The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

STEPHENS DEFENSE (Acts 6:7 to 7:16)

STEPHEN’S DEFENSE (Acts 6:7 to 7:16)

Stephen was one of the great men of faith in the new church.  He was of honest report, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and he was full of wisdom.  He was a man blessed of God.  

The Apostles, and the new group of disciples, are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the focus of the new religion now, and that the Temple, and the sacrificial based system of religion, has become irrelevant.  It was, and still is, irrelevant because the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has paid the penalty for all sin, once and for all.  No longer do people need to bring their sacrifices to the priests to obtain forgiveness for sin.  They can go directly to God through His Son Jesus Christ, and ask for forgiveness and obtain eternal life based on the grace of God, not the religious ceremonies put forth by the Temple system of worship.

God is not restricted to speaking through any special person, place, or building.  He doesn’t need the Pope and the Vatican, a Jewish High Priest and his Temple, or a preacher in a Christian church building, to communicate with those He wishes to communicate with.  God can and does reveal Himself when and where He wills, just as He did with Abraham.  The Bible shows us over and over that there is a movement and a process in God’s dealings with man, and it is seen in the different covenants and dispensations that God has made with man.  

As we go through this, I want you to think about what our own focus of worship is on today.  Is our church building and the songs we sing, and the ceremonies we perform each Sunday, the focus of our faith, or are they the tools we use to worship the true, almighty, living God?  

Click on the link below to hear a message that asks the questions, “Is God more important than the building we worship in?  What is our faith in?  The buildings we have built with our own hands, or the grace of God?”

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

Amen.

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.

LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 5:1-11)

LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 5:1-11)

Let me begin by saying that, as a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit is your very best friend, and the Holy Spirit is Jesus in you.  He is the one who makes manifest the life of the Lord Jesus in your mortal flesh. What a wonderful, wonderful, friend the Holy Spirit is.

In the passage of Scripture that I’m going to read to you today, we find a phrase about lying to the Holy Ghost.  Let me say this, all lies are serious.  Let me repeat that, all lies are serious.  Sometimes we tell little lies, we exaggerate a little bit, and we think that is not quite so serious.  For example, men, when your wife asks you if an outfit makes her look fat, do you tell the truth?  Of course, you do.

Some lies we think are whimsical and maybe even humorous. But, a lie is a very serious thing.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is known as the truth.  On the other hand, the Bible tells us that Satan is the father of all lies.  Therefore, when you tell the truth you give God an opportunity to work. When you tell a lie, you tell a lie because Satan has already been working in you.

God detests the sin of hypocrisy, the sin of pretense, the sin of saying we are one thing, but really being another. If you read about the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find out that Jesus reserved his sternest words for hypocrites. There was one thing that Jesus Christ detested, and it was hypocrisy. 

Let me make four observations, and four pleas with you today.  Number one, if you are a child of God that sins among the saints it is more serious than sin among the lost.  And, sin when God is working in revival power, is the most dangerous of all sin. 

Number two, is that sin against the Holy Spirit is extremely serious. Do not tempt the Holy Spirit of God. Do not be a pretender. 

Number three, I urge you to be on guard against hypocrisy in your own life. It is far better not to be what you ought to be than to pretend that you are what you are not.

Preachers, and teachers, are often tempted to do that, to exaggerate, or to pretend devotion because we think that we are setting the example. In my estimation, I want my pastor, and my teacher, just to be honest and to tell it like it is in his heart. And, I want people to be honest. And, I believe when there is a spirit of honesty, even though there is a spirit of failure, God can work. 

Don’t pretend a devotion to Jesus Christ that you don’t have.  Don’t lie to the Holy Ghost. And, last of all, don’t let some hypocrite keep you from getting the best out of life.

Click on the link below to hear a message on what it means to lie to the Holy Spirit.

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

Amen.

A GODLY CHURCH MEMBER (Acts 4:36-37)

A GODLY CHURCH MEMBER (Acts 4:36-37)

In today’s lesson, I want to talk about what it means to be a godly church member.  If you could just model and mold a church member, the church member of your dreams, what would he or she be like? Well, I believe they would be like the man that we are going to read about today, a man named Barnabas.

I love to be encouraged. I need encouragement. I am so grateful for people who encourage me. And I’ll tell you something else, I don’t like to be around discouraging people. Now, sometimes we have to. It comes with the territory. The fleas come with the dog.  But, here was a man named Barnabas who could lift your spirits.

Did you know the Bible calls God the God of all encouragement?  That means that God has cornered the market on encouragement. He is the God of all encouragement.  An interesting fact is that the word “encouragement” or “consolation”, as they are used in the Bible are translated from the Greek word parakletos, which is the same word that is used for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. He is called the Paraclete, which comes from the Greek word parakletos. It’s the same word. 

And so, here is a man who is doing for other people what the Holy Spirit does for the child of God, who comes inside us, alongside us, to encourage us, to give us comfort, to give us hope, to give us health, to get us on our way. And I’ve come to live long enough to see that there is not a person in this world that does not need encouragement.  

Now, if God is the God of all encouragement, then the devil is the minister of discouragement. Discouragement comes from the devil. Let me tell you, discouragement is a major cause of failure.

Every church, wherever you are, needs some Barnabas's. How did Barnabas get to be Barnabas to begin with? How was he such a good man to begin with? Well, the Bible says very clearly and very plainly that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and faith. He was a good man. Why was he a good man? He was a good man because he was full of the Holy Ghost. Why was he full of the Holy Ghost? Because he was a man full of faith. And that is what we are going to talk about today.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can be a godly church member.

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.

THE ALMIGHTY GOD (Acts 4:23-5:11)

THE ALMIGHTY GOD (Acts 4:23-5:11)

The message today speaks of how the early Christian church praised God for what He is, the omnipotent Creator of the universe.  They proclaimed “Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” Sadly, this is something that most churches do not really believe today.  And you can know this is true, for if they did believe it, then they would not be taking the liberal positions in direct conflict with God’s word that they are taking.  

You cannot believe that God is truly the Omnipotent Creator of the universe and then not accept His absolute truths about what is right and wrong.  God is unchanging, as are His truths, they do not change with the changing of society mores.  God as the all powerful Creator of the universe is the fundamental building block of the entire Bible.  Satan will do all he can to create lies and deceptions about who God is, and what the Holy Spirit says that He is in His Word.  

God is the all powerful Creator of this universe, and since this is absolutely, wonderfully, magnificently, true, then Satan is no more than a second hand loser.  No wonder Satan hates this basic truth!  No wonder he has brought up his heavy artillery to discredit it in the minds of men.  

For you see, if you abandon what the Holy Spirit says in Genesis 1 as not factual and unreliable, as mere mythology, as totally unacceptable to modern science, then satan has won.  

If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted when He tells of creation, then how can He be trusted when He tells of salvation?

If what He says about earth in Genesis 1 can be questioned, then what He says about Heaven in Revelations 22 can be questioned.  

If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted in Genesis 1, then how can He be trusted in John 3:16?

So, when someone tells you that the creation account in the Book of Genesis is just a theory, you must understand they are questioning the entire message of the Bible, including the Gospel.

Click on the play button to hear a message that says, if we believe that God is the Creator.  If we believe that God deserves our worship and praise.  If we believe that all other beings, both spiritual and physical, are subject to the commands and permissive will of God.  Then, our fears should go away, and our faith should rise up in times of trial.  For who can harm us that is not under the permissive will of God?  And that knowledge is what gave these early believers holy boldness in the face of persecution, and it can give you that same holy boldness.

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

Amen.

THE FIRST PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH (Acts 4:1-22)

THE FIRST PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH (Acts 4:1-22)

As believers we are to obey those that God has placed in power over us, whether they be Caesar, or Nero, or our current leaders.  Yet, there are times when Caesar so abuses his power as to command that we do something morally or spiritually wrong.  That is where the believer must draw the line, even at the cost of death.  The believer must respectfully, but firmly, refuse to obey the commands of human authority when it defies the laws of God.  And when the time comes, and it will come, that we are prohibited from preaching and teaching the name of Jesus, that is when we must refuse to obey the command of the rulers placed in authority above us.  

Peter does just that as he proclaims to the Sanhedrin, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  This was Peter’s and John’s reply when they were commanded by the religious leaders to stop teaching in the name of Jesus.  They declared that they would continue to teach, preach, and heal in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, no matter the cost.  

It is not by the name of Confucius, Buddha, or Allah, that a lost person can find salvation; not even by the name of one of the great heroes of the Bible, not Abraham, or Moses, can a lost person find salvation.  Only in the name of Jesus can salvation be found.  Jesus is the world’s only Savior. 

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
KJV

The law can’t save you. Religion can’t save you, and there is absolutely no ceremony that can save you. You cannot get to Heaven through the pope. You cannot stand before God clothed in the robes of righteousness by doing more good works than bad works.  Your friends and family cannot pray you into heaven.  You cannot buy your way out of darkness and an eternity in Hell.

There is only one way to get rid of Satan’s darkness, and that is the light of the Word of God, Jesus Christ the Son of the living God.  We have victory in Jesus because no force on the earth, or below the earth, can stand against the mighty majesty of His name.  When you come to Jesus for salvation, it is His blood that wipes away your sin.  It is His blood that provides eternal life for you.  

Click on the play button to hear a message about the first persecution of the church that would dare to teach about the gospel message found in the name of Jesus.

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

Amen.

THE SECRET TO A BEAUTIFUL LIFE (Acts 3:1-21)

THE SECRET TO A BEAUTIFUL LIFE (Acts 3:1-21)

Today’s message is about the miracle of the healing of a man that had been crippled from his birth.  When this man was born, and his father and mother took him and examined him, they noticed that something was not quite right with the little baby’s feet: his anklebones had not developed, nor his little feet. Somehow, they were not made whole, like feet should normally be for a little baby. 

And this little boy never learned to walk. When other boys would go out to skip, run, and play, he couldn’t. Later on, when other men went to work, there was no work that he could do. All that they could do was to take this man every day and put him down there at the gate to the temple, the gate that was called Beautiful. He had his little tin cup there, and as people would come and go to worship, he would cry out, “Baksheesh! Baksheesh! Alms! Help the poor! Help the poor!” And people would drop their pennies and their coins into his tin cup. Day after day, that is the way he lived. People would come and go, and he was right there at the gate of the temple.  And here is this man just outside that Beautiful Gate, because he cannot enter through it.  That is because Levitical law said that a deformed man could not enter past that gate.  So, here he was, on the wrong side of a beautiful life. He is just outside the gate, and he’s crippled.

Now, if you want a beautiful life, then I want you to picture yourself on the wrong side of the gate. Picture yourself, spiritually, as a cripple—unable to walk the walk of God, unable to work the work of God, unable to enter into the worship of God—on the wrong side of the gate. Picture a new life. Picture a gate gloriously beautiful.  Picture yourself on the wrong side of that gate, and you can’t enter in without a miracle. I want you to picture the Lord Jesus Christ who was in Simon Peter that day. I want you to picture Him coming by you today and looking down at you, and I want you to picture today Jesus reaching down to you with a nail-pierced hand, taking you by your right hand, raising you up, spiritually giving you a lift that will last, and giving to you the power to enter in through the gate to the ports of God.  That is what this miracle is all about. God wants to give you a new life, today. He wants to make something beautiful of your life. 

Click on the play button to hear a message on the secret to a beautiful life.

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

Amen.