Faith Completed
Pastor Grant van Boeschoten
December 16, 2007
(3 Slides to cover this scripture)
James 2:14-26 (NRSV)
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works.
23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road?
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Slide: Niagra Falls
ILLUSTRATION,
Budin was a famous tight rope walker, gathered a crowd of 10 000 and walked across the Niagra Falls.
When he arrived on the Canadian side the crowd chanted “Budin, Budin.” He asked if they believed that he could walk back with a man on his shoulders. “We Believe, We Believe.”
But when he asked for a volunteer he silenced the Crowd until one man stepped forward and volunteered.
10 000 said that they had faith in him, but only one man proved it with his actions. Only one man really believed.
The story of Jesus’ birth in the Bible is really a story of faith at the deepest level.
• Mary had faith that what the angel was saying was really true, she believed that a miracle had taken place and a little baby, the Son of God was growing in her. Willing Spirit.
• Joseph initially believed that Mary’s pregnancy was illegitimate, but when the angel confirmed her story in a dream, Joseph immediately obeyed the voice of God and he did not divorce Mary. Obedient Faith.
• Simeon, an old Jewish man, had a vision from God saying that he would not die until he had seen the coming Messiah, and he was rewarded by being allowed to hold Jesus at the temple as a little newborn baby. Faith in the Promise of God.
• The Magi saw the star and they believed. The believed so much that they packed up everything for a Road trip and traveled a great distance to see this new born King. Their actions completed their faith.
Slide 3 Truths
Our message today is about actions that complete our faith. There are some truths that we can apply to our own life when we look at the story of the Magi in the Bible.
TRUTHS:
1 “What you are willing to do, says a lot about what you really believe.”
2 “The actions you take strengthen the decision you make.”
3 “What has captured your heart gets your very best.”
There was an article in “Reader’s Digest” the explained what would have gone differently if the Wise Men would have been Wise Woman.
1. They would have asked for directions to the stable locally instead of going to Herod.
2. They would have arrived on time and helped deliver the baby
3. They would have cleaned the stable and brought practical gifts for the family to eat – like a casserole.
4. And there would have been peace on earth!”
Thanks Reader’s Digest, but I’ve got to mention that the Digest is just a little bit misinformed. They have bought into the common misconception that the Magi arrived the night that Christ was born. That’s not what the Bible says though.
The story of the Magi in the Bible begins in Matthew chapter 2.
Matthew 2:1-2 (NRSV)
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
Slide “What you are willing to do, says a lot about what you really believe.”
The Magi were not local people, and the Bible doesn’t specify exactly where they came from, but a lot of scholars have put time and effort into answering that question for us.
Most historians agree that the Magi descended from a people called the Medes. They were an upper class group of astrologers who read the stars and worshipped the elements of fire, air, earth and water. You can find this group of people in the book of Daniel. They are the Kings advisors who could not interpret the dream.
But they were highly regarded in the King’s courts. In fact, our modern word “Magistrate” is a derivative of the word “Magi.”
(Next Slide (Map from Persia to Jerusalem.)
The traditional belief about the Magi is that they traveled from Persia, once a mighty country and currently the home of Iran and Iraq.
That’s is quite a ways to travel when you don’t have an airplane or a car to hop in. It’s reasonable to think that these Magi traveled for over a year to find this King that they were searching for. They must have really believed that they were going to find something at the end of their journey.
Slide What you are willing to do, says a lot about what you really believe.
You can find statistics reporting that 95% of people believe in God. For some reason we don’t see 95% of the population seeking God in Church each week.
Your actions prove what you believe in your heart. It is not enough to just believe, even the demons believe in God – and shudder.
Your actions though, works, will prove your belief.
If a man says that he is going to marry his girl friend, he is just full of good intentions until he goes out, asks permission from her father and buys a ring. And on that wedding day, you could say that he really loves the girl. You could say that he is really getting married.
Because, What you are willing to do, says a lot about what you really believe.
That young man who was proposing will also find out that “The actions that you take strengthen the decision you make.”
Every step in the journey towards marriage makes it feel just a little more real, a little more imminent.
The Magi, with every step towards Jerusalem, strengthened their faith. Every step brought them closer to the King that they were looking for.
But when they arrived in Jerusalem there was no great celebration taking place like they had imagined. You see, they thought that the Israelites would be rejoicing, their promised Messiah had finally arrived. But that was not the case, most of the people did not even know that Jesus had been born.
King Herod was the most shocked of anybody. He was very uncomfortable with a new King being born. He wanted for no challenges to be made to his throne.
The Priests that the Magi talked to were also unaware that Jesus had been born. They did know the prophecy though saying where he had been born.
And so the Magi arrived, expecting to find a party, and when they asked “Where is the King of the Jews?” everybody went into confusion and panic.
Matthew 2:3-6 (NRSV)
3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Herod believed what the Magi were saying, he believed the prophecy and he believed that a baby Jewish king had indeed been born. And so he put his belief into action.
He called a secret meeting with the Magi and commissioned them to find the baby King for him. “Once you have found this King, report back to me so that I may come and worship him also.”
But Herod didn’t actually want to worship the baby Jesus. What Herod wanted was to eliminate any threat that there was against his throne.
Herod was a violent king, who was known for killing his own family when they became a threat to his throne. One historian even said, “I would rather be Herod’s sow than his Son.” The pig had a better chance at life.
The actions that you take strengthen the decision you make.
Herod took action to strengthen his Kingship.
The priests believed the prophecy, but they didn’t take any actions. They didn’t even go to Bethlehem to see if it was true. I can’t imagine knowing that a prophecy about the Messiah might be fulfilled and doing nothing about it.
The priests took no actions, and so there was no strength in their faith in the prophecy, which was the word of God.
The Magi believed and they took action. They journeyed from Persia to Jerusalem, and when they received the directions to Bethlehem, they set out to worship the baby Jesus.
As they traveled the star reappeared to them and guided them to the house where the little boy Jesus lived.
It wasn’t Christmas night that they came. It may have been Christmas night that the Magi began their journey, or started planning their journey. But it was probably close to 2 years later that they actually completed their search for the new King.
So they followed the star to the house where Jesus was, and when the star stopped they were filled with great joy.
Why so much joy; because their faith was about to be completed. This journey that had started so long ago was finally about to pay off.
The Magi had not given up. They had not decided to turn around. They were seekers of Jesus Christ. And they kept on looking until they found God.
They kept on looking until they found God. Relentless, faithful, searching, nothing could stop them. These men were seekers of God.
What are you a seeker of this morning. If you are wondering, look at your actions over the last week, month and year. Your actions will prove what it is that you are seeking after.
Are you seeking after personal fulfillment and happiness? Do the majority of your actions centre around you? Then you are seeking after yourself.
Are you seeking after money? Do the majority of your actions revolve around the pursuit of money?
Are you seeking after God. Do your actions show him that you really, really want to know him better. Can God look at your life and see how badly you want to find him?
If you are looking for God, seeking after him, asking for God to show himself to you, you will find God. He makes that promise to you in his word.
Luke 11:10 (NLT)
10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
The Magi were seekers of Jesus, and they found what they were looking for.
Matthew 2:11 (NRSV)
11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Sometimes when we think of the wisemen giving their gifts to Jesus we imagine the beautifully wrapped Christmas presents being given. We look at the nativity sets and see little gifts that they gave.
These men didn’t travel for over a year to give Jesus some little gift. They didn’t come to put a little gold bracelet on his wrist.
They came to worship him with their very best. And the Bible says that they opened their Treasure Chests and offered him their gifts.
Because this was the purpose of their journey, it was their main focus of this portion of their life. They set out to worship the baby Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. And they showed us that
What has captured your heart gets your very best.
Jesus was offered gifts that were fit for a King. It was the best that these men could offer.
When God asks for your best, he is asking for your heart. It takes the right kind of heart to give God your best.
By the best I mean the best of your life. The best time that you have to offer, the best money that you can give, the best relationships that you can grow, the best hospitality that you can offer on God’s behalf. Just the best of everything that you’ve got.
It’s a tall order, it is something to strive for.
You know, some people say that they have a really hard time finding God. The Magi said the same thing. But God says, if you seek you will find.
If people are having a hard time finding God my advice is to look with everything that you have got, to seek with every part of your being. Offer the very best of your life to God, don’t hold back.
The journey to Bethlehem took time, it took money, it was a huge cost for these men to come. But they were filled with joy when that star rested above the house where Jesus lived. Because this was fulfilling, this was their faith completed.
What has captured your heart will get the very best of you.
Matthew 5:8 (NLT)
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
1 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)
5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
How, When King David sinned he knew that the only way to be made clean was to ask God to clean his heart. He repented for his sin, and he asked for God to give him back his joy and his life.
Psalm 51:7-10 (NLT)
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean (pure) heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Hebrews 10:22 (NLT)
22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
When you ask God to forgive your sins, he does. When Jesus came to earth as a baby that first Christmas it was so that you could be made clean. It was so that you could enter into the presence of God.
But what are you going to do about it today. Will you complete your faith. James said, you say you believe, even the demons believe and shudder. He was saying, Do more than Jesus believe, complete your faith with some actions.
James was saying “I by my works will show you my faith.”
Because faith in God is not invisible, not it shows up in the believer’s life. And it doesn’t show up just for your benefit, although it is nice to reflect and see the awesome journeys of faith that God has brought you through.
It shows up for the benefit of those around you. Because they are going to see Jesus in you and through you and you complete your faith with works.
Slide 3 Truths
Remember these points.
1. What you are willing to do says a lot about what you really believe.
2. The actions that you take strengthen the decisions that you make.
3. That which has captured your heart gets your very best.
You say that you have faith in God, good, that means it is evident and obvious in your life. Because your actions will complete your faith.
It is not works that get you to heaven, that feat was accomplished by Jesus on the Cross. No, those works are simply who and what a Christian is.
