Episodes
6 days ago
6 days ago
Sometimes people tell me it’s hard to be a Christian. That is just so ridiculous. Listen, all you have to do is think about old, unsaved, Jacob down there sleeping on stones, with a rock for a pillow, and tell me it’s hard to be a Christian. The truth is, it is hard not to be a Christian. The Bible says,
Prov 13:15
15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
KJV
What could be harder than a stone for a pillow? “The way of [the transgressor] is hard.” It is not hard to be a Christian. Jesus said,
Matt 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
KJV
Now, what did that last sentence say? “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus is telling us that to be a Christian, a Christ follower, is easy.
I have been teaching the Bible for a long time. Two things I’ve never heard.
Number one: I’ve never heard any Christian—true Christian, a born-again Christian—say, “I’m sorry that I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.” I never have heard that.
Number two: Something else that I have never heard: I have never heard any person without the Lord Jesus Christ say, “I want to tell you how much the dear, sweet, old devil means to me.”
Here is the easy truth, I would be a Christian even if there were no heaven, and if there were no hell. Now, without a doubt, there are both, but if I had a thousand lives, I’d give every one of them to Jesus Christ. To know Christ in this life, that is easy. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard.
Here is an old familiar quote, “Nature forms us; sin deforms us; education informs us; penitentiaries try to reform us; but only Jesus can transform us.” And if you’d like to be transformed, then you can be transformed. You can be made brand new through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the wonderful saving gospel of our dear Savior.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how the story of Jacob’s Ladder shows us a picture of the sinner, a picture of the Savior, and a picture of salvation.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Monday Nov 06, 2023
ABRAHAM CHOOSES (Genesis 12:9 to 13_8)
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
One of the great Biblical themes that is taught over and over in Scripture is the effect of the choices that we, as Christians, make between choosing to follow the will of God in our lives and the things of this world. The fact that the believer even has a choice to follow the will of God is an often misunderstood blessing of our salvation.
You see, the lost person has no such choice to make. He is a slave to Satan, and he must follow the will of his master. His only choice is between heaven and hell. Between making Christ his Lord and Savior, or keeping Satan as his master. Once the decision is made to accept Christ’s offer of salvation, the person is freed from the bonds of slavery to Satan and sin. They now have a daily choice between serving God or serving Satan. They have the blessing of being able to daily choose God’s will for their lives, instead of Satan’s will.
Click on the link below to hear a message on the effect that Abraham’s choices had on his life, and that of his family. We will get to see the negative and the positive. God withholding His blessing from Abram, and God outpouring His blessings on a faithful servant.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM (Genesis11:10 to 12:8)
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Genesis mark an important turning point in the Scriptures. Up to this point, the story has been that of the whole Adamic race. There has been neither Jew nor Gentile. All have been one in “the first Adam.”
From this point forward in the Scriptures, the human race must be seen as a great river from which God, in the call of Abraham, and the creation of the nation of Israel, draws off a small stream through which He may at last purify the great river itself. Israel is the tool through which God chose to bring a Savior to the world. It is important for us to note that neither Abraham, nor Israel, were perfect, they didn’t do anything special to deserve this. In fact, as we will see today, Abraham was far from perfect. But, when God spoke to him, Abraham responded, and that is exactly what God was looking for. It was by grace that God chose Abraham, and the nation Israel, to bring revelation and salvation to the world. It was through the faith of Abraham that the nation Israel would be called.
Click on the play button to hear a message on how our obedience to God comes after we have stopped telling God what we want to do, and listen to what He wants us to do. Let me illustrate that with a question, how much of your prayer time do you spend telling God what you want, rather than being quiet and listening to what He wants to tell you? That is a measure of how much you harken/obey God, for you cannot obey God until you know what He wants you to do. Abraham was obedient to God because he listened, and then transformed what he heard into action.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
GOD’S PLAN FOR REDEMPTION (Genesis 3:7-24)
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
GOD’S PLAN FOR REDEMPTION (Genesis 3:7-24)
The question that I really ask when I study about the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is, why didn’t God just smack Satan and stop all of pain and misery that he has caused? I would just love to have seen God just look at Satan and just say “Be Gone.” Well, first off, man would sin anyway, even without Satan. Satan just helps things along. Man will have this proven to him during the millennial reign of Christ when Satan is bound for a thousand years.
It took one man to undo the damage done by another man. Jesus, the second Adam, came to regain what the first Adam lost.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
KJV
Jesus came as he did (born of a virgin) to be what he was—holy. If He had been the son of Adam with Adam’s nature, he would have been a sinner because in Adam all have sinned and died. He would also have been a slave, for the son of a slave is himself a slave. Jesus was what He was (holy) to do what He did—redeem us. He came as a sinless man, paying the full price for our transgression. He satisfied God’s righteous and holy law and nullified all of satan’s rights to Adam’s domain. Then, Jesus did what He did (redeem us) that we might have forgiveness, cleansing, a new nature, and Kingdom Authority. He is the head of a brand-new race.
Jesus was born of a virgin that we might be born again. Jesus became the Son of Man that we might become the sons and daughters of God. Jesus died in agony that we might live in victory.
Click on the play button above to hear how God’s plan for redemption of the ruined human race was formed before the foundation of time. It is written, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17).
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
THE MEANING OF LIGHT AND DAY (Genesis 1:1-5)
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
THE MEANING OF LIGHT AND DAY (Genesis 1:1-5)
Today’s message is on the meaning of the words “light” and “day” as they are used in the Bible’s account of creation. Two very simple words, that we use all of the time, but so many people have a hard time understanding when it comes to what God says about the creation of all things.
In the book of Genesis, God said “let there be light.” The word “light” stands for and performs so many different functions and things in the Scriptures. The concept of light is described throughout the Bible, and it is first used here in Genesis. Light truly is a unique creation. The Holy Spirit chose light as a metaphor for God throughout the Scripture. Like God, light is mysterious but glorious.
Light by its nature, just like our Lord, is constant. The speed and the nature of light never change. The speed of the light that leaves our sun millions of miles away is traveling at the exact same speed as when it reaches us as we stand outside and let it fall on us to warm and comfort us. The light of our Lord is the same. It is the same today as it was on creation day, and as it will be when He comes for us to take us home. Satan and his kingdom must bow before God and the majesty of His light. When God’s light comes, Satan’s darkness must go.
It also means that there is only one way to get rid of Satan’s darkness, and that is the light of the Word of God. We have victory in Jesus because no force on the earth, or below the earth, can stand against the mighty majesty of His light. When our lives are filled with sin, it is the light of the Word of God that will give you victory over that sin in your life. In fact, it is the only light that will give you victory over Satan and sin. You cannot live the Christian life without the power and light of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
Click on the play button at the top of the post to hear a message on the meaning of the words “light” and “day” as they are used in the creation story found in the first few verses of the Bible.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
GOD PROVIDED A SUBSTITUTE (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
I want you to take God’s Word and hold your Bible in your hand. Now, I want to tell you there is no book like the Bible. None whatsoever. The book that you hold in your hand is one book, and yet it is sixty-six books. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. There are twenty-seven in the New Testament. They were written over a period of about 1,500 years by at least forty different authors in three different languages, people from all backgrounds and walks of life. But when you bring them together, they don’t make sixty-six books; they make one book, one book that is bound together.
This book has one hero, His name is Jesus. It has one villain, he is the devil. It has one theme, it is salvation. It has one purpose, the glory of God. And so, if you read any verse in the Bible, standing somewhere in the shadows, you’re going to find the Lord Jesus, and that’s what we’re going to see today as we continue to look in the life of the man named Abraham. We are going to look back in history, centuries before Jesus Christ was born upon this earth, and we’re going to find a wonderful depiction of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, God gave illustrations, types, prophecies, figures of that which is to come in the New Testament. It is one of the great confirmations of the inspiration of the Scripture, when you see way back here centuries before Jesus Christ was even born that God gives figures and types and prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, not only is it a confirmation of the inspiration of the Scriptures, but, correspondingly, it is a confirmation of the deity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as we see Him pictured there, tucked away in the Old Testament.
Click on the link below to hear a message on if God was willing to give Jesus up freely for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things? He is the God who provides.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
A DYNAMIC LIFE OF FAITH-PART I (Hebrews 11:8-13)
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
Sunday Oct 09, 2022
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” How would you like to have great faith? If you are a Christ follower, then I trust that you do. When you came to Jesus Christ, God enrolled you in the School of Faith. Life is the classroom, the Bible is the textbook, the prophets and the apostles are the professors, and Abraham would have to be the Dean in the School of Faith.
Our message today is on the dynamic life of faith that Abraham led. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” This means that if you want to please God, then you must have faith. If you please God, then it doesn’t matter whom you displease, and if you displease God, then it doesn’t matter whom you please. There is no way to please God without faith.
Do you want to serve God? Then, your chief duty is to believe Him. The supreme evil is unbelief. Unbelief is the source of all other sins. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden because they did not believe the Word of God that had been given to them. The Christian life, according to Hebrews 10:38, is to be lived by faith. The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.”
Now, I am telling you as clearly as I can that without faith it is impossible to please God. You will never, ever, succeed in your Christian life without believing God. Not just in God, but God’s Word collectively in the Bible, and God’s Word that He has given personally to you.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to have a dynamic life of faith that pleases God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 02, 2022
NOAH’S UNSINKABLE FAITH (Hebrews 11:7)
Sunday Oct 02, 2022
Sunday Oct 02, 2022
God tells us in the Bible that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This means that without a word from God on a matter, you cannot, you have no basis, for a Biblical faith. Faith is not a leap in the dark. It is a step into God’s light. You must hear from God. Faith is not name it and claim it. The Bible is clear that You believe it and receive it, because God has named it, and you claim it. Now, that’s very important. You do not name it and claim it. You believe it and receive it, because God has named it, and you claim it. God does the naming. You do the claiming.
The Biblical word “hope” does not mean maybe, perhaps, or I wish. But hope means bedrock assurance. The Bible calls hope an anchor of the soul. It is solid, and the word “substance” or sub-stand means something beneath us that we can stand upon. Where do you get this assurance, this bedrock assurance, called hope? From the Word of God. God speaks.
Did you know that God speaks today? God has His written Word once and for all, settled. But then, God speaks to your own personal heart, and when God speaks to your heart personally, you have a rhema from God, that’s when you find faith growing in your heart and in your life. You have to hear from God in order to have faith. It is not just of God that you need to hear about, it is from God that you need hear. You hear God. In order to believe Him, you don’t just hear about Him; you hear Him.
The apostle Paul says in 2 Tim 1:12, “I know whom I have believed.” He didn’t say, “I know in whom I have believed.” Paul said that I have believed Him. I heard from God, and I believed what He said to me. Faith is believing God when He speaks personally to you. You must have faith that hears God.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to have an unsinkable faith in God.
This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.
Amen.
Sunday Jan 09, 2022
APPLYING GOD’S TRUTH (Proverbs 23:23)
Sunday Jan 09, 2022
Sunday Jan 09, 2022
Our message today is on the subject of truth. Now, the idea of real truth is something that is an often-discussed issue in our society, and everybody seems to think they can subscribe to their own version of truth. The idea of God, as our Creator, having the sovereign right to determine the absolute truths that govern our world, is certainly rejected by the majority of our society.
We have a generation today that does not know how to differentiate between truth and facts. Now facts deal with knowledge, and knowledge may double, but truth, never. If it is new, it’s not true. Truth is settled in eternity.
Prov 23:23
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
KJV
So, we have substituted facts for truth. Not that facts in themselves are wrong. Facts are stubborn things. But there is a difference in acquiring facts and learning truth. We’re drowning in facts. What’s the difference between facts and truth? Facts are like a recipe; truth is the meal. When you digest the truth, it will change your life.
Now, the Bible says, “Buy the truth, and sell it not.” When the child of God looks into the Word of God, and sees the Son of God, and is changed by the Spirit of God into the image of God, for the glory of God, I believe he has learned the truth of God.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to apply God’s truth in your life, and how that truth will set you free.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 03, 2021
FINDING JOY IN YOUR WORK (Proverbs 14:23)
Sunday Oct 03, 2021
Sunday Oct 03, 2021
The title of the message is “Finding Joy in Your Work,” and I want to tell you, if you understand what God has to say in this message, it’s going to transform your work. It’s going to change it from boredom to blessing. It’s going to change it from monotony to meaning. It’s going to change it from drudgery to dignity. It’s going to change it from the same old grind to glory, if you understand what God has to say to us in this message today.
You see, so many people are sick and tired of what they do. I mean, they endure their work, whatever it is, they don’t enjoy their work. They think their job is meaningless. They think that some people have happy jobs, some people have exciting work, some people have thrilling things to do, but not them. They draw their breath and draw their salary. They wake up in the morning and take a bath, shave, go down, drink a cup of coffee, eat a piece of toast, scald their throat because they’re running a little late, drink their coffee too fast, then they run out and fight the traffic and get to work. It’s the same old thing day after day. Then they come home at night, take a couple of aspirins, sit down and watch the TV, discuss things with the wife, maybe putter around in the yard a little bit, then go to bed. The next day, the same old thing: nothing exciting, nothing meaningful, nothing thrilling. It just seems to be so humdrum, so meaningless.
Ok, I can already see the wheels turning in a lot of your minds because your saying, “Bro. Keith, you are a little late with this lesson because I am retired. I don’t have to work anymore.” If that is what you are thinking, then shame on you. Did you know that God doesn’t have a retirement program for Christian believers? If you are a Christian, and you are still breathing, then God has work for you to be doing. If that were not true, then God would have taken you to heaven. So, if you are still here, then God has work for you to do. Now, I am not talking about religious work, I am talking about God’s work, whatever God calls you to do.
Now, there are others who might be saying, “Bro. Keith, I don’t work at a regular job, I just stay at home taking care of my family.” Let me tell you that the work that a wife and a mother does taking care of her family is one of the most important jobs there is in this world. The greatest God-given role of a mother is pointing her children to Christ. The greatest desire of a mother who loves Jesus, is that her kids come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior, and then live their lives for Him. Just imagine, you get to partner with God in the daily discipleship of your children and in leading them towards a saving and sanctifying knowledge of the truth.
The same can be said for a wife, and about the love and support that she gives to her husband. Once the kids are gone, some women can feel that their purpose is over. But that is simply not what the Bible tells us. Just as the husband is to help his wife be all that she wants to be in the eyes of God, it is the wife's responsibility to help the husband become all that God wants him to be.
The point that I am trying to make is that it doesn’t matter if you are a widow, a retiree, 25 or 85 years old, single, married, or working every day at a job place, God has work for you to be doing, and this lesson is about finding joy in that work.
Click on the link below to hear a message about how to have joy in the work that you do for God.
Amen.