Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.crossbridgemt.org/sermons/66874/faith-and-works/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Well, good morning. Sunday morning. It seems by now I know you. The one thing we do know, God knows us. If we're one and two or not.

[0:18] So this morning we're going to have a message here that I recently, maybe two weeks ago, I preach it similar. I never preach one message the same way, two times.

[0:31] But because God will fill in the needs, what's in front of me. And it's always interesting. Why did that come to my mind?

[0:44] And I never want to go just by what I think. I want God to have place in bringing forth what he sees at the moment. Because I can't see it. I can't see everything.

[0:59] So we're going to turn to the book of James, chapter 2. We're going to read quite a few verses here. And then work off of that. Faith and works.

[1:13] Because I feel it's a great need for this one. Of how many people kind of misinterpret some of these things.

[1:29] And so we're going to try to explain it. Hopefully, I'll do okay with that. James, chapter 2, verse 14 to 26.

[1:41] So we're going to go through that. So James 2, verse 14 through 26. What does it profit my brethren through a man say he hath faith and has not works?

[1:59] Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warm and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what does it profit?

[2:22] Even though faith, if it has not works, it's dead being alone. Verse 18. Ye a man may say, Thou have faith, I have works.

[2:36] Show me thy faith without thy works, and I shall show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God, and thou dost well.

[2:50] The devil also believes, the devils also believe and tremble. But while thou knowest, O vain man, that faith without works is dead, was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

[3:17] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect. And the scriptures was fulfilled, which says, Abraham believed God.

[3:33] It was imputed unto him for righteousness. He was called a friend of God. Verse 24. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

[3:51] Likewise also, was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and sent them away, sent them out another way?

[4:07] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without the works is dead also. Lord Jesus, we just come before you, we ask you, we ask you, interpret this to us all, and show us how important these things are.

[4:33] And Lord, we commit this service to you, and we ask you to give us the freedom to hear, and give me the freedom to speak. We pray this in the name of Jesus.

[4:44] Also rebuke away any weapons that are formed against any of us, that it will not prosper against us, and keep us from hearing your word for each one of us.

[4:57] We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. As many of us know, this is a big thing sometimes. People use it to whip each other.

[5:09] So we're going to try to bring some reasonable thoughts out of here. Because we, what is works? What is faith? But, it isn't, you know, faith by itself is dead, inoperative, ineffective, says the Amplified.

[5:30] And so what are we dead of? Of obedience. So this was written, if we would just kind of bring it together in a thought, I think what James was saying here is, does this type of faith save you?

[5:48] What he was describing here, and the answer is, what he was trying to deal with here, the answer would be no. He was pushing back against this narrative of the day or where he was at.

[6:03] And, and so we want to look at some reasonable things here this morning. And, because a lot of people say, and we'll get to more, but this is, as we use this as our foundation this morning, and, to walk it out.

[6:21] We heard much this week. You heard, I wasn't here all week, but, you heard much this week. And, how do we walk it out? Because if I'm dead, if I died to myself, denied myself, take up the cross, and follow Christ, then, you know, does nothing work anymore.

[6:48] It only matters what's in my heart. I think my wife would agree with me. I love her, but I don't have to show her any. Because it's all in my heart.

[7:03] I'm okay in my heart. It doesn't matter what she, I mean, I love you. But I, you know, that's kind of the argument I have, because she wouldn't appreciate that, and I wouldn't appreciate that towards me.

[7:17] That, you know, I don't have to show it. Because what's in us, does come out of us. We see that in a worldly man, and we see it in a Christian man.

[7:29] We live it out. Now, one thing for sure, I'm born again, and by faith alone, I am saved. And then my works are in line of that.

[7:43] My works are not up here, and my faith down here. It is this way. Faith, works. Faith is in control of my works.

[7:56] God, when He tells us to do something, we go and do it. We were missionaries in South Africa. You know, it was when God called us through confirmation through the brothers in church, and me and my wife were both, yes, we were excited for that.

[8:22] We were thinking about those things, but God choose the time and the place. But we have to go. You know, so I could say, I'm a missionary.

[8:34] Were you ever on the mission field? No. Do you do any mission work here at home? No. You wouldn't want me around, right?

[8:45] So this life that God has given me is so big. He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords. He filled me. He lives within me.

[8:58] I live in Him, however you want to interpret it. And you think, as powerful as God is, it will not show up on the outside. Well, I think most of us would agree with that.

[9:18] Now, but there are arguments out there, and we're not going to try to get in those. But, so faith has to be in charge. Then works has its place.

[9:32] It is not to please God I mean, trying to get to God. It is like this. It is like this. I'm going to do it.

[9:44] I hope I can use the... I'm not going to try to interfere with this. But let's say God is right here, and man is down here.

[9:55] But what a natural man does, he's trying to get to God himself. So he gives, he goes to church, maybe.

[10:09] He wants to help people, and maybe that will help him. But what God does, in a moment, you know, we're seated with him in heavenly places.

[10:23] So, here, we could, you know, we're together. But when we get born again, we put our faith in him, he takes us up here, and we're seated together with him.

[10:39] Now, from there, he sanctifies me, in the purpose of the duty he has for me. He brings it, so from there on, my focus is no longer trying to get to God.

[10:55] My focus is now trying to help people get to God. But if we're still trying, maybe if I do this, God will love me more.

[11:07] You don't think that way if you're sitting beside him, right? This is not, you know, something seeable. But, I need some practical stuff sometimes to make me get a hold of some things.

[11:20] And, I have a drawing that's a lot more detailed than that. And, so, I am now seated with Christ.

[11:31] I remember when there was a thunderstorm at home, in the living room, we were upstairs as children. We were scared, so my parents would come out of their bedroom and sit in the living room, and we would sit there with them.

[11:45] And the thunderstorm was very peaceful. It seemed that way. Prior to that, I was scared. But, you imagine sitting in your spiritual life, entertaining, you're in Christ, you sup with him, he sup with you, you draw an eye to him, he draws an eye to you, and you're with him, you think a lot of these things that we fear or are scared of wouldn't be calmed.

[12:18] So, so out of that flows the good works. Not out of this man, the old man, the new man. And, so that's what we gotta see.

[12:31] And it will show for us Christ to the world. So whatever, you know, our lifestyle today, my concern is today for my own life, as I walk down the road or go anywhere, there are a lot of people that see me in a given day.

[12:49] Do they see Christ? Is my life that I live openly in this world pointing people to Jesus Christ or to this man?

[13:02] To Jesus Christ. and at the same time, the world is not influencing me towards the world. So now, so the purpose of James 2, according to some people that studied that, is can that type of faith save you that doesn't, that lives separately from faith works.

[13:33] Our faith produces works. Our flesh produces works. Don't forget that. And you can easily see that and you can easily be disgusted with things you see.

[13:47] Some people say, I'm a Christian, I'm saved, it doesn't matter. Yes, it does. If it doesn't matter to you how to live the life of Christ, meet them once.

[13:59] wrong faith cannot save you. You must be born again. So there's a lot of arguments today about the, I have Christ, I had a man come to me recently, they had a church problem and they left because the church focused more on the externals than the internals.

[14:22] Now I didn't buy his argument because he was disgruntled. So he was all about how do you, how do you practice in your church? Are you more, are you focused on the externals?

[14:34] And I, I didn't know what to say. That's why I studied this message. That's where this come out of. And I said, would somebody ask me that question again?

[14:45] Yes, we focus on the externals because that's what we can see what's in the internal. And so, so that is where this actually came out of.

[15:00] And when I was studying it, I thought about I was coming here and there's one message I felt was for someone here, hopefully all of you. So what is the issue if it's, you know, it is an external thing.

[15:17] What is an external? Something you can see. What is my focus? Because my external things point to my focus if Jesus Christ is Lord or not.

[15:30] It's not about just my hurts and my misunderstandings and all those things I had in my lifetime. It is about my focus.

[15:41] It's on Jesus Christ. If your faith does not appear on your externals, then I sightless chames.

[15:55] I mean, the Bible chames. So we express through our life what's inside of us and express the work of God through us.

[16:12] So that is that is how that that should work in every one of us. Because it says in John 2 1 John chapter 2 verse 15 16 it talks about God hates the, you know, the world is I put the I pray that way God hates these things so but the Bible says the world is three things the lust of the eye I mean the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and pride of life.

[16:59] You know, we make a big deal about the world. It's only three. We have a whole list. That's worldly, worldly, worldly, worldly. Now if you break these three things down God help us.

[17:13] because every time you go shopping what if you would look at it is this for the lust of my flesh or this is the lust of my eye or is it for pride?

[17:35] We would I tell you I just love that it's so simple. and yet it feels so big. But if we start there we get to the point.

[17:52] If we start about things let's a lot of things we would call worldly I don't know if we could we wouldn't have a big enough board to put it all on.

[18:03] And you might be right. But if we start here in John 2 I mean 1 John 2 15, 16, 17 if we start there it will definitely keep our focus.

[18:18] Because I remember we came out of church with rules but the Holy Spirit did a quick work in us and when we went shopping we could say oh we could buy all this stuff nobody there's no more bishop telling us we can't.

[18:34] but God could but God could tell us and keep us in according to his word and even in personal conviction sometimes he shows us something for us we don't push other people into that this is where we need to walk me and my wife walk in some things that if you guys would know you'd think that's not really necessary and we considered that too but we feel it's helpful to us to keep our focus Ephesians 2 I mentioned this verse earlier so we're going to read it Ephesians 2 verse 6 through 10 not with I service as men pleasers but as servants of Christ

[19:36] I am in 6 so we'll go back to chapter 2 or maybe I was supposed to read that it's very similar Ephesians 2 verse 6 he has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceedingly riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus for by grace you are saved through faith not of yourself it is a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast but we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them I love that verse 10

[20:40] God has created us for good works he has a plan and a purpose and a path before you he doesn't have a path behind you he has a path before you and he has a plan for you to walk out that's why we seek God that's why we are aware you know that our focus has to be on him as we walk this life and we understand his word and read it and let him fill in the details because he has a plan and we're his workmanship you know I don't know who built this pulpit but it was somebody's workmanship but this guy externally whose workman is he ship who made me and yes naturally I look like my family yes I do I have a granddaughter that amazingly looks like my family and so so we're his workmanship he created he works on us water trials for Aaron he might have a sander or a grinder

[22:04] I'm not sure but he'll use something he'll shape you and that we will see how he walks what he believes in and again it says there in verse 9 not a works lest we could boast it is not something I came up with it's something I by faith allowed God to work into me and now it shines out of me always keep faith in Christ and works will follow in that order we can rest in that I think Laverne talked about restless and I had written that word in here this morning restless am I resting in Christ because he's with me he said so and he's making me his workmanship why am I why something needs to happen

[23:13] I need to work this out you know I'm talking about naturally trying to get to Christ I need this I need that and I am with Christ and from that standpoint I work out what he gives me to do you know so much what I saw over the years is people are still trying they're still looking for Christ if you are get born again because when the meaning of that yes we are not fine tuned yet but we will be God will sanctify us you know when we're justified by faith it is a pretty straight line I have been saved God has saved me and then he starts from this day forward to sanctify me and it goes a little bit like this if it goes like that

[24:18] Berklin then talked about it is when our sanctification condemns us we're not looking on Christ and if it drops before the line of justification there's a problem so if we go on live we have some bumps sometimes he's training us he's working through us when I was started dating courting what is the church term anyways I had some language that I grew up with on the farm and so it was not appropriate so I started dating this sweet lady and she said I don't want to hear that word again what could I do God use her to sanctify that process so I started

[25:19] I knew I didn't want to I had a purpose I had a love for her but every time that word finally came to my mind and I would not say it and finally it was gone it's a little bit like sanctification works it will purify that and as we go on God saves us out of the gutter we come to him just as we are but we don't go one step further just as we are so many people you know God loves me regardless what I do he he I mean you could use some language in the Bible that's really bad God does not he hates sin or he wouldn't have to save us anyways so we we can rest in this God is doing a work and yes sometimes it feels because we don't understand it but if we can come to a place and rest

[26:29] I have when I go on an airplane and we are flying for 15 hours I have it on my ticket I have it on my information where we're going but boy that 15 hour flight it's almost not humanly possible I get so bored and I know it's going to be three times longer yeah so but anyways if you do it more often it gets a little more easier I think but I know where I'm going but I have to go through this to get there and because he has and spiritually whatever he worked whatever he set up for me to do he will work at that to get me there like I said on Thursday night I think the first service on surrender you know

[27:33] God we look at today where am I at today am I a failure successful or whatever where am I at today and I kind of let my mood and emotions kind of take me on a rollercoaster ride I really am not I don't feel spiritual it just is I don't feel anything but God is not looking at the moment he's looking at the end that he created you to be and right now at this moment he's working to get me where he created me to be so he's always working as then by faith I walk it out in obedience to where he's taking me so if you feel restless I call some people that have itchy feet they can never they're always wondering maybe maybe I do this and there's some people like this too

[28:40] I we we we had a share of those too in our lives and they're always wondering always going here to there because maybe maybe some people came to our church and said this is the best church we ever had then I talked with a person from their church and they said they said that the first Sunday too in our church but they're no longer there and they're no longer with us and three or four more churches since that you know there is a place to find rest in Christ because we have found Christ and he will keep his promises and so if he says we're seated with him in heavenly places together as believers with him if he says he comes and sup with us we with him if he says we're going to as we draw towards him he will draw towards us it's true it is very true and so never let a personal happening today let you lack that idea of drawing closer because that is exactly what you want and that's exactly what you need

[30:04] Jesus Christ so as we look at these things it is you know I was often you know earlier years and I was I was a very nervous person and I was you know I had a lot of condemnation in my life and so to find this and you know to know this to understand what Christ is doing it is so restful it wasn't always Galatians 3 chapter 3 verse 3 through 6 Galatians 3 chapter 3 starting verse 3 are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh have you suffered so many things in vain if it be yet in vain he therefore is that minister to you the spirit and workers miracles among you does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith even if

[31:31] Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness this is interesting because we want righteousness and like I said yesterday I looked up the word righteousness because I like to look up words and the depths and the meanings and the only meaning I could find was righteousness it's just right so well there might be other people that can find other meanings but I couldn't at that point so now we start in the spirit we get born again we're so happy to be drug out of the mud and so excited what God has done and and then then later this special gift you know God is so great I'm going to put my hands on it now so I don't lose it that is exactly what it warrants against because by faith I was saved by faith

[32:33] I'm preaching to you today by faith I trust God because I'm not able to do it on my own to this day okay so this is interesting how he warned here how have you begun in the spirit and I made perfect by the flesh and this is why it's so important to be so humble and broken before God because he has saved us and now I know how it is when something good happens oh let's build our tents here yesterday afternoon let's never leave that circle but we had to go and walk out what he showed us that is faith that works that follow so I know how it is

[33:39] I want to keep some and I look back on great memories I use a lot of those stories in the preaching and that's okay but I don't live back there anymore I live today yesterday is gone so I'm going to let everything open I don't have to prove anything but my life will prove I'm living in Christ because he will enable that we're not saved by our works however we are saved to good works like I said before you cannot claim to be part of a global church of God and have no evidence that you do that within the local church the only evidence we have is interacting with people have I changed am I preferring you above myself or does it have to be me am I controlling but I have surrendered and I walk in

[35:01] Christ like this I'm preaching this morning I believe it was on my heart and I cannot make you do it I preach it let the Holy Spirit work it through you allow him I would plead with you but I cannot make you are all people Christians that claim to be according to what happens in our world today you think if every Christian that they say there is we would have the problems we do so no the answer is no not all people that claim to be are but everyone that denies themselves and take up the cross and follows Christ I believe and keeps it that way and not take hold of it again but trust

[36:07] God I needed a savior I was if we actually see how bad we are apparently you know I have a hard time seeing myself so bad that Christ had to die if that is true which it is then then I need him every day Christ saved me to bring him into him he didn't save me to make a separate independent person and that means one of the greatest trials for all of us most of us hopefully not all is we rub shoulders with other Christians that are not you know the greatest challenge I should clarify that statement the greatest challenge that we have is is we're all at different levels of sanctification so we don't we're not just a perfect match every time but we need to give grace if your projection is going upward if you're going to be sanctified and moving on maybe you trip over something down here down here but you got up you kept going that's why we need to encourage one another we're in an enemy's land the world is not our friend and they will we will have a fight to walk it through to keep it from being taken from us we trust nobody can take it but we're not going to open ourselves up so the devil can come in and destroy us often wonder as God works in us what is in us yet that God wants to bring out to the open what lust is still hiding in our hearts at the right condition in our environment around us we will do it keep thinking about that now I have a couple verses like this

[38:33] Luke 13 24 Luke chapter 13 verse 24 that's just one verse here strive to enter in at the straight gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able so in Antioch it would say it like this force aside unbelief and the attraction to sin of sin not to be not be able by your own works anyways I don't get that quite but the first part force aside unbelief and the attraction of sin so we strive to enter in you know some people would have a problem with that because we're you know that's where some of the pushback counts but I tell you what there's a gate and heaven it's final

[39:37] I'm going to die and meet the Christ one way or another and when that gate closes and I'm on the wrong side so now you know by faith I strive to enter in in other words I aim I live I walk because I'm entering into that gate here in the Bible in the New Testament it talks about it strive it doesn't mean it's easy because everything in this world around us is trying to keep us from getting there hopefully that is not among us we are pushing we're encouraging each other to enter into that gate there is a final call coming and we want to be ready to enter that gate

[40:37] I have number one by believing on God through Jesus Christ by accepting that sacrifice he made and and believing and trusting in him Philippians 3 verse 13 to 14 Philippians chapter 3 verse 13 and 14 brethren I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before press towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus you know I don't really appreciate it sometimes when people when you're in a crowd of people and somebody presses against you and forces themselves through but what does this mean to press towards the mark and there's a mark and I'm going to get there how many of you guys walk to the top of the mountain okay count me out

[42:05] I wouldn't make it I know I wouldn't make it anyways nowadays you know you had an aim you had a goal but you had to put effort into it you had to press towards that goal and this is what it means we have a goal we see you know we don't always see but I'm going to keep after God because ultimate goal is heaven and so I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it takes because I don't want to lose focus of that goal because of what God has worked into me you know there's a lot of stuff everybody wants to go to heaven but we also know that's not everybody will but our heart is to help everybody we can to find that mark and here also it's a high calling of

[43:14] God I think what he has worked into us and the purpose is we press towards that mark and we enter into that the calling what he has on our lives 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 22 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 22 flee also useful lusts but follow righteousness faith charity peace with them that are called on the Lord out of a pure with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart you know sometimes we look at this and this word flee doesn't have any other different meaning than that there's a lot of other words I could use in that but you imagine you know

[44:16] I can't do that how many Christians tell others oh yes you can God knows God understands your heart yes he does and when we have stuff that is trying to get us we flee from it literally I'm not going to do running around the building but but we flee from it literally that's what it means you know some people say you just have to believe more pray more maybe you have to do even more I believe it starts with prayer and stays in prayer but if you need to run I've seen it a couple of times people that left had old friends and they they they had old friends and so they so the parents send them somewhere else to get them away from their group of people they hung around with and when they got to the new era a couple states away

[45:30] I know of occasion and he found the same kind of people again because he wasn't changed do I want because one thing I was helping people to come to Christ and was sitting down with a young girl or a man or whatever they were and they would ask me a couple times I got asked this question do I have to give up my friends I said you make that decision before you pray because the answer is you don't want your old friends for that purpose as an old friend you want them to find Christ I said you forget about that and you go out you go home this is the first time I've ever done this at that moment and I said you go home that do I have to tell my people I live with and young girl she was probably over teens maybe and so

[46:36] I said are you going to commit that you're going to go home and tell everybody you know what you just did I don't know what triggered that but she agreed and she did a week or two later she was leading people to Christ she was not ashamed of the gospel but so many people want to know do I have to give up my old friends I never had to worry about it every change everything that God did in our lives the old friends anybody that wasn't serious kind of dropped out of sight but if you stay quiet about Jesus they might hang around but you know you are pressing towards that mark and they will know it and you will tell them you were witness and you don't have to worry about your old friends

[47:43] I don't believe you know there are always people that try to trip you up yes but that question was very concerning to me because why are you coming to Christ if you're concerned about or don't you see yourself as a sinner so anyways that was one that this young girl I was talking about is now pastor's wife there also a mom three children second timothy four chapter four verse seven and eight so it's second timothy chapter four verse seven through eight i have fought a good fight i have fought a good fight i have finished my course i have kept the faith henceforth there laid up a crown for me a crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge shall give me that day not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing to understand to understand this what was that good fight i didn't lose focus of jesus christ i didn't lose focus of the idea i need him every day every hour you know so i didn't lose that focus i fought the good fight i finished the race i finished the course and that has to be as simple as that but it is a fight because with our sight with our flesh with our lust of the pride of life and everything that's offered around us make sure you can use it for the glory of god but if you can't stay away from it so anyways he laid of a crown to all those that love is appearing i remember there was a young man about my age and when he was a young man he's not a young man i'm not either but anyways he he was so afraid that god's going to come back and he's still living in sin so he thought it says in the bible that he will not come back when man think he will so he thought about god coming back every day so he can keep on sinning how miserable and then he was laid up he fell out of a tree when he was cutting it down he's a logger sometimes he's a drugger but anyways he fell out and the tree branch hit him and broke his leg he was very critical condition and while he was laying in the hospital with his leg contraction they had blood clots you know he wasn't married yet he was probably 20 something but one thing he they came in some churches and talked to him and yeah he says he's ready to die then after he was healed up he went to a meeting and got born again you know while he was hanging in traction he thought he's not in sin because

[51:44] he couldn't go out and do it physically but he was never saved he never trusted Christ until the moment he did that really spoke to me when I heard his testimony because he thought he was ready to die because he didn't sin the last couple days or weeks or how long he was hanging in traction but that is not you know our faith he didn't put his faith in Jesus Christ he hadn't trust he hadn't forsaken the old man he hadn't died to it and being alive in Jesus Christ in the Antlified I'm going to read from Revelation 3 11 this makes this point a little clearer Revelation 3 11

[52:46] I'm coming quickly hold tight to what you have so that no one will take your crown by leading you to renounce the faith how do I renounce the faith if I take hold of my salvation personally I renounced it that faith is in Jesus Christ it's not in me able to hold it together but here again if people say you you just God's going to save you regardless he says he could even take they could even take your crown you know I'm not questioning my salvation at all I'm just bringing this out for the arguments you all do know about and because but I believe in

[53:47] Jesus Christ I'm resting in Jesus Christ but I also know that he does not tolerate sin we have a right to repent he has made the way he has made the path to get right with God and he will continue he will keep his word but he will if we turn away from him like the great falling away you can't fall away from something that you never were at so I don't believe in Calvinism maybe not even in Armanianism I believe biblically and I'm not belittling the others I learn a lot from those guys too but when I hear a preacher I heard a preacher recently preaching hell and brimstone he was right ago and he was condemning everything under the sun and all of a sudden he stopped and said

[54:54] I have to clarify something if you are saved you're still saved then he went on preaching I said please cut that piece out of that sermon because either it's sin or it's not sin either you're living for sin or you're living for Christ and I believe as long as I trust in him live with him I don't have to worry about those things I am ready to go he will keep his promise I used to preach in prison quite a bit in the last couple years I didn't but it was always in there and these things really meant a lot to those guys mostly were men I also preached to women but they seemed to get a hold of some of the similar truth that we sometimes don't they knew they were sinners and they were saved if they were saved you know usually they were saved if they were in the chapel or they thought they were friends and family is not where my faith is nor can that change my faith we love friends and family but in

[56:22] South Africa I learned a valuable lesson the first time I was there back in 2000 we were driving down the road and here was a witch doctor decked out to the full looking very powerful had his paint and had his white gown and had everything he looked to me for the first experience wow there's a witch doctor and we had a local guy with us in the back seat and he pipes up and said that's my grandpa what I figured out it wasn't so scary to him but it was to me never let family take you away from the faith in Jesus Christ because sometimes you know doesn't sin seem as bad when it's my own children or does it or when it's me we don't let those things take our faith away so that taught me a lesson

[57:46] I never forgot that and I see in witch doctors ever since and but that moment I'll never forget because it taught me a lesson how do I look at sin if it's somebody I love and he wasn't he wasn't saying he wasn't wrong you know he was just saying that's my grandpa and I thought well he was relaxed that was his grandpa I was like what did they do you know I didn't know what a witch doctor does mostly are pretenders sadly like Christians and some walk in demonic powers the witch doctors had a meeting one time concerning us and our mission work they came together to talk about us and put a curse on us we found out later but they had a division of all people half of them thought we're doing a good work and the other half thought we should be cursed and they couldn't put the curse on us because they didn't have unity that was amazing

[59:07] Matthew 7 and the end was that towards the end maybe I get through but I don't stop talking I love that story from Bert Clendenin where he guy came out and asked him to pick up his wife I don't think the man attended church but he brought his wife he said did the preacher get through yet yeah he got through but he didn't quit talking yet so I want to quit before I no I want to get through and quit okay put it that way Matthew 7 chapter 7 verse 24 to 27 therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and doest them

[60:20] I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock and everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does doest them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell great was the fall of it both houses went through the storm we love that prosperity gospel no we don't but the prosperity gospel that says you know trust god he will do you good he will but doesn't mean you don't have a storm and so a lot of these things is if you are sick or anything you know it's not you know it's not god's will and you're not living right it's such a condemning gospel but they both went through the storm and why didn't one fall and the other did it was in the foundation how do you get a foundation putting in action what you hear here it's all about hearing you do what you hear or you don't do what you hear now this is obviously talking about what god is saying and so we can use that according to the scriptures but we don't do everything we hear what we hear out there but here it's putting in action what you hear both heard the message one did and the other did not one stood and the other fell who is in charge of your life god or you and that will be that will be if you stand or fall so are we standing do we have faith that works do we believe what we believe what we say we believe that it puts action into our lives towards that goal press towards that strive to enter in i have seen a lot of religious works over the years that was motivated by man if i do this thing i will be saved nope it wasn't based on jesus christ so i know that if you drive horse and a bucky you will get to heaven no you you could but you're not trusting in that thing that's for sure there's nothing wrong with driving horse and parking but it is wrong to make an idol away to heaven and so those are little things i'm not so much i don't stress out over those things anymore because when i go back to my old church i witness to them i can talk with them i can enjoy myself with them and and i found a lot of brethren in this church and i don't do it that way but they

[64:21] accept me too so we have a very good relationship with our past at first we didn't we were trying to change them now we're trying to be a witness in real life it's a big difference i don't have to but i i don't shrink back from them and i will keep on being friendly to them walk to them they have come a long way in the last 30 years things they didn't allow when i was there and and so many of them that i know i don't question their salvation but if you trust in a way to heaven that is made up by man that is not right but if you're trusting in what jesus promised me dying that word denying yourself and taking up the cross and following jesus taking up the cross is simply i'm gonna i'm gonna get to the top of that mountain i might be scratched and whatever may come i will take that cross upon me i will walk out what christ has said until he says something different i will not detour from the past that he set before me sometimes you guys who are all this week you wonder probably what does god have for me but whatever you're at be a blessing and then until god shows you something other that's when you move because you can trust in him if he has made a pass he's focused on getting you there relax he got an old order men and i man a farmer that was going to be a farmer the rest of his life he got him out of that situation and somehow got him to africa and i can proudly gladly gladly say i did not even plan for such things and yet when we heard the call i said yes then i told my wife she wasn't in the room when this happened and she came in there and i told her we're going to africa she lit up like the brightest if there's ever a christmas tree legal that's one she just lit up i never forget that she was totally in it we didn't have one issue about that did we go through hard times absolutely i was scared for my life a couple times but we had trusted what god sent us there for and one time i just have to do this and it was this and some of you might know this story but there was a witch doctor again and he had kidnapped one of the girls in church and force her into marriage she fought back and he was known to have murdered people prior so you imagine that in your head and so we didn't know what to do we heard her being beat up we went to the house and one of the ladies you don't go in there we heard

[68:23] her scream and pain and so monday mornings we're heading out to town and as we were heading out to town past her house right along the road she came running out wanted to go to town we knew what's happening she's running away you know she was never giving herself to it but she jumped into the vehicle we took off dropped her off at the police station now police station are basically controlled by their customary practices but we dropped her off and went on to our city and shop for groceries and that afternoon way home I had a flat tire so it delayed us somewhat and we changed the tire we went to a tire shop yet to quickly get the other repaired and then we headed on home I had two of my daughter in the back seat my wife and as we were coming in towards the area there was a neighbor ahead of me that has a gray van not the same brand as I did but mine was gray too and we knew they were mad we knew they were mad because they had the people at our station called us and said there's trouble they had come down demanding where she's at they didn't know where she got to and we didn't either by then and so we run away home and before

[69:56] I rounded the hilltop down to their house I said to the girls in the back if I say down I don't want to repeat that and they we came up on top of the hill sure enough they had blocked the road down before us it was a taxi across the road and we're talking to our neighbor they had blocked him well I don't know if this was divine revelation or not but I think it was I stepped on to get behind him before they see me I had gripped that steering wheel like a desk grip I don't know if you could have pried my fingers off of that steering wheel I came up behind him they looked at him shook their head and left him go I was praying blind them so they did not see me and they stood there watching my neighbor drive away just stood there disgusted they missed it and they missed me

[70:59] I drove through there they turn around and a look of horror crossed there and I drove home like the maddest man you ever saw driving Africa and there are plenty of them now I was scared this brave missionary that knew God sent him we went to bed and I said they're going to come the bedroom door went out to the outside so we were sleeping I mean I wasn't sleeping I was pleading with God for my life I just thought I had I knew God sent me and I reminded him of that that night I didn't come here to die I'm glad you didn't hear that prayer but again it's a trial that you don't understand I remember just pleading with God and this was getting late

[72:01] I couldn't fall asleep and this dear lady beside me was sleeping a sound at peace or just tired no I was tired too one o'clock in the morning outside all of a sudden outside my door something we had concrete patio from the round houses around so something clattered outside the door I mean literally you might change your view of me or never had one but I literally out loud was so scared that my whole body shook and I you're like you're so cold your teeth shattered together I was and I waited I waited this is now it and nothing happened nothing happened so when finally I got enough courage to get out of bed and tiptoe to the door there's like a foreign door you had the top part the bottom

[73:10] I opened it we had a broom standing out there that fell over but it wasn't windy I still believe God God did that I don't know so I got up I rousal with God the whole night I didn't sleep and next morning I went out in the phone service to stand so I wrote a letter for the chief of the village and then I went up the road and met one of our church brethren with this witch doctor I mean I had absolutely no fear anymore I walked right up to him and told him where things lay and I gave him the letter to take it to the chief himself I don't know if he didn't explaining the situation we're not we were not doing anything wrong but one thing I knew when you know God sent you somewhere you gotta know there's a moment you would run if you could but we never question that part because we knew God sent us we put trust in him did he try us yes we were trying and that girl has contact with us again you know where she is and but I don't know where he got to but after that it was it broke that thing

[74:58] I don't think there was much activity or much anything was witch doctors after that but I had to like Jacob wrestle with God and if the wrestling with God doesn't give you a limp you know when we wrestle with God we don't get stronger we get more dependent so when you wrestle with God and you come out on top now you're the man I don't believe it because faith work is righteousness and so so let's let's remember this this morning faith that works is all right it has to be I have so many people I have people it doesn't matter what you do just come to God and then you're saved if you are it will work out it will work out of you it will be seen

[76:05] I'm not talking about religious that people put on themselves and want to prove that I don't care how you dress we need to dress modest and all that but even even something good like that if we use it in the wrong form if we use it as proof of you know I'm work I'm saved because I drew this then that's wrong but if it's faith will produce modesty it will and so I'm not condemning anyone hopefully but God bless you all I was thankful to be here and thank you the church here James and Carol John and Ollie and the others I really appreciate it I'll never forget you guys and thank you for your hospitality and we'll be leaving tomorrow morning hopefully all as well as that but so thank you let's if you can stand let's do and pray and ask

[77:20] God to give us faith that works that points to Jesus Christ a lot of works points to man or some religious group but our faith has to point to Jesus Christ and that is a work because you would see it Lord Jesus we just come before you this morning today yet and ask you to bless each one plead them under the blood of Jesus Christ and rebuke away any weapon that's formed against them confirm their life with you in a greater way that they have confidence that they have trust and they can relax and not be restless in anything but they will be relaxed as you take them deeper into the very purpose what you have created these all to be we know one thing it will never take them back to their old self it will never take them back to dependent upon themselves but it will take them to the dependent upon you

[78:21]  Lord Jesus and make that real fill us in your Holy Spirit and give us the power that we need to walk out what we heard so our foundation doesn't wash away we pray for that in the name of Jesus amen may be seated