The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

ARE YOU READY? (2 Cor. 12:11 to 13:3)

Are you ready?  Are you ready for Jesus to come?  If not, what are you lacking?  Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  How will Jesus greet you, as a faithful servant, or as someone He does not know?  These are important questions that most people do not want to answer.  They think that the need to make sure they are ready is far away in some future, it may happen, time.   Listen to this podcast and learn how Paul tells us to make ourselves ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

DEALING WITH ADVERSITY (2 Cor. 12:5-10)

Are you dealing with true hardship in your life?

 

Have you lost your job?  Are you dealing with a terminal disease?  Is addiction controlling your life?  Are you facing divorce, or loneliness?

 

There is only one true answer to these problems, and that is Jesus Christ.  A life surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Master.  There is no other answer that will bring comfort and strength.  Jesus does not promise to make the problems go away, but He does promise believers that He will comfort them and strengthen them as they go through the hardships of life. 

 

Listen to this podcast and rejoice as you learn how the believer is to deal with adversity.

ARE YOU A CARNAL CHRISTIAN? (1 Cor. 3:1-8)

Are you a carnal Christian?   It would seem that these two words conflict with each other, for to be a Christian means that you have turned away from the things of this world and turned towards Christ.  Yet, many of our failings as Christians come from our dependence on the things of this world for satisfying our desires, confirming our self-worth, and defining our identity as a person.  We seek the approval of those around us, and we seek to meet our spiritual needs by performing religious ritual.  The apostle Paul describes this type of person as a babe in Christ.  In other words, they have not matured spiritually.   Listen to this podcast and learn if you are a carnal Christian.  The answer might surprise you.

GIVING THROUGH GRACE (2 Cor. 7:12 to 8:5)

What do you know about God's grace?  Theologians define grace as the unmerited favor of God, but if that is our only definition then we will miss the rich flavor of this word.  The grace of God is the passion of God to share all His goodness with others.  Listen to this podcast as Paul uses this principle to describe the spirit of a believer towards giving to God.  Paul calls giving a grace.  It is a grace of God.

A CALL FOR SEPARATION (2 Cor. 6:15 to 7:1)

What is the separated life of the believer?  This week's podcast describes what the Biblical meaning of a separated life is, and powerful effect it can have on your life and your testimony.  Christ did not call us to live a secluded life.  He called us to live a separated life.   Listen and rejoice to this verse-by-verse study of 2 Cor. 6:15 to 7:1.

THE CHARACTER OF A BELIEVER (2 Cor. 6:7-14)

What is the character of a believer?   Is the world to notice something different in the way the believer lives his life?  In this study, Paul uses the example of his own life, and the challenges that he has faced in the ministry of Christ, to encourage the Corinthians engage in the spreading of the gospel message of Christ.  Rejoice as you listen to how Paul describes the power of the believer, the life of the believer, and the way God protects His messenger.

THE MEANING OF THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD (Easter)

Today, believers all over the world are celebrating Easter Sunday.  If you are a believer, if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master, then Easter should be every bit as important to you as the celebration of the birth of our Savior on Christmas.  This is because on Easter, we are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  

One of the great Biblical truths for all of us as believers is that the arch of the gospel rests upon two great pillars: 

1) The death of Christ.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified on the cross for our sins.  He physically died on that cross.  He didn’t just fall into a coma or a deep sleep.  Jesus Christ died on that cross, and it is the precious blood of Jesus that was shed on the Cross that makes our salvation possible.

2) The resurrection of Christ.  Christ rose bodily from the dead.  He is not in the grave, for He arose and walked on this earth, talked to people, ate with them, and then ascended into heaven.  Both events are absolutely essential to my salvation and to yours.  The resurrection of Jesus means that we have:

a) A master to confess: It provides us with a living Jesus Christ sitting on the right hand of God the Father.  He is sitting because He has accomplished all that God has asked Him to do.  

b) A message to convey: The resurrection of Jesus Christ provides us with a message to tell others:

• About Eternal life.
• About Power over sin in our lives.  
• About The hand of the One who will bring us into the presence of God when we enter Heaven’s Gate.  Where we can stand clothed in the robe of righteousness purchased with His Holy blood.  

c) A mandate to complete:  Jesus has commanded us to go out into the world and preach the gospel of His death, burial, and resurrection, baptizing them in the name of the Lord.  

Praise God that Jesus was willing to be obedient to God’s will, and Praise God that from the foundations of time, the triune God has had our salvation in mind.  God sent His Son that we might have everlasting life, and the power of God raised Him from the grave so that we might walk as a new creation in the newness of life.  This is why this Easter holiday is so important to us as believers.  Jesus Christ is alive and we are going to be with Him for all of eternity.

 

TO BE AN AMBITIOUS BELIEVER (2 Cor. 5:9-16)

What are your ambitions in life?   To be financially secure, to have a family, a high level job in a large corporation, or to be a powerful politician?  Are these the things that motivate you every day?  Can you be a believer and have these same ambitions and motivations?  In this week's study in chapter five of 2 Corinthians, Paul describes for us what it means to be an ambitious believer.  Listen and rejoice as we learn what God wants your motivations to be.

TO BELIEVE IN THE THINGS UNSEEN (2 Cor. 4:13-18)

It is human nature to trust only those things that we can see, feel or touch.  In this verse-by-verse study of 2 Cor. 4:13-18, Paul is going to challenge the believer on where their focus is.  Is it on the current circumstances they find themselves in, or is it on the eternal promises of God's Word?  Does their comfort come from the unseen Jesus, or the physical trappings of religion?  Rejoice and listen as Paul describe how our strength lies in the eternal things that are unseen versus the temporary things that seen.

THE SECRET TO A VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE (2 Cor. 4:7-12)

Jesus tells believers two things about persecution.  The first is that you will be persecuted and hated by an unbelieving world.  The second is that Christ will provide you victory over that persecution and hatred. In this verse-by-verse study of 2 Cor. 4:7-12, Paul tells us the secret of living a victorious Christian life.  Listen and rejoice as you discover the meaning, and the power, of God working through, and in, you to make you victorious.