Faith With Works!

Faith With Works!

James writes about faith in action: “Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:17,26).

Faith is a Fact!

Faith is an Act, An Action Verb!

Faith in Action!

1)     Faith SURPRISES GOD with Your Belief and Trust in Him!

Abraham believed God without wavering: “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).  “(Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:20-22). Abraham distinguished himself from his father’s household by believing in and trusting God who spoke to him!

Rahab believed in the God of Abraham: “(Rahab) said to the men: ‘I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed’” (Joshua 2:9-10). “Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token (pledge of truth), and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death” (Joshua 2:12-13). Though Rahab lived on the wall of the cursed city of Jericho, she kept receiving information about the God of Abraham, the God of wonders, who brought His people from Egypt. Her worship of God was even more striking than that of the unbelieving mass of people Moses was traveling with,  who lived among the same miracles Rahab believed in. HER FAITH SURPRISED GOD’S MESSENGERS!

2)     Faith RECOGNIZES and BLESSES People of No Earthly Importance!

Faith in Action – Faith not only believes in God and shows it in action in recognizing the messengers of God and treating them with what you have in your hand!

Abraham: “Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed (Abram) and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tithe (one-tenth) of all” (Genesis 14:18-20).

Abraham truly acted in faith by blessing a superior individual (King of Salem, Priest of God) by what he could give him to bless him! The Priest blessed Abram with the blessing of elevation in the name of the “(Most High God - El Elyon),” and Abram rose to the level by faith in blessing God by blessing the Priest!

Rahab: “But (Rahab) had brought (the spies) up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof” (Joshua 2:6). “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” (James 2:25).

Rahab’s action was that she not only acknowledged the God of the messengers she had just encountered but also took care of them and protected them from danger because she had the power to do so. Many times, we can preach faith to others but fail to take care of their needs, especially when we have the power to do so. Our actions may prove that we fail to hear from God (faith comes by hearing) or willfully ignore taking care of the needs of those God had placed across our pathways.

Ruth: “But Ruth said: ‘Entreat (urge) me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.’ When she saw that she was determined (made herself strong) to go with her, she stopped speaking to her” (Ruth 1:16-18). “So, Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor’” (Ruth 2:2). Boaz’s testimony of Ruth: “And Boaz answered and said to her, ‘It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge’” (Ruth 2:11-12).

Ruth not only believed in the God of Naomi (Faith) but also acted to take good care of Naomi as God’s messenger! My mother-in-law, Gladys, respected me as a servant of the Lord first and her son-in-law next. I was blessed with her love for as long as she was here on earth.

Cornelius: “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment (Cohort), a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms (charitable gifts) generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:1-2). “About the ninth hour (3 PM) of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?’ So, he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon whose surname is Peter’” (Acts 10:3-5).

Cornelius, as a foreigner, feared God and helped the poor. God recognized him and sent him the top man in His Kingdom, Apostle Peter, to bring to him and his entire house salvation and the fullness of the Holy Spirit!

Spiritual Recognition Preceded Giving in All the Above Examples! The difference between the disciples of Jesus and the religious elders of Israel was that the disciples RECOGNIZED JESUS AS THE MESSIAH! God’s greatest pleasure is to be BELIEVED and RECEIVED, and His greatest pain is to be doubted and rejected. God shows up today through His true messengers (who may not advertise themselves), but it is through the Spirit of God we must recognize them and be a blessing to them. FAITH SEES THE INVISIBLE! That is faith in action!  

3)     Faith YIELDS ALL TO GOD (What You Have Control, Possession)!

Faith Recognizes and Acknowledges God!

Faith Gives Back to God – To the Messengers God Has Placed in Your Life!

Faith Gives ALL to God with the Declaration that Everything You have Received Has Come from God and Everything You have Must Be Returned to God, Especially When God Demands It!

Abraham Yielded to God: “Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’” (Genesis 22:2). God’s blessing of Abraham after Abraham gave up his son, Isaac, on the altar: “And (God) said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me’” (Genesis 22:12).

Giving to God what we can but NOT what God demands limits our faith in God. Faith is leaning our ENTIRE personality (not a portion of it) on God and doing what He demands of us in complete (not partial) obedience and surrender as Abraham did, with his son Isaac.

Faith RETURNS!

Here are the returns of faith by virtue of believing, trusting, giving, and giving all!

Redemption from Judgment!

Rahab: “Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent” (Joshua 6:17).

Rahab’s house was the only structure that was not destroyed while the entire wall came down because of God’s judgment. Faith preserves God’s people during the chaos and judgment the world will experience because of their belief and trust in God and giving back to God consistently and constantly.

Redemption from a Curse!

Ruth, a widow, was restored by God: The blessing of the elders and the people of Bethlehem upon Ruth: “And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman’” (Ruth 4:11-12).

Ruth was cursed as a Moabite, but she broke out of her curse by her faith in God and by her dedication to serve a godly messenger, Naomi. Ruth saw God in Naomi, and by serving Naomi she served God Himself. God honored her in bringing her out of the curse.  

A Household Salvation!

Rahab was instrumental in the salvation of her household: “And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So, she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Joshua 6:25).

It only takes one person in true faith to bring their entire family to God. Those of you who are the lonely faith-warriors in your home, rejoice for the fact that God will be gracious in bringing your entire home to preserve them from judgment. Those of you who are reading this message and yet not committed to God know that your time is short and you must come into the household of faith NOW!

Cornelius’s whole house was blessed: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46).

Cornelius gave MORE to God, and God gave him the best: salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit for his entire household!

Generational Blessing!

When we have faith for ourselves, we are sure to receive a blessing from God!

When we give out of our abundance to serve God by recognizing what He has placed in front of us, our entire household will be blessed!

When we yield ALL to God when God demands, not only will we be blessed and our house, BUT WE WILL ALSO LEAVE A LEGACY OF UNSTOPPABLE BLESSING to our generation of descendants!

Abraham became the Father of Many Nations: “(God) said: ‘By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice’” (Genesis 22:16-18).

Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David: “Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David” (Ruth 4:21-22).

Rahab and Ruth became the ancestors of Jesus, the Messiah: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king” (Matthew 1:1, 5).

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God!

Faith also hears from God to recognize God’s messengers to take care of them!

Just as receiving from God is faith, giving back to God is also faith!

Faith test – Sometimes, God will demand everything out of us to test where our true trust is. We must yield ALL into His hands to prove our trust solely in Him and not in anything else!

Such faith is faith in ACTION!

Faith without such action is dead!

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, I love You and adore You. All that I have has come from You – my life, my salvation, my gifts, my precious family, my friends, and all. Help me never stop hearing from You and never stop yielding to You. Let all around me be impacted by my faith in You. Let everyone that You have placed in my hands be blessed by my love and service to them. Let them rejoice as I rejoice in You. In the Most Wonderful and Precious Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen! Amen!!”

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John Jeyaseelan

http://www.globalprayercenter.net