The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

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.

THE FLOOD-PART II (Genesis 7:2 to 9:17)

As part of the story of The Flood, the Scripture tells us about the patience and long-suffering of God.  It says that once Noah and all the animals were in the ark, God waited for a full week, and nothing happened.  No doubt the crowds outside the ark were having a great time making fun of the whole thing.  Their hearts were already hardened.  Even after years of having God’s prophets warning man of the coming doom, God showed man a final measure of grace by waiting a full week before the flood began.  

This means that for a full seven days they still had the opportunity to accept God’s offer of salvation, yet they abused His long-suffering, His patience, and His kindness for the last time.  That extra week of grace was offered to bring them to repentance, and instead they condemned Noah and His God.  Without a doubt, the people of the time of Noah had “treasurest up unto” themselves “wrath against the day of wrath” and were ready for the “revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

Click on the play button to hear a message on how God’s final judgment was delivered on a world that had turned away from the Almighty God of all creation.

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

Amen.

A FAMILY DIVIDED (2 Samuel 13 to 18)

One of the great privileges of being a Christian is the knowledge that even though we may sin against God, He is sure and just to forgive us of those sins if we will repent of them. This just means that we go to God and tell Him that we agree that what we did was wrong and commit in our heart to not do it again.  If we do this, then God will restore our relationship and fellowship with Him.  However, this does not mean that we will not face the earthly consequences of that sin.  For example, if we commit adultery, we may still lose our marriage, or if we steal something, we may face time in prison.  Our sins are forgiven in the eyes of God, but there are still consequences to that sin.

God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross so that we might have this privilege of redemption and grace.  Yet, there are so many people who choose to rebel against God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life.  They resent the fact that God is sovereign, and it is God that decides what is right and what is wrong.  They resent that they must go to God and ask for His forgiveness.  Instead, they choose to rebel against the almighty God.  They raise their fist, shake it at God, and tell Him no, they will not worship Him and make Him the Lord of their life.  Instead of eternal life with God in heaven, they choose eternal death separated from God. 

Click on the link below to hear a message on how a son can rise up against his father.  How a person can hate God so much that they will tell God no, I will not accept your mercy and grace.

Amen.

THE TRAGIC COST OF SIN (2 Samuel 11:27 - 12:3)

The story of David and Bathsheba is a story that is a challenge to each of us as believers, for if a man as great as David could fall into sin, then so could each of us.  It is also a tragic story, because of the tremendous cost of David’s sin.  There will always be consequences when we sin against God. Not just on what we might call the “big” sins, but any sin.  Too many times we get complacent with our sin, because we have rationalized them as “little” sins, or “socially acceptable sins,” and we do not realize the full extent of the cost of that sin in our relationship with God.  There is always a tragic cost of our sin, and that is what I want us to see in our message today.  

But there is also hope.  We can have our relationship with God restored, and that is what I want you to know today, there is hope for us when we fail, even when we fail greatly.  

If you’re living in sin and God is not dealing with you, then do you know what you need to do? You need to get saved.  You need to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.  

If you’re living in sin and God is dealing with you, then do you know what you need to do? You need to get right with God.  You need to repent of the sin that is in your life and let God forgive you, and restore you.  

God is serious about your life. He wants you to live a righteous and a holy life.  God loves you and He wants you to be in fellowship with Him.  What is the hope for the child of God who has sinned?  God’s never-ending love for you.  God told David, that “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”  God tells you the same thing, 

1 John 4:10
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
KJV

1 John 4:16
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
KJV

1 John 4:19
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
KJV

Do you want to restore your relationship with God?  Do you want to once again “dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him?”  Then you must repent of your sins and find forgiveness in God’s love for you.

1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
KJV

The promise that God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” is our hope as believers.  

If this message is for you, if you are now walking in sin, it doesn’t even have to be a great big one, like adultery, but any sin, then that sin is impacting your relationship with God.  You need to repent of that sin.  This message is for people who want to live once again in the full love of God.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on the cost of sin, and the hope that the believer has in restoring their relationship with God. 

Amen.

HOW DO YOU REACT TO SIN? (James 4:9-12)

In our politically correct society, what is the proper reaction that is expected of someone who has offended someone else?  Is it to laugh about what was said?  Not likely.  Is it to ignore it as something inconsequential?  A great number of politicians have learned the folly of this reaction.  The accepted, and expected, reaction is for the person to publically, sincerely, apologize and promise to never do it again.  It is interesting that our society demands this type of reaction even when the offended person is totally unknown to the person who made the insensitive statement.      

Contrast this to what most people consider the proper reaction that is expected of someone who has committed a sin against God.  The world celebrates these people, praising them for their courage, and condemning those who would point out that this act was indeed a sin against God, and that God is offended by this sin.  Not just this sin, but any sin.  

The world laughs at the idea of calling something a sin.  Our churches today are calling as good and proper what was once called sin.  They not only tolerate sin in the church, but they declare their own open-mindedness because they accept sin as normal and accepted.  As a result, church members are not dealing with sin in their lives, even though the Bible teaches that sin of any kind offends God. 

In this lesson, James describes how the believer is to react to sin that has been identified in their lives.  We are to mourn that sin.  We are to ask God for forgiveness of that sin, in other words we are to apologize to God.  We are then expected to repent of that sin, which means that we are promising God that we will never do it again.  

God expects, and as our Creator deserves, a better reaction than we give to someone, whom we do not even know, that we have offended.   

THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO SAVE (Mark 5:21-34)

When we need something done that we cannot do for ourselves, then we begin to search for someone with the power to meet that need. When my car needs repaired, when something in my home needs repaired, I begin a search for someone with the power to meet that need. When my need becomes a desperate need, I look for someone with the power to save me. Listen to this podcast to find the One with the power to meet the most desperate need in each of our lives. Listen and discover that Jesus Christ is the only One with the power to save you. If you are lost in a dark world, then Jesus Christ is the answer to that need. Jesus Christ has the power to save you.

JESUS IS ANOINTED AND TESTED (Mark 1:9-13)

Why would Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, need to be baptized?  Did He need to repent of anything?  Did He need to turn from religion to faith?  For that matter, why would Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, need to be tempted by one His own creations, Satan?  Did Jesus, the last Adam, fall in this temptation, just as the first Adam did in the Garden of Eden?  These are compelling questions with significant answers to all those who call Jesus, Lord and Master.  Listen to this podcast and learn what the Word of God says about these questions that are the foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ.

JOHN'S MESSAGE (Mark 1:4-8)

Our world is in need of repentance.  It needs to turn away from religion and turn towards Jesus Christ.  This is the message that John the Baptist had for the Jews of his day.  They needed to repent and turn away from the rituals of Judaism and return to the God-given faith of their fathers.  Their baptism was a symbol of this repentance.      Mark tells us of John's baptism of repentance, and then he tells of the coming of the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.   Listen and rejoice as we learn of the difference between John's baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

THE HEART OF PAUL (2 Cor. 7:2-11)

Do your emotions tell others about you?  Do they describe what you are passionate about?  Do they tell the ones you love how sincere you are when you apologize for causing them grief?  Do they reveal how you deal with worry, fear, and trials, as well as joy, happiness, and love?  This is what this lesson is about.  First, Paul lets us into the depths of his heart as he reveal his emotions of fear and then joy.  Then Paul shows us the emotions of a person who genuinely is repenting of the sin in their lives.   Paul will challenge how you go about telling God that you are repentant of the sins you have committed, and then he describes the characteristics of genuine repentance.  Listen and rejoice to the heart of an apostle.