The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

A STRONG, SAVING, FAITH (John 4:48-54)

Why do we Follow Christ? Think about your answer to that question, why do you follow Christ?

Do we follow Christ because of promised healing? No, that is not the reason we follow Christ, because Christians get sick and die just like everyone else.

Do we follow Christ because of protection from disaster or accidents? I see no evidence that Christians escape disaster and accidents more often than others. A bullet makes no detour around the body of a believer.

Do we follow Christ for promised prosperity? Again, I see no evidence that Christians are particularly favored with wealth and success in the world.

Do we follow Christ because of a promise of stronger personalities or fewer neuroses than non-believers? I have watched Christians suffer emotional and mental disabilities, just like non-believers.

So, why do we follow Christ? Why become a disciple of Jesus when life may become more complicated as He so often warned us it would?

For one reason alone. In Jesus we behold the face of God. He is the truth, the everlasting truth. I trust in Him and His promises. He is the one certain thing in an uncertain world. He is to be worshiped, not so something will happen to me or to the world, something already has happened to me and the world, but because He is God, who through Christ has reconciled the world to Himself. He saves me. He is my justification. He is the center that holds. We offer our lives to Him because He alone has claim upon us."

Don’t base your faith in Jesus Christ based on signs and wonders. Jesus is the Savior. He suffered, lived, bled, and died for you, rose from the dead, and if you'll trust Him, I promise you, according to His Word, He will save you and He will keep you, and one day we'll be gathered around the throne to give Him praise forever and ever and ever. Believe in miracles, but trust in Jesus, and you go from a superficial faith, to a strong faith, to a saving faith. That's what matters.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to progress from a superficial faith based on signs and wonders, to a strong, saving, faith in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 1:1-5)

John tells us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world when he says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Jesus is the Light of the world, that is why He came to this earth as a Man, to be the Light of the World. The world was in darkness when He came, and it is even darker today because mankind rejected that Light. We are in a desperate condition, but, thank God there is Light. God’s light floods our hearts. Jesus, who turned a chaos into a cosmos at the creation of the heavens and the earth, turned the chaos of our lives into something wonderful when He made us a new creation.

John 8:12
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
KJV

We have life everlasting only because of the light of Jesus Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message on who Jesus Christ is and the impact that He can have in your life.

Amen.

JUDGMENT DAY (Revelation 20:13-15)

As we think about this final judgment of the unsaved dead, I sometimes wonder what those who read my posts, or listen to the podcast think. Do they ask themselves, “Is this real? Is a judgment day when I will stand before God real, or is it just something religious nuts talk about to make people scared enough to come to church? It just seems so theatrical, like the stuff of fairy tales, or an Edgar Allen Poe story, to talk about heaven and hell, fire and brimstone, and eternity. It is simple, you live, you die, you are buried, and that is it. Party while you can, because life is short.”

I want you to listen to me, with every single fiber of my body, I want to tell you that this judgment day is real. Every single person who has ever lived is destined to meet Jesus Christ. You will meet Him as your Savior, or as your Judge. You get to choose, but you must choose now, before you die, before your heart stops beating. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, now is the time to choose Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord. You do not want to stand before Christ at this final judgment, for everyone who does, everyone, will be condemned to spend eternity in the lake of fire. Forever, and ever. It is as simple as that.

The Bible tells us over and over again that there is a judgment day coming. There is coming a time when God will put the final period, upon the final paragraph, upon the final page, upon the final chapter, upon the final book of human history. This judgement will include every person who has ever lived that rejected God’s free gift of salvation. If during your life on this earth, you said no to the gospel message of Jesus Christ, then you will stand before Christ to be judged and condemned to an eternity in hell. The key to who will stand at this judgment is not how bad you were, or how good you were. It is whether or not you made Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord while you lived on this earth. That’s it, that is the determining factor and to which judgment you will go to, and where you will spend eternity.

For all those who have said that they don’t believe in hell fire, 30 seconds after you get there, you will believe. This is what God’s Word says, and it is as sure as the God that wrote each word. There really is a lake of liquid fire, and the sadness of it is, that you don't have to go. C. S. Lewis brilliantly said that everybody in the world is in two categories. Those who are like Satan who say to God the Father, “not your will but mine be done.” And those who are like God the Son who say to the Father, “not my will but thine be done.”

Now those in the first category who say to the Father, not your will but mine be done, who are autonomous and live self-concerned, self-controlled lives, will one day drop into that Lake of Fire and a broken-hearted God will say, "Not my will, but thine be done." God doesn't want you to go to hell.

The truth is, that if you die outside the Lord, then you are going to come to a judgment and you will find out for yourself that the Bible is indeed true.

But I have got wonderful news for you. The Bible says of the Lord Jesus Christ, “He that believeth on him is not condemned. Now there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Click on the link below to hear a message on the final day of judgment.

Amen.

GAINING VICTORY IN JESUS (Revelation 15:3-8)

Let me ask you a question, have you ever considered celebrating the wrath of God?

Chapter 15 of the Book of Revelation talks about the tribulation saints standing in victory on the crystal sea of glass, or the Word of God, and celebrating the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can learn three principles about our victory in Jesus Christ from these Tribulation saints, and how to celebrate that victory. We are studying the Tribulations saints and the events that occur during that Tribulation Period, but there is much that we can learn from this set of verses and apply to our lives today.

Have you ever looked at the sin of those around you and asked the question, Where is the wrath of God? Doesn’t God promise to punish sin? Yet, when you look at rape, child abuse, blasphemy, sexual perversion of all kinds, and the horror of terrorism, we are all tempted to ask, Where is God? And where is His wrath?

The answer to the question of where is God? Is, He is on His throne. The answer to the question of where is God’s wrath? John tells us “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?... for thy judgments are made manifest.” God’s judgements are God’s wrath for sin. John says that God’s judgment, or wrath, is made manifest, or visible, for all to see. One thing the Bible teaches us for certain is that all sin will be punished. Your sin will be punished. My sin will be punished. Every sin, whether it be that of a lost person, or a saved, will be punished. The only question is, who will bear that punishment? Every sin will be either pardoned by Christ, or punished in hell, but it will never be overlooked. Nobody’s sin is ever overlooked. All sin is dealt with.

Don't ever forget that the secret of our victory is the wrath of God. Apart from the wrath of God, apart from the righteous judgment of God, there can be no ultimate victory. Sin must be dealt with. We celebrate the Wrath of God, because we know that God will deal with all sin. God is indeed a loving God, but God is also a just God. God will deal with all sin. As believers, our victory comes from three things, the Word of God, the redeeming works of God, and the righteous wrath of God.

Amen.

CAN'T GOD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? (Revelation 9:15-21)

I think that we can all agree that evil is certainly growing around us today. In spite of the restraint of the Holy Spirit during the day that we live in, evil is still on the rise. Men murder others. Women even murder their own children, and now we have children who become murderers in their own homes and schools.

Yet, most of all, may God have mercy on the murderers of unborn babies. May God send His Spirit to bring repentance to every man and woman who has participated in this most heinous act against defenseless little babies. People today get upset and wonder where the judgment of God is for the perpetrators of terrorism and mass shootings, but the number of people who die all across the world from terrorism is but a fraction of the murders of babies that occur each year in this country. It is a sin that God will hold this country accountable for. It would be easy to wonder where is God in all of this, and why isn’t He doing anything about it.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on the Biblical truth that timing is more important to God, than time. God has a plan to deal with all of the evil of this world and in all of creation. That plan is on time. God is never early, and He is never late. Nothing, or no one can stop or change that plan. Not Satan, or all of his demons, for Satan is but a creation, and God is sovereign.

We started this series by asking Doesn’t God know? Doesn’t God care? And if God knows and cares, then why isn’t He doing something about it? God knows, and God cares. It is man that has turned his back on God. That no longer wants to know God. That no longer cares about God.  Yet, we have still have a chance during this age of grace that we live in to turn to God. God loves you. Lay aside your pride. May the mercy of God through His Son bring the saving judgment of eternal life to you today, so you will not be lost in the fires of Judgment for all of eternity.

Amen.

WHERE IS GOD? DOESN'T HE CARE? (Revelation 9:12-14)

With events like the terrible tragedy that occurred in Las Vegas last week, it would seem that everything not nailed down is coming loose, and that Satan is busy at work prying loose everything else. Every day it seems that evil is growing and dominating the world. It would be easy to understand if there are people who are asking Where is God? Doesn’t He know? If He knows, doesn’t He care? If He knows and cares, can’t He do anything about it?

Click on the link below to learn that God does know, God does care, and God does have a plan. If you want to know where God is, He is right on time. With God, timing is more important than time. If you want to know if God knows and hears your prayers, the answer is yes, they are before Him as incense. If you to know if God cares, yes He does, He cares so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so you do not have to. If you want to why God is not doing anything, God says, just wait, my plan will occur just as I said it will, because I am sovereign, and nothing, and no one, can stop or deter my plan. Amen.

THERE IS NO PERSON TOO HARD FOR GOD TO SAVE (Revelation 7:9-12)

Do you believe that this is a true statement? Is there really no person too hard for God to save? Does God save every person that He could save? Why not?

You cannot stop God from loving you. You can reject His love, but you cannot keep Him from loving you. Neither can you keep it from raining, but you can raise an umbrella to keep the rain from falling on you. You can also raise the umbrella of indifference, or the umbrella of sin, or the umbrella of rebellion, so that you won’t experience God’s love, but you cannot keep God from loving you.

You can turn your back on God; you can blaspheme Him, and you can shake your fist in defiance at Him, but you cannot keep Him from wanting to save you. You cannot keep Him from loving you, for He provided a Savior, His own Son, to die in your place, and you cannot keep Him from wanting to save you. However, you can keep Him from saving you. God could overpower your will and save you whether you wanted Him to or not, but that is not God’s way. Each person is given a choice, to accept Christ or not.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon that shows there is no person too hard for God to save. No matter what you have done, there is no sin too far, and there is no crime too horrible, for God to save you. God loves you that much, but you can refuse to accept that salvation. We know this because God will save great multitudes of people, of every tribe, of every nation, and of every language during the Tribulation Period. There is no person too hard for God to save.

THERE IS NO PROMISE TOO HARD FOR GOD TO KEEP PART II (Revelation 7:1-8)

This Biblical truth is important to all believers because it gives us assurance that when God says something in His word about the future of the world, the future of the heavens, the future of the lost, and especially the future of believers, we can trust that it is true. That what God says, God will do. This allows us to stop worrying about the future and focus on the task that God has for us to accomplish to move His purposes and plans along.

We are to be looking for and hasting the day of God, which is that day when Christ completes all that He is to do and delivers the kingdom to the Father so that God can be all in all. We are to be working on witnessing and bringing lost souls to Christ, that is our purpose and that is our reason for being here. Not all of us are evangelists, but all of us have a role to play, and a story to tell about how real God is in our lives, and what He has done for us.

We cannot be bashful about praising our Lord, for people want to hear that God is real and working in this world. This is the missing element in so many people’s lives. Man was created to worship God, and when they do not, they have a hole in their lives. They know something is missing and so they try to fill it with all kinds of things, and yet there is still a hole. It is our testimony that can help them find the Lord Jesus Christ to fill that hole.

Click on the link below to learn how one way that God fulfills His promise to Abraham that all of the families of the earth will be blessed by the children of Israel. God chooses 144,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, He seals them, and they become His servants to spread the gospel message of Christ during a time of Great Tribulation. There is no promise too hard for God. Amen.

THERE IS NO PROMISE TOO HARD FOR GOD TO KEEP (Revelation 7:1-8)

We may be the last generation of church age believers that live on this earth. We may very well be the ones who are alive when the rapture occurs, the trumpet sounds, and the Lord comes with a shout to take us home. What a day that will be when we are called to meet our Lord in the air, and so we need to be ready. We need to have our rapture shoes on, but this should not be a call to stick our heads in the clouds of prophecy. Someone once said that way too many Christians are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.

The promises that we are about to read about in chapter seven should not cause us to put heads up in the clouds, but they should cause us to put our feet on the pavement of serving and soul winning. The blessed hope for which we await is not an incentive to rest, but to work. Jesus said that we are to occupy till I come. He didn’t mean for us to take up space, he meant for us to get to work because we know the future. Our occupation is our job, and we need to get busy.

Chapter seven of The Book of Revelation is about making sure we know that God is going to do all that Word of God says He will do. It is about giving us a more sure word of prophecy. It is about giving us assurance that our future is secure. Because, it is when we know that our future is secure, that we can focus with all of our heart on the present job that Christ has assigned each of us as believers. We are here on this earth to work for Jesus.

We each have a task to complete, a role to play, and a job to perform. If this were not true, then Jesus would simply take us to heaven the moment we made Him our Lord and Savior. There would be no reason to keep us here, for we do not work for our salvation, and we cannot lose our salvation by failing to work. So, if the Lord did not have something for us to accomplish that furthered His purposes and plans for this world, then He would just take us up.

God knows the number of souls that must be saved before the day of the Rapture comes and the end of the period of grace occurs. We are tools that the Holy Spirit uses to bring those souls to Christ. We pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance on where those souls are, and which ones we are to evangelize to, and then we labor to bring them in for the Holy Spirit to do His work. In doing so, we hasten the day of His coming. We learn about our future in eternity by studying the Book of Revelation and the other books of prophecy. In doing so, we learn that our future is secure. With that settled, we can then focus on working to hasten that wonderful day.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on the mighty God that we serve, and the certain knowledge that there is no promise that is too hard for God to keep.

GOD'S GUARANTEED BLESSING (Rev. 1:3)

How many of you seek God’s blessing on your life? Well, of course, everyone would say yes to that. That may be the only time I get a 100% agreement from everyone listening to this lesson. Everyone wants to be blessed by God. In fact, I pray for the blessings of God in my life, and that of my family’s. When we think of blessings, the first thing that comes to my mind are the beatitudes. Jesus tells us that blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, merciful, pure in heart, and many more.

So, these blessings are from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount where He described the principles and the rule of the Kingdom, meaning the Millennium Kingdom. These are the characteristics of those who will be blessed during Christ’s reign on earth, but they are also the characteristics of believers in today’s world whom the Lord will bless. Our Lord is saying this is how we should be living our lives, and when we do so, we shall be blessed. In fact, He tells us,

Matt 5:12
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
KJV

It is a Biblical truth, that many of our blessings for being an obedient and faithful child of God will come in heaven and not on this earth. This is not bad news, in fact, this is really great news, because we get to have those blessings for all of eternity, not just some minor period in our today. To me, that is a blessing I want to have.

Now, what if I told you of a promised blessing from God, that would occur while you lived on this earth? I am not talking about a fortune cookie type of blessing, I am talking about a true blessing from the almighty God of all things.

Rev 1:3
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
KJV

We are to read this book, we are to hear this book, and we are to keep this book. If we do those things, then we will be blessed. The Bible is the only book I know of that that you can study and be God-guaranteed to be blessed by. Join me as we study God’s word in this lesson. Click on the link and listen to the podcast as we learn of The certain blessing of Revelation.