The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

TO LIVE ABUNDANTLY (John 11:25-36)

Would you like to live abundantly? Not just to be successful in your life, make lots of money, have a big family, or an important job. Those are all good things, and there is nothing wrong with them, but that is not what I am talking about. I mean would you like to live the way the Bible teaches us to live?

Now, that is a different way of saying it, isn’t it? To live the way the Bible teaches us to. Well, you might say, “Now, Bro. Keith, I already live a life where I obey all of the commandments, at least most of the time. I am a good person, I don’t do mean things, I go to church on Sunday, I give my tithes, I even help my neighbors. Isn’t that living the way the Bible teaches?” Yes, it is, but it is not living your life abundantly. If you think that living a good life is all it takes to live the way the Bible teaches, then you are in the right place this morning to learn what it truly means to live abundantly. But to do so, you will have to be ready to be changed by what Word of God has for you today.

People get comfortable in their lives, and change requires you to be uncomfortable. If want to be changed by a message like this, then you have to be willing to change, and you have to feel the need to be changed. A lot of people, Christians included, see life as something to be endured. But Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life, and have it abundantly."

Click on the link below and hear a message on what this miracle tells us about living the way the Bible teaches, living abundantly.

Amen.

JESUS GIVES LIFE (John 11:28-44)

Last week we started a study of the miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Now, this is a familiar story to all of us. So, if we are going to study this story again, what should we be sure that we learn from it? Jesus defines it for us when He says, “but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.” Jesus is telling us that this was an occasion to declare His oneness with his Father at all times and in all situations. It was an opportunity, as God, to convince people that he was all he claimed to be; an occasion to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of prayer, an occasion to make a solemn appeal to those who were His enemies.

In order for this to be true, in order for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead, then there is something else that we need to know about Lazarus while he was in the grave. We need to know that Lazarus was dead. He wasn’t sick. He didn’t faint. He was really dead. He had been dead for four days and then Christ raised him to walk again.

Click on the link below to hear part 2 of a message that will bring comfort to those who have lost loved ones. Death is not final. The grave is not final. The Bible says that for the believer to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That loved one of yours is still living, and if they had Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then they are present with Him in heaven. If you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you will join them for all of eternity. Death is but a moment. Life with Jesus is eternal.

Amen.

JESUS, THE MASTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (John 11:1-27)

Over the next few weeks we are going to be talking about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Why am I going to spend so much time here? Because we should never get tired of hearing this story. Why? Because it has so much for us to learn and commit to our hearts about death, resurrection, and the realm of darkness. It brings life where death reigns, and it robs the tomb of its terror. Jesus is going to show Martha, Mary, all of His disciples, and the entire world that He is indeed the Son of God with the power over death, and that He alone holds the keys to eternal life, heaven and hell.

Click on the link below to hear a message that will bring comfort to those who have lost loved ones. Death is not final. The grave is not final. The Bible says that for the believer to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That loved one of yours is still living, and if they had Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then they are present with Him in heaven. If you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you will join them for all of eternity. Death is but a moment. Life with Jesus is eternal.

Amen.

JESUS AND THE FATHER (John 10:30-42)

In our study today, we look at the Lord Jesus Christ’s word in John 10:30 and He says, “I and my Father are one.” Indeed, they are. They are one in mind, thought, heart, will, purpose, and action. While that is a true description of what Jesus has just declared, it goes beyond that. Jesus and The Father are not one in person, but in essence. God the Father and God the Son are two separate persons, but they are two parts of the one Triune God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus will tell us that all we have to do to know this is true is to look at His works to know that that He is of God. Jesus and the Father are God, Jesus and the Father are one.

Amen.

KNOWING YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE PART IV (John 10:27-29)

Today, we will finish this series on knowing you are eternally secure. As I have said over the last couple of weeks, I am doing this series because I believe that God has laid a burden on my heart to share this gift of security in your salvation that He has shared with me. I want you to know this is true, but most of all, God wants you to know this is true in your heart.

In this message we look at several of the verses that people will point to and say that they indicate that a person can lose their salvation. Last week we looked at 2 Peter 2:20-22. This week we look at Matt. 24:11-13, John 15:6-8, and Heb. 6:4-9. As we look at these verses, we will discover what God is really trying to say. One thing I know for sure, God’s Word is infallible and inerrant. He will not tell us in one verse that we are eternally secure, and then in another tells us that we can lose our salvation.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can know in your heart that once you are saved, you are eternally secure, and cannot lose that salvation.

Amen.

KNOWING YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE PART III (John 10:27-29)

This message is part three of a four-part series on knowing that you are eternally secure. Now, I am spending so much time on this because I want you to not only know this is true in your head, but in your heart as well. I want you to know this because God wants you to know that you are eternally secure. He has other kingdom work for you to do, and you can’t focus on that, if you are always worried about your salvation.

So far, we have covered six of the eight reason that you can know you are eternally secure.

Promised: God has promised you eternal security. If you believe what God says in His Word, then there can be no doubt that you have eternal security.

Perseverance: God will complete what He has begun. Even before you got saved, the Holy Spirit began a work in you, and He will not quit that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Predestination: God has predestined your salvation. God has known that you would make the choice to be His child since before the foundations of the universe. He loved you first, and then He called you, and you accepted that call. It was His calling and your choice, He just knew which choice you would make. He predestined your salvation.

Perfection: By one offering He, Jesus, hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Not two offerings, not three. One. Jesus shed His precious blood on that cross one time, and in doing so, He perfected each believer forever. Forever.

Position: God tells us that we are already positioned in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has told you to come into the ark, the ark of Jesus Christ. He said come in where I am. When we got saved, we came into Christ, we are a part of His body. What is true of Christ, is true of us. We are not Christ, but we are like Him, and we are in Him. The door to the ark of Christ has been sealed shut by God Himself. The only way we can go down is if Christ goes down.

Possession: God tells us that we already have eternal life. On the day I got saved, I received eternal life. It is mine, and nobody can take it away.

Click on the link below to the last two reasons why you can know that you are eternally secure.

Amen.

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE - PART II (John 10:27-29)

God has a gift for you in this series of messages. God wants you to know that you can be saved. He wants you to know that you can be certain of your salvation. But, most of all, God wants you to know that you are eternally secure. That once you are saved, you can never, ever, lose your salvation. That is what the Bible says, and God wants to give this certainty to you, so that you can concentrate on loving Him, praising Him, and working for Him.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God has promised you eternal security. If you believe what God says in His Word, then there can be no doubt that you have eternal security. God will complete what He has begun. Even before you got saved, the Holy Spirit began a work in you, and He will not quit that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE ETERNALLY SECURE (John 10:27-29)

Let me ask you a question. Is there something that could be better than knowing that you can be saved? Yes, there is. It is knowing that you can be certain that you're saved.

Well, is there anything more wonderful than knowing that you can be saved and knowing that you can be certain that you are saved. Yes, there is. It is knowing that you can be saved, knowing that you can be certain that you're saved, and knowing that once you're saved and certain you're saved, you can also know that you can never ever lose your salvation.

The title of today’s message is, “Knowing you are eternally secure.” If you don’t believe this can be true, I want you to listen to the scriptures that we are going to cover over the next 3-4 weeks. I want you to ignore for a little while, what makes logical sense to you, because God’s love and grace for you is beyond your ability to understand. I also want you to ignore what you have been taught before. I want your mind open, your heart open, and your ears open. No preconceived ideas or ideologies.

Instead of all of that stuff that man says, I want you to listen to what God has to say about this question. God wants you to know that you can be saved. He wants you to know that you can be certain of your salvation. But, most of all, God wants you to know, that once you are a child of God, an adopted member of His family, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, saved to eternal life, that you can never ever lose that salvation. That father-child relationship can never be undone. You don’t drop in and out of God’s family. Once you are in, you are in for good. That is what the Bible says, and that is what we are going to talk about over the next few weeks. Jesus tells us this is true in the verses from the Gospel of John that are the focus of our lesson today.

John 10:27-29
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
KJV

Click on the link below to hear a message that is talking about something that is fundamental to our faith when we're talking about eternal security of the believer. How you can know that you are eternally secure.

Amen.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHEPHERD? (John 10:8-26)

What are the characteristics of a good shepherd? Does he take care of his flock? Does he lead them to pastures where they can find food? Does he protect them from those that would harm them? Does he teach the Bible as the inerrant Word of God? The answer should be, yes, to all of these. The pastor of a church is the under-shepherd of the flock, and he must have all the same characteristics that Jesus says He has as the Good Shepherd. Now, I want you to ask yourself, is that the kind of under-shepherd that you serve? If not, then you need to find another church with a better shepherd. Don’t wait, don’t hesitate. You go find a Bible believing, Christ follower, to be your under-shepherd.

This is the message that Jesus has been telling the Jewish people. Their religious leaders have failed to act as good under-shepherds of the fold of Israel. They have become full of pride and greed, teaching the people false scripture, burdening them with strict regulations, and turning them away from God and toward the religious establishment that Judaism had become.

Click on the link below to hear a message where Jesus will make three powerful statements. He will tell the pharisees how a Good Shepherd cares for His sheep, contrasting His own behavior with that of theirs toward the fold. Jesus will also proclaim Himself as the Son of God, and then He declares that He is the only way to find eternal life. Big, powerful, Biblical doctrines are in today’s message.

Amen.

JESUS AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD (John 9:39-10:7)

Where do you feel the safest? At home? That is generally the answer we give to that question, and it is because that is where we spend most of our time, it where we keep most of our possessions, and it is where our loved ones live with us. It is also the reason we feel so emotionally impacted when a robber comes in to violate that safe space. It is not just the things that they take, it is that they remove that feeling of security we feel within the walls of that safe space. Once that feeling of security is violated, you may want to fortify your home, put in better locks, stronger doors, or get a burglar alarm. I know if it happens in my house, my first reaction will be to stand guard at the doorway of my home as the protector of my loved ones who live in that house with me. I believe that is the role God gives the husband, to be the protector of the people that God has put in his life, and I would give my life in order to keep them safe.

Click on the link below to hear a message about that safe place we have in our spiritual lives. That place where we feel protected. Jesus is going to talk about being a good shepherd, one who puts His sheep in a secure place and stands at the door to protect them from those who would come to steal and to rob the flock.

Amen.