The Enemy of Our Faith (Part 1)

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right in. So this morning I'm going to be speaking

on faith. the matter of faith and I'm going to

continue to build from where our Apostles have

laid a foundation for us especially concerning

faith and there are some few things I'm going

to lay as a foundation for these two weeks first

1 Timothy 6:10

Timothy chapter 6 verse 10 first Timothy chapter

1 Timothy 6:10

6 verse 10 it says for the love of money is a

root of all evil for which some have strayed

from the faith so the faith that there's a possibility

that others will stray away from the faith in

their greediness and pierce themselves through

with many sorrows but you oh man of God flee

these things and pursue righteousness godliness

faith love and patience gentleness it says fight

the good fight of faith which means that in faith

there is a fight hallelujah there is a fight

and we're going to understand what is that fight

what is that fight says fight the good fight

of faith lay whole of eternal life to which you

were also called and have confessed the good

confession in the presence of many witnesses

so if we are to fight the good fight of faith

we have to understand who are we fighting what

is the context of the fight of faith you know

we've been thinking about the victory that we

have in Jesus Christ but here we see Apostle

Paul is telling Timothy to fight. Fighting here

is an analogy for what Timothy is expected to

do. So I will be laying a foundation on this

topic, the enemy of our faith, because it's crucial

for us to understand who the enemy is. In Ephesians

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6, in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12. Ephesians

Ephesians 6:12 Ephesians 6:12

chapter 6 verse 12. It says, for we do not wrestle

against flesh and blood. So first of all, the

fight that we are fighting is not against a man.

All right? We are not fighting a physical fight.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities and against powers.

So our enemies are spiritual. Hallelujah. Our

enemy is what? Is spiritual. but against principalities,

against powers, against the rulers of darkness

of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness

in the heavenly. Hallelujah. Because we are spiritual,

our fight or our wrestling is not against a physical

being. First current second Corinthians writer

chapter 10 verse 3 to 5 it says for though we

walk in flesh The flesh here speaks of our physical

body though. We walk in the physical body We

do not war against according to the flesh So

our method of war or our method of fight is not

in the physical So at the end of this we'll be

able to understand what kind of fight are we

called to fight? Who are we fighting? And how

are we to fight? In fact, where are we to fight

the fight? Where are we to fight the fight? How

are we going to fight this fight of faith? For

the weapon of our warfare. What do we use to

fight the fight of faith? For the weapon of our

warfare are not physical. They are not carnal.

But mighty in God. For what? For pulling down

of strongholds. Casting down arguments and every

high thing. So this will give us a glimpse of

what we are fighting. Alright? Casting down what?

Arguments. And every high thing that exalts itself

against what? Against the knowledge. The knowledge

of God. And bringing every thought into captivity

to what? To the obedience of Christ. to the obedience

of Christ. So let's settle that we are not fighting

your village enemies. Our fight is not against

the government of your country. Our fight is

not against anybody you don't like. But we are

fighting. The fight of faith is a spiritual fight.

But as I said today, I'm just going to lay a

background and then build up a niche. John chapter

John 14:12

14 verse 12 the theme for the year John chapter

John 14:12–14

14 verse 12 to 14 says most assuredly I say to

you he who believes in me the works that I do

he will do also and greater works than this he

will do because I go to my father and whatever

you ask in my name that I will do and the father

that the father may be glorifying the son If

you ask anything in my name, I will do so we

established throughout The five months and in

this church that God's plan for us God's plan

for us is to do greater works and We also say

that we are divinely appointed for these greater

works Each and every one of us that is a believer

has been ordained for these greater works that

Jesus Christ is saying in this verse And these

greater works are actually the works Jesus himself

did from verse 12 give me verse 12. He says the

work I do right says The works that I do he will

do also and greater than this will he do And

the work Jesus did, we said, Elaron, if you've

been here, to build a context for those who have

not been around with us, we said that this work

includes the things that Jesus did when he was

here on earth, the things he did, and also the

things that he taught. His actions, his purpose,

and teaching, that is his ministry. In Acts chapter

one, verse one to three. Acts chapter one, verse

one to three. will give us a highlight as Dr.

Luke was writing to Theophilus's former, the

former account I made of Theophilus of all the

things that Jesus began both to do, doing by

his actions and also to teach until the day in

which he was taken up after he through the Holy

Spirit had given commandments to the apostles

whom he had chosen. To whom he also presented

himself alive after his sufferings by many infallible

proofs Being seen by them during 40 days and

speaking of the things Pertaining to the kingdom

of God the things pertaining to the kingdom of

God so the summary of what Jesus did and Taught

all the actions he took the things he did can

be summarized as the things What things the things

that concerns to the kingdom of God? And the

things that concern to the kingdom of God are

spiritual things. As we affirm every Sunday here,

if you are regular with us, that we are kings,

what are we? That we are prophets, right? We

are priests, and that we work with the message,

we work with the ministry, and we affirm that

we work with the office of Jesus Christ. So what

we are saying invariably is that in the place

of Jesus, We take our own ministry This means

that Jesus Christ Rather that works that he did

on the earth the ministry of Jesus Christ Was

not concluded All right What he did was not a

conclusion but that the foundation has been laid

for us and From where he did and what he did

and obviously we see what the Apostles right

they did us as well setting an example for us

for us and then we also walk in the same light

so these are the things that we will do the things

pertaining to the kingdom but the foundation

by which any man will walk in what Jesus did

we see in verse 12 is by faith he who believes

in me that is faith is a foundation faith is

the very important You know foundation that Amanda

will do the work of Jesus Christ Must have almost

work in the only way that a man can do the greater

works is by faith So believing in Jesus means

the man Must be born again. Hallelujah That man

must be born again. Not only that but also the

man is alive and sustained by faith The man is

alive and is sustained. The life which is lived

is sustained by faith. Romans 1 17. Romans 1

17. Romans 1 17, yes. For in it, the righteousness

of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it

is written, the just shall live by what? By faith.

So the way the believer will live, the man that

has been made righteous, The man that have accepted

the truth concerning what Jesus Christ has done

will walk continuously by faith. So the way we

come to Christ is by faith and how we live our

life is by faith. So the believer is a man of

faith. These are the things that we've already

established. Alright? The man that is in Christ

is a man of faith. So the man that is in Christ

does not lack faith. Amen? Does not lack faith.

He has the faith in him. He has the faith of

Christ in him. to do what God has called him

to do. Everyone who is born again does not lack

faith. Faith is part of the believer's identity.

Alright? Faith is our identity. And when we look

through scriptures, faith is presented in scriptures

as a normal way the righteous person who lives.

When we talk about the man that is righteous,

we're talking about the man that is in Christ.

Hallelujah. So faith is a lifestyle of that man.

Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 emphasizes the life

Galatians 2:20

that the righteous man will live. Galatians chapter

Galatians 1:20

1 verse 20, chapter 2 verse 20, sorry. I have

been crucified with Christ. This is Paul's confession.

He says, I have been crucified with Christ. How

was he crucified with Christ? By identification.

What Christ has done by his faith in Christ,

he identifies in what Christ has done. It is

no longer I who live All right, it is no longer

I who live but Christ lives in me and The life

which I now live the life which I now live in

the flesh that is the life I live in the physical

my daily living The life I live in the flesh

I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved

me gave himself for me so the life that the believer

lives is a life that is sustained by faith also

we see in second Corinthians of the five or seven

second Corinthians of the five or seven we walk

by faith and not by sight all right we walk by

faith the walks that we walk in in the physical

The inspiration of the life of a man that is

in Christ should be by faith Not just in some

space of our life, but every part of our life

must be influenced by faith and Not by what is

physical by sight Romans of the 12 verse 3 Romans

Romans 12:3

12 verse 3 says for I say through the grace given

to me to everyone who is among you Do not think

of himself more highly than he ought to think.

But to think somberly, as God has dealt to each

what? To each. Who are they each? Every believer.

A measure of faith. Hallelujah. So every believer

has a measure of faith. Now we will not ask,

is this small faith or low? more faith is a large

faith or some some people have a quantity of

faith we're going to explore that in the course

of this teaching but what we can settle from

this verse is that everyone has what has a measure

of faith so the believer is not lacking faith

all right all right the believer has faith 2nd

Peter 1 verse 1 2nd Peter 1 verse 1 Simon Peter

a born servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ

to those who have obtained What have they obtained?

like precious faith with us By the righteousness

of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. So Peter

is saying that like us You have received a precious

faith with us by the righteousness of God So

every believer has received faith 1st Thessalonians

chapter 1 verse 1 to 3 Paul Silvanus 1 verse

1 to the S. Paul Silvanus intimately to the Church

of the Thessalonians in God and the Father and

the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace

from our God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We give thanks to God always for you. All making

mention of you in our prayers. What are they

praying for? Remembering without ceasing your

work of faith. All right, that is the entire

church, their walk of faith. Their walk of faith.

So there is a walk, what you do of faith, and

there is a walk that you live of faith. So your

walk of faith, labor of love, and patience, all

this, our walk of faith, labor of love, and patience

of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight

of our God and Father. Hallelujah. So we have

the faith to do that greater works those greater

works we lack nothing all that we need has been

supplied by god to us to do greater works today

hallelujah so pastor reminded us last week that

the believer can be weak in faith amen so the

idea of weakness in faith obviously is not a

god problem all right it's not a problem from

god it's from it's from man it's from us So the

believer can be weak in faith And when person

was teaching us about the faith for evangelism

Of course, which is the same fear that we're

talking about the greater works. The work of

evangelism is a greater works, you know the The

things of the spirit that we teach and practice

are the things that encapsulate the greater works

He gave us some two important explanations last

week about feet of the believer and I quote he

says to be weak in faith refers to the conduct

of the believer that does not acknowledge all

that is found in the scriptures did I quote you

right sir all right let me confirm he says to

be weak in faith so we are establishing that

the believer does not lack faith all right but

the believer can be weak in faith and he said

to be weak in faith Refers to the conduct of

the believer the way the believer live his life

That does not acknowledge Which means that every

way we live our life as we read from scriptures

that we live by faith every activity that we

do Should acknowledge all that is found in the

scriptures Should agree with what is found in

scriptures and I strongly agree with this explanation

So it means That everything that the Bible says

about the believer's life. Alright? About the

life of a believer. About the man who is in Christ.

Everything that the Bible has said about the

life of the believer is true. And evidently seen

in our lives daily, now and always. That whatever

truth that we can see in scriptures, that concerns

our lives, that concerns the expectation of God

for our lives, that concerns our identity as

men and women of christ it is true and we should

see the evidence of what god has said daily in

our lives last week pastor also said that growth

in faith is when we see the revelation of god's

word we acknowledge it and we put it into practice

that is growth in faith all right we see Through

scriptures the revelation of God's Word We acknowledge

it and we practice what the word says then we

see faith Manifesting greatly in our lives. So

it therefore means that if the Bible says for

example That the believer is eternally forgiven

don't have the three verses for example. Let's

let's look at that one of the realities All right

John chapter 3 verse 16 That speaks about how

John 3:16

we it says for God so loved the world that he

gave his only begotten Son Whosoever believes

in him should not perish or have eternal life

So it simply means that if we have belief in

what the scripture says Then we have eternal

life This should be our truth. This should be

our conduct should reflect this reality that

we have eternal life because we believe in Jesus

Christ as the scripture says. For example, now

in Mark chapter 15 verse 16 that speaks about,

Mark 15:16

you know, the great commission. Mark chapter

Mark 16:15–18

16 verse 15 to 18. Mark 16, 15, sorry. Yes, yes

And he said to them go into the world and preach

the gospel to every creature so we see this as

a commandment to believers that they should go

into the world and To make disciples of every

creature to preach the gospel to every creature

Yes of assisting he who believes and is baptized

will be safe but he who does not believe will

not will be condemned and These signs will follow

those who believe so if these signs as a scripture

will say right will follow those who believe

in my name there were cast out demons so this

should actually be our realities all right this

should be our realities because this is what

the word of god says this is what god has revealed

to us in his word they will speak with new tongues

you know one of the challenges we have with some

of the people here when we we're speaking in

tongues we're trying to lead them to speak in

tongues is that they are not aware They are not

aware that they should speak in tongues. They

are not aware that it is their privilege in Christ

to speak in tongues. And when you become aware

of this reality, then what we ought to see is

that you practice what is your reality. Hallelujah.

So the revelation of God's truth in these texts

and many other things that we can see from the

Bible, which will come by a rightly interpretation.

Whenever we are taught, we are interpreted the

scriptures through proper Bible teaching. These

things should be our reality and our conduct

should be seen reflecting this truth The whole

council of God's word should be our reality daily

The way we live our life the way we conduct ourselves

in society The way we conduct the way we make

decisions the things that influence our decisions

should be The realities we see in scriptures

Hallelujah So believers are called To examine

themselves if they are in the faith number one.

We've seen an idea of weak faith Okay, and we

are seeing that the that the believer has fit

again in scriptures. We'll see also that The

Bible tells believers believers not unbelievers

believers to examine themselves If they are in

the faith, but we said that the faith is not

a problem for the believer All right, so why

would Paul for example now in second Corinthians

about 13 verse 5 to 7 call on Christians not

unbelievers to examine themselves if they are

in the fit Examine yourself as to whether you

are in the fit, but these are believers Test

yourselves. Do you not know yourself that Jesus

Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are what

you are disqualified But I trust that you will

know That we are not disqualified Now I pray

to God that you do not evil Not that we should

appear approved, but you should not Do you should

do what is honorable? Though we may seem disqualified

hallelujah what 13 talks about exam exam examining

yourself Examine yourself if you are in the feet

What does it mean to examine if you are in defeat?

The believers are called to evaluate themselves.

All right, the Christians in Corinthians are

called to examine themselves To see whether their

profession All right, their profession that is

their confession what they have professed with

their lips To examine to examine their life to

see if their confession what they have professed

and their daily work align with the faith they

have in Christ. So also to us daily we are called

to do or to examine if what we have said concerning

us we are born again we believe in Jesus Christ

does our life our daily living our experiences

align with the truth that we profess with our

lips. Because faith is not invisible in his act

in his activity hallelujah wherever there is

faith there will be an activity Okay, wherever

there is faith we see an activity if you read

through Hebrews and exploit of the of the of

the of the the cloud of witnesses Hebrews 11

we see how faith influences their action and

what they did the great works they did Not only

that we live daily by faith, but we do even the

work of ministry by faith so faith is not invisible

in its activity the manifestation of faith becomes

evidence it becomes an evidence all right how

can we know that you are a believer how do we

know that you are a christian by your fruit what

will happen we'll know who you are and who you

are hallelujah so it becomes necessary that we

what that we give expiration that our life and

our conduct should always align with our profession

of faith. So a believer's life should display

the evidence of faith through his conduct. As

you look at your conduct, your character, your

obedience, and even in ministry, we should see

that you are a man of faith. Of course, faith

may begin in the heart. Okay? But it becomes

visible in conduct in our actions and in the

work of ministry We have seen that faith is located

in our hearts and in the mouth for example in

Romans chapter 10 Romans chapter 10 verse 9 how

Romans 10 · chapter mention Romans 10:9

we become born again Romans chapter 10 verse

Romans 10:9

9 and 10 We see faith in two places Faith active

in two places that if you confess with your mouth

the lips the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart

that God has raised him from the dead, you will

be safe. For with the heart, what happens? A

man believes. Faith is exercised in the heart,

onto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession

is made unto salvation. Hallelujah. So we see

the activity of faith in the heart of a man,

and also in the words of his profession, the

confession he makes. We see the operation of

faith in the heart, and also in the mouth but

most importantly faith must be seen in our daily

action amen it's not only in our hearts it's

not only in our words what we say and what we

believe should be seen in our activities our

heart what we have inside what we believe in

and the things we say with our lips to align

with our daily actions and what we do faith must

be seen In our daily activities. All right, so

why don't we see fits in our daily activities?

It's not that we don't believe hallelujah. It's

not that we don't believe it's not that we don't

know They think so we off as we see in scriptures

So what is that enemy? What is that obstacle?

All right, what is that obstacle that restrains

us from putting our fit to action? That is what

we're going to be dealing with in the course

of this teaching James of the two, let's look

at this text. James of the two verse 14. James

of the two verse 14. Let's read from verse 14.

It's gonna be a little bit long reading. Then

this text is one of the texts that has been misunderstood

or misinterpreted concerning faith and actually

works. Okay, let's read verse 14 to 26. What

does it profit, my brethren, if someone says

he has faith but does not have works? Can faith

save him? Here's a big question. Can faith save

him? If a brother or sister is naked and desist

of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart

in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not

give them the things which are needed for their

body, what does it profit? Alright, what does

your faith what advantage is your faith? That's

what the verse is saying Thus also Thus also

by faith but is safe if not If it does not have

works is what is dead That is is ineffective

But someone will say you have faith and I have

works show me your faith without works And I

will show you my faith by my works You believe

that there is one God. All right, you do well.

This is right But even the demons believe and

what did they do they tremble But do but do you

want to know all foolish man we are not foolish

here, but it's speaking to a certain kind of

men That faith without works is what is dead.

All right It's dead Was not Abraham our father?

Justified by works when he offered Isaac his

son on the altar Do you see that fit was working

together with his works fit and works and By

works fit was made perfect And the scripture

was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God

which is fit and he was accounted to him for

righteousness And he was called the friend of

God. Verse 24. You see then that a man is justified

by works. Very critical. We're going to explain

this. What does it mean? And not by faith only.

Likewise was not Rahab the harlot also justified

by works when she received a messenger and send

them out another way. For as the body without

the spirit is dead. So faith without works is

what? Is death also. So as I said, Aaron, some

Christians interpret these verses as teaching

that salvation involves faith and work. That

is to say, for you to be born again, all right,

it must be a combination of faith and works,

what you do. Without the works, then you are

not born again. While many Protestants argue

that the works are not a condition for salvation,

okay? That the works are not conditions for salvation,

but the evidence of a genuine faith. And one

of the greatest reformers, Martin Luther, He

described this epistle of James because of this

particular this verse he described the book of

James as an epistle of straw that is That is

the epistle believing is is empty that his emphasis

is on works appear to be in in conflict with

Paul and his teaching on justification by faith

so he sees in his own understanding he sees this

book of James as is not carrying anything weighty

because it goes against the teaching of Paul

which speaks about faith as a means of salvation

only. Now the central question for us is whether

James, do James and Paul contradict? It's very

important. Are we saying that salvation is by

works and faith or salvation is by faith alone?

This is very important for us. Hallelujah now

in James 2 verse 14 I want us to read in the

James 2:14

King James version James 2 verse 14 and also

James 2:14

we're going to read on some some other translation

What does it profit new King James, please new

King James is okay What does it profit my bread

and if someone says he has faith but does not

have works, can fit, saved him. I want us to

read that sentence in the NLT. Yes, thank you.

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if

you say you have fit, but don't show it by action,

all right? But don't show it by action, by your

action. Can that kind of fit save anyone? In

the New King James or in the King James translation

or some other translation says can faith save

you? All right, what we see here in the NLT in

the NLT It says can that kind of fit? All right

that that kind of fit the definite article that

Redefines the content of that text. All right

So he's speaking about a particular kind of faith.

And what is that kind of faith? That kind of

a faith is a faith that does not have action,

that does not produce result. Amen? He says,

what good is it, dear brothers and sisters? If

you say you have faith, but don't show it by

your actions, this faith that does not show it

in action, can this kind of faith save anyone?

In the Amplified, give me the Amplified Bible.

And let's remain in the amplified amplified.

Yes What is the benefit my fellow believers if

someone claims to have faith But has no works

good works as evidence Can that kind of faith

save him? No a mere claim of faith No, that's

a certainty answer. This is by the interpreters.

He says no a mere claim of faith is not sufficient

The new faith produces good works. Hallelujah

Now James is not questioning whether faith is

safe saves. We must understand the conversation

in this verse But whether that kind of faith

saves that kind of faith that is explained the

faith that does not have works can that kind

of faith saves The emphasis falls on the definite

article as I said earlier on There's some translation

some translation some English translation or

meat If you read it in the Greek right it has

the definite article there which points to specific

kind of faith that already has been described

in the preceding words it says what is the benefit

my fellow believers if someone claimed to have

faith but has no work as evidence now can this

kind of faith save him what is the benefit of

this kind of faith What is the benefit of this

kind of faith? So when we look at the Greek translation

of this particular verse The definite article

in the case that James is not rejecting the salvation

by faith All right, because he has a particular

if you look the previous verses He's talking

about the life of the believer the man that is

already born again Indicating that he's not rejecting

salvation by faith but distinguishing between

true. All right, what is true? Living faith and

empty profession of faith He gave an example

even angels say that they believe that there

is existence of God. Does that mean that they

have faith? Even demons, sorry not angels, even

demons believe in God. All right, so This is

not the kind of profession of faith that brings

life So James assumed that salvation comes through

faith yet argues genuinely that faith Inevitably

produces visible evidence in the life of a man.

It transforms a life of a man So works do not

end salvation rather is It reveals it shows the

evidence of the fact that a man has believed

now, let's look at verses 15 and 16. Let's let's

be lobby the understanding in the amplified verse

15 and verse 16 he continues he says if a brother

or sister is without clothing and lacks food

for each day verse 16 and of one and one of you

says to them go in peace with my blessings keep

warm and feed yourself but it does not give the

necessity for the body what good does that do

what benefit is that So we see here that James

gives a practical example of what faith does,

what faith does. Hallelujah. I said earlier on

that wherever there is faith, there is what?

There is activity. All right, there is activity.

So this is what faith does. So James gives us

a practical example of that kind of faith mentioned

in verse 14. A faith that is prophesed but lack

action. All right, a faith that is prophesed

but lack action. He describes someone who sees

a needy brother or sister and not only offer

an only offer kind words such as go in peace

and be warmed and filled Without providing help.

So we see the James is asking they says what

good is that? So the point is that words without

action are what are unprofitable hallelujah what

you profess without an action is what is unprofitable

there's no profit in that kind of action likewise

faith that is only verbal spoken out faith that

is only verbal produces no visible evidence is

empty and ineffective hallelujah look at verse

17 verse 17 of that verse so too faith If it

does not have works as an evidence, right? It

is by itself dead. What does that dead means?

It means it is inoperative and ineffective. All

right? So if there is a faith in you, okay, we

should be able to see the operation of that faith

in your conduct, in your action, in your daily

activity, what you do. Hallelujah. So we see

him continue with the argument. by stating that

faith by itself does not, you know, that without

work is dead. So what it means here is that faith

that exists only as a profession by just laying

claim. Oh, I believe what the Word of God says.

I'm a new creator and we don't see the evidence

of it. It is unprofitable. Look at verse 18.

Verse 18 you continue to build the case, but

someone may say you claim to have faith And I

have good works Show me your faith your alleged

faith With a works if you can and I will show

you my faith by works. That is what I do If you

have faith Show evidence of it How do we show

evidence of the faith by the actions we do the

things we do? Hallelujah, so we see the emphasis

is not showing fit It's not Just to say okay.

I have fit but rather The fit has to be examples

to show in our actions and our conduct therefore

works are not the basis for salvation, right?

But the evidence of a genuine fit saving fit

that is seen in your life as you have We should

be able to see the evidence in your life. Look

at verse 19 verse 19 It says you believe that

God is one, you do well. To believe that. The

demons also believe that. They shudder and bristle

in awe, filled with terror. They have seen at

this, they've seen the wrath. So in verse 19,

it shows that correct doctrine alone, all right,

let me say this carefully and you hear, correct

doctrine alone, right does not show the proof

of what you know okay to have correct doctrine

to be taught correct doctrine you know some people

if you have opportunity to share you know you

can say the right things because you've been

taught So here James points to the confession

that God is one and the evidence of that where

he got that from is in Deuteronomy chapter 6

Deuteronomy 6:4

verse 4 Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4 And he

Deuteronomy 6:4

says that you do well by that but then he adds

even the demons even the demons they know about

the existence of God Hallelujah So his point

is that demons possess right knowledge. They

know God who God is. Alright they know that God

is God and he exists they have the knowledge

of God and even response emotionally yet they

do not obey him therefore genuine faith is more

than just intellectual belief it's just more

than just you know or you have the knowledge

of who God is you know the knowledge of God's

word you know okay I should speak in tongues

for example you know okay I can heal the sick

you know okay I can I can do I'm called to do

the work of ministry that's knowledge about what

God has called you to do But without doing it

your faith is ineffective Hallelujah So in verse

20 he gave an example with Abraham as as an example

and of course we look at in verse 26 He gave

an example with with rehab James uses Abraham

as an example to show that genuine faith is proven

through obedience Abraham was counted righteous

because he believed God All right, but that but

that fate was later demonstrated and brought

to maturity when he offered in his action of

offering. Hallelujah. So it's not because he

offered that God counted him faithful, no. It's

in his obedience that we see that this man has

faith. So when James says a person is justified

by works and not by faith alone, he means that

true faith is shown to be genuine through action.

saving faith is never alone it is expressed in

what in a life of obedience so as we hear the

word as we are taught the word as we reveal our

identity as we are revealed about who God is

what he has done what he's doing and what he

intend to do through our lives and what he's

doing in our lives is expected that that should

influence our daily lives of course verse 25

we see him mentioning rehab as an example Okay

Like Abraham Rehab has shown to be justified

by her works. How when the spies came to Jericho

And they told her about what God will do or what

God is about to do through the nation of Israel

Her action of saving them protecting them is

an act of faith. We see in Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

So James used two different examples Abraham,

Rehab, as we saw in the text, to be justified

by her works, not in any, you know, acceptance

before God, but in demonstrating the reality

of what she believed, right? Through faith. So

why would James use Rehab? Rehab is a Gentile,

okay? Rehab is not part of the nation of Israel.

He used Abraham and also used Rehab. To show

that regardless of your background Okay, regardless

of your background whether you are of of the

nation of Israel or a gentle as possible You

know if I has been teaching us We all when we

have the faith of God we will see it expressed

in our action So it shows clearly that regardless

of background or status Genuine faith is always

evidenced by action It's not just by merely profession

But it reveals itself through the act of obedience

as we believe Okay, we often see that what we

believe produces a result and that result is

the action that we take daily our lifestyle our

character our Mindset is changing and that mindset

change, you know informs the way we take our

actions daily So it's not to come to church every

day and then be receiving word Okay, it's not

to be coming to church every day and receiving

knowledge How much of that knowledge have you

put to work? How much of the information that

you've gathered the Riley divided word of God

in itself does not work on his own So your faith

was we put to use was we practicalize that's

how we see the profitability of that fading you

So he concludes in verse 26. He says, for just

as human, the human body without the spirit is

dead. So faith without works, that is obedience

is also what? Is also dead. That dead talks about

uselessness. It's useless. All right? For as

the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also

faith apart from works is dead. Using an analogy

of life, a lifeless body for example, a body

without life. James explains that works are to

have, works are to faith as breath is to our

body. Alright? As breathing is to our physical

body, so also our actions work towards faith.

So works and faith work together. Are we together?

You believe and you come into salvation, all

right? And then that salvation you receive gives

you the ability, the empowerment to do what?

To do greater works. Hallelujah. So the reason

why we have to lay this foundation is when we

begin to emphasize on works, you will know clearly

that scripturally there is an expectation on

you. The word you've received inside of you must

show, must be, must be evidence. Okay? And when

there is no evidence of this, then we can say

that you are not grown. Because the growth of

a believer is seen in how much, alright, is seen

in how far. It's not in how much of scriptures

you know. It's not in how long you've been a

believer. It's not even in how much you can teach.

In fact, it's not even in how much you can speak

in tongues. It's not in how much you can pray,

how many hours you can pray, how many, you know,

Bible scriptures you can memorize in your head.

It's not by how many church services you've attended.

It's not by how many teams you belong to in a

church. It's not even by how many degrees you've

acquired in theology. But do we see the evidence

of this faith in your character? Okay? Because

there must be a demonstration of this faith.

There must be an evidence of this faith. Because

the faith we receive is a faith that has life

in it. And that life influences what we do in

the natural. So as we go about our normal day

and our normal activities and our normal, you

know, jobs and whatever we do, can we look at

your life? And we say truly this man is a man

that has faith in Him. In the circumstances you

face, because daily we are faced with situations,

we are faced with circumstances, can we believe

the reality of God's Word concerning every experience

we have in our daily life? That is the walk of

faith. Do we live in obedience to what the Word

of God says about us? Do we live in obedience?

Do we allow the life of God has given us? All

right, the believer come alive by faith and the

believer lives by faith So to examine ourselves

whether we are in defeat is to examine Do my

life align with my profession? Do the activities

I take every day, even in church, the sacrifices

of leaving your home, joining a team, coming

to church. It's not to just come out here and

be socializing, no. It's that there will be an

evidence in your life that will show that indeed

this man has something in him. This man has something

in him that must be seen Okay, that must be seen

So what we want to explore is why or what is

the reason that we are not seeing this effective

in our lives What is this what is the reason

why we are not exercising what we already have

what is the reason why we don't see these expressions

in our lives Alright, why do we not express these

things in our lives? Faith in our hearts, in

the things we say and where, and also in our

actions. Okay? And I can tell us now that we

don't lack faith in our hearts. And you've been

in church for a long time, we'll find words of

faith in your lips. In the songs we sing, alright?

In the things we say, in our prayers. But faith

must leave our hearts and the words in our lips

and be seen in our conduct and in our actions

If not, then the faith we have is what is not

profitable All right. We are not doing the call

the greater works of God is calling us to do

We are not exercising the faith in evangelism

so my prayer is that every one of us will understand

why we have this limited expression in our lives

of the faith we have and how by the help of God

we can deal because earlier on we read that what

that we are not fighting against what this fight

of faith listen let me tell you this because

you have faith right That is the reason the devil

Who is our? Adversary is coming for is coming

for that thing is to ensure that that thing that

you have does not what does not manifest Being

a believer is already a life of war let me say

this you are already in war And you're not in

war against governments against people know you

are in war against the devices of the enemy And

the plan of the enemy every day is against the

faith that you have. Of course, he knows he has

lost you as a believer. Now, we're not speaking

to a man that is not born again here. We're speaking

to a believer. The enemy is arranging every method.

He's inventing new methods to ensure that what

you have does not manifest. In the things you

hear, in the things you see with your eyes, In

the realities that happens around you in your

family in your life as an individual He ensures

that you have you have you have another understanding

of of what is happening around you and Then you

don't believe what God is saying Hallelujah But

we have all it takes to overcome hallelujah,

we are not helpless. Amen We're not helpless.

We have the spirit of god We have the word of

god the weapon by which we will deal with the

divisive enemy are not are not natural Their

spirit and the spirit of god is the word of god

has given us And we're able to withstand the

adversary the enemy Who is coming for what god

has placed in us? And let me tell you brothers

and sisters god is not the one that will fight

it for you. Amen God jesus said it is finished

on the cross We sing every day we have the victory

All right. So what we ought to do is to put the

victory to use Amen To put the victory to function

The enemy has been defeated By what Christ has

done the enemy has been defeated We see where

Paul is telling Timothy the spirit you have is

not a spirit of fear All right But the spirit

of war of some mind which means that God has

given you the ability to withstand the devices

of them because we saw a lot on that that we

will fight against against what? In In second

Corinthians of a 10 verse 3 given that takes

again second Corinthians of a 10 verse 3 Says

for we work For though we work in the flesh as

mortal men We are not carrying on our spiritual

warfare according to the flesh and using the

weapons of man. All right The weapons of our

warfare are not physical weapons of the flesh

and blood our weapons are Divinely powerful for

what for the destruction of fortresses. We are

in war. All right So, the weapon we have is able

to bring down fortresses. Fortresses are the

stronghold of the enemy. Okay? We are destroying

what? Sophisticated arguments. The weapon of

the enemy are arguments. And every exalted and

proud thing that does what? That set is... So,

knowledge. Knowledge. And that knowledge, that

warfare happen in our mind. Hallelujah. by the

spirit and by the word we are coming to see how

we can deal with the devices of the enemy and

how we can put to use our feet and allow our

faith to flourish and be profitable and then

we see God glorified by our lives and we see

ourselves daily living in victory in all areas

of our lives it is not God's desire that the

believer suffers by the enemy but he has given

us victory hallelujah I just want us to just

pray for ourselves, pray for yourself that as

we go through these teachings that you have understanding,

that you are able to handle the devices of the

enemy, that you are realizing that you are in

a warfare and a soldier is not meant to be asleep

daily anticipating the attack of the enemy. Every

single day is an opportunity. The Bible says

the devil moves like a rolling lion looking for

a man to devour. And as a believer we have the

victory in Christ And what we ought to do is

to allow what God has done in us To find expression

in our lives. So let's appreciate God for his

word and for his understanding that we have That

indeed we are men of faith We appreciate you

being here today. We hope you carry this word

with you throughout your week Don't forget to

check the show notes for additional insights.

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Until next time, stay blessed.