The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY (James 2:8-13)

What is the perfect law of liberty?

Have you ever considered what it would be like to go someplace where there were no laws, and no police officers to enforce those laws?  To be totally free to do whatever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, and in any way that you wanted to do it?

Sounds pretty good doesn't it?  If I don’t want to get up in the morning, I don’t have to.  If I want to drive my car as fast as it will go, then I can.  

This is pretty much what it was like for the early pioneers who opened up the western part of the United States.  When they stepped out into that wilderness, they were free from the laws and those that would enforce it.  They lived by their wits, their strength, and their courage, for even though there were no societal laws, there were always the laws of nature, and the laws of the strongest shall prevail.  

So the question is, are you truly free when you step out of the boundaries of the laws of a civil society?  Is this true liberty?

Without laws, is there such a thing as criminal behavior?  To be a lawbreaker there must be a law to break.

God, as our Creator, knew that man needed laws to establish the absolute truths about right and wrong, so He gave us His Word that we call the Bible.  It contains the Mosaic Law, The Sermon on the Mount, and it contains Christ’s Law, which is the perfect law of liberty.  These laws identify what is sin for man.  They let man know that he has broken those laws, that the penalty of that sin is death, and that man needs a Savior.  The very Savior named Jesus Christ who died on a cross to pay the penalty for man’s sin.  

As a believer we are no longer under the Mosaic Laws, but our behavior is to be controlled by two commandments.  

The first is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.  This is a believer’s responsibility to God.  

The second is, To love thy neighbor as thyself.  This is a believer’s responsibility to others.

How do we find perfect liberty?  Listen to this podcast to learn that the answer is to be redeemed, released, and ruled by Christ.  

CAN YOU JUDGE A PERSON BY THEIR COVER? (James 2:1-7)

How good are you at judging a person by their outward appearance?

Can you define a person’s character by the way they dress, or how they speak?

As a believer, we know that the world judges us by how we dress, how we act, and the things we say.  Our purpose on this earth is to create a desire in people to want to know more about Jesus Christ by what they see in us.  Paul tells us that even in our deepest trials we are to have our hair fixed and a smile on our face.  The world needs to know that our relationship with Jesus Christ makes a difference in how we handle adversity.

But what does the Bible say about how Christians are to treat others?  

Are we to treat someone who is dressed in nice clothes differently from someone who is dressed shabbily?  

Are we to treat someone who has the outward appearance of success differently than you do the homeless person you see on the street?

Are we to judge the value of a person based on the color of their skin, the quality of their speech, or the length of their hair?

James will tell us that as a Christian we are to treat others without distinction to their outward appearance or their place in society.  Jesus was just as gracious to the woman at the well as He was to the rich young ruler.  He was as kind to Lazarus the beggar as He was the ruler of the synagogue.  

This is the way our churches should be, they are to be hospitals for sinners, all sinners, not some special, select, club, for the sisters of society.  

Listen to this podcast to learn how a Christian is to behave towards others.

HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN BEHAVE? (James 1:25-27)

How does a Christian behave?

Should the world be able to identify you as a Christian just by your behavior?

The Biblical view of a Christian is that of someone who has the love of Christ in their hearts and they express that love towards others.  Christians, Christian churches, and Christian organizations have been meeting the needs of the hungry, the sick, and the lonely, for two thousand years and they have done so far more effectively than any government handout could.  

It is true that as Christians we live lives that are different from others.  There certainly are types of behavior that we will not participate in.  But, we see that choice not as a restriction, but as freedom from the consequences that a life of alcoholism, drug abuse, greed, and sexual promiscuity and depravity, can bring to a person’s life.  

We also see a life of service to God.  God has commanded us to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the entire world.  Our lives are likely the only Bible most people will ever read.  What the world knows about salvation, eternity, the love of Christ for all people, and the power of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives comes from what they see in our behavior, our words, our actions, and our attitudes.  

We see a life of duty to the call of God, to accomplish the work that God has given us to do.  

We see a life that is free from the worry of what will happen tomorrow, because we know that God is control of all things, and He is in control of our lives.  

Listen to this podcast to find out what the book of James says about how a Christian should behave.

HOW GOD'S WORD CHANGES US (James 1:21-24)

What are the events that have made a dramatic change in the direction of your life?

The loss of a loved one?  A new job?  Becoming married?  Becoming a parent?   

All of these things are significant agents of change in our lives, but there is one other thing that can have the greatest impact on our lives, and that is a personal, soul cleansing, spirit regenerating, relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word that we call the Bible.  

Listen to this podcast to learn how God’s Word changes us. 

The Bible is the tool that God has provided for believers to understand the mind of God.  It teaches us how to live our lives.  It gives us the answers to almost all of our questions about the important things in our lives.  

Where do we come from.  Where are we going, both in the short term, and for eternity.  

How we are to treat others.  How we are to worship God.  It gives us the absolute truths about right and wrong.  It gives us the penalties of doing wrong, and the rewards for doing what God wants. 

The Word of God explains how much God loves you and what God has done for you.

THE SURENESS OF GOD (James 1:16-20)

Have you ever considered how important it is that God does not change in any way?  This truth is the foundation our faith is based on.  

God’s love does not change.

God’s holiness does not change.

God’s judgment against sin does not change.  

God’s promises found in His Word do not change.  

God’s plan for eternity will not change.  The question is where are you going to spend it?  With the almighty, unchangeable God, or separated forever from Him in the fires of Hell.

God will never entice you to do evil.  He does not say that something is sin in the Old Testament and then say that it is not a sin in the New Testament.  

God does not change with the social values of man.  The Bible does not change to suit the changing morals and ethics of the world.  

What was sin when the world was created, was sin when Abraham was called to the Promised Land.  

What was sin in Noah’s day before the flood, was sin on the day the Babylonians took the Jews away into captivity.

What was sin in the days that Jesus walked on the earth, is sin today before He returns to gather His church and establish His Kingdom.  

Rejecting God to worship the things of this earth, has always been a sin, and it still is.  Listen to this podcast to learn the value of God’s sureness.

TEMPTATIONS: WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? (James 1:12-15)

Life is full of temptations.  Good food is a temptation.  Sweet drinks are a temptation.  Sex is a temptation.  The perfect life that is presented to us in the media involves fast cars, fast women, and an even faster lifestyle and it represents the ultimate temptation for many. 

Have you ever wondered where these temptations come from?  Does God tempt man to do evil? Does Satan tempt man to do evil in order to destroy him?  Do we create our own temptations?

A basic Biblical truth that we need to keep in mind is that God will never entice you to do evil.

God wants only what is good for you, and Satan wants only what is bad for you.  

God will never lead you into sin.  Yet, that is all Satan will ever do.

God wants to grow you spiritually.  Satan wants to destroy your spirit. 

God will test you to grow your faith.  Satan will tempt you to destroy your faith. 

So the question becomes, how do you know which is which?  

Listen to this podcast to learn that for the believer the answer comes from the Holy Spirit that lives within your heart. 

HOW TO ASK GOD FOR WISDOM (James 1:6-11)

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the circumstances that you found yourself in that you feel totally inadequate to handle things?

Too many choices, most of them bad ones, and how do you know which choices are good and which are bad?

James tells us “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5 HSCB).   

So where do we find God’s wisdom?  A large share of it is in God’s Word.  The Bible contains God’s answers to our questions about almost every aspect of life.  But we also gain wisdom from God through our prayers during times of trials.  

God’s purpose for the trials of a believer is to enlighten them, helping them to grow spiritually.  God truly wants to give you the wisdom to make the right choice.  He wants you to grow in your faith.

Listen to this podcast to learn that if you want to ask God for His wisdom, you must ask it of Him in faith, with nothing wavering, with no doubt, and fully trusting in God.  

STORMS AND CHRISTIANS (James 1:2-5)

Have you ever asked the question why a loving God would allow storms into the life of a Christian?  What could possibly be the purpose for God to allow such things to happen to those people who are trying to be good?

In our new study of the Book of James, we learn that God wants each believer to grow spiritually.  And if we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that we grow more in the times of trials that we face, than we do when everything is going great.  

It is in a time of trial that God teaches us patience, or to abide, in handling the trial.  It is in a time of trial that God moves us out of the ruts that we so easily fall into.  He mellows us out, and He matures us.  He strengthens our faith in Him, and He teaches us to become fully reconciled to His will.

Listen to this podcast to learn that these storms are permitted in our lives by a wise and loving heavenly Father, who is too caring to be unkind and too wise to make any mistakes.  These trials will always have a divine purpose and they will be for our good.

God loves you, and He wants only what is best for you.  The question is are you willing to trust God in the time of trial?

ARE YOU ALL SHOW AND NO GO? (Mark 11:12-26)

Are you all show and no go?

For many people religion is about appearances.  On every Sunday morning they get out their best pious religion suit and put it on to go to church.  They sing the worship songs, they raise their hands, they may even say an amen or two as the preacher gives his sermon.  Then they go home, they take off their pious religion suit and put it back in the closet until next Sunday. 

They are all show and no go.   

Listen to this podcast to learn how God intends for the believer to have fruit to show for his labor.  In fact, the day is coming when Jesus will judge the works of a believer to determine the rewards, or the loss of rewards, that believer will receive. 

In this lesson, you can learn how to be serious about your desire to work for God, how to have your prayers answered, and how to earn the fruit that God is looking for in your life.   

WHAT ABOUT HELL? (Mark 9:41-50)

Is hell really real? The preacher says that it is. TV evangelists proclaim that hell is full of fire and brimstone. Is what they say true? The scientist says that it is not. Professors state that there is no empirical evidence to prove... the existence of hell, or heaven, or even life after death. Is what they say true? Somebody is right and somebody is wrong. If the scientist is right, then life is short and the grave is all there is. If the preacher is right, then eternity is a long time to spend burning in the fires of hell. Listen to this podcast to see how Jesus Christ describes the reality of hell and what our roles are in preventing ourselves, and others, from spending eternity in hell.