The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

ARE YOU PREPARED? (Proverbs 1:10-19)

Are you prepared?  Well, prepared for what?  In these days of unrest there is a whole group of people who are called “preppers.”  They have go-bags that are at the ready to grab in the event of an emergency, be it a hurricane, a riot, or some other cataclysmic event.  Those bags contain food, camping equipment, and tools for survival without all of the support that we have in our society, like electricity, grocery stores, hospitals, gas stations, and even the internet.  They are prepared to face a crisis event.

So, how you respond to the question of Are You Prepared depends on what you need to be prepared for?  Is it a crisis event, or is it just to go to work today, or to school to take that exam?  

Our message today is going to ask the Christian believer Are You Prepared to go out into the secular world?  This message is for every believer, young or old, rich or poor, educated or not.  For you to live a victorious Christian life you have to be prepared to face a world full of temptation and sin.  This is especially true of our children as they get to the age where they will enter the world.  But even though this message seems to be directed at our children, the principles that Solomon describes are just as applicable to adults.

One of the primary responsibilities of a Christian parent is to prepare their children to go out into the world and live a life that honors and glorifies God.  Now, every parent wants their child to go out and succeed, but a secular parent and a Christian parent should have different definitions for the word succeed.  The world looks at success in terms of wealth, power, happiness, and a family.  

A Christian looks at success as finding fulfillment in always being obedient to the will of God for their lives.  Now, wealth, power, happiness, and a family, may, or may not, come for the Christian, but if they do, they are simply due to the grace of God, not because of anything that we have done.  Our trust is in the love that God has for us, and the certain knowledge that He will provide everything we need, and much more than we deserve.  

If your trust is in something other than God to provide for your needs, like your own hard work, then you are not prepared to do God’s will for your life.  This is true because it impacts your priorities.  If your priority is to provide for your needs, then those needs will always come before your work for God. 

Other than making sure your children know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, teaching them this concept of duty and service to God is the single most important principle that we can give them.  It is to be more important than teaching them how to read, to write, to dress themselves, and to be polite.  All those things are important, but without God, and without a desire to serve God, they will be easy prey for the world.  

Click on the link below to hear a message that asks the question Are You Prepared to go out into the secular world?  

Amen.

HOW TO RAISE KIDS WHO WILL COUNT FOR GOD (Proverbs 1:7-9)

I am always amazed at the wisdom of God.  There are times that I don’t always understand what God is doing, but that is ok, because God doesn’t need my understanding.  One area that I think about is the fact that most people are parents when they are young, full of energy, and make no mistake they need that energy to chase after those kids, but they lack the wisdom that it takes to be a really good parent.  You see, we tend to gain more wisdom as we get older, but it is when we are young that we need that wisdom, and raising kids is one of those times.  

Now, my wife is a terrific mother.  She has dedicated herself to our boys, and nobody ever loved a child more than my wife loves our two boys and their wives, and our grandchildren.  But, I have to admit, that I could have been a better parent than I was.  It wasn’t for a lack of trying.  I just never did get a copy of the how to raise kids manual so that I could read it and know what I was supposed to do.  I had to learn on the job, just like everyone else.  Now, it is at a time like this when I realize just how ignorant I was.  There I had, available for me in His Word, a complete guide to the way God wants us to raise kids to count for Him, and I just didn’t have the wisdom to use it like I should have.

 If you are a Christian parent, one of the promises of God that you should hold dear to your heart is that, the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

Ps 112:2
2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
KJV

This is a promise that God will bless your children and make them mighty upon the earth.  The strongest desire of my heart for my kids is not that they be wealthy, not that they be famous, not that they will always be praised or whatever, but that they will love the Lord Jesus Christ and count in His cause.  I want them to be people who will count for God.  God has kept this promise in my two boys and their own families, in spite of my failings.

I thank God for Christian homes. I don’t know of anything any better than a Christian home. Your home doesn’t exist so you can do your business; your business exists so you can have your home. God ideally wants everybody to have three homes. A family home, a church home, and a heavenly home. Jesus is the greatest homebuilder. Satan is the greatest home-wrecker.  God wants you to have a family home. Now maybe you’re an orphan. Maybe you’re divorced. Maybe you’re separated. Then you need some friends that will be sort of a family to you. That’s one of the good reasons we have Bible fellowship classes in churches. But you need some kind of a family home. And then you need a church home. You need a place with your brothers and sisters in Christ. And then you need to know that you know that you know that when you die, you’re going to heaven—to the Father’s house. Now Jesus is the key to all three. You have to know the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to raise kids who will count for God.

Amen.

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PROVERBS (Proverbs 1:1-6)

Whenever I get ready to teach, or study, a book of the Bible, and I know that I am going to be spending a lot of time in it, I try to get in my mind why God put this book in the Bible and what it is that He wants me to learn from it.  The Bible is such a marvelous book. It is so simple that a child can learn about God’s love for them, and it is so deep that a person can spend their entire life plumbing it depths and barely get below the surface. I love the Word of God, because it allows me to know the mind of God, and when I know the mind of God, I know the love of God.  There is nothing that I value more than the love that God has for me.  It sustains me, it motivates me, it guides me, and it makes me the person that I am, a servant of God.  

I firmly believe that God gave us His Word so that we might know who He is, what He has done for us, and as a result, that we might live for Him.  It is His Word that answers all of the questions that we have in this life.  It is His Word that grounds me in the absolute truths about right and wrong, it establishes what good and evil are, light from dark, and it gives me the keys to living a victorious Christian life.  

So, what is it that God wants us to know from the book of Proverbs?  Why did God give us this very unusual book?  When you look at the book of Proverbs, you will find it to be an interesting collection of short, concise and forcefully expressive sayings.  Unlike our studies of the gospel of John, and the life of David, Proverbs does not even tell a story, or a series of stories.  We won’t find David slaying Goliath with five smooth stones, and we won’t find Jesus healing the sick and feeding the five thousand.  As a result, you may not consider the Book of Proverbs as a very thrilling story, but it is.  You also may want to think of the Book of Proverbs like a big collection of sayings that you might find in a Chinese cookie, but it is not.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on what God wants you to know about the book of Proverbs, and how it can give you the answers to many of your questions about life.  

Amen.

WHO DO YOU TRUST IN? (1Chronicles 21:1-30)

The America that most of us grew up in, was a country where self-reliance was expected and taught.  You worked to provide for you and your family’s needs.  If that meant digging ditches, or working in a factory, or in an office, then that is what you did.  You relied on your physical skills and your mind to provide for you needs.  You did not rely on the government or others or to provide for your needs.  However, that is not the world that we live in today.  We are told by a corrupt media and educational system that we are to rely on an equally corrupt and all-powerful government to provide all of our needs.  The government takes from those whom they deem to have too much and gives it to those who they choose to give it to.  We are expected, and we are taught, to trust in our government.  

That is what the world teaches.  Yet, as Christians, we are taught to rely on God to provide for our needs.  However, that does not mean that we are to sit on our backsides and wait on God to turn rocks into bread so that we may eat.  The Bible tells us that if we choose to not work, then we will not eat.

2 Thess 3:10
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
KJV

So, the world teaches us to rely on the world, and the Bible teaches us to rely on God.  The question that we have before us today is who and what do your actions, not your words, say that you trust in?

Unfortunately, for most of us, even Christians, the answer to that question depends on how things are going at the time.  When things are going your way, who do you trust in, and what do you trust in?  Is it yourself, your bank account, your skills, and your intellect?  When things are going good, why should you bother God?  He is very busy.

However, when things are going against you, and each bad event seems to just stack one upon the other, then who, and what, do you trust in?  Is this the time that you choose to bother God?

If, when you search down deep for the truth in answering these questions, God only appears when the times are bad, then this lesson is for you.  If God is only your 911 call when things go bad, then this lesson is for you.  

Click on the podcast below to hear a message on one of the greatest sins that man can commit, the sin of unbelief.  

Amen.

WHEN A CHILD OF GOD SINS (2 Samuel 11:1-26)

Can a child of God sin?  Yes, they can and do, frequently.  Can a child of God sin a great big sin, like breaking one of the 10 commandments?  Now, before you answer that, I want you to work your way down the list of commandments, and tell me if you can break them and be a child of God?  Yes, of course, they can.  Then, can a child of God sin and not suffer?  Absolutely not.

Today’s message is about a child of God who sinned, and sinned greatly, which makes this a very sad story.  It is sad because a man whom God loved, and who truly loved God, committed not just the sin of adultery, but then he tried to cover it up by committing murder.  Now those are really big sins, and David committed them.

So, not only is this a sad story, but it is also a tragic story because a man who the Bible describes as a man after God’s own heart will have to face the consequences of that sin.  Make no mistake, there is always a consequence to our sin against God, and David was no exception.  First, without a doubt you will suffer conviction from the Holy Spirit of God.  If you sin and you don’t feel the convicting power of the Holy Spirit working on you, then you better check your salvation, because a child of God cannot sin and not suffer conviction from the Holy Spirit.  

Now, if we repent of that sin and ask God for forgiveness, then He will forgive our sin.  But, as we will see in this story, we may still have to face the consequences of that sin.  If you are a twice-born child of God, you will not lose your salvation because you sin, even if that sin is adultery or murder, but you will face consequences in this life, and perhaps a loss of rewards in heaven.  

Now, not only is this a sad and tragic story, but it is also a familiar story.  People who do not love God, people who believe all Christians are hypocrites, love this story because it details the failure of a man of God.  Of course, I am sure you know by now that the story in our message today is about David’s sin with Bathsheba. 

Now, I want you to pay attention to this scripture that we are about to cover, and it is going to be a two-part lesson.  This first week, we are going to cover the sin that David committed, and make no mistake it was a terrible sin.  But, the reason I want us to pay attention to this Scripture is that next week we are going to give hope to believers who have sinned greatly.  God wants you to know that no matter what you sin is, there is a way back to fellowship with Him.  This is important because we all sin, even as a child of God we sin, and we need to know that this hope is there for us.  We can be right with God.

Click on the link below to hear a message about a man of God who sinned greatly, and the warning in this message is that if a man as great as David can fall into sin, then so can you.

Amen.

HOW TO WORSHIP GOD (1 Chronicles 16:29)

Most of the people who read my posts and listen to my audio messages have been Christians for a long period of time.  Some of you, like me, were saved as a child.  Others, were saved at some point later in life, and as we get older, we tend to get set in our ways.  

I say all of that to indicate that we have probably also gotten pretty comfortable in on our method of worshipping God.  We know what we like, and how we like to do it.  Some of us will be more ritualistic and formal than others, some with much less formality.  But we like what we like, and we resist change.  Now, I can hear some of you thinking, “Why bro. Keith this is the way we did it back in the church I grew up in, and that is what makes me happy, and you want me to be happy, don’t you?”  Well, I do and that is real good, because in today’s lesson, we are going to see what the Bible says about how to worship God, and who knows, maybe some of us seasoned citizens might learn a thing or two.  

The title of our lesson today is How to worship God.  Now, that is a pretty big subject, with lots of territory to cover, but we are going to make it short and sweet today, because the Bible is pretty straight forward when it comes to worshipping God.  It is us that makes it difficult, or complicated, not God.  

Do you want to have victory in your Christian life? Do you want to really be used of God? Then, learn to praise the Lord. Praise Him. Praise Him continually.  Praise Him creatively.  Praise Him celebratively, and Praise Him, confidently.  God is such a great God! Some people just don’t understand what real worship is.

Click on the link below to hear a message that tells us that Worship is all that I am responding to all that God is.

Amen.

SAUL, THE MAN WHO HAD IT ALL (1 Samuel 26:21)

When I look at the life of Saul, it gives me pause, and it challenges me, because what happened to Saul could happen to me, and it could happen to you or anyone.  Today, we are going to talk about the folly of disobedience. We need to learn that fools are not born, they are made, and generally, they are self-made.

Saul, was a man who had it all.  In fact, no man ever had a better start than the man named Saul, and nobody ever had a sadder finish than the man named Saul. When we first meet Saul in the Bible, he was Israel's first king, he is handsome, he is courteous, he is thoughtful, he is humble, he is young, and he is vital, virile, and vivacious.  Yet, when you look at this same man when he becomes older, you see him as a bitter, murderous, envious, wicked, and desperate old man.  You look at him and say, "How could it be? How could someone who started out so well, end so poorly?”

Click on the link below to learn that there can be no success without obedience. Saul failed to obey the Word of God. No matter how much you know; no matter how much you have; no matter how much influence and authority you have, if you do not obey God, then you are going down, because you are practicing witchcraft.  “God says that Disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft.”  

The song says that we are to trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

As I have gotten older, and God has made it plain that I have a lot fewer days ahead of me than I do behind me.  Do you know what my prayer is for me? I want to end well.  I would not be honest with you if I did not tell you that I believe that God has had His hand on my life, and I bless Him for it. I bless Him for these years.  I regret the years that I spent not doing what God wanted me to do, but I rejoice in the days that God has let me teach His Holy Word.  So, my prayer is now that God will let me end well.  

No one is immune to the deceiving and deadening power of sin if he becomes self-willed rather than Spirit-filled.  We will never be over the power of sin in our lives until we are under the power of the Holy Spirit of God.  We cannot defeat sin without God in our hearts.

I don’t care who you are, or what you’ve achieved. I pray God that every one of us will have enough sense not to play the fool. Never a man had a better start, and never did a man end more tragically, than Saul, the man who had it all.

Amen.

TO HAVE KINGDOM AUTHORITY (1 Samuel 24:1-7)

We live in a world today that is full of rebellion, and it is not just the riots and chaos that we see in our streets.  It is in our families, our churches, and in the places that we work.  People are choosing to rebel against the authorities that God has placed over them.  They stand up and say, “I will not wear a mask because my government tells me that I have to”, or “nobody can tell me I have to shut my business down.”  Even far worse, they take the streets looting, rioting, and burning down the foundations of our country.  The Bible is very clear about Christians who have a spirit of rebellion.

Rom 13:1-2
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
KJV

Now, you might say, "Wait a minute. You don't know the kind of government we have. It is full of a bunch God hating, progressive, socialists."  Well, maybe you don't know the kind of government that existed when Paul wrote this, when Nero was on the throne. Nero was feeding Christians to the lions in his arenas, and he was setting Christians on fire to light the streets of the city.

But you say, "What if I have an unworthy authority? What if my parents are unworthy? What if my husband is unworthy? What if my president is unworthy? What if my mayor is unworthy? What if my councilman is unworthy? What if my teacher is unworthy? What do I do?" That's a wonderful question.  The Bible says that one thing that you don't do, you do not have a spirit of rebellion.  If you wish to live a victorious Christian life, then one of the most important lessons that we can learn is how to live under the authority of God.  This includes those whom God has placed in authority over us.  

Now the phrase kingdom authority means to be able to act with the authority of God in your Christian life.  Let me assure you, it is not God's plan for you to be defeated by the world, the flesh, nor the devil.  Because, when Jesus died and rose again, He gave to His children authority over these things. But, listen carefully to me now, we will never be over those things that God has put under us until we are willing to get under, and stay under, those things that God has put over us. 

However, I want to be clear that to be under authority does not mean that we give in to wickedness.  It does not mean that we approve error.  It does not mean that we blindly obey an ungodly government. The prophets in God's Word preached against the wickedness in the kingdom. Nathan warned King David when he did wrong. Elijah warned Ahab. Eleazar spoke to Jehoshaphat, Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, Moses to Pharaoh, and God forbid that we should have pulpits today that are silent when little babies are being murdered and when wickedness prevails in so many ways. 

One of the most disturbing and reprehensible rebellions that is taking place today is against our police officers, and it breaks my heart to see this occur.  Pastor Adrian Rogers quoted this description of a policeman in one of his sermons, and he says the author is unknown.  It is similar to what Paul Harvey once said about being a policeman, but it is not quite the same.  Every time I read this it moves me. 

"A policeman is many things. He is a son, a brother, a father, an uncle, and sometimes even a grandfather. He is a protector in time of need and a comforter in time of sorrow. His job calls for him to be a diplomat, a psychologist, a lawyer, a friend, and an inspiration. He suffers from an overdose of publicity about brutality and dishonesty. He suffers far more from the notoriety produced from unfounded charges.

Too often acts of heroism go unnoticed, and the truth is buried under all the criticism. The fact is that less than one-half of one percent of policemen ever discredit their uniform. That's a better average than you'll find among clergymen. A policeman is an ordinary guy who is called upon for extraordinary bravery for us. His job may sometimes seem routine, but the interruptions can be moments of stark terror. He is the man who faces a half-crazed gunman, who rescues a lost child, who challenges a mob, who risks his neck more often than we realize. He deserves our respect and profound thanks. 

A policeman stands between the lawbreaker and the law abider. It's the prime reason your home hasn't been burned, your family abused, and your business looted. Try to imagine what might happen if there were no policemen around, then try to think of ways to make their job more rewarding. Show them the respect you really have for them. Offer them a smile and a kind word. See that they don't have to be magicians to raise their families on less-than-adequate salaries. We think policemen are great. We thank God for all the little boys who said they would be policemen and all who kept their promise. We hope you feel the same way, and we hope you will show it, so that there will always be enough good policemen to go around."  That is a description of a hero that speaks to my heart.

Click on the link below to learn how to have kingdom authority in a world full of rebellion.

Amen.

THE JOB OF A CHRISTIAN (John 20:21)

The title of the lesson is “The Job of a Christian,” but I could just as easily have used the title of, "Getting People Ready for Heaven" because that is what Jesus is telling His disciples, and us, about what comes next. The resurrection is real, Jesus is alive, and this is what He wants us to do next.

John 20:21
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
KJV

Jesus didn't come as the great teacher. He didn't come as the great financier, and He didn't come as the great politician. He came to be the Savior of the world. The mandate that the Father sent His Son to do was a mandate of salvation. Our mandate today is the same mandate that Jesus had, and that is the salvation of souls.

Does God want people saved? Of course, He does. Has God put His instructions in the Bible? Of course, He has. What we need to do is to give the simple, glorious, message of Jesus Christ. There are thousands of people out there who will respond to the simple message of the gospel. The gospel is so incredibly simple—not simplistic—but simple, clear, plain, and sweet. You don't have to be a PhD to understand it. God loves common people, and so, what you need to do is to learn the simple, sweet, glorious message of the gospel, and then share it with others.

The world is hungering for this truth. His message is to be our message.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how we need to make a full, total, surrender to Jesus Christ. Learn how to share the gospel. Pray that God will lay some soul upon your heart, or that God will open extraordinary opportunities to you, and then be bold enough to speak for Jesus. Don't be afraid of failure. There can be no failure if you obey. Whether they are saved or not, you will be a success if you share the Lord Jesus. Successful witnessing is sharing Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results with God.

Amen.

ARE YOU PART OF THE FAMILY Part I (John 15:12-17)

So, what kind of church do you belong to? A growing church, or a dying church? Here at Summit, we have a wonderful staff. Our pastors are some of the best pastors I have ever served under. We have good teachers, and dedicated volunteers. God has blessed those efforts, but is it possible for those blessings to become a negative for our church?

We come on Sunday, and Sunday by Sunday, our preachers, our teachers, our workers, and our musicians, they all present a wonderful program. Each Sunday we come and enjoy it and then go home and wait for the next service, and then we come and enjoy that and then we go home. The problem with a successful church, actually with any church, is that there are a few people working very hard, but a large part of the congregation does not share the load. They don’t become a part. They are in danger of becoming a congregation of spectators. They see the blessings, but they fail to remember the real purpose of a church, which is to be a hospital for souls. They forget that there are so many people in our church, and in our community, who need Jesus. There are so many who are hurting, so many who do not enjoy the blessings, the friendship, the warmth, and the love, that we enjoy. We need to ask ourselves, "How can we change this in our church, and how can we reach out to this community?" What is the message that we want to share?

One of the most important things that a person needs is a feeling of belonging. Well, belonging to what? Belonging to a family of friends who cares for them. Are we a family of friends? If we are to reach out to others and invite them into our family, then we must first be a family of friends.

A church that loves Jesus Christ is to be a family. You say, "Well, Bro. Keith, I live alone." That's all the more reason you need a church family because we are your extended family. And whether you have a great big family sitting around your dinner table or whether you live by yourself in an apartment, or in a room somewhere, your church is to be family. But it is more than family. It's friendship. And the two longings that people have in our world today are, for family, or a sense of belonging, and for friendship, or a sense of caring.

Each week you are given an opportunity to invite people who need Jesus to come and be a part of the family. But how many of you invite those people? Many of you have done that. We have been blessed by those that have come. But the fact that you invited them will only get people in the doors of the church. What they find inside the church is what matters. Do they find a family of friends who will welcome them into their family?

Jesus tells us, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” It is not optional, we have a duty, an obligation, a privilege to love others as Jesus loves us.

Click on the link below to hear a message on what it takes to be a friend and to have a friend. To be a family of friends.

Amen.