The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

ISRAEL'S SATANIC FOE (Revelation 12:3-12)

God has not turned His back on Israel. He has not forgotten them, and He has not abrogated any of the promises that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Every promise that God has made, God will fulfill completely, and He will fulfill it just as He planned to do so from the foundation of time. God’s plan is on schedule, and that plan includes God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. Israel is God's yardstick. Israel is God's measuring rod. Israel is God's blueprint, and Israel is God's program for what He is doing in the world. Each of us stand here today blessed because of Israel. The Bible that I hold dear to me is a Jewish book. I serve a Jewish Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has made Abraham a blessing to all the nations of the world.

Yet, the nation Israel has a satanic foe. Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation describes this foe as a great red dragon. John says that he is red because of his bloodlust. He is a murderer. He is called a dragon, because he's so fierce. He is called a serpent, because he's so subtle. He is called the devil, and the word devil means accuser because he's the accuser of the brethren. He is also called Satan, and the word Satan means adversary. Satan hates Jesus, and he hates the Jew. As Bible believing Christians, we are to love Jesus, and we are to love the Jew, if for no other reason than the fact that Satan hates them.

Satan is indeed a powerful foe, but he is also a defeated foe. Jesus Christ defeated Satan when He died on the cross and then rose victoriously from the grave. Satan is on his way down, and all those who follow him will go down with him. First, Satan was cast down from his lofty place in heaven where he was the anointed cherub, ministering praise to God, but still given access to heaven in order to accuse the brethren. Yet there is a time coming when even that limited access is taken from Satan and he's cast down to the earth. And then he's going to be cast into the bottomless pit, the abyss. Then, he's going to be taken out of the abyss and put into the lowest hell, and that's where he will spend eternity and he won't be ruling there in hell. He won’t be in charge of anything down there. He will simply be in the worst kind of torment, for all of eternity.

The one who said, I will exalt myself above the stars of God, will be brought down into the lowest hell. When Satan fell, he took a third of the angels with him. Every one of those angels, that chose to follow Satan, is going to be brought down to the lowest hell with him. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. God did not make hell for you. God made hell for the devil and the devil's angels. That tells me if you do go to hell, then you will be an intruder there. You will be going someplace you were not meant to go to, for Hell was not made for you. But if you chose to follow Satan, instead of Christ, then just like these angels, that will be your destiny. Why in the world would you choose to follow a loser? I have made my choice, and I am following the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you have made your choice for the Lord as well.

Click on the link below to learn about Israel’s satanic foe, and how you can defeat him and live a victorious Christian life.

Amen.

JESUS CHRIST AS KING (Revelation 11:14 to 12:2)

There is a time coming in the future when heaven will open up and the people of the world will see Jesus Christ crowned as King of kings, and Lord of lords. Jesus Christ is coming to this world to establish His Kingdom on earth. Satan has been trying to establish this kingdom since the beginning of mankind, but all of his efforts have failed. Yet, there is a time that Jesus Christ will come to this earth to rule the whole world. It is important to understand that the Lord is not coming to be given a simple constitutional monarchy. Rather, it will be absolute, untrammeled, unhindered power. It will not be granted to Him by some decree issued by a group of men. No church will grant Him this reign. It will be taken, and imposed upon the earth, by the absolute power of God.

Heaven's ideal form of government for earth is a totalitarian monarchy with complete power vested in the Person of the Lord Jesus. When Jesus Christ comes to set up His Kingdom on earth, that is what it will be, and nothing, or no one, will be able to stand in His way.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the great power of our Lord Jesus.

Amen.

DEALING WITH PERSECUTION (Revelation 11:5-13)

The Bible says that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you live for Jesus, and your life is in obedience to the will of God, it is fruitful for God, and you are sharing the light of the gospel to a dark world, then the Bible says that you will suffer persecution.

To know that this is true, all you have to do is read the headlines of the news today. Christians are suffering severe persecution in countries all around the world. So, the question that we will look at today is, How do you deal with this persecution? What are the Biblical truths that we must apply to our lives, if we are to be successful in dealing with persecution on both a physical and spiritual level?

Click on the link below to learn the five factors that the Bible tells us in the book of Revelation about the two witnesses for God, and how they dealt with persecution. These are important lessons that we must settle in our hearts and mind if we are to be victorious in our witness for God.

Amen.

GOD'S TWO WITNESSES (Revelation 11:1-4)

Let me begin this post by asking a question, are you being persecuted for Jesus? If not, why not?

How about other Christians, in countries around the world, are they being persecuted today? Yes, they are, Christians are being killed in our world today in greater numbers than ever before. Yet, in the U.S., up until the last 15-20 years, to be recognized as a Christian was generally a positive thing. In fact, until recently, 80% of the country’s population identified themselves as a Christian. Now, to be certain, in the last 8 years we have had a dramatic shift in people’s attitude in this country towards the morals and values of the Judeo-Christian faith that most of us grew up with. Christians are quickly becoming the targets of ridicule and persecution in our country. Not on the scale of the rest of the world, but even that is not far off. Declare yourself to be a Christian today at most of our major universities, and then stand for your beliefs by speaking out, and you may not even be able to graduate. You will certainly be ridiculed and attacked by both the staff and the other students.

So, the question is, why are some Christians persecuted while others are not? The Bible says in 2 Tim 3:12, Yea, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. This says that all shall suffer persecution if they are living godly in Christ Jesus. This would mean that if you are not living godly in Christ Jesus, then you are not going to suffer persecution. Now, persecution can come in many forms, Jesus tells us that,

John 15:20
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
KJV

Jesus tells us that if you stand for Him, even in the U.S., you will face persecution. Click on the link below to hear the first part, of a two-part, message on the lessons we can learn about dealing with persecution from God’s two mighty witnesses that rise up during the Tribulation period.

Amen.

JESUS CHRIST THE ALMIGHTY GOD (Revelation 10:3-11)

The Book of Revelation presents to the world Jesus Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Creator of all things, and the Lord of lords and King of kings. Jesus is the One we worship.

One of these days, sin's clock will be stopped, and the mystery of God will be finished, and delay will be no more. Sin has been on a rampage. Righteousness seems to have suffered. It is now coming to a conclusion. God has given the inhabitants of the earth time for repentance, but time is running out. The clock will strike its last note and sin's clock is about to be stopped. God’s mercy for sin is about to end. The time for repentance will come to an end.

Don't get the idea that you have time before the rapture to turn to God, for that may come at any moment. Don't get the idea that even after the rapture, that God will continue to give you time, even if you've never heard the Gospel before. There is coming a time when time will run out. When God's clock stops, that's it! And if you are not on God's train, you are going to be left.

The Book of Revelation tells us about the majesty, the mastery, and the mystery of Jesus Christ. When I see the majesty of Christ that means Jesus, my Savior is due my total worship. When I see the mastery of His power that means that Jesus my Lord is worthy of my total confidence. He is the one who has everything under control. When I see God’s mysteries are revealed, then God’s mercy ends.

Click on the link below to hear a message on our Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in The Book of Revelation.

Amen.

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST (Revelation 10:1-3)

Who do most people say that Jesus Christ is? Do they say that He is the Son of God? No, most people do not. Instead, they say that Jesus was a prophet, a teacher, or just a man who lived in history.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is more than a man. He's more than a great man. The Islamic faith calls Him a prophet, but He's more than a prophet. The liberal looks upon Him as a philosopher, or a teacher, or an example. But the Jesus Christ that is Lord of my life is much more than a philosopher, or teacher. The Jesus Christ that I know personally as my Savior, is much more than just a good example.

Who is Jesus Christ? He is the One and Only Almighty God. The Creator of all things. That's who Jesus Christ is. The rich man is poor, the mighty man is weak, and the educated man is a fool if he does not know who Jesus Christ is. No one can claim to be truly educated who is ignorant of Jesus Christ.

Click on this link to hear a sermon on the glory, the grace, and the power, of the One and Only Almighty God, Jesus Christ as He is revealed in The Book of Revelation.

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.

WHEN DEMONS RULE (Revelation 9:1-12)

The Bible declares that there is a day coming when Hell will have a holiday, demons will rule, the Antichrist will come and dominate the world, and Satan’s plan for the earth and mankind will come to fruition for a season. In chapter nine of the Book of Revelation we read that an angel will open the bottomless pit and out of it will come a horde of millions upon millions of the most vile and terrible demon spirits to torment those who are on the earth. They will inflict agony, pain, and anguish to such an extent that men will cry out for death to come, but death will flee from them. It will be a time of great terror upon the earth.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on when demons shall rule upon the earth and to learn the good news of the gospel message of Christ. As believers today, we can shout praise God, hallelujah, and Amen, because the Bible promises us that before the day when demons will rule takes place, Jesus Christ will come and take the church age believers up to meet Him in the air at the rapture. We will not be on this earth when this day occurs.

Amen and amen.

THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPET JUDGMENTS (Revelation 8:5-13)

There will be three sets of judgments during the tribulation period:

Under the seal judgments, the world is ruined by man. Events recorded under the seal judgments are extensions of things that are very evident in today's world. The chief difference is that the church will be gone, and to a great extent, restraint will be removed. The evil seeds men have sown will grow and bear fruit.

Under the trumpet judgments, the world is ruled by Satan. A vast and new dimension of the supernatural is introduced. Satan is cast down to earth; the planet is invaded by hordes of evil spirits; Satan's plans for this earth are matured.

The last set of judgments during this period will be the vial judgments, where the world is rescued by God. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Satan's empire is dealt blow after blow by God Himself, until at last the Lord, accompanied by His saints, returns from glory to put an end to this world’s woes.

Click on the link below to hear a sermon on the start of the trumpet judgments. We will see the power of Satan and his superman the Antichrist ascend to rule the world. The people of the earth will have rejected Christ, and now God is about to let them have what they wanted, a ruler with no morals, no goodness, totally corrupt, and having the destruction of the entire human race as his goal. Make no mistake about it, Satan hates mankind because we are God’s creation. Man was created by God to worship God, and Satan cannot stand that. He has spent every day since he fell trying to corrupt and destroy God’s creation.

Listen to this study of the first four trumpets of the Tribulation Period.