The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

GOD TELLS JACOB TO GO HOME (Genesis 30:25 to 31:18)

God needed to get the attention of Jacob, and He did.  It had been a long time since Jacob had heard the word of God in a clear voice.  Now, with the world becoming suddenly menacing, the voice and words of God became suddenly clear and meaningful.  Many times, that is exactly what we need to get us out of our comfort zones.  When things are going good we reason, why do we need to listen for the words of God?  Yet, when things start going bad, our first question is, why God?  Why is this happening to me?

It is then that we begin to listen to what God has been saying for a long time.  In Jacob’s case, it was “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred.”  Suddenly, the words of God had a meaning for Jacob.  For twenty years Jacob had been away from the land that God had promised him.  During that time Jacob had prospered.  Yet, Jacob testified to his wives that his prosperity resulted not from his own cleverness, but from God’s grace.  This was quite a change from the arrogant, self-sufficient, man that had rolled the stone from the well and chose his own wife, confident in his own wit and wisdom.  

This was an important step for Jacob.  Because it is not until we recognize that our success, our blessings, our strength, come not from ourselves, but from the grace of God, that God can truly begin to use us to do His work.  

Click on the play button below to hear a message on how true prosperity is spiritual, not material, it does not reside here, but where God is.  We have to look higher than this world for true prosperity.  

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

Amen.

JACOB'S LADDER PART II (Genesis 28:10-22)

Here in this story about Jacob’ dream about a ladder to heaven, we see God’s provision of salvation, we see a picture of the sinner, a picture of the Savior, and a picture of salvation.  

Jacob pictures the unconverted man.  He is the picture of a sinner.  Incidentally, I believe this is where Jacob got saved. I believe that up until this time Jacob had known about God, but he had not known God. His father was a godly man; his grandfather was a godly man, but Jacob was not a godly man. He was religious, but he was lost. Jacob pictures every unsaved sinner surrounded in darkness, surrounded by desert, and sentenced to death.  Jacob is sentenced with death, a poor, lonely old boy, without God, without hope, out there in the wilderness.

In this dream Jacob saw a ladder. The bottom of it was on the earth, and that ladder went up all the way to glory, and God the Father was at the top of that ladder.  Jacob saw angels coming down, and he saw angels going up. That ladder is a picture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the One upon which the angels ascend and descend. He is the link between heaven and earth. Jesus Christ is the One who connects heaven and earth. He is that ladder that reaches into glory. There is the reach of the ladder: it goes all the way to heaven. There is the reliability of the ladder: God is over it. There are the resources of the ladder: God’s promises, God’s protection, and God’s presence, are all wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, we see this ladder as a picture of salvation.  Before this night, Jacob was separated from God.  Jacob was in a place of separation, and then he saw the ladder, the staircase to heaven! He understood some spiritual truth. He understood that God had made a way for him, and that the blessings of God were to be mediated to him. And he’s now aware of God for the first time in his life.  That howling desert, that wilderness, that hard place, has now become for him the very house of God. And what a blessing, what a transformation, it was in his own heart and in his own life! 

Click on this link to hear a message on how Jacob’s dream is a picture of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 

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

Amen.

JACOB'S LADDER-PART I (Genesis 28:1 to 13)

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.

THE BRIDE FOR THE BRIDEGROOM (Genesis 24:28-67)

Today, I want to talk to you about a love story of a father finding a bride for the son that he loves dearly.  Actually, I want to talk about two love stories, with two Fathers, two Sons, two Servants, and two brides.  

One is Abraham, who, as a father, sends his servant back to the land that Abraham came from to find a bride for Isaac.  This unnamed servant is following the leading of the God of his master, Abraham, when he comes upon the house of Bethuel, where Rebekah lives.  His mission is to find the bride that has been selected by God for his master’s son, Isaac.  

The story of Abraham’s search gives us the type, or symbol, of a much greater, second, love story.  This second love story is the description of God the Father, determining from the foundations of time, that He would choose a bride for His Son, Jesus Christ.  Upon the completion of Jesus’ work at Calvary, which was the finished salvation that He has provided for each of us, God the Father sends the Holy Spirit as His Servant to gather together the bride for Jesus.  This bride is the church of the body of Christ, which is made up of believers that have come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior during this age that we live in today.  It is called the Church Age.  

Two tremendous love stories, two Fathers, two Bridegrooms, two Servants, and two brides.  Isaac loves Rebekah, but that is pale in comparison to the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit for the Bride of Christ.  

Click on the link below to hear about the greatest love story that has ever been told.  God has commissioned to me today to ask you a question. Are you ready for it? My Heavenly Father has said to me, “Keith, go teach this lesson. Tell people about Jesus. I want them to be Jesus’ bride. Tell them how wonderful Jesus is. And then, tell them that He who loves you is coming back for you one day.” My question to you is, will you receive Jesus as your Savior and seek to make His will yours?  God said, “Tell the people, Keith, that whosoever will may come.”  Don’t be left out of this love story.  Accept Christ today and be with Him for all of eternity.

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

Amen.

THERE IS NO PROBLEM GOD CANNOT SOLVE (Genesis 17:15-17)

These three verses contain four wonderful, wonderful, truths that you need to learn.  I want you to get these four things about a strong faith emblazoned in your heart, etched upon your consciousness.  I want them to reverberate through your soul, because I want for you what I want for myself, a strong faith.

The first is that Strong Faith Releases the Grace of God. Faith is the key.  It just opens the door and gets you in there where grace is, or it gets grace out here where you are. 

The second is that Strong Faith Relies on The Guarantees Of God.  Strong faith always relies on God’s guarantees. It does not rely on you, on what you wish, or what you want, but on what God has said. 

The third is that Strong Faith Recognizes the Greatness of God.  True faith is rooted in the promise, but not only in the promise, but in the One who promised. And so, if you are to have faith, not only must you have the Word of God, and a word from God, you must also understand the character of the God who gives this Word.

The fourth is that strong faith reveals the glory of God. The greatest way that you can glorify God is to believe Him.  

Click on the play button above to hear a message on the most important part of God’s grace that we can apply to our hearts and lives.  It is the foundational truth that we need to understand that our faith is based on. That truth is that There Is No Problem God Cannot Solve.  You will never have to say that something is too difficult for God to do in your life.  It is that truth that lets the peace of God rest in our hearts, for we have the omnipotent, the omniscient, and the omnipresent, God who can solve any issue, and any problem, that we might face as we serve the loving, living, God of all creation. 

God said to Abraham, “Abraham, I’m going to give you a son.” Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah was 90. It was humanly ridiculous, so much so, that Abraham laughed, and yet he turned, and he believed God.  How did he do it? Well, first of all, he said, “I know God that you want to do it by your sheer grace. And so by faith, I’m going to release that grace.”

Faith releases grace. It relies on God’s Word. It doesn’t look for anything else. It just simply takes the Word of God and gets a word from God. And, thirdly, the faith that relies on God, relies on God because it knows God’s character. It just simply is aware of who God is and what God can do. And, therefore, it just glorifies God. It just simply says, “God, I want to give you the praise. I’m going to give you the glory. I’m not going to stagger in unbelief.”

Now, if you’ll do that, then God will make you a person of strong faith. 

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

Amen.

TO BE STRONG IN FAITH (Genesis 17: 15-17)

Archimedes was a philosopher and physicist, and he said, “If you will give me a lever long enough, if you will give me a fulcrum with something to rest it on, and if you will give me a place to stand, I can move the earth.” He was right.  For us, that lever is faith, that fulcrum is the Word of God, and that place where we stand is in His grace.  With it, not only can we move the earth, but we can move heaven as well, if we learn to be strong in faith.

It is strong faith that releases the grace of God.  Rom. 4:16 says, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace …” meaning that without faith, you will never know grace, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure.” 

What is grace? Grace is “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” Grace is God giving us and showing us His great wonderful love. There’s nothing we can do to deserve it, or to earn it.  Grace is the unmerited love and favor of God that is just given to us. 

Now, how can you get in on this unmerited love and favor of God?  Only by faith! If you begin to work for it, if you begin to pay for it, then it is no longer grace.  It is no longer grace. If it is by grace, then by definition, it is no longer works, otherwise work is not work.  And, if it is by work, then by definition of the word work, it is not by grace, otherwise grace is no more grace. This is what the Bible says. You can’t mix grace and works, so the only way that grace can be grace is through faith.  That is the only way that grace can be grace.

Now, it is important to understand that unbelief holds grace prisoner.  If you are an unbeliever, grace will never work in your heart and in your life. The Bible says it is by faith so that it can be by grace. 

Click on the play button above to hear a message on how a strong faith is the key to unlock God’s grace in your life.

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

Amen.

THE PROMISE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (Genesis 17:1-8)

Did you know that the Jews are less than 0.19% of the world’s population? And yet more than twelve percent of all the honors in science, in health, in medicine, in music, in philosophy, and in public life have been garnered by these amazing people. The Nobel Prize is one of the highest prizes that men of learning confer upon one another. In the last fifty years, one-third to one-fourth of the Nobel prizes have been given to these people who only represent 19- hundredths of one percent of the population. Why is this? I believe that God in a very special way has His hand upon these people. They are the people of destiny.

You can study history and find some amazing things. Did you know that it was a Jew that financed Christopher Columbus’s voyage to find this New World? Did you know that on board that ship when Columbus set sail was a Jew and he was the first man to set foot upon these new shores? Did you know that? 

Did you know that a Jew, Hiram Solomon, financed George Washington and the Revolutionary War as we fought for our independence from the British? Did you know that? You don’t realize what an influence these people have had on your life. 

Click on the play button to hear a message on the promise that God makes to Abraham that He is giving to Abraham and his seed, “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”  I believe that God meant exactly that. I believe the word everlasting means everlasting.  What God is saying here is an iron fist upon history.  The Sovereign God is definitively saying that certain things are going to be done. What God is saying here is His plan to bless you, and to bless me, and to bless the nations of the world. This indeed is a blessing, a promise, that has changed the world, and it will give us understanding if we today will take the Word of God and let it speak to us as we study together.

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

Amen.

GOD’S TESTIMONY TO HAGAR AND ABRAHAM (Genesis 16:7 to 17:14)

The Bible tells us that Abraham and Sarai failed to be patient and wait on God’s perfect timing to accomplish His will in providing a son for Abraham.  The price of that failure was that Hagar was abused, and as a result, she rejected their witness and fled.  Hagar was first given to Abraham by Sarai, and then she was rejected and persecuted by Sarai after she became pregnant.  

Hagar’s rejection led her to flee from the very God that could give her everlasting life.  Hagar had no desire to be like Abraham and Sarai, if the way they treated her was an example of the God they believed in.  So, she turned her face back towards Egypt, back towards the world, back towards death and eternal darkness.  

I am glad that the Holy Spirit of God is able to convict the heart of the lost person in spite of the witness that most of us believers display on a daily basis, especially when we are away from the church, and even worse, within our own home.  Since Abraham and Sarai had so badly represented God to Hagar, God now steps in Himself and shows Himself to Hagar.  

Click on the link below to a message on how God loved Hagar just as much as He loved Abraham.  He sought her and found her, just as God had searched and found Abraham in the land of the Ur of the Chaldees.  From this point forward, the true and living God would no longer just be One about whom Abraham and Sarai spoke, He would be her God as well.  She confessed her faith with her mouth.  

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

Amen.

ABRAHAM’S RIGHTEOUSNESS (Genesis 15:6 to 16:6)

The story of Abraham gives us an opportunity for God to show us the power of His grace, and the power of His silence.  There are lessons for believers in both of these Biblical truths.  

It is by the power of God’s grace alone that our salvation comes.  Not by the works of man lest he should boast, but by the grace of our Heavenly Father that loves us.  It is the power of God’s grace that comes to us when we believe on the promises of God, when we believe what God has promised to accomplish in us through Jesus Christ.  It is when we believe that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for our sins, and then died and rose again, that the power of God’s grace imputes righteousness to us.  

It is by the power of God’s silence that we learn patience; that we learn the value of faith; and we learn to depend on God rather than on our own wits, our own strength, or the things that the world values and believes as natural.  It is the power of God’s silence that creates a test we rarely pass. We fail this test because we want things on our timing, rather than God’s.  One of the hardest lessons we learn as believers is to wait on God’s perfect timing for His will to be accomplished in our lives.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how God accounted Abraham as righteous.  Abraham believed God. He just accepted what God said, and he believed God. That is the way each of us get saved.  You must believe that God has done something for you, that Christ died for you and rose again. It is then that God will declare you righteous by simply accepting Christ.

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

Amen.

HOW TO MEND A BROKEN FAITH-PART II (Gensis 12:1 to 13:4)

I want you to imagine yourself being in the Biblical school of faith, and that’s a wonderful school, and if the truth were told, many of us have been in that school for a very long time.  The fact is that we often have to go back for some remedial training.  There are also times when God has decided to hold us back for a grade or two.  In fact, I am not too sure that I will ever officially graduate from the school of faith.  Amen?

Now, why is that?  It is because sometimes we don’t make very good grades. And I want to talk to you today about “How to Mend a Broken Faith,” because there are just times that we don’t do all that good in God’s school of faith.  Yet, this faith is so important for us to have in order to be successful in living the victorious Christian life.  

Ask yourself, did you once walk with God, but now you wonder why you’re even in church on Sunday morning because you’re so far away from God? Do you remember how it was when God was real to you? 

Ask yourself another question.  Was there ever a time where God was nearer, dearer, and sweeter, to you than He is right now? If so, you’re backslidden. Just remember what it was like, how sweet it was, when you walked with the Lord. Let God bring you back to His house. You say, “Bro. Keith, how can I get right with God? Where can I find God?” You’ll find him right where you left Him.  You don’t have to guess at it. You get on your knees, on your face, and God will show you. Go back to your first love.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how to mend your broken faith.  First, there must be repentance, then remembrance, and then restoration.  If you want to mend your faith, just gave it all back to Jesus, and the Lord will cleanse you and restore your faith.

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

Amen.