Living Faith: Actions That Reflect God's Love

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. James 2:8-9 (ESV) - "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors."
2. James 2:14-17 (ESV) - "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
3. James 2:21-25 (ESV) - "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?"

#### Observation Questions
1. According to James 2:8-9, what is the consequence of showing partiality? How does this align with Christ's teaching to love our neighbors as ourselves? [59:53]
2. What practical example does James give in James 2:14-17 to illustrate that faith without works is dead? [01:08:17]
3. How did Abraham and Rahab demonstrate their faith through their actions, according to James 2:21-25? [01:20:00]
4. What does James mean when he says that faith without works is like a body without a spirit? [01:27:27]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does James emphasize that showing partiality is a sin? How does this challenge our natural inclinations towards people who are different from us? [01:00:33]
2. How does the example of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac deepen our understanding of faith and obedience? [01:20:00]
3. In what ways does Rahab's story illustrate that even those with limited knowledge of God can act in faith? [01:24:36]
4. How can we ensure that our faith is not just a mental agreement with truth but is demonstrated through tangible actions? [01:04:48]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you may have shown partiality towards someone. How can you actively work to treat everyone with grace, regardless of their background? [01:01:24]
2. Think of a specific need you have encountered recently. How did you respond? What could you do differently next time to ensure your faith is accompanied by works? [01:09:19]
3. Abraham and Rahab both took significant risks to act on their faith. What is one area in your life where you feel God is calling you to take a step of faith, even if it seems risky? [01:20:00]
4. How can you incorporate daily reading and meditation on the Word of God to nurture your faith? What specific steps will you take to make this a consistent habit? [01:30:12]
5. The sermon emphasized being alert to the Holy Spirit's nudges throughout the day. Can you recall a recent nudge from the Holy Spirit? How did you respond, and what can you do to be more attentive in the future? [01:34:27]
6. Identify a person or group in your community who is in need. What practical steps can you take this week to serve them and demonstrate your faith through love and compassion? [01:32:23]
7. The sermon mentioned the importance of praying for God's compassion. How can you incorporate this prayer into your daily routine, and what changes do you expect to see in your actions as a result? [01:31:20]

Day 1: Avoid Partiality and Show Grace to All
James 2:8-9 warns against showing favoritism, especially towards the wealthy. We are called to treat everyone with grace, regardless of their economic status, education, culture, race, or political views. This aligns with Christ's teaching to love our neighbors as ourselves. Showing partiality is a sin, and we must strive to love and treat everyone equally. This means extending grace and kindness to all, not just those who are similar to us or can offer us something in return. Our actions should reflect the inclusive love of Christ, who welcomed and valued everyone.

In our daily lives, we often encounter situations where we might be tempted to show favoritism, whether consciously or unconsciously. It is crucial to remember that every person is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. By doing so, we honor God and live out our faith in a tangible way. Let us commit to examining our hearts and actions, ensuring that we are not guilty of partiality but are instead channels of God's grace to everyone we meet. [01:00:33]

James 2:8-9 (ESV): "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors."

Reflection: Think of a recent interaction where you may have shown favoritism. How can you correct this and show grace to that person today?


Day 2: Faith Without Works is Dead
James emphasizes that faith must be accompanied by actions. Merely believing is not enough; our faith should produce tangible works that demonstrate our trust in God. This includes helping those in need and living out our faith practically. Faith without works is dead, meaning that if our faith does not result in actions, it is not genuine. True faith is alive and active, constantly seeking ways to express itself through love and service to others.

Consider the practical examples James provides: if we encounter someone in need and merely offer kind words without helping them, our faith is meaningless. Our actions should reflect our beliefs, showing that we genuinely care for others and are willing to make sacrifices to help them. Let us strive to live out our faith in a way that is visible and impactful, demonstrating the love of Christ through our deeds. [01:04:25]

James 2:17-18 (ESV): "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

Reflection: Identify one person in need whom you can help today. What specific action can you take to demonstrate your faith through works?


Day 3: Examples of Faith in Action
Abraham and Rahab are powerful examples of faith in action. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and Rahab's protection of the spies show that true faith leads to obedient actions, regardless of the cost. These actions honor God and demonstrate genuine faith. Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead, and Rahab, despite her limited knowledge of God, acted on her faith by protecting the Israelite spies. Their stories remind us that faith is not just about belief but about trust and obedience.

These examples challenge us to examine our own faith. Are we willing to take bold steps of obedience, even when it is difficult or costly? True faith requires us to trust God completely and act on that trust, knowing that He is faithful and will honor our obedience. Let us be inspired by Abraham and Rahab to live out our faith courageously and obediently, trusting God with the outcomes. [01:20:00]

Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV): "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.' He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where God is calling you to step out in faith and obedience? How can you take that step today?


Day 4: Living Faith Through the Word and Prayer
True faith is nurtured through the Word of God and prayer. We must read, study, and meditate on the Word daily, and pray for God's compassion to flow through us. This ensures that our actions are motivated by love and not mere duty. The Word of God provides guidance, wisdom, and encouragement, while prayer connects us with God's heart and aligns our desires with His. By immersing ourselves in the Word and prayer, we cultivate a living faith that is vibrant and active.

Living faith is not a one-time event but a continuous journey of growth and transformation. As we engage with the Word and prayer, we become more attuned to God's voice and more responsive to His leading. This daily practice helps us to remain rooted in our faith and to act out of genuine love and compassion. Let us commit to making the Word and prayer central to our lives, allowing them to shape and direct our actions. [01:30:12]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Reflection: How can you incorporate more time in the Word and prayer into your daily routine? What specific steps will you take to make this a priority?


Day 5: Be Alert to the Holy Spirit's Nudges
We should be attentive to the Holy Spirit's guidance throughout our day, ready to act on opportunities to serve others. This could be through small acts of kindness, such as giving a gift card or offering a word of encouragement. Being alert and responsive to these nudges helps us live out our faith in practical ways. The Holy Spirit often prompts us in subtle ways, and it is important to be sensitive to His leading and willing to act immediately.

Living a Spirit-led life means being open to the unexpected and being willing to step out of our comfort zones. The Holy Spirit may lead us to people or situations where we can make a difference, even in small ways. By being attentive and responsive, we allow God to work through us to bless others and to demonstrate His love. Let us pray for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's nudges and the courage to act on them, trusting that God will use our actions for His glory. [01:34:27]

Galatians 5:25 (ESV): "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent moment when you felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit. How did you respond? How can you be more attentive and responsive to His guidance today?

Hello, CLC!

Hello! Wow, you're looking so good out there. It's so good to be back home. I want to welcome all of you who are joining us online. I just want to say I'm really, really glad to be home. And I'm excited about this series, focusing on the Book of James. We've never really done this before, where we focused just on one book and really delved into the treasures within. But I believe this book can really change our lives.

Now, the Book of James probably was the earliest written of the New Testament books, between 40 and 50 A.D. And James addresses his letter to the Jewish Christians who are scattered all over the known earth. Now, the first chapter of James is so full of wisdom, so rich in wisdom. But today, we're on chapter 2. So, let me just help you maybe understand a little bit.

The church back then was under a lot of pressure. The Jerusalem refugees had scattered the whole earth because of the threat of death. And so they had to leave their homes, their families, their employment. And, you know, after being in Turkey this past week, working with Iranian refugees, I kind of understand better what these Jewish believers were going through. It was tough. It was difficult. They felt this transition in every area of their life, but especially economically, I believe.

And I think also that that's the reason why James begins by saying, telling the church, that we should have no partiality. Turn to your neighbor and say "partiality." I think that it's not a word that we say a lot, but let's just put it this way. James begins by saying, okay, why should a man of wealth come into our church services and receive honor, and the man or woman who is poor is told to sit on the floor or stand in the back? Why? You're not going to be one of these hard groups of people that are falling asleep, right? No, okay, good. You're with me.

So why? Why would a church honor the rich people and then show no kindness to those who are poor? There you go, the money, yeah. Yeah, understanding that they were in financial difficulties, I think the church was thinking, this rich person, that could be the answer to all our prayers. So let's give them a place of honor. I mean, I don't know, really. I don't know what was on their mind. I do know that it was just a part of life in non-Christian churches. But I think it was a part of life to show kindness to the wealthy instead of the poor in James' day. I mean, that was the norm.

But James was saying, no, no, no, no, because this is not consistent with Christ's teaching, right? So he said, okay, this can be in the world, but it cannot be in the church. It cannot. I'm reading now from James 2, verses 8 and 9.

"If you really fulfill the royal law, you should love your neighbor as yourself. You're doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing a sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." I mean, that's kind of harsh, don't you think? But he's giving us a very clear warning that we should not show any partiality, prejudice, racism, bigotry, that when we put our faith into action, we will put down all prejudice.

And if you think you don't have it, we all do. We all do, because you know what? Who do you like to hang with? People just like you, right? People who think like you, talk like you, act like you, especially talk like you. But see, we are supposed to, when we walk in faith and we act in faith, we are supposed to treat everybody with grace. Even those where the differences might normally separate us—differences in economic situations, education, culture, race, political views.

Gonna meddle just a little bit. So, no trash talking during this, our presidential election year to those who don't see things like you see things. I'm gonna say it again, because the book of James is very clear that we should show no favoritism to people who talk and act and think like we do.

Everybody settling in? James is talking to you, and more importantly, the Holy Spirit is talking to all of us. We really, we've got to understand that faith, real faith, living out our faith practically with mercy without showing favoritism in any form. Turn to your neighbor and say, "I'm so sorry, she's preaching right to you today." I'm really, really sorry about that.

Hey, because real faith, are you listening to me? Real faith is more than just words, it's more than beliefs. Real faith is actions. It is actions. Now, according to James, faith that produces no change, a faith that has no works, is not even faith at all. That's what the Word says. I'm not making it up. Turn to James. Remember James chapter 2? He's saying, if we don't put actions and works to our faith, it's not even faith at all.

Now, I want to be clear that our works do not save us. Right? I mean, our works do not save us, but they do show the character and the quality of our trust in God. Okay? James 2, 14. "What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith, but don't show it by your actions?" I mean, he's being plain here. "Can that kind of faith save anyone?" Whoa.

Now, James is laying out his case that faith, you know, it's just, it's not enough to have belief. Please understand, it's not enough. James even mentions, you know, the devils believe in God, and they shudder, they tremble. So, just believing is not enough. You know, James vigorously questions the value of a faith that is just mental agreement with truth. Religious faith that does not produce works in our life.

Are you ready for this? It's not faith. Got my work cut out for me, I can tell. But I'm just trying to go against, I'll be honest, I'm trying to go against some preconceived ideas that we have. And I want us to really get into what the Word of God says. Not what we believe, but what does the Word of God say?

And the Word of God tells us that our lifestyle, okay, but let me put it this way. If you really have faith in God, then you'll trust Him to the point that you will obey Him and do the good works that He has created for you to do. That's in Ephesians chapter number 2 and verse 10.

I'm going to read now verse 8 and 9. "I believe that you have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It is a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done. So there's nothing to boast about."

Now I'm bringing Ephesians into this study about James because I want to make it clear that saving faith is free. I thought there'd be all kinds of amens going on. Saving faith is free. It has nothing to do with our work. It has nothing to do with our works at all. I'm not talking about saving faith today. Okay. Saving faith is free. No works required. You can't be saved by your good works. It's not possible.

Saving faith is free. I'm not talking about natural faith either, because natural faith is something that all of us experience, believers and non-believers alike, on an everyday basis. Let me show you. Everybody stand up. I know you're all comfortable. Stand up. Okay. Everybody standing up. You're being obedient. Sit down.

You just demonstrated faith because you didn't check out the chair and think, okay, is this thing going to hold me? Let me check it out a little bit. You just plopped. Sorry. You just elegantly sat yourself down. Because you believed the chair would hold you up.

So today we're not talking about saving faith. We're not talking about natural faith. We are talking about the faith that we have once we come to Christ, a faith that should be constantly growing and demonstrated by the things that we do. Amen? Good. Praise God.

Now, I want you to understand James 2:15 is really a very powerful verse. We're going to read it together. "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed, lacking daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things that they needed for the body, what good is that?"

"Also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." That's what the word is saying. James is using this very simple illustration about how faith and action work together hand in hand. He describes an encounter with a person who does not have enough food or clothing.

And he says, okay, is it enough for you to say, "Oh, I'm so sorry for what you're going through. Oh, that is so awful. You know, I really hope that you find some food and clothing soon. And I believe you will. I believe you will." And then go on your merry way. He asks, is that enough to do that? Everybody say, "No." It is not enough.

He said, James is saying that those kinds of words are absolutely meaningless. They accomplish nothing unless they influence you to act. The words in your mind or in your mouth mean nothing unless those words influence you to act.

Now I'm going to give you some examples to give you a full scope of what we're talking about here today, because it covers much more than we realize. So if you say, "God bless you," it's not enough. It's not enough if you can be the blessing for them. If you have what they need and you can share it, then you need to share it.

Food, clothes, yard work. Somebody is feeling the yard work. I was feeling it yesterday. Yard work, help with the children. A drive to the church. Help with technology. I'm really feeling that one. Help with forms. The list is endless because faith works. Everybody say it with me. Faith works.

Okay. To say, "I'm praying for you," isn't enough unless you stop and pray for them right then. Actually do it and then continue praying for them until you know that God has intervened in some way or until God just says, okay, you're done. And sometimes He does. He just says, okay, you've accomplished what I need you to accomplish. You don't have to pray anymore.

But unless you're doing that, unless you're actually praying, oh, yeah, I'm going to do it anyways. How many of you have ever said, you know, "I'll pray for you?" How many of you ever said that? Okay. You're afraid to raise your hands, aren't you? Yeah, I knew it. Okay. You don't have to raise your hands now, but how many of you have ever forgotten? Okay. Let's be real, right? We say we're going to pray and then we run out of gas or something happens and it just goes out of your brain.

So I'm saying if somebody asks you for prayer, pray right then. Right then. So you don't forget it. And then as God brings it to your mind, continue to pray for them until the answer because faith works. Everybody together. Faith works.

So to say, "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know," is not enough. This is where we start touching toes, stepping on them anyways. What I'm saying is, putting the responsibility for the person who is hurting or in need to tell you something is not enough. It's not good.

I know that you're probably thinking, I don't know what they need, but they don't know what they need either. And to make them be responsible to tell you is not right. What you and I need to do is to put ourselves in their place and think about, what would we need? And what would we need in their shoes? And then do that.

Are you hearing what I'm saying? You do that. Then you can always say, "If there's anything else you need, let me know," and they'll believe you because you've already shown it.

Now I'm sharing this with you because of my own life experience, beginning way back, way, way, way back when my best neighbor, next door neighbor and best friend, Janet, was hit by a truck and killed when we were 16 years old. There were all kinds of people who said, "Is there anything I can do? Just let me know." And that didn't help me one bit. Those words did not help me. They didn't make me feel good. They didn't help or leave the, or comfort me in any way.

But the Sunday in there was a young woman who sat next to me and held me the whole service where they announced Janet's death, just holding me. That helped me. Her holding me helped me. And then there were a lot of teenagers, a group of teenagers that kept inviting me out to go out, to go out when all I wanted to do was isolate myself. But they kept at it. And that helped me.

What I'm saying is, please do something. Do something. Because works. Everybody together. Faith works.

Okay. I'm just going to step on one more set of toes and say everything is going to be all right. To give Christian life, even platitudes, or even quote verses, is not enough. The Word of God is all-powerful. The Word of God has all the answers. The Word of God heals. The Word of God brings life.

But if you are really hurting badly or in desperate need and someone quotes the Scripture at you, it's like they club you over the head with it. It does not help. Again, I know from the years of difficult situations that I've been in since the death of my best friend, Janet. You know, well-meaning Christians have actually hurt me more than helped me.

So what I'm saying is, do something. Do something helpful. Do something meaningful. Even if it's just a small thing. That young woman holding me made all the difference in the world. You don't have to do something traumatic. But just do something because your actions will speak more than all the words in the world. Your words will not help. But you know when you say and do something.

Everybody say, "Do something." Do. Okay. And once you have acted, once you have done something, then sharing Scripture at the right time will help. Okay. I'm not saying you never share Scripture with someone. I'm just saying, in the midst of a really bad, bad situation, a quote, a verse, then someone's not going to help them.

But if you do something, there will come a time when the Word will bring life and help. But I will say this, never, never say, "It's all going to be okay." Never use, ever use Christian platitudes or clichés. It's going to be all right. Don't say that.

Well, I've got maybe an exception to that. Unless somebody asks you to say it. Now, there have been times that I've asked my husband, I said, "Baby, please, please tell me everything's going to be okay." And because I asked for it, and because he said it, or when he said it with conviction, it helped.

So, everybody, faith works. Thank you so, so much. Reading now James 2, 18. "But someone might argue, some people have faith, and others have good works. My answer would be that you can't show me your faith if you don't do anything." Was James plain or what?

"But I will show you my faith by the good that I do." You know, in this verse, James is definitely showing us a challenge to show your faith by your works. The gracious, obedient, humble works that you do will show, will demonstrate your faith to other people.

So, things like, you know, showing love and grace to someone in need by really giving of yourself. That's one way to work. Another way is to share your love of the Lord to someone who needs Jesus. That's work. Comforting and encouraging fellow believers. That is something we can do. Our faith should be shown by the works that we do.

Everybody say it with me one more time. Thank you. Now we're gonna talk about faith in action. The final section of chapter 2, James, you know, continues to explore this relationship between faith and works and continues to talk about it because he's trying to really assert it. He's trying to drive home the point here just like this sermon is. We're trying to drive home this point of how important it is.

And he does this through two biblical examples. First, James uses the example of the faith Abraham had when he sacrificed his son, Isaac. Abraham had a relationship with God. I mean, a long-time relationship with God. God told him, leave everybody, leave everything, and he did. He left everybody, everything to go to a land that God was gonna show.

But he didn't know where the land was. He didn't know the route he was gonna take. He didn't even know how long it was gonna take for him to get there. He knew absolutely nothing. But he obeyed God anyways and acted according to God's Word.

Now, you had thought that would be enough to show, demonstrate his faith, but obviously not because then God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, his only son, the son whom he had to be loved as a burnt offering on a mountain in Mount Moriah. And Abraham obeyed. He brought Isaac to the mountain and he had raised a knife and he was about to plunge it into his son when the angel of the Lord stopped and said, "Oh, now I know how fearlessly you fear God because you willingly put your dear son on the altar for me."

Now, it's kind of a troubling passage, especially for those of us who are parents or have been parents. It's troubling. But Hebrews tells us that the reason why Abraham was able to do that was because of his faith. You see, Abraham believed if he obeyed God and sacrificed his promised son, that God was going to raise him up.

He believed, Hebrews tells us that Abraham was willing to do all that because he believed God was going to raise him from the dead. That's how he could do that. That, my friend, is faith in action. And even though Abraham was later in life, I want you to know that as long as you have breath, well, let's test it. How many of you have breath? Go like this. You got it? You got breath? Okay. Then you're not done growing in faith.

As long as you have faith, as long as you have breath, you do not stop growing in faith. You do not stop doing the works that God has for you because it's just faith in action. This year, I'm going to just be honest with you. This has been the most difficult year of my life, challenging year. And with so much going on, I didn't know how I was going to be able to go to Turkey. But I pushed through and I did anyways.

And every prayer, every conversation, every teaching moment, and all the hugs from the Iranian refugee youth made it all worthwhile. Worth every sacrifice. Faithful living sometimes can be difficult. But we still push forward. Do you hear me? We still push forward. Obedient to God. The God who rewards.

You see, you can't ever out-give God. I'm not talking just about finances. The finances are true. But you give of yourself, God is going to reward you back. I'm thinking right now, unlike Abraham, Rahab knew little about God. I mean really, she knew little about God when the spies came to Jericho in Joshua chapter number 2.

But she had heard how God had delivered Israel from the Egyptians and every enemy since then. And she believed that God would deliver them from her city as well. So she did something. She hid and protected the spies. Her faith in Israel's God, she didn't even have a personal relationship with him. But she believed. So she acted.

And because of that, the spies made sure that Rahab survived the conquest of Jericho. And then we read that Rahab, listen to this, Rahab was part of the lineage of Jesus. This non-Jewish woman was a part of the bloodline of Jesus. God really, really does honor and reward every act of faith that you do, every action.

You know, He is not going to be beholden to you. He will reward. Now sometimes the rewards are here. Sometimes it's going to be in heaven. Now honestly, can I just be honest with you? If I'm going to have rewards, I don't want them now. I want them in heaven because that lasts for eternity. The rewards here, they're very short. But rewards in heaven, all of eternity.

And when we act out our faith, we're honoring God. And by choosing these two examples, James is showing us that the actions of faith do honor God regardless of where your relationship with God is. Because remember, Abraham had an established and long relationship with God. Rahab, in contrast, was a prostitute from an idolatrous background, but God honored both of them.

So regardless of where you are in your relationship with God, turn to your neighbor and tell them, "God's going to honor it." Honor when you act out your faith. Amen?

Last point, we're going to keep on moving. We're talking about living faith, or I would kind of like to call it lifestyle faith. Reading James 2:26, "A person's body that does not have a spirit is dead. In the same way with faith, in the same way in faith, faith that does nothing is dead."

James argues that true faith always results in you doing something. He repeats it four different ways in this one chapter alone. And just to drive home this point, and he summarizes this whole discussion, teaching on our faith and works, and lack of works, by graphically describing it as a dead body.

I mean, he's saying, you know, if a body doesn't have any spirit, if it doesn't have any breath, it's not alive, it's dead. So is your faith. If it doesn't demonstrate through works, your faith is also dead. Think of it as faith without works. It's a cadaver.

So sit there and think about it for a second. Picture a cadaver. Are you picturing it right now? I know some of you are thinking, no, gross. But the reason I want you to picture it, because that's what you've got to keep in mind. If your faith is not acting, it's a corpse. It's dead. It's not alive.

And so, how many of you want to be zombies? You know, corpse, walking dead. Raise your hand if you would like to be a zombie. Just double checking who I needed to pray for. Okay.

So, if you don't want to be walking zombies, if you don't want your faith to truly be dead, then how do you have a living faith? A faith that's a lifestyle. I'm going to tell you, first of all, it's through the Word of God. Through reading, and studying, and hearing, feeding on the Word of God.

You see, faith doesn't come because you see a miracle. Faith doesn't come because God answers your prayer. Oh, those things encourage us. Absolutely. It gets us excited. True. But the only way that faith comes is through the Word of God. Romans tells us, in Romans 10:17, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

Absolutely. The Word of God will inspire you, correct you, guide you, help you be more like Jesus, and the Word of God is the main ingredient for living faith. That's why we need God's Word. You can't have it without it. You can't have living faith without this, His Word.

And all I'm talking about is sitting on your desk somewhere. For this to be active, you have to be reading it, studying it, meditating on it, listening to it on a daily basis. That's what's going to make your faith alive.

The second thing is pray. Ask God to break your heart with the things that break His heart. To pray for His compassion. Now I'm telling you, this is not going to be a casual prayer. Because it's going to take something out of you. It's going to actually hurt. But we need to have God's compassion flowing through us.

Because otherwise, our works will end up being duty and responsibility. The only way that our works and our actions can truly change lives is if it is from a basis of God's love. Loving people. I challenge you. I challenge you. Ask God to break your heart with what breaks His heart.

I challenge you. Our heart often gets broken by the things that are happening to us and our families. But ask God, what breaks your heart? But break my heart. Because then out of that brokenness, out of that compassion, there's going to be life-changing works because of it.

So pray for that. Pray that God would indeed break your heart with what breaks His heart. And to give you also, pray that He gives you opportunities to share His, to share faith through His love, through the heart of it. So pray for opportunities. Everybody say, "I'm praying."

Oh, so good. Also get involved. Pastor Carlton also already talked to you, thanked you for the National Serve Day. And I just want to commend you again. Thank you. Every one of you who chose to sacrifice your time and get real sweaty and dirty. Most of you did. But thank you for doing that. That means the world to so many people you may never even meet.

But here's my challenge to you. I think you need to get involved in an ongoing ministry that ministers to the broken and the wounded and the abandoned and the abused. So that's not just one time a year. Do you hear her? Turn to your neighbor and she says, "Now she's whipping you." It just can't be a one-time thing.

I mean, it's good. That was great. But we need to have a lifestyle of serving people in need for a walk of faith. Go on a missions trip. Do whatever you can to truly step out of your comfort zone and minister to those who are in need. Everybody say amen.

Amen. Good, because I've got one more point. One more thing that will help you have living faith. Help you to walk this thing out on a daily basis. And that is just for you to be alert. Be alert. Keep your eyes and your heart open throughout the day for any nudges of the Holy Spirit to alert you to something you can say or do.

Okay? I talked about the fact that, you know, to pray and ask God for opportunities. Well then, since you prayed it, you need to be alert for it. I have an example. I was shopping in Target. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Target, you know, Target runs. How many make Target runs? More than once a week?

Sorry. I was in Target and someone said to me, "Pastor Chris, Pastor Chris." And I turned around, looked at them. I didn't recognize them at all. I really didn't. And she said, "Are you Pastor Chris?" I go, "Yeah." And she said, "Well, God told me to give you this." And she put something in my hand. And I looked at it. It was $25.

And I said, "Well, thank you very much." She says, "Well, I just wanted to be obedient." And then she turned around and walked away. Now, can I be really honest? I'm looking at $25. And I'm thinking, "That's not going to help anything." Just be real. I think if you multiply that by 100, maybe that's going to help.

But I think $25, but, you know, I just put it in my purse. And I was like, "Oh, that was strange." Again, I'm just being real. But later on that day, I ran across someone who told me, "I need $25." Bing. Oh. It wasn't for me, anyways. God wanted her to give it to me so I could give it to the person that I was going to meet that day that needed exactly $25.

And oh, my God. God is so cool. He is so cool. You can give people money or gift cards, food cards. I have to thank you for all the people who gave us gift cards when I was so, so, so bad sick after surgery. You know, I honestly couldn't eat very much, but my husband could. And he appreciated it very much.

But I did also because I had so many gifts. It meant so much to me that so many of you cared. It really did. So you can give, gift cards. Or you can just write, write a card, an email, a text with encouraging words. Just tell somebody that you love them. You can give sandwiches or blankets or bottled water to people who are not housed, that have no home of their own right now.

There is so much that you can give and so much that we can do. You can serve on the dream team here at CLC. I'm just saying, be open to nudges. You pray, "God, give me opportunities to show your love and my faith through words." You pray for it, then you open your heart and you listen to the nudges of the Holy Spirit so that it becomes a way of life.

Listen, listen to the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm going to pray in just a minute. I'm going to pray over those of you who've sensed the Holy Spirit talking to you. I'm not asking everybody, but I'm saying, you know, while the sermon was going on, there was something that was said that kind of struck a light inside of you and you're feeling, you know, "I really need to be acting out."

And if you have that touch of the Lord on your heart during this message, I would like for you to please stand. Okay, just those of you who just sensed that God was definitely speaking to you, I would like for you to stand. Thank you so, so, so, so, so much. I'm going to be praying for you in a moment, but I first have some prophetic words for some of you that are standing right now.

There's someone here that God wants you to help others with their legal problems. It's not because you have a lot of legal expertise, but you have experience. You have had experiences and God wants you now to share your experiences with others and help others who are having legal problems.

For you to be effective and truly acting out your faith, you're going to need to forgive. And there's some here that have been holding on to some things for too long. And God is just encouraging you today. Let it go. When you let it go, then He can use you much more.

God is also stirring up the gifts in some of you. We're talking about spiritual gifts that He wants to use with people back home. People beyond these four walls. People in what I would call the marketplace. And He's stirring it up right now and God is going to use you in the supernatural.

And by doing that, you're going to be able to win souls to Christ, just like they did in the New Testament. There's somebody else whose job here is not challenging. And you're thinking about leaving. But God says, stay a little bit longer. Because He's preparing a door for you that will open if you wait just a little bit longer.

And there's just also two different ones that I mentioned in the morning that I want to do again. And one is that many of you know about Alice in Wonderland? Anybody know Alice in Wonderland? Okay, anybody know about the Mad Hatter? Yeah, rushing, rushing, doing, doing rabbit holes all over the place.

And God says, you got to slow down. You're running here, running there, doing this and doing that, and you're so busy. God can truly, fully use you. You need to slow down and focus. I like a laser that light is focused. It's so effective. God is going to make you so much more effective if you will slow down and really focus on the things He wants you to focus on.

Everybody said amen. I think that hurts some people. But really, how busy you are is not an indication that you're doing what God wants you to do. Busyness is not a true indication. Slow down. Listen to Him.

And there's also some people here today who says, you know, I've been serving, I've been giving, I've been helping people, but nobody seems to notice. But God is saying to you today, I notice. I see you. I see your heart. I see what you're doing. Do not give up. Do not quit. Because I am going to reward you.

Just know that you're not doing it for people anyways. You're doing it for me. And I appreciate what you do. I want everybody to please raise their hands that is standing. I'm going to release God's anointing. I want you to receive it. I want you to take it in Jesus' name.

Father, I release your anointing on every man and woman who is standing in this place. I pray for those who are even online, who are standing. Lord, I release your anointing to use them as you've never used them before. I release miracles, signs, and wonders. I release joy, peace, and purpose. I release your power into their lives right now.

I thank you for these men and women because you are going to change their world through them. I thank you for their lives. I thank you for what you're doing. And I give you praise, God. Praise that they will demonstrate their faith through their works in Jesus' name.

And everybody say amen. Everybody stand and join us as we sing.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "Real faith is more than just words, it's more than beliefs. Real faith is actions. It is actions. Now, according to James, faith that produces no change, a faith that has no works, is not even faith at all. That's what the Word says. I'm not making it up." [01:03:22] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "Faith works. Okay. To say, I'm praying for you, isn't enough unless you stop and pray for them right then. Actually do it and then continue praying for them until you know that God has intervened in some way or until God just says, okay, you're done. And sometimes He does. He just says, okay, you've accomplished what I need you to accomplish." [01:11:15] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "Faith doesn't come because you see a miracle. Faith doesn't come because God answers your prayer. Oh, those things encourage us. Absolutely. It gets us excited. True. But the only way that faith comes is through the Word of God. Romans tells us, in Romans 10, 17, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." [01:29:48] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "God really, really does honor and reward every act of faith that you do, every action. You know, he is not going to be beholding to you. He will reward. Now sometimes the rewards are here. Sometimes it's going to be in heaven. Now honestly, can I just be honest with you? If I'm going to have rewards, I don't want them now. I want them in heaven because that lasts for eternity." [01:26:01] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "So today we're not talking about saving faith. We're not talking about natural faith. We are talking about the faith that we have once we come to Christ, a faith that should be constantly growing and demonstrated by the things that we do." [01:08:17] (17 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "James is saying that those kinds of words are absolutely meaningless. They accomplish nothing unless they influence you to act. The words in your mind or in your mouth mean nothing unless those words influence you to act." [01:09:49] (18 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "If you really have faith in God, then you'll trust Him to the point that you will obey Him. And do the good works that He has created for you to do. That's in Ephesians chapter number 2 and verse 10. I'm going to read now verse 8 and 9. I believe that you have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It is a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done." [01:05:47] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "James argues that true faith always results in you doing something. He repeats it four different ways in this one chapter alone. And just to drive home this point, and he summarizes this whole discussion, teach on our faith and works, and lack of works, by graphically describing it as a dead body. I mean, he's saying, you know, if a body doesn't have any spirit, if it doesn't have any breath, it's not alive, it's dead. So is your faith." [01:27:27] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Faithful living sometimes can be difficult. But we still push forward. Do you hear me? We still push forward. Obedient to God. The God who rewards. You see, you can't ever out-give God. I'm not talking just about finances. The finances are true. But you give of yourself, God is going to reward you back." [01:23:58] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "So what I'm saying is, do something. Do something helpful. Do something meaningful. Even if it's just a small thing. That young woman holding me made all the difference in the world. You don't have to do something traumatic. But just do something because your actions will speak more than all the words in the world. Your words will not help. But you know when you say and do something." [01:16:46] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)