Lesson 4. Works of Faith. “Foundations of Faith” School. Senior Pastor Dmitriy Leo prepared this teaching for Father’s Blessing Church in October 2021.
Lesson 4. Works of Faith
People often ask God for faith, while God is waiting for people to act in faith.
Many people ask God to give them great faith, yet they do not even put to use the faith they already have.
We can learn much about the works of faith from the Epistle of James.
James 2:14 My brothers, what good is it if a person claims to have faith but has no works? Can such faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and daily food,
16 what good is it if one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” without giving them what they need?
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by works, is dead.
- Faith that we only TALK about produces no results. Such faith remains dead.
- It is not our WORDS that bring faith to life, but our WORKS bring faith to life.
James 2:18 But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
- Faith does not belong to those who say they have faith. Faith belongs to those who demonstrate it through their works.
- To say, “I believe,” means nothing; demons believe too, and atheists believe in something.
James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. But even the demons believe—and tremble with fear. 20 Do you want to know, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?
A person may have great faith, but it will be useless if it is not followed by works.
James 2:21 Was not our forefather Abraham justified by works when he placed his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his works were inseparably connected, and that his faith was perfected through his works.
23 Thus the Scripture was fulfilled: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and Abraham was called God’s friend.
To believe is not simply to agree with the Word of God; to believe is to act according to the Word of God.
James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the spies and sent them out by another route?
For those who do not understand why Rahab is counted among the heroes of faith, let me explain.
Rahab heard that there was an army near the city that defeated everyone because God was with them, and she saw that she had no chance of survival.
When the spies entered her house, she believed this was her chance to survive and hid them. She risked her life, because the king was told that the spies were with her, but she concealed them and then helped them escape the city unnoticed.
Through these actions, Rahab saved her own life and the lives of her relatives.
James 2:26 For just as the body is dead without the spirit, so faith without works is dead.
The Apostle James summed it up—faith without works is dead.
In other words, works BRING FAITH TO LIFE. Without works, faith is useless, just as a dead body is useless.
This is where people go wrong.
People believe and wait, thinking that their faith will produce something. But faith is useless in this state.
By contrast, other people begin to act on their faith, and that faith comes alive and starts producing what the person believed for.
A woman was brought to a miracle meeting for prayer. She had been bedridden for six years. There was a hole in her lung. A man of God approached her, anointed her with oil, and told her to get out of bed because Jesus had healed her.
The woman replied that she could not get up because she had not risen from bed for six years. But the man of God said to her again, “Sister, Jesus has healed you. Get up.” She began trying to rise, and suddenly the power of God came upon her.
She turned around in tears and said that she felt something warm pass through her lungs, making it easy to breathe, and that she no longer felt any pain. The next day, the woman had an X-ray, and not even a small scar remained where the hole had been in her lung. She was miraculously healed.
Conclusions
- If people acted in faith more often instead of merely asking for it, they would see far more results and many more miracles.
Question: Why, then, did we believe but not receive everything?
Because we are all LEARNING TO LIVE BY FAITH.
- The heroes of faith do not always succeed either, but they keep trying, and ultimately, unlike others, they see many miracles.
Faith is a risk, but unbelief is an even greater risk.
If you act in faith and live by faith, God will do wonderful things through you. Amen!
A History of Faith in Action
I remember the first time I went abroad to the “Receive the Fire” conference held at Toronto Airport Church. It was a long time ago, and it was my first experience of seeing how faith works.
A minister invited me to the conference. I replied, “I don’t mind, but I have neither money nor a passport.” “That’s not a problem,” he said. “If you believe, God will arrange everything.” Finally, he told me, “Start preparing for this trip, apply for your passport, and set aside as much money as you can; God will provide everything else.” Considering that I had only three months left before the trip and needed to find approximately $1,800, I warned him that I would be able to save a maximum of $200–300.
He said that was enough for the first step of faith. After that, I applied for an international passport and was told that, at best, it would be ready in six months because the factory had no blanks available. In the end, everything happened “as usual” in our country: they made my passport in a week, and I paid $250 for this expedited service. “Wonderful,” I thought. “I have a passport, but now I have no money left.”
Then I remembered the minister’s words: “Do everything necessary to go, and God will bless you.” I began preparing for the trip and looking for airline tickets. Since only a month remained before the flight, the tickets were terribly expensive, and I needed an even larger amount for the trip. A few days later, I received a letter from someone I barely knew and had seen only a couple of times in my life. I read the letter, in which he asked whether I would like to attend the upcoming “Receive the Fire” conference. If so, he was ready to bless me with $2,000. All I had to do was say yes or no.
Some time later, I was already flying to Canada and reflecting on how this could have happened out of nothing. All I had was faith—faith that another minister had placed in me.
In this lesson, I learned that faith is enough for many dreams to come true, but faith must always be followed by action.
So
– Faith is not a feeling but ACTION based on the firm CONVICTION that God will fulfill His Word.
– God will fulfill His part if I fulfill my part.
Prayer
– Lord, give me the grace to believe every word You say.
– Give me the courage to act in faith.
