The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

WHERE DOES GOD LIVE? (Acts 7:47-49)

WHERE DOES GOD LIVE? (Acts 7:47-49)

The title of our lesson today is “Where Does God Live?”  I don’t know of any subject that excites me more than the answer to the question “Where Does God Live?”  And, I can tell you that if you will learn what I have to say today, not because I say it, but because of the truth of it, it will radically, dramatically, and eternally change your life. 

So many of us think of God as sort of an absentee landholder.  That somehow, we are down here on earth, and He has saved us, forgiven our sins, and then given us a shove, and said, “Do the best you can.”  And He is up there in heaven peering down through the clouds, and every now and then, we are sending prayers up to Him and saying, “O God, as you sit at master control up there, do something to help me down here because I am in great, great difficulty.” And when we don’t see a response from God, we sometimes pray and say, “You know, I pray, and my prayers never got above the light bulbs.” If that is what you think, do you know what your problem is?  It is because you think God is way up there above the light bulbs.  Listen, God is beneath the light bulbs, as well as above the light bulbs, and that is what we need to learn. We need to learn where God is and where God lives.

Let me ask a question, if you wanted to write God a letter, do you know His address? Do you have the zip code? Where does God live? Sometimes we say about the church we worship in, “Well, this is the house of God.” This is not the house of God. Now, it’s God’s house in the sense that He owns it, but “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” (1 Corinthians 10:26, 28) But, this is not God’s address. As a matter of fact, God has been living in a series of houses, and I want to talk to you about those houses today, because when you learn this lesson, you will learn a great, great, truth.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on where God lives, where God dwells.  God has moved into people. In the Old Testament, He had a temple for His people. In the New Testament, He has a people for a temple. We are the temple of God, and God lives in us.  That is the answer to the question “Where does God live?” The answer is God lives in us.  

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

LEARNING TO STAND ALONE (Acts 6:3-15; 7:51-60)

LEARNING TO STAND ALONE (Acts 6:3-15; 7:51-60)

I want to talk to you today about “Learning to Stand Alone.” I thank God for the power that we have when we stand together.  Someone has said that “One will chase a thousand; ten will chase ten thousand.” Thank God for the power that we have to stand together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  But you know, the time may come when you are all by yourself, when you don’t have your brothers and sisters in Christ around about you. And you are going to have to learn how to stand alone. 

There is coming a time when you are going to have to be one against the crowd, and you are going to be all by yourself against great odds.  One of most common situations for Christians today where this is true, is when we send our kids off to college.  If your child is a follower of Christ, then they are going to have to stand alone, even at our religious universities and seminaries.  They will have in their college classes, atheistic, agnostic, cynics, for professors.  They may be the only Christian in that class, and they are going to have to stand up for the Lord Jesus. 

Another common area is on your job, where you are forced to deal with DEI mandates from your employer, and training on how to interact with people who believe that being a Christian, and having Christian morals, is an offence that you can be fired for.  But, you will have to stand up for the Lord Jesus.

The point is that there are times when we are going to have to stand alone, because we are twice-born people in a world of once-born people, and we are going to find ourselves going against the tide. And as we get closer to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to find that the opposition is sharpening, and the hostility is emerging more vicious, and more furious than ever, and we will have to stand alone. The Bible says that we are to stand against that evil. It says to “take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) Our job, our duty, and our privilege is to stand for Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the secret to standing for Christ. If you have to stand alone, then stand alone, and let the Holy Spirit of God give you wisdom to speak for Christ. Let him give you power to stand for Christ. Let him give you faith to suffer for Christ.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

STEPHEN SEES THE MASTER (Acts 7:38-60)

STEPHEN SEES THE MASTER (Acts 7:38 to 60)

As we go through this lesson today, I want you to think about what your faith is in.  Is it in God, or in the religious traditions, buildings, and ceremonies that we have created and become accustomed to.  

Do you know how you can tell what your faith is in?  Let me ask you a series of questions.  First, why did you choose the church that you are attending?  Was it because of a particular pastor or staff member?  You like their style of preaching, or they moved to another church, and you followed them.  Was it because of the denomination, or lack of denomination, of the church?  You wanted to be in a Methodist church, a Baptist church, or an Assembly of God church.  Maybe you didn’t want to be part of any denomination?

Was it the building that you worship in?  Is it a beautiful building, or simply functional?  Was it because of the type of music that is sung, hymns or more contemporary music?  Do you claim that you can’t worship God unless you get to sing the type of songs that you like?  Was it because you read the statement of faith of that church and agreed with it? How many of you read the statement of faith of your church before you joined?  Was it because of how the church is organized and structured?  Is it a pastor led church, or an elder/deacon board led church?  Did you read the By-Laws of the church to learn about the organization?

Understand that I am not saying these things are not important, because they are.  They can certainly be a guide to what God’s will is not.  I mean, why would you join church that did not follow God’s Word.   But, they should never be the reason for choosing a church to worship God in, and they are not what your faith should be in.  You should always choose a church because God led you to it.  You should always join a church because He called you to serve in that church.  Your faith is in God, it is in the Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ, whose blood purchased your salvation and is now sitting on the right hand of God.  If you follow God’s leading, then all of those other things will fall in line because God would never lead you to a church that was not following, teaching, and preaching, God’s Word.

That was the very problem of the Jews that Stephen is preaching to.  They chose the traditions of their childhood over the God that had chosen them.  They chose to worship man-made things, like the Temple and it’s rituals, rather than God.

Click on the link below to hear a message on who your faith should be in.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

THE REJECTION OF MOSES (Acts 7:17-38)

THE REJECTION OF MOSES (Acts 7:17 to 38)

Last week we studied how Stephen, who was one of the seven men chosen as a servant to meet the needs of the church, has been arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin.  The Sanhedrin realized that it would take more than threats and beatings to stop the growth of the new church, and it was Stephen that became the target of a well-planned, Satan led, attack.  They began by sending out religious experts from the various synagogues to debate with Stephen.  Yet Stephen, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, defeated them handily with their own Scriptures.  

In today’s lesson, Stephen will use the story of Moses to reiterate the lost condition of the Jewish nation.  Stephen will describe how Moses, as a God chosen savior, was rejected by Israel when they were mired in slavery.  As a result of this rejection, Israel was forced to suffer 40 more years of persecution, only to have the very same rejected savior return to deliver them and rule over them.  

The Holy Spirit is using Stephen to make one last attempt at a national confession of sin and repentance for their rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah.  Stephen has seen the judgment that is coming to Israel, and he is offering God’s plan of salvation to them.  A plan that they will reject.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the parallels between the rejection of Moses and Jesus.  The Scripture tells us that Moses returned as a deliverer to free the Hebrews from the Egyptian captivity.  And it was Moses that prophesied that Jesus would be just such a Savior that would come to deliver the Hebrews from the persecution of the Romans. 

Moses declared that they would hear the Messiah.  Stephen declares that they heard Him, then they rejected Him.  Yet, they were not finished with Jesus.  The day will come that the Son of the Almighty Living God, the name above all names, Jesus Christ, will demand that they hear Him, and they will.  

Israel is a called out group. They were called out of Egypt, by God, for a particular purpose.  Israel was a called out group that was supernaturally gathered around the Lord, who took His place in their midst.  The threefold movement in the redemption of Israel was similar to ours.  God put His people under the blood, brought them out through the water, and baptized them in the cloud and in the sea, and gathered them around the table.  

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

STEPHENS DEFENSE (Acts 6:7 to 7:16)

STEPHEN’S DEFENSE (Acts 6:7 to 7:16)

Stephen was one of the great men of faith in the new church.  He was of honest report, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and he was full of wisdom.  He was a man blessed of God.  

The Apostles, and the new group of disciples, are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the focus of the new religion now, and that the Temple, and the sacrificial based system of religion, has become irrelevant.  It was, and still is, irrelevant because the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has paid the penalty for all sin, once and for all.  No longer do people need to bring their sacrifices to the priests to obtain forgiveness for sin.  They can go directly to God through His Son Jesus Christ, and ask for forgiveness and obtain eternal life based on the grace of God, not the religious ceremonies put forth by the Temple system of worship.

God is not restricted to speaking through any special person, place, or building.  He doesn’t need the Pope and the Vatican, a Jewish High Priest and his Temple, or a preacher in a Christian church building, to communicate with those He wishes to communicate with.  God can and does reveal Himself when and where He wills, just as He did with Abraham.  The Bible shows us over and over that there is a movement and a process in God’s dealings with man, and it is seen in the different covenants and dispensations that God has made with man.  

As we go through this, I want you to think about what our own focus of worship is on today.  Is our church building and the songs we sing, and the ceremonies we perform each Sunday, the focus of our faith, or are they the tools we use to worship the true, almighty, living God?  

Click on the link below to hear a message that asks the questions, “Is God more important than the building we worship in?  What is our faith in?  The buildings we have built with our own hands, or the grace of God?”

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

TO BE A SERVANT OF GOD (Acts 6:1-7)

TO BE A SERVANT OF GOD (Acts 6:1-7)

As a Christ follower we are all servants of our Lord Jesus.  We are all expected to serve to meet the needs of the church, both the local church, and the church that is made up of all true followers of Christ.

I believe that when properly qualified, and Holy Spirit called, people are chosen to perform the duties of a servant, then they can have a powerful affect on the unity of the church. Spiritual service is the major emphasis of the Christian life. Anything we do in obedience to God's Word is service. In that sense we are all in the ministry.  In no sense do we find in the Scriptures that Pastors, church staff, teachers, elders or deacons, serve and everyone else watches. There isn't a leadership level made up of pastors, a service level made up of deacons, and a spectator level made up of all other believers.  There is no audience in the church; we are all in the ministry. We have all been called to submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are all His servants.

We are under orders. Christ is our Lord and master. He has called us into spiritual service. We serve Him by obeying the Word of God, following the promptings of the Spirit of God, coming under the authority of the church, and meeting the needs of those around us. 

It is one thing to say, "I'm proud to be able to serve my country," or "I'm proud to have served this great cause." But that doesn't even come close to being able to say, "I have been called into service by the King of kings and Lord of lords-Jesus Christ Himself."  That is our high and holy calling, it is the vocation to which we are called. 

Click on the link below to hear a message on what it means to be a servant of God.  All hell cannot stop a church that will keep its eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for a growing church. I know where there’s life, there’s growth. Where there’s growth, there are problems. Where there are problems, there are solutions. And where there are solutions, there’s greater growth. 

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD (Acts 5:27-29)

WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD (Acts 5:27-29)

As we study the book of Acts, we have been building a bridge, and this bridge is supported by three pillars.  This bridge starts on the side where we are today in our spiritual lives, and is anchored on the other side where we need to be in our relationship with God.  This is what I call a bridge to the future. And there are three pillars that hold up this bridge. 

The first pillar is vision, and it tells us of God’s plan, what God wants us to do. And it is our responsibility to get alone with God, in such a way that we can hear God and have a vision, a dream, not a daydream, not autosuggestion, but to hear from God. For where there is no vision, the people perish. 

But once we’ve caught the vision, God’s plan, then we need the power. That is the second pillar, and the power is faith, faith to believe God.  Because when we believe God, God comes in with His mighty power. And God energizes us to do what we need to do. And a vision without faith is not really a vision at all. But, there can be no faith until we have the vision, because faith is a response to God. Faith is getting a word from God and believing it.

But now, wait a moment. Yes, there must be a vision. Yes, there must be faith. There must be a plan, and there must be power. But here is where the rubber meets the road. There must be a third pillar and that is performance.  Three pillars, vision, power, and performance.  For there to be performance, there must be obedience. You see, without obedience, vision and faith are empty words.  There can be no real obedience until we hear from God. And, we cannot obey without faith. But oh, if we would learn today the expedience of obedience!

In Acts chapter five, we are going to find this word: “we ought to obey God”. That is the title of the message: We Ought to Obey God. 

There is a great old hymn that says, “Trust and obey; for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” As a matter of fact, if you don’t obey, then you are really not trusting. Our English word “believe” comes from the old English phrase, “by live”.  Which just means that what we really believe we live by. The rest is just religious talk. “Trust and obey; for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” 

Click on the link below to hear a message on how this church is no greater than the faith and obedience of its people. In your family, in your personal life, your personal life is no greater than your trust and your obedience. 

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

A WITNESSING LIFESTYLE (Acts 5:19-20)

A WITNESSING LIFESTYLE (Acts 5:19-20)

The thing I love about the book of Acts is that it teaches us the Biblical truths about what I want to call “That Old-Time Religion.”  It teaches us the concepts about the power of the Holy Spirit and the overwhelming love of Jesus Christ that our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents learned, believed, and taught.  These are not new, socially adjusted, truths about what is right and wrong in the eyes of God that we are learning about.  These truths have been ours to apply to our lives from the time that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.  There is no changing or turning with God.  Today, His Word is just as applicable, and His promises are as secure, as they have always been, and always will be.  

Today, I want to ask you a question: Did you know that there is something that you are privileged to do that the angels are not privileged to do?  Did you know that there is something that you are commanded to do that no angel has ever been commanded to do?  Angels are not allowed to preach and witness about the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  Why is it that angels can’t preach the gospel of Jesus? It is because when we preach the gospel of Jesus, or when we are soul winners, what we are doing is this: we are sharing what Jesus has done for us. Jesus said, “Ye shall be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)

When you go out tomorrow to live a witnessing lifestyle, and you see anybody coming down the street, I want you to know that people all have the same heartaches, and they all have the same hunger, because down in their hearts they need to know God, and the things of this world cannot satisfy. And they may not even know that it is God that they are searching for, but they need to know Him.  They also all have the same hope—and His name is Jesus. Jesus will save anybody. The hope of the world is Jesus. All men have a common hope, this same hope; there is no other way apart from Jesus.  Jesus is not the best way to heaven; He is the only way.  

And here’s the bottom line: All people need the same help. They need somebody to tell them about Jesus.  That somebody is you.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how we can live a witnessing lifestyle, by making ourselves available, expendable, and adaptable to the calling of God to witness to a world of people who have the same heartaches, the same hunger, the same hope, and the same need of help.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

DISCERNING BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN (Acts 5:12-42)

DISCERNING BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN (Acts 5:12-42)

Today’s lesson is about choices. The choice of following God, or of following Satan.  Now, you would probably say, “Well Keith, of course I will always make the choice of following God.”  But in reality, is it always that clear cut and that easy to determine which church we ought to attend, and which pastor is truly preaching God’s Word, or which gospel ministry we should support with our money?  

To recognize the works and will of God requires three things:

The first is that you must have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master.  You cannot find God’s will until you do that first.

Second, you must know God’s Word.  To discern truth from evil, requires that you have constantly studied and applied God’s Word to your life.  This is important because God will never ask you to do something that is against His revealed Word.  

And then third, you must have fully surrendered your life to God.  God does not speak to a Christ follower that is in rebellion to Him in any part of his life.  Why should He tell you more, if you don’t obey Him with the things that you already know are His will?  

To hear the Holy Spirit speak and guide you to the things of God, requires that you be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.  If the Holy Spirit is locked away in some deep, dark, closet that you only let out on Sunday, then you will not be able to discern the works and will of God, from those of Satan.

Satan is walking among us like a roaring lion, looking for those that he might devour.  Satan’s greatest tool is deception and in today’s world we see this manifested in the occult.  The occult is active on our college campuses today and in the best sections of our cities. People are given over to witchcraft today. It is amazing how many people will buy their daily horoscope, which they will then follow. Many people carry amulets, good luck pieces, charms, little dolls, and patron saints of this or that. This is growing by leaps and bounds in a materialistic age and culture such as ours.  

For what is the gospel?  It is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living and true God.  Do you have Him today? You either do, or you don’t. You either trust Him, or you do not trust Him. Either He is your Savior, or you do not have a Savior. That is the message. The apostles did not cease to teach and to preach Jesus Christ.

Click on the link below to hear a message to learn how you can make sure that you do not miss the signs and miracles of a gracious God in your life.  Do not be deceived by Satan, the master of lies.  Find God’s will and surrender to it.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.

LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 5:1-11)

LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 5:1-11)

Let me begin by saying that, as a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit is your very best friend, and the Holy Spirit is Jesus in you.  He is the one who makes manifest the life of the Lord Jesus in your mortal flesh. What a wonderful, wonderful, friend the Holy Spirit is.

In the passage of Scripture that I’m going to read to you today, we find a phrase about lying to the Holy Ghost.  Let me say this, all lies are serious.  Let me repeat that, all lies are serious.  Sometimes we tell little lies, we exaggerate a little bit, and we think that is not quite so serious.  For example, men, when your wife asks you if an outfit makes her look fat, do you tell the truth?  Of course, you do.

Some lies we think are whimsical and maybe even humorous. But, a lie is a very serious thing.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is known as the truth.  On the other hand, the Bible tells us that Satan is the father of all lies.  Therefore, when you tell the truth you give God an opportunity to work. When you tell a lie, you tell a lie because Satan has already been working in you.

God detests the sin of hypocrisy, the sin of pretense, the sin of saying we are one thing, but really being another. If you read about the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find out that Jesus reserved his sternest words for hypocrites. There was one thing that Jesus Christ detested, and it was hypocrisy. 

Let me make four observations, and four pleas with you today.  Number one, if you are a child of God that sins among the saints it is more serious than sin among the lost.  And, sin when God is working in revival power, is the most dangerous of all sin. 

Number two, is that sin against the Holy Spirit is extremely serious. Do not tempt the Holy Spirit of God. Do not be a pretender. 

Number three, I urge you to be on guard against hypocrisy in your own life. It is far better not to be what you ought to be than to pretend that you are what you are not.

Preachers, and teachers, are often tempted to do that, to exaggerate, or to pretend devotion because we think that we are setting the example. In my estimation, I want my pastor, and my teacher, just to be honest and to tell it like it is in his heart. And, I want people to be honest. And, I believe when there is a spirit of honesty, even though there is a spirit of failure, God can work. 

Don’t pretend a devotion to Jesus Christ that you don’t have.  Don’t lie to the Holy Ghost. And, last of all, don’t let some hypocrite keep you from getting the best out of life.

Click on the link below to hear a message on what it means to lie to the Holy Spirit.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.