True Faith Manifests Into Action

True Faith Manifests Into Action

Rev. Thomas A. West, Sr

July 1, 2021

Introduction

Good Morning, Today I want to talk to you about a thing called faith. James 2:26 says For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Yes, “Faith without works is dead”, and a dead faith is worse than no faith at all. Faith must work; it must produce; it must be visible. Verbal faith is not enough; mental faith is insufficient. Faith must be there, but it must be more. It must inspire action.

It is said that Faith without works cannot be called faith.

Faith endures trials. Trials come and go, but a strong faith will face them head-on and develop endurance. Faith understands temptations. It will not allow us to consent to our lust and slide into sin. Faith obeys the Word. It will not merely hear and not do. Faith produces doers. Faith harbors no prejudice. For faith and favoritism cannot coexist. Faith displays itself in works.

Faith is more than mere words; it is more than knowledge; it is demonstrated by obedience; and it overtly responds to the promises of God. Faith controls the tongue. This small but immensely powerful part of the body must be held in check. Faith can do it. Faith acts wisely.

It gives us the ability to choose wisdom that is heavenly and to shun wisdom that is earthly. Faith produces separation from the world and submission to God. It provides us with the ability to resist the Devil and humbly draw near to God. Finally, faith waits patiently for the coming of the Lord. Through trouble and trials, it stifles complaining.

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.[1]

Title:

Our tile for today is: “True Faith Manifests Into Action.”

Scripture:

Our scripture for today is taken from: Hebrews 11:1-3

Hebrews 11:1–3 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Focal Verse:

Our focal verse is; Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

{{PRAY}}

Lesson:

Hebrews 11, the great “faith chapter,” is full of actions.

· Abel offered.

· Noah built.

· Abraham went out.

Did you know that the word for “faith” in the Hebrew language, is only a verb? That is why all of the people in this chapter became famous: their faith manifested itself in action.

The author ends the chapter with a list of role models in two groups:

The first group “conquered kingdoms, . . . quenched the power of fire, . . . were made strong.”

But those in the second group “suffered mocking and flogging, . . . were stoned, were sawn in two, were killed with the sword.”

What these two groups had in common was that they believed the word of God and risked everything upon it.

The first group received great deliverance and victory; the second group died with nothing on earth that validated their faith.

What group would you want to be in?

Of course, we want to be in the first group. But the life of faith requires a confidence in a God you cannot see and in promises you cannot always feel. Oftentimes you, like those in the second group, stand alone.

If you require earthly validation for your faith, you will not make it.

Let me ask you this question, and be true to yourself;

Can you risk everything you have worked so hard for; every plan that you have made for your future; the comforts of your easy chair, all of it on the unknown, on what is invisible? Can you?

Like Abraham, will you obey what God commands?

Will you obey what God says about morality even if it makes no sense to you? Let me tell you people say, “Well, I believe the Bible and I love God, but I just don’t agree with this part.”

But if you are the kind of person who demands that you agree with God before you obey Him, I would submit that you still do not understand what it means for God to be God.

Can you, be like Jacob and Joseph, and have unwavering hope in the midst of darkness?

In the darkest hour of your life, will you hope because the dawn is coming? When your cancer is not in remission, when your spouse is not coming back, when your prime age for getting married is passing you by—will you rejoice that God can turn tragedy into triumph?

How you respond to disappointment or tragedy will reveal whether or how much, you actually believe the promises of God.

Your ability to be joyful in all things is the measure of your faith.

Let’s be real for just a moment, so much of the Christian life is spent waiting. If you read the Psalms: the word wait appears over and over again.

Psalm 37:7 (NKJV) reads,

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;[3]

Psalm 62:1a (NKJV) reads,

Truly my soul silently waits for God;[4]

From the Message Bible, Psalm 62 and 1 reads this way;

God, the one and only—

I’ll wait as long as he says.

Everything I need comes from him,

so why not?[5]

Waiting patiently with hope is what we call faith.

Like the Israelites at the Red Sea, do you trust that God will provide for you in impossible situations?

As a Parent and Grandparent, sometimes I look at the world today and I want to panic. “God, how can I raise my children in this sort of world?”

There is just so much uncertainty, so many things that seem impossible.

But just might be our fear and panic revealing how little we actually believe that God will provide for us.

As C. S. Lewis said, the depth of our faith is revealed only when it is a matter of life and death.1

Most of us have never had to come to that point. But for those of you who have, will you trust God in those times?

Like Moses, will you leverage your earthly position because you believe in eternity?

God may be telling you to leave your lucrative career to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. The crisis for you right now is, do you believe in Him and His mission enough to do it?

Will you figure out how to re-engineer your career so that it can be used for the purposes of God’s mission?

God might be telling you to take Him seriously in your giving. Do you believe Him enough to invest your pocketbook in Him?

He might be pushing you to be bolder in your witness for Him. Do you believe in Him enough to overcome your fear and open your mouth? God is speaking to you: Will you listen?

True faith manifests into action. It is a bold dare on the promises of an unseen God. I wonder if there is anyone listening today that does not believe in the invisible.

Are you willing to put it all on the line for eternity?

You give a little money, a little time, but never take a bold dare on God. Faith gives till it hurts, because faith knows that eternity is real and that our earthly sacrifices are not true sacrifices at all.

Where does our faith comes from? It comes Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Let’s Look at verses 39 and 40 of this chapter:

Hebrews 11:39–40 NKJV

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

God has provided something better for us. We have a reason to believe in God that none of the people in the Old Testament did—Jesus.

We see the love and faithfulness of God demonstrated at the cross; we see the trustworthiness of God’s provision demonstrated in the resurrection.

What the people in Hebrews 11 saw as a shadow, we see in completion. Jesus healed all those who came to Him and voluntarily died on the cross for us.

So we know that if He does not heal our body or our broken situation now, it is not because He lacks the power or the compassion.

Let me stop for a moment, because you really need to think this question through --- If God sought us when we were strangers and reconciled Himself to us while we were yet His enemies because of our sinful ways.

Will He who gave His Son so freely not also freely give us all things?

Conclusion

As we close today, I want to share with you a story written by writer Donner Atwood, he wrote this story about faith …

During the terrible days of the war, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole.

Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, "I can't see you!"

The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father.

True faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known.

.

So let me ask you --- Can you trust Jesus with your finances, with your kids, with your future?

Of course, you can.

He has demonstrated how much He cares for you and how powerful His love is.

My closing thought is this …. And if you remember no other part of this message, remember this --- as you look to Jesus, do not measure His compassion or His power by your current circumstances. Measure His compassion by the cross and His power by the resurrection.

{{PRAY}}

© 2013 by Thomas Nelson

[1] William Booth in The Founder's Messages to Soldiers, Christianity Today, October 5, 1992, p. 48. [2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Heb 11:1–3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ps 37:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ps 62:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [5]Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Ps 62:1). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. [6] The New King James Version. (1982). (Heb 11:39–40). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.