October 7, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: James 2:14-26
Subject: Faith
Title; James Part 4 – Faith That Moves Mountains
Today we continue in our series from the book of James. I want to begin by turning over to Mark 11. James instruction to us today is about faith. It’s the same thing that Jesus talked to his disciples about in Mark 11 and commended others for in various other passages. He often spoke about great faith in people and here in Mark 11 Jesus had just said something to a fig tree – He cursed it – and now His disciples notice that the tree is withered. Mark 11:22-25, 22“Havefaith in God,” Jesus answered. 23“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
How many of you know that there are all kinds of faith. Many believe that Jesus was a real person who walked on the earth. They have never seen Him, but yet they believe that He existed. That requires a certain type of faith. It doesn’t do you any good but it is faith nonetheless. Others will even admit that Jesus came to earth as the Son of God to take away the sin of mankind. That is another level of faith. And still others are willing to take the next step and confess that they are sinners and need Jesus in their lives – and that’s saving faith. But what Jesus says in Mark 11 and what we will be talking about from James is still a different type of faith. “Have faith in God…” Jesus said, “and you can move mountains.” But what Jesus says and what we will see in James is that just having faith is enough to get you saved, but is it enough to move mountains. No, What James tells us today is that you can be saved but if your confession does not line up with your actions you may be in for some trouble in your life.
As we continue our study in James I want to ask you to consider where your faith is
Read James 2:14-26
I believe this is God’s Word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…And I appropriate it to my life today…
I. TRUE FAITH STIRS ACTION… 4What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? First of all when James speaks of faith what is he talking about? Here he is speaking of saving faith. And the message he has is that if what you consider saving faith includes no change in your life to the point that you are doing something for the lord, then you need to stop and check your faith. It may not be real faith. Real faith is trusting God, believing God, who you can’t see, and expect Him to work through your life so that others can see Him. 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? I want you to see something here. James is not saying that faith is all about supplying the needs of the needy. It is important for Christians to be willing to do that but that is not what James is saying here. He is using verses 15-16 as an example, comparing that kind of mindset with one who claims to have faith but does not do anything with it. 7In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. The Greek word translated “dead” comes from the root word that means “corpse”. When you go to a funeral visitation and wait in line to share your grief with the family, what is the first thing that comes out of many of our mouths? “Oh, don’t they look good!” Yeah, they may look good, but its is just a body lying there. There is no life. It no longer has any value. Confessing faith without having accompanying actions – well let’s say you might as well just go ahead and pray over it and bury it. There may be some fond memories of the relationship you had in the past with that faith, but if there is no action with it, it’s dead. Our faith is a direct product of the One in whom we put our faith. My faith is in God. That’s what Jesus said isn’t it? “Have faith in God”. One of my favorite verses concerning faith comes from Luke 1:37. The angel Gabriel is talking with Mary and telling her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy and how it would seem impossible in the natural realm. But look at what the angel says, 37For nothing is impossible with God.” Look at the word “nothing” in that verse. It is actually three Greek words put together. NOT + ANY + … and the last word may be a surprise to you. It is the Greek word rhema, which refers to the spoken word. Not anything you say is impossible with God. Now how can you get your faith to that level? The first thing you have to do is to know God’s will for every situation in your life. Is it God’s will that you not be sick? Is it God’s will that you prosper? Is it God’s will that you be witnesses for Him? Is it God’s will that you be filled with the Holy Spirit? 1 John 5:14-15, 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. By looking at those two verses we can really begin to see that when we pray according to God’s will, it is impossible for Him to do nothing. It goes back to whom your faith is in. I can’t get over this sickness. Nothing I try is working? Really? Who is your faith in? It doesn’t look like I’ll ever be able to get caught up on my bills. I need a better job. Really? Who is your faith in? Have faith in God Jesus said.
II. YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS… 18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” No, it doesn’t work that way. You don’t get to choose which one fits your life better. If you have faith there must be deeds that accompany it. Faith to believe God for healing and then do what He tells you to do. For some the Lord may say, “You are on too much medicine. Get off of it.” Now be sure your hearing from God. Don’t take this as Pastor Mike saying stop taking your meds. I’m not saying that. But if the Lord does, then do it. I woke up at 3:00 AM one morning last week with a terrible headache. One of the most severe that I have had for some time. I got out of bed and headed for the medicine cabinet and on the way I muttered this prayer. “Lord, You are going to have to take care of this.” And immediately I heard in my spirit, “If you are asking Me to heal, then why are you taking Advil?” So I didn’t and HE did! Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. That’s a challenge. Show me what kind of faith you have without doing anything and I’ll show you my faith by the actions that accompany it. “Well, but I have faith. My faith is in God. I believe in God! Don’t give me all that “faith” talk! 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Isn’t it odd that the one who will do anything to get you to believe that God is not able to do anything for you knows that He can? That is why the demons shudder. They know that with God “nothing” is impossible. They know that we can do all things through Christ… They understand that we can call things that are not as though they were… they know they are defeated if we stand on the authority and in the power we have over them.
III. EVIDENCE OF FAITH BY EXAMPLE… James gives us two examples of people who had faith. I want you to notice the extreme difference between the two. The first one is Abraham. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Question: Was Abraham justified because of what he was willing to do – give up his son? No, his actions were the result of his faith. Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Rome that Abraham is the father of us all who have accepted our salvation by faith. But his actions were a product of his faith. 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. Abraham is one of the most mentioned characters in the bible. He wasn’t perfect but he believed God. The bible never says he was justified because he believed in God. He simply believed God. When God said leave your homeland and I will take you to a land you do not know, he never questioned. He believed. When he was told that he was going to have a son in his old age he believed. When he was asked to sacrifice his son he believed. That’s faith and each time his faith was accompanied by action. Read it for yourself beginning in Genesis 12 and then in Romans 4, Galatians 3, Hebrews 11… Abraham was a man of faith. The second example is a person who was on the total opposite end of the social spectrum. Rahab the prostitute. Turn over to Joshua chapter 2. Here we see the story of how Israel is preparing to go into the Promised Land and begin its conquest with God leading the charge. This was a spiritual battle and Rahab found herself right in the middle of it. We don’t know how she knew about God, but considering her profession it is possible that she heard reports of what God had been doing from her clientele. In the story we see that the spies go to her (a God anointed visit) and that she protects them by hiding them and then telling a lie to the soldiers who were looking for them. So we immediately see three things about Rahab. 1) She is a prostitute… 2) She is a traitor… 3) She is a liar… And yet James when writing about her remembers her how? By her faith. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? It was her faith in God that was put to action when she turned against her own people and saved the spies. In Judges 6 we see the result of her faith in action. 15On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ……….. 22Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. 24Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’S house. 25But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day. THOSE WHO HONOR ME I WILL HONOR!!!!!!!!!! Because of Rahab’s faith she was saved. Her momma and daddy were saved. Her brothers and sisters were saved…25But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her… Abraham is our father by faith, Amen? But look at what the Lord did for Rahab. Matthew 1, 2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.
Rahab was the great-great grandmother of King David through whom the Messiah would come. Faith is not really faith until you put it into action. 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Faith honors God and God honors faith! A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth. For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single convert. Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The thought of leaving their post, however, brought great grief to this devoted couple, for they felt sure that God was in their labors, and that they would see people turn to Christ in due season. They stayed; and for a year or two longer, darkness reigned. Then one day a friend in England sent word to the Moffats that she wanted to mail them a gift and asked what they would like. Trusting that in time the Lord would bless their work, Mrs. Moffat replied, "Send us a communion set; I am sure it will soon be needed." God honored that dear woman’s faith. The Holy Spirit moved upon the hearts of the villagers, and soon a little group of six converts was united to form the first Christian church in that land. The communion set from England was delayed in the mail; but on the very day before the first commemoration of the Lord’s super in Bechuanaland, the set arrived.
Real faith will put you to work.
You have faith to be saved? Who do you put your faith in?
Do you have faith to be healed?
Do you have faith enough to be a witness?
Do you have faith to be baptized in the Holy Spirit or refilled with the Holy Spirit?
If the answer to any of these questions is “No” then you must stop and ask yourself, “Whom have I put my faith in?”
…Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead…
