The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

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.

HOW TO PUT POWER IN YOUR PRAYER (Acts 4:23-33)

HOW TO PUT POWER IN YOUR PRAYER (Acts 4:23-33)

The progressives in our country have recently been disparaging prayer as weak and powerless to stop tragedies from happening.  For example, a recent incident occurred at a Catholic school while the children were praying in a sanctuary.  The progressive’s argument was what use was prayer, for it did not protect those innocent children.  It became a talking point for several members of congress castigating those who asked for prayer for the families that lost a child, and for our nation that is being consumed by evil.  

It is hard to believe that we, as a nation, have come to this point, but when you consider that these people do not believe that God exists, then it is logical that they do not believe in the power of prayer.  They miss the point that prayer is not a talisman to protect us, it is a direct communication with the Almighty God to provide strength to get through the tragedies, and evil, of this world.  Prayer is our fellowship with God who loves us, and whom we love.

More than ever, I am totally convinced that the need of the hour is power in prayer.  Not merely to pray, but to pray with power—to pray so as to get your prayers answered.  You see, prayer is not getting God to agree with you.  Prayer is getting you to agree with God about what He is going to do.  God is absolutely sovereign.  We do not change God’s mind about things that He has foreknown from the foundation of time.

Many of you know that my brother died a couple of weeks ago, and it was not because we did not pray with enough faith to heal him.  There were literally hundreds of people praying for him to be healed.  He died because it was God’s will that my brother would come home to be with Him.  And that was my prayer, that God’s will would be done in my brother’s life.  God, as our Creator, decides in His sovereign will, what will happen in this world, and nobody is going to name it, and claim it, to occur differently.  

I firmly believe that in order to get our prayers answered, we need to first find out what God’s will is, and then pray for that to occur.  Do I believe that we should pray for God to heal those who are sick?  Absolutely.  Do I believe that God heals people today?  Absolutely.  But when we pray for God’s will to be done, then we can rejoice and praise God just as loudly when He heals someone, as when He chooses to bring someone home.  And I did exactly that, I praised God’s name when God chose to take my brother home.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how prayer is a means of bringing the power of heaven into our lives.  

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

Amen.

THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION (Acts 1:1-9)

THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION (Acts 1:1-9)

The book of Acts is a wonderful, wonderful, book, and we are going to be looking at this book for quite a while. As a matter of fact, I got to thinking about a title for this particular study and I came up with “That Old-Time Religion.” Now, the reason that I want to call it “That Old-Time Religion” is that we need to take a look back, so that we might really face the future. And it is very important that we do this today, because it is the Old-Time Religion that needs to be the New-Time Religion.

The book of Acts tells a very impressive story of what happened in the first century when the church was created.  The book of Acts is the story of success. It is the story of a church triumphant. Really, it is the story of a small group of unlettered, uncultured people with meager resources, very little money, no prestige, no colleges, no seminaries, no radio or television, no internet, Google didn’t exist, there were no printing presses, and no magnificent buildings in which to draw people in.  All they had was a small group of people who went out to tell the story of a publicly executed Jew. 

They went out against great obstacles.  They faced the imperial might of Rome, the intellectual sophistication of Greece, the religious bigotry of that day, and they turned that world inside out, and upside down, for Jesus Christ. They did so much with so little.  Today, we do so little with so much.  Therefore, I believe we need to go back and see what they did, and how they did it. And for that reason, we are going to be studying the Book of Acts, which is the story of a church on fire with evangelism and growth, and I believe it can become our pattern for today. And I want God to burn the message into your heart.

Click on the play button to hear a message on what Jesus can accomplish through you, if you let Him.  Do you want this year to be a great year? Then recognize His presence in you, receive His promise to you, and respond to His program through you.

Our prayer, today, should be “Father, I pray, in the name of Jesus, that You would make me a greater soul winner. And Lord, help me to recognize that, in the truest sense, You are the one who draws those people to Yourself as You inhabit my humanity and display Your deity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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

Amen.

THE OPPORTUNITY OF TIME (Ephesians 5:13-18)

THE OPPORTUNITY OF TIME (EPHESIANS 5:13-18)

The word “opportunity” implies there are things to lose or gain, and that is what our lesson is about today, “The Opportunity of Time.”

Paul writes, “Redeeming the time,” which speaks of the days, the hours, and the minutes.  But, more than that, it really speaks of the opportunities that we have.  Because, you need to see time, not just as something that is passing, but you need to see time as an incredible opportunity. And when you are redeeming time, what you are really redeeming is opportunity.

God has provided for you an opportunity. It is God who is the creator of time. God’s great gift to you, number one is Jesus, and number two is time. God has given you time to work, time to serve, time to love, time to laugh, time to labor. But, like any gift, how you use it, is really up to you. And we need to see every day, this day and every day, as a gift from God.  Time is something that God gave you today, and God will give you tomorrow. It is not something that you own. God is the creator, the possessor, of time.  Therefore, I am a steward of the time that God has given me. And one day I will have to answer to God for what I did with this day, and every day, that God has given me. Twenty-four hours in the day, 1,440 minutes in the day, 86,000 seconds in the day—and every one of them is a precious gift from God.  I want to show you from God’s Word how to take time, and use time, and maximize your time for God’s glory, as we face the road ahead. 

Click on the play button to hear a message on how to live in the eternal now. Cut yourself loose from yesterday. Last year, with its heartaches and its failures, is gone. Forget those things which are behind. Confess them to the Lord, and bury them in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. Tomorrow is a time nowhere but on the fool’s calendar. Stop saying, “If I had the time …” You do have the time; use it. And if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, the Bible says, “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Now is the time to be saved.

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

Amen.

HOW TO PRAY FOR OUR LOVED ONES (Ephesians 3:8-21)

HOW TO PRAY FOR OUR LOVED ONES (EPHESIANS 3:8-21)

Today’s message is going to help us learn about intercession.  If you have loved ones, then certainly you want to learn the art of intercession, or prayer.  Let me tell you that I will use those two words, prayer and intercede, interchangeably.  Because that is what we are doing when we pray for somebody, we are interceding for them with God.  We are praying to God for them.   
There is nothing we can do for our friends, our children, our parents, our fellow members of the church, and even people we do not know personally, that is any nobler, any higher, any more wonderful, or any more effective, than to learn how to pray for them, how to intercede for them. 

As I was studying this week, there was a thought that hit me. It was so staggering that it almost consumed me. I mean, it almost drove me to my knees. It almost just overwhelmed me. I hesitate to tell you what the thought was because you’ll say, “Well, I knew that. You mean you’ve been teaching all these years and you just discovered that?” But, I want to tell you what the thought was. Now, don’t laugh when I tell you. Here’s what it was, and remember it was perhaps the most staggering thought I’ve ever had in my life: God answers prayer. Well, you say, “What’s the big deal?” Yeah, I knew it, too, but then I got to thinking, “Is that true?” I mean, is that more than just talk? Does God really answer prayer?

Now, if there is a God and He answers prayer—you think about it—that is staggering that I can touch the One who made the universe and bring Him into action through prayer. It just overwhelmed me, and I thought, “Oh God, knowing this is true, why don’t I pray more? Why don’t I learn to pray if God answers prayer?” What unmitigated fools we are if we don’t learn how to pray. And yet, there is a constant battle in my heart to pray more and a constant confession, “O God, have mercy on me. I’ve failed again in my prayer life.” 

Is that true about you sometimes?  If yes, then you will find something wonderful in this message.  Now, I pray, and I thank God for answered prayer.  I know that God hears my prayer and answers my prayer, but I am constantly condemned and constantly amazed that I don’t pray more and better than I do pray. I believe that when we get to heaven, one of the things that’s going to amaze us, and chagrin us, is that we prayed so poorly and prayed so little. 

Click on the play button to hear a message on how to pray for your loved ones.  

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

Amen.

A BOX OF BONES (Genesis 50:22-26)

A BOX OF BONES (Genesis 50:22-26)

Today, we close out our study of the book of Genesis.  It has certainly been a good study about the power of God, and the faith of each of the people we have encountered.  We have studied about the wonderful creation of all things by the mighty power of God, and the destruction of The Flood as God’s judgment of evil man.  Then, we have studied about the faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.  Each man giving us an example of how to live a life of faith in spite of the trials and tribulations that faced them.  In fact, our closing lesson is going to be another example of the faith of Joseph.  The title of our lesson today is, “A Box of Bones.” 

The very last words of the book of Genesis are “a coffin in Egypt.”  Now, that’s a strange way for a book to end.  It begins with creation, and it ends in a coffin. The devil said to Eve at the beginning of creation, “Ye shall not surely die; that you can sin with impunity.” But, the fact is the devil lied, because we have had one funeral after another. And so, the book that begins with a blaze of glory ends with a grave. The book that begins with the vastness of eternity, ends with the shortness of time. The book that begins in a garden, ends in a coffin. And the book that begins with a blaze of brightness, ends with a box of bones, the bones of Joseph.

Did you know that the bones of Joseph are mentioned not only in the book of Genesis, but in the book of Hebrews, as well? And not only in the book of Hebrews, but in the book of Exodus? And not only in the book of Exodus, but in the book of Joshua? God tells us about those bones, and then He tells us about them three more times.  Now, what have we said about what we need to do when God repeats something multiple times in the Bible?  We need to pay real close attention because God repeats the things that He feels are very important for us to understand.  

Click on the play button to hear a message on how the faith of Joseph can be found in a box of bones.

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

Amen.

THE REVELATION OF GOD'S WILL (Genesis 45:9 to 46:7)

THE REVELATION OF GOD’S WILL (Genesis 45:9 to 46:7)

Does God have a purpose in the events of this world? Does God have a purpose for your life?  If the answer to those two questions is “Yes”, and it is, then the better question is do you know the purpose of God for your life?  If not, how do you go about discerning the purpose, or the will, of God in your life?  This is what our lesson is about today.  I want to speak to you about The Revelation of God’s Will.

Your great desire ought to be to know His will.  Your great delight will be to do His will.  Your great danger is to refuse His will.  Nothing is right for you, if it is not God’s will.

It may sound simplistic, but the will of God for you is Jesus, just Jesus.  Jesus is the head of the church, and the church is the body.  What is the will of my body? My head.  What is the will of the church of the body of believers? Jesus, the head of the church.  The will of God for your life is Jesus.  He is your Lord.  Know Him, know the will of God.

Here are three principles about the will of God.

First, The will of God is for your welfare.  It is not something you have to do; it is something you get to do.  

Second, The will of God will never take you where the power of God and the grace of God cannot enable and keep you.

Third, You are free to choose.  God will never force His will upon you.  You are free to choose His will.  You are not free not to choose.  When you say, “Well, I just won’t choose.” You just made a choice.  You are free to choose, you are not free not to choose—and pay attention, you are not free to choose the consequences of your choice.  You make a choice to follow God’s will or not, and that choice chooses the consequences for you.  

So, what should we do to know the will of God? Ask the same questions that Jacob did.

Lord, who are you?  Do you know that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you know Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? Do you have an intimate relationship with Him?  Is your mind conformed to the mind of Christ?

Lord, what do you want me to do? Are you willing to do whatever God will enable you to do?  Are you surrendered to God?

Click on the play button to hear a message on how to know the will of God for your life.

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

Amen.

GOD'S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE (Genesis 37:1 to 39:3)

GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE (Genesis 37:1 to 39:3)

Let me start this blog by making a statement and you tell me if you believe it or not.  Are you ready? God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.  Now, do you believe that?  Well, I want to tell you, that without a doubt, God has a wonderful plan for your life. God has a divine destiny for you. And, what a shame it would be if you missed it. Today, I want you to think with me on this subject, “God’s plan for your life.”

Now, I’m not just saying that God has a plan for Abraham’s life, or Joseph’s.  Certainly, God had a plan for their lives, but God also has a plan for your life. Yes, even you.  God has a wonderful destiny for you, and I don’t want you to miss it.  Even in your old age, God has a plan for your life.  Otherwise, you would not still be here on this earth, for there would be no purpose in it, and God has a purpose in all that He does.  And, I believe as we study the life of Joseph today, we are going to find some things about his life that we can certainly apply to ours as we learn how to know God’s Plan for Your Life.

Click on the play button below to hear a message on how you can discover God’s plan for you. How you can let God give you a plan and a purpose for your life. I’m not talking about something you cooked up, but be in contact with God so however God wants to speak to you, He can. And, I believe the way that God wants to speak to New Testament Christians is presentation plus transformation equals revelation, that we might know the things that God has prepared for us.

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

Amen.