The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

FINDING JOY IN YOUR WORK (Proverbs 14:23)

The title of the message is “Finding Joy in Your Work,” and I want to tell you, if you understand what God has to say in this message, it’s going to transform your work. It’s going to change it from boredom to blessing. It’s going to change it from monotony to meaning. It’s going to change it from drudgery to dignity. It’s going to change it from the same old grind to glory, if you understand what God has to say to us in this message today.

You see, so many people are sick and tired of what they do. I mean, they endure their work, whatever it is, they don’t enjoy their work. They think their job is meaningless. They think that some people have happy jobs, some people have exciting work, some people have thrilling things to do, but not them. They draw their breath and draw their salary. They wake up in the morning and take a bath, shave, go down, drink a cup of coffee, eat a piece of toast, scald their throat because they’re running a little late, drink their coffee too fast, then they run out and fight the traffic and get to work. It’s the same old thing day after day. Then they come home at night, take a couple of aspirins, sit down and watch the TV, discuss things with the wife, maybe putter around in the yard a little bit, then go to bed. The next day, the same old thing: nothing exciting, nothing meaningful, nothing thrilling. It just seems to be so humdrum, so meaningless.

Ok, I can already see the wheels turning in a lot of your minds because your saying, “Bro. Keith, you are a little late with this lesson because I am retired.  I don’t have to work anymore.”  If that is what you are thinking, then shame on you.  Did you know that God doesn’t have a retirement program for Christian believers?  If you are a Christian, and you are still breathing, then God has work for you to be doing.  If that were not true, then God would have taken you to heaven.  So, if you are still here, then God has work for you to do.  Now, I am not talking about religious work, I am talking about God’s work, whatever God calls you to do.

Now, there are others who might be saying, “Bro. Keith, I don’t work at a regular job, I just stay at home taking care of my family.”  Let me tell you that the work that a wife and a mother does taking care of her family is one of the most important jobs there is in this world.  The greatest God-given role of a mother is pointing her children to Christ. The greatest desire of a mother who loves Jesus, is that her kids come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior, and then live their lives for Him.  Just imagine, you get to partner with God in the daily discipleship of your children and in leading them towards a saving and sanctifying knowledge of the truth.

The same can be said for a wife, and about the love and support that she gives to her husband.  Once the kids are gone, some women can feel that their purpose is over.  But that is simply not what the Bible tells us.  Just as the husband is to help his wife be all that she wants to be in the eyes of God, it is the wife's responsibility to help the husband become all that God wants him to be.  

The point that I am trying to make is that it doesn’t matter if you are a widow, a retiree, 25 or 85 years old, single, married, or working every day at a job place, God has work for you to be doing, and this lesson is about finding joy in that work.

Click on the link below to hear a message about how to have joy in the work that you do for God.

Amen.

JESUS IS THE ANSWER TO YOUR DARKNESS (John 20:30-31)

John had a purpose when he gave us the gospel of John and it was that we might believe in Jesus, and that by believing, we might be saved. God wants us to know that Jesus is the answer to man's darkness.

John 20:30-31
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
KJV

Jesus Christ is the light of men.  Now there can be no greater sin than to reject the light that is Jesus Christ. Once a man hears the gospel and his heart is open to the Word of God, if he does not act upon that light, and go from faith to faith until he believes in Jesus Christ, his condemnation is doubled. Because not only is he judged for his sin, but he is also judged that he refused the cure for that sin.  He refused to believe in Jesus Christ.

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

When God comes to judge the world, he's not going to judge the world primarily by the sin that was committed, but by the light that was rejected.  Jesus is the Light of the world. We are born as spiritually blind beggars, but those blind eyes can be opened and will be opened by the grace of God. It's not just turning on the light, the heart and the mind have to be opened and quickened to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. And once the heart, once the mind, are opened and quickened, then we go stepping into the light we are given until we come to Jesus. Man's greatest need is to come, admit and confess his spiritual blindness, his spiritual darkness.  When he says God help me, I'm blind, then God opens his eyes and gives him light.

John tells us that the purpose he had in writing this gospel was “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  God wants us to know that Jesus is the answer to man's darkness.  

Click on the link below to learn how you can find God’s answer your darkness.  That answer is Jesus Christ.

Amen.

TO LIVE ABUNDANTLY Part 2 (John 11:25-44)

This is the second part of my message on how to live abundantly. Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life, and have it abundantly." What does it mean to live abundantly? It means to live the way the Bible teaches. Well, Ok, what does it mean to live the way the Bible teaches? It means several things, but the basic foundation is that you must live before you die, and live after you die. How do you do that?

Let me ask you a question, have you exercised faith in Jesus? Have you? Well, this is the time for you to do it. I want to tell you on the authority of the Word of God that Jesus will save you today and He will keep you saved. Jesus is not a probation officer. Jesus is a Savior. He will see you through all the way. Now you might have to be unwrapped. You might have some hangover sins for a while, but He will save you. And the One who gives you life will give you liberty, and you can feast with Him and you can witness for Him. Now you might be a seasoned individual. You might think I'm too old for this. Well, it's never too late with God.

If you believe that you are dead in trespasses and sins. If you want a new life. If you want to be saved so you can have fellowship with Jesus and live with Jesus. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. If you would believe me, you would never die. If this is how you feel, then exercise faith in Jesus.

Now, you may be already be a member of a church. Unfortunately, some church members never really understood how to be saved. They were good folks in their own minds and the minds of their neighbors when they joined the church, but they never really, honest-to-goodness got saved. You need today to trust Christ.

For others, it may be their first time in a church, and they might say, "Well, you know, I need Jesus, but I need to wait till I get more acquainted with the church."

Let me tell you, it's not the church that saves; it's Jesus. This may be the last opportunity you'll ever have to give your heart to Jesus. It may be your first time here, but it may be your last opportunity.

Others of you are intimidated by the devil. He whispers in your ear and says, "You'll never make it. You're too bad. You don't deserve it. You'll never be able to live it." Listen to me. Satan is a liar. Jesus died for you on the cross, and Jesus said, "Whosoever will, may come."

There is a deep desire in my heart that each of you learn to live abundantly in Jesus. That you learn to live life in the way the Bible teaches you to live.

Click on the link below to learn, if you want to live before you die, and live after you die, then you must apply these four principles to help you to have, a truly, abundant life:
1) You must exercise faith in Jesus.
2) You need to have freedom through Jesus.
3) You need to enjoy fellowship with Jesus, and
4) you need to exhibit faithfulness to Jesus.

Amen.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF THE LORD'S COMING (Mark 13:14-27)

One of the most popular topics for Bible study is the prophecy concerning the end-times.  Jesus deliberately told His disciples of the events that would occur in the future so that they would not be discouraged when He left them.  He knew that they, and all the believers that followed, would face terrible persecution for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus knew that they could face that persecution only through the power of the Holy Spirit working in them and the firm knowledge of the goals and events that they were working toward.  He told them of a coming day of judgment for the nation Israel for their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, and He told them of a coming day of judgment for a world that had rejected God.  But Jesus also told them of the rewards for those who made Jesus their Lord and Master. 

Listen to this podcast to learn the definition of terms like the Church Age, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, and the Millennial Kingdom, and then listen to the description that Jesus gives of the Tribulation Period.   

Learn the signs that we as believers today are to look for so that we can be assured that Jesus is coming again.   And make no mistake about it, Jesus is coming again.

 

TO KNOWINGLY DISBELIEVE (Mark 12:13-27)

The criminal justice system in our country makes a distinction between those who commit crimes either ignorantly or accidentally, and those who commit crimes knowingly, willfully, and with malicious intent.  This distinction has been playing out in our media for the last several weeks.  However, the justice system has a special dislike of those who commit crimes knowingly, willfully, and with malicious intent. 

This same principle works in the spiritual realm as well.  The Bible is clear that there are degrees of punishment in Hell, as well as levels of reward in heaven.  There is no doubt in my mind that a person like Stalin, or Hitler, or Charles Manson, or a person who would intentionally harm a child, has a special place in the hottest, loneliest, darkest, and most pain filled place in Hell reserved for them.  It is a place that they will spend the eons of eternity being tormented in.

But imagine the penalty that will be imposed by God on those who have willfully, knowingly, and maliciously rejected Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the sacrifice that He made on the cross for the sins that they have committed. 

These people have heard and rejected the gospel message of Jesus Christ on the TV, the radio, in books and magazines, and the personal testimonies of family and friends who told them how a gracious God has sent His only Begotten Son, so that they may have eternal life.  They have then compounded this sin by convincing others to reject Christ, or even persecuting those that are Christians.  They have made this choice knowingly, willfully, and maliciously.

Listen to this podcast to hear how Jesus Christ exposes the willful ignorance of those that would reject the Word of God and the great Biblical truth of the resurrection of the dead.

JESUS CONFRONTS HIS ENEMIES (Mark 11:27 to 12:12)

How well do you choose the times to confront your enemies, and when it is time to walk away? 

Most of us are not real good at making that choice, we either let people walk all over us, or we tend to push our will upon others. 

Jesus had spent much of His ministry avoiding a direct confrontation with the religious leadership of the Jews.  His previous visits to Jerusalem had been subdued and quiet.  Jesus actually spent most of His public ministry walking the countryside between Capernaum and the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and all the points in-between. 

He would respond to direct challenges from the local leaders of the synagogue and the representatives sent from Jerusalem to see what was happening.  But when it became too contentious, He would simply move on to the next village.  Jesus devoted much of His time to teaching the people and performing wonderful miracles of healing the sick and raising the dead.  He was developing a great following among the people that would serve Him well at the end of His ministry. 

Jesus now becomes much more direct in His confrontation with the Jewish leadership.  He makes a triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, He cleans out the temple courts of the tradesmen that were managed by the chief priest, and then He teaches and heals in the temple without the approval of the chief priests. 

Listen to this podcast to learn how Jesus controlled His own destiny as He pushed the Jewish leadership into completing the tasks that the Lord’s Father had sent Him to do.  Jesus was driving to the cross.  He was in control.  He knew what He was doing and where it would lead, but He did it anyway so that you and I could have everlasting life. 

Jesus was never more Kingly during His public ministry than He was during this last week before the cross.

THE LORD OF OUR NEEDS (Mark 7:31 to 8:8)

How do you go about meeting your family's needs?  You anticipate them.  You plan for them.  You work for them.  You spend hours cooking, cleaning, and making the things that they need.  You get up early every morning to go to a job because you know they are depending on you.  You sacrifice for them.  You want them to be able to depend on you.  You want them to have faith that you will be able to meet their needs because you always have.   You dedicate your life to meeting the needs of the family that God has been gracious enough to give you.  You do this because you love them.  If you, as a parent are capable of doing this out of the love found in your human heart, how much more so can Jesus, as the Son of the living God, meet your needs out of the unlimited love found in His divine heart?    Listen to this podcast to learn how Jesus, as the Lord of our needs, plans methodically and miraculously for our needs.  He structures our experiences to build our faith, and He expects us to have faith that He will always be there for us.  That faith comes as we look back at the things that He has done for us in the past.  That faith comes because He has promised to never, never, never, leave us.  

WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART? (Mark 7:14-30)

Every day the headlines declare the latest act of violence and evil that has occurred in our nation.    Every day we seek answers as to why these events are occurring more often than we remember in our past. Our politicians and the news media blame the tools of the violence while they ignore the source of the evil that drives these events. They choose to issue gun control and God control laws to handle the problem. These laws do nothing to solve the problem because it is the evil within the person's heart that drives the ability of man to commit these acts. Man's heart has a tremendous capacity for love, charity, and compassion for others. Man's heart also contains apathy, indifference, intolerance, and arrogance. Jesus tells us that there are also thirteen things within every man's heart that makes man the most vicious creation on the planet earth. Our country believes that a man must have freedom to do that which he desires. But for that freedom to be successful it must be constrained by man's absolute belief in the morals of right and wrong established by the living God. Instead of allowing our belief in the morals of God to constrain the evil that lies with the heart of man, our politicians have chosen to issue laws confining God's morals to the four walls of the church. They have mandated the abolishment of God's teachings from our schools. They have abolished the name of Jesus from our government buildings. They have banned God's commandments from our courtrooms. They have done this in the name of a new, socially, enlightened, morality. They have called good what God calls evil. In doing so, they have removed the constraints on the evil that lies within the heart of man. Instead of a new morality, we now have a lack of any morality, and they stand surprised at the violence that is the result. Listen to this podcast to learn that it is what comes from the heart of man that defiles our nation's soul, our people's spirit, and fills our headlines.

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (Mark 6:45-52)

Do you have someone to watch over you as you go through the problems of life? Do you have a resource with enough power to call upon when you are in your darkest moments? Most of us go through life being controlled by the things that are going on around us. When things are going good, we are happy. When things are hard, we endure on our own. But that is not the way Jesus wants you to go through life. Listen to this podcast to learn how you can have a direct link to the One with the power to put all of your problems beneath your feet. You can walk victoriously over the problems and challenges of your darkest moments. Learn how Jesus wants to be the SomeOne who watches over you.

WHO CAN SATISFY YOUR DESIRES? (Mark 6:30-44)

Who, or what, do you depend on to satisfy the desires in your life?    Most of us would answer this question by saying our job. The motivation for you to get up each and every morning to go to work is so that you can earn a wage that you will use to satisfy your desires. We depend on our hard work to satisfy our desires. Others would say they depend on the government to meet their needs. They look to others to supply their wants and needs. Listen to this podcast to learn how Jesus used the miracle of the 5,000 to teach us that He is the One that a believer should be depending on to satisfy all of their desires Your job will fail you. We have all learned this lately. The government will fail you. Others will fail you. But Jesus never will. Jesus is the bread of everlasting life.