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Episodes
Each week a new verse-by-verse Bible study podcast given in expository style. Join us and see the Bible come alive as we study the truths that God‘s Word has for us.
Episodes
Sunday Dec 29, 2024
Sunday Dec 29, 2024
HOW TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY (EPHESIANS 2:1-10)
Today’s message includes one of the most recited pair of verses in the Bible, for it is the foundation God’s promise of salvation by grace and not of works.
Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
KJV
And when you add the rest of verses 1-10, it is also a guidebook for the believer “How to Share Your Testimony.” We should never ever underestimate the power of a Christian testimony. We are called to be witnesses and not lawyers. A witness is somebody who tells what he’s seen and heard. A lawyer is somebody who argues a case. We are witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without a doubt, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments.
Now, you don’t have to be a theologian to be able to give your testimony. Remember the man who was born blind, and Jesus healed him, and then the Pharisees jumped on his case? Oh, they were angry because this man had been healed, and they got him and backed him into a corner, and they started to ask him all kinds of theological questions. The man just said, “Well, I’m sorry. I can’t answer all of those questions, but, one thing I know: once I was blind and now I see” (John 9:25). There is nothing theological about that fact, yet it is a great testimony to the power of the Lord Jesus. “Once I was blind and now I see.” And a Christian with a testimony is never at the mercy of an infidel with an argument. Remember that.
Now, it’s important that we learn to share our testimony. Our testimony is the convincing thing when we witness and share the Lord Jesus Christ. And so today, I want to give you an outline for sharing your testimony; and you can fill in the personal part, but I’m just going to give you the outline. And listen, if you are saved, right here is your spiritual biography and your future history.
Click on the play button to hear a message on our past guilt, our present grace, and our future glory. I want you to learn some wonderful things about what has happened to you, what is happening to you, and what will happen to you.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
DYING GRACE (Genesis 47:28-29)
God gives us “living grace,” and “saving grace,” and God gives us “special grace.” So, the God who saves us, and the God who keeps us, and the God who gives us rewards in heaven, is the God who will give to us “dying grace.”
The Bible is clear that there is coming a day that I am going to die, and there is a day that each one of you will die. It is a fact that we all must die, with the one exception: should the Lord Jesus Christ come first, then we will not die, and we’ll not go to heaven by route of the graveyard, but we’ll go another way.
But before we talk about dying grace, I need to ask you this question, Have you been born again? Listen, if you haven’t been saved, then you’re not ready to die. You are also not ready to live, unless you’ve been saved. Now, you cannot have dying grace unless you’ve experienced saving grace. That is the first thing that you need to get done.
Now, Jacob had twelve sons, and they were mean as snakes—rascals, and rebellious. They were hard to deal with. But he kept on. He prayed for those boys. He lived before those boys. He witnessed to those boys. He admonished those boys. And he brought those boys to a faith in his God. And he left behind him a spiritual blessing for his children. And I want to tell you, that’s a good way to die, isn’t it? To leave a family behind you that, because you were their daddy, because you were their mother, they know God in a better way.
I know that with my own children, I prayed to God and said, “God, I want to be a good father. I want to live so that my children will know the Lord. I want them to believe in their father’s God.” You know, I’d rather die than betray my God before my children. And my children know that their father hasn’t been perfect, but my children know that their father loves God. They know that. And they know that their mother loves God. And I’m so glad that one of these days when I lie down to die, not only will I have a forgiving Lord with me, and I trust a fruitful life behind me, but I will have a family legacy after me. I want to leave something besides things to my children. I want to leave some spiritual vitality to my children.
Click on the play button to hear a message on what it means to have dying grace.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
REVELATION OF GRACE (Genesis 44:1 to 45:8)
One of the key promises of God that is found in the Bible is that for a multitude of sins, there are a multitude of mercies.
Psalms 51:1
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
KJV
God states, “according to thy lovingkindness.” This means that God will never stop loving us because of the sin in our lives. Our sin hurts God, because it is against God that we sin, but that does not cause God to stop loving us. Did you know that God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us. Know also that God does not love us because we are good.
Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
KJV
This is important for us to know because we need to have this confidence that no matter what we have done, God loves us. This tells us that there is nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less. He simply loves you.
A man put the following ad in the Lost and Found section of the paper: “Lost Dog. Crippled in front paw, blind in left eye, mange on back and neck, tail missing. Recently neutered. Answers to the name Lucky.” And he was a lucky dog. I’ll tell you why, in spite of all the stuff that was wrong with him, somebody loved him enough to want him. You know we are better than a lucky dog, we are blessed dogs.
Click on the play button to hear a message on how God loves us out of sheer grace. I want you to have this confidence: God loves you with an everlasting love. No matter what you have done, no matter what is wrong with you, God loves you. That is the sheer grace of God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
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.
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
Sometimes people tell me it’s hard to be a Christian. That is just so ridiculous. Listen, all you have to do is think about old, unsaved, Jacob down there sleeping on stones, with a rock for a pillow, and tell me it’s hard to be a Christian. The truth is, it is hard not to be a Christian. The Bible says,
Prov 13:15
15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
KJV
What could be harder than a stone for a pillow? “The way of [the transgressor] is hard.” It is not hard to be a Christian. Jesus said,
Matt 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
KJV
Now, what did that last sentence say? “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus is telling us that to be a Christian, a Christ follower, is easy.
I have been teaching the Bible for a long time. Two things I’ve never heard.
Number one: I’ve never heard any Christian—true Christian, a born-again Christian—say, “I’m sorry that I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.” I never have heard that.
Number two: Something else that I have never heard: I have never heard any person without the Lord Jesus Christ say, “I want to tell you how much the dear, sweet, old devil means to me.”
Here is the easy truth, I would be a Christian even if there were no heaven, and if there were no hell. Now, without a doubt, there are both, but if I had a thousand lives, I’d give every one of them to Jesus Christ. To know Christ in this life, that is easy. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard.
Here is an old familiar quote, “Nature forms us; sin deforms us; education informs us; penitentiaries try to reform us; but only Jesus can transform us.” And if you’d like to be transformed, then you can be transformed. You can be made brand new through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the wonderful saving gospel of our dear Savior.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how the story of Jacob’s Ladder shows us a picture of the sinner, a picture of the Savior, and a picture of salvation.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Monday Mar 25, 2024
There is a battle that rages within every believer. It is a battle between doing the will of God in our lives, and following the desires of the world. It is a daily battle, and it is one that we will have until the day we join Christ in heaven. Paul describes this battle that raged within his own heart.
Rom 7:18-20
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
KJV
The carnal nature is the one that we are born with, and its focus is on the desires of the world. The new nature is the one that we receive once we are reborn in Christ, and its focus is on doing the will of God in our lives. It is a battle that is only fought within the heart of a believer, for a lost person only has one nature, his carnal, or fleshly nature. He has no choice but to serve Satan as his master, so there is no need for a battle. It is when we become saved that we must then choose between our two natures, and it is then that the battle for supremacy within our heart rages.
Every believer has three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is that value system that’s out there. We call that the external foe. The flesh is that old Adamic nature. We call that the internal foe. The devil and he is the infernal foe. These are the three enemies that are warring against us.
Every one of us, when we come to the place where we want to be fruitful for God, after the Lord intercedes for us as He does, and it looks like we’re about to be fruitful, suddenly we find within us a battle going on. There is a struggle. It is an inner, spiritual, battle. It is important to note that it is those, whose lives are the most fruitful for God, who are the most aware of the struggle between the two natures within themselves.
However, this is something that all believers will experience when they choose to turn away from the world and begin their journey of spiritual growth. As long as we are content to live carnal, worldly, lives, we have no problem, but once we are determined to meet the conditions that lead to spiritual fruitfulness, the battle begins.
Click on the link below to hear a message about how we can have victory over the old, fleshly, carnal, nature through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Mar 17, 2024
Sunday Mar 17, 2024
It is interesting to note that while the Holy Spirit goes into great detail about the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, most of the story of Isaac is told by attaching it to another person. For example, Isaac’s Mount Moriah experience was told through Abraham, and his marriage was seen through the eyes of Abraham, Abraham’s unnamed servant, and Rebekah. Even with the birth of Esau and Jacob, which are Isaac’s sons, we will see this event through the eyes of Rebekah.
This is a story of two opposites. Here are two boys, born at the same time, born in the same place, of the same parents, to the same advantages and opportunities. Yet from the outset one of them set out in his own stumbling, full of errors, way to please God, while the other set out to please himself. One was ruled by a heavenly vision, the other by worldly and carnal things.
As with each of our lessons in Genesis, there is the primary interpretation of the events, in this case it is the development of the seeds of the nations of Israel and Edom. But, we also have the spiritual interpretation of this story, and this interpretation discusses the battle that rages within each believer. The battle between our carnal nature, and our new, Holy Spirit created, nature. The carnal nature is the one we are born with, and the new nature is the one we receive once we are reborn in Christ.
It is a battle that is only fought within the heart of a believer, for a lost person only has one nature, his carnal, or fleshly nature. He has no choice but to serve Satan as his master, so there is no need for a battle. It is when we become saved that we must then choose between our two natures, and it is then that the battle for supremacy within our heart rages.
As a believer, you have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is that value system that is out there. We call that the external foe. The flesh is that old Adamic nature. We call that the internal foe. The devil: we know who he is, for he is the infernal foe. So, we all have three enemies that are warring against us.
Click on the link below to hear a message about that internal foe, the flesh; and we’re going to be talking about victory over the flesh, as we study our lesson today, and next week, on Jacob and Esau, these two twins.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
In Genesis chapter 22, we come to an absolute mountain peak in the spiritual life of Abraham. This chapter is one of the great, great, chapters in all of the Bible. Chapter 22 is the account of Abraham’s obedience to God’s command of offering Isaac as a burnt sacrifice. God commanded him to offer Isaac on the altar and then restrained him at the last minute when He saw that Abraham was willing to go through with it. If you were to designate the ten greatest chapters of the Bible, you would almost certainly have to include Genesis 22. The Word of God makes it clear that God requires a life to be given up in order that He might save sinners. And there is no one among the children of men worthy to take that place. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son was the only One capable of fulfilling that role.
In terms of depicting great truths about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, this chapter easily compares with Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. In our message today, we will see the similarity between the sacrifice of Isaac and the sacrifice of Christ. It is no accident that this similarity exists. The Bible is full of repeated types and symbols that point to the real event in order to prepare us for what will happen. In this case, God is revealing the Gospel of the sacrifice of Christ for our sins to His beloved servant, Abraham.
On Mount Calvary, one day, men would see God providing Himself as a lamb. One day, on this place—this sacred place—God has provided Himself a lamb. And that’s the reason when John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, John the Baptist pointed to Him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)—for the Lord, Jehovah Jireh, has provided Himself as the lamb.
Click on the link below to hear a message on the Word of the Cross, a dress rehearsal for Calvary. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” (John 3:16) There was no reprieve for the Son of God. There was for Isaac, but not for Jesus. And God knew that one day He would spare not his own Son, because He loved you that much.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
There are those who believe that you can become a child of God and continue on in sin. God says that is impossible. You cannot do that. Paul asks the question,
Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
KJV
The idea that you can be a Christian and go on living in sin, or support and condone the sin of those around you, is a tremendous mistake. Don’t tell me that the book of Genesis describes a primitive view of God, and that we have a better, more enlightened one today. Don’t argue that, after all, Jesus received sinners. That is absolutely true, He certainly did, but when He got through with them, He had changed them. The harlot who came to Him was no longer in that business. When she came to God, she changed. A tax collector named Matthew came to Jesus, and he gave up that which was crooked when he came to the Lord. If you have come to Christ, you will be changed.
Many people try to explain that we are living in a new day and that we need to wake up. That is true, we are living in a new day, but it just happens to be the same old sin. Today, it is the same for us as Christians. The world has a lot of attractions. Many people want to have one foot in the world and the other living in God’s will. But it doesn’t work that way. In order to become saved, we are commanded to repent of our sins. The word repent is an expression that always has been given to God’s people as a challenge to turn around, to stop what they are doing. The word repent can be defined as walking down the road in one direction, stopping, and turning back to go in the opposite direction, never looking or going back the way you were going. This word is much more than just saying you are sorry, it is agreeing with God that what you did was wrong and committing not to do it again.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how God will bring judgement on pervasive sin. As Christians, our love cannot be of the things of this world. Our home is no longer here on this earth. We are pilgrims on this earth. We are here for one purpose only, to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
One of the great reoccurring lessons in the Bible is the need for the Christian believer to have faith. Not a hope-so faith, but a know-so faith based on the promises found in God’s Word. This know-so faith is absolutely required for the believer to live a victorious Christian life.
Abraham is called “the father of all them that believe” (Romans 4:11). When we think of Abraham, we think of faith, and we can learn some incredible lessons about faith as we study how he struggled to become this great man of faith. And, by the way, when I’m talking to you about faith, I’m not talking to you about something insignificant like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. I’m talking to you about something that is so important that I can hardly think of an adjective to describe the importance of faith. It is of monumental, inestimable, importance.
Once you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, how are you going to live the Christian life? By trying? No. By trusting. The Christian life is lived by faith. Four times, the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” God says it one, two, three, four times. Now, do you think He’s trying to tell us something really important? I’m telling you, the way to live the Christian life is by faith.
Click on the link below to hear a message about the school of faith, and that’s a wonderful school, but sometimes we don’t make very good grades. And I want to talk to you about “How to Mend a Broken Faith,” because there are just times that we don’t do all that good in God’s school of faith. Now, life is the classroom in the school of faith. Obviously, the Bible is the textbook in the school of faith. The faculty includes the prophets and the apostles. But the dean of the school of faith would have to be Abraham.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.