The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

THE INCOMPARABLE WORTH OF WISDOM (Proverbs 2:1-10)

There is an old proverb—not a biblical proverb, just a proverb—that says, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” But the problem is that a lot of people who go to bed early and get up early, they’re not healthy, they’re not wealthy, and they’re not wise. Going to bed early and getting up early doesn’t make you healthy, wealthy, and wise.  However, what is taught in God’s Word will make you healthy, wealthy, and wise, at least by the standards of God’s word.  Not by the world’s standards, but by God’s standards.  

So, what is a proverb, anyway? Somebody once said that a proverb is a short sentence based on long experience—that is, it is a lot of wisdom that has been distilled, crammed into, packed into, a sentence. That is, by a proverb, we can learn from the experiences of other people. Somebody else said, “You’d better learn from the mistakes of others, because you’ll not live long enough to make them all by yourself.”  That is probably a wise statement for most of us, but I know of some people who are definitely trying to do it alone.  They like making their own mistakes.  

But the proverbs that we find here in the Bible are not like earthly proverbs. Earthly proverbs are learned from experience. But that is not what Biblical proverbs are.  Biblical proverbs are truths that are given to us by divine revelation. These are not just simply things that are being worked out by human ingenuity; these are God’s words of wisdom given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

This is telling us that Jesus is wisdom personified. Let me tell you about wisdom. It commences at conversion, and it deepens by discipleship. 

Prov 9:10
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
KJV

That is, a man does not even have a modicum of wisdom until he knows the Lord. When a man reverences God, when a man receives Christ, when a man has a personal encounter, that man receives the wisdom of God. 

This is the incomparable worth of wisdom, it is provided by the Father; it is produced by the Spirit, but only by the presence of the Son. When you have the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart, then you are ready to have that real wisdom.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the incomparable worth of wisdom.

Amen.

TO EXPAND THE WORK OF GOD (Romans 12:8-13)

As believers, we have each been given a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit in order to perform the kingdom work of God.  In our lesson last week we covered the spiritual gifts that are to be used to expound the Word of God.  

There are those members who meet the spiritual needs of our fellow members by teaching and preaching the Word of God in a way that they can apply it in their daily lives.  

Then, there are those who do the service work of the church.  They have the gift of ministering.  They voluntarily make sure the church is clean, the grounds are mowed, and there is food for the fellowship times, for we all know that it is impossible for church members to fellowship without food.  

They are the ushers, the ones who prepare the Lord’s Supper, who help prepare the baptismal, work the sound and video systems, and maintain the building.  A church can survive without deacons, or even a preacher for a period of time, but it cannot survive without those who have the gift of ministering.  

Then there are those with the gift of exhortation.  They seek out those in need and minister to them, they lift their spirits, and they encourage us to get out and get to work for Christ.  These are the people we call on when tragedy strikes, and these are the people who you want near you when you need to be motivated for God.  

The gifts of prophesy, ministering, teaching, and exhortation are gifts that are used by members to meet the needs of the church by expounding the word of God.  

Next, Paul describes those gifted to expand the work of God.  These are the gifts of giving, guiding, and going.  These are the spiritual gifts that God has given us to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to expand the work of God. 

All seven of these gifts of God’s grace are given to members so that they can function as a body member.  Therefore, they are for the benefit, and belong to the whole body and not the individual member.

Listen to this podcast to learn how your spiritual gift is to be used to accomplish the kingdom work of God.

THE CHRISTIAN'S RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHER CHRISTIANS (Romans 12:6-10)

If I were to ask you if you had a responsibility to meet the needs of your family, most of us would say, absolutely.  When our family is in need, we will respond.  

If I were to ask you if you had a responsibility to meet the needs of the world, most of us would say, that depends on what you mean by meeting their needs.  The world is a pretty needy place and it is unlikely that we have the means or the resources to meet the needs of the world.  

Somewhere in-between these two extremes there are other groups that we could point to and ask the question of whether or not we are responsible for meeting the needs of that group. Yet, even with most of these groups, I would expect your answer to be, it depends.  It might depend on how you feel about the various groups, or it might depend on the level of resources you have.

What if I were to change the question to, do you believe that God has mandated that you meet the needs of these various groups, what do you think the answer should be?  In my opinion, the answer is again, it depends, but this time the critical deciding factor for whether or not we march forward, is not what we decide is important, but what God has told us to do.  If it is God’s will that we do something, then resources and our feelings about that group do not matter.  We will have all of the resources we need.  

Our lesson today is about how we use the spiritual gifts that God has given to each of us to meet the needs of our fellow Christian brothers and sisters.  

THE SILENCE RULE (1 Cor. 14:26-40)

God is a God of order.  Paul tells the Corinthians, and the modern day tongues movement, that if there is chaos and confusion while the gift of tongues is exercised, then it is not of God.   He then establishes the rules that are to govern the use of the spiritual gifts.   Listen to what the Word of God has to say about the practice of tongues and discover the history of the modern day tongues movement in this verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.

THE REASON FOR TONGUES (1 Cor. 14:7-25)

Why would God create the gift of tongues and then have Paul spend so much time talking about what a poor gift it is?  Paul answers this question by first talking about the limitations of speaking in tongues, and then he establishes the reason for the gift of tongues.   Listen and learn what the Word of God has to say about this spiritual gift that is so abused and misused in our world today in a verse-by-verse study of 1 Cor. 14:7-25.

THE CASE FOR LOVE AND PROPHECY (1 Cor. 13:8 to 14:6)

In this lesson Paul completes his description of agape love, and then he compares it and the gift of prophecy to the gift of tongues.   He tells us of the permanence of agape love and how tongues fail.  He tells us of the supremacy of prophecy over tongues.  He tells us to desire that which is permanent and that which is of more value to the body of Christ.  Here what Paul has to say in this verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 13:8 to 14:6.  Listen and be blessed by the Word of God as we learn a description of Jesus Christ.

THE GIFT OF LOVE (1 Cor. 13:1-7)

Paul describes the gift of love as the more excellent way.  But this kind of love is more than an emotion.  It is an act of will.  Love involves the heart, the mind, and the will.  Love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Although we are to covet earnestly the best gifts, they are to be exercised in love, and only the Spirit of God can do that.  Love is the thing that needs to be added to every gift of the Spirit.  Without love your gift is worthless.  Paul describes this wonderful gift in a verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.  Listen to how the Word of God describes agape love and be blessed.

GIFTS AND UNITY OF THE BODY (1 Cor. 12:14-31)

The spiritual gifts are designed by God to edify the body of Christ.  Just as the various parts of the human body work together to accomplish the goals of the body, the members of the body of Christ are to utilize their various spiritual gifts to accomplish the goals of Christ for His church.  Each gift is to work in unity with the other gifts.  Paul explains how this harmony is to work in a verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 12:14-31.  Listen to the blessing that the Word of God has for you in this study.

THE SOURCE AND UNITY OF THE GIFTS (1 Cor. 12:10-13)

The source of all spiritual gifts is the Holy Spirit. The unifying intelligence behind the gifts is the Holy Spirit. The method of receiving the gifts is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul explains all of these in a verse-by-verse study of 1 Cor. 12:10-13.  Listen as God's Word will enlighten your view of these wonderful gifts.

THE GIFTS OF THE LORD'S SERVANTS (1 Cor. 12:1-9)

What is the difference between a talent and a spiritual gift?  How are they to be used differently?  How can you tell if someone's gift is from God?  In this verse-by-verse study of 1 Cor. 12:1-9 Paul describes how God grants to each believer a spiritual gift and how they are to be used.   Listen to what God's Word has to say about these gifts.