The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

HOW TRUE REVIVAL OCCURS (Genesis 34:1 to 35:11)

HOW TRUE REVIVAL OCCURS (Genesis 34:1 to 35:11)

Jacob’s story is a story that represents the story of many of us. It is a story of pride, of self-confidence, and of deceit.  Yet it is also one of God’s grace, God’s patience, God’s power to transform a life from one of a carnal nature to one of a godly spiritual nature, and ultimately one of God’s love for this man.  It is a story of God’s ability to see through all of the rough edges to find the diamond of the man of faith that Jacob was able to become.  

That is what God does with each of us, He sees past all of our faults to find the man and woman of faith that each of us can become if we will surrender our will to His. And that is what had to take place in the life of Jacob, he had to come to the place where God had broken his self-confidence in his own abilities, and, therefore, was ready to surrender to God.  This did not happen all at once, it happened over a lifetime.  For Jacob did not fully become that man of faith described in the Book of Hebrews until the very end of his life.  

Click on the play button below to hear a message on how God has challenged us to grow spiritually, and He has shown us that our pace should be lead by God, empowered by God, tested by God, and rewarded by God. 

God challenges us to disdain the veneer of religiousness, for the surrender of righteousness.  

God challenges us to make a choice, for we cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s will.  

God challenges us to seek the revival of the Spirit of God in our lives.  

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

Amen.

JACOB AND LABAN (Genesis 29:1 to 30:30)

JACOB AND LABAN (Genesis 29:1 to 30:30)

As we study Jacob, we see a man who is confident and sure of his ability to handle anything this world can dish out.  Jacob knows God, and God has promised to be with him at all times.  Yet, Jacob has not learned to be led by God.  Instead, Jacob is leading and expecting God to back him up.

That is the way many believers treat God.  When times are good, they choose the way they want to go, and what they want to do.  Yet, just as soon as things turn bad, they turn to God to get them out of whatever mess they have gotten themselves into.  They never think to ask God to lead them; they never ask God to choose the path they will go down, and they never humbly surrender their life to the will of God.  

In today’s study, Jacob will find himself deceived by his Uncle Laban, trapped in a job he wants to leave, caught in the middle of a battle between two wives for his attention, and ultimately with 13 hungry kids looking at him for food and provisions.  Sounds like a normal day in one of our own lives, doesn’t it?

That is what makes the study of Jacob interesting, because Jacob is a story about us.  Think about your own life, are you retired but forced to work a job to meet your financial needs, are you stuck in a job you feel taken advantage of in, are you having marital problems, do you feel deceived by those you should be able to trust, or do you have hungry kids, sometimes adult children and their kids, looking at you for dinner and a house to live in?

Do you ever ask yourself, how did I get myself into this mess?  Do you ever ask yourself, and honestly answer, did God lead you, or did you lead God?  

As a believer, God has promised to always be with you, and He always will be, wherever you drag Him, but the real question you need to ask is, have you totally surrendered to the will of God in your life?  Are you following God as He leads you, or is God following you as you lead Him?  Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that says “God is my copilot”?  Listen, if God is your copilot, then you need to move over and let Him be Captain.  God is to lead you.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on the importance of living a life fully surrendered to God.

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

Amen.

THE FAITH OF NOAH (Genesis 5:25 to 6:10)

In our message today, we begin a section of verses that describes The Flood and the reasons that God brought destruction to His creation.  From the time that God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden, God had blessed man, and man had been fruitful and multiplied.  In a relatively short period of time man had populated the whole earth.  Yet, instead of recognizing the God that created him, man had turned away from God, and reveled in his own abilities and knowledge.  And as happens every time man turns away from God, man had degenerated into total depravity.

What was the condition on the earth before the Flood? What caused God to bring the judgment of the Flood?  

Genesis 6:5
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
KJV

But as we see throughout the Bible, there was a remnant, someone left who still believed in God.  Noah “found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”  The Bible tells us that grace is the unmerited favor of God; it is getting something we do not deserve.  Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  But it goes beyond that, why did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord?  It is because “Noah walked with God.”  It wasn’t because he deserved it; it wasn’t because his good works outweighed his bad; it was because Noah walked with God.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the faith of Noah, and man who preached righteousness for a period of 120 years without a convert, other than his family, and witnessed to the grace of God.  

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

Amen.

THE LINE OF CAIN (Genesis 4:7-24)

The critical difference between Cain and Abel was not a character difference at all, but the difference was in the offerings which they brought. It is the same today, for it is the offering that makes a difference in men today.  

The offering of the lost person is his works.  The lost person believes it is his good works that matter, that make him better or worse than someone else.  A recent poll stated that a majority of Americans believe that the basis on which someone will get into heaven would be on how good their works were.  It also said that if people believed in a hell at all, then it would only be the really bad people who would go there.  Without a doubt this is the best false religion that Satan has going. 

But no true believer takes the position that he is better than anyone else. The thing that makes him a Christian is that he recognizes that he is a sinner just like everyone else and that he needs an offering, he needs a sacrifice, and he needs Someone to take his place and to die for him.  That Someone is Jesus Christ.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how the people of the world today are attempting through religion, through joining a church and doing something religious, and then by living what they call a moral life, to make themselves acceptable to God.  Yet, we know that for our righteousness to be acceptable to God it must be a perfect righteousness, and that can only come through the blood of Christ. 

2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
KJV

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

Amen.

HOW SIN EVOLVES (Genesis 3:1-6)

In today’s lesson we are going to move into chapter 3 of the book of Genesis, and we are going to see how Satan works in this world to destroy mankind.  Make no mistake about it, that is Satan’s goal, the complete destruction of the creation that God loves the most.  The Bible tells us that,

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
KJV

The word world as it used here means mankind.  God loved us so much that He would send His Son to die on a cross for our sins.  Satan knows this, and Satan wants to destroy anything that God loves, and so his goal is to totally corrupt and destroy the entire human race.  He started this effort in the Garden of Eden.   

Now, it is important that you know that Satan is a decided fact, that Satan is a destructive force, and thank God, that Satan is a defeated foe. You need to learn about the devil. You dare not be ignorant about the devil and his devices. And he’s done all that he can do to pull the veil of darkness across his kingdom so that you will not understand. But I want us to see, as we look today in this scripture, what I call “How Sin Evolves in your life.” 

Click on the play button above to hear a message on how Satan’s method to destroy man is the lie.  Satan is the biggest liar, and he tells lies about the biggest subject, God Almighty.

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

Amen.

HOW WISDOM LIGHTS OUR PATH (Proverbs 2:9-22)

One of the luxuries of being a seasoned citizen is that we can look back on the choices we have made in our lives and see how our decisions impacted our lives for the better, or the worse.  If you are like me, I have made my share of poor decisions, and a few really good ones.  The wisdom to choose right from wrong, good from evil, and truth from lies, is something that each of us desperately need in our lives.  The Bible describes this as choosing between light and darkness.

John 1:5
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
KJV

Notice what John says here about the light that shines in the darkness, he says, the darkness comprehended it not.  Now, other Bible translations render this phrase in various ways:  “the darkness has not overcome it,”  “has not put it out,” or “can never extinguish it.”

Whatever the exact words, the message is the same.  Jesus Christ stands as the unconquered Ruler of time and eternity, and all of history is a battle between light and darkness.  God’s kingdom is a kingdom of light, and Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of darkness.  

But, and this is important for us to understand, don’t ever get the idea that the kingdom of darkness is somehow as strong as the kingdom of light.  Satan is a formidable foe, but the grand truth is that darkness is totally powerless against the light.  

Satan’s darkness is not the opposite of God’s light, but the absence of it.  A lost person’s heart does not know God’s light, because it is filled with nothing but darkness.  God’s light is absent from the lost person’s heart.  A believer’s heart has a light within it that no lost person can ever know.  A believer has the light of the Holy Spirit of God within them, and no amount of darkness can ever overcome that light.

Have you ever been in a room or place where the darkness is just so great that you can almost feel it? It oppresses you, it weighs down on you.  For example, have you ever walked in a cemetery on a dark moonless night and felt the darkness surround you?

We once took a tour of Fantastic Caverns in Missouri, and at one point in the tour, the guide shuts off the lights and you are surrounded by complete darkness.  They do this, because in a cave underground, you can learn what real darkness is.  Yet the simple light of a candle can dispel even the worst darkness, and no amount of darkness can overpower that candle.  Satan and his kingdom must bow before God and the majesty of His light.  When God’s light comes, Satan’s darkness must go.  

It also means that there is only one way to get rid of Satan’s darkness; the light of the Word of God.  We have victory in Jesus because no force on the earth, or below the earth, can stand against the mighty majesty of God’s light.  When our lives are filled with sin, it is the light of the Word of God that will give you victory over that sin in your life.  In fact, it is the only light that will give you victory over Satan and sin.  You cannot live the Christian life without the power and light of the Holy Spirit in your heart. The concepts of God’s wisdom and God’s light are intertwined.  They are both based on the Word of God, and they both come from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.  But, most importantly, they enable us to determine right from wrong, good from evil, and truth from lies.

Click on the link below to hear a message about how God’s wisdom, God’s light, can deliver us from evil.  For it is when we acquire wisdom, that we will have light in darkness.

Amen.

A LAST ATTEMPT (John 12:23-36)

Have you ever had an event or an experience that you knew was going to be really, really, bad in front of you? You knew it needed to be done, people were depending on you, but you had a few days that you had to get through before it would begin? The waiting, the dreading, the sheer horribleness of it playing on your mind. I can think of things like watching my mother’s last few days on the earth, and the suffering she was dealing with. I knew her death was imminent. I knew it would happen in the next few days. I knew she would be in heaven soon, but I had to steel myself for the emotions that would come.

A soldier facing some kind of really tough battle. He knows the chances were slim that he was going to make it, but he couldn’t let his brothers in arms down. These were men he depended on, and they were the ones who depended on him, so he prepared himself to deal with it.

This is what our next few messages are going to be about for Jesus. He knew this was the reason that He had come to earth. His whole life had been about this coming hour. The entire human race depended on Him completing the work of salvation. He knew that He was about to carry the burden of every sin that had ever been committed and would ever be committed. He knew the ugliness of the world’s worst sins was about to be thrust upon Him and He would have to die as punishment for that sin. He dreaded the hour, but He knew the whole world depended on Him, and so He prepared Himself. There was so much He needed to do before that hour came, but His disciples needed to hear what He had to say. These next several weeks are going to be a study in how much Jesus loved each and every one of us, even the Jews and the Romans who would crucify Him.

Click on the link below to hear a message on what is likely the Lord’s last attempt to convince the Jews that He was the Son of God, the Promised Messiah.

Amen.

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU? (John 8:24-41)

This is the single most important question that each of us must answer. No other question has your eternal destiny in the balance. It is the one question that Jesus will look at when you stand before Him to be Judged.

John 5:22-24
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
KJV

Today’s message is one with three powerful statements by our Lord Jesus.

The first one is a declaration that Jesus is God, and if you fail to believe that He is God, then you will die in your sins.

John 8:24
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
KJV

The second is that if you truly accept Jesus, the Son of God, as the Lord and Master or your life, then that truth will set you free from the bondage of sin.

John 8:31-32
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
KJV

The third statement is that if you commit sin, then you are the slave of sin. If you do the works of Satan, then you are the slave of Satan.

John 8:34
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
KJV

With these three statements, Jesus Christ is laying out the gospel message of the Bible right here in this set of verses. These are powerful statements that are meant to convict the hearts of each of us.

Click on the link below to hear a powerful testimony as to who Jesus Christ is. Jesus declares Himself to be God. You may want to call Jesus a good man, a prophet, a teacher, or a healer, but until you call Him God, Jesus says “that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” If you refuse to accept Jesus as God, then you are still without a passport to an eternity in heaven. Deny Jesus as God, and you will spend an eternity burning in the fires of Hell. Is just doesn’t get any plainer, any more powerful, than that.

Amen.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Revelation 17:1-9)

All of the events that we will study today, deal with setting the stage for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the age. Prophecy, is what everyone wants to study. Man has always wanted to look into the future, but so many times he makes awful mistakes. People make prognostications about all kinds of things, but they all fail. The Bible is the only book that has a batting average of one thousand.

So, why is this important? It is important because no Christian can afford to be ignorant of prophecy in these days in which we live. For, I believe that the shadows of the end of the age are lengthening. I believe the sands of time are running low and we are standing on the threshold of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the rapture of the church. The things that are prophesied about the Second Coming of Christ are imminent.

Every child of God needs to know that there is a beast called the antichrist, who is lurking in the shadows, who wants to destroy us, and who is getting ready to take over.

Click on the link below to join us as we study chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation. We are going to discover a mysterious woman. A woman who we will call beauty. And then, we will discover and discern a beast, who is the antichrist, the man of sin.

Amen.

THE FALSE PROPHET (Revelation 13:13-18)

We are continuing our study of the future period called the Tribulation Period. This period is described in the book of Revelation. During this time Satan will have a False Prophet that will serve as the anti-Holy Spirit. There is the Antichrist, and this False Prophet will be the anti-Holy Spirit. His purpose will be to cause the world to worship the Antichrist and glorify Satan. He will be a servant of Satan.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the characteristics of this False Prophet. He will be a master of miracles. Not the fake, showboat, type of miracles, but real miracles such as calling fire down from heaven. In this message we talk about how you can determine if the miracle you are seeing is of God, or if it is of Satan. Don't be led astray by miracles. Don't put your eyes on miracles. You'd better put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

Amen.