The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

FINDING SALVATION AT THE FEET OF THE SAVIOR (Acts 8;30-9:8)

FINDING SALVATION AT THE FEET OF THE SAVIOR (Acts 8:30-9:8)

For it is at the feet of the Savior, Jesus Christ, that everyone’s salvation takes place.  It is by no other name in heaven above, or on the earth, or below the earth, that salvation can occur.  It is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that our salvation can be purchased. 

In today’s message we will see that in every conversion there are three ingredients that are brought to bear to create that conversion.

First, there is the work of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit of God goes ahead to prepare the heart of the lost person, and also to prepare the messenger.  This leading of the Spirit of God is absolutely essential.  Unfortunately, in many cases, we get ahead of the Holy Spirit and barge forward before He has set the stage for us.  We ought to make it a matter of definite prayer before we talk to anyone. We should talk to the Lord about that person, before, we talk to them about the Lord. It is not simply that we need the Holy Spirit to lead us. What we need is for the Spirit of God to go ahead of us and prepare the way, then to call us up to where He is. 

The second ingredient that is brought to bear is The Word of God:  The Word of God is absolutely essential. The Holy Spirit will take the things of Christ and will reveal them to an individual. It is the Spirit of God, using the Word of God, that brings the knowledge of God, and the faith in God.  For it is in the Word of God that the very basis of our faith is found.  Without the promises of the Word of God, our faith is empty and without merit.  

The third ingredient is the man of God:  When God gets ready to save somebody, He uses human instrumentality. God doesn’t reach out of Heaven and simply convict, convert, and save a person without human instrumentality being involved someway. That is the plan of God.  The ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is primarily a ministry of cooperation. He will not do it without you, and you cannot do it without Him.  Now, it doesn’t have to be a preacher, or a missionary, it could simply be a friend or a stranger, that brings to that person the Word of God.  It could be by how they live their lives that causes them to ask questions, or by direct witness.  I believe that the Spirit of God, uses the man of God, who delivers the Word of God, to produce a son of God, one who is born again. 

Click on the link below to hear a message on how salvation can be found at the feet of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

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.

TEACHING CHILDREN TO LOVE GOD (Ephesians 6:1-4)

TEACHING CHILDREN TO LOVE GOD (EPHESIANS 6:1-4)

Today’s message is going to be about how to raise children in way that they learn to love God. Now, there are many who would say that the principles of child raising that we find in the Bible, will seem old fashioned, and are not to be used in our so-called “enlightened day.”  But, in my humble opinion, what is wrong with our society today is that we have left the principles of raising children found in the Bible, and listened to the Dr. Spocks of the world.  The truths of the words found in the Bible are as relative, and as needed, in our day as never before.  

A nation is no stronger than its home; and when children refuse to obey their parents, they are fulfilling the prophecy that says the last days will be perilous times. And any nation is in grave peril whose children are disobedient to their parents; and, therefore, it is no wonder that America is certainly in bad shape.

Today, the Scriptures that we will cover will be speaking directly to the fathers.  But, let me tell you that most of these concepts that we will talk about today apply to the mother as well.  Both parents need to be in agreement in how they raise their children.  So dads, may I tell you that your most important task is being a husband and a father.  It is not being a church leader, not being a businessman, but your most important task is being a husband and a father.  The Bible says that every father owes to his children three things: He owes to his children devotion. He owes to his children discipline. And he owes to his children direction. 

May God help us so that we will take our children and give to them these things that we need to give them: number one, devotion—don’t provoke them to wrath; number two, discipline—bring them up in the nurture of the Lord; number three: admonition—teach them the Word of God.

Click on the play button to hear a message on what the Bible says about how to teach children to love God.

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

Amen.

HOW TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY (Ephesians 2:1-10)

HOW TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY (EPHESIANS 2:1-10)

Today’s message includes one of the most recited pair of verses in the Bible, for it is the foundation God’s promise of salvation by grace and not of works.  

Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
KJV

And when you add the rest of verses 1-10, it is also a guidebook for the believer “How to Share Your Testimony.”  We should never ever underestimate the power of a Christian testimony. We are called to be witnesses and not lawyers. A witness is somebody who tells what he’s seen and heard. A lawyer is somebody who argues a case. We are witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Without a doubt, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments.

Now, you don’t have to be a theologian to be able to give your testimony. Remember the man who was born blind, and Jesus healed him, and then the Pharisees jumped on his case? Oh, they were angry because this man had been healed, and they got him and backed him into a corner, and they started to ask him all kinds of theological questions. The man just said, “Well, I’m sorry. I can’t answer all of those questions, but, one thing I know: once I was blind and now I see” (John 9:25). There is nothing theological about that fact, yet it is a great testimony to the power of the Lord Jesus.  “Once I was blind and now I see.” And a Christian with a testimony is never at the mercy of an infidel with an argument. Remember that.

Now, it’s important that we learn to share our testimony. Our testimony is the convincing thing when we witness and share the Lord Jesus Christ.  And so today, I want to give you an outline for sharing your testimony; and you can fill in the personal part, but I’m just going to give you the outline.  And listen, if you are saved, right here is your spiritual biography and your future history.

Click on the play button to hear a message on our past guilt, our present grace, and our future glory.  I want you to learn some wonderful things about what has happened to you, what is happening to you, and what will happen to you. 

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

Amen.

THE WISDOM OF CHRISTMAS (Matthew 2:1-2)

THE WISDOM OF CHRISTMAS (Matthew 2:1-2)

Today, we will be talking about Christmas wisdom that we find in the Christmas story.  Certainly, we need a lot of wisdom around this time of year. I need wisdom.  I need wisdom to figure out what am I going to get my wife for Christmas. Now, that’s difficult for me.  It really is.  It is also difficult for her to buy gifts for me.  We go through this every year, even after 46 years of marriage, we still go through this.

But today, I want to talk to you about some wisdom that goes far beyond these mundane things and this worldly type of wisdom. I want to share with you some supernatural wisdom, how you can have some wisdom in your Christmas.  Our text today is going to be in the book of Matthew, and it is going to focus on the story of the wise men coming from the East to bring gifts to the new King that has been born in Bethlehem.  Now, everybody has heard this story since they were children, or they have seen it in plays put on at Christmas time.  It is a very familiar story, and it is a story with supernatural wisdom. 

The first thing we should know about these men is that they were exceedingly wise men. Why? Because they sought out the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him.  The wisest thing that you could ever do at Christmastime, or any other time, is to worship Jesus. I hope that doesn’t fall flat. I hope you don’t miss that. Because that is the bottom of all bottom lines. That is the wisest thing that anybody could ever do, to simply worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of people who want the joys of Christmas without the worship of Jesus.  But, that is impossible! It is impossible!  You may have a happy time, but you are never going to know the joys of Christmas until you learn to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click on the play button to hear a message on the Biblical story of the wise men who came from the East to worship the young child, born in Bethlehem, born to be a King, born to be a Savior, and born as sinless God, God incarnated in man.

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

Amen.

THE FRAMEWORK OF SALVATION (Genesis 45: 1 to 28)

THE FRAMEWORK OF SALVATION (Genesis 45:1-28)

There is something that I want you to know beyond the shadow of any doubt, and that is God wants you to be saved.  There is an old hymn entitled “BLESSED BE THE NAME” with the words, 

“I never shall forget the day,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
—CHARLES WESLEY

And I wonder how many people might be singing that song, but they are like iron fountains in the park. You see a lion statue as a fountain, and there is water spewing out of his mouth, but he never tastes a drop of it. And I am wondering if there are those of you who have that song coming out of your mouth without tasting a drop of it.

Was there a time, was there a day, when you said, “Praise God, bless God, hallelujah, I know, that I know, that I know, that I have met Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord.  I have a day to be remembered.”  If not, do you know what my prayer is? My prayer is that this day will be the day that you will be able to sing those words and taste every drop of every word.  The Lord wants you to be saved, and only Jesus can save you. The problem is sin. 

Rom 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
KJV

And there’s only one thing that can be done with sin, and that is to bring that sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us and make us pure and make us clean.  So, you need to pay attention to the message that God has for us in this story.

Click on the play button so that you can listen to what God has to say about how you can know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

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

Amen.

CONVICTION (Genesis 42:29 to 43:34)

CONVICTION (Genesis 42:29 to 43:34)

The story of Joseph and his brothers is a picture of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  For the lost soul does not fully know God, or His Son, and most of all they do not know what Jesus did for them.  Lying between them are the terrible sins that they have committed.  How can anyone ever bridge that gap?  They do not know that Jesus has already provided them with a finished salvation, that it is there if they will accept it.  God knows that the lost soul is not ready for the full revelation of grace that He wants to make to them.  God allows the Holy Spirit to perform the work of conviction to bring them to a point of decision, just as He is with these brothers.  

Sometimes you may feel that when you sin that God is just going to toss you away.  Absolutely not, God won’t toss you off, but He will just squeeze all the tighter.  And this pressure affects how you look at life, it affects your emotions, it affects your psyche, and it affects your health.  One of the consequences of sin is that it depresses your heart, and there is no joy, no gladness.  Sin is often fun while you are doing it, but it is what comes afterward that depresses us.

Don’t mistake happiness for joy.  There is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness depends on what happens; that’s why we call it happiness.  When something good happens, you’re happy; when something bad happens, you’re unhappy.  You are not supposed to be happy all of the time.  To be happy all of the time would be like having ice cream for every meal.

Jesus was a man of sorrows; Jesus wept.  He was not happy all of the time, but He was full of joy.  When Jesus was facing Calvary, He was full of Joy.  The joy of the Lord is constant, and the joy of the Lord is your strength.  Happiness is like a thermometer; it registers conditions.  Joy is like a thermostat; it controls conditions. When happiness and joy are together it is a really wonderful time.  When happiness is gone, joy becomes all the more important.  And sometimes God gives you joy, not to take away the pain, but to help you bear it.  And in the midst of excruciating pain, there can be supernatural joy.  

Click on the play button to hear a message about how God convicts us of our sin so that we can have God's joy in our lives. 

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.

JOSPEH AS A PICTURE OF CHRIST (Genesis 37:1 to 45:28)

JOSEPH AS A PICTURE OF CHRIST (Genesis 37:1 to 45:28)

There are several of the patriarchs of the Old Testament who were a picture of Christ in specific acts.  But, God has selected Joseph as the one individual, out of all the men of history, to picture Christ in such a thorough way.  As we study the life of Joseph, we will find a direct parallel between the life of Joseph and the life of the Lord Jesus. 

In the Old Testament, Jesus is enfolded. In the New Testament, Jesus is unfolded. In the Old Testament, Jesus is concealed. In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed. But, Jesus is there in all of the Bible.  As you study the Bible enough, standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Jesus. He is there. It’s all about Him. Don’t get the idea that the Old Testament is about the Jews, and the New Testament is about Jesus. All of the Bible is about Jesus.

Jesus is the hero of the Bible. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for … [these] are they which [do] testify of me” (John 5:39). Notice that when Jesus made this statement, the scriptures were the Old Testament scriptures.  The New Testament had not even been written yet.  And, the Bible also tells us that on a particular day, He took two men and “he [showed] them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). That means in all of the Scriptures, you are going to find things concerning Jesus. Jesus is there if you look long enough. If you study reverently enough, if you think and meditate, you’re going to find the Lord Jesus Christ there in the Bible.

Click on the play button in link below to hear a message on how the life of Joseph pictures the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Amen.

JACOB'S NEW NATURE (Genesis 32:28 to 33:20)

JACOB’S NEW NATURE (Genesis 32:28 to 33:20)

Jacob is now going to have to face his brother Esau.  As we look at this scene, we see a difference between a believer and a non-believer.  Here we have Esau, the all-American male, he was an outdoorsman, noble, probably the best athlete in the land at whatever he tried, he was generous, and likeable, yet he was a non-believer.  Then, we have Jacob, who was devious, a schemer, hated by almost everyone he dealt with, yet he had a desire for the things of the Lord, and he had met with the Lord, and now he had a new nature.  

Robert Laidlaw asked this question in his book “The Reason Why.”  He said “I know a polished, cultivated, gentlemen, who is not a Christian, and I know a rather crude, uncultured, man who is a Christian.  Do you mean to tell me that God prefers the uncultured man simply because he has accepted and acknowledged Christ as his Savior?”  That was his question, and it certainly fits the way that most non-believers would look at things.  People are drawn to successful people, to jovial people, and to polished people.  But God is not.  

Robert Laidlaw answered his question in this way “A Christian is not different in degree from a non-Christian, he is different in kind.  Just as the difference between a diamond and a cabbage is not one of degree but of kind.  The one is polished, the other is crude, but the one is dead while the other is alive, therefore the one has what the other has not in any degree whatsoever—life!  And such is the difference God sees between a Christian and a non-Christian.” 

That was the essential difference between Esau and Jacob.  As a man, Esau was a far more open, honest, out-going, person than Jacob.  He was a terrific person, but he was spiritually dead.  Jacob was a natural-born schemer, but he had spiritual life.  

It was a difference of kind, not degree.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how Jacob found out that not only was there no good in his old nature, but there was also something you may not realize; there was no strength or power in his new nature.  Our new nature, given to us by God, cannot, by itself, enable us to live the Christian life.  Simply being saved does not make you stop sinning.  Jacob found out that it is through Jesus Christ that your help is going to come.  Our strength and power come through Him. 

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

Amen.