2026 Gospel Meeting I ”A Faith That Acts” I Stan Adams - 8/2/26

It is good to be here. I haven't been

here for a while. Last time I was with

the church here on a continuing basis.

Had a week's meeting when brother Glenn

Barnhard used to be here. That's been a

few years. I don't know if any of you

were around during that time, but that's

how long it's been. And uh I've gotten a

little grayer and hair has fallen out

for some reason. Uh but anyway, still

here, still kicking. glad that you're

with us tonight. Appreciate the theme

that you have chosen. Uh consider this

week the book of James as the people

that are here and thank you for being

here folks from over at Liberty. Um as

we've been talking about the last couple

of weeks over there, book of James hits

us where we don't like it. It's

something that really makes us every

chapter

uh makes us really reflect. And I don't

know how you are kind of makes me want

to come forward every chapter because

there's something in each chapter that

you find in your own life and examining

yourself and I think it's for that

purpose to rattle us and to rock us and

get us to wake up a little bit and to

know that we cannot have an inactive

faith. Every page, every chapter for

virtually every verse of James calls us

to action. An inactive faith is no

faith. Told DJ that we could probably

say that just end go home early, but

haven't been around this long doing

that. So, uh, turn to James uh, chapter

2 tonight.

One issue that can plague us in our

service to the Lord is in the first 13

verses of chapter 2 is the challenge we

have with judging things on the basis of

how we see. It seems to me like or it

looks to me like and making huge

assumptions in people and about people.

And James addresses that to start with

in talking to us about activity in our

faith. He says the first thing we have

to have to do to be able to reach souls

and to look out and see uh the people's

needs out there is for us to understand

that there is favoritism that we have

and some of us don't like to admit that

because it's just flatout bigotry

uh in many cases and prejudice. Someone

comes in and He uses the example here.

The Greek word here that he uses for

favoritism is propalpsia and

partiality or favoritism. And it was

used by the Greeks and the consistently

negative connotation of making judgments

solely on the basis of a person's

appearance

or status

or other external things. All carnal.

And as a result of that having a

prejudiced mind that it renders itself

inactive in the care of the person's

soul. So the issue in the first 13

verses of James chapter 2 is favoritism.

James 2 · chapter mention

Can I play favorites? The powerful point

he makes here to start with is having

faith in Jesus, having the faith of a

Christian and showing favoritism is

incompatible.

We just cannot. And there were times in

our society and there have been times

throughout history that favoritism has

played a large role. I was commenting

talking to some people and we brought it

up several times in their Bible study in

Liberty that the world and the es in the

first century probably didn't look a lot

like ours.

The people of the first century, if you

read the book of Galatians, it was

settled by the Gauls. The Gauls were

pretty much uh the mercenary soldiers of

the day. They went for the highest price

to go fight the battles. They probably

were pretty rough looking group of

people. the church at Carth. Those

people came from very jaded backgrounds

and they would not have been doing

polite things and we might have made us

uncomfortable to be there with them. And

that was what was going on. You had

Gentiles, Jew, you would have the

problem that may exist there that could

have existed where a Jew was under the

leadership or the being shepherded by a

gentile or vice versa. A slave may be an

elder or a deacon in a congregation and

the master be a servant. That could have

happened. There is no room for plain

favorites and for prejudice when we all

call ourselves after Christ all bought

by the same blood. And we are here by

the grace of God and we are who we are

by his grace.

In one community of people in the world

where everyone receives equal

treatment, it should be the church. We

alone of all the places in the world

should be a haven against prejudice. We

have to ask ourselves are we

are we have you ever worshiped in a

congregation

anywhere in the world where you were the

person that was the minority

where the sermon went on and the

language was different from yours and

you felt like such an outsider. How were

you treated?

my experience and Carla's experience as

we've traveled, we were treated with the

utmost care and respect and

accommodation,

but I'm not sure we would be willing to

do that in our society. It's kind of

taken a leave.

But we do understand that these things

are still a potential problem with us

even in our local groups if we're not

careful. And I don't know if you all sit

at the same place all the time. Probably

some of you do. But far be it from

anybody to move around and get to know

somebody else. We can become very

clickish as brethren. We have our

favorites, the people we like to come

see. And nothing wrong with having

people that are our friends that we're

closer to. Nothing wrong with that. But

we don't leave the others out. I have

any congregation that I've ever preached

at or been to in a meeting. There are

always the people that seems to hang

around a little bit, but nobody talks to

them and they leave and nobody said

hello. Nobody's gone and greeted them.

How are you doing, brother, sister? And

so they are they become outsiders

while they're still in the same group as

we all are. And nobody notices them, the

unnoticeable people. And we can become

very clickish if we're not careful. And

I think that's where this really hits us

is in this situation. We're hopefully

long past the racial prejudices that may

have been a problem in the 50. Well,

they were in the early 50s and 60s in

our country. But hopefully we're beyond

that. But in during that time, I was in

congregations in Georgia and Alabama and

one in Georgia when we converted a man

that was that was black. Uh some of the

members said they were going to stop

coming.

Well, the men met together and they

said, "Well, we're going to miss you.

Going to miss you." We There was a

brother who was blind. It was a black

man that we convert that was converted.

And people got to talking about him. He

heard had keen hearing and he said to

the preacher, he said, "Go ahead and

tell them that I'm blind and I've heard

that I may be a problem for them. I'm

blind to what color they are and tell

them I'm okay if they are." Well, the

good thing about that was it called them

on what they had been doing and

everybody rallied to come and be kinder

to that man even though they had

prejudices.

Having the Having the faith that God

wants us to have enables us to overcome

all of those prejudices

and we must do that in order to be

pleasing to the Lord. Tax collectors,

publicans, IRS people, they are they

have souls too. And we have to

understand the religiously elite would

look down their nose at that. And that

was a carryover from Judaism.

Now the way he treats this in verses 2

and four if you follow here in James 2

reading through verses 2 through 4 look

at this scenario. The poor man comes

into the assembly and he is not treated

equally

not only because of his appearance but

other reasons. The rich man comes to the

assembly and he is treated very well and

honored and they don't even really know

who he is. The rich man is preferred

because of the way he appears, he looks.

He gets the chief seat. The poor man

comes in and he gets dismissed and put

on the side or on the shelf and becomes

inconspicuous.

And James asks this question.

Are you not partial?

You may say to everybody in the world, I

am not prejudic.

Really, that's what he says. You are

too. You are partial.

In Matthew chapter 7 and verse one,

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

favoritism talked about here is a direct

violation of what Jesus talked about

that we all get accused of of judging

the wrong way.

Judge not that you be not judged, for

with whatsoever manner of judgment you

judge others, you will also be judged

yourself. So we are to recognize that

there is an ungodly judgment and this is

one of them and our faith can bring us

out of that if it's the type of faith

the Lord gives.

One of the things that we look at I

don't I don't guess in my whole

preaching life that I have ever given

this passage these 13 verses the

attention that they need.

And that that's to my shame.

And some people say, "Well, we don't

have that problem anymore. In a little

different way, we do."

Um,

you don't treat people different because

now he brings out the point why

favoritism is foolish behind here. Uh,

God chose the poor to be rich in faith.

And he said this before that it is the

poorer people who have less distractions

that are more willing to listen and have

their lives changed. The richer people

have their lives pretty well set and

they don't want to be disturbed. But it

is the poorer person who has a richer

heart who has a heart that can be

touched and can be reached more willing

more humble because of his status in

life. He doesn't have a lot of

distractions. He doesn't have anything.

And so he is an open invitation to every

blessing God gives him and appreciative

of every one of them. In Luke chapter 6

Luke 6:20

verse 20, if you part of the good news

of the gospel is that it's available to

everybody.

Turn to Acts chapter 8 for just a

Acts 8 · chapter mention

minute. want to talk to you about a man

that we all know and he was doesn't have

a name that we know of but he had one we

just don't know but he's a unic

now to be a he's gone to Jerusalem to

worship now not being a naturalb born

Jew an Ethiopian Jew he would have not

had access to the worship place he would

have been in the courtyard of the

gentile or the procel and he would not

have had the equal access but traveled

all the way from Ethiopia to praise God

and worship him and he was going back

home. Not only that, but he was a unic

and he would have not had even a a good

poor position in the crowd because he

was a unic

and that was against the law too.

Generally speaking, under the old law,

you were lesser.

So the Jewish world the gentile world

collide in Christ.

How are you going to treat one another?

Big deal.

Have you ever found yourself as you

travel around the country wondering

where the church is in the community and

what we're really asking is where's the

nearest white church?

May be a black church right there,

Hispanic congregation.

But we're looking for what? People like

us.

Nothing wrong with that necessarily. But

we don't need need to delete people as

maybe they're not faithful. We need to

check them out too. Maybe they would

enjoy a visit from us and be encouraged.

They are our brethren.

Now, favoritism and prejudice is wrong

because it violates God's own attitude

toward us.

God's attitude toward us is without

favorism. He is not a respector of

persons, neither does he want his people

to be.

Luke 6:20 reading here, blessed are you

Luke 6:20

who were poor, for yours is the kingdom.

So again, with with much goods comes the

distractions

increasing, the tending of those goods.

Solomon said that in Ecclesiastes with

much goods or as much pain, as much

heartache sometimes because what? You're

worried about your stuff.

You let a hurricane be announced here,

everybody will be protecting their

stuff.

Nothing wrong with that, but it can be a

distraction. Many people will miss

services. That's not seeking the kingdom

first to protect their stuff.

And so the rich in this world are not

often the ones that are the most

receptive. Who did Jesus who heard Jesus

gladly?

The common man, the everyday guy.

Who were the rich and the honored? They

were trying to think up the next tricky

question.

They were trying to think up the next

way to kill him, next opportunity.

Now the sinfulness of playing favorites

and he brings this out. It is the rich

that oppress you. It is the rich that

blasphe the name of Christ. It is the

rich who violate the royal law to do

unto others as you would have them do

unto you.

James 2 and verse 9 very clearly states

that that type of behavior is sinful.

There's no there's no

running around the stump with that.

straight to the heart hits us. If it

pierces us, it pierces us. No apology

given at all. If you're a prejudice

person, if you are playing favorites,

now let's let's get a little closer. Oh,

you play favorites with your kids,

you're going to destroy your home.

They'll they'll see it very quickly.

If you play favorites in the body of

Christ, if you play favorites as elders

in the body of Christ, have to be

careful.

And especially with what buildings cost

these days, one of the challenges that

may move us back to renting the

storefronts is if you're going to have

to invest a million, $2 million, $12

million in a building,

then you're also going to have the

problem with the biggest contributors

because you've got to keep all of the

bills paid. It's the rich that will be

favored if not if we're not very

careful. and maybe overlooked in things

they might do that we would hold them

for accountable. See the challenge that

comes with it. Now that's just a

challenge. That doesn't have to be the

case. We and certainly shouldn't.

If someone that is rich is unfaithful,

then we withdraw from them too.

And we cannot be respectctors of

persons.

In James chapter 2 and verse 13, he

James 2 · chapter mention

brings up a point of mercy.

Being merciful to people is a part of

the law and we don't get to pick and

choose who we're merciful to.

We are to show mercy to all.

Mercy is given commensurate to the mercy

shown. That's the point of verse 13.

All souls are val.

When you go out and you do personal

work, we used to do it doortodoor. We

had great deal of success doing that.

Still is one option today.

But when I was doing it, I almost

walked around an old trailer.

It had hogs rooting up underneath it and

it did not have a sidewalk.

And I was dressed pretty nice.

I I would have gotten my shoes real

messed up. So I just decided maybe walk

around that. Then I got to go about go

knock on that door. Now the problem with

knocking on the door is there wasn't a

door and I didn't know what I was going

to do. So I was a little bit afraid.

So I knocked on the door. A man comes.

He's got one eye. His glass eye is out

in the socket. And he comes there. He's

got overalls on. Only thing between him

and God. And he says, "Come on in."

first invitation I'd had all day to come

in. I said, "I want to talk to you about

the Bible. You got a Bible?" "Well, I

do, but can't read."

Said, "Well, really?" I said, "Could I

read some passages to you?" "I'd

appreciate that," he said. So, we sat

down and we ended up he is a pulpwood.

He had a crew that he worked with and we

baptized Hubard How

and Hubard would come to services. one

of the best personal workers we had

because he held his workers hostage

because they had to ride the home with

him because they were drunk. Well, he'd

bring them to services

and they'd come in and they were a

little lit, but he would make sure that

they behaved themselves

and ends up that Hubard not only brought

himself to Christ and but he also was

influential in others hearing the

gospel.

When Hubard obeyed the gospel, he went

out, which is on a Friday night. He went

out Saturday morning, and he bought him

a new pair

of overalls.

Those were his Sunday overalls. He

bought him a new flannel shirt,

Sunday shirt. And he bought him some

Sunday broands.

And he would come dressed up.

He brought his granddaughter with him

sometimes. She didn't like shoes, so she

didn't wear them. Some of the ladies

thought, "Can we give them some

clothes?" I said, "We can, but I think

you want to make her think she's not up

to it." So, they were careful about it.

But the bottom line is you have to be

careful and considerate, but know this,

their souls were valuable, and I almost

let it go.

Shame on me

and shame on us.

There are several members of the church

that I know that make up bags

for the people that are pan handlers on

the street. And in those bags, they put

a New Testament,

put a dollar or two in there, a bottle

of water, and a pack of trash.

They put a track

and they give them away.

They are so regular about it that the

people begin to know their names.

But those have souls? Yes. Do they look

like us? No.

Are some of them crooked? Absolutely.

But they have a soul that can be reached

with the gospel. And the gospel is

powerful enough to get them off the

street.

So, we need to understand that that

favoritism and reaching the lost cannot

tolerate

selectiveness in who we talk to. I'll

talk to people that are like me. I don't

talk to

He's given a shot. Your Muslim neighbor,

he's got a soul.

The Jehovah's Witness that comes to the

door, they've got a soul. Mormon, they

got a soul. And you may make progress

and you may not. But what do you do? You

try. It's our job to sew the seed. The

Lord brings the increase. Are we doing

that? Turn to James 2:es 14-1 17 now.

And we'll talk here about what James

says about dead faith.

Dead faith avoids service because dead

faith is possessed by those who are not

servants.

They are convenient Christians. As long

as it's not uncomfortable for them to

serve the Lord, they will. But if it

requires activity on their part, they're

not going to do it. Excuses. I'm old.

I'm busy. I have this going on. I have

that They've got a hundred excuses for

their inactivity. But the bottom bottom

line is they don't have an excuse.

They don't have any reason.

Turn to Hebrews 11 11 and verse one and

it's a whole treatise of examples in the

first chapter, first part of the chapter

of Old Testament characters who walk by

faith. It talks about at creation. All

things were created by faith.

things that were were made.

Things that are seen are made by things

that were unseen.

And we either believe that or we don't.

But right at the beginning, the Lord

calls upon us to have faith in how

things came to about came about.

James starts very quickly in James 2:14

James 2:14

and he poses this question. Does it do

any good see the needs of people

and merely wish them well.

Well, ask them if they have needs, they

tell you they do, and you go, "Well, I

hope you get that taken care of."

Have you done them any good?

Hope you find warm. You're hot, you're

cold, hope you find some warm. You're

hungry, hope you find some food. Hope

somebody can help. Not me.

Turn if you will to the story of the

good Samaritan. Luke chapter 10

Luke 10:25–37

verse 25-37. And we'll see something

about that. Every last one of those

people that came upon the beggar on the

highway or the man on the highway. They

all saw the need.

Every one of them knew something needed

to be done. But only one had active pain

and put himself on the line.

The two that you would expect to do

that,

the Levite, the priest, you would think,

well, certainly they'll take care of

that.

It was the one that they looked at as a

dog

that took his time and invested his he

had things to do, too.

He was going somewhere. He suspended his

trip, took care of the problem and did

what?

Extended himself and put himself on the

line financially to help the problem

and told the inkeeper whatever else he

needs, take care of it, and I'll pay you

when I get back. Don't put it to his

account. He didn't ask the guy if he

could pay anything. He didn't insist

that you need to pay me back. and did

anything.

He took care of it himself. It took

time. It took investment. And it took

tremendous concern for the man that

moved him to action. Not just there's a

need.

A need met with action. So he is

portrayed well by the Lord.

But that had stung the Pharisees

that the Lord would use a Samaritan to

teach them a lesson. He did.

Matthew 13 verse 13, the description of

Matthew 13:13

the Pharisees and the scribes was that

hearing they don't hear

and seeing they don't see

and what they hear affects them very

little. and what they see affects them

very well.

Give you a test here. How many times has

DJ preached a lesson from God's word and

the passages hit you hard

and you go, "Ouch." Maybe you may say

these things to him. Well, you know, you

really stepped on my toes today.

Brother Irvin Lee, I think, was the

first I ever heard said, "Well, I'm

sorry. I was reaching for your heart.

A heart change is an inside out job.

The Lord has given us a powerful word to

change our hearts and we'll either allow

it to take place or we will ignore it.

God will not make you change your heart.

Jesus never made anyone change your

heart. A miracle never made a heart

change. It made people notice the words

that were spoken. But it is always the

words that had to penetrate and prick

the heart.

Now we

can say that we believe

we can say I have great faith.

But if we hear truth and do not apply

it,

if we see our error, if we see our

problem and we don't correct it, do we

have faith?

James says, "No,

you're no different from a demon.

Faith without works is dead."

I don't know how many Calvinists I've

talked to, even some in the body of

Christ that are pretending that way

these days.

But we say, and rightly so, that James 2

says, "You must have works. You can't

just be saved by faith.

Galatians 3:26

Galatians 3:26

all children of God through faith in

Christ Jesus for as many of you as have

been baptized into Christ and put on

Christ. What is that? The point we make

is what? Faith in works. Right

now, it's not faith in your works.

It's faith doing the works, moving you

to do the works that God has told you to

do. obedience. An obedient thing that

moves you to be uncomfortable until you

get it right. To squirm until you get it

right, to lose sleep until you get it

right,

and to pray and to ask the Lord to

tenderize your heart.

By the way, have you developed a

hardened heart as a Christian?

Do things not bother you anymore? Have

you ever said these words, "Well, those

things bother other people, but I'm so

used to it at at the plant that those

words that cussing or whatever is going

on or those jokes, they don't even

bother me anymore. You need to take your

boss

spiritually. We need to be in what

happened with what is said about

Lot.

The Hebrew writer says his righteous

soul was vexed daily.

Everything else that happened a lot in

Sodom is recorded for us. But that is in

Hebrews and it tells us the man was

heartbroken every day when he saw the

way people were living. It bothered him,

but he stayed there. When he stayed

there, his kids were affected.

And he and his two girls left Sodom. His

wife didn't make it. And Sodom was in

the heart of those girls.

They did vile things with their father.

Did they know it was wrong? Yeah.

Did they make it seem like it would be

okay? Did they compromise

knowing that they would be wrong?

In order for me to realize a brother or

sister is in need or has a problem, for

me to look out on my brethren and see

their need, it's going to take two

things. My concern for them, my love for

them, my care for them, but it's also

going to require them to let us know if

they have.

If somebody asked you, "Do you need

anything?" What's your first love about

this?

I can handle it when really you you're

not doing too well.

So open communication with one another.

And that's not saying I'm going to throw

everything on the brother and just

become a case all the time. No, but if

we are we if we're having challenges and

we're going through struggle, talk to

one another.

Talk with one another as brethren. Let

it be known if you have needs that need

to be addressed by the brethren.

We can't read minds and we dare not be s

James 2:18-20

James 2:18–20

deals with this useless faith disobys.

A useless faith allows disobedience. It

tolerates it in our life. We have little

pockets of our lives often times where

we have our little things that we know

we're weak in, but rather than become

stronger in it, we just resign

ourselves. Oh well, that's my weakness.

>> No,

Bible faith doesn't allow that.

Imagine trying to prove to somebody that

you have faith, but you can't show them

anything.

Can anybody got any faith in your

pocket?

pull it out.

Here's my faith.

You don't. Do you?

The point he's making here is true Bible

faith is only shown

through works.

And faith without that

is not faith.

So are sometimes we as Christians acting

faithless.

Fact is, we are.

I believe in God. I love the Lord God.

He's with all of my heart, soul, and

mind. How much you're willing to invest

in him? Well, you know, I'll leave that

to other people. The older say, I'll

leave it to the younger. The younger say

I'll leave it to the old. I'm too old to

serve the Lord like I used to. Well, who

said? Where is the retirement plan?

Where is the age of retirement the Lord

allows Christians to have? No, there's

not one in here.

There is work to do. Your level of

activity or you usefulness with physical

health may be minimal, but there's

something you can do.

Verses 19- 20,

James says this.

One says, "I have faith."

Great.

How do we know you have faith? Because I

say I have faith.

One says, "I have faith." One says, "I

have works." Show me your faith without

your works, and I by my works will show

you my faith.

Then the person says, "Well, I've got

faith." Well, how is it shown? Well, I

don't do anything, but I've got faith.

Okay? You ever had a wavered person tell

you, "I'm not losing my faith. I've

still got my faith. Where is it?

You have lost your faith.

Absenting yourself from the assemblies

of the saints.

Not praying like you should. Not

studying like you should. Not serving

like you ought. Not encouraging your

brethren to love in good works like you

should. You have lost your faith. You

don't have your faith. You have a belief

in God as opposed to a belief in Allah.

But that's it. That's where it stops and

ends.

But the active faith of the Bible, you

don't have.

You put it on the shelf. You hung it up.

You retired it. And it used to move you

to such things.

In verses 19 through 20, he says, "Good

for you that you have that type of faith

because guess what? So do the demons."

The demons know who Jesus is and they

know exactly who he is and they will say

they said who he was. Thou son of God.

So they confessed him.

They had faith that he existed and they

confessed that he did. Well, that's

about as far as some brethren go, isn't

it?

Words but no action.

But what did the demons do? They

actively worked against the Lord. What

did Jesus say about that? If you're not

for me, where are you? You're against

me. If you're not active in service for

me, then you're not there.

You see how James really hits us? Makes

us squirm a little bit. It's

uncomfortable.

James moves from calling faith dead to

calling it useless. Verse 20,

the faith of a demon is a useless faith.

And the faith of a child of God that

does not have activity to show their

faith and works to accompany their faith

is just as useless.

Verse 18, show me your faith without

your works, and I by my faith will show

you my works.

Which is easier?

Having a way to demonstrate your faith?

So faith without works is useless.

James then goes in verses 21- 26 as he

concludes the chapter and we made the

chapter differences he didn't uh James

comes and describes just what saving

faith really is and that it moves and it

obeys and he does two positive

illustrations about Abraham

and he calls us back to the altar where

Abraham was called by God to offer offer

his son Isaac on the altar

to sacrifice his own son.

Several things in that narrative in

Genesis.

He got up early in the morning to do the

deed.

He was urgent about it.

He traveled great distance. He got to

the place and he continued to move. He

didn't have take some time off.

and he took Isaac up there. He told his

servant before they left, "We'll be

back."

How do he know that?

He operated on faith.

He believed that even if he had to kill

Isaac, the Lord could raise him

and the Lord would provide.

But God called him to do something and

he as good as did it. And I want you to

notice he didn't stop short.

You just think of your children, not

when they're misbehaving, but when

they're behaving.

And you've got a knife

and you have the choice of to come down

with it and slay your child

or to hold up.

What do you do?

Abraham's faith moved him to come down

with it

and it was imputed to him as if he had

done it. He did what God told him to do.

Although he didn't take the child life,

God did not accept that. Didn't take him

that far.

But Abraham moved by faith all the way

to doing something that would be

arguably one of the most awful things

that a parent would ever have to do.

But he was ready.

Abraham and Sarah are brought up in

other passages in Hebrews 11

as being ready to go to a place they had

never seen because God said go. And he

you went home evidently. He said,

"Sarah, pack up." I'll tell you ladies,

ready for your husband to say that?

Where you where we going? Well, we're

moving. Where are we moving? I don't

know.

Will your faith take you that far?

Sarah had faith, too.

And she was ready to go, too. And they

went. They followed through on it. They

kept going.

And it take faith to come to the sea,

the Red Sea, and to walk in the middle

of it.

Would you have been first?

I'd have been hanging back a little bit.

So, you go right ahead.

when you see when you see and isn't that

kind of indicative of our life? If I see

the end before I start, I'm okay.

But if I don't know how this is going to

end up, Peter started well when he

started walking on the water. He'd never

done that before. He was a seaman. He

was a fisherman. He knew the storms on

the Sea of Galilee. He knew how violent

they could get. He got out of the boat

and started walking.

That's tremendous faith.

doing something no man mere man had ever

done. Only Jesus. And so he walked

and he was fine. And the Lord tells him,

"You of little faith.

Why didn't your faith take you to me,

Peter? Why didn't you keep your eye on

me? Why didn't you get distracted from

all the storms?" James starts James 1

that way. You probably heard that this

morning. Trials work for what? To build

up. And God, it's not his fault when I

have trials or or struggles. He doesn't

tempt me.

Notice in Genesis 15, after the Lord

promised him numerous people, numerous

offspring, it says Abraham believed God

and it was accounted to him for

righteousness.

He is righteous before God. Why? Because

he acted on his faith.

When his heart and his act and his

actions were combined, they gave him an

assurance that God was pleased with him.

You want to have saving faith, put

yourself in Abraham's shoes

and do things that you've never done.

Notice several young men here in the

audience

make the point a lot about the first

time you serve publicly.

I've been preaching the gospel full-time

forif over 50 years now.

And I want to tell you, my dad told me

when I started, he said, "If your knees

ever stop shaking,

get out of the pit.

We're not selling cars.

We're presenting the gospel."

That is a tremendous responsibility.

When you get up and you do the table,

that's a tremendous responsibility.

You're going to be nervous. You ought to

be.

But if you prepared yourself to do it

and you have your notes and use notes

first time you pray, try it. Stretch

yourself to go where you haven't been

and be glad to do it because what

happened? Your faith grows and it's

easier the next time. And the Lord needs

workers and you can be one of them. If

you're not doing that, start.

Faith has to be demonstrated to be seen.

If a man has faith but doesn't have

works, can their faith save him?

No salvation is accomplished by an

inactive faith.

My own actions save me. I've decided to

do this for Lord and that for the

to do God's works. That's where the

salvation comes.

James is teaching that our faith that is

inactive

and inactivated faith is a dull faith.

The right type of faith also calls us to

serve without looking around to see who

else is doing it. What shall this man

do? What did Jesus tell Peter when he

asked that? What are these guys going to

do? Jesus said, "If I want them to stay

right where they are and do nothing till

judgment, what's that to you? I told you

to go feed my sheep."

And the Lord says the same thing to us.

We don't look and say, "How many other

people are serving?" We're first up

there.

I don't know if y'all have business

meetings here. Do you? Okay, men. I want

to take you to I don't want to take you

into a business meeting. All of us.

Okay. It's a different place to be.

Okay. But you go into the business

meeting and some agenda is presented.

All kinds of things need to be done and

then you open the floor for discussion.

Crickets.

Well, who's going to do this?

Everybody looks down.

Does it need to be done?

Which one of us is going to take the

reigns? and and and get that done.

Or maybe in a business meeting and you

need a go a church building, this comes

up. Well, we can do it ourselves

cheaper. Okay. How many are going to be

there Saturday morning?

What is that? That's a belief that a

that's an admitting that a situation

exists that needs to be handled, but

nobody wants to do it.

So that's where this comes in.

When God tells us we have something to

do, it needs to get done

and it needs to be done with speed

and with preciseness.

If Jesus had had the faith that some of

us as Christians have occasionally, he

would have never gone to the cross

because he had other options.

But he did it out of total service to

others. Total subjection to what he had

made himself

to his creation. He submitted himself to

God.

There was a time when you came forward

or you called somebody at night and they

met you up here and you were baptized

into Christ. Do you remember the

freshness, the zeal, the fervor you had

when your sins were first washed away?

You know what happens?

All too often

that zeal begins to wayne

and we get talked out of. We get

discouraged. People say, "Well, you're

too on fire." You can't be too on fire

for the Lord.

And you need to be ready and willing to

serve. Some of the best personal workers

in the church are the new converts

because they were just saved from their

sins.

Questions for us to consider from this

chapter. Do I have true Bible faith?

How active is my faith?

What do I do with my Bible study?

Whoever's teaching the class puts a lot

of time in the preparation.

And if we're not careful, even as those

that prepare the lesson, we can let that

be the end of our Bible study. We don't

have any personal Bible study. I tell

you, getting a Bible lesson together is

important, but I tell you what, your own

personal study is important, too. You

need to grow.

Do I know something more that I can do

better in service to God? Something that

I could do better? Is there a place that

I could step up?

Do I have the faith to teach and

approach a friend or a loved one with

the gospel?

Time's moving on, folks. Noticed.

And out of nowhere, things can happen to

us, especially in this traffic.

And we not may not make it to services.

There's urgency.

Do I really believe the gospel is

powerful enough to change my neighbor,

my loved one, my husband, my wife?

Or do I give excuses like, "Well, they

need to hear it, but I don't want to

chase them away." Well, where are they?

How much further are you going to chase

them? They're out of Christ. What's the

worst could happen? They'll still be out

of Christ.

How could I be quiet about Christ

if I have true faith? Acts four, Acts

five. When they were told, don't you say

anything else about Christ, what did

they say? We cannot help but speak the

things that we've seen and heard through

the eyes of faith. Folks, we've seen

what they see and we dare not hold it to

ourselves. Having a cure for toxic sin

and we do not share it.

Book of Acts is a winning story from

beginning to end. Were there defeats?

Yes. Were there persecutions? Yes. But

overall, what did you have? Sewing the

seed.

Did you Did Jesus baptize everybody that

he talked to? Did he Did everybody

change that Jesus? No. And they won't

for you either.

But sewing the seed was being done with

urgency. They went everywhere

preaching the gospel.

Ask yourself this. Is God pleased with

my present level of faith?

And as you answer these questions, if

there are things lacking,

what will you do about it?

What's the purpose of this meeting?

It's to encourage us as Christians, but

also to call us to task if we're not

doing what we should be doing. Call us

to higher things and better things.

Think seriously about where you are in

relationship to the Lord.

Get your book if you want to or no,

don't do get your book. It's up here.

Can't do that anymore.

Have you ever run across somebody that

says, "I only want to do what Jesus

said.

If Jesus didn't say it, I'm not going to

do it." Okay,

let's call their blood. Here it is. Did

Jesus ever talk about hearing?

Luke 11:28

Luke 11:28

Jesus said, "Yay, rather blessed are

those that hear the word of God and

what? Keep it." Not just hear, but keep.

Jesus say anything about faith? No.

Therefore, I say to you that you'll die

in your sins. For if you do not believe

that I am he, you will die in your sins.

Don't apologize.

Straight out there. So we have to

believe,

have to hear, have to believe. What

about repentance? Jesus says in Luke

Luke 13:3

13:3, "I say to you, no, but unless you

repent, you'll all likewise perish." You

notice

Jesus's teaching, we're studying the

Gospels now, but Jesus's teachings

seldom ever use more in English, more

than three syllables.

That's understandable,

isn't it?

Well, it's not rocket science to read

what Jesus said about things. So, we

have to repent. But what about

confession? Therefore, whoever confesses

me before my before men, him will I also

confess before my father that's in

heaven.

What about baptism?

He who believes and is baptized will be

saved, but he who does not believe will

be condemned.

about living faithful.

Ye shall be hated of all men for my

name's sake, but the one that endures to

the end shall be saved.

That's Jesus on salvation, folks.

If you've been ever been one that gives

the invitation, and I fully believe in

the invitation,

if you do a Wednesday night invitation,

when you get up to give that invitation,

and even when we preach, I don't know

who you are, but I fully expect somebody

to be touched by the word.

It's hopefully I've stayed out of the

way of the beauty of it and you'll

remember the lesson more than you will

me. I hope that's the case.

But I hope your heart's been touched and

I hope all of us will respond to the

invitation somehow. Some of us may need

to come forward, be baptized, remission

of our sins. Some of us may need to

repent of public sin. But all of us need

to apply, don't we? Because this hits us

where we live and examine ourselves. to

see if we are in the faith and activate

our hearts and our lives.

Take the word and apply it. That's what

it comes down to. And I hope you'll do

that all week.

The speakers will be different. The

message will be from the word.

Take it to heart. Take it personally.

And let it change you for better. We can

help you respond to the invitation

tonight. We use the invitation song for

that purpose. Come now.