you now—He’s looking at you right now. He desires you; He loves you. God doesn’t love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because He loves us. The dignity of man is that God is mindful of man, that God desires man.

Click on the link below to hear a message on why God loves you so much that He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross to pay the penalty of your sin. 

Amen.

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

ARE YOU A LOST CHURCH MEMBER (1 Kings 2:1-6)

Let me ask you a question, how particular is the devil in how he gets someone to go to hell?  He is not particular at all, right?  In fact, he would just as soon send you to hell from the church pew as he had from the gutter. It makes no difference to him.  In fact, I think it gives him a sense of satisfaction when he can so easily deceive all of those church members into thinking they are going to heaven, just because they have their names on the membership role, and they go to church most Sundays.  

Now, there are people today who believe in Christ, I mean, you believe it in your head. You believe the facts of the gospel. You believe that Jesus is the Savior. You believe that Jesus is Sovereign. And you believe that Jesus is Sufficient, and yet you are as lost as you can be.  There is still something wrong with you, and that is you have a lack of genuine love for Jesus.

Now, let me give you the acid test for your salvation today.  I want you to look down deep in your heart and ask yourself, Do you love Jesus, and thereby love those whom Jesus loves?

Let tell you something very important, there are great number of people who identify themselves as Christians, and they have their name written on the church roll, yet they do not have their names written down in glory.  They have never been born again.  Paul describes them as having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.  It is possible to be loyal but lost, religious but rejected. Many are going to go to hell surrounded by baptismal certificates and receipts for church offerings.  Yet, at the end, Jesus is going to hand you over for judgment, because you have never been saved.

Now, I’m not trying to make you doubt your salvation, but the Bible says (1 Corinthians 11:28) “Let a man examine himself, whether he be in the faith.”  So, I am asking you to examine yourself, and ask are you saved? I mean, are you saved? Have you fully surrendered yourself to the will of Jesus Christ?  Please do not go away without Jesus. Don’t let pride keep you from coming to Jesus. Don’t worry about what people think. You obey the Lord, and you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Click on the podcast below to hear a message on the tragedy of a person who can serve the Lord for their entire life, yet still be lost.  

Amen.

KNOWING YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE PART III (John 10:27-29)

This message is part three of a four-part series on knowing that you are eternally secure. Now, I am spending so much time on this because I want you to not only know this is true in your head, but in your heart as well. I want you to know this because God wants you to know that you are eternally secure. He has other kingdom work for you to do, and you can’t focus on that, if you are always worried about your salvation.

So far, we have covered six of the eight reason that you can know you are eternally secure.

Promised: God has promised you eternal security. If you believe what God says in His Word, then there can be no doubt that you have eternal security.

Perseverance: God will complete what He has begun. Even before you got saved, the Holy Spirit began a work in you, and He will not quit that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Predestination: God has predestined your salvation. God has known that you would make the choice to be His child since before the foundations of the universe. He loved you first, and then He called you, and you accepted that call. It was His calling and your choice, He just knew which choice you would make. He predestined your salvation.

Perfection: By one offering He, Jesus, hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Not two offerings, not three. One. Jesus shed His precious blood on that cross one time, and in doing so, He perfected each believer forever. Forever.

Position: God tells us that we are already positioned in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has told you to come into the ark, the ark of Jesus Christ. He said come in where I am. When we got saved, we came into Christ, we are a part of His body. What is true of Christ, is true of us. We are not Christ, but we are like Him, and we are in Him. The door to the ark of Christ has been sealed shut by God Himself. The only way we can go down is if Christ goes down.

Possession: God tells us that we already have eternal life. On the day I got saved, I received eternal life. It is mine, and nobody can take it away.

Click on the link below to the last two reasons why you can know that you are eternally secure.

Amen.

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE - PART II (John 10:27-29)

God has a gift for you in this series of messages. God wants you to know that you can be saved. He wants you to know that you can be certain of your salvation. But, most of all, God wants you to know that you are eternally secure. That once you are saved, you can never, ever, lose your salvation. That is what the Bible says, and God wants to give this certainty to you, so that you can concentrate on loving Him, praising Him, and working for Him.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God has promised you eternal security. If you believe what God says in His Word, then there can be no doubt that you have eternal security. God will complete what He has begun. Even before you got saved, the Holy Spirit began a work in you, and He will not quit that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

A WORLDLY CHURCH (Revelation 2:12-17)

A worldly church is one that has compromised its doctrines to be acceptable in the world around it. A church that says they don’t want to preach a message on sin that might offend people. It is a feel-good church. A church that doesn’t teach about the importance of the soul cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ, because it is too graphic. A church whose message about Jesus is that He just wants to be your best friend, not your Savior, not your Master and Lord, but your best friend?

Today’s lesson is about a church that had compromised with the ideas and morals of the world around it. It is about a church, like many of our churches today, that no longer feels the great commission of winning souls for Christ is the most important mission they have, but it is one of entertaining the members, and getting along with everyone.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on what the Lord Jesus thinks of a church that has turned away from the absolute truths about right and wrong found in the Bible, to the social ethics of the world.

THE JESUS WHO STANDS BEFORE US TODAY (Revelation 1:14-18)

We talked last week about a few things we could surmise about what Jesus looked like the first time He came, and compared that to the one portrayed in the paintings that we see, pictures, movies, and books today. The best example of this image is found in the painting of the last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, showing Jesus with long hair, long white robes, and gentle in nature. If there is a picture of Jesus hanging in the church, it will be of this Jesus, the one man created because the Bible does not give us a clear description of what Jesus looked like the first time He came. Certainly, this is the image that people have in their minds when they think of Jesus today. When they use the name of Jesus in vain, this in the Jesus they are thinking of. When they declare that Jesus was nothing more than a good man, a prophet, or a teacher, this is the Jesus that they are thinking of. This is a Jesus that you can choose to ignore, or to reject, make fun of, or even deny that He ever existed, because there is nothing intimidating about Him.

However, even if this movie image of Jesus was correct, and I don’t believe it is, it was what Jesus looked like before the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of our Lord. The Jesus that stands in heaven today as the High Priest in the Holy Tabernacle of God, does not look anything like that Jesus. That Jesus was approachable, almost indistinguishable from everyone else. He looked like a common man, with nothing desirable about His appearance to draw our attention to Him. The one that stands before us today, retains the humanity of that Jesus, He has the scars of the nails in His Hands, but everything else about Him speaks of His deity, His glory, and His almighty power as the Creator of all things. The Jesus that stands before us today, is in the full glory of God. There is nothing meek or gentle in His nature or appearance, and when the world sees Him as He is, they will fall to their knees in worship and awe. No one will deny that this Jesus exists, nor will they ignore Him, or curse Him.

Click on the link and learn about the Jesus that stands before John as he hears a voice that sounded like a trumpet, and he turned and saw a vision of the resurrected, risen, glorified, Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Jesus who stands before us today.

GOD'S PROVISIONS, GOD'S PROMISES (2 Peter 1:3-4)

What was the most solemn vow that you have ever made?

Swearing in as soldier?  Taking the oath to become a law enforcement officer, or some public office?

For me, it was the day I spoke my wedding vows.  Those words meant something very important to me, and they mean just as much today as they did 38 years ago.  I promised to love my wife, to comfort her, to keep her, meaning I would provide for all of her needs, and that I would remain faithful to her no matter what comes in our lives till death do us part.  Those are pretty powerful words.  I have promised to love my wife, protect her, and provide for her.  When she needs a home, or food, or shelter, or someone to provide courage, strength, a helping hand, or just someone to stand by her as she deals with a problem, I have promised to provide that for her.  It is my promise that I will do these things, and I have lived my life trying to keep that vow.  It is the most solemn vow that I have ever made, and most likely ever will make.  Now, lots of people get married making this vow to each other, but the problem with vows made by man is that it is a weak person making the vow.  Try as we might, we sometimes fail to meet our promises.  

Our lesson today is about the promises that God has made to provide for His children, the born again believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master and, therefore, have become adopted into the family of God.  The wonderful thing about these promises is that it is the unchanging, supreme, Creator of all things, almighty God who is making them, and He will not fail. Not ever. Not once.  

Listen to this podcast to learn that we already have all the wisdom, strength, courage, power, patience, and anything else that we might need to live a victorious life for Christ.  Everything that you need is in God and God is in you.  Amen.