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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 08, 2024
Sunday Dec 08, 2024
A PRAYER FOR BELIEVERS (EPHESIANS 1:15-23)
In today’s lesson, we will be talking about Paul’s prayer for believers. Paul rarely prayed for the things that make up most of our prayers. Things like better health, more money, job conditions, family problems, and world crises. I am not saying these are not important, but Paul prayed that people might know God better, that they might become better acquainted with Jesus. It is when we are closer to Christ, and know Him more, that many of these problems we face on earth are less important. For our trust is in Christ to deal with our needs, as He has promised to do.
God has revealed Himself in two ways, in the inspired Word and the incarnate Word. He has said what He is like in the one, and He has shown what He is like in the other. Our responsibility is to get to know Him by getting to know the Scriptures and the Savior. There is no greater, or more important, occupation that we can have here on earth.
Paul prayed that his fellow believers might have a spirit of wisdom and revelation and that they might be occupied in gaining knowledge of God. “Get to know Him” is Paul’s basic answer to all of life’s problems and questions. Knowing God would solve most of the present-day problems that cause people to run to the psychologist or the family counselor. Knowing God would affect how people cope with all areas of life, for the Almighty God of all Creation has an abundant supply of wisdom, power, and answers for all of our needs, trials, and tribulations. Best of all, is that He wants to share them with us.
Click on the play button to hear a message where Paul describes what he most desires for the believer to know and understand about God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION (EPHESIANS 1:7-14)
In today’s message, we will be talking about the work that God, in all three parts, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, did to obtain our salvation, to redeem us, completely forgiven for our sins. It is a wonderful story of God’s love, and God’s grace, that He would sacrifice so much so that we might have redemption from the sins that stain our soul. It is a story of the completed work of redemption, and eternal life, that is ours if we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
It was God’s eternal counsel that the Lord Jesus should first give His life for us at Calvary, and then give His life to us.
Eph 1:7
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
KJV
God the Father, planned our salvation by grace and not works. It was His idea that God the Son, Jesus Christ, would go to the cross to die and then be risen to walk in life and victory over death. It is because Jesus came to this earth as a God incarnate in man that The Father now sees us in the Beloved. He looks at us and sees Christ. No angel among the heavenly hosts has more acceptance than we.
Paul states, “The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Notice that word “grace.” Paul uses it again and again in his letters. For, our redemption is by grace, God’s unlimited grace. Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting something we don’t deserve. Paul strikes this note over and over. Paul tells us that there is more of God’s grace to follow, an unending supply, when he talks of the “The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
We can thank God that He is rich in grace. God has revealed Himself to be a God of infinite power, a God of infallible wisdom, a God of inflexible holiness, and a God of unlimited grace! Amen, hallelujah, and praise the Lord.
Click on the play button to hear a message on the wonderful work of redemption, that God did to provide a completed salvation, if you will only accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
KINGDOM AUTHORITY (EPHESIANS 1:15-23)
In our lesson today, we will be talking about a tremendous Biblical truth about a believer’s “Kingdom Authority.” God wants you to discover Kingdom Authority, to enjoy Kingdom Authority, and to exercise Kingdom Authority. And my heart is so full, because I’m afraid that you’re going to miss the blessing, miss the truth, if you do not listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say to us today. But my prayer is that God will impregnate your heart with this great, dynamic, life-changing, truth of Kingdom Authority.
Paul tells us in the first chapter of Ephesians about the Kingdom Authority that belongs to the children of God. And if you’re a child of God, meaning that you are a true, twice born, follower of Christ, then I want to tell you something, you have incredible authority and power. Whether you have discovered it or not, it’s there, inherently. You already have it.
Have you ever seen a real live king? Well, would you like to see one? Did you know the Bible says that God has made every believer a king and a priest?
Rev 5:10
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
KJV
Look to the person to your right, the person to your left. There’s a king, and there’s a priest, if they’re saved. Go home, and look in the mirror, and, if you’re saved, if you’re a child of God, looking back at you will be a king and a priest. God has made us a kingdom of priests. Now, that is absolutely wonderful!
However, you don’t have to be a preacher, teacher, or even a member of a church, to be a king and a priest, or a queen and a priestess. Paul, says very plainly, you just have to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, because God has given to all His children Kingdom Authority. And that’s what we’re going to be looking at, and that’s what we’re going to be studying, today.
Click on the play button to hear a message that describes what Kingdom Authority is, how God graciously gave Adam dominion over all the earth, how Adam legally lost that dominion to the devil, and how Jesus righteously regained that dominion when He came to this earth as a man.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED (EPHESIANS 1:13-14)
When Paul talks about a seal, he is talking about a legal seal, and a seal means finality. It means the transaction is done. A seal also means security; it means the transaction is safe. And then a seal also means identity; it shows to whom the transaction has been delivered. I want you to think about the fact that Christians have the sealing of the Holy Spirit of God.
Paul says that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, when we’re born again, one of the ways that we know that we are saved, one of the proofs, one of the authenticating pieces of evidence, that we are genuine, bone fide, legally belonging to Jesus Christ, is that God places His seal upon us. Now, the seal that God places upon us is the Holy Spirit of God, because every believer, when he is saved, receives the Holy Spirit of God.
The Bible is very clear when it says that if you have not received the Holy Spirit, then you have not received Jesus. The only way that you can receive Christ is to receive God’s Holy Spirit. He lives in you; He abides in you. And when He comes into you, it is the same thing to you that a seal is to a legal document. “Ye were sealed”—the Bible says—“with that holy Spirit of promise.” And a seal means finality; it means the transaction is done.
Now, Paul is telling us that Jesus has purchased you, and there is finality. And when you receive the Holy Spirit of God, that means that the price has been paid in full. There’s nothing else you can do, and nothing else that you need to do. For, without Jesus, nothing can be done, and with Jesus nothing else needs to be done.
Click on the play button below to hear a message on the six reasons why I believe the Bible teaches us that we are eternally secure in our salvation.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
WHAT WE HAVE IN JESUS (EPHESIANS 1:4-14)
The verses that we are going to review today are about you. This is your life. Here, the Lord is just giving your biography: from grace to glory; from eternity past to eternity future. Now, if you’re not interested in what you have in the Lord Jesus, and you’re not interested in your own personal spiritual welfare, then what on earth would you be interested in? What on earth could you be interested in?
Did you know that God chose you, that God purposed your salvation, before He laid the foundations of the earth? Now, you want to talk about some old-time religion, well you can’t get any older than this. I mean, this was before there were any trees and mountains and birds and bees and fleas. Now, that’s before there was anything. God, way back in eternity past, chose you, and God chose me.
You know, when we were kids playing football, or basketball, we would choose teams from among the group of kids. And there is always somebody who wonders if he is going to be chosen at all. Now, isn’t it wonderful to know that God chose us so far back? You see, God is love, and what good is it to be a God of love if there’s no one to love? Love, by its very nature, cannot dwell by itself. And so, since God’s nature is love, God created people like us, and chose us, that He might love us.
Listen, God does not love us because we are valuable, we are valuable because God loves us. You are somebody because God chose you by His grace. And by His sovereign will, God chose to bestow His love upon you. I like what Charles Haddon Spurgeon had to say about it. He said this: “God certainly must have chosen me before I came into this world, or He never would have chosen me afterward.” Now, isn’t it wonderful to know that even before we got here God looked down and said, “I see who he’s going to be, and I choose him”?
Most importantly, that means I can’t take any credit for my salvation. Because, it wasn’t, primarily, that I chose God. He chose me first. I love Him because He first loved me.
Click on the play button below to hear a message on what we have in Jesus.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
THE RICHES OF A CHRISTIAN (EPHESIANS 1:3)
There was a woman by the name of Miss Bertha Smith, who served as a missionary in China between the years of 1917 and 1958. She was a warrior for Jesus, if you ever saw one. One time, she gave a talk about how we are. You know, the Bible says “our lives are hid with God in Christ,” (Colossians 3:3). And so, she had a box—a shoebox about that big—and on the outside she had the word “God” written on it. And so, she opened that shoebox up, and on the inside of that was another little box, smaller. She had written on that “Jesus,” for the Bible says, “Christ is in God, and we’re in Christ.” (John 17:23)
And so now, there’s God, and then there’s Jesus in God. And then, she opened that box, and inside of Jesus was one that said “Me.” There I am in Jesus. And I thought, “Boy, that’s glorious! How is the devil ever going to get to me if he’s got to tear up that first box and then that second box to get to me?”
But she wasn’t finished yet. She opened that one that said, “Me,” and inside that was a still smaller box, and that had “Jesus” on it again. What that means is, I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. You can’t get better than that, can you? I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. Now, how’s the devil ever going to get to me? I mean, he’s going to have to tear up that big box, and that next box, and once he gets through Christ and starts on me, he’s going to find Christ on the inside of me. That is the security of the believer.
Security is not in a place; it’s in a person. If you’re in Jesus, then you’re as secure as you’ll ever be. And if you’re not in Jesus, then you are not secure. He is the security of our riches, which includes all the needs of your spiritual soul, and your body, of the past, the present, and the future; your needs for salvation, sanctification, service, and glorification. All that you’ll ever need is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in … Christ [Jesus]”—“in Christ [Jesus].”
Click on the play button to hear a message about the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus. How to go from the rags of our self-righteousness, to the riches of God’s glory and His righteousness
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS (EPHESIANS 1:1-2)
The epistle of Ephesians presents the church which is Christ’s body. This is the invisible church of which Christ is the Head. Ephesians reveals the church as God’s masterpiece, a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament. The church is more wonderful than any temple made with hands. It is constructed of living stones and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is the body of Christ in the world to walk as He would walk, and to wrestle against the wiles of the devil. Someday, the church will leave the world and be presented to Christ as a bride.
Paul’s ministry to the church at Ephesus was probably the high-water mark in the missionary labors of Paul. He considered Ephesus his great opportunity and stayed there longer than in any other place. The people of Ephesus heard more Bible teaching from Paul than did any other people, which is probably the reason he could write to them the deep truths contained in this epistle.
Paul loved this church in Ephesus. His last meeting with the Ephesian elders was a tender farewell. A great company of believers turned to Christ. I think the gospel was more effective in this area than in any place, and at any time, in the history of the world. I believe the Ephesian church was the highest church spiritually. It is an amazing thing to me that there were people living in that pagan city who understood this epistle. This must be true, for Paul wouldn’t have written it to them if they couldn’t have understood it. Furthermore, in the Book of Revelation we find that Ephesus is the first one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in a series of churches that gives the entire history of the church. Ephesus was the church at its best, the church at the highest spiritual level.
Click on the play button to hear a message that introduces us to the book of Ephesians, and sets the historical context that this epistle was written in.
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.
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Monday Sep 16, 2024
THE KINGDOM REVEALED (Genesis 46:26 to 47:26)
Our lessons over the last several weeks have used the story of Joseph and his brothers to present the picture of Christ and His relationship with the people of Israel.
We have seen that with the rejection of Joseph by his brothers, It has described the Jews rejection of Jesus as their Messiah.
Then, with the suffering and persecution of Joseph and his ultimate placement at the right hand of the throne of Pharaoh, It has described the suffering of Jesus, His resurrection, and His placement at the right hand of God,
We have also seen that the very same Joseph that the brothers had sold into the slow death of slavery now stood before them in all glory and power. This illustrates the very same Jesus, that the Jews had the Gentiles crucify, will stand before them in all glory and power.
With the brothers’ confession of their sin against Joseph, This has described the Jewish people’s confession of their sin when Christ returns to set up His Kingdom.
Through the grace of forgiveness that Joseph bestowed on His brothers when they recognized him as their brother, It has described the grace of forgiveness that will be bestowed on the Jews when they see Christ and instantly recognize Him as Lord and Master.
And in today’s lesson, as we describe the kingdom that Joseph establishes, and the role that the Hebrews will play in that kingdom, it will describe the Kingdom and rule of Jesus that will be established when Christ returns and the role of the Jews in that Kingdom.
This whole dramatic and beautiful story of Joseph is a story about the grace of God. It is a story about Jesus. It is also a synopsis of the rest of the Bible as it also tells of the relationship that we as believers have with our Lord and Master as joint heirs in the promises of the Jewish people.
Click on the play button to hear a message on God’s grace, and God’s purposes being fulfilled. It is a story of illustration of the things to come as Christ comes again to rule for ever and ever.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
THE REVELATION OF GOD’S WILL (Genesis 45:9 to 46:7)
Does God have a purpose in the events of this world? Does God have a purpose for your life? If the answer to those two questions is “Yes”, and it is, then the better question is do you know the purpose of God for your life? If not, how do you go about discerning the purpose, or the will, of God in your life? This is what our lesson is about today. I want to speak to you about The Revelation of God’s Will.
Your great desire ought to be to know His will. Your great delight will be to do His will. Your great danger is to refuse His will. Nothing is right for you, if it is not God’s will.
It may sound simplistic, but the will of God for you is Jesus, just Jesus. Jesus is the head of the church, and the church is the body. What is the will of my body? My head. What is the will of the church of the body of believers? Jesus, the head of the church. The will of God for your life is Jesus. He is your Lord. Know Him, know the will of God.
Here are three principles about the will of God.
First, The will of God is for your welfare. It is not something you have to do; it is something you get to do.
Second, The will of God will never take you where the power of God and the grace of God cannot enable and keep you.
Third, You are free to choose. God will never force His will upon you. You are free to choose His will. You are not free not to choose. When you say, “Well, I just won’t choose.” You just made a choice. You are free to choose, you are not free not to choose—and pay attention, you are not free to choose the consequences of your choice. You make a choice to follow God’s will or not, and that choice chooses the consequences for you.
So, what should we do to know the will of God? Ask the same questions that Jacob did.
Lord, who are you? Do you know that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you know Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? Do you have an intimate relationship with Him? Is your mind conformed to the mind of Christ?
Lord, what do you want me to do? Are you willing to do whatever God will enable you to do? Are you surrendered to God?
Click on the play button to hear a message on how to know the will of God for your life.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.