The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? (John 14:15-18)

Today’s message is about a wonderful friend that all believer’s in Jesus Christ have. That friend is the Holy Spirit. Now, the problem is that many of us know theologically that the Holy Spirit is a person. That is, we worship one God who has revealed Himself as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We know that theologically, but many of us fail to think of the Holy Spirit as a person. We think of the Holy Spirit almost as an influence, a force, some empowerment, or something very much like energy is in a battery. But we fail to think of Him as a dear friend, and I want to talk to you about your best friend, the Holy Spirit, because He makes Jesus Christ real and alive in your heart.

Now, I know that you believe that the Holy Spirit is God, but I want you to become acquainted with Him personally. The Holy Spirit is to be to you today what Jesus Christ was to the disciples so long ago. And, you are to treat the Holy Spirit as those disciples treated the Lord Jesus Christ. He is to be your Lord, He is to be to your guide, He is to be to your director, your friend, and your comforter. And, if you don't do this, then you're going to suffer the tragedy of a barren life.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the best friend you can have. This friend is the only friend you have that can bring you to salvation. It is the Holy Spirit that enables you to be saved. That is what your best friend does, He enables you to have enteral life. He seals you into Jesus Christ. He indwells you, and He comforts, and strengthens you with all the power you will need to do the things that God asks you to do.

Your best friend is the Holy Spirit of God.

Amen.

TO DO EVEN MORE THAN JESUS - PART II (John 14:12-14)

Today’s message is part II of a pair of messages on how we, as believers, will do even more than Jesus did. He tells us that this is true in,

John 14:12
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
KJV

Now, that is a statement that will make you step back and ask the Lord, “You expect me to do what? Not only will I equal what You did, but that I will exceed what You did? Really?” The answer to that question is yes.

What are the works that Jesus Christ is talking about? In other words, when Jesus said, "The works that I do shall ye do, and greater works than these," what type of works does He mean? Jesus says it is having everlasting life! Eternal life. That is the greater work. And the greater works that Jesus is talking about, the greater works that we will do, refer to salvation ministry.

The next question is who is going to do this? Is it you or Jesus? The answer is yes and yes. When Jesus says you're going to do greater works than these that I do, the secret is that He will still be doing it, but He will be doing it in us.

How does this come to pass? Jesus says, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name. I will do it.” When we ask in the name of Jesus, we're asking in His name, for His authority. Authority is power. Jesus said, "If you ask anything in my name, friend, I'll do it. And greater works than these that I do will you do." Who's doing it, you or Jesus? Yes! Yes! What are you doing? What is this business about? Why are we here? To get souls saved.

Why did Jesus say, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it?" Why would Jesus make this promise to us as believers? He says it is so "... that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Jesus made this promise to bring glory to the Father. It ought to be the greatest desire in your life to see others come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus says, "The works that I do will you do, and greater works than these will ye do, that you believe in Me."

Amen.

TO DO EVEN MORE THAN JESUS - PART I (John 14:7-12)

In today’s message we are going to talk about what it means when Jesus says that we as believer will do greater works than He.

John 14:12
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
KJV

So, what is Jesus saying here? Does that mean that Jesus fed 5,000, so I am to feed 10,000? That is greater works. Jesus walked on water. Does that mean that in order for me to do greater works, then I am to fly through the air? Then we come to the really big one, Jesus raised the dead. Now, how am I going to top that? Am I going to be walking around raising people from the dead?

Jesus tells us the answer in John 5:24.

John 5: 24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
KJV

What is a greater work than healing a man who's been paralyzed for 38 years? It's very clear. Jesus says it is having everlasting life! Eternal life. That is the greater work. And the greater works that Jesus is talking about, the greater works that we will do, refer to salvation ministry. That is the what. What are the works that Jesus Christ is talking about? What are the works that we will do that are greater than His? Salvation ministry.

Click on the link below to hear a message on what the work of the believer is to be. It is the work of bringing men, women, boys and girls bound in the golden chains of the gospel and lay them at Jesus' feet. We are to reap the harvest that Jesus planted.

Amen.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR PRAYERS ANSWERED-PART II (John 14:4-6)

Prayer is a privilege that is granted to a believer by a loving God. Prayer is such a powerful privilege because prayer can do anything that God can do. Prayer is unlimited in its power because prayer brings God into action. Effective prayer is essential to any believer if they are to live a victorious Christian life.

In today’s message we talk about six things that you need to do if you want your prayer to be heard by God. If you want your prayer to be answered by God.

The first thing we have to do is to Pray in the name of Jesus. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we have His authority. His power of attorney. Which means we must have His approval on anything we pray in His name, and we must be praying to bring honor to Jesus. Jesus will not allow you to use His name if He does not approve of what you are praying for.

The second thing is that you must pray in the Spirit. It is very important to understand that if you want your prayers answered, then you must not only be saved, but you must also be Spirit-filled. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that you have fully surrendered your life to the Holy Spirit. He is the president of your life, not just a resident in your heart. You are not just committed to the Spirit, you are fully surrendered to the Spirit.

The third thing is that you must Pray in obedience. It is foolish to pray and to ask God to answer your prayer if you are not obeying. If you want God to hear your prayers, then confess those sins that you have regard for, and He will be “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The fourth thing is to Pray in the Will of God, your prayer must be in the will of God. The way to pray in the will of God is to be surrendered to that will, to want that will, to listen to that will, and to do that will.

The fifth thing is to Pray in Fellowship. If we are out of fellowship with somebody else, if we have an unforgiving spirit in our heart, then we are out of fellowship with the Father.

The sixth thing is to Pray in Faith. Someone once said that “No prayer has ever been answered that was not a prayer of faith. No prayer of faith has ever been unanswered.” If you pray in the name, if you pray in the Spirit, if you pray in obedience, if you pray in the will of God, if you pray in fellowship with the other saints, then you will find yourself praying in faith to God.

Click on the link to hear a message on how to have God answer your prayers. This is not about earning your answer, for it is God’s grace all the way. We do not command God, He commands us. This is about preparing yourself to have your prayer heard by God, and God answers the prayers He hears.

Amen.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR PRAYERS ANSWERED-PART I (John 14:4-6)

In today’s message, we are going to cover a topic that I believe is vitally important to any believer who wants to live a victorious Christian life. It is a subject that we need to continuously hear about and something that we need to be constantly re-applying in our lives. It is the matter of prayer.

Now, one of the greatest privileges that we have is the privilege of prayer. However, one of the greatest failures that we have is in the area of prayer. We need to understand that prayer is so powerful because prayer can do anything that God can do. Prayer is unlimited in its power because prayer brings God into action. I don't have a failure in my life that is not in some way a prayer failure. There is not a sin in my life that proper prayer would not have helped me to avoid it. There is not a need in my life that if I learned how to pray, and knew how to pray, that need would be met.

I want to be clear that this is not about name it-claim it prayers. That is not Biblical. We do not have the almighty God of all creation at our beckon call. We cannot command Him to do anything. He commands us. This is about finding out what God wants for you, and then praying for that. The prayer that is answered, is the prayer that begins in heaven.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
KJV

This is one of those verses that we use all of the time. Many of you will have it memorized, and you use it to witness to others about salvation, and how there are not many ways to get to heaven, there is but one way. Through Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that is one of the messages of this verse, but I also believe there are other things that we must do in the power of, and through, our Lord Jesus. Prayer is one of those things. For this to make sense, we need to understand that when we come to God in prayer, we're coming to the Father, and the only way we can come to the Father in prayer is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, this verse makes it very clear and very plain, that the reason many people don't have their prayers answered is that they have never been born again. Why is that? Well, if you are not born again, then you cannot pray in Jesus' name. Why? Because, if you are not born again, then you do not have Jesus Christ in your heart. And, if you don't have Christ in your heart, then you do not have Jesus to bring you to the Father. Jesus is the only way. You must have Jesus in your heart.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the six keys to answered prayer.

BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING (John 13:36 to 14:3)

In today’s message, we are going to cover a set of verses that are as clear a statement that Jesus can make that He is preparing a place for us to spend eternity with Him. He is in heaven today, but someday He is coming for us. Heaven is real, and therefore Hell is real, and I want to be with Jesus in this place that He has prepared specifically for me and everyone else who has made Him their Savior.

This set of verses talks about heaven. These verses tell everyone, who calls Jesus their Lord and Savior, that when your work for God is done on this earth, Jesus Christ has a place for you. It is a place specifically designed for you by the One who loves you like no other. One of these days, Jesus is coming for His bride, and that puts my heart at peace. I don’t have worry about my retirement plan in heaven. Jesus has already taken care of it. I don’t have worry about which medical insurance plan I need for heaven because Jesus has already taken care of that as well. The day is coming when there will be a shout, Behold, the Bridegroom is coming. That is what I am waiting on, Jesus is coming for me.

Click on the link below to hear a message on one of the most blessed truths that I know, Jesus Christ may come at any moment for His church.

John 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
KJV

Amen.

TO LOVE AS JESUS LOVES-PART II (John 13:31-35)

Last week we began a message on learning how to love everyone, including hard to love people, in the same way that Jesus loves us. I believe the one thing we would all admit is that there are people in this world who it would be very difficult to love as Jesus loves them, but that is what we have been commanded to do.

What does it mean to love someone in the same way that Jesus loves them? Does it mean that you are best friends, that you socialize with them, that you are going up to them hugging and kissing them all of the time? How did Jesus treat the Pharisees, or the Romans who crucified Him? Did He love them? Yes, He died on a cross for them. How did He treat the one who betrayed Him? Jesus washed his feet. He reached out to him in love. Why? To give him an opportunity to make Jesus his Lord and Savior.

I want you to think carefully about that, and I want this thought in your mind. How did Jesus show the entire world that He loved them? Jesus died on the cross for the sins of everyone. Why did He do that? So, their sins could be forgiven, and they could choose to receive the free gift of salvation. Without the Lord’s shed blood, then no one could be saved, no one would have a choice to be saved.

How can you go about offering people, even hard to love people, the same gift that Jesus offered them? Can you die on a cross for them? No. Can you witness about the gospel message of Jesus Christ to them? Yes. Can you live a life that would be different enough to make them want to be a Christian? Yes.

Jesus loved everyone so much, even hard to love people like Judas, or Pilate, or the Romans who beat Him, that He died so that they could be saved. Can you love others enough to offer them the gospel message so that they could be saved? If yes, then would that be one way that you could love them in the same way that Jesus does? Don’t misunderstand me, this is not all there is to this commandment, and we are going to talk about what type of love this is, but we need to put this into the context of why we, as believers, are even still on this earth. The reality is that once you are saved, you cannot be unsaved. So, why does God leave us here on the earth? Why not just take us to heaven right away? What is a key element in His plan for your life? Spreading the gospel message to a lost world, an ugly world, an evil world, a hard to love world. That is how Jesus loved the entire world, and it is one way that you can love others as Jesus has loved you.

Jesus said, a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another even as I have loved you. It is only men and women who are big in the grace of God, knowing that they have come from God, knowing that they're going to God, knowing who they are, that can obey this new commandment. They can do it because they tell themselves, God has accepted me. I accept that he accepts me, I accept me, and I accept you, and now you can accept me.

What does this type of love look like?
• You love them enough to lead them to Christ.
• You love them enough to not think of yourself as you are dealing with them.
• You love them enough to stand by them in the hard times.
• You love them enough to serve them.
• Most of all, you love them enough to forgive them.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to love people as Jesus loved them. It is pride that drives wedges between people. It is a love like Christ’s love that builds bridges. “A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” That's how to love as Jesus loved.

Amen.

TO LOVE AS JESUS LOVES-PART I (John 13:31-35)

In our message today, the Lord is going to give His disciples, and all of us, a new commandment, “…to love one another, as Christ has loved us.” Now, I have to admit, for me, that is a tall order because there are people around, even some Christians, who are hard to love. But that is what this new commandment tells us to do.

John 13:34
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
KJV

Now, Jesus is not just talking about loving other Christians. He is talking about everyone. He is saying that we should love everyone as Christ loves us. Is there someone you know that you just say, Lord that is not happening, I cannot love this person? Someone who has done you wrong, perhaps, even harmed you? Friends that have betrayed your trust? Family members who may have abused you, either physically or mentally? There are likely more than just one person who may fit into this category.

Well, why is it a new commandment? Love is not new. The Old Testament certainly taught us to love. In the New Testament gospels, Jesus even gave us a summary of all the commandments when He said,

Matt 22:37-39
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
KJV

What’s new, is that Jesus said that “we are to love as I have loved you.” Never before has this world known love like the love that Jesus Christ showed and the love that Jesus Christ gave. And that is what made it radically new. We are to love others not just as we love ourselves, but as Jesus loved us. This takes the love we are to show to a whole new level.

Click on the link to below to hear a message on how to love that person, who has harmed you, in the same way that Jesus Christ loves them.

Amen.

LESSONS WE LEARN FROM BETRAYAL (John 13:18-30)

Today’s message is about the lessons that we can learn from Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. However, the focus is not on what Judas did, or even what character flaws led Judas to betray Jesus, but on what we can learn about our Lord Jesus Christ from this event. The story of Judas and his betrayal is but the black velvet background on which the brilliant character of the Lord Jesus Christ is displayed.

Just like a well-cut diamond has many facets that make it beautiful and desirable, the Lord Jesus Christ has many facets of His character that make Him beautiful and desirable. There is no question that Jesus outshines every person who has ever lived, or ever will live. And there are many things about the character of Jesus that are in this story.

Click on the link below to hear about the six facets of our Lord’s character that I want you to walk away with today:

Number one: His spiritual insight, Jesus knows everything there is to know about you, and He still loves you in spite of what He knows about you. Jesus knew from the foundation of time that Judas would betray Him, and He still loved Judas.

Number two: His sovereign control, Jesus was in control of all things. It was the Lord’s permissive will that allowed Judas to choose to betray Him. But what Judas meant for evil, Jesus turned to good for His purposes and our salvation. When man rules, God overrules.

Number three: His seeking grace, Jesus sought the redemption of Judas. Jesus knew what Judas would do, but He still washed Judas’ feet in an act of love. He still warned Judas. He still sought to bring Judas into repentance.

Number four: His steadfast mission, nothing that Judas did changed the plan of Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Nothing that Judas did could derail Jesus, He was steadfast in His mission. That same message applies to you. Don’t you let some hypocrite, some false preacher, or somebody who falls into sin derail your calling for God. Your worship is not to be of a sinful person. It is to be of Jesus Christ the almighty God of all Creation who will never fail you.

Number five: His sympathizing love, Jesus loved Judas, Judas rejected that love. A man will go to hell unsaved, but no man will go to hell unloved. Jesus loves the whole world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We are to love our neighbors and our enemies with that same love. Why? Because that is exactly what Jesus did to Judas.

Number six: His solemn justice. There is a God of justice. The Lord Jesus Christ is a God of infinite love, but He is also a God of great justice. You may choose to reject God’s love, but if you do, then you will face God’s great justice. If you don't get saved, then you will spend eternity in the same place as Judas, not because of how good or bad you are, but because you rejected the love of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

LESSONS FROM FOOT WASHING-PART II (John 13:1-17)

This is the second part of a message on the lessons we can learn from the portion of Scripture where Jesus is in the Upper Room and He washes the feet of His disciples. One thing I want us to remember as we go through this message is that we shouldn’t focus on the physical act of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, but on the spiritual messages that Jesus was illustrating by performing this act of service. Our Lord is teaching personal service to one another.

Eph 4:32
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
KJV

What our Lord was doing is saying, "Peter, I am going to forgive you your trespasses. I'm going to wash your feet." Well, if Jesus has forgiven me of my trespasses, then I need to forgive each of you of your trespasses. That's what it's all about. Jesus says, "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, then you need to wash one another's feet." You need to forgive your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you need to build them up in the faith. There are people around you whose feet you need to wash, spiritually, because Jesus has washed our feet.

Gal 6:1-2
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
KJV

How dare we go around refusing to forgive and restore and renew. Our Lord expects us to be in the foot washing business. There ought to be no animosity, no unforgiving spirit. "Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet."

Click on the link below to hear four lessons that we can learn from foot washing:
• Salvation is essential.
• Security is eternal.
• Sanctification is extended.
• Service is expected.

Amen.