The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

THE BATTLE WITHIN-PART I (Genesis 25:1-27)

It is interesting to note that while the Holy Spirit goes into great detail about the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, most of the story of Isaac is told by attaching it to another person.  For example, Isaac’s Mount Moriah experience was told through Abraham, and his marriage was seen through the eyes of Abraham, Abraham’s unnamed servant, and Rebekah.  Even with the birth of Esau and Jacob, which are Isaac’s sons, we will see this event through the eyes of Rebekah.  

This is a story of two opposites.  Here are two boys, born at the same time, born in the same place, of the same parents, to the same advantages and opportunities.  Yet from the outset one of them set out in his own stumbling, full of errors, way to please God, while the other set out to please himself.  One was ruled by a heavenly vision, the other by worldly and carnal things.  

As with each of our lessons in Genesis, there is the primary interpretation of the events, in this case it is the development of the seeds of the nations of Israel and Edom.  But, we also have the spiritual interpretation of this story, and this interpretation discusses the battle that rages within each believer.  The battle between our carnal nature, and our new, Holy Spirit created, nature.  The carnal nature is the one we are born with, and the new nature is the one we receive once we are reborn in Christ.

It is a battle that is only fought within the heart of a believer, for a lost person only has one nature, his carnal, or fleshly nature.  He has no choice but to serve Satan as his master, so there is no need for a battle.  It is when we become saved that we must then choose between our two natures, and it is then that the battle for supremacy within our heart rages.  

As a believer, you have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is that value system that is out there. We call that the external foe. The flesh is that old Adamic nature. We call that the internal foe. The devil: we know who he is, for he is the infernal foe.  So, we all have three enemies that are warring against us. 

Click on the link below to hear a message about that internal foe, the flesh; and we’re going to be talking about victory over the flesh, as we study our lesson today, and next week, on Jacob and Esau, these two twins.

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.

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.

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.

THE CALL OF ABRAHAM (Genesis11:10 to 12:8)

Chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Genesis mark an important turning point in the Scriptures.  Up to this point, the story has been that of the whole Adamic race.  There has been neither Jew nor Gentile.  All have been one in “the first Adam.”  

From this point forward in the Scriptures, the human race must be seen as a great river from which God, in the call of Abraham, and the creation of the nation of Israel, draws off a small stream through which He may at last purify the great river itself.  Israel is the tool through which God chose to bring a Savior to the world.  It is important for us to note that neither Abraham, nor Israel, were perfect, they didn’t do anything special to deserve this.  In fact, as we will see today, Abraham was far from perfect.  But, when God spoke to him, Abraham responded, and that is exactly what God was looking for.  It was by grace that God chose Abraham, and the nation Israel, to bring revelation and salvation to the world.  It was through the faith of Abraham that the nation Israel would be called.

Click on the play button to hear a message on how our obedience to God comes after we have stopped telling God what we want to do, and listen to what He wants us to do.  Let me illustrate that with a question, how much of your prayer time do you spend telling God what you want, rather than being quiet and listening to what He wants to tell you?  That is a measure of how much you harken/obey God, for you cannot obey God until you know what He wants you to do.  Abraham was obedient to God because he listened, and then transformed what he heard into action.

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

Amen.

THE RISE AND FALL OF BABYLON (Genesis 11:1-9)

In today’s message we are going to learn something about that mighty city called Babylon, which symbolically, and cryptically, and prophetically, stands for the consummation and the distillation of all evil.  And pay attention, because “The Rise and Fall of Babylon” is not something that just happened in the dark, musty past, or something that’s going to happen way off yonder in the future. It deals with realities that we are facing every day. And we’re going to find out something about the person and work of the devil as we study here in Genesis chapters 10 and 11.  We are going to learn about this wicked city of Babylon, which was both the cradle and the grave of all false religion, and the devil’s kingdom.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how Babylon is destined to fall. Just as this ancient tower of Babel crumpled so long ago, we find that the final full-blown Babylon is coming down; it is crashing down. And I want to tell you something: You may not have ever realized this, but the first time that the word “alleluia” is used in all the New Testament is after Babylon falls. You won’t find the word “alleluia” used any other time. But it is after Babylon falls that the “Alleluia Chorus” begins. 

Rev 19:1-3
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
KJV

Rev 19:6
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
KJV

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

Amen.

 

THE NEW COVENANT (Hebrews 8:3-13)

The message of the book of Hebrews is that Christ is alive and working for you, right now.  You need to bring Him into your life.  This is a relationship with God that the Jews never had with the Old Testament, or Covenant, that was the Mosaic Law and the Temple rituals.  The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in a new Covenant, a new relationship with God, and it was actually the fulfillment of all that God had given man in the Old Covenant.  

Under the New Covenant, it is in Christ that we have a better priest; we have a better sacrifice; and we have a better tabernacle.  All of this converges in Christ because He is all three.  He is a better priest that ministers there.  He is the better sacrifice because He offered Himself, and He ministers in a better tabernacle, for He offered his own blood for your sin and mine.  Christ is the Mediator of the better Covenant because it contains better promises.  First, the New Covenant is better than the Mosaic Covenant, not morally, but because it has the power to produce the desired result.  The New Covenant gives us Christ as the Perfect Mediator.  Second, it is established on better, unconditional, promises.  

Under the New Covenant we obey God as a result of our worship of God.  Not because we fear His judgment; that has already been settled by Christ, but because of our faith and love.  True worship means the living Christ is real to you, you walk with Him daily, and you serve and obey Him.  Then, we have a better covenant because the New Covenant secures the personal revelation of the Lord to every believer.

Click on the link below to hear a message on the fact that with Christ as our Great High Priest, and the New Covenant that God has made with man, that we now have a salvation that is secure, and the power of the Holy Spirit in our heart to enable us to do the will of God in our lives.

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

Amen.

TO DO A GOOD THING THE WRONG WAY (2 Samuel 6:1-11)

David was a man that God loved in a special way, and David loved God in a special way, as well.  In our message today, David wants to be the kind of king that God wants him to be.  In order to do that, David knows that he needs God’s power, he needs God’s anointing, and he needs God’s presence. 

Now, if you want to have, and to know, the conscious presence of the Lord in your life, then there is the holy reverence towards God, and the things of God, that you must express.  The reason that some people do not know the conscious presence of God is they have lost a holy reverence for God. We see an example of that in the way that David tried to move the Ark of The Covenant into the city of Jerusalem.   David’s first attempt to bring the ark in was lost because he did not express a holy reverence for the things of God. He became careless in the things of God, and his carelessness led to a great calamity that day.

The interesting thing here is David is following the way of the world rather than following the Lord. Now, God had said clearly, specifically, and plainly, how the ark was to be transported, but rather than transporting it as God had said to transport it, David starts out to do a good thing the wrong way, and what he’s doing is just simply disobeying the Lord.

Now, we can have the presence of God in our church and we can have the presence of God in our lives, but if we do, it’s going to be God’s way, not ours. You know what’s wrong with so many churches today? They’ve learned from the world, and they’re following the ways of the world. In fact, the world is conforming the Church more than the Church is transforming the world. We are being conformed by the world rather than being transformed by the Spirit of God, and it’s amazing how the spirit of this world has crept into so many churches.

When we choose to follow the way of the world, we are disobedient to God.  What follow’s our disobedience of God?  God’s displeasure with us, and then comes discouragement, and then comes defeat.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how if you want to have the conscious presence of God in your life, then you must have a holy reverence for God, and the things of God.  You cannot lay profane and unholy hands on the things of God by being disobedient to His Word.  We need a reverence for God, for holy things.  We ought to be on our face before the thrice holy God of Israel. We ought to tremble in the presence of God.

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.

DAVID, A MAN OF FAITH (1 Samuel 17:1-49)

The Bible story of David and Goliath is one of the most familiar in the Bible.  You don’t even have to be a Christian to know this story.  There have been books and movies, and even TV shows based on this story.  Michelangelo even depicted the story on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  We are told this story from the time we are a child.  The image of a young man with just five smooth stones and a sling against a giant of a man in full battle armor is iconic in Bible history.  It is a story that reveals more than human bravery.  It reveals that, even as a boy, David had a heart for God. 

The key to this whole story is found in the fact that David didn’t volunteer to fight the giant because his people were being shamed.  No, David fought Goliath because Goliath was defying the armies of the living God!  David, put his faith in God.  He knew that God would deliver the giant into his hands.  David testified to his faith in God telling the giant “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

Powerful words of faith from such a young man.  

David knew that it was not by chance that God had led him to this battlefield.  David could say in his heart that it is not by chance that he was born into Jesse's family. It is not by chance that he had seven older brothers. It is not by chance that he had to fight for his place in the family, not with carnal weapons, but with spiritual ones. It is not by chance that I learned early to love, trust, and obey the living God. It is not by chance that God has become my constant companion and guide. It is not by chance that I learned to play the harp and write great hymns which will be sung by God's people forever. Such things do not happen by chance; they happen by choice. God chose me, and I chose Him.

It is not by chance that I became a shepherd and developed a heart for the flock. It is not by chance that God gave me courage to face the lion and the bear in the wilderness of which you speak. It is not by chance that I have great skill with a sling and a stone. That skill represents hard work and constant practice. And it is not by chance that I am not afraid of Goliath and you are.  And it is not by chance that we are where we are and that we are who we are.

David learned that he could not use the weapons of this world to fight the battle. He had to use his own weapons, his own methods, those in which God had schooled him. The believer today needs to recognize that the world can be overcome only by his faith and confidence in God.  

Amen.