The Book of James, Part 15 | Pastor Bill Wolfson

and welcome to thursday evening into the book of james hey you know the book of james some great stuff happening again thank you for your faithfulness from around the world people have been given to the mish giving to the missions that we're a part of right now and they're encouraging us right here in the little town of hemet california and it has been incredible a lot of things to talk about have you thought about furthering your education let me just tell you a little exciting thing uh trisha who is our administrator we're going to be flying out this sunday night we'll be gone for a few days and we are entering into a mutual understanding agreement with north central university regionally nationally accredited this is a high-end quality university and for those of you that really want to get into the things of god on a deeper level or you feel called to be a doctor a lawyer an accountant whatever but you want a christian education we are going to become a west coast campus and that is exciting this is over a year in the making so if you want to further your education let us know at let's see right here at hemet.church it's uh maddie what's the um what email connect that's what i was looking for you got connections here connect at hemet.church.not.com not.net.org but hemet.connect hemet.church and we'll get you some information right away so listen the book of james friends these next three teachings have everything to do with faith words and works can let's say it together faith words and works in fact in our next section of james that we're covering which is james chapter 2 verse 14 to about 26 james discusses the relationship between faith and words and faith and works i love it here's a few things i'd like you to write down in your notes right now faith is a doctrine in fact faith is a key doctrine in the christian life and i want to ask you what does faith really mean to you you've got i mean i i've been on staff for years of a seminary called faith seminary it's faith there are churches called faith christian center or faith center or faith church and but what is it what does faith really mean let me give you a few thoughts here and how we understand faith to be a doctrine and james is going to nail this one the sinner is saved by faith ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 through 9. the believer is called to walk by faith second corinthians 5 7. in fact we're told in hebrews 11 6 without faith it's impossible to please god well we better take this pretty seriously in fact it tells us in romans 14 23 whatever we do apart from faith you miss the mark that means sin hamartia whatever we do anything that is not in faith is sin so i want to ask you right now maybe you're frustrated with what's happening with the presidential election right now maybe it'll go your way maybe it won't go your way we'll have to see but i want to ask you anything that is apart from faith is sin is god really on the throne how many of you believe that he's still on the throne but pastor why would god want a godless leader in office and i'm not telling you who is godless and who isn't godless right now why would he do this the bible says the lord gives us leaders after our own heart after the heart of a nation we can pray we can seek god we can love god but friends there's a lot of folks in this country that hate god there's a lot of folks in this in this country that are pro-abortion people ask me this question all the time and i've said it over and over pastor how do you vote i never vote as a republican i never vote as a democrat i always vote as a christian for me voting is so simple i can't vote for abortion i can't vote for non-traditional marriage or gay marriage friends there are things that i ca i i can't vote if you're against israel we are told that god will bless those that bless israel but he will curse those who curse israel well that means you voted no no it doesn't mean anything i'm simply saying i do not vote based on a political party friends they're never going to be able to resolve the issues here there isn't there's no man there's no woman in america or in this world who can turn the trajectory of this country around it's going to take jesus christ and i encourage you but where's your faith a lot of us are angry we're negative we're pessimistic we're fearful because what's happening in our nation without faith it's impossible to please god now in the book of hebrews which is going to go right along with james today hebrews 11 it's a hall of fame for those who acted on god's word regardless of consequences read the book fox's book of martyrs i highly recommend it it's people who are martyred for their faith a witness is often martyred when it says and you shall receive power after the holy spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses in acts 1 8 in jerusalem judea samaria or most parts of the world the word for witness isn't what you think it is it's marteros they became you become martyrs that means you lay your life down how many of you know friends it's easy to die once it's another thing to have to die daily crucify your old man daily so hebrews 11 is this hall of fame for those who died or for those who acted on god's word regardless of consequences regardless of the physical circumstances like an election around them regardless of the riots in the street of america regardless of some of the bonehead decisions that are being made but regardless of physical circumstances they still lived by faith they walked by faith they abided in the faith and they lived by the faith of jesus christ these are individuals in hebrews 11 that regardless of the price they had to pay they still lived by faith how many people leave the church even leave christianity maybe never came to christianity because when things don't go their way they're not filled with the spirit they're filled with self-pity they're filled with anxiety they're filled with anger they're filled with a condescending condemning judgmental spirit faith faith faith now faith is not a feeling let me say this again faith is not a feeling it's not an emotion it's not a state of mind that we try to conjure up or work up faith is simply believing that god's word is true no matter what regards to the circumstances what does it say faith is a substance that things hoped for even though you don't see it the evidence of things not seen can you say today that you believe god's word that it is true even when every circumstance around you makes it look like it isn't but you still walk in faith faith is the confidence to act on god's word as absolutely reliable i want to ask you is god's word really reliable young lady you're single today and you're looking at the guys in the church and you're saying they ain't marriage material i'm not saying they are they're not or all the good ones are already taken thanks for the compliment no that's not what it is you're saying i have trusted god i have waited on god i believed on god but pastor i have to get married i can't find a christian guy what you're really saying is god's word's not true he says be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness light with darkness the temple of belial have with the temple of god i mean he's real clear don't do it and you know it takes faith to still believe god's word even when you're not getting what you want in the timing that you want i heard it once said god is never early god is never late but god is always on time faith faith faith james now brings us to a conversation on the relationship between faith and work so let's take a little walk here and let's talk about it the reality is clear that if we get this discussion wrong of the correlation and the relationship between faith and works guess what might we get the very foundational truth of what being saved really means in fact here's what i'm telling you the reality is clear that if we get this discussion wrong just think about it might we get the very foundational truths of what saves us wrong what is faith we're saved by faith so what does it really mean what kind of faith and here's our question today what kind of faith is it that really saves a person is it when you're six years old and you pray a sinner's prayer what kind of faith is it when you're desperate lord if you'll get me out of this trouble i'll serve you the rest of my life what kind of faith saving faith really saves a person hebrews 11 6 says here it is but without faith it's impossible to please him that's god for he that cometh to god must number one write it down believe that he is number two oh and you got to believe that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him do you really believe god is no way don't don't wait listen to me young man you're a teenager thanks for watching today and right now you're in that bedroom with susie cream cheese and you know what the word says i'm not putting you down i'm just being upfront with you i'm here to say right now in this moment stop what you're doing you don't believe god is you do not believe in jesus let me prove it to you would you invite your mom in the room right now would you invite your dad in the room it's perverse it's ludicrous you know why because you believe your mom is you believe your dad is if you really believe there was an open portal of heaven oh looking at you right now you would see synthesis you'd stop what you're doing right now you see whenever i sin whenever we're being ungodly to somebody unkind to somebody condescending for a moment we have to nullify the existence of god from our conscience from our intellect and from our spirit for that given moment see friends what kind of faith is it that really saves a person it says in ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 through 9 for by grace are ye saved well that's good so we already know it's from god it's god it's grace we didn't earn it it's unmerited favor we didn't deserve it we got that but it doesn't stop there for by grace are ye saved through what vehicle what avenue faith and that not of yourselves meaning it's not works it's not intellect it's not your insight it's not your ability and not of yourselves here's what we learned about salvation it is the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast but we're going to bring faith and works together tonight and next week and the week after it is a gift from god but you receive it by faith you receive it it's the grace of god you didn't have to pay amazon prime [Laughter] you didn't have to earn it you didn't have to deserve it this is so cool guys this is not we're learning doctrine today's teaching could be called faith colon bible doctrine this is one of the bible doctrines of the faith so the question i feel as i share this with you i'm back in law school but this is important guys the question arises out of james discussion as to and this is the question whether it takes good works in order to be saved if you're a catholic you're going to say absolutely if you understand catholicism does it take let's just think about this let's chew on this salah does it take good works in order to be saved and if it does how many works might you have fallen short how many more good works do you need to do that's the whole concept of hinduism and buddhism and making it to nirvana which is ultimately not heaven but divine nothingness it's you keep getting reincarnated and you keep coming back to earth as a lesser life life form if you really blow it and a little bit of a more enlightened life form if you've done well you read this in the rigveda you read i mean i i can tell you all the different um documents or all the all the different books that'll teach you these things but you see this is the reality this is the reality that um the the buddhists and the hindus say you got to keep coming back until you get it right so it is in essence not they believe in salvation they believe in ultimately making it to nirvana where you become a part of the divine nothingness but it does take works works works works works how can a person tell whether he's really exercising what the bible calls saving faith how many of you know we want to get this right on this side of eternity in fact james answers the question about how we know if we're getting it right with saving faith by explaining to us that there are three kinds of faith we'll be sharing this over the next three weeks and only one kind of faith is true saving faith true saving faith and it's not just parenting words i'm here to show you there's a kind of faith that many of our evangelistic crusades that it's not saving faith we're just parrot certain words and have no confidence in christ we don't believe the word we don't really accept jesus in our heart our our heart and our mouth become disconnected our mouth and our spirit become disconnected and we're wondering why am i not changing why am i not becoming more and more like jesus you see friends only one kind of faith is a true saving faith and here's what happens people say i'm not saved by works i'm not saved by good deeds i'm not saved by faithfulness i don't have to earn my salvation all that's true but when you have true saving faith there will be supporting evidence that you possess this faith now don't try to find this faith don't try to muster this faith up because the bible says god has given to every man the measure of faith is a measure of faith enough oh it's too much it's more than enough because the bible says for verily i say unto you whosoever shall sin to this mountain be thou removed first it says if you have a mustard seed of faith that was the smallest seed known at the time to our biblical writers for verily i say to you whosoever shall stand to this mountain be thou removed and be thou cast in the sea but shall not doubt in his heart the things which he says shall come to pass for with the heart man believes in a righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation it says a mustard seed of faith much less than a measure of faith a little dab will do you is more than enough it says that mustard seed of faith makes all the difference but then it says oh but you're praying right now you're praying for that mustard seed of faith are you praying for that mountain in your life to be removed right now if you have ought against any as you go to mark 11 24-25 forgive so that your heavenly father may forgive you your trespasses in fact it says if we do not forgive you've got to get this let not that man think he shall receive anything that includes salvation from god let me ask that question again you might need to run to the refrigerator and get a little bit of wine grape juice cranberry juice water a little saltine cracker or my favorite matzah unleavened bread i don't care get a piece of wonder bread prefer whole wheat but you get it let's have communion right now discern the body of christ who do you need to forgive because unforgiveness is antithetical to faith when i do not forgive i don't believe god is the supreme judge i don't believe god is on the throne of my heart and i don't believe god has the ability the capability and the insight and the authority to work out the situation even with my adversary is it possible you do not have the saving kind of faith here it is because you're still walking in forgiveness unforgiveness towards your mother your father your ex-husband your ex-wife forgive but you don't know what they put me through you're right but you don't forgive by works you forgive by faith let him out of the debtor's prison of your heart before it creates cancer arthritis before it utterly gives you panic attacks anxiety this is a word from god for you right now right now grab hold of it okay the three kinds of faith here's the one i want to hit today you can you guess which one it is dead faith can you imagine the bible speaks of dead faith which produces dead works that makes sense doesn't it dead faith which creates dead works let's look at james chapter 2 verse 14-17 i love this book and again i love all 66 books of the bible and it's not a dead there's a dead faith there's dead works but there's not a dead bible the bible is alive and more powerful and quicker than any two edged sword it could take your bone and marrow and separate it it can take your soul from your spirit which are so combined and separate them james 2 verse 14 through 17 what doth it profit my brethren though a man say he hath faith and have not works faith in words faith and works what does it profit you okay can faith save him uh-oh well that's what we've been told at all these evangelistic crusades that's what we're told at the altar call without faith he can't please god and yet can faith save him this is james talking by the inspiration of the holy spirit if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food [Music] and one of you say unto them shalom yahweh shalom bless you brother oh god is good god will see you through well that's what he's saying if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you saying to them depart in peace be warmed and filled i ain't gonna do a thing to help you but be warm be filled not withstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body what is it profit now listen to the kicker even so faith no matter how much you have faith that god's gonna bless somebody let me pray with you brother let me pray god will meet your financial needs let me pray god's gonna take your empty belly and feed it let me pray that god's going to help you find a home even though you're living on the streets now it says here even so faith if it has not corresponding works known as the supporting evidence and fruit of faith if it has not works it's dead being alone they're twins you see the catholics are wrong you can't be saved by works you can't contribute to your salvation through works the jews were wrong in that area too but it's saying if i have faith i'm automatically going to have works it's like if i have an apple seed i'm ultimately gonna have apples you see what i'm saying here you see friends this is so important now we have a lot of churches today they're social churches they're liberally minded they're liberal mind liberally minded very socially active called social activism they've got lots of works but no faith they're just doing works that don't save you guys there's a lot of churches they've got faith faith faith just a little bit of faith faith faith faith just a little bit of faith you don't need a whole lot just use what you got but you see the bible's saying if you have faith divorce from works faith without the budding the blossoming and blooming of works then your faith is dead it's a seed that has no internalized nutritional value in its dna strand in the new testament there were those who claim they had saving faith yet they did not possess salvation now this is really important how many people have come to the altar just as i am and they left just as they were how many said i surrender all but they surrendered nothing you see wherever you have this is key authentic okay you have the authentic you'll always have the counterfeit let me prove my point raise your hand if you believe jesus is the authentic messiah he's the authentic lord oh god he is he is he's authentic but wherever you have a christ what do you have that's the counterfeit that's right the antichrist wherever you have the word of god the authentic you have the counterfeit the ideologies the insights the philosophies and the perversive commentaries on the word of god there's always a counterfeit guys honey i got a word for you right now sweetheart listen to me right now you're a man or a woman whenever you've got that woman that man that god has ordained for you before the foundations of the world there will always be a counterfeit how many of you know that's true there will always be a counterfeit don't you get your lip ripped like the fish you said after he ate that worm if i knew there was a hook on the other side of that worm i would have gone on a fast how many of us we rip our lip and we go for a ride of destruction because we go for the counterfeit see friends in the new testament there were those who claimed they had saving faith but jesus later on outed them and said but it didn't lead to salvation wherever you have the authentic again let's write this down you have the counterfeit friends i even mean this with a pastor here's where i'm at as a pastor i am born to serve you no matter what you think of me when i say everybody needs a pastor and i want to be your pastor that's on the depth of my heart but we don't like you bill it's okay there's enough love in me for both of us i love you i care about you it's important that we are available as pastors people go why do you publish your phone why would you tell them it's 253 my cell phone 988 890 because friends i'm still called to be broken and spilled out i'm called to pastor you i wish you new at two o'clock in the morning the suicides had been canceled because somebody had a pastor i wish you could know the divorces that were canceled because somebody had a pastor oh bill you're just so wonderful no that's a minimal standard i am not my own i was bought with a price the precious blood of jesus i don't do this because i'm good i do this because he's god i don't do this because i'm obligated i do this because what a privilege what an honor what a blessing to serve you god didn't have to raise me up god did not have to call me to do this it's a blessing but wherever you have the authentic you will always have the counterfeit you know honey i got a word for you right now you've got a husband at home and yes he could be more sensitive he could have been more aware of your needs and that guy that's hitting up on you right now you know i'm talking about right there at work right to the right of where you sit and oh if i were your husband i would treat you different and you're just wonderful but here's what you don't know once you get to know him and he gets to know you and you've gone for the bait of satan you're gonna end up with a counterfeit and you're gonna realize that husband you were called to rejoice in the bible reminds me after 41 years of marriage i'm to rejoice this is the bible don't get mad at me for this one i'm to rejoice in the wife of my youth i'm to let her breasts satisfy me all the days of my life job got it a covenant i've made with my eyes i will not look upon a maiden of lust after her wherever you have the authentic there will always be the counterfeit and friends pornography is the counterfeit adultery is the counterfeit and that's why the bible says when you go for it it will cost you your very soul you never try to pass off the counterfeit where the authentic is not present i watch this all the time the children of israel lost the authentic a few thousand years back the ark of the covenant back in those days before jesus started to live inside of us before we became the ark of the covenant before our body became the temple of god the philistines during a battle stole the presence of god god let this happen for 20 years from the jews so what did they do they went to the temple they put another box in there god wasn't there it was empty they pretended that god was there and they danced before him they sang before him they shouted before him for yom kippur the day of atonement they made sacrifices before him but it was a joke it was the counterfeit how many churches today no longer have the presence of god or actually never had the presence of god instead of being the church we play church a lot of times when the authentic is not present we begin to worship embrace and dance before the altar of the fake the phony and the fraud see jesus warns us there will be counterfeits among us who may be self-deceived this is what happens with cheap grace and easy believism oh i just didn't realize how great of a word this is this is god's word this is for you today pastor you know i'm feeling bad right now no you're feeling convicted by the holy spirit and god just loves you so much he's giving you an opportunity to get it right right now oh how he loves you and me matthew 7 21 explains how we can be self-deceived not everyone who saith unto me lord lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven it's like they mean it they're not trying to be a fake but there was no faith there were no corresponding works listen what they're going to say right now but but he that he said who's going to enter but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven uh oh but we're not saved by works you show me your faith without your works i'll show you my faith by my works that goes on to say in that passage but in that day they will say but lord didn't we prophesy in your name didn't we cast out devils in your name didn't we speak in tongues in your name and he'll say yeah you did but get away from me you do of iniquity for i have never known you i'm talking about a living faith i'm talking about a saving faith i'm talking about the measure of faith god has given you i'm talking about the mustard seed of faith friends all you have to do is ask for it right now do you realize this is what mark and the 11th chapter is all about jesus was outside about eight nine miles out i've been right on the exact path he took outside of jerusalem here is jesus and he knew he was going and his disciples knew that if he ever went back to jerusalem he had to leave jerusalem because they wanted to crucify him he knew if he ever went back there they would kill him he said i'm going back don't even told him guys the son of man needs to die this is when i i'm born to die i'm born to die for your sins it's for the joy set before me i'm going to endure the cross that you and you and you and you might become sons of god so all of a sudden they're making their way there and the disciples are trying to dissuade him and saying you can't do this jesus you can't go there so he arrives there in jerusalem as soon as they get there what's number one it's palm sunday it's just about four days before he's about to be crucified before uh the feast of unleavened bread and uh the next will be pesach the passover and communion and then of course the third one is all within one week seven days it'll be first fruit he'll be the first fruit race from the dead or what you call easter sunday so he arrives in town they said jesus oceana oceana oceana we're calling you oceana says god of salvation god of salvation we want you to we want you to save us but they said we want you to become the king of israel but like in this political world we're living in right now he says i'm not going to do that because if i become the king of israel and i defeat the romans you'll never know me as the one who gave you saving faith you'll never know me as the one who saved you who died for you who so loved you that i laid down my life i knew no sin but i became sin your sin offering your yom kippur your sacrificial lamb your past passover lamb that you might become sons of god i mean it's just so incredibly cool and he refused to do it but here is jesus and the next day he finds a fruit tree and he says this fruit tree isn't bearing any fruit it wasn't even the season it was supposed to but he was making a statement this fruit cheery represented judaism and represented the nation of israel and this is a sign that by 70 a.d he's destroying the temple because we're going to become the temple right now he says what you guys are doing isn't saving faith and so he puts his hand under the tree and he inspects it he inspects fruit what do you find on under my branches today under your branches today faith without works is dead you show me your faith without your works you show me your fruit without your works i'll show you my faith by my works he curses the tree it shrivels up and it dies never bears fruit again then you know what he does he goes this is all about israel it's all about faith without works he then goes into the temple of the money changers and this has nothing to do with selling videos in a church or dvds in a church or books in a church that's just ridiculous but he says i'm gonna go into this church the temple and he sees the temple and the tables of the money changers what were they exchanging money for do you know what was going on in israel these were the individuals that you would show your sacrifice to whether it's turtle doves whether it's a heifer whether it's a lamb you'd bring him in there and this is like catholic indulgences so a guy would come in there and he had this um you know this poor man has saved for the entire year and brings in a heifer that's worth a lot of money and it's no spot couldn't have a blemish it couldn't have a wrinkle it had to be perfect and he brought it in there and the levite would inspect it right there at the table the money changers and he said and and the guy had a little bit of dye a little blackberry dye little blueberry dye a little magic trick and you hide right between the finger and for the the forefinger and thumb and all of a sudden when the guy's not looking you smear a little bit of that juice on the animal and say wow how far did you come here from 25 miles oh i'm so sorry but we got a problem here it's got a blemish and with all the sin in your life there's nothing we can do he said i got some great news for you i guess we can probably serve it as hamburger meat and some ribeye or something give me this is a very expensive heifer that's worthless and i got two little turtle doves in the cage but i wanted to give my best to god and i work so oh don't worry god knows your heart we're talking about a pastor without saving faith we're talking about a manipulator he'd say here's what we're going to do hey mordechai take the cow in the back and go slaughter it and we'll eat it later on and i'm doing you a favor here's two turtle dubs without spot blemish or wrinkle and god understands we're going to make the sacrifice and everything's going to be fine and the guy said god bless you thank you thank you for caring so much about me they'd have the sacrifice and the guy left deceived i'm showing you what dead works and dead faith looks like now in comes bill gatesburg uh maybe maybe jeff bezostein comes in there and he's got buku bucks yeah i've been cheating on my wife and i've been all this stuff and come on we got to do something here i want to get it right with god it's like when the catholics buy indulgences and say i can buy my way out of purgatory i can buy my way out of hell i can buy my way into heaven i don't have anything well they've already taken a little bit of that alcohol and they got rid of the little stain that was on that beautiful cow this is kind of tough now i got a heifer over here and you know we don't sell them in this area you know you're supposed to bring it from where you live and so it's 35 000 bucks what i could get one for 1500 bucks back over the um at the end over over at the auction back out back uh where i live well i guess we can wait but this is the festival right now this is the moadim you need to do it right now all right it's only money 35 000. well it's 35 000 plus tax and handling charges and um but tell you what we're going to waive some of that 38 grand but you didn't don't worry i got a line of people that want it and then the guy gets the sacrifice and he feels as if everything is just fine you see this is what we're talking about when we talk about a faith that's a dead faith this other guy plans on continuing to cheat on his wife he continues to he wants to still rip off people he still is self-centered all he wants to do is feel good about himself right now by going through a religious practice aren't you glad we don't do that in the church we don't give people fake faith we don't give people false hope we don't tell people as long as you pay a little bit of money here as long as you put enough on the offering plate you're gonna be okay this is so important but this is when we have now counterfeit leaders lead to counterfeit faith which brings forth counterfeit works that doesn't lead to real salvation so he's saying there's going to be counterfeits that are actually going to be fake and that's what this is actually talking about in matthew 7 21 so not everyone that saith unto me lord lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of the father which is in heaven so you see he's saying i don't care if you prophesy my name i don't care if you cast out devils in my name i don't care if you give your body to be burned in my name i don't care what works you do it's faith without works they have to work together see people with dead faith tend to substitute words for deeds you got to get this people with dead faith tend to substitute words for these let me show you this now they know the jesus the jesus vocabulary they know how to pray and testify and even quote key verses and we go isn't he spiritual isn't she a woman of god but here's the problem their walk doesn't measure up to their talk their walk we're talking about faith and works coming together their walk does not measure up to their talk there are those who think the words and intentions are just as good as works you got to hear this again there are those who think that words and intentions but even john steinbeck in his book of mice and men says the best laid plans of mice and men james gives a great illustration a poor believer comes into the church walks into the church and he doesn't he doesn't have expensive clothing he has nothing to offer he's in need of food the person with dead faith notices the visitor and he sees the needs you've got to hear this today who's walked into your neighborhood recently into your family into your home you see the need you're aware of it but we don't do anything to meet the needs in fact we say well you brought it on yourself it's not my fault you should have saved you should have anticipated you should affor you should have you should have forecasted so they walk in all he did this other man who's religious who's been in the church for years all he did was say a few religious baruch blessing words james 2 16 and one of you say unto them depart in shalom peace be warmed and filled not withstanding you give them not those things which are needful in the church we do this to the body he's saying what is a prophet so often in the church we think you know what as long as i have faith as long as i choose the better portion as long as my spirit's strong since we're not saved by works there's nothing i need to do for that person you've got to see what the scripture says the believing visitor who came who's poor left the church as hungry and destitute as he came in someone asked your question how do people leave our presence when they come to your home when they come to your church when they come to you at work how do people leave our presence the same or worse off better off than when they first encountered us when we genuinely have faith when a person leaves you and leaves me do they take note we've been with the master we've been with jesus can they sing that song i'll never be the same again james informs us that food and clothing are basic needs of every human being saved or unsaved and here's what we say in the church yeah but we're not a liberal church we're not a socially minded church and the reality is we're going to feed their spirit we're going to teach them the word we're going to do the things of god and the other stuff that's for the liberals but that's not what jesus teaches us first timothy 6 8 says that if we have sufficient food and clothes we should be content but it tells us even that godliness with contentment is what great gain thank you but in matthew 6 31-32 it makes it clear that we are not to be obsessed with our food with our money with our jewelry with our clothing okay in fact it makes it clear our heavenly father already knows exactly precisely what we have need of do you know when jacob father of israel when jacob sought the lord in genesis 28 20 he included the basic needs of food and clothing and what he asked the lord for and that's good it already makes it clear god says don't you have to worry about the lives of the field they don't spin they don't toil to try to be clothed god and all this splendor just like solomon he takes care of them okay see believers are given a heavenly mandate to help people meet their basic needs of food and clothing no matter who they are no matter how they got there no matter what the circumstances are that's in the bible good pastor what about people that don't want to change i understand there's a balance i understand there's a discussion there but i want you to get a sense of what saving faith really looks like see friends did you know that as important as it is that we reach out to hurting broken wounded people who are unsaved who are shall we say pre-christians we have even a greater obligation to fellow believers wave at me if you knew that we have a greater obligation of fellow believers than even the unchurched oh that's so selfish well i know but i didn't write the bible and it really isn't galatians 6 verse 10 as we have therefore opportunity don't be fleeced by people don't be manipulated don't be lied that's all i'm suggesting there are people that you help and all they want is for you to become welfare we've destroyed our country we've nearly destroyed it by not putting a requirement a prerequisite even a demand on people i'm going to help you if you're willing to receive biblical insight on how to move forward and what god has for you but it says here as we therefore this is galatians 6 10 as we have therefore opportunity let us do good unto all men all men all men what does it mean in greek all men what does it mean in hebrew all men what does it mean in piglet men all okay let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the household of faith what are we doing with people right here that doesn't mean if a person comes to me here in him a church and we've helped them and they don't follow through they're not going to make any changes no there is that balancing scripture that says if you don't work you go on welfare doesn't say that if you don't work it's our obligation if we were loving and godly christians we'd help you no matter what doesn't say that no you don't eat you don't eat but i'm here to say friends initially when a person still comes and has a need i've had people in this church that are phenomenal and the need happens friends i'm not looking to send them to a welfare line i'm not looking for this godless government to meet that need it starts here meeting that need in the house of god jesus makes it clear as to how seriously he takes meeting the needs of others let's look at um matthew 25 verse 40. and the king shall answer and say unto them you got to get this this is jesus using melech using his position as the king to give us an insight and the king shall answer and say unto them verily i say unto you in as much as you've done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you've done it unto me he says right here in the kingdom of god when we minister to one another when we help others if you give friends uh it's just a cup of water to a prophet you get a prophet's reward when we help to meet the needs of another jesus says thanks for visiting me in prison a person says when do we visit you in prison if you've done it for the least of them you did it for me that's an amazing thing okay to help a person in need is an expression of love it is our faith we're talking about faith and works it is our faith that works by what love love go i i love this friend okay it says in galatians 5 6 for in jesus christ neither circumcision that was a work availeth anything or uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love i want to ask you a question how's your faith doing i have found when i authentically and sincerely agape unconditional love unconditionally love others i have found my faith accelerates it's exacerbated it grows the apostle john emphasized the aspect of good works in first john 3 17 and 18. if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister notice this is in the church now sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them how can the love of god even be in that person what's god first chapter 8 god is love how can the love of god even be in that person this is powerful friends dear children let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth pastor this sounds like a liberal gospel it's not it sounds like a social gospel it's not i don't love one another when we're not willing to meet the needs and again it's talking about brothers sisters person you're sitting next to the person you're called to invite in your home this is why the early church had all things in common this is why people would meet one another's needs it's powerful see the priest and the levite in the parable of the good samaritan remember that story had religious training they've been to college they've been to seminary they've done it all friends but neither of them pause to assist the dying man on the side of the road this in luke chapter 10 about verse 25 to 37 i believe each of them would defend his faith i'm a man of god i keep the law of moses i'm a torah believer i'm doing the word but guess what each of them would defend his faith but neither of them defended a faith with their loving works i want to ask you today do you have a faith that has corresponding works do you have a faith that defend that that literally provides the supporting evidence that jesus is in you so the question of james 2 14 should read here it is you see somebody dying on the side of the road you see an individual that's been left to die and here's the question can that kind of faith save him the kind of faith i have was i just scared of going to hell so i asked jesus into my heart as my lord and savior you see one of the biggest mistakes we make in the church is we only call our experience with jesus a personal relationship with jesus it's more than personal this is personal friends it's more than personal it's also corporate when i genuinely know jesus as my lord and savior i will never ask the question again am i my brother's keeper [Music] what kind of faith what kind of faith can that kind of faith save him what kind of faith the kind of faith that is never seen in practical works can that save me and the answer is no any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration i'm gonna read that again any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works it's a false declaration you can change your life superficially just like a mortician can save how you look with makeup and embalming fluids and and and you can do all the good works you want and not be saved but here it is when you declare your faith and you begin to change you begin to change organically you begin to change because the changing agent is inside of you that's the ticket you see the kind of faith that doesn't have any kind of corresponding works that kind of faith is dead faith so we leave with this james 2 17 even so faith if it hath not works is dead why it's alone being alone john calvin wrote it is faith alone that justifies but faith that justifies can never be alone it is faith alone that justifies but faith that justifies can never be alone the word alone in james 2 17 in greek simply means by itself and i'm here to say many of us got saved with faith all by itself we didn't even see the grace it was our american right to get saved or our canadian right to get saved the true saving faith can never be by itself it always brings life it always produces life and it always produces good works if it's genuine authentic biblical faith so in other words the person with a dead faith has only an intellectual experience friends i know all about this i all the way through my doctorate in seminary i've watched a lot of people with dead faith i've life coached more seminary professors than you can imagine and some of them have a living faith and they've got corresponding works and it's beautiful but i know a lot of them they are brilliant they can preach the pain off the wall their insight into the scripture is rich it's a dead faith no corresponding works no heart for the people the person with dead faith write this down only has an intellectual experience in his mind he knows the doctrine of salvation but he's never submitted himself to god the love of god is not shed abroad in his heart and he's never trusted christ for salvation he just assumes he has it he knows the right words but he doesn't back up his words with works so pastor your message today is i'm saved by works friends wake up and smell the coffee you're not saved by works you're just not saved if there aren't works it's an automatic thing you see friends faith in christ brings life john 3 16 tells us that where there is life if it's living it's growing there's going to be fruit three times in this paragraph james warns us faith without works is dead faith without works three times beware of mere intellectual faith i am so sick and tired of some of the intellects i work with and i love you guys but here's what i'm sick and tired of it's an intellectual faith oh you know the word you can discuss the word but what are you doing to further the kingdom if the love of god is shed abroad in your heart how's your faith working by love whose life is being changed no man can come to christ by faith and remain the same anymore he can come in contact with an 880 volt wire and remain the same when you've come in contact with jesus friend it's going to change first john 5 12 says he that hath the son that's jesus hath life and he that hath not the son of god hath not life so here it is dead faith we're going to pick up on this in a major way next week you better be there we need to be there i need to be there dead faith is not saving faith say that with me dead faith is not saving faith dead faith is counterfeit faith and it lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life so james makes it clear dead faith is not the way to go [Music] i will not tell you his name i was life coaching him for a couple years and he was a pastor very large church fun guy to be with and one day i looked at him because he had no heart for the people in his church he admitted he thought the majority of them were losers in fact he believed that karl marx was right that religion for them was just the opiate of the people and he said he loves pastoring but then he confided in me he can't stand people he loves jesus but he can't stand people when people had needs in the church he would say hey go to god pray to god believe god have faith in god here's a church with a multi-million dollar budget a multi-million dollar building but friends dead faith dead works dead pastor i'm here to encourage you today don't try to put a list of good works to do right now don't do that it's a waste of time just simply say lord i want a living faith i have that mustard seed of faith lord i have that measure of faith lord without faith is impossible to please you lord i believe that you are i believe that you are the rewarder of those who diligently seek you i'm making a decision right now lord i love you agape love unconditionally i love you so much i can't help but keep your commandments it's in my dna it's in my heart it's in my spirit it's in my mind [Music] make that decision today that lord i don't want a fake faith i don't want a dead faith i don't want a demonic faith i want a dynamic faith that not only changes me but changes others will you receive that word today and friends we're gonna hit the pause button i'm gonna see in the zoom room and well we'll turn on in just a couple minutes gonna see in the zoom room and let's talk about this because friends this is key i just made a statement to you that many of us prayed a prayer years ago and nothing changed one of the works faith without works is dead is when you have an authentic faith in christ you will change i will change and our community and our world will begin to change finally in this crazy world we're living in from kova to riots in the street to political disarray to disunity to racism and all that's happening and racism the winds of racism blow both ways it ain't just one way friend this world needs us definitely to live in faith walk in faith be justified by faith hear what i'm saying there are some mountains that need to be removed and cast in the sea let's make the decision today and the life i live now i live by faith in the son of god god's favor is on you you

Channel: Hemet Church

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Length: 64min 28sec (3868 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 19 2020