Faith and Works - Faith Explosion - Pastor Philip Steele - September 27th, 2026

Hi, my name is Michael Speed.

And I want to thank you for listening to this message from my perfect church.

We have more resources.

The word of God.

From our website.

Like effective God.

Watch the live stream being from our church here.

Download our web store.

And discover more about Life Effects Church.

Producing Life City's Fake Faction at the world.

This is life effect.net.

Hallelujah.

Well, God's good to us.

Amen.

You can have your seats this morning.

Thank you.

Obviously, for the kind words, we're grateful.

But uh, you know, the man said one time, Mama didn't raise no fool.

And uh large, large part of the reason that I've been married 33 years, I've married such a good woman.

Amen.

And uh she gotta be patient to put up with me.

Hallelujah.

But we're grateful.

Amen.

Thank you.

Let's go over to James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

And uh of course, this is our faith explosion week, and uh everything that we teach and preach here will have the spirit of faith in it.

And uh man, we've heard some good stuff about faith this week.

And uh I uh kind of jokingly said we uh the the the of course the first night brother Jim ministered on uh the power of our words, faith, and our words then uh Sunday morning, or excuse me, Saturday morning, uh Brother Kevin, Brother Jeremy ministered, and uh Brother Kevin, I think mistakenly said he wasn't a very good speaker, but uh he top shelf did such a good job on faith, and uh then I I I I again jokingly said, he said, you know, I don't know how much I have to say, and 40 minutes later he said, Well, that's what I have.

And uh now it wasn't I'm not saying it was too long, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying he got to you could see it, he got to talking about faith, and more revelation about faith was coming.

And then Jeremy he said, we're gonna go through the word and talk about all the places that say how good God is.

And 15 minutes later he said, That's it, that's what was what I got.

So, but it's good stuff, amen.

And then last night we honored the Lord in our night of giving.

And today, uh, this morning, we want to look at this subject of faith and works.

Faith and works.

Um, faith is not a subject to be taught as much as it is a spirit that's caught.

And uh it's it's like anything.

I look, I look around the room and I see different people that do different things.

Some of you I know what you do.

Uh you know, uh Brother Steve, of course, he can do carpentry and painting and about anything to do with remodeling anything, he can do it, right?

I remember one time we were living here in DeSoto and uh he was doing some painting on our house, and uh he got around our front bay window of our living room, and he told me, he said, Pastor, he said, uh, we're gonna need to take that window out and replace it, uh, you know, and do some work around it.

And I thought, okay.

Well, I came home from work the next day up here at the office, and I came home, and there's a big hole in my wall.

And I'm like, I hope he knows what he's doing, right?

Well, they obviously they did make it better than it was, right?

But here's the thing is I can read a book on how to do that.

That doesn't mean I know how to do it.

Right?

What what proves that I know how to do that?

My works.

My works, right?

They watch me do it, and I know how to do it, and so you right?

You can you can, I was teaching a leadership class one time, and I said, you can outline a leadership book and teach a leadership class, but that doesn't mean you know how to lead.

You just wrote down somebody else's principles, right?

It's it's the working of it.

When you come to church here, we're not just teaching you the subject of faith, we're teaching you how to take faith and go use it.

Because anything that you hear that's not usable, how's it helping you?

It's got to be usable.

There has to be action to it.

Amen.

So faith will always have works attached to it.

I know we say, you know, faith is a work, and I understand why we say that, but if I want to be exactly biblically definite, faith always has works attached to it.

All right?

In James chapter 2, verse 15.

James 2:15

We'll spend a lot of time here in James chapter 2 today.

James 2 · chapter mention

James 2 and 15.

If a brother or sister be naked, cover your eyes.

If a brother or sister be naked, become.

Amen.

Boogaday, boogaday.

Ah, hallelujah.

That was not supposed to happen.

If they're uh unclothed and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, notwithstanding, you do not give them those things that are needful to the body.

What does it profit?

What does it profit?

So without an action, without a work, I can't help this person.

Right?

I can make a good confession over them.

Oh, brother, be blessed, be filled.

But he said, if that's all you do, that's a good ask, that's a good statement of faith.

But what did it do for them?

Right?

What did it do?

Without an action, without a work, I can't help this person.

I've got to do something.

Amen.

Verse 17.

Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead being alone.

A man may say, You have faith and I have works.

Show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works.

One translation says it's the same with faith.

If it is just faith and nothing more, if it doesn't do anything, it is dead.

If it's just faith and nothing more.

Now, when we read that, we think, well, just faith.

I mean, how can you say that about faith?

Because listen, faith will prompt me to act.

Faith will always prompt me to act, it's always accompanied by an act.

If it's nothing more in the beginning, especially, the act is your words.

Right?

I I've told you the story, but I'll tell it again.

When Isaiah 53 and 5 became a working reality in my life.

Right?

The word of God is truth.

It is a reality, but it becomes a working reality in your life.

And and I I got up that morning, and oh, I didn't feel good.

And I went ahead and went to work anyway, and uh uh went back when I was working uh in the insurance industry, and uh, oh, I was sick.

And the uh manager came to me and she said, I appreciate you coming in today, but uh you just need to go home.

You mean you you don't feel good, you just need to go home.

I made the decision on the way home.

I am not letting this rule my life.

I know I know what Isaiah 53 and 5 says.

I'm running this out of my body.

Right?

I went home and I got my Bible and I sat there in that chair, that little armchair we had, and I quoted that over and over.

Six hours, six hours I quoted Isaiah 53 and 5.

At the end of six hours, I was well.

Now here's what I'm trying to say.

That was that was the beginning of my works of faith.

I can have what I say.

Right?

I there was nothing else, there was nothing else I knew to do.

I had already gotten up, I didn't stay in bed, I got up and went to work.

Right?

What was I missing?

My work of faith, declaring what the word in the beginning, that may be all you can do.

Right?

If you're believing God, for instance, in the financial area, maybe maybe the only thing you can do right now is declare you're blessed going in and coming out, all your needs are met according to his riches and glory.

You have all sufficiency in all things and do abound to every good work.

What's the first thing that will begin to happen?

Oh, my bills will get paid.

No, you'll get a seed.

You'll get a seed.

A seed will come to you.

Why?

Because what does 2 Corinthians 9 say?

God ministers seed to the sower.

So what are you doing with those words?

You're becoming a sower by faith.

By faith, you're becoming a sower.

Right?

And then when the physical finances show up, it's your seed.

And now you put seed in the ground.

Now what can you do?

You can attach your faith to that seed.

Now, Father, I have given, so therefore it is given unto me.

But what does it follow?

What follows faith?

What works with faith?

A work.

Amen.

If a person is not willing to do a work, then what anything they would call faith, according to scripture, is vain.

It's empty, it's it's useless, it's alone.

Hallelujah.

So he said it's the same with faith.

If it doesn't do anything, it's dead.

Real Bible faith does something.

Real Bible faith does something.

The amplified Bible says, so also faith, if it does not have works, deeds and actions of obedience to back it up, by itself is destitute of power, inoperative, dead.

Oh, hallelujah.

So notice deeds and actions of obedience.

Deeds and actions of obedience.

Hallelujah.

Faith is always accompanied by works, deeds and actions of obedience.

According to Hebrews 11, 1, it says faith is the substance.

Being convinced.

So faith is conviction or being convinced.

But notice being convinced alone is not enough.

I have to act on what I'm convinced of.

I have to act on it.

Hallelujah.

I have to act on what I'm convinced.

You know, sometimes refusing to fear is the act of faith.

Amen.

Just refusing to be anxious.

You're doing it by faith.

Why?

Because there might be plenty of things in the natural to be anxious about.

But I'm by faith not going to do that.

Right?

I'm not going to be anxious.

Oh, hallelujah.

I'm going to sit right here and I'm going to be calm.

I'm going to settle down.

I'm not going to get over there and be anxious about it.

I'm not going to worry about it.

Why, that's the work.

That's the work of faith.

Right?

If you can't fix the situation in the natural, then the only thing you can do is stop its effect on you.

Is that right?

That's an act of faith.

I'm not going to worry about it.

Remember what the book of Psalms says?

It says, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.

And then what'd he say?

It's vain for you to sit up all night and worry.

Why?

If the Lord don't build the house, it's not going to get built.

Right?

So who's your faith in?

Who's your trust in?

God and in his word.

So it's an act of doubt and unbelief in what God's doing to sit up and worry about it.

So it's an act of faith to go to sleep.

Well, there's nothing I can do.

Then why would you sit up and worry about something that there's nothing you can do anything about?

Amen.

Do you see this?

Take a scenario like this.

If somebody was believing God for something, believing God to pay their car, no, it's way behind.

And they let you know, we're going to come by tomorrow and repo your car.

Well, Pastor, there's nothing I can do about it.

So are you going to lay up all night and worry about them taking your car when there's nothing you can do about it?

What's going to be spiritually better for you to go to sleep and believe God than to sit up and worry all night about something you can't fix anyway?

You're doing a work either way.

You're either working against your answer or working with your answer.

Sometimes the greatest work of faith you can do is just take your hands off of it.

I can't fix it.

I can't make it happen.

I can't fix them.

If you're believing for somebody, you have cast the care of that onto the Lord.

You're surrounding them with faith and love.

You're declaring the scriptures over them.

Think about that for a moment.

That's your act of faith.

If the person you're believing for that you want to live right, if you could make them live right, you would.

Is that right?

But you can't make them live right.

So what's your work of faith?

Turn it over to the one that can fix it.

Oh, hallelujah.

Do you see that?

Because the Bible says, remember in uh 1 Corinthians 10, it says, they that have believed have entered into rest.

Is that right?

So if you've believed, you're what?

You're resting.

Why?

Because what have you believed?

That you have received.

Would that be right?

How long y'all been married?

Should I ask you?

Look, I just caught him off guard.

It came out, right?

But here's what I want you to see.

Now think about this.

If Jessica came to Dietrich and said to him, please marry me.

Please, please marry me.

What more can the man do?

Twin years ago, they got married.

What more can he do?

There's nothing he can do to fix it.

What has to happen?

She has to believe everything that needs to be done has been done.

There's no need to ask about that anymore.

Right?

When I believe I have received, the next thing is the work of faith that accompanies believing I have received.

Which is what?

Rest.

Rest.

Taking my hands off of it and casting the care of it onto the Lord.

Am I helping you?

Amen.

Do I have any fixers in here?

You just you're a fixer.

You know, you got to fix everything, right?

Got to fix people, gotta fix the issue.

Right?

If you hear somebody in the house go, oh man, you go, what?

What?

What?

How what?

How?

What?

How can I fix that?

Right?

That's that's my wife is a fixer.

What can I do to help you?

Nothing.

I'm just I'm just I'm talking at men talk out loud.

Nobody ever listens to us.

We like to hear our own voices.

Nice to talk to somebody.

Right?

This is important.

And and and what can happen.

Now, I'm not saying that if you're a fixer, that's wrong, but here's my question.

If you're not careful, what can happen with fixing everything for everybody?

They never learn how to get it done.

They never learn what to do because I'm always fixing it.

It frustrates a fixer to say, I cast the care of that, I'm not going to touch it.

Right?

Right?

The worst thing that I can do for a child is to never allow them to face any adversity.

Never allow them to face anything hard.

Never allow them to have to sweat to cause something to work out.

Right?

Always wanting to fix it for them.

And with me, with all my children, but with Liliana, it's like, oh, I want to make sure everything goes right.

I don't, right?

How can I help?

I just want to help.

But I understand I'm not helping.

Why?

Because she will never understand how to make something happen.

What frustrates people in their walk of faith is they think if I have faith, then faith is just waiting, and I'm believing and I'm just waiting.

No, faith and actions accompany each other every time.

And so if there's something that looks unfixable, there's only one person that can fix it, and that's God.

I gotta enter into the work of faith and allow him to do it.

Amen.

Because every time I put my hand to it, here's what happens: you put your hand to it, and God takes his hand off of it.

Because if you can fix it, there's no reason for him to do it.

Oh, glory.

So being convinced alone is not enough.

That's not enough.

You need to be convinced, but that's not enough.

There's works that go with it.

We'll show you this from the Word of God.

The Amplified Bible says, but someone will say to you then, you say you have faith and I have good works.

Now you show me your alleged faith apart from any good works if you can.

And I, by good works of obedience, will show you my faith.

So he says, faith cannot be shown without works of obedience.

Cannot be shown without works of obedience.

See, that's the danger with statements like this.

Let go and let God.

What's that have to say about your works?

The scripture doesn't say let go and let God.

It says hold fast.

I'm not talking about holding fast to the problem and you thinking you can fix it.

I mean, it it doesn't say that God will just fix everything.

There's something I have to do.

Well, God is in control.

God is sovereign.

God knows what he's doing.

Don't question God.

Don't question his sovereignty.

And what that person does then is then they just become satisfied with everything that comes into their life.

God must have a reason.

There's a purpose.

There's something I need to be learning.

No, I need to be actively working and actively believing God, right?

Not just sitting there without those works of obedience.

Amen.

Verse 20 of James 2, it says, Will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead.

Amplified classic says, now this is the Amplified Classic, this is not pastor.

It says, Are you willing to be shown proof, you foolish, unproductive, spiritually deficient fellow, that faith apart from good works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?

Whew.

Wow.

Faith, apart from good works, is inactive, ineffective, and worthless.

Wow, that's strong.

Why?

Because there's faith that always accompanies a work.

Not acting in faith is the same as having no faith.

If I won't act in faith, it's the same as having none.

Because I have to act in it.

I have to act on it.

I have to act on what I believe or what I say that I believe.

You know, if you believe it's cold, we're going to see you with a coat on.

If you believe it's hot, we're going to see you without a coat.

Now that seems elementary, but you're going to act on what you believe.

Oh, hallelujah.

If you tell me that you're going to New York, I'm going to see you on a highway going east.

Because you can't get to New York any other way.

Right?

You're going to act on what you say that you believe.

Oh, hallelujah.

You say you're a Jayhawks fan, we're not going to see you wearing purple.

Well, wait a minute.

Just happen to be in purple.

Brother James, like you've been my pastor too long.

I know how you are.

Amen.

Right?

Glory to God.

And there's other things I could say about that, but I won't.

Amen.

Yeah.

Actions.

Actions.

This is so important.

Because any, if, if no works, then my faith is inactive.

Well, think about all the things that the Bible says faith is.

It is the substance, the grounds, the conviction of what we're expecting.

It says it's the victory that overcomes the world.

It says it's the thing that pleases God.

What does it say?

How does it operate in our life?

We walk by faith, we see by faith, we talk by faith, we live by faith, we hear by faith, right?

What did the Bible say?

How did it come in?

He said, How did this victory come to you?

By works or by the hearing of faith?

He said it came by the hearing of faith.

So, in other words, there's things you've got to exercise your faith to get into, and the things you've got to work to get into.

What you have to receive by faith, you can't work to receive.

Amen.

And what you've got to work to accomplish, you can't just say, I'm using my faith.

You've got to have the works of faith.

You've got to have the works that accomplish, that accompany faith.

When you got born again, you believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth that Jesus was Lord.

But then you acted on that.

You believed in your heart, faith.

Right?

But then what did you do?

You acted, you confessed that Jesus was your Lord.

And the Bible says you can't be saved any other way.

So there's always this.

I don't want inactive faith.

People will come and they'll say, I don't understand why this isn't happening.

I've got all the faith in the world.

Well, it could be it's inactive.

Could it be it's it's ineffective?

Hallelujah.

Not acting on faith or in faith is the same as having no faith.

Because if I'm not acting on the faith that I have, I'm no better off than the person that has no faith.

Amen.

See, do you see why these slogans cause us to be inactive?

Well, God's got a plan.

Well, you want me to pray that the Lord will heal you?

Well, if it's His will.

If they have any faith, it's inactive.

If they have any faith, it's inoperative.

Why?

Because they're just waiting, watch, they're waiting on God to just come fix that.

What has to happen?

At the very least, they have to be saying, I believe I have received my healing.

I believe I'm whole and well in the name of Jesus.

Right?

Now what happens?

Now there's an outlet for faith.

Faith is what?

It is the substance of what you're expecting.

If it's never released, how can it give substance to anything?

It cannot.

Hallelujah.

Inactive faith.

So inactive, not acting in faith, is the same as having no faith.

And that's why I've got to always ascertain the difference between three words, because you'll hear people they'll use like trust and faith and believing all interchangeably.

Right?

Well, I'm believing God.

Well, I understand that, but why are you believing God?

Because you're convinced.

If you have faith, you believe.

If you have faith, you trust.

If I'm convinced, I trust God.

If I am convinced, I believe God.

I can't believe God without being convinced.

So they're not the same.

They're part, but they're not the same.

And so a lot of times what people get away with and around things is you'll say, Well, how's this going?

Well, I believe God.

I mean, now understand what I mean.

That's my statement, right, about everything.

I believe God.

But I believe God in everything because I'm convinced.

It's not a religious statement.

Well, how are you doing?

Well, I'm believing.

Well, what are you believing?

See, you're believing what you're convinced of.

I'll pick on Jessica and them again.

So he's convinced that he's married.

She's convinced that they're married.

So what's at the core of their marriage?

Trust.

I trust you because I'm convinced.

I trust you because I'm convinced you love me.

Oh, glory to God.

And when you're convinced that what God said is absolute truth, remember what we taught yesterday?

That when you are getting the word of God on the inside of you, you are getting the truth on the inside of you.

Right?

When you're convinced that the word of God is truth, now you trust it.

Because I'm convinced.

And you only act on things you're convinced of.

Hallelujah.

Do you see that?

And so if I'm convinced, then I trust.

If I'm convinced, then I believe.

Why would you believe anything I say?

Because over a period of time I have convinced you that I can be dependent upon to not lie.

So what do you have?

What would we call that?

You have faith in me.

Right?

Is that right?

I have faith in you.

And so if you say I'm going to show up at 5 o'clock, I'm looking for you.

Why?

Because I have faith in you.

What do I do?

I trust you.

Why do I trust you?

I have faith in you.

Right?

In verse 21, it says, Was not Abraham our father justified?

By works when he'd offered his son Isaac on the altar.

Now think about this.

Abraham could have said that he believed God when God asked him to offer Isaac.

He could have said, Well, yeah, I believe God.

And not went.

He didn't have to go.

God didn't make him go.

Right?

The proof that he believed God was his action.

Hallelujah.

Think about this.

When you got saved, you believed that you were born again.

You believed that you became a Christian.

Were there things you quit doing?

Why did you quit doing them?

Because you're a Christian.

That's not what Christians do.

Is that right?

Was that an act?

Anyone in here quit smoking by faith?

Thank you for not being liars.

Quit smoking by faith.

Right?

How do you quit smoking by faith?

Why you lighten one up?

You say, I don't like these.

I have no desire for these.

Right?

This is important.

Will your faith work there?

It will work there.

Amen.

How many quit cussing by faith?

Little few less hands.

Thank you, Dan.

Dan, Dan, the cussing man.

Got delivered?

Now watch him ran.

Hallelujah.

Had to make it rhyme somehow.

Or whatever.

How many quit worrying by faith?

I'll raise my hand.

I did.

I quit worrying by faith.

Hallelujah.

Well, well, how did how did that happen?

I just had to make a decision.

I'm not going to do that.

I'm not going to enter into that.

Everything that we did, it was a work of faith.

It was a work that accompanied our faith.

I believe that I'm a new creature in Christ Jesus.

And because I'm a new creature in Christ Jesus, a new creature does not act that way.

And so by faith, I'm going to forgive.

By faith, I'm going to walk in love.

By faith, I'm going to do these things.

And then what began to happen?

Then the faith that is the substance of the thing that you're expecting began to operate in your life, and it all got easier.

And now you do it and you don't even think about it.

Because what?

Faith becomes the substance.

Look at Hebrews 11.

And uh just by way of just teaching this, everything that you see in uh Hebrews 11, it somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 times, it says that by faith or through faith, these individuals did something.

Every one of them did something.

All right?

And they did it, it's usually prefaced with by faith, they did this.

By faith or through faith.

Right?

You know, take this for instance.

Let me find this for you.

Verse 30.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days.

When did they fall?

When did they fall?

What's that word?

After.

Where did it start?

By faith.

What got them out walking around the wall?

Faith.

What made the walls fall?

Their action.

Now faith tore the wall down.

But what if they wouldn't have walked around the wall?

What if they would have said, why do we got to do that?

Or what if they would have said, No, we're just gonna believe.

In the name of Jesus, those walls are down.

I call those walls down.

Walls fall in Jesus' name.

Give me some tea.

No, what'd they have to do?

How'd they do it?

By faith, but what'd they do?

Walked around the walls.

Seven days.

What happened at the end of that work of faith?

The walls fell.

Is that right?

Am I helping you?

Whoo, glory.

Verse 29.

The Israelites again, by faith, they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do were drowned.

They're at the Red Sea, Red Sea in front of them, Egyptians behind them, right?

God told Moses, he said, Stretch out the rod that's in your hand.

He stretched out the rod.

The sea opened up.

The Bible says the east wind blew on it all night long.

Right?

All night long.

God kept the enemy at bay and dried out the seabed in the morning.

He said, now tell the people to go forward.

Tell them what?

Did he open the sea?

How'd he do it?

By faith.

What'd they have to do?

If the sea was open and they didn't move, what would have happened?

Destruction.

So faith opened the Red Sea, right?

They had to act on it.

Hallelujah.

Glory to God.

Look at verse 31.

This is an interesting one.

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace.

What remember what the spies told her in Jericho?

She said, You know, we believe that you're going to take the city.

Would you spare my family?

What'd they say?

You take this red rope and hang it out the window.

And if we see it, we'll spare your family.

But what'd they say then too?

If we don't see it, you're going to perish with everybody else.

Well, that sounds simple, doesn't it?

What saved her family?

What saved her family?

She did not perish with them that believed not because she received the spies with peace.

And the Bible says, you read the account in the book of Joshua.

It says that Joshua sent the spies that had been in there into the city and said, Go rescue her.

They saw the rope.

It was there.

She did what they told her she needed to do.

The Bible says the walls fell by faith, but it says a woman inside the city that was being destroyed by faith, by faith was preserved because she took an act.

Amen.

Do you see that?

Doesn't matter what's going on.

It doesn't matter what's going on around you.

If you'll act in your faith, you'll come out of it.

Glory to God.

You can go to the doctor.

I've seen it.

You I personally, not personally in my life, personally, I've dealt with people.

You can go to the doctor, and the doctor can say, there's no cure for this, there's no way out of it.

There's no, there's no, listen, it'll never be better.

Right?

There's no way.

You start, you I've watched people use their faith and everything turn.

But God always gave them an act.

Thank you, Lord.

Always gave them a work, something to do.

Why?

Because faith, if if faith does not have a work, it's powerless.

Hallelujah.

So verse 17 of Hebrews 11, by faith.

Now I know I'm being redundant, but how was this?

How'd he do this?

By faith.

Abraham, when he was tried, tested, offered up Isaac, and he that received the promise offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac shall your seed be called, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence he also received him in a figure.

Faith or being convinced is easy to act on.

I know people say, well, that must not have been easy for Abraham.

You cannot biblically prove that.

You cannot.

Because he said he did it by faith.

And what does the Bible say that there is in faith?

Joy and peace in believing.

See, he'd already settled something.

He'd already settled something.

What had he settled?

Notice.

Verse 19.

Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead.

That was settled.

I said, that was settled.

He was so convinced that God would keep his promise that he came to this conclusion.

If God must raise him from the dead, he will.

This is important.

Let's run over there real quick because I want you to see something.

In the book of Genesis.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

Chapter 22.

And uh verse 11.

After he had gone to the mountain, it says, the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, he said, Here am I.

And he said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him.

Watch.

For now I know.

Now I know that you fear God, seeing you've not withheld your son, your only son.

Now people say, Well, God knows everything.

Well, yeah, God does know everything.

Of course he knows everything.

He knew Abraham would do this.

But here's here's here's the idea that we have to gather and we have to see.

Why did God ask Abraham to do this?

Because he knew he would.

Now I know.

See, we can't ever leave the impression that there's things God don't know.

If God is omniscient, meaning all-knowing and knows everything, then he knows the next thought you're going to think.

He knows the next thing you're going to do.

He knows what you're going to do 50 years from now.

Because he knows everything.

But the all-knowing God that knows everything will ask us to act in faith about things we don't know about.

But he said, I need you to step out here and believe me and act in faith.

So when God asked Abraham for his son, he didn't say, Oh my Lord, he's taken my son.

He said, No, he's not going to take my son because he said that through Isaac, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

So Isaac's got to live.

He didn't have any kids right now.

He's not married right now.

He's got to live to get married and have children.

So even if God asked me to take him to the mountain and offer him there, I'm going to do what God said because I believe God.

So if he's got to raise him from the dead, that's what he will do.

Right?

What did he do?

He didn't let the impossibility of his situation stop him from acting on it.

And then faith goes into operation.

Oh, hallelujah.

Glory to God.

So he acted because he was convinced.

Hallelujah.

If you look back at, and I know that when you're in the middle of a situation, I understand the pressures and the things in the middle of a situation, but when you're on the other side and God has and God has done what he said he would, and you sit back and you look at it and you look back on it, you're like, you know that that was really easy.

We just believed God.

I mean, there was pressure, there were challenges, but man, every step of the way, God just did what he said he would do.

And then you grow in that.

And then you're not concerned about taking those steps of faith, those acts that accompany our faith.

He was so convinced that God would keep his promise that he came to this conclusion.

If God has to raise him from the dead, he will.

See what?

You will not act on You're not convinced of it.

If I won't act on it, I'm not convinced.

And that's why you got to spend time being convinced in the Word of God.

You got to spend time convincing yourself.

You got to spend time painting the picture.

You got to spend time stirring up your expectation.

Because that's what faith gives the substance to.

Hallelujah.

You know, here's the thing.

I heard a man say this one time.

He said, the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.

Things that are easy to do are easy not to do.

All that we've heard about faith this week, Brother Jim, starting with speaking, the power of our words, making our declarations, what we need to do.

Well, here's the thing: that's easy to do.

It's also easy not to do.

Right?

It's easy to get to say, I have the favor of God in my life.

It's also easy to not say it.

But if I'm not saying it, what would saying it be?

A work.

Right?

If I'm not saying it, can I expect it?

No, because I'll have what I say.

So when we see, why does the Bible tell us how faith works?

Because it shows us these accounts with Abraham.

What did Abraham do?

What does the Bible say he, what does the Bible say he, somebody knew he said it.

What did he say about this?

He had to say, I believe if God must, he will raise him from the dead.

Right?

You might look at things in faith and say, I don't understand how everything's gonna work out, but here's what I know that this will turn around for my good.

Right?

That's your work of faith.

If it's nothing else, then this is what's gonna happen.

It's gonna turn for my good.

Amen.

Now you've put it out there, you've done the work of faith.

Expect to see what God said.

And so those things are easy to do, they're easy not to do.

And that's what derails people's faith.

I've noticed this.

It's never anything big that derails people's faith.

It's just those little things they quit doing.

Just those little things.

Hallelujah.

And I and I might as well say about your words, you know, they're telling you what to expect.

Every time you speak words out there, when I wrote the book, First Words Matter, Last Words Stand, the Lord used that illustration to me about people that will talk about how they hate traffic.

They hate traffic.

I'll hear people talk about it here in Little Rock.

Oh, these drivers, these Kansas City drivers, these Little Rock drivers, don't know how to drive.

Oh man, just a mess.

Can't go no.

And every time they get on the highway, they're frustrated.

Right?

Why?

The illustration the Lord showed me, he said those words are standing at that on-ramp, waiting on them every morning.

Right?

Do you see that?

Amen.

Don't know how to drive, slamming on their brakes.

Tell you what, there's gonna be an accident.

Right?

Well, I'm telling you what, I almost rear-ended somebody.

It's just a matter of time.

You mark my words.

Mark my words.

Mark my words.

It's just a matter of time before I get in a wreck.

Pastor, we need you to go to the hospital and visit Brother Billy Bo.

Well, he was in a wreck today.

Right?

Well, he got what he said.

Isn't it just as easy to say, in my pathway is life and there is no death?

The pathway of the righteous grows brighter and brighter under the more perfect day.

Right?

Don't enter into that work of strife.

Why?

It'll cause your faith to be inoperative.

Oh, hallelujah.

So it's easy to do, it's also easy not to do.

And so when you're putting your words out there, you're creating the you're cultivating the environment that your life's going to go.

Hallelujah.

When you call your house a peace house and you call it a peace place, that's what's going to happen.

And when people come in your house, they're going to encounter the peace of God.

You're going to encounter the peace of God because you're saying it.

You're the establishing witness.

You're not going to have peace without works of peace.

And that starts with your words.

Oh, hallelujah.

What you won't act on, you're not convinced of.

This is important.

And so all of the things that we've learned, Kevin, centering up on believing the Word of God for truth, taking what the Word of God said, not ignoring the negative report, but turning to the greater report.

Right?

Amen.

You know, you never know what your words are going to mean to somebody.

I'd heard him say it before, but he was talking about it yesterday.

And he said, every time I'd see pastor, Pastor would say, How's that healed man?

There's that healed man.

And he said, I started thinking about it and thought, I am healed.

I am healed.

I'm not taking credit.

I'm saying that's that's what faith people do.

Amen.

And so I don't want my faith to be inactive.

I don't want it to be inoperative.

I don't want it to be powerless.

So I've got to consistently add the works to it.

Amen.

Well, I believe God supplies all my need, then you'll sow a seed.

Because that's the act of believing that God supplies all of your need according to his riches and glory.

Amen.

I believe I'm the healed of the Lord.

You're going to get out of bed.

Right?

In that just elementary explanation.

You're going to take an act.

I I was, I, I, Steve's here.

I've said this to Steve before, and he related it to me that he did the same thing.

I said, There's going to be days that you feel so bad, you just get out of bed and you just get your feet on the floor and you say, Thank God I'm the heel of the Lord, and then you pass out and fall back in the bed.

And he said, I got up that morning, I was so sick I couldn't see straight.

And he said, I heard pastor say that.

And I just put my feet on the floor and said, I'm the heel of the Lord and fell back into bed.

He said, But it's a couple hours, the fever broke, I was healed.

Right?

Act of faith.

Maybe I couldn't go to work, maybe I couldn't go through the whole day.

But I got my feet on the floor and I stood up and I said, I'm healed.

Oh, hallelujah.

Anytime you overcomplicate something, anytime something seems complicated, it's just evidence that the person that's teaching it doesn't know what they're talking about.

Faith is not complicated.

It's black and white, it's ABCs, it's one, two, three, four.

It's you do what you believe.

You act on what you believe.

Amen.

Amen.

I believe I have the favor of God on my life.

Then go after that job.

Go after the thing you're dreaming about.

Go after it if you believe you have the favor of God on your life.

If you believe there's no man that can stand before you all the days of your life, then go after it.

What do you got to lose?

Nothing.

Faith's on your side.

And you're acting on faith.

Amen.

Think about that for a minute.

I know people that will declare they have the favor of God on their life and they never ask for discounts.

But they'll tell you they believe they have the favor of God on their life.

Well, what do you got to lose by asking for a discount?

If they say no, I mean, what'd you lose?

Nothing.

Y'all look at me like a dog in a new dish.

I believe I have the favor of God on my life.

Right?

I believe I have the favor of God on my life.

Then don't say that house is out of your range.

Don't say this thing is beyond your ability.

The favor of God will do for you what a thousand weeks of labor cannot.

It'll turn everything around.

Hallelujah.

But you got to act on it.

You can't just say, I have the favor of God.

You got to act like you have the favor of God.

It can start with something as simple as when you go to the grocery store, I believe I'm going to have a good parking spot because I have the favor of God on my life.

Well, does God care about parking spots?

Do you care about them?

He said in the book of Matthew, he said, if you care about it, I care about it.

Praise God.

See, people can over-spiritualize things.

What is faith for?

Your life.

Every day of your life.

God cares about every part of your life.

Faith is not some spiritual source, spiritual thing that we just, it's spiritual.

We live by faith.

So everything in my life then is colored by faith.

Oh, hallelujah.

So when you when you go and you get a good spot at the grocery store, what's the first words out of your mouth?

That's the favor of God.

Why?

I'm surrounded by the what's the first thing that people encounter when they encounter you?

The favor of God.

Why?

Because Psalm 512 says the favor of God surrounds me like a shield.

So the first thing people encounter with me is the favor of God.

Why shouldn't you get a discount?

Why shouldn't you get a raise and a bonus?

Why?

Why shouldn't you get dividends?

Why shouldn't you get rescues?

Why shouldn't things go your way?

Right?

You have the favor of God.

Hallelujah.

Well, my job just don't pay enough.

No, they don't pay you enough.

They pay somebody enough.

Just go ask them.

I don't know if they'll give me anything.

See, that's where your faith is.

But that same person will go, I have the favor of God when they're around us.

But then when they're around people that don't believe it, it's a different thing.

If you have the favor of God, listen, if you have the favor of God on your life and you believe it, it'll be followed by actions.

You'll act like you have the favor of God on your life.

It'll begin to be weird to you that they don't bless you and that they don't give you raises, that you don't get the best seat.

Why?

Because I believe I have the favor of God on my life.

Amen.

Do you see that?

I quote the scripture every day.

I have I praise God and I have favor with everybody.

The Bible says in the book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 47, that they were praising God daily and had favor with all the people.

Acts 2:47

Everybody likes me.

I have favor with everybody.

Oh, Pastor, everybody don't like you.

No, you just keep saying that about you.

Everybody likes me.

That's what I believe.

If I need it, God will bring me in contact with somebody that wants to give it to me.

Amen.

The Lord said to me and my wife, He said, For the things that I want to bring into your life and into the ministry's life, you've got to give more emphasis to the favor of God.

It's crucial.

Hmm.

Okay, Lord, I'll say that.

I'm trying to get away from this, but he won't let me.

If you keep making decisions based on what you can do, you're just going to be stuck where you're at.

Can't nobody do anything about that?

Because you will limit yourself.

You'll limit yourself to your paycheck, you'll limit yourself to what you can make, you'll limit yourself to your education, you'll limit yourself to all of those different things.

And when you do all of those things, you act within the guidelines of what you think you can do.

I can't go after that house.

I mean, after all, you know, we only qualify for who qualified you?

Well, you know, the bank, you know, the bank pre-qualified us for this.

Well, I understand that.

But I think, now I think, I believe I remember this little obscure passage that said, when you have come into the land that I promised you and dwell in houses that you didn't build.

What does that mean?

There are houses out there that I didn't build that God had built for me.

Let me ask you a question.

Now, this this this may seem this may seem different, but any Israelite that was delivered out of Egyptian bondage and went into the promised land, what'd they pay for their houses?

What?

Nothing.

Why did they pay nothing?

Because God said, I'm going to bring you to a land and I'm going to deliver it into your hand and I'm going to give you possession of them.

What did Deuteronomy 8 say?

It said, just remember this, it's the Lord that gave you the power to get wealth.

Whoo, glory to God.

So every time somebody goes, Oh, we don't qualify for that.

You just limited the hand of God.

You just limited it.

Look, I've done it.

Everybody's done it.

You can't, none of us can sit there piously and act like we haven't ever done it.

There's things we thought, man, I need to go out after that.

I need to go after that.

And they said, Well, it'll cost this.

And you went, Oh, that wasn't God.

Glory to God.

No, I've been there.

Amen.

Looking at buildings and looking at property.

And you're walking through the property and they're saying, Yeah, and it's a steal, it's only like 2.8 million.

You okay, Reverend?

I'm good.

Good.

Hallelujah.

I'll call you, don't call me.

This is important.

Because if I believe I have the favor of God on my life, what's$2.8 million?

Now, there's not a real property that, you know, for$2.8 million.

There might be.

But what I'm trying to explain is why would that make me back off?

Because I said I have the favor of God.

I said I believe that.

Have you ever watched things work on smaller things and then it comes to bigger things, and you're like, oh.

Right?

When we bought our current home.

And we were looking, we were looking in that area, the Lord told us to buy a home.

And we weren't finding anything.

We went to the area that we liked, that we thought we liked.

Now we drive through it.

We're like, we really don't like this.

Glad we didn't get a home here.

But the Lord kept telling us to go across the river.

Little community, Mall Mel, Arkansas.

The Lord kept telling us to go over there.

And so we did.

We we told our realtor we want you to expand the search over there.

He found two houses over there.

And we went over and we went to the first one, and immediately it wasn't us.

I mean, it's a nice home, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't us.

And honestly, we pulled into the neighborhood that we live in now.

Our house is on a on a in a in a cul-de-sac on on both ends and kind of up a little hill.

And we pulled, I pulled up there, I turned around the cul-de-sac, I pulled in front of the house, and right here came out my spirit.

I said, There's our house.

And she said, Yeah, it is.

Michelle said, Yep, that's that's the one.

This is our home.

Right?

From then on, we acted like it was our home.

We talked about it like it was our home.

We talked to the realtor and we said, Well, how's it going with our house?

I believed it was my home.

Why would you not talk about your home like it's your home?

Well, the deal isn't done.

It isn't.

I thought God said it was yours.

Am I helping you with this at all?

If God said that's your house, why would you talk about it like it's not?

Do you see the importance of finding out where God wants you to go and being where God told you to be?

Because if you look at a house and the Holy Spirit says it's yours, help me out.

What is it?

There's no risk.

Is that right?

Because I heard from the Holy Spirit, that's my house.

And this is not just about things, it's about anything that we're believing God.

But if a person says, What do we confess in our confession?

That we have houses and lands, right?

I have assets, especially real estate.

If you believe that, you're looking for real estate to come to you.

Look at Deuteronomy 33.

Somebody's pulling on this because it's got me going this direction for a minute.

I declare this every day.

Deuteronomy 33 and verse 23, and I'll read it to you the way my Bible reads it.

And of Philip and Michelle, he said, You are satisfied with favor and full with the blessing of the Lord.

Possess the West and the South.

Possess your real estate.

Say it out loud.

I am satisfied with favor and full with the blessing of the Lord.

Now, if you are satisfied with favor and you believe it, and you're full of the blessing of the Lord and you believe it, why would you think there's anything you can't have?

And that's in any area.

Hallelujah.

And listen, in all of my interactions with Brother Jerry, and all of my travels with him, I would hear people talk to him.

One young man was talking to him, he was traveling with him, and he and he was talking to him, and he kept making now he wasn't in doubt.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying.

He was just explaining some things.

Well, I've got this, and I've got this challenge.

He had a business, and to everything, Brother Jerry would say, Yeah, but you have favor.

Yeah, but you have favor.

Well, they said this, yeah, but you have favor.

Right?

Yeah, but they said this, yeah, but you got favor.

See?

When that becomes, yeah, but I have favor.

Right?

Hallelujah.

I remember the night Brother Kevin was sitting on the drums, and the Lord spoke to him because he was about to retire, and the Lord said, You're gonna be better off in your retirement years than you were all your years working for Hallmark.

And he talked to you about gifts and surprises and how your business was gonna prosper.

It's not, it's not every now and then.

Every time I am in town and I ask Brother Kevin, what's happening good?

He'll say, Well, Pastor, and he'll laugh.

God's good to me.

See?

I love that.

I need to record Brother Kevin's laugh and put it on my phone.

And when the devil starts talking, just ha ha ha ha ha.

Hallelujah.

He was he was, man, I I'm just and he'll say, This place had me produce this for him.

And yesterday uh he was saying that what is it, the the the oldest black company in Kansas.

The oldest black company in Kansas, funeral home, right?

Came to him and said, you know, when we do military funerals, you know, we they give them a flag, but they don't give them the case.

Will you make the cases for all these funerals?

Yes, sir.

Lil Company in Lawrence, Kansas.

And people are finding out about them.

Why?

They are dripping with the favor of God.

Favor doesn't need you to find everything.

What you need will find you when you're walking in the favor of God.

Now, the reason that goes with what I'm saying is then that the work is going and looking, the work is expecting it.

I expect the favor of God.

Oh, hallelujah! And here's what your mind will say I have a relationship with a realtor here and there.

Area, uh, obviously, because we we don't believe God's completely done with us living here.

We we've we've we rented for a while and we I'm just staying in when I come up I just get a room, but we don't believe that that God's completely done in that area, and so I told you last night I'm not going nowhere.

You're stuck with me.

That's the favor of God.

Amen.

See, it's working.

Whether you believe it or not, it's working.

I gotta hurry.

I know I gotta hurry.

Amen.

But but I get emails from I get emails from them with pictures of homes.

And I never in my in my wildest dreams did I ever think a two-bedroom house with one bathroom would be$300,000?

But it is.

Now hang on, I'm making a point.

You can look at that and say, if if that kind of house is$300,000, how much is the one we need?

Who cares?

That's not the one you need.

So who cares how much it costs?

It's not the one you need.

God knows what you need, and what did he say?

What did he say?

He said, Your heavenly father knows that you have need of all of these things.

Is that what he said?

So he said, Don't get anxious, don't worry about it.

What does that mean?

Don't don't start counting pennies, don't start trying to figure out how you can put all the kids to work in a lemonade stand and somehow start letting your daughter take the car out on weekends for Uber trips.

Figure this out.

No, I have the favor of God.

Right?

I I can tell you more.

The house that we that we bought.

The couple that that bought it, they were they were older than us, but their story was similar to us.

They had adopted a grandchild.

You know, Lily was three then, four, I think.

We adopted her when she was one.

And uh they had three three families, they had three people that were looking at that house.

But they they they told them our story, and they said, that's the one.

Because we did the same thing.

See, God will connect you.

But here's my point.

After all that, if you believe you have favor, you're not gonna back off looking at things because it costs this, or it costs that, or it costs the other.

And so at some point you've got to ask yourself in your life, am I satisfied to live this way the rest of my life?

Do I want nothing better the rest of my life?

You gotta ask yourself.

Because God's plan for you is higher heights, deeper depths, glory to glory, right?

All sufficiency in all things, abounding to every good work.

That's God's plan for you.

So I've got to decide, am I good with this?

And if you are, just get satisfied, not using your faith.

Just subsisting right there.

Because faith will, faith is of the nature that it will constantly have you pushing for something more.

Because in us, in every one of us, I don't know about you, I'll raise my hand and say, I want more.

As good as God has been to me, I want more.

Right?

The blessings that God has poured out on my life.

I want more.

Why?

My faith needs it.

My faith needs me to work and act for more.

Because that's how it grows.

How does faith?

Faith comes by hearing, faith goes by saying, faith grows by using.

Comes by hearing, goes by saying, grows by using.

So faith can come and faith can go.

But I can be using my faith and it be going for the same thing all the time.

Hallelujah.

For instance, the purpose, the purpose of going to the gym, contrary to what some people think, is not to hang out, it's to work out.

Right?

Now here's a question for you.

Maybe everybody don't know, but I know some do.

If you want to get stronger, what do you have to do?

What's that?

Work out.

But if you want to get that's what do you want to do if you want to get stronger?

You gotta lift heavier weight.

Is that right?

So when you start, you start, boy, you lay down there on the bench, you can do 25 on each side.

25 dumbbells or whatever.

Right?

Well, if you've been working out for five years and you're still lifting 25 pounds, barbells, something's wrong.

You know what's wrong?

You never went up to 30.

Well, I can't do 10 reps of 30, but you can do six.

And you do six till you can do eight, and you do eight till you can do ten.

Then what do you do?

You go up to 40.

Right?

Am I making sense?

So you've moved that with your faith.

Why aren't you moving anything bigger?

You haven't put your faith to work on anything bigger.

I gotta close.

So I believe I have the favor of God in my life and go after it.

Let me ask you a question.

Dreams cost you nothing.

Why are you not dreaming bigger?

Why aren't you getting some?

Listen, even the world, I heard a man in the world say, the way to success is that you dream big, hairy, audacious, impossible dreams.

Now he's a Christian man, but he's he's a motivational speaker.

And you got Christians that God said, Fear not, little flock.

It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, and everything's in it, in it, and they dream little bitty dreams.

So faith does what?

Little bitty things, because they're dreaming little bitty dreams.

I'll close here.

Jesse DePlanus went in, took his granddaughter to the Disney store.

And he told her, they went in, he said, you can have whatever you want.

And she said, Whatever I want.

And and if you if if you know him at all, he said it just this way, because it's his personality.

He looked at her and he said, anything you want, you want the whole store, I'll buy it.

And he called the manager over.

Said, How much inventory you got here?

What's the dollar amount?

And she told him, he said, All right, if she wants it all, I'll buy it.

I'll pay for it.

And his granddaughter went off, she came back with like seven things.

And he said, That's all you want?

She said, Yeah.

He said, I told you you could have whatever you wanted.

And she looked and said, But grandfather, that's hard.

Now think about this, was it?

How hard was it just to go get it?

He said, I'll pay for it.

Right?

What was her job?

What was her job?

Go do the work.

See, it's not hard.

What do we say all the time?

Faith is not hard, it's just different.

What's different?

Just go get whatever you want.

Hallelujah.

I think the ladies in my house have learned that lesson.

I'm pretty sure I own stock in Amazon.

Which is okay.

But I want you to, as we're closing, I want you to seriously, I want you to seriously contemplate that.

Because something the Lord's been talking to me about.

What dreams do we put on the shelf just because it doesn't look like we can achieve them?

And so we draw back.

Right?

The Apostle Paul said, we're not of those that draw back, but those that believe to the saving of the soul.

Right?

I was saying to the church Wednesday night in Little Rock, there's things that God spoke to you, and you wrote them down in notebooks, and somehow that notebook is on the shelf, or it's wherever you need to go pull it back down and start stirring yourself up about it.

You need to get in the basement and start pulling those things out of the basement and start dreaming again.

Yeah, but Pastor, with all that's going on in the world, you need to quit focusing on all that's going on in the world, and you need to focus on what God wants to do in your life.

What's going on in the world?

Listen, there are things that are God ordained that are gonna go on in the world until the time Jesus returns and raptures the church.

There's nothing we can do about it.

You're not gonna stop the wars.

You're gonna have wars and rumors of wars until Jesus comes again.

You're gonna have famine, you're gonna have pestilence, you're gonna have earthquakes, you're gonna have all these things.

Jesus said, all these things must come to pass.

But he said, This isn't the end.

What's your job?

He said, You occupy till I come.

What did he tell?

Which was a type and a shadow of us.

He told the people in Daniel and Jeremiah's day that were being taken into captivity.

He said, What do you do?

He said, You go into that captivity, you go into that position, and what?

You build houses, you marry wives, you have children, you have grandchildren, you bless the government, and you serve God.

What do we do with everything that's going on in the world?

We live the best life that God wants us to live.

We buy houses, we marry people, we we have children.

You get married, and then you have children.

We we get married and we have kids.

Hallelujah.

Right?

And we enjoy our life.

And when Jesus comes to wrap everything up and we enter into ultimate fulfillment, we leave here fulfilled, having lived the best life that we could live.

Hallelujah.

That's good news.

Tell your neighbors, say, I believe the favor of God is on your life.

Hallelujah.

Well, as we prepare to go, let's bow our heads today in the name of Jesus.