Visible Faith - Part 2
Scripture: James 2:14, 26; Mark 2:1-5; Genesis 6:12-14, 22
Good morning Strangers Rest. This is Part two of my sermon “Visible Faith.” Three weeks ago, I stood before you and read what James said about works and faith. James 2:14 & 26 says, “(14) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?.... (26) For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” In the text James points to Abraham and Rahab as examples of individuals whose works were evidence of their faith. These two individuals are also mentioned in Hebrews chapter eleven for their faith. James says that if we have faith then accordingly, we will have some good works. These works will be those that bring glory to Christ. You see, whenever we do something in our walk with Christ, He gets the glory. Therefore, Revelation 14:13 tell us “…. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” Our good works will follow us. But be warned, those works we do to draws attention to ourselves and not Jesus will not – l will touch on that later in this message.
This morning, we are going to examine some individuals who acted on their faith and were recognized for their faith. But before I continue, let me remind you of how God views visible faith in Hebrews 11:6: It says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Although the stories we are going to read are not new to you, hopefully you will hear something that will aid you in your assessment of your visible faith. We will start with Mark chapter two. As a reminder, James says our faith will be evident in our works. So if our works demonstrates our faith, then our faith is able to be seen by others who interact with us.
In Mark chapter two there is a story about a group of men who acted upon their faith and were recognized for it. Let’s begin with verse one and because it provides greater context to the story, I will be reading from the Amplified Bible. “(1) Jesus returned to Capernaum, and a few days later the news went out that He was at home. (2) So many people gathered together that there was no longer room [for them], not even near the door; and Jesus was discussing with them the word [of God]. (3) Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men. (4) When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. (5) When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:1-5)
Jesus had returned to Capernaum and after a few days word spread that He was there. A large crowd gathered to see Him and hear Him teach so there was no more space available in the house when the four men arrived carrying their paralyzed friend. As they attempted to enter the home they could not because of the crowd. However, acting on their faith that if they could just get their friend to Jesus that he would be healed they take him to the top of the house. Once there, they removed part of the roof so that they could lower him down to Jesus. I want you to see this. For the moment, these men were not concerned about the damage to the homeowner’s roof – because they cared about their friend more. Now this is important. As they lowered their friend down to Jesus, He took notice of them. Verse five records, “(5) When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” This verse says that “Jesus saw their [active] faith….” When Jesus saw their faith, He tells the man his sins are forgiven and later He heals him. So how did Jesus see their faith? He saw their faith in their actions. They climbed on a roof carrying their paralyzed friend and lowered him into Jesus’ presence so he could be healed. Why did they do this? Because they believed in Jesus and knew that He could and would do it. They acted on their faith. Their faith had works attached to it. Because their faith was visible in their action, Jesus saw them! When we believe in Jesus and what He has said in His word, we will act on it. It starts with believing.
Let’s look at another example. Turn to Genesis chapter six and we will review the story of Noah. Let’s begin reading at verse twelve. “(12) So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (13) And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (14) Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch…. (22) Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” (Genesis 6:12-14, 22) God looked upon the earth and witnessed how corrupt humans had become. Based on His assessment, He knew that all living flesh would have to be destroyed except for Noah and his family and the animals that He had commanded be taken on the ark to repopulate the earth. After giving Noah the instructions, verse twenty-two says that Noah did everything according to God’s command.
Here again we find faith as being evident by works. Noah was a righteous man and believed God. When God told him to build an ark in what was believed to be a desert land, Noah said “Yes Sir.” I heard Bill Cosby do a skit on this several years ago where Noah was totally confused about the request since there were no large bodies of water around him. After much going back and forth God finally asks Noah if he knew how to swim at which point Noah starts building the ark. It is not too far of a stretch to imagine Noah having questions about this strange request, but Noah feared God and took Him at His word. He knew what had happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden and he knew what it meant to disobey, and he was not having it. So, Noah’s first act of faith was to pick up a hammer and a saw and get to work. It is believed that it took him approximately 75 years to complete the ark and every day he picked up his hammer and his saw and continued working. When people came by and made fun of him, they witnessed his faith. His faith was visible every day that he picked up that hammer and that saw. Are you starting to see what visible faith looks like? It’s not doing something just because you can or because you like it; it is works with a purpose. It is work that benefits the kingdom of God, and in this case, the salvation of the human race and the animals. Our faith is proven by our works. And like Noah, when God tell us to do something we do not stop until it finished, even if it takes years to complete.
I want to give you a natural example that we can all understand. I have two resumes: I have an executive resume that speaks to my secular experiences, and I have a ministry resume that speaks to my ministry experience. I have sat through many secular interviews where I had to walk the interviewer through my resume. In every interview they wanted to know how I accomplished certain things and what was completed through my actions. You see, one of the things they teach you about interviewing is not to focus primarily on the “what” that was done, but on the “how” the results were achieved. I can tell you that I accomplished something but that won’t tell you what you really need to know to determine if I qualify for a certain job. This is what James is speaking about. I can stand on the highest mountain and proclaim my faith to the world, but if I have no evidence, no actions, and no works to prove it, then my proclamation of faith is just that – words. How I live should be the evidence of the faith that I proclaim to have. Remember, “faith without works is dead.”
There is a story in the book of Acts about seven brothers. I want to read this story to you because it truly demonstrates how our faith is visible, not only in the physical world, but in the spiritual world. Once I share this story with you, I will tell you a very personal story that bears this out as well. Let’s read Act 19:11-17. “(11) Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, (12) so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. (13) Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ (14) Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. (15) And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ (16) Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (17) This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”
In this story people witnessed Paul’s faith. How did they witness his faith? They witnessed it through the miracles that he had done. Paul’s faith was very visible because he had accompanying actions that proved them. This is what I want you to understand, Paul’s faith was on display, not only to those who witnessed his actions, but also in the spiritual world and you will see this shortly. As Paul performed miracles in the name of Jesus, seven brothers took notice and decided that they too could do the same. They had no relationship with Jesus, but because they saw Paul casting out devils in His name they believed that they could do the same. They believed that if they just used Jesus’ name and said what Paul said they could truly make a name for themselves. Remember, they had no relationship with Jesus but wanted to use His name to make a name for themselves – sound familiar doesn’t it? Many Christians today are doing something similar. We proclaim our Christianity when it benefits us personally but believe me when I tell you that it does not work.
So, the seven brothers decided to cast out an evil spirit by saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Notice what they said. They were attempting to cast out the evil spirit by the name of Jesus that Paul preached. Do you understand the significance of this statement? They professed that they knew nothing about Jesus, had no relationship with Him, but were lip-syncing what they had seen Paul do. And to ensure we are on the same page, let me give you the definition of lip-synching. Lip-synching is “any time a performer is not singing/vocalizing during a performance, but they are mouthing along to a song with vocals that are playing in the venue.” As it relates to faith and our walk as Christians, lip-synching is when we outwardly profess things we heard and are supposed to believe but do not. For example, we profess to believe what Jesus said and then do not even attempt to do it. Our profession without action is the equivalent of lip-synching.
Paul’s faith was visible because he knew Jesus. Paul knew what Jesus said. Paul believed what Jesus said. Therefore, because he knew Jesus, understood what Jesus said and most importantly, believed Jesus, Paul acted on his belief. Remember, “…. faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) These seven brothers had no faith because they did not know God’s word or His Son. These brothers had no faith because they had no relationship with Jesus that comes through God’s word. Because they had no relationship with Jesus and therefore no faith, there was no way they could be successful in their attempt to cast out the evil spirit. So, what happened?
After the brothers make their declaration the evil spirit within the man responded. Verses fifteen and sixteen records, “(15) And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ (16) Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” This is extremely important to understand. The evil spirit stated that he knew Jesus. Of course he knew Jesus because he had once been in the presence of Jesus and even when Jesus walked the earth the evil spirits were subject to Him. But then the evil spirit said that he knew Paul. Are you seeing this? This evil spirit knew of Paul because of Paul’s faith. This evil spirit knew of Paul because he had witnessed Paul walking in the authority Jesus has given to believers that believe on His name. We need to understand, when we begin to walk in faith the spiritual world can see it also. Spiritual forces know if we are truly walking with God or lip-syncing it.
So, the evil spirit proclaims to know Jesus and Paul, but not those seven brothers. Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on the brothers and beat them. Can you see these brothers walking in this man’s house all big and proud ready to use the name of Jesus to cast the evil spirit out? Can you see them creating a movie in their minds of their great conquest and the fame going forth about them casting an evil spirit out of this man that everyone knew? Can you see them creating a movie in their minds about how they would use their newfound fame to create wealth? Now can you see it all come crashing down when they are beaten and forced to run out of the house naked because they were simply lip-syncing what they had seen? They had no clue as to who Jesus was and the evil spirit knew they had no relationship with Jesus. How did this spirit know this?
Well, for one, they had no good works. They had nothing to show that they even knew Jesus. Then they told the evil spirit as much when they said they would be casting him out “by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Do you understand what happened here? If they had a relationship with Jesus the evil spirit would have known it and left the man. We have that authority, if we believe Jesus when He says, “(17) And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18) If you believe Jesus then you will do what He says you can do.
But I want to show you something else about our walking in faith and it being visible. This is a very personal story. Before I tell you the story, I need to establish a foundation so you will understand the seriousness of what I am going to tell you. Some of you may have had your palms read or visited a fortune teller in your past – maybe for fun at a carnival or maybe because you really wanted to know something. What I am going to share with you hopefully will warn you from ever doing it again and if you have never done it won’t consider it after hearing this story. In the Old Testament, the following is recorded, “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:3) And from Leviticus 20:6, “And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” These verses speak directly against our going to fortune tellers or mediums. These people, if they are genuine, are heavily influenced or possessed by familiar spirits and we are forbidden from interacting with them. With this as a background, I want to share this story about how our faith is visible to the spirit world as it was when the evil spirit did not recognize the faith of the seven sons of Sceva.
Years ago, I had some family members visit a genuine fortune teller who dealt with familiar spirits. For the sake of privacy, I will number the primary characters of this story as person one and person two. Person one wanted to visit the fortune teller to get a remedy for a problem within the family. Person one was a long-time preacher of the gospel who knew what the word of God said about dealing with people who dealt with familiar spirits, but they were desperate. Person one asks person two to join them. Person two did not feel right about it but agreed to go to help their family member. When they walked into the fortune teller’s office, the fortune teller looked at person two, not at person one, but person two and asked if they were a minister of the gospel. Person two responded “No” and pointed to their family member (person one) as being the minister. Now this is important. The fortune teller, responding to this answer, tells person two, “We know him” referencing person one. When she said, “we know him” she was referencing the spirits operating through her. Then she made a profession that changed person two’s thoughts about the whole situation. She told person two, “I can see the glory of God surrounding you, you should not be here.” This fortune teller could see the glory of God surrounding person two who walked in genuine faith in Christ versus the person one who walked in the office of a minister. Do you understand what I am saying? Person two at that time had a genuine relationship with Christ and walked in true faith to the point that this fortune teller who dealt with familiar spirits could see it. After that encounter, person two repented and asked God to forgive them for going.
The reason an evil spirit is subject to a Christian walking in their authority and their faith in Christ is because that spirit can see it. We only see what people show us and we will believe them when they are faking it, when they are lip-syncing. But this is not so in the spiritual world. They are serious about what they are doing to foil God’s plans for humanity. So, when they encounter someone who is professing something they do not genuinely believe and not a threat to what they are doing they ignore them. They ignore them because they are not doing anything that hinders what they are doing to try to destroy what God is doing. Understand me, when you see people constantly fighting against and trying to destroy/disrupt what God is doing the Spirit of God is not the driver behind their actions. However, the person walking in faith is a problem for the devil and his kingdom. Just as our faith is visible so is our lack of faith. We can go through all the appropriate motions to say we have faith, but in the end, the truth will come out.
James says, “(14) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?.... (26) For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:14 & 26) Our faith is visible through the works that we do, but as I said last week, it’s not just any works – it is works that mean something to Jesus. As I said earlier, there are many people going through the motions of “working” but those works might not make it in the end. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 3:11-15, “(11) For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. (14) If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. (15) If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Paul says that some build upon the foundation (Jesus) gold, silver, and precious stones, namely, those who receive and spread the pure truths of the gospel, and hold nothing but the truth in Jesus, and preach nothing else. We are building with gold, silver, and precious stones when we build upon a good foundation – staying true to God’s word. We do not mix in our own doctrines or try to make God’s word say what we want it to say – we build on this sure foundation. However, there are others who build on the true foundation with wood, hay, and stubble; that is, though they adhere to the foundation, they depart from the mind of Christ in many instances. In doing so, they substitute their own fantasies and inventions in place of His doctrines and institutions. They build upon the good foundation what will not abide the test when the day of trial comes. When tested by fire their works of wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed. There is a time coming when a discovery will be made of what we have built on the true foundation. Paul says that every man’s work shall be made manifest and shall be laid open to public view – to his own view and that of others. Some may build with wood and stubble on the good foundation and not know it, but in the day of the Lord their own conduct shall appear to them in its proper light. Every man’s work shall be made manifest to him and to others.
Strangers Rest, your works are evidence of your faith. Paul says that there is one foundation that we can build on – Jesus Christ. If you are building on the one true foundation, what are you using as your material? Your faith determines the building material you use. True faith based on a secure belief of God’s word will always use gold, silver, and precious stones. But a faith not secure through the word of God will use wood, hay and stubble that when it passes through the fire will be burned up. In these verses Paul is not talking about a loss of salvation because you are building on the true foundation of Christ, but the “so-called” works you are doing for Him. Are they genuine? Are they focused on His kingdom or your personal need for power and recognition? I will tell you that some of my previous works will not measure up and make it through the fire, so I am focused on making sure moving forward my works are in line with God’s word. I will leave you with these words – the author is unknown.
Doubt sees the obstacles – Faith sees the way!
Doubt sees the darkest night – Faith sees the day!
Doubt dreads to take a step – Faith soars on high!
Doubt questions, “Who believes?” – Faith answers, “I.”
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
